Statin Use and Reduced Cancer-Related Mortality--標題寫得好!

Statin Use and Reduced Cancer-Related Mortality--標題寫得好!

文章日期：2013-05-17 11:57

不是只有台灣有健保資料庫~~~

 

Statin Use and Reduced Cancer-Related Mortality

Sune F. Nielsen, Ph.D., Børge G. Nordestgaard, M.D., D.M.Sc., and Stig E. Bojesen, M.D., Ph.D., D.M.Sc.

N Engl J Med 2012; 367:1792-1802November 8, 2012DOI: 10.1056/NEJMoa1201735

BACKGROUND

A reduction in the availability of cholesterol may limit the cellular proliferation required for cancer growth and metastasis. We tested the hypothesis that statin use begun before a cancer diagnosis is associated with reduced cancer-related mortality.

METHODS

We assessed mortality among patients from the entire Danish population who had received a diagnosis of cancer between 1995 and 2007, with follow-up until December 31, 2009. Among patients 40 years of age or older, 18,721 had used statins regularly before the cancer diagnosis and 277,204 had never used statins.

RESULTS

Multivariable-adjusted hazard ratios for statin users, as compared with patients who had never used statins, were 0.85 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.83 to 0.87) for death from any cause and 0.85 (95% CI, 0.82 to 0.87) for death from cancer. Adjusted hazard ratios for death from any cause according to the defined daily statin dose (the assumed average maintenance dose per day) were 0.82 (95% CI, 0.81 to 0.85) for a dose of 0.01 to 0.75 defined daily dose per day, 0.87 (95% CI, 0.83 to 0.89) for 0.76 to 1.50 defined daily dose per day, and 0.87 (95% CI, 0.81 to 0.91) for higher than 1.50 defined daily dose per day; the corresponding hazard ratios for death from cancer were 0.83 (95% CI, 0.81 to 0.86), 0.87 (95% CI, 0.83 to 0.91), and 0.87 (95% CI, 0.81 to 0.92). The reduced cancer-related mortality among statin users as compared with those who had never used statins was observed for each of 13 cancer types.

CONCLUSIONS

Statin use in patients with cancer is associated with reduced cancer-related mortality. This suggests a need for trials of statins in patients with cancer.

A Conference Just in Time

文章日期：2013-05-16 20:29

A conference just in time
多年前當大學生，喜歡在實驗課之後晃到思亮館去聽研討會
我們總是開玩笑說，最少有機會去吃吃COFFEE BREAK的高級餐點
多年過去，對於COFFEE BREAK越來越挑，卻還是喜歡參加研討會
聽來自不同領域的聲音與想法，
算一天下來只聽到幾句令人心動的話
或者比比人家的簡報技巧，都是收穫，
就像今天這場2013 ILA-ASOL ASIA-PACIFIC RESEARCH FORUM
International law and dispute resolution: challenges in the Asia Pacific
[2013年國際法學會亞洲研究論壇- 亞太地區挑戰: 國際法與爭端解決]
來自日本美國越南台灣中國的國際法學者熱烈討論東海南海的問題
大概在其他地方很難有這麼多國家專家能平和的坐在一起討論這些問題
雖然偶爾聞到些許煙硝味

安排豐富的圓桌論壇，還有同步翻譯，口譯者技術高超獨撐全場!
主持人是陳長文律師，果然步調沉穩，有大師風範~
左邊惟一的女性則來自日本，她也說道，日本認為釣魚台是沒有主權爭議的地方

每每覺得，其實政府官員更該靜下心來聽幾場
(或者派人認真聽幾場也可以)，
也許對未來施政能更有願景，更有方向，更說得出所以然

[不管聽眾是小學生還是大專家，大家都喜歡圖片繽紛的簡報檔
只是看到連國際學者都有些採用WIKI的圖片檔時
就開始猶豫到底要不要跟學生說不要隨便引用WIKI的資訊了!]


