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<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//IETF//DTD HTML//EN//2.0"> <html> <head> <title>AR-NEWS Digest</title> </head> <BODY bgcolor=fbfaea text=#211818 link="#190748" alink="#FFFFEF" vlink="#401C92"> <center> <IMG SRC="IMAGES/HEAD.GIF" tppabs="http://www.envirolink.org/arrs/digest/images/head.gif" USEMAP="#toplinks" BORDER="0"><BR> <img src="IMAGES/YCBAR.GIF" tppabs="http://www.envirolink.org/arrs/digest/images/ycbar.gif"><a href="../INDEX~1.HTM" tppabs="http://www.envirolink.org/arrs/index.html"><img src="IMAGES/HOMEBAR.GIF" tppabs="http://www.envirolink.org/arrs/digest/images/homebar.gif" border=0></a><br></center> <map name="toplinks"> <AREA SHAPE="rect" COORDS="345,27,393,54" href="../../../tppmsgs/msgs0.htm#14" tppabs="http://www.envirolink.org/envirohome.html"> <AREA SHAPE="rect" COORDS="458,7,512,27" href="../SUPPOR~1.HTM" tppabs="http://www.envirolink.org/arrs/Support.html"> <AREA SHAPE="rect" COORDS="401,7,446,26" href="../SEARCH~1.HTM" tppabs="http://www.envirolink.org/arrs/search.html"> <AREA SHAPE="rect" COORDS="352,7,386,26" href="../ORGS~1.HTM" tppabs="http://www.envirolink.org/arrs/Orgs.html"> <AREA SHAPE="rect" COORDS="298,7,337,25" href="../NEWSPA~1.HTM" tppabs="http://www.envirolink.org/arrs/newspage.html"> <AREA SHAPE="rect" COORDS="211,7,286,27" href="../SUB~1.HTM" tppabs="http://www.envirolink.org/arrs/sub.html"> </map> <center><TABLE cellspacing=15 border=0> <TR> <TD width=50 align=center> </TD> <TD width=400 align=left> <!-- PAGE CONTENT GOES BELOW --> <pre> AR-NEWS Digest 617 Topics covered in this issue include: 1) Vegetarian diet 'won't cut risk of heart disease' by Vadivu Govind <kuma@cyberway.com.sg> 2) (MY) Call to curb use of banned pig-fattening drug by Vadivu Govind <kuma@cyberway.com.sg> 3) New danger for Aids patients: Cat-scratch fever by Vadivu Govind <kuma@cyberway.com.sg> 4) Britain turns to nature for new super combat gear by Vadivu Govind <kuma@cyberway.com.sg> 5) Shipment of animals from Moscow to Indonesia by Vadivu Govind <kuma@cyberway.com.sg> 6) (TW) Anti foot-and-mouth disease package unveiled by Vadivu Govind <kuma@cyberway.com.sg> 7) (AU/HK) New drug to fight bird flu by Vadivu Govind <kuma@cyberway.com.sg> 8) NEW MEXICO COLD SNAP KILLS 3,000 CALVES by STFORJEWEL <STFORJEWEL@aol.com> 9) Fwd: MORE ELK SLAUGHTER by STFORJEWEL <STFORJEWEL@aol.com> 10) Wrong title: Shipment of animals from Moscow to Indonesia by Vadivu Govind <kuma@cyberway.com.sg> 11) by "Paul Wiener" <paulish@cyberjunkie.com> 12) [SPA] Spanish governement confer awards to bullfighters by 2063511 <2063511@campus.uab.es> 13) hong kong to slaughter all chickens by NOVENA ANN <NOVENAANN@aol.com> 14) FARM BUREAU POLICIES by STFORJEWEL <STFORJEWEL@aol.com> 15) (CN) Guangzhou excels in producing foodstuff by jwed <jwed@hkstar.com> 16) Subscription Options--Admin Note by allen schubert <ar-admin@envirolink.org> Date: Sun, 28 Dec 1997 14:48:03 +0800 (SST) From: Vadivu Govind <kuma@cyberway.com.sg> To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: Vegetarian diet 'won't cut risk of heart disease' Message-ID: <199712280648.OAA28024@eastgate.cyberway.com.sg> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit >The Electronic Telegraph 28 Dec 97 Vegetarian diet 'won't cut risk of heart disease' By Victoria Macdonald, Health Correspondent CLAIMS by vegetarians that their diet is healthier than that of meat eaters are dismissed in a study which shows no difference in the levels of heart disease. In a study of more than 11,000 people over 13 years, scientists have found that non-meat-eaters consume enough animal fats to affect their health. The results show that the difference in heart disease levels between meat-eaters and vegetarians is "statistically insignificant", they said. The news, coming just after Christmas turkey meals, will be a blow to non-meat-eaters who claim they are warding off disease. The study, carried out by the Imperial Cancer Research Fund, set out to discover which types of food increase the risk of heart disease and which elements of a vegetarian diet reduce the risk. The scientists, based at Oxford University, looked at the health records of the men and women aged between 16 and 80, dividing them into meat-eaters, vegetarians, semi-vegetarians and vegans, who eat no dairy products. The group was described as "health-conscious" with diets based on recommended intake levels rather than the relatively high saturated-fat diet typical of most affluent societies. Dr Tim Key, of the Research Fund's cancer epidemiology unit, said the study showed that there was a direct link between eating animal fats and heart disease. "Until