A prep course for the month-long World Cup soccer tournament, a worldwide pheno

l people with AIDS , for instance , die from antibiotic-resistant cryptococcus ,

 a ubiquitous fungus that causes meningitis . Similarly , a variety of bacterial

 infections are essentially incurable in cancer lymphoma patients : Jacqueline K

ennedy Onassis died partly as a result of such an opportunistic , untreatable ba

cterial infection . In the the 1920s and 1930s , before the discovery of antibio

tics , physicians treated such problems with antisera created by injecting sampl

es of the bacteria plaguing their patients into a horse . The horse 's immune sy

stem reacted by making antibodies , which doctors then withdrew from the horse '

s blood . After purifying the antibodies , physicians then injected the antisera

 into their human patients in order to give their immune systems a better chance

 to fight off the original bacterial threat . The biggest drawback was that huma

ns often developed acute allergic responses to horse proteins found in the antis

era . Now , though , so-called monoclonal antibodies are already in use for othe

r medical purposes , and the techniques for making pure antibodies are well-esta

blished , Scharff said . He said he and his colleagues have already made pure hu

man antisera against cryptococcus in test tubes that cured mice . `` I think we 

should look back at this , '' Scharff added . `` We have to . We have nothing el

se . '' ( Optional add end ) Dr . Mark Jacobson , of the University of Californi

a , San Francisco , however , said there are major questions about whether such 

a treatment which could cost $ 3,000 would be cost effective since it would be h

elpful only to a small number of people . About half of all AIDS patients recove

r from cryptococcus while on antibiotics , Jacobsen said . Scharff and his colle

ague Arturo Casadevall have met with several pharmaceutical and biotechnology co

mpanies , hoping to find interest in the antisera concept . So far , there is no

 interest because the market is small .

 WASHINGTON Four federal agencies are examining allegations that the Air Force w

as sold useless fighter cockpit displays by a California defense contractor whos

e board members at the time included William Perry , now secretary of defense , 

and two other top Pentagon officials .

 BALTIMORE Jumping into one of the liveliest debates in psychiatry , researchers

 at the Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions will investigate an unconventional th

