Rabbits carry a high risk of anesthesia related death. This study was part of a project to develop a form of total intravenous anesthesia (TIVA) with minimal effects on cardiac, respiratory and metabolic parameters. In the study, TIVA with sufentanil and midazolam (group TIVA, n=9) was compared with inhalation anesthesia with sevoflurane (group SEVO, n=9) in female rabbits undergoing surgery (ovariehysterectomi). All rabbits were pre-medicated with medetomidin and carprofen before anesthesia induction. Anesthesia was induced with TIVA (2.3 ?g/ ml sufentanil, 0.45 mg/ ml midazolam) at a rate of 4 ml/ kg/ h and the mean induction dose was 0.4 ?g/ kg of sufentanil and 0.1mg/ kg of midazolam.

The milk production per cow has increased considerably during the last 50 years and due to the breeding for higher milk production also brings decreased reproduction efficiency. In a Swedish study 1996 it was shown that on average only half of all estruses were detected. Every time a farmer fails to detect oestrus it costs the farmer about 1200 Swedish crones and the need of means of detecting oestrus is therofore large. With this study we wanted to investigate if heart rate respectively crystallisation of vaginal mucus (arborisation) could be useful means of detecting oestrus. We monitored two oestrus cycles in four heifers.

The danger and vulnerability associated with a preterm birth seem to be closely correlated with a dysfunction of the fetal hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, whose maturation in the foal is without a doubt as delicate as it is important. Not only is this endocrine cascade vital for the foal in order to cope with neonatal stress, it also appears to be fundamental for the final fetal intrauterine maturation, as well as for the onset of foaling. Equine gestation exhibits some rather unique features, indicating a somewhat different significance of the endocrine changes associated with HPA maturation, compared to many other species. This hormonal cascade is rapid and confined to a narrow time during late gestation in the horse, and the risk of the foal completely missing it therefore becomes prominent. Induced parturition in the mare may be operated through uterotonic agents, which occasionally bring about premature foals. Desirable seems the ability to initiate equine labour while simultaneously enhancing fetal HPA maturation, as in humans and ruminants through perinatal glucocorticoid administration. However, similar treatment in the horse has resulted in various, sometimes fatal, outcomes. In the light of the distinctive features of equine gestation, difficulties are encountered following such administration of glucocorticoids and ACTH.

EVA, Equine Viral Arteritis, was diagnosed for the first time in 1953 in USA. The disease gained international interest in 1984, when there were several outbreaks of abortion at Thoroughbred studs in USA. EAV, Equine Arteritis Virus, is an RNA virus in the Arteriviridae family. There is only one serotype of EAV but several strains and the strains have different virulence. EAV is transmitted in two different ways: by aerosols, or by venereal transmission.

In Uganda, small scale pig production plays a major role for households to earn a living and to secure their access to meat. Piglet mortality due to diar-rhoea-related dieseases is high. In an attempt to understand the underlying causes for this high mortality this study aims to investigate the role of trans-missible gastroenteritis virus (TGEV) and is a part of a larger project con-ducted at Makerere university in Uganda. A complicating factor in this investigation is the porcine respiratory corona-virus (PRCV), a stabile mutant form of the TGE virus. The occurrence of this virus had shown to alter the impact of TGEV in e.g. Europe and North Amer-ica.

The aim with this study is to investigate the market reactions to announcements of special dividends and redemptions in Sweden and thus if these announcements can signal information. This study is an event study, where the event is the day of the announcement of a suggestion regarding issuance of special dividends or redemptions. The abnormal returns were estimated for two samples with the market adjusted returns model, one including special dividend announcing firms and the other redemption announcing firms. The signalling hypothesis and the hypothesis of a tax induced clientele effect are the most important hypotheses for this study. The efficient market hypothesis is another theoretical base that may explain the market reactions to the studied announcements, especially the pre-announcement activities that may occur.

This study has focused on testing the following two hypotheses:? Pest resistant plants have higher levels and/or several different kinds of secondary metabolites. ? Induced defensive systems in resistant plants are activated more rapidly than those of susceptible plants. As a background for the test of the hypotheses a short literature study was performed concerning plant defensive mechanisms in Arabidopsis thaliana.

