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Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the incidence of early and late complications following treatment of patella fractures. Secondary aims were to investigate the association between early and late complications and the patient-reported outcome measurement, the Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis outcome score (KOOS). Methods: Cross-sectional study including all patients recorded with a patella fracture residing in the Northern Region of Denmark between 2010 and 2020. Early (before 3 months) and late complications were investigated by retrospective review of charts and x-rays. All patients were invited to participate in the study by reporting current knee-specific symptoms. The KOOS was used to investigate patient-reported knee-specific symptoms. Results: Seven hundred ninety-eight patients were included in the study. A total of 532 (67%) patients were treated conservatively, and 266 (33%) patients underwent surgery. The mean age at the time of fracture was 66.8, ranging from 6 to 103 years of age. The mean follow-up time was 6.4 years, ranging from 1.1 to 12.3 years follow-up. Overall, the rate of complications was 26%. Overall, the rate of complication for the surgical group was 57% and for the conservative group 4%. The most common early complication was the loss of reduction followed by the removal of symptomatic hardware. The most common late complication was the removal of symptomatic hardware and knee arthroscopy. In all the five KOOS subscales (Pain, Symptoms, ADL, Sport/Rec, and QOL), patients presenting with early and late complications reported statistically significantly worse scores than those without complications. Conclusion: The overall incidence of complications in patients presenting with a patella fracture was 26%, with a mean follow-up time of 6.4 years. In the surgical group, 57% of patients experience at least one complication during the follow-up period. Early and late complications were significantly associated with worse KOOS subscale scores. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In general engineering studies focus on the technical skills in their own discipline. However, in their subsequent industrial careers, a significant portion of their time needs to be devoted to non-technical skills. In addition, in an increasingly globalised world collaboration in teams across cultures and disciplines is paramount to the creation of new and innovative products. In order to enhance the non-technical skills for groups of engineering students a series of innovation courses has been arranged and delivered in close collaboration with an industrial company (Bang & Olufsen). These courses have been organised as summer schools called "Conceptual Design and Development of Innovative Products" (CD-DIP) and delivered outside the usual educational environment. In order to explore the impact of this single course, we have conducted a study among the students participating from 2007 to 2013. This has been carried out both qualitatively using interviews with selected students as well as quantitatively using a survey. The results are outstanding in demonstrating that the non-technical skills obtained in this single course have been of high value for a large portion of the students' subsequent professional life.

Agricultural intensification and habitat degradation across Europe have caused declines since the 20th century in populations of birds adapted to open landscapes, such as the Redbacked Shrike (Lanius collurio). Effective conservation strategies require knowledge on species' breeding biology. To understand the status of the Danish breeding population better, we investigate which factors affect their breeding parameter (i.e. distribution, performance, post-fledging survival and behaviour). Our focus on the post-fledging period addresses present knowledge gaps due to the importance of this, yet understudied, phase of passerines' breeding cycle. We studied breeding pairs on different habitat types with Denmark-wide Citizen Science data, complemented by data of local projects in Northern Zealand and Northern Jutland (Denmark). Significantly fewer pairs were found in agricultural habitats and more in forests, semi-natural open habitats and synanthropic habitats. Pairs in forests had a significantly higher breeding productivity compared to agricultural or semi-natural open habitats for data from the years 2000 to 2021. Some project sites showed significantly higher number of fledglings compared to others, indicating that these sites are potential core areas for breeding productivity. Over the last two decades, the mean breeding productivity across Denmark was stable with 2.3 fledglings per successful pair. The survival rate of ringed fledglings increased during the post-fledging period, likely due to their increase in more active and independent behaviour. The relatively low breeding productivity found in this study calls for further studies including detailed data from potentially secondary habitats like agricultural areas to understand the effects of habitat on population fluctuations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although it is often recognised that testing has unintended effects, not enough intellectual curiosity has been invested in a deeper questioning of what "unintended" means. While this concept often remains dependent on an image of good, underlying, rational intentions, it underestimates the contested, controversial and socially productive nature of testing. A conceptual alternative is offered, termed "constitutive effects" as well as a theoretical framework in which this concept makes sense. Four domains in which constitutive effects are likely to unfold are carved out. A qualitative case study of how a national testing system of Danish for immigrants influences practices in one school in Denmark is offered as an illustration of such constitutive effects. Finally, a discussion unfolds concerning in what sense constitutive effects of testing can be seen as political (in a way that is not captured by the more conventional conceptualisation of "unintended effects".

