Undersökning av ögats brytningsförmåga i ett svenskt hästmaterial

Skiascopy, also called retinoscopy, is a method for determining the refractive power of the eye. There are only a few, old studies made on equine refraction. The aim of this study was to investigate the refractive power in a population of Swedish horses. The study consists of a review of relevant studies done on animals and an experimental part where the refractive power of 93 horses of different age, breed and usage was examined. A pilot study of 12 horses was performed regarding the importance of cycloplegia when doing skiascopy on horses. The results of the pilot study show no significant difference in the skiascopy results between the group before and after cycloplegia were induced. Consequently, there is no need of inducing cycloplegia before doing skiascopy in adult horses. The study shows that horses usually were emmetropic (normally sighted) with minor deviations toward myopia or hyperopia. There was a clear relation between age and refractive error. With increasing age, the horses became more nearsighted, myopic. Furthermore, the results suggested that refractive power was different in different breeds. Icelandic horses were more farsighted, hyperopic, and thoroughbreds were more myopic. Horses used for dressage were more myopic than horses used for other purposes. Given that this study includes a relatively small number of horses, it would be interesting to study a larger population with respect to age, breed and usage. Furthermore, it would also be interesting to study the refractive power of foals and young horses.Skiaskopi, även kallat retinoskopi, är en metod där ögats brytningsförmåga, refraktion, kan bestämmas objektivt. Det finns bara ett fåtal studier gjorda över hästars brytningsfel och de som finns är mycket gamla. Syftet med denna studie är att undersöka en grupp svenska hästars brytningsförmåga. Studien består dels av en litteraturstudie, där en sammanställning över relevanta studier på ett flertal djurslag är gjord, samt dels av en experimentell studie där 93 hästar av varierande ras, ålder och användningsområde har undersökts med avseende på brytningsförmåga. En pilotstudie har även genomförts, där vikten av ackommodationspares (cykloplegi) vid skiaskopi på häst undersöktes. Detta gjordes på 12 hästar. Resultaten från pilotstudien visar att ingen signifikant skillnad i skiaskopiresultat finns i grupperna före och efter att cykloplegi inducerats. Följaktligen är det inte nödvändigt att inducera ackommodationspares vid skiaskopi på vuxna hästar. Studien visar att hästar vanligtvis är emmetropa (normalsynta) med små avvikelser till närsynthet eller översynthet. Det förelåg ett tydligt negativt samband mellan ålder och refraktion, med ökande ålder var hästarna mer myopa (närsynta). I den undersökta hästpopulationen fanns ett visst samband mellan hästras och brytningsfel. Islandshästar var något långsynta, hyperopa, och fullblod myopa. Det finns en lite större andel myopa individer bland dressyrhästarna än bland hästarna i de andra användningsområdena. Då det är ett relativt litet material som använts skulle det vara intressant att studera större grupper av hästar av olika ras, ålder och användningsområden. Vidare vore det av intresse att i framtida studier undersöka föl och unghästars brytningsförmåga

Extended Spectrum Beta-Lactamase/AmpC-Producing E Coli in Dogs Treated with Antimicrobials in Surgical Wards

The aim of this study is to investigate the prevalence and carriage of Extended Spec - trum Beta-Lactamase (ESBL) and AmpC- producing strains of E. coli and Klebsi - ella spp in hospitalized dogs treated with antimicrobials. Tissue and fecal samples from 66 dogs were analyzed for presence of AmpC or ESBL producing bacteria. The dogs had to have been admitted to the surgical ward for at least 24 hours and have received antimicrobial treatment. Samples were plated onto bovine blood agar and after incubation for 24 + 24 h, five colonies morphologically consistent with E.coli and Klebsiella spp , were selected and recultured onto media containing antimicrobials. Dogs carrying ESBL/AmpC- producing bacteria were retested for rectal colonisation at 3-6 months intervals for up to 16 months. Five (7.6%) dogs carried bacterial strains posi - tive for ESBL/AmpC- producing- genes in feces. All tissue samples were negative. One dog, previously positive for bla CMY-2 , carried ESBL genotype bla TEM-52 , in the second sample. Four dogs remained posi - tive throughout the testing. None of the dogs had signs of infection or symptoms associ - ated with the carriage of ESBL or plasmid mediated-AmpC- producing bacteria. Seven unique MLVA-types were identified. The results from this study show fecal car - riage for as long as 16 months of ESBL/ AmpC- producing E.coli in dogs treated with antimicrobials. Although clonal spread could not be verified in this study, the risk of dissemination of multiresistant bacteria in animal hospitals and in the community must be considered

