This thesis highlights the complex ways in which hate speech operates online, which ties into more general debates on online hate speech as something special. One way of elucidating this complexity is by dividing online hate speech into overt and covert. In doing so, we can gain a better understanding of both motivations for hate speech as well as insights in how to prevent it. While overt hate speech is widely discussed, there is not much discussion on covert hate speech. This is especially so when it comes to covert hate speech in online contexts. The questions this thesis raises are how hate speech operates online, and how we can understand this in terms of hate speech being overt or covert. By introducing two different ways of understanding overt and covert, via slurs and dog-whistles respectively, this thesis shows that covert hate speech also has some harmful consequences. If ambiguous terms laced with negative attitudes as communicative content seeps into the mainstream, there is a risk of normalisation of these negative attitudes. Given the ambiguity of these terms or statements, it makes it difficult to take proactive measures. With these results, I conclude that covert online hate speech is a vital part of understanding the mechanisms of hate speech overall.

This study was carried out to determine the usefulness of standard electrocardiography for the diagnosis of early canine heartworm disease. Baseline electrocardiograms were recorded in 12 dogs. Thirty artificial Dirofilaria immitis worms were inserted in the pulmonary artery of each dog. New electrocardiograms were recorded on days 1-4, 7, 14, 21, 28 and 35 after insertion of worms. A significant attenuation of amplitude of Q wave in lead I was recorded on days 1-4, 7, 14, 21, 28 and 35; of R wave in lead II on days 21, 28 and 35; and of S wave in lead aVR on days 7, 14, 21, 28 and 35. Duration of the QRS complex in lead AVF was significantly prolonged on day 14. In 41.6% of the dogs, right axis deviation was recorded. These results suggest that for a dog whose normal baseline standard electrocardiogram is known, a comparison of the QRS complex of the baseline with those of subsequent standard electrocardiograms may suggest early canine heartworm disease when there is an attenuation of amplitude of Q wave in lead I, R wave in lead II and S wave in lead aVR. An additional indication can be right axis deviation.

En la actualidad, todos los seres humanos utilizan dispositivos móviles. Con el pasar del tiempo, las personas utilizan los diversos servicios que éstos ofrecen. Entre sus principales atributos están las aplicaciones móviles (“Apps”); y se han vuelto parte esencial de la vida. Por otro lado, los animales domésticos, especialmente los perros, han pasado de ser mascotas a miembros importantes en los hogares. Las familias reconocen su influencia positiva en lo psicológico y social. En el presente trabajo se busca determinar la viabilidad de un servicio que mezcla la tecnología que ofrecen los dispositivos móviles con las necesidades de los perros y a su vez de sus dueños, es decir, los paseos. Este proyecto pretende ofrecer una aplicación móvil que facilitará la conexión entre los dueños de mascotas y paseadores capacitados, seleccionando el horario, seguimiento en tiempo real y cuidados especiales en caso se necesite. Para ello se ha realizado un proceso de ideación, desarrollo de modelo de negocio, considerando la descripción del problema a solucionar del usuario, y la determinación del segmento objetivo. Además, se diseñó experimentos que permitan validar el modelo de negocio, las estrategias para la ejecución del concierge y las proyecciones de ventas. Una vez consolidada toda la información mencionada anteriormente, se desarrolló planes que requiere el negocio, los cuales son: Estratégico, Operativo, Recursos Humanos, Marketing, Responsabilidad Social Empresarial, Financiero y Financiamiento. Por último, se hallarán las conclusiones del trabajo y el resultado potencial que tendría el negocio una vez sea implementado. / En la actualidad, todos los seres humanos utilizan dispositivos móviles. Con el pasar del tiempo, las personas utilizan los diversos servicios que éstos ofrecen. Entre sus principales atributos están las aplicaciones móviles (“Apps”); y se han vuelto parte esencial de la vida. Por otro lado, los animales domésticos, especialmente los perros, han pasado de ser mascotas a miembros importantes en los hogares. Las familias reconocen su influencia positiva en lo psicológico y social. En el presente trabajo se busca determinar la viabilidad de un servicio que mezcla la tecnología que ofrecen los dispositivos móviles con las necesidades de los perros y a su vez de sus dueños, es decir, los paseos. Este proyecto pretende ofrecer una aplicación móvil que facilitará la conexión entre los dueños de mascotas y paseadores capacitados, seleccionando el horario, seguimiento en tiempo real y cuidados especiales en caso se necesite. Para ello se ha realizado un proceso de ideación, desarrollo de modelo de negocio, considerando la descripción del problema a solucionar del usuario, y la determinación del segmento objetivo. Además, se diseñó experimentos que permitan validar el modelo de negocio, las estrategias para la ejecución del concierge y las proyecciones de ventas. Una vez consolidada toda la información mencionada anteriormente, se desarrolló planes que requiere el negocio, los cuales son: Estratégico, Operativo, Recursos Humanos, Marketing, Responsabilidad Social Empresarial, Financiero y Financiamiento. Por último, se hallarán las conclusiones del trabajo y el resultado potencial que tendría el negocio una vez sea implementado. / Trabajo de investigación

