Measurement of plasma concentrations of natriuretic peptides have been suggested to be of diagnostic and prognostic value in canine cardiac disease. In several previous canine studies, however, a considerable overlap between investigated groups has been identified. A reliable natriuretic peptide test for use in clinical practice requires establishment of reference values for natriuretic peptides in healthy dogs and cut-off values for subclinical disease as well as for clinical signs of congestive heart failure. Numerous physiological, pathological and pharmacological factors, aside heart function, may influence concentration of natriuretic peptides. A potential effect of dog breed on natriuretic peptide concentration has been suggested but has, to our knowledge, not previously been specifically studied.

Over a long period of time, there has been a rich debate in the academic and financial world if active management can generate an excess return. Many experts say that the current active management strategies is nothing more than a money grab that produces large gains, for banks and investment firms, through high management fees while producing no excess value for the individuals buying their service. In short, an effective market makes it almost impossible for fund managers to produce value for their clients in the long run.No argument has only one side though, other experts say that active management has a role to play because not all investors are rational. This irrationality can lead to mispricing on financial assets in the marketplace and in turn lead to an ineffective market where active management can fill a much needed role. The purpose of this study is therefore to see if active management strategies can create a higher risk adjusted return, taking management fees into consideration, during times of high volatility when the uncertainty is at its peak.

AimTo validate the STOPP-8-questionnaire (S8Q), containing items from the SIH-questionnaire, against the criterion method accelerometry to estimate its capacity to assess 8 year old Swedish children?s physical activity (PA). Can it assess children?s physical activity? Can it differentiate the active children from the sedentary? If the answer is yes, how well can it do so? MethodData was collected during fall and winter the school year of 2008 - 2009 via the project STOPP-8. Out of 676 children at 12 schools in Stockholm area, 155 (boys n=72, girls n=83) provided complete questionnaire data and wore an accelerometer (Actiwatch 4) during 7 consecutive days which provided data for mean and median activity, time spent sedentary, in moderate to vigorous PA and vigorous PA.

In Sweden and in Scandinavia the amount of tree species are rather few. However many different forms of trees arise due to mutations and gives rare appearances like cut-leaved and hanging forms. In some cases these trees are interesting as cultivars and a few of them have become popular garden trees. The knowledge of the original trees and early propagation is meagre.In this study a selected group of trees were found through search of literature. Eight tree forms were chosen and investigated in situ.

When planning new wind farms, the cost for the internal electrical grid is estimated to account for 8-9 % of the total investment cost. On top of that, the cost for accumulated reduced income over several years (due to electrical losses), has to be added. The economic lifespan is relatively long (about 20 years) which means that an error in the loss calculation could lead to a bad decision basis. The accumulated reduced incomes due to electrical losses can be higher than the initial investment cost for the internal electrical grid.Today, Statkraft Sweden is using a template number when estimating the electrical losses in a wind farm. The actual losses are probably lower than the template number which could lead to an unnecessary high loss cost when planning a new wind farm.The aim of this M.Sc.

One way of signalling commands to the horse during riding is through applying tension on the reins to create bit pressure in the horse?s mouth (Terada et al., 2006; Clayton et al., 2011). The skilfulness of the rider in using the hands when applying bit pressure has consequences both for the horse?s performance and welfare (Manfredi et al., 2010). At the trot there are large vertical deviations of the horse?s body which the rider must adjust and adapt to (Terada et al., 2006) and an unsteady hand due to inability to follow the horse?s movement can be a source of discomfort and conflict behaviour in the horse (Heleski et al., 2009).

Arbete med vibrerande handhållna verktyg leder ofta till övergående besvär och på sikt även till bestående skador på blodkärl, nerver, muskler och leder. Det finns således god anledning att försöka minimera vibrationers skadeverkningar på den arbetande befolkningen. Vårt främsta vapen idag utgörs av så tidig upptäckt av dessa skador som möjligt för att därigenom kunna sätta in åtgärder som minskar eller eliminerar fortsatt exponering för vibrationer.I föreliggande undersökning var syftet att studera möjligheten till detta med hjälp av tre olika metoder; ett frågeformulär om cirkulatoriska och neurologiska symptom, Kvantitativ Sensorisk Testning (KST) samt en läkarundersökning. Syftet var också att studera hur vibrationernas frekvens inverkar på skaderisken.Två grupper studerades. Den ena bestod av verkstadsarbetare som hanterar lågfre-kvent vibrerande verktyg och den andra bestod av tandvårdspersonal som hanterar verktyg som vibrerar med mycket hög frekvens.Undersdökningen genomfördes som en tvärsnittsstudie på ett bekvämlighetsurval där de i studien ingående personerna fick fylla i frågeformuläret och sedan genomgå mätning av perceptionströsklar för vibrationssinnet och temperatursinnet (begränsad KST) samt en läkarundersökning.Resultaten visade att tandvårdsgruppen hade mindre besvär av vibrationer än verk-stadsarbetarna trots att det omvända kunde förväntas då verkstadsarbetarna hade lägre medelålder och färre år av exponering i yrket.

From embankment dams is something that has long been noticed and given rise to different questions. The most serious question is if the sludge is a result of inner erosion through the dam, and thus consists of material transported from the dam. Concerns have also been raised whether the sludge could interfere with the systems drainage capacity and thereby lead to high pore pressure in the dam, or if the measurement of seepage is disturbed, as the measuring is usually made via Thomson weirs, which could risk being blocked. The result of this investigation shows that the sludge is a result of the oxidation of iron by iron bacteria, and to the greater part consists of these oxides as well as the bacteria?s own structures. The iron oxidizing bacteria, FeOB, oxides ferrous iron to ferric as a part of their metabolism, and thereby create large quantities of iron(oxy)hydroxides.

