Japanese encephalitis virus (JEV) is a significant vector-borne zoonotic pathogen, causing devastating encephalitis in humans. Its geographical range includes a majority of Asian countries and has also been recognized in some western Pacific areas. The main vectors of JEV are mosquitoes belonging to the genus Culex. Birds and pigs function as hosts and virus amplifiers, whereas humans are accidental hosts. Japanese encephalitis is commonly regarded as a rural disease.

In this report two Sustainability Life Cycle Assessments are carried out for two types of tiles for Riksbyggen, to contribute to a sustainable urban transition. Sustainability Life Cycle Assessment involves performing a life cycle assessment based on four principles based on scientific research and presented by the non- governmental, non-profit organization, The Natural Step. The principles concern raw materials, chemically produced substances, degeneration of nature and social conditions.Origin of products, manufacturing sites and manufacturing procedures were initially completely unknown and much of the work has consisted of finding the entire cycles, understand manufacturing processes of ceramic tiles and evaluating what materials and what type of energy sources that are required for the production. A socially sustainable perspective has been of high relevance alongside an ecologically sustainable perspective.The report begins with the basic underlying facts and the purposes of this investigation and that the reasons why Sustainability Life Cycle Assessments are carried out are to provide Riksbyggen and the own workers with documents presenting Riksbyggens ideas regarding sustainability and to hopefully get the ideas further down in the supply chain. The methods used to fulfill the investigation are presented and scientific facts about LCA and ceramic building materials are reviewed.

This diploma work was performed at the department for radiation physics at the Health University in Linköping. Its aim was to develop a method to retrospectively quantify the absorbed dose in coral. Coral is a material which suites well as a retrospective dosimeter because when exposed to radioactivity its induced free radicals are stable in time. The number of radicals is proportional to the accumulated dose so the dose can be calculated by quantifying the radicals. Therefore, coral can tell us something about the past environment and also be used in dating purposes.A young, modern coral from the Red Sea was studied and also a fossil one which I was given from the Natural History Museum in Stockholm.

SUMMARYThe riding school horse is the base for the riding school. Riding schools are looking for a suitable horse that meets their demands for exterior, age, education, temperament, price and sustainability. Many different aspects may define the sustainability of the riding school horse; of them is how long life the riding school horse has in riding school activity. Previous studies have shown that the riding schools requirements are 8-12 years life span in the riding school.The purpose of this study was to describe the Swedish riding school horse life span in riding schools and at what age the riding school horses were recruited, disposed and the reasons for disposal. Information about the riding school horse life span in riding schools and reasons for disposal can provide important understanding regarding the importance of health for the riding school horse, riding school economy and profitability in the riding school.

The purpose of this report was to obtain an overview of rabbit meat production in the world, in terms of breeding and feeding. It examines how different feed components contribute to the health of the rabbit as well as the quality of the carcass, and the breeding strategies that are most common in the major producing countries. The production of rabbit meat in Sweden is at present not very large, but it is gaining ground, and that is why this paper mainly deals with the rabbit production abroad. This report also examines the disease Rabbit Viral Haermorrhagic Disease (RVHD) in Sweden, where this disease can cause big problems. The rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) is very special, both in its reproduction and digestion. There is no specific mating season and the digestive tract is designed to digest forage efficiently.

Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka om det fanns olika personlighetstyper hos mjölkkor av raserna SRB och SLB och om dessa personlighetstyper skilde sig mellan ras, ålder och vilken sida djuren stått på i lösdriften. Korna observerades i tre olika testmiljöer för att se huruvida konsistenta de var i deras beteenden: ostörda i lösdriften, vid mjölkning och med ett främmande objekt i lösdriften. Beteenden som studerades var normala beteenden, sociala beteenden, tramp och sparkningar vid mjölkning och interaktioner med det främmande objektet. Tolv beteendevariabler användes i en PCA (principal component analysis) och visade två komponenter som tillsammans kunde förklara 51,2 % av den totala variansen. Den första komponenten speglade aggression och extraversion, som ingår i medgörlighet och extraversion i den mänskliga femfaktorsmodellen.

Diabetes Mellitus is one of the most common endocrinologic disorders among dogs. The disorder has a complex background, and successful treatment requires a well-functioning co-operation between pet owners and the veterinarian. The purpose of this study is to investigate the owners? perspective of diabetic treatments offered, and to estimate expected length of survival post-insulin therapy. The research findings are based on a survey mailed to 77 pet owners, whose dogs were diagnosed with diabetes between 1999 and 2003 at the small animal clinic of the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences. The median survival for the dogs that underwent insulin treatment was 31 months, i.e.

