The great pond snail, Lymnaea stagnalis is considered a sensitive species to environmentalpollution and is used in ecotoxicology testing. The snail is naturally found in the environment inthe Holarctic realm in Europe, northern America and Asia but also in some parts of Australia. Itis a species of great interest for ecotoxicology studies and is used in research where commonendpoints are reproduction, mortality and immune responses. In this study we wanted to establisha method of using gene expressions in L. stagnalis as biomarkers of chemicals and pollutants inSTP effluent water. The study was conducted in two different experiments where gene expressionfor elongation factor 1a (ef1a), nuclear hormone receptor 3d (nr3d), cytochrome p450 3 (cyp3),metallothionein (mt), catalase (cat), glutathione peroxidase (gpx), and yolk ferritin (yf) from thehepatopancreas of L. stagnalis were measured. In experiment 1, animals were exposed tocadmium, 17α-ethinylestradiol, diclofenac, tramadol, PCB and a solvent control for seven days.In experiment 2 one group of animals were exposed to regular STP effluent water (UT), onegroup exposed to regular STP with an additional treatment of ozone (OZ), one group exposed toregular STP with an additional treatment of granulated active carbon (GAC) and finally, one lastgroup exposed to tap water (KV) as a control. The exposures lasted three weeks. In experiment 1,yf was upregulated 1.4-fold in snails exposed to PBC. In experiment 2, differences between thewaters were seen in the expressions of cyp3, gpx and yf. The expression of cyp3 was lower in theGAC group compared to the other groups. There was a difference in the expression of gpxbetween GAC and OZ but not compared to regular effluent water, UT or the tap water, KV. Theexpression of yf was higher in KV, but not different between the other groups. In summary, the yfgene expression in L. stagnalis is altered by PCB. There were also measurable effects of theexpression of cyp3 and gpx in snails exposed to effluent water treated with GAC. Conclusions ofthe results are difficult to draw but the changes in gene expressions indicates that L. stagnalis is apromising candidate as a model organism to gene expressions as biomarkers. Further studies arehowever needed to refine the method.

Historically, welfare assessments have focused on indicators of reduced welfare. However, positive welfare indicators in animals have recently captured the interest of researchers, animal owners and the general public. Regarding the behavior of pet rabbits, there are several positive welfare indicators described in scientific articles. There are for example expressions of joy in the form of so-called "binkies" and "zoomies", social rabbit companionship and what is called "allogrooming", exploratory behavior and a couple of different kinds of resting positions when the rabbit obviously feels relaxed, safe and secure. The Swedish animal welfare legislation would need to be adjusted to ensure that companion rabbits can display the behaviors that are classified as positive welfare indicators. Even if rabbits are kept in hutches with approved sizes, access to larger areas is required in order for several of the positive welfare behaviors to be expressed. In addition, today it is far too easy to circumvent the requirement for rabbit companionship. From an animal welfare point of view, it would also be advisable to call for supervision and attention more than just once a day. Given how common but complex pet rabbits are, more research is needed on their behavior and welfare needs, but also more information and knowledge for both current and future rabbit owners.

No description available.

