This report describes the master thesis project ?Weight Optimization of a Composite Chassis for a Multimodal Lightweight Vehicle? which is a part of the Master program in Naval Architecture and a part of a research project at the Centre for Naval Architecture, KTH. Demands on smart and energy efficient transport solutions are continuously increasing. In the Stockholm region the citizens are expected to increase with 25% and the road vehicles with 80% until 2030, putting high demands on the traffic system. Using a small multimodal vehicle deals with this problem and uses both the land and waterways for transportation.

This study was made to compare and distinguish any differences in olfactory recognition and host plant adaptation between two strains of cotton leaf worm, Spodoptera littoralis. The populations used were established in Egypt and Benin, Africa. The documentation consisted of information about (1) each of the strains development through the larval stage up to pupation on diets of cotton, clover and cowpea. (2) Their oviposition preferences as adults between cotton, clover, cowpea, maize and cabbage. (3) Electroantennographic recordings to quantify any possible responses to plant volatiles. Throughout the diet experiments the larvae from the Benin strain showed significantly a better development between artificial, clover, cowpea and cotton respectively, while the Egypt strain had significance between artificial, cotton and cowpea/clover as diet. Also noted was how the strains substantial development of weight differentiated if fed the cotton diet, followed by the cowpea diet showing that the Benin strain would develop a higher body mass on a cotton diet as well as on a cowpea diet. This trend was however switched once the pupal stage was reached, where the Egyptian strain contained a significantly greater body mass than the Benin strain on the artificial and the Benin strain a greater on cowpea, which suggests that in the end, the Benin strain develops significantly better on cowpea while the Egypt strain develops better on an artificial diet. During the oviposition experiment that both stains showed a clear difference in hierarchy of host plants considered suitable for oviposition, where the Egyptian strain is significantly more attracted to clover than the Benin strain. Also showed with electroantennographic recordings and significant values was the higher sensitivity the Egypt strain had towards (E)2-hexenal, (E/Z)-b-ocimene, (Z)-3-hexenyl acetate, Nonanal, (-)-linalool and ?-myrcene when compared to the responses from the Benin strain..

Osteoartrit (OA) är ett mycket vanligt problem hos hästar och har i många fall sitt ursprung från felaktig belastning av leden, blir ofta kroniska och omfattar inflammation i ledens samtliga ingående delar. Resultatet är bland annat nedbrytning av ledbrosk och matrixkomponeneter. Idag baseras diagnostik och framtida prognos mestadels på den kliniska bilden och/eller bilddiagnostiska hjälpmedel. I denna studie har två inflammationsmediatorer; interleukin 1? (IL-1?), high mobility group box protein 1 (HMGB-1), och ett enzym; matrixmetallopeptidas 13 (MMP-13) mätts i ledvätska och serum med hjälp av kommersiell enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)-teknik. Hypotesen är att dessa är förhöjda i ledvätska från leder med konstaterad hälta. Tjugonio ledvätskeprov och 11 serumprov från 11 hästar som sökt till Universitetsdjursjukhuset i Uppsala för hälta analyserades i denna studie.

Aquaponics is a food production system consisting of a consecutive cultivation of plants and aquatic animals, fish or shellfish, in recirculating water. The plants feed on the nutritious effluents from the fish tank and bacteria converts ammonia from the fish tank into nitrate that is absorbed by the plants. The plants receive nutrition and the fish gain purified water. The environmental impact of the production of fish meal and fish oil used in conventional fish feed includes a large consumption of fossil fuels with subsequent carbon dioxide emission. The aquaponic system can be made environmentally sustainable and self-supporting if supplemented with a vermicompost/vermiculture for the production of worm protein as a fish feed. Vegetable waste from the hydroponic part of the system can be reused as worm feed in the compost and the protein rich worms can be harvested, dried and grinded and brought back to the aquaculture as fish feed. As a first step in this direction, I have investigated the effect of recycling of vegetable waste in vermicomposts on the growth and number of earthworms (this was evaluated after harvesting). The hypotheses were that earthworms can be cultivated in the vegetable waste and that by adding manure to the vermicompost it is possible to obtain a nutrient content adequate to support a continuous worm harvest, in other words create a vermiculture. Eisenia fetida and Dendrobaena veneta were grown in 20 L bins containing peat mixed with either poultry or cattle manure. The proportions were 70% peat and 30 % manure. Discarded plant parts from lettuce cultivation was added to the vermicomposts (35 g per week) and water was supplied with 0.8 L per week.