now the direct evidence of a link between animal fats and heart disease has not been borne out, although people have suspected it for the past 30 years." The Vegetarian Society dismissed the findings, published in the journal Heart, and said that other studies had found that there was a 30 per cent reduction in ischaemic heart disease - where there is a blockage - in vegetarians compared with meat eaters. But Dr Key and his colleagues claim that vegetarians do eat animal fats in cheese, milk and eggs, and in such quantities that it puts them at risk. The study did show that the propensity of vegetarians to eat nuts may have a protective effect. But even this was treated with caution. Dr Key said that there appeared to be reduced mortality in people who ate nuts five times or more a week compared with those who ate them less than once a week. This could be explained by the fact that nuts are a good source of vitamin E and other antioxidants, which "clean out" the system. Dr Key added: "One's interpretation is that there is no point giving up meat and replacing it entirely with cheese, eggs and milk because that is not going to reduce the risk of heart disease. "Meat tends to get a bad press, certainly recently, as being a particularly risky food. But what people think about food goes in fashion. "Twenty years ago it was eggs and cholesterol, until it was found that the level of cholesterol in the diet bore no relation to what was found in the blood." ⌐ Copyright Telegraph Group Limited 1997. Date: Sun, 28 Dec 1997 14:50:16 +0800 (SST) From: Vadivu Govind <kuma@cyberway.com.sg> To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: (MY) Call to curb use of banned pig-fattening drug Message-ID: <199712280650.OAA11599@eastgate.cyberway.com.sg> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" >The Straits Times 23 Dec 97 Call to curb use of banned pig-fattening drug JOHOR BARU -- The Johor Livestock and Poultry Farmers Association has urged the Health Ministry to act against farmers who use the banned Beta Agonist drug used to fatten pigs. Its acting head for the pig-farming section, Mr Lim Oh Pah, claimed that while only one of the eight pig farmers in Johor had been found to be using the drug, it was widely used in other states. He called on the authorities to conduct a nationwide check to ensure the pig-farming industry was free from the dangerous substance. Mr Lim said that although the drug was banned, irresponsible farmers were still using it so they could make quick profits. He said the drug would not only jeopardise consumers' health but also hurt the business of farmers who do not use the drug. He said pigs injected with the drug were sold cheaper as farmers could profit on the extra weight while those not injected were slightly more expensive and smaller in size. He said even butchers preferred to sell pork which had been injected with the drug. "They say the meat is easier to cut and is more popular with customers because it is more tender and cheaper." -- NST. Date: Sun, 28 Dec 1997 14:50:43 +0800 (SST) From: Vadivu Govind <kuma@cyberway.com.sg> To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: New danger for Aids patients: Cat-scratch fever Message-ID: <199712280650.OAA20835@eastgate.cyberway.com.sg> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" >The Straits Times 27 Dec 97 New danger for Aids patients: Cat-scratch fever BOSTON -- The bacteria responsible for cat-scratch fever and for trench fever, which felled more than a million soldiers during World War I, may be responsible for an often-overlooked illness among Aids patients, according to a study in Thursday's New England Journal Of Medicine. A team led by University of California San Francisco researcher Dr Jane Koehler studied 49 patients with a recurrent infection known as bacillary angiomatosis-peliosis. Most also suffered from Aids. In 53 per cent of the cases, the infection came from the flea-spread bacteria on a cat's claw that causes cat-scratch fever. In the others, the trench fever bacteria was responsible. -- Reuters. Date: Sun, 28 Dec 1997 14:50:50 +0800 (SST) From: Vadivu Govind <kuma@cyberway.com.sg> To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: Britain turns to nature for new super combat gear Message-ID: <199712280650.OAA09198@eastgate.cyberway.com.sg> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" >The Straits Times 28 Dec 97 Britain turns to nature for new super combat gear LONDON -- The British soldier of the 21st century will be protected from enemy fire and the elements with the help of revolutionary materials modelled on nature's defence systems, said a newspaper report yesterday. The