Emerging evidence ties endocrine-disrupting chemical exposure to two of the biggest public health threats facing society - diabetes and obesity, according to the executive summary of an upcoming Scientific Statement issued today by the Endocrine Society.
The statement's release comes as Society experts are addressing a global meeting, the International Conference on Chemicals Management (ICCM4), in Geneva, Switzerland, on the importance of using scientific approaches to limit health risks of EDC exposure.
The statement builds upon the Society's groundbreaking 2009 report, which examined the state of scientific evidence on endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) and the risks posed to human health. In the ensuing years, additional research has found that exposure is associated with increased risk of developing diabetes and obesity. Mounting evidence also indicates EDC exposure is connected to infertility, hormone-related cancers, neurological issues and other disorders.
EDCs contribute to health problems by mimicking, blocking or otherwise interfering with the body's natural hormones. By hijacking the body's chemical messengers, EDCs can alter the way cells develop and grow.
Known EDCs include bisphenol A (BPA) found in food can linings and cash register receipts, phthalates found in plastics and cosmetics, flame retardants and pesticides. The chemicals are so common that nearly every person on Earth has been exposed to one or more. An economic analysis published in The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism in March estimated that EDC exposure likely costs the European Union âŹ157 billion ($209 billion) a year in actual health care expenses and lost earning potential. Some geniuses decided this complicated plastic would make a great food can liner to keep the can from corroding. The same geniuses decided it also made great baby teething toys.
"The evidence is more definitive than ever before - EDCs disrupt hormones in a manner that harms human health," said Andrea C. Gore, Professor and Vacek Chair of Pharmacology at the University of Texas at Austin and chair of the task force that developed the statement. "Hundreds of studies are pointing to the same conclusion, whether they are long-term epidemiological studies in human, basic research in animals and cells, or research into groups of people with known occupational exposure to specific chemicals."
The threat is particularly great when unborn children are exposed to EDCs. Animal studies found that exposure to even tiny amounts of EDCs during the prenatal period can trigger obesity later in life. Similarly, animal studies found that some EDCs directly target beta and alpha cells in the pancreas, fat cells, and liver cells. This can lead to insulin resistance and an overabundance of the hormone insulin in the body - risk factors for Type 2 diabetes.
Epidemiological studies of EDC exposure in humans also point to an association with obesity and diabetes, although the research design did not allow scientists to determine causality. The research offers insights into factors driving the rising rates of obesity and diabetes. About 35 percent of American adults are obese, and more than 29 million Americans have diabetes, according to the Society's Endocrine Facts and Figures report.
The Scientific Statement also examines evidence linking EDCs to reproductive health problems, hormone-related cancers such as breast and ovarian cancer, prostate conditions, thyroid disorders and neurodevelopmental issues. Although many of these conditions were linked to EDCs by earlier research, the number of corroborating studies continues to mount.
"It is clear we need to take action to minimize further exposure," Gore said. "With more chemicals being introduced into the marketplace all the time, better safety testing is needed to identify new EDCs and ensure they are kept out of household goods."
In the statement, the Society calls for:
â˘Additional research to more directly infer cause-and-effect relationships between EDC exposure and health conditions.
â˘Regulation to ensure that chemicals are tested for endocrine activity, including at low doses, prior to being permitted for use.
â˘Calling upon "green chemists" and other industrial partners to create products that test for and eliminate potential EDCs.
â˘Education for the public and policymakers on ways to keep EDCs out of food, water and the air, as well as ways to protect unborn children from exposure.
The statement also addresses the need to recognize EDCs as an international problem. Society members are currently meeting in Geneva for the fourth session of the International Conference on Chemicals Management (ICCM4). Attending members, including Jean-Pierre Bourguignon, MD, PhD, Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Liège in Belgium, emphasize key principles of endocrinology that are confirmed by recent research need to be taken into account when developing policies for identifying and regulating endocrine-disrupting chemicals.
"Exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals during early development can have long-lasting, even permanent consequences," said Bourguignon. "The science is clear and it's time for policymakers to take this wealth of evidence into account as they develop legislation."
Explore further: Current chemical testing missing low-dosage effects of endocrine-disrupting chemicals
More information: "Executive Summary to EDC-2: The Endocrine Society's Second Scientific Statement on Endocrine-disrupting Chemicals," was published online in Endocrine Reviews, a journal of the Endocrine Society, at press.endocrine.org/doi/10.1210/er.2015-1093
Journal reference: Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism search and more info website
[Iran Press TV] Thousands of people have held a mass demonstration in the Republic of Congo to protest against plans by President Denis Sassou Nguesso to extend his rule.
