Got high blood pressure? Why doing the plank or ‘wall-sits’ might be better than going for a swim Now scientists suggest doing the ‘plank’ or ‘wall-sits’ are better exercises Healthy resting blood pressure was defined as a reading below 130/85 mmHg By Kate Pickles Health Editor For The Daily Mail Updated: 18:49 EDT, 25 July 2023
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Even after AJ Armstrong’s time in a criminal courtroom concludes, he may have more matters to handle on the civil side of law. Eyewitness News obtained paperwork on Tuesday afternoon detailing Armstrong’s civil lawsuit against the city of Houston. He alleges one or more people inside the Houston Police Department planted his father’s blood particle on a T-shirt admitted as evidence in his third capital murder trial. Word of the lawsuit emerged as jurors began deliberating his fate. Armstrong’s defense team questioned the presence of blood on Armstrong’s clothing during the seventh day of the trial. SEE MORE: Father’s blood found on AJ Armstrong, DNA expert testifies at 3rd trial Celestina Rossi, a blood spatter and crime scene reconstruction expert, testified that she discovered the blood on June 2, 2023, days before Armstrong’s trial was supposed to start, when she went to the HPD’s property to view the bloody pillows collected from Antonio Sr. and Dawn Armstrong’s bed. Rossi told the jury that when she was given the list of all the Armstrong evidence while in the police property room, she noticed Armstrong’s T-shirt, pants, and sandals had been collected. Rossi said when she laid out Armstrong’s gray T-shirt, she “immediately saw what appeared to be an almost reddish, brown stain touching the bottom of the police sticker.” The video above is from the June 20, 2023, report that’s mentioned in the Armstrong civil lawsuit paperwork. Upon further testing of the blood, Courtney Head, with the Houston Forensics Science Center, confirmed the blood is “very likely” from Antonio Armstrong Sr. Rossi testified that when she received the shirt, part of the police nametag appeared to be peeling, revealing the first stain. She conceded on the stand that the stain could be from cross-contamination. In the lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern Division of Texas, the gray T-shirt AJ was wearing at the time of the murders was tested by the Houston Forensic Science Center and no DNA was found. Additionally, the suit stated officers testified no blood was found on AJ when he was arrested. The suit further alleges that “human action” after the shirt was taken from AJ caused his father’s blood particle to be there. SEE MORE: New evidence, likely blood, in AJ Armstrong’s murder case, subject of postponed hearing, sources say The lawsuit doesn’t mention a specific monetary amount Armstrong seeks. None of his criminal case attorneys are representing him. Instead, Houston attorney Randall Kalinen is taking up the civil case, which he will discuss during a news conference set for Wednesday morning. Neither the city nor the police department has weighed in on the new litigation. For more on this story, follow Jessica Willey on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
Tuesday, August 15, 2023–9:57 p.m.-News Release- In light of several recent traumas, Blood Assurance is calling on the public to roll up a sleeve and be someone’s hero. Over the last week, the community blood supply has significantly diminished. Multiple emergency room patients at area hospitals have required a considerable number of units in order to survive. As of Monday, the blood bank had about a one-day’s supply of O-positive blood on its shelves. “While we welcome everyone to donate at this time, we are in critical need of those with O-positive blood,” said Dr. Liz Culler, Blood Assurance’s chief medical officer. “38% of the population is O-positive, making it the most common blood type. We know plenty of those folks are out there and we need them now.” To encourage donations, all type-O donors who give double red cells through the end of the month will receive a $50 digital gift card. Additionally, any type-O donor who has given blood since May 1 will get the same gift card if they come back and donate now. To be eligible to donate, you must be at least 17 years old (16 years old with parental consent), weigh 110 pounds or more and be in good health. Donors are asked to drink plenty of fluids and eat a hearty meal prior to donating. Donors can visit www.bloodassurance.org/schedule, call 800-962-0628, or text BAGIVE to 999777, to schedule an appointment. Walk-ins are also accepted.
