2011年1月31日 星期一

German investigators search for cause of deadly train crash

German investigators search for cause of deadly train crash

German officials are continuing their investigation into the cause of the
train collision over the weekend that killed at least 10 and left others
seriously injured.

The DW-WORLD.DE Article
http://newsletter.dw-world.de/re?l=ew7xqwI44va89pI3

美國國家應急中心(National Response Center)


康菲石油公司(ConocoPhillips, COP)向美國國家應急中心(National Response Center)遞交的文件顯示﹐該公司位於加利福尼亞州舊金山海灣地區的Rodeo煉油廠週日發生漏油和起火事故。 起火始於太平洋標準時間(PST)下午1:30左右﹐之前是一個油泵邊緣發生殘油洩露。 ...




:: NRC BACKGROUND ::

The primary function of the National Response Center is to serve as the sole national point of contact for reporting all oil, chemical, radiological, biological, and etiological discharges into the environment anywhere in the United States and its territories. In addition to gathering and distributing spill data for Federal On-Scene Coordinators and serving as the communications and operations center for the National Response Team, the NRC maintains agreements with a variety of federal entities to make additional notifications regarding incidents meeting established trigger criteria. The NRC also takes Terrorist/Suspicious Activity Reports and Maritime Security Breach Reports. Details on the NRC organization and specific responsibilities can be found in the National Oil and Hazardous Substances Pollution Contingency Plan while a simplified discussion of NRC tasking is outlined below.

On behalf of the Department of Homeland Security and the United States Coast Guard, the National Response Center:

Briefs the White House, Office of Homeland Security, Secretary of Transportation, and Chiefs of Modal Administrations regarding all significant transportation emergencies reported to the Center;

Provides information the Coast Guard's Office of Marine Safety, Security, and Environmental Protection as needed for a variety of reports, studies, or Congressional Inquiries;

Receives and relays reports of incidents reportable under the Hazardous Materials Transportation Act;

Provides electronic and hard copy incident reports to various DOT agencies;

And provides notification to specific DOT and National Transportation Safety Board offices of transportation related incidents that meet certain pre-established criteria.

On behalf of other Federal Agencies, the NRC provides the following services to enhance the Federal Response System:

For the Environmental Protection Agency, the NRC receives incident reports under the Federal Response System (FRS) which is supported under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA), Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, SARA Title III, and the Oil Pollution Act of 1990. The NRC disseminates telephonic and electronic (fax, email) reports of oil discharges and chemical releases to the cognizant EPA Federal On-Scene Coordinator (FOSC);

For the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the NRC acts as a 24 hour contact point to receive earthquake, flood, hurricane, and evacuation reports;

For the Nuclear Regulator Commission, and the Department of Energy, the NRC makes telephonic notification of all incidents involving radioactive material releases to the environment;

For the Department of Interior, the NRC receives reports of incidents involving Trans-Alaskan Pipeline Oil and electronically forwards the reports to the appropriate DOI representative;

For the Department of Defense, incidents involving transportation emergencies with DOD munitions or explosives are recorded and referred for action to the Army Operations Center. Any transportation anomaly involving hypergolic rocket fuels and oxidizers are recorded and immediately passed to the Air Force Operations Center.

The NRC established the Domestic Preparedness Chemical/Biological Hotline in conjunction with DOD and DOJ. The NRC takes reports via the toll-free number on potential or actual domestic terrorism and coordinates notifications and response with the Soldier and Biological Chemical Command (SBCCOM) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation;

For the Department of Health and Human Services, releases of etiological and biological agents are recorded at the NRC and referred to the Centers for Disease Control;

For the Federal Railroad Administration, the NRC maintains the 24 hour Rail Emergency Hotline (1-800-424-0201) to take reports of railroad incidents involving hazardous materials, grade crossing fatalities, accidents resulting in injury or death of railroad employees, and the refusal of railroad employees to submit to required toxicological testing.

Additionally, the NRC is the contact point for activation of the National Response Team and provides facilities for the NRT to use in coordinating a national response action when required.

The NRC is staffed by Coast Guard personnel who maintain a 24 hour per day, 365 day per year telephone watch. NRC Watch Standers enter telephonic reports of pollution incidents into the Incident Reporting Information System (IRIS) and immediately relay each report to the pre-designated Federal On-Scene Coordinator (FOSC). The IRIS system was designed and developed by the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Charleston, National Capital Region and is central to all NRC operations. The NRC also provides emergency response support to the FOSCs and has the ability to quickly place them in direct contact with expert technical support centers (ATSDR, CDC, CHEMTREC) if needed. To view the NRC 101 Slide Show Presentation, click here.

