Millions of animals are annually affected by human activities; in the food industry, zoos and animal shows, clothes and shoes production, furniture and pharmaceutical industry, research, as well as pet and sports animal industry. Companies working with Corporate Social Responsibility, CSR, have become more common and within this area there are great possibilities for companies to work with animal welfare. In this study five companies were interviewed and 27 companies participated in a survey regarding CSR and animal welfare. The aim of this study was to investigate opinion and approach among companies towards implementing animal welfare as a part of their work with CSR. Furthermore the aim of the study was to investigate how companies may implement animal welfare. The result showed that the vast majority of the companies participating in the study works with CSR and the main part of the companies also answered that they have implemented animal welfare. The way of working with animal welfare varied among the participants; e.g.

Eutrophication of the Baltic Sea is a serious problem. A major contributing factor is diffuse losses of phosphorus (P) from agricultural land in surrounding countries. In order to estimate P losses, environmental monitoring of small agriculture-dominated catchments is being carried out in most of these countries. Evaluation of the risk of P leaching to waters is usually based on chemical tests originally developed to quantify the amount of soil P available for plant production. The tests are performed in different ways in the different countries and a number of different extraction agents are in use.

Rotavirus causes diarrhea in young mammals all over the world, including infant humans. The diarrhea leads to severe dehydration that can be fatal if left untreated. The dehydration can be treated with fluid therapy and the infection heals itself. Despite the relatively easy treatment half a million children under the age of five dies every year due to diarrhea caused by rotavirus. Rotavirus sorts into the family Reoviridae and is a double-stranded RNA virus with a segmented genome.

This master thesis project at KTH is performed in the Mechanical and Aerospace Engineeringdepartment at University of Florida (UF). The thesis is a small part of a gas turbine researchproject where a vapour absorption refrigeration system (VARS) and a high pressure regenerativeturbine engine (HPRTE) are integrated together. The main objective is to build a computermodel of the VARS. The computer model is supposed to be used to analyse the off-designperformance of the VARS and should also be easy to integrate as a subroutine in a more complexsystem model. To model the VARS some knowledge of the absorbent/refrigerant mixture had tobe well known, in this case a mixture of ammonia and water.

Collaboration is a form of organization on the rise in Sweden. For health care, it is ofinterest to collaborate with industry to ensure that needs for specialist education andtraining are met and that products developed meet the relevant requirements.Conversely, industry actors have an interest to have a close collaboration with healthcare in order to gain insight into customer needs, provide information about theirproducts and to test products in development.The starting point of this study is an agreement and regulatory framework for formsof collaboration between public health care in Sweden in general and thepharmaceutical industry, the medical device industry and the laboratory technologyindustry. The research questions concerns how this agreement has evolved and theprocess surrounding its emergence may contribute to knowledge about collaborationas a form of organization and the relationship to concepts such as legitimacy,corruption and institutional theory.By tracking the emergence of the current regulatory framework genealogicalthroughout history, the study uncovers how the agreements have played a role in andcontributed to the legitimization and institutionalization of collaboration practices andhow crises have changed the shape of the practices. A theoretical treatment ofrelevant concepts such as legitimacy, institutionalization of practices, corruption andstigmatization of organizations form the basis for an interpretation and analysis of theprocess.The conclusions of the examination of the historical process that led to the currentagreements contribute to empirical knowledge of how crises and stigma affect thelegitimacy of collaboration practices and how the repair of legitimacy can be donesuccessfully after a crisis. The treatment of the empirical material is also a historicalsource for the development of ethics agreements between public health care andpharmaceutical industry and the medical industry in Sweden..

The poultry red mite, Dermanyssus gallinae, is a common problem in poultry facilities, causing great discomfort for the hens and effecting the production economically. Few efficient acaricides are available and there is a need for new control methods since resistance has become a problem in some cases. The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficiency of the new liquid silica control agent Ectopar, on the poultry red mite. An initial in vitro test of Ectopar and its two components individually was performed, where live mites were sealed in together with filter paper impregnated with one of the three solutions prepared. The survival of the mites was thereafter recorded repeatedly during a period of 120 hours and compared to a control. For the field study, two poultry farms with different housing systems were used, one with furnished cages (farm 1) and one with a single tier floor system (farm 2).

The Swedish Warmblood riding horse is a popular horse for sport in Sweden, and the breeding goal is to produce competitive horses in both show jumping and dressage. The breed has its origin in native Swedish cavalry horses but has been highly influenced by foreign stallions throughout the years. Breeding values are estimated based on the results from young horse field test, which are held for 3- or 4-year old horses, and competition data. The young horse field tests are highly correlated with later performances in competition. The total proportion of horses with own observations to include in the genetic evaluation are slightly under 50 %, and in most cases their pedigrees are known.

