Listeriosis, which is caused by Listeria monocytogenes, is a rare food borne disease that primarily affects people whose immune system is weakened. These may be elderly people, pregnant women, new-born infants and individuals on immunosuppressive medication. The most common symptoms are meningitis, septikemia and abortion. The mortality is high, on average 20-30 %. In recent years the number of cases in Sweden has increased.

This bachelor degree project was carried out at Saab AB Service and Repair, Arboga, Sweden. The objective was to design, construct and implement a new stable and reliable method of measuring the continuous vertical displacement (height) of the military search radar PS861 mounted on a hydraulic powered elevator. The end product needs to be durable enough to be fully operational in the harsh environment of an outdoor elevator shaft and yet as accurate and precise as possible since one of its purposes is to calibrate control equipment. Previously used technique has proven not to meet any of the above mentioned properties.A prototype using a high resolution quadrature output rotary encoder has been developed, allowing a completely digital interface. This new method has been evaluated in laboratory environment where tests have been conducted regarding both reliability and validity.

Introduction: The Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test is a widely used test for measuring aspects of social cognition. The aim of the present study was to provide results from a group of typically developing Swedish children (age 9-12) and to compare these results with children and adults in other Swedish and English studies, as well as results from a group of children with Asperger syndrome. Method: A Swedish version of the child version of the test was completed by 83 controls and by six children with Asperger syndrome. Results were compared between the two groups and with data from other studies. Results: The children in the current study did not differ on scores compared to children in the same age group in other studies.

This report has a purpose to identify the payment methods available for e-commerce, tosee if they fulfill certain requirements. By investigating thirty of the most popular webshops, a few primary services have been found and revised. Security requirements fore-payment systems include authentication, non-repudiation, integrity and confidentiality.Other requirements considered to be important are usability, flexibility, affordability,reliability, availability, speed of transaction and interoperability. Advantages and disadvantageshave been identified to see if the services fulfill the requirements. Also surveysof consumer payment habits have been investigated to identify the factors of decisive importanceto the usage of payment services.

Property companies? results are affected by unrealized changes in value of properties. Since market values are never completely reliable there is always a risk with revaluation with property´s value. The fair value is determined only when a sale is completed. The paper studies how well the Swedish listed property companies reported under the accounting standard, IAS 40.

On-site sewage systems are common on the countryside of Sweden with approximately one million on-site systems installed. Due to insufficient function, these contribute significantly to the total discharge of phosphorus to rivers and lakes, causing eutrophication. In order to reduce eutrophication and to fulfil one of the environmental quality objectives, the decision was taken by the Swedish Government in 2005 that 60 % of phosphorous in sewage sludge is to be recycled to arable land before 2015. To make recycling a reality, new solutions have to be found. Federation of Swedish Farmers (LRF) takes an active interest in this issue and has initiated this study. One problem is that the food industry is sceptical towards recirculation due to the risks that products from sewage systems may contain pathogens, heavy metals and unwanted chemical compounds, e.g.

The content of this essay is the critical treatment of ritual research in Uppåkra during the Iron Age in relation to Charlotte Fabechs research.From what has been concluded for Uppåkra a condensed chart of Uppåkra's rituals is produced. This chart is compared with what Fabech has put forward for Southern Scandinavia. Fabech's categories and theory have been widely used by the researchers of Uppåkra, and this is critically examined.The most important conclusion is that the similarities between the Uppåkra research and Fabech picture are not great. This source critical point indicates that the massive use of her research in order to explain the rituals in Uppåkra can have been misdirected. The mismatch is mainly due to the fact that places like Uppåkra is of extraordinary character..

This master thesis reviews advances in detection and diagnosis of static friction (stiction) in control valves. Control valves suffering from stiction results in oscillating control loops which in turn decreases both the process stability and reliability. Perstorp AB sees a necessity to automatically detect stiction in valves before the effects of the malfunctioning valves have become too severe. This thesis presents an introduction to maintenance, control loops and how stiction in valves can affect performance of control loops.A selection of methods presented in the literature are introduced and examined using normal operating data from the site in Perstorp. Common for all selected methods is their intuitive ideas and that they are based on normal operating data and minimum amount of process knowledge.