The data that is collected by the NRC is made available to the general public under the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and can be queried on-line via our web site. For written requests, please send your correspondence to the following address;

National Response Center
c/o United States Coast Guard
2100 2nd Street, SW
Washington, D.C. 20593-0001
ATTN: FOIA

2011年1月29日 星期六

自己的安全意識過於薄弱

昨晚從
浴室出來滑一交
自己的安全意識過於薄弱
要改進

反國光石化

黃俊儒》好樣的彰化高中學生

中時電子報 - ‎14小時之前‎
但絕對沒有人可以忽視日前近三百名彰化高中學生,一場「十分鐘護鄉土」行動背後的重要意義。 在這一場精簡版的社會運動中,這些高中生透過集體靜坐,勇敢、自主、理性地站出來表明他們對於自己家鄉土地的態度及立場。雖然整個活動過程僅是短短的十分鐘,但是對於台灣的 ...

反國光石化_彰中學生靜坐快閃_

中時電子報 - ‎2011年1月25日‎
反八輕民意澎湃,浪頭一個接一個,彰化高中學生發起「十分鐘護鄉土」快閃行動,昨天十點十分下課鐘響,約四百名同學從教室四面八方魚貫走出、戴上口罩在學校中正堂前靜坐聲援。沿海漁民、環保團體等五百多人則赴縣府,要求公告彰化海岸為國際級溼地、拒絕國光石化。 ...

追討未來

公民新聞 - ‎2011年1月28日‎
國光石化環評進入最後階段,反對浪潮一波接著一波,繼一千多位學者、六百多位藝文界站出來反國光、六萬多人連署搶救白海豚之後,反對聲浪逐漸發酵。大學青年展開行動,夜宿環保署門口;彰化高中學生在下課時間靜坐抗議,小朋友也不斷寄明信片給總統,希望總統把美好的彰化 ...

彰化鄉民反國光 彰中學生靜坐聲援

中時電子報 - ‎2011年1月24日‎
彰化芳苑大城鄉民反國光石化,上午前往彰化縣政府陳情,與員警發生推擠,而在不遠處,彰化高中數百名學生,也利用下課十分鐘時間,在校園以靜坐方式,表達反對破壞環境的訴求。 數百名彰化芳苑、大城鄉民,打扮成魚族,到彰化縣政府陳情,表達反對國光石化的立場,與警方 ...

彰化高中生談國光 - 自由電子報

自由時報 - ‎2011年1月24日‎
身為高中生,我們無法獲得第一手的調查及研究資料,只能以所學的價值觀及知識來判斷。我們對國光石化有三大質疑。 第一,國光石化對人民健康將造成影響。彰化市區本來就常聞到台化廠排出廢氣的臭味,空氣品質不佳。高中地理教到─台灣夏季盛行西南季風,加上彰化平原地勢 ...

反國光 彰化高中生戴口罩靜坐

蘋果日報 - ‎2011年1月24日‎
(中央社記者吳哲豪彰化25日電)國立彰化高中100多名學生今天利用下課10分鐘,戴上口罩靜坐反對國光石化。 抗議學生說,有責任及義務保護彰化,因此反對國光石化開發案。 100多名參加「愛彰化-借我下課10分鐘」活動的彰化高中學生,上午戴上口罩,利用下課10分鐘的時間在 ...

護濕地救彰化/反國光 數百人怒吼 - 自由電子報

自由時報 - ‎2011年1月25日‎
〔記者吳為恭、顏宏駿、蔡文正/彰化報導〕國光石化環評會議本週四召開,反國光石化的環保團體數百人,昨日大陣仗遊行到彰化縣政府,要求將國光石化預定地劃為國際級濕地,他們並指控縣府推動國光石化是圖利財閥,甚至阻撓劃為國際級濕地。 此外,國立彰化高中近三百名 ...

反國光 孩子抗議有理

聯合新聞網 - ‎2011年1月26日‎
上百名反對國光石化的民眾,廿五日聚集在彰化縣政府前面抗議,同一時間彰化高中也有四百多位學生,戴著口罩,在校園靜坐,表達反對國光設廠的訴求。 純樸的彰化縣,過去不曾有學生運動,現在彰化高中學生也反對。這個事件,真的需要中央政府好好深思,政府如此一意孤行, ...

The Challenger Shuttle 25 Years Later

The Challenger Shuttle 25 Years Later

A presidential panel, known as the Rogers Commission, was formed to explore the causes of the tragedy, which were linked to a failure in the O-rings sealing a joint on one of the rocket
Bettmann / Corbis

The Inquiry
A presidential panel, known as the Rogers Commission, was formed to explore the causes of the tragedy. The commission included astronauts Neil Armstrong (far left, first row) and Sally Ride (second from right, first row). The panel traced the disaster to a failure in the O-rings sealing


Read more: http://www.time.com/time/photogallery/0,29307,2044829,00.html#ixzz1CR4ULpgI

2011年1月25日 星期二

探討台灣的環境影響評估都淪為官方意見一面倒

昨天公視一節目
探討台灣的環境影響評估方式都淪為官方意見一面倒


  1. 環境影響評估條例

    申請環境影響評估研究概要 · 根據條例發出的環境影響評估研究概要 ...環境影響評估條例》登記冊辦事處的開放時間 · 裁決書. 環境影響評估程序 ...
    www.epd.gov.hk/eia/cindex.html - 頁庫存檔 - 類似內容
  2. 環境影響評估

