PLS Consult (Denmark)

Massive open online courses (MOOCs) have emerged as powerful educational tools for disseminating complex scientific knowledge. This study examines the RECONECT MOOC, an innovative online learning platform designed to educate stakeholders about nature-based solutions (NbS) for hydrometeorological risk reduction. Developed by a multidisciplinary team of international experts, the course drew on diverse professional and geographical perspectives, across a range of national and sectoral contexts. Its primary aim to bridge the knowledge gap in climate adaptation strategies across diverse professional sectors. The research investigated the effectiveness of interactive, multimedia-based learning approaches in communicating advanced NbS concepts. Using the Sharable Content Object Reference Model (SCORM) framework, the course integrated multiple learning methods, including reading, listening, inquiry-based learning, discussion forums and practical application exercises. The MOOC was divided into six modules and targeted local authorities, policymakers, academics, postgraduate students and other stakeholders interested in climate resilience. Findings revealed that 90% of participants gained additional NbS knowledge, 69% reported a shift in perception and 62% felt confident applying what they learned. Participants valued the interactive resources and flexible, self-paced format. Overall, the study demonstrates that MOOCs can effectively support scientific knowledge dissemination and strengthen understanding of complex environmental solutions.

This study aims at supporting the maintenance of representative functional habitat networks as green infrastructure for biodiversity conservation through transdisciplinary macroecological analyses of wet grassland landscapes and their stewardship systems. We chose ten north European wet grassland case study landscapes from Iceland and the Netherlands in the west to Lithuania and Belarus in the east. We combine expert experiences for 20–30 years, comparative studies made 2011–2017, and longitudinal analyses spanning >70 years. Wader, or shorebird, (Charadrii) assemblages were chosen as a focal species group. We used evidence‐based knowledge and practical experience generated in three steps. (1) Experts from 8 wet grassland landscapes in northern Europe's west and east mapped factors linked to patterns and processes, and management and governance, in social‐ecological systems that affect states and trends of wet grasslands as green infrastructures for wader birds. (2) To understand wader conservation problems and their dynamic in wet grassland landscapes, and to identify key issues for successful conservation, we applied group modeling using causal loop diagram mapping. (3) Validation was made using the historic development in two additional wet grassland landscapes. Wader conservation was dependent on ten dynamically interacting ecological and social system factors as leverage points for management. Re‐wetting and grazing were common drivers for the ecological and social system, and long‐term economic support for securing farmers’ interest in wader bird conservation. Financial public incentives at higher levels of governance of wetland management are needed to stimulate private income loops. Systems analysis based on contrasting landscape case studies in space and over time can support (1) understanding of complex interactions in social‐ecological systems, (2) collaborative learning in individual wet grassland landscapes, and (3) formulation of priorities for conservation, management, and restoration.

<p>On January 15, 2018 at 11:49, the west pylon (B) of the cable-stayed Chirajara Bridge collapsed during construction of the bridge girder. The crossing is located approximately 20km NW of Villavicencio, Colombia. The collapse led to the total destruction of Pylon B, together with the erected span of the bridge girder. Authorities reported nine fatalities resulting from the collapse. Shortly thereafter, the project insurer QBE Segures, Colombia commissioned an independent investigation into the collapse of the bridge, through loss adjusters ONC Adjusters, Bogotá, Colombia. An international team of engineering experts was assembled to undertake the investigation. The investigation was completed in August, 2018. Key findings and recommendations from the investigation are presented herewith.</p>

Environments are rapidly changing due to climate change, land use, intensive agriculture, and the impact of hunting on predator populations. Here, we analyzed long‐term data recorded during 1928–2014 on the size of breeding populations of waders at two large nature reserves in Denmark, Vejlerne and Tipperne, to determine the effects of components of environmental change on breeding populations of waders. Environmental variables and counts of waders were temporally autocorrelated, and we used generalized least square (GLS) by incorporating the first‐order autoregressive correlation structure in the analyses. We attempted to predict the abundance of waders for short‐term trends for two nature reserves (35 years) and for long‐term trends for one nature reserve (86 years), using precipitation, temperature, nutrients, abundance of foxes Vulpes vulpes, area grazed, and number of cattle. There was evidence of impacts of nutrients, climate (long‐term changes in temperature and precipitation), grazing, mowing, and predation on bird populations. We used standard random effects meta‐analyses weighted by (N–3) to quantify these mean effects. There was no significant difference in effect size among species, while mean effect size differed consistently among environmental factors, and the interaction between effect size for species and environmental factors was also significant. Thus, environmental factors affected the different species differently. Mean effect size was the largest at +0.20 for rain, +0.11 for temperature, −0.09 for fox abundance, and −0.03 for number of cattle, while there was no significant mean effect for fertilizer, area grazed, and year. Effect sizes for two short‐term time series from Tipperne and Vejlerne were positively correlated as were effect sizes for short‐term and long‐term time series at Tipperne. This implies that environmental factors had consistent effects across large temporal and spatial scales.

