London, February 12 (ANI): Yacht owners and canal boaters in the United Kingdom will be breathalysed, and subjected to the same drink-drive law as motorists, when the new laws come into force later this year.

They have been warned that “marine officials” will detain any sailor making unsteady progress back to shore until the police are called to administer a breath test, and that those found guilty of the offences would face a maximum fine of 5,000 pounds at a magistrate’s court.

The legal drink-drive limit is 80mg per 100 millilitres of blood, and the new law will apply to an estimated two million weekend yachtsmen, canal boaters and jet-skit enthusiasts.

The rules will be relaxed for those using smaller craft, which are less than 23 feet in length and slower than seven knots.

However, those in control of smaller boats and dinghies would still face prosecution if they are found to be impaired by drink or drugs.

The move comes following concerns raised by the Marine Accident Investigation Branch that alcohol has been a factor in a number of accidents.

“The Government takes alcohol abuse at sea very seriously,” the Telegraph quoted Jim Fitzpatrick, a transport minister, as saying.

“Everyone has the right to enjoy themselves on the water, but not in a way that puts others at risk,” Fitzpatrick added.

He said that the decision to exempt smaller and slower craft was intended to strike a balance between improving safety, and avoiding unnecessary regulation.

The decision to introduce the new law was taken after some lobbying by the pleasure boat industry and Royal Yachting Association, who argued that the strict drink drive limits applied on land were unnecessary for slow-moving small craft on a river or lake.

“We didn’t want blanket legislation. We don’t believe that there is a widespread problem of alcohol afloat and were worried how this would impact on people taking boating holidays, where a glass of wine with a meal is one of the things that you do,” said Howard Pridding, executive director of the British Marine Federation.

Harbour masters and other designated “marine officials” will be given the power to detain craft until a police officer arrives to carry out the breath test. (ANI)

Washington, Jan 13 (ANI): An international team of researchers has identified a potentially new weapon in battle against HIV infection – blood types.

Researchers from Canadian Blood Services, The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) and Lund University in Sweden have discovered that certain blood types are more predisposed to contracting HIV, while others are more effective at fending it off.

A carbohydrate-containing antigen, termed Pk blood group which is distinct from the well-known ABO and Rh blood grouping systems, is present at variable levels on the surface of white and red blood cells in the general population.

Their study shows that cells from rare individuals (˜ 1 in a million) who produce excess of this blood group antigen have dramatically reduced sensitivity to HIV infection.

Conversely, another slightly more common subgroup of people who do not produce any Pk (˜ 5 in a million) was found to be much more susceptible to the virus.

“This study is not suggesting that your blood type alone determines if you will get HIV. However, it does suggest that individuals who are exposed to the virus, may be helped or hindered by their blood status in fighting the infection,” said lead author Dr. Don Branch of Canadian Blood Services.

Increasing the level of the Pk antigen in cells in the laboratory also resulted in heightened resistance to HIV, while lowering it increased susceptibility.

“This discovery implicates the Pk level as a new risk factor for HIV infection and demonstrates the importance of blood-group-related science,” said Dr. Olsson.

The study is published in Blood, which is currently available online. (ANI)

Washington, January 13 (ANI): A Japanese study suggests that men in high high-stress jobs are more likely to suffer a stroke than those in less demanding positions.

Background information in the study report, appearing in the Archives of Internal Medicine, reveals that stress is considered a risk factor for stroke.

The study report further states that several models of job stress have been developed, and provide clues as to how occupational factors may be modified to reduce risk.

“The job demand-control model is the most often used occupational stress model. It posits that workers who face high psychological demands in their occupation and have little control over their work (i.e., those who have job strain) are at a greater risk of becoming ill than are workers with low psychological demands and a high degree of control in their occupation (i.e., those with low-strain occupations),” the authors write.

Research leader Akizumi Tsutsumi, of the University of Occupational and Environmental Health in Fukuoka, has revealed that the study was focused on 6,553 Japanese workers-3,190 men and 3,363 women, age 65 and younger-who had completed an initial questionnaire and physical examination between 1992 and 1995.

The researcher revealed that the workers were followed up annually through phone calls, letters, and interviews for an average of 11 years.

It was found that 147 strokes occurred during that period, including 91 in men and 56 in women.

The researchers revealed that those stroke events occurred in seven men and 11 women with “low-strain” jobs (low job demand and high job control), in 23 men and 15 women with “active” jobs (high job demand and high job control), 33 men and 15 women with “passive” jobs (low job demand and low job control) and 28 men and 15 women with “high-strain” jobs (high job demand and low job control).

“Multivariable analysis revealed a more than two-fold increase in the risk of total stroke among men with job strain (combination of high job demand and low job control) compared with counterpart men with low strain (combination of low job demand and high job control) after adjustment for age, educational attainment, occupation, smoking status, alcohol consumption, physical activity and study area,” the authors write.

“Although women with high-strain jobs tended to have a higher risk of stroke than women with low-strain jobs, no statistically significant differences were found for any stroke incidence among the job characteristic categories for women,” they add.

When the researchers adjusted the results for other stroke risk factors among men, the association between job strain and stroke slightly lessened, suggesting that the relationship might be mediated by chronic diseases such as obesity, high blood pressure, glucose intolerance and abnormal cholesterol levels.

According to the research team, other factors that might contribute include poor adaptation to stress, activation of the sympathetic nervous system (which controls involuntary reactions to stress) and inflammatory conditions.

“In conclusion, job strain was associated with incident stroke among Japanese men. Because modification of work structures based on the job demand-control model can be useful for stress reduction, our study has implications regarding the prevention of incident strokes among male workers,” the authors write. (ANI)

New Delhi, Jan 12 (ANI): Union Water Resources Minister Professor Saifuddin Soz today said the India is making serious efforts to address numerous challenges in water resources sector with due emphasis on the sustainability of the eco-system in the larger interests of mankind.

Inaugurating the International Conference on Water, Environment, Energy and Society (WEES-2009) here today, Soz said population growth is a contributing factor to the per capita availability of water reducing day by day.

“The growing population coupled with industrialization and urbanization have resulted in demand for various uses. For optimum utilization of water resources, we have to adopt the most appropriate measures for development and put an efficient management system in place. We have achieved considerably in this direction,” he said.
eferring to the ground water table situation and the deterioration in water quality, the Minister insisted on planning appropriate strategies on a priority basis.

He said sustainable development and the efficient management of water resources is the key to economic growth and poverty alleviation.

“This is more so for India, where about 70 per cent of population is dependent on agriculture,” he added.

Besides this, he expressed an urgent need for a reliable assessment of the impact of climate change on water resources and for planning appropriate strategies for mitigation at the earliest.

He said that while new methods to mitigate emissions exist, the developed world should play its part in reducing their emission levels.

Informing about the steps taken by India in this direction, he referred to the water mission, which is one of the eight missions under the eight task force of climate change.

He advised to change habits of using water in judicious manner to safe water and accept water harvesting as a mission or a movement.

Referring to take active help from noted scientist Dr. Swaminathan, Prof. Soz said this would help to implement positive policy decisions.

“The research basis programmes taken be taken to masses and particularly to farmers with association of various stakeholders including the experts, scientific and academic institutions, and non-Governmental organizations,” he said.

The Minister appealed to treat water problem not as a war but as a movement. (ANI)