Bin har utsetts till den viktigaste och mest oersättliga levande arten på planeten. En av 10 vilda bi-arter (Apiformes) i Europa är hotade och i Sverige är 84 vilda arter rödlistade 2020. Minskad flygaktivitet och överlevnad av honungsbin (Apis) till följd av klimatförändringar medför konsekvenser för pollinering och därmed biologisk mångfald. Förståelse för hur bin påverkas av och anpassar sig till ett förändrat klimat är avgörande för arbetet med att bevara världens bipopulationer. EU-projektet Sverige-Norge INTERREG ”BIstånd till nordiska bin- unik resurs för framtidens ekosystemtjänster”, studerar nordiska bins anpassning till miljö och klimat. Med aktivitetsdata från forskningsprojektet syftar denna studie till att analysera hur lokala väderförhållanden påverkar flygaktiviteten hos honungsbiet (Apis mellifera), undersöka beteendemönster och utvärdera potentialen i att använda väderförhållanden som grund för prediktiv modellering. Två startmodeller av enkla och kombinerade väderparametrar som oberoende variabler med flygaktivitet/individ som responsvariabel analyserades med automatiserade multipla regressionsanalyser genom tre metoder av Stepwise selection med AIC (Akaike Information Criterion) för att hitta enklaste regressionsmodell som bäst beskriver datan. Inga statistiskt signifikanta linjära samband mellan flygaktivitet och additiva/kombinerade lokala väderförhållanden kunde konstateras baserat på data från samtliga metoder. Av alla testade kombinationer hade vind mest påverkan på responsvariabeln. Totalt registrerade 52 individer 2880 flygaktiviteter under insamlingsperioden varav en unik individ utförde 38% av alla registrerade aktiviteter. Vind visade ingen signifikant påverkan, emellertid, på dagar med vindhastighet över 4 m/s, minskade flygaktiviteten markant. Individuella variationer inom populationen, liten datamängd och osäker väderdata kan ha påverkat resultatet / Bees have been named the most important and irreplaceable living species on the planet. One in 10 wild bee species (Apiformes) in Europe are threatened and 84 wild species are redlisted in Sweden 2020. Reduced flight activity and survival of honey bees (Apis) as a result of climate change have consequences for pollination and therefore also for biodiversity. Understanding how bees are affected by and adapt to a changing climate is crucial to the work of preserving the world's bee populations. The EU-project Sweden-Norway INTERREG "BIstånd till nordiska bin- unik resurs för framtidens ekosystemtjänster", studies Nordic bees' adaptation to environment and climate. Using activity data from the research project, this study aims to analyze how local weather conditions affect the flight activity of the Western honey bee (Apis mellifera), examine behavioral patterns and evaluate the potential in using weather conditions as a basis for predictive modeling. Two starting models of simple and combined weather parameters as independent variables with flight activity/individual as response variable were analyzed with automated multiple regression analyzes using three methods of Stepwise selection with AIC (Akaike Information Criterion) to find the simplest regression model that best describes the data. No statistical significant linear relationship between flight activity and additive/combined local weather conditions was found based on data from all methods. Of all combinations tested, wind had the most impact on the response variable. A total of 52 individuals registered 2880 flight activities during the collection period, of which a unique individual performed 38% of all registered activities. Wind showed no significant impact, however, for days with winds above 4 m/s, the flight activity decreased significantly. Individual variations within the population, small amount of data and uncertain weather data may have affected the result.

Genom att filtrera vattnet i vattendrag och sjöar bidrar musslor till renare och klarare vatten. Debidrar till friskare ekosystem som i sin tur ger människor värdefulla ekosystemtjänster.Sötvattensmusslor har också en viktig roll i näringsvävar som föda för andra djurarter. I Sverigefinns det 24 arter som räknas till ärt- och klotmusslor (Sphaeriidae). Lite är känt om ärt- ochklotmusslorna och följderna om de försvinner från ekosystemen är än så länge oklart. Relativtlite forskning har bedrivits inom området och den här studien är menad att bidra till ökadförståelse av ärt- och klotmusslor. I denna rapport studeras bottensubstratets betydelse för ärtochklotmusslor. Det studeras också om det finns skillnader mellan olika vattendjup. Fyra sjöarinventerades i Skaraborgsregionen. Studien visar att det inte finns något samband mellanförekomst och vattendjup. De vattendjup som undersöktes var 20cm och 100cm. Studien visarockså att det finns en signifikant skillnad mellan mjukt bottensubstrat och övriga bottentyper.Tidigare forskning uppvisar liknande resultat. Beroende på art kan habitatvalen skilja sigkraftigt då ärt- och klotmusslor har ett brett spektrum av habitatval. Största andelenmusselarter hittas i mjukt bottensubstrat men musslor hittades i alla typer av bottensubstrat.Var arten hittas beror också på om arten lever i strömmande eller stillastående vatten. / By filtering the water in streams and lakes, clams make waters cleaner and clearer and this inturn contributes to a healthier ecosystem and provides ecosystem services for humans.Freshwater clams also play an important role as food for other animals. In Sweden there are 24different species of pea clams (Sphaeriidae). Not much is known about pea clams and theconsequences if they would disappear from the ecosystem are so far unclear. Relatively smallamounts of research have been done about them and this study is meant to contribute toincreased understanding of pea clams. In this report the significance of sediments for pea clamswere studied. Differences in water depth was also studied. Four lakes in the area aroundSkaraborg was investigated. The study showed that there was no correlation between presenceand water depth. The studied depths were 20cm and 100cm. The study found that there exists asignificant difference between soft and other types of sediments. Previous research showedsimilar results. Depending on the species the habitat may differ since pea clams have a widespectrum of ecological niches. Most clams were found in soft sediments, but they were alsodetected in other sediment types (middle and hard). Their occurrence also depended on the flowproperties of the water (calm vs. flowing).

