Charter members of a key advisory panel to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and a broad range of environmental and health groups had sought to lower the amount of soot permissible, citing research that showed health risks from even small amounts over the course of a year.

EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson agreed with the advisory panel to strengthen daily air quality standards by nearly 50 percent, but did not follow their recommendation to reduce the annual standard to 13 or 14 micrograms per cubic meter of air.

The only 2 members of the 22 member advisory panel, who advised against tightening the standards, were a former longtime employee of General Motors and the former president of the Chemical Industry Institute of Toxicology, funded by chemical companies. Obviously, under this administration, business interests trump science and the public welfare at EPA.

A study of 1,984 adults from Columbia University Medical Center in New York, published in the Archives of Neurology, said there is growing evidence that the Mediterranean diet cuts the risk of stroke, heart disease and diabetes, suggesting that vascular factors may contribute to the chances of developing Alzheimer’s disease.

After taking into account other possible risk factors, researchers found that those in the top third in terms of how their diets matched the Mediterranean model had 68 percent lower odds of having Alzheimer’s disease than those in the bottom one-third.

A second study in the same publication, reported that Omega-3 fatty acid food supplements may slow mental decline in some patients with very mild Alzheimer’s disease, but do not appear to affect those with more advanced cases.