Votes at 16: do mock elections make a difference to adults’ attitudes?

Mock elections help 16- and 17-year-olds understand how elections work. But do they make adults more likely to back lowering the voting age to 16? Erik Gahner Larsen, Klaus Levinsen and Ulrik Kjær looked at the 2009 local elections in Denmark, when a number of municipalities held mock elections alongside the real ones. They found that they did make over-18s more positive about votes at 16, though a stubborn core of older and more right-wing voters remained hostile to the idea

The Uniform Even Subgraph and Its Connection to Phase Transitions of Graphical Representations of the Ising Model

The uniform even subgraph is intimately related to the Ising model, the random-cluster model, the random current model and the loop $\mathrm{O}$(1) model. In this paper, we first prove that the uniform even subgraph of $\mathbb{Z}^d$ percolates for $d \geq 2$ using its characterisation as the Haar measure on the group of even graphs. We then tighten the result by showing that the loop $\mathrm{O}$(1) model on $\mathbb{Z}^d$ percolates for $d \geq 2$ on some interval $(1-\varepsilon,1]$. Finally, our main theorem is that the loop $\mathrm{O}$(1) model and random current models corresponding to a supercritical Ising model are always at least critical, in the sense that their two-point correlation functions decay at most polynomially and the expected cluster sizes are infinite

Performance study and life-cycle cost analysis of a ground-source heat-pump system in a commercial building in Norway

High-performance systems are a prerequisite for profitable borehole thermal-energy storage. This paper presents performance measures for a system operating at a seasonal performance factor of 4.5 and evaluates the life-cycle costs of the actual and alternative system configurations. Compared to systems using dry cooling and electric or district heating the as-built system represents a profitable investment with internal rates of return of respectively 4.9% and 5.9% over a 50-year life cycle. Consequently, ambient-temperature borehole thermal-energy storage is economically competitive in North-European climates at current prices.Performance study and life-cycle cost analysis of a ground-source heat-pump system in a commercial building in NorwaypublishedVersio

The prognostic value of tumor budding in a thoroughly characterized stage II colon cancer population in the context of a national screening program.

Tumor budding as a prognostic marker in colorectal cancer has not previously been investigated in a cohort of screened stage II colon cancer patients. We assess the prognostic significance of tumor budding in a thoroughly characterized stage II colon cancer population comprising surgically resected patients in the Region of Southern Denmark from 2014 to 2016. Tumors were re-staged according to the 8th edition of UICC TNM Classification, undergoing detailed histopathological evaluation and tumor budding assessment following guidelines from the International Tumor Budding Consensus Conference. Prognostic evaluation utilized Kaplan-Meier curves, log-rank tests, and Cox proportional hazard models for time to recurrence (TTR), recurrence-free survival (RFS), and overall survival (OS). Out of 497 patients, 20% were diagnosed through the national colorectal cancer screening program. High-grade tumor budding (Bd3) was found in 19%, and tumor budding was associated with glandular subtype, perineural invasion, mismatch repair proficient tumors, and tumor recurrence (p < 0.001, p < 0.001, p = 0.045 and p = 0.007 respectively). In multivariable Cox regression, high-grade tumor budding (Bd3) was a significant prognostic factor for TTR compared to low-grade (Bd3 HR 2.617; p = 0.007). An association between tumor budding groups and RFS was observed, and the difference was significant in univariable analysis for high-grade compared to low-grade tumor budding (Bd3 HR 1.461; p = 0.041). No significant differences were observed between tumor budding groups and OS. High-grade tumor budding is a predictor of recurrence in a screened population of patients with stage II colon cancer and should be considered a high-risk factor in a shared decision-making process when stratifying patients to adjuvant chemotherapy

Use of symptom-relieving drugs before and after surgery for urinary incontinence in women:a cohort study

OBJECTIVE: To describe the use of symptom-relieving drugs (antimuscarinic drugs or duloxetine) before and after surgery for urinary incontinence (UI); and for those with use of antimuscarinic drugs or duloxetine before surgery, to estimate the risk of being a postoperative user, relative to those without use before surgery. DESIGN: A historical population-based cohort study. SETTING: Denmark. PARTICIPANTS: Women ≥18 years with a first-time surgical procedure for UI from the county of Funen, Denmark between 1 January 1996 and 31 December 2006, extended to the Region of Southern Denmark from 1 January 2007 to the end of 2010. For these women, data on redeemed prescriptions ±365 days of date of surgery were extracted. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Effect of preoperative use of antimuscarinic drugs or duloxetine on the risk of being a postoperative user of these drugs. RESULTS: Of 2151 women with a first-time surgical procedure for UI, 358 (16.6%) were preoperative users of antimuscarinic drugs or duloxetine and 1793 were not (83.4%). A total of 110 (30.7%) of the preoperative users also redeemed prescriptions for these drugs within 0–60 days after surgery, and 152 (42.5%) of the preoperative users redeemed prescriptions for these drugs within 61–365 days after surgery. Among preoperative non-users, 25 (1.4%) and 145 (8.1%) redeemed prescriptions within 0–60 and 61–365 days after surgery, respectively. Presurgery exposure to antimuscarinic drugs or duloxetine was a strong risk factor of postoperative drug use, both within 0–60 days (adjusted OR=33.0, 95% CI 20.0 to 54.7) and 61–365 days (OR=7.2, 95% CI 5.4 to 9.6). CONCLUSIONS: A substantial number of women will continue to be prescribed symptom-relieving drugs after surgery for UI within a year of follow-up. Only a minority of preoperative non-users initiated usage of symptom-relieving drugs after surgery. Compared with other factors included in the regression model, preoperative use of antimuscarinic drugs or duloxetine was the strongest risk factor for postoperative use

Non-medical factors in prehospital resuscitation decision-making:a mixed-methods systematic review

AIM: This systematic review explored how non-medical factors influence the prehospital resuscitation providers’ decisions whether or not to resuscitate adult patients with cardiac arrest. METHODS: We conducted a mixed-methods systematic review with a narrative synthesis and searched for original quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods studies on non-medical factors influencing resuscitation of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. Mixed-method reviews combine qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-method studies to answer complex multidisciplinary questions. Our inclusion criteria were peer-reviewed empirical-based studies concerning decision-making in prehospital resuscitation of adults > 18 years combined with non-medical factors. We excluded commentaries, case reports, editorials, and systematic reviews. After screening and full-text review, we undertook a sequential exploratory synthesis of the included studies, where qualitative data were synthesised first followed by a synthesis of the quantitative findings. RESULTS: We screened 15,693 studies, reviewed 163 full-text studies, and included 27 papers (12 qualitative, two mixed-method, and 13 quantitative papers). We identified five main themes and 13 subthemes related to decision-making in prehospital resuscitation. Especially the patient’s characteristics and the ethical aspects were included in decisions concerning resuscitation. The wishes and emotions of bystanders further influenced the decision-making. The prehospital resuscitation providers’ characteristics, experiences, emotions, values, and team interactions affected decision-making, as did external factors such as the emergency medical service system and the work environment, the legislation, and the cardiac arrest setting. Lastly, prehospital resuscitation providers’ had to navigate conflicts between jurisdiction and guidelines, and conflicting values and interests. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings underline the complexity in prehospital resuscitation decision-making and highlight the need for further research on non-medical factors in out-of-hospital cardiac arrest. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13049-022-01004-6