The aim of these two studies was to investigate the possible physiological, behavioural and emotional changes that appear after human-horse interactions and also to find an explanation to why they occur. One aspect that is discussed is whether the wellbeing of humans can be coupled to interacting with horses and of how the animals respond to the interaction. The first study was performed on 9 horses and their owners, both parts being subjects to registrations during 4 different interaction treatments. The second study was performed on 6 horses with registrations only being performed on the horses during 2 different treatments. Nine horses underwent 3 different treatments all performed by their owners (H = stroking of the horses forehead, B = brushing and M = stimulation of the withers) in addition to a control round (K). Each treatment lasted for 4 minutes but observations were performed until after 45 minutes from start.

Slaughter of animals should consist of two steps in order to be considered humane. The first step of the slaughter process is stunning, with the purpose of inducing unconsciousness and insensibility in the animal. The second step is exsanguination, which causes bleeding and eventually death. What death really means in these situations has been discussed intensively, but still no agreed definition has been accepted. Nonetheless, it is conceded that animals are declared dead when consciousness is irreversibly lost, and absence of respiration and blood circulation are observed.

AimThe purpose of this study is to compare the level of activity between playing wii Sports Tennis and wii Sports boxing, and the usual sports, and to see how the two variants are perceived.Issues:- How much strain ratio and energy consumption it gives to exercise wii sports compared with the playing of sport for real?- How do the test participants experience the different tests?- How are the two wii sports games against each other in terms of activity and fitness in the school environment?MethodThis is an experimental study in which 10 test participants (5 men and 5 women) have carried out four different physical tests. The tests consisted of either playing an exergame or playing a sport for 25 minutes. Physical activity was measured during the test using a heart rate monitor. All test participants completed all tests in the same order.

A major part of the Swedish population suffers from myocardial infarction. A wish in the study is to give nurses an increasing knowledge about what patients with myocardial infarction wish to be informed about so that the nurses can meet these patients as good as possible.The aim is to show what nurses need to inform heart patients about to prevent anxiety and fear after hospital care.The method used was literature reviews where seven articles were reviewed according to Polit, et. al., (2001). The databases used were Cinahl and ELIN.Results: There is a dissonance between what the patient and what the nurse is ranking to be the most important item to be informed about after a myocardial infarction. The patients prioritize information about symptoms and lifestylechanges.

Allt fler personer drabbas av hjärt- och kärlsjukdomar, vilket på sikt kan leda till kronisk hjärtsvikt. För att förbättra omvårdnadsåtgärder för hjärtsviktspatienter har Socialstyrelsen 2004 givit ut nationella riktlinjer för hjärtsjukvård där vikten av en individuell handlingsplan betonas. Syftet med litteraturstudien är att undersöka på vilket sätt sjuksköterskor utför omvårdnadsåtgärder avseende fysisk aktivitet, egenvård, nutrition och rökstopp för patienter med hjärtsvikt och om dessa överrensstämmer med gällande riktlinjer samt om hänsyn måste tas till genusskillnader. Metoden är en litteraturstudie i databaserna PubMed och Elin@Malmö vilket resulterade i 14 artiklar som användes för att söka svaret på syftet. Som teoretisk referensram har Antonovskys KASAM modell använts.

In Sweden live badgers are used in tests in order to train and prepare earth dogs for hunting underneath ground. This has for several years causeddebate concerning the welfare of the badgers. It is questioned whether the purpose of the dog training, i.e. to reduce injuries in both dogs and prey, is worth the suffering that is reflected on the badgers. The aim of this investigation was to study 1) stress levels in badgers when used in earth dog training, 2) if the stress load differs when the badgers are exposed to dogs with varying aggression levels (low, moderate, high).

The objectives of this study was to examine the prevalence of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in a family of British Shorthaircats to determine the mode of inheritance and to investigate if the disease was associated with a mutation in myosin binding proteinC (MyBPC3). The family comprised 28 cats, seven male and 21 females. The cats underwent a physical examination, including cardiac auscultation, and an ultrasound examination. Blood was collected for DNA- analysis. The blodsamples were sent in a buffer solution to Kathryn Meurs, Washington State University, USA for analysis, where the genes coding for MyBPC, Troponin I and T were characterized using microsequencing technique. Out of the 28 cats, 8 were diagnosed with HCM, 2 were diagnosed with congenital heart disease but had no evidence of HCM.

