Clostridium difficile is a pathogen for both humans and animals and is often associated with antibiotic-associated diarrhea. Recently, several human cases of C. difficile-infection with increased mortality and morbidity have been reported. In studies performed in different countries C. difficile has been found in meat.

Bacillus anthracis is the causative agent of anthrax, a serious and globally distributed zoonosis affecting a wide range of wild and domestic animals, invariably also humans. However, although known to humans since biblical times, much remains to be elucidated concerning the ecology and transmission of this bacterium. Of particular interest is the Bacillus anthracis spore, the uptake of which is the predominant way to contract anthrax and which is legendary for its resilience in the environment and thus crucial for persistence and spread of the disease. Hence, the aim of this study is to review the natural transmission of Bacillus anthracis and investigate potential means by which soil persisting Bacillus anthracis spores reach concentrations sufficient to infect susceptible hosts. When reviewing the literature, three different theories can be distinguished. Firstly, ?the incubator area? hypothesis suggests that favourable soil factors, possibly in association with amoebas, may constitute an environment supporting repeated spore-bacterium-spore cycling, thus increasing the local amount of spores.

The effectiveness of Phlebiopsis gigantea to prevent spore infections from Heterobasidionannosum and Heterobasidion parviporum on hybrid larch stumps were investigated in fivestands in southern Sweden. All sites are former forest land and the age of the trees wasbetween 9 and 13 years.The study was implemented in August 2010, a month where spore dispersal should be great.The five sites were located in previously un?thinned monocultures of hybrid larch. The sporeload in the air was studied with the help of spore traps from three different tree species;Norway spruce, Scots pine and hybrid larch. A total of 146 spore traps, evenly distributed inall five sites were analyzed.

The effectiveness of Phlebiopsis gigantea to prevent spore infections from Heterobasidionannosum and Heterobasidion parviporum on hybrid larch stumps were investigated in fivestands in southern Sweden. All sites are former forest land and the age of the trees wasbetween 9 and 13 years.The study was implemented in August 2010, a month where spore dispersal should be great.The five sites were located in previously un?thinned monocultures of hybrid larch. The sporeload in the air was studied with the help of spore traps from three different tree species;Norway spruce, Scots pine and hybrid larch. A total of 146 spore traps, evenly distributed inall five sites were analyzed.

In this thesis, three separate experiments have been performed on different aspects of the interaction between the causal agent of clubroot, Plasmodiophora brassicae, and its hosts. In the first experiment the pathotype of the P. brassicae single spore isolate, which is currently used to construct a reference genome, has been classified using the ECD bioassay. The disease severity of infected plants was scored according to two different scales and the pathotype was determined according to three previously published guidelines. The results were compared to previous published studies describing the e3 isolate. The life cycle of P. brassicae is not well understood.

The purpose of this study is to examine web-based recruitment to short term summer jobs at the SocialServices Department in Luleå municipality in Sweden. Recruitment goals, selection options on therecruitment homepage Offentliga Jobb and recruitment practices were analysed in order to reach a deeperunderstanding of the interactions between these three levels in the selection process. Pre-selection throughOffentliga Jobb was a special concern of the study. Different consciousness levels in the selection process areemphasised according to Anthony Giddens' structuration theory. Ten recruiters from different parts of thedepartment were interviewed.

Genomic selection (GS) is used for selection of breeding animals of dairy cattle. GS is though not as extensively used within the beef industry. One reason for that is the low accuracy (rTI) of the breeding value that is of great importance for the final genetic gain. Causes to the low accuracy are high effective population size, a small reference population and a genetically differentiated population. There is however a market for genomic selection with High Density (HD) tests for beef cattle.

This study aims to find out how the selection and acquisitions of ebooks made by university libraries is affected by vendors terms of sale. The empirical data is based on interviews with libraries working with selection and acquisition of ebooks. The interviews points out, according to Evans? model of collection development, that the collection development doesn´t work the same way with printed and electronic books. The study also finds out that the complexity of the ebook marketplace implies the application of new method of ebook selection, by libraries..

