The purpose of this literature review was to describe the paths of exposure and accumulation of organic pollutants into the tissues of farm animals. Organic pollutants can be spread in the environment by air and rainwater. Farm animals can be exposed to these pollutants for example by eating soil or contaminated plants. Many of the pollutants can then accumulate in the fat tissues of the body because of their lipophilic character. Brominated flame retardants and perfluorolated compounds are both pollutants of current interest.

Immune stimulating complex (iscom) matrix is a formulation that is used as anadjuvant within research. The capability of the iscom matrix to elicit an immuneresponse when not present together with an antigen has not been extensivelyinvestigated. One way to evaluate the status of the Immune system is to measure theamount of cytokines that usually are produced by various cell types during an immuneresponse. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the early immune responses inporcine peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) after stimulation in vitro with theiscom matrix, AbISCO®-100. The immune response was evaluated by measuring themRNA expression for various cytokines, a chemokine receptor (CXCR4) andregulator of G-protein signaling (RGS16) in porcine PBMC after stimulation withAbISCO®-100 or other inducers like a lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and a CpGoligodeoxynucleotide (ODN 2216) used as controls.

Tolerance and resistance are two different defence mechanisms within the Immune system that differ from each other in many ways: However it is not clear which of the two is the most advantageous in dairy production. Resistance is described as the ability to fight a pathogen in a host. Tolerance is, on the other hand, not aggressive to the pathogen per se, but rather protects the host and its tissues. Furthermore tolerance rather offsets the toxin from, for example, a parasite whilst resistance offsets the parasite itself. Resistance is however disease specific, which means breeding for a large number of diseases is needed in order to make resistance worth the cost for the host.

The Bovine respiratory syncytial virus (BRSV) causes bronchiolitis and interstitial pneumonia, predominantly in calves, and is a major cause of bovine respiratory disease worldwide. In humans, BRSV is paralleled by the closely related Human respiratory syncytial virus (HRSV), an important cause of respiratory disease, most severe in infants.The clinical signs and pathology during RSV infection is caused, not only by the direct effects of viral replication, but also by the response of the host Immune system. The immunopathology of RSV has long obfuscated our understanding of the disease, and development of effective treatment and vaccines will be very difficult until greater knowledge is gained.One of the components of the Immune system that has come into focus in RSV research the last few years, is the Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4). The TLR4 receptor is well known as the receptor that binds lipopolysaccaride (LPS), and initiates the host response to bacterial infection. Recently, it has been shown that the fusion protein of RSV also interacts with, and up-regulates the expression of, the TLR4 receptor.

In the dog breed Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever (NSDTR) several dogs suffer from joint pain and possibly pain from the muscles. This diffuse disease is called Immune-mediated Non- Erosive Arthritis in Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retriever. The disease is most likely of autoimmune nature where the etiology still is unknown. The musculoskeletal symptoms of stiffness and shifting lameness are intermittently seen. Some dogs also have dermatological changes and some dogs suffer from pain when opening their mouth. The study included 20 diseased and 20 healthy NSDTR. The purpose was to describe immune-mediated arthritis in NSDTR based on symptoms, results of analysis and effect of treatment. Among the diseased dogs 65% had serum positive for antinuclear antibodies by indirect immunofluorescense (IIF) ANA-test.

The Bovine respiratory syncytial virus (BRSV) causes bronchiolitis and interstitial pneumonia, predominantly in calves, and is a major cause of bovine respiratory disease worldwide. In humans, BRSV is paralleled by the closely related Human respiratory syncytial virus (HRSV), an important cause of respiratory disease, most severe in infants.The clinical signs and pathology during RSV infection is caused, not only by the direct effects of viral replication, but also by the response of the host Immune system. The immunopathology of RSV has long obfuscated our understanding of the disease, and development of effective treatment and vaccines will be very difficult until greater knowledge is gained.One of the components of the Immune system that has come into focus in RSV research the last few years, is the Toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4). The TLR4 receptor is well known as the receptor that binds lipopolysaccaride (LPS), and initiates the host response to bacterial infection. Recently, it has been shown that the fusion protein of RSV also interacts with, and up-regulates the expression of, the TLR4 receptor.

In this essay I have investigated how two families, with children, who have food allergies, experience what support and what treatment they get in preschool for their difficulties. I have interviewed two children and two parents. The study shows that the interviewed parents believe that more knowledge in the community and among staff in preschool, about food allergies, is needed. Parents wish that the staff should write an action plan that describes how to deal with children who have food allergies and that preschool invites parents and children to record results. It is important to consider an inclusive attitude so that children don?t feels excluded.There is some research going on around this subject and researchers agree that the incidence of food allergies in the society is growing, but that it is difficult to be able to present a certain theory why, and what the underlying factors are.

