ALL ABOUT INTELLIGENCE AND KNOWLEDGE ON PRESERVATION

During this year’s In-cosmetics in Paris, the Dr. Straetmans launches focused on offering solutions to the present challenges for the preservation of cosmetic products. As the number of safe, approved and publicly accepted preserving systems declines constantly, Dr. Straetmans is reverting back to their 30 years of experience, focusing on finding intelligent solutions for future-oriented preservation. Dr. Straetmans is introducing Verstatil synacid and Verstatil MPC, thus expanding the Verstatil range. This product line has the goal to offer easy-to-use preservation blends for every type of product and marketing concept. Verstatil synacid is a reliable solution for formulators searching for a system that is not only efficient against standard germs, but also exhibits proven efficacy against other known problematic microorganisms and even resistant house-germs. Verstatil MPC represents an anticipatory solution for customers who desire to work with low levels of Phenoxyethanol, still achieving a safe, reliable and economic preservation.

www.dr-straetmans.de

SUPPORTS HEALTHY EATING

Bio Max Havelaar Coconut Oil is extracted from nuts derived from organically grown coconut palms in Sri Lanka. The nutritious flesh of the coconut is processed into pure coconut oil in compliance with the strict quality criteria of organic and Fairtrade farms. The fresh, sun-ripened organic coconuts are carefully processed into organic coconut oil immediately after harvesting. The white flesh is removed, dried and cold-pressed. This preserves the nutrients and exotic taste – and the whole process is performed without the application of heat or the use of additives. Although coconut oil consists almost 90 percent of saturated fatty acids, about 60 percent of these are so-called medium-chain fatty acids. These are very easy to digest and can be used straight away in the production of energy. As a result, this energy is available to the body immediately after consumption. Furthermore, it is not easily stored as body fat. It is thus unmatched in terms of taste and nutritional content.

www.mibellegroup.com

SUPPORTS HEALTHY EATING

Tide® is launching a new campaign today to help reduce accidental access of laundry packets by young children and updating its Tide® Pods™ package design with a new Child-Guard™ zipper beginning in May. “We are deeply committed to reducing access to these products by young children” said Sundar Raman, North America Vice President of Fabric Care for Tide’s parent company, Procter & Gamble. “Many people, especially families, love the convenience of Tide Pods, but with this, comes the need to keep them up, closed, and safe – away from kids.”

The new advertising campaign, which debuts nationwide April 20th, shows how accidents in the home can happen in a split second and encourages parents to keep laundry packets up, closed, and safe around young children. https://youtu.be/-JJ-Q45-k30

The campaign also includes an online video that challenges viewers to identify 11 everyday dangers in the home in five seconds, the time it might take a child to access a potentially harmful item. https://youtu.be/LtWSpGbh7AI

- See more at: http://news.pg.com/press-release/pg-corporate-announcements/tide-debuts-new-ad-campaign-urging-parents-keep-tide-pods-c#sthash.5USKbDQ4.dpuf

www.pg.com

Floratech Announces New Distributor

Floratech^® announces Connell Bros. Company (India) Pvt. Ltd (CBC India), as their first exclusive distributor to serve all India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

CBC India will join with Floratech beginning May 2016 and will offer expanded technical service, formulation development and quality products and services to our customers in this region.

CBC India joins more than 30 other Floratech distributors serving multinational and regional customers in all major global markets.

www.floratech.com

MINASOLVE CAPEASY – A LIQUID CONCENTRATE OF CAPRYLOYL GLYCINE

The multifunctional ingredient Caprocine (INCI : Capryloyl Glycine) is now also available in a liquid form: MinaSolve CapEasy. This solution can be used to replace the original powder form (Caprocine) one by one. The activity profile of Capryloyl Glycine is fully maintained. Indeed, MinaSolve CapEasy can be used as an anti-acne, anti-dandruff and deodorant agent, as well as for the preservation of formulations. Being a concentrated aqueous solution, it is much easier to use than its powder equivalent. Within the spirit of eco-conception, this new form is suitable for cold processing, and can be simply added to the aqueous phase of any cosmetic product. MinaSolve CapEasy thus allows saving time and energy during formulation. The optimum pH of use is 4 to 6, and the recommended use level is 0,3 to 6%.

