Rabbits, Oryctolagos cuniculus, rapidly increases as pets. During the right circumstances, rabbits are friendly, social and playful. A rabbit who shows an abnormal behavior should always be examined by a veterinary, though there is almost always a medical problem. This essay is a result of a literature studie with the aim to find the prophylactic measures that may give pet rabbits a more healthy life. Rabbits have got a lot of common health problems, including dental, skin and gastrointestinal problems.

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a complex, often lifelong allergic disease affecting around 10 % of both dogs and humans. The hallmark symptom is severe pruritus, causing a lowered quality of life. Mast cells (MCs) are known to play an important part of the immunopathogenesis, promoting a faulty T helper cell type 2 (Th-2) response which follows by a production of specific immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibodies towards environmental allergens (Ag). To further investigate the role of MCs and its mediators in the progression of AD, a low-calcemic vitamin D3 analog (MC903) was used to induce AD-like symptoms locally on the ears of two different knock-out (KO) mouse strains. The first strain was Wsh-/- mice deficient in MCs.

Swedish farmers have the possibility to be subsidized by EU rural development programme for grazing animals on pastures to promote the biodiversity of flora and fauna. The environmental remedy sometimes does not allow supplementary feed and at the same time the Swedish Animal Welfare Act and the Swedish Agricultural Board?s regulations for animal welfare and protection states that animals, in this case horses, shall be fed with food of good quality and adapted for the species. The regulations also state that they should have an individual feeding regime that enables them to maintain a normal body condition. The aim with this master thesis has been to investigate if it is possible to keep Gotland ponies on extensive pastures, during late spring and summer and still maintain animal welfare. The horses were assessed every fourth week using a welfare assessment protocol developed in line with the Welfare Quality® project (submitted, Viksten et al) where physical, behavioural and resourcebased parameters were observed. Twelve one-year old stallions of the breed Gotland ponies purchased from different breeders were used in the study.

The purpose of this study is to describe melanotic tumours and the pathogenesis of these tumours. The focus of this study is on differences between benign and malignant tumours as well as the prognosis one may expect when diagnosing this disease. The mechanisms responsible for the occurrences of the tumours are not yet fully understood. It is believed that factors such as chronic trauma, infections, medications and hormones affect the cell mechanisms in some way. Determinants of the malignancy of the tumour are not completely known.

The purpose of this study is to describe melanotic tumours and the pathogenesis of these tumours. The focus of this study is on differences between benign and malignant tumours as well as the prognosis one may expect when diagnosing this disease. The mechanisms responsible for the occurrences of the tumours are not yet fully understood. It is believed that factors such as chronic trauma, infections, medications and hormones affect the cell mechanisms in some way. Determinants of the malignancy of the tumour are not completely known.

Background: Every year, 2000 persons in Sweden are diagnosed with malignant melanoma, the most alarming form of skincancer. Sunexposure, sunburns and tanningbed use are the most appearing causes in the development of this disease. The skin of young people is sensitive to UV-radiation and their sunbehaviour could be determinant to their future health. Purpose: To illuminate the knowledge and attitudes of adolescents towards sunexposure in the meaning to avoid the development of malignant melanoma. Method: The study was designed to be a literature review, containing scientific articles of both qualitative and quantitative approach.

Outdoor housing of horses? best fulfils the horses? need for physical activity and it is an alternative to the more cost and energy demanding indoor housing in stables. Furthermore, if outdoor housed horses have access to shelter they can generally cope well with adverse weather conditions such as high or low ambient temperature, heavy rain or strong winds. In this study, the daytime shelter-seeking behaviour of three groups of horses housed outdoors was studied during the summer. The aim was to evaluate whether shelter use is related to weather variables (e.g., ambient temperature and wind speed) and insect harassment. The shelter-seeking behaviour was studied for three different groups of horses: Group 1) eight individually housed horses in paddocks that had access to three different shelter types (C: closed on three sides with roof, R: open on three sides with roof, W: closed on three sides without roof), Group 2) 25 group housed mares with foals on pasture with access to shelters C, and Group 3) ten mares without foals on pasture without access to shelter. Each group was studied for eight days.