One way to understand the context of evaluation is in terms of its interaction with political culture. That culture includes citizens' views of the role of government and of evaluation and the history of the polity. This chapter illustrates the relationship of political culture and evaluation by means of two accounts of Danish political culture. The chapter also draws on this analysis to stimulate our thinking on the very idea of how context can be studied.

Most university-level engineering studies produce technically skilled engineers. However, typically students face several difficulties when working in multidisciplinary teams when they initiate their industrial careers. In a globalised world, it becomes increasingly important that engineers are capable of collaborating across disciplinary boundaries and exhibit soft competencies, like communication, interpersonal and social skills, time planning, creativity, initiative, and reflection. To prepare a group of engineering and industrial design students to acquire those capabilities, an international summer school that combined industrial design with different kinds of engineering disciplines was organised on the site of Bang & Olufsen (B&O) in Denmark. This multidisciplinary engineering summer school was attended by students from six European university-level teaching institutions and was supervised by teachers from those institutions and industrial experts from B&O. The main aim of the summer school was to allow students to work in teams, composed of students from different knowledge disciplines and with different cultural backgrounds, with the purpose of developing innovative concepts and products, within a strong industrial perspective. (Contains 5 notes and 5 figures.)

In recent years, international comparisons have become a powerful lever for change in educational policies. Quality assurance and evaluation (QAE) in many forms is being incorporated in the steering and management of schools. However, the Danish use of QAE is a dynamic result of ongoing tensions and struggles both around and within QAE initiatives. Romantic and communitarian tenets in the traditional Danish view of enlightenment continue to influence the way QAE is used. However, the recent waves of QAE initiatives--comprising "transparency", goal-setting, tests and a number of new comprehensive and mandatory reporting mechanisms--restructure the world of schools and teachers in important ways.

The Brabrand Sø area west of Aarhus in eastern Jylland, Denmark, was deglaciated about 18 000 to 17 000 years ago. Coring in the present-day lake area revealed Early Holocene stream deposits overlain by marine deposits. The area was transgressed by the sea at c. 8500 cal. years BP and a 12 km long, narrow fjord was formed. In the beginning, the fjord housed a species-poor marine or brackish-water fauna with molluscs Hydrobia sp. (mudsnail), Littorina littorea (winkle), Mytilus edulis (blue mussel) and Cerastoderma sp. (cockle). This phase was followed by a phase during which the fjord housed a species-rich fauna that included Ostrea edulis (European flat oyster) and Ruditapes decussatus (palourde clam). During this phase the salinity and summer water temperatures were higher than in present day Aarhus Bugt and we also see evidence for strong bottom currents. This phase was probably characterised by a fairly large tidal amplitude. Two radiocarbon ages of O. edulis shells of c. 6250 and 6700 cal. years BP indicate that such conditions peaked during the period of the Ertebølle culture. The high-salinity phase was followed by a phase with a more species-poor fauna, this phase was also characterised by a high sedimentation rate - a feature seen in other fjords in the region. We suggest that the shift could be due to a decrease in tidal amplitude. Brabrand Fjord was eventually transformed into a lake due to land uplift and closure of the connection to Aarhus Bugt due to longshore sediment transport but the timing of the transition from fjord to lake is still unknown. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

What can be said about effect of an intervention without a control group? The lack of evaluative evidence is a long-standing problem for regulatory policies against work-related health and safety risks. The European Union Occupational Safety and Health Framework has been in operation for three decades and covers more than 200 million workers, but the most recent evaluation was inconclusive about the benefits generated by this framework. A theory-based evaluation focusing on mechanisms in combination with a design capturing within-intervention variations offers a way forward. The idea is to measure the prevalence of most likely mechanisms and their correlation with outcomes. This approach is illustrated in a large- N evaluation of the use of workplace assessments in the public sector in Denmark. The strengths and weakness of the workplace assessment legislation are assessed. It is shown how findings based on the presented approach contribute to the public debate about workplace assessments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Disregarding proximal femoral fractures, the current literature includes only limited information regarding mortality following lower extremity fractures. Information regarding risk of mortality related to specific fracture patterns is essential when planning treatment modalities. The primary aim of this study was to report the long-term cumulative survival rate in patients with a tibial plateau fracture compared to an age- and gender-matched reference population. Materials and methods: Patients who sustained a tibial plateau fracture in Denmark between 1996 and 2000 were included