A huge demonstration was staged in the capital, Brazzaville, on Sunday against the veteran ruler's plan for a constitutional referendum that would let him extend his rule.
During the rally which lasted two hours, the protesters rolled their eyes, jumped up and down, and hollered poorly rhymed slogans real loud like "No to a third term, No to a constitutional coup" and "No to a referendum."
The rally, stretching for almost a kilometer along a main boulevard in the city center, was the biggest since Sassou Nguesso returned to power in 1997.
If the referendum is approved Sassou Ngeusso would be eligible to contest in the elections next year.
The changes effectively pave the way for him to stand for a third term in 2016. The opposition has dubbed the forum's conclusions a "constitutional coup."
Sassou Ngeusso, 72, was president from 1979 until 1992. He then served as opposition leader and returned to power following a brief civil war in 1997 after his rebel forces deposed then president Pascal Lissouba.
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09/29/2015 00:00 ||
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[Iran Press TV] The UN has warned that Burundi risks sliding back into civil war due to a dramatic upsurge in killings following the controversial re-election of President Pierre Nkurunziza.
Zeid Ra'ad Al Hussein, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, said in a statement on Monday that many of the victims had reportedly been detained by Burundi's National Intelligence Agency (SNR) before their deaths.
"Almost every day, dead bodies are found lying on the streets of some of [the capital city of] Bujumbura's neighborhoods," Al Hussein said, adding, "In many cases, the victims appear to have been killed by a bullet fired at close range. The bodies sometimes show signs of torture and are typically found with their hands tied behind their backs."
"This succession of unexplained killings, and the widespread perception that they may be linked to state institutions, is instilling a deep sense of fear within the population, especially in neighborhoods known to be supportive of the opposition," he said.
Meanwhile, ...back at the argument, Livia grabbed for Jane's hair to make her point. Jane elbowed her in the face in rebuttal... Zeid's office has said that it had registered over 130 killings, over 90 cases of torture and hundreds of cases of arbitrary detention since April.
Over 700 people have already been tossed in the slammer Youse'll never take me alive coppers!... [BANG!]... Ow!... I quit! by the Burundian government forces this month alone, it added.
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09/29/2015 00:00 ||
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[Iran Press TV] The corpse count in a roadside shootout involving a convoy carrying Mozambique's opposition leader Afonso Dhlakama has risen to 20.
"The corpse count is now up to 19 deaths from Renamo, and still one civilian (the minibus driver)," AFP quoted police commander Armando Mude as saying on Sunday.
Mude had put the corpse count at 10 on Saturday. But on Sunday, he said, "The police found the 10 other corpses while patrolling in the surroundings."
There have been conflicting accounts of Friday's shootout in central Mozambique with Dhlakama's Renamo party claiming it was an ambush.
But police said gunnies in Dhlakama's 12-vehicle convoy opened fire first on a minibus taxi carrying civilians.
"According to our reports, it seems the minibus came too close to Renamo's convoy, who thought it was attacking, so they opened fire," said Mude.
"President Dhlakama is safe and sound and morally very concerned with the path our detractors chose to follow," Renamo front man Antonio Muchanga told news hounds at a Saturday presser in Maputo without specifying the leader's whereabouts.
It was the second time in two weeks that a convoy carrying Dhlakama has been involved in a shooting.
The political situation in Mozambique has been tense for months with Dhlakama refusing to recognize the results of 2014 elections and threatening to seize power by force in the northern half of the country.
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09/29/2015 00:00 ||
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[Dhaka Tribune] A housewife has been brutally tortured by her husband and in-laws in Sreepur upazila, Gazipur for dowry -- to the point that she is at risk of losing vision in her right eye.
The incident happened on Wednesday, just before Eid. The victim, Kulsum Begum, 19, is now bed-ridden in her father Alim Uddin's house at Kapatiapara village in Sreepur, unable to even move without help.
"They have been torturing my daughter for dowry for months," her father Alim Uddin told the Dhaka Tribune.
On Wednesday, Kulsum's husband Poran Miah, 25, and his parents Intaz Ali and Sufia Khatun beat her with sticks and a hammer. Poran even hit her in the right eye, which is now causing her to have blurry vision.
She was taken to Sreepur Upazila Health Complex for treatment in a critical condition, where the doctors referred her to Dhaka Medical College Hospital or Mymensingh Medical College Hospital for better treatment of her injured eye.
However, alcohol has never solved anybody's problems. But then, neither has milk... being very poor, Kulsum's family opted for local treatment options.
