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Background: We aimed to develop and validate a nomogram for effective prediction of vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC) and guide future clinical application.Methods: We retrospectively analyzed data from hospitalized pregnant women who underwent trial of labor after cesarean (TOLAC), at the Fujian Provincial Maternity and Children's Hospital, between October 2015 and October 2017. Briefly, we included singleton pregnant women, at a gestational age above 37 weeks who underwent a primary cesarean section, in the study. We then extracted their sociodemographic data and clinical characteristics, and randomly divided the samples into training and validation sets. We employed the least absolute shrinkage and selection operator (LASSO) regression to select variables and construct VBAC success rate in the training set. Thereafter, we validated the nomogram using the concordance index (C-index), decision curve analysis (DCA), and calibration curves. Finally, we adopted the Grobman's model to perform comparisons with published VBAC prediction models.Results: Among the 708 pregnant women included according to inclusion criteria, 586 (82.77%) patients were successfully for VBAC. Multivariate logistic regression models revealed that maternal height (OR, 1.11; 95% CI, 1.04 to 1.19), maternal BMI at delivery (OR, 0.89; 95% CI, 0.79 to 1.00), fundal height (OR, 0.71; 95% CI, 0.58 to 0.88), cervix Bishop score (OR, 3.27; 95% CI, 2.49 to 4.45), maternal age at delivery (OR, 0.90; 95% CI, 0.82 to 0.98), gestational age (OR, 0.33; 95% CI, 0.17 to 0.62) and history of vaginal delivery (OR, 2.92; 95% CI, 1.42 to 6.48) were independently associated with successful VBAC. The constructed predictive model showed better discrimination than that from the Grobman's model in the validation series (c-index 0.906 VS 0.694, respectively). On the other hand, decision curve analysis revealed that the new model had better clinical net benefits than the Grobman's model.Conclusions: VBAC will aid in reducing the rate of cesarean sections in China. In clinical practice, the TOLAC prediction model will help improve VBAC's success rate, owing to its contribution to reducing secondary cesarean section. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chapter 7 of the U.S. Bankruptcy Code exists to satisfy the claims of creditors and preserve an economic "fresh start" for the debtor after bankruptcy. In exchange for surrendering her property to the trustee to have it monetized (i.e., sold), the debtor receives a discharge of her debts and an injunction against future creditor in personam actions to recover them. However, the in personam injunction is insufficient to protect consumer debtors who are in default on mortgages encumbering underwater homes because the creditor's in rem rights remain; after the conclusion of the case, the creditor can continue foreclosure proceedings, which result in eviction and often homelessness. The economic, educational, and health externalities of foreclosure and homelessness are detrimental to individuals and harmful to society at large. The Bankruptcy Code already possesses the tool to prevent these harms without disadvantaging creditors--the right to redeem under § 722--but currently restricts redemption to personal property. This Note argues for a statutory amendment to § 722 that extends the right of redemption to real property. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective and method: Betel (areca) nut has recently received interest from researchers and policy makers for its role as a psychoactive substance. It was historically limited to Asia-pacific region, but with the advent of globalization, it has become an equally challenging public health problem across the globe. Previously published literature can give us valuable insights in terms of historical interest and understanding related to betel nut. With the expansion of biomedical research a huge number of articles have been published on the same. In terms of understanding the impact of an article, citations are considered a proxy estimate measure. Thus we decided to analyze the top 100 cited articles (till November 2018) related to betel nut. The search in Google scholar database was done with the help of freely available software, Publish or Perish. Results: Overall we found that most articles were published from the fields of dentistry and oncology, with relatively minimal contribution from the field of Addiction Psychiatry. Hence, most articles have addressed the issue of epidemiology and mechanism with lesser share of treatment related publications. Various important information related to these articles have been discussed including the institutions, countries, journals and impactful authors in the field. Subsequently, original research articles are further classified into descriptive/epidemiology, mechanism, management, scale/measurement, imaging and medical psychiatry. Importance: This citation analysis provides valuable information with regards to the emphasis of researchers in the field, and areas where more emphasis is required from contemporary world. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article traces the formation of popular music idol industries in China and the emergence of data fandom. It charts the growth of digital platforms and historicizes the commercial and geopolitical itinerations linking cultural production in Japan, South Korea, and China. It locates data fandom as an integral part of the popular music industries reconfigured by digital social media platforms; a structural change from the production-to-consumption 'supply chain' model of the recording era towards emergent circuits of content that integrate industries and audiences. Data fans understand how their online activities are tracked, and adopt individual and collective strategies to influence metric and semantic information reported on digital platforms and social media. This article analyses how the practices of data fans impact upon charts, media and content traffic, illustrating how this activity benefits the idols they are following, and enhances a fan's sense of achievement and agency. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The design synthesis is the key issue in the mechanical conceptual design to generate the design candidates that meet the design requirements. This paper devotes to propose a novel and computable synthesis approach of mechanisms based on graph theory and polynomial operation. The graph framework of the synthesis approach is built firstly, and it involves: (1) the kinematic function units extracted from mechanisms; (2) the kinematic link graph that transforms the synthesis problem from mechanical domain into graph domain; (3) two graph representations, i.e., walk representation and path representation, of design candidates; (4) a weighted matrix theorem that transforms the synthesis process into polynomial operation. Then, the formulas and algorithm to the polynomial operation are presented. Based on them, the computational flowchart to the synthesis approach is summarized. A design example is used to validate and illustrate the synthesis approach in detail. The proposed synthesis approach is not only supportive to enumerate the design candidates to the conceptual design of a mechanical system exhaustively and automatically, but also helpful to make that enumeration process computable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Education - Sohag University is the property of Journal of Education - Sohag University and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Acta Geoscientica Sinica is the property of Acta Geoscientica Sinica Editorial Office and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Copyright of Erdkunde is the property of Universitaet Bonn, Geographisches Institut and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This 1-year longitudinal study examined the bidirectional mediating role of loneliness in the association between shyness and generalized pathological Internet use (GPIU) in a sample of 291 Chinese university students (143 men, mean age = 19.07 years). A fully cross-lagged panel design was used in which shyness, loneliness, and GPIU were assessed at 3 time points separated by 6-month intervals (named T1, T2, and T3). The results indicated that relationships among shyness, loneliness, and GPIU were dynamic and bidirectional. Specifically, T1 shyness positively predicted increased T2 loneliness, T2 shyness positively predicted increased T3 loneliness, and T2 loneliness positively predicted increased T3 shyness. Additionally, T1 GPIU positively predicted increased T2 loneliness, T2 GPIU positively predicted increased T3 loneliness, and T2 loneliness positively predicted increased T3 GPIU. Loneliness was found to play a bidirectional mediating role in the association between shyness and GPIU. Specifically, T1 shyness and T3 GPIU were mediated through increased loneliness at T2, and T1 GPIU and T3 shyness were mediated through increased loneliness at T2. Furthermore, relationships among shyness, loneliness, and GPIU were the same across the 2 groups, with the strength of relationships being stronger for men. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Acta Geoscientica Sinica is the property of Acta Geoscientica Sinica Editorial Office and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Fractional quantum mechanics in the non-relativistic case is described by the space-fractional Schrödinger equation containing the fractional Riesz operator, which is a non-local operator. The non-locality makes it difficult to solve the fractional Schrödinger equation in the local potentials. In this paper, we study the solution of the fractional Schrödinger equation of a free particle moving on a circle by use of the Lévy path integrals approach. We present the Lévy path integrals propagator of a particle on circle and then use it to get the wave functions and energy eigenvalues of the free particle case. In addition, the Laplace transform, energy-time transform, and momentum representation of the free particle kernel are also obtained. The results of this paper contain the ones in standard quantum mechanics as special cases. The problem of a particle on circle is a fundamental problem of path integrals with topological constraints in quantum systems, and the method of Lévy path integrals can be generalized to study more complex local potentials. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Research investigating the various mental, physical, and social effects of smartphone use has proliferated in the previous decade. Two variables of interest in this literature are the levels of anxiety and stress associated with smartphone use. The current meta‐analysis aimed to provide the first quantitative review of this literature, as well as determine potential moderators that might influence this relationship. A total of 39 independent samples (N = 21, 736) were used to compute a summary effect size of r = .22, p < .001, CI [.17–.28] indicating a small‐to‐medium association between smartphone use and stress and anxiety. Significant moderators included the year in which the article was published, as well as whether problematic or nonproblematic phone use was assessed. In addition, studies using validated measures of smartphone use indicated a (nonsignificantly) larger association than studies using nonvalidated measures. Strengths and limitations of the meta‐analysis, as well as future directions of research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Unified models of sentiment and topic have been widely employed in unsupervised sentiment analysis, where each word in text carries both sentiment and topic information. In fact, however, some words tend to express objective things while others prefer to express subjective sentiments. Based on this observation, the concept of word bias is put forward firstly, including objective bias and subjective bias. Considering the relations of bias, sentiment, and topic, a unified framework named Bias‐Sentiment‐Topic (BST) model is then presented to jointly model them for microblog sentiment analysis. After that, an improved Gibbs sampler is proposed for the inference of BST by introducing the general Pólya urn model, which incorporates word embedding as the general knowledge. Finally, experiments on standard test datasets illustrate major improvements of BST in sentiment classification and its effectiveness in separation of words with different biases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of Agro-Environment Science is the property of Journal of Agro-Environment Science Editorial Board and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

r-spondin1 ( rspo1) encodes a secreted protein that is involved in the determination and differentiation of the mammalian ovary. However, little information is yet available for teleosts. Here, we identified a homologue of rspo1 in Cynoglossus semilaevis. The full-length cDNA of rspo1 had a length of 2,703 bp with an open reading frame of 834 bp, encoding a protein with a length of 277 amino-acids. rspo1 expression was detected via qRT-PCR in various tissues, and significant sexually dimorphic expression was observed in the gonads. Furthermore, ISH located rspo1 in germ cells such as spermatogonia, spermatocytes, spermatids, spermatozoa, and oocytes, as well as in somatic cells of the gonads. Following knockdown of rspo1 in an ovarian cell line, the expressions of wnt4a, β-catenin, foxl2, and StAR were highly affected; wnt4a and β-catenin were significantly downregulated, whereas foxl2 and StAR were significantly upregulated. In summary, these data suggest that rspo1 may be involved in the regulation of ovarian development and differentiation through a conserved pathway, while the function of the gene in the testis remains elusive. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Kink band is a typical phenomenon for composites under longitudinal compression. In this paper, theoretical analysis and finite element simulation were conducted to analyze kink angle as well as compressive strength of composites. