We have previously shown that diets enriched with (n-3) fatty acids reduced the delayed-type hypersensitivity (DTH) skin reaction to keyhole limpet haemocyanin (KLH) in geriatric-Beagles. Although the amount of ��-tocopheryl acetate in diets of the previous study exceeded requirements, plasma ��-tocopherol concentration was significantly lower in dogs fed the high (n-3) fatty acid diets. There are several reasons that could explain the decreased DTH response. Some of these include decreased cytokine production, specifically, interleukin (IL) IL-1��, tumor necrosis factor (TNF) and IL-6 by mononuclear cells. Furthermore, the reduced DTH response could be attributed to increased levels of lipid peroxides or changes in plasma ��-tocopherol levels. In this study we examined the effects of feeding 32 healthy, female, geriatric-Beagles diets containing (n-6) to (n-3) fatty acid ratios of 37:1 and 1.7:1, while varying the content of ��-tocopheryl acetate, [high (447 ug/g), med (101 ug/g) and low (17 ug/g)] for 82 days on the DTH reaction. Consumption of the 1.7:1 fatty acid diets significantly increased the total content of (n-3) fatty acids in plasma compared to the 37:1 fatty acid diets (17.00 and 2.02 wt %, respectively). There was a significant interaction between the (n-6) and (n-3) fatty acid ratio and the concentration of ��-tocopheryl acetate in the diet on the plasma concentration of ��-tocoopherol. The concentration of ��-tocopheryl acetate in plasma of dogs fed the 1.7:1 fatty acid diets was 17.3, 25.4, and 35.4 ug/ml, respectively, for the low, med and high ��-tocopheryl acetate containing diets, and in dogs fed the 37:1 fatty acids diets was 20.8, 34.9, 52.4 ug/ml, respectively. Consumption of the 1.7:1 fatty acid diets with either low or high ��-tocopheryl acetate showed no differences in DTH response from each other or from dogs consuming the 37.1:1 fatty acid diets. When the dietary ��-tocopheryl acetate concentration was moderate, a significant suppression of the DTH response occurred at 48, 72, and 96 hr in dogs consuming the 1.7:1 fatty acid diet. These data suggest that an interaction exits between dietary (n-3) fatty acid content and ��-tocopheryl acetate on the immune response as measured by the DTH test. / Graduation date: 2000

Management of wolves is a complex issue, and molecular genetics is an important tool in this work. Molecular genetics can provide important information at the species, population and individual level, which can be essential for the development of management programs aiming at the long term survival of wolf populations. In this thesis I developed new genetic markers on the canine Y chromosome to estimate the number of founders of the Scandinavian wolf population. This knowledge is important to reconstruct the history of the population and to design the most appropriate conservation strategies. Next, genetic markers with different pattern of inheritance have been used to identify hybrids between wolves and dogs. This allowed us to determine the direction of hybridization and to evaluate its possible impact on the gene pool of a wolf population. Furthermore, I also developed a method for a more reliable identification of the predator responsible of an attack by using saliva remains left on the prey. Since predation on livestock is perhaps the main reason for the negative opinions about the predator, the correct identification of the responsible for an attack (wolf, dog or hybrid) is essential. Finally, this thesis has also been focusing on the domestication of dogs. By using Y chromosome markers (paternally inherited), it has been possible to complement previous studies based on mtDNA sequences (maternally inherited) and autosomal markers (inherited from both parents). In this way I have obtained a more complete picture of the domestication process and of the origin of breeds. This has shown that there has been a bias in the contribution of the two sexes in the origin of dog breeds (fewer males then females contributing to each breed) and that the origin of dogs was not marked by extensive backcrosses with male wolves over the entire species range.