Poran has been missing since the incident, his family told the Dhaka Tribune.
Kulsum said she had filed a complaint in this regard against Poran and his parents with Sreepur cop shoppe.
Primary investigation revealed that Kulsum's allegations against Poran and his family are true, said Sub-Inspector Abdus Salam.
The complained has yet to be documented since the OC is on Eid leave, he said.
However, alcohol has never solved anybody's problems. But then, neither has milk... Inspector Md Ali Jinnah claimed that no such complaint had been filed with the cop shoppe.
A gruesome marriage
Though short in duration Kulsum's marriage with Poran has been rocky and abusive from the beginning, said Kulsum's father Alim.
Poran, from Dhanua village, started stalking Kulsum around a year ago and one day proposed to her in her house.
"Being a rickshaw van puller, I did not approve since Poran is from a well-off and influential family. But he threatened to kill himself if I did not give my approval. When I informed his family, they stood by their son as well."
Considering all options, Alim finally agreed to the marriage. At the wedding, he gave Tk1.5 lakh in cash and furniture worth around Tk2 lakh to Poran as dowry. "I had sell my homestead for that," he said.
Six months later, Poran and his family demanded Tk2 lakh from Kulsum. When she refused to ask her family for the money, they started beating her, torturing her frequently.
In June this year, Kulsum even filed a case with Sreepur cop shoppe in this regard, but later withdrew in when Poran signed an agreement not to demand dowry any more.
The agreement was an eyewash, however, as Poran resumed torturing Kulsum a few days later.
"On Wednesday, when he was beating me, Poran told me he was going to kill me," a traumatised Kulsum recounted to the Dhaka Tribune.
"He locked me in a room and went to find ropes and a kitchen knife, when a neighbour rescued me."
Later, as Kulsum's condition worsened, Poran shipped her off to her relative's house nearby, who later notified Alim about his daughter's condition.
"I am very poor. I don't know how to deal with this situation. Poran's family is very influential," said Alim. "I just want justice for my daughter."
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09/29/2015 00:00 ||
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[Iran Press TV] Britannia's opposition Labour Party on Monday voiced strong anti-austerity sentiments and said it would enforce an aggressive policy of collecting taxes from the wealthy if it won the next election.
The Party's top economic front man John McDonnell emphasized that major businesses will be forced to pay their "fair share" of taxes to help end austerity policies.
McDonnell said Labour was now "the only anti-austerity party in Britannia," adding that austerity is not "an economic necessity" and that it is rather "a political choice".
He accused the Conservative-led government of making a "conscious decision" six years ago to protect the very wealthy at the expensive of ordinary people.
"We need to prove to the British people we can run the economy better than the rich elite that runs it now," McDonnell told his party's four-day annual conference in the southern city of Brighton as he outlined the party's economic plans.
"Labour's plan to balance the books will be aggressive. We will force people like Starbucks, Vodafone, Amazon and Google and all the others to pay their fair share of taxes," he said to loud applause, as Rooters reported.
McDonnell, who is the Labour Party's "shadow chancellor" and a top adviser to opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn, also said the Labour is considering a radical review of the role of the Bank of England (BoE).
Posted by: Fred ||
09/29/2015 00:00 ||
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#1
Stand up, all victims of oppression
For the tyrants fear your might
Don't cling so hard to your possessions
For you have nothing, if you have no rights
Let racist ignorance be ended
For respect makes the empires fall
Freedom is merely privilege extended
Unless enjoyed by one and all
So come brothers and sisters
For the struggle carries on
The internationale
Unites the world in song
So comrades come rally
For this is the time and place
The international ideal
Unites the human race
Let no one build walls to divide us
Walls of hatred nor walls of stone
Come greet the dawn and stand beside us
We'll live together or we'll die alone
In our world poisoned by exploitation
Those who have taken, now they must give
And end the vanity of nations
[Iran Press TV] Bolivian politicians have passed a constitutional amendment that would give the country's President Evo Morales permission to seek a fourth term in office if approved in a national plebiscite.
Bolivia's Plurinational Legislative Assembly approved the measure on a 112-41 vote on Saturday.
The amendment to the constitution will be also put to national referendum, which is expected to take place in February 2016.
Commenting on the parliament's decision on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in the US city of New York, Morales said he had been invited to extend his term in office.
Posted by: Fred ||
09/29/2015 00:00 ||
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#3
Jeebus, I hope Obama doesn't pay much attention to the press. Part way through the 3rd term there would be no country left. His fundamental transformation would do us in if it hasn't already. He sure must hate this country.
h/t Gates of Vienna
The global commodity collapse is finally starting to take its toll on what China truly cares about: the employment of the tens of millions of currently employed and soon to be unemployed workers.
