Användningen av biomarkörer inom medicin är ett viktigt verktyg för att ställa diagnos och fatta terapetiska beslut. Surfaktant protein D (SP-D) har visat sig vara en lovande biomarkör för perifera lungsjukdomar på humansidan och har därför även börjat studeras inom veterinärmedicinen. Surfaktant protein D är ett relativt lungspecifikt protein och produceras främst i perifera delar av lungorna, f.f.a av claraceller i bronkioler och typ II pneumocyter i alveoler. Det fungerar som ett akutfasprotein med liknande egenskaper som kollektiner och är därför viktigt för medfödda immunförsvaret. Förutom detta har det också visat sig vara grundläggande för normala lunghomeostasen genom att utgöra en beståndsdel i surfaktant. Mekanismerna bakom dess funktion i lungan är dock inte helt klarlagda. Eftersom SP-D är så basalt för lungan påverkas det ofta kraftigt vid perifera lungskador.

The Northern Raccoon (Procyon lotor) belongs to the Carnivore-family and is a species endemic to North America. Every year hundreds of orphaned raccoon cubs are admitted into the Wildlife Rehabilitation Center of Minnesota (WRCM), a non-profit organization where all injured or orphaned wild animals are admitted and receive quality health care with the goal of being released out into the wild. The WRCM routinely vaccinate all of the admitted raccoon cubs with a killed feline panleucopenia vaccine, but despite this there are outbreaks of parvovirus infection every year where up to 50% of the admitted cubs have been euthanized or died. The objective of this study was to determine whether vaccinating the admitted raccoon kits has any significant protective effect to developing clinical parvoviral disease. A single-blinded cohort study was designed with two parallel, independent groups. One group was given a dose of killed feline parvovirus vaccine at admission, and the other group was not given any vaccination at all. Assignment to the vaccinated or unvaccinated group was on a per-litter basis and done randomly by drawing lots out of a box.

Intramuscular injections to cats can generate strong reactions in some individuals while reactions of the same extent, according to the author, not always are recognized when using the subcutaneous route. The reactions are probably caused by fear, stress and/or pain. When the injection can generate pain one has to take that into account, which can be a limitation in treatment. It is well known that injections generate pain, but knowledge about the cause and processes of the injection-associated pain is limited. This is mainly due to the difficulty in finding objects to study pain on, high cost of use of laboratory animals and difficulty to obtain objective measurements. Although there is evidence that there may be a local muscle injury by intramuscular injection, it is not always that the extent of damage is related to the pain experienced. Facts about the causes of injection-associated pain have been studied in a literature review.

The fragmentation and reduction of deciduous forests in Sweden is threatening many species. Particularity worrying is the loss of broad-leaf trees, since a diversity of species is often associated to them. Today many deciduous trees are situated along the border between forested and open areas, and these small fragments can be important for biodiversity.The aim of this study is to analyze if wildlife management can affect the variation of deciduous trees and bushes in the landscape. In brochures and literature Svenska Jägareförbundet (the Swedish Association for Hunting and Wildlife Management) recommend hunters and landowners to promote deciduous trees ? often broad-leaf trees ? as wildlife management measures, while the Swedish forestry laws can be sensed as unclear regarding the treatment of these trees.Five properties in Södermanland, Sweden, were chosen as study areas and inventoried in respect of trees and bushes in September 2013.

Pine twisting rust (Melampsora pinitorqua) is a parasitic rust fungus found all across Sweden causing damage resulting in lower quality and reduced tree growth in pine stands. In Sweden, the fungus is dependent on two alternate hosts; European aspen (Populus tremula) and Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris). Pine twisting rust has five different spore stages, two of them (uredinio- and teliospores) on the leaves of aspen. Injures on aspen caused by pine twisting rust is not extensive. On the other hand, when it infects the annual shoots of Scots pine it often results in a bent steam or even a top shoot breakage.

All over the world the urbanisation increases at the expense of green areas. Many plants and animals are endangered today because their habitats gets smaller or disappear. The green areas that are left in city centres and suburbs are often small and surrounded by roads and buildings. Despite this, several studies have shown that these small green areas may house large biological diversity.This project aims to study the biological diversity in small green patches in residential areas. The study has been carried out in Råsunda in Solna municipality (Stockholm county) during the period May?July 2006.Three equivalent areas (5000?10 000 m2) with quite many old oaks were chosen for the study and inventoried for birds and saproxylic insects.

All over the world the urbanisation increases at the expense of green areas. Many plants and animals are endangered today because their habitats gets smaller or disappear. The green areas that are left in city centres and suburbs are often small and surrounded by roads and buildings. Despite this, several studies have shown that these small green areas may house large biological diversity.This project aims to study the biological diversity in small green patches in residential areas. The study has been carried out in Råsunda in Solna municipality (Stockholm county) during the period May?July 2006.Three equivalent areas (5000?10 000 m2) with quite many old oaks were chosen for the study and inventoried for birds and saproxylic insects.

