Syfte: Syftet med denna studie var att ta reda på om elitidrottare som spelar en bollsport har bättre djupseende, bättre förmåga att kunna ändra fokus mellan olika avstånd och mer uthålliga ögonmuskler än personer som inte spelar någon bollsport alls.

Metod: Mätningarna utfördes på femton innebandyspelare som spelar på elitnivå och femton personer som inte spelar någon bollsport. Medelåldern var 22 år i båda grupperna. Först fick varje försöksperson svara på en enkät, sedan mättes visus upp monokulärt och binokulärt på 3 m med en logMAR visustavla. Efter det mättes djupseendet med Randot stereotest på 40 cm och sedan mättes försökspersonens förmåga att kunna ändra fokus mellan olika avstånd. Detta gjordes på 40 cm med en flipper med styrkorna ±2,00D. Sista mätningen var att få ett mått på hur uthålliga försökspersonens ögonmuskler var, detta gjordes på 40 cm med en flipper av styrkorna 3Δ Bas In/ 12Δ Bas Ut.

Resultat: Medelvärdet på djupseendet i respektive grupp visade ingen statistisk signifikant skillnad mellan de båda grupperna (p=0,70). Det fanns en signifikant skillnad på medelvärdet mellan de båda grupperna när det gäller förmågan att kunna ändra fokus mellan olika avstånd (p=0,02). Medelvärdet på uthålligheten av ögonmusklerna visade ingen signifikant skillnad mellan de båda grupperna (p=0,08).

Slutsats: Studien visade att innebandyspelare på elitnivå har bättre förmåga att ändra fokus mellan olika avstånd. Studien visade även att innebandypelare på elitnivå inte har mer uthålliga ögonmuskler eller bättre djupseende än de som inte spelar någon bollsport alls.

This current study is a lab-scale investigation focused on the treatment of stormwater runoff generated in wood-storage areas. The main target constituents of the proposed treatment were: metals (Cu, Cd, Co, V, Pb, Zn, Ni, Cr, Fe, As), COD, TOC, Phenols, and color. The method implemented for this project follows the main concept of using low-cost and environmentally friendly technologies and had as main steps the use of a by-product of wood-based industries - wood fly ashes as sorbents - followed by oxidation with H₂O₂ (Hydrogen Peroxide). The results obtained during this investigation were vey promising since satisfactory removal % was achieved. Removal rates of 98.5%, 86%, 89.6%, 79.6% were achieved for color, chemical oxygen demand (COD), total organic carbon (TOC) and phenols respectively. Furthermore a decrease in metals concentrations was also observed with the exception of chromium. The study showed that for 300 ml storm water, optimum conditions were with 7g wood fly ash, 5 hours time reaction, pH≈11.46 and 150 μl of a 30% H2O2 solution in a room temperature. To conclude it can be stated that the use of a by-product from wood industry to treat contaminated water from the same sector, following the concept of a closed-loop system, is promising and possible. However further studies need to be conducted in order to evaluate such system in scaled-up conditions.

Sulfite is the most important antioxidant in beer. Quantification of sulfite is crucial due to restrictions as an additive and for investigative purposes of sulfite and thiol-containing proteins role as redox mediators. A method based on fluorometric determination of sulfite and thiol-containing compounds in beer was developed. The analytes were derivatized with ThioGlo®  1 and subsequently separated on a C18 column with wide pore size, featuring a high-performance liquid chromatography system equipped with fluorescence detector. Two peaks corresponding to sulfite derivatives were observed. The two derivatives were assessed with exact mass spectrometry and both provided identical mass spectra. To compensate for adverse matrix effects in samples a matrix-matched calibration curve is proposed. Sulfite diminished in an inverse exponential manner upon hydrogen peroxide addition in beer. The amount of thiol groups decreased when beer was subjected to oxidative stress, thus confirming its antioxidative role in beer.

A method was developed for quantification of sulfite in beer based on derivatization with the maleimide-derived probe ThioGlo I followed by separation of fluorescent adducts by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography and fluorescence detection. Sulfite gave two ThioGlo 1 derivatives and it was shown by mass spectrometry that both had identical mass spectra. Matrix effects were observed when constructing sulfite standard curves in different beers and, therefore, use of a matrix-matched calibration curve is proposed. ThioGlo I was found to generate fluorescent adducts with both bound and free sulfite, providing a quantification of the total sulfite content in beer. The limit of quantification of sulfite was 0.6 mg/L and the method can be used for quantification of sulfite in highly colored beers.

This thesis is focused upon chemistry as a school subject and students' interpretations and use of formally introduced teaching models. To explore students' developing repertoire of chemical models, a longitudinal interview study was undertaken spanning the first year of upper secondary school chemistry. Matter in its different states was selected as the target framework for this study. The results presented are derived from both generalisations of groups of students as well as a case study describing an individual learner's interpretation of formal content. The results obtained demonstrated that the formal teaching models provided to the students included in this study were not sufficient to afford them a coherent framework of matter in its different states or for chemical bonding. Instead, students' expressed models of matter and phase change were to a high degree dependent on electron movement (Paper I), anthropomorphism (Paper II) and, for one student, a mechanistic approach based on small particles and gravitation (Paper III). The results from this study place focus on the importance of learners' prior learning (previous experiences) and the need to develop a coherent framework of formal teaching models for the nature of matter and phase change.

The study documented first time in Bangladesh of different locally practiced rope casting methods of Cattle-buffalo before slaughtering at local slaughter houses of six representative places of five different districts. The study also documented the most inhumane and primitive system of Cattle-buffalo transportation and handling in the abattoirs from both native and cross-border traded source. Animals were transported by driving on foot or in crowded truck for several days over harsh road without feed, water and adequate rest. We found that 89.06% animals were injured at sacral, ribs and shoulder area due to transportation in densely populated truck among 64 injured animals. It revealed that animals were slaughtered beside human toilet, road sides, unclean surface; and Dogs, Crows and Chickens easily entered at slaughter area. More than 21% animals were in very poor health condition and cachectic and 21.19% animals were injured and 11.25% animals had other clinical signs among 302 inspected animals. Diarrhoea was predominant other than injury (59.09%) and elevated body temp to the next (25%) and one pregnant animal also found to slaughter. We also detected six heavily injured and one highly exhausted lied animals just after unloading of truck by instant inspection at Cattle market. The research revealed that in Bangladesh Muslim Scholars permit conditional stunning before slaying but lack of facilities and information, humane slaughtering method is not practiced. Lack of implementation of the “Animal Slaughter and Meat Control Act”, absence or weak inspection of veterinarian increased unauthorized butcher-man and slaughter house; unhygienic, unsafe and lower quality meat production; animal welfare concern and zoonotic disease risk. 