    二、環境影響評估:指開發行為或政府政策對環境包括生活環境、自然環境、社會環境及經濟、文化、生態等可能影響之程度及範圍,事前以科學、客觀、綜合之調查、預測、 ...
    www.pabp.gov.tw/AreaBus/LibA/a0206relat_B18.asp - 頁庫存檔
  3. 環境影響評估

    要預防不當的開發行為對環境的傷害,開發前的環境影響評估是最好的預防措施。然而自我國實施環評法以來,環評並未發揮其預防的功效,反而成為政府為開發案合理化的一個 ...
    www.taiwanwatch.org.tw/magazine/magaz221.htm - 頁庫存檔 - 類似內容
  4. 環境評估」的新聞搜尋結果


    中央通訊社
  5. 我國投資環境 亞洲第二佳
    7 小時前
    【本報台北訊】經濟部投資業務處表示,美國商業環境風險評估公司(簡稱BERI)二○一○年第三次(十二月)的「投資環境風險評估報告」指出,我國的投資環境評比總分七十 ...
    人間福報 - 35 則相關文章

  6. 環境影響評估流程- 環境影響評估- 主題專區- 桃園縣政府環境保護局

    辦理說明會及處理民眾意見→提出環境影響說明書→轉送環境影響說明書至環保機關→環保主管機關審查委員會→有重大影響之虞進入第二階段環境影響評估→說明書分送有關 ...
    www.tyepb.gov.tw › 主題專區環境影響評估 - 頁庫存檔 - 類似內容
  7. 新北市政府環保局- 環境影響評估

    建立環境影響評估標準化作業程序:新北市政府環境保護局依環境影響評估法之規定,訂定「新北市政府環境保護區環境影響評估審查委員會組織規程」及「新北市政府環境影響 ...
    www.epb.tpc.gov.tw/web/SelfPageSetup?pageID...FP... - 頁庫存檔 - 類似內容
  8. 中国环境影响评价网

    - [ 轉為繁體網頁 ]
    2011-01-18 00:00:00.0 环境工程评估中心举办第一届全国大气环境影响评价研讨会 · 2011-01-14 00:00:00.0 2008年环保公益性行业科研专项《基于资源环境承载能力的全国 ...
    www.china-eia.com/ - 頁庫存檔 - 類似內容
  9. 環境影響評估法- 全國法規資料庫入口網站

    名稱, 環境影響評估法 英. 修正日期, 民國92 年01 月08 日. *立法歷程係連結至立法院全球資訊網「法律資料庫」。 ::: Q&A · 服務信箱 · 網站地圖. 瀏覽人數總計 ...
    law.moj.gov.tw/LawClass/LawContent.aspx?pcode=O0090001 - 頁庫存檔
  10. 高雄市政府環境保護局環境影響評估系統網站

    環境影響評估制度於西元1970年由美國所創立,之後逐漸為其它國家所接受並傲效,目前已建立完備環境影響評估制度之國家包括應國、法國、德國、荷蘭、瑞典、盧森堡、 ...
    eia.ksepb.gov.tw/depkmgeia/eia/ - 頁庫存檔 - 類似內容
  11. 國光石化環境影響評估疑問系列六國論一: 吹牛皮亡國« 台灣環境保護聯盟

    其實, 國光石化案的環境影響評估在今年4月中才舉辦第一次初審小組會議。 國光石化不像鄰家設置洗衣店, 是規模尺度與目前台塑六輕相當的開發行為。 對環境的影響當然非 ...
    www.tepu.org.tw › 最新消息新聞影音新聞稿 - 頁庫存檔
  12. 行政院環境保護署「環境影響評估書件查詢系統」

    行政院環境保護署. 審查會議預告 · 本署負責審查之環評書件及記錄. 環境影響評估書件查詢系統. 縣市負責審查之環評書件及記錄 ...
    ivy5.epa.gov.tw/eiaweb/ - 頁庫存檔 - 類似內容

2011年1月23日 星期日

Let's review the guidelines for some of the chemicals we handle

按下看大圖
漫畫來源: Ted Goff

中國的道路安全問題嚴重

昨天讀到四川成綿高速公路車禍 9人死亡
今天讀到

"安徽南洛高速20余輛車相撞 3人死亡24人受傷
國際在綫
1月22日淩晨,南洛高速公路231KM處發生了一起特大交通事故,截至發稿,事故共造成3人死亡,24人受傷,安徽省蚌埠市懷遠縣消防大隊消防官兵臨危受命,在其他乘客和附近村民的幫助下,經4個多小時全力救援,事故中的傷者全部成功救出。 當天淩晨,大霧再次襲擊懷遠縣,整個 ..."
這些在在表示
中國的道路安全問題嚴重
包括車子的安全和個人的防護
在在值得改善