Pine twisting rust (Melampsora pinitorqua) is a parasitic rust fungus found all across Sweden causing damage resulting in lower quality and reduced tree growth in pine stands. In Sweden, the fungus is dependent on two alternate hosts; European aspen (Populus tremula) and Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris). Pine twisting rust has five different spore stages, two of them (uredinio- and teliospores) on the leaves of aspen. Injures on aspen caused by pine twisting rust is not extensive. On the other hand, when it infects the annual shoots of Scots pine it often results in a bent steam or even a top shoot breakage.

The aim with this report is to formulate a strategic method to optimize selection processes of DNA-samples from a faeces inventory to identify as many individuals in as few analyzes as possible, and by that keep down the costs of brown bear management. Brown bear management in Sweden founds today on results from faeces inventory and is substantially led by the county administration boards. Data from the years of 2004 and 2009´s inventories in Västerbotten was used to test and evaluate different methods in selection processes of which faeces that should be sampled. Comparison were made between making selection by chance, by spatial distribution and by calculating variations in logistic regressions coefficient b, in other words bear density and probability in finding same individual in several faeces. We can show making selection by chance is the most uncertain method.

Since the end of the eighteenth century forest damage caused by the pathogen Gremmeniella abietina has been observed and documented. During the latest epidemic in Sweden more than 480 000 hectares forest land have been injured and this has lead to considerable economic losses. For the pathogen to succeed with infection, spore dispersal and colonization the right environmental conditions is required. The aim of this paper is to describe the diseased stands using site and stand characteristics and to evaluate the effect of these variables on the disease incidence. Further, the thinning performed during the time for spore dispersal and its relationship to injured stands is examined.

The aim of this study is to increase the knowledge regarding the selection process of picture books by pre-school educators. My intention is to find out which criteria educators use to select the books. I have restricted the study to pre-school educators, because I wish to find out how they work with the selection process and which criteria and considerations are included. I also want to know if the children have influence in the book selection and how the books get to the pre-school.The study is based on qualitative interviews with educators at a pre-schools in my area as well as relevant publications. The questions the educators were given were semi-structured.

The aim of this thesis was to investigate whether the selection of products in the school cafeterias in Uppsala county high schools' comply with NFA's (National Food Administration) recommendations. Furthermore, the intention was to examine pupils´ eating habits before and during the school day, and their views on the school cafeteria´s selection of products. To investigate this, an inventory of school cafeterias in six high schools in Uppsala County, and a survey among 60 pupils were carried out. The results showed that the NFA's recommendations not always were followed. The survey showed that there were healthy products in the cafeterias but unhealthy products nevertheless constituted a large part of the selection.

Transportation constitutes a large part of the forest industry's raw material costs. Transport also contributes a significant proportion of the carbon dioxide emissions. In order to reduce both the cost and environmental impact different types of decision support are required. These, in turn, require extensive information about the road network and correct information on road path selection and transport distances. In the development of national road data base for forestry (SNVDB) a road selection application has been included.

Habitat selection of migratory brown trout at the upper reaches of River Vindelälven, wasstudied in September during the pre-spawning period. The fish migrate from down- orupriver lakes for spawning in the river and data was collected by habitat mapping andradio-telemetry. Habitat selection of fish was analysed with preference curves andstatistical modelling, using the physical variables; depth, stream velocity and streambedsubstrate. Preference curves were derived by comparing fish habitat use with their nearbyavailable environment while the statistical modelling aimed to answer three main questions.1) Do the trout have a specific preference of depth, water velocity and streambed substrate?2) Is there any difference in habitat selection between sexes? 3) Is there a shift in habitatselection over time? The preference curves indicated that trout favored water depths of 1-2m, velocity compositions characterized as glides (c.