The milk production per cow has increased considerably during the last 50 years and due to the breeding for higher milk production also brings decreased reproduction efficiency. In a Swedish study 1996 it was shown that on average only half of all estruses were detected. Every time a farmer fails to detect oestrus it costs the farmer about 1200 Swedish crones and the need of means of detecting oestrus is therofore large. With this study we wanted to investigate if heart rate respectively crystallisation of vaginal mucus (arborisation) could be useful means of detecting oestrus. We monitored two oestrus cycles in four heifers.

In 1994 a new Forestry Act was accepted in Sweden. One of the aims of the law is to raise consideration forpreservation of biodiversity. Since the new law got accepted and some time has passed, there now lie someinterest in examining whether the law has been effective towards its purpose. Methods suitable for analysishave been examined during this study. The content of this pilot study is based around five parameters whichcan be used to validate the effects of the new law.

The danger and vulnerability associated with a preterm birth seem to be closely correlated with a dysfunction of the fetal hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, whose maturation in the foal is without a doubt as delicate as it is important. Not only is this endocrine cascade vital for the foal in order to cope with neonatal stress, it also appears to be fundamental for the final fetal intrauterine maturation, as well as for the onset of foaling. Equine gestation exhibits some rather unique features, indicating a somewhat different significance of the endocrine changes associated with HPA maturation, compared to many other species. This hormonal cascade is rapid and confined to a narrow time during late gestation in the horse, and the risk of the foal completely missing it therefore becomes prominent. Induced parturition in the mare may be operated through uterotonic agents, which occasionally bring about premature foals. Desirable seems the ability to initiate equine labour while simultaneously enhancing fetal HPA maturation, as in humans and ruminants through perinatal glucocorticoid administration. However, similar treatment in the horse has resulted in various, sometimes fatal, outcomes. In the light of the distinctive features of equine gestation, difficulties are encountered following such administration of glucocorticoids and ACTH.

ABSTRACT (english)Introduction: The possibility to transplant an organ is an important part of the health care system, which demands great resources and a well functioning organization with a level of high competence. The work with organ donation is complex and brings forward a great amount of different emotions for the operation room nurse. Aim: The aim with the study is to illustrate the operating room nurses experience when the organ donor is brain dead. Method: Data collection has been performed with semi-structured interviews, which have been interpreted by qualitative manifest analysis. The design of the study is pilot towards a study in full scale.

In Uganda, small scale pig production plays a major role for households to earn a living and to secure their access to meat. Piglet mortality due to diar-rhoea-related dieseases is high. In an attempt to understand the underlying causes for this high mortality this study aims to investigate the role of trans-missible gastroenteritis virus (TGEV) and is a part of a larger project con-ducted at Makerere university in Uganda. A complicating factor in this investigation is the porcine respiratory corona-virus (PRCV), a stabile mutant form of the TGE virus. The occurrence of this virus had shown to alter the impact of TGEV in e.g. Europe and North Amer-ica.

Psykosociala faktorer kännetecknar allt som inte berör fysiska omständigheter på en arbetsplats. En god psykosocial arbetsmiljö ses bland annat när det råder goda relationer med arbetskamrater och när ansvars- och beslutstagande möjliggörs. Eftersom det i dagsläget råder otillräcklig information inom området är syftet med denna studie att ta fram och utforma en enkät med frågor som berör tandhygienistens psykosociala arbetsmiljö. Frågorna i enkäten kommer att konstrueras utifrån de redan etablerade frågorna i Copenhagen Psychosocial Questionnaire, COPSOQ. Enkäten ska sedan prövas i en pilotstudie.

Today's technology offers a variety of opportunities to interact with the interactive systems. Human-Computer Interaction in the last decade is the area of research that has contributed the most to this development. But how is this interaction perceived? The user experience is something that is formed by the interaction between human and the computer interactive systems. The objective of this thesis is to investigate how the user experience differs depending on how one interacts with a game.

The aim with this study is to investigate the market reactions to announcements of special dividends and redemptions in Sweden and thus if these announcements can signal information. This study is an event study, where the event is the day of the announcement of a suggestion regarding issuance of special dividends or redemptions. The abnormal returns were estimated for two samples with the market adjusted returns model, one including special dividend announcing firms and the other redemption announcing firms. The signalling hypothesis and the hypothesis of a tax induced clientele effect are the most important hypotheses for this study. The efficient market hypothesis is another theoretical base that may explain the market reactions to the studied announcements, especially the pre-announcement activities that may occur.

This pilot study examined whether treatment with Vortex Process Technology (VPT) of the irrigation water used on tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) plants had any effect on plant growth. In a block experiment, with two blocks comprising 12 vases containing 1 L water and two tomato plantlets, treatment in which, nutrient solution was based on Vortex-treated water was compared with an control using untreated water. All vases were kept in a static aerated culture system in a daylight chamber for four weeks. The results showed that the effect of the two blocks exceeded the effect of vortex treatment in terms of leaf area and weight of fresh and dry matter. Plant height, stem width and internodal length were significantly different in tomato plants grown in Vortex-processed water compared with the untreated control.

Syftet med min undersökning är att genomföra en pilotstudie om svensklärares attityder till sitt ämne och se om dessa påverkas av skolform. Jag har genomfört 4 kvalitativa intervjuer på tre gymnasieskolor varav en är offentlig och de övriga två fristående. Genom att jämföra resultatet av mina intervjuer med tidigare undersökningar samt forskning kring den fristående gymnasieskolan har jag försökt svara på frågeställningen: Finns det hos svensklärare attitydskillnader till ämnet svenska som kan kopplas till skolform? Studiens svar på frågeställningen visar sig kunna tolkas på två sätt, beroende på vilka faktorer som läggs i begreppet attityder till sitt ämne. Enligt en traditionell tolkning av begreppet så blir svaret på frågeställningen negativt.

This study has focused on testing the following two hypotheses:? Pest resistant plants have higher levels and/or several different kinds of secondary metabolites. ? Induced defensive systems in resistant plants are activated more rapidly than those of susceptible plants. As a background for the test of the hypotheses a short literature study was performed concerning plant defensive mechanisms in Arabidopsis thaliana.

Oxochlorates are anions with a partially naturally occurrence in nature but are also spread by human activities, including the paper industry. These compounds are harmful to both nature and humans, which makes it necessary to find a good way for their degradation. There are two different kinds of bacteria that can use oxochlorates as electron acceptors in their metabolism, bacteria that break down perchlorate and bacteria that break down both perchlorate and chlorate. A bacterium that can break down chlorate under anaerobic conditions is Ideonella dechloratans which holds the genes for chlorite dismutase and chlorate reductase which are enzymes for the degradation of chlorate. Gene expression and enzyme activity of chlorite dismutase are induced under anaerobic conditions, which makes it interesting to find out how this regulation functions in order to better exploit these bacteria in biological wastewater treatment.

The purpose of this study was to investigate and describe the views on how the mediation program Programa Árbol Sicómoro affected inmates?, convicted of murder, own lives. Research questions:? To what extent, and how, has the mediation affected the convicts? views upon themselves and the crime they have been convicted for.? To what extent, and how, has the mediation brought any change to the convicts? imprisonment and if it has changed their look upon the future.The study has been executed using qualitative method. Materials from seven profound interviews have been analysed and condensed using terms from restorative justice and self-image theories.

Bakgrund: Abort är en händelse som berör många. Orsaker till avbrytande av havandeskap kan variera. Kvinnors känslor och upplevelser efter inducerad abort är viktigt för sjukvårdspersonal att ha kunskap om.Syfte: Syftet var att belysa kvinnors känslor och upplevelser efter att ha genomgått inducerad abort.Metod: Studien genomfördes som en systematisk litteraturstudie där vetenskapliga artiklar söktes genom databaser på Internet och genom manuell sökning. Nio studier användes i litteraturstudien. Artiklarna analyserades och resultatet sammanställdes utifrån Travelbee´s begrepp Lidande och Mening.Resultat: Resultatet strukturerades i underrubrikerna Mental ohälsa, Trauma, Sorg, Tankar, Hälsa, Lättnad och Självförtroende.

Nanofiltration is a proper way of preparation of drinking water. The process has a lot in common with reverse osmosis where a semipermeable membrane is used to separate a pure water flow from the remaining water. A pilot plant was used to ensure that nanofiltration is a suitable technology for a specific waterworks station in Glemmingebro, Ystad. The purpose was also to find out if a pH-adjustment is needed for feed water in a possible full scale plant.  In this case nanofiltration is used mainly to remove sulphate and calcium since the raw water contains concentrations of these substances which exceed the limits for potable water. It is important to receive a high recovery (RC), otherwise the deliviery of water won?t be high enough.