Understanding how different types of interactions govern adsorption of the myosin motor fragment heavy meromyosin (HMM) onto different substrates is important in functional studies of actomyosin and for the development of motor powered lab-on-a-chip applications. In this study, we have combined in vitro motility assays and quartz crystal microbalance with dissipation (QCM-D) monitoring to investigate the underlying adsorption mechanisms of HMM onto supported lipid bilayers in comparison with pure and silanized SiO2. The QCM-D results, combined with data showing actin transportation by HMM adsorbed onto positively charged supported lipid bilayers, suggest reversible HMM surface adsorption via the negatively charged coiled-coil tail region. In contrast, the QCM-D data for HMM adsorption onto negatively charged lipids support a model according to which HMM adsorbs onto negatively charged surfaces largely via the positively charged actin binding regions. Adsorption studies at low (30-65 mM) and high (185-245 mM) ionic strengths onto piranha cleaned SiO2 surfaces (contact angle < 20 degrees) support this general model. However, unlike the situation for charged lipids, rinsing in high ionic strength solution caused only partial HMM desorption from SiO2, without restoration of actin propulsion by the remaining HMM molecules. This suggests that mechanisms other than electrostatic interactions are involved in the tethering of HMM heads to SiO2 surfaces. An expanded model for HMM adsorption is formulated on the basis of the data and the potential of the results for nanotechnological applications of actomyosin is discussed.

The effective and simple long-term storage of complex functional proteins is critical in achieving commercially viable biosensors. This issue is particularly challenging in recently proposed types of nanobiosensors, where molecular-motor-driven transportation substitutes microfluidics and forms the basis for novel detection schemes. Importantly, therefore, we here describe that delicate heavy meromyosin (HMM)-based nanodevices (HMM motor fragments adsorbed to silanized surfaces and actin bound to HMM) fully maintain their function when stored at -20 degrees C for more than a month. The mechanisms for the excellent preservation of acto-HMM motor function upon repeated freeze thaw cycles are discussed. The results are important to the future commercial implementation of motor-based nanodevices and are of more general value to the long-term storage of any protein-based bionanodevice.

Njurarna är ett organsystem med viktiga funktioner som exempelvis utsöndring av flertalet vattenlösliga substanser. För att sjukdomssymtom ska uppträda krävs mer än tre fjärdedelars bortfall av njurfunktionen, eftersom njurarna har en enorm reservkapacitet. Genom att analysera bland annat proteinerna albumin, immunoglobulin G, kappa och lambda i urin utreds om njurfunktionen fungerar som den ska. Analys av dessa proteiner kan ske med analysinstrumenten IMMAGE 800 från Beckman Coulter och BN ProSpec från DADE BEHRING. Båda dessa analysinstrument använder sig av metoden nefelometri, som är en metod där ljusspridning i en vätska eller gas kan mätas.

Syftet med föreliggande studie var att analysera urinprover på både IMMAGE 800 och BN ProSpec och sedan jämföra resultaten. Under denna studie kalibrerades standardkurvor, genomfördes kvalitetskontroller och 37 prov analyserades. Samma prov analyserades flera gånger, både under samma dag och vid ett antal kommande dagar för att erhålla precisionen. Korrelationskoefficienten blev 0,999 för U-albumin; 0,998 för U-IgG; 0,947 för U-kappa och 0,883 för U-lambda. ProSpec kan således användas vid analys av U-albumin, U-IgG, U-kappa och U-lambda då den uppfyller EQUALIS kvalitetsmål.

Background: Lipid-lowering drugs, mostly statines, were dispensed during 2011 to 815 000 people from the pharmacies in Sweden. High cholesterol is a major risk factor for development of coronary heart disease (myocardial infarction, angina, intermittent claudicatio intermittens and stroke). Coronary heart disease is the causes of more than 40% of all deaths in Sweden.Lifestyle changes, together with lipid-lowering drugs, statines, are effective treatments. Statines can be administered either to patients that have had a cardiac event i.e. heart attack, stroke (secondary care) or to persons with risk factors i.e. high levels of cholesterol, diabetes, primary care.

Objective: with the help of published clinical trials and meta-analysis examine what effect statines have on morbidity / mortality in cardiovascular diseases in primary and secondary care.

Results: The studies showed that statins reduce TC, LDL and TG and increase HDL. They also showed that statins reduce major coronary events, cerebrovascular events, mortality from coronary heart disease, unstable angina and revascularization. Statin therapy was associated with increased risk of moderate or severe liver failure, acute renal failure, moderate or severe myopathy and cataracts in both men and women. The risk was dose-dependent and greatest at the first year of treatment.

Conclusion: The studies showed that statine treatment reduced the blood level of harmful cholesterol, prevented the atherosclerotic process and thus reduced the need for revascularization. Statin therapy is about two - three times as effective in secondary care as in primary care. One need to treat 60 people, who have had a coronary heart event, during about 5 years to prevent one death and 180 people to prevent a nonfatal cardiovascular event. The effect is similar for men and women and for older and middle aged people. Life expectancy increases by two years. For patients who not have had a coronary heart event but have risk factors i.e. high cholesterol levels, diabetes, one need to treat two - three times as many to achieve the same results (120 patients to prevent one death and 330 to prevent one nonfatal cardiovascular event). The effects of treating healthy individuals with statines are low.Statines are well-established and safe drugs. One noteworthy side effect is myopathy, (rhablomyelos) which is quite unusual as reported from studies.One problem that exists in all prescribed preventive treatments is poor adherence to prescriptions.

Calcareous fens constitute a specific habitat which is uncommon in Europe and protected by the EU habitat directive due to its importance to several threatened species. Hagebyhöga in Östergötland is a calcareous fen habitat included in the Natura 2000 Networking Programme. Adjacent to the existing fen, a degraded fen area is situated. The area has been used for agriculture for several years but is now going to be restored to its former state by the county administrative board of Östergötland.

When working with restoration of degraded fen areas it is important to aquire knowledge about the chemical soil conditions. Plant growth limited by phosphorus and low fertility are characteristic conditions for calcareous fens, whilst arable land usually is highly fertile and limited by nitrogen.

