AbstractWe are facing a century of rapid change in climate, with significant challenges in managing the impact of changes in living conditions for plants and animals. We can already see the responses of species through changes in phenology and spatial distribution, which may change ecosystem structure and function, with subsequent effect on ecosystem services and biological diversity. In Sweden, between 2005 and 2010, the red-listed species has increased by 13 % and similar trends can be seen across the world, making it difficult to attain national and international environmental objectives of preserving biodiversity. One way to reduce the loss of biodiversity is to protect nature from exploitation by allocating valuable areas as nature reserves, but climate change affects protected areas just as much as other landscapes and therefore requires elaborate systems of protection to facilitate species' survival. The paper has examined  how the decisions and management plans for nature reserves in Sweden have been followed-up and whether they are climate adapted or not by examining 30 nature reserves, classified as newly formed (2012), recently revised (2009-2011) and older (1977-2007) reserves, and assessed what is in the decisions and management plans for follow-up, revision, long-term goals and documentation.

The Pallas cat is a small cat living in central Asia. The cat is approximately the size of a domestic cat but the Pallas cat is more stocky build and has a much thicker fur that enables the cat to live in a climate with temperatures plummeting to -50°C. The thick fur is one of the reasons this cat has been a popular game for hunters in the past. Nowadays there are other threats to the Pallas cat. One of the major threats today is the reduction of food sources.

Root rot is a big hurter and a huge economic problem for the Swedish and European forestry. The severest hurter is Heterobasidion annosum (Fr.) Bref and it occurs as two different species in Sweden. Commonly referred to as the P-type (Heterobasidion annosum s.s. (Fr.) Bref.) and the S-type (Heterobasidion parviporum Niemelä & Korhonen). Therefore a lot of research has been carried out in this topic to find a solution and reduce this problem, one alternative that have shown to be profitable is stump treatment in thinnings.

The county administration asked LKAB to make an inventory of possibly contaminated sites caused by their mining activity. The inventory should be performed according to the MIFO model, a method from SEPA which is used to assess a contaminated site. The first phase involves collection of information through interviews and site inspections and in phase 2 a general survey with field sampling is conducted. LKAB started the work with the first phase of the survey during 2003. During this project the information collected in Phase 1 was evaluated and 16 of the sites were chosen to proceed to MIFO Phase 2 (six sites in Kiruna, and 5 sites respectively in Svappavaara and Malmberget). The sampling of these 16 sites was performed during week 27 2004.

The county administration asked LKAB to make an inventory of possibly contaminated sites caused by their mining activity. The inventory should be performed according to the MIFO model, a method from SEPA which is used to assess a contaminated site. The first phase involves collection of information through interviews and site inspections and in phase 2 a general survey with field sampling is conducted.LKAB started the work with the first phase of the survey during 2003. During this project the information collected in Phase 1 was evaluated and 16 of the sites were chosen to proceed to MIFO Phase 2 (six sites in Kiruna, and 5 sites respectively in Svappavaara and Malmberget). The sampling of these 16 sites was performed during week 27 2004.

Akupunktur har används i många år som behandling mot diverse sjukdomstillstånd, bland annat som smärtlindring. Om man kan använda akupunktur som ett komplement till medicinsk smärtlindring, skulle man få billigare och säkrare behandlingar och sövningar. Denna artikel är ett försök i att reda ut om det finns vetenskaplig grund till akupunkturens analgetiska effekt, och hur detta verkar i kroppen. Flera forskare har genomfört studier som förklarar hur smärtlindringsmekanismen verkar, och jag går här igenom 6 teorier: gatewayteorin, aktivering av GABA-receptorer samt frisättning av serotonin och noradrenalin, frisättning av endogena opioider, frisättning av antiinflammatoriska cytokiner, ändrad aktivitet i olika delar av hjärnan, och halten cholecystokinin octapeptid (CCK-8). Det finns flera motsägande artiklar till många av teorierna, men den teori som verkar ha störst belägg är frisättning av endogena opioider. Naloxon, som är en opioidantagonist för alla opioidreceptorer, blockerar analgesi som uppstått efter akupunktur, likaväl som den blockerar analgesi från morfin.

The cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) is one of the big feline species kept in zoos worldwide. The wild populations are quite small and therefore the captive population make up an important part of the total population of the world. Although life in the wild is not always easy and a captive environment provides shelter and food it does not come without problems. In captivity cheetahs become chronically ill and also develop stereotypic behaviours. Neither of these are problems in wild populations and both can be linked to stress in captivity.