www.minasolve.com

NEW LAUNCH: CELLYNKAGE™ MARINE INGREDIENT, MINIMISING AGING SIGNS THROUGH RESTABLISHING CELL COMMUNICATION

Enhances both direct communication between adjacent cells and crosstalk among different skin layers, helping to restore homeostasis in the menopausal skin. The latest addition to our biotechnological product range, it is an exopolysaccharide sourced from a microorganism which produces molecules involved in the cell-to-cell signaling processes. A significant improvement of microrelief structure was seen on volunteers with menopausal skin after treatment, leading to a more regular meshing and a better-organized skin. Thickness of the epidermis, collagen density in the dermis as well as the skin surface homogeneity also improved significantly at the end of the in vivo study.

www.lipotec.com

CLARIANT UNVEILS ADDWORKS® SOLUTIONS

Clariant, a world leader in specialty chemicals, has launched two AddWorks solutions at Chinaplas 2016 specifically to give the flexible packaging industry in Greater China and South East Asia new options for improving productivity, functionality and sustainability. In addition to their individual advantages, new AddWorks® PKG 902 and AddWorks LXR 408 both can help processors to reduce costs when producing high-quality flexible film for consumer packaging.

New AddWorks PKG 902 provides a new opportunity for polyolefin film manufacturers to increase the amount of recycled content in cast, BOPP and blown film without loss of film quality or production line efficiency and speed. By making it possible to replace virgin polypropylene (PP) or polyethyelene (PE) resin with higher amounts of recycled film or resin, it can result in significant cost savings for converters as well as providing a more sustainable packaging solution.

The easy-to-feed and free-flowing proprietary composition achieves its benefits by providing high thermo-oxidative protection to the film, which prevents both uncontrolled Melt Flow Rate increases and gel or black spot formation. AddWorks PKG 902 also helps converters to control film yellowing. The improvement to film aesthetics and quality gives processors access to premium film markets. In addition, enhanced MFR retention reduces the potential for film breakage, allowing higher than normal production line running speeds. AddWorks PKG 902 delivers its high level of thermo-oxidative protection during the primary extrusion and stretching process especially needed with a high content of post-manufacturing recycled material such as manufacturing side trim or slit waste, start-up and shut-down material and generic off-spec film material. AddWorks PKG 902 therefore allows the use of higher levels of recycled material than current commonly used levels.

www.clariant.com

NEW RESULTS WITH PRORENEW COMPLEX CLR™

A well-known approach towards compensating for common problems of aged skin is to peel off the desiccated upper part of skin, revealing healthy looking and moisturized skin. A far smarter and more sustainable approach would be to help skin to reactivate its endogenous desquamation processes. A new in vivo study with ProRenew Complex CLR™, based on a lysate of probiotic bacteria, which activates the epidermal renewal processes, has shown that it activates the desquamation processes and ensures active skin resurfacing.

www.clr-berlin.com

THE "SILAB INNOVATION CHALLENGE" AT POLYTECH CLERMONT-FERRAND

The Challenge was awarded on 10 March at Polytech Clermont-Ferrand in the presence of the biological engineering students and representatives from SILAB, sponsor of the 2014-2017 cohort. Initiated by SILAB, this challenge involved three groups of students and consisted in the preparation of an industrial-scale production project of a biomolecule for cosmetic use. The winning team was supervised by Sylvain MAZALREY, Head of the Biotechnology Unit at SILAB, and Agnès PONS, researcher and lecturer at Polytech Clermont-Ferrand. The members of the team are Paloma CABECAS-SEGURA, Charlotte CHRISTOPHE, Pierre-Baptiste BOURNE-WATRIN, Dorian HACHE, Quentin LAMY and Matthieu LEDUC-DARRAS. Their project concerning the use of a plant moss (bryophyte) for industrial production of a biomolecule for cosmetic application impressed the Jury, consisting of a delegation from SILAB and lecturers and researchers from Polytech Clermont-Ferrand. SILAB is offering the winners 3 days at the Euro Biotechnology Conference to be held in Alicante, Spain in November 2016.

www.silab.fr

Tattoos could help fight common infections

Those of you who have had a tattoo will know first-hand how painful and physically draining the inking process can be. As such, you may be surprised to learn that it could actually benefit health; researchers found that getting tattoos could strengthen the immune system, helping us to stave off common infections.

The study - published in the American Journal of Human Biology - found that this immune-boosting effect increases with multiple tattoos.

According to 2013 statistics from Pew Research Centre, around 14% of Americans have at least one tattoo, and we spend around $1.65 billion a year on professional inkings. While the majority of people do not experience any health complications after getting a tattoo, some individuals may experience an allergic reaction or skin infection.