A church in rural Vester Egede from the earliest Christian period in Denmark e.g. the early 1100, a baptismal font is found showing a woman breastfeeding two animals. She is said to be a typical early roman Luxuria, in mild appearance. However, what makes her unique is that she appears standing on the top of her head, her womb serving as font. The main question is how come that a baptismal font like this is to be found in a church, leading to the sub question, if this font really has a Christian origin or could it be rooted in Norse, pre-Christian tradition, alternatively is the font an expression of a syncretism between the two colliding cultures.

In 2003 the recommended phosphorus allowance for dairy cows in Sweden was lowered approximately 10 %. For a cow at a production level of 35 kg ECM it decreased from 0,40 to 0,36 % of dry matter. To investigate if the decrease has been implemented at farm level, analysis of following minerals; P, Ca, Mg, K, Na, S, Se, Cu, Mn and Zn was performed on the TMR at 20 farms in Sweden in the summer of 2004. The purpose was to describe the actual allowance of different minerals as compared to the new recommendations. One hypothesis was that the decrease in recommended allowance of phosphorus would lead to the need of new mineral feeds on the market.

There are around 855 000 on-site sewage systems in Sweden and some 1 800 of these are located in the municipality of Sigtuna. The Sigtuna local authority has set the goal that all sewage systems with insufficient function should be improved before the end of year 2010. A malfunctioning on-site sewage system may cause three main problems: spreading of diseases, discharge of eutrophicating compounds and wastage of resources. The municipality strives to reduce these problems already at the stage of granting permits for installation of on site sanitation systems. The municipality has recently adopted new guidelines, which demands certain minimum reductions for different compounds. The guidelines also state that it is preferred that neighboring house-owners cooperate in jointly built and operated sewage systems and that the system should be able to recycle plant nutrients.

Emerging infectious diseases are a recurring threat to both human and animal health. Understanding the multiple causes behind the emergence of new diseases is key to the prevention of new and potentially devastating outbreaks. The list of underlying causes is long, including a variety of anthropogenic, environmental, molecular and climatic changes that promote the emergence and spread of disease. Two of these factors are central to the emergence of new diseases and receive special attention in this study. The spread of disease from wildlife to livestock and diseases that spread from animals to humans (zoonoses) are of importance as they implicated in the majority of EID events.

Biodiversity is essential for human well-being and it is defined as the genetic variation within species and the variety of species and ecosystems. Biodiversity provides several ecosystem services which are necessary for human beings but there are different threats towards the biodiversity. The biodiversity linked to the forest in Sweden are threatened, about 50 % of the red-listed species in Sweden are associated with forests. This is linked to the commercial exploitation of the boreal forest in Sweden which started 200 years ago. The forestry the last 50 years, with clear-cuts, have contributed to a fragmented forest landscape.

This study was conducted at VikingGenetics' bull breeding station in Falkenberg, Sweden. The bulls waiting for the results of their progeny testing at this station are either kept in group housing or individual housing. Since both of these housing systems have advantages and disadvantages, it was in the interest of VikingGenetics to know which of these housing systems is the best. The aim of this study was to investigate the welfare of the bulls in these two housing systems through behavioural observations and the use of activity monitors. In the preparations for the study 16 bulls, 8 in each housing system, were chosen.

In todays competitive business climate the concept of ?quality management? is a significant part of daily work for many companies, as they want to achieve high performance quality and delivery success. Within the services sector third-party logistics companies play an increasingly central role when it comes to the goods that are being transported. These companies are presented with continuous challenges to ensure that goods are loaded on trucks efficiently and delivered on time, at the right place and in the right condition. The present case study was conducted in collaboration with Schenker AB and Schenker Åkeri in Jönköping, to help these two company branches serving under the same major corporation to solve a common problem they both encounter, namely the fact that it regularly occurs handling abnormalities in the terminal process that affects overall quality for customers.The study aims to find out how the daily quality control concerning the handling of goods in the terminal process can be improved hopefully resulting in a higher quality in cargo shipments.

The purposes of this study were to estimate genetic and phenotypic parameters for conformation traits in Swedish Ardenner, a heavy draught horse, and to investigate the inbreeding status of the population. Additionally, a breeding scheme proposal was created, based on the results achieved in the study. The data studied were obtained from the Swedish Horse Board and from the Swedish Ardenner Association. The data included 1632 three-year-old horses, mainly mares, and 356 stallions, judged between 1986 and 2005 at conformation shows. The traits studied were type, head-neck-body, legs, walk and trot at hand, total score and height at withers.