Cosmetics and personal care products are riddled with microplastics

DutchNews, April 7, 2022 

Photo: Depositphotos.com

Personal care and cosmetic products are riddled with plastic ingredients, with nine in 10 popular brands using them, according to research by the Netherlands’ based Plastic Soup Foundation. 

The EU is poised to take steps to control the unnecessary use of microplastics but most will be exempt, particularly those used by the cosmetics industry, the organisation says in a new report. 

The campaign group looked at the ingredients in 7,704 cosmetic and personal care items from the 10 most popular European brands. 

Of them, 87% contained microplastics, defined as ‘all possible synthetic polymers, whether added in solid, liquid, semi-liquid or water-soluble form, as well as nanoplastics and biodegradable plastics’. 

The foundation said it approached L’Oreal, Beiersdorf, Procter & Gamble and Unilever to find out about their current and future plastic policies.

‘All four have indicated that they want to do more against plastic pollution, but they focus only on microplastics in solid form. They follow the limited definition of microplastics as proposed by the European Chemicals Agency (ECHA). 

The ECHA says every minute, over seven kilos of microplastics from cosmetics and personal care products end up in the European environment, but this would be 25 times higher using the wider Plastic Soup definition, the campaign group said. 

‘We want to urge the cosmetics industry to look beyond the proposed definition by ECHA, to ensure the environmental and human health safety of the products they bring on the market,’ the campaign group said. 

‘We want to encourage consumers to demand transparency from brands and accountability for the ingredients these brands put into our personal care and cosmetic products.’ 

Two weeks ago, researchers at Amsterdam’s VU university reported finding microplastics in human blood for the first time.

Blood samples to be tested to track immunity to coronavirus

DutchNews, March 19, 2020 

Photo: Depositphotos.com

Blood banks in the Netherlands are to test samples for coronavirus in order to track the level of immunity in the population. 

Blood bank operator Sanquin said the tests would be carried out regularly on incoming blood and plasma donations to monitor the presence of antibodies, which indicate that a person has developed resistance to the virus. 

There are around 331,000 blood and plasma donors in the Netherlands, of whom 10,000 give blood weekly. Plasma donors are particularly interesting because they donate on average five times a year, which allows researchers to track the spread of immunity. 

Prime minister Mark Rutte said on Monday night that building up ‘herd immunity’ was one way of protecting people from the virus unitl a vaccine can be developed. 

His statement was criticised in some quarters for suggesting that the government was deliberately allowing people to be exposed to Covid-19. The disease control agency RIVM has since clarified that herd immunity is not ‘an aim in itself’. 

Microbiolologist Hans Zaaijer at Sanquin said around 99% of donors had given permission for their blood samples to be tested. The data will be stored anonymously. 

He told AD: ‘Around 2000 blood donors come to the blood bank every day. That’s a good representative sample of people aged between 18 and 79 across the country. 

‘We will measure the first samples this week and if all goes well we will measure the entire stock two weeks from now. We’ll begin with the 10,000 people in the Netherlands who donate blood in one week.’

China asks recovered patients to donate plasma for virus treatment

Yahoo – AFP, February 17, 2020

Although further testing is required, scientists believe plasma donated by patients who
have recovered from the coronavirus could help those seriously ill from it (AFP
Photo/Jung Yeon-je)

Beijing (AFP) - Chinese health officials Monday urged patients who have recovered from the coronavirus to donate blood so that plasma can be extracted to treat others who are critically ill.

Drugmakers are racing to develop a vaccine and treatment for the epidemic, which has killed 1,770 people and infected over 70,500 people across China.

Plasma from patients who have recovered from a spell of pneumonia triggered by COVID-19 contains antibodies that can help reduce the virus load in critically ill patients, an official from China's National Health Commission told a press briefing Monday.

"I would like to make a call to all cured patients to donate their plasma so that they can bring hope to critically ill patients," said Guo Yanhong, who heads the NHC's medical administration department.

