Drinking water is produced from raw water and is either from groundwater or surface water. This thesis aims to find out if the cleaning process of raw water is sufficiently effective. This is important because consumers are otherwise at risk of waterborne infection caused by pathogens. There are three groups of pathogens; bacteria, virus and parasite. These have different characteristics which mean that they require different water treatment to be separated.

Promoters are genetic elements that facilitate the transcription of a gene and they have been found in front of non-coding RNA (ncRNA) genes in different organ-isms, e.g. the model plant Arabidopsis thaliana. A similar element, DUSE, has been found in front of ncRNAs in the social amoeba Dictyostelium discoideum and a part of this project has been to analyze the function of this putative promoter element through cloning and expression studies. A construct to analyze the func-tion of DUSE was successfully designed and introduced into D. discoideum but full expression studies were not finished because of shortage of time.

The resting area is the most important place in the barn for the dairy cow, sometimes called the heart of the free stall system. Inadequate design of the lying area, and lack of or poor quality of bedding materials may reduce the hygiene of the stall. Poor management regarding the cleanliness of the resting area may lead to poor animal hygiene and increased bacterial growth. This in turn will lead to increased risk for environmental mastitis as well as impairing milk quality through contamination with spores. In this literature study the most commonly used bedding materials; straw, sawdust, wood shavings, clean sand, recycled sand, peat and recycled manure solids, are compared to one another with regards to their ability to resist bacterial growth. Effects of adding hydrated lime to bedding materials have also been studied. Most bacteria need humidity and prefer a quite high water activity to be able to grow.

Drinking water is produced from raw water and is either from groundwater or surface water. This thesis aims to find out if the cleaning process of raw water is sufficiently effective. This is important because consumers are otherwise at risk of waterborne infection caused by pathogens. There are three groups of pathogens; bacteria, virus and parasite. These have different characteristics which mean that they require different water treatment to be separated.

Syftet med studien är att undersöka olika förskollärares uppfattningar om barns möjligheter i den skapande inomhus miljön i förskolan och hur pedagogisk dokumentation kan påverka denna skapande miljö. Genom intervjuer med förskollärare som arbetade inom Reggio Emiliafilosofin, Montessoripedagogiken och Waldorfpedagogiken skildrades olika uppfattningar kring skapande miljöer och hur miljön samspelar med barnen..

Lyckeby Starch AB is a farmer-owned company that produces products based on potato starch. In order to increase their production efficiency and their international competitiveness the company is investigating the possibilities of keeping their factories open longer. To achieve this, potato has to be stored for a longer period of time than what is practiced today. Starch potato is usually stored in large piles covered by straw and plastic, either in the field or on the farmyard. The objective was to examine in what way starch yield (starch content*tuber weight) in three different potato varieties was affected by storage in two different types of storage piles. The potato was stored for three months in total and starch content and tuber weight were controlled throughout the period. Stored tubers were also visually examined and prescense of mechanical damage as well as wet rots and dry rots was recorded. Bacteria and fungi were isolated and identified. In general, varietal differences were greater than differences between the storage piles.

After the two big hurricanes called ?Gudrun? (2005) and ?Per? (2007) in the south of Sweden, some landowners planted Douglas fir instead of the traditional Norway spruce and Scots pine. They did it for different reasons. Some of them spreading their "risk", others because they wanted better growth or to obtain a more storm-resistant stand and trees more protected against rot. In this study, survival and growth were examined on Douglas fir in 21 different locations, owned by private landowners in southern Sweden.

Denna rapport beskriver utförandet av en miljöcertifieringsprocess enligt systemet Miljöbyggnad på en befintlig byggnad. Hus N på Linnéuniversitetet i Växjö har valts som referensfall. Med hjälp av utvärderingar och jämförelser mellan teorier och bedömningar på Hus Ns nuvarande energi-, inneklimats- och materialsprestanda, har byggnaden fått Silver som slutbetyg. Miljöbyggnad värderas ytterligare med hänsyn till dess användarvänlighet, nytta och brister..