Oxochlorates are anions with a partially naturally occurrence in nature but are also spread by human activities, including the paper industry. These compounds are harmful to both nature and humans, which makes it necessary to find a good way for their degradation. There are two different kinds of bacteria that can use oxochlorates as electron acceptors in their metabolism, bacteria that break down perchlorate and bacteria that break down both perchlorate and chlorate. A bacterium that can break down chlorate under anaerobic conditions is Ideonella dechloratans which holds the genes for chlorite dismutase and chlorate reductase which are enzymes for the degradation of chlorate. Gene expression and enzyme activity of chlorite dismutase are induced under anaerobic conditions, which makes it interesting to find out how this regulation functions in order to better exploit these bacteria in biological wastewater treatment.

The purpose of this study was to investigate and describe the views on how the mediation program Programa Árbol Sicómoro affected inmates?, convicted of murder, own lives. Research questions:? To what extent, and how, has the mediation affected the convicts? views upon themselves and the crime they have been convicted for.? To what extent, and how, has the mediation brought any change to the convicts? imprisonment and if it has changed their look upon the future.The study has been executed using qualitative method. Materials from seven profound interviews have been analysed and condensed using terms from restorative justice and self-image theories.

The mountainous Central Asian and former Soviet country Tajikistan is the least advantaged country economically among the former Soviet Union states. Approximately 6.5 % of the land is arable in a country where roughly 80 % of the households typically own small numbers of sheep and goats. Management practices and animal husbandry in the villages such as uncontrolled breeding, mixing of animals on pastures favor transmission of infectious diseases. Brucellosis is a zoonotic bacterial disease caused by Brucella spp. The disease is endemic in Tajikistan. B.

Modern semiconductor design methods makes it possible to design increasingly complex system-on-a-chips (SOCs). Testing such SOCs becomes highly expensive due to the rapidly increasing test data volumes with longer test times as a result. Several approaches exist to compress the test stimuli and where hardware is added for decompression. This master?s thesis presents a test data compression method based on a modified facsimile code.

The fertility of the North Swedish horse was investigated using a questionnaire. Data concerning altogether 73 North Swedish stallions and 213 mares used for breeding during the season 2005 were collected and analysed. The survey also included the analyses of 305 breeding case books, especially distributed for this study, from 27 stallions. The aim was to collect information on how the breeding was carried out in the North Swedish horse, and to learn what categories of mares that were covered and what routines were used in these farms. Breeding statistics from 1999 to 2004 was also analysed to complete the questionnaire.

The Goal with this Master of Science thesis is to expand the possible turbine efficiencymeasurements on an exhaust turbocharger. It was done as a part of the CICERO competencecentre. To feed the turbine with air a special flow rig has been used. Instead of loading theturbine by just restricting the compressor flow a docking system for an electrical dynamometer isdesigned to use the dynamometer as an additional loading source. By using an electricaldynamometer as loading device for the turbine, measurements are not depending on compressorperformance.A large part of the work consists in designing accessories for the dynamometer.

Thermia Värme AB is one of the market leading manufactures of heat pumps. In order tomaintain this position, the company wants to improve the vibration characteristics of theirproducts. The aim of this thesis is to develop product design changes that lead to a reductionof vibrations in the heat pump Thermia Diplomat 8.The main cause for vibrations in the system is flow pulsation and mechanical forces inducedby the scroll compressor. Vibration is transmitted through the compressor piping and receivedby the heat exchangers, from where it is further transmitted to the connection points for theradiator and heat source circuits.A number of design changes in order to improve the vibration characteristics have beenevaluated through calculations and practical experiments. The changes have included thecompressor and heat exchanger mountings, the compressor suction and discharge line pipingand also pulsation dampening.The results of the experiments show that the vibration levels in the connections for the heatingand brine circuits can be decreased strikingly through changes in suction and discharge linepiping.

Elderly couples have a right to live together. On June 1st 2006 the Swedish government extended couples? rights, granting special consideration to elderly partners to enable them to receive care in the same home. But what happens if only one of them is eligible for care? This paper has studied how elderly couples were affected in situations where one partner was unable to continue living at home, and what measures could be taken to improve their situation.