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Week of September 23, 2013 |
| For Your Health |
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| Job opportunities |
| National |
| Other Breaking News Items |
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For Your Health
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Routine Colonoscopy Only Identifies Colon Cancer in 1% of Cases
The team assessed colonoscopies performed between 2000 and 2011 and found that only 1%, 2 of the 160 patients enrolled for colonoscopy,
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had a primary colon cancer identified, and both died within one month. �The cost per colon cancer identified, based on current Medicare reimbursement rates, was approximately $85,000. In addition, adverse events that require additional interventions and prolonged hospitalizations in an already sick population may occur rarely,� said Professor L. Laine, from the Yale University School of Medicine. �One patient had a perforation that required surgery and resulted in the patient having a colostomy during her last months of life.� |
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Exercise may help stave off Alzheimer�s Courtesy of the University of Maryland Moderate exercise seems to im�prove memory function in people at risk for Alzheimer�s disease, possibly helping to ward off symptoms of the memory-robbing illness, scientists have found.
�No study has shown that a drug can do what we showed is possible with exercise,� said study leader J. Car�son Smith of the University of Maryland. The researchers studied people with a condition considered a risk factor for Alzheimer�s: mild cognitive impairment, or MCI, which signals an age-associated memory loss that�s greater than nor�mal.
"After 12 weeks of being on a moderate exercise program, study participants improved their neural efficiency � basically they were using fewer neural [brain] resources to perform the same memory task,� said Smith. The findings are published in the Jour�nal of Alzheimer�s Disease.
Two groups of physically in�active older adults ranging from 60-88 years old were put on a 12-week exercise program that focused on regular treadmill walking, guided by a personal trainer. Both groups � one with MCI and the other with healthy brain function � improved their
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cardiovascular fitness by about 10 percent, the study found. Both also improved memory performance and showed enhanced �neural efficiency� during memory tasks.
The results were achieved with exercise consistent with the physical activity recommendations for older adults, the scientists said. These call for moderate intensity exercise (activity that increases your heart rate and makes you sweat, but isn�t so strenuous that you can�t hold a conversation while doing it) on most days for a weekly total of 150 minutes.
The exercise intervention was also found to improve word recall via a �list learning task.� In this, people were read a list of 15 words and asked to remember and repeat as many words as possible on five consecutive attempts, and again after a distraction of being given another list of words.
�People with MCI are on a very sharp decline in their memory function, so being able to improve their recall is a very big step in the right direction,� Smith said. The results suggest that exercise may reduce the need for over-activation of the brain to correctly remember something, he added. |
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Study uncovers value of Mammogram Screening for younger women A new analysis has found that most deaths from breast cancer occur in younger women who do not receive regular mammograms. Published early online in CANCER, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society, the study indicates that regular screening before age 50 should be encourage .
The use of mammograms to prevent breast cancer deaths has been controversial, especially after the United States Preventive Services Task Force proposed in 2009 to limit screening to women aged 50-74 years. Studies show varying benefits, and advances in treatment may have diminished the importance of early detection.
Blake Cady, MD, Professor of Surgery (emeritus) of Harvard Medical School in Boston, and his colleagues set out to provide more definitive information on the value of mammography screening through a technique called �failure analysis.� Such analyses look backward from death to discover correlations at diagnosis, rather than looking forward from the start of a study. Only one other failure analysis related to cancer has been published to date. In this analysis, invasive breast cancers diagnosed at Partners HealthCare hospitals in Boston between 1990 and 1999 were followed through 2007. Data for the study included demographics, mammography use, surgical and pathology reports, and recurrence and death dates.
Among 609 confirmed breast cancer deaths, 29 % were among women who had been screened with mammography, while 71 percent were among unscreened women. |
Of all breast cancer deaths, only 13 % occurred in women aged 70 or older, but 50 % occurred in women under age 50. Among women diagnosed with breast cancer, those who died of the disease were a median of 49 years old at diagnosis; for those dying of any other cause, the median age at diagnosis was 72 years.