This study is about how videogamecompanies and Swedish newspapers represent masculinity and femininity in the covers of the games Assassins Creed 3, Grand Theft Auto 5, Bayonetta and Tomb Raider along with the reviews being done in conjunction with the game. The reviews has been published in the following newspapers: Aftonbladet, Svenska Dagbladet, Expressen and Göteborgsposten. The image that is formed in our society about how a man and a woman should be and behave will be the basics of this study. The covers of the games often represent what the game itself is about and what it contains and the reviews also conveys what the consumer who buys the game gets. The video game industry has grown in recent years to become one of the largest entertainmentindustries, but despite this, there has not been many studies on how this media represents masculinity and femininity.

Dagens hästägare utfodrar inte sina hästar med enbart grovfoder. Många av dem fodrar stora mängder kraftfoder och en del hoppas att det kommer förbättra hästens prestation. Spannmål har ofta ett förhållandevis högt energiinnehåll och lämpar sig därför i foderstater till hästar som har ett högt energibehov. Utfodring av stora mängder energi kan orsaka problem för hästen, bland annat i form av kolik och många stereotypier som vävning, krubbitning och boxvandring. Eftersom det finns hälsorisker med foderstater med mycket kraftfoder i, är det av intresse att undersöka hur olika kraftfoder påverkar hästens hälsa, ämnesomsättning och prestation men även om det går att ersätta kraftfoder med ett energirikt vallfoder.

Magnesium is an essential mineral that is important for several physiologic and biochemical processes in the body. Deficiency of magnesium is mainly associated with grass tetany, but can also appear in cows during the indoor period. Since long it is known that potassium has a negative effect on the absorption of magnesium. Due to the fact that potassium fertilisation leads to a higher potassium content in forage, it is of interest to study interactions of potassium on the magnesium balance in dairy cows. There are few studies about magnesium feeding to dairy cows in Sweden and the purpose of this study was to investigate how much magnesium and from which feed-sources dairy cows in Sweden get their magnesium. Data was collected from seven farms in the northern part of Uppland and from seven farms in Skaraborg in Sweden.

Bakgrund: Deposition av fibrillär amyloid beta 1-42 (A?) i hjärnan är ett välkänt kännetecken för den neurodegenerativa sjukdomen Alzheimer?s (AD). Dessa ansamlingar påverkar pericyter, en celltyp involverad i blodkärlsfunktion och upprätthållande av blodhjärnbarriären (BBB). Pericyter uttrycker både receptorn low density lipoprotein receptor related protein 1 (LRP-1) till vilken A?1-42 binder, och proteoglykanet NG2.

When establishing a groundwater protection area it is of great interest to be able to estimate the transit time of the groundwater from different places of the aquifer to the withdrawal well. These estimates can be uncertain due to heterogeneities in the aquifer. As a part of the work to develop methods for a more certain delineation of protection areas, a tracer test was performed in an esker located 25 kilometres NW of the town Uppsala.The purpose of this master thesis was to perform, describe and evaluate the tracer test. Travel times from the tracer test should then enable comparison against stochastic simulated travel times of the groundwater in the area.Three dyes (rhodamine WT, uranine and naphtionate) and a salt (NaBr) were used in the tracer test. The tracers were injected in four different wells located 25 meters from a pumping well.