While endocrine disrupting chemicals have become a serious concern in human and environmental toxicology, many of the methods used for investigating developmental toxicity require long exposure periods, and thus can be technically challenging, labour intensive and expensive. For example, the current standard method, the Larval Amphibian Growth and Development Assay (LAGDA) has an exposure period of ³130 days. With the intent of developing a shorter assay for investigating amphibian developmental toxicity, the aim of this study was to characterise effects of the anti-androgenic model substance flutamide on reproductive development in the frog Xenopus tropicalis after a short 16-day post-metamorphosis exposure period using four dose groups: control (C), low (L), medium (M), and high (H) (0, 250, 500 and 1000 µg/L, nominal concentrations, n=58, 19, 39 and 36 respectively). Variations in body morphometry were used to compare C, L, M and H (for which there was no data available on sex ratios) and a random subsample of C (n=15) and H (n=15) individuals were analysed histologically for variation in germ cell maturity, gonadal cross sectional area, Müllerian Duct (MD) length and MD maturity. In addition to these endpoints, concentrations of the anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH), vitellogenin (VTG), oestradiol (E2) and testosterone (T) in the remainder of the body after dissection (normally discarded) for a subsample of C, M and H (N varying between 2 and 11 for AMH, VTG, E2 and T within the dose groups) were investigated with the objective of discovering whether these could be used as viable endpoints using commercially available ELISA kits. Due to random sampling there was an insufficient number of male H dose group individuals to allow for statistical analysis. In females, no significant differences in MD length, MD maturity and gonad size, were seen between the dose groups. No apparent differences in the proportion of mature germ cells in the testis were found, however females in the H dose group were found to have a significantly higher proportion of immature oocytes in the ovaries than C. The ELISA analysis was able to successfully detect AMH, VTG, E2 and T in all three dose groups. Some of the expected interrelationships between bodily AMH, VTG, E2 and T were observed in this study, whereas others were absent and others in direct opposition to prior research, suggesting this method shows promise but requires further study. While no conclusions cannot be drawn with regard to males from this study, effects attributable to flutamide can be detected in females during this dose period, and body homogenate ELISA shows promise for being a viable method but requires further research.