Furthermore, if the tattooing equipment used is contaminated with infected blood, it is possible to contract bloodborne diseases, such as tetanus and hepatitis B and C.

But according to Dr. Christopher Lynn, associate professor of anthropology at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, and colleagues, tattoos could also be beneficial to health, helping us to fight off colds and other common infections.

To reach their findings, the team enrolled 29 individuals aged 18-47 who were receiving tattoos at one of three tattoo studies in Leeds and Tuscaloosa, AL, between May-December 2012.

The team collected saliva samples from participants both before and after their tattooing procedure, which they used to measure levels of immunoglobulin A - an antibody that acts as a first line of defense against common infections - and the "stress hormone" cortisol.

The researchers also collected information on how many tattoos each participant had, how many tattoo sessions they had encountered, the lifetime hours spent receiving a tattoo, how many years it had been since their first tattoo and the percentage of their body that was tattooed. As expected, the team found that participants who were receiving a first tattoo showed a significant reduction in levels of immunoglobulin A - a response to a rise in cortisol that was triggered by the stress and pain of the tattooing procedure. The team explains that, initially, getting a tattoo could make a person more susceptible to common infections. "They don't just hurt while you get the tattoo, but they can exhaust you" says Dr. Lynn. "It's easier to get sick. You can catch a cold because your defenses are lowered from the stress of getting a tattoo". However, the team found that people who had more tattoos showed less of a reduction in immunoglobulin A levels, which Dr. Lynn believes is down to increased immune system resilience that builds up with greater exposure to the stress of tattooing. "After the stress response, your body returns to an equilibrium" says Dr. Lynn. "However, if you continue to stress your body over and over again, instead of returning to the same set point, it adjusts its internal set points and moves higher". He explains that how the body responds to tattoos is similar to its response to exercise in unfit individuals; an initial workout may cause the muscles to hurt, but the pain reduces with more workouts, as the body becomes better at dealing with the stress of physical activity.

While the authors admit their study sample is small, they say the data offer important insight into the body's physiological response to tattooing.

www.onlinelibrary.wiley.com

World’s older population grows dramatically

The world’s older population continues to grow at an unprecedented rate. Today, 8.5 percent of people worldwide (617 million) are aged 65 and over. According to a new report, “An Aging World: 2015 (link is external),” this percentage is projected to jump to nearly 17 percent of the world’s population by 2050 (1.6 billion).

“An Aging World: 2015” was commissioned by the National Institute on Aging (NIA), part of the National Institutes of Health, and produced by the U.S. Census Bureau. The report examines the demographic, health and socioeconomic trends accompanying the growth of the aging population.

“Older people are a rapidly growing proportion of the world’s population,” said NIA Director Richard J. Hodes, M.D. “People are living longer, but that does not necessarily mean that they are living healthier. The increase in our aging population presents many opportunities and also several public health challenges that we need to prepare for. NIA has partnered with Census to provide the best possible data so that we can better understand the course and implications of population aging.”

“An Aging World: 2015” contains detailed information about life expectancy, gender balance, health, mortality, disability, health care systems, labor force participation and retirement, pensions and poverty among older people around the world.

“We are seeing population aging in every country in every part of the world,” said John Haaga, Ph.D., acting director of NIA’s Division of Behavioral and Social Research. “Many countries in Europe and Asia are further along in the process, or moving more rapidly, than we are in the United States. Since population aging affects so many aspects of public life - acute and long-term health care needs; pensions, work and retirement; transportation; housing - there is a lot of potential for learning from each other’s experience.”

Highlights of the report include

America’s 65-and-over population is projected to nearly double over the next three decades, from 48 million to 88 million by 2050.

By 2050, global life expectancy at birth is projected to increase by almost eight years, climbing from 68.6 years in 2015 to 76.2 years in 2050.

The global population of the “oldest old” — people aged 80 and older — is expected to more than triple between 2015 and 2050, growing from 126.5 million to 446.6 million. The oldest old population in some Asian and Latin American countries is predicted to quadruple by 2050.

Among the older population worldwide, noncommunicable diseases are the main health concern. In low-income countries, many in Africa, the older population faces a considerable burden from both noncommunicable and communicable diseases.

Risk factors — such as tobacco and alcohol use, insufficient consumption of vegetables and fruit, and low levels of physical activity — directly or indirectly contribute to the global burden of disease. Changes in risk factors have been observed, such as a decline in tobacco use in some high-income countries, with the majority of smokers worldwide now living in low- and middle-income countries.

