This study was performed to investigate the possibility to use ultrasonography as a diagnostic tool for sub-clinical mastitis in dairy cows. Five cows with high cell counts, and four cows with low cell counts were selected as cases and controls, respectively, and their udders examined with ultrasound during a 5 week period. The image of the udders of cows with high cell counts exhibited small, hyper-echoic, rounded foci, approximately 1 cm in diameter, near the milk cisterns and the base of the teats. These changes were not found consistently in all cows with high cell count, however. Ultrasonography may be a valuable complementary tool in the diagnosis of sub-clinical mastitis in dairy cow, but more cases need to be monitored before its full value can be ascertained..

This report was performed in order to evaluate a new technological measure and focuses generally on a heat pump system to a HWC-washing machine. The client is Asko Appliances AB, a company well known for its environmentally friendly products. The goal of this study was to improve the energy efficiency of a washing machine by combining a heat pump device to the heater of the wash water, in order to reduce the energy consumed for heating the water. Besides reducing the energy consumption in heating the water, the washing machine was required to meet low noise and short operating time specifications. For that purpose, nine trials in three test series have been carried out.

sjuksköterska (I. Dahl).

The aims of the practical work carried out for this thesis were to redesign a clinical decision support system for thoracic surgeons, called AssistMe, and to evaluate the concept behind this system. The main objective of the thesis is to give an account of the considerations that were found to be of key importance for designing a clinical decision support system for thoracic surgery. Another aim was to let future users test the system after it had been redesigned and evaluate the concept behind it. The thesis also investigates users? experience of the system and their views on whether it would be applicable in their daily work practice.

Information is essential in order for pharmaceutical companies to be successful. This essay focuses on the information provision of pre-clinical scientists at AstraZeneca R&D Lund, and the role of the company library in this process. In semi-structured interviews, four pre-clinical scientists were asked to describe their information provision regarding what type of information they need, how they find it and what sources of information they use. Four librarians from the company library were also interviewed to give their perspective on the information provision of pre-clinical scientist. The study also aimed at comparing the image of the process as described by the scientists themselves and the librarians.

Establishing a reference interval for plasma fibrinogen in foals Fibrinogen concentrations were analysed in EDTA preserved blood plasma samples from 34 thoroughbred foals born in 2001 and 2002 at one stud farm. The foals were between 0 and 240 days old at the time of the sampling, and there were 19 fillies and 12 stallions in the group. The foals were examined for clinical symptoms of disease and their body temperature was measured before blood was sampled from the jugular vein. From totally 156 blood samples, 31 were selected as originating from clinically healthy foals, and used to determine a reference range for thoroughbred foals. Samples originating from foals showing clinical symptoms of disease or an abnormal body temperature at the time of sampling, were classified as coming from unhealthy animals.

Background: Osteoarthritis is understood to be a common cause of pain and dysfunction in cats; however there are few validated pain assessment methods for chronic pain in cats. In order to design a proper pain questionnaire, it usability need to be tested in both sound and sick cats. Aim: The aim was to investigate the usability of the pain questionnaire ?Lifestyle changes in cats? by compiling the results from the pain questionnaire reflecting the lifestyle in 30 healthy cats and compare it to the results from a clinical examination, as well as proposing improvements and additions to the questionnaire based on a literature review. Material and method: 30 healthy cats participated in the pilot study; the pet owner filled out a pain questionnaire with 16 questions regarding their cat´s behavioral and eventual changes in behavior and physical function. Thereafter the cat walked over a pressure measurement mat and finally underwent an orthopedic-directed clinical examination. The literature was found on Web of Knowledge, PubMed, Sciencedirect, and Google Scholar and also with the help of my supervisors.

The main purpose of this study was to translate Stuttering Severity Instrument 3 and to evaluate its reliability and validity. Five speech-language pathologists assessed 35 adults who stutter with this assessment tool. Overall the results showed a very high inter- and intrarater reliability. A highly significant correlation between Stuttering Severity Instrument 3 and ratings of severity, made by the speech-language pathologists, strengthen the validityof Stuttering Severity Instrument 3. No correlation was found between the total score of Stuttering Severity Instrument 3 and the self-report measure Overall Assessment of the Speaker's Experience of Stuttering, whichindicates a lack of social validity in Stuttering Severity Instrument 3.

Bipolar disorder is a severe, affective illness which causes a person to alternate between episodes of pathologically elevated mood (mania) and depression ? in between these episodes the mood is normal. The length and intervals between the episodes are highly variable among the ill, as are the severity which is divided into two major subgroups: bipolar I and II. Bipolar I disorder is the most severe because of the patient?s inability to realize that he or she is currently in a manic phase, in the case of bipolar II disorder, the patient is aware that he or she has an abnormally raised mood, a state which is called hypomanic state instead of manic.