The purpose of this study is to bring forth useful knowledge for restoring the degraded calcareous fen of Hagebyhöga. Phytometric assessments have been conducted on samples from the ground that is going to be restored, to investigate which element limits growth, and whether the fertility is comparable to that in the fen allready present. The results will be used when deciding whether the top soil layer needs to be removed, and if that is the case, how much of the soil needs to be removed to recreate the fen environment.

The samples were collected from two areas (A and B) with different moisture content in the arable ground and three depths from each area (0-10 cm, 10-30 cm and 30-40 cm). As reference, a sample from the top soil layer of the existing fen was used. The results from the phytometric assessment reveals all samples from area A and the sample from area B, 30-40 cm to have plant growth limited by phosphorus. The results also reveals the fertility in all samples except for area A, 30-40 cm to be significantly higher than the fertility of the existing fen. Both conditions, low fertility and plant growth limited by phosphorus, are present in the sample from area A, 30-40 cm.

In Sweden, about 10 percent of the prescriptions have a dosage with split tablets. Many patients have problems with breaking tablets into two or more parts as the tablet may crumble or break into many small pieces. The aim with this work is to examine to which extent patients experience crumbled tablets when trying to split tablets and what the patient does with the crumbles.

In order to examine patients experience with crumbled tablets, interviews with patients who collected a prescription with a dosage with divided tablets in one of twelve pharmacies, were done. Included patients had to be 18 years or older.

Of the 416 included patients with experience of splitting tablets, 123 had problems with tablet splitting and out of these 29 found the issue with tablets crumbling to be a problem. Overall, 174 patients experienced crumbled tablets. Patients, who didn’t experience crumbled tablets, were less likely to split tablets with a tool than patients who did experience crumbled tablets. 93 of 380 patients collected crumbles equivalent to half a tablet and consumed the crumbles while 80 patients discarded the crumbles (threw them away).

Many patients use the crumbles instead of throwing them away even though it is difficult to tell how much of the drug you obtain with the crumbles. It seems as if the way you choose to divide the tablet (with or with out a tool) is affecting whether you experience crumbling or not. Most people don’t experience crumbling and of those who do only one out of six considers it to be a problem. In Sweden in whole the interviews give a slight estimate for how many patients the problem is persistent. In rough numbers it is estimated that 37- 47.000 had experienced crumbled tablets whereas 4.500-10.500 found it be a problem.

The suitability of applying empirical conversion factors (eCFs) to determine bacterial biomass production remains unclear because seawater cultures are usually overtaken by phylotypes that are not abundant in situ. While eCFs vary across environments, it has not been tested whether differences in eCFs are driven by changes in bacterial community composition or by in situ environmental conditions. We carried out seawater cultures throughout a year to analyse the correlation between eCFs and bacterial community structure, analysed by catalysed reporter deposition fluorescence in situ hybridization. Gammaproteobacteria usually dominated seawater cultures, but their abundance exhibited a wide range (25–73% of cell counts) and significantly increased with inorganic nutrient enrichment. Flavobacteria were less abundant but increased up to 40% of cells counts in winter seawater cultures, when in situ chlorophyll a was high. The correlations between eCFs and the abundance of the main broad phylogenetic groups (Gamma-, Alphaproteobacteria and Flavobacteria) were significant, albeit weak, while more specific groups (Alteromonadaceae and Rhodobacteraceae) were not significantly correlated. Our results show that the frequent development of the fast-growing group Alteromonadaceae in seawater cultures does not strongly drive the observed variations in eCFs. Rather, the results imply that environmental conditions and the growth of specific phylotypes interact to determine eCFs.

Despite the high abundance of Archaea in the global ocean, their metabolism and biogeochemical roles remain largely unresolved. We investigated the population dynamics and metabolic activity of Thaumarchaeota in polar environments, where these microorganisms are particularly abundant and exhibit seasonal growth. Thaumarchaeota were more abundant in deep Arctic and Antarctic waters and grew throughout the winter at surface and deeper Arctic halocline waters. However, in situ single-cell activity measurements revealed a low activity of this group in the uptake of both leucine and bicarbonate (<5% Thaumarchaeota cells active), which is inconsistent with known heterotrophic and autotrophic thaumarchaeal lifestyles. These results suggested the existence of alternative sources of carbon and energy. Our analysis of an environmental metagenome from the Arctic winter revealed that Thaumarchaeota had pathways for ammonia oxidation and, unexpectedly, an abundance of genes involved in urea transport and degradation. Quantitative PCR analysis confirmed that most polar Thaumarchaeota had the potential to oxidize ammonia, and a large fraction of them had urease genes, enabling the use of urea to fuel nitrification. Thaumarchaeota from Arctic deep waters had a higher abundance of urease genes than those near the surface suggesting genetic differences between closely related archaeal populations. In situ measurements of urea uptake and concentration in Arctic waters showed that small-sized prokaryotes incorporated the carbon from urea, and the availability of urea was often higher than that of ammonium. Therefore, the degradation of urea may be a relevant pathway for Thaumarchaeota and other microorganisms exposed to the low-energy conditions of dark polar waters.

Celiaki är en kronisk autoimmun överkänslighetssjukdom mot proteinet gluten. Gluten förekommer i vete, korn, råg och havre. Sädesslagen innehåller olika prolaminer, vilka gemensamt benämns för gliadin. Autoantigenet utgörs av enzymet vävnadstransglutaminas (tTG). Genom deamidering medför enzymet att gliadinets immunogenitet ökar. Det är av största vikt att tidigt ställa korrekt diagnos och inleda glutenfri diet, eftersom celiakin i sig inte bara kan orsaka lidande utan även frambringa en rad följdsjukdomar. Symptomen vid celiaki kan vara väldigt varierande. Därför är behovet av säkra analysmetoder mycket stort. Idag sker diagnostiken vanligen med den serologiska markören immunoglobulin A (IgA) tTG. Analysprincipen bygger på en antigen-antikroppsreaktion mellan bundet antigen och eventuella antikroppar hos patienten, riktade mot antigenet. En sekundär antikropp konjugerad med enzym tillsätts och binder in till komplexet. Vid efterföljande enzymreaktion uppstår en mätbar produkt, vilken är direkt proportionell mot halten av de sökta antikropparna. Syftet med denna studie var att undersöka korrelationen mellan analysinstrumenten, Immulite® 2500 och Phadia® 250, med avseende på markören IgA tTG. Dessutom undersöka sambandet mellan markörerna IgA gliadin (Agl) samt deamiderat gliadin IgA (Agp) respektive deamiderat gliadin immunoglobulin G (Ggp). Korrelationen mellan analysinstrumenten beräknades till 0,85. Korrelationen var något lägre än förväntat, men trots det resulterade 80 % av analysresultaten i samma kliniska bedömning. Korrelationen mellan gliadinmarkörerna var följande: 0,79 mellan Agl och Agp, 0,57 mellan Agl och Ggp samt 0,67 mellan Agp och Ggp. Resultaten visade att 64 % av analysresultaten gav samma kliniska bedömning. Fortsatta studier med referensmaterial krävs för att bedöma markörernas sensitivitet och specificitet.

Any organisation or company that want to bring about a change in the process, procedures or internal organisation encounters the issue of training the staff. Training is commonly used to increase dedication in specific issues for example environmental issues, energy saving or enhancing the overall competence of the staff.

When working with environmental- or energy issues, the attitude of the employees is often considered one of the most important factors for the outcome.

In this paper two different studies are compared. In both studies training has been included as a background factor in a conjoint analysis study.

The first study concerns preferences for new materials, in this case advanced high strength steel. The respondents were asked to rank eight alternative steel containers and the results, (preferences) were compared to any previous training the individual respondent had.

The same procedure was taken in study number two where employees at a paper & pulp industry was asked to rank eight alternative processes with different environmental impacts. Also here the respondents were asked to state any previous training and the preferences was compared to previous training. 

It has not been possible to show any significant connection between preferences in a specific issue and training in the same area. However, it would be interesting to use the method to measure the effect of training on preferences before and after a specific training session.

Industrial energy systems are complicated networks where changes in one process influence itsneighboring processes. The network complexity increases if production/use of bio fuel is introduced in anexisting system. Process integration can be a useful tool to study such systems and thus avoid sub optimization.However, changes in an industrial complex do not only influence the technical values of energy and materialefficiency. The social impact is also important and sometimes is comparable to that of technical factors.A process integration project has recently been carried out for a paper mill in northern Sweden with a side viewon future expansion with a bio refinery. An activity to study the social impacts were included through a Conjointanalysis, a stated preference method that combines statistics and interviewing technique.The results indicate that the participants are divided in four groups, the largest group focusing on a change in theprocess towards a bio refinery, the second largest focusing on the local environment. The third and fourth groupboth look at the local forestry, one group wanting to increase local forest production, and one rejecting anincrease.

Handbok som beskriver olika metoder för att ta reda på och analysera vilken inställning människor har till miljön.

En viktig knut att lösa för att kunna nå hållbar utveckling är varför människor beter sig på ett sätt trots att de egentligen vet att de borde bete sig på ett annat sätt. Människors beteende när det gäller miljöfrågor beror på många bakomliggande faktorer och för att nå den hållbara utvecklingen måste vi ge människor möjlighet att bli bekväma med beteenden som är bra för miljön. En viktig pusselbit för att nå dit är att veta hur individer och grupper ställer sig till olika strategiska miljöfrågor. Sådan kunskap kan användas för att anpassa informationskampanjer, skräddarsy utbildningspaket eller undanröja faktorer som riskerar att omintetgöra miljöarbetet.

Metoderna som beskrivs i den här handboken kan användas inom många fler områden än miljö, t.ex. inom marknadsföring eller för att identifiera kunskaps- eller informationsluckor bland den egna personalen eller för att undersöka attityder och synsätt hos olika intressentgrupper.

Handboken är framtagen inom forskningsprogrammet Stålkretsloppet och utgiven av Linnéuniversitetet i Kalmar med stöd från Jernkontoret och Mistra.

Exposure assessments can be made for contaminated soil to get information about how the human health may be affected. They are used in many different countries and may differ from each other, either dramatically or minimal. This study was conducted to examine how these differences appear between three countries' exposure assessments. The countries chosen were Sweden, the Netherlands and the United States and the purpose was to see how the difference appears between the structure, parameters, thresholds, calculations, etc. to be abl e to discuss which of the models are perceived to give the best picture of reality. The discussion was focused on the Swedish assessment model. The results show that there are differences between models and that they sometimes refer to the fact that their model is based on other models. Many parameters used, such as body weight, are not justified and there are manyuncertainties associated with the use of these models. The sources they use to justify the parameters and their values are not always relevant and updated. Uncertainty always follows with these kinds of calculations, but some of the uncertain can be reduced, as shown in this study.

Stereoisomers of 4-methyl-3-heptanol (MH) are pheromone components of several Scolytus bark beetles. The elm bark beetle Scolytus laevis (Coleoptera: Scolytidae) has in previous studies been caught in traps baited with commercial MH containing all four stereoisomers, but the lure has been considered a weak attractant. In this study, we addressed the question whether stereospecific responses by S. laevis to stereoisomers of MH might contribute to its niche separation from other sympatric Scolytus species. Using GC–MS, we analyzed extracts of hindguts and abdomens from male and female S. laevis and the sympatric S. triarmatus. We also tested all four MH-stereoisomers individually and in combinations in the field to determine their role for S. laevis. All four stereoisomers were synthesized via a boronic ester method with 1,2-dicyclohexylethanediol as chiral director. In addition, the (3S,4R)-stereoisomer of MH was prepared through enantioselective, lipase-mediated transesterification of a mixture of the four stereoisomers of MH. Females of both species contained small amounts of syn-MH, and males contained trace amounts of anti-MH. The anti stereoisomer (3R,4S)-MH was attractive to male and female S. laevis, whereas the syn stereoisomer (3S,4S)-MH acted as an inhibitor or deterrent and reduced the catch when added to the attractive isomer. The syn isomer is the main aggregation pheromone component of the larger and sympatric S. scolytus and possibly also of S. triarmatus. The avoidance response of S. laevis to the (3S,4S)-stereoisomer may reduce interspecific competition for host trees.

Variation in traits causes bacterial populations to respond in contrasting ways to environmental drivers. Learning about this will help us understand the ecology of individual populations in complex ecosystems. We used 454 pyrosequencing of the hypervariable region V6 of the 16S rRNA gene to study seasonal dynamics in Baltic Sea bacterioplankton communities, and link community and population changes to biological and chemical factors. Surface samples were collected from May to October 2003 and in May 2004 at the Landsort Deep in the central Baltic Sea Proper. The analysis rendered, on average, 20 200 sequence reads for each of the eight samples analyzed, providing the first detailed description of Baltic Sea bacterial communities. Community composition varied dramatically over time, supporting the idea of strong temporal shifts in bacterioplankton assemblages, and clustered according to season (including two May samples from consecutive years), suggesting repeatable seasonal succession. Overall, community change was most highly correlated with change in phosphorus concentration and temperature. Individual bacterial populations were also identified that tightly co-varied with different Cyanobacteria populations. Comparing the abundance profiles of operational taxonomic units at different phylogenetic distances revealed a weak but significant negative correlation between abundance profile similarity and genetic distance, potentially reflecting habitat filtering of evolutionarily conserved functional traits in the studied bacterioplankton.

