This report is a B.Sc. Forestry thesis work at the school for Forest Management, SLU. The work was an assignment from the forest owners? association Mellanskog. The aim of the work where to investigate the economical result of removing undergrowth trees before first thinning, and a follow-up of the contractors and their compliance with Mellanskog standards. This thesis work was divided in three parts: The first was to find a relation between the net volume from the first thinning and the cost of cleaning undergrowth trees. Secondly there was a follow-up in the field, to investigate whether the contractors have done the undergrowth cleaning according to Mellanskog?s directives.

In this essay dog as a compatible model were put against human. The major histocompatibility complex (MHC) genes were compared between dogs, human, cat and mouse. To evaluate dog as a model and study similarities and differences was the aim with this review. Dog as a model contributes to understand mechanisms behind autoimmune diseases and showed clearly histological similarities between human and dogs concerning the skin disease mucous membrane pemphigoid (MMP)/cicatricial pemphgioid (CP). Further genetic evidence motivated the choice of using dog as a comprehensive model when the MHC-complex correlated with hypothyroiditis in Doberman dog as it does in human. Physiological similarities with low levels of thyroid hormones (T3 and T4) together with high level of thyroid releasing hormone (TSH) were found in the same way as in human.

Hypoadrenocorticism (Addison´s disease) results from insufficient production of glucocorticoid and mineralcorticoid hormones from the adrenal glands. The disease is often difficult to diagnose in an early stage because of the multitude of associated vague clinical signs. The standard poodle is one breed presupposed to be at higher risk of developing the disease. The purpose of this study was to give a review of canine hypoadrenocorticism as described in literature, and to characterise Addison´s disease in a population of standard poodles in Sweden. Statistics on incidenceproportions by breed for hypoadrenocorticism from the database of the Swedish insurance company Agria are presented.

The histiocytic diseases are generally rare in dogs and not much is known about the disease. The disease complex that includes both a reactive form and a tumour form, is however common in certain breeds, among them the Bernese Mountain Dog. As the literature is very limited on the subject of histiocytic diseases, my aim with this thesis has been to gather current knowledge of these diseases. I have also attempted to estimate the frequency of the diseases among the Swedish Bernese Mountain Dogs and investigate if they appear to be more common among certain families..

Renal dysplasia is a developmental anomaly of the kidneys which is considered to be the primary lesion in juvenile progressive nephropathy, a condition leading to chronic renal failure in young dogs. It is defined as disorganised development of the renal parenchyma due to abnormal differentiation, and pathological lesions include persistent foetal structures, dysplastic tubules and cartilaginous and osseus metaplasia. The aetiology of renal dysplasia in dogs is still unknown, but possible causes are infection with canine herpesvirus, teratogenic substances or intrauterine ureteral obstruction. In some breeds renal dysplasia is a familial or inherited disease. Clinical signs of chronic renal failure, such as polyuria, polydipsia, vomiting, weight loss, anorexia, lethargy and anemia, usually appear before the age of 2 years.

?Tollarsjuka? is a disease with a suspected immunopathological background seen in Nova Scotia duck tolling retrievers. Pyrexia, lameness, stiffness and joint- or musclepain are typical clinical signs. The purpose of this study is to describe case histories from dogs with a possible evidence of ?tollarsjuka?. 18 private dogs were included in this report. Generalised stiffness, lameness and fatigue were the most frequent manifestations of the disease.

Background: Schizophrenia is a serious disease with potential to implicate consequences on both the family and the sick. Nurses have a fundamental responsibility to relieve suffering, and also to offer support to both the individual and the family.Aim: To illuminate experiences of being a family member to a person with schizophrenia.Method: A systematic literature review was chosen. Nine articles were included. After having analyzed the results six categories were found.Result: The family members experienced the disease as fluctuating and stressful. Some felt ashamed for their sick family member and withdrew from the rest of the society.

Background: Schizophrenia is a serious disease with potential to implicate consequences on both the family and the sick. Nurses have a fundamental responsibility to relieve suffering, and also to offer support to both the individual and the family.Aim: To illuminate experiences of being a family member to a person with schizophrenia.Method: A systematic literature review was chosen. Nine articles were included. After having analyzed the results six categories were found.Result: The family members experienced the disease as fluctuating and stressful. Some felt ashamed for their sick family member and withdrew from the rest of the society.

This report is a B.Sc. Forestry thesis work at the school for Forest Management, SLU. The work was an assignment from the forest owners? association Mellanskog. The aim of the work where to investigate the economical result of removing undergrowth trees before first thinning, and a follow-up of the contractors and their compliance with Mellanskog standards. This thesis work was divided in three parts: The first was to find a relation between the net volume from the first thinning and the cost of cleaning undergrowth trees. Secondly there was a follow-up in the field, to investigate whether the contractors have done the undergrowth cleaning according to Mellanskog?s directives.

Claw diseases are common diseases in modern dairy production. They are painful for the cow and costly for the producer. Differences in the prevalence of claw disease depending on housing system have previously been observed. This raises the question if there are genotype by environment (GxE) interactions for claw diseases in different housing systems. To investigate this claw trimming records for Swedish Red dairy cattle (SR) and Swedish Holstein cows (SH) were retrieved from the Swedish Dairy Association.

Background: Fibromyalgia is a psychosomatic disease that emerges without any known cause. For a long time, it has been believed to be a part of the menopause. Between 0,7 and 4,8 % of the women in Scandinavia are diagnosed. The most obvious symptom is pain. Aim: The aim with the literature review was to describe how women with fibromyalgia experience their lifesituation.

Inclusion body disease (IBD) affecting boas and pythons is a serious and common disease. Boas can be clinically healthy carriers, which makes control of the disease difficult. The causative agent has not yet been confidently identified, and therefore there are no serodiagnostic tests available. Today, histopathologic examination of tissue biopsies is the recommended antemortem diagnostic method, but there are several disadvantages. The objective of this study was to compare the sensitivity of two diagnostic methods ? liver biopsies and blood smears, and to evaluate ultrasoundguided needle biopsy of the liver.

Among researchers it has been established since decades that humans and animals have an internal biological clock that controls certain physiological mechanisms. One example regarding humans is the impairment of lung function during the night, causing the phenomenon ?nocturnal asthma? among asthmatics. Only a few studies concerning respiratory circadian rhythm in horses have been done previously and they showed a daily variation in horses with a chronic or an acute respiratory disease. The technique used in those studies was the conventional technique, which is invasive and less sensitive than the technique used in this study.

The purpose of the study was to evaluate the function of TalkingMats in a group of people with Huntington?s disease, with main focus on theeffectiveness of communication. Four individuals with Huntington?s diseaseand their group leader participated in the study. The group was videotapedduring four sets of conversations; two with and two without Talking Mats.

The purpose of the study was to examine if Talking Mats® couldsupport communication and participation for people with Huntington?sdisease, carers and a dental hygienist in conversation about oral care. Elevendyads, a person with Huntington's disease and a carer, participated.Conversations with and without mats were video recorded and compared.Each participant responded to a questionnaire about how they experiencedthe conversations. Analysis with Effectiveness Framework of FunctionalCommunication showed that two participants increased their communicativeeffectiveness using Talking Mats®. Feelings of participation increased forall participants and were significantly higher for participants withHuntington's disease.