In 1869-70 the Métis of the Red River region in Manitoba resisted the transfer of their homeland from the Hudson’s Bay Company to Canada. The Métis people responded to this transfer by blocking Canadian surveyors, government officials, and taking control of the territory through the establishment of representative institutions. Eventually, the Métis negotiated favourable terms with Ottawa which, this thesis argues, represented according to law, and to the Métis, a treaty. This thesis argues that this treaty was intended to protect the Métis homeland and provide political and social protections. The Manitoba Métis Treaty was intended to guarantee the Métis a land base in Manitoba the total size of which was to be 1.4 million acres. The reservation of this land came with protective obligations so that the entire community would receive a benefit from such lands. While Canada has developed a body of treaty law which will be used to interpret the Manitoba Métis Treaty, matters were convoluted by the enshrinement of this treaty agreement in the Manitoba Act of 1870, a document which would gain constitutional status a year later. The impact of this legislative history has led some researchers to link government obligations entirely to the Act, rather than to the negotiated agreement. Indeed, it would seem that the negotiations have been, for the most part, understood as nothing more than conversations. I reject that position and argue that both the negotiations and the Act must be taken into consideration when assessing the obligations undertaken by the Crown. The unique history of the Manitoba agreement means that Canada was under both constitutional and treaty law obligations to uphold the negotiated agreement between itself and the Métis. This thesis argues that not only is the treaty the correct legal interpretation of the events of 1869-70 but that the government of Canada failed to honour its commitments in several meaningful ways. The approach utilized in this thesis is designed to be reliant upon the basic structure and doctrines of Canadian law but to do so in a manner which gives weight to the Métis voice. It is neither a critique which is wholly internal to Canadian law nor is it completely dismissive of Canadian law. Instead, this thesis will illustrate that with only minor adjustments to the application and interpretation of colonial law, the Manitoba Métis Treaty could find a more receptive audience in Canadian legal thought. In the face of a reasonable alternative, such a project can allow other researchers to question why the courts have chosen a path which denies reception of Métis voice, community and culture in Canadian law.

An increasingly globalized market is leading to hard competition among manufacturing companies, which means that they are forced to become more customer focused to survive in the market. A Customer Relationship Management system is a system that will be of assistance to help companies succeed in building long term relationships with their customers. Best of Breed and ERP-based are two types of CRM systems. The study has focused on analyzing and examine the need for CRM systems at manufacturing companies. Our question formulation has been: • What need do businesses want to satisfy with a Best of Breed-based and ERP-based CRM system?• Are there any differences in the use of Best of Breed-based and ERP-based CRM system? In this study, we have chosen to carry out interviews and quantitative surveys with manufacturing companies to get their view of CRM-systems. We also chose to conduct detailed interviews with system vendors in two different perspectives to see how they perceive the need for companies to use CRM systems. The study shows that over half of the interviewed companies use a CRM system today, and between them it is an almost even distribution between those who use an ERP-based and a Best of Breed CRM system. Companies that use an ERP-based CRM system believe that integration is the main criterion for the selection of CRM, while those with Best of Breed believe that the functionality and usability of the system is the most important. The main use for the system is management of contact information and sales support. According to the system vendors, it is important for their customers that the CRM system supports the sales, market and customer service process. It is also equally important that it provides good functionality and is user friendly. A company that have used both types of CRM systems mentioned that the advantage they see with an ERP-based CRM is primarily the degree of integration with the company's other systems, and that you only need to enter information into a system at one time.Just over forty percent of the interviewed companies that currently not use a CRM system are planning to make an investment in the next four of five years.

<p>The first method for DNA analysis in forensics was presented in 1985. Since then, the introduction of the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) has rendered possible the analysis of small amounts of DNA and automated sequencing and fragment analysis techniques have facilitated the analyses. In most cases short tandemly repeated regions (STRs) of nuclear DNA are analysed in forensic investigations, but all samples cannot be successfully analysed using this method. For samples containing minute amounts of DNA or degraded DNA, such as shed hairs, analysis of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is generally more successful due to the presence of thousands of copies of mtDNA molecules per cell.</p><p>In Sweden, ~40 % of all households have cats or dogs. With ~9 million humans shedding ~100 scalp hairs per day, and ~1.6 million cats and ~1 million dogs shedding hairs it is not surprising that shed hairs are one of the most common biological evidence found at crime scenes. However, the match probability for domestic dog mtDNA analysis has only been investigated in a few minor studies. Furthermore, although breed –sequence correlations of the noncoding mtDNA control region (CR) have been analysed in a few studies, showing limited correlations, no largescale studies have been performed previously. Thus, there have not been any comprehensive studies of forensic informativity of dog mtDNA. In the two papers presented in this thesis we have tried to lay a foundation for forensic use of analysis of domestic dog mtDNA. In the first paper, CR sequences were analysed and the exclusion capacity was investigated for a number of different populations. This is also the first comprehensive study of the correlation between mtDNA CR type and breed, type, and geographic origin of domestic dogs. Since the exclusion capacity for analysis of domestic dog CR sequences is relatively low, it was investigated in the second paper to what extent the discrimination power is improved by analysis of coding sequence. The exclusion capacity improved considerably when 3,000 base pairs of coding sequences where analysed in addition to CR sequences. This study will hopefully work as a basis for future development of analysis of dog mtDNA for forensic purposes.</p>