Salt-bridge interactions between acidic and basic amino acids contribute to the structural stability of proteins and to protein-protein interactions. A conserved salt-bridge is a canonical feature of the alpha-defensin antimicrobial peptide family, but the role of this common structural element has not been fully elucidated. We have investigated mouse Paneth cell alpha-defensin cryptdin-4 (Crp4) and peptide variants with mutations at Arg(7) or Glu(15) residue positions to disrupt the salt-bridge and assess the consequences on Crp4 structure, function, and stability. NMR analyses showed that both (R7G)-Crp4 and (E15G)-Crp4 adopt native-like structures, evidence of fold plasticity that allows peptides to reshuffle side chains and stabilize the structure in the absence of the salt-bridge. In contrast, introduction of a large hydrophobic side chain at position 15, as in (E15L)-Crp4 cannot be accommodated in the context of the Crp4 primary structure. Regardless of which side of the salt-bridge was mutated, salt-bridge variants retained bactericidal peptide activity with differential microbicidal effects against certain bacterial cell targets, confirming that the salt-bridge does not determine bactericidal activity per se. The increased structural flexibility induced by salt-bridge disruption enhanced peptide sensitivity to proteolysis. Although sensitivity to proteolysis by MMP7 was unaffected by most Arg(7) and Glu(15) substitutions, every salt-bridge variant was degraded extensively by trypsin. Moreover, the salt-bridge facilitates adoption of the characteristic alpha-defensin fold as shown by the impaired in vitro refolding of (E15D)-proCrp4, the most conservative salt-bridge disrupting replacement. In Crp4, therefore, the canonical alpha-defensin salt-bridge facilitates adoption of the characteristic alpha-defensin fold, which decreases structural flexibility and confers resistance to degradation by proteinases.

B-ESR är en ospecifik inflammatorisk markör vilken fungerar som en indikator på förekomst av kroniska infektioner samt maligna tillstånd. Metoden för analys av B-ESR som används i idag är modifierad enligt Westergrens metod, vilken bygger på att fyra delar blod späds med en del isoton citratlösning i ett vacutainerrör (100×9mm). Provröret blandas noga, placeras vertikalt i rumstemperatur varefter hastigheten för sedimentation av erytrocyterna mäts i mm efter 60 min. Analysen är tidskrävande och många yttre faktorer kan inverka vilka kan leda till felaktiga analysresultat.

Syftet med denna studie var att jämföra instrumentet ESR-100 (Westergren) med Alifax Roller 20 PN som använder en mikrokapilläraggregationsmetod. Genom registrering av den optiska densiteten i relation till koncentrationen av erytrocytaggregat som finns närvarande vid analystillfället konstruerar instrumentet en sedimentationskurva för varje prov. En algoritm omvandlar sedan sedimentationskurvans resultat från optisk densitet för antalet erytrocytaggregationer, till mm/h som används vid mätning av B-ESR. Analysen utförs på EDTA-rör och tar endast 35 sekunder för varje prov.

I studien analyserades prover från 180 patienter (106 kvinnor mellan 15-93 år och 74 mellan 11-88 år) på båda instrumenten. Därefter upprättades en korrelationskurva som visade att r=0,85. Detta är en acceptabel korrelation, men det förekom även vissa avvikande prov (n=9, 5 %). Då repeterbarhetsundersökningar genomfördes var CV % lågt för de högsta respektive lägsta analysresultaten ( = 59 mm/h respektive 2 mm/h). CV % var högst hos provet som hade ett medelvärde på 7 mm/h och sjönk med stigande B-ESR. Reproducerbarhetsundersökningarna visade att samtliga analysresultat sjönk från dag1 till dag 2, då mätning genomfördes efter förvaring i rumstemperatur ≈20ºC respektive kyla +4ºC - +8ºC.

Studien visade att det fanns ett acceptabelt samband mellan aggregationsmetoden och referensmetoden, men det förekom även avvikande resultat. Därför bör ytterligare studier med patientmaterial som avviker från normalt referensintervall genomföras.

Inorganic phosphate is an essential nutrient for all organisms. It is required for many cellular components as nucleic acids and phospholipids, and as energy-carrying compounds such as ATP. Thus, a regulated uptake of this pivotal nutrient is of outermost importance. Depending of the availability of phosphate in the surroundings the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae make use of two different systems for transporting phosphate into the interior of the cell: a low-affinity system that is active during surplus phosphate conditions and a high-affinity system that is active when the availability becomes limited. This thesis focuses on the high-affinity system, which is comprised of the Pho84 and Pho89 transporters. Of the two transporters, Pho84 is the predominant one, responsible for almost all phosphate uptake during low phosphate conditions, and the contribution of Pho89 is of minor importance. Hence Pho84 is by far the most well characterized phosphate transporter. Even though much is known about phosphate transporters in yeast little in known about how phosphate is transported. The work in this thesis aims to broaden the knowledge about the transport mechanism by the means of site-directed mutagenesis and functional characterization. Also the similarity of Pho84 to glucose sensors and the potential role of conserved residues in phosphate signaling are investigated. By the use of a high-affinity system deletion strain (∆Pho84 ∆Pho89), we also managed to investigate the functional importance of well conserved residues in Pho89. In summary: the work presented in this thesis has contributed to increase the knowledge about transport mechanisms in phosphate transporters.

In Saccharomyces cerevisiae, the high-affinity phosphate transport system comprises the Pho84 and Pho89 permeases. The Pho89 permease catalyzes import of inorganic phosphate in a symport manner by utilizing Na+ ions as co-solute. We have addressed the functional importance of two glutamic acid residues at positions 55 and 491. Both residues are highly conserved amongst members of the inorganic phosphate transporter (PiT) family, which might be an indication of functional importance. Moreover, both residues have been shown to be of critical importance in the hPit2 transporter. We have created site-directed mutations of both E55 and E491 to lysine and glutamine. We observed that in all four cases there is a dramatic impact on the transport activity, and thus it seems that they indeed are of functional importance. Following these observations, we addressed the membrane topology of this protein by using several prediction programs. TOPCONS predicts a 7-5 transmembrane segment organization, which is the most concise topology as compared to the hPiT2 transporter. By understanding the functionality of these residues, we are able to correlate the Pho89 topology to that of the hPiT2, and can now further analyze residues which might play a role in the transport activity.

