Staphylococcus aureus is the most clinically important Staphylococcus species and is associated with high mortality in patients with positive blood cultures. S. aureus bacteria may cause a variety of disease manifestations ranging from minor skin infections to life-threatening conditions such as pneumonia, meningitis, osteomyelitis, endocarditis, toxic shock syndrome (TSS) and sepsis. This microorganism belonging to the gram positive cocci may also be part of the normal flora. In Sweden, penicillinase-stable penicillins are the primary alternatives to treat S.

The preschool constitutes a big part of many children's everyday existence. Its contents are therefore of great importance and the environment deserves a well thoughtout design. In this study, surveys in field and literature have resulted in conclusions around how plants can be used in children's play environments, in order to contribute to the experiencerelated values. The aim is to present conclusions to lean on when drawing up designproposals for new playgrounds, especially where the natural conditions are not so favorable. The first question that is responded to is how plants can be used in order to enrich the children's play environments.

The prevailing food and energy crisis of the world, due to the declining reserves of fossil energy and a never ending rise of consumption, forces us to look into new fields to supply our energy demand. The boom of bio energy is criticized, as food crops are used to provide biodiesel and ethanol and the volumes are ridiculously small to supply world demand. Algae are one of the world?s oldest life forms and exist in many different phyla, providing a great variety to choose from, for different purposes. Cultivating microalgae offer a way to produce energy at great volumes without competing with food production and at the same time the algae offer a way to use our expensive nutrients in a more efficient way, besides this the algae are carbon dioxide neutral since their carbon source can be supplied by the atmosphere and the additional energy required can be supplied by algal oil or other renewable sources.

It is important to investigate the potential of biological control measures in agricul-ture, especially where economic issues restrict the use of expensive inputs or when there are environmental concerns about toxicity of agrochemicals. The bacterium Bacillus subtilis has proved promising as a biocontrol agent (BCA) in suppressing various plant diseases and it has also been shown to promote plant growth in certain cases. During this study, the effect of B. subtilis on Fusarium wilt (caused by the fungus Fusarium oxysporum) on tomatoes, as well as its effect on the earthworm species Pontoscolex corethrurus was investigated. Furthermore, the combined ef-fect of the BCA with P.

Variation in tuber quality within a single field was one of the motives for a pilot study in Halland, in south-western Sweden conducted during 2002. Quality problems in potatoes have been increasing due to the aggregation of several small fields with different land use history into larger farm units, which are heterogeneous in soil properties and fertility. The study in Halland indicated that both the uniformity and the mean size of tubers may increase from site-specific K fertilization, whereas total yields may be unaffected. The results from this pilot-study with site-specific fertilization showed that tubers reached a more uniform quality and gave a more uniform mean size, while the total yield wasn't affected at all. Site-specific K-fertilization has been applied for some years in Halland with good results. The aim of this study was to test this technique in another potato growing area.

To get a good economy on the dairy farms the fertility control of heifers and cows is a crucial factor. It is also important to know which key parameters that should be tracked. In this work well established routines for heat detection have to be applied. When the dairy farmers use technical aid in estrus control it is important not to forget that technical aids can not replace the human eye. Approximately 50 % of all opportunities to inseminate are missed because clear signs of estrus have not been displayed and/or recorded. The cattle fertility has been declining over recent years. During the same time the cow?s proceeds have increased, consequently applying a higher pressure on the cow and the manager.

Discussions about the sustainable city are now all over the world and many believe that the solutions are merely technical. But what gives the city its character is what is happening in the public places. It is these spaces that bring the people together. Design is the key to sustainable urban spaces. We must produce public places that reflect our society.

This study focuses on the Nordic model of Extended Collective Licenses (ECL) and how this model can be used in the process of digitalising and publishing archival material such as photos, letters, maps or films. The question that this study aims to deal with is what advantages, and disadvantages, there are for archives and copyright holders when an ECL is being used. To help answering this question the ?theory of the knowledge commons? has been applied. The research question has been answered through a text analysis based on legal texts including Swedish law.

