Sahlgrenska Academyat University of GothenburgDepartment of Internal Medicine and Clinical NutritionAbstractTitle: Can an increased intake of omega-3 fatty acids have an effect on testosteronelevels in women with PCOS?Author: Ylva Dernbrant och Helene HagenborgSupervisor: Lena HulthénExaminer: Anna WinkvistProgramme: Dietician study programme, 180/240 ECTSType of paper: Examination paper, 15 hpDate: May 23, 2012BackgroundPolycystic ovary syndrome affects women of fertile age and consists of elevated testosterone levels and increased insulin resistance along with effects on ovulation and fertility. The elevated level of testosterone often leads to problem with acne and hirsutism, and it is also common with overweight and metabolic syndrome. The nutrition treatment has mainly consisted of energy restriction, together with exercise and drugs to reduce insulin resistance and consequently reduce androgen levels. However, an in-depth knowledge about how the components of our diet can affect further, is lacking.Omega-3-fatty acids can affect insulin resistance and testosterone levels within other groups but today knowledge is lacking if these findings can be transferred to women with PCOS.

The ability of dairy cows to survive and the economic importance of this have been in-creasing in dairy cattle breeding lately. Increased longevity contribute to an increased pro-portion of cows that produce milk in more productive lactations and reduces the replace-ment costs together with a good health and fertility. Unfortunately it is often argued that longevity has been decreasing due to a strong selection for production traits in dairy cattle.The aims of this study were to find correlations between different longevity evaluations and between different estimates on longevity and other traits in the Nordic Total Merit (NTM) breeding value. The aim was also to compare different traits for cows of two differ-ent longevity groups.The data were Predicted Breeding Values (PBV) from Nordic HOL and SR bulls and records from Holstein (HOL) and Swedish Red (SR) cows estimated by the Swedish Dairy Association.The three Swedish longevity indexes were very highly correlated (>0.89) and the corre-lations between the Swedish official longevity index and the five Nordic Cattle Genetic Evaluation (NAV) longevity indexes varied between 0.73-0.83.In the sire evaluation part, the traits most negatively correlated with longevity for HOL were dairyness, protein and fat index. In SR, milk, protein, and fat index only had slightly positive correlations with longevity.

In metabolism Mg plays an important role because it affects many cellular enzymes in the body. The energy metabolism and protein synthesis are dependent on Mg as an enzyme activator, Mg is also involved in the synthesis of RNA and DNA. Absorption of Mg primarily takes place over the ruminal epithelium in ruminants. The main storage of Mg is in the bones but that can only be reached if the cow is in great need of calcium or phosphorus, it's a hormonal regulated process that induces catabolism of bones. Free and available sources of Mg are found in soft tissues and in the extra cellular fluids that includes cerebrospinal fluids and blood.

Fång är ett ökande problem i hästpopulationen och ett samband mellan fetma, insulinresistens och en förhöjd risk för fång har setts i ett flertal studier. Fältdiagnostiken för påvisande av insulinresistens är idag mycket begränsad och de metoder som framför allt används, mätning av fasteinsulin- och fasteglukoskoncentrationer via blodprov, har visat sig ha låg tillförlitlighet och reproducerbarhet. Behovet av en enkel och pålitlig fältdiagnostisk metod för utvärdering av insulinkänslighet hos hästar är därför stort. Studien syftade till att utvärdera ett oralt glukostoleranstest (OGT) som alternativ till dagens fältdiagnostiska metoder för detektion av insulinresistens hos häst. Genom att diagnosticera insulinresistenta hästar, samt de hästar som befinner sig i riskzonen för att utveckla insulinresistens, kan förebyggande åtgärder vidtas och en uppföljning av dessa åtgärder göras med hjälp av OGT, vilket kan leda till att hästarna på så sätt fortsättningsvis kan hållas friska. 14 kliniskt friska varmblodiga travare användes i försöket. Samtliga hästar genomgick, förutom det orala glukostoleranstestet, en euglykemisk hyperinsulinemisk clamp (EHC) för kvantifiering av deras insulinkänslighet. I det orala glukostoleranstestet gavs försökshästarna glukossirap oralt i en dos på 0,2 ml/kg kroppsvikt och deras insulin- och glukossvar följdes därefter under tre timmar med provtagning varje halvtimme.

The top selection of Swedish beef bulls are evaluated yearly by Svensk Köttrasprövning AB at Gismestad. The bulls are selected from six different breeds; Angus, Blonde d´Aquitaine, Charolais, Hereford, Limousin and Simmental, and are kept on straw bedding apart from a concrete alley in front of the feeding area during the six months of evaluation period. The bulls are evaluated according to their fertility scores, growth, exterior and temperament and the exterior, body posture and claw conformation reflect important qualities for their longevity. In spite of good values for fertility, it has been noticed in the last years that the fertility results and longevity have been unsatisfactory and claw and/or bone disorders have been suspected as a contributory cause. Persson et al. (2007) studied breeding bulls from Gismestad and other places, which had been slaughtered due to poor fertility (no pregnancies in the herd during their last year in service).

