Housing finance and the transmission of monetary policy

Housing - Finance ; Monetary policy ; Mortgages

Broad bean beetle in field bean : how are yield and quality affected?

Bönsmygen (Bruchus rufimanus) uppmärksammades som skadegörare i åkerbönor (Vicia faba) i Sverige 2008 och sedan dess har förekomsten och spridningen av den ökat snabbt. Det saknas kännedom om bönsmygens betydelse och hur den ska bekämpas vilket gör den till ett potentiellt hot i det svenska jordbruket. Syftet med den här studien är att undersöka hur bönsmyg i åkerböna påverkar avkastning, foderkvalitet och utsädeskvalitet. Jag har sökt efter litteratur samt sammanställt och analyserat resultat från försök och undersökningar med bönsmyg i åkerböna. Arealen för odling av åkerböna har ökat under 2010-talet. Den är en bra avbrottsgröda i växtföljden som fixerar eget kväve och lämnar efter sig bra förfruktseffekter. Åkerböna används idag mestadels till foder och kan ersätta importerad soja samtidigt som det finns en ökad efterfrågan på vegetabiliska proteinkällor till humankonsumtion. Det är en baljväxt med potential till flera ändamål och fungerar bra att odla i Sverige då den har en viss långdagskaraktär och klarar lägre temperaturer. Bönsmygen är en skadegörare som orsakar synliga skador på åkerbönornas frön. Den konsumerar åkerbönans pollen och honorna lägger ägg på baljorna. Larverna som kläcks borrar sig sedan genom baljorna och in i bönorna där de äter av bönorna under växtsäsongen och förpuppas innan de blir fullvuxna skalbaggar, som borrar sig ut ur bönan och lämnar efter sig hål i bönan. De vuxna bönsmygen har en flexibel övervintringsstrategi och kan övervintra frilevande på skyddande platser eller inuti bönan. Bönsmygen har en parasitstekel (Triaspis thoracicus) som dödar bönsmygens larver och minskar de vuxna övervintrande populationerna. Hur bönsmygen påverkar åkerbönans avkastning undersöktes genom att sammanställa och analysera resultat från tre bekämpningsförsök där jag undersökte hur avkastningen påverkas i förhållande till angreppsnivån. Resultaten visade att åkerbönans avkastning kan minska med ökad angreppsnivå av bönsmygen. Bönsmygens påverkan på åkerbönans foderkvalitet undersöktes genom att sammanställa resultat från en foderanalys av åkerbönor med respektive utan angrepp av bönsmyg. Resultaten antyder att bönsmygen inte tycks ha någon betydande påverkan på foderkvaliteten. Effekten av bönsmyg på utsädeskvaliteten undersöktes genom att sammanställa och analysera resultaten från ett mindre växthusförsök som gjordes för att undersöka hur bönor angripna av bönsmyg påverkar avkastningen. Resultaten visade att medelbönvikten per planta skördade från bönor med utgångshål från bönsmyg var lägre än för bönor med utgångshål av bönsmygens parasitstekel, vilket tyder på att bönsmygens parasitstekel kan minska de negativa effekterna av bönsmyg på utsädeskvaliteten. Jag drar slutsatsen att det krävs mer kunskap och undersökningar om bönsmygen för att reda ut hur den påverkar avkastning och skördekvalitet i åkerböna.The broad bean beetle (Bruchus rufimanus) was observed in Sweden 2008 and its occurrence and spreading has increased rapidly since then. There is not enough knowledge about the importance of the broad bean beetle, which makes it a potential threat in Swedish agriculture. The purpose of this study is to investigate how the broad bean beetle in field bean (Vicia faba) affects yield, fodder quality and seed quality. I have searched for literature and analyzed results from investigations concerning the broad bean beetle in field bean. The area of field bean production has increased over the last decade in Sweden. Field bean is a nitrogen-fixing legume that is a good break crop in the crop rotation. Today, field bean is mostly used for fodder and can replace imported soybeans. The popularity of vegetable protein sources for human consumption has also increased. Field bean has potential to be used for multiple purposes and it works well as a crop in Sweden due to its long photoperiod attribute and capacity to germinate and grow during relatively low temperatures. The broad bean beetle is a pest that causes visible damage on seeds of field bean. It consumes the pollen of the field bean and the females lay their eggs on the pods. The larvae that hatch later drill holes through the pods and into the beans where they eat of the bean and enter their pupal stage. After some time, they will enter the adult stage, drill a new hole in the bean and emerge from it. The adult broad bean beetles have a flexible overwintering strategy, it overwinters in protected sites or inside a bean. The specialized parasitoid wasp Triaspis thoracicus kills the larvae of the broad bean beetle and can thereby decrease the population size of the newly emerged adults. The effects of the broad bean beetle on field bean yield was investigated by analyzing results from three chemical control field trials where, I analyzed how the yield changes in relation to broad bean beetle damage. The results showed that increased occurrence of the beetle can cause losses in yield. The effects of the broad bean beetle on fodder quality was investigated by compiling results from a fodder analysis of beans with or without broad bean beetle damage. The results showed that the broad bean beetle does not seem to affect the fodder quality. The effects of the broad bean beetle on seed quality was investigated by analyzing the results from a smaller greenhouse trial that was performed to investigate the yield on field bean seeds with exit holes from the broad bean beetle or its parasitoid compared with undamaged bean seeds. The results showed that the average bean weight per plant harvested from bean seeds with exit holes from broad bean beetles was lower compared to the average bean weight per plant harvested from bean seeds with exit holes of the parasitoid wasp. This indicates that the parasitoid wasp can mitigate the negative effects of the broad bean beetle on seed quality. I conclude that further investigations on how the broad bean beetle affects yield and quality are needed

Företrädaransvaret i SBL- En befogad inskränkning i den aktiebolagsrättsliga grundprincipen om frihet från personligt betalningsansvar?