This study is predominantly qualitative. It is also descriptive to a large extent and notoriented towards hypothesis-testing. The study aims at studying what has influenceddigitization of old Swedish dramatical works through the Dramawebben projekt, whilefocusing on the technical solutions. Four different data collection methods have been applied.Interviews and a questionaire with open-ended questions were the two primary tools. Adocument analysis and observations were applied as well.Examples from earlier research to relate to questions about digitization as an institutional andsocietal practice are presented.

In the 1970´s the North American lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta) was introduced to Sweden in large scale. The lodgepole pine affects its new environment different from Scots pine (P. sylvestris), leading to a change in biological diversity. Forestry today affects the ground beetle fauna (Carabidae). Habitat specialists associated with older forests are first affected. When the canopy closes again after a clear-cutting species that prefer open habitats reduces and those who prefer mature/closed forests increase. In this study we compare differences in diversity and community structure of ground beetles in stands of lodgepole pine and Scots pine.

Staphylococcus aureus is the most clinically important Staphylococcus species and is associated with high mortality in patients with positive blood cultures. S. aureus bacteria may cause a variety of disease manifestations ranging from minor skin infections to life-threatening conditions such as pneumonia, meningitis, osteomyelitis, endocarditis, toxic shock syndrome (TSS) and sepsis. This microorganism belonging to the gram positive cocci may also be part of the normal flora. In Sweden, penicillinase-stable penicillins are the primary alternatives to treat S.

The aim is to develop a new decision-making model for credit-loans. The model will be specific for credit applicants of the OKQ8 bank, becauseit is based on data of earlier applicants of credit from the client (the bank). The final model is, in effect, functional enough to use informationabout a new applicant as input, and predict the outcome to either the good risk group or the bad risk group based on the applicant?s properties.The prediction may then lay the foundation for the decision to grant or deny credit loan.Because of the skewed distribution in the response variable, different sampling techniques are evaluated. These include oversampling with SMOTE, random undersampling and pure oversampling in the form of scalar weighting of the minority class.

The level of increased central government that we have experienced during the last decades in school, for the purpose of increasing equality and to adapt the Swedish school to a certain international standard, clearly shows that increased control scarcely leads to improvement.The aim of this paper is to examine whether teachers believe that national tests contribute to equivalent assessment and increased goal attainment. Furthermore the teachers? attitude towards and work with national tests is described. The paper is written from a school improvement perspective, where good examples from current research on what creates increased quality in school meaning increased goal attainment and equivalent assessment are related to research on school effectiveness and increased testing in schools. The study builds upon a quantitative survey among teachers in upper primary - and secondary school in a medium-sized municipality in Sweden.The result shows that the teachers have a somewhat more positive than negative attitude towards national tests, as a whole.

The problem being examined is the disturbing noise that is created in an open plan office on a company working with a creative process, such as a newspaper or a communications agency. The purpose of this study was to examine the needs for today for a sound absorber in open offices and create and design a design proposal. The aim is also to develop a marketing material the product proposal. The problem has been broken down into the following questions:- How does the user look at the need of a sound absorber in an open offices solution today?- Does an interior designer apply sound absorbers when they furnish the intended environment? - How can a design that meets the needs that exists be achieved and to speak the user?The study is based on three choice of methods a literature review on selected topics that relate to the topic, an interview with an interior designer to explore how an interior designer applies absorbers in open plan office and finally an extensive survey that treats the user's needs and appropriate appearance for the product proposal.The design process has undertaken the following methods, design brief, requirements specification, functional analysis and sketches to produce the final product proposal.

Aerated steam treatment is a modern and environmental friendly method for seed borne fungus sanitation, mainly used on cereals. The method involves exposure to heat and high humidity, factors which are known to induce a fast ageing of seeds, thus resulting in reduced storability. This thesis clarifies the interdependence between seed age and the aerated steam treatment intensities. Two studies were carried out in this thesis. In the first study the storage longevity of seeds treated with aerated steam was examined. The second study investigated the shelf-life of the pre-tests used to determine the aerated steam treatment tolerance of a seed lot, by testing the treatment tolerance of seeds aged prior to the treatment.