Two haematological instruments intended for small animal clinic use were evaluated at the Department of Clinical Chemistry, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences (SLU), Uppsala, Sweden. The QBC-V and Vet abc were compared to a reference instrument, the Cell-Dyn 3500. Fresh blood samples were obtained from canine and feline patients from the University Veterinary Hospital, SLU. The QBC-V was used for 111 canine samples and 78 canine blood samples were analysed with Vet abc. From cats, 23 samples were analysed with both instruments.

This study was conducted at VikingGenetics' bull breeding station in Falkenberg, Sweden. The bulls waiting for the results of their progeny testing at this station are either kept in group housing or individual housing. Since both of these housing systems have advantages and disadvantages, it was in the interest of VikingGenetics to know which of these housing systems is the best. The aim of this study was to investigate the welfare of the bulls in these two housing systems through behavioural observations and the use of activity monitors. In the preparations for the study 16 bulls, 8 in each housing system, were chosen.

BACKGROUND: Today?s societal changes, including high rate of change and increasing information flows, are increasing the demand on the individual mental capacity. It becomes increasingly difficult to analytically process all the different dilemmas and everyday decisions as individuals have a limited mental capacity available to make these decisions. Thus, it has been suggested that ego-depleted relies more heavily on intuition, which is less burdensome, when making decision. However little is known about to what extent intuitive decisions differ from analytic.

Gastric and intestinal disorders are common and costly human health problems worldwide. Helicobacter pylori are a gram-negative, pathogen bacteria and the most common cause of duodenal and gastric ulcer in the stomach the intestinal mucosa. Prolonged infection and colonization can lead to chronic gastritis and stomach cancer. H. pylori are present in the gastric and intestinal mucosa of half of the world population and a relation between infection and low socioeconomic status has been shown.

Stereotypic pacing is frequently observed in captive carnivores, however the underlying causes of this behaviour remain somewhat unclear. One of these possible causes are unpredictable feeding signals, which may give rise to frustration and subsequent pacing. Animal keepers at Nordens Ark had noticed that their Amur leopards had shown stereotypic pacing in connection to the passing of ATVs (All Terrain Vehicles) used by animal keepers primarly when feeding the animals in the park. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the stereotypic pacing of the two Amur leopards at Nordens Ark were affected by the introduction of a signal associated with feeding. The leopards were trained by classical conditioning to associate the sound of a siren with the delivery of food by an animal keeper.

Inflammatory airway disease (IAD) is a respiratory disorder that most commonly affects young horses performing at a high level. The clinical signs are often mild but the disorder can cause a marked decrease in performance to a point where the horse has to be taken of training and competing. The aetiology underlying IAD is not yet fully understood. One current theory is that a type I-hypersensitivity reaction due to allergens in the environment is the cause in some horses. The most reliable diagnostic method is a bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) since it reflects the inflammatory status in the most distal parts of the lungs, which are affected in IAD.

Oestrus in dairy cattle has changed over the last decades, the duration has decreased and the intensity of oestrus has declined. A possible explanation can be their high and increasing milk production. Heifers ability to show oestrus is probably not affected to the same extent. The aim of this study was to estimate and compare oestrus duration and strength in heifers of the Swedish Red and Holstein breeds. Standing oestrus has been the primary oestrus sign during many years.

Användningen av biomarkörer inom medicin är ett viktigt verktyg för att ställa diagnos och fatta terapetiska beslut. Surfaktant protein D (SP-D) har visat sig vara en lovande biomarkör för perifera lungsjukdomar på humansidan och har därför även börjat studeras inom veterinärmedicinen. Surfaktant protein D är ett relativt lungspecifikt protein och produceras främst i perifera delar av lungorna, f.f.a av claraceller i bronkioler och typ II pneumocyter i alveoler. Det fungerar som ett akutfasprotein med liknande egenskaper som kollektiner och är därför viktigt för medfödda immunförsvaret. Förutom detta har det också visat sig vara grundläggande för normala lunghomeostasen genom att utgöra en beståndsdel i surfaktant. Mekanismerna bakom dess funktion i lungan är dock inte helt klarlagda. Eftersom SP-D är så basalt för lungan påverkas det ofta kraftigt vid perifera lungskador.