Equine metabolic syndrome (EMS) it?s a clinical condition that includes obesity, regional adiposity, insulin resistance (IR) and laminitis. A similar syndrome exists in human medi-cine, the metabolic syndrome (MS), were systemic hypertension also is a prominent fea-ture. The systemic hypertension seen in humans with MS is partly due to a vascular endo-thelial dysfunction with an enhanced endothelin-1 (ET-1) mediated vasoconstriction. There are indications that systemic hypertension might be a feature in EMS as well but if ET-1 is involved in the development of the systemic hypertension in horses is not known.

The incidence of many of the most common diseases in dairy cattle has been proven to be highest during the time closest to calving. It is possible that the current breeding strategy with 12 month calving intervals increases the risk for disease in dairy cattle, which is problematic concerning both animal welfare and for economic reasons. The economic incentives behind a calving interval of 12 to 13 months have mainly been based on milk- and feed- costs and no costs due to diseases or fertility disturbances have been included.The aim of this study was to see if a lengthening of the calving interval would result in lower disease frequency. The hypothesis is that cows with a planned calving interval of 15 months have a lower disease incidence than cows with a calving interval of 12 months due to less number of calvings. Therefore the difference in disease frequency should be larger when compared over a long period of time, such as over lifetime, since cows with a longer calving interval experience fewer calvings.The study was performed between August 17th, 1994, and January 24th, 2007.

The ?peer to peer? (P2P) is a technology of downloading and filesharing between online - Internet - users by the mean of specified software. Since June 1999, the Napster software has made the happiness of millions of individuals who used it to obtain and share free audio files Mp3. Rapidly, the major recording companies have prosecuted the Napster Company and managed to force it to close down. They were arguing against it for it is supporting the development on a large scale traffic of files protected by copyright and thus was threatening the whole music and movies economic world.

The Swedish Welfare Act § 4 says that "Animals must be kept and cared for in a good environment for animals and in such a way that promotes their health and allow them to behave naturally." Pigs in the wild spend 80% of their waking hours walking around and rooting for food, eating and exploring their environment with its snout. Fattening pigs in commercial farms spend 80% lying doing nothing. A lactating sow is lying down most of her day, and only 10-20% of the body surface is in contact with the floor, so the pressure is high on these spots. Piglets lie down and paddle with their legs, with high liquid content in the tissues, several times an hour, to stimulate and massage the sow's udder. In the existing system, these individuals are held more often on floors that are anything but inviting to sleep on.

The effect of methyl jasmonate on resistance against the large pine weevil (Hylobius abietis) in Scots pine and Norway spruce seedlings. A field experiment was conducted in order to determine the dose-response effects of methyl jasmonate (MJ) on growth and defence to pine weevils in Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) and Norway spruce (Picea abies) and to compare the effect of MJ between pine and spruce. In addition a complementary greenhouse experiment was conducted with the same aims as above and to determine the amount of resin ducts and their correlation to the feeding of pine weevils. The field experiment was conducted on a fresh clear cutting in Garpenberg, southern Dalarna in central Sweden. The experiment consisted of 30 blocks with three kinds of containerized seedlings: 2-year old spruce, small pine (before shoot elongation) and 1-year old pine (already shoot elongated). They were all exposed to 4 treatments 14 days prior to the experiment: control, 25 mM/L MJ, 50 mM/L MJ and 100 mM/L MJ. Data on weevil damage and seedling growth were collected after the first and the second growing season. The seedlings in the greenhouse experiment were of the same kind and were exposed to the same treatment as the ones in the field experiment.

Wastewater handling of private sewage systems has become an all increasing matter. In Stockholm region the 90 000 private sewage systems contribute with larger phosphorus flows to the Baltic Sea than the two biggest sewage plants in the area, Henriksdal and Käppala, contribute together, even though these two plants purify wastewater from more than one million inhabitants. When summer house areas turn into areas for permanent living ? transition areas ? the load on the existing systems increases, systems that already often are unsatisfying. In those areas it is not clear what the best system choice is; On-site systems for single households; Local collective systems or Connection to central systems.

The report comprises two separate parts:part 1:  Temperature needs for district heating in the paint shop for axles in building 210part 2:  Energy and low temperature waste heat solutions in heating and cooling systems for   building 64 with surroundingsThe paint shop for axles in part 1 has air quality requirements in places for coating of axles. Toachieve desired air properties there are different process ventilation systems, which consist ofventilation coils for heating and cooling, plus air humidifier. The ventilations coils for heating usedistrict heating. Today the ventilation coils use water of 100°C to achieve necessary air demands inthe coating boxes. This part of the report investigates whether the existing system would achievethe air requirements with a water temperature of 75°C instead of 100°C in the ventilation coilsduring the coldest parts of the year.