Bakgrund: Autism är ett medfött funktionshinder som innebär symtom inom tre huvudområden; bristande social förmåga,kommunikationssvårigheter och upprepade stereotypa rörelser. Idag saknas effektiv behandling för dessa komplexa symtom, något som förbryllar forskarna. Oxytocin är ett neurohormon i kroppen som påverkar våra relationer till andra människor på olika sätt, hur väl vi knyter an, litar på och förhåller oss till andra. Studier som testat oxytocinets effekter på olika sociala beteenden har väckt intresse för huruvida oxytocin kan vara användbart för behandling av autism.

Syfte: att med hjälp av randomiserade kliniska studier undersöka på vilket sätt oxytocin kan vara användbart för behandling av autism.

Resultat: Oxytocin hade goda effekter på de olika autistiska symtom som det i studierna testades förså som repetitiva beteendemönster, förmåga att läsa av känslor hos andra, förmåga att uppfatta känslomässigt innehåll i tal och påverkan på det sociala beteendet. Dessutom fann man i en studie att barn med autism generellt hade lägre halt oxytocin i blodet än friska barn i samma ålder och att det förekom avvikelser i hur halten oxytocin hängde samman med olika färdigheter.

Slutsats: Det som är intressant för behandling av autism är oxytocinets förmåga att både stärka det sociala engagemanget och samtidigt dämpa de repetitiva beteendena. Dock verkar det inte vara så enkelt som att oxytocin ensamt ligger bakom hela orsaken och att låg halt oxytocin inte alltid är associerat med autism. En egen spekulation om möjlig orsak till autism är att det skulle kunna vara en form av oxytocinresistens inblandad som innebär att receptorerna inte fungerar normalt och således kan inte effekten medieras på ett adekvat sätt. Produktionen ökar därför som kompensation men utan att för den skull öka effekten. Det är viktigt att komma ihåg att oxytocin ingår i ett komplext system som arbetar tätt tillsammans med ett stort antal olika signalsubstanser. Resultat från forskningen visar dock att oxytocin onekligen verkar spela en viktig roll i etnologin bakom autism vilket gör den intressant för framtiden.

Today more than 200 million people are suffering from malnutrition in Africa, a major contributing factor to this is that Africa is the continent, by a large margin, that gets least yield per cultivated hectare. The relatively poor yield is not because Africa has no cultivable land but because of the prevailing agricultural practices.

Orongo is a village in western Kenya, where large parts of agriculture are threatened by severe soil erosion problems and two-thirds of the inhabitants are totally dependent on agriculture for food and economic security. Today's agricultural practices have proved inadequate.

Organic agriculture is not dependent on high-tech methods or expensive synthetic chemicals to provide a relatively good harvest and has therefore proved to have particularly good potential to increase the harvest of small-scale farmers living under poor circumstances. Organic agriculture relies entirely on natural processes that exist to increase soil fertility. The strengthening of these natural processes is the most important work in Organic agriculture with many long-lasting positive effects and a constant increase of soil fertility as a result. All the different components of organic agriculture have the potential to independently contribute to the desired development, decreased soil erosion and increased resistance of the local ecosystem are common consequences of organic agriculture components.

There are many indications that Organic agriculture could provide a sustainable solution to the malnutrition problem in Orongo but to implement such modernization has globally proven difficult. The various components must all be adapted to the local biophysical circumstances, the local need and knowledge level of the farmers concerned. This document describes and analyzes these components from an Orongo perspective and looks at local cultural phenomena that must be considered.

For a modernization to organic agriculture to be possible, a combined effort will be necessary, both to raise awareness of Organic agriculture through physical demonstration and classical learning but also provide economic security and incentives for farmers who want to change to Organic agriculture. It is also important to encourage entrepreneurship forces that can help to spread the different components of organic agriculture, components that on their own can contribute to a desired development.

Den 1 november 2009 infördes en ny lag med bestämmelser som säger att det är tillåtet att bedriva detaljhandel utanför öppenvårdsapotek med nikotinläkemedel och vissa andra receptfria läkemedel. Under 2010, som var det första hela året då receptfria läkemedel fick säljas utanför apotek, uppgick den totala försäljningen av dessa till ungefär 614 miljoner kronor. Det motsvarade ungefär 15 % av den totala försäljningen av receptfria läkemedel för egenvård. De läkemedel som säljs mest utanför apotek är smärtstillande läkemedel, nässprayer mot förkylningsnästäppa och nikotinläkemedel.      Att receptfria läkemedel får säljas i dagligvaruhandeln påverkar sannolikt apotekens omsättning. Hur mycket detta påverkat är dock svårt att säga, då även avregleringen av apoteksmarknaden skett inom samma tidsperiod. Syftet med denna uppsats var att därför ta reda på hur försäljningen av receptfria läkemedel i dagligvaruhandeln har påverkat apoteken.   För att besvara frågeställningen har en kvalitativ metod använts.  Intervjuer har genomförts med åtta apotekschefer i ett geografiskt område i västra Östergötland  inkluderandes orterna Mjölby, Motala och Skänninge.   Generellt sett har apotekscheferna varit positiva till den ökade tillgänglighet av läkemedel som uppstått då receptfria läkemedel får säljas i dagligvaruhandeln. De påpekar dock att det kan föreligga en risk för felanvändning av ett läkemedel som säljs utan rådgivning.   Sortimenten på apoteken har påverkats och de flesta apotekskedjorna har valt att ta fram egna märkesvaror, vilket ger en ytterligare skillnad i sortiment mellan de olika apoteken. En annan förändring som har skett på apoteken är att apoteksmedarbetarna inom de flesta kedjorna har fått säljutbildning.    De resultat som framkommit i denna studie visar att avregleringen av apoteksmarknaden och konkurrensen från andra apotekskedjor har påverkat apoteken mer än det faktum att receptfria läkemedel numera får säljas i dagligvaruhandeln. Det krävs dock en studie över ett större geografiskt område och därmed med ett större antal apotek involverade för att komma fram till om det är så och få ett mer rättvisande resultat.

