Influenza is a viral infection that affects global health and economy with its endemic and sometimes pandemic spread. Rapid detection of Influenza viruses enables antiviral use and can bring financial savings. It is also essential for the global surveillance of prevalent Influenza strains. RT-PCR is considered the most specific and sensitive method for detection of Influenza, but Influenza mutates at a high rate and it is therefore crucial that RT-PCR methods are updated regularly.In 2014, Cepheid released their Xpert Flu/RSV XC assay, which can detect Influenza A and B and RSV by multiplex RT-PCR in approximately one hour. The aim of this study was to evaluate this assay at Laboratoriemedicin Västernorrland by using the laboratory?s previous PCR assay for detection of Influenza viruses as reference method.Real-time RT-PCR was used to compare Xpert Flu/RSV XC to the reference method.

HIV/AIDS is a chronic disease that has increased and will continue to increase. Most health care workers will one way or another come into contact with it. The purpose of this literature review was to describe factors contributing to nurses' attitudes towards patients with HIV/AIDS. Sixteen articles were analyzed and quality assessed. The results revealed gaps in knowledge among nurses.

ABSTRACTMultiple sclerosis (MS) is the leading cause of adult disability inSweden. Hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) can be used as a treatment option for patients with MS where the disease has an aggressive course. The treatment is preceded by high-dose chemotherapy which lowers the patient's immune system. It is therefore of interest to study infectious complications associated with HSCT in this patient.Aim: The purpose of this study was to identify infection problems in this population associated with HSCT, and to study differences in infectious complications between this group and patients diagnosed with lymphoma who have undergone the same treatment.Method: The study was a retrospective descriptive study with quantitative data. A medical record review was conducted.

Mulesing is a surgical husbandry procedure performed on lambs in Australia. The reason is toprevent severe fly-strike to the breech area, which otherwise risks to be soiled with faeces.This problem is mainly occurring in sheep of the Merino breed. Their fine wool is in demandworldwide due to high quality. Mulesing has been performed since the 1930?s, and eventhough alternative methods have been discussed nothing is yet generally accepted.

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of large amounts of straw in the farrowing pen on thermal regulation of the newborn piglet in different weight classes. 20 sows were given 15 kg of straw in the farrowing pen 2 days prior to until 7 days after parturition. A control group of 18 sows had no straw in the pen. 6 litters from each treatment were observed. Measurements of piglet body temperature were made at 0h, 2h, 4h, 8h and 24h after parturition. At ?8h? the body temperature of the piglets in the Straw group were significantly higher (P=0,0149) than the piglets in the Control group.

Twitching is frequently used in horse management because of its sedating and pain-relieving effects. In this study, the effects on the horse?s nervous system by twitching were investigated by thermography of the skin temperature. The temperature is regulated by the sympathetic nervous system through postganglionic sfincters at the capillaries of the skin. The effects on the endocrine activity have also been studied by the measuring of ACTH and cortisol in blood plasma.

Tidigare forskning har visat att selektiv uppmärksamhet (selective attention; SA) mot hotfulla stimuli kan predicera emotionella responser på stressfyllda händelser. Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka sambandet mellan sårbarhet för ångest i form av SA och fysiologiska samt självskattade stressreaktioner på en laboratoriestressor. Ett negativt samband mellan fysiologisk stressreaktion och SA samt ett positivt samband mellan självskattad stressreaktion och SA förväntades. Skillnaden i hudkonduktansreaktivitet (skin conductance reactivity; SCR) på subliminalt presenterade hotfulla och neutrala stimuli hos 41 försökspersoner utgjorde mått på SA i denna studie. Försökspersonerna utsattes senare för en laboratoriestressor samtidigt som hjärtfrekvensvariabilitet (heart rate variability; HRV) och hudkonduktansvariabilitet (skin conductance variability; SCV) registrerades.

The purpose of this study was to develop a reliable molecular-genetic method to determine the different species of helicobacter in dogs. The study is part of a larger project to map the prevalence of Helicobacter spp in healthy and sick dogs in Sweden, and to determine the possible connection of Helicobacter spp infection with gastrointestinal diseases in dogs. Several published studies have reported on the prevalence of Helicobacter spp in dogs. The problem is that three of the most common species are so alike that a 16SrRNA-PCR with sequencing is not able to differentiate between them. In this study, DNA has been purified from samples and then a Multiplex PCR has been performed. Multiplex PCRs use multiple primers in one single PCR.

