India is home to every sixth person in the world, some 30 million dogs and a quarter of the total world cattle population. A vast majority of Indians are Hindus, and even though the Hindu religion proclaims love, nurturing and worshipping of animals, sometimes the same religion constitutes an obstacle for animal welfare in practice. This paper investigates the significance of historic and religious symbols to the way animals are perceived in modern Indian society, as well as the different social factors which underlie attitudes to animals. The concept of karma, as well as that of good versus bad deaths, is probably the foundation of the general Hindu reluctance to euthanasia in any form. Although in theory all species are generally regarded as equal in Hinduism, in practice there seems to be a differentiation; for cultural, religious, medical and financial reasons.

Forestry affects most of the forest-covered land in Sweden. In the landscape, the most common stream type is headwaters, which are important sites for many processes and organisms in both the terrestrial and the aquatic ecosystems. The aim of this study was to investigate how the abundance of benthic invertebrate functional feeding groups in headwater streams develops after clear-cutting and if it also is possible to detect a change in the composition of feeding groups. The study also attempts to determine what factors have an effect on temporal changes in abundance of these groups. For the study, 11 sites in northern Sweden were sampled for benthic invertebrates using a Surber-sampler, and for each site canopy-cover and pH was obtained.

During the last few years the presence of high arsenic (As) concentrations in ground water has been of major concern both internationally and in Sweden. Much evidence has been reported about toxic effects caused by arsenic. The carcinogenic effects and the possibility to measure the toxic impacts at low concentrations made the World Health Organisation (WHO) to reduce the guideline value from 50 to 10 ?g l-1 in 1993. In Sweden the corresponding reduction was implemented in 2003. Several surveys in Sweden have shown that high arsenic concentrations may occur in ground water.

This master thesis was conducted in order to investigate the effects of the browsing species Yeheb on animal tissues in Swedish landrace goats and to make a literature review in order to increase the knowledge of the importance of this plant for livestock production in Somalia. The evergreen Yeheb bush is a very important feeding source for grazing and browsing animals in Somalia during the dry period. Yeheb contains cordeauxiaquinone that stains the bones of the animals red/pink, which has been an increasing problem when exporting meat to foreign countries. In an experiment, two goats were fed dry and fresh leaves from the Yeheb bush for one and two months, respectively. The goats did not feed the intended amount of dry leaves, since the supply and palatability was not as high as estimated.

The objective of this study was to contribute with suggestions of nature preservation managements of selected forest objects of high nature values managed by the Swedish state-owned forest company Sveaskog. Many forests with high natural potential are relatively rare today due to modern forestry, where wood production is the main purpose. Sveaskog?s policy is to consider and to priority nature conservation on valuable objects. This assessment includes objects that in the future may develop into nature reserves.

The purpose of this Master thesis is to illustrate the public librarian. People in general, including library users and leading personalities in the field of culture in the communities do not know the tasks of the public librarian. We presume that the vague picture of duties of the public librarian might cause problems. In this dissertation we mean to examine only public librarians, hereby we exclude for example, university- and company librarians. The sentences of this thesis are: How are the public librarians viewed, in meaning of, tasks, role/-s, comptetence/-s, status and image? And can we call it a "profession" in the classical sense? We answer these questions by using relevant literature, interviews and conference paper.

Främmande trädslag har i modern tid intresserat skogsbruket i sin jakt på ökad produktion, minskad känslighet för skador, förbättrad anpassning med mera. Ett tidigare oprövat trädslag var banksianatallen (Pinus banksiana, Lamb.), en nordlig, välspridd, pionjär från Kanadas inland med en utpräglad etableringsstrategi för torra, nybrända sandjordar. Studiens övergripande syfte var att utvärdera utfallet från 22 år gamla försök av banksianatall och analysera banksianatallens odlingsvärde i norra Sverige genom att på fem lokaler jämföra överlevnad, tillväxt och skador med tall (Pinus sylvestris L.), contortatall (Pinus contorta var. latifolia Engelmann) och hybriden mellan contortatall och banksianatall. Ett ytterligare syfte var att utreda eventuella effekter av odlingslokalens temperatursumma och trädens latitudförflyttning från ursprungslatituden. I metoden har fältförsök använts där varje enskilt träd mätts och bedömts. Materialet var insamlat i naturbestånd i nordvästra Kanada från 12 provenienser med en latitudinell spridning av cirka fem breddgrader.