2011年1月19日 星期三

法國施維雅公司“Mediator”減肥藥爆安全事故

減肥藥再爆安全事故 全球藥監收緊 紅線

鉅亨網新聞中心 (來源:財匯資訊,摘自:中國資本證券網) 2011-01-19 08:22:04

西布曲明之后,全球減肥藥領域安全事件再度升級。

法國公共事務監察總局日前公布的一項調查報告顯示,法國施維雅公司“Mediator”減肥藥涉嫌致死500人。更為嚴重的是,制藥企業存在涉嫌故意隱瞞藥品的副作用、欺騙消費者等行為。

調查部門的報告指出,“Mediator”主要成分苯氟雷司可能引起患者心臟功能損害,甚至危及生命。

作為法國第二大制藥公司,施維雅目前境外業務量占其業務總量的88%,產品以自行研發為導向,2009/2010財政年度的總銷售額達37億歐元。

“我們國家沒有批準使用苯氟雷司,國內目前作為藥品批準的唯一產品就是羅氏公司的賽尼可。”昨日,衛生部全國合理用藥監測系統專家孫忠實告訴《第一財經日報》,由於存在抑制食欲中樞等作用機理,對心臟存在潛在危險,苯氟雷司在國內并未被使用。

2010年10月30日,國家食品藥品監督管理局(SFDA)緊急宣布,停止西布曲明制劑和原料藥在我國的生產、銷售和使用,代表品種“曲美”等陸續退市,目前全國減肥藥市場上,作為治療藥品出現的僅余羅氏賽尼可。

孫忠實告訴記者,截至目前,賽尼可使用“相對安全”,主要是因為其作用機理和西布曲明不一樣,屬於非中樞神經控制,并不作用於全身。

事實上,由於與右芬氟拉明作用機理相近,醫學界對於苯氟雷司對心臟的潛在危害一直態度謹慎。

“因為存在引起心臟瓣膜缺損的嚴重不良反應,美國食品和藥物管理局(FDA)在1997年就對芬氟拉明和右芬氟拉明同時進行了召回,我國隨后也在1998年進行了安全召回。”孫忠實告訴本報,而苯氟雷司與前兩者作用機理類似,臨床使用上一直非常謹慎。

而苯氟雷司的使用與糖尿病市場的迅速擴張關系密切。

“苯氟雷司1976年投放市場時,施維雅公司以它的潛在藥效介紹這種新藥,稱它為治療高血脂和Ⅱ型糖尿病的輔助藥品。”這份報告指出。

作為最早進入中國的國際醫藥企業之一,早在1979年,施維雅就開始了與中國醫藥(行情,資訊)(600056)界的接觸。1980年,施維雅與中華醫學 會合作創辦了中國第一個中法醫學交流項目,并將治療糖尿病的藥物達美康及治療腦血管疾病的藥物都可喜引入中國。

除總部和研發中心設在北京,施維雅另在濟南、上海、杭州、廣州、武漢設有分支機構,在天津設有合資工廠。2009年,施維雅在中國注冊并上市的新藥達到13種,尤其在心血管、糖尿病及神經精神方面,近幾年來,每年的業務平均增長率保持在30%以上。

與此同時,特別值得注意的是,由於研究證明,苯氟雷司可能引起心臟功能損害,甚至危及生命,因此早在2009年就被法國政府列入禁售藥品名單。但此次施維雅事件明顯暴露出,藥物監管當局存在失察行為。

有媒體報導,鑒於該事件的嚴重后果,法國勞工、就業與衛生部長格扎維埃·貝特朗16日回應,這是一起“丑聞”,他將采取措施全面改革藥品監管系統。

幾乎與之同時爆出的美國強生藥物召回事件中,業內人士透露,FDA已經開始加大對藥品質量的督查力度和財政撥款。

而SFDA參考歐盟標準的新版GMP規範(《藥品生產質量管理規範》)已經進入最後的文件簽字階段,對藥品質量的動態監管是這部即將公布的文件中早已明確的核心內容。

氡(Radon)!

(舊譯作)(Radon)是一種化學元素,它的化學符號Rn,它的原子序數是86,是一種無色的惰性氣體,它是一種 放射性,無色,無嗅,無味的惰性氣體,具放射性,被認為是致癌物質流行病學明確表明吸入高濃度氡與肺癌的發病率有聯繫,因此,氡被認為是一種影響全球室內空氣質量的污染物。據美國環境保護局資料顯示,氡會增加患肺癌機會,每年在美國造成21000人因肺癌死亡。名稱由來是依據拉丁文「nitens」,意為「閃光的」。


Spotlight:

What's so dangerous about radon? Radon is a colorless, tasteless, odorless chemical element that seeps into the air and often accumulates in closed spaces near the ground, such as the basement in your home or in your child's school. A gaseous emission from the radioactive decay of radium, radon is itself highly radioactive and is considered a chief cause of lung cancer. Since radon is water-soluble, it is not uncommon to find the element in public water supplies. January is National Radon Action Month in America, aiming to increase public awareness of radon and its dangers. The only way to discover if your home has high levels of the element is to have the house tested. In the US, the Environmental Protection Agency will send you a kit with instructions on how to test your home's radon level. They also have suggestions on how to make your home radon-resistant.

