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The number of outlaw bikers is growing globally. Despite this, little research exists on these groups and their alleged violent tendencies. To address this, the current paper uses unique data to examine whether gang violence causes outlaw biker violence. The period examined runs from mid-2008 until early 2012 during which violent clashes occurred between outlaw bikers and street gang members involved in an alleged conflict in Copenhagen, Denmark. A precise description of each individual act of violence would make it possible to identify whether specific acts were carried out in furtherance of the alleged conflict. This would allow one to determine whether outlaw bikers commit violence on behalf of their club. However, such knowledge is unavailable. The paper therefore takes a different approach by examining whether acts of violence committed by the two groups are statistically associated. In other words, it considers whether one or more acts can be described as retaliatory during the observation periods. The sample consists of 640 individuals involved with the Hells Angels Motorcycle Club or with non-biker street gangs–both of which are present in Copenhagen. Statistical models are used to predict 143 violent events committed by 196 outlaw bikers. The results suggest that violence committed by gang members predicts violence committed by outlaw bikers. This indicates that violent acts committed by outlaw bikers are at least partly a form of retaliation carried out on behalf of their club. The paper expands the literature on the kinds of inter-group, micro-level processes that can lead to reciprocal violence by including outlaw bikers in a literature that has previously focused on non-biker street gangs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The rich and long-lasting Nordic Bronze Age was dependent throughout on incoming flows of copper and tin. The crucial turning point for the development of the NBA can be pinpointed as the second phase of the Late Neolithic (LN II, c. 2000–1700 BC) precisely because the availability and use of metal increased markedly at this time. But the precise provenance of copper reaching Scandinavia in the early second millennium is still unclear and our knowledge about the driving force leading to the establishment of the Bronze Age in southern Scandinavia is fragmentary and incomplete. This study, drawing on a large data set of 210 samples representing almost 50% of all existing metal objects known from this period in Denmark, uses trace element (EDXRF) and isotope analyses (MC-ICP-MS) of copper-based artifacts in combination with substantial typological knowledge to profoundly illuminate the contact directions, networks and routes of the earliest metal supplies. It also presents the first investigation of local recycling or mixing of metals originating from different ore regions. Both continuity and change emerge clearly in the metal-trading networks of the Late Neolithic to the first Bronze Age period. Artifacts in LN II consist mainly of high-impurity copper (so-called fahlore type copper), with the clear exception of British imports. Targeted reuse of foreign artifacts in local production is demonstrated by the presence of British metal in local-style axes. The much smaller range of lead isotope ratios among locally crafted compared to imported artifacts is also likely due to mixing. In the latter half of Nordic LN II (1800–1700 BC), the first signs emerge of a new and distinct type of copper with low impurity levels, which gains enormously in importance later in NBA IA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Intermittent auscultation (IA) is the technique of listening to and counting the fetal heart rate (FHR) for short periods during active labour and continuous cardiotocography (CTC) implies FHR monitoring for longer periods. Although the evidence suggests that IA is the best way to monitor healthy women at low risk of complications, there is no scientific evidence for the ideal device, timing, frequency and duration for IA. We aimed to give an overview of the field, identify and describe methods and practices for performing IA, map the evidence and accuracy for different methods of IA, and identify research gaps. Methods: We conducted a systematic scoping review following the Joanna Briggs methodology. Medline, EMBASE, Cinahl, Maternity & Infant Care, Cochrane Library, SveMed+, Web of Science, Scopus, Lilacs and African Journals Online were searched for publications up to January 2019. We did hand searches in relevant articles and databases. Studies from all countries, international guidelines and national guidelines from Denmark, United Kingdom, United States, New Zealand, Australia, The Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, and Norway were included. We did quality assessment of the guidelines according to the AGREEMENT tool. We performed a meta-analysis assessing the effects of IA with a Doppler device vs. Pinard device using methods described in The Cochrane Handbook, and we performed an overall assessment of the summary of evidence using the GRADE approach. Results: The searches generated 6408 hits of which 26 studies and 11 guidelines were included in the review. The studies described slightly different techniques for performing IA, and some did not provide