不過，還是跟往常一樣，
首領帶著大批隨扈，發表完開幕詞就走了~~~~
於是，仍就是言者諄諄，聽者藐藐，實在可惜了~~
再說，在晶華酒店開會很花錢的，結果只喝了一杯咖啡!!!




還有就是，英文再好也請不要賣弄，

美國來的講者溫文的慢慢講，讓與會者能夠清楚了解
反倒是有些臺灣人，不是因為覺得英文不好，就越講越小聲，
就是英文太好，怕人家覺得他英文不夠好，說起話跟連珠炮般不休息，
這樣，對於在場的日本、越南等其他非英語系國的人，其實是不禮貌的。

誰能解讀中國的遠洋漁業?

誰能解讀中國的遠洋漁業?

文章日期：2013-05-15 14:07

    幾年前看過外國人寫有關台灣遠洋漁業的文章，不過就是找年報資料開始拼湊，嘗試了解臺灣，總不免有些誤解或偏見出現。最近幾年，臺灣自己學者寫的文章多了，此類情況就少得多。

      相對的，還是有人對中國有興趣，第一篇文章是2001年代Pauly 等人大膽揭露中國大陸高報沿近海漁業產量。此舉讓中國一度不願意提報漁獲量給FAO、繼而展開漁獲量調查，後來宣稱此虛報狀況已經有效改善。

     第二篇Marine Policy文章在度嘗試用各種資訊了解中國遠洋漁業與非洲的漁業合作關係，當然不免用現有統計資料推測(穿鑿附會)一番。

     第三篇Fish and Fisheries的文章，則是Pauly等人捲土重來，認為中國大陸低報遠洋漁業產量。

     但不知這高報與低報之間，到底中國的總產量、乃至全球的總產量是高是低呢？

     說真的，漁業的不確定性太高，比天氣還難預測的多，這些推估能有多準呢？科學家們心裡也有數，特別是參加過很多科學會議之後，發現許多科學其實也參雜政治色彩，就當是成就一篇篇PAPER吧!

 

Reg Watson & Daniel Pauly, 2001, Systematic distortions in world fisheries catch trends, Nature 414, 534-536 | doi:10.1038/35107050

Over 75% of the world marine fisheries catch (over 80 million tonnes per year) is sold on international markets, in contrast to other food commodities (such as rice). At present, only one institution, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) maintains global fisheries statistics. As an intergovernmental organization, however, FAO must generally rely on the statistics provided by member countries, even if it is doubtful that these correspond to reality. Here we show that misreporting by countries with large fisheries, combined with the large and widely fluctuating catch of species such as the Peruvian anchoveta, can cause globally spurious trends. Such trends influence unwise investment decisions by firms in the fishing sector and by banks, and prevent the effective management of international fisheries.

 

Mallory, T. G. (2013). China's distant water fishing industry: Evolving policies and implications. Marine Policy, 38(0), 99-108. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.marpol.2012.05.024

Abstract

This article examines China's distant water fishing industry, with a focus on China's bilateral fisheries access agreements in Africa. The article argues that China largely conforms to international norms and rules on sustainable fisheries, but that challenges remain in efforts to work with China on the sustainable management of fish stocks. Developed countries contribute to China's policies and behavior in international fisheries in both positive and negative ways.

Pauly, D., D. Belhabib, R. Blomeyer, W. W. W. L. Cheung, A. M. Cisneros-Montemayor, D. Copeland, S. Harper, V. W. Y. Lam, Y. Mai, F. Le Manach, H. Österblom, K. M. Mok, L. van der Meer, A. Sanz, S. Shon, U. R. Sumaila, W. Swartz, R. Watson, Y. Zhai, and D. Zeller. 2013. China's distant-water fisheries in the 21st century. Fish and Fisheries: doi: 10.1111/faf.12032.

