After a workshop in Kuopio held in June 2006, Interbull decided to go forward with the development of a system for beef international genetic evaluation and a three year project called Interbeef was launched in June 2007. The participating countries are so far limited to Europe and the only trait evaluated at present is adjusted weaning weight (weight at 200 days). The results from a first international genetic evaluation have been shared with the countries but are not yet official. The evaluation is based on data from purebred Charolais and Limousin. To achieve good estimates of proofs in an international context it is important that methods for data validation and model selection are implemented.

Direkt viktoptimering (Direct Weight Optimization, DWO) är en ickeparamterisk systemidentifieringsmetod. DWO bygger på att man skattar ett funktionsvärde i en viss punkt genom en viktad summa av mätvärden, där vikterna optimeras fram. Det faktum att DWO har en inparameter som man måste veta i förväg leder till att man på något sätt vill skatta denna inparameter. Det finns många sätt man kan göra denna skattning på men det centrala i denna uppsats är att skatta inparametern lokalt. Fördelen med detta är att metoden anpassar sig om till exempel systemet ändrar beteende från att variera långsamt till att variera snabbare.

Tryckeribranschen är en ekonomiskt pressad bransch som söker nya besparingsmetoder. En av metoderna är att minska insatsvaran tryckfärg med färgreduceringsprogramvara.Rapporten undersöker möjligheterna med färgreduceringssystem. Detta genom att studera hur man använder sig av färgreducering och hur det påverkar trycket.Studien avser besvara:? Hur stor färgminskning kan man använda sig av utan negativa konsekvenser på bildkvalitén?? Hur går man tillväga för att skapa den färgminskningen?? Överensstämmer total färgförändring och visuell bedömning av tryck?För att få svar på dessa frågor togs en testform fram med nödvändiga bilder och färgfält som sedan genomgick en rad färgreduktioner. Testformen utvärderades digitalt med avseende på TAC och total färgförändring.

Overweight and obesity is currently a major health problem in our dogs all around the world and it is becoming more common each year. There are few studies on the proportion of overweight dogs in Sweden, but it was estimated to be 33% in 2005. Studies in other countries report that between 25-40% of all dogs are overweight. The aim of this study was to survey the animal care for an overweight dog. It was also important to develop a scientifically based advice.

Storm water is defined as runoff from precipitation such as rain or snow. It is collected in sewage disposal systems and since it mainly originates from urban areas it can contain high levels of heavy metals, nutrients and oil etc. Polluted storm water is currently treated by different methods such as wet ponds, constructed wetlands and filter strips. This study investigates these methods, which in earlier studies have shown to give varying results regarding their treatment efficiency.This thesis has been written on commission of SWECO VIAK and was aimed at studying those parameters that may affect the treatment efficiency of nutrients and heavy metals in storm water treatment facilities (STF:s). Through literature studies the dominating treatment processes in ponds and wetlands were examined.

In order to avoid harmful substances ending up at the municipal sewage treatment plants, it is important to purify the wastewater at the source. One such source is the wheel washers available in many tire garages which are used to wash the wheels on our vehicles when we change between summer and winter tires. It is important to wash the wheels before storage, to extend the tires lifetime. The purpose of this study is to find a green innovative solution for reduction of emissions of heavy metals at the source, so that the sludge from the sewage treatment plants can be used as fertilizer. The target is to find a wheel wash method which leads to compliance with the guidelines for car washers, and that also provides a better washing result than with the existing method.

Pharmaceuticals that are found in marine ecosystems are a threatening environmental concern, which is known to harm both animal and plant life. One of the reasons for this problem is that the waste water treatment techniques are not optimized to clear waste water from its pharmaceuticals contain. In this master thesis four Swedish treatment wetlands were studied, and their ability to reduce numerous pharmaceuticals in waste water. The four treatment wetlands that were studied were those in Oxelösund, Trosa, Nynäshamn and Eskilstuna. Two ecotoxicological tests and chemical analysis were used.

Within the field of welfare research, few people take into account both the aspect of gender and class. Thetraditional class-oriented research has a one-dimensional perspective on gender and the feminist welfare researchrarely carry out large comparative studies. A multi-dimensional perspective on the construction ofgender and class would benefit from both the feminist and class welfare-oriented research, and contribute toincreasing the knowledge about the individual's experience and attitudes to work and work time. The aim ofthis paper is to examine the correlation of the intersectional relationship between sex / gender position andclass position with the attitudes and motives for working time reduction. Especially in, (1) the value in work,and (2) the attitude to a high number of working hours, as well as (3) its combined effect on the conflict betweenwork and family.