Syfte: Att en kost rik p? m?ttat fett har en negativ inverkan p? blodlipider har l?nge varit klarlagt. D?remot r?der delade ?sikter om effekterna av kolesterolintag p? lipidniv?er hos personer med blodlipidrubbningar. M?nga kolesterolrika livsmedel inneh?ller ocks? en stor andel m?ttat fett.

It is possible to affect the feed costs in different ways. By steeping or fermentation the digestibility of the feed is improved for the animals with a natural process in the wet feeding system Steeping means that the feed is soaked some hours before feeding. This process activatesenzymes and improves the digestibility of for example phosphorus in the feed and make it more accessible to the animal. Wet feeding can be fermented or not. Fermentationmeans that the feed has been soaked for a certain length of time so that a biological process is started.

A shorter dry period length has in studies abroad showed some positive effects among high yielding dairy cows. Among other things it has been suggested that the periparturient metabolic stress becomes lower, that the fertility is improved and dry off becomes gentler for the udder, due to a lower milk yield. The milk yield is generally reduced during the first period after calving, especially among primiparous cows. The aim of this master thesis was to investigate how Swedish cows were affected by a shortened dry period, regarding milk yield, metabolism, health, body condition and body weight from two months before calving to some weeks after calving. Also plasma concentration of lactose during the period before calving was determined.

This study was conducted at the University of Bath, UK, from September to December 2014 as part of an ongoing research project aimed at elucidating how the Grb10 gene might act as a mediator of long-term health effects (such as predisposition to obesity, diabetes, coronary heart disease and hypertension) caused by environmental factors during development. This phenomenon is known as developmental programming. The purpose of this thesis was not primarily to answer any of the broader questions posed by this research project at large since this would require much more data than is reasonable to acquire over the course of a few months, but rather to evaluate the methods used in this project and reveal whether they are working the way they are presumed to. In the research project, which employs mice with the Grb10 gene knocked out as well as wild-type control mice, a dietary restriction model is utilized during gestation, which is supposed to generate offspring with lower birth weight and subsequent detrimental health effects in adulthood. This is supposed to be achieved by restricting the protein content of the pregnant mothers? diet to 9 % (as opposed to the control diet of 20 %) throughout gestation.

Syftet med detta examensarbete var att hitta praktiska metoder för att reducera innehållet av glukos, fruktos, sukros och fruktaner, så kallade lättlösliga kolhydrater (WSC), i vallfoder. Ett vallfoder med mindre mängd WSC kan vara användbart för hästar som har fång, är insulinresistenta eller har fått diagnosen EMS (equine metabolic syndrome) eller Equine Cushing?s syndrome. Faktorer som kan påverka innehållet av WSC i vallfoder är bl.a. växtens utvecklingsstadium, konserveringsmetod, lagringstid, tillsats av mjölksyrabakterier till ensilage/hösilage, samt blötläggning av foder innan utfodring.

Ekvint metabolt syndrom är ett relativt nytt begrepp där drabbade hästar kan karaktäriseras av ökad generell och regional fettansättning, rubbningar i glukos- och fettmetabolismen, insulinresistens samt ibland klinisk eller subklinisk fång. Just insulinresistens är av intresse då det i flera studier visats att fång kan framkallas ensamt av höga insulinnivåer. Möjligheterna att diagnosticera insulinresistens i fält ? och därmed kunna förebygga fång eller följa behandlingen av en redan drabbad häst ? har varit begränsade då fasteglukos och -insulin ej är tillförlitliga metoder och övriga tester kräver en mer avancerad utrustning. År 2013 presenterades en ny variant av oralt glukostoleranstest (OGT) där djurägaren ger hästen sockersirap i munnen varpå ett blodprov tas efter 60-90 minuter av en veterinär.

Fetma är ett tillstånd som har visat sig öka risken för utvecklandet av metabolt (MS) syndrom hos människa. MS karaktäriseras av fetma (framförallt bukfetma), insulinresistens (IR), diabe-tes mellitus och högt blodtryck. Idag anses fetma även vara en av orsakerna till utvecklandet av ekvint metabolt syndrom (EMS) som ses hos hästar. EMS liknar till stor del den sjuk-domsbild som ses hos människor med metabolt syndrom. Förutom fetma är regionala fettan-sättningar och IR vanligt förekommande hos dessa hästar som ofta även utvecklar fång.