The aim of this literature review was to investigate whether the modern dairy cow has the time she needs to lie down and to sleep and what deprivation of these behaviors could lead to. Current research seems to agree on the fact that sleep is essential but there is no uniform explanation of the function of sleep, even though there are many theories. It is known that sleep has an important impact on the Immune system and that sleep is increased in case of an infection. Sleep deprivation causes many negative effects including reduced function off the immune defense, increased metabolic activity, malnutrition and increased heart rate. It has also been found that deprivation of sleep could cause increased mortality.

Native spider silk is an attractive lightweight natural polymeric material with a unique combination of strength, extendibility and flexibility. Synthetic, recombinant spider silk is an attractive biomaterial with several possible fields of application. When a foreign material is introduced to blood, this can for example cause unwanted coagulation and complement activation. The aim of this study was to investigate if coatings of heparin or albumin could improve the blood compatibility of films of recombinant spider silk and to develop an initial method to do so. Hypothetically, objects like pacemakers, stents and dental implants could be covered with spider silk films of high blood compatibility to reduce potentially harmful foreign body reactions caused by the immune defense. Increased blood compatibility would likely lead to improvements for both the individual patients and the society thanks to reduced load on healthcare institutions. Our objective was to assess the blood compatibility of both functionalized and non-functionalized recombinant spider silk by evaluating coagulation and activation of the complement system of the immune defense. Coagulation was evaluated visually on glass slides and complement activation was analyzed by measuring the concentration of the complement system mediator C3a in blood samples that had been exposed to the different materials. This study introduces a non-toxic and easy performed method of improving the blood compatibility of recombinant spider silk films by adding a heparin coating. Heparin coated surfaces had statistically significantly higher blood compatibility than uncoated surfaces. The effects of albumin coating of films were less clear compared to the results of heparin coated films. Complement activation could not be evaluated because of high activation in all samples prior contact with the materials that were included in the study..

Feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) is a feline viral disease with high mortality. There is no cure or any effective vaccine available today. Many questions are yet to be answered about this disease and the immune response in affected cats. The aim of the study is to evaluate two different techniques for the study of cytokine profiles in cats vaccinated with a vaccine concept against FIPV. More information about the immune response in these cats could give valuable information to better understand the pathogenesis of the disease and the development of an effective vaccine.

Our companion animals can, with or without symptoms, carry infectious agents which have a potential to induce diseases in man, so called zoonoses. An immune compromised person has an increased risk of becoming infected by various agents, and thus also has an increased risk to become infected by one?s own companion animals. A study was carried out within the veterinary program at SLU, Sweden, based on a questionnaire answered by 31 physicians, 31 veterinarians and interviews of 30 immune compromised persons in Sweden. The study investigated the following questions: Which zoonoses do physicians and veterinarians consider to be the most important to inform immunecompromised persons about? How are immunecompromised persons being informed by their physicians about the risk of catching zoonoses from their companion animals? How are the owners of zoonosis-infected animals being informed by their veterinarians about zoonoses? Does veterinary medicine and human medicine communicate about zoonoses, in order to take the best care of immunecompromised persons in contact with animals? The results of our study imply that: - Physicians and veterinarians differ about which zoonoses immunecompromised persons should be informed about. - Only oral information is passed to immunecompromised persons and animal owners.

Diseases associated with monocytosis in Swedish dogs - a retrospective study. The purpuse of this retrospective study is to determine which diseases are associated with pronounced monocytosis in Swedish dogs. Records of 153 dogs with monocytosis were evaluated. The most common cause was infectious diseases (49%) of which pyometra was seen in 23% of the cases, cystitis and fever of unknown origin each in 13% and gastroenteritis in 12%. Cortison treatment was the second most common cause with 29%. A sixth of the dogs had non inflammatory diseases such as neoplasia, renal- and heartfailure.

This literature study deals with the pig industry and how group size and available floor area affects the animal welfare and the production results. It shows that both the pigs? welfare and production result can be affected negatively if the environment seems stressful for the pigs, and if they are housed in a narrow area. If the pigs are being exposed to either physiological or psychological stress factors their Immune system can be decreased and the growth can be impaired. Influence by the social status of the pigs is also reviewed.

The parasite Neospora caninum is an intracellular protozoa discovered in the late 1980s. N. caninum has an indirect lifecycle which means it needs a definitive host and an intermediate host. The confirmed definitive host for N. caninum is dog and the intermediate hosts are among others dog and cattle.

The parasite Neospora caninum is an intracellular protozoa discovered in the late 1980s. N. caninum has an indirect lifecycle which means it needs a definitive host and an intermediate host. The confirmed definitive host for N. caninum is dog and the intermediate hosts are among others dog and cattle.