Tvångssyndrom eller obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) är en kronisk sjukdom vilket präglas av tvångstankar och tvångshandlingar som baseras på ångest. Tvångssyndrom är en produkt av abnormiteter i kortiko-striato-talamo-kortikala (CSTC)-kretsar vilket är associerat med förändring av transmittorsubstanserna serotonin, dopamin, glutamat och γ-aminosmörsyra. Förändringar bland dessa transmittorsubstanser gör att en del substanser får en överaktivitet medan hos andra sker den en drastisk minskning. Det i sin tur leder till hjärnans kapacitet att hantera impulsiva handlingar samt tankar. Tvångstankar är ett återkommande fenomen vilket skapar ofrivilliga tankar och bilder i huvudet, som i sin tur leder till tvångshandlingar och impulser för att lätta på dessa tvångstankar. Tvångssyndrom väcker mycket obehagliga känslor hos individen vilket kan avspegla sig i ångest, äckel, skam eller annat obehag. De flesta patienter som diagnostiserats med tvångssyndrom erbjuds behandling vilket i många fall leder till symptomlindring, mediciner används tillsammans med annan behandling så som kognitiv beteendeterapi. Dock drabbas ungefär 10% av individer med tvångssyndrom av så kallade terapiresistenta symptom vilket betyder att vanlig farmakologisk behandling i samverkan med terapi inte ger någon symptomlindring. På senare tid har det dykt upp djup hjärnstimulering eller deep brain stimulation (DBS) som en alternativ och möjlig behandling för behandlingsresistent tvångssyndrom.  Det specifika syftet med denna litteraturstudie är att undersöka om djup hjärnstimulering är en bra behandlingsmetod för personer behandlingsresistent tvångssyndrom. Av de sex utvalda artiklarna i denna studie konstaterades det att det finns en positiv inverkan på behandlingsresistent tvångssyndrom hos de personer som fått DBS. Artikel 1 studerade området kring gränssnittet mellan BNST/NAcc, Artikel 2 studerade den främ- re delen av Capsula interna, Artikel 3 studerade Capsula interna och nucleus accumbens, Artikel 4 undersökte DBS påverkar PPI, Artikel 5 kollade på den ventrala främre extremiteten av Capsula interna och ventrala striatum och artikel 6 undersökte djup hjärnstimulering som ett sista behandlingsalternativ till kapsulotomi vid behandlingsrefraktär tvångssyndrom Alla artiklar visade på förbättring hos de individer som medverkat i de respektive studierna. Det påvisades stora förändringar hos vissa medan andra hade en mindre påverkan, dock var alla positiva till de förändringar som djup hjänstimulering bidragit till. Samtliga visade på en minskning i Y-BOCS under samt efter behandling. Kunskapen om djup hjänstimulering kring behandlingsresistent tvångssyndrom är idag begränsad, det gör att resultaten i sin tur inte ger en större generell bild om det fungerar eller inte. För att kunna ge en så bra och effektiv behandling som möjligt behövs det mer forskning på området. / Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a chronic disease characterized by obsessions and compulsions based on anxiety. The obsessive-compulsive disorder is a product of abnormalities in cortico-striatal-thalamocortical (CSTC) circuits, which is associated with changes in the transmitters of serotonin, dopamine, glutamate, and γ-aminobutyric acid. Changes in levels of these transmitter substances cause imbalances that results in dysfunctional neurotransmission. As a result, this leads to the brain's incapacity to han- dle impulsive actions and thoughts. Obsessive-compulsive disorder is a recurring phe- nomenon that creates involuntary thoughts and images in the brain, leading to compulsive actions and impulses to alleviate these obsessive-compulsive disorders. Obsessive- compulsive disorder evokes very unpleasant feelings in the individual, which can be reflected in anxiety, disgust, shame, or other discomforts. Most patients diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder are offered pharmacological treatment, which in many cases leads to symptom relief. Medications are, in many cases, used together with other treatments such as cognitive-behavioral therapy. How- ever, approximately 10% of individuals with the obsessive-compulsive disorder suffer from so-called therapy-resistant symptoms, which means that standard pharmacological treatment in combination with therapy does not provide any relief of symptoms. Recently, deep brain stimulation or deep brain stimulation (DBS) has emerged as an alternative and possible treatment for treatment-resistant obsessive-compulsive disorder.  The more specific purpose of this literature study is to investigate whether deep brain stimulation has a suitable treatment method for people with treatment-resistant obses- sive-compulsive disorder. Of the six selected articles in this study, it was found that there is a positive effect on treatment-resistant obsessive-compulsive disorder in the people who received DBS. Article 1 studied the area around the interface between BNST / NAcc, Article 2 studied the anterior part of the Capsula internal, Article 3 studied the Capsula internal and nucleus accumbens, and Article 4 examined DBS affects on PPI. Article 5 examined the ventral anterior extremity of the Capsula internal and ventral striatum, and article 6 examined deep brain stimulation as a last resort alternative to capsulotomy in treatment-refractory obsessive-compulsive disorder. All articles showed improvement in the individuals who participated in the respective studies. Significant changes were shown in some while others had a minor effect. However, all were positive about the changes that deep brain stimulation contributed. All showed a decrease in Y-BOCS during and after treatment. The knowledge about deep brain stimulation around treatment-resistant obsessive-compulsive disorder is currently limited, which means that the results, in turn, do not give a more extensive general picture of whether it works or not. In order to provide as good and effective treatment as possible, more research is needed in the area.

A number of animal species have undergone domestication, the process of becoming adapted to living in captivity and in proximity to humans. Common for these species is that they have all developed certain traits, including changes to coat color, body size and level of fearfulness. This has been termed the domestic phenotype. Among these traits is also an attenuation of the response to stress, both behaviorally and physiologically. Thus, release of glucocorticoids such as cortisol or corticosterone is lower in domesticated species. However, the underlying mechanism for this is not yet well understood. In this thesis, we have investigated genetic mechanisms for the attenuation of the physiological stress response in ancestral chickens, the Red Junglefowl, and domesticated chickens, the White Leghorn. We found a number of genes that differed in expression between the two breeds in several tissues involved in the stress response. Among the most interesting findings were lower expression of genes involved in production and secretion of ACTH in the pituitary, and in the production of glucocorticoids in the adrenal glands, in the domesticated White Leghorns. We also found higher expression of the glucocorticoid receptor in White Leghorns, indicating that they may have a more efficient negative feedback of the physiological stress response. We then investigated the transcriptome of the chicken pituitary more closely, and we discovered that a number of genes highly involved in several important physiological axes showed differential expression between the ancestral and the domesticated breed. Among these were genes involved in the stress response, the reproductive system, and in metabolism and growth. As these traits are modified in domesticated species, our results suggest that changes to gene expression in the pituitary may be an important underlying factor of the domestic phenotype. A separate aim of this thesis was to investigate effects of hatching time in chickens on their subsequent phenotype. Time of hatching constitutes an early experience that may differ between individuals, and we therefore hypothesized that differences in hatching time would affect chickens later in life. While a number of studies have been performed on hatching time and post-hatch growth, very little work has been done on effects on behavior. We found that the time of hatching had sex-specific effects. Hatching times in females were negatively correlated with body weight, whereas in males, behaviors such as reaction to novelty and spatial learning were affected. As time of hatching is governed by various hormones, including thyroid hormone and corticosterone, we suggest that changes to the levels of these hormones could affect both hatching time and post-hatch phenotypes. Understanding these mechanisms better would be beneficial in terms of production, where batch homogeneity is important, in research on early experiences and the potential for maternal programming, and in evolutionary questions on trade-off between different life strategies.