Eleven patients at a hospital in Wuhan -- the epicentre of the disease -- received plasma infusions last week, said Sun Yanrong, of the Biological Center at the Ministry of Science and Technology.

"One patient (among them) has already been discharged, one is able to get off the bed and walk and the others are all recovering," she said.

The call comes days after China's state-owned medical products maker reported successful results from its trial at Wuhan First People's Hospital.

China National Biotec Group Co. said in a post on its official WeChat account that severely ill patients receiving plasma infusions "improved within 24 hours".

The World Health Organization said exploring the use of plasma as a treatment for the novel coronavirus was "important", but cautioned it needed to be done "with safety".

"It is a very important area of discovery," head of WHO's emergencies programme Michael Ryan told reporters in Geneva, pointing out that plasma had proven effective in saving lives when combatting a range of different diseases.

"It is a very valid way to explore therapeutics, especially when we don't have vaccines and we don't have specific anti-virals," he said.

His colleague Sylvie Briand, who heads WHO's Global Infectious Hazard Preparedness division, meanwhile cautioned that plasma-based treatments could be difficult to scale up to reach large numbers of patients, and stressed the need to carefully follow safety protocols.

"With blood products you can also transmit other diseases, so the protocol ... is very important," she told reporters.

Sun stressed that "clinical studies have shown that infusing plasma (from recovered patients) is safe and effective."

Blood donors will undergo a test to ensure that they are not carrying the virus, said Wang Guiqiang, chief physician at Peking University First Hospital.

"Only plasma is taken, not all the blood," he said.

"Other components of the blood including red blood cells and platelets will be infused back into the donors."

Cancer blood test finds eight kinds of tumors: study

Yahoo – AFP, January 18, 2018

In 83 percent of cases, the blood test was even able to narrow down where the
cancer was anatomically located (AFP Photo/Ted ALJIBE)

Miami (AFP) - A new blood test for cancer has shown promise toward detecting eight different kinds of tumors before they have spread elsewhere in the body, offering hope of early detection, researchers said Thursday.

Further study is needed before the test -- called CancerSEEK -- can be made widely available for its projected cost of about $500, said the report in the journal Science.

The study, led by researchers at Johns Hopkins University, involved 1,005 patients whose cancer -- already pre-diagnosed based on their symptoms -- was detected with an accuracy rate of about 70 percent overall.

Cancers were detected in the ovaries, liver, stomach, pancreas, esophagus, colorectal, lung and breast.

For five of these cancer types -- ovary, liver, stomach, pancreas and esophagus -- there are no screening tests available for people of average risk.

The test was able to detect these five with a sensitivity range of 69 to 98 percent.

In 83 percent of cases, the test was even able to narrow down where the cancer was anatomically located.

The test is noninvasive and based on combined analysis of DNA mutations in 16 cancer genes as well as the levels of 10 circulating protein biomarkers.

"The ultimate goal of CancerSEEK is to detect cancer even earlier -- before the disease is symptomatic," said the report.

Outside experts said more research is needed to uncover the true accuracy of the test, and whether it would be able to detect cancers before they cause symptoms.

"This looks promising but with several caveats and a significant amount of further research is needed before we can even contemplate how this might play out in screening settings," said Mangesh Thorat, deputy director of the Barts Clinical Trials Unit at Queen Mary University of London.

"The sensitivity of the test in stage I cancer is quite low, about 40 percent, and even with stage I and II combined it appears to be around 60 percent. So the test will still miss a large proportion of cancers at the stage where we want to diagnose them."

Nicholas Turner, professor of molecular oncology at The Institute of Cancer Research, London, pointed out that the test's one percent false positive rate may sound low but "could be quite a concern for population screening. There could be a lot of people who are told they have cancer, who may not have it."

However, Turner described the paper as "a step along the way to a possible blood test to screen for cancer, and the data presented is convincing from a technical perspective on the blood test."

Many other efforts are under way to develop blood tests for cancer.