eory that viruses or other infectious agents trigger schizophrenia . The project

 , made possible by a $ 7 million grant from the private Theodore and Vada Stanl

ey Foundation of Arlington , Va. , is a large effort considering its speculative

 focus . It will involve nine faculty members and nine research `` fellows '' to

 be recruited over three years . Most schizophrenia studies have been dominated 

by research psychiatrists and geneticists , but this one will be centered in the

 department of pediatric infectious diseases . `` I wouldn't say that 's unusual

 I 'd say it 's unheard of , '' said Dr. E. Fuller Torrey , a clinical and resea

rch psychiatrist in Washington , D.C. , who runs the Stanley Foundation 's Resea

rch Program on Serious Mental Illnesses . `` This is not traditional mainstream 

psychiatric research , '' said Torrey , adding that the theory was more popular 

60 years ago than it is today . The study is based on the theory that exposure t

o an infectious agent in the womb or in early childhood produces the brain abnor

malities responsible for schizophrenia later in life . One possibility is that a

n infection interacts with heredity to cause the disease . Schizophrenia , the m

ost common psychotic illness , with 1.5 million sufferers in the United States a

lone , usually does not manifest itself until the teens or early twenties . It o

ften causes people to hear strange voices , to withdraw socially and to sink int

o disturbed thinking and disjointed , jumbled speech . Medications can reduce sy

mptoms , but victims frequently have trouble holding jobs , maintaining friendsh

ips and functioning independently . Torrey , speaking at a news briefing Tuesday

 , said the idea that infections lie at the root of schizophrenia emerged early 

in the century when many people who caught influenza in the great flu epidemic o

f 1918 developed symptoms similar to those of schizophrenia and mania , another 

mental disorder . The notion fell out of favor as psychiatry became dominated by

 the idea that mental illnesses including schizophrenia are caused by poor paren

ting or other troubling experiences in life . In recent years , however , the fi

eld has come full circle dominated now by evidence that severe mental disorders 

are diseases of the brain . The Hopkins study will be the largest into a viral c

ause , Torrey said . In recent years , many researchers have focused on the role

 played by genetics . The disease often runs in families , and in some cases aff

licts a startling number of family members within the span of a few generations 

. But the thesis that schizophrenia is inherited is far from settled . While a t

hird of schizophrenics have one or more close relatives with the disease , the r

est have no such family history . If the disease were purely genetic , it would 

never afflict one identical twin and not the other since the siblings have virtu

ally the same genetic makeup . But studies of identical twins have shown that th

e disease is shared only 30 percent to 50 percent of the time in remaining cases

 , only one twin is afflicted . Evidence linking viruses or other infectious age

nts to schizophrenia is purely circumstantial , Torrey said . Some studies , for

 instance , have found high levels of antibodies to certain viruses in the spina

l fluid of schizophrenic patients . ( Optional add end ) Also , numerous studies

 have shown that people born in the late winter and early spring when common vir

al illnesses are at their peak have a greater chance of developing the disease t

han those born at other times of year . This has fueled speculation that the dis

ease can be traced to a viral illness in infancy or during a prenatal stage . It

 is possible that some people carry genes that made them vulnerable to an infect

ion or its complications , said Dr. Robert H. Yolken , chief of pediatric infect

ious diseases and the study 's director . `` Infections and genetics are not mut

ually exclusive , '' he said .

 SAN DIEGO The principal at a suburban high school who had blocked the showing o

f `` Zoot Suit '' a month ago relented and was prepared Tuesday night to show th

e movie on campus . There was only one problem : Not a single student showed up 

to see it . Terrie Pennock , principal of Santana High School in Santee , said s

he still believes the movie does not fit the school 's 11th-grade American liter

ature curriculum . But she said she had been willing to show the film to dispel 

any erroneous impression that her earlier action was racist or censorial . `` Ra

cism and censorship are the kinds of things I became an educator to fight , '' P

ennock said . Attendance at the 7 p.m. showing was to have been optional and ope

n only to the 125 students from five American literature classes who had their p

arents ' permission . School rules require such permission when any R-rated movi

e is shown . Reiko Obata , the teacher who had wanted to show `` Zoot Suit '' an

d had clashed with the principal and the chairwoman of the English Department , 

remains suspended with pay . Obata said her former students probably stayed away

 in a display of solidarity with her . But Pennock said the no-show was probably

 an indication that interest was never as high as Obata had suggested . Obata an

d Pennock remain at odds over Obata 's suspension . Pennock said Obata was not s

uspended because of the `` Zoot Suit '' clash but rather for other reasons that 

Pennock could not discuss because of a law requiring confidentiality in school p

ersonnel cases . Obata has a one-semester contract as a fill-in teacher . Two da

ys after Pennock denied permission for `` Zoot Suit , '' Obata was ordered to go

 home for the rest of the semester . Obata said she was told by an assistant sup

erintendent that she was being suspended for going over the head of the departme

nt chairwoman to seek permission to show the film . However , there are no docum

ents to verify that . In the controversy that followed Obata 's suspension , `` 

Zoot Suit '' star Edward James Olmos , the movie 's writer and director Luis Val

dez , and a variety of Latino activists , civil libertarians and educators issue

d statements supporting her . Valdez said he was `` appalled by the bigotry and 

censorship '' at the school . Pennock said the original decision was made becaus

e `` Zoot Suit '' was not suitable for use in the manner that Obata had wanted :

 to prepare students for `` The House on Mango Street , '' a short-story collect

ion by Sandra Cisneros . A better introduction for the Cisnernos ' book , Pennoc

k said , is the movie that has since been used by the substitute hired to take O

bata 's place , `` Stand By Me , '' also starring Olmos . ( Optional add end ) B

oth `` Stand By Me '' and `` The House on Mango Street '' deal with Latino stude

nts struggling successfully against adversity , Pennock said , while `` Zoot Sui

t '' deals with a murder trial , racial clashes and institutional racism . ``` T

here is nothing wrong with ` Zoot Suit , ' ' ' Pennock said , `` but it is not a

 lead-in for ` Mango Street. ' ' ' Valdez was unavailable for comment Tuesday . 

