The development of quantitative, real-time PCR (qPCR) combined with the mapping of the canine genome opens new possibilities in veterinary medicine. This method provides a quick and accurate quantification of the expression of a specific gene at a given point in time and thereby also information of how the gene expression for a certain protein is influenced by various conditions and diseases. One possible area of application is identifying bio markers for cancer. Recently the protein serglycin (the core protein of an intracellular proteoglycan) was found to act as a selective marker for the disease acute myeloid leukemia in humans (Niemann et al, 2007). Serglycin is produced by most hematopoietic cells, although mast cells account for the largest amount of serglycin.

Executive summary This master thesis was originally based on a specific assignment given to the authors from ABB Full Service, a unit specializing in providing maintenance outsourcing: ?How can ABB Full Service expand its offering of providing fundamental maintenance by seamlessly incorporating the business concept with competencies and solutions from other ABB divisions?? The academic issue was developed throughout the thesis, resulting in the following formulation: ?From an organizational perspective; how can service providers bring continuous added value to intra-organizational outsourcing partnerships?? Many of the key findings of this thesis are reflected in the issue. The term intra-organizational outsourcing is a proposed addition to the terminology in the academic discourse on outsourcing. The definition of the term is: ? Where an organization outsources a business process interlinked with the physical operations, requiring the service provider to take over a preexisting unit and its employees.This is an accurate description of the form of outsourcing that ABB Full Service is engaged in.

This thesis studies the way valuation of investment properties is conducted in accordance with IAS 40 and how reliable these valuations are. This has been conducted by studying ten Swedish real estate companies listed on the NASDAQ OMX, during the period 2005-2008. The study shows that all companies use valuation models to determine the fair value of investment properties. Two different types of models have been identified. Companies that use the cash flow model show inconsistencies in time horizon, and how they determine the horizon value.

ABSTRACTThe aim of the observation study was to examine the dental hygienists working tasks and the time they used carrying them out. Four dental hygienists where observed during four days each. The total time the dental hygienists used with patients during sixteen fulltime days come to a sum of 89 hours of the possible 111 hours. Twelve hours was late cancels and time when patients didn?t come to their appointment and ten hours were used for meetings.

The purpose of this Master Thesis is to investigate whether the technical service available in the "Reading and Writing Corner" has an influence on the total quality of service in a public library. This service is intended to give sensory/print-handicapped persons access to information. The title KOM LOSS is a Swedish expression for "come on" and LOSS is short for reading and writing support. I have chosen to study three libraries in the region of Västra Götaland, Sweden. The thesis examines total quality from the aspects of goal steering, accessibility, education and marketing.

This aim of this thesis is to measure the effect of the user interface in real searches on the Internet through a small experiment. Theories on web and search usability and psychological factors concerning usability were first explored. Then three interfaces were constructed, one "good" that followed usability guidelines and had multiple search functions, one "bad" that completely disobeyed those guidelines and had only a simple and small search field, and one "intermediate" interface that was a mix of the two. The search field was set to different sizes, with the shortest in the "bad" interface, a medium field in the "intermediate" interface and several long fields in the "good" interface. All three interfaces were then attached to the same web search engine, Altavista.

The purpose of this paper was to examine how youths, age 18-20, experience the verdict to the probation service and how it affects their lives. We have examined the relation between youths and the probation service from a youth perspective, what kind of support and intervention they receive and how their surroundings react and respond on the verdict. Our research was based on a qualitative method consisting of individual interviews with eight youths and one interview with a social worker from the probation service. We have used Urie Bronfenbrenner's "the Ecology of Human Development" as our main theory and the conceptions labeling, participation and the key terms adversity and protective environment to analyse and comprehend the material. We found that all eight youths were satisfied with the probation service and the help they had received.

For a long time I have felt that there is a lack of time planning productson the market that attracts me to use them. Therefore I wantedto explore the possibilities of developing something that I reallywanted to use.At first I tried to come up with a more general tool for planningand structuring time, different from the products that are alreadyavailable. But soon I found it more interesting to see myself as theprimary user. This way I felt that I could experiment more and Ididn?t have to take things like production, cost and possible targetgroups into consideration.As I set out with an aim to try and understand my own problemswith planning and structuring time the project became a very personalone.