The development of quantitative, real-time PCR (qPCR) combined with the mapping of the canine genome opens new possibilities in veterinary medicine. This method provides a quick and accurate quantification of the expression of a specific gene at a given point in time and thereby also information of how the gene expression for a certain protein is influenced by various conditions and diseases. One possible area of application is identifying bio markers for cancer. Recently the protein serglycin (the core protein of an intracellular proteoglycan) was found to act as a selective marker for the disease acute myeloid leukemia in humans (Niemann et al, 2007). Serglycin is produced by most hematopoietic cells, although mast cells account for the largest amount of serglycin.

Since the beginning of the new millennium the world?s population has increased exponentially fast. The majority of this growth has been accommodated for by urbanization of the developing world. This in turn has lead to a wide spread of informal settlements. Thus, areas of urban slums, that have risen illegally on the marginal lands within and at the periphery of the formal city.

The purpose of this paper is to understand the climate of the street and how it can be modified to better meet the needs of the street and the user groups. At the same time the conditions of the street and its surroundings also has to be taken into account. To accomplish this it is necessary to have a broad knowledge of the climate conditions in the city. Therefore an overview of the climate elements and how these are modified in the built-up areas are given. The part of the paper which deals with the city climate has a global approach to be able to give an as complete picture as possible.

This master thesis was conducted in order to investigate the effects of the browsing species Yeheb on animal tissues in Swedish landrace goats and to make a literature review in order to increase the knowledge of the importance of this plant for livestock production in Somalia. The evergreen Yeheb bush is a very important feeding source for grazing and browsing animals in Somalia during the dry period. Yeheb contains cordeauxiaquinone that stains the bones of the animals red/pink, which has been an increasing problem when exporting meat to foreign countries. In an experiment, two goats were fed dry and fresh leaves from the Yeheb bush for one and two months, respectively. The goats did not feed the intended amount of dry leaves, since the supply and palatability was not as high as estimated.

Animal-assisted therapy had its large breakthrough in the 1960-ties when a psychiatrist named Boris Levinson discovered the great advantages of involving animals in the treatment of patients. Therapy with animals involves that animals are used in a systematic way, in a person's process of treatment. The most distinguished companion animal used within this area is the dog, but horses, cats, rabbits, birds, dolphins and the most common farm animals are used in animal-assisted therapy. Most animals that are to be used for this specific purpose need to be trained in order to maintain their physical and mental health, but also to minimize the risks for the people that are involved. Most studies within this research area are focused on the positive effects on the patients and less on the effects on the animals.

Sammanfattning Kisel (Si) är det näst vanligaste ämnet (drygt 25 %) i berggrunden. Bara en del av detta är tillgängligt som monokiselsyra, den form i vilken kisel är upptagbart för växter. Jordens kiselinnehåll är beroende av bergets vittring. Mycket höga halter av kisel återfinns i naturen i vulkaniska substrat (pimpsten innehåller drygt 66 % Si och scoria närmare 47 % Si), i diatomit (ett mineral bestående av resterna från encelliga kiselhaltiga alger, s.k. diatoméer) innehållande 66 % Si, scoria approximatly 47% Si), in diatomite (a mineral consisting of the remainings of single celled algae, diatoms containing < 40 % Si) and in some clays (30-60% Si).

I have observed that hedges are not as prevalent in gardens in the north of Sweden as in the south despite a number of beneficial qualities attached to their use. Consequently, the primary purpose of this essay is to examine the potential for the use of ligneous or woody plants as hedges in a cold climate. The aim of this study is to provide information about the various varieties of ligneous plants that can be used for both pruned and unclipped hedges in the north of Sweden. Because the hardiness of the ligneous plants is a vital factor here, only plants that are hardy enough to survive in the Swedish hardiness zones V to VIII are included in this study. Roses, dwarf shrubs, conifers, bushes with a final height of less than 1 metre and plants that ?bleed? have been excluded.

The giant otter (Pteronura brasiliensis) is listed as an endangered species and scientific litterature concerning its biology and behaviour is scarce. The current study observed a group of three giant otters in a Swedish zoo. First the otters normal behaviour was recorded. Then the aim of the study was to see if the otters behaviour changed when given blue mussels (Mytilus edulis). Furthermore the aim was to see if the otters displayed any tool-using behaviour when given mussels.