Veterinarians in the southern city of Chennai are looking for donors after opening India’s first blood bank for dogs.
Dr P. Thangaraju from Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University said 28 owners had already registered their dogs for donation and a black labrador was the first through the doors when the facility opened last week.
“Our university has become the first university in Asia, after the US and UK, to start a blood bank,” the vice chancellor said, adding that eight breeds of dog blood had been identified.
“We will need more donors to get blood in all eight varieties,” he added.
Owning pets is a growing trend in India, but reserved exclusively for the middle classes and the wealthy, who can afford animal food and veterinary bills.
Stray dogs are a common sight throughout India, feared by many because of the prevalence of rabies and viewed as a pest for their nocturnal barking.
Thangaraju said the university, which attends to nearly 200 dogs a day, needed the million-rupee (US$22,000, NT$705,000) facility because lives were frequently lost for lack of blood.
Transfusions are needed during surgery to remove tumours, to treat dogs suffering from leukaemia, or after accidents — a frequent problem on India’s treacherous roads.(AFP)
印度第一家「狗血庫」開設後,南部大城欽奈的獸醫師正在尋找供血對象。
泰米爾納德邦獸醫暨動物科學大學的唐卡拉朱醫生表示,目前已有二十八位狗主人登記,要讓自己的狗捐血。上週捐血中心開幕時,第一條捐血的狗是隻黑色的拉布拉多犬。
擔任獸醫暨動物科學大學副校長的唐卡拉朱說:「我們是繼美國與英國之後,亞洲第一個成立狗血庫的學校。」他還說,已鑑定出狗狗的八種血型。
他又說:「為了取得八種血型,我們需要更多捐血的狗。」
印度養寵物的人愈來愈多,但只限於有能力負擔食物與獸醫開銷的中產階級與有錢人。
在印度經常可見流浪狗。許多人因為狂犬病而害怕流浪狗,牠們在夜間的嚎叫聲也令人們討厭。
唐卡拉朱表示,該大學每天必須照顧將近兩百隻狗,所以需要成立這個耗資百萬盧比(兩萬兩千美元,新台幣七十萬五千元)的機構,因為許多狗就是缺血而失去性命。
幫狗開刀移除腫瘤、進行白血病或車禍(印度危機重重的馬路上常見的問題)治療時,輸血變得格外重要。(法新社╱翻譯:吳岱璟)
The strongest earthquake to hit Taiwan in 25 years killed at least 16 people and damaged dozens of buildings, but the destruction was largely contained thanks to decades of preparedness work. Taiwan sits on the “Ring of Fire,” an arc of intense seismic activity along the Pacific Rim, and — much like neighboring Japan — has a long history of catastrophic quakes. How does April 3 compare with other recent quakes? The April 3 earthquake, which measured 7.4 on the moment magnitude scale, was felt across Taiwan. It was the most severe since a 7.6 magnitude quake in 1999 killed
Around the time of the Dragon Boat Festival in June, the streets of Taiwan are filled with the delightful aroma of zongzi, a traditional snack made of sticky rice wrapped in leaves. The leaves are folded into a cone and then filled with sticky rice and other ingredients such as braised pork belly, peanuts and salted duck egg yolks. The filled leaves are then tightly tied with kitchen twine and ready for cooking. 每到六月端午時節,街頭巷尾就會飄出粽子的香氣。粽子是將糯米包進粽葉的傳統美食,先將粽葉折成圓錐狀塞入糯米,以及紅燒肉、花生、鹹鴨蛋黃等配料,用棉線綁緊後即可烹煮。 Dragon Boat Festival (n. phr.) 端午節 aroma
Everyone has seen a piece of fruit turn brown after being cut. Have you ever wondered why that happens? It is a common phenomenon that occurs due to a chemical reaction called enzymatic browning. The appearance, flavor and nutritional value of the fruit are all affected by this reaction. Some fruits, such as apples, pears, bananas, avocados and peaches, are more prone to enzymatic browning than others. These fruits contain high levels of an enzyme called polyphenol oxidase, or PPO for short. __1__ This causes a chain of chemical reactions that ultimately transforms the phenolic compounds into
There are several methods to prevent or slow down enzymatic browning in fruit. __3__ This lowers the pH level of the fruit tissue, causing the PPO to be far less active. Another method is to store the fruit in an airtight container or to wrap it tightly with plastic wrap. Doing this will reduce its exposure to oxygen. __4__ Although fruit that has undergone enzymatic browning may look less appealing, it is still safe to eat. However, by using one of these simple methods, you can enjoy fresh-looking fruit for a longer period. 有一些方法能避免或減緩水果的酶促褐變。其中一個有效的方式就是在切片水果的表面塗上酸性物質,像是檸檬汁或醋。這樣做能降低水果組織的酸鹼值,讓 PPO 更不為活躍。另一個方式是將水果存放在密封的容器內,或用保鮮膜將其緊緊包住。這樣做會減少水果與氧氣的接觸。快速蒸一下切片水果或將其短暫浸泡在滾水中也能使PPO失去活性,並終止 PPO 與空氣的作用。 雖然經歷酶促褐變的水果可能看起來較不吸引人,但仍然可以安全食用。然而,藉由採用這些簡單方法中的其中一個,你就能在更長的一段時間享用看起來新鮮的水果。 What Did You