The Effect on House Prices of the Remediation of Contaminated Areas A study of the Falu mine in Sweden

Our thesis aims to measure how a local population values the effect of remediating a contaminated site to strengthen the argument for remediation. We estimate the effect of remediation processes of the Falu mine in Sweden on sales prices of surrounding houses and estimate the willingness to pay of the local population for the cleanup. We find that after remediation, residential property prices in the remediated area increased by 6.9 percent more than prices of houses located outside the remediated area. We estimate that the aggregated profit for the increase in price on the total land area owned by homeowners in the remediated area is SEK 100,725,965 SEK, which exceeds the governmental costs of remediation of the Falu mine. H aMSc in Economic

Moving up, down or sideways? Exploring consumer experience of identity and status incongruence

Purpose - The purpose of this article is to argue that consumers experience conflict not only when in identity transitions or social status transitions but also in-between these two, and that the relationship between these two is becoming increasingly important to address. First, this is done by identifying how status transitions (vertical movements) overlap but differ in some important respects from identity transitions (horizontal movements), and second, the consumption strategies used by people when these movements lead to an experience of conflict between one's (new/old) identity role and (new/old) status position have been demonstrated. Design/methodology/approach - In this multi-sited, qualitative data collection, the phenomenological and ethnographic interviews have been conducted with 35 urban middle-class consumers in their homes at three culturally and historically different sites (Sweden, Turkey and the USA). Findings - The importance and kind of a consumption strategy to resolve the status-identity incongruence relates if it is mainly a vertically or horizontally determined transition. To consumers with a main focus on status change - characterised by hierarchical and competitive dimensions that identity role transitions are free from - the engagement in consumption becomes more important and intense. Practical implications - Marketers have historically mainly been engaged in static categorisation and segmentation of consumer lifestyles. By instead emphasising consumers' life transitions and their accompanying status-identity conflicts, marketers may consider the implications for market communication. Social implications - Given that liquid modernity (Bauman, 2001) and its loose social structures forces the middle-class to become increasingly socially mobile, matches and mismatches between identity and status positions ought to become more common and the resulting consumption strategies more sophisticated. This research offers a first, tentative framework for understanding these conflicts in relation to consumption. Originality/value - Although lifestyle transitions have often been elaborated on in consumer research, the differences between social status transitions and identity transitions, and especially the conflict in-between these two, have not been paid its deserved attention. Based on multi-sited, qualitative data collection, concrete consumption strategies following the experience of status-identity incongruence have been identified. The results also contribute to a better understanding of the growing uncertainty and volatility of social status positions in contemporary middle-class consumer culture

Why do I prefer working from home and my colleague at the office? : A study on the preference factors of office workers relating to working from home or at the office.

The Covid-19 pandemic broadly affected the world together with the phenomena of digitalization, which quickly accelerated during the pandemic. This led to people working more from home (also called WFH or telework) or in a hybrid mix, which has workers reporting different opinions on the preferences for working at home or the office (Alexander et al., 2020). This change meant that managers and companies needed to rethink the structure of the organization and the effect of WFH or hybrid work form, to fit the preferences of the personnel and its productivity. Previous research shows that household characteristics have a significant impact on workplace preference. As Hill et al. (2003) reported that there were blurred lines between work and home life when working from home. The main purpose of this study was to find the factors that lead employees to prefer working from home or the office. This was done through the research question ”What are the factors which lead people to prefer working from home or at the office,  and how do these factors differ between Generation X and millennials?”. This study was done with a deductive approach for the qualitative research and consists of a cross-sectional design with a restrictive time frame. Interviews were conducted with ten participants, including five participants from the generation of millennials born between 1981-1996 and the other five from Generation X born between 1965-1980 (Kagan, 2021). These interviews were semi-structured, followed by a thematic analysis method to analyze the collected qualitative primary data The coded data were analyzed relating to the research question. However, this study was conducted with participants from Svealand, Sweden and it can be disputed whether this sample is large enough and whether this region can represent the whole of Sweden.   Further, the results of this study found that the main factors behind workplace preference, common to both generations, were the organizational factor and job characteristics which includes the support from the organizations in form of equipment, training, digital tools together with the nature of the tasks and the possibility to do them at home. This is significant since earlier research predominately discusses household characteristics and accommodating working-home life balance, which was a weak factor in this study.