"I do not think that this new test has really moved the field of early detection very far forward," said Paul Pharoah, professor of cancer epidemiology at the University of Cambridge.

"It remains a promising, but yet to be proven technology."

The CancerSEEK blood test is noninvasive and based on combined analysis of DNA mutations in 16 cancer genes as well as the levels of 10 circulating protein biomarkers pic.twitter.com/HF5Wioe2q6

— AFP news agency (@AFP) February 4, 2018

Dordrecht chemical scare: Dupont knew about C8 health risks, AD

DutchNews, May 17, 2017

C8 was used to make teflon. Photo: Depositphotos.com

Chemical company Dupont was aware of the dangers presented by chemical compound C8 in the 1980s but continued to produce it in Dordrecht until 2012, the AD said on Wednesday. 

The former Dupont plant – now Chemours – is at the centre of a health scare after the Dutch public health institute said last week that some people living close to factory have too much of the toxic chemical in their blood. 

The AD says documents by Dupont researchers dating from 1982 recommend production be phased out because locals are being exposed to a potential carcinogenic substance. Dupont finally stopped production of C8, used to make non-stick Teflon, in 2012 after further research into the health impact. 

MPs are due to debate the health situation around the plant later on Wednesday. 

The company told the AD it had always acted responsibly in the light of the information available at the time.

Dutch researchers develop blood spatter time technique

DutchNews, January 12, 2016

Researchers at Erasmus University’s teaching hospital have discovered a method to determine when a drop of blood was left at a crime scene to within eight hours, broadcaster Nos says on Tuesday.

‘A drop of blood can tell us more about the time a crime was committed,’ Manfred Kayser, head of the genetic identification department, said. ‘This can help investigations into alibis, for example.’ 

The researchers use biomarkers such as hormones to establish when blood was left behind. The level of these biomarkers in blood changes over a 24-hour period, allowing their age to be more closely determined. 

The researchers are now trying to identify other time-based biomarkers so they can narrow the time frame down further, Nos says. ‘We know there are a lot of them. We just have to find them,’ Kayser said. 

More on the project

Dutch researchers develop cancer test on single drop of blood

DutchNews, October 29, 2015

Researchers under the leadership of the VU University teaching hospital in Amsterdam have developed a technique to test for cancer using a single drop of blood. 

The technology has been tested on six types of cancer and has proved to be ‘very useful’ in early diagnosis, the hospital said in a statement on Thursday. 

The technique successfully identified cancer in 96% of cases, the researchers found. The research has been published in the latest edition of academic journal Cancer Cell. 

The test is still in the experimental phase, but research director Tom Würdinger said he expects it to be available for patients within five years.

‘It is important to detect and treat cancer as soon as possible,’ he said. ‘This new technique… can play a major role in this and hopefully save lives.’

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Liberia's 'Planet of the Apes' chimps facing starvation

Yahoo – AFP,  Zoom Dosso, 12 July 2015

Chimpanzees used by The New York Blood Centre for testing and released on 

Monkey Island in Liberia face starvation as the island has no fresh water or food

and the US body has withdrawn funding for their care (AFP Photo/Zoom Dosso)

Monkey Island (Liberia) (AFP) - A speedboat laden with fruit approaches and four chimpanzees come bounding over from the dense forest, screeching excitedly as volunteers throw them pineapple and mango chunks.

The apes are part of a colony of former research lab captives enjoying retirement uncaged on an atoll deep in the jungle of southern Liberia, known as Monkey Island.

The only significant inhabitants of the six islets, the chimps have been living an idyllic existence, fed by human volunteers on their very own 'Planet of the Apes' -- a nickname given to the archipelago by local media.

Chimpanzees are fed on Monkey Island, a 

celebrated colony of former research lab

 captives on an atoll deep in the jungle of

 southern Liberia, n June 29, 2015 (AFP

Photo/Zoom Dosso)

But the colony of 66 chimps has been at the centre of an international storm since the New York-based blood bank funding it announced in March it was stopping the cash.

The New York Blood Center (NYBC), which carried out about 30 years of biomedical research on the animals, had publicly committed to their lifelong care after they were retired in 2005.

The Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) is supporting the colony through emergency fundraising as the Liberian government and the blood bank lock horns over who should be responsible for their care.

"NYBC may believe that people will forget and that this will go away, but I can assure you that it won't," HSUS vice-president Kathleen Conlee told AFP in an email from Washington DC.

"They are absolutely responsible for the long-term care of these chimpanzees."

Conlee described the chimps' care costs -- estimated at $30,000 (27,000 euros) a month -- as "a mere drop in the bucket for this organisation that has hundreds of millions in revenue annually".

'Moral obligation'

The Liberia Biomedical Research Institute (LBRI) entered into an agreement with the NYBC in 1974 to carry out research in a lab about 65 kilometres (40 miles) southeast of Monrovia, capturing or buying the chimpanzees.

The research project had gained a world class reputation in the field of viral infections, particularly hepatitis, by the time it ended and the NYBC appeared to make a commitment to the chimps in retirement as a reward for their contribution.

NYBC director Alfred Prince wrote in the American Society of Primatologists Bulletin in 2005 that Monkey Island was to become "a dedicated full-time sanctuary".

The New York Blood Centre, which carried out 30 years of biomedical research 

on this colony of 66 chimpanzees in Liberia, has said it is to stop funding the feeding

and care of the animals - which now face starvation (AFP Photo/Zoom Dosso)

"NYBC recognises its responsibility to provide an endowment to fund the sanctuary for the lifetime care of the chimpanzees," he wrote.

The chimps are entirely reliant on humans for their survival, as there is no year-round fresh water supply or enough food on their islets.

LBRI head Fatorma Bolay said initial emergency funding from the HSUS, pooled with cash from other sources, had probably saved the animals from dehydration and starvation.

World-renowned chimpanzee expert Jane Goodall sent an open letter to the NYBC in May urging the organisation to consider its "moral obligation" to continue funding the chimps' care.

"I find it completely shocking and unacceptable that NYBC would abandon these chimpanzees and discontinue support for even their basic needs," she wrote.

AFP emailed and telephoned the NYBC but the centre did not respond to requests for comment.

'No different from humans'

John Abayomi Zeonyuway, a volunteer at the institute, showed AFP the animals' care routine on a recent visit to Monkey Island, a 25-minute speedboat ride up the John River from Roberts International Airport.

As the boat approached the first of the islets, a nine square-kilometre patch of jungle known as Island Five, a welcoming party of four chimps began screeching and jumping up and down excitedly.

World-renowned chimpanzee expert Jane Goodall sent an open letter to the New York

 Blood Centre in May urging the organisation to consider its "moral obligation" to

continue funding the chimps' care (AFP Photo/Zoom Dosso)

"This is their way of saying that the food is here," Zeonyuway explained as he threw pawpaws, bananas and other fruit for the animals.

Zeonyuway visits the colony every second day, and each time he does a mental roll call to ensure all are present and in good health.

"I can't see Samanta. Bullet is here -- he's already eating," he called out to his crew as the rest of the residents came to join the feast.

The boat then proceeded to Island Four, 15 minutes away, where the clan of 10 apes included four unplanned babies, the result of failed vasectomies, according to the HSUS.

Birth control efforts have since been stepped up so that the population doesn't grow further.

At all six of the islands the routine was the same: an excited greeting and a feast for the animals.

"The chimps are part of me. I am glued to them because I see them every other day," Zeonyuway told AFP.

"They are no different from humans. They fight and they make peace. They need help, they need attention. We cannot afford to lose these animals to hunger and sickness."

Taiwan develops new test to detect Alzheimer's disease

Want China Times, CNA 2015-04-04

NTNU associate professor Chieh Jen-jie, a member of the research
team, April 2 (Photo/CNA)

Taiwanese scientists have developed a new blood test that can detect Alzheimer's disease early, according to National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) and National Taiwan University Hospital (NTUH).