Phil Esparza , associate producer of `` Zoot Suit '' and Valdez 's artistic coll

aborator for 25 years , said that it was unfortunate that it took a public contr

oversy `` to get this minimal action '' by the principal .

 In ZOOTSUIT ( Perry , Times ) sub for 13th and 14th grafs ( `` Stand and Delive

r '' sted `` Stand By Me '' ) xxx Cisneros : A better introduction for the Cisne

rnos ' book , Pennock said , is the movie that has since been used by the substi

tute hired to take Obata 's place , `` Stand and Deliver , '' also starring Olmo

s . ( Optional add end ) Both `` Stand and Deliver '' and `` The House on Mango 

Street '' deal with Latino students struggling successfully against adversity , 

Pennock said , while `` Zoot Suit '' deals with a murder trial , racial clashes 

and institutional racism . PICK UP 15th graf : `` There xxx :

 Republican Ron Lewis Tuesday broke a 129-year Democratic hold on a central Kent

ucky congressional district , revealing for the second time in three weeks the d

angers facing Democrats running in conservative southern and border states and t

he liabilities of President Clinton in these electorates . With 100 percent of t

he vote counted , Lewis , a fundamentalist Christian minister and bookstore owne

r , had 55 percent to Democrat Joe Prather 's 45 percent . Until Lewis , whose c

ampaign was aided by $ 200,000 from national GOP committees , began his assault 

on Prather and Clinton , the Democrat had been the strong favorite to win the se

at that had been held for 41 years by Rep. William H. Natcher , who died March 2

9 . Democrats now hold a 256 to 178 advantage over the Republicans in the House 

. There is one independent . `` Everywhere I went through the district there wer

e people upset , '' Lewis declared . `` They actually were mad. .. . They felt l

ike they needed to do something and say something that would change lives . '' R

ep . Bill Paxon , N.Y. , chairman of the National Republican Comgressional Commi

ttee , declared that the results are `` a big defeat for the president and the D

emocrats in Congress , and a warning message to Democrats that 1994 is going to 

be a Republican year . '' A mobilization effort by the Christian right also help

ed Lewis , and its success also augurs badly for Democrats . Twenty-one Democrat

s retired this year , and 11 of them represent southern or border state district

s where the Christian right is strong . Rep. Vic Fazio , D-Calif. , chairman of 

the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee , sought to play down the signif