Quote:

"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." Henry de Bracton

2011年1月17日 星期一

Danger of broken energy saving bulbs 省電燈泡打破時正確的處理方法

省電燈泡打破時正確的處理方法

省電燈泡打破會導致嚴重危險 Danger of broken energy saving bulbs
英國衛生部關於節能燈泡作出警告

這種類型的燈泡被稱為節能燈泡或省電燈泡,
如果打破後它會導致嚴重的危險!每個人都必須離開房間至少15鐘。

因為它含有汞(毒),多次接觸囤積對腦部最傷害。若吸入體內會造成偏頭痛,定向障礙,不平衡和不同的其他健康問題。

僅僅通過觸摸或吸入這種物質,有許多人有過敏反應,導致他們患上嚴重的皮膚病和其他疾病。

該部還警告!:一定要帶橡膠手套,
不要用真空吸塵器清理碎片及破碎的燈泡,因為它會蔓延到其他房間,污染家裡的環境。

必須通過正常的清潔刷和掃帚及保存在密封袋,即刻送至危險材料的管制收集處。

2011年1月16日 星期日

個人保護裝智: Selina...

按下看大圖
漫畫來源: Ted Goff


Selina拍《我和春天有個約會》被火燒傷,該劇導演陳銘章在意外發生的第二天發微博表示自己“有很大的責任”後就閉口不談,最近更投入新戲的拍攝。Selina將快出院了,但相關賠償問題懸而未決,粉絲、Hebe、Ella、Selina未婚夫張承中都在大聲疾呼導演、電視臺給個說法。 ...

2011年1月12日 星期三

China, in a Shift, Takes On Its Alzheimer’s Problem

The Vanishing Mind
Qilai Shen for The New York Times

A recreation room at the Shanghai No. 3 Elderly Home, which cares for people with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia.


SHANGHAI — Last year, an expensive, red-brick residential complex opened here, equipped with a hair salon, cinema, toy-cluttered game rooms and a karaoke suite offering the latest in pop music.

The Vanishing Mind

A Difficult Road Ahead

Articles in this series are examining the worldwide struggle to find answers about Alzheimer’s disease.

Qilai Shen for The New York Times

Qiu Jinzhen, who is suffering from dementia, at the nursing home in Shanghai.

The residents are not Chinese yuppies. They are older patients with Alzheimer’s disease or dementia in a nursing home that is on the forefront of a new effort by China to deal with its exploding elderly population.

“This is the best place we could imagine,” says Miao Yuqiang, a 49-year-old Shanghai bus driver who helped his 81-year-old mother enroll here. “By the time we found this nursing home, we were desperate.”

While many countries are struggling to cope with rapidly aging populations, in China there are forecasts that within three decades there could be nearly 400 million people over the age of 60 and, partly because of the one-child policy, a declining number of working-age people to care for them.

Recognizing the difficult road ahead, China is beginning to educate the public and the medical community about dementia, and big cities are making plans to build new facilities, like the Shanghai No. 3 Elderly Home.

The shift in attitudes is remarkable. A decade ago, many families were ashamed to admit that their elders had such a disease. And because of a lack of awareness about the disease, many dementia patients were confined to the psychiatric wards of hospitals, which placed steel bars over the windows.

But today, a growing number of families are desperate to place relatives in a nursing home. The problem, health experts say, is that there simply are not enough.

Health experts are predicting severe strains on the state and on working families here. And those strains could be compounded by the lack of awareness about Alzheimer’s disease and other forms of dementia, even among medical professionals in China.

“This is an impending health crisis for China, and it may even exceed what’s happening in the U.S. because of the one-child policy,” said Rhoda Au, an associate professor at the Boston University School of Medicine.

In Shanghai, China’s wealthiest and most dynamic city, an estimated 120,000 residents have Alzheimer’s disease or some form of dementia. But city officials can identify only a handful of nursing homes trained to care for dementia patients.

Worries about the growing ranks of the elderly are amplified by what is being dubbed the 4-2-1 problem. In part because of the one-child policy, soon a single person in China will be expected to help support two parents and four grandparents. And as the elderly live longer, they are more likely to develop dementia, which requires expensive care.

To cope with a severe shortage of nursing homes, Shanghai is proposing what it calls the 90-7-3 plan, which means 90 percent of the elderly will need to be cared for at home, while 7 percent make occasional visits to a community center and 3 percent live in nursing homes.

“We’re planning to build at least one nursing home that can care for dementia patients in every district,” Zhang Fan, deputy director of social welfare at the Shanghai Civil Affairs Bureau, said in a telephone interview. “Every year, we’ll need at least 5,000 additional beds.”