The inducible Mar phenotype of Escherichia coli is associated with increased tolerance to multiple hydrophobic antibiotics as well as some highly hydrophobic organic solvents such as cyclohexane, mediated mainly through the AcrAB/TolC efflux system. The influence of water miscible alcohols ethanol and 1-propanol on a Mar constitutive mutant and a mar deletion mutant of E. coli K-12, as well as the corresponding strains carrying the additional acrAB deletion, was investigated. In contrast to hydrophobic solvents, all strains were killed in exponential phase by 1-propanol and ethanol at rates comparable to the parent strain. Thus, the Mar phenotype does not protect E. coli from killing by these more polar solvents. Surprisingly, AcrAB does not contribute to an increased alcohol tolerance. In addition, sodium salicylate, at concentrations known to induce the mar operon, was unable to increase 1-propanol or ethanol tolerance. Rather, the toxicity of both solvents was increased in the presence of sodium salicylate. Collectively, the results imply that the resilience of E. coli to water miscible alcohols, in contrast to more hydrophobic solvents, does not depend upon the AcrAB/TolC efflux system, and suggests a lower limit for substrate molecular size and functionality. Implications for the application of microbiological systems in environments containing high contents of water miscible organic solvents, e. g., phage display screening, are discussed.

Antibiotic use and its implications have been discussed extensively in the past decades. This situation has global consequences when antibiotic resistance becomes widespread in the intestinal bacterial flora of stationary and migratory birds. This study investigated the incidence of fecal bacteria and general antibiotic resistance, with special focus on extended spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL) isolates, in two species of seabirds at remote Easter Island. We identified 11 species of bacteria from masked booby (Sula dactylatra) and Christmas shearwater (Puffinus nativitatis); five species of gram-negative bacilli, four species of Streptococcus (Enterococcus), and 2 species of Staphylococcus. In addition, 6 types of bacteria were determined barely to the genus level. General antibiotic susceptibility was measured in the 30 isolated Enterobacteriaceae to 11 antibiotics used in human and veterinary medicine. The 10 isolates that showed a phenotypic ESBL profile were verified by clavulanic acid inhibition in double mixture discs with cefpodoxime, and two ESBL strains were found, one strain in masked booby and one strain in Christmas shearwater. The two bacteria harboring the ESBL type were identified as Serratia odorifera biotype 1, which has zoonotic importance. Despite minimal human presence in the masked booby and Christmas shearwater habitats, and the extreme geographic isolation of Easter Island, we found several multiresistant bacteria and even two isolates with ESBL phenotypes. The finding of ESBLs has animal and public health significance and is of potential concern, especially because the investigation was limited in size and indicated that antibiotic-resistant bacteria now are distributed globally.

Syfte: Syftet med denna undersökning var att mäta ackommodationsamplitud i Nicaragua och Sverige för att se om det är någon signifikant skillnad mellan länderna i åldersgrupperna mellan 8 år och 40 år. Värdena som togs fram jämfördes sedan med publicerad litteratur för att undersöka hur denna studies värde skiljer sig från dessa, samt vilken av de tidigare studierna som var mest lik denna studies framtagna värde på ackommodationsamplitud i förhållande till åldern.

Metod: Mätningarna skedde på 113 personer i Nicaragua och 113 personer i Sverige. För att vara med i denna studie krävdes det att försökspersonerna översteg 8 år och understeg 40 år. Mätningarna genomfördes med push-up metoden med hjälp av en mätsticka med figuroptotyp i form av en fågel.

Resultat: Av de mätningar som genomfördes blev genomsnittet av ackommodationsamplitud 10,3 D (strandard avvikelse ±9,7 D) i Nicaragua och 11,5 D (standard avvikelse ±6,5 D) i Sverige. Ingen signifikant skillnad finns mellan länderna, det vill säga land (Nicaragua eller Sverige) har ingen påverkan på ackommodations amplitud enligt denna studie. Signifikans finns dock mellan ålder och ackommodation, en bekräftelse på att ålder påverkar ackommodationen har således observerats.

Slutsats: Någon signifikant skillnad i ackommodationsamplitud mellan Nicaragua och Sverige kunde enligt denna studie ej påvisas. I jämförelsen mellan avvikelserna från både Duane och Donders tabeller jämte denna studie kan det avläsas att tabellerna har underskattat mängd ackommodationsamplitud.

Polysorbate 80 (PS80) and Poloxamer 188 (P188) are non-ionic detergents used as surfactants in the injection fluids Gammanorm® (human immunoglobulin) and Octagenate® (recombinant human factor VIII) respectively.PS80 in Gammanorm® is currently quantified using a spectrophotometric method based on complexation with ammonium cobalt(II)-thiocyanate after a protein precipitation step with ethanol (T-603). Highly questionable performance of T-603 has led to the development of an analysis method based on hydrophilic interaction liquid chromatography (HILIC) with evaporative light scattering detection (ELSD). P188 in Octagenate® is currently quantified using HILIC-ELSD (Q-726), but recent problems with peak broadening, signal saturation and insufficient resolution have caused Q-726 to be placed on hold.The aim of this work was to solve the problems connected with Q-726, an analysis method for the quantitative determination of P188 in Octagenate®, and to develop a new analysis method for the quantitative determination of PS80 in Gammanorm® based on HILIC-ELSD.Optimization of ELSD parameters and increased water content in the mobile phase, proved effective in solving the problems with the analysis of P188. The lack of reproducible ethanol injections without interfering peaks prevented further advancement of the PS80 method development. Good results from analysis of standard injections of PS80 between 1 and 10 ppm in the PS80 method were obtained with good correlation (R2 > 0.99). The obtained results, in combination with a recently published article, describing a quantitative determination of PS80 in therapeutic protein formulations based on HPLC-ELSD, indicates potential for this method and further analysis should be performed to validate whether or not the method development is to be continued.

Bakgrund - Att läsa en tidning är en självklarhet för många  idag. Det är en naturlig del av vardagen att tillgodogöra sig skriftlig information. Det här är inte en självklar sanning. Många med nedsatt syn behöver använda hjälpmedel som förstorande optik och starkare belysning m m för att klara den här vardagliga situationen. Hur mäts läsförmågan som den synskadade har? Det finns olika lästester för det här syftet.  Testerna som finns sedan tidigare består av enstaka meningar i olika storlekar. I det EU-baserade AMD-Read projektet togs det fram ett set med 10st  nya  längre läshastighetstexter. Eftersom de här nyare texterna (IReST) består av längre sammanhängande meningar i varje lässtycke så finns möjligheten att mäta den faktiska läshastigheten som den synskadade har.  Det går att jämföra resultat före och efter korrektion eller synträning. Texterna finns standardiserade på finska, franska, tyska, engelska, portugisiska och arabiska.