Sign up for a full digest of all the best opinions of the week in our Voices Dispatches email Sign up to our free weekly Voices newsletter A new chemical analysis of the 15th century prince Vlad III, also known as Vlad the Impaler, revealed the terrifying military leader’s health conditions that likely inspired the creation of the literary vampire character Count Dracula. The new study, published recently in the journal Analytical Chemistry, found that Vlad probably had skin and respiratory conditions and could have even cried literal tears of blood. The ruthless prince – officially Vlad III, Voivode of Wallachia – lived in the southern region of Romania in the mid-1400s with historians estimating he killed over 80,000 people, many by impalement, earning him his nickname. He was also known as Vlad Drăculea – translating to “the son of the dragon” – which many believe inspired the popular character from the novel Dracula. In the latest study, researchers, including Vincenzo Cunsolo from the University of Catania in Italy, analysed for the first time letters penned by Vlad to learn more about the prince’s health as well as the environment he lived in over 500 years ago. Scientists say the molecules and proteins present in these documents could provide a unique understanding of the life and times of the ruthless military leader. Researchers used a special plastic film called ethylene-vinyl acetate (EVA) to extract any proteins or small molecules from the paper without damaging it. They then identified thousands of different small peptide molecules in the paper using a technique called mass spectrometry commonly used in labs to characterise chemicals. Of these molecules, scientists particularly focused their attention on the most degraded proteins as these were likely the oldest, and therefore, most likely to be from Vlad compared to newer, less-degraded proteins that could have originated from other people handling the letters more recently. They identified 16 proteins in total that were of human origin, relating to skin, breathing, and blood. The new findings suggest Vlad likely suffered from respiratory issues, and may have even had a condition called hemolacria that may have caused him to cry tears of blood – fitting for such a spooky character. “He might also have suffered from a pathological condition called hemolacria, that is, he could shed tears admixed with blood,” scientists wrote in the study. He could have been exposed to plague-related bacteria or even pesky fruit flies, scientists say. The research sheds light on how similar techniques can be used to better understand important documents of the past, as well as the people who may have written them. “It is worth noting that more medieval people may have touched these documents, which cannot be denied, but it is also presumable that the most prominent ancient proteins should be related to Prince Vlad the Impaler, who wrote and signed these letters,” scientists added.
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WBRC) -A lot of help is needed to help the wildfire victims in Hawaii. One way you can do that is by donating blood. Every two seconds someone in the U.S. needs blood, according to the American Red Cross. It’s especially vital after disasters like the wildfires in Hawaii. Your blood and platelet donations will help replenish supplies for areas impacted by disasters. According to reports, Maui hospitals are overwhelmed with patients including those suffering from burns. Plasma can help to heal burns, so that’s why the American Red Cross says it is important that people donate. “The Red Cross provides 40% of the nation’s blood and this is one of those times when that really comes in handy because we are able to have that blood collected in other areas and it can be sent to where it’s needed most,” Annette Rowland with the American Red Cross of Alabama said. If you have O-negative blood, you are strongly encouraged to give because it’s used most often in emergencies. To can donate to the efforts in Hawaii here. Get news alerts in the Apple App Store and Google Play Store or subscribe to our email newsletter here. Copyright 2023 WBRC. All rights reserved.
Red Cross says donation shortfall may impact blood supply The American Red Cross has seen a shortfall of about 25,000 blood donations in the first two months of the summer, which makes it hard to keep hospital shelves stocked with lifesaving blood products. By making an appointment to give blood or platelets in August, donors can keep the national blood supply from falling to shortage levels. Right now, the Red Cross especially needs type O negative, type O positive, type B negative and type A negative blood donors, as well as platelet donors. For those who don’t know their blood type, making a donation is an easy way to find out this important personal health information. The Red Cross will notify new donors of their blood type soon after they give. There are eight blood drives scheduled in Richland County from now until the end of the month, including drives at the Richland Mall Wednesday and Friday