We conservatively estimate the distant-water fleet catch of the People's Republic of China for 2000–2011, using a newly assembled database of reported occurrence of Chinese fishing vessels in various parts of the world and information on the annual catch by vessel type. Given the unreliability of official statistics, uncertainty of results was estimated through a regionally stratified Monte Carlo approach, which documents the presence and number of Chinese vessels in Exclusive Economic Zones and then multiplies these by the expected annual catch per vessel. We find that China, which over-reports its domestic catch, substantially under-reports the catch of its distant-water fleets. This catch, estimated at 4.6 million t year−1 (95% central distribution, 3.4–6.1 million t year−1) from 2000 to 2011 (compared with an average of 368 000 t·year−1 reported by China to FAO), corresponds to an ex-vessel landed value of 8.93 billion € year−1 (95% central distribution, 6.3–12.3 billion). Chinese distant-water fleets extract the largest catch in African waters (3.1 million t year−1, 95% central distribution, 2.0–4.4 million t), followed by Asia (1.0 million t year−1, 0.56–1.5 million t), Oceania (198 000 t year−1, 144 000–262 000 t), Central and South America (182 000 t year−1, 94 000–299 000 t) and Antarctica (48 000 t year−1, 8 000–129 000 t). The uncertainty of these estimates is relatively high, but several sources of inaccuracy could not be fully resolved given the constraints inherent in the underlying data and method, which also prevented us from distinguishing between legal and illegal catch.

已開發與開發中國家漁業合作的爭論~~

已開發與開發中國家漁業合作的爭論~~

文章日期：2013-05-14 11:48

Gagern, A. and J. van den Bergh (2013). "A critical review of fishing agreements with tropical developing countries." Marine Policy 38(0): 375-386.
心得
-從魚線的盡頭開始，就有不少聲音質疑雙邊漁業合作的模式，美其名能夠充分利用海洋資源、也提供開發中國家經濟資助。
-此篇文章作者(來自歐洲西班牙等國的環保團體)認為許多漁業協定中的遠洋漁業國家已經越來越不負責任(這是在說誰呢)，對於資源傷害日增，而沿岸國受益有限!
-這些文章裡面多少會提到台灣，但因為資訊不充分，往往顯得片段
 ==>我們真的應該好好寫篇有關台灣遠洋漁業雙邊多邊合作的"貢獻"~
Abstract
 Many African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries sell fishing licenses to distant water fleets. Fishing agreements have the potential to improve the performance of local fishing sectors. They create income that can be reinvested into domestic industries and often go along with partnerships in management and enforcement. However, many fishing agreements run a serious risk of undermining sustainable resource management. The present study critically reviews trends in distant water fishing as well as identifies those tropical host countries most dependent on fishing agreements. It is shown that traditional, more responsible distant water fleets (DWFs) are being displaced by less responsible, low-cost DWFs and that the most vulnerable host countries are small coastal states with large exclusive economic zones that lack the ability to benefit from value adding processes associated with fishing. The results suggest that the once-promising concept of fishing agreements is gradually posing a threat to both economic development and environmental sustainability of ACP countries.

太平洋島國絕對不是省油的燈

文章日期：2013-05-14 12:11

Havice, E. and K. Reed (2012). "Fishing for Development? Tuna Resource Access and Industrial Change in Papua New Guinea." Journal of Agrarian Change 12(2-3): 413-435.

心得
  PNG(巴布亞紐新幾內亞，業者又稱之巴新，可不是巴西)，是在國內"赫赫有名"的太平洋島國，早期台灣圍網船(還有其他國家)付費入漁，彼此各取所需，相安無事。
 近來，PNG不再只要"魚"，更想擁有釣竿，這下子開始要求投資罐頭廠、使用當地勞工，於是，重新改寫漁業合作的模式，
   未來將如何發展呢？to be continued.
Abstract
 Papua New Guinea (PNG) is an island state with sovereign rights over valuable tuna resources. Historically, PNG captured value from tuna only by charging licensing fees to foreign fishing fleets, which relegated PNG as a source of raw material for the global tuna industry. To capture more value from tuna – including much-needed jobs and infrastructure – the PNG government now offers firms that invest in domestic tuna processing plants strategic, long-term fishing licences. This strategy of ‘obligating embeddedness’ enables PNG to reorder the international division of labour in the canned tuna sector, but socio-economic outcomes are shaped by competition within the global tuna industry, the core business strategies of foreign firms and domestic conditions in PNG. Ultimately, a state's right to control the terms of access to tuna is not synonymous with its ability to shape the local-level consequences that emerge as firms comply. These findings reveal the peculiar nature of state sovereignty over pelagic marine resources and the complications of exploiting them to achieve domestic economic and social objectives.