There is always a need for more effective ways to store energy in order to reduce the human impact on the environment. One step on the way can be the use of flywheels as kinetic energy storage devices. Low frictional losses are essential for a flywheel to be effective. To minimize these losses active magnetic bearings (AMB) can be used to keep the shaft centered instead of the more conventional ball-bearings. AMBs use actuators and a fast control system that needs correct and noise-free measurement data of the shaft position and the current in the actuators to work properly.This thesis explains the process of constructing power electronics and a current measurement system for active magnetic bearings (AMB).

The aim of this master thesis is to analyze how and why Scandinavian-American history has been used in exhibitions in both Scandinavia and the United States after the end of the Great Migration. More specifically, the thesis deals with the Swedish and American exhibitions of the controversial Kensington Rune Stone, discovered in Minnesota in 1898. Despite the fact that its authenticity has been disputed by academic expertise, it has been displayed by many prominent actors. The Rune Stone is one of many purportedly pre-Columbian artifacts found in the United States. Moreover, it is an identity marker, harboring many kinds of identity constructions. The thesis therefore focuses on the meanings that the Rune Stone has been charged with since its discovery, as historical culture and in specific exhibits, on how it has been displayed, and on why it has been exhibited at  national museums in both Sweden and the United States. The principal source materials are five exhibitions of the Kensington Rune Stone.

The aim of this master thesis was to examine a possible connection between chromatin functions and the DNA damage repair system, with the imprinted IGF2/H19 locus as a bait. Interactions can occur within and between chromosomes and it has been shown that H19 ICR on both alleles can communicate with alleles on other chromosomes. The methylation-sensitive insulator protein CTCF is bound on the maternal H19 ICR and acts as an insulator by blocking the IGF2 promoter to access its enhancers. This is possible by formation of loop structures by CTCF that enables intra and inter-chromosomal interactions. CTCF is poly(ADP-ribosyl)ated by PARP-1 when it is bound to H19 ICR.

Abstract Title: How to source from Russia? - A multiple case study of six companies? experience of purchasing in Russia. Authors: Richard Werthén, Technology ManagementJohan Öhlén, Production Engineering and Management Supervisors: Christer Kedström, Dept of Business Administration Johan Lundin, Dept of Industrial Management and Logistics, Engineering LogisticsRolf Blomgren, Purchasing Manager SR, ScaniaLars Erik Nerback, Purchasing Director SE, Scania Issues: The issues presented are:? What characterise Russia as a supplier market?? Which sourcing experiences have been made by other Swedish companies in Russia?? How can this knowledge be utilised at Scania? Purpose: The purpose of this master thesis is to find out whether it is worthwhile for Scania to look for new suppliers in Russia, based on other Swedish companies? experiences of purchasing in the country. Method: In order to answer the purpose of our thesis the study of Scania?s purchasing organisation has to be complemented with in-depth studies of other companies? purchasing organisations.

Journalists and communication managers are becoming more professional and to reach out to its stakeholders in society today, organizations must work strategically with communication, to enter the news. Many make use of press releases to provide journalists with information, hoping to influence what is published on the news. With a background in the medial change that occurs is the purpose of this study to elucidate and problematize which role press releases has for newsrooms and for organizations today and in the future. A qualitative interview study has been used, and communication managers from three organizations and journalists from three newsrooms has been interviewed. The study has been combined with a quantitative pilot study of selected press releases and articles from the selected organizations.

The purpose of this Bachelor thesis is to examine how user-friendly the OPAC of the Märsta public library is considered to be.Theoretical basis are HCI and Allwoods definition of usability. Issues are: Is the OPAC suited to its task? Is the OPAC user-friendly? How well does a user accept the OPAC? and What degree of competence is shown by users of the OPAC? The source material consists of six interviews in the form of .avi files. The method I have chosen is qualitative semi-structured interview form. The result is that, based on Carl Martin Allwood?s defini-tion and with exception for the using of help-resources, the usability of Märsta?s library OPAC can be considered less good..

Purpose: To explore the purchasing function, mainly the supplier selection activities, in the fast fashion apparel industry. The purpose is 1) to explore the criteria associated with supplier selection for fashion products, and 2) to analyze the purchasing activities in order to find characteristics and trends which are considered to be strategic for the buying company. Method: The empirics consist of qualitative interviews with employees with responsibility for the companies' purchasing activities, as well as information gathered from articles, annual reports, and company websites. Result: The study indicates that qualitative criterias have increased in importance, and have become an important part of supplier selection for fashion goods. A number of characteristics where identified as important for purchasing fashion goods, which can affect choice of supplier; examples are increased collaboration, increased re-buys and increased use of logistics services.