and again on Aug. 23 and Aug. 30. Schedule an appointment to give by downloading the Red Cross Blood Donor App, visiting RedCrossBlood.org or calling 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767). All who come to give throughout the month of August will get a $10 e-gift card to a movie merchant of their choice. Details are available at RedCrossBlood.org/Movie. Portion of Vennum Avenue closed Vennum Avenue from Ohio Street to Albert Avenue in Mansfield is closed for water main repairs. It’s expected to reopen by Friday. Traffic is advised to plan an alternate route to avoid possible delays. Book signing at Oak Hill Cottage The Richland County Historical Society welcomes author Christopher Kuntz for a presentation and book signing at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 16, at Oak Hill Cottage, 346 Oak Hill Place, Mansfield. Kuntz is the author of the book “Scott Brown: Cartoonist” about his grandfather and acclaimed national cartoonist who lived in Mansfield. Garden Club to celebrate its 95th anniversary Mansfield Garden Club will celebrate its 95th anniversary at 4 p.m. Friday at the Carriage House at the Kingwood Center Gardens. The Mansfield Garden Club is the oldest garden club in Mansfield and one of the oldest in the state. The group accomplished a lot over the years including landscaping the grounds around the newly built Mansfield General Hospital. They also created the Mansfield Park Association. The current group maintains the flower garden surrounding the downtown gazebo and decorates a tree in the gazebo and a room in the Kingwood Center mansion at Christmas. They recently had an aluminum sculpture erected in the garden by the Carriage House at Kingwood to honor the many hours of volunteerism by the garden clubs. Upcoming meetings: ● Shelby City Council Finance & Personnel Committee, 2:30 p.m., Thursday, conference room, 5 Water St., Shelby ● Shelby City Council Utilities & Streets Committee, 3:30 p.m., Thursday, conference room, 5 Water St., Shelby
August 16 marks 46 years since Elvis Presley died. His legacy lives on — not just for fans, but for those who got to know the man behind the music. More than 60 years after befriending the iconic southern crooner while enlisted in the U.S. Army, author Johnny Lang put pen to paper and documented a few of the fond memories he had with Presley in his novel, “My Army Days with Elvis: Friendship, Football, & Follies.” Lang exclusively told Fox News Digital he was motivated to write the novel after watching Austin Butler’s “outstanding” performance in the award-winning film, “Elvis.” Walking out of the theater with his children and grandchildren, Lang’s son asked, “What do you think, Dad? Do you think you’re ready to write a book?” ELVIS PRESLEY’S 1968 ‘BORDELLO’ SCENE ORIGINALLY CUT FOR BEING TOO RISQUE: DIRECTOR “After seeing this, man, it inspired me,” Lang responded. His wild memories with Elvis lasted a lifetime. From spending hours in training to countless weekends together playing football and nearly becoming blood brothers, Lang cherished the close bond he formed with the “Jailhouse Rock” singer. Author Johnny Lang detailed Elvis Presley’s humor and larger-than-life persona in a book about their time together in the Army. (Getty Images) Elvis was drafted into the Army in 1958 while Lang volunteered for the service, which was typical at the time. The only difference was that Presley already had thousands of fans across the country as the “Heartbreak Hotel” artist with a Las Vegas residency under his belt. Lang had seen Elvis on the firing range in Fort Hood, Texas, but his first opportunity to speak with the musician was on a train headed to New Jersey before they were due to hop on the USS Randolph to Germany. WATCH: Author Johnny Lang remembers special moment with Elvis Presley Charlie Hodge, Presley’s long-time best friend, introduced Lang to the singer while en route. ELVIS PRESLEY’S FINAL MONTHS WERE PLAGUED WITH PHYSICAL PAIN AS HE EMBARKED ON GRUELING TOUR, AUTHOR CLAIMS “I never met a celebrity in my whole life,” Lang recalled. “There’s Elvis, sitting down there like that, and I walk up to him, standing up and my heart’s going like this. And I just stare at him. Elvis Presley was drafted into the United States Army in 1958. (Getty Images) Presley stands with a group of young men at an induction center raising their right hands as they are sworn into the United States Army by an officer standing next to an American flag. (Hulton Archive/Getty Images) “And he’s looking at me. Finally, he says, ‘Sit down, chief.’ So I sit down, and I’m so nervous. I said, ‘Hey, will you autograph my grandmother’s picture? My sister’s picture? My mother’s picture?’ He says, ‘No problem.’ Anyway, I was there for about 15 minutes and in awe, in awe. And the last thing he says to me, ‘I’ll see you on the boat, Johnny. Maybe we can spend some time together.’ I say, ‘I’ll be looking for you.’” Presley was allowed to live off base while stationed in Germany, and Lang was a regular visitor. WATCH: Elvis Presley was a jokester at heart “I spent all my weekends at his house.” Lang said. “I’d get up about noon, and then at about one o’clock, I’d be at the house, and there would be about three or four hundred people there because they all want an autograph,” Lang said. “I just knock on the door. … I spent almost a year and a half with him every weekend. “We’d play football with three or four hundred people watching us play ball.” Presley served for two years and was discharged in 1960. (Michael Ochs Archive) Elvis Presley had already found fame when he was drafted into the Army in 1958. (Vittoriano Rastelli) One of Lang’s favorite stories with his friend was from a time Elvis had a head cold, and the pair shared a quiet, yet poignant moment together. “We were combat training in a place called Grafenwöhr,” Lang recalled. Presley had a “tank outfit” while Lang was in a “scout outfit,” but they somehow reconnected. “I find the barracks. Elvis is all by himself. So, I walk in and say, ‘Hey, babe, what’s going on?’ He says, ‘I don’t feel good. All the guys are at training. They left me here behind.’ So, he’s laying on an army bed, and I’m sitting there, just him and me. Biggest guy in the world. But we’re talking,” Lang remembered. ANN-MARGRET DESCRIBES HER ELVIS PRESLEY CONNECTION, REMEMBERS NIBBLING ON PAT BOONE’S SHOULDER “I sat on the edge of the bed, and I said, ‘Hey El, will you tell me something?’ I said, ‘Why are you, with all the fame you have and all the money you have, why are you and I friends?’ He said, ‘I’m going to tell you something Johnny Lang. You’d still like me if I was a janitor, and thank God I’m not.’ And I say, ‘You’ve got that right.’ I got up, and in my mind, I’m thinking, ‘Unbelievable, just him and I, the whole world would love to see it.’” Presley performed on the “The Ed Sullivan Show” Jan. 6, 1957, in New York City. (Michael Ochs Archives) Along with fellow recruits, Elvis (left) waits for a physical examination upon entering the U.S. Army at the Fort Chaffee training installation at Fort Smith, Ark., March 25, 1958. (Don Cravens) Lang remembered helping Presley fix his blanket because he wasn’t feeling his best and said, “You take care. I know you’re not feeling good. I won’t keep you up, but God bless you. I’ll see you when that opportunity arrives again.” “He said, ‘No problem, Johnny. Thanks for coming by.’ And that’s my favorite story of all. I mean. Entertainer of the century!” Elvis kept Johnny on his toes, too. WATCH: Elvis Presley had ‘the greatest laugh’ and a huge heart “You never know what he’s going to do,” Lang said. “He
LaRue to receive Ohio EPA funding for water treatment plant improvements COLUMBUS — Ohio EPA recently finalized the 2024 Drinking Water Assistance Fund (DWAF) program management plan, which includes more than $1.4 billion in funding requests. This funding will be used for a record number of infrastructure projects around the state. Among the communities to receive funding is LaRue, which was awarded $119,200 for design work and $1,640,000 for water treatment plant improvements. The DWAF provides financial and technical assistance for a variety of projects that help improve or protect the quality of Ohio’s drinking water. The 2024 DWAF program year runs from July 1, 2023, through June 30, 2024. Loan funds are available to all applicants that meet program requirements. FOP begins annual phone solicitation The Marion Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) began its phone solicitation Monday. This will run until Sept.1. The company that conducts the solicitation for the FOP is OTMC. If you have any concerns of the legitimacy of the phone call that you receive, you can always drop off a donation to the Marion City Police Department or the Marion County Sheriff’s Office. Red Cross says donation shortfall may impact blood supply The American Red Cross has seen a shortfall of about 25,000 blood donations in the first two months of the summer, which makes it hard to keep hospital shelves stocked with lifesaving blood products. By making an appointment to give blood or platelets in August, donors can keep the national blood supply from falling to shortage levels. Right now, the Red Cross especially needs type O negative, type O positive, type B negative and type A negative blood donors, as well as platelet donors. For those who don’t know their blood type, making a donation is an easy way to find out this important personal health information. The Red Cross will notify new donors of their blood type soon after they give. There are five blood drives currently scheduled in Marion County through August, including three at the Alber Red Cross Center and blood drives in LaRue on Saturday and in Prospect on Aug. 28. Schedule an appointment to give by downloading the Red Cross Blood Donor App, visiting RedCrossBlood.org or calling 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767). All who come to give throughout the month of August will get a $10 e-gift card to a movie merchant of their choice. Details are available at RedCrossBlood.org/Movie. Upcoming meeting: ● Marion County Park Board, noon, Thursday, Prospect Room, Marion County Building, 222 W. Center St., Marion
Menstrual products have been in use for a long, long time; reports point to 20 patents drawn out for them between 1854 and 1915. Interestingly, though, their much-advertised absorption capabilities weren’t based on actual tests involving human blood. The first study to use human blood to test the efficacy of period products was just published this month in the British Medical Journal’s Sexual and Reproductive Health. “No study exists comparing the capacity of currently available menstrual hygiene products using blood. Utilizing actual menstrual blood to test the collection capacity of menstrual hygiene products would be challenging, but blood products are a closer approximation than water or saline,” the authors noted. Until now, traditional substitutes for menstrual blood in research were saline water or, well, just water, The Guardian reported. Unfortunately, they weren’t too helpful in determining the products’ absorption capacities because neither is nearly as viscous as menstrual blood, which includes not just blood cells, but also secretions and tissue from the shedded endometrial lining. To address the gaps thus created in our understanding of how well menstrual products absorb actual blood, the present research involved two trials: the first one used O+ blood that expired 33 days prior, and the second one re-used the same unit of blood that had, by then, expired 58 days ago. The result: menstrual discs may be better-equipped to handle heavy flow, compared to pads, tampons, and period underwear. Hailing the new study for providing “practical, clinically relevant information to help patients match a product with their own menstrual protection needs, and better plan for the expense,” Dr. Paul Blumenthal, an Emeritus professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Stanford University, wrote in an editorial, “[H]aving data-driven estimates of menstrual product capacity was all the more important when you consider that menstruators carry the financial burden of accessing and purchasing menstrual products, pain control modalities, laundry and other menstrual hygiene items… Saline absorption is a surrogate for menstrual blood, but it is not a clinically meaningful endpoint that measures how a patient feels or functions with the tampon.” Related on The Swaddle: Is Delaying, Suppressing Periods Worth the Risk? Until 2017, sanitary napkin brands across the world shied away from even depicting menstrual blood as red — despite advertising the products’ blood-absorption capacity — in their ads. Meanwhile, India had to wait until 2020 for its first ad that didn’t pretend people bled blue on their periods. “A woman’s uterus isn’t a test tube, we aren’t bleeding blue. It is so important to normalize blood,” Afshan Shaikh, the director of the Indian ad, had told The Times of India. It shows how research on menstrual products has lagged behind public usage requirements considerably, and for too long. Just last year, a new report revealed how a number of India’s most popular sanitary pads contain toxic chemicals that can induce severe health issues in consumers — an alarming discovery since the vagina, being a mucous membrane, is highly permeable, and can absorb the toxins at a much higher rate than, say, merely the skin. Yet, despite the sanitary napkin market in India being valued at around US$618.4 million in 2021, this pertinent information eluded us. However, given that periods are largely considered a “women’s problem,” and medical science has a tendency to routinely ignore women’s health, it’s hardly surprising that any helpful research on period products is hard to come by. During the pademic, too, it had taken thousands of women to experience disruptions in their periods, and experts questioning data gaps and advocating for deeper investigations, before scientists studied the impact of the Covid19 vaccines — and the infection itself — on people’s menstrual health. Hopefully, however, research will continue in its present stride, affording people the information they need to make the right choice for themselves. “If you go to the store and you want to buy some salsa or hot sauce, there are standardized approaches to measuring the hotness of those products,” Blumenthal noted, explaining that, similarly, “menstruators might make different decisions if they were forewarned or forearmed with respect to the capacity of a given [period] product.”
The American Red Cross has seen a shortfall of about 25,000 blood donations in the first two months of the summer, which makes it hard to keep hospital shelves stocked with lifesaving blood products. Local residents will have an opportunity to donate Thursday, Aug. 24, from 12-6 p.m. at the Bott Community Center, 705 LaFayette, Warsaw. By making an appointment to give blood or platelets in August, donors can keep the national blood supply from falling to shortage levels. Schedule an appointment to give by downloading the Red Cross Blood Donor App, visiting RedCrossBlood.org or calling 1-800-RED CROSS (1-800-733-2767).