Conjunctival swabs from 12 cats in a Swedish animal shelter were analyzed by real-time PCR for FHV-1, Mycoplasma felis and chlamydiae. The purpose of this study was to see whether and to what extent these agents can be detected and if they were detected from cats housed in quarantine or in the adoption department. Samples were first taken upon arrival at the quarantine and then a second sample was taken two weeks after moving to the adoption department, or upon presentation of signs of disease. The cats spent the quarantine period in two separate quarantines: five in a new quarantine (quarantine A) and seven in a room in the old shelter (quarantine B). The difference between these quarantines was that in B the cats were often mixed together ant the hygiene routines were not as good as in quarantine A.

The aim of this study was to investigate the intraoperative surgical stress response in dogs undergoing ovariohysterectomy and to compare acepromazine and medetomidine as premedications. 15 dogs diagnosed with pyometra were used in this study. Blood pressure and heart rate were used as parameters to measure surgical stress response. The surgery was divided into four phases. Phase 0 was the period 10 minutes before the skin incision, phase 1 was skin incision and opening of abdomen, phase 2 was manipulation of uterine horns, ligation and transection of mesovarium and phase 3 was ligation of cervix, removal of organs and closing the abdomen. The results showed that phase 2 was the most intense phase of surgical stress, regardless of which premedication the dogs received. When acepromazine and medetomidine were compared the results showed that within phase 3, all dogs that were given medetomidine had higher blood pressure compared to dogs that were given acepromazine. The dogs that were given acepromazine had higher heart rate than the dogs that were given medetomidine in phase 0, phase 2 and phase 3. .

Hepatitis E virus, HEV, is a frequent causative agent behind, especially waterborne, infections in developing countries such as India. However, during the last years the number of non-travel-associated infections in industrialised countries, for example US, Germany and Sweden, has increased. The symptoms vary from mild with nausea to icterus and it can even be lethal. There are four different genotypes of HEV and many studies consider HEV infection to be a zoonosis. Scientists have by using phylogenetic analyses found great genetic similarity between strains isolated from humans, pigs and food, such as pork and liver, especially among viruses belonging to genotype 3.

The aim of this study is, from a norm-critical approach, to find, investigate and analyse human representation in the visual culture of one preschool in order to understand if the children enrolled are represented or not. The research questions are: In what ways is there imagery of human representations in images and materials designed for play? What skin-colors and origins are dominant in the data collected?We carried out a qualitative study in the form of visual ethnography. This method allowed us to use a combination of different data collection tools such as photography and ethnographic field notes to collect our data. The photographs we took of images and material used for play, was then analysed through semiotic picture analysis.

Sahlgrenska Academyat University of GothenburgDepartment of Internal Medicine and Clinical NutritionAbstractTitle: Oral intake of green tea and its effect on the appearance of UV-induced erythema, erythema solare ? A systematic literature reviewAuthors: Ernita Antoni Mulliqi and Pernilla GustafssonSupervisor: Sofia KlingbergExaminer: Ingrid LarssonProgramme: Dietetics programme, 180/240 ECTSType of paper: Examination paper, 15 hpDate: April 10, 2013Background: UV irradiation of the skin can cause erythema, clinically called erythema solare. The condition can exert pain as well as discomfort and may in the long term lead to negative effects including skin cancer. Green tea contains catechins which are substances with anti-inflammatory effect that may have positive effects on the skin. The intake of green tea is believed to have a protective effect against UV irradiation, since green tea extracts in lotions in previous studies have shown to increase the skin tolerance level against UV irradiation.Objective: To examine the scientific basis and determine whether an oral intake of green tea has a protective effect against UV-induced erythema.Search strategy: Searches in the scientific databases PubMed and Scopus were made to find suitable articles.

Title: To build and transport brands to the Internet ? A qualitative case study of Getinge Infection Control and von Braun Sports Cars. Seminar date: 2009-06-09. Course/ subject: FÖ6016, Degree Project Undergraduate level, 15 University Credits Points (ECTS). Authors: Kristoffer Eriksson and Erik Kaplar.

Clostridium difficile is a pathogen for both humans and animals and is often associated with antibiotic-associated diarrhea. Recently, several human cases of C. difficile-infection with increased mortality and morbidity have been reported. In studies performed in different countries C. difficile has been found in meat.