In 2003 the recommended phosphorus allowance for dairy cows in Sweden was lowered approximately 10 %. For a cow at a production level of 35 kg ECM it decreased from 0,40 to 0,36 % of dry matter. To investigate if the decrease has been implemented at farm level, analysis of following minerals; P, Ca, Mg, K, Na, S, Se, Cu, Mn and Zn was performed on the TMR at 20 farms in Sweden in the summer of 2004. The purpose was to describe the actual allowance of different minerals as compared to the new recommendations. One hypothesis was that the decrease in recommended allowance of phosphorus would lead to the need of new mineral feeds on the market.

The project concerns a predevelopment work for Scania AB, a leading manufacturer of heavytrucks, and was performed as a master thesis work for the program Design and ProductDevelopment at KTH. The purpose of this work was to examine how the work situation of truckdrivers, especially long-haulage drivers, can be improved with respect to prolonged sedentaryoccupation. Mental fatigue and under-stimulation due to low cognitive load during long drivescan be major risk factors for traffic accidents. Physical strain injuries to both the skeleton andmuscles are common for this working group and minimal opportunity for daily exercise alsoincreases the risk of developing blood clots in the legs, which can have serious consequences forthe driver's health.An extensive background study, both theoretical and exploratory, was performed to identify thedrivers' concerns and comfort needs. Various treatments such as massage and active sitting wereinvestigated and existing products within the area studied.

By using steady-state measurements for predicting emissions under a dynamic drive cycle wouldsave a lot of time and money for the exhaust aftertreatment specialists at Volvo cars. The idea forthis thesis has been to investigate if statistical regression models can be used with good accuracy.Questions included are for example if common operating variables such as engine speed, air-fuelratio etc. is sufficient to predict engine-out emissions over the engine operating range with goodaccuracy. Focus was set on the modelling of warm engine, but also the more complex engineheat-up phase was investigated since it is a great contributor to total emissions. While NOxcouldnot be measured because of malfunctioning measurement equipment, only HC, CO andtemperature at inlet of first catalytic converter has been modelled.

This master thesis was a continuation of a previous study in the diesel exhaust characterization, which is part of the academical work embedded in the EMIR-1 project. The main objective of this thesis work was to finish the installation and make the proper modifications of the particulate mass measuring system located in one of the engine test cells at KTH, in order to be able to measure the mass of the particles from the exhaust of diesel engines.This experiment requires a diluted flow sample from the exhaust that should be sent to the device that makes possible the measurement of particle mass, called TEOM. In the first stage of this project, the objective was to study and make the proper modifications in the existing KTH diluter because there were several problems to obtain a constant dilution ratio from it during tests.This modifications were made and it resulted in a great improvement in the maximum inlet and outlet flow that this diluter can handle. Therefore another modification is proposed for controlling the inlet exhaust flow so it will be possible to regulate the dilution ratio and make it constant along a wide range of engine loads and speeds.The second and most important stage was to make particulate mass measurements possible by analyzing the frequency signal from the TEOM device. The idea was to obtain the frequency of oscillation from the tapered element in the TEOM, and therefore with the proper correlations, be able to predict the particulate mass concentration in the exhaust flow from the engine.An electrical problem in the TEOM circuit was detected and corrected, so the signal that carries the frequency from the TEOM can be analyzed properly.

Full-field flash electroretinography is an electrodiagnostic method used to examine the function of retinal cells. Light stimulation of the eye elicits electrical potentials in the retina. By aid of a corneal electrode and a reference electrode close to the back of the eye, the electrical potentials can be recorded and presented as an electroretinogram (ERG). ERGs driven by mainly one type of cones can be used to examine the function of a single cone class. In human beings, studies have shown the cone class sensitive to light of short wavelengths, the S-cones, to be more vulnerable to acquired damage than the other cone classes (Daley et al., 1987; Gouras et al., 1993; Greenstein et al., 1989). Dogs have two cone classes, S-cones, and M/L-cones (most sensitive to medium to long wavelengths).

During the 19-century a global warming has been observed, which includes increases in global air and ocean temperatures, widespread melting of ice and snow, and rising global sea level. There is a clear connection between emissions of greenhouse gases caused by the human and the increase in temperature. Climatic changes caused by global warming can be stopped trough decreased emission of fossil fuels, for example by an increased use of biogas. Biogas is a renewable energy source which is produced through anaerobic (oxygen free) digestion of organic material. The gas is a mixture of methane (CH4) and carbon dioxide (CO2) and can be among others used as fuel in vehicles.

In metabolism Mg plays an important role because it affects many cellular enzymes in the body. The energy metabolism and protein synthesis are dependent on Mg as an enzyme activator, Mg is also involved in the synthesis of RNA and DNA. Absorption of Mg primarily takes place over the ruminal epithelium in ruminants. The main storage of Mg is in the bones but that can only be reached if the cow is in great need of calcium or phosphorus, it's a hormonal regulated process that induces catabolism of bones. Free and available sources of Mg are found in soft tissues and in the extra cellular fluids that includes cerebrospinal fluids and blood.