application of nature's smarter ideas to military equipment has so intrigued the Ministry of Defence that it has awarded special contracts to the centre for biomimetics at Reading University to study the possible applications of plants, animals and even insects, The Times said. Biomimetics is the science of mimicking nature's best designs. It is intended that by 2010, every combat soldier will have only three layers of clothing, instead of the present seven, to cater for all weather conditions, the Times said. To that end, biologist Julian Vincent and composite materials engineer George Jeronimidis, co-directors of the five-year-old centre, are examining the way in which plants cope with different climatic conditions. "Plants have a very effective mechanism for moving water out, including leaves that have holes which open and close," The Times quoted Dr Vincent as saying in its Internet edition. "Plants don't walk around and they don't have brains, so they are much simpler than animals to study. They can move certain bits and they can control their temperature. There are a lot of good ideas that come out of plants which may provide the solution for combat clothing of the future." The researchers are also looking at pine cones which have a simple but reliable way of responding to changing humidity. As humidity drops, the scales open and vice versa. What is planned is an artificial fibre system based on the mechanism of the pine cone. If the centre for biomimetics succeeds, the Times said, the revolutionary fibre system could be incorporated into fabrics which would be able to change their "breathability". The cockroach is also under the microscope to see if its simple sensor devices can be recreated for the benefit of key weapon systems, such as fighter aircraft. "Insects have achieved fine sensing systems which we could try to adapt for defence purposes," Dr Vincent said. He and Professor Jeronimidis have also been asked to design novel energy-absorbing material. They began by studying the structure of nutshells, including the hazel and brazil, but are now focusing on the antler bone. They are enthusiastic about the prospects of taking "what we need" from the structure to create a light, flexible, impact-absorbent material. Antlers have been fine-tuned by nature to absorb violent impact during the rutting season, and the researchers are convinced that they can produce a composite material based on the same structure. Dr Vincent said: "What we're interested in is the way things are put together in nature,not the materials themselves. "After all, nature only has half a dozen starting materials, such as water, protein, calcium salts and sugar-based polymers, whereas there are thousands of man-made starting materials." Under another contract, awarded by the MoD's Defence Evaluation Research Agency, they are studying how wood absorbs energy for applications for the Armed Forces. Wood can be damaged by impact without shattering. Dr Vincent said: "Soft pine can be toughened even further by drilling carefully designed holes in it." One application could be for armoured vehicles. Now they can be protected by adding steel plates, but this is very heavy. He added: "For us, in terms of energy input, material is cheap but shape is expensive, while in nature, material is expensive and shape is cheap. In other words, nature spends more time on design, and perhaps we should as well." Date: Sun, 28 Dec 1997 14:50:59 +0800 (SST) From: Vadivu Govind <kuma@cyberway.com.sg> To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: Shipment of animals from Moscow to Indonesia Message-ID: <199712280650.OAA17521@eastgate.cyberway.com.sg> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" >The Straits Times 28 Dec 97 For this flight we will be serving grass MOSCOW -- Like a modern-day Noah's Ark of the skies, a Russian airline needed the world's largest cargo plane to carry a menagerie of animals including four giraffes from Prague to Indonesia, an official said on Friday. "Our An-124-100 freighter delivered 68 animals from Czech zoos, including four giraffes, zebras, antelopes, crocodiles and hippopotamuses for Safari national park in Surabaya, Indonesia, where they will live in natural conditions," said Ms Anna Krasnova, a spokesman for cargo airline Volga-Dnepr. The giraffes made the two-day journey in special open boxes which allowed them to stretch out their necks towards the spacious 4.4-m high ceiling. "All the animals arrived at the destination in good condition despite the long-distance flight with a stopover in Pakistan," she added. Ms Krasnova said that the customer -- Taman Safari Indonesia -- was hoping to fly in more