The test, based on immunomagnetic reduction, can detect the early signs of Alzheimer's and even mild cognitive impairment, with an 85% accuracy. The test, which can be completed in five hours, is faster and safer than spinal fluid tests, according to the scientists.

The results were achieved by a research team led by Horng Herng-er, a professor at the Institute of Electro-optical Science and Technology at NTNU, in collaboration with another team led by NTUH neurologist Chiu Ming-chang.

Chiu said early diagnosis of Alzheimer's is very important for its treatment.

Compared with spinal fluid tests, which are invasive, blood tests are more likely to be accepted by patients and are also more convenient, he said.

Related Articles:

Blood test breakthrough in search for Alzheimer's cure

Alzheimer's study reveals new genes implicated in disease

Kryon Q&A

Question: Dearest Kryon: I've read the question and answer on people with diseases of the mind - for example, Alzheimers and dementia. But I have more questions. You say that people have chosen this path and that the lessons are for us. As I work with these people, I'm wondering if there is any stage where there could be a reversal of the condition, and if so, with what methods? The people in the hostel are so drugged up, and there's a mind-set with the authorities that no "alternate" therapies work - although they're using colored lights. (Sadly, the diversional therapist told me she doesn't know what color therapy is.)

From a spiritual point of view, what is the best way to work with these people - talk to them as though they were normal, or go along with their imaginings? I've been told that they need to be kept quiet, especially toward evening. However, I've found that with one woman who mostly paces saying very little, the more childlike I am (dancing and singing makes her happy), the more she talks. I could go on and on - could you please enlighten me further?

Answer: I will answer the second part first. Love those who are in this condition. Find out what makes them smile... and then make them smile. The best you can do in a facilitation of this condition is to somehow create joy. Even in their confusion they can laugh at situations and be creative. They'll also remember you better as the one who creates this emotion. Each is very different, but in general, try to find their "happy" button and push it as often as you can. They will remember that.

Right now you're perched upon some important discoveries that will be able to reverse these conditions to a large degree. But just as the paraplegic who regains their nerve connections must than relearn how to walk, suffering much pain, there will be this attribute with a regeneration of the mind. Even if new cells are created, they won't necessarily have the old memories, but they can be trained to be healthy and be ready for new memories.

So someday these will have the ability to halt the progress of the degeneration of cells that are being taken, and instead grow new pathways around them. Some will be able to "reconnect" to certain kinds of memories (like recognition) but will have to relearn what the association of recognition actually means. So history and events might have to be studied and relearned... sometimes even things like reading, also. The pain will be that the individual will regain mental health and will realize exactly what has happened.

Your stem-cell research is very important, and you're reaching a point where you'll be able to use birth cells that aren't embryonic, but every bit as potent for research... thereby sidestepping all moral issues. Look for this in the next few years. 

US to lift lifetime ban on blood donations from gay men

Yahoo – AFP, 23 Dec 2014

A medical volunteer (L) checks a blood bag after a rally on the observation 

of National Voluntary Blood Donation Day in Hyderabad on October 1, 2013 

(AFP Photo/Noah Seelam)

Washington (AFP) - The US Food and Drug Administration said Tuesday it will move to ease a lifetime ban on blood donations from homosexual men, allowing them to give after a year of abstaining from sexual activity.

The FDA said it made the decision after reviewing scientific evidence in recent years regarding its blood donor policy for homosexual males.

"The agency will take the necessary steps to recommend a change to the blood donor deferral period for men who have sex with men from indefinite deferral to one year since the last sexual contact," said a statement from FDA Director Margaret Hamburg.

The agency said it will recommend the policy change in 2015 and that it will be subject to public feedback before it is finalized.

A growing number of medical and legal experts have argued that the existing restrictions are outdated, and that sophisticated tests for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) exist that can make blood donation by gay men a much safer practice.

