Selenium (Se) is an essential trace element that is involved in several physiological functions in mammals. Mostly, Se is bound to proteins, many of them with enzymatic functions. A group of seleno-depending enzymes, glutathione peroxidases (GSH-Px?s), are important as antioxidants and protects against free radicals. The activity of GSH-Px is strongly regulated by Se storage in the liver.

Rapid population growth and the fact that phosphorous is a limited resource implies that the question regarding an efficient use of phosphorus is of great importance, and consequently,that the phosphorous use efficiency should be as high as possible. The view on phosphorous use efficiency, and how this is calculated, has varied over time. This has had great implications on what type of research that has been conducted, which have resulted in an inconsistency between the academic?s view on the subject and recommendations received by farmers. The purpose of this paper is to calculate the phosphorus use efficiency in the Swedish long term fertility experiments.

Bakgrund: Med anledning av Sveriges ökade ekologiska konsumtion så kommer denna uppsats vidare undersöka ekologisk konsumtion som fenomen och hur företag bör arbeta för att på bästa sätt lyckas nå långsiktig överlevnad med just ekologi som grund.Problem: Vilka faktorer är viktiga för företags beslut om marknadsföringsstrategier gällande ekologiska varor, för att nå långsiktig överlevnad?Syfte: Syftet med den här uppsatsen är att analysera och utvärdera konsumentbeteende med avseende på ekologisk konsumtion. Metod: Undersökningen är kvalitativ och kommer att bearbetas utefter en hermeneutisk och systemteoretisk ansats. För att kunna svara till problem och syfte kommer befintliga teorier att användas. Teoretiska perspektiv: Utbytesperspektiv, utvecklingsperspektiv Teorier: Mervärdesteorin, involveringsteorin, marknadsföringsmixen, konsumentbeteende, totalkommunikation, värdekedja och värdestjärna.Empiri: För det empiriska underlaget har sju stycken konsumenter och en branschrepresentant intervjuats.Analys: Empirin har analyserats utefter de faktorer författarna givit som centrala för att svara till problem och syfte. Författarna har efter operationalisering kunnat dela in respondenterna i en matris baserad på involveringsgrad till ekologi. Detta för att göra det enkelt att följa uppsatsens röda tråd.Resultat: Författarna menar att det är involveringsgraden till ekologi, om den är hög, som är avgörande för konsumtion av ekologiska varor.

Sewage sludge contains plant nutrients and has earlier been utilised as fertilizer to cropland. Unfortunately not only plant nutrients but also heavy metals, pathogens and organic contaminants tend to accumulate in sludge. The suitability to use sewage sludge in agriculture has therefore been subject to several discussions over the years. The Swedish food industry does no longer accept sludge as fertiliser for Swedish producers. In 1999 the Swedish parliament accepted several objectives for environmental protection. In order to prevent environmental pollution and further exploitation of the earth crust, one of these objectives confirm that phosphorous from sewage shall be recirculated to arable land.

This is a dissertation for a Bachelor Degree Project at the University of Skövde. The project is carried out in cooperation with the company Kinnarps AB.The objective of this project was to develop a new chair for café and lunch rooms, which should satisfy the markets expectations and demands and match Kinnarps AB?s assortment today. The project has contained everything from identification of user and customer needs and requirements to evaluation and building of a prototype.The result is a chair with a frame of tubular steel and there is nothing like it in Kinnarps AB?s assortment today.

In the Swedish author, poet and critic Hanna Nordenhöks (1977-) novels Promenaderna iDalbyhage (2011) and Det vita huset i Simpang (2013) the literary characters are often portrayed asdiffuse shapes with a subtile closeness to other organic bodies, places and times. While the novelsaddress themes such as colonialism and subjects becoming, they also explore the act of narratingthrough letters, journals, photographs and, in particular, fabrication. What emerge are two aesthetic,literary works that, on different levels, trouble our notion of borders between human and more-thanhumanbodies, an issue that?s essential for our understanding of human - environmentalrelationship.The purpose of this thesis is to show how the prose of Nordenhök can be read in the light of theterm porosity, where matter is understood as elastic and open for both creating and de-creatinginteractions. I will argue that the novels contribute to a deepened understanding of the relationshipbetween human subjects and more-than-human matter as elastic, and that they incorporate thisdynamic porosity within the narration itself.