As our long-term companions, dogs’ communication with us is perhaps the most developed of all human- animal ones. This study was aimed to investigate breed differences of German Shepherds and Labradors in dog-human communication. This was obtained through two tests: a problem-solving task and a pointing test. These two tests target both directions of communication: how much dogs understand and respond to the pointing and how they communicate with humans when facing a problem. Additionally, hair cortisol was measured in the dogs and dog owners filled a behavioural questionnaire (C-BARQ). The main breed difference I found was that Labradors performed better in both tests. I also found that the latency of the dogs’ choices in the pointing test correlated with many factors, e.g. they chose quicker when: choosing correctly, when they had many physical contacts with the experimenter in the problem-solving task, when they were more intense, energetic dogs, when they had higher hair cortisol levels and when they had a confident body posture. This indicates that the latency of choice could depend on the confidence of the dog and on the trust in the experimenter as well as on energy level and focus ability. Overall, this study revealed a limited amount of breed differences, compared to a parallel study on Labrador types (hunting and show dogs), showing that intra-breed differences can be more important than inter-breed ones on a behavioural level.

Ziel der Arbeit: die Abhängigkeit der physischen Schweineeigenschaften von der Schweinerasse. Arbeitsmethodik: in dem frischen Fleisch wurde pH-Wert, Farbigkeit, Wassergehalt, Wasserbindigkeit, Kochverluste und Zartheit festgestellt. Für die Ergebnisse wurde das Schlachtfleisch von 20 Litauischen Weißen, 20 Yorkshire, 20 Landrasen und 20 Großen Weißen Schweinen untersucht. Die Untersuchungen wurden nach bestimmten Methoden im Labor für Bewertung der physischen Fleischeigenschaften und –qualität vom Vieh durchgeführt. Die Schweinezucht ist ein der Hauptzweige der Viehzucht. In der Fleischindustrie macht das Schweinefleisch 40% aus. Das ist ein der produktivsten Viehzuchtzweig. In Litauen verbraucht man im einem Jahr ca. 20-23 kg vom Fleisch, darunter 40% ist das Schweinefleisch. Die Farbigkeit ist ein der Kennzeichen, nach dem die Fleischqualität und Verkaufsaussehen eingeschätzt wird. Vor dem Erwerb ist das Fleisch sensorisch zu überprüfen. Das ist eine Voraussetzung für gute Endproduktqualität und Präzision der technologischen Prozesse. Die Farbe vom Schweinefleisch hat Schattierungen von hell- bis dunkelrot. Das Schweinefleisch unterzeichnet sich durch sanfte Konsistenz und weiches muskulöses Gewebe. Sein Bindgewebe ist sanfter als beim Rindfleisch. Die Viehrasse, -typ, -alter, Masttyp, Nachschlachtungfaktoren, technologische Prozesse, Menge von Bindgewebe, Verhältnis zwischen Kollagen und Elastin beeinflussen die Fleischzartheit. Der wichtigste von technologischen... [to full text]

Das Ziel der Arbeit. Die chemische Zusammensetzung des Fleisches unterschiedlicher Schweinerassen zu erforschen. Die Aufgabe der Arbeit. Den Eifluß der Rasse in der Schweinefleisch Trockenstoffen, intermuskulären Fette, Aschegehalt, Eiweissegehalt zu erforschen. Fleischkaloriengehalt den verschiedenen Schweinerassen zu festlegen. Den Einflu�� der Esscholle den Chemischerfleischeigenschafen und Kaloriengehalt zu erforschen. Die Arbeitsmethodik. Das Fleisch von folgenden Schweinerassen wurde untersucht: 20 Litauische Weisse, 20 Yorkshire, 20 Landrasse und 20 Grosse Weisse. Der Untersuchungen wurde 31 weiblich und 49 mänlich Schweinefleisch genohmen. Für die Erforschung wurde die längste Rückenmuskel bei der letzten 3. Rippe genommen. Die Schweine wurden in der Kontroll-Fütterungsgsstation gezüchtet. Die Untersuchungen wurden im Labor für die Bewertung der Vieh-Fleischeigenschaften und -Fleischqualität anhand der allgemein gültigen Methodiken durchgeführt. Die Untersuchungsergebnisse und Besprechung. Die Schweine werden im mehreren Weltländern gezüchtet. Das Schweinefleisch zeichnet sich durch das gute Geschmack aus, hat mehrere wertvolle Gehaltstoffe und ist ein der am billigsten herzustellenden Lebensmittelprodukte. Nach der Analyse der chemischen Zusammensetzung des Fleisches ist es möglich, die Nähr- und Energiewerte zu beurteilen und die Qualität der Fleischprodukte vorherzusagen. Das Schweinefleisch ist ein leicht verdaubares Produkt. Auf dem Weltmarkt ist das fettarme... [to full text]

