This study was carried out at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Dept. of Agricultural Research for Northern Sweden. The aim of the study was to determine how plant species richness and diversity influence the nitrogen pools and nitrogen fluxes in the soil. Plant and soil samples from a biodiversity experiment in grasslands were used. Thirty plots with 12 grassland plant species (legumes, grasses, and non-legume herbs), combined from 1-12 species were investigated.

Several technical solutions are ready to step forward as the new generation of propellant, and this report aims to explore the possibility of commercializing fuel cell cars. The report is based on current research and data from today's technology and engineering solutions that are estimated to be commercially realized before 2020.A mapping of today?s different fuel cell options has shown that the most suitable fuel cell option is the Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell, which uses hydrogen as fuel. The report is focusing on a techno-economic well-to-wheel analysis of hydrogen and the energy balance and costs in a system perspective. The basis for this analysis consists of two centralized methods of production, steam methane reforming (SMR), and alkaline water electrolysis.

One of the most serious and economically important defects caused by clostridia in milk products is the late blowing of semi-hard cheeses.Clostridia occur naturally in soil and can contaminate milk through crops contaminated by dung and soil followed by a less successful silage process, that give them opportunity to grow unaerobically. When anaerobic conditions occur, such as storage of semi-hard cheese, they ferment lactic acid to butyric acid and the gases CO2 and H2.At the fusion of Arla and MD Foods, a series of changes were conducted on the MPN method for lactic acid fermentation for clostridia in milk. These changes resulted in an increased accuracy due to an increased number of test tubes and the change of media from MRCM to BBB, Bryant & Burkey Broth, that was thought to be more selective for Cl. tyrobutyricum, the organism mostly found in hard cheese. When the number of dairy farmers that were given quality reduction fines increased, the new method was suspected and a validation was conducted.The validation included inoculation of different clostridia and bacillus strains into BBB substrate and enzymatic testing of positive samples with Rapid ID 32A.

The purpose of this thesis has been to gather knowledge about the complaints of tying-up in horses and to show that the importance of feeding. The thesis includes a literature review of tying-up how preventative measures by feeding can be made. In the equine sport, crosscountry, horses occasionally suffers from tying-up, a muscle disease. An increased knowledge about the disease is demanded by riders and trainers as the disease disrupts training and competition of suffered horses. A cross-country horse works very hard in training and during competitions but the work bouts are long enough for the muscle cells to use aerobic pathways in the metabolism.

The guinea pig is an important meat-producing animal in Peru as well as in several other South American countries. They are held in different kinds of systems, from the small backyard breeders with few animals to the large commercial farms with thousands of guinea pigs. One of the major issues at the farms is animals dying of unknown causes. Salmonellosis is often considered as a major cause, but samples for confirmation are rarely taken. It has been known for a long time that Clostridium difficile (C.

Background. Anesthetic-related death in small animal anesthesia is about ten times more common than in human anesthesia. Recent research identifies the early postoperative period as particularly risky and highlights the need for regular and careful monitoring of the veterinary patient during this period. Objective. The aims of this study were to investigate whether there are standard procedures in terms of regulated routine patient observations and record-keeping during the early postoperative period at Swedish veterinary clinics, and if there are any guidelines for monitoring the veterinary patient during recovery. Methods. A small survey including ten Swedish veterinary clinics was carried out as well as a literature review. Results.

Halten löst organiskt material (DOC) har under de senaste 20 åren ökat i våra sjöar. Det har också skett förändringar i karaktären. DOC ställer till problem för vattenverk som använder ytvatten som dricksvattenkälla genom att det kan ge lukt, smak och färg till vattnet. Det ger också ett ökat behov av fällningskemikalier, större slambildning och större bildning av potentiellt skadliga desinfektionsprodukter. I och med förändringarna i halt och karaktär av DOC behöver nuvarande reningstekniker förbättras och nya tekniker utvecklas.I den här studien undersöktes två konventionella reningstekniker; fällning med järnklorid och fällning med aluminiumsulfat, samt två modernare tekniker; jonbyte med MIEX® och membranteknik.

Biogas mainly consists of methane and carbon dioxide, where methane is theenergy-rich gas, and is naturally created when organic matter breaks down in absenceof oxygen, also known as anaerobic digestion. A biogas plant re-creates the anaerobicconditions inside a digester where the organic substrate is fed into and digests toproduce biogas. The gas is then used to produce energy by combustion and can beseen as a completely renewable fuel.Today, energy from biogas is used primarily by major stakeholders such asmunicipalities and thus the plants become very large with high investment- andconstruction costs. There are currently few small plants in Sweden, even though thepotential for agriculture and medium-sized to smaller farms to become self-sufficientin terms of electricity and heat is great. Farms have a natural stock of digestibleorganic material in form of manure or crops for example, which are constantlyavailable.