Opponents of the ban say it stigmatizes homosexuals and dates to a time when the AIDS epidemic was spreading quickly in the gay community, sparking widespread fear about the deadly infection, which was then poorly understood.

Earlier this month, a panel of experts convened by US health regulators failed to recommend whether a lifetime ban should be lifted on gay men donating blood, following two days of heated deliberations.

Related Articles:

The question should never be, 'Are you gay?'

China court raps clinic over 'gay conversion' therapy

US mulls lifting ban on gay blood donations

Yahoo – AFP, Jean-Louis Santini, 2 Dec 2014

A US ban on blood donations by gays could be eased after 31 years, depending

 on the decision of a Food and Drug Administration advisory committee (AFP

Photo/Marion Berard)

Washington (AFP) - A US ban on blood donations by gays could be eased after 31 years, depending on the decision of a Food and Drug Administration advisory committee that began two days of meetings Tuesday.

Current US law bars any man who has had sex with a man -- even once since 1977 -- from donating blood.

The restrictions were established in 1983 when the AIDS epidemic was spreading quickly in the gay community, sparking widespread fear about the deadly infection, which was then poorly understood.

A giant red ribbon is affixed on the front of

 the White House on World Aids Day, on

 December 1, 2014 in Washington, DC (AFP

Photo/Mandel Ngan)

But now, a growing number of medical and legal experts say that the restrictions are outdated, and that sophisticated tests for human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) exist which can make blood donation by gay men a much safer practice.

When the 17-member committee makes its recommendation Wednesday -- advice the FDA does not have to follow but typically does -- the ban could be lifted or relaxed, or not changed at all.

An advisory committee to the Department of Health and Human Services recently recommended replacing the ban with a 12-month deferral period for men who have had sex with men in that time.

In that case, sexually active gay men would still be prohibited from donating blood, but those who have not engaged in sex with other men in the past year would be allowed to donate.

Jason Cianciotta, director of public policy at Gay Men's Health Crisis, said such steps would not eliminate the stigma or discrimination associated with the ban on gays.

"While the proposed change from a lifetime ban to a 12-month deferral is a step forward, it does not go far enough," he said during the public comment portion of the FDA advisory meeting near the US capital on Tuesday.

"Any deferral based on a sexual orientation label -- MSM (men who have sex with men), gay or bisexual -- still perpetuates the harmful and unscientific notion that HIV is transmitted because of who you are rather than what you do."

He also described a policy requiring 12 months of abstinence as a "de facto lifetime ban" for most gay and bisexual men.

"We advocate for a system that screens all donors, gay or straight, for high-risk practices that could lead to HIV infection," he said.

Critics cite risks

However, critics called on the panel to reject any move that could increase the risk of HIV in the blood supply.

"I urge you to oppose any change," said Peter Sprigg, senior fellow for policy studies at the Family Research Council, a conservative group.

"Unless it can be scientifically proven that a revised policy would result in no increase in risk to the blood supply. Even a small increase in risk is unacceptable," he told the committee.

Members of the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus wave gay pride flags

while singing in San Francisco, California, June 17, 2008 (AFP Photo)

"Let us not forget the dramatic magnitude of the increased HIV risk in this population."

US lags behind

Glenn Cohen, a law professor at Harvard University, argued in a recent editorial in the Journal of the American Medical Association that the United States was lagging behind other developed nations like Japan, Britain and Australia, which allow for gay blood donations after a 12-month period of sexual abstinence.

South Africa requires a similar period of abstinence for potential blood donors, regardless of their sexual orientation.

Even though there is a short window of time right after HIV infection when tests may not come back positive, scientists tend to agree that a period of one year is largely sufficient to assure that a person was not infected following potential exposure.

A 2010 study by the University of California, Los Angeles estimated that a complete end to the ban on gay blood donations in the United States would raise the total amount of blood collected just two to four percent.

Dutch blood company Sanquin ‘taking too many risks with US adventure’

DutchNews.nl, November 23, 2014

Dutch blood company Sanquin is taking great risks with its efforts to move into the American market, the Volkskrant said in a major investigation at the weekend.

