QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

Questions and Answers

Dog Breeding

Question 1

The recommended maximum alcohol intake a week is 21 units for men and 14 units for women. In 2009 knowledge of daily benchmarks and measuring alcohol in units had increased among both men and women. The proportion of adults who had heard of daily benchmarks increased from 69% in 2006 to 90% in 2009. The amount of alcohol consumed weekly by men in England in 2009 was 15.6 units, slightly lower than the previous year's estimate of 18 units. In women, the figures were 9.9 units in 2007, 7.7 units in 2007 and 9.9 units in 2009. This is thought to be due to differences in fluctuations in data analysis rather than any variance in real terms. There is also a rise in binge drinking - usually in the younger adult - and the risk for alcohol dependence increases with binge drinking (Ludziejewski, 1997).

In 2010/2011 there were 190,900 admissions where the primary diagnosis was attributable to the consumption of alcohol. Moderate (12.5-<50 g/day) to heavy (>50 g/day) alcohol intake is associated with an increased risk of oesophageal cancer. Younger people were more likely than older people to exceed the daily benchmarks. Over 56% of young men aged 16 to 24 had drunk more than twice the recommended level on at least one day during the previous week. This compares with 6% of men aged 75 and over. 52% of women in the youngest age group had exceeded twice the recommended level on at least one day compared with only 3% of those aged 75 and over. Having initially risen, the proportion of young women who drink heavily has fallen, although the statistics should be treated with caution due to the small sample size. The proportion of 16 to 24 year-old women who had drunk more than six units on at least one day in the previous week fell from 24% in 2009 to 17% in 2010.

Question 2

Fruit flies are the ideal food source for many young carnivorous insects like praying mantis as they are high in sugars and minerals. They are also good for tadpoles and young froglets. When buying fruit flies make sure you get the flightless ones as these are far easier to control, there's nothing worse than a cloud of fruit flies getting in to your fruit bowl. The best type of fruit flies come in what is known as a culture, this is essentially a blob of munched up fruit with a wad of cotton wool over the top. When you receive your culture it may look as though you have bought a tub of mush but in reality the mush contains the fruit fly larvae (maggots) and over the following few days they will begin to crawl on to the cotton wool to pupate and hatch.

Anyone who keeps the smaller types of animals as I do, poison frogs and tarantulas, might find the following of some use. Fruit flies are the staple diet of nearly all types of ...