detailed descriptions. Few of the studies provided details of normal and abnormal IA findings. All 11 guidelines recommended IA for low risk women, although they had slightly different recommendations on the frequency, timing, and duration for IA, and the FHR characteristics that should be observed. Four of the included studies, comprising 8436 women and their babies, were randomised controlled trials that evaluated the effect of IA with a Doppler device vs. a Pinard device. Abnormal FHRs were detected more often using the Doppler device than in those using the Pinard device (risk ratio 1.77; 95% confidence interval 1.29–2.43). There were no significant differences in any of the other maternal or neonatal outcomes. Four studies assessed the accuracy of IA findings. Normal FHR was easiest to identify correctly, whereas identifying periodic FHR patterns such as decelerations and saltatory patterns were more difficult. Conclusion: Although IA is the recommended method, no trials have been published that evaluate protocols on how to perform it. Nor has any study assessed interrater agreements regarding interpretations of IA findings, and few have assessed to what degree clinicians can describe FHR patterns detected by IA. We found no evidence to recommend Doppler device instead of the Pinard for IA, or vice versa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Despite improvements in treatment for rheumatoid arthritis (RA), psoriatic arthritis (PsA) and spondyloarthritis (axSpA), several key unmet needs remain, such as fatigue. The objective of this study was to describe the severity of fatigue, disease characteristics and socioeconomic factors in people with RA, PsA and axSpA. Methods: The study was designed as a cross-sectional survey collecting patient characteristics such as disease characteristics, socioeconomic factors and fatigue in people with RA, PsA and axSpA in Denmark. Respondents were consecutively recruited for the study over a six-month period in 2018 via routine visits to outpatient rheumatology clinics. Study nurses collected information on diagnosis, current disease-related treatment and disease activity from medical journals. People were invited to complete a questionnaire related to socioeconomic factors and containing the FACIT-Fatigue subscale. Descriptive statistics were analyzed using SAS. Results: We invited 633 people to participate, and 488 (77%) completed the questionnaire. Women constituted 62% of respondents, and the mean age was 53.5 years. Respondents had on average been diagnosed between 11 and 15 years ago. Overall, 79% had no changes to their disease-related treatment during the past year, and the average disease activity as indicated by DAS28 for RA and PsA was 2.48 and 2.36, respectively, and BASDAI for axSpA was 28.40. Fatigue was present in all three diagnoses (mean: 34.31). The mean fatigue score varied from respondents answering that they suffered from no or little fatigue (mean: 45.48) to extreme fatigue (mean: 10.11). Analyses demonstrated that the respondents were not considerably different from nonrespondents, and the study population is considered representative compared with Danish RA and axSpA patients in the Danish National Rheumatology Registry, the DANBIO database. Conclusion: We found that the majority of the study population were fatigued (61%). They had low disease activity and few disease-related treatment changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Dialysis-requiring acute kidney injury is a severe illness associated with poor prognosis. However, information pertaining to incidence rates and prevalence of risk factors remains limited in spite of increasing focus. We evaluate time trends of incidence rates and changing patterns in prevalence of comorbidities, concurrent medication, and other risk factors in nationwide retrospective cohort study. Materials and Methods: All patients with dialysis-requiring acute kidney injury were identified between January 1st 2000 and December 31st 2012. By cross-referencing data from national administrative registries, the association of changing patterns in dialysis treatment, comorbidity, concurrent medication and demographics with incidence of dialysis-requiring acute kidney injury was evaluated. Results: A total of 18,561 adult patients with dialysis-requiring AKI were identified between 2000 and 2012. Crude incidence rate of dialysis-requiring AKI increased from 143 per million (95% confidence interval, 137–144) in 2000 to 366 per million (357–375) in 2006, and remained stable hereafter. Notably, incidence of continuous veno-venous hemodialysis (CRRT) and use of acute renal replacement therapy in elderly >75 years increased substantially from 23 per million (20–26) and 328 per million (300–355) in 2000, to 213 per million (206–220) and 1124 per million (1076–1172) in 2012, respectively. Simultaneously, patient characteristics and demographics shifted towards increased age and comorbidity. Conclusions: Although growth in crude incidence rate of dialysis-requiring AKI stabilized in 2006, continuous growth in use of CRRT, and acute renal replacement therapy of elderly patients >75 years, was observed. Our results indicate an underlying shift in clinical paradigm, as opposed to unadulterated growth in incidence of dialysis-requiring AKI. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]