�The biological nature of breast cancer in young women is more aggressive, while breast cancer in older women tends to be more indolent. This suggests that less frequent screening in older women, but more frequent screening in younger women, may be more biologically based, practical, and cost effective,� said Dr. Cady.
This study also showed a dramatic shift in survival from breast cancer associated with the introduction of screening. In 1969, half of women diagnosed with breast cancer had died by 12.5 years after diagnosis. Among the women with invasive breast cancer in this review who were diagnosed between 1990 and 1999, only 9.3 percent had died. �This is a remarkable achievement, and the fact that 71 % of the women who died were women who were not participating in screening clearly supports the importance of early detection,� said co-author Daniel Kopans, MD, of Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital. He added that a number of research articles have inaccurately claimed that screening leads to over diagnosis.
�None of these papers have actually looked at individual women but have used registry data, and this has led to false conclusions�This present paper examines each woman as an individual with direct data on who was screened and which women died of breast cancer. It addresses the question from a different and unique perspective." |
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New Screening Strategy May Catch Ovarian Cancer A new screening strategy for ovarian cancer appears to be highly specific for detecting the disease before it becomes lethal. The strategy is described in a study published early online in Cancer, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Cancer Society. If verified in an ongoing clinical trial, it could potentially help save the lives of thousands of women each year in the United States alone.
There currently are no established screening strategies for ovarian cancer. The disease often causes no specific symptoms and is difficult to detect in the early stages when it is most responsive to treatment. Therefore, ovarian cancer is highly lethal because most women have advanced disease when they are diagnosed.
Karen Lu, MD, of The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, led a team that tested the potential of a two-stage ovarian cancer screening strategy that incorporates changes in a blood protein called CA125, which is a known tumor marker. In their 11-year study, 4051 post- menopausal women initially underwent an annual CA125 blood test. Based on a calculation called the �Risk of Ovarian Cancer Algorithm,� women were divided into three groups: those who should receive another CA125 test one year later (low risk), those who should receive a repeat CA125 in three months (intermediate risk), and those who should receive a transvaginal ultrasound and be referred to a |
gynecologic oncologist (high risk).
An average of 5.8 % of women were found to be of intermediate risk each year, meaning that they should receive a CA125 test in three months. The average annual referral rate to transvaginal ultrasound and review by a gynecologic oncologist was 0.9 percent. Ten women underwent surgery based on their ultrasound exams, with four having invasive ovarian cancers, two having ovarian tumors of low malignant potential, one having endometrial cancer, and three having benign ovarian tumors. This equates to a positive predictive value of 40 percent for detecting invasive ovarian cancer. The specificity of the testing strategy was 99.9 percent, meaning that only 0.1 percent of patients without cancer would be falsely identified as having the disease. Importantly, all of the ovarian cancers were early stage.
The findings indicate that this screening strategy achieves high specificity with very few false positive results in post-menopausal women. �The results from our study are not practice-changing at this time; however, our findings suggest that using a longitudinal (or change over time) screening strategy may be beneficial in post-menopausal women with an average risk of developing ovarian cancer,� said Dr. Lu. �We are currently waiting for the results of a larger, randomized study currently being conducted in the United Kingdom that uses the same Risk of Ovarian Cancer Algorithm in a similar population of women. If the results of this study are also positive, then this will result in a change in practice.� |
Job opportunities
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Mepps looking for Communications Director After 27 years at Sheldons', Inc. (Mepps & Mister Twister) Communications/Creative/Promotions Director Jim Martinsen is retiring, so Sheldons' needs a Communications/Creative/Promotions Director. As you know, Sheldons' has been a leader in the fishing tackle industry for more than 75 years. They're the maker of the Mepps Aglia, the World's #1 fishing lure. In fact, Sheldons' currently manufactures more than 4-thousand different Mepps spinners and spoons. They need someone with the following background/skills:
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Sheldons' offers a competitive benefits package to include: 401k, vacation, profit sharing, health coverage for you and your family, relocation assistance, and employee discounts. |
National
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Are the Feds still planning to close national fish hatcheries? USFWS officials told to "Stand Down" but� Federal budget cuts (make that federal officials and the Obama administration) are threatening to close the 117-year-old D.C. Booth Historic National Fish Hatchery in Spearfish, a non-profit group that supports the hatchery has said.
