The ability of dairy cows to survive and the economic importance of this have been in-creasing in dairy cattle breeding lately. Increased longevity contribute to an increased pro-portion of cows that produce milk in more productive lactations and reduces the replace-ment costs together with a good health and fertility. Unfortunately it is often argued that longevity has been decreasing due to a strong selection for production traits in dairy cattle.The aims of this study were to find correlations between different longevity evaluations and between different estimates on longevity and other traits in the Nordic Total Merit (NTM) breeding value. The aim was also to compare different traits for cows of two differ-ent longevity groups.The data were Predicted Breeding Values (PBV) from Nordic HOL and SR bulls and records from Holstein (HOL) and Swedish Red (SR) cows estimated by the Swedish Dairy Association.The three Swedish longevity indexes were very highly correlated (>0.89) and the corre-lations between the Swedish official longevity index and the five Nordic Cattle Genetic Evaluation (NAV) longevity indexes varied between 0.73-0.83.In the sire evaluation part, the traits most negatively correlated with longevity for HOL were dairyness, protein and fat index. In SR, milk, protein, and fat index only had slightly positive correlations with longevity.

The aim of this study was to in laboratory experiments investigate how addition of urea, ECOX and structural materials can optimize sanitization during composting of sewage sludge. Today we strive for a sustainable society and the importance of closing the nutrient loop increases. It has therefore become even more important to safely reuse plant nutrients from human excreta to agricultural land. Partly because it increases the sustainability of society as the world's supply of many nutrients are finite, partly because it promotes human health, both by reducing disease transmission and by increasing Agricultural production. An untapped resource such as sewage sludge that is rich in nutrients and humus-forming materials could replace parts of the commercial fertilizers used in Sweden today. owever, sewage sludge contains undesirable substances such as heavy metals and drug residues, and pathogenic microorganisms.

Decomposition of organic matter is a critical process in the ecosystem, which involves many essential biotic and physical parts. Decomposition is therefore an important process both above and below ground. The rate of decomposition is dependent of many environmental factors for example: pH, moisture and supply of oxygen. The decomposition can therefore be affected by large scaled environmental influences, such as acidification and climatic changes. The root litter in the forest is in different ways affected by acidification, liming and manuering.

Wounds on horses are common and sometimes difficult to treat. The wounds are often big and could be discovered too late for primary sutures, which have to be applied within 8 hours from time of accident, before bacteria has been able to infiltrate the surrounding tissue. The healing is often complicated by delayed healing and wound infection with consequences like phlegmone, fistulation and proud flesh formation.To avoid these consequences, the traditional practice has been to administer systemic antibiotics alone, systemic antibiotics in combination with topical antibiotics or topical antibiotics alone. Because few antibiotics can be used in horses, is it important to household with the few substances that are available. In veterinary medicine today, the increasing resistance amongst pathogenic microbes such as MRSA presents a growing problem.

Fertility is of central interest in the dairy production but has during the last decades declined. Increased milk yield has resulted in high pressure on the metabolism of the dairy cows that are supposed to manage the transition from dry cows to lactating cows within a few weeks around the parturition. Much indicate that metabolism and fertility are closely linked, with insulin playing a substantial part. There are many studies suggesting that the main part of gestation loss can be found during the early embryo development, a period which can be studied in vitro. The aim of this study was to test the effect of insulin during maturation in vitro and to evaluate two different fluorescent stainings on oocytes and embryos; a nuclear stain and a staining of apoptotic cells through the terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase dUTP nick end labeling (TUNEL)-method. Bovine cumulus-oocyte-complexes (n=991) were aspirated from abattoir-derived ovaries.

This essay derives from the concern that horses ridden with a bit in their mouth can be subjected to strong pressure from the bit if the horse and rider do not understand each other. The horse's mucosa membrane and the tongue are very sensitive tissues (Cook, 1999; Manfredi, 2005; Oliveira, 2005; Terada, 2006) and the bit can then be a source of pain and discomfort. The training of the horse should therefore always be a step by step process and as the horse develops difficulties are increased. Oliveira (2005) suggested that high demands can be placed on the horse but to be successful in the training it is essential to be content with small progress and reward the slightest desired response from the horse. This corresponds with the principles of operant conditioning with negative reinforcement.