AbstractThis essay begins with a presentation of the complex set of problems which relate to the interaction between freedom of speech and the ban against discrimination based on a person's race, the colour of their skin or ethnic origin, confession of faith or sexual preference (BrB 16:8, incitement to racial hatred). Can conflicts arise between freedom of speech and the ban against discrimination? To shed light on this question, we have chosen to look at the issue from a new perspective. This perspective is based on the new challenges faced by Swedish society as a result of the changed composition of our population, our membership in the EU and our acknowledgment of certain international conventions concerning human rights.Fifty years ago our population almost solely comprised of ?native Swedes?.

Deep vein thrombosis (DVT) is a serious postoperative complication and nurses should therefore observe symptoms in an early stage and implement preventive provisions, for example use of graduated compression stockings (GCS). The nurse is also responsible for making sure that ordinate GCS tried and used correctly by the patients. The aim of this study was to investigate the latest research regarding the efficacy of GCS in prevention of postoperative DVT and if there are any incorrectness in usage. And assess guidelines and recommendations for the usage of GCS. Method: Literature review.

Background: The purpose of the present study was to investigate the prevalence and characteristics of deliberate self-harm in a Swedish University population.Method: A random sample of first year students at University of Kalmar was invited to participate in an Internet-based survey in the autumn of 2007. A total of 139 (53,1 %) completed the anonymous survey.Results: The results showed that 25,2 % (n=35) of the students reported having engaged in some kind of deliberate self-harm at least once, and deliberate self-harm was endorsed by 7,9 % within the past year. The most frequently procedures to self-harm were to tear, carve or pinch self, cutting skin and hitting self on purpose. 37,1 % reported that they had told no one about their self-injurious behaviors and 36,4 % significantly reported that they had no one they trusted and who they could talk to if they were concerned about something. Students with self-injurious behavior were also more likely to report a history of emotional, sexual and/or physical abuse, alcohol and drug use, cut classes and questioning their sexual orientation.Conclusions: Findings suggest that self-harm is associated with risk factors and that self-injury is not only associated with adolescence but also with adulthood.

The aim of this study was to investigate the leaving care services provided to youth leaving residential care in Sweden. Through the use of qualitative research interviews residential care workers perception of what practical and emotional needs youth leaving care have, and whether current aftercare services meet these needs, were examined. The study further sought to compare the swedish and english leaving care services. The main findings of the study were that the residential care workers interviewed expressed that they had a good working relationship with the local social services and that they through the residential care services were able to provide some degree of aftercare. They further identified loneliness as the most prominent emotional need of youth had after leaving care.

Equine cutaneous melanomas arise much more often in horses with a grey coat color than in horses of other colors. Some scientists have in different studies come to the conclusion that the melanomas are neoplasms which can be classified by examining their histological and macroscopic features. The more defined and demarcated a tumor is, the more benign it tends to be. Other scientists believe that the skin lesions are the result of a pigmentation disorder that is linked to the greying of the coat color. According to this theory, the lesions are not malignant although they have the ability to metastasize.

Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is the second most common heart disease in dogs. Since the disease is seen more frequently in certain breeds, among them Newfoundland dogs, a genetic factor is suspected. This study was partly undertaken to investigate whether there is a significant sex predilection regarding DCM. Moreover, the difference in mean age of death between male dogs and females with DCM was investigated, as well as males and females dying from DCM compared to dying from other reasons (i.e. without DCM).

The study aimed to evaluate picture communication during clinical as-sessment and intervention procedures in paediatric care. As part of the project KomHIT (Augmentative communication in paediatric health care settings) care professionals at different care units were provided with education and designed pictorial supports. These consisted of appointment letters with pictorial support, visual schedules and communication boards with both general and specific vocabulary. Care professionals and parents to children with and without communication disabilities participated. Survey data from care professionals and parents at five care units was supplemented with qualitative data from an interview with a multiprofessional group at one of the care units.

VEP, visual evoked potential is an electrophysiologic test that can be used for evaluating the higher visual pathways. The aim of this study was to investigate if it is possible to adapt this method to horses. This method could have a clinical use in addition to the existing diagnostic methods that are available to evaluate vision in horses. Firstly, this study contains a summary of relevant studies done on animals and, secondly, an experimental part where the possibility of recording VEP in nonsedated and sedated horses is investigated and where to position the recording electrode to obtain the best results. Our results show that it is possible to record VEP in horses in a clinical setting. VEP was best recorded in the sedated horse to avoid movement artifacts and other disturbances.