in the study. Survival status was monitored until 2015. We compared the mortality rate with a tenfold reference population matched on age and gender without a prior tibial plateau fracture. The study was based on register data from the Danish National Patient Register. Results: The study included 7950 patients sustaining 8065 tibial plateau fractures. The cohort had a mean follow-up period of 13.9 years. Patients with a tibial plateau fracture had a 1.52 (95% CI 1.46–1.58) times higher hazard ratio (HR) of death compared to the age- and gender-matched reference population. The 30-day, 6-month and 1-year mortality rates were 1.2%, 3.3% and 4.9%, respectively. Conclusion: Patients with a proximal tibial plateau fracture have a higher cumulative risk of death during the mean 13.9-year observational period compared to an age- and gender-matched reference population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In criminal cases where there is a lack of evidence, the authorities sometimes ask our department to make a comparison of a criminal and suspect for possible identification or exclusion. This paper provides a comprehensive overview of 113 such cases analysed by the Department of Forensic Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Denmark in 2006–2016. The aims of the analyses were to assist the authorities in identifying individuals, predominantly due to a suspicion of involvement in criminal activity. The videos comprised surveillance footage showing a criminal committing a criminal act. Based on comparisons of specific parameters, such as face, gait and general body proportions, conclusions were drawn on the plausibly of a suspect being the perpetrator of the crime in the video footage. This paper describes the most typical case: a comparison of one suspect with one criminal committing a robbery. In the majority of cases, the suspect could not be excluded from being the criminal based on the analysis of the video footage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To compare the effect of a conventional to an intensive blood pressure monitoring regimen on blood pressure in hypertensive patients in the general practice setting.Design: Randomized controlled parallel group trial with 12-month follow-up.Setting: One hundred and ten general practices in all regions of Denmark.Participants: One thousand forty-eight patients with essential hypertension.Intervention: Conventional blood pressure monitoring ('usual group') continued usual ad hoc blood pressure monitoring by office blood pressure measurements, while intensive blood pressure monitoring ('intensive group') supplemented this with frequent home blood pressure monitoring and 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure monitoring.Primary outcome measures: Mean day- and night-time systolic and diastolic 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure.Secondary outcome measures: Change in systolic and diastolic office blood pressure and change in cardiovascular risk profile.Results: Of the patients, 515 (49%) were allocated to the usual group, and 533 (51%) to the intensive group. The reductions in day- and night-time 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure were similar (usual group: 4.6 ± 13.5/2.8 ± 82 mmHg; intensive group: 5.6 ± 13.0/3.5 ± 8.2 mmHg; P = 0.27/P = 0.20). Cardiovascular risk scores were reduced in both groups at follow-up, but more so in the intensive than in the usual group (P = 0.02).Conclusion: An intensive blood pressure monitoring strategy led to a similar blood pressure reduction to conventional monitoring. However, the intensive strategy appeared to improve patients' cardiovascular risk profile through other effects than a reduction of blood pressure.Trial registration: Clinical Trials NCT00244660. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives. Knee pain is accepted as a common complication to intramedullary nailing of tibial fractures. However, no studies have systematically studied the pain sequel following tibial fractures. The objective of this study was to assess pain and hyperalgesia from 6 weeks to 12 months postoperatively after intramedullary nailing of tibial shaft fracture. Methods. A total of 39 patients were included in this 12-month follow-up study. After 6 weeks, 3, 6, and 12 months postoperatively the pain intensity was measured on a visual analog scale (VAS) and the pressure pain sensitivity was assessed bilaterally by pain pressure thresholds (PPTs). Results. The mean age at the time of fracture was 42.9 years. Twelve months after surgery, the pain intensity for worst pain during the last 24 hours was 1.8 ± 2.7 cm. The PPTs progressively increased from 6 weeks after surgery to 12 months postoperatively for all PPT sites except for the forearm (P<0.012). Moreover, the PPTs on the leg were generally reduced on the injured side compared with the non-injured side (P<0.04). Conclusions. This study suggests that localized, distal, and bilateral hyperalgesia are common following an isolated tibial shaft fracture treated with intramedullary nailing, although no widespread (extrasegmental) hyperalgesia was detected. Such observations may be important for developing the most adequate rehabilitation procedure following a tibial fracture. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although epidemiologic studies of tibial plateau fractures have been conducted, none have included geographically defined populations or a validated fracture classification based on computed tomography (CT). The goals of this study were to provide up-to-date information on the incidence and basic epidemiology of tibial plateau fractures in a large unselected patient population and to report the mechanisms of injury involved and the distribution of fractures according to a validated CT-based fracture classification. The authors conducted a population-based epidemiologic study of all patients treated for tibial plateau fracture over a 6-year period from 2005 to 2010. The study was based on an average background population of 576,364 citizens. A retrospective review of hospital records was performed. During this time, a total of 355 patients were treated for tibial plateau fracture. This group included 166 men and 189 women, and mean age was 52.6 years (SD, 18.3). The most common fracture type was AO type 41-B3, representing 35% of all tibial plateau fractures. The second most common fracture type was AO type 41-C3, representing 17% of all tibial plateau fractures. The incidence of tibial plateau fractures was 10.3 per 100,000 annually. Compared with women, men younger than 50 years had a higher incidence of fractures. The incidence of fractures increased markedly in women older than 50 years but decreased in men older than 50 years. In both sexes, the highest frequency was between the ages of 40 and 60 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background. Cystic echinococcosis (CE) of the liver can be treated with ultrasound-guided puncture, aspiration, injection, and re-aspiration (PAIR), with surgery and with benzimidazole derivatives. The aim of this study was to review available data concerning treatment modality and outcome for patients treated for CE of the liver in a Danish tertiary reference center. Methods. A search was made for patients treated for CE infection between January 1, 2002 and January 1, 2010. All relevant patient records and radiology exams were scrutinized and all cysts were re-classified according to the WHO-IWGE, blinded as to which treatment the patient had received. PAIR was performed as a first choice treatment and surgery was reserved for cases where PAIR was impossible. Inactive cyst stages received medical treatment only. Results. The search revealed 26 cases with confirmed CE of the liver. Nine patients underwent PAIR and nine patients surgery as a first choice treatment. Three patients were treated with PAIR secondary to surgery and one patient was treated with surgery secondary to PAIR. For all PAIR treatments, the success rate was 58% regardless of cyst stage and for surgery the success rate was 70%. The difference between the rates was not statistically significant ( p = 0.67). Conclusion. CE is a rare disease in Denmark and our study is the first describing clinical management of CE in our institution. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In recent years, international comparisons have become a powerful lever for change in educational policies. Quality assurance and evaluation (QAE) in many forms is being incorporated in the steering and management of schools. However, the Danish use of QAE is a dynamic result of ongoing tensions and struggles both around and within QAE initiatives. Romantic and communitarian tenets in the traditional Danish view of enlightenment continue to influence the way QAE is used. However, the recent waves of QAE initiatives - comprising 'transparency', goal-setting, tests and a number of new comprehensive and mandatory reporting mechanisms - restructure the world of schools and teachers in important ways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Analyses of a sediment core from the Great Belt documented the local presence of fluvial deposits. The sediments consisted of silt, clay, sand and organic detritus and they contained macroscopical remains of a mixture of terrestrial, telmatic, lacustrine and fluvial plants and animals. Most noteworthy was the abundance of remains of caddisfly larvae, totalling at least 24 species, which were dominated by fluvial species. Thus, filter-feeding hydropsychids made up approximately 95% out of 1496 identified specimens, the dominating species being Hydropsyche contubernalis and H. pellucidula. The present-day requirements of the recorded species point to a fairly fast-flowing river, at least locally, with areas of stones (some with moss growth) and gravel, but also to more slowly-flowing parts with sand, fine and coarse detritus. This river may have been considerably larger than any present-day Danish river. It appears that the fluvial deposits formed locally in connection with flooding of the area south of the core position. AMS radiocarbon dating shows that the sequence was deposited very rapidly during the early Holocene, about 10650 to 10250 cal. years BP. The occurrence of the lentic Leptocerus tineiformis points to a climate at least as warm as today. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Students of evaluation have found many examples of reports gathering dust on the shelf, as well as politically hired outsiders with an ax who relentlessly cut public programs. These images indicate that evaluation often does not fulfill its genuine democratic potential. A study of the Danish municipal sector shows that out of 600 evaluations, less than 1% led to termination of the evaluated activities, whereas 78% of the evaluations led to adjustments of program activities. On this basis, an alternative view of evaluation is proposed: a managerial support system. This requires a new understanding of the utilization problem in evaluation and its democratic ramifications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents a re-description of the poorly known larva of Paroecetis strucki (Klapálek, 1903). Information for the identification of this species is given, and the most important diagnostic features are illustrated. In addition, some zoogeographical and ecological notes are included. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The disease Fur Animal Necrotizing Pyoderma (FNP) has since 2000 been reported in many fur producing countries including Canada, Finland and Denmark. Development of FNP is characterised by rapidly forming treatment-resistant wounds on paws and in the head region. Economic losses related to FNP have been associated with mortality and decreased fur quality as well as increased veterinary costs. Also it has been suggested that FNP may be associated with reduced production results for breeding mink. The aim of this study was to evaluate if there is an association between FNP lesions in breeding animals and reduced production results based on a retrospective cohort study. Results: 1465 breeding animals (244 males and 1221 females) were followed during the breeding season 2019 on five Danish mink farms. Two farms were removed from the analysis since no occurrence of FNP appeared in the observation group. After exclusion, 846 breeding animals (148 males and 698 females) remained in the analysis and were divided into two groups: exposed (EXP) or non-exposed (N-EXP) depending on the disease history of the males during mating. Females exposed to FNP positive males during breeding in average produce 14% fewer kits (P = 0.032) and these females were also more than double as likely to produce small litters (N ≥ 3) than N-EXP females. Female's from the EXP group were introduced more times to males than females in the N-EXP group (P = 0.0001, 2.5 more times in average). Females in the EXP group did not have a statistically higher risk of becoming barren (P = 0.138) though the relative risk of becoming barren was 77% higher after encountering a FNP male. Conclusions: This study shows that FNP has more economic losses for the farms than direct loss of animals. Females in contact with males with FNP lesion during breeding have a higher risk of becoming barren, and produce significantly fewer kits compared to females whom haven't been in contact with a FNP positive male. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• OHSMS factors such as management support and employee influence predict action against risks at the workplace. • OHSMS factors explain 25.2% of variations in action-taking against psychosocial risks. • OHSMS factors explain 20.3% of variations in action-taking against physical risks. • Integration of risk assessment into organizational processes is conducive to action taken against psychosocial risks. The increasing prevalence of psychosocial risk factors at work poses new challenges to occupational health and safety management systems (OHSMSs) such as those taking place under EU Framework Directive 89/391. Due to the wicked nature of psychosocial risks, management of these risks allegedly lag behind management of other kinds of occupational safety and health risks. Data describing the use of workplace assessments (WPAs) in public workplaces in Denmark (N = 2221) show that variations in OHSMS components predict actions taken against psychosocial risks even better than they predict actions taken against physical risks. Two factors predict actions taken against psychosocial risks in particular: The use of anonymous data in WPAs and the integration of WPAs into organizational processes such as strategy-making and HR. These findings enforce a sustained belief in systematic organizational approaches to the management of psychosocial risk factors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Danish streams have for some decades shown a significant improvement in ecological quality. This is based on a time-series of a subset of 247 sites from the nationwide monitoring program with reoccurring annual sampling. The ecological quality is determined using the benthic macroinvertebrate fauna as bio-indicators via the Danish Stream Fauna Index (DSFI), and expressed in categorically ranked scores, with 1 as the lowest, and 7 as the highest quality. We analysed a data set on DSFI scores and the associated taxon lists from 2004 to 2013, totaling to 2411 individual samples or communities. Our main objectives were to 1) examine the temporal multidirectional dynamics underlying the overall net improving trend in the DSFI scores, and 2) to elucidate how the DSFI responds to differences in faunal community composition. Our analysis showed that most sites exhibited unchanged DSFI over the 10 year period (53%), although inter-annual shifts were still observable within these sites. The DSFI interval 1–2 showed the highest proportion of positive shifts, whereas interval 3–4 the highest proportion of negative shifts. Improvement measures should therefore be directed more specifically towards intermediate quality streams. Sites with moderate to high scores (DSFI 4–7) were most stable. Turnover (i.e., replacement of taxa) was the dominating component of overall beta diversity, while the richness change component (i.e., loss/gain of taxa) was negligible. The specific DSFI scores encompassed wide ranges of community composition, and showed a weak, but significant correlation between differences in scores and the community composition. This is to a certain degree advantageous since it gives the categorical scores robustness and plasticity, and thus makes the DSFI capable of handling natural variation in communities. The ideal biotic index should allow for natural variation, but do so while maintaining the capability of separating ecologically different communities. Our findings consequently give rise to concern to whether the DSFI is too sensitive to stochastic variation in samples with insufficient precision to assign sites to correct ecological quality classes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]