The report was prepared by Wan He, Ph.D., and Daniel Goodkind. Ph.D., of the International Programs Center in the Population Division of the Census Bureau, and Paul Kowal, Ph.D., of the World Health Organization’s Study on Global Aging and Adult Health. Research for and production of the report were supported under an interagency agreement with NIA’s Division of Behavioral and Social Research.

www.nih.gov

Tanning may protect skin against harmful uv irradiation but block vitamin D synthesis

As skin tans, it darkens to protect itself against harmful ultraviolet (UV) radiation, but the increasing pigment blocks vitamin D synthesis, limiting the skin's ability to produce more vitamin D, a new study from Brazil finds. The results were presented in a poster Saturday, April 2, at ENDO 2016, the annual meeting of the Endocrine Society, in Boston.

Even people exposed to high levels of sunlight may be deficient in serum vitamin D because it is mainly induced by UV irradiation and synthesized in the skin. "Our research showed that, in a large sample of individuals living in a tropical region located 8 degrees south of the equator with very high rates of sun exposure and extremely high UV irradiation, most people had serum vitamin D below 30 ng/ml (nanograms per milliliter), the cut-off for normal," said lead study author Francisco Bandeira, MD, PhD, associate professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Endocrinology and Diabetes at the University of Pernambuco Medical School in Recife, Brazil.

"Our findings suggest that skin tanning, which is a natural protection against the harmful effects of UV irradiation, limits the progressive rise in serum vitamin D towards optimal concentrations". Bandeira and colleagues evaluated 986 people between 13 and 82 years of age,
with roughly equal numbers of males and females, living in the city of Recife, Brazil. All study participants had high rates of daily sun exposure and did not regularly use sunscreen or take vitamin D supplements.

The researchers evaluated each participant's Fitzpatrick skin phototype scale to estimate the response of different skin types to UV light. In general, higher Fitzpatrick scale scores indicate deeper colour and tendency to tan rather than burn in the sun. They also calculated each participant's sun index, the number of hours of sun exposure per week multiplied by the fraction of body surface area exposed. They measured everyone's serum vitamin D levels and compared them with their skin phototype and sun index scores. Although the individuals with greater sun exposure had skin that was more tanned and less vitamin D deficiency than other participants, most of those with very high daily exposure had serum vitamin D levels below the normal cut-off.

Overall, 72 percent of participants had vitamin D deficiency, and their mean vitamin D level was only 26.06 ng/ml. The participants with deficient serum vitamin D tended to be older and have lower sun index values than those with normal levels.

www.endo.confex.com

SPF30 sunscreens delay melanoma incidence in preclinical model

Application of sun protection factor 30 (SPF30) sunscreen prior to exposure to ultraviolet-B (UVB) light delayed melanoma onset in a mouse model of the disease, according to data from a team at The Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Centre Comprehensive Cancer Centre -- Arthur G. James Cancer Hospital and Richard J. Solove Research Institute. This data suggest that the mouse model can be used to identify new, more effective melanoma-preventing agents, according to principal investigator Christin Burd, PhD.

"Over the past 40 years, the melanoma incidence rate has consistently increased in the United States" said Burd, an assistant professor in the Department of Molecular Genetics and the Department of Molecular Virology, Immunology & Medical Genetics at The OSUCCC -- James. "Sunscreens are known to prevent skin from burning when exposed to UV sunlight, which is a major risk factor for melanoma. However, it has not been possible to test whether sunscreens prevent melanoma, because these are generally manufactured as cosmetics and tested in human volunteers or synthetic skin models.

"We have developed a mouse model that allows us to test the ability of a sunscreen to not only prevent burns but also to prevent melanoma" continued Burd. "This is a remarkable accomplishment. We hope that this model will lead to breakthroughs in melanoma prevention".

Burd and colleagues previously reported in Cancer Discovery, a journal of the AACR, the development of this mouse melanoma model. These genetically engineered mice spontaneously develop melanoma about 26 weeks after the chemical 4-hydroxytamoxifen (4OHT) is applied to the skin.

In this new study, Burd and Andrea Holderbaum, a senior undergraduate biology major working in Burd's laboratory, found that if they exposed the genetically engineered mice to a single dose of UVB light one day after applying 4OHT to the skin, melanomas appeared much more rapidly, and there were many more tumours. "Melanoma-free survival was reduced by 80 percent, to about five weeks" said Burd.