In the production of pulp, paper and cardboard, a large amount of water is used daily. The water has to be purified in the internal purifying plant before it reaches the receiving body of water. In the biological purifying stage at the Stora Enso Skoghall mill, an aerated basin is used where the microorganisms, using oxygen, oxidize the organic material to carbon dioxide. The air is pumped from the bottom of the basin and the oxygen can then be transported from the air bubbles to the water through diffusion. The problem with aeration of waste water from the forest industry is that wood residues, such as fatty acids, are making the transport of oxygen in water more difficult.

Peat  lands  are  a  great  potential  resource  for  increased  forest  growth  in  Sweden, there  are  approximately  6.5  million  hectares  of  peat  lands,  whereof  around  70% produce less wood than one m3sk/ha and year and are therefore classed as forest waste  land.  There  are  over  200  000  hectares  of  peat  land  that  is  already  drained and  wooded,  and  that may  be  suitable  for  fertilization.  Forest  production  on  peat soils  usually  requires  drainage  and  fertilization.  Dewatering  requires  ditching  the area, so that the roots can have access to oxygen. Nitrogen is often abundant in the peat but other nutrients; especially potassium is in short supply. The  purpose  of  this  work  was  to examine  the effects  of  potassium  fertilization  on the  growth  of  spruces  that  were  planted  on  drained  peat  land  and  how  different amount of fertilizers affects the growth. Potassium deficiency is strongly growth inhibiting, since potassium is important for substance  transport  in  the  tree.  Potassium  is  also  important  for  the  carbohydrate formation, and because increasing the sugar content of the cells constitutes a lower freezing temperature does potassium availability in the soil play a major role in the winter  resistance  of  many  species.  Potassium  is  not  found  in  any  organic compounds in the tree, but is present in cell and tissue fluids. A fertilization trial was started in 1978 in Siljansfors Experimental Forest. The plots in the experiment were fertilized with different amounts of potassium and one plot was  left  without  fertilization.  All  plots  that  were  fertilized  with  potassium  grew considerably better than the unfertilized plot. The difference in production between the unfertilized plot and the plot that received the most potassium was 7.2 m3sk/ha and year. The unfertilized plot can still be classified as waste land. The theoretical production capacity was estimated using a Swedish system for site quality  estimation  of  wetlands  after  ditching  (dikningsbonitering).  The  plot  with most  potassium  produced  after  fertilizationaproximately  in  level  with  theoretical estimations.  Key  words:  Peat  land,  Fertilization,  Ditching,  Growth,  site  quality..

This paper deals with a taphonomic study of contexts with osteological material of dog (C. familiaris L.) from the Mesolithic and Neolithic of Sweden and Zealand, Denmark. The general aim is to develop and test a method to try to understand the activity behind and define specific archaeological structures. My questions also regards to wether a taphonomic analysis of the material could be used to identify treatments as wrapping and contraction of the dogs, but also dismembering and other preparations of the body. The study focuses on the relation between the space of decomposition, disarti-culation of the joints, evidence of wall effect, cutmarks, weathering and signs of postdepositional arrangements.The analysis is based on contexts from the materials Hornborgasjön, Vedbæk, Skateholm I and II, Sjöholmen, Ertebølle, Bökeberg, Bredasten, Löddesborg, Bergsvägen and Röekillorna, dating from early Maglemose culture to Neolithic Battle axe culture.The analysis shows that a closer study of taphonomic processes can be used to identify different structures as graves, offerings, religious and non religious contexts or parts of animals, probably put into the ground as waste.