icance of the Lewis victory . `` The outcome was not about message , it was abou

t tactics , '' Fazio said , referring to Prather 's decision to run a low key ca

mpaign and the low turnout in which strong Christian mobilization and the intens

e GOP media effort paid off . In his commercials , Lewis charged that Democratic

 nominee Prather was cut from the same mold as Clinton . His TV commercials stat

ed repeatedly that , `` Kentucky doesn't need Joe Prather . Send a message to Bi

ll Clinton . Send Ron Lewis to Congress . Ron Lewis , he 's one of us . '' As te

levision screens showed pictures of Clinton and Prather melding into each other 

, the announcer declared : `` In Frankfort ( Kentucky 's capital ) , Joe Prather

 votes to increase taxes and fees over 40 times. . . . Bill Clinton passes the l

argest tax increase in history. . . . If you like Bill Clinton , you 'll love Jo

e Prather . Kentucky doesn't need another professional politician . '' The Lewis

 victory comes on the heels of the victory of Republican Frank Lucas in a once r

ock-solid Democratic district in Oklahoma . Lucas succeeds Rep. Glenn English ( 

D ) , who resigned . While the 2nd Congressional District in Kentucky has been r

epresented by Democrats for more than a century , it clearly has moved toward th

e GOP in its presidential voting . In 1992 , President George Bush outpolled Cli

nton there by 45 to 41 percent , and in 1988 , Bush crushed Democratic president

ial nominee Michael S. Dukakis . The Lewis-Prather special election was the only

 Republican-Democratic contest Tuesday , although the policies of the Clinton ad

ministration were at issue in a number of primaries in Kentucky , Arkansas and I

daho . In the 1st District of Kentucky just to the west of the 2nd District , fr

eshman Rep. Tom Barlow crushed a challenge by fellow Democrat and state Sen. Hen

ry Lackey . Barlow got 60 percent and Lackey 33 percent . In the nearby 3rd Dist

rict , former state representative Mike Ward won a 10-way race for the Democrati

c nomination to succeed Rep. Romano L. Mazzoli ( D ) , who is retiring after 24 

years . Former state representative Susan B . Stokes , who ran for the seat and 

lost in 1992 , defeated two others for the GOP nomination . In Idaho , Democrati

c Attorney General Larry EchoHawk is favored to win his party 's nomination in h

is drive to become the nation 's first American Indian governor . Gov. Cecil D. 

Andrus ( D ) is retiring after four terms . Republican primary voters were expec

ted to pick Phil Batt , a former state senator and lieutenant governor , to oppo

se EchoHawk . Arkansas Gov. Jim Guy Tucker ( D ) , who succeeded Clinton after t

he 1992 presidential election , is unopposed in the Democratic gubernatorial pri

mary . Sheffield Nelson , one of Clinton 's harshest critics , was trailing stat

e Sen. Steve Luelf for the GOP nomination In a battle for the Democratic nominat

ion in Arkansas ' 4th Congressional District , James McDougal , whose Whitewater

 real estate development and savings and loan firm have been the subject of a sp

ecial counsel 's investigation , trailed state Sen. Jay Bradford and state Rep. 

John Parkerson . They were competing for the chance to take on freshman Rep. Jay

 Dickey ( R ) , who has no primary opposition .

 WASHINGTON Defense attorneys for Rep. Dan Rostenkowski , D-Ill. , are consideri

ng an agreement with federal prosecutors in which the powerful House Ways and Me

ans chairman would plead guilty to a felony and serve some time in jail , if the

 government reduces the number and scope of the charges against him , sources sa

id Tuesday . The options being discussed also include Rostenkowski 's resignatio

n from Congress , sources said Tuesday . Although defense attorneys have indicat

ed that there may be room for compromise , a number of factors have blocked a de

al , particularly the question of jail time , which at first Rostenkowski was sa

id to oppose adamantly . Rostenkowski 's attorneys have been pressing for days t

o narrow the number of charges against him . Prosecutors have indicated that the

y would compromise in this area , but they have remained firm that any plea must

 include a felony charge and not just misdemeanors . One source said that any gu

ilty plea `` would have to incorporate certain base line charges . '' Much of th

e haggling Tuesday centered on jail time , said one source knowledgeable about t

he deliberations . Prosecutors want jail time as part of any deal and are willin

g to be flexible only on the length of the stay in prison . Rostenkowski 's atto

rneys , who earlier had been firm that Rostenkowski avoid prison , now are showi

ng some flexibility on the issue , sources said . The negotiations continued Tue

sday at a heated pitch with federal prosecutors and defense attorneys still unab

le to finalize an agreement . While progress has been made , the discussions cou

ld simply fall apart , with prosecutors seeking an indictment this week , source

s said . Rostenkowski also reportedly wants to serve out the remainder of his te

rm , which may not be possible if there is a guilty plea . The House would have 

to decide whether to expel Rostenkowski . Defense attorneys were publicly silent

 on the matter Tuesday , as were prosecutors who had set this week as the point 

to seek an indictment of Rostenkowski . Meanwhile , some House Republicans said 

they would call for hearings if the Ways and Means Committee chairman received w

hat they considered too lenient a deal . However , politicians on Capitol Hill w

ere offering their opinions in increasing numbers , including House Minority Whi

p Newt Gingrich , R-Ga . `` Any plea bargain that was below some minimum standar

d would automatically '' lead to Republican calls for Judiciary Committee hearin

gs , wire reports quoted Gingrich as saying . Federal prosecutors have outlined 

a broad case of conspiracy to defraud the government against Rostenkowski , incl

uding charges that the veteran lawmaker paid employees for work not done , and t

hat he abused official accounts for leased cars , office supplies and office spa

ce . He has publicly denied all the charges .

