Emissions of radionuclides to the atmosphere can lead to wet deposition on plants in theevent of rainfall. An increased level of radioactivity in the plants may occur due tointerception and retention of the radionuclides. If the content of the plants is above thethreshold limit value, entire yields may have to be destroyed. In order to preventcontamination or decrease the content countermeasures can be taken. The impact of thebiomass, leaf area index (LAI) and growth stage of the plant on the interception andretention is important to know in order to decide which countermeasures to use.Weather may also be an important factor.In this work the interception and retention of 134Cs and 85Sr by spring wheat, ley andspring oil-seed rape was studied.

The effectiveness of Phlebiopsis gigantea to prevent spore infections from Heterobasidionannosum and Heterobasidion parviporum on hybrid larch stumps were investigated in fivestands in southern Sweden. All sites are former forest land and the age of the trees wasbetween 9 and 13 years.The study was implemented in August 2010, a month where spore dispersal should be great.The five sites were located in previously un?thinned monocultures of hybrid larch. The sporeload in the air was studied with the help of spore traps from three different tree species;Norway spruce, Scots pine and hybrid larch. A total of 146 spore traps, evenly distributed inall five sites were analyzed.

Botanically diverse pastures are commonly used in New Zealand to reduce the ruminant environmental impact by reducing the methane production from the rumen digestion. In order to evaluate the effects diverse pasture species have on the milk fatty acid profile seventy-two lactating Friesian-Jersey crossbred dairy cows were used in a randomised block design with two replicates of six treatments. Six different pasture mixtures were fed at a daily allowance of approximately 15 kg DM/cow/day. The mixtures were categorised as either a simple or a diverse pasture. The simple mixtures all contained white clover with the addition of either a standard diploid perennial ryegrass (RG), a diploid high sugar ryegrass (HS) or tall fescue (TF).

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is the most commonly diagnosed cardiac disease in cats. The phenotype varies from mild focal thickening to severe concentric hypertrophy at the left ventricle. Two separate myosin binding protein C (MYBPC3) mutations have been identified in Maine coon cats (A31P and A74T) and one in Ragdoll cats. All three of them seem to cause familial HCM in an autosomal dominant pattern. The purpose of this study was to investigate the presence of these three mutations in population cats of different breeds with HCM in Sweden. The results may show if HCM is present in the absence of these mutations.

Today, high-yielding leys of good quality are a must for Swedish dairy and beef enterprises if they are to become profitable. Thus, it is of interest to evaluate the quality of the recently released high-yielding Festulolium hybrids ((Festulolium braunii (K.Rich.) A.Camus). The aim of this project was to determine at what phenological stage three different Festulolium hybrids should be cut in order to get the highest nutritional value. The hybrids studied were Hykor, Perun and Paulita. In the study I also investigated if leaf proportion of the crop could be useful for predictions of the crop content of metabolizable energy. The cultivars were grown in plots within a variety trial with ryegrasses.

The production of ferrochromium alloys at Vargön Alloys AB contributes to formation of unwanted ferrochromium dust, which contains toxic Cr(VI). The dust is since summer 2005 treated with an iron-sulphate solution to reduce Cr(VI) to the non-toxic Cr(III). A year later the treatment technique was improved and disposal occurs in cells on the landfill. The cells can be up to 300 m3 and the edges can be made out of fro example concrete. Tests are conducted on the treated dust when it is disposed.

Cuttings of Lonicera xylosteum L. were treated with willow extract to study the response in rooting capacity. The extracts were prepared by mixing chopped pieces of Salix x smithiana Willd. with water in a warring blender. The investigation comprised 2 types of salix extracts based on differences and dynamics between twigs in winter dormancy and twigs with new shoots. To explore the rooting response, three tests were made.

Emissions of insufficiently treated wastewater, mainly blackwater (i.e. wastewater from toilets), contributes to the eutrophication of lakes and seas. At the same time, blackwater is a fraction with a low content of heavy metals and, after sanitization, it can recirculate plant nutrients to arable land using the liquid composting treatment method. Liquid composting means that organic material is degraded under aerobic conditions. For sanitization, the blackwater needs to be treated together with energy-rich complementary material.

