Abstract.The levels of dioxin and comparable substances rose to a large extent in our environment during the second half of the 20'Th century. This was the result of the synthesis of, and careless usage of these substances in cooling fluids, hydraulics, pesticides etc. Background levels of dioxins and furans in sealed samples prior to this era suggest that former sources of these substances existed. Salt glazing is a method of adding a smooth acid resistant exterior to stoneware ceramics. The technique has been in use since the 16'Th century, maybe even earlier than that.

Abstract.The levels of dioxin and comparable substances rose to a large extent in our environment during the second half of the 20'Th century. This was the result of the synthesis of, and careless usage of these substances in cooling fluids, hydraulics, pesticides etc. Background levels of dioxins and furans in sealed samples prior to this era suggest that former sources of these substances existed. Salt glazing is a method of adding a smooth acid resistant exterior to stoneware ceramics. The technique has been in use since the 16'Th century, maybe even earlier than that.

The term euthanasia is derived from the Greek terms eu meaning good and thanatos meaning death, "good death". The penetrating captive bolt is an effective method of euthanasia, when use of drugs is inappropriate. The horse becomes immediately unconscious and falls to the ground. First after the blood is emptied from the body the horse is dead. The use of injectable euthanasia agents is a rapid and reliable method of performing euthanasia. The aim is to stop the flow of oxygenated blood to vital organs and tissues. The muscle relaxants may be used either in combination wih or following an anaesthetic dose of barbiturate, their use use as a sole agent is totally inhumane.

Gene technology has become more and more attractive in plant breeding during the last twenty years. This is probably because it can readily improve the existing commercial cultivars that have only one or a few drawbacks by modifying one or a few genes without changing the main genetic constitution. In this regard, gene technology is more effective than conventional breeding.The aim of this project was to analyze the fruit quality of the non-transgenic apple scion ?Jonagold? grafted on non-transgenic and rolB-transgenic apple rootstocks. The rootstocks used were M9-rolB1, M9-rolB2, M26-rolB and non-transgenic controls M9 and M26.

The aims of the study were to investigate the prevalence and antibiotic resistance of Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli in chicken and chicken products, and to investigate farmer awareness of antibiotic resistance development. The study was conducted in the Can Tho province in Vietnam during six weeks in October to November 2008. Ninety-six samples from raw chickens were collected from twelve market places and analysed for the presence of Campylobacter. A total of 96 cloacal swabs from 20 farms were obtained and analysed for the presence of Campylobacter. Farmers were asked to answer eight questions concerning the housing of the chickens, modes of handling sick animals as well as use and knowledge of antibiotics and resistance development to antibiotics.

SAMMANFATTNING Mitt examensarbete utgör ett led i Nordiska Genbankens (NGB) uppgift att skapa en nordisk s.k. ?core collection? av rabarber, Rheum rhabarbarum L. Samlingar finns även i våra nordiska grannländer Norge, Finland, Danmark och Island. I Sverige har ett insamlingsarbete av rabarber pågått under åren 2002 och 2003 för att komplettera en äldre samling.

Public concern about the release of toxic compounds from wood-based products drives legislation towards enforcing industries to find and use more sustainable solutions for wood treatment. Plant oils are good alternatives to treat wood, minimizing or even neutralizing the impact on the environment. Wood modification with epoxidised linseed oil (ELO) and acetic acid as catalyst has proven a suitable method to impregnate and protect wood. However, the mixture presents a serious inconvenience because of the quick polymerization of the ingredients that limits its practical application. Therefore, this study was designed to evaluate an alternative method using a two-step process which bypassed the problem above.

In two feeding experiments Bacillus induced priming of plant defense was tested for its effect against the generalist insect pest Spodoptera littoralis. The main hypothesis for the study was that Bacillus induced priming would enable the plant Arabidopsis thaliana to defend itself better against this insect herbivore since this priming seems to involve jasmonic acid, known to be important for plant defense to insects. A secondary objective of the study was to examine if any differences in a primed defense capability could be seen between different natural genetic variants (ecotypes) of A. thaliana reflecting habitat differences in pest pressure. The methods used for plant cultivation and Bacillus inoculation were aimed at reflecting conditions that can be expected in an agricultural cropping system. This meant that all plants were cultivated in soil, and the feeding experiments were conducted with the plants growing intact in the soil system.