 JACMEL , Haiti Five of them sit at the pier , ships of all measure , varying fr

om 70 feet to seven times that size . Some fly the Haitian flag , one the Britis

h ensign , and some fly no flags at all . They all have one thing in common : Th

ey defy the world .

 Anyone trying to sell you a bond nowadays will tell you that the recent jump in

 long-term interest rates is a false alarm , at least as far as inflation is con

cerned . There is no inflation to speak of , the bond bulls insist . Unless , of

 course , you 're a coffee drinker . The price of a pound of coffee on futures m

arkets has rocketed from 72 cents at the start of the year to $ 1.33 now an 85 p

ercent blip , and that the world economy isn't strong enough to support higher r

aw materials prices , let alone higher prices for finished goods . Some contend 

commodities ' recent gains are the work of professional traders , not the result

 of `` real '' demand . There may be some truth to that . Caroline Van , analyst

 at hedge-fund tracker International Advisory Group in Nashville , Tenn. , says 

her firm is increasingly hearing from big investors who want to place money with

 hedge funds that trade in commodities . `` They 're interested in commodities a

s a ( new ) asset class , '' Van says . In Santa Monica , Calif. , well-known he

dge fund manager Mark Strome believes metals such as copper , nickel and aluminu

m are poised for dramatic price rises . `` I think this is the opportunity '' in

 financial markets in '94 , he says . But for metals prices to surge , Strome co

ncedes , real demand from busier factories churning out more goods will have to 

be there worldwide . Robert Genetski , who runs a Chicago-based economic advisor

y firm bearing his name , predicts that the No. 1 surprise this year will be a s

tronger U.S. economy than Wall Street now foresees . The Federal Reserve Board ,

 Genetski argues , allowed money to be so loose for so long ( 1991 to 1993 ) tha

t the seeds of robust future business and consumer spending are already sown . W

hile the conventional wisdom is that the Fed 's credit-tightening moves this yea

r will slow the economy , Genetski points to the surge in bank loan demand from 

business borrowers in recent months as evidence that the economic expansion is g

aining steam , not losing it . Commercial and industrial loans outstanding , whi

ch plunged from 1991 through '93 , have jumped to $ 605 billion now from $ 585 b

illion at Jan. 1 , even as rates have increased . Higher demand for goods and se

rvices not just in America , but also now in recovering Europe is what 's behind

 the upward pressure on prices of many once-glutted commodities , Genetski says 

. As those higher prices stick , and work their way into the cost of products at

 retail ( like coffee ) , he believes the 2 percent to 3 percent inflation of re

cent years will turn into 5 percent inflation in 1995 and 6 percent in 1996 . Wh

at about global competition and rising productivity ? Those influences ought to 

suppress price increases , says investment strategist Katherine Hensel at Lehman

 Bros. in New York . Plus , she notes that raw materials generally account for o

nly one-third of manufacturing costs ; labor is two-thirds , and there 's certai

nly no shortage of labor around the world , she adds . Still , Genetski and othe

r economy-bulls say the strength in commodities this year is the inflation bell 

tolling softly so far , but unmistakable .

 LOS ANGELES Sitting in the parking lot of a McDonald 's in the Los Angeles subu

rb of Norwalk on Easter Sunday , 1987 , 17-year-old James V. Beltran thought he 

held happiness in his hands . He had just bought a Coke and picked up an instant

 game ticket worth at least $ 1 million in a restaurant chain promotional contes