Platelets are small fragments, but they are of crucial importance for the coagulation. The risk of spontaneous bleeding increases when the level of platelets falls below a thrombocyte particle concentration threshold value of 50 x 109/L. In those cases a platelet transfusion might be compulsory. Ongoing research tries to improve the quality of the platelets and to increase the safety of the method used. However, we still need to better understand which factors that affect how patients react upon platelet transfusion.

Platelet transfusions can be necessary during treatment of patients with thrombocytopenia or impaired platelet function. Platelet function in platelet concentrates (PC) deteriorate with storage time. Studying swirling is often used to control the quality of PC?s before transfusion but the method has some disadvantages. Therefore other methods can be useful, for example impedance aggregometry (IA, Multiplate® Analyzer) to measure platelet function.     In this study the change in platelet function over time was examined in buffy coat and apheresis platelets with IA where aggregation had been induced with adenosine diphosphate (ADP) and collagen.

Plesiomonas shigelloides is a gram-negative, oxidase-positive rodshaped bacterium of the family Enterobacteriaceae. P. shigelloides is most frequently isolated in tropical and subtropical areas, but has also been isolated in colder areas for instance in Sweden. The primary natural habitat of the bacterium is fresh water and indirectly waterliving animals, but the bacterium can also be recovered from humans, mammals (of which cats are over-represented), birds, insects and poikilothermic animals. P.

Safe retrieval of nutrients from human excreta to fertilize crops in order to gain adequate yields will increase food security and sustainability in agriculture areas with nutrient-poor fields. Safe and nutritious food will meet the dietary needs of the individual which promotes public health and the ability of an active life. Human excreta should be considered as a resource instead of being assumed as waste. Human faeces and urine is excellent fertilizers which may close the nutrient loop if utilized properly. However, sanitation of the excreta is required to prevent disease transmission by reducing the content of gastrointestinal pathogens such as bacteria, viruses and parasites. The objective of this study was to in small scale evaluate the sanitation in a combined liquid compost and urea treatment by monitor the inactivation of bacteria and viruses at the combination three start temperatures, 45, 40 and 35 °C, and three additions of urea, 0.5, 0.75 and 1 % and reference, 0 % urea addition.

 Conclusion:Medical treatment may have a role in platelet count after transfusion. Since the TACSI platelets passed the quality requirements, and the vast majority of patients platelet count increased after TACSI platelet transfusion, the TACSI platelets will replace the old method to produce platelets at the Uppsala University hospital.  Methods: A new approach that pools 8 buffy coats (TACSI platelets) that were separated into 2 units instead of 4-6 buffy coats pooled to 1 unit was investigated in this study. After the platelets were extracted from the buffy coats their quality was controlled and subsequently the platelet product was evaluated in 96 patients. Results: The results showed that 80 % of the platelet units passed the European quality requirements. Further, the platelet count was increased in most patients that received TACSI platelets. Conclusion: Medical treatment may have a role in platelet count after transfusion.

Tolerance and resistance are two different defence mechanisms within the immune system that differ from each other in many ways: However it is not clear which of the two is the most advantageous in dairy production. Resistance is described as the ability to fight a pathogen in a host. Tolerance is, on the other hand, not aggressive to the pathogen per se, but rather protects the host and its tissues. Furthermore tolerance rather offsets the toxin from, for example, a parasite whilst resistance offsets the parasite itself. Resistance is however disease specific, which means breeding for a large number of diseases is needed in order to make resistance worth the cost for the host.

Animals in zoos live in small enclosed areas. If a pathogen is introduced to the zoo, the animals are extremely vulnerable. The highest risk of introducing new pathogens occurs when new animals are introduced to the collection. Therefore it is essential that zoos have a protocol in place for disease prevention. This review has studied literature on the subject of disease prevention protocols when translocating animals between zoos.

Wound care of the horse?s distal part of the leg is challenging. Due to that distal limb wounds are easily enlarged, infected and generally heal slower than wounds on the body of the horse, the need for improved wound nursing arise. One way of improving wound nursing is to evaluate new ways of healing treatment. In this study, evaluation was made of a new product consisting of lactic acid bacteria and honey.

Certain microbial residents from composts are known to possess the ability to suppress soilborne plant pathogens. Trichoderma spp. and Gliocladium spp. are commonly found in composts and are perhaps the most wellknown hyperparasites of fungal pathogens, which may also be naturally present in compost. Trials have many times proven them to be effective against plant diseases caused by soilborne pathogens such as Pythium spp., Phytophthora spp.

Cryptosporidium parvum is a protozoan parasite causing diarrhoea in many different animal species including cattle and man. It is an important enteric pathogen in neonatal calves and it is the second most common pathogen found in diarrhoeic calves in Sweden. Subclinically infected adult cattle have, in international studies, been shown to shed a low number of oocysts in faeces and this has been recognised as a potential source of infection for new-born calves. The detection methods used for diagnostic purposes are based on microscopic investigation of faecal smears. These methods have a fairly low sensitivity and samples from subclinically infected cattle have to be concentrated before analysis.

The price trend on rapeseed the latest years has led to an increasing interest to grow the crop among many farmers in Sweden. The price trend has resulted in more than a doubling of the oilseed area since the early 2000s. For many farmers it is an advantage to increase cultivation of rapeseed because of the high proportion of cereals in the crop rotation on many farms, but it is not just benefits. The risk of the fields being infected by clubroot increases within frequent rapeseed cultivation and it often leads to subtantial economic losses. Clubroot is caused by Plasmodiophora brassicae that is a soilborne pathogen in genus Protozoa and its resting spores can be found in the soil for up to 18 years.

The aim of the study was to investigate if some selected recipes could be hazardous for man; that is if pathogenic bacteria in raw ingredients could survive the cooking process. The study included three known pathogens, Listeria monocytogenes, Salmonella Typhimurium and Campylobacter jejuni. A known number of the bacterium chosen was added to the raw product. The dish was prepared according to the recipe and then a bacteriological investigation concerning the added pathogenic bacterium was performed. The results showed that all recipes tested could be hazardous; that is the added pathogen was still living after the cooking process..

Urban trees have very little in common with trees on natural sites, such as forests or pastures. Trees in urban environments are often planted in packed soil and in small volumes. This can lead to decreased availability of water and oxygen, as well as deteriorated ability for the soil to store nutritional elements. Also above ground the tree usually have limited space in cities. Regulations on free height over roads and cycle tracks demands high stems at an early stage of their development.

Since the end of the eighteenth century forest damage caused by the pathogen Gremmeniella abietina has been observed and documented. During the latest epidemic in Sweden more than 480 000 hectares forest land have been injured and this has lead to considerable economic losses. For the pathogen to succeed with infection, spore dispersal and colonization the right environmental conditions is required. The aim of this paper is to describe the diseased stands using site and stand characteristics and to evaluate the effect of these variables on the disease incidence. Further, the thinning performed during the time for spore dispersal and its relationship to injured stands is examined.

Stem rust, Puccinia graminis, has caused enormous yield losses throughout history which have had significant consequences for oat and wheat production. Today in Sweden stem rust is only reported from rye, oats and wild grasses. Stem rust infections in wheat have become unusual due to the general use of resistant wheat varieties and also due to the eradication of barberry, Berberis vulgaris, the alternate host for P. graminis. According to international sources, new races of P.