Pea (Pisum sativum L.) is the most cultivated pulse in the temperate zone, economically important with high nutritional value (high protein content of 20-30%) and relatively low cost. Root rot is its predominant disease, it is referred to as root rot complex because it involves many pathogens. The most important pathogens of pea root rot are fungi and oomycetes. The aim of this project is to assess the possibility of using root samples with known disease severity index (DSI) to identify pea root rot causing pathogens using a MinION device from Oxford Nanopore technologies. DNA barcoding is the use of a standardized segment or region of the DNA to identify the organism to species level by comparison with a reference library. The ITS region is the barcode sequence marker of fungi. In this study, extracted DNA from pea plant roots of six naturally infected pea fields were sequenced. Two different primer pairs; ITS1Catta & ITS4ngsUni (fungi targeted) and ITS1OO & ITS4ngs (oomycota targeted) were used for the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification. Taxonomic identification was done using Kraken2 bioinformatics tool and UNITE reference database. Organisms from fungal phyla Ascomycota, Basidiomycota and Oomycota were recovered from all the samples, but none of the pea rot root specific pathogens (Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, Pythium ultimum, Thielaviopsis basicola, Fusarium solani, Fusarium oxysporum, Ascochyta pinodella, Aphanomyces euteiches and Rhizoctonia solani) were identified. This project could not validate the use of nanopore sequencing using a MinIon device for the identification of specific pathogens causing pea root rots.

The cost of developing new pharmaceuticals has increased, while the number ofpharmaceuticals approved has declined. This highlights the importance for newpharmaceuticals to quickly become successful. The aim of this thesis is to explore thefactors of importance when launching new pharmaceuticals. Initially a literature reviewhas been conducted to explore general factors of importance for a pharmaceutical tobecome a commercial success. Furthermore, eleven in-depth interviews have beenperformed with stakeholders from the Swedish healthcare system to identify significantfactors on a national and regional level in Sweden. A thematic analysis was used tocategorize the data collected in the interviews. The result of the literature review showed that the value creating process is of utmostimportance for a pharmaceutical to become a success. This is affected by a customeroriented focus, the design of the pharmaceutical study and the outcome from the healtheconomic analysis. Additionally, a number of challenges in the pharmaceutical supplychain were identified, which could cause a bottleneck during the launch of newpharmaceuticals. In the empirical part a main theme ‘Trust’ with a total of seven subthemes was identified.The seven subthemes are factors that are essential to gain the trust and create the value,they are: ‘Guidelines and Regulations’, ‘Clinical Efficacy and Clinical Evidence’,‘Marketing’, ‘Information’, ‘Adherence and Compliance’, ‘Health Economics’ and‘Financial Aspect’. The subtheme ‘Guidelines and Regulations’ highlights the connectionbetween guidelines and utilization of pharmaceuticals. The ‘Clinical Efficacy and ClinicalEvidence’ was identified as the utmost important success factor. Furthermore the theme‘Value of Money’, including the subthemes ‘Health Economics’ and ‘Financial Aspect’,highlights the importance of the budget aspect and the increasing use of healtheconomics to evaluate health benefits and costs in healthcare. The subtheme ‘Adherenceand Compliance’ stresses the importance of information to the end user, whereas thesubtheme ‘Information’ highlights the information exchange among differentstakeholders. The subtheme ‘Marketing’ describes the effect of personal relationshipbetween industry and prescribers, and the effect on the pharmaceutical use it can have.