As a small and land scarce country, effective waste management is ofoutmost importance in Singapore. In this study the production of biogasthrough anaerobic digestion from the organic fraction of municipal solidwaste (OFMSW) was compared to incineration of the waste. At the momentalmost all of the OFMSW in Singapore is incinerated. Three differentscenarios were compared to the reference scenario (incineration): one with alarge scale biogas plant that can treat half of all OFMSW in Singapore, onewith a medium scale biogas plant about 15 times smaller than the large oneand one with a small scale biogas plant that can treat waste from e.g. ashopping center or a food center.By using life cycle assessment (LCA) the different scenarios were comparedin terms of global warming potential (GWP), acidification, eutrophication,energy use and land use.

In this thesis the methane gas potential of three different substrates, two algaes Saccharina latissima and Laminaria digitata and biosludge mixed with paper fiber was studied. This was done by batch experiments in a laboratory environment to examine the gas production and composition of the produced gas.Biogas production is a complex anaerobic digestion process in which various microorganisms decompose the substrate in steps and at the end produce biogas and a residue. Many factors affect the production of gas, for example the substrate content, temperature and pH in the digester.The analysis of methane potential were divided into two experiments. In experiment 1 substrates were digested along with inoculum from Växjö waste water treatment plant in a temperature of about 37 ?C.

Biogas is a gaseous fuel, rich in methane, produced through a biological route in an anaerobic digester. A gas engine generates combined heat and power, which can be used at the farm to reduce energy cost. The process also generates a digestate, with better utilization of nutrient compared to cattle manure. The aim of this study is to analyze the profitability of a farm-scale biogas plant for combined heat and power (CHP) at Wapnö. Wapnö is an agriculture company located in the southern part of Sweden.

As a small and land scarce country, effective waste management is ofoutmost importance in Singapore. In this study the production of biogasthrough anaerobic digestion from the organic fraction of municipal solidwaste (OFMSW) was compared to incineration of the waste. At the momentalmost all of the OFMSW in Singapore is incinerated. Three differentscenarios were compared to the reference scenario (incineration): one with alarge scale biogas plant that can treat half of all OFMSW in Singapore, onewith a medium scale biogas plant about 15 times smaller than the large oneand one with a small scale biogas plant that can treat waste from e.g. ashopping center or a food center.By using life cycle assessment (LCA) the different scenarios were comparedin terms of global warming potential (GWP), acidification, eutrophication,energy use and land use.

Post-anaesthetic myopathy (PAM) is a serious occasional complication of general anaesthesia in horses. It causes not only pain and suffering to the horse, but also suffering (trauma) to the owner with increased veterinary costs. In the worst case PAM can be fatal. The anaesthetic nurse must know which parameters have to be taken into consideration in the prevention of PAM, to be able to prevent it, and use that knowledge for the animals safety. The aim of this literature review was to investigate and make a presentation of the factors and measurements associated with PAM, with focus on how to monitor these measurements to prevent it from happening, and the advice a Veterinary nurse can give to the horse owner regarding this condition. According to literature there a few factors that greatly increase the risk of PAM, these include- hypotension, periods less than 60 mmHg significantly increases the risk.

Fast pyrolysis is a method for converting biomass into three energy rich products: char, gas and bio-oil, where the latter is most interesting.  Pyrolysis is an endothermic process where biomass is heated in an anaerobic environment and, with the right operating conditions, up to 80 %wt bio-oil can be extracted. Key parameters for fast pyrolysis are: stable reactor temperature (~500°C), short residue time for gas in the reactor (<2 s) and a very high heating rate for the biomass. Today there are several different process solutions for fast pyrolysis, where fluidized beds and rotating cones are most developed. Bio-oil has compared to fossil oil: lower heating value, low pH and also polymerizes with time. Because of this upgrading is desirable for increasing competitiveness.

Spitz nevus was first described by Sophie Spitz in 1948 as juvenile melanoma. The lesion is a benign melanocytic tumor, which consists of epiteloid- and spindelshaped cells. Histological is spitz nevus difficult to distinguish from malign melanomas and spitzoid melanomas. Loss of symmetry, loss of maturation in the deep component, nuclear polymorphism and hyper chromatic nucleus are features which can be found in melanomas. Some of these features are often seen in spitz nevus.