District heating covers around 80 % of the heating demand in apartment buildings and 10 % in single-family homes in Sweden. In the year 2010 the total input of energy to the Swedish district heating grids was about 70 TWh, which corresponds to 11 % of the total energy input to the whole energy system in the country. Through the combined production of heat and power the CHP-plants often reaches an efficiency of 90 % from energy in the fuel to produced heat and power. In order to keep the efficiency high it is important for the owners of the plant to have good knowledge about the plants performance at different operation points. Strängnäs Energi AB initiated this diploma work together with FVB Sverige ab in order to come up with a program for short term planning of the production of heat and power at the company´s CHP-plant.The work consists of three main parts.

The energy consumption continues to increase as the use of electronics and energy consuming equipment increases. The use of fossil fuels has to be phased out for this to be sustainable in the long run while the use of renewable energy continues to increase. A renewable energy source is solar energy but the production of heat and electricity are today very expensive compared to other energy sources and an important task for the solar energy market to grow is therefore to minimize the production cost of the solar collectors while increasing its efficiency to produce heat and/or electricity. One way to convert solar energy into heat is by using solar collectors and electricity can be produced by utilizing the produced heat, or by applying solar cells.This thesis aims to recommend a reflective material for the next generation solar collectors from Absolicon and to recommend a commercially available coating for the receiver tube of the solar collector. A market study has been carried out to investigate the cost-related aspects along with the optical and durable aspects for the optical material of the solar collector.

SAMMANFATTNINGDenna litteraturstudie har gjorts med syfte att utöka kunskapen om atopisk dermatit hos hund med fokus på mastcellens roll i immunopatogenesen. Atopisk dermatit är en relativt vanlig sjukdom som kan drabba alla hundar oavsett ras; den är oftast livslång och kräver visst arbete för att diagnosticera och behandla med gott resultat. Förutom att det är ett problem hos hundar, finns även ett nära samband med atopiska sjukdomar hos människa, och hundar fungerar som en bra modell för forskning på humansidan.Trots omfattande forskning, vet man fortfarande inte varför sjukdomen uppkommer. Många teorier finns kring den immunologiska bakgrunden, men stora delar är fortfarande okända. Att mastcellen spelar en nyckelroll är dock allmänt vedertaget.

Sarcoid is the most common tumor in horses all over the world. The sarcoid is a benign, locally invasive, usually fibroblastic proliferative skin neoplasm. Even if the etiology is not completley verified, the epidemiology and clinical behavior suggest a infectious intervention, probably BPV type 1 or type 2. However, it is known that the cause is multifactorial. A genetic prepdispositon has been identified associated to genes within the Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC), but also to breed, age and perhaps gender.

Sarcoid is the most common tumor in horses all over the world. The sarcoid is a benign, locally invasive, usually fibroblastic proliferative skin neoplasm. Even if the etiology is not completley verified, the epidemiology and clinical behavior suggest a infectious intervention, probably BPV type 1 or type 2. However, it is known that the cause is multifactorial. A genetic prepdispositon has been identified associated to genes within the Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC), but also to breed, age and perhaps gender.

This Master Thesis covers the concept of Green Cars. The background to the research area is the high and rapidly growing number of cars, which together with other factors ad to the pollution of the environment. Under the Kyoto agreement the signing members agreed to lower the emissions of green house gases, further on the EU has a 3-pillar strategy on carbon dioxide and cars. Included in the EU strategy is a voluntary commitment from the car industry to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from new cars. The easiest way of lowering the emissions is by using alternative fuels and engines.

Syftet med detta examensarbete är att göra en investeringsbedömning av en anläggning för kombinerad produktion av biogas och biodiesel åt lantbruksföretaget Lindhs Djur & Natur AB. Utgångspunkt är det koncept för kombinerad produktion av biogas och biodiesel på gårdsnivå som Ageratec AB utvecklat. Konceptet utgår från att glycerolfasen som bildas vid biodieselproduktion är ett värdefullt substrat vid biogasproduktion. Scandinavian Biogas Fuel AB har därför på uppdrag från Ageratec AB utvecklat och optimerat en biogasprocess för samrötning av glycerol och gödsel.För att kunna göra en relevant investeringsbedömning så granskas investeringen både ur ett ekonomisk och miljömässigt perspektiv. Den ekonomiska analysen består av en investeringskalkyl för två olika amorteringstider där teorier för nuvärdesanalys tillämpas.

The market for heavy duty engines is constantly requiring engines that should be more andmore powerful, while still maintaining low fuel consumption. As a result of increasing enginepower, the engine and coolant temperature increases as well due to insufficient coolingperformance (because of design issues, cost etc.).Also, emission legislations, both current and future, require more and more measures to betaken by engine manufacturers. One way of meeting the legislations is the use of cooled EGR(Exhaust Gas Recirculation), which also lead to increased coolant temperatures.Both these factors also naturally lead to increased engine oil temperatures, the consequencesof which are not thoroughly investigated.This thesis project aims to investigate effects of high temperatures on engine oil degradation,with focus on the greatest degradation process: oxidation. To do this several engine runs havebeen performed on a 310 hp engine with EGR to see what happens to the engine oil in a realengine when exposed to high temperatures. During the tests oil samples have been taken andanalysed for important parameters.As a complement to these engine tests some laboratory oxidation testing have also beenperformed, to be able to compare engine test data with laboratory tests.One goal of the project was to try to formulate an empirical oxidation model, which would beable to predict oil oxidation levels in an engine, given any running parameters.