新北市可以釣魚的漁港不少

新北市可以釣魚的漁港不少! (不能釣的港也大有人去!)

文章日期：2013-05-14 08:26

在新北市非開放港區下竿 最高罰15萬

【聯合報╱記者黃福其／板橋報導】 2013.05.14 03:37 am

新北市海岸有30處漁港，市府僅公告開放10處漁港部分港區供垂釣；但許多釣友任意在非開放港區或其他漁港下竿，不但妨害漁船、港區車輛進出，還曾發生甩鉛垂、丟酒瓶擊傷漁民等糾紛。市府農業局已與海巡署、警方組成聯合稽查小組，本月至10月鎖定13座漁港加強稽查違法下竿，若釣友拒絕配合，依漁港法可開罰3萬至15萬元。 新北市農業局自1996年配合漁港法修法，在全市30處漁港擇定淡水第二、後厝、草里、中角、水尾、野柳、深澳、水湳洞、和美及福隆等10處漁港，公告部分不影響漁船進出的港區可下竿港釣。 但不少釣客卻常在10處漁港的非公告港釣區下竿，甚至其餘20處漁港也常見釣客身影，以富基、磺港、澳底最多。尤其魚況佳時，釣客蜂擁而至，車輛在港區亂停，屢生糾紛，以夏季晚間最常見。 萬里區漁會總幹事許順發舉例說，野柳港曾發生港區停滿釣客的車，釣客多到連攤販都趕來作生意，不但造成髒亂，還導致接運紅蟳的水車受阻，無法進碼頭接運，船上紅蟳死了不少，漁民平白損失。 另曾有漁船進港受阻，與堤岸上釣客喊話爭吵時，釣客群裡突然拋出一只酒瓶砸傷漁民，因查不到丟瓶者而不了了之。 他說，漁民熱情好客，不會排斥守規矩的釣客，但不守規矩的釣客讓人深惡痛絕，除了市府加強稽查，也希望釣客自制。 漁管處長汪昭華說，夏季白帶魚、硬尾仔或鯖魚等洄游性魚類追逐小魚進漁港，釣客就會湧入，造成漁民困擾、作業受阻；去年起首度進行聯合稽查，共開出約500張勸導單，今年自本月起再度聯合稽查，每周至少一次。

全文網址: 在新北市非開放港區下竿 最高罰15萬 | 大台北 | 地方新聞 | 聯合新聞網 http://udn.com/NEWS/DOMESTIC/DOM2/7895408.shtml#ixzz2TDpVu2ly

韓國海岸廢棄物對於野生動物的衝擊

韓國海岸廢棄物對於野生動物的衝擊Impacts of marine debris on wild animals in the coastal area of Korea

文章日期：2013-05-13 22:59

Reference

Mar Pollut Bull. 2013 Jan 15;66(1-2):117-24. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2012.10.022. Epub 2012 Nov 28.

Impacts of marine debris on wild animals in the coastal area of Korea.

Hong S, Lee J, Jang YC, Kim YJ, Kim HJ, Han D, Hong SH, Kang D, Shim WJ.

Source

摘要

  韓國也體悟到海洋垃圾對於沿海生態系的衝擊，所以在2010年2月到2012年3月，兩年期間收集資料發現有18種鳥類，2種哺乳動物，甲殼類和1種共21種受到衝擊。其中包括五個威脅或保護物種江豚的黑面琵鷺，大天鵝，獐，和彩鷸。其中發現不少休閒漁具，所以，休閒漁業活動應該列為優先管理重點。

==>這件研究有趣的地方是利用公民科學的方式蒐集資料，也就是教育推廣大眾參與並回報資訊!