Why do I prefer working from home and my colleague at the office? : A study on the preference factors of office workers relating to working from home or at the office.

The Covid-19 pandemic broadly affected the world together with the phenomena of digitalization, which quickly accelerated during the pandemic. This led to people working more from home (also called WFH or telework) or in a hybrid mix, which has workers reporting different opinions on the preferences for working at home or the office (Alexander et al., 2020). This change meant that managers and companies needed to rethink the structure of the organization and the effect of WFH or hybrid work form, to fit the preferences of the personnel and its productivity. Previous research shows that household characteristics have a significant impact on workplace preference. As Hill et al. (2003) reported that there were blurred lines between work and home life when working from home. The main purpose of this study was to find the factors that lead employees to prefer working from home or the office. This was done through the research question ”What are the factors which lead people to prefer working from home or at the office,  and how do these factors differ between Generation X and millennials?”. This study was done with a deductive approach for the qualitative research and consists of a cross-sectional design with a restrictive time frame. Interviews were conducted with ten participants, including five participants from the generation of millennials born between 1981-1996 and the other five from Generation X born between 1965-1980 (Kagan, 2021). These interviews were semi-structured, followed by a thematic analysis method to analyze the collected qualitative primary data The coded data were analyzed relating to the research question. However, this study was conducted with participants from Svealand, Sweden and it can be disputed whether this sample is large enough and whether this region can represent the whole of Sweden.   Further, the results of this study found that the main factors behind workplace preference, common to both generations, were the organizational factor and job characteristics which includes the support from the organizations in form of equipment, training, digital tools together with the nature of the tasks and the possibility to do them at home. This is significant since earlier research predominately discusses household characteristics and accommodating working-home life balance, which was a weak factor in this study.

Functional and Structural Consequences of Nine CYP21A2 Mutations Ranging from Very Mild to Severe Effects

We present the functional and structural effects of seven novel (p.Leu12Met, p.Arg16Cys, p.Ser101Asn, p.Ser202Gly, p.Pro267Leu, p.Gln389_Ala391del, and p.Thr450Met) and two previously reported but not studied (p.Ser113Phe and p.Thr450Pro) CYP21A2 mutations. Functional analyses were complemented with in silico prediction of mutation pathogenicity based on the recently crystallized human CYP21A2 structure. Mutated proteins were transiently expressed in COS-1 cells and enzyme activities towards 17-hydroxyprogesterone and progesterone were determined. Residual enzyme activities between 43% and 97% were obtained for p.Arg16Cys, p.Ser101Asn, p.Ser202Gly, p.Pro267Leu, and p.Thr450Met, similar to the activities of the well-known nonclassic mutations p.Pro453Ser and p.Pro482Ser, whereas the p.Leu12Met variant showed an activity of 100%. Conversely, the novel p.Ser113Phe, p.Gln389_Ala391del, and p.Thr450Pro mutations drastically reduced the enzyme function below 4%. The Km values for all novel variants were in the same order of magnitude as for the wild-type protein except for p.The450Met. The maximum velocity was decreased for all mutants except for p.Leu12Met. We conclude that p.Leu12Met is a normal variant; the mutations p.Arg16Cys, p.Ser101Asn, p.Ser202Gly, p.Pro267Leu, and p.Thr450Met could be associated with very mild nonclassic CAH, and the mutations p.Ser113Phe, p.Gln389_Ala391del, and p.Thr450Pro are associated with classic CAH. The obtained residual activities indicated a good genotype-phenotype correlation