Denna uppsats beskriver fenomenet shared services, varför företag satsar på shared service centers (SSC) och hur de går tillväga när de designar dem. Studien har genomförts med hjälp av en litteraturöversikt och en fallstudie av TeliaSoneras nu pågående implementering av ett shared service center, FSS. Fallstudien består av fyra intervjuer och en genomgång av TeliaSoneras egna informationsmaterial och medarbetarenkäter. Litteraturöversikten visar att shared services utlovar väsentliga förbättringar av ekonomifunktionen och besparingar, att det finns en stor tilltro till dessa löften men att det saknas underbyggda bevis för hur stora besparingarna egentligen är. Designen på TeliaSonera FSS visar sig följa litteraturen relativt noga, förutom vad gäller placering.

To be able to protect themselves from credit risk, the banks must constantly check the performance of  the companies they have lent money to. There are many mathematical models for predicting financial distress. These models use accounting-based ratios, which often are historical and not representative for the present situation. This study describes how the banks do in practice to find signals of insolvency in time and the variables they are observing for doing that.In addition to financial reports which the company sends in to the bank at least once a year, also the relationship between them and information from different information  agencies are of great importance to track  signals of insolvency. Poor profitability is the primary cause of insolvency.

SammanfattningUtbildning och kurs: Magisterprogrammet i service management, kandidatkurs SMT302 Handledare: Magnus Jirström och Veronica Åberg Syfte och frågeställningar: Vår intention med denna uppsats är att analysera om de ideella organisationer som vi har undersökt överhuvudtaget reflekterar kring service gentemot medlemmar. Skulle så vara fallet ämnar vi kartlägga på vilket sätt detta görs. Slutligen är vår förhoppning att uppsatsen ska kunna resultera i några förslag på områden där ideella organisationer skulle kunna praktisera service management. Vårt syfte utmynnar således i följande frågeställningar: hur arbetar ideella organisationer med service och vårdandet av relationer i dagsläget?, på vilket sätt kan service management tillämpas i ideella organisationer? och vilka styrkor och svagheter finns det i det allmänna arbetssätt inom ideella organisationer och vad beror de på? Metod: För att kunna besvara våra frågeställningar har vi framförallt använt oss av en kvalitativ analys av litteratur inom relevanta ämnesområden, såsom NGO, bistånd, service management, Gemeinschaft och Gesellschaft.

This study is a thorough comparison between what people think about the website www.sl.se, which is a Swedish web-based travel planner for Stockholm metropolitan public transport (such as subways, busses and suburban trains), and how these views compares to the design of the actual website itself. The travel planner offers a wide range of functions and services for their targeted audience to find the fastest route between their current location and their destination. These functions are for example real time information on hold ups and malfunctions on different travel routes, and an interactive map of specific destinations so that the user can get a clear view of the area and nearby traffic stops. But how much does the average user care for these functions, and how often are they used on an average visit? What are the users? motivations when they visit the site? Earlier research suggested that there are services and functions on this website that are useful and well crafted, but that some people may not be aware of.

Technical products are becoming more and more complex, this means that the drivers, mechanics and service personnel?s need for assistance such as the service literature is increasing. In this degree project the focus is on the technical manuals of Scania?s Workshop Manual. Today, the information in the Workshop Manual consists of collaboration between text and illustrations.

Syftet med denna uppsats är att genom intervjuer med tre medelålders kvinnor, ta del av deras upplevelser av Adventsmarknaden och friluftsmuséets Lilla Julmarknad i Gamla Linköping. Genom intervjuer och deltagande observation vid marknaderna undersöker jag på vilket sätt informanterna besöker en marknad och hur deras syn på shopping och service styr deras besök. Uppsatsen belyser hur de shoppar när de besöker en marknad, hur de ser på service och hur detta påverkar deras upplevelse. Slutsatsen av denna studie är kortfattat att de besöker marknaden, och shoppar på tre skilda sätt. De definierar och uppskattar service på olika sätt och handlar olika typer av varor.

Today, a large proportion of wood supplied for the Swedish forest industry is bought from private forest owners while forest companies at the same time provide the forest owners with services such as logging services and transportation. Today, forest companies work extensively with keeping the time used for transport and logging short. But what does the private forest owners think about the time required for the timber deal, also called lead time, and the different parts of the timber deal. In this thesis, the forest owners? perception of the different lead times in their contracts with Stora Enso and their communication with the purchasers is examined.