Abstract

Over the last decade, marine debris has become a major factor affecting the coastal ecosystem of Korea. This study compiled information regarding how marine debris impacts wildlife in Korea. Cases of marine debris impacting wildlife were collected from experts of various fields and from local participants through an open access website from February 2010 to March 2012. A total of 21 species were affected by marine debris: 18 species of birds, 2 species of mammals, and 1 species of crustacean. Five threatened or protected species were identified: black-faced spoonbill, finless porpoise, water deer, whooper swan, and greater painted snipe. Recreational fishing gears were the types of debris that most frequently impacted wildlife, especially birds. Black tailed gulls were the most vulnerable species to recreational fishing hooks and lines. Although it was preliminary, this study revealed that recreational fishing activities should be prioritized when managing marine debris in Korea.

其他參考文獻

Derraik, JoséG.B. (2002). The pollution of the marine environment by plastic debris: a review, Marine Pollution Bulletin, 44(9): 842-852.
Kruger, L. E., Shannon, M. A. (2000). Getting to know ourselves and our places through participation in civic social assessment, Society and Natural Resources, 13: 461-478

以類神經網路辨別VMS資料庫捕撈位置:以秘魯鯷魚圍網為例

文章日期：2013-05-13 17:03

Joo, R., Bertrand, S., Chaigneau, A., & Ñiquen, M. (2011). Optimization of an artificial neural network for identifying fishing set positions from VMS data: an example from the Peruvian anchovy purse seine fishery. Ecological Modelling, 222(4), 1048-1059.

摘要

目前大規模的船隊活動可透過漁船監控系統追蹤查詢，這些漁船位置被期待可用於提升漁獲努力量的估計或管理。但無法提供漁船是否進行捕撈的實際訊息。VMS數據通常只依據簡單的標準進行檢測(例如速度之閾值)，並都集中在檢測真陽性上，並不重視估計誤差。在秘魯鯷魚捕撈的案例中，這些標準高估了總量的182%。為了解決這個問題，本研究將介紹類神經網路(ANN)的方法。為設置ANN參數的最佳化，透過敏感度分析進行幾項優化:(1)內部結構及演算法培訓(2)培訓演算法所需資料庫大小與組成之選取規則。優化後的ANN可改善捕撈位置與數量之估計。在本研究中，ANN減少了1%的估計誤差並獲得了76%的真陽性。儘管是使用於秘魯鯷魚漁業數據，但這種ANN可根據VMS和觀察員的資料運用在各種漁業上，具有廣泛的潛在價值。為了提高ANN結果的準確率，本研究也提出了一些改善利用觀察員和VMS數據抽樣設計的建議。

ABSTRACT:

The spatial behavior of numerous fishing fleets is nowadays well documented thanks to satellite Vessel Monitoring Systems. Vessel positions are recorded on a frequent and regular basis which opens promising perspectives for improving fishing effort estimation and management. However, no specific information is provided on whether the vessel is fishing or not. To answer that question, existing works on VMS data usually apply simple criteria (e.g. threshold on speed). Those simple criteria generally focus in detecting true positives; conversely, estimation errors are given no attention. For our case study, the Peruvian anchovy fishery, those criteria overestimate the total number of fishing sets by 182%. To overcome this problem an artificial neural network (ANN) approach is presented here. In order to set both the optimal parameterization and use “rules” for this ANN, we perform an extensive sensitivity analysis on the optimization of (1) the internal structure and training algorithm of the ANN and (2) the “rules” used for choosing both the relative size and the composition of the databases (DBs) used for training and inferring with the ANN. The “optimized” ANN greatly improves the estimates of the number and location of fishing events. For our case study, ANN reduces the total estimation error on the number of fishing sets to 1% (in average) and obtains 76% of true positives. While fitted on Peruvian anchovy fishery data, this type of neural network approach has wider potential and could be implemented in any fishery relying on both VMS and at-sea observer data. In order to increase the accuracy of the ANN results, we also suggest some criteria for improving sampling design by at-sea observers and VMS data.