Bakgrund och problem: Olika belöningssystem har den senaste tiden skapat stora rubriker massmedialt. Belöningssystem används som ett styrningsverktyg för att skapa incitament hos de anställda samt motivera dessa till att göra ett bättre arbete. Det är av stor betydelse att de anställdas mål överensstämmer med företagets övergripande mål och strategier. För att uppnå detta mål inom företaget som vidare skapar effektivitet används en rad olika belöningsformer. Dessa är såväl monetära som icke-monetära samt delas ut kollektivt och/eller individuellt.

Bakgrund och problemEtt generellt problem är att forskning baserad på små och medelstora företag är mycket liten, med avseende på ekonomistyrning samt mätning av resultat.SyfteSyftet är att beskriva och analysera vilka mått som används i fyra små tillverkande företag. Hur måtten mäts, hur informationen kommuniceras kring dem, i vilket syfte de används och om måtten är kopplade till något mål i företaget, är frågor som studien vill besvara. Uppsatsen syftar till att skapa en ökad förståelse för hur små företag mäter sin verksamhet i avsikt att bedöma sitt resultat.Metod Med en abduktiv ansats och hermeneutiskt synsätt har den empiriska och teoretiska referensramen insamlats. Genom en kvalitativ studie och besöksintervjuer hos fyra små tillverkande företag har vi fått möjlighet att beskriva och analysera hur de använder sig av mätning i sin verksamhet. Teoriramen har sedan använts för att skapa en djupare förståelse för empirisk data.SlutsatsDe mått som används i små företag måste utformas utifrån varje företags specifika förutsättningar för att träffa rätt då många faktorer spelar in i valet av mått.

Sahlgrenska Academy at University of GothenburgDepartment of Internal medicine and Clinical nutritionAbstractTitel: Can omega-3 prevent the emergence of allergy?? A systematic reviewAuthor: Karin Andersson and Cecilia BjörertzSupervisor: Henriette PhilipsonExaminer: Anna WinkvistProgramme: Dietician study programme, 180/240 hpType of paper: Examination paper, 15 hpDate: 2012-05-23Background Today allergy is a major public health issue and one of our most common chronic diseases. It would be most profitable if there was a way to prevent the emergence of allergies, both regarding the community and the individual. The antiinflammatory property of omega-3 influences the immune system and is thought to have a preventive effect on allergic symptoms. To investigate whether the mothers intake of omega-3 during pregnancy and lactation affects the child?s future development of allergy is therefore of high interest.Objective To examine if omega-3 supplement given to mothers during pregnancy, or pregnancy and lactation, is shown to be beneficial in children with heredity to develop allergy.Search strategy Articles were collected from the data bases PubMed, Cochrane and Scopus.

One must consider cost effectiveness when deciding how resources within the health sector should be distributed. Quality adjusted life years (QALYs) are used to measure the value of different medical treatments. QALY is based on utility maximization theory, which suggests that a QALY is always a QALY regardless of who receives it. Therefore, a produced QALY is worth the same regardless of the age or the initial health of the patient. Previous research has shown that these assumptions do not seem to fit the real preferences of individuals.

Bakgrund och problemdiskussion: När IAS 40 Förvaltningsfastigheter blev tillämplig 2005 tilläts förvaltningsfastigheter värderas till verkligt värde. En del problem har framkommit genom införandet av värdering till verkligt värde av förvaltningsfastigheter. Detta har lett till att IASB i samarbete med FASB arbetat fram en ny standard, IFRS 13 Fair value measurement, som behandlar hur värdering till verkligt värde ska gå till. Syftet med samarbetet av den nya standarden var att få en mer harmoniserad, globaliserad och jämförbar redovisning. Då det idag inte är självklart hur värdering till verkligt värde ska gå till vill vi utreda om införandet av IFRS 13 kan komplettera IAS 40 och ge mer vägledning för värdering av förvaltningsfastigheter.

This report describes an investigation of the indoor climate in two different workspaces. Since we a big part of our lives are staying indoors in artificial environments, and more particularly in our workplaces, we think it would be interesting to do this investigation. The technical solutions for air treatment systems began with simple natural systems without fans and where the thermal rise of the air applied. In modern time is technical air treating systems used to take care of the fresh air supply. This type of units can supply filtered air with the right temperature to the building. Well-functioning ventilation is essential to bring clean fresh air to the room and effectively remove impurities without sound- or draught problems. The indoor climate is relevant for the output capacity.

In order to facilitate testing of anesthesia machines a patient simulator has been required by Maquet Critical Care AB. A patient simulator has been developed to reduce expensive and time consuming animal experiments and temporary lab arrangements. The patient simulator has been developed and designed to simulate human lungs with regards to anesthetic uptake, production of carbon dioxide and heating and moisturizing exhaled air.The system comprises a container and a test lung to simulate the volume and the dynamic of the human lung. The simulation of uptake of anesthetics has been implemented by pumping a fraction of the gas from the container through a bypass circuit with an active charcoal filter that adsorbs volatile anesthetics. The flow through the bypass circuit is generated by a pump and is controlled by a linear valve.The resulting performance of the patient simulator has fulfilled the requirements.