The aim of the present literature study was to define and describe the area ?compliance in veterinary medicine? (i.e. the way treatment recommendations are being performed) and discuss the factors that influence the level of compliance. Based on the findings, a model that intended to increase compliance in orthopedic postoperative rehabilitation of dogs was designed. In the daily work as a veterinary nurse it is essential that one provides the best possible care to the animals from the beginning to the end of the treatment.

Event marketing's ability to create strong communication effects is a well-known fact and a contributing factor to its popularity in the world of marketing today. But while we know that it is the interaction between consumers and the brand within the scope of live marketing that gives rise to loyalty and purchase intention, we have no knowledge in how the company's efforts affect the outcome. As the investments in event marketing are growing at a comparatively high pace, it is urgent to obtain a deeper understanding and a sense of direction of the elements infuencing its success.In this study we investigate in what way and to what extent the amount of effort that a company puts into the making of an event is used as a signal of manufactor credibility, ability (i.e., expertise) and consumer care. And in what way and to what extent the perceived effort influence purchase intent, attitude and word-of-mouth. We also analyze marketing events in terms of the theory of equitable exchange and "desperation", a subject matter thus far only touched upon.As we identify two different types of events on the market today, we include both in our study: the in-store promotion related event and the party event, which is held in an external venue.

Biogas is an expanding sector within the broad field of agriculture and animal production. Small-scale biogas offers local combined power and heating production and the substrate is transformed into high-quality biological fertilizer. This bachelor thesis focuses on a pig farm in south-western Sweden, where biogas is produced from pig manure, evaluates and suggests ways of optimizing the process and investigates whether investing in an upgrading plant would be a feasible and more cost-efficient option. The results show that the biogas plant is working well, although the production differs from the original plans. This shows in turn that planning and examining the basic conditions before making the investment is of great importance, as well as monitoring and keeping detailed statistics of the running process.

Hypoadrenocorticism (Addison´s disease) results from insufficient production of glucocorticoid and mineralcorticoid hormones from the adrenal glands. The disease is often difficult to diagnose in an early stage because of the multitude of associated vague clinical signs. The standard poodle is one breed presupposed to be at higher risk of developing the disease. The purpose of this study was to give a review of canine hypoadrenocorticism as described in literature, and to characterise Addison´s disease in a population of standard poodles in Sweden. Statistics on incidenceproportions by breed for hypoadrenocorticism from the database of the Swedish insurance company Agria are presented.

During the 1970?s the interest for quality management and the concept of quality costs increased considerably. Business leaders noticed that there was a great potential for reducing costs of poor quality. Since up to 10-30% of a company?s total turnover may consist of poor quality costs some consider them as an unexploited goldmine.

Elephants are hindgut fermenters, which affects their diurnal rhythm. To reach their nutrient demands, elephants must eat almost constantly throughout the light part of the day. Sexual dimorphism may also affect their behavioral patterns. To understand the elephants' normal living habits and foraging behaviour, we conducted a pre-study in the Mara Triangle, the north-western part of the Maasai Mara National Reserve. Each of four to six observers randomly chose a focal animal within the group of elephants by the criteria that they were adults and visible.

Lame dogs are a common group of patients for the practicing veterinarian. In the literature it is described how a clinical examination can be performed, based on general clinical-, orthopedic- and neurological examination, and visual evaluation of the dog when standing and during motion. For research, objective gait analysis systems are also used to study clinically healthy and lame dogs during motion. The aim of this degree project was to compare objective kinematic gait analysis with a visual evaluation of dogs with different types of lameness. The project was a pilot study to show if objective gait analysis could be used as a support for the visual examination. Ten lame dogs of different breeds and with different diagnoses were included in the study. They were all patients at the University Animal hospital, Uppsala.

Ovine black coat colour is determined by the MC1R (Melanocortin 1 receptor) and ASIP (Agouti signalling peptide) genes at the Agouti and Extension loci. The black phenotype is caused by production of eumelanin by melanocytes, whereas yellow-tan or light phenotype is the result of phaeomelanin synthesis. The ovine MC1R gene has two known alleles: the wildtype (E+) and the dominant black (ED) alleles. Two missense mutations (c.218T>A and c.361G>A) constitute ED. The presence of a third allele, the e allele, is proposed and believed to give rise to phaeomelanic phenotype.