The feed is a major cost in the dairy production and there is a constant interest in findingalternative cost-effective feedstuffs. Competitive dairy producers have to seek ways todecrease their production costs and the pursuit of cost-effective feed rations contributesto lower costs of production. An interesting group of protein concentrates are rapeseedproducts like ExPro (heat treated rapeseed) which have during the autumn 2008 andspring 2009 been very favourable compared to other protein feeds.This study focuses on the feedstuff products ExPro and Raps-Drank 60/40 (rapeseeddistillersgrain). The potential use of ExPro in dairy cow feed rations are also explored.ExPro is a well known feedstuff but Raps-Drank 60/40 is a relatively new product andnot known for many farmers.A field study on the use of rapeseed products was made on a limited number of dairyfarms. The main purpose was to study the management of the feedstuffs on the farms.The Farms were selected in cooperation with two local extension services.

This thesis investigates three different surface modifications, and the route to design and synthesize them. The thesis is therefore divided into three sub- projects. (i.) Design and synthesis of a peptide which secondary structure could be controlled by a negatively charged surface. (ii.) Design and synthesis of a cyclic peptide, that would self-organize prior to surface interaction, using the type I anti-freeze protein of a winter flounder as template. (iii.) The use of solid-phase synthesis to make the synthesis of SAM-molecules easier..

A method for intra vitam detection of bornaviral infection and diagnosis of bornaviral dis-ease in the cat is currently lacking. The aim of this work was to explore the possibility of using the proximity ligation assay (PLA), with its capacity of recognizing femtomolar con-centrations of a protein, as a method for detection of the minute quantities of antigen and antibodies that are present in the tissues and body fluids of a bornaviraly infected cat. For this purpose reliable comparative assays, in the form of an ELISA and an IFA, had to be established. When this proved impossible within the time frame of the project, the aim of the study had to be abandoned, further underscoring the need for improved means of detec-tion of bornaviral antibodies and antigen..

Pets like dogs and cats have a considerable importance for humans and research demonstrate a variety of positive economic and social effects in society due to our pet companions. The presences of pets are increasing on a global scale with correlation to economic development in low- and middle income countries. For example dogs have doubled in India over a five year period. The feed industry for dogs and cats is also the fastest growing sector in the food industry and certain pets have a significant animal protein intake which, depending on the choice of resources may provide a high ecological footprint. Examples of environmental effects with distribution and manufacturing of pet food are increased greenhouse gas emissions, waste, use of water and energy.

In this paper I have examined how the structure of society affects the characters in the movies of Gus Van Sant, and what there is that characterizes Van Sant as an auteur. I have also looked at the thematics and how the characters develop throughout from his first movie Mala Noche (US 1985) until one of his latest Milk (US 2008). Van Sant is open with his Homosexuality and those perspectives are of major importance for this study. He presents how his characters try to live a normal life in a society that is not made for them. I have chosen to analyze five different movies.

För att en elitidrottare ska prestera optimalt under träning och tävling, är det viktigt att hon/han har en adekvat kosthållning. Särskilda näringsrekommendationer för idrottare har framarbetats. Bland annat har Svenska Olympiska Kommittén utarbetat en kostpolicy för elitidrottare, som belyser vikten av näringsintag före, under och efter fysisk aktivitet, samt hur dessa intag bör vara sammansatta näringsmässigt för att idrottaren skall kunna prestera och återhämta sig optimalt.Syftet med detta arbete var att se hur kost- och vätskeintaget såg ut bland elitorienterare före, under och efter tävling, i förhållande till gällande rekommendationer. Även livsmedelsval samt deltagarnas resonemang kring kost- och vätskeintag i samband med tävling studerades.Studiens urval baserades på 15 elitorienterare (8 män och 7 kvinnor) som deltog i orienteringstävlingar i Ronneby under påskhelgen. Orienterarna fyllde i en mat- och vätskedagbok under totalt fyra dagar, två dagar före respektive under tävlingshelgen.