One of the major challenges will be figuring out who will pay for professional care. In the 1990s, China dismantled its old “iron rice bowl” system of cradle-to-grave financial support from the state. It was part of a move toward a more market-oriented economy. But it now means the nation’s social safety net is weak, and care for the elderly is underfunded.

Boston University is now conducting a study to measure dementia rates in China and to identify the factors that lead to higher risk. The aim is to slow the onset of the disorder and alleviate the heavy health care costs.

There is now pressure for speedier action. Although the Chinese have a tradition of caring for their elders at home, families in big cities complain about a lack of options.

Lu Peiyu has been struggling to find a place for her 63-year-old husband, who received a diagnosis of dementia three years ago. A former accountant, he is sitting at home because no one can be found to treat him.

“We thought about sending him to hospitals, but he ran away twice in two years,” said the man’s son-in-law. “The problem is there’s so far not a single nursing home that offered a suitable place for my father-in-law. Professional hospitals are all filled up, and private nursing homes don’t have qualified people.”

Mr. Miao, the Shanghai bus driver, is among those fortunate enough to have found a nursing home that can treat dementia.

His family’s ordeal is common here. Two years ago, his elderly mother began showing signs of memory loss after striking her head on the pavement outside her home.

She was hospitalized for a month. When she returned home — where she lived with her youngest son, Mr. Miao, his wife and their then 20-year-old son — she began to show signs of severe memory loss.

“She started getting lost on the street,” said the woman’s daughter-in-law, Luo Yuqin. “She’d even forget to turn off the boiling water on the stove.”

Today, Mr. Miao’s mother is at the Shanghai No. 3 Elderly Home and uses a wheelchair. She has lost her ability to speak and is prone to emotional fits, Mr. Miao said.

Mr. Miao visits her twice a week. A few Saturdays ago, he came with snacks and a plastic bag stuffed with hard-boiled eggs.

“Ma, is everything O.K.?” he said as he fed his mother from a small bottle of milk. Then, Mr. Miao’s wife jumped in, saying: “They really take care of her. We’re working people. We both drive a bus long hours. What would we do without this place?”

Dr. Zhang Naizi, president of the Shanghai No. 3 Elderly Home, says the center tries to care for dementia patients with a system of personalized attention that was first developed in Europe. The system includes keeping the patients active with memory games and insisting that the nursing staff constantly make hand contact with the patients, by simply rubbing their arms or hands while speaking to them, hoping to make them feel more secure.

He says the new facility has a multimedia room that can display images of Shanghai streets, and even images that appear to show the neighborhoods of the patients. This is supposed to make them feel at home. Many patients also wear GPS armbands that help the staff monitor their locations.

“I am proud to say we’re the first professional center for dementia patients,” Dr. Zhang said. “We are the first in the whole country. Ten years ago, dementia patients were sent to psychiatric wards. Things are different now.”

Chen Xiaoduan contributed research.

Doubt on Anti-Aging Molecule as Drug Trial Stops

Doubt on Anti-Aging Molecule as Drug Trial Stops

Stuart Bradford

The pharmaceutical company Sirtris announced last month that it had halted the last of its clinical trials of resveratrol, the minor ingredient of red wine that some researchers see as a drug that can extend life.

The decision signifies an apparent divergence of views on the merits of resveratrol between the current head of the company, which was bought by GlaxoSmithKline in 2008 for $720 million, and its founders.

George Vlasuk, Sirtris’s chief executive, said in an interview last week that SRT501, Sirtris’s formulation of resveratrol, “was not an important part of the acquisition of Sirtris by GSK.” Resveratrol has several features that make it unsuitable as a drug, he said. These include the fact that it is hard to maintain a consistent level of resveratrol in the bloodstream and that it seems to have different effects at different doses.

Resveratrol is thought to work in humans by activating a protein called SIRT1, but at some doses it actually inhibits SIRT1, Dr. Vlasuk said.

In addition, from a commercial point of view, resveratrol is a natural substance and not patentable.

Glaxo’s purchase of Sirtris, Dr. Vlasuk said, was more because the company afforded an entry into a new research field, and had developed several small, synthetic, patentable chemicals that mimic resveratrol in activating SIRT1. SIRT1 is thought to extend life in mice fed low-calorie diets, and researchers hope it may do the same in people by enhancing tissue maintenance and postponing the usual diseases of age.

Sirtris has completed three clinical trials with its synthetic resveratrol-mimicking drugs and will announce the results next year. These drugs work fairly specifically on SIRT1, unlike resveratrol, which also affects many other processes in the cell. “We have much more confidence that we are targeting SIRT1 and that it’s an important target. Resveratrol is not that important any more,” Dr. Vlasuk said.

But the co-founders of Sirtris, David Sinclair and Christoph Westphal, retain their confidence in resveratrol. Dr. Sinclair, a researcher at the Harvard Medical School, has long taken resveratrol. Referring to the unpublished results of a new trial with rhesus monkeys, he said that resveratrol “was and remains an excellent proof-of-concept molecule.”