The bacterium Lactobacillus reuteri, which natural habitat is in the intestine of mammals and birds, uses glycerol as a substrate for production of the antimicrobial compound reuterin. Glycerol has been shown to decrease the number of Escherichia coli in human feces and it is believed to be due to in situ production of reuterin. E. coli belongs to the large family of Enterobacteriaceae, naturally occurring in the intestine, and pathogenic strains of E. coli have been shown to be one of several bacteria causing diarrhoea in calves.

In this thesis, two studies with different drills were included. In one of the studies two drills were compared: Väderstad Rapid and Väderstad Spirit. In the other study various drills for direct drilling were compared. The study with Rapid and Spirit was placed in two locations with different autumn tillage; one on ploughed land in Uppsala and one on cultivated land in Västerås, both with relatively high clay content. Rapid drills have a single disc coulter, while the Spirit drills have a double disc coulter. Various aspects were compared such as aggregate distribution, seed placement, emergence, crop yield and economic outcome.

Sarcoid is the most common tumor in horses all over the world. The sarcoid is a benign, locally invasive, usually fibroblastic proliferative skin neoplasm. Even if the etiology is not completley verified, the epidemiology and clinical behavior suggest a infectious intervention, probably BPV type 1 or type 2. However, it is known that the cause is multifactorial. A genetic prepdispositon has been identified associated to genes within the Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC), but also to breed, age and perhaps gender.

Sarcoid is the most common tumor in horses all over the world. The sarcoid is a benign, locally invasive, usually fibroblastic proliferative skin neoplasm. Even if the etiology is not completley verified, the epidemiology and clinical behavior suggest a infectious intervention, probably BPV type 1 or type 2. However, it is known that the cause is multifactorial. A genetic prepdispositon has been identified associated to genes within the Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC), but also to breed, age and perhaps gender.

The cattle production in the world has been questioned in Sweden due to its negative impacts on the environment. The use of imported soya bean meal as a protein feed for Swedish cattle results in the cutting of rainforest and an extensive use of pesticides in the countries were the soya beans are produced. As a consequence, the environmental impacts caused by cattle production increases. A production of protein feeds in Sweden would decrease the transportations and the cutting of rainforest. For organic beef producers the possibility to produce home-grown protein feeds is important since organic protein feeds can be difficult to obtain in another way.

Background: Breast cancer is one of the most common cancer diseases among women worldwide. Breast cancer brings fear into many womens? life. It is a threat against life, but also to the psychological health, self-esteem and the female identity. Aim: The aim of this literature review was to describe newly breast cancer patient?s perception of information provided by healthcare personnel.

The standard housing of farmed mink provides little opportunities for them to behave naturally and abnormal behaviours such as stereotypic behaviour and tail biting may occur. To prevent abnormal behaviours animals in captivity are often provided with different kinds of enrichments. The aim of this study was to investigate what kind of enrichment farmed mink use when they have several kinds to choose from and to observe if abnormal behaviours can be decreased with a larger cage and a more multifaceted environment. Totally 20 silver blue, 10 months old female mink were kept in traditional cages (80x30x40 cm) for 7 days and in larger cages (195x80x40 cm) with several types of enrichments for 7 days. The enrichments were wire net- and wooden shelves, wire net- and plastic cylinders, water bath, plastic ropes, branches, straw and tennis balls. One-zero scan sampling on behaviour and choice of place were performed during 3 hours and 20 minutes prior to feeding during 7 days per treatment in April 2004.

Toothbrushing is the best available method in remaining or restore dental health in dogs. This report treats different aspects about toothbrushing and other dental home care treatments in dogs. Questions like why the dog?s teeth should be brushed, what effects toothbrushing have on dental health and how the teeth can be brushed are treated. Furthermore complements to toothbrushing are treated, the options and their effects.

Background: Alzheimer?s disease belongs to the largest group of dementia and stands for the half of those 37 millions persons whom are affected of dementia in the entire world. Alzheimer?s disease affects the patients with changes on their behaviour. It is important as a nurse to prevent that the symptoms increase.