Syftet med uppsatsen var att undersöka och beskriva hur man arbeta med mentalisering/ reflektiv funktion i olika familjeterapeutiska metoder. Uppsatsen bygger på intervjuer med sex erfarna familjeterapeuter med olika inriktning som besvarar generella frågeställningar samt beskriver hur de skulle arbeta med ett kliniskt exempel.Resultatet visar att familjeterapeuterna, oavsett tidigare kännedom om begreppen tänker likartat kring mentalisering och reflektiv funktion i sitt kliniska arbete, och att alla utom en terapeut väljer snarlika förhållningssätt i arbetet med det kliniska exemplet. Slutsatsen är att mentalisering/reflektiv funktion är något som familjeterapeuterna ser som vägen till att skapa förändring och att familjeterapeutiska metoder kan användas för att arbeta med och förstärka mentalisering och reflektiv funktion.The purpose with this essay was to examine and describe how to work mentalizing and enhancing the reflective function with various family-therapeutic methods. The essay consists of interviews with six experienced family therapists with various orientations who answers general questions and describes how they would work with a clinical example.The essay concludes that the family therapists, regardless of previous knowledge of these concepts, think alike about mentalizing and reflective function in their clinical work. All except one also choose a similar approach in their work with the clinical example.

Uppsatsens syfte var att beskriva hur arbetsterapeuter resonerar kliniskt vid bedömning av arbetsförmåga hos personer med neuropsykiatriska funktionsnedsättningar. För denna studie användes en kvalitativ ansats. Semistrukturerade intervjuer genomfördes med fem arbetsterapeuter som jobbar mot arbetsmarknaden. Frågeområdena inspirerades av clinical reasoning ?three track mind? där procedural, interactive och conditional reasoning utgör de tre olika tankemönstren.Resultatet redovisades i fyra kategorier och ett övergripande tema som beskriver arbetsterapeuternas kliniska resonemang: Att forma en frågeställning, Att välja bedömningsmetod, Att utforma en slutrapport och Yrkeskompetens.

The main purpose of this study was to study the heredity of osteochondrosis (OC) in fetlock-, hock- or stifle joints within the Swedish half-bred population, using data from the regional animal hospital in Helsingborg. A large number of horses with clinical symptoms, for example lameness, are radiographed every year at the regional animal hospital in Helsingborg. In addition, many clinically healthy horses are radiographed in order to be sold (inspection radiographed / export radiographed). This study is based on electronically stored data from horses in both of these groups of patients that underwent joint radiography at the regional hospital in Helsingborg during the years 1992-1999. The first file (inspection file) contained 1035 observations from 983 horses that had their fetlock-, hock - or stifle joints radiographed for inspection or export. The other file (clinical file) contained 6121 observations from 3800 horses that were radiographed due to clinical symptoms in the fetlock-, stifle or hock joints.

Unwanted vegetation on the land of electric transforming stations is a problem, in the sense that it contributes to higher fire risks and also constitutes an obstacle for people performing maintenance operations at the station. Such unwanted vegetation is controlled using herbicides and mechanical measures. Since the use of herbicides implies environmental hazards, there is a need to find alternative ways of fighting the unwanted vegetation. Investigation into suitable plants for ground cover, trials in the greenhouse, trials in the field, soil analyses and compilation of experiences from similar trials are parts of this work. The paper also contains analyses of possible environmental benefits and economical gains. There is also a final discussion of some proposals regarding alternative weed controlling methods.

Hydropericardium or pericardial effusion (PE) is the accumulation of fluid in the pericardial sac and is often secondary to pericardial diseases or diseases related to the heart. It is unusual with clinically relevant pericardial diseases in cats but pericardial effusion is the most common one. Since PE causes serious symptoms and may lead to death it is important with a quick diagnosis and treatment. PE can be acute and cause cardiac tamponade, which gives severe clinical signs. Cardiac tamponade needs to be treated immediately or else the cat will die from cardiogenic chock. More common is chronic PE where the fluid accumulates during a longer period of time and the pericardial sac stretches.

Malassezia otitis in dogs is a common cause of visit to a veterinary service. In otitis externa due to Malassezia overgrowth the dog has a higher number of yeast organisms and/or a local inflammatory response to the micro organism. Common clinical signs include pruritus, erythema, swelling and increased exudate production. Clinical symptoms and results from cytology of ear swabs from the ear canal is the mainstay for diagnosis. Any underlying condition has to be identified and corrected to avoid relapse. The treatment options for infective otitis externa are based upon topical administration of eardrops containing antibiotics, steroids and antifungals.