Oxytocin is today widely spoken of as a "feel good" hormone. Recent research has increased interest in the hormone and its role in social and sexual interactions, as well as its importance for complex behavioral patterns. There is evidence that oxytocin is released during physical contact and is said to suppress anxiety and stress. In animals and humans, oxytocin, which is a neuropeptide and likewise a hormone, is necessary for parturition and lactation. Synthesis of oxytocin occurs in brain neurons and in specific organs involved in reproduction.

In Sweden, there has been a continuous increase in the volume of housing construction for dairy cattle. Since 2004, the number of new, rebuilt and extended dairy cow houses undergoing preliminary inspection by the authorities has grown. The livestock farms have mostly focused on cow units instead of calf and heifer sheds; which has led to a need for information in this area. The purpose of the study was to improve advisors? knowledge about bovine building construction and function; to enable them to provide more qualified advice to conventional and organic milk producers who sustain larger herds.

This exam report has been developed in association with Strangbetong AB, Sweden.The natural gravel that is being used as fine aggregate for concrete production today is an ending natural recourse and the Swedish government has decided to strongly reduce the extraction from the year of 2020. The only reasonable replacement is aggregates from crushed rocks but this material has other properties than natural aggregates. The concrete manufacturers now have to learn how to use these new fine aggregates in a cost effective way in order to ensure the quality of their concrete production.In this project, crushed aggregates and combination of crushed and natural aggregates have been tested with existing formulas for fresh concrete. The two parameters yield stress and plastic viscosity have been measured which gives a good description of the workability of the fresh concrete. Different methods to make measurements on the dry fine aggregates, has also been tested, to find out if there is any correlations between these parameters and the parameters from the measurement on the fresh concrete..

The purpose of this study was to compile when and why piglets die during the suckling peri-od. Piglet mortality is an important factor influencing the profitability of piglet production. There are many factors that play a role and interact whit each other. This study summarizes when the piglets die during the suckling period and reasons why the piglets die. The infor-mation given is crushed, illness, management/environmental, genetic influence and piglet birth weight/farrowingprocess.

I ett internationellt perspektiv har Sverige hög amningsfrekvens, men under 2000-talet har amningsfrekvensen sjunkit och stora regionala skillnader ses. Kvinnorna rekommenderas att helamma sex månader. Mödravårdcentralen (MVC) informerar om bröstmjölkens hälsoeffekter som till exempel att bröstmjölken skyddar barn mot allergier. Forskning visar att överviktiga och feta kvinnor har kortare amningsduration, men få studier behandlar svenska förhållanden. Syfte: Syfte med fördjupningsarbetet är att studera samband mellan mammans BMI relaterat till amningsduration och mammans skattning av barnets hälsa de tre första levnadsåren.

Forest enterprises have always searched for ways to improve efficiency. For the past few years there has been an emphasis on stock-keeping levels. Increased demand for fresh round timber and the need to decrease the amount of tied-up capital has made the forest industry reduce its inventory levels. This has brought on a higher demand on the timber supply from the forest management districts concerning both delivery in time and assortment output. As a result, the flow of timber has fluctuated a lot with serious consequence for the timber supply during 1994.

Denna studie har undersökt huruvida det är möjligt att på Nasdaq OMX Stockholm generera systematiska överavkastningar i samband med att aktier börjar handlas exklusive rätt till utdelningar. Samtliga utdelningstillfällen har undersökts under perioden 2007-2011 vilket givit en total observationsmängd på 699 stycken tillfällen. Genom att ha tagit hänsyn till eventuella marknadsfluktueringar och vikta dessa med bolagets unika risk, i form av betatal, har resultaten även justerats för normalavkastningar under den undersökta dagen. Resultaten från Large Cap, Mid Cap samt Small Cap har sedan jämförts. Resultaten visar att överavkastningar är möjliga under dagen då aktien slutar handlas inklusive utdelning, samt att effekten är större för de mindre bolagen..

The concentration of acute phase proteins in serum is altered as a response to inflammation, infection or trauma. this makes these proteins potential biomarkers of unspecific pathological processes. In cattle, haptoglobin and serum amyloid A are the two acute phase proteins that show the largest increase in serum concentration as a result of inflammatory processes. The haptoglobin concentration has been shown to correlate to clinical signs as well as inflammatory processes found at post mortem examination. This feature could be useful prognosis of the individual as well as for monitoring the health status of a herd or identifying carcasses that shold be examined closer at the slaughter-house.

Today, there are more than 12 000-14 000 farms worldwide using an automatic milking system (AMS). Studies have shown that transition to AMS affects the udder health of cows adversely, recognized primarily as elevated somatic cell counts. There are several reasons for this, for example the greater variation in milking frequency seen in AMS. On one hand, short milking intervals may lead to bad teat condition of the cows due to the stress the milking procedure exposes the teats to. Too long milking intervals, on the other hand, seem to predispose for milk leakage, which is, in turn, a risk factor for the development of mastitis.

This study deals with the contribution of the genetic variant lactase persistence among Neolithic people from the Baltic Island Öland. Skeletal remains from twelve individuals went through DNA sequencing in order to find the mutation that allows adult individuals to digest milk sugar. The twelve individuals were chosen from two different Neolithic sites, where the archaeological and isotopic data suggest that the individuals from Köpingsvik were hunters and gatherers and the individuals from Resmo were early farmers. The individuals with the genetic variant lactase persistence can be described with selection and genetic flow.  Only five individuals produced results and the mutation was found in two of the subjects. All the individuals who were successfully sequenced came from Resmo, whereasno individuals from Köpingsvik yielded any results.

Fusarium graminearum causes reduction in both yield and quality in cereal grain worldwide. One of the diseases it can cause is Fusarium Head Blight (FHB). Both sexually and asexually produced spores can infect living plants. Asexual conidia are produced in the mycelium while sexual ascospores form in asci in perithecia on debris. In biological control, living organsims are used to control pests and diseases.

Fusarium graminearum is one of the most important pathogens on cereals and causes major crop losses around the world. The most cultivated cereal in Sweden is winter wheat. F. graminearum produces both sexual and asexual spores for dispersal. Multiple factors affect the production of these spores.

The aim of this report was to investigate the hypothesis that Norway spruce (Picea abies L. Karst), planted on poor ?Scots pine? stands will not have sustained growth during the whole rotation, due to water deficit in the closed stands. In order to investigate this hypothesis, data from 10 Norway spruce stands in southern-eastern Sweden were collected. In 10 plots in each stand, diameter and breast heights were measured on every tree.

Background: Most acts of violence in a psychiatric ward are directed towards the nursing staff. Aggressive behaviour often stems from feelings of frustration and powerlessness in patients while committed and therefore having limited liberties. To avoid an escalation of a hostile situation, it is important that the nursing staff applies the kind of encounter that will yield a positive outcome. Aim: The aim of this literary study is to elucidate the possible encounter the nursing staff can apply when encountering a hostile patient in psychiatric care. Method: The literary study is based on twelve scientific articles.

During my studies to become a guitar builder at Carl Malmsten CTD, I have found an interest in the construction of the classical guitar. I am fascinated by the simplicity of its construction. A simplicity that becomes more complex when you start to study it in detail.In my final thesis I will not try to explain this complexity. The subject is to investigate two different principles regarding its construction. I would like to find out if the sayings concerning one of the principles will yield a guitar with greater ability to produce volume and projection.At a close distance the difference between the guitar?s volumes is not to speak of, but a significant difference can be seen regarding one of the guitars ability to project its sound.