Utah prairie dogs were transplanted onto the site of a former colony located on Jones Bench in the northwestern corner of Capitol Reef National Park. Shrubs on Jones Bench were significantly taller than those found on active colonies of Ut ah prairie dogs located nearby on the Awapa Plateau. Therefore, the Jones Bench site offered an opportunity to test the hypothesis that shrub height is a major inhibitory factor on occupation of sites by prairie dogs. Four sites of 5 ha each were delimited on Jones Bench prior to the transplanting o~ animals. Vegetation treatments were carried out on three of the sites and the fourth was used as a nonmanipulated control . Mechanical treatments by rotobeating and railing were accomplished in late August, 1978. A herbicidal treatment (2,4-D) was done on the third site in the spring of 1979. Shrub height and percent cover were significantly reduced on all three treatment sites. Post-treatment effects on the vegetation during the first year showed that the greatest percent moisture in herbage was found on the railed site, followed by the herbicide, rotobeaten, and control sites. Herbage production was approximately three times greater on the rotobeaten and railed sites than on the control and herbicide sites. Measurements of the visual obstructions of prairie dogs showed that the rotobeaten site had the greatest visibility followed by the railed, herbicide, and control sites. Prior to release of prairie dogs on the study area, 200 artificial burrows arranged in a matrix, were dug with an enginepowered post-hole auger on each site. In late June and early July, 1979, 200 Utah prairie dogs were live-trapped near Loa, Utah. A total of 50 immature males, immature females, mature males, and mature females were released on each site. The animal's fur was dyed with a specific mark representing their respective transplant site before their release. The transplanted animals were monitored daily for 23 consecutive days following the release of the first animals and biweekly thereafter throughout the summer and early fall. Significant differences were found in the number of animals reestablished on each site except between the herbicide treatment and control site. The majority of all animals transplanted moved onto the rotobeaten site; the railed, herbicide, and control sites were selected in decreasing order. Results indicated that when transplanting animals onto sites of former colonies, particularly sites that are overgrown with shrubs, the chances of a successful transplant could be increased by first reducing shrub height and density. Proof of reestablishment at the Jones Bench site will be evident if reproduction is observed in the spring of 1980.

In cases where refuge acquisition or captive breeding programs are not practical or justifiable, wild caught animals are frequently translocated into areas of suitable habitat. Such management programs seldom are designed to account for the behavioral responses of translocated animals to an unfamiliar habitat, breakup of social units, and/or interactions with existing social units in the new habitat. Ongoing efforts to translocate threatened Utah prairie dogs (Cynomys parvidens) from areas where conflicts with other land uses are occurring to public land sites have met with limited success. This could be due, in part, to behavioral responses associated with disrupting social units and placing animals in an unfamiliar environment. The purpose of this research was to test a series of hypotheses regarding the behavioral responses of Utah prairie dogs to translocation. Focal animal sampling was used to estimate the durations and frequencies of five behavioral variables and five interaction types at four treatments: control, new site, supplemental site, and new population. In Chapter 1, activity budgets were compared among control animals, animals released into a new site versus a supplemental site, and animals already present at a supplemental site. The objective was to evaluate the relative effects of new and supplemental translocations and the effects of translocations on resident animals. In Chapter 2, the frequencies of interactions were compared among these same treatments to evaluate the effects of translocation on the sociality of Utah prairie dogs as reflected by changes in the frequencies of greeting displays, dominance/subordinance displays, and amicable and agonistic interactions. Chapter 3 compares the activity budgets of animals released at a site containing natural burrows (i.e., new population) and animals released into a site containing artificial burrows (i.e., new site) to a control. Habitat measurements for these treatments were also compared to evaluate the importance of habitat characteristics typical of prairie dog colonies to translocated animals. Hotelling's T2 analyses were used to compare behavioral durations between treatments and log-linear analyses were use to compare behavioral frequencies among treatments. Activity budgets were altered by translocation through tradeoffs between the amount of time spent foraging, being vigilant, exploring the unfamiliar habitat, and minimizing conspicuousness. Predicted changes in interactions frequencies as a result of translocations were not observed. Activity budgets of animals released into the site containing natural burrows did not differ from those of control animals . The most important behavioral consideration is the effects of burrow and habitat characteristics in providing centers of activity and effective predator detection and avoidance.

