Bacillus anthracis is the causative agent of anthrax, a serious and globally distributed zoonosis affecting a wide range of wild and domestic animals, invariably also humans. However, although known to humans since biblical times, much remains to be elucidated concerning the ecology and transmission of this bacterium. Of particular interest is the Bacillus anthracis spore, the uptake of which is the predominant way to contract anthrax and which is legendary for its resilience in the environment and thus crucial for persistence and spread of the disease. Hence, the aim of this study is to review the natural transmission of Bacillus anthracis and investigate potential means by which soil persisting Bacillus anthracis spores reach concentrations sufficient to infect susceptible hosts. When reviewing the literature, three different theories can be distinguished. Firstly, ?the incubator area? hypothesis suggests that favourable soil factors, possibly in association with amoebas, may constitute an environment supporting repeated spore-bacterium-spore cycling, thus increasing the local amount of spores.

Introduction: Sex and education level has demonstrated effects on health status.Osteoarthritis is a widespread disease that causes reduced health-related quality of life and isthe most common reason for total hip replacement. Osteoarthritis was ranked as the 11thhighest contributor to global disability as reported in the Global Burden of Disease 2010.Aim: The aim of this study was to explore how sex and education level together affectedhealth-related quality of life after total hip replacement. The aim was also to examine whatdimensions of EQ-5D that changed.Methods: The study is a prospective observational study with a quantitative approach. Dataconsisted of education level, obtained from Statistics Sweden (SCB) and health-relatedquality of life before and one year after total hip replacement from the Swedish HipArthroplasty Register (SHAR). Health-related quality of life was measured with astandardised instrument, the EQ-5D, and the study population consisted of 39,141 patients.Results: Womens? EQ-5D-value, before and one year after surgery, were lower in alleducational categories compared with men.

The objective of this study is to understand how people with psychiatric diseases who are enrolled at a psychiatric clinic experience the recovery process and which internal motivations and external factors influence the process. The study is based on interviews with five people who have been enrolled at a psychiatric clinic. Another aim of the study is to understand how the importance of the outpatient care for the personal recovery and the improvement opportunities of the support from the rehabilitation unit that the interviewees see. The study is qualitative and abductive approach was chosen. This means that the study is based on empirical data supported by established theories.

Conjunctival swabs from 12 cats in a Swedish animal shelter were analyzed by real-time PCR for FHV-1, Mycoplasma felis and chlamydiae. The purpose of this study was to see whether and to what extent these agents can be detected and if they were detected from cats housed in quarantine or in the adoption department. Samples were first taken upon arrival at the quarantine and then a second sample was taken two weeks after moving to the adoption department, or upon presentation of signs of disease. The cats spent the quarantine period in two separate quarantines: five in a new quarantine (quarantine A) and seven in a room in the old shelter (quarantine B). The difference between these quarantines was that in B the cats were often mixed together ant the hygiene routines were not as good as in quarantine A.

The Swedish Red Polled breed is threatened by extinction and there are only around 1100 animals left. The breed was popular in the early twentieth century, but since then the numbers have steadily decreased. The overall objective of this study was to find out whether there may be economic incentives for preserving the breed. The milk quality properties are of major importance in the production of dairy products. Therefore we would like to establish if the Swedish Red Polled breed carries favourable alleles at loci of relevance for milk quality, to potentially make the breed more interesting for milk production.

On average half of the sows in Swedish piglet producing herds are culledannually. A significant portion of the sows are euthanized because of lameness orparalysis. Young sows and gilts are overrepresented in the category of animals,culled due to injuries in the musculoskeletal system. These injuries cause pain tothe animals. Early culling of sows/gilts also have economical consequences forthe producers.

Fibromyalgia is a chronic pain disorder. It affects muscles and connective tissue. It's a very complex disorder that has no adequate treatment or cure. The research has progressed but there are still some questions to be answered. Quality of life for these patients is decreased and leads to suffering.

