Piglet survival is a problem of great significance in pig production, affecting both animal welfare and economic aspects negatively. In Sweden it is illegal to use farrowing crates for sows on regular basis. To encounter this problem there is a proposal of an animal welfare program to allow the use of crates for sows during, and a number of days after, farrowing. The proposal aims to Reduce piglet mortality and improve pig welfare. This present review aims to analyse how crating affects the welfare of sows, gilts and piglets as well as piglet mortality.

The purpose of the study was to investigate the use and losses of energy in an existing older building. Another purpose was also to look through various options for heating systems with renewable energy in the building. The aim was to Reduce the use and losses of energy. The first step was to study the related electricity bills of the building and also perform measurements and calculations of the building envelope and ventilation. The next step was to find out the possible actions for energy saving by performing measurements and calculations.

Global Software Development (GSD) is based on a geographical distance where teams are spread throughout the world. The related research have for a long time addressed the challenges presented by geographical distances. GSD is basically a necessity for many businesses to use in order to Reduce development costs, Reduce production time and to maintain high quality. The study aims to investigate the relationship between the reality of a specific maintenance project. Thus, our research question: How do distributed maintenance teams experience temporal, geographical and socio-cultural distances? To achieve the purpose of the study, we chose to perform a case study of a global consulting company which recently started a new system maintenance project.

Introduction: Good hand hygiene practice is the single most important measure to Reduce the spread of bacteria and viruses in healthcare. For nurses, this has become more important as the spread of multidrug-resistant bacteria in hospitals is increasingObjective: To identify factors that are important for adherence to hand hygiene among health care workers with patient contact.Method: Systematic literature review. Original articles were searched in PubMed and Cinahl.Results: Factors of importance for compliance was profession, lack of time, knowledge/education, physical work environment, attitudes toward hand hygiene, and dry hands.Conclusion: More education, less workload and more visible placement of hand disinfectant containers are examples of actions that could lead to the improvement of staff hand hygiene and Reduce the incidence of healthcare associated infections. Due to the fact that health care workers around the world have different training and approaches, the result of this study may be difficult to use. To increase adherence to hand hygiene, a similar study limited to a specific country, such as Sweden, would therefore be interesting to carry through.Keywords: hand hygiene, Infection Control, Compliance..

With new energy directives in place, the Swedish Social Service (SSS) stands beforethe challenge how to Reduce the energy demand in its locales. It is a complex matter,as the locales are rented from various property owners and it becomes a question ofhow to Reduce the operational electricity and influence the property owners to workmore with energy efficiency. This thesis takes a balanced research approach in threeparts. Firstly a qualitative part in form of interviews with personnel at the SSS and itsproperty owners, secondly a quantitative part of descriptive nature in form of energystatistics and thirdly a literature review of Energy Management (EM) Supply ChainManagement(SCM), Green Supply Chain Management(GSCM) and EnviromentalPerformance Indicators (EPI). This in order to be able to give normativerecommendations of how the SSS should act to Reduce its energy consumption in itslocales and provide new insights on how EM, SCM, GSCM and EPI can be applied ineffect.

Severe floods caused by heavy autumn rains in year 2000 raised the question whether measures to Reduce the damage from high water levels, in the area surrounding lake Glafsfjorden and along the river Byälven down to lake Vänern, are possible. One option is to Reduce flow resistance along the river and thereby lower the maximum water level a given inflow would cause. Good knowledge of hydraulic and hydrological conditions is necessary in order to estimate the effect of such flow-reducing measures. In order to quantify such effect a 1-dimensional hydraulic flow model has been set up for the river Byälven using the software package MIKE 11. The model is more detailed, especially concerning topography and bathymetry, than earlier models used for studies of the river.

Every year 67000 tons of food is wasted by Swedish retail stores. The waste implies financial losses for the retailer and it has a huge impact on the global environment. Reducing in-store food waste is thus a win-win situation for both retailers and society. The most effective way to Reduce waste is primarily by optimizing the logistics of supply, but customers expect a store with a wide range of products and stuffed shelves. Thus there will always be products about to expire.

The euthropthication of the Baltic Sea is a threat that is beginning to be taken seriously by the governments concerned. In Sweden, regulations concerning the allowed nitrogen (N) concentration in the effluent water from wastewater treatment plants are being tightened up. The Rimbo wastewater treatment plant has been imposed to Reduce the annual mean concentration of total N in the effluent water to levels below 15 mg l-1. A more and more common way to Reduce the nitrogen level in wastewater is to let the water pass through a wetland. This study investigates the possibility to build this kind of wetland at the outlet of the Rimbo wastewater treatment plant.A prestudy of the topography, soil characteristics and groundwater flow indicates that the land area in question is well suited for the construction of a wetland.