Orientador: Noeme Sousa Rocha / Coorientador: Adriana C. Ferrari / Banca: Júlio Lopes Sequeira / Banca: Celmira Calderon / Resumo: O osteossarcoma (OSA) do cão ou sarcoma osteogênico é um tumor primário de comportamento biológico agressivo, prevalente em raças de médio e grande porte com idade entre sete a nove anos. O objetivo do trabalho foi aplicar um modelo experimental in vitro do osteossarcoma canino, para servir de suporte ao estudo do gene FOXE1, gene supressor tumoral pouco investigado, entretanto de extrema importância na pesquisa do câncer pelo fato de estar envolvido com a via de sinalização HH/GLI2, que regula positivamente o crescimento celular. Foram utilizadas cinco culturas de osteossarcoma, que serviram como subsídio para análise de metilação, imunoexpressão e expressão gênica. Os resultados permitiram validar a cultura celular do osteossarcoma canino, identificar dos padrões de metilação do gene FOXE1. Assim, observou-se a aplicabilidade da determinação do padrão de metilação da região promotora de FOXE1 e a não extrapolação do primer FOXE1 humano para quantificar a expressão gênica do cão / Abstract: Osteosarcoma (OSA) of the dog or osteogenic sarcoma primary tumor is an aggressive biological behavior, prevalent in breeds of medium and large aged seven to nine years. The objective of this study was to apply an experimental model in vitro canine osteosarcoma, to underpin the study of gene FOXE1, tumor suppressor gene has been little research, though extremely important in cancer research by being involved in the signaling pathway HH / GLI2, which positively regulates cell growth. We used five cultures of osteosarcoma, which served as input for methylation analysis, immunostaining and gene expression. The results validate the canine osteosarcoma cell culture to identify patterns of gene methylation FOXE1. Thus, there was determination of the applicability of the methylation pattern of the promoter region of FOXE1 and no extrapolation of human FOXE1 primer to quantify gene expression of the dog / Mestre

Bakgrund: Sveriges befolkning blir allt äldre. Det är en stor heterogen grupp i behov av vårdinsatser och ett antal äldre bor idag på särskilda boenden. Det är vanligt förekommande med fysisk och psykisk ohälsa, ensamhet samt bristande social interaktion på särskilda boenden för äldre. Det har tidigare visats att införandet av hundar inom vården kan minska fysisk och psykisk ohälsa samt öka motivation till deltagande i fysioterapi. Syfte: Undersöka och sammanställa vad vetenskaplig littereratur visar angående fysiska, psykiska och sociala hälsoeffekter hos äldre på särskilda boenden vid regelbunden interaktion med vårdhund. Metod: Litteratursökningen genomfördes via databasen PubMed och åtta vetenskapliga artiklar inkluderades. Artiklarna granskades via PEDro-skalan i syfte att skatta studiekvaliteten. Evidensstyrkan betygsattes sedan via SBU:s metod GRADE. Resultat: Begränsad evidens har visat sig för effektmåtten depression, apati, ångest, aggression, livskvalité, emotioner och ensamhet. Det har visat sig att djurassisterad terapi med hund har otillräckligt vetenskapligt underlag för effektmåtten energiåtgång, fysisk aktivitet, ADL, vikt, BMI, kognition och social interaktion. Konklusion: Resultatet från denna litteraturstudie visar varierande evidens för djurassisterad terapi med hund. Studien påvisar att djurassisterad terapi med hund kan ha positiv effekt på vissa effektmått hos äldre personer på särskilda boenden. Evidensen är som starkast för psykiska effektmått. Vidare forskning med större väl genomförda studier är relevant för att fortsatt kunna utvärdera effekterna av djurassisterad terapi med hund. / Background: The population of Sweden is getting older. It is a big and heterogeneous group in need of health care and a number of older people are living in a nursing home. It is common with physical and mental disorders, loneliness and lack of social interaction in nursing homes. It is shown that animal assisted therapy with dogs can reduce physical and mental illness and motivate older people to participate in physiotherapy. Objective: Examine and compile evidence of animal assisted therapy with dogs on physical, mental och social function in elderly living in a nursing home. Methods: The search was done in the PubMed database and eight articles became included. The articles were assessed for study quality confirmed by the PEDro scale. The evidence from the articles were assessed confirmed by the SBU GRADE. Results: Limited evidence was shown for that animal asssisted therapy with dogs can improve symptoms of depression, apathy, anxiety, agitation, quality of life, emotions and loneliness. Insufficent evidence was found for energy expenditure, physical activity, ADL, weight, BMI, cognition and social interaction. Conclusions: Results show varying evidence for animal assisted therapy with dogs. This study shows that animal assisted therapy with dogs can improve some limited effects in the population of older people at nursing homes, especially for mental health effects. More well made research with larger groups is indicated to ensure and value these effects.

Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis is a standard part of a diagnostic evaluation. Commonly evaluated components include the cell count, protein concentration, glucose, and cytology. CSF analysis can be diagnostic in some diseases such as fungal infections and CNS lymphoma. Often, CSF analysis is not specific, but more information can be obtained. Matrix Metalloproteinases (MMPs) are enzymes that have been found in human CSF. They are calcium and zinc dependent endoproteinases with overlapping substrates. They hydrolyze at least one component of tissue extracellular matrix (ECM), such as collagen or elastin. They are important in normal physiologic processes such as angiogenesis, reproduction and wound healing. One class of MMPs, the gelatinases, degrade gelatins and type IV collagen include MMP 2 and MMP 9. MMPs are important in many pathological processes that involve unregulated matrix destruction such as arthritis, neoplasia and CNS diseases. MMP2 is known to be constituitively produced in CSF while MMP 9 is present only in certain pathologic conditions such as multiple sclerosis, neoplasia and inflammatory diseases. We hypothesize that MMP2 is present in normal canine CSF while MMP 9 is absent. Cerebrospinal fluid samples were taken from 23 normal dogs that were being used for other research purposes. Each CSF sample was evaluated immediately for red blood cells (RBCs), white blood cells (WBCs), protein, and glucose, and then stored at -70°C. Cytological examination was also performed. CSF samples were considered normal if the protein was less than 25 mg/dl, WBCs were less than 6 µl, and RBCs were less than 25 µl. Each dog was euthanized and the brains processed for routine histopathology. MMP analysis was done using gelatin zymography and an enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Bands of enzyme activity were visible following staining due to enzyme degradation of the gelatin. A commercially available polyclonal sandwich ELISA was used to identify the pro form of MMP2. The mean WBC count for the CSF samples was 0.96 WBC/ml with a range of 0-3 WBC/ml. The mean protein was 12 mg/dl, with a range of 8-17 mg/dl. The mean RBC count was 3.65 RBC/ml with a range of 0-21 RBC/ml. All normal samples of CSF contained a band of clearing that corresponded to the human commercial standard of proMMP2. No other major bands of clearing were noted on normal samples. The commercial human standards also contained ProMMP2. Other bands were present, but were faint and variable. Using a polyclonal antibody based sandwich ELISA, with samples run in triplicate, the mean pro MMP 2 levels were determined to be 5.61 ng/ml with a range of 3.36 - 10.83 ng/ml. We conclude that normal CSF values are narrower than what has been previously reported for protein concentration and WBC count. Also, the pro form of MMP 2 is present in normal canine CSF based on results of gelatin zymography and ELISA. / Master of Science

No description available.

Hepatobiliary disease can sometimes be difficult to diagnosis due to non-specific clinical signs, and diagnostic imaging is a vital tool in diagnosing these diseases. Multi-slice computed tomographic cholangiography (MSCTC) is a non-invasive way to obtain high quality images of the hepatobiliary system. Our objectives were to determine the best technique for performing MSCTC in normal dogs with regards to contrast agent, dose, and optimal time to imaging. Our test subjects included eight normal adult hounds. Four dogs were administered Cholografin and the other four Biliscopin. Two dose groups were established with four dogs receiving 0.5mL/kg and four receiving 1 mL/kg. Our results demonstrated that MSCTC is feasible in normal dogs and produces high quality images of the hepatobiliary system. The contrast agent Biliscopin at the higher dose subjectively produced the best quality images. The optimal time to image patients following contrast administration varied between contrast agents (15-60 minutes).