In Kenya the Maasai pastoralists have based their livelihoods on dairy production and the production goal is to maintain a sufficient milk supply throughout the year. The pastoral dairy production has two vital characteristics; breeding and milking. Traditionally, breeding is the men?s responsibility, while milking is the duty of women. Depending on this partition of chores between men and women, they also have different management routines, ambitions and strategies regarding the milk production.

Diabetes mellitus is a rising epidemic throughout the world and there is currently great interest in quantifying the beta-cell mass (BCM) in vivo non-invasively. In the present experiment, the feasibility of in vivo imaging of the glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor (GLP-1R) in beta-cells was examined, using the positron emission tomography (PET) tracer [68Ga]Ga-DO3A-VS-Cys40-exendin-4 as a marker, in native pancreatic beta-cells of a porcine diabetic animal model and healthy controls. Eight Swedish high-health domestic pigs were randomly assigned to be either controls or made diabetic using streptozotocin (STZ). The experiment proceeded during eight weeks, starting with an acclimatisation period. Once the pigs had been socialised they underwent surgery for the insertion of a jugular vein catheter, allowing induction of diabetes with STZ, intravenous (i.v.) injections and stress-free blood sampling. Development of diabetes was confirmed by clinical examinations, blood glucose values and insulin-staining of pancreatic sections post mortem. The diabetic pigs were insulin treated and responded well.

During the 1960´s and 1970´s the number of grey seals in the Baltic Sea was decreasing rapidly, mostly due to hunting and toxic substances like DDT and PCB. When hunting became less intense and toxic substances decreased in the environment the grey seal population started to increase. Today grey seals are found common in the Baltic Sea and have started to become a big treat and a problem to the fishing industry. The grey seal destroys and enters fishing traps and consumes large quantities of the fish that have been caught.The knowledge of the grey seal, like abundance and food preferences, is today limited. It is also important to define the position of the grey seal in the ecosystem in the Baltic Sea and to be able to predict changes that could occur if the population would rapidly decrease or increase.

During the 1960´s and 1970´s the number of grey seals in the Baltic Sea was decreasing rapidly, mostly due to hunting and toxic substances like DDT and PCB. When hunting became less intense and toxic substances decreased in the environment the grey seal population started to increase. Today grey seals are found common in the Baltic Sea and have started to become a big treat and a problem to the fishing industry. The grey seal destroys and enters fishing traps and consumes large quantities of the fish that have been caught.The knowledge of the grey seal, like abundance and food preferences, is today limited. It is also important to define the position of the grey seal in the ecosystem in the Baltic Sea and to be able to predict changes that could occur if the population would rapidly decrease or increase.

The Swedish commercial real estate market is in the current situation globally affected and is actively interacting with the rental and capital markets through international tenants and investors who are setting new demands on the property owners. The European Union has set new requirements as well in purpose of reducing humanity?s negative effect on the climate and therefore the international real estate market has introduced Green Building-certificates in order to decrease the real estate industry?s environmental impact.Certificated buildings with low energy consumption are a more common sight in Sweden these days. The development, however, could go even faster if there was not certain difficulties between property owners and tenants. Previous research has revealed that tenants do not always have knowledge about, or may have access to the economic benefits that a green building can provide.

This Masters Thesis includes a survey of recreational habits and the attitudes towards forests of the people of Sätra, a suburb of the city of Gävle. The study also includes the planning and design of a forest suited for education in the same part of the city. The thesis is a part of a project called Tätortsnära skog, commissioned by the Swedish forest agency. The project aims to survey the recreational habits of the general public in the regions of Dalarna and Gävleborg. Tätortsnära skog is focused on cities with a population of more than 20 000 inhabitants, of which Gävle, Sandviken, Falun and Borlänge all fall within the category.

Cattle used for meat production can be held outside all year round and due to the legislation they should have access to shelters or other buildings for protection against the elements giving them a dry and clean bedding. There are different opinions concerning their need of protection and the question about necessity of shelters for cattle is of current interest due to a less profitable economy in meat production and the investment costs for shelters. The aim of this study was to acquire more knowledge about the natural behaviour of cattle concerning their use of shelters. The basis of the study was a series of questions regarding when animals choose to stay in shelters, if shelters were used less when they had access to protecting vegetation, how temperature and weather conditions affected the use of shelters and the influence of distance between shelter and feed. Behavioural studies was conducted at five different farms where six groups of suckler cows and heifers of following breeds and crossbreeds were observed; Aberdeen Angus, Charolais, Hereford, Scottish Highland Cattle, Simmental and the Swedish breeds SKB and SRB.

Nature conservation has for a long time been founded on the assumption that high ecological values depend on low human impact. In Sweden this has led to forests with these characteristics being strictly protected from human influences. However, it is also known that historical land-use can enhance ecological values in forests. Mountainous forests in Sweden, which have not been affected by modern forestry, have for a long time been considered as untouched by people. However, forest history research has in recent years shown that even these areas have been used by people for a long period of time.