In this study we have examined in which way the horse is used in Equine Assisted Therapy, and what effects the treatment staff experience and describes that the interaction with horses has on girls who self-harms. Our Empirical data was collected through qualitative methods such as interviews, participant observation and informal interviews with a total of six different informants, from five different activities with Equine Assisted Therapy for girls who self-harms. In the analysis we have assumed symbolic interactionism, a theory focusing on the human as a social being, where the self-image alters in the social interaction with other human beings. We interwove this theory with the Biophilia hypothesis, an explanatory model concerning human?s relationship to animals and nature.The conclusions we have found in the results are:Equine Assisted Therapy is a complementary treatment comprises both horseback riding and exercises which is not based on the horsebackEquine Assisted Therapy almost always involves three parts, the therapist, the client and the horse.

Mammary gland neoplasia is one of the most common diseases in the bitch and the most common neoplastic disease. More than 13 % of the female dog population in Sweden suffers from mammary tumors during their lifetime. The disease can affect bitches in all ages but most often middle aged and older dogs. Some breeds such as Poodle and English Setter are predisposed for the disease. The aim of this study was to evaluate if it is possible to improve the post surgical healing process by using a pressure pad.

Smallholder farmers in low-income countries face a number of challenges in animal production. Animal husbandry carries great potential in reducing poverty, hunger and gender inequality, but at the same time infectious diseases are prominent threats to farmers? livelihoods and their animals. The objective of this study was to investigate the socioeconomic impact of infectious animal diseases on smallholder farmers in low-income countries, using African swine fever (ASF) in Uganda as an example. The study was conducted in two parts. The first part of the study was questionnaire-based and performed in Gulu district, northern Uganda.

This Master?s Thesis aims to investigate and assess the methods used to decrease the discharge ofmetals, primarily copper, from the water purification plant at Assa Industries plating factory inEskilstuna.Literature studies of the purification methods precipitation, ion exchange, evaporation, reverseosmosis and electrolysis has been done to appraise the adequacy of the technique. Thesetechniques are commonly used for purification of industrial waste water.Assa has four plating lines: the Trumline, the big Zinkline, the new Zinkline and the Decorativeline. The new Zinkline is the most modern of the four lines and purification is done byrecirculation over an ion exchange unit. The demand for fresh water is thereby heavily reduced.The Trumline, the big Zinkline and the Decorative line all use older techniques.

Floor surface in pig facilities can have an impact on animal welfare and pig health, as it can cause the pig physical damage and thereby increased risk of infectious diseases and lameness. The development of pig housing systems has resulted in a decreased use of bedding. It seems hard to find the optimal floor in farrowing pens, as it must suit both the sow and piglets. The floor friction needs to be adequate to avoid slips and at the same time should the floor be non-abrasive. Abrasions and lesions caused by the floor are not only causing the animal suffering, but are also negative from an economical aspect.

The purpose of this study was to examine whether urea could be an option as a nitrogen source for young cattle, the study was limited to risks related to feeding, growth and feed efficiency. Microbes in ruminants have the ability to convert nitrogen to protein, this has been highlighted by beef producers as they are in search of cheap protein feed resources. Urea can be a worthy source of nitrogen for growing young animals, because of its high nitrogen content and the low price. Studies have shown that the replacement of a portion of the total protein content by urea in diets with low content of crude protein, like corn silage, may improve animal growth and feed efficiency. Replacement of all the true protein with urea can result in reduced feed intake and microbial growth.

This thesis is a part of the project "Sustainable harvesting and storage of sugar beets, more sugar to practice". The work has included a large part of practical experimental work with weight measurement, graduation and storage planning. The aim of the project is to be able to see whether the cultivars react differently in different storage conditions. The project has included storage under controlled conditions to give as accurate results as possible. To be able to mimic the farmers own preconditions the samples was harvested with a conventional Holmer.This project has two parts, one concerning the nature, time and temperature on storage where a number of different cultivars where investigated during three different recording times, two different temperatures and controlled in a controlled environment.

The aim for this study was to investigate if it is less stressful for cow and calves in loose housing systems when separation is made so they can see and touch each other (Physical Contact-PC) instead of just hearing each other (Hearing Contact-HC). The behavior of eight cow- calf pairs (n=4 pairs per treatment) on an ecological dairy farm with cubicle housing were studied for four hours directly after separation and four hours the day after separation. The first four cows that gave birth were used for treatment PC, and the following four cows that gave birth were used for treatment HC. The only selection criteria used was that both cow and calf were healthy. Separation took place 3-4 days after birth and the calves were put separately in two different pens while the mothers were let loose into the cubicle system.