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.

Most of the city of Uppsala rests on postglacial clay with a varying content of sulphur. The sulphur occurs naturally in the clay in reduced form as sulphide and the clay is for that reason usually called ?sulphide clay?. Excavation during construction activities gives rise to large amounts of excavation material, of which the sulphide clay is a considerable part.When the clay is exposed to air and water, an oxidation of the sulphides occurs which may produce an acid leachate and the mobilisation of heavy metals bound in the clay or underlying material. The aim of the work has been to improve our understanding of the behaviour of sulphide clays and produce a basis for risk assessment in the future handling of excavation material with high sulphide content.

I ett mer och mer urbant samhälle så förtätas bebyggelse allt mer. I städerna brottas gamla byggnader med nya byggnadskomplex om det begränsade utrymmet. Stödkonstruktioner och andra grundförbättringsmetoder behöver användas för att möjliggöra byggnationer. Sveriges städer ligger ofta nära vattendrag, vilket många gånger innebär att husen är tvungna att grundläggas på sediment av stor mäktighet. Grundläggningen sker vanligtvis genom slagna betongpålar.

Bornsjön är Stockholms viktigaste reservvattentäkt och kan tillgodose staden med dricksvatten i flera månader om Mälaren skulle slås ut. Det är därför viktigt att Bornsjön håller en god vattenkvalitet. Under de senaste åren har vattenkvaliteten avseende totalfosfor i Bornsjön försämrats. Hög belastning av fosfor kan leda till övergödning i en sjö. När en sjö är övergödd uppstår ökad syreförbrukning som kan leda till syrebrist.

The study describes six upper secondary school students? thoughts of and stories about mentors and mentorship in secondary school. The mentorship has been studied with a hermeneutic approach from a narrative pupil relational perspective, which is influenced by the phenomenological humanity perspective. The aim of this study is to describe a few pupils? life worlds and to try to interpret how they describe and explain their own behavior related to mentorship and their mentors.

The cardiovascular system is one of the three major body systems. When an animal in a critical state arrives at the animal hospital, it is important to know the normal parameters in order to assess the patient?s cardiovascular status. Triage is a process where you considerate the patient?s condition instead of check in time, or other criteria.

During the last years, meticillin resistant Staphylococcus pseudintermedius (MRSP) have caused an increasing number of infections in Swedish dogs. MRSP is resistant against a majority of the antimicrobials available for dogs in Sweden, making it difficult to treat the infection. Our knowledge of the bacterium is limited, making it hard to handle infected dogs in a proper way. The aim of this study was to investigate for how long time dogs, who have an infection caused by MRSP, become carriers of the bacterium. Other factors like treatment with antimicrobials, the correlation between clinical symptoms and carriage, common diagnoses and institutionalization where also looked upon.

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.

In search of Umbilicaria subglabra In Sweden Umbilicaria subglabra has its only known occurrence in Lybergsgnupens nature reserve in the county of Dalarna where it has been found only once in 1936. It was found on the east-facing rock spur, approximately 650 meters above sea-level. The lichen is now red-listed as Regionally Extinct (RE) in Sweden. The aim of this study was find U. subglabra.

The forests in the unique archipelago of the Baltic Sea is housing many and high values. For the resident population, which has a central role in sustaining a living archipelago, the forest can contribute to the outcome. The forest also contributes to turn the archipelago into one of Sweden?s most attractive recreational areas. Furthermore, these forests exhibit very high environmental values, and they are an element in the traditional cultural landscape.

Today we keep our horses in a way that is easy for us humans but may not always be the most optimal way for the horse. Often the housing of the horse prevents the horse from performing behaviours that they have natural needs to perform. It is not unusual that animals that can not adapt to their environment develop abnormal behaviours. Many of our stabled horses therefore develop some kind of stereotypic behaviour. This study was made in purpose of comparing the behaviour of a weaving horse to two non-weaving horses under similar conditions, where one of the horses was stabled next to the weaving horse and the other horse was stabled further away in the same stable. Seven weaving horses were included in the study.

During the latter part of the 20th century the situation for people with intellectual disabilities in Sweden changed and developed. Clients have the right to participation and self-determination in society and in applied measures under the law of individual rights legislation; LSS. The purpose of this study is to describe and understand how team-leaders and managers in day-centres in a municipality works with participation and self-determination for clients, and what the professionals consider affects the client's possibility to self-determination and participation. The research questions intended to be answered are:? How does the team-leaders and managers work to enable self-determination and participation of the users in the public day-centres?? What does the team-leaders and managers describe and understand as enabling and limiting factors for the client?s possibility to self-determination and participation?The study is qualitative and interviews have been held with eight interviewees, which I contacted through snowball sampling.

Introduction: Frequent attenders is a term used in health care services that define a person attending a health care setting more than four times during a 12 month period. Recently published research concerning frequent attenders in pediatric emergency departments describes their reasons for attending a health care service or characteristics of these individuals but lacks a qualitative approach exploring their experiences. There is a need of these experiences to be shared so that health care personnel caring for this group may gain a greater understanding of their needs and expectations.Aim: The aim of this study is to describe how parents of children defined as frequent attenders experience the care received at a pediatric emergency department.Method: Qualitative approach with semi-structured interviews. A pilot study of four interviews was conducted to test the method. Sampling consisted of parents of children defined as frequent attenders and that were not diagnosed with a chronic illness.

Storm water is defined as runoff from precipitation such as rain or snow. It is collected in sewage disposal systems and since it mainly originates from urban areas it can contain high levels of heavy metals, nutrients and oil etc. Polluted storm water is currently treated by different methods such as wet ponds, constructed wetlands and filter strips. This study investigates these methods, which in earlier studies have shown to give varying results regarding their treatment efficiency.This thesis has been written on commission of SWECO VIAK and was aimed at studying those parameters that may affect the treatment efficiency of nutrients and heavy metals in storm water treatment facilities (STF:s). Through literature studies the dominating treatment processes in ponds and wetlands were examined.

The transformer is one of the most common and most important electric machines for power companies. Cost of investment and the economic worth of a transformer are counted in millions of SEK. Because of that, proper maintenance actions that may lead to longer technical life time should be the aim in all situations.The aim with the report was to perform transformer diagnosis by dissolved gas analysis on Umeå Energi AB´s power transformers and a risk assessment. The report should also contribute to longer life time for the transformers.Oil samples were taken from each transformer two times. The first sample in summer 2013 and the second in April 2014.