One of the most serious and economically important defects caused by clostridia in milk products is the late blowing of semi-hard cheeses.Clostridia occur naturally in soil and can contaminate milk through crops contaminated by dung and soil followed by a less successful silage process, that give them opportunity to grow unaerobically. When anaerobic conditions occur, such as storage of semi-hard cheese, they ferment lactic acid to butyric acid and the gases CO2 and H2.At the fusion of Arla and MD Foods, a series of changes were conducted on the MPN method for lactic acid fermentation for clostridia in milk. These changes resulted in an increased accuracy due to an increased number of test tubes and the change of media from MRCM to BBB, Bryant & Burkey Broth, that was thought to be more selective for Cl. tyrobutyricum, the organism mostly found in hard cheese. When the number of dairy farmers that were given quality reduction fines increased, the new method was suspected and a validation was conducted.The validation included inoculation of different clostridia and bacillus strains into BBB substrate and enzymatic testing of positive samples with Rapid ID 32A.

A survey was undertaken to understand sheep management, breeding practices and selection criteria for Red Maasai sheep in Maasai pastoralist communities in Kajiado District, Kenya. Differences between North and South Kajiado District were investigated to gain knowledge about farmers having different prerequisites and how it can affect the sheep production. The reason for keeping sheep and the specific breeds show the multiple objectives of the Maasai farmers. Adaptive traits, such as resistance to diseases and droughts, and productive traits, such as increased growth and carcass weight, were both ranked highly. In addition to this, the sheep has a social and traditional value in Maasai culture.

The aim of this study was to in laboratory experiments investigate how addition of urea, ECOX and structural materials can optimize sanitization during composting of sewage sludge. Today we strive for a sustainable society and the importance of closing the nutrient loop increases. It has therefore become even more important to safely reuse plant nutrients from human excreta to agricultural land. Partly because it increases the sustainability of society as the world's supply of many nutrients are finite, partly because it promotes human health, both by reducing disease transmission and by increasing Agricultural production. An untapped resource such as sewage sludge that is rich in nutrients and humus-forming materials could replace parts of the commercial fertilizers used in Sweden today. owever, sewage sludge contains undesirable substances such as heavy metals and drug residues, and pathogenic microorganisms.

Emission of nitrogen oxides as well as carbon monoxides is an inevitable result of combustion. A Swedish law "Law of environmental fee for emissions of nitrogen oxides as a result of energy production" (lagen om miljöavgift på utsläpp av kväveoxider vid energiproduktion (SFS 1990:613)) controls the emission of NOx from energy production by a system of fees. The system has resulted in a strong approach toward less emissions of NOx among the energy production plants. High emission levels, today exceeding 52 mg/MJsupplied fuel, leads to costs for energy production companies. This paper examines possibilities to reduce the emissions of NOx by optimization of the SNCR-technique in a biofuel fired heat and power plant.

This thesis has identified and studied measures to allow for reduced use of electricity in a waste incineration plant in western Sweden. The energy extracted from the waste at the powerplant is utilized and sold in form of electricity and heat. Technical and environmentally the combined heat and power plant is by today's standards among the leading waste incineration plants in the world. The owners are constantly striving to improve the efficiency of the waste incineration plant. They have seen the opportunities for savings in reducing internal usage of electricity.

This report deals with life-history variation for Eurasian perch (Perca fluviatilis L.), with special emphasis on age and size at maturity in females, in perch populations that have changed in size distribution. The collection of fish samples was made with multimesh gill nets year 2011. The perch?s length, height, weight, status of gonads has been analyzed, and by observing the opercular bone the age has been determined. In two lakes close to Umeå in northern Sweden, Fisksjön and Ängersjön, the live-history traits of perch have been studied.

Weaning is one of the most critical events in the piglet production with problems such as growth check and post-weaning diarrhea as a result. The lighter the piglets are when the growth check occurs, the harder they have to get back to normal growth rate. Creep feeding of piglets is used to reduce the problems by increasing the weaning weight and adapting the digestive tract to a starter diet. Hodge (1974) showed that the sow?s milk can not provide enough nutrients for maximal growth rate.