This case study presents how the unit of munition-searching dogs of the Swedish armed forces handles their experiences from international service. The subject is particularly interesting as previous research into the area is nonexistent. The questions asked in the study are answered through the authors findings that training and preparation of this unit has developed thanks to the input of lessons learned from previous missions. This paper, based manly on experience reports, show that the unit successfully uses the method for handling lessons learned chosen within the Swedish armed forces.

“Reading with Your Ears” is a comparative study of comprehension in reading a text versus listening to an audio book. The text excerpt is from Mark Haddon’s The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time and has been read or listened to by seventh-grade students. The results show that the readers understand more from the text since they can read at their own speed and see the pictures in the book. The listeners, on the other hand, seem unaccustomed to listening and have troubles focusing.

Background: The limited within-breed genetic heterogeneity and an enrichment of disease-predisposing alleles have made the dog a very suitable model for the identification of genes associated with risk for specific diseases. Canine mammary cancer is an example of such a disease. However, the underlying inherited risk factors for canine mammary tumours (CMTs) are still largely unknown. In this study, 52 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in ten human cancer-associated genes were genotyped in two different datasets in order to identify genes/alleles associated with the development of CMTs. The first dataset consisted of English Springer Spaniel (ESS) CMT cases and controls. ESS is a dog breed known to be at increased risk of developing CMTs. In the second dataset, dogs from breeds known to have a high frequency of CMTs were compared to dogs from breeds with a lower occurrence of these tumours. Results: We found significant associations to CMT for SNPs and haplotypes in the estrogen receptor 1 (ESR1) gene in the ESS material (best P-Bonf = 0.021). A large number of SNPs, among them several SNPs in ESR1, showed significantly different allele frequencies between the high and low risk breed groups (best P-Bonf = 8.8E-32, best P-BPerm = 0.076). Conclusions: The identification of CMT-associated SNPs in ESR1 in two independent datasets suggests that this gene might be involved in CMT development. These findings also support that CMT may serve as a good model for human breast cancer research.

Syfte: Syftet med studien var att beskriva sjuksköterskans upplevelser av att använda sig av hundassisterad omvårdnad i svensk äldreomsorg. Metod: Intervjuer gjordes med legitimerade sjuksköterskor som hade erfarenhet av sällskapshundar och utbildade hundar inom äldreomsorgen. Resultat: Sjuksköterskorna upplevde att hundassisterad äldreomsorg inverkade positivt på flera plan, både bland de äldre och för personalen. Sjuksköterskorna upplevde att en hund berikade vardagen på äldreboendet och att hunden var till praktisk nytta i sjuksköterskans omvårdnadsarbete, framförallt i arbetet med patienter drabbade av demens. Hundassisterad omvårdnad upplevdes medföra ett ökat välbefinnande, minska stress och aggression, ge ökad glädje och matlust samt stimulera aktivitet, både fysiskt, mentalt och verbalt. Det förekom knappt några allergier bland de äldre, kanske för att deras miljö tidigare inneburit en mer djurnära kontakt. Sjuksköterskorna upplevde att nuvarande antal hundar var för få i förhållande till efterfrågan, och att användandet av hundassisterad äldreomsorg kunde göras mer effektiv, om det upprättades en bättre struktur för mål och uppföljning av gjorda insatser. Slutsats: Den legitimerade sjuksköterskan ser mycket praktisk nytta i sitt omvårdnadsarbete med att använda sig av hundassisterad äldreomsorg, då hunden underlättar arbetssituationen och inverkar lugnande. / Aim: The aim of this study was to describe nurses' experiences of dog- assisted elderly care and how nurses perceive that the dog contributes to the care in Swedish nursing homes. Method: Interviews were conducted with registered nurses who had experience of pet dogs and care- dogs in elderly care. Results: The nurses experienced that dog- assisted care had a positive impact in several levels, both for the elderly and the staff. The nurses experienced that a dog fortified the everyday life in the nursing homes and the dog could be put to practical use in the elderly nursing care, particularly in working with patients suffering from dementia. Dog- assisted care was perceived lead to increased well- being, reduce stress and aggression, provide increased pleasure and appetite. The interaction with the dog stimulated activity, both physically mentally and verbally. There were hardly any allergies among the elderly, perhaps because their environment previously consisted in a close animal contact. The nurses experienced that the current number of dogs were too few in relation to demand, and that the dog- assisted care of elderly could be made more effective, if a better structure were to be put up, for goals and the monitoring of the actions taken. Conclusion: The nurses' experienced that dog- assisted care of elderly also contributed to the nurses' care, because the dog made the work- situation easier and had a calming influence on the patients.