Detection of leukocytes in semen from boars is part of the routine control of semen quality. Leukocytes in semen can cause damage to spermatozoa that leads to impaired fertilization. In the artificial insemination (AI) industry there are standard routines for the quality control of the boars and of the neat semen before use. Since 2001, Quality Genetics has not done the leukocyte examination on semen samples from boars which are used for the production of pigs for slaughter. The purpose of this study was to investigate the occurrence of leukocytes in semen from AI-boars. The questions addressed were whether there are boars that have leukocytes in their semen and how frequently it occurs and, moreover, if there are differences between breeds, or even between individuals whose semen was checked before use in AI-dose production compared to those which were not. The study included a total of 135 AI-boars, of which 67 were Hampshire, 35 Yorkshire and 33 Landrace, all belonging to Quality Genetics AI-station in Hållsta.

Each year, Heterobasidion spp. is a major cause of economic losses to forestry in the northernhemisphere, including Sweden. New results indicate that pre?commercial thinnings could be at riskfor Heterobasidion spp. infections.

Water is vital for all life on earth. But it can also be dangerous, even fatal, if it is polluted water. 60 percent of child mortality can directly be deduced to dirty water. Not only developing countries are affected, even in the western world epidemics are breaking out by partake or bathing in dirty/polluted water.MIP, Molecularly Imprinted Polymers, is a biosensor technology that can provide faster and more reliable response than the current methods of water analysis. It is also cheaper and due to that more samples can be taken and analyzed.

When performing studies that test the reactions of horses in different situations, important information may be available about the horse?s reactivity level. With information from these tests, accidents and dangerous situations may be prevented. When the behaviours from tests are compared with race performance it may be possible to evaluate if some behaviours are more desirable at the race track than others. The aim of this study was to see if behavioural responses correlated with physiological parameters (heart rate, cortisol), the trainer?s opinions and actual race performance.

Canine dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a disease with high morbidity and mortality and with a high prevalence in certain breeds. Predominatly large breeds are affected, such as Great danes, Newfoundlands, Deerhounds and Dobermanns. One exception is Cocker spaniels, where both American and English Cocker spaniels are affected in a quite high frequency. Cardiomyopathy is characterised as a disease that affects the myocardium and gives an impaired heart function. To diagnose DCM following criteria have to be observed: 1. Dilation of the left ventricle. 2. Reduced systolic heart function. 3. Increased sphericity of the left ventricle. To be certain of the diagnosis, alternative reasons for the symptoms such as lung- and heart diseases with other etiologies have to be excluded Two different types of DCM have been found upon histological examination.

Deicing fluids based on Propylene glycol are used at Stockholm Arlanda airport to remove or prevent ice on aircrafts. The high oxygen demand of propylene glycol can cause oxygen depletion in rivers downstream from the airport if not collected. Mass balance calculations made by Swedavia indicate that the actual amount of gathered propylene glycol is underestimated. Suspicions that propylene glycol is degraded in the stormwatersystem designed to collect deicingfluids, called the B-glycolsystem, have to be investigated in order to establish with certainty that no propylene glycol in other ways leaves the B-glycol system.The purpose of this study was to determine if degradation of propylene glycol is present in the B-glycol system and also to estimate the extent of the degradation. Propylene glycols high biological oxygen demand can cause oxygen depletion in waters downstream from Stockholm Arlanda airport if not collected.

When protection zones for wells are delineated, it is important to acquire good knowledge about possible travel time from different points in the catchment area to the well. Often, simple analytical methods are used for estimating travel times and the assumption is made that the hydraulic conductivity is relatively homogenous within the aquifer. Nevertheless, many aquifers are strongly heterogeneous which may lead to differences between estimates and actual travel times. As a part of the process to develop improved methods for delineating protection zones for groundwater supply wells, a tracer experiment was performed in a glaciofluvial esker formation in Järlåsa. On the basis of the experiment, a numerical flow model was created for the test site.The purpose of this master?s thesis was to apply the flow model to an aquifer where the hydraulic conductivity shows great variability and should be described by a stochastic distribution.