Uppsatsen behandlar företrädaransvaret i skattebetalningslagen. Enligt dessa regler kan en företrädare för en juridisk person bli personligt betalningsansvarig för det fall den juridiska personen inte betalar in sina skatter korrekt. Utgångspunkten för uppsatsen är att undersöka huruvida det är nödvändigt med särskilda regler för icke inbetald skatt eller om det är tillräckligt med de ansvarsregler som finns inom aktiebolagsrätten. Uppsatsen redogör för hur företrädaransvaret ser ut i svensk rätt idag men går även igenom de motiv som ligger bakom bestämmelserna samt hur det har utvecklats över tid. Härutöver utreds vilka andra möjligheter staten har att få betalt för upplupen skatt. Dessutom förs en diskussion kring företrädaransvarets förhållande till aktiebolagsrättens huvudprincip om ansvarsfrihet

The Corporation - Unbounded and Unhinged

In this paper, my argument concerns the legal status of a corporation, which is the same as a physical person, and whether it should be judged in the same way as a person. Recently companies have been criticised for being too like humans, (greedy and immoral). The problem is that in these days of transnational companies, local states are not strong enough to regulate transnational corporations, or are already in collusion with them, and the US has a policy of extraterritoriality, in which corporations are bound only by local laws, not US laws. But the morality of US companies abroad is judged by US citizens on the standards which apply in the US. Referring to both the metaphor of personality, and the legal personality, the paper explores whether a corporation has a conscience. The example of the East India Company, which the Crown took over after its adventurism abroad, provides a starting point. Using a corporate ethnography and a film, the paper argues that some modern corporations can be diagnosed with a form of mental illness, acting as psychopaths in their social relations, or trapped in a double bind set up by investors and rating agencies. As with people, mentally ill corporations should be constrained. Thus companies that behave badly abroad (ie without a conscience) should be regulated by the state (or by public opinion) at home

Human Papillomavirus vaccination: Immunological and epidemiological studies

This thesis has evaluated the immunological- and epidemiological aspects of human papillomavirus transmission dynamics and its effect on circumcision. Effective prophylactic vaccines are based on type-specific neutralizing antibodies. A major neutralizing epitope is defined by the monoclonal antibody H16.V5. To investigate the importance of this epitope for overall immunogenicity of HPV16, we engineered HPV16 virus-like particles devoid of the H16.V5 epitope by site-directed mutagenesis of 10 non-conserved, surface exposed residues. Removal of the V5-defined epitope had only marginal effect on antigenic reactivity with antibodies in sera from infected subjects, but affected immunogenicity in experimental immunization of mice, with reduced induction of both antibody responses and CTL responses. A serological survey of HPV16 antibody prevalence by age and sex in Sweden was performed and used it as a basis for modeling the optimal vaccination strategies in this population. By the year 2055, vaccination of females starting at age 12 in 2008 was most efficient, estimated to prevent 5.8 million cumulative HPV16 infections. Catch-up programs had a strong additional preventive effect. Vaccination also targeting males increased protective effect by about 4 percent, but had lower preventive effect per vaccination given. Addition of an HPV serosurvey to existing models and data has enabled us to estimate effect of different vaccination strategies, optimised to the HPV epidemiology in our population. The age-dependent seroprevalence of HPV6, 11, 16, 18, and 52 infection was investigated and further used to asses the transmission dynamics in a representative Swedish population. Analyses of age-specific prevalence revealed different patterns for high- and low-risk HPV infections between females and males. Circumcision has been reported to protect against infection with human papillomavirus in men, but results have been inconsistent. We followed males in a birth cohort born in Dunedin, New Zealand from age 3 to 32 years. Circumcision was not found to be protective, with the adjusted odds ratio (95% confidence interval) for HPV6/11/16/18 seropositivity among the circumcised compared with the uncircumcised being 1.4 (0.89-2.2)

The collaborative index

This thesis was submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and awarded by Brunel University.Information-seekers use a variety of information stores including electronic systems and the physical world experience of their community. Within electronic systems, information-seekers often report feelings of being lost and suffering from information overload. However, in the physical world they tend not to report the same negative feelings. This work draws on existing research including Collaborative Filtering, Recommender Systems and Social Navigation and reports on a new observational study of information-seeking behaviours. From the combined findings of the research and the observational study, a set of design considerations for the creation of a new electronic interface is proposed. Two new interfaces, the second built from the recommendations of the first, and a supporting methodology are created using the proposed design considerations. The second interface, the Collaborative Index, is shown to allow physical world behaviours to be used in the electronic world and it is argued that this has resulted in an alternative and preferred access route to information. This preferred route is a product of information-seekers' interactions 'within the machine' and maintains the integrity of the source information and navigational structures. The methodology used to support the Collaborative Index provides information managers with an understanding of the information-seekers' needs and an insight into their behaviours. It is argued that the combination of the Collaborative Index and its supporting methodology has provided the capability for information-seekers and information managers to 'enter into the machine', producing benefits for both groups