This thesis gives a genetic overview of the Hays Converter, a beef breed developed in Canada in the 1950s. Pedigree records were examined to determine genetic diversity and inbreeding. A positive rate of inbreeding and a decrease in the amount of genetic diversity was found. Single trait and bivariate animal models were used to determine genetic parameters and trends for growth, ultrasound, and carcass traits. An increasing genetic trend was found for growth traits which the breed was selected for. The accuracy of imputation from 6k to 50k marker panels using a reference group of 100 animals was determined. Imputation was performed with a high accuracy (>0.93) for pure Hays Converter animals, but was found to be unsuccessful when individuals had large contributions from additional breeds. This work forms the foundation for future management and advance of the breed while outlining its history and progress. / Daniel P. Hays

Zur deskriptiven Darstellung der kardiologischen Untersuchung von Golden Retrievern wurden 50 vorberichtlich und klinisch gesunde Hunde der genannten Rasse untersucht. Die Probanden erfuhren eine allgemeine klinische Untersuchung mit besonderer Beurteilung des Herz-Kreislaufsystems, eine Blutdruckmessung, eine elektrokardiografische sowie eine echokardiografische Untersuchung. Zur Abklärung systemischer Erkrankungen, die die Herz-Kreislauffunktion beeinflussen können, wurden zudem Blutuntersuchungen durchgeführt. Während der klinischen Untersuchung lag die Herzfrequenz der Probanden bei 97,7 ± 28,0 Schlägen pro Minute. Auskultatorisch konnte bei keinem der Probanden ein besonderer Befund erhoben werden. Der Blutdruck wurde bei den untersuchten Tieren mittels Doppler-Sphygmomanometrie ermittelt. Dabei ergab sich ein systolischer Blutdruck von 152,5 ± 24,0 mmHg. Vier der Golden Retriever waren mit einem systolischen Blutdruck von 200 bis 220 mmHg hypertensiv. Mehrere Hunde wiesen zudem grenzwertig hohe Blutdruckwerte zwischen 160 und 180 mmHg auf. Anhand der durchgeführten Untersuchungen konnte keine Ursache für diese systemische Hypertension gefunden werden. Folgeerscheinungen der Hypertension ließen sich nicht nachweisen. Wahrscheinlich handelt es sich hierbei um eine aufregungsassoziierte kurzfristige Blutdruckerhöhung. Anhand der Laboruntersuchungen konnten geringgradige Veränderungen festgestellt werden, die allerdings keinen Einfluss auf die kardiale Funktion haben sollten. Mit Hilfe der elektrokardiografischen Untersuchung konnten keine Arrhythmien nachgewiesen werden. Acht der untersuchten 50 Hunde wurden aufgrund morphologischer pathologischer Veränderungen von der Erhebung echokardiografischer Referenzwerte ausgeschlossen, um eine Beeinflussung der Normalparameter zu verhindern. Von den Golden Retrievern mit pathologischen Veränderungen wiesen sieben eine geringgradige Subaortensstenose auf und ein Hund eine systolische Dysfunktion in Form einer okkulten dilatativen Kardiomyopathie. Anhand der durchgeführten Untersuchungen konnten echokardiografische Normalparameter für den Golden Retriever etabliert werden. Ähnliche Untersuchungen anderer Hunderassen zeigen die Wichtigkeit der Etablierung rassespezifischer Referenzwerte auf. Sieben der vorberichtlich und klinisch gesunden Golden Retriever wiesen eine geringgradige Subaortenstenose auf, einer eine okkulte Kardiomyopathie. Aufgrund der Gefahr der Vererbung der genannten Erkrankungen kann durch die vorliegende Untersuchung gezeigt werden, wie wichtig eine kardiologische Screening-Untersuchung von Golden Retrievern vor Zuchtnutzung ist.