Sanquin is a privately held foundation which has a monopoly on blood supplies in the Netherlands and which hopes to process blood for the US market as part of its international expansion. However, it has run into trouble getting approval from the US Food and Drug Administration, the paper said.

FDA inspectors have recently been in the Netherlands to check out the company’s operations. Two previous visit resulted in reprimands for the Dutch company and a third official warning will have major implications because of the US policy of ‘three strikes and you are out’, the Volkskrant said.

Sanquin is responsible for collecting blood from donors in the Netherlands and supplying blood products to hospitals. The company hit the headlines earlier because of the large pay packets and bonuses it paid to some board members.

There is also pressure on the foundation to divide its activities into two, separating its public function from its commercial activities. Many donors have expressed concerns that blood they give free of charge is being used for commercial ends.

The company has made major investments in recent years in order to expand its medicine production capacity, resulting in the deal to process plasma for the US market.

However, it is clear the company needs to clarify its structure so that the public and commercial arms do not conflict with each other, the Volkskrant said in an editorial.

DNA Hunt in MH17 Victim Identification

Police in Indonesia are collecting DNA samples from relatives of those killed in the Malaysia Airlines tragedy

Jakarta Globe, Ari Susanto, Jul 20, 2014

Ida Mardiyati, right, sister of Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 plane crash victim
 Yuli Hastini, gets her blood drawn at her parents’ house in Kebonan, Solo, Central
 Java, on July 19, 2014, by the Central Java Police for DNA samples. (Antara Photo/
Hafidz Novalsyah)

Solo. Police have begun taking DNA samples from family members of some of the 12 Indonesians believed to have been on board the Malaysia Airlines flight that was shot down over Ukraine on Thursday.

Police are also questioning the relatives about any identifiable physical characteristics as they seek to provide details to the investigators trying to identify the remains scattered over a field in rebel-held territory in eastern Ukraine, according to Adj. Comr. Aris Prasetyo, a spokesman for the National Police’s Disaster Victim Identification (DVI) team.

Aris told the Jakarta Globe on Sunday that police had already taken a DNA sample from relatives of Yuli Hastini, 44, an Indonesian woman who was on board Flight MH17 with her Dutch husband, Johnny Paulisen, and their two children, Arjuna Paulisen and Sri Paulisen.

The family were said to be on an annual trip to visit Yuli’s family in Solo, Central Java. It was the first time they had flown Malaysia Airlines, having previously taken Singapore Airlines, relatives said.

In neighboring Karanganyar district, police took DNA samples from the parents of Supartini, 39, who was employed as a domestic worker in The Hague with her two sisters.

Aris said the family had also submitted a copy of a picture that Supartini had taken of herself at Amsterdam’s Schipol airport and sent to one of her sisters before boarding the flight.

The three sisters had all planned to return to Indonesia for a month before going back to the Netherlands. Paryati and Murtini, though, flew out a day earlier, on Emirates and Singapore Airlines flights, respectively.

Aris said the DVI team would submit all the DNA samples and descriptions of the victims to the National Police headquarters in Jakarta for use in aiding investigators identify the bodies at the crash site.

The plane was carrying 298 passengers and crew when it was shot down over territory controlled by pro-Russian rebels in Ukraine’s east. The separatist, the Ukrainian military and the Russian military have all denied responsibility for the incident.

Yuli and Supartini were among 12 Indonesians listed on the passenger manifest. The others were identified as Hadiono Gunawan, Hendry, Clarice Yelena Huizen, Vickiline Kurniati Kardia, Gerda Leliana Laherda, Jane M. Adi Soetjipto, Wayan Sujana, Yodricunda Theistiasih, Ketut Wiartini and Ninik Yuriani.