Dr. Westphal said he believed there is accumulating evidence that resveratrol and Sirtris’s resveratrol-mimicking chemicals activate SIRT1, and that sirtuin-activating drugs have beneficial effects in animal and human studies.

Based on preliminary data about the synthetic drugs tested by Sirtris, “I’m as optimistic about the science and the potential of sirtuin activators as I’ve ever been,” Dr. Sinclair said. Sirtuin is the name of a family of proteins of which SIRT1 is the most important. Humans have seven sirtuins, all with different roles.

The rhesus monkey trial has been conducted by Rafael de Cabo, a researcher at the National Institute on Aging. It is similar to a study on mice in which he and Dr. Sinclair showed resveratrol extended the life of obese mice fed on a high-fat diet, but not of normal mice. Even the normal mice, however, showed some improvement on measures of heart function and bone loss. Dr. de Cabo said he could not discuss the results of the study until it is published. It looked at various markers of disease but did not try to assess resveratrol’s effect on longevity, given that rhesus monkeys live 40 years and it takes a long time assess any effect on life span.

“Resveratrol is a complex molecule in that it has many targets, and it behaves differently depending on the tissue and the metabolic status of the organism,” Dr. de Cabo said. That may make it too complex for a pharmaceutical company, which must prove to the Food and Drug Administration that a new drug works by a defined mechanism on a specific target. But resveratrol remains of great interest to researchers. “What is the actual use for humans still needs to be discovered,” he said.

Dr. de Cabo said he does not take resveratrol. “I don’t think it’s a reasonable thing for people to start consuming these compounds without more information,” he said.

2011年1月10日 星期一

中風服百憂解 可改善行動力

中風服百憂解 可改善行動力

〔國際新聞中心/綜合報導〕研究指出,中風之後5到10天內服用抗憂鬱藥物「百憂解」(Prozac),有助改善行動控制能力、即使中風也有機會自主生活。

刺胳針神經學期刊10日刊登的法國研究指出,在針對抗憂鬱藥物對中風復元療效迄今最大型的研究中,科學家發現,中風患者服用百憂解之後,在動作能力測驗中,表現比服用安慰劑的病患來得好。評論的專家表示,這項成果有「極大潛力改變臨床作法」。

法 國土魯斯大學醫院研究人員,在2005年3月到2009年6月間以118名中風患者為研究對象,他們在這些人中風5到10天之後將其分成兩組,一組讓他們 服用百憂解,一組讓他們吃安慰劑,時間持續3個月,期間患者持續接受物理治療,並在實驗之初及3個月期滿之後,分別接受動作技巧測試。

研究結果發現,服用百憂解的組別,3個月後的行動能力有顯著改善,平均分數提高34分,而服用安慰劑的組別,平均分數增加24.3分。

中 風之後最常見的問題就是半身不遂,之前已有小型研究顯示,百憂解等藥物或許有助中風患者恢復部分行動功能。科學家認為,服用隸屬於「選擇性血清素再回收抑 制劑」(selective serotonin re-uptake inhibitors,SSRIs)的百憂解等藥物,之所以對恢復行動能力有幫助,可能是這類藥物可增加中樞神經系統的血清,因此有助改善行動能力。

Plastic bag ban hits Italians

Inside Europe | 08.01.2011 | 07:05


Italy has officially binned the plastic bag. It's a revolutionary move for a country which accounts for one-fifth of Europe's plastic bag consumption.

A new law came into effect on January 1 that requires stores to supply their customers with biodegradable bags. However, customers are also being encouraged to cart home their goods in reusable cloth bags or shopping carts. But as Nancy Greenleese points out in this postcard from Rome, that may be going a little too green for many fashion-conscious Italians.

2011年1月9日 星期日

中風「FAST」笑手話時----無什麼大用處

中風「FAST」笑手話時----無什麼大用處

這是少數有Time的資訊
然而它不是時間序列 所以無什麼大用處

"笑手話時"等或許比較容易了解和記憶
****

" 天冷增加中風機率,衛生署國民健康局呼籲民眾牢記「FAST」,辨別中風四步驟:「F」是FACE,請患者微笑,觀察兩邊臉是否對稱。「A」是ARM,請 患者將雙手抬高平舉,觀察其中一隻手是否會無力垂下來。「S」是SPEECH,請患者讀一句話是否清晰完整,當三者症狀出現一種時,就要趕快送醫。「T」 是TIME,要明確記下發作時間。"

2011年1月5日 星期三

White House Probe Blames BP, Industry in Gulf Blast

White House Probe Blames BP, Industry in Gulf Blast


The explosion that triggered last year's Gulf of Mexico oil spill was an avoidable disaster that resulted from management failures by BP PLC and its contractors, a presidential commission has concluded. But the accident also reflected systemic failures by oil companies and regulators to deal with the risks of deep-water exploration, the panel said.

A report by the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling castigates BP and two of the British oil giant's contractors—Transocean Ltd. and Halliburton Co.—for missteps that contributed to the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history and the deaths of 11 rig workers.