The main purpose of the project was to identify potential environmentally harmful substances which can be leached from rubber asphalt. A method for analysing asphalt was developed and three rubber asphalt materials were analysed after being cryogrinded. One of the materials was also tested in a road machine made for testing of asphalt paving. The particles created in the machine were analysed in the same manner as the cryogrinded asphalt materials.The asphalt materials were leached by water during 24 hours. The leachates were extracted with dichloromethane, dried with sodium sulphate and concentrated to a small volume.

På histopatologiska laboratoriet vid Länssjukhuset Ryhov i Jönköping är dehydreringsprocessen i dagsläget förlagd över natt. För upprätthållande av god kvalitet på diagnos med förbättrat provflöde och utnyttjande av instrumentens fulla kapacitet önskas att ett kortare dehydreringsprogram implementeras och förläggs dagtid. Syftet med denna studie var således att utvärdera ett kortare dehydreringsprogram för stansbiopsier från human hud och portio. Detta har gjorts utifrån cellmorfologiska bedömningsgrunder och bedömning av färgkvalité av rutinfärgning med Hematoxylin och Eosin samt specialfärgningarna polykrommetylenblått enligt Unna, Periodic acid-Schiff och Giemsa. Ett material om 87 biopsier från human hud samt portio dehydrerades fördelat över gällande rutinprogram samt utvärderat kortprogram.

The aims of the study were to investigate the prevalence and antibiotic resistance of Campylobacter jejuni and Campylobacter coli in chicken and chicken products, and to investigate farmer awareness of antibiotic resistance development. The study was conducted in the Can Tho province in Vietnam during six weeks in October to November 2008. Ninety-six samples from raw chickens were collected from twelve market places and analysed for the presence of Campylobacter. A total of 96 cloacal swabs from 20 farms were obtained and analysed for the presence of Campylobacter. Farmers were asked to answer eight questions concerning the housing of the chickens, modes of handling sick animals as well as use and knowledge of antibiotics and resistance development to antibiotics.

The ability to detect protein-based biomarkers, which are linked to different diseases like colorectal cancer, is very important as a diagnostic tool. Usually complex biological samples like blood are studied which will contribute to different technical issues when performing an assay. The aim with the project is to optimize and develop the high throughput protein detection technique Proximity Extension Assay, PEA, into a 96-plex panel, in hopes of discovering an expression profile for colorectal cancer. PEA was developed by Olink Bioscience and allows specific proteins in a sample to be quantitatively transformed into nucleic acid sequences that are subsequently detected and quantified with real-time PCR. Two proximity probes containing oligonucleotide sequences bind pairwise to target protein and when brought in proximity, a DNA polymerase will extend a hybridization arm from one probe over to the second forming a double-stranded DNA sequence that can serve as a template in real-time PCR.

Open pit mining creates huge amounts of tailings and waste rock deposits. Due to it's content of sulphide minerals, predominantly pyrite (FeS2), there is a risk of oxidation and formation of acid water containing heavy metals, known as Acid Rock Drainage (ARD). To prevent the process of oxidation, the tailings and waste rock have to be reclaimed. The most commonly used methods of reclamation are a coverage of water or soil. Mining also results in a large-scale interference in the landscape that will make an eternal change of its appearance.

The purpose of this thesis has been to gather knowledge about the complaints of tying-up in horses and to show that the importance of feeding. The thesis includes a literature review of tying-up how preventative measures by feeding can be made. In the equine sport, crosscountry, horses occasionally suffers from tying-up, a muscle disease. An increased knowledge about the disease is demanded by riders and trainers as the disease disrupts training and competition of suffered horses. A cross-country horse works very hard in training and during competitions but the work bouts are long enough for the muscle cells to use aerobic pathways in the metabolism.

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether resistant maltodextrin is suitable as a fiber source in the probiotic fruit drink ProViva Mango without affecting the probiotic bacterium Lactobacillus plantarum 299v, viscosity or the sensory experience of the drink. Resistant maltodextrin is produced from hydrolyzed corn starch and is classified as a soluble dietary fiber. It is relatively resistant to digestion in the small intestine, where approximately 10% can be broken down, 50% can be fermented in the colon by the intestinal flora and 40 % is excreted in the faeces. Resistant maltodextrin has several important qualities when it comes to food processing. When added in a product, it does not affect the viscosity or taste and it is heat and acid stable.