Powder Metal (PM) gears are machine element components which operate under the same principle as conventional gears, but, due to their intrinsic material characteristic need to be designed slightly different, and its manufacturing process offers advantages previously unobtainable by conventional steel gear manufacturing methods. The use of PM in similar applications, such as synchronous hubs, makes them a suitable candidate for production in such material. The current master thesis work focuses on gear design using PM by utilizing finite element method (FEM) to Reduce weight and inertia taking into account root bending strength and tooth deflection.First a topological optimization is used to determine feasible candidates for different web designs which have as objective to Reduce volume, similar topologies were shown during different loading conditions; and hence, this topology was chosen as a suitable candidate. A shape optimization of the topological candidate was performed having as state variables root bending strength, independent for compressive and tensile side of the tooth loading; and tooth deflection, which in concept can be correlated to static transmission error (TE).Another aspect in this thesis analysed is the possibility to incorporate non-trochoid root geometry, a trochoid root is always present when machining with a hob, into the gear root and hence Reduce the stress concentration here. Due to the use of PM, a non-symmetric optimized root can be achieved and hence be optimizing compression and tension.Results showed significantly lower inertia, for example certain results showed 40% Reduced when compared to solid gear, with adverse effects as increase in tooth deformation and increase in maximum principal stress.

The purpose of this study is to increase the understanding of how venture capitalists can use their network in order to Reduce information asymmetries between themselves and the venture management team. A qualitative approach with semi-structured interviews, consisting of open questions, have been used to receive gradate information in order to reach our explorative purpose. Our theoretical framework consists of relevant studies made on the dynamics of networks and the problems that can arise in the complex relationship between a principal and an agent. We have been interviewing two venture capital firms and therepresentatives from two business angel networks. We also made an additional interview with an influential financial actor in order to try to verify our conclusions Our conclusions are that an extensive network can be used by venture capitalists in order to; verify ventures? technologies, complement the competences in the venture management team, and arrange co-investments, resulting in Reduced information asymmetries between themselves and the venture management team.

Background The usage of Nutrition supplement in the elderly care is commonly occurring and plays an important role in the intake of nutrition for the elderly. The usage of nutrition supplement is to Reduce malnutrition within elderly care. For the elderly it is crucial to keep a healthy diet and to never lose weight. The loss of weight can be very dangerous it could even be fatal for the aged and should therefore be avoided. To have a diet that is rich in energy such as enriched meals prevents the elderly from receiving a shortage of calories since the diet is rich in fat, protein and thus also rich in energy.

Preservation of cells and tissues by freezing at temperatures below 70°C has led to new possibilities for the storage of germ cells for fertility preservation. During the freezing process problems might occur, the greatest being ice crystallization which can cause membrane destruction and thus cell death. To minimize this risk, solutions that Reduce the freezing point can be added to Reduce crystallization and increase survival rates. These solutions are called cryoprotectants. The best method for freezing is still not known.The aim of this study was to analyze the effect of various parameters on the survival rate of human semen frozen with liquid nitrogen.

Every year many individuals became sick listed, it could be for a long time, or a short time but irrespective there will beeffects on the individuals life and on the society. The aim of this study was to describe some relevant psychosocial relationships in the workplace that effect that women become sick listed. The method of the study was a literary study which was based on a number of scientific articles. The result of the study showed that many different factors effects the risk of becoming sick listed. Factors that causes sick leave where many and individual, but lack of social support, bullying, unstructured work environment and theworkplaces management, imbalance between demands and control and the women's situation were factors that had a big influence.

The annual cost of home care services of transport in Falun/Borlänge, is now at 31 million kronor. It is clear from previous research that it is possible to Reduce these costs through a restructuring of the existing home-help service. The restructuring aims to have a higher proportion of older people, who are in need of care, to live in special accommodation, in order to Reduce transport costs. Therefore there is a need for systems that allow home-help service to plan their operations in such a way that transport is working as efficiently as possible. Through better planning, there are profits to be done.

The purpose of this master thesis is to examine how librarians/cultural workers act in projects in order to stimulate and promote reading among children and youth in sparsely populated regions in the county of Jämtland during a period of three years, and if/how these projects differ. The examination is based upon the progress of these projects in four of eight communities. Four librarians and two cultural workers have been interviewed in order to get their view of the proceedings of the projects. The results indicate that the four communities all made up plans for three years but in different ways. They mainly collaborated with the school but also with the board of children's health and the preparatory school.