LOCAL/STATE The Michigan Daily - Thursday, January 17, 2002 - 3A , ... Cozy in Cosi Researchers make discovery after shuttle flight Researchers at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Cen- ter at Dallas have discovered the mechanism that causes lighthead- edness and a brief loss of con- sciousness in astronauts following their missions, according to a recent press release. In research conducted aboard a 16-day space shuttle mission, researchers found that orthostatic intolerance, the condition responrsi- ble for dizziness, is due to the heart stiffening and shrinking., Two-thirds of astronauts experi- ence this condition in the upright posture after their flight, as well as 500,000 other Americans. Drugs can prevent and potential- ly reverse the condition. An increase in salt and water consump- tion and exercise can have the same effect. The study examined the blood pressure and cardiovascular system of six male astronauts at various times before and throughout the day that the Neurolab space shuttle mission landed. Results of this study appear in this month's issue of The Journal of Physiology. Antibiotics better for inflammation in stomach lining Rather than reducing the amount of acid in the stomach to calm down the burning sensation caused *by fining inflammation, University Medical School researchers sug- gest people take antibiotics, according to a recent press release. In two experiments using labora- tory mice, researchers found that antibiotics killed the bacteria that cause gastritis most effectively and eliminated stomach inflammation. The antibiotic used, called omeprazole, was a proton pump inhibitor, which blocks acid pro- duction. Researchers also examined the role of gastrin in acid production, using a strain of transgenic mice that could not produce it. Gastritis develops from people eating food or drinking water cont- aminated with a number of bacte- ria, including Helicobacter pylori, which infects 75 percent of people with gastritis. Because H. pylori cannot be killed by hydrochloric acid, researchers excluded its presence to better study the relationship between other bacteria and gastric acid. Untreated gastritis can lead to peptic ulcers and stomach cancer. Early diagnosis for aortic dissection can save lives Aortic dissection, which is a purging of blood from the heart into its main artery, causing a rip in the lining, kills one of every three patients who enter the hospi- tal for the condition. But Universi- ty Cardiovascular Center researchers have discovered new techniques to identify sufferers who are likely to die quickly, according to a recent press release. The findings of the study will help physicians to make speedy treatment decisions on surgical procedures and to lessen complica- tions. The research examined 547 patients who were treated at 18 hospitals across the world for type A acute aortic dissections, the most common and serious type of this condition. Variables included age, gender, blood pressure and previous medical history. The mean age of the patients was 62, and 65.5 percent of the patients were male. Eighty percent of the people had surgery, of which 27 percent died during their hospital stay. - Compiled by Daily Staff Reporter Lisa Hoffman. Kmat silent as bankruptcy talk swirls, stock falls DETROIT (AP) - Kmart Corp. remained silent Wednesday, refusing to release any information regarding its financial future even as its ratings and stocks took deeper blows. Eric Beder, a senior vice president and retailing analyst for Ladenburg, Thalmann & Co. Inc., called Kmart's silence "spooky." "Nothing scares investors more than a vacuum of information," Beder said. "No one knows what's going on except for the people in Troy, Michi- gan, and they're not telling anyone else." Kmart's board of directors held a regularly scheduled meeting on Mon- day and Tuesday, but the Troy-based retailer declined to discuss if any decisions had been made. "The session ended Tuesday. There is nothing to report," Kmart spokesman Jack Ferry said yester- day. In release yesterday announcing ratings downgrades, Fitch Inc. said it appears increasingly likely that Kmart will choose to file for Chap- ter 11 bankruptcy, and in making the downgrades cited "continuing uncertainty as to Kmart's current financial strategy in the absence of any communication from the com- pany." "There's a lot of word out there about it and that usually precedes it happening," said Stuart Hirshfield, chairman of the bankruptcy divi- sion at Dewey Ballantine LLP, a New York-based law firm. "But it's really hard to predict right now." Hirshfield said based on sales, Kmart would be the largest retailer ever to file for Chapter 11. Beder said Kmart should be more concerned with reaching a new agree- ment with their banks to extend their revolving credit line and closing stores that have become a burden. He doesn't think Kmart will file for bankruptcy. "It would put its (Kmart's) con- tracts with its vendors into chaos. They could lose vendors like Martha Stewart and Sesame Street," Beder said. "You have to wonder what the point of Kmart would be without those kind of vendors." Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia has a provision in its contract that allows Stewart to exit Kmart in bank- ruptcy, but it would have to be inter- preted by a bankruptcy judge. Amid the speculation, Kmart's stock tumbled to under $2 a share in trading yesterday. Yesterday after- noon, it was trading at $1.41. Standard & Poor's, one of the nation's largest debt rating agencies, announced that Kmart will be taken off of its 500 index at the market's close yesterday. Kmart will be replaced on the index by Plum Creek Timber. DAVID ROCHKIND/Daily Two-year-old Kaoru Toyokawa peers onto State Street from inside Cosi while his parents eat inside the restaurant yesterday. Settlement reached over pyramid scheme LANSING (AP) - The Michigan attorney general said yesterday she has reached a set- tlement agreement with a company she charged with illegally selling Internet "malls" through an online pyramid scheme. Attorney General Jennifer Granholm said she expects the settlements with KM.NET and its president, Stewart Giardina, to lead to refunds for thousands of people. Granholm alleged that KM.NET and affili- ated companies PowerCard and ECB4U.COM violated Michigan law in their sales, and said KM.NET officials indicated,tbat up to 23,000 Internet malls were sold to Michigan resi- dents. Granholm said her office received numer- ous complaints from Michigan consumers who made initial investments of $399.95 in an Internet mall but had not received any return on their investment. She said PowerCard records showed that more than 17,000 Internet shopping malls were purchased in 2000, and Michigan resi- dents made most of those purchases. The settlement announced yesterday resolve a lawsuit Granholm had filed. She also had intervened in a private class-action lawsuit brought against the company in Alabama, which reached an agreement Oct. 1. Stewart Giardina, president of KM.NET, did not immediately return a phone call seek- ing comment. In a visit to Michigan last year, Giardina told a group gathered in Mount Pleasant that the company was cooperating with the state. Granholm said settlement of the Michigan and Alabama suits should pave the way for the release of about $6 million related to the sale of online malls which is being held by a federal court in Maryland. The malls are websites that are linked to sites for major retailers, such as J.C. Penney and Toys R Us. Mall owners earn a commis- sion each time someone buys something at a retailer that they reached through the mall. Mall owners also earn $100 cash pay- ments whenever they recruit additional owners. Granholm said PowerCard violated Michi- gan's Pyramid Promotion Act, which pro- hibits businesses from offering compensation in return for bringing other people into the business. Granholm also said the company's decep- tive marketing practices violate the Michigan Consumer Protection Act. Citing, terror factor, Michigan reps call for trash inspection LANSING (AP) - Each garbage truck carrying Canada's trash into Michigan would be inspected for things such as bombs and medical waste under legislation proposed Monday by a few state lawmakers. "I want to make sure we're getting what we're supposed to be getting," said state Rep. Mike Kowall of White Lake, one of the three Republican House members working on the package of three bills. The legislation would require the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality to inspect the garbage in trucks coming to Michigan landfills from Canada at the state's international cross- ings. Canadian waste accounted for 7.5 percent of all waste in Michigan land- fills in 2000, according to the most recent data available from the DEQ. The amount of Canadian trash dumped in Michigan increased 80 percent between 1999 and 2000, a 2000 DEQ report said. The bills also would set fines for bringing garbage to Michigan that doesn't meet state standards and require out-of-state trash to be sealed to prevent leaks. Lawmakers said they haven't determined either the cost of the pro- gram or the penalties. Rep. Mickey Mortimer, one of the House members working on the bills, said he was concerned a terrorist could sneak a weapon of mass destruction into Michigan in a garbage truck. "How do people get things like that into the country? You put them in things people don't want to look into," the Hor- ton Republican said. Toronto City Councilor Betty Disero said she doesn't think Canadian garbage should be screened for security reasons. "I certainly think there are other, more effective ways of using limited resources for security in North Ameri- ca,"she said. Although Michigan also receives trash from Illinois, Indiana, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, lawmakers said they aren't ready to call for inspections of that garbage. DEQ spokesman Ken Silfven said it could be illegal for Michigan to single out trash from one municipality for inspection. A 1992 U.S. Supreme Court ruling denied states the right to refuse waste. Since then, state lawmakers have looked to Congress to approve a law allowing states to make such restrictions. "This problem has to be solved in Washington," said Silfven, who added that it's unlikely the department has the manpower to inspect each load of garbage from Canada. Out-of-state trash accounts for 16.7 percent of all trash in Michigan, the DEQ said. Michigan is No. 3 in the nation behind Virginia and Pennsylvania for the most out-of-state trash, said Mike Garfield, director of the Ecology Center in Ann Arbor. . - - .-" i i MARTIN, LUTHER KING, JR DAY THE CALENDAR What's happening in Ann Arbor today EVENTS for Japanese Studies, U "Black Rice of the SERVICES Noon, 1636 International African Diaspora"; Spon- Campus Information "T'al Chi; Sponsored by Institute, School of Social sored by the University Centers, 764-INFO, International Neighbors, Work, 1080 South Univer- Center for Afroamerican info@umich.eduio All women are invited to sPity and African Studies, 4:00 S.A.F.E. Walk, 763-WALK, January 21, 2002 1:30 PM at the University of Michigan Business School Ford Conference Center Assembly Hall Hale Auditorium ,,., 1 .TT 1 C. I i .