animals in the future. -- Reuters. Date: Sun, 28 Dec 1997 14:51:04 +0800 (SST) From: Vadivu Govind <kuma@cyberway.com.sg> To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: (TW) Anti foot-and-mouth disease package unveiled Message-ID: <199712280651.OAA24354@eastgate.cyberway.com.sg> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" >CNA Daily English News Wire COA UNVEILS ANTI-FMD PACKAGE Taipei, Dec. 26 (CNA) The Council of Agriculture (COA) has crafted a package of measures to eradicate the food-and-mouth disease (FMD) in two stages. The council invited health officials, academics and hog industry representatives to review its draft anti-FMD package on Friday. According to the package, the COA expects to completely stem recurrence of any FMD infection within a year. The COA is also scheduled to finalize marking of all healthy pigs with ear-tags before the end of May next year. COA officials said all pigs raised at ranches around the island must be vaccinated against the deadly disease and marked with ear-tags before next May. The officials said the COA will join forces with local infectious disease control units and hog farmers associations to form joint inspection panels. Such joint task forces will intensify spot checks at hog ranches, pork wholesale markets and meat processing facilities to ensure that local pig farmers properly and regularly vaccinate their swine in order to fend off the recurrence of an FMD epidemic on the island. The COA will aslo establish a national pig industry databank to facilitate monitoring of hog ranches. The COA will compensate pig farmers who have had their swine vaccinated regularly but their pigs are still infected the virus again. According to government regulations, all FMD-infected pigs must be slaughtered. Taiwan's hog ranches were hit by an FMD epidemic in mid-March, the first time in nearly five decades. Since them, all local swine have been vaccinated, but several FMD cases were reported againt early this month. COA officials said a large-scale FMD epidemic is unlikely to outbreak here again. It will take at least a year to prevent recurrence of sporadic FMD cases, and it will need three to four years for Taiwan to be drop from the list of FMD-stricken areas. (By Sofia Wu) Date: Sun, 28 Dec 1997 14:51:32 +0800 (SST) From: Vadivu Govind <kuma@cyberway.com.sg> To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: (AU/HK) New drug to fight bird flu Message-ID: <199712280651.OAA25238@eastgate.cyberway.com.sg> Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii" >CNA Daily English News Wire AUSTRALIA DEVELOPS NEW DRUG TO FIGHT `BIRD FLU' IN HONG KONG Canberra, Dec. 26 (CNA) Australian scientists have developed a new drug capable of fighting the "bird flu" that has so far killed four people in Hong Kong. Dr. Peter Colman, director of the Biomolecular Research Institute and a former scientist at the Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization (CSIRO), said the new drug -- Zanamavir -- attacks different strains of the flu virus, including the new strain known as H5N1 which is currently plaguing Hong Kong. "The new drug will hit the central region of the virus, stopping the spread of the virus," he told reporters on Wednesday. "We are cautiously optimistic (because) the drug has cleared major clinical hurdles and should be available towards the end of next year," he said. Colman, who led the 12-member CSIRO team which had been working on the project for more than a decade, said conclusive clinical trials were being carried out in North America and Europe. He said new pandemics of flu arise from major changes or mutations to which our immune system has little or no resistance. The new influenza drug was developed by the CSIRO in collaboration with the Melbourne-based pharmaceutical company Biota, he said. Mass-circulation newspaper The Australian on Friday quoted Biota chairman Dr. Hugh Niall as saying: "This is a major advance in the treatment of one of the world's important diseases. It will have great potential in the pharmaceutical market." Reports said 13 people are known or suspected to have contracted "bird flu" in Hong Kong. Apart from the four who have died, two remain in critical condition, five are satisfactory and two have made a full recovery. Hong Kong health authorities have suspended all imports of chickens from mainland China --thought to be the source of the flu. (By Peter Chen) Date: Sun, 28 Dec 1997 02:35:47 EST From: STFORJEWEL <STFORJEWEL@aol.com> To: ar-news@envirolink.org Subject: NEW MEXICO COLD SNAP KILLS 3,000 CALVES Message-ID: <1035e1c.34a60155@aol.com> Content-type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII 
