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Friday, January 18, 1991 / University Daily Kansan
Mike Turner/KANSAN
Eagle watch
Earlene Hogan, Topeka resident, takes time out from shopping at the Lawrence Riverfront Plaza to look for bald eagles. Though Hogan
only spotted two yesterday, as many as 19 bald eagles have been spotted along the banks of the Kansas River,
Fishermen found after nine days
The Associated Press
MATAMOROS, Mexico — Two fishermen weathered nine days, stranded in a small boat on the Gulf of Mexico, overcoming high seas, fog, cold and hunger by booking a shark and use a blanket as a sail.
Juan Morales, 40, said he and Francisco San Juan, 20, were 50 miles of the Texas coast Dec. 28 when a plane crashed in a launch failed. The Brownies里省Y
aid reported Wednesday
"It was a miracle that we were found." Member told the reporter.
found," Morales told the newspaper. " Their boat had no radio. They were two days overdue before their boss reported them missing Dec. 30.
The Mexican shark fisherman had left Lauro Villar Beach on Dec 27 with three lilies of water, food for three hours, extra clothing and blankets.
Morales said they rigged a sail out
of a blanket. Strong winds pushed them toward the Texas coastline, before switching to send them back toward Mexico.
The U.S. Coast Guard launched a search, but heavy fog limited visibility and after two days the search was given up. The fisherman heard a helicopter engine one day, but tugged them from being seen. Morales said.
out, so they went to work and managed to catch a 60 pound shark, he said.
On the fourth day, their food ran
San Juan refused the blood, but ate some of the raw flesh. Morales said.
Later, temperatures dropped to near freezing and strong winds brought heavy seas, forcing them to bail for their lives. Morales said.
Drug reduces illness related to AIDS virus
The Associated Press
Treatment benefits children
WASHINGTON — Researchers announced a treatment yesterday that would reduce bacterial infections in some children infected with the AIDS virus. Not noticing the difference, could improve their quality of life.
Monthly doses of intravenous immunoglobulin, or IVIG, were found to decrease significantly the occurrence of serious and sometimes life-threatening bacterial infections in children whose immune systems are compromised by the AIDS virus, officials at the National Institutes of Health said.
These infections, which include pneumonia, sepsis, meningitis and sinusitis, often result in prolonged hospitalization, said Anne Willoughby, a researcher at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and the director of the study.
Although the treatment is not a cure for pediatric AIDS, "the results of this study do suggest that IVIG does have value in the prevention of some serious complications in some infected children." Woolgough said.
Youngsters with severely weakened immune systems do not appear to benefit from the treatment, she said. Those with hemophilia, cancer or other complicating diseases were not included.
"The data are quite clear," said William Shearer, chief of pediatric allergy and immunology services at Texas Children's Hospital. "This gives hope for parents and children. It means they aren't going to be plagued with infections" as they otherwise might be.
Because of the encouraging results, officials have halted a clinical trial of IVIG in which 372 children under the age of 13 who were infected with the human immunodeficiency virus, or HIV, participated. Children
who had been receiving a placebo would be offered IVIG treatment, officials said.
They also issued an alert to physicians, describing preliminary results from the clinical trial in advance of release in a peer-reviewed medical journal.
IVIG is an approved treatment for other immune deficiencies. It is an intravenous solution that contains concentrated, infection-fighting antibodies that are present in the blood of a healthy person.
More than 2,730 cases of AIDS in children under the age of 13 have been reported to the federal Centers for Disease Control. Public health officials estimate that two to 10 times that many may be infected with HIV.
Last year, about 6,000 HIV-infected women gave birth. About one-third of those babies would be infected with the virus, Willoughby said.
Researchers said the study results could not be used to predict whether IVIG would benefit HIV-infected adults.
All of the 372 children enrolled in the study had symptoms associated with HIV infection. They were permitted to receive their usual treatment for the disease, including AZT, the only anti-viral drug approved to fight the AIDS virus, along with treatment to prevent a severe form of pneumonia that kills many AIDS patients.
Researchers said 131 children experienced one or more serious bacterial infections. Of these 77 were in the IVG group and 34 were in the IVG group.
Balloonists cross the Pacific
Among the children who entered the study with lymphocyte counts above 200, a measure of the immune system's ability to fight infection, 57 of the 151 in the placebo group developed a serious bacterial infection, compared with 38 of the 158 receiving IVIG.
The Associated Press
TOKYO — British billionaire Richard Branson and his Swedish co-pilot yesterday became the first hot-air balloonists to cross the Pacific, setting several records and overcoming a fuel shortage.
They landed safely about 12:45 p.m. CST in the Canadian wilderness 150 miles west of Yellowknife, Northwest Territories, near Levi, the balloonists' representative.
At least one helicopter was sent to retrieve them, but might be prevented from doing so during the storm because of poor weather, she said.
"They may have to stay overnight, but they have survival suits and enough food and supplies to keep them for several days," Levin said. They are in good spirits and are ready they made and broke records."
She said the entire trip took less than 48 hours.
"We are very excited about having made it this far," Branson said earlier in the day by radio. "It has been a pleasure of crossing and Per and I are very tired."
MaJ. Don Blair of Canadian Forces
'They might have to stay overnight, but they have survival suits and enough food and supplies to keep them for several days.'
Lori Levin ballonists'representative
in Edmonton, Alberta, said his forces dispatched a C-140 Hercules plane from Edmonton to track the balloon as it descended to land.
The balloonists traveled at 24,000 feet at a speed of about 150 mph and crossed the Alaska coastline before dawn, flight officials said.
They covered more than 6,000 miles, which easily surpassed their previous distance record of 3,075 miles in 1867 by crossing the Atlantic Ocean.
Branson, founder of Virgin Atlantic Airways and Virgin Records, and
Earlier today, the two set a hot-air balloon speed record of 198.8 mph, flight officials said. By simply getting off the ground, they set a record for flying the largest balloon ever built.
Per Lindstrand, an accomplished balloonist and pilot, originally hoped to land in Utah, Idaho or Wyoming.
But on Wednesday, project officials at the launch site said 30 percent of the balloon's propane fuel had been consumed and忒issued and the goal was shortened
When Branson and Lindstrand crossed the Atlantic Ocean in 1987, their flight nearly ended in disaster. Branson lept from the capsule as it crashed into the Irish Sea and he was rescued by a Navy helicopter. Lindstrand had jumped from the balloon earlier.
No one has ever crossed the Pacific Ocean in a hot-air balloon before. Three Americans and a Japanese man were transported from Japan to Covello, Calif., in 1981.
Branson and Lindstrom attempted a Pacific crossing last year, but canceled the flight after frost damaged the balloon's thin skin.
Fumio Niva, a Japanese balloonist, launched Friday from Yokohama, Japan, on a cross-Pacific flight. Rescuers him dead hours after he crashed in the ocean about 290 miles off Japan. The cause of the accident was not known.
Out of the woodwork
Vaughn Schultz, Maryville, Mo., junior, makes adjustments on a set for the play "The Velveteen Rabbit" at Crafton-Preyer Theatre in Murphy Hall. Schultz is the set designer for the play, which will open Feb. 9.
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