24 years have passed since the Chernobyl accident when radionuclides were spread over largeareas of Europe, including the Scandinavian countries. Today, measurable activities of 137Csare still observed in many Swedish ecosystems.Ants (belonging to the order Hymenoptera) are social insects which collect organic materialfrom a large area around their nests. This study focuses on the 137Cs activity in ant nests andthe cesium accumulation in these nests. The aims were (1) to estimate the 137Cs fall-out in1986, (2) estimate the radiation exposure of ants and (3) find how 137Cs is distributed in an anthill. Seven ant hills (occupied by the species Formica polyctena) were studied near the villageof Hille, situated north of the city of Gävle in central Sweden.

Sahlgrenska Academyat University of GothenburgDepartment of Internal Medicine and Clinical NutritionAbstractTitle: Cow?s milk and chronic constipation in children ? A systematic reviewAuthor: Sara Palm & Anna SvenssonSupervisor: Frode SlindeExaminer: Anna WinkvistProgramme: Dietician study programme, 180/240 ECTSType of paper: Examination paper, 15 hpDate: May 27, 2014Background: Chronic functional constipation is common among children. Up to a third of all who seek a paediatrician suffer from constipation and it is a widespread problem for children in many countries. Lately it has been discussed if cow?s milk can be a cause of the constipation and if it should be considered a delayed hypersensitivity.Objective: The aim of this systematic review is to examine whether there is scientific evidence to recommend a cow?s milk-free diet as a potential treatment in chronically constipated children.Search strategy: The literature searches were performed in the databases Pubmed, Scopus and the Cochrane library, using the search terms cow?s milk, constipation, milk proteins, dairy products, milk hypersensitivity, cow milk and cows milk between March 17th and April 4th 2014.Selection criteria: Randomized controlled trials measuring stool frequency in chronically constipated children on a cow?s milk-free diet were included.

The aim of this thesis is to improve the control of urea injection at the combined power and heating plant Framtidens Gärstad (FTG). Tekniska Verken i Linköping AB is the owner of the plant.The FTG plant consists of a boiler where garbage combustion is done. From the combustion nitrogen oxides are emitted. These nitrogen oxides are hazardous to the environment. To reduce the nitrogen oxides, injection of urea into the boiler is used.

In the low-income countries of the world, rapid urbanization and decaying infrastructure results in an increasingly unsustainable situation when it comes to solid waste management. Often, the solution tends to focus on introducing technical advanced interventions based on the conditions of the high-income world. However, this thesis aims to ?nd site-speci?c solutions on solid waste management at a local scale. By taking in consideration of local conditions a customized approach is possible where the solution is not dependent on expensive structural changes.

Lotsbroverket is the largest wastewater treatment plant on the Aland Islands and it isdesigned for handling wastewater from approximately 30 000 persons. In 2011,Lotsbroverket produced about 2800 m3 of dewatered sludge. The sewage sludge that isproduced is transported to a contractor where it is processed to eventually be used e.g.in the construction of green space. This study aims to investigate available applicationoptions in terms of the sewage sludge that is produced in Lotsbroverket. The main aimis to study the feasibility of using the produced sewage sludge as a fertilizer in theagriculture of the Aland Islands.The sludge already fulfills limit values for heavy metals in accordance with the Act"The Aland Government´s directive on the use of sewage sludge in agriculture." Inorder to clarify the sludge content of pharmaceutical and organic substances it isrequired that the substances are identified and a risk assessment is performed.

Agricultural drainage ditches are links between fields, lakes and oceans, having the potential to transport e.g. sediment and nutrients. When in a good condition, drainage ditches can act as sinks for e.g. phosphorus and sediments and prevent eutrophication downstream. The aim of this study was to determine the condition of one agricultural drainage ditch and to come up with suggestions for appropriate measures. The aim was also to determine which of the ditch?s properties that were possible to evaluate visually, which processes they represented as well as which properties required complementary physical analysis. This in order to contribute to the work of developing a method for determining the status/condition of agricultural drainage ditches.