The problems go far beyond BP, however, the report concludes—disputing oil-industry arguments that the April 20 explosion on the Deepwater Horizon rig was a one-time event caused by unusual and risky decisions by the oil company.

A presidential commission investigating the Gulf of Mexico oil spill has concluded that "systemic failures" and avoidable missteps contributed to the disaster. WSJ's Stephen Power discusses the implications for the oil industry in an interview with Kelsey Hubbard.

The panel said all three companies did a poor job of assessing the risks associated with their decisions and failed to adequately communicate, either with one another or with their own employees. Federal regulators lacked training and manpower to properly police the industry, the report finds.

The blowout "was not the product of a series of aberrational decisions made by rogue industry or government officials that could not have been anticipated or expected to occur again," according to a chapter of the report released Wednesday. "Rather, the root causes are systemic and, absent significant reform in both industry practices and government policies, might well recur."

The commission plans to issue the full report next week.

Editors' Deep Dive: Industry Lags in Spill Technology Innovation

Access thousands of business sources not available on the free web. Learn More

That conclusion could give regulators more ammunition to pursue tougher safety rules. At the same time, such efforts may be muted by pressure from lawmakers in both parties to allow deep-water drilling to resume.

BP said the excerpt released Wednesday, like the company's own internal investigation, concluded the accident "was the result of multiple causes, involving multiple companies."

BP added that it was working to ensure that lessons learned led to improvements in deep-water drilling, and that it had already made changes to strengthen safety and risk management.

A Transocean spokesman said procedures at the well in the final hours were directed by BP and approved by regulators. "Based on the limited information made available to them, the Transocean crew took appropriate actions to gain control of the well," he said.

Halliburton, which handled a cement seal on the well, said cement jobs "can go wrong even under optimal conditions." The company added that its cement mixture was designed to BP's specifications and passed its final laboratory test.

President Barack Obama, in setting up the seven-member panel last summer, said he wanted it to recommend safety and environmental precautions the government should take to prevent mishaps. Several other government entities, including the Justice Department, are conducting their own investigations.

European Pressphoto Agency

The Deepwater Horizon rig burns in April after an explosion that sent oil spewing into the Gulf of Mexico.

A U.S. Department of Interior spokeswoman said the Obama administration had announced a slew of new safety regulations since the accident, including requirements that drilling projects meet new standards for well design, casing and cementing, and be independently certified by a professional engineer.

But the economic and political environment has changed since the summer, when images of oil fouling Gulf beaches provoked outrage toward BP and rekindled worries about the safety of offshore oil drilling.

Since then, U.S. gasoline prices have risen to an average of more than $3 a gallon, unusually high for winter. Republicans, who are generally more supportive of the oil industry and domestic exploration, have regained control of one chamber of Congress.

The report is likely to turn attention back to BP after several months in which the oil giant sought to turn the spotlight on its contractors.

In September, BP issued its own internal investigation into the disaster, which concluded that although its workers bore partial responsibility for misinterpreting a key pressure test, most of the blame for the disaster lay with its contractors. In particular, BP blamed a bad cementing job by Halliburton and the failure of Transocean workers to detect and react to signs that explosive natural gas was entering the well.

The commission's report criticizes all three companies, but focuses most heavily on BP, which owned the well and oversaw drilling operations.

The report identifies nine decisions that increased risk while potentially saving time, and said BP was responsible for at least seven of them. The report doesn't accuse BP of actively choosing cost savings over safety, but says the company failed to put in place procedures to ensure that efforts to curb costs didn't compromise safety.

The report slams BP for making repeated alterations to the well design and procedure and says the company didn't "adequately identify or address risks" created by the changes. Among the changes: delaying setting a final plug in the well, which might have stopped gas from reaching the rig.

The report also criticizes BP for its "long-string" well design, which the commission says made it difficult to get a good cement seal at the bottom of the well. BP's internal report dismissed criticisms of the design as irrelevant.

The report does echo BP's criticism of Halliburton, however, arguing that the cement seal that should have prevented gas from entering the well failed. The commission chides Halliburton over what it says was the company's failure to immediately review the cement used at the well and to alert BP after tests indicated the mixture was unstable. Halliburton has previously said a final test showed the cement would work.

Associated Press

In a June 23, 2010 file photo, crews worked to clean up oil from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill washed ashore at Pensacola Beach in Pensacola Fla.

The panel also criticizes Transocean for failing to detect signs of trouble and for not adequately communicating to its crew lessons learned from "an eerily similar" near-mishap on one of its rigs in the North Sea four months before the Gulf blowout.

"Given the documented failings of both Transocean and Halliburton, both of which serve the offshore industry in virtually every ocean, I reluctantly conclude we have a system-wide problem," commission co-chairman William K. Reilly said in a statement Wednesday.

Write to Stephen Power at stephen.power@wsj.com and Ben Casselman at ben.casselman@wsj.com