Långvarig smärta är en upplevelse som är förknippad med emotionella och psykologiska reaktioner och som inte kan mätas objektivt. Det är ett fenomen som ofta orsakar personer sociala och funktionella inskränkningar. Syftet med denna litteraturstudie var att beskriva upplevelsen av att leva med långvarig ickemalign smärta. Studien är baserad på tio vetenskapliga artiklar som publicerades mellan 1996-2006. Artiklarna analyserades med kvalitativ innehållsanalys.

Have you encountered problems when you are unlocking a door? Perhaps you have had your hands full when you needed to unlock the door? Or, you might be suffering from a disease and have difficulties to put force on to small objects. To solve these problems there are different options. The most common alternative is a key button. With the key button, you do not need turn the pinion to unlock.

People with positive affect seem to have great advantages in life. Goal achievement, the main cause of well-being for all organisms, seem to be a typical trait of these people. The purpose of this study was to examine (i) what influences positive affect, (ii) the relation between positive affect and goal achievement, and (iii) characteristics of individuals with positive and negative affect. Five individuals with self-rated positive affect and two with negative were interviewed. The responses were classified in fifteen themes.

Bakgrund: Inflammatorisk tarmsjukdom (IBD) inkluderar ulcerös kolit och Crohns sjukdom. De är kroniska och uppkommer i skov då tarmslemhinnan blir inflammerad och sårig vilket ger en komplex symtombild med akuta diarréer, rektalblödning och buksmärtor. Behandlingen går ut på att minska symtom och förebygga uppkomst av skov. Då dessa sjukdomar påverkar det dagliga livet så påverkas också den individuella hälsorelaterade livskvaliteten, vilket mäter den fysiska, psykiska och sociala aspekten av ett hälsoproblem.Syfte: Syftet var att beskriva upplevelsen av hälsorelaterad livskvalitet hos personer med inflammatorisk tarmsjukdom.Metod: En litteraturöversikt har gjorts där tolv vetenskapliga artiklar har utgjort grunden till resultatet och skapat en översikt på befintlig forskning. De har lästs, sammanfattats och analyserats där likheter och skillnader har hittats och teman bildats.Resultat: Resultatets fyra huvudteman är Fysisk funktion, Psykisk funktion, Social funktion och Att återställa sin livskvalitet.

Bakgrund: Vård av patienter med smittsam lungtuberkulos har blivit allt vanligare. Ett antal fall där personal smittats har förekommit i landet under de senaste åren. Många av dessa patienter har en annan etnisk bakgrund och talar ett annat språk än personalen. Syfte: Att studera sjuksköterskors upplevelser av att vårda patienter med lungtuberkulos på infektionsklinik. Metod: Semi-strukturerade intervjuer genomfördes med sex sjuksköterskor på en infektionsklinik.

This is an examinaton of welfare officers and patients experiences of a course in mindfulnessbased stressreduction in primary care. The authors used a qualitative method and a phenomenological hermeneutics scientific philosophical position. The analys of the data appeared by using three theoretical perspectives; cognitive, coping and Antonovskys Sence of Coherence. The purpose was to get a deeper understanding of what mindfulness is, how a course in mindfulnessbased stressreduction can be arranged and how it is comprehended by the welfare officers and previous participators of the course. To get an opinion of the issue the authors wanted to know the welfare officers intention of the course, to which patients they provide the course, what the participators thought about their situation before and after the attendence and if they had assimilated the knowledge and if so how it was applicable.

Lameness causes suffering and poor performance in sheep, as in other species. The cause of lameness often originates in problems of the claws. Many claw diseases of sheep are described in British and Australian research, but this field has previously not been of special concern in Sweden. This graduate thesis contains the first claw health survey made on Swedish sheep. The chief objective was to give an overview of sheep claw diseases and to assess claw health in adult sheep.

Bakgrund: I dagens samhälle lever många människor med medicinskt oförklarlig smärta. Oförklarliga symtom kan förklaras som fysiska symtom som trots medicinsk utvärdering förblir odefinierade. För att stödja patienten är det viktigt att se personen som en helhet för att tillgodose den drabbades behov och för att bidra till en god omvårdnad. Syfte: Att beskriva personers upplevelser av att leva med oförklarlig smärta. Metod: En allmän litteraturstudie som genomförts baserad på kvalitativa vetenskapliga artiklar.