The Dog Child site is a multi-component archaeological site located within Wanuskewin Heritage Park, approximately three kilometres from the City of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. The site was excavated from 2004 to 2009 during the summer field season with help from the University of Saskatchewan Department of Archaeology and Anthropology field school and the Saskatchewan Archaeological Society field school. A Master of Arts thesis dealing with the first three years of excavation entitled The Dog Child Site (FbNp-24): A 5500 Year Multicomponent Site on the Northern Plains was completed by Cyr (2006).<p> A focus on the 2007 to 2009 field seasons has been undertaken in this thesis. Artifacts including projectile points and pottery recovered from the site as well as radiocarbon dates confirm the presence of six occupation levels. Five different projectile point series or complexes are associated with the six occupation levels including: Plains Side-Notched, Prairie Side-Notched, McKean series, Oxbow complex, and Mummy Cave series (Gowen). The Mummy Cave series at the site encompasses two of the occupation levels identified. Due to the rich Gowen cultural level at the site the opportunity to study this cultural occupation in more detail became the focus of the second research program.<p> The Hypsithermal is a period of increased complexity and debate on the Plains. This thesis focuses on the 7500 to 4500 years B.P. time frame during which Mummy Cave series cultural occupations are present. The archaeological remains recovered from the Gowen occupation at the Dog Child site suggest the utilization of a broader subsistence base rather than a sole focus on utilizing and consuming bison. Comparison of other sites from this time period indicates that the Dog Child site may be unique in the number of specimens and taxa represented by the excavated faunal assemblage. From this analysis a wealth of new archaeological data including insight into Hypsithermal subsistence patterns and paleoenvironmental studies can be observed.

Lung dysfunction due to exposure to air in high intensity livestock barn operations is a common problem for workers in these facilities. Exposure to this air has been linked to disorders such as chronic bronchitis, occupational asthma, organic dust toxic syndrome, and chronic cough and phlegm. These symptoms have been linked to higher levels of endotoxins in air in chicken and swine barns. However, there are many other toxic molecules such as bacterial DNA and gases capable of inducing respiratory inflammation. Bacterial molecules are recognized through highly conserved pattern recognition molecules called Toll-like receptors (TLR). While lipopolysaccharides are recognized by TLR4, bacterial unmethylated DNA binds to and signals through TLR9. As a prelude to understanding the biology of TLR9 in lung inflammation, it is important to precisely clarify their in situ expression in the lung. I determined expression of TLR9 in intact lungs from cattle, pigs, dogs, horses, mice, and humans. Two samples from normal lungs of cattle, pigs, dogs, three from horses, and two from inflamed calf lungs were tested. Five normal mouse and three normal human lungs were similarly tested as well as 5 human lungs with diagnosis of asthma. The expression was determined with multiple methods such as Western blots, immunohistology, immunogold electron microscopy and in situ hybridization. Lungs from all the species showed TLR9 expression in the bronchial epithelium, vascular endothelium, alveolar septa, alveolar macrophages, and type-II alveolar epithelial cells. Immuno-electron microscopy detected TLR9 on the plasma membrane, cytoplasm and the nucleus of various cells including macrophages. In situ hybridization demonstrated TLR9 mRNA in the bronchial epithelium, vascular endothelium, alveolar septa, alveolar macrophages, and type-II alveolar epithelial cells of mouse and human. Asthmatic human lungs showed many more inflammatory cells expressing TLR9 compared to healthy lungs. In cattle and horses, pulmonary intravascular macrophages showed robust expression of TLR9. Depletion of pulmonary intravascular macrophages in horses resulted in significant reduction in total TLR9 mRNA in the lungs. Having determined that TLR9 expression is similarly expressed on many lung cell types in mice and humans, I determined the role of TLR9 in barn air induced lung inflammation by exposing TLR9-/- and wild-type mice (6 per group) to single or multiple days (5 and 20) in a chicken barn. Each exposure was of 8 hours/day duration. The TLR9-/- mice exposed 5 and 20 times showed significant reductions in TNF-alpha and IFN-gamma expression in lung lavages as well as cellular changes consistent with reduced lung inflammation such as reductions in the number of lung neutrophils. This suggests that barn dust DNA, acting through TLR9, contributes to lung inflammation seen in response to exposure to chicken barn air. These fundamental data advance our knowledge on the cell-specific expression of TLR9 across a range of species including the humans and demonstrate that TLR9-/- partially regulates lung inflammation induced following exposure to chicken barn air.

Lung dysfunction due to exposure to air in high intensity livestock barn operations is a common problem for workers in these facilities. Exposure to this air has been linked to disorders such as chronic bronchitis, occupational asthma, organic dust toxic syndrome, and chronic cough and phlegm. These symptoms have been linked to higher levels of endotoxins in air in chicken and swine barns. However, there are many other toxic molecules such as bacterial DNA and gases capable of inducing respiratory inflammation. Bacterial molecules are recognized through highly conserved pattern recognition molecules called Toll-like receptors (TLR). While lipopolysaccharides are recognized by TLR4, bacterial unmethylated DNA binds to and signals through TLR9. As a prelude to understanding the biology of TLR9 in lung inflammation, it is important to precisely clarify their in situ expression in the lung. I determined expression of TLR9 in intact lungs from cattle, pigs, dogs, horses, mice, and humans. Two samples from normal lungs of cattle, pigs, dogs, three from horses, and two from inflamed calf lungs were tested. Five normal mouse and three normal human lungs were similarly tested as well as 5 human lungs with diagnosis of asthma. The expression was determined with multiple methods such as Western blots, immunohistology, immunogold electron microscopy and in situ hybridization. Lungs from all the species showed TLR9 expression in the bronchial epithelium, vascular endothelium, alveolar septa, alveolar macrophages, and type-II alveolar epithelial cells. Immuno-electron microscopy detected TLR9 on the plasma membrane, cytoplasm and the nucleus of various cells including macrophages. In situ hybridization demonstrated TLR9 mRNA in the bronchial epithelium, vascular endothelium, alveolar septa, alveolar macrophages, and type-II alveolar epithelial cells of mouse and human. Asthmatic human lungs showed many more inflammatory cells expressing TLR9 compared to healthy lungs. In cattle and horses, pulmonary intravascular macrophages showed robust expression of TLR9. Depletion of pulmonary intravascular macrophages in horses resulted in significant reduction in total TLR9 mRNA in the lungs. Having determined that TLR9 expression is similarly expressed on many lung cell types in mice and humans, I determined the role of TLR9 in barn air induced lung inflammation by exposing TLR9-/- and wild-type mice (6 per group) to single or multiple days (5 and 20) in a chicken barn. Each exposure was of 8 hours/day duration. The TLR9-/- mice exposed 5 and 20 times showed significant reductions in TNF-alpha and IFN-gamma expression in lung lavages as well as cellular changes consistent with reduced lung inflammation such as reductions in the number of lung neutrophils. This suggests that barn dust DNA, acting through TLR9, contributes to lung inflammation seen in response to exposure to chicken barn air. These fundamental data advance our knowledge on the cell-specific expression of TLR9 across a range of species including the humans and demonstrate that TLR9-/- partially regulates lung inflammation induced following exposure to chicken barn air.

Normally the trucks with four wheel drive option will be running in rear wheel drives and the front wheels will be rotating freely. In extreme tough driving conditions, the risk for getting stopped or slipping the rear wheels in mud is high. When the driver tries to engage the four wheel drive option and due to the difference in relative rotational speed of the dog clutch parts, there is a risk for slipping off or bouncing back of the dog clutch. After studying the importance of gear geometry and a few parameters, the team ended up with a new design and the performance of the design found satisfactory when simulated in MSC ADAMS.

The Dog Child site is a multi-component archaeological site located within Wanuskewin Heritage Park, approximately three kilometres from the City of Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. The site was excavated from 2004 to 2009 during the summer field season with help from the University of Saskatchewan Department of Archaeology and Anthropology field school and the Saskatchewan Archaeological Society field school. A Master of Arts thesis dealing with the first three years of excavation entitled The Dog Child Site (FbNp-24): A 5500 Year Multicomponent Site on the Northern Plains was completed by Cyr (2006).<p> A focus on the 2007 to 2009 field seasons has been undertaken in this thesis. Artifacts including projectile points and pottery recovered from the site as well as radiocarbon dates confirm the presence of six occupation levels. Five different projectile point series or complexes are associated with the six occupation levels including: Plains Side-Notched, Prairie Side-Notched, McKean series, Oxbow complex, and Mummy Cave series (Gowen). The Mummy Cave series at the site encompasses two of the occupation levels identified. Due to the rich Gowen cultural level at the site the opportunity to study this cultural occupation in more detail became the focus of the second research program.<p> The Hypsithermal is a period of increased complexity and debate on the Plains. This thesis focuses on the 7500 to 4500 years B.P. time frame during which Mummy Cave series cultural occupations are present. The archaeological remains recovered from the Gowen occupation at the Dog Child site suggest the utilization of a broader subsistence base rather than a sole focus on utilizing and consuming bison. Comparison of other sites from this time period indicates that the Dog Child site may be unique in the number of specimens and taxa represented by the excavated faunal assemblage. From this analysis a wealth of new archaeological data including insight into Hypsithermal subsistence patterns and paleoenvironmental studies can be observed.

Bakgrund: Intresset för att använda hundar inom vården har ökat bland patienter och personal. Forskning har påvisat fysiologiska, psykologiska, emotionella och sociala effekter genom användning av vårdhundar. I dagsläget finns ingen sammanställd forskning om hur detta påverkar patienter med psykiatrisk problematik. Syfte: Syftet med studien var att undersöka hur vårdhundar påverkar patienter med psykiatrisk problematik. Metod: Metoden var en litteraturstudie bestående av 20 vetenskapliga artiklar, 16 kvalitativa och fyra kvantitativa studier, publicerade mellan åren 1989 och 2011. Resultat: Resultatet påvisar effekter som förbättrade psykiatriska symtom, förbättrad social interaktion samt stärkt självkänsla, självförtroende och självbestämmande. Slutsats: Litteraturstudiens resultat tyder på att hundassisterad intervention tycks vara en biverkningsfri metod som kan förbättra patientens livskvalitet genom ökat fysiskt och psykiskt välbefinnande. Detta gäller oavsett patientens psykiatriska problematik eller ålder. / Background: The interest in using dogs within health care has increased among patients and staff. Research has shown physiological, psychological, emotional and social benefits through the usage of animal assisted therapy. Presently there is no compiled research of how this affects patients with psychiatric problems. Aim: The aim of the study was to examine how animal assisted therapy using dogs affects patients with psychiatric problems. Method: The method used was a literature study consisting of 20 scientific articles; 16 qualitative and four quantitative, published between the years 1989 and 2011. Result: The result point out effects such as improved psychiatric symptoms, improved social interaction and improved self-esteem, self-confidence and self-determination. Conclusion: The result of the literature study suggests that the usage of dogs in animal-assisted therapy seems to bee a method free of side effects, that increase the patient´s quality of life through improved physical and psychological wellbeing. This is regardless of the psychiatric problem and age of the patient.