News.Scotland.Org

June, 18

Healthy news for all Scots, a recent research has revealed that Scottish children are eating a whole lot of fruits and are also doing a whole lot of exercising than other youngsters in the world. The survey undertaken in 41 countries including over 200,000 children revealed that Scottish children’s are following a healthy lifestyle than the rest.

This positive and healthy fact came as a relief for the Scots who were battling it quite hard with the drug and alcohol addiction among the under age children’s. The research suggested that, the trend of the healthy lifestyle was up in the early age group between the 11-13 years, while the graph dipped slightly with age group of 13-15 years.

Scotland 15-years old stood 8th in the list of youngsters reporting first being drunk before 13. While the 13-years old Scottish children’s were ranked second when they were asked if they had been drunk at least twice. The research also showed that about 9 percent of the 15-year-old in Scotland was regular cannabis users.

The study not only highlighted the healthy lifestyle of the Scottish children’s who have taken up with eating more healthy foods and also taken exercising seriously. But the study also revealed the grey areas of the young generation of Scotland who have taken up to drugs and alcohol.

The experts have said that children taking up to drugs and alcohol is a real serious issue and needs to be tackled at an early stage. Now the responsibility of the parents has increased a bit more as they now need to be more watchful and concerned about their kids and what they are up to these days. Also the behaviour of the parents do have an influence on the kids, so the patents should be cautious about their habits, as this could have an adverse impact on the child’s likings and attitude.

June, 17

The on going row over the alcohol sales has taken a new turn today with political parties opposing the proposal of making 21 years as the new legal age for buying alcohol. This new proposal for increasing the age for buying alcohol in an off-license shop or supermarket was opposed by both the conservatives and the Liberal Democrats strongly.

It was also thought to ban the huge promotions of such alcoholic products which give a false impact to the society. The refusal by both the groups came as a major setback, meanwhile it was urged that this new proposal with help to sought out the rising health and social problem related with alcohol. It will also help to fight out the under-age drinking threat which is a main issue these days.

Both the Conservatives and the Liberals felt that this scheme will not work out properly and also its not fair to stigmatise the under 21s. They flayed the new proposal and stood against it in chorus.

Meanwhile it was known that the government’s wide-ranging package will be made public on Tuesday and will come in the light of a pilot scheme in Armadale. It is to be seen that what impact this package will have on public.

June, 16

Good news for all those pedestrians who were walking down the street with a fear in their mind of being a victim of the rising road accidents in the UK. Coming up with a new idea, a Toyota subsidiary is planning to deploy airbags at the front of the bonnet and below the wind screen in cars. This new addition in cars will help to avoid loads of deadly accidents killing several innocent pedestrians every year.

This major car company has introduced this innovative idea for exterior airbags keeping in view the rising number of accidents. This unique system uses sensors linked to a computer system which constantly scans the road ahead and thus calculates if and when the car is about to hit a pedestrian. In such untoward situations the airbags opens up to cushion the impact. Till now cars do use to come with interior airbags for resistance of the accident to the people driving the car, but this unique idea will be a great addition for all.

If we look at the figures, we can find that about 675 pedestrians dies each year in road accidents and many suffer from injuries. In context of these figures this new exterior airbags will definitely prove to be a great help to some how drop the rate of deaths caused by accidents every year. These airbags are developed by the Nagoya- based Toyoda Gosei, who manufactures airbags and other safety equipments for various car companies around the world. It was known that the company has recently presented its new airbags in the motor show held in Japan where it was appreciated.

The design of the airbags is made making sure it reduces the impact of the accident to the pedestrian. The front airbags will help to reduce the waist injuries in adults and head injuries in children. Meanwhile works are still going on to make sure the airbags can fit in to any car model and can go off at the right time.

June, 14

Scots are facing a real tough time these days, first with the dip in the prices of alcoholic drinks by the supermarket creating a threat for more under-age drinking cases. What more? To add more woes, the prices of food items also showed an upward trend, which has made the situation more adverse. It is quite a shocker to note that the prices of kitchen essentials have risen by 20 percent with in a year; on the other hand the cost of alcohol is dipping substantially. This unpredicted market trend has been a set back for the people of Scotland.

With such a current trend created by these retail giants, they are encouraging the drinking culture in Scotland which the country is still fighting out with. Such a promotion of alcoholic drinks in supermarkets will push people to drink too much; also it will be a threat for under-age drinkers who can now easily afford to buy such alcoholic stuffs.

It is known that Scotland is still copping up with its drinking culture and such a move will put the situation out of hands. Such an over promotion of alcohol in these supermarkets is not a positive style of marketing, on the contrary the prices of bread and dairy products is rising day by day without which Scot’s can’t even imagine to start their day.

Even though campaigners are trying their level best to force these retail giants to stop this price war and not to drive people to the drinking culture. Now its time for the SNP administration to step forward and handle this serious issue bravely before it gets out of hands. Also a line should be drawn for these supermarkets for promoting such alcoholic products.

June, 13

The long chasing by Liverpool for the 27-year-old midfielder Gareth Barry came to a sad end, when Aston Villa confirmed the rejection of Barry moving to Liverpool team. The Villa manager in his statement to media said, the offer made by Liverpool is just not acceptable; Barry moving to Liverpool side would be a major setback for Villa.

The rejection report has been a set back for Liverpool, who were quite keen to get Barry to there side. Meanwhile the Villa manager O’Neil said, Barry was a major part of the team when they finished sixth last year. Barry is a brilliant player and plays a key role in the team.

Reports are also there of an initial bid of £12m by Reds which can rejected, and the recent bid is said to be of £13m, but Villa are said to be holding for £18m which can be a problem for Rafa Benitez, Liverpool manager. The Liverpool manager said, the main factor is not money but the right player we are selecting for the club.