Abstract Cavities used to be a very common problem but over time humans have learned to take care of their teeth. However, there are still many who have problems. This problem is due to microorganisms and in particular the various streptococci and lactobacilli producing acids which loosens up the enamel on teeth. These bacteria can be found at various places in the mouth and saliva. Besides being a discomfort it can be a major problems and the damaged tooth needs to be removed or make a dental filling. The aim of the study was to see how intake of probiotic tablets containing Lactobacillus reuteri PTA ATCC 5289 and Lactobacillus reuteri DSM 17938 affects the levels of oral Streptococcus mutans and lactobacilli over a three-week period.

Objective: To determine the frequency of antimicrobial resistance in bacteria from healthy Swedish dogs and whether they are carriers of methicillinresistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). Material: Samples from skin from the perineal region and from faeces collected in the anus with cottonswab (Copan) from 299 healthy Swedish dogs. Samples were collected at dog exhibitions. Method: Specimens were submitted for bacterial culture where bacteria (Escherichia coli, enterococci and staphylococci) were isolated and identified by current methods. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing was performed with a microdilution method where MIC-values were determined. Staphylococci with high degree of resistance were tested for presence of mecA-gene by PCR.

Background: Urinary tract infections caused by indwelling urinary catheters causes unneccesay suffering among those it affects. These infections are also financially straining on the health care services. It is therefore of importance to gain knowledge about which evidence based preventive interventions that have the possibility to reduce the risk for bacteriuria and urinary tract infections among patients with indwelling urinary catheters. Aim: This study aimed to compile available knowledge concerning i) if silver alloy catheters does reduce bacteriuria in this patient group, ii) if aseptic catheterization does reduce bacteriuria in this patientgroup, iii) which routines for changing the urinary drainage bag reduces the risk of bacteriuria, iv) which routine genital hygenic care reduces the risk of bacteriuria? Method: Litterature was searched for in the data bases Cinahl, Medline and The Cochrane Library using the data bases? thesaurius combined with OR/AND.

The main purpose of this study was to determine the impact of bedding material on the faecal microflora of horses. Another objective was to investigate the hygienic and physical qualities of the bedding materials used and how these may change in the course of the trial period. The bedding materials used were sphagnum peat and wood shavings. Six horses had each material as bedding for a three week period in a change?over experiment.

Background: Urinary tract infections caused by indwelling urinary catheters causes unneccesay suffering among those it affects. These infections are also financially straining on the health care services. It is therefore of importance to gain knowledge about which evidence based preventive interventions that have the possibility to reduce the risk for bacteriuria and urinary tract infections among patients with indwelling urinary catheters. Aim: This study aimed to compile available knowledge concerning i) if silver alloy catheters does reduce bacteriuria in this patient group, ii) if aseptic catheterization does reduce bacteriuria in this patientgroup, iii) which routines for changing the urinary drainage bag reduces the risk of bacteriuria, iv) which routine genital hygenic care reduces the risk of bacteriuria? Method: Litterature was searched for in the data bases Cinahl, Medline and The Cochrane Library using the data bases? thesaurius combined with OR/AND.

To date, the genus Helicobacter consist of 26 different species and even more species are yet to be characterized. Helicobacter has been detected in connection with diseases in the liver and pancreas in humans and animals. Helicobacter spp. are gram negative, curved, S-shaped or spiral shaped bacteria. They are microaerophilic and have flagella that make them motile. Helicobacter, present in the gastric mucosa neutralize the gastric acid through production of urease that hydrolyses urea to ammonia and bicarbonate.

Peat litter is a soft material with high absorbency. About hundred years ago many farmers in Sweden used peat litter to their dairy cows. After the World War II the use of peat litter decreased and the farmers used more straw. Nowadays (year 2007), when it is harder to find straw and sawdust to buy, peat litter is advancing again. The purpose with this study is to investigate peat as a litter to dairy cows.