The aim of this study was to investigate the intraoperative surgical stress response in dogs undergoing ovariohysterectomy and to compare acepromazine and medetomidine as premedications. 15 dogs diagnosed with pyometra were used in this study. Blood pressure and heart rate were used as parameters to measure surgical stress response. The surgery was divided into four phases. Phase 0 was the period 10 minutes before the skin incision, phase 1 was skin incision and opening of abdomen, phase 2 was manipulation of uterine horns, ligation and transection of mesovarium and phase 3 was ligation of cervix, removal of organs and closing the abdomen. The results showed that phase 2 was the most intense phase of surgical stress, regardless of which premedication the dogs received. When acepromazine and medetomidine were compared the results showed that within phase 3, all dogs that were given medetomidine had higher blood pressure compared to dogs that were given acepromazine. The dogs that were given acepromazine had higher heart rate than the dogs that were given medetomidine in phase 0, phase 2 and phase 3. .

Transportation of pigs might be a welfare problem. Stress during and after transportation can negatively affect the meat quality or cause carcass damages, which leads to major economic losses every year. The transportation chain can be divided into several stages; loading, transport and unloading. This literature review focuses on unloading of pigs from a transport. When arriving at an abattoir pigs can be fatigued and need to be as smoothly unloaded as possible.

Transportation of pigs might be a welfare problem. Stress during and after transportation can negatively affect the meat quality or cause carcass damages, which leads to major economic losses every year. The transportation chain can be divided into several stages; loading, transport and unloading. This literature review focuses on unloading of pigs from a transport. When arriving at an abattoir pigs can be fatigued and need to be as smoothly unloaded as possible.

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is the most common heart disease in cats. Maine coon is one of the breeds where the disease is overrepresented. Studies have shown that HCM is inherited as an autosomal dominant trait in Maine Coon cats. This finding has led to cardiac screening using ultrasound in the breed. The results of the screening are used in a national breeding program constructed to reduce the spread and incidence of HCM in Maine Coon cats.

Sahlgrenska AcademyAt University of GothenburgDepartment of Internal Medicine and Clinical NutritionAbstractTitle: The obesity paradox, myth or truth in adults with cardiovascular disease.Author: Louise Svensson och Amanda NilssonSupervisor: Fredrik BertzExaminer: Ingrid LarssonProgramme: Dietician study programme, 180/240 ECTSType of paper: Examination paper, 15 hpDate: May 30, 2013Background: It has long been generally accepted that obesity is a risk factor for many diseases. Despite this, new research indicates that a higher BMI could be a protective factor for those with a chronic cardiovascular disease. This discovery is called the obesity paradox and could change the perception of patients' BMI in both public health and clinical work.Objective: The objective of this systematic review article is to examine the scientific evidence for the existence of the obesity paradox in chronic cardiovascular disease, i.e. if a BMI >25 kg/m2 is associated with lower mortality among adults with chronic cardiovascular disease.Search strategy: The databases used in the literature study were PubMed, Summon, Scopus and Cochrane. The keywords were: obesity paradox, cardiovascular, heart, male, BMI, intentional weight loss, cardiovascular mortality and mortality heart failure.Selection criteria: Studies, which had an adult population classified after BMI that suffered from chronic cardiovascular disease and had all-cause mortality and cardiovascular mortality as endpoints, were included.Data collection and analysis: Ten studies were included.

- To be trapped in a roller-coaster That ?s how some of the patients are describing the situa- tion of living with heart failure. To be stuck in their home not knowing if they will have to seek care today and not knowing if they will have the energy to attend that birth- day party later this week.Each year 2-3% of the Swedish population are diagnosed with heart failure, which results in 30,000 new individu- als with the disorder. Cardiovascular disease is rapidly in- creasing in the world and before 2030, people with heart failure will increased by 100%. Our improved living condi- tions and better health have allowed us to grow older and made us more dependent on other types of care, care at home.Today the patients are only looking for changes in weight and if they have excessive water in their body.

To fit into our society the dogs of today need a good mentality. To investigate their mentalitydifferent behavior tests have been developed. The tests are useful tools in the selection ofbreeding animals as well as for working and companion dogs. To counter the demand for atest that could be suited for all kind of dogs, regardless of their future function, the mentalitytest Beteende- och personlighetsbeskrivning hund (BPH) was developed. BPH consists ofseven subtests that expose dogs to various situations that can be found in everyday life, suchas meeting an unfamiliar person, sudden noises and suddenly appearing objects.The aim of this study was to find out if there are differences in physiological values betweenindividuals, validate the behavior observations during BPH and get aware of how the dogsexperience the situation.

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.