'Surgical masks offer no protection against flu'

Sydney, Sep 17 (IANS) Surgical masks offer doctors no protection against a pandemic and need to be replaced, says a new study.

The study by University of New South Wales (UNSW), which compared the efficiency of various masks, found that specialised respirators (N95 masks) offer the best protection to health workers.

This is the first study to compare the efficiency of various masks, and it revealed that surgical masks offer no protection at all to either influenza or respiratory disease.

N95 masks provided 75 percent protection against proven influenza infection and 56 percent protection against proven respiratory viral infections.

The findings could revolutionise current medical practice, which relies on surgical masks providing defence against influenza when vaccines aren't available.

The protection of health workers is crucial, as they are at the front line of an effective pandemic response, according to Raina MacIntyre, UNSW professor, who led the study.

The results suggest that, although they're more expensive, N95 masks should be the standard protective equipment offered to health workers.

The random clinical trial was performed in 24 hospitals and involved 1,936 hospital health care workers in Beijing, China.

These findings were presented at the Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy in San Francisco.

Count money before approaching women in bars: Study

Suggesting the symbolic power of money, a new study has found that counting money makes people feel better about themselves -- even if it isn't your own.

According the study, published in Psychological Science, the psychological benefits increase feelings of internal strength, fearlessness and confidence, prompting a researcher to suggest that counting cash before a night out could also help men approach women in bars.

A series of studies which tested the symbolic power of money found that although it may not buy us love, it does has a strong effect on our emotions, the Daily Telegraph reported today.

"Maybe young men who are going out to bars to try to meet women should count money," co-researcher Dr Roy Baumeister, of Florida State University, was quoted as saying by the British daily.

"These effects speak of the power of money, even as a symbol, to change perceptions of very real feelings such as pain," said study leader Kathleen Vohs, of Minnesota University.

In a test on 84 students at Sun Yat-Sen University in China, the social distress level on participants who had counted money before being socially excluded in an online psychological video game, Cyberball, was lower than those who had counted only paper.

Moreover, those who had counted money also reported greater feelings of inner strength and self-sufficiency.

UK companies look to India to stay profitable: survey

Prasun Sonwalkar London, Sep 17 (PTI) Almost two-thirds of UK companies expect to earn more than 20 per cent of their revenues from emerging markets like India and China within the next five years, according to a new government survey. Nearly 60 per cent of the 540 senior executives from 19 business sectors questioned in the Government-commissioned survey said that they expected to reach this level by 2014, almost doubling the 31 per cent who say they have already done so.

Almost 77 per cent of the companies questioned said they expect the prospects for the world economy to improve during 2010-11, with emerging markets providing support for global profitability. The survey, commissioned by UK Trade and Investment, was released as Business Secretary Lord Mandelson asked UK firms to step up their efforts to seek out opportunities in the emerging markets.

Lord Mandelson is scheduled to address the Economist Emerging Markets Summit in London. According to him, UK companies should be strategic about their exports and plan for the long term.

"Many emerging markets are outperforming developed economies, and are expected to grow strongly for years to come. This represents an exciting opportunity for UK business providing greater diversity for the exporter," he said.

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Swine flu surge: Karnataka blames pollution, IT employees

Bangalore, Sep 12 (IANS) With the H1N1 virus claiming 53 lives in Karnataka, the state authorities are blaming frequently travelling IT professionals and pollution in cities like Bangalore for the surge in swine flu cases.

'We are trying our best to control it. But look at the pollution level in cities like Bangalore - it is compounding the problem of swine flu,' Karnataka principal secretary (Health) I.R. Perumal told IANS.

'Pollution and less precaution on the part of IT people have worsened the situation. IT people travel a lot and during the initial days they hardly took any precaution,' said Perumal.

In terms of swine flu fatalities, Karnataka is second only to Maharashtra, which has seen 72 deaths from the disease so far.

The health secretary said even companies like Infosys had failed to do their duty in helping people take precaution against the disease, which has affected nearly 700 people in the state.

'They have become conscious, but initially none of these IT guys, even Infosys, took the required precaution. I have information that now they have started conducting regular health checkups of employees,' he added.

He said pollution in Bangalore is making respiratory diseases intensify and there are hundreds of cases of pneumonia in the state. Health experts have said people with respiratory problems and pneumonia are at high risk at a time when the H1N1 infection is spreading fast.

'Pneumonia is affecting the swine flu situation. We have experienced some 200-300 pneumonia cases in the last couple of months in Bangalore alone. What can I do? The pollution is so heavy here,' the secretary said.

Last year too the IT capital had reported over 300 cases of pneumonia in this season, he said.

Statistics show that the ambient air quality in the Karnataka capital is deteriorating rapidly. The amount of nitrogen oxide, sulphur oxide and suspended particulate matter is much higher in the air and is leading to respiratory problems among people.

With over 2.5 million vehicles plying on the narrow roads of Bangalore, the air quality is definitely worsening gradually. 'Look at the number of vehicles,' Perumal said.

The health secretary said he had asked all hospitals and IT firms to report to swine flu screening centres if any of their employees was suffering from pneumonia or swine flu symptoms.

'Now, we have roped in 90 private hospitals across the state for the job. As you know, the government has made swine flu treatment free even in private hospitals. We pay Rs.2,000 to these hospitals for treating each swine flu patient and Rs.3,000 extra for conducting the test,' Perumal added.

He also said the state government is distributing ayurvedic medicines to help people improve their immune system. 'We are trying our best. The chief minister is taking extra care and has asked us to work hard to curb the virus.'

Since the first instance was reported in Hyderabad in early May, India has reported nearly 6,000 cases of swine flu. Of these, at least 160 have died.