Certain traditional products from India on sale at area ethnic groceries, fragrance and import shops may contain lead, the Kansas City Health Department warns.</p><p>The Food and Drug Administration recalled Raja Foods LLC's SWAD brand products, including Abil, Gulal, Kanku, Kum Kum, Lagan Samagri Kit and Pooja Samagri Kit. Raja recalled its SWAD brand sindoor powder. For more information, call 816-513-6048.</p><p><strong><span class="subhead">HICKMAN MILLS | School district shows heart</span></strong></p><p>Grennan Sims, nutrition-education coordinator for the Hickman Mills School District, recently presented the American Heart Association $1,150. The money was collected during the district's “Wear Red” campaign Feb.1.</p><p>Many staff members wore red to raise awareness of heart disease, especially in women.

Enzyme That Protects Against Intestinal Bacterial Toxin Identified

ScienceDaily (Feb. 19, 2008) — A persistent mystery in human medicine is how the lining of the small intestine, through which nutrients are absorbed, also prevents intestinal bacteria and their toxins from entering the bloodstream and causing serious infections. A team of researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) has found that a specific intestinal enzyme may be able to block the action of the bacterial toxin involved in the overwhelming infection known as sepsis. The findings, which will appear in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, may also explain why patients recovering from serious injury are less likely to develop infections if they receive gastrointestinal nutrition.

Panthers return to ice, reflect as Zednik upgraded to good condition

CORAL SPRINGS, Fla. -- With minds still occupied by teammate Richard Zednik's gruesome neck injury, the Florida Panthers returned to practice Tuesday morning seeking to regain a needed sense of normalcy.

"It's a sign of how good medicine can be and how good medical people can be," Panthers coach Jacques Martin said Tuesday as the team skated for the first time since the accident, which became the NHL's dominant topic.

What's up in The Albemarle 02/23

Chowan GOP to meet. The Chowan County Republican Party will elect delegates to the county convention during precinct meetings at the 1767 Chowan County Courthouse on today at 9:30 a.m. For more information, call 482-2404 or e-mail rsteinburg@aol.com

Home and gardening program. Little River Antiques Mall will host a home and gardening program today at 11 a.m.

North State Voices: Are potato chips part of a healthy diet?

I can't say I was eager to reform my eating habits. I don't even know how vegans survive — no butter, no cheese, no eggs? Impossible.

I thought maybe I could be a vegetarian. But I can tell you in one word why I resist: bacon. Also, pot roast, coq au vin and BBQ ribs. But I did get the message. I started relying less on meat and more on vegetables.

Recently, Michael Pollan has further enlightened me. His "Omnivore's Dilemma" (2006) describes the "natural history" of four meals. It's his contention that we are hurting ourselves and the environment by eating industrial food. Cattle, he argues, are not meant to eat grain, and thus are unhealthy and require hormones .

EPA Loses Federal Court Battle Over Mercury

The Environmental Protection agency must require power plants, the leading source of mercury pollution in the U.S, to better control their emissions of the dangerous toxin, a federal court ruled today. The D.C. Court of Appeals ruled that EPA violated the Clean Air Act when it removed oil and coal fired power plants from the list of sources that are subject to the Act's most stringent air pollution controls. The agency must now develop tougher standards to control mercury and other toxic pollutants from new and existing power plants.

"Today's decision is a huge victory as it requires EPA to get back to the business of protecting people's health rather than higher profits for electric utilities," said John Suttles, attorney with the Southern Environmental Law Center. "As a result of this ruling, EPA will have to go back to the drawing board and follow the Clean Air Act and the advice of the nation's leading health experts to adequately protect the public from this harmful neurotoxin." SELC represents the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Public Health Association, the American Nurses Association and Physicians for Social Responsibility in the legal challenge.