The aim of this study is to understand better how individuals with traumatic brain injury make sense of their adaptation process and their performance of occupations within this process. For this study, four participants were interviewed twice. Thereafter analyses following a narrative approach led to the construction of four individual narratives. The results indicate that the adaptation process following traumatic brain injury is (1) a necessary struggle to gain a new identity; (2) facilitated by engagement in familiar occupations in familiar environments; (3) a protracted learning process that continues long after rehabilitation ends; (4) individual and situated. The results suggest that healthcare professionals including occupational therapists should: allow individuals with traumatic brain injury to test and practise their abilities within their own home environments; provide them with the necessary space to practise on their own; guide them in using their own and new strategies in a way that is both efficient and personally satisfying. Finally, this study discusses whether rehabilitation services should be offered over a protracted period of time. Professional support following the rehabilitation period—precisely the period in which they are trying to establish a meaningful existence with their disabilities—could be a more useful path to follow.

Die Chirurgie der benignen Struma hat sich in den letzten Dekaden erheblich weiterentwickelt. Die GOÄ ist dagegen in Leistungsbeschreibung und Bewertung der operativen Verfahren immer noch auf dem Stand von etwa 1980. Nach wie vor lautet die GOÄ-Nr. 2755 „Entfernung der Kropfgeschwulst oder Teilresektion der Schilddrüse” und ist unverändert mit 1850 Punkten bewertet.

A research program in Denmark on statistical modelling of rainfall has resulted in a model for regional distribution of rainfall extremes. The results show that extreme rainfalls critical to the hydraulic function of urban drainage systems and the pollution discharge are subject to a significant regional variation of extreme rainfalls throughout the country. This has implications for design and analysis of all practical problems related to urban drainage, since the rainfall data so far recommended as input to engineering analyses underestimates the problems. Consequently, the Danish Water Pollution Control Committee has issued a statement recommending a new engineering practice. The dissemination of the research results proved to be difficult due to lack of understanding of the concepts of the new paradigm by practitioners. The traditional means of communication was supplemented by user-friendly spreadsheets and easy access to rainfall data as well as giving courses on the new paradigm. This has eased the implementation of the new concepts greatly.

Abstract We used δ15N and δ13C analyses of blood, muscle, and liver tissues to evaluate similarity of diet among five seabird species: Black Guillemot (Cepphus grylle), Black-legged Kittiwake (Rissa tridactyla), Dovekie (Alle alle), Glaucous Gull (Larus hyperboreus), and Thick-billed Murre (Uria lomvia) nesting at Coburg Island on the west and Hakluyt Island on the east side of the North Water Polynya between Ellesmere Island, Canada, and northwest Greenland. We hypothesized that dietary differences should occur because the two neighboring sites are subject to different oceanographic conditions, one result of which is differential timing of spring open water. Relative trophic level, derived from tissue δ15N values, ranged from 3.6 for Dovekie from Hakluyt Island to 4.7 for late-breeding-season diets of Thick-billed Murre adults from Coburg Island. At Coburg Island, trophic level of hatching year (HY) kittiwakes, murres, and Glaucous Gulls was higher than that for adults. This pattern was not found at Hakluyt Island, where chicks of all species generally occupied lower trophic positions. These findings suggest that lower-trophic-level prey were more important to Hakluyt Island seabirds, possibly due to lower availability of arctic cod (Boreogadus saida). Investigaciones Isotópicas de Aves Marinas en el Canal Aguas del Norte: Contrastando las Relaciones Tróficas entre los Sectores Este y Oeste Resumen. Usamos análisis de δ15N y δ13C en tejidos sanguineos, musculares y hepáticos para evaluar la similitud en la dieta entre cinco especies de aves marinas (Cepphus grylle, Rissa tridactyla, Alle alle, Larus hyperboreus y Uria lomvia). Estas especies anidan en la Isla Coburg en el lado oeste y en la Isla Hakluyt en el lado este del Canal de las Aguas del Norte, que se presenta libre de hielos y está situado entre la Isla Ellesmere en Canadá y el noroeste de Groenlandia. Hipotetizamos que las diferencias en la dieta se deberían a que los dos sitios vecinos están sujetos a diferentes condiciones oceanográficas, resultando en un ajuste temporal diferencial en la apertura de las aguas en primavera. El nivel trófico relativo, derivado de los valores de δ15N en los tejidos, fluctuó entre 3.6 para A. alle de la Isla Hakluyt hasta 4.7 para la dieta del final de la época reproductiva de adultos de U. lomvia de la Isla Coburg. En la Isla Coburg, el nivel trófico de individuos de R. tridactyla, U. lomvia y L. hyperboreus que eclosionaron ese año fue mayor que el nivel de los adultos. No encontramos este patrón en la Isla Hakluyt, donde los pichones de todas las especies generalmente ocuparon posiciones tróficas inferiores. Estos resultados sugieren que las presas de niveles tróficos inferiores fueron más importantes para las aves marinas de la Isla Hakluyt, posiblemente debido a una menor disponibilidad de bacalao del Ártico (Boreogadus saida).