There is also a hit list of at least six other hatcheries throughout the southern states that were originally scheduled for closure October 1.
However, in recent conference calls with other assistant regional Fisheries directors throughout the country and a subsequent call to our office, we were told agency officials were instructed to "Stand Down". Admittedly, the USFWS, largely due to tremendous pressure from the angling community to their elected federal officials, were forced to back down � at least temporarily.
The Booth hatchery in Missouri is one of multiple fish hatcheries across the country targeted by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, which is prioritizing other programs over the National Fisheries Program, according to the Booth Society Inc. The USFWS has not confirmed that a decision to close the hatchery has been made.
One federal legilator, U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) announced the U.S. Department of Interior has decided it will not close any national fish hatcheries around the country in the next month as feared � including at Dale Hollow and Erwin � and that it will work on a long-term solution to keeping them open.
�I appreciate Interior Secretary Jewell heeding the concerns of Tennesseans and others around the country who depend upon these hatcheries to replace trout that are destroyed by federal locks and dams,�
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Alexander said. �Members of Congress spoke out, and the Department of the Interior responded. Now, the nearly 900,000 Tennesseans and visitors who buy fishing licenses in our state can once again have faith that Tennessee�s trout fishing will remain some of the best in the country.�
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has been preparing a report, expected in the next month, on the mitigation fish hatchery program that fishing advocates feared would lead to closures of some hatcheries. On Sept. 11, the senator urged Jewell to support Tennessee�s national fish hatcheries, Dale Hollow and Erwin, and to delay any pending recommendations to close hatcheries.
Alexander received word this week from the Department of Interior that there will be no closures of national fish hatcheries in the next month, and that it had instructed the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to work with Congress, state wildlife agencies and fishing groups to discuss long-term solutions. The senator continued, �If federal locks and dams are going to destroy fish, then the federal government has a responsibility to replace them. I helped work out a deal with the Tennessee Valley Authority to keep hatcheries open for the next three years, and I�m glad the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is no longer looking to close them despite that progress.�
In May, Alexander announced that he had brokered a deal to keep open Tennessee�s hatcheries at Dale Hollow and Erwin. The three-year agreement between the Tennessee Valley Authority and federal and state wildlife agencies has TVA paying to keep the hatcheries producing fish after budget woes had threatened their ability to do so.
We need to continue to keep our legislative officials updated. We will keep you posted. |
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Applications due by Nov 1, 2013 The Illinois DNR is soliciting applications for grants to be awarded through the federal Clean Vessel Act grant program. Local governments and operators of private marinas, boat yards and yacht clubs may apply for the grants to build or upgrade marine sewage disposal systems and renovate pump-out stations used by recreational boaters. These grant funds help provide facilities for boaters to dispose of their waste in an environmentally safe manner.
Applications must be sent to the IDNR by November 1, 2013. The |
Department will forward proposals to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for consideration. Applicants whose projects are approved will be reimbursed for up to 75 percent of allowable expenses to construct or renovate stations and waste reception facilities. Grant funds are generated from excise taxes on fishing equipment, import duties on tackle and boats and motorboat fuel taxes. Detailed information about the program and application forms are available by calling 217-782-2602 or by writing the IDNR Federal Aid and Special Funds Section, One Natural Resources Way, Springfield, IL 62702-1271.