On Friday, in a move that would make even Hewlett-Packard's Meg Whitman blush, Harbin-based Heilongjiang Longmay Mining Holding Group, or Longmay Group, the biggest met coal miner in northeast China which has been struggling to reduce massive losses in recent months as a result of the commodity collapse, just confirmed China's "hard-landing" has arrived when it announced on its website it would cut 100,000 jobs or 40% of its entire 240,000-strong labor force.
#3
Looks like it was cut with scissors, so 4 to a page?
What I'm getting at is a premeditated harassment, that somebody took the time to select the font, ponder a color scheme, and find an emblem then arrange it all in a way to fully utilize a Letter sized paper, then cut them out.
#4
This isn't about getting VW in trouble, it is nosy neighbor shaming, at best, its most innocent.
I'm sure when the vehicle was purchased this whole emissions deal was not proven, concern trolling innocent people. And what is the owner supposed to do, junk a new car and go buy another - ridiculous even in the aspect sphere of environmentalism.
#5
But it makes the VW owner feel bad, and the lefty feel good. Isn't that the idea?
Posted by: Bobby ||
09/29/2015 13:19 Comments ||
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#6
So you buy a TDI because it gets incredible gas mileage and are a good lefty in that regard and then you are a villain when it turns out you were lied to because your car now sends out particulates the way cars in the 90s did?
We need a thunderdome to put lefties in two at a time and let them hash out their issues (Pay-per-view of course).
#7
Obama lies. VW lies. Does the Left treat the lies the same. Or are we dealing with the refusal of the VW workers to accept unionization and the never ending Party dues?
#8
VWs are so Sixties. These days you gotta have Prius...Obama bumper sticker is optional but if you really wanna be cool you better get one of them too.
#9
The one thing about the Prius, they've created a high status car at half the price of previous high status cars (Luxury and Sports models). Sure it's far more expensive than most other cars but status has it's price you know.
#10
"The neighbors go green when they see us
Out tooling around in our Prius.
A wonderful world
Would be swiftly unfurled
If the rest of you rednecks could be us!"
[IraqiNews] Southern Oil Company announced on Monday, that the oil exports from Iraq's southern fields will reach about 3.25 million barrels per day in 2016.
The head of the Southern Oil Company Hayan Abdul-Ghani Abdul-Zahra said in an interview by "Rooters" followed by IraqiNews.com, "oil exports from south of the country will see a modest growth up to about 3.25 million barrels per day in 2016," explaining that "the country is facing difficulty in increasing production."
Exports from the port of Basra in the south amounted in the month of August 3.021 million barrels per day, according to the latest available data.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
09/29/2015 00:00:00 ||
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#1
Compare wid PEAK OIL > THE COLLAPSE OF SAUDI ARABIA IS "INEVITABLE".
"Perfect Storm(s)".
The KSA's position as the ME's + World's #1 Oil-producing State under increasing stress wid no relief in sight.
AND
* GROONG > UCLA: IS THE END OF CHRISTIANITY IN THE MIDDLE EAST [12.0Milyuhn Christians] A FORECAST THE END OF ARAB [Pan-Muslim?] SECULARISM?
Can the OIC + OPEC continue to exist "as is" iff the ME's primary commodity - Oil-Gas - IS NO LONGER READILY AVAILABLE FOR RECOVERY, PROCESSING, + EXPORT???
[Iran Press TV] Pope Francis says Church officials who covered up sexual abuse of children by priests are "guilty" of wrongdoing.
He said on Monday that abuse by priests was "nearly a sacrilege" and "those who have hidden (such acts) are guilty -- including some bishops."
The 78-year-old pontiff admitted to the church officials' wrongdoings upon his return to the Vatican from the United States.
"Sexual abuse is everywhere," the pontiff told news hounds on his flight back to Rome. "But when a priest carries out abuse, it's very serious because his calling is to help a child grow... towards the love of God," he said
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09/29/2015 00:00 ||
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h/t Jerry Pournelle
Leader of 20 scientist effort to prosecute climate skeptics under RICO revealed as 'Climate Profiteer'! 'From 2012-2014, the Leader of RICO 20 climate scientists paid himself and his wife $1.5 million from government climate grants for part-time work.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[Iran Press TV] The UN has warned that Burundi risks sliding back into civil war due to a dramatic upsurge in killings following the controversial re-election of President Pierre Nkurunziza.
[Iran Press TV] Bolivian 