June, 12

Superbug has again hit the headlines claiming eight lives in the past six months. This killer bug has been haunting the hospital patients from quite a long time, making their life restless. Though many efforts were made till now to overcome this superbug threat, but still the Clostridium difficle is taking its toll on patients.

It was told that the Vale of Leven Hospital in Alexandria, West Dunbartonshire treated 54 patients with superbug, out of which 41 of them contracted the infection following admission. Eight patients lost their lives with the impact of this killer bug, meanwhile in another eight deaths superbug was the contributory factor. The patients who succumbed to the Clostridium difficle were all elderly patients; and were all prescribed to antibiotics.

The doctors have admitted that looking at the figures of the patients infected by superbug it is clear that there has been an overall increase in the number of C diffcle cases in the past six months. This serious issue needs to be sort out soon or it would be too late to act. According to Prof John Coia, a consultant microbiologist and director of the National C difficle Reference Service, there is a need to re-examine the reduction in the use of antibiotics.

The impact of the superbug is such that patients even fear to approach the hospitals for treatments; as if someone comes to the hospital has go out even worse than they came. Now there is a need for some concrete measures to somehow lower down the impact of this killer bug.

June, 11

Lothian health centre has been witnessing massive mix-ups of medicine by the health workers, causing great trouble for patients. It was known that the prescriptions are being issued without the dosage and drugs are given to wrong patients, not only this, medication too is also not given on time to the needy patients. There are so many such cases of irregularity in which patients have to bear the mistakes done by the medical staffs.

The reason for this apathy from the side of the medical staffs is said to be due to the high number of patients coming for treatments. This increase in the number of patients has put the health care staff under huge pressure which results to the errors done by them. If we look at the figures we can work out that during July to September last year, 14 such mistakes were tracked which were committed by the health practitioners. In the number of mistakes occurred, half of the errors were made by the health workers while administering medicine, meanwhile other 52 were made while prescribing them.

Mick McGahey, Unison branch secretary for NHS Lothian’s University Hospital Division said, the mistakes occurred due to undue pressure and also due to shortage of staff to handle the number of patients. He added, it is like a drop in the ocean compared to the number of patients nurses. He stressed for the need of more staff to tackle the situation more effectively.

The number of such irregularities has put the patients also on shock with lot of mistakes occurring in due course of the treatments by the health staff. It is hoped that this trend of such errors will come down in near future and Lothian patients can expect a quality and flawless treatment ahead.

June, 10

Now food can defend you from the mighty diseases like cancer and heart disorders. One of the recent studies has revealed that a red colouring ingredient widely used in Chinese food can keep you at bay with cancer and heart diseases.

It was remarkable to note that the extract of red yeast rice cuts the risk of cancer deaths by two-third and also lowers down the risk of dying from heart disease by 33 percent. The figures obtained by a study in China showed those heart patients who took the supplement lowered their chance of having continuous heart attacks by 45 percent. This red yeast rice extract helped a lot to ward off such serious diseases.

According to doctors and experts the benefit from red yeast rice is so much that they have over past the benefit of the cholesterol reducing drug statins. China has been widely using this red yeast rice extract from a long time in many ways, as a food preservative, colourant, seasoning and also as herbal medicine. This wonder colouring ingredient has a huge medicinal value and helps to improve the blood circulation in the body.

All these benefits revealed by the study had given a new dimension to the research works being conducted in the field of cancer and other heart diseases. It is felt that this red yeast rice will be a great help for people battling out with cancer and heart ailments.

June, 9

Its time to honour some of the most glitzy building projects of Scotland, which are been short-listed for a top award. It was known that the 54 schemes nominated for the prestigious annual Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors award includes four Scottish projects.

Those prominent building which have marked the presence of Scotland is, A-Kelvingrove Art Gallery Museum in Glasgow, the £450 million Quatermile project to covert a 19 acre hospital site in the capital, Eden Court Theatre and Cinema in Inverness and last but not the least the forestry commission office in the Highland city, all are the projects selected for the award.

Though this is a moment of pride for Scots but still few of the known architects in Scotland shares a mix response, few are a bit disappointing, as out for 54 only 4 buildings have been selected. According to them Scotland holds many quality projects and many new project are still taking shape amidst all this architectural growth, such a less number is really a set back. The Chief Executive of Scotland’s design watchdog Architecture and Design Scotland, Sebastian Tombs said, “These are all quality projects and a good indicator of the diversity on offer in Scotland

June, 7

Well if you are planning to visit Bruntsfield Links for enjoying an impressive golfing experience, then do prepare yourself to face several unpredictable obstacles. You don’t have to be worried of bunkers or water traps, but have to face sunbathers, barbecues and football matches and many more.

Golfers these days are facing tough times to find space among all the other unusual things going around the Meadows. The problem has turned so grim that there are even plans to hire a dedicated park ranger to keep the fairways clear. Bruntsfield Links and Meadows are considered to be a common land, but due to the short-hole course which is there for the past 200 years campaigners believe it should be accepted as a golf course.

With such an unreasonable behaviour of people on this age old ground has given a major set back for the golfers. The situation turns more adverse during summers when Bruntsfield is packed with people, playing football, throwing Frisbees, flying kites, and even sun bathing. As all knows for over 200 years this place has been dedicated to golfing action and now with such silly attitude of people the game is badly affected.

The need for patrols is strongly felt now in order to bring down the situation under control; this site is a significant site and deserves to be looked after, opines many. Now time will tell whether this ancient glory would redeem its golfing action on full swing. Hope next time you head to Brunstfield you doesn’t face any hurdles trying out your putting skills.