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Regional
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Weekly Great Lakes Water Levels for Sept 20 WEATHER CONDITIONS Temperatures throughout the Great Lakes region have cooled down this past week and were below their seasonal averages. Except for some precipitation on Sunday, the past week has been relatively dry across the Great Lakes basin. Temperatures throughout the region are expected to see a rise above their seasonal averages on Friday with some scattered showers and thunderstorms. Above average temperatures are expected to last until Saturday followed by near average temperatures and mostly sunny conditions to start the next week. LAKE LEVEL CONDITIONS Lakes Superior and Michigan-Huron water levels are 12 and 7 inches, respectively, above their levels of a year ago. Lakes St. Clair, Erie, and Ontario are 10, 9, and 10 inches, respectively, above what they were at this time last year. Over the next month, Lake Superior and Lake Michigan-Huron are each expected to fall 2 inches. The levels of Lakes St. Clair, Erie and Ontario are expected to all drop 5 inches over the next 30 days. See our Daily Levels web page for more water level information. FORECASTED MONTHLY OUTFLOWS/CHANNEL CONDITIONS Lake Superior�s outflow through the St. Marys River is projected to be above average for the month of September. Lake Huron�s outflow into the St. Clair River and Lake St. Clair�s outflow into the Detroit River are both |
expected to be below average throughout the month of September. Lake Erie�s outflow through the Niagara River is predicted to be near average and the outflow of Lake Ontario into the St. Lawrence River is expected to be above average in September. ALERTS Official records are based on monthly average water levels and not daily water levels. Users of the Great Lakes, connecting channels and St. Lawrence River should keep informed of current conditions before undertaking any activities that could be affected by changing water levels. Mariners should utilize navigation charts and refer to current water level readings.
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Kenosha group needs new pond fence The Kenosha Sport Fishing Conservation Association (KSFCA) needs a new fence around the entire pond, estimated to be $9,000. They also had had a contractor come in to see what the cost would be to build a roof over the pond itself not the entire facility and that is estimated $90,000.00.
If you can donate to this group and pass the word to other fishing clubs and anglers, this would be great because the KSFCA is looking for donations. The really important thing for the community and Lake Michigan is the fencing and the life ring kiosk as they would have an immediate impact for the safety of anglers, and aide in the continuous sustainability
Active participation in the rearing of fish has been a great adventure for the Kenosha Sport Fishing and Conservation Association, and the club was actually founded to build the Kenosha Salmon Rearing Pond. We raise |
between 40,000
to 60,000 fingerlings (baby fish) for about 6 weeks at the
Also, Life Ring Kiosks for the north pier in the Kenosha harbor are another program being undertaken by the KSFCA. There has been many lives taken from the pier and a club member presented this to the membership and we said YES. We are looking at 3 kiosks; each one would have a 200 ft of rope with a ring attached. The cost is $1000/ sponsorship and this is a life time sponsorship or we can do $500/ sponsorship for each Kiosk to total $1000.
Please mail a
check to:
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(Click on title or URL to read full article)
PHILLIPS: How many must die in gun free zones before we learn? When a crazy gunman wants to go on a rampage, where do they choose to go on their rampage? They choose a gun free zone. Columbine was a gun free zone. So was Virginia Tech and Sandy Hook. The problem in America is not too many guns. The problem is we listen to politicians who should not even be entrusted to decide what is for dinner.
Inspector General: Dept. of Justice Is Misreporting Terror Statistics (CNSNews.com) - Major inaccuracies in �terrorism-related statistics� in 24 of the 26 categories auditors reviewed were reported by the FBI, the Executive Office for U.S. Attorneys (EOUSA), and the DOJ�s Criminal Division. �We found that EOUSA overstated one statistic showing the number of terrorism-related defendants within our sample who had been judged guilty in FY 2009 by 13 %, and then overstated the same statistic for the defendants within our FY 2010 sample by 26 %,� the OIG reported. |
The opinions expressed here are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the GLSFC, its officers or staff.
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Located
just North of Kenosha Harbor, the KSFCA pond has been in the business of
raising salmon for decades.