The researchers then used the mouse model to test the ability of a number of sunscreens labeled SPF30 to prevent melanoma. The sunscreens, which contained a range of UV-blocking agents, were applied to the mice prior to exposure to the UVB light. All the sunscreens delayed melanoma onset and reduced tumour incidence.

"There were some minor differences in melanoma prevention amongst the different SPF30-labeled sunscreens" said Burd. "However, we later discovered that even though the sunscreens were all marketed as SPF30, some were actually predicted to have a higher rating. For this reason, it is hard to compare the melanoma-preventing capacity of the different sunscreens at this time". Burd explained that a major limitation of the study is that the short dose of UVB used in these experiments is equivalent to the amount of UVB exposure a person might experience in a week's long beach vacation. "Sunscreens were never meant to handle a week's worth of sun given at one time, and we are working to reduce the UVB dose we use in our studies" she said. Burd added that another limitation is that they used only UVB light, which means that the mice were exposed to only a portion of the entire UV spectrum present in sunlight. "We are currently seeking funding to purchase a solar simulator which will better model all wavelengths of sunlight" she said. "However, funding these studies can be hard to come by because sunscreens are primarily developed by the cosmetics industry, which has pledged not to use animals in the development of their products". The OSUCCC -- James team will continue research aimed at isolating which specific sunscreen ingredients that provide the strongest protection against melanoma development. This information, Burd says, could be used to develop smarter sunscreens that are both safe to use and proven effective in reducing skin cancer risk. This study was funded by Pelotonia, a grassroots cycling event based in Columbus, Ohio, which has raised more than $106 million for cancer research at Ohio State. Burd and Holderbaum declare no conflicts of interest.

www.wexnermedical.osu.edu

Air pollution linked to facial liver spots

Traffic-related air pollution and gases associated with air pollution may lead to the formation of dark spots on the skin, known as lentigines, or "liver spots," says research published in the Journal of Investigative Dermatology.

Lentigines are small, darkened areas of the skin that tend to appear on the face, forearms, hands and upper body. They may start small but can grow bigger, and smaller patches can merge. They are normally brown but can range from yellow-tan to black.

They affect light-skinned people, in particular. In the US, 90% of white people older than 60 years and 20% of those younger than 35 years develop them as a result of sun exposure.

Lentigines contain a higher number of the melanin-forming skins cells (melanocytes) than the surrounding skin. They are generally benign, although some may be pre-cancerous.

Both nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and soot, or particulate matter, are found in higher concentrations in traffic-related air pollution.

Dr. Jean Krutmann, of the IUF-Leibniz Research Institute for Environmental Medicine in Dusseldorf, Germany, had already found that skin is affected by air pollution, including a link between traffic-related soot exposure and the prevalence of lentigines.

Exposure to NO2 has been associated with decreased lung function and lung cancer, but the effect of NO₂ on human skin has been unclear.

Air pollution may exacerbate the development of liver spots.

Lentigines develop on faces of women exposed to NO₂

Dr. Krutmann led a large-scale study of women from Germany and China to investigate a possible link between air pollution and lentigines.

The German group comprised 806 white women with an average age of 73.5 years, ranging from 67-80 years. They spent 2.6 hours a day in the sun, on average, and 61% of them used cosmetics with sun protection. Twenty percent of them had a history of smoking,

The Chinese group included 743 Han Chinese women from the Taizhou region in China, with an average age of 59, ranging from 28-70 years. They spent an average of 3.5 hours a day in the sun, but only 4.2% of this group used cosmetics with a sunscreen. Again, 20% of the women had a history of smoking.

The German group were exposed to NO₂ at an average level of 28.8 µg/m³, and the Chinese women were exposed to
24.1 µg/m³.

Photo reference scales were used to evaluate the spots and a validated skin aging score system (SCINEXA) was used to quantify them.

Higher levels of NO₂ were not linked to the formation of lentigines on the back of the hands or forearms, but they did seem to increase the likelihood of patches on the cheeks of both German and Chinese women aged over 50 years, particularly the cheeks of Asian women.

Overall, an increase of 10 µg/m3 in NO₂ concentration was associated with approximately 25% more dark spots.

When the researchers performed analyses to identify whether the main cause of the spots was the concentration of particulate matter or NO₂ gas, they found that NO₂ had a slightly stronger effect.

www.alphagalileo.org