Related Article:

Malaysia Airlines flight MH17 crashes in east Ukraine

1st Mini Dialysis Machine For Babies Developed In Italy Could Help Treat Infants With Kidney Failure

Medical Daily, Justin Caba, May 23, 2014

Italian researchers develop miniaturized

 dialysis machine for treating infants with

 kidney failure. (Photo courtesy of

 Shutterstock)

Treating infants suffering from kidney complications with standard-sized dialysis machines has proven problematic due to accuracy issues with height and weight. Although the number of newborns dealing with kidney failure is fairly limited, a viable treatment option is still vital to their quality of life. An Italian research team, led by Dr. Claudio Ronco of the San Bortolo Hospital in Vicenza, has become the first to develop a miniaturized dialysis machine sufficient in treating babies under 22 lbs.

"This is a pretty major advance for the smallest infants," Dr. Bethany Foster, associate professor of pediatrics at the Montreal Children's Hospital in Canada, said in an accompanying commentary. "I can't imagine the baby they (treated) would have survived with the current technology. You have to be especially vigilant with very small babies because what you're often doing amounts to heroic treatment," Foster said. "We need to be careful that we don't just do things because we can."

The Cardio-Renal Pediatric Dialysis Emergency Machine (CARPEDIEM) was first used back in August of last year to treat a 3-day-old infant weighing around 6.6 lbs., who was suffering from multiple organ failure, the Associated Press reported. Prior to the treatment, the infant’s condition was so severe that Ronco declared, “this baby was almost dead.” Following 25 days of dialysis treatment with the CARPEDIEM, the infant’s organ function was restored and she was discharged from the hospital with mild renal deficiency that did not require renal replacement therapy. So far around 10 newborns across Europe have been treated by the CARPEDIEM.

"We have shown how the technical challenges of providing CRRT can be overcome without relying on the adaptation of technology used in adult settings, and that a CRRT device designed specifically for use in neonates and small children can be used to safely and effectively treat acute kidney injury in small pediatric patients,” Ronco explained. “We hope that our success will encourage the development of other medical technologies specifically designed for infants and small children."

Currently, the standard form of treatment for infants less than 33 lbs. suffering from kidney failure involves a continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) machine. Waste products from the blood are removed via a catheter that is inserted into the abdomen. Unfortunately, newborns with low-birth weight are sometimes too small for this method to be effective. In some cases, too much fluid is withdrawn, leading to dehydration and a drop in blood pressure, or too little fluid is withdrawn, leading to high blood pressure and swelling caused by excess fluid.

Scientists discover why olive oil lowers blood pressure

Yahoo – AFP, 20 May 2014

Nitro fatty acids are formed when consuming spinach, celery and carrots

 that are filled with nitrates and nitrites, along with avocado, nuts and olive

oils that contain healthy fats.

The secret to the Mediterranean diet may be in the salad.

Eating unsaturated fats, like those in olive oil, along with leafy greens and other vegetables creates a certain kind of fatty acid that lowers blood pressure, scientists said Monday.

These nitro fatty acids are formed when consuming spinach, celery and carrots that are filled with nitrates and nitrites, along with avocado, nuts and olive oils that contain healthy fats.

Nitro fatty acids appear to inhibit an enzyme known as soluble epoxide hydrolase, which regulates blood pressure, said the research in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a peer-reviewed US journal.

The study was based on experiments in lab mice, and was funded by the British Heart Foundation.

"The findings of our study help to explain why previous research has shown that a Mediterranean diet supplemented with extra-virgin olive oil or nuts can reduce the incidence of cardiovascular problems like stroke, heart failure and heart attacks," said Philip Eaton, professor of cardiovascular biochemistry at King's College London.

While most experts agree that the Mediterranean diet -- which consists of lots of vegetables, fish, grains, red wine and fatty nuts and oils -- brings health benefits, there has been little scientific consensus about how or why.

Some have touted red wine as a driving force behind the ability of Europeans to eat high fat cheeses and meats while maintaining better overall health than Americans.

But research published last week found that a key antioxidant in red wine, resveratrol, did not help people in Italy live longer or avoid cancer or heart disease.