Syfte - Syftet med denna studie är att utvärdera den svenska versionen av IReST texterna. Frågeställningen var om de tio svenska texterna gav ett jämförbart resultat i läshastighet.

Metod – 25 friska normalseende personer 19-35 år deltog i studien. Deltagarna fick en och en läsa de 10 läshastighetstexterna högt under tidtagning och röstinspelning. Texterna lästes i slumpvis ordning.

Resultat -  Två av de tio texterna tog signifikant längre tid att läsa mot de övriga åtta. När det gäller antal fellästa tecken/minut fanns det ingen signifikant skillnad mellan de tio texterna.

4-Nitropyridine 1-oxide was reacted with bis(trichloromethyl) carbonate, carbonyl fluoride, methyland ethyl chloroformate. Of particular interest was to examine if denitrohalogenation occurs when 4-nitropyridine 1-oxide is treated with carbonyl fluoride which happens when 4-nitropyridine 1-oxidereacts with bis(trichloromethyl) carbonate. A reaction took place but what was formed is still amatter of question.

Two new compounds, 1-(methyloxycarbonyloxy)- and 1-(ethyloxycarbonyloxy)-4-nitropyridiniumperchlorate were obtained when 4-nitropyridine 1-oxide and sodium perchlorate in acetonitrile werereacted with methyl and ethyl chloroformate, respectively.

1-Ethyloxy-4-nitropyridinium perchlorate were formed when heating 1-(ethyloxy-carbonyloxy)-4-nitropyridinium perchlorate. The evolution of carbon dioxide ceased at 90 OC. The structuredetermination of the product was made by IR and1H-NMR spectroscopy. The methyl analogue onthe other hand was completely decarboxylated at 145 OC according to an IR spectrum. The finalstructure determination of the latter compound remains to be done. Both compounds are new.

Experiments were also done in order to work out a simple method for synthesizing carbonyl fluoridefrom bis(trichloromethyl) carbonate and potassium fluoride using 18-crown-6 or tetrabutylammoniumbromide as phase transfer catalysts in several solvents, e.g. acetonitrile, nitromethane, propylenecarbonate. Carbonyl fluoride was formed but its purity remains to be settled.

Metals frequently occur at contaminated sites, where their potential toxicity and persistence require risk assessments that consider possible long-term changes. Changes in climate are likely to affect the speciation, mobility, and risks associated with metals. This paper provides an example of how the climate effect can be inserted in a commonly used exposure model, and how the exposure then changes compared to present conditions. The comparison was made for cadmium (Cd) exposure to 4-year-old children at a highly contaminated iron and steel works site in southeastern Sweden. Both deterministic and probabilistic approaches (through probability bounds analysis, PBA) were used in the exposure assessment. Potential climate-sensitive variables were determined by a literature review. Although only six of the total 39 model variables were assumed to be sensitive to a change in climate (groundwater infiltration, hydraulic conductivity, soil moisture, soil:water distribution, and two bioconcentration factors), the total exposure was clearly affected. For example, by altering the climate-sensitive variables in the order of 15% to 20%, the deterministic estimate of exposure increased by 27%. Similarly, the PBA estimate of the reasonable maximum exposure (RME, defined as the upper bound of the 95th percentile) increased by almost 20%. This means that sites where the exposure in present conditions is determined to be slightly below guideline values may in the future exceed these guidelines, and risk management decisions could thus be affected. The PBA, however, showed that there is also a possibility of lower exposure levels, which means that the changes assumed for the climate-sensitive variables increase the total uncertainty in the probabilistic calculations. This highlights the importance of considering climate as a factor in the characterization of input data to exposure assessments at contaminated sites. The variable with the strongest influence on the result was the soil:water distribution coefficient (Kd).

A high-resolution geochemical profilefrom a 5,500-year-old sediment core of Lake Lehmilampiin eastern Finland was analyzed to study longtermtrends and variability in element concentrationsand accumulation rates. The accumulation rates of allstudied elements followed the same trend, respondingto changes in the total sedimentation rate. Concentrationprofiles differed among elements and showedconsiderable variation over time. Principal componentsanalysis (PCA) was used on the concentrationdata to identify groups of elements that have similargeochemical controls. The first principal componentwas influenced by changes in mineral matter accumulation,and it incorporated elements that areassociated with stable allochthonous minerals (suchas Mg, K, Cs, Rb, Li, Ti and Ga), as well as elementsin forms that become diluted when mineral matterincreases (e.g., S, Fe and Mn). The second and thirdprincipal components showed that a large proportionof the variance was accounted for by elements withcontinuously increasing or decreasing concentrationsrelated to pedogenetical development of the catchmentsoil. In the case of Hg, Pb and Cd, however,accumulation rates increased faster at the surface thanis simply accounted for by changes in total sedimentationrates. For Cu, Cr, Ni and Zn, concentrationsincreased over the past 150 years, but there were noindications of a significant addition due to atmosphericdeposition. These elements had more variableconcentrations before the mid nineteenth century thanafter, as did elements that are often used fornormalization. These findings suggest that lakesediments may not properly reflect the history of atmospheric metal deposition in remote areas.

Benthic macroinvertebrates from Rivers Kipkaren and Sosiani in the upper reaches of River Nzoiabasin, Kenya, were sampled semi-quantitatively monthly from December 2006 to May 2007 using a0.5 mm mesh size scoop net in the riffles, pools and runs. Seven sampling sites were selected on theareas of the rivers along a longitudinal gradient in relation to anthropogenic impact. Physicochemicalparameters were measured in situ, while specific chemical parameters were determinedcalometrically in the laboratory using standard methods. Habitat and land use characteristics werealso recorded. A total of 1499 macroinvertebrates belonging to 13 orders, 28 families and 31 generawere collected. The orders Ephemeroptera, Hemiptera and Coleoptera were taxonomically richest.Overall, a total of 31 genera for River Kipkaren dominated by the EPT and 19 macroinvertebrategenera for the lower River Sosiani dominated by dipterans were recorded. Conductivity, oxygen andtotal nitrogen varied significantly (p < 0.05) between sampled sites, but not temporally. The results ofredundancy analysis using 9 dominant macroinvertebrate genera revealed a distinction betweenimpacted and the less impacted sites and the physico-chemical parameters associated with thisdistinction.