For the camera: In a wild range of forages, what do you choose to eat, my deer? : Use of video collars to study foraging behaviour in wild deer.

Animal-borne video collars are a developing technology with increasing picture quality and battery length. This study has investigated its use when studying foraging behaviours of the two largest deer species on the Scandinavian peninsula: moose (Alces alces) and red deer (Cervus elaphus). In the first of two studies included in this thesis, I compared the foraging choice of moose and red deer on both the inter- and intraspecific level. The data were collected from short, spread-out recordings (20 seconds every third hour per 24 hours over a period of several months). The second study, with a near-continuous recording (25 seconds every 3 minutes during 24 hours for a period of five days in July) focuses on the moose’ selection for browse on the island of Vega, Norway. I have also compared the foraging frequency of browsers (the Vega moose) with that of grazers (dairy cows, using published data). An overall question throughout the projects has been whether video collars are a technology suitable for foraging studies of deer species and to what taxonomic resolution the cameras are able to capture the plant species. Study one was successful in showing that the camera collars are capable of showing that moose are browsers, with a low percentage of graminoids in their diet. It also managed to capture the difference in foraging choice of both moose and red deer, as well as the low diet overlap between the species during the summer months. Study two showed the moose’ clear selection for browse even during the summer, despite the rather low abundance of browse compared to non-browse in their home range. It also showed that browsers indeed have more foraging bouts (6) per 24 hours than grazers (3). The overall conclusion is that video collars are indeed suitable for studying foraging behaviour in deer and that even the short recordings are able to show intraspecific differences – at least when it comes to common behaviour. Near-continuous recording is, however, more useful for capturing individual differences, both when it comes to foraging choices, foraging frequency and level of socialising behaviour

An introduction to the health promotion perspective in the health care services

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Future perspectives of health care : Closing remarks

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Evaluation of Secondary Packages for Tetra Top on the Italian Market ? supportive tools for decision-making

Title Evaluation of secondary packages for Tetra Top on the Italian market? supportive tools for decision-making. Authors Viktor Eriksson and Monica Towman. Supervisors Annika Olsson, Department of Design Sciences, Division of Packaging Logistics, Lund Institute of Technology, Lund University. Armando Francione, Technical Director, Tetra Pak Italiana S.p.A. Problem Setting ? What requirements do the actors in the supply chain have on the secondary packages? ? What are the values and benefits of different secondary packages for the actors in the supply chain? ? What are the pros and cons of the secondary packages currently on the market in Italy? ? Is there a ?best choice? among the different secondary packages? Objective To evaluate different secondary packages at three dairies in Italy. Provide Tetra Pak and future customers with key requirements and supportive tools for decision-making regarding suitable secondary package(s) to implement together with the Tetra Top primary package. Method This master's thesis is based on a descriptive case study. Observations and interviews form the qualitative base whereas quantitative data has been collected with questionnaires. Conclusions The big variety of demands and requirements from different customers preclude the possibility of finding one universal secondary package suitable for all supply chains. Often, it is also unsuitable to use the same packaging system for different distribution channels with different properties. Three evaluation tools have been developed to facilitate choice of suitable secondary package(s) to implement according to the individual requirements from future customers. Packaging Function Analysis ? analyses values and benefits, but also failings of existing packaging systems for different actors in the supply chains. Strengths and Weaknesses Tables ? comprehensive collections of pros and cons regarding packaging systems currently on the Italian market. Conclusive Packaging Evaluation Matrix ? objectively grades a variety of key properties of different secondary packages. Can be used with two different methods of application. Other thesis conclusions: ? Activities related to the secondary packages are clearly dominated by logistical aspects on the observed market. Marketing aspects are of no great concern as secondary packages are rarely displayed to end-consumers; also, environmental aspects play a minor, but growing, role. ? It is hard to optimize a packaging solution for the whole supply chain. Reducing the complexity at one actor can increase complexity at another actor in the supply chain. ? It is not sufficient for a packaging supplier to objectively evaluate different packaging systems and expect the customer to be satisfied according to this evaluation. ? It seems like the packaging suppliers could market and inform about its distribution equipment more extensively to customers

Holistic health care: Patients\u27 experiences of health care provided by an Advanced Practice Nurse

Introduction: Advanced Practice Nurse (APN) is a fairly new role in the Swedish health care system. Aim: To describe patients\u27 experiences of health care provided by an APN in primary health care. Methods: An inductive, descriptive qualitative approach with qualitative open‐ended interviews was chosen to obtain descriptions from 10 participants regarding their experiences of health care provided by an APN. The data were collected during the spring 2012, and a qualitative approach was used for analyze. Results: The APNs had knowledge and skills to provide safe and secure individual and holistic health care with high quality, and a respectful and flexible approach. The APNs conveyed trust and safety and provided health care that satisfied the patients\u27 needs of accessibility and appropriateness in level of care. Conclusion: The APNs way of providing health care and promoting health seems beneficial in many ways for the patients. The individual and holistic approach that characterizes the health care provided by the APNs is a key aspect in the prevailing change of health care practice. The transfer of care and the increasing number of older adults, often with a variety of complex health problems, call for development of the new role in this context

‘A synergy model of health’ - an integration of salutogenesis and the health assets model

This article proposes to advance the connections between salutogenic theory and assets models for health improvement. There is a need to integrate their use in public health and health promotion so that their respective potentials can be fully developed. This requires their synergies to be made more explicit so that a more coherent approach can be taken to their utilization. A mechanism is therefore needed that helps to raise awareness of them and their value as a resource together. Bronfenbrenner’s bioecological theory provides one framework that can support better integration of salutogenesis with the applied nature of assets-based models. This paper proposes a new ‘synergy model for health’ that integrates key concepts associated with salutogenic theory—generalized and specific resistance resources (GRRs/SRRs) and generalized and specific resistance deficits and the sense of coherence (SOC). In doing so, it highlights those GRRs and SRRs which are assets that, either individually or collectively, help to develop a stronger SOC. Higher levels of SOC can then support the transformations of potential resources into available assets (that people can understand, manage and make sense of), capable of producing positive health development. The proposed ‘Synergy model of health’ aims to contribute to a deeper theoretical understanding of health and development through the integration of the key elements of both salutogenesis and assets models. This can facilitate a better contextualization of the ideas into public health policy and practice by making the salutogenic theory more action-oriented and the assets model more theoretical.This paper is supported by the Vice-Rectory for Research and Development, University of Concepción (VRID 217.089.007-1.0IN)

Metabolic changes in summer active and anuric hibernating free-ranging brown bears (ursus arctos)

The brown bear (Ursus arctos) hibernates for 5 to 6 months each winter and during this time ingests no food or water and remains anuric and inactive. Despite these extreme conditions, bears do not develop azotemia and preserve their muscle and bone strength. To date most renal studies have been limited to small numbers of bears, often in captive environments. Sixteen free-ranging bears were darted and had blood drawn both during hibernation in winter and summer. Samples were collected for measurement of creatinine and urea, markers of inflammation, the calcium-phosphate axis, and nutritional parameters including amino acids. In winter the bear serum creatinine increased 2.5 fold despite a 2-fold decrease in urea, indicating a remarkable ability to recycle urea nitrogen during hibernation. During hibernation serum calcium remained constant despite a decrease in serum phosphate and a rise in FGF23 levels. Despite prolonged inactivity and reduced renal function, inflammation does not ensue and bears seem to have enhanced antioxidant defense mechanisms during hibernation. Nutrition parameters showed high fat stores, preserved amino acids and mild hyperglycemia during hibernation. While total, essential, non-essential and branched chain amino acids concentrations do not change during hibernation anorexia, changes in individual amino acids ornithine, citrulline and arginine indicate an active, although reduced urea cycle and nitrogen recycling to proteins. Serum uric acid and serum fructose levels were elevated in summer and changes between seasons were positively correlated. Further studies to understand how bears can prevent the development of uremia despite minimal renal function during hibernation could provide new therapeutic avenues for the treatment of human kidney disease

Questionnaire study suggests grave consequences of infectious laryngotracheitis, infectious coryza and mycoplasmosis in small chicken flocks

BackgroundA growing number of people in western countries keep small chicken flocks. In Sweden, respiratory disease is a common necropsy finding in chickens from such flocks. A respiratory real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) panel was applied to detect infectious laryngotracheitis virus (ILTV), Avibacterium paragallinarum (A. paragallinarum) and Mycoplasma gallisepticum (M. gallisepticum) in chickens from small flocks which underwent necropsy in 2017-2019 and had respiratory lesions. Owners (N = 100) of PCR-positive flocks were invited to reply to a web-based questionnaire about husbandry, outbreak characteristics and management.ResultsResponse rate was 61.0%. The flocks were from 18 out of Sweden's 21 counties indicating that respiratory infections in small chicken flocks are geographically widespread in Sweden. Among participating flocks, 77.0% were coinfected by 2-3 pathogens; 91.8% tested positive for A. paragallinarum, 57.4% for M. gallisepticum and 50.8% for ILTV. Larger flock size and mixed-species flock structure were associated with PCR detection of M. gallisepticum (P = 0.00 and P = 0.02, respectively). Up to 50% mortality was reported by 63.9% of respondents. Euthanasia of some chickens was carried out in 86.9% of the flocks as a result of the outbreaks. Full clinical recovery was reported by 39.3% of owners suggesting chronic infection is a major challenge in infected flocks. Live birds had been introduced in many flocks prior to outbreaks, which suggested these as an important source of infection. Following the outbreaks, 36.1% replaced their flocks with new birds and 9.8% ceased keeping chickens.ConclusionsThis study highlights the severity of respiratory outbreaks in small non-commercial chicken flocks and points to the need for more research and veterinary assistance to prevent and manage respiratory infections in small chicken flocks

Salutogenesis for thriving societies

Settings are defined by the World Health Organization (1998) as “the place or social context in which people engage in daily activities in which environmental, organizational, and personal factors interact to affect health and well-being.” Such settings range from small-scale home/family to (international) organizations and large cities and thus differ in size, in their degree of formalized organization and their relationships to society. The chapters in Part V review how salutogenesis has been applied to health promotion research and practice in a broad range of settings: organizations in general, schools, higher education, workplace, military settings, neighborhood/communities, cities, and restorative environments. The following synthesis demonstrates that applying salutogenesis to various settings and linking salutogenesis with other models established in these settings has the great potential to generate ideas on how to advance the general salutogenic model

Placenta Growth Factor-1 antagonizes VEGF-induced angiogenesis and tumor growth by the formation of functionally inactive PlGF-1/VEGF heterodimers

AbstractTumor growth and metastasis require concomitant growth of new blood vessels, which are stimulated by angiogenic factors, including vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF), secreted by most tumors. Whereas the angiogenic property and molecular mechanisms of VEGF have been well studied, the biological function of its related homolog, placenta growth factor (PlGF), is poorly understood. Here we demonstrate that PlGF-1, an alternatively spliced isoform of the PlGF gene, antagonizes VEGF-induced angiogenesis when both factors are coexpressed in murine fibrosarcoma cells. Overexpression of PlGF-1 in VEGF-producing tumor cells results in the formation of PlGF-1/VEGF heterodimers and depletion of the majority of mouse VEGF homodimers. The heterodimeric form of PlGF-1/VEGF lacks the ability to induce angiogenesis in vitro and in vivo. Similarly, PlGF-1/VEGF fails to activate the VEGFR-2-mediated signaling pathways. Further, PlGF-1 inhibits the growth of a murine fibrosarcoma by approximately 90% when PlGF-1-expressing tumor cells are implanted in syngeneic mice. In contrast, overexpression of human VEGF in murine tumor cells causes accelerated and exponential growth of primary fibrosarcomas and early hepatic metastases. Our data demonstrate that PlGF-1, a member of the VEGF family, acts as a natural antagonist of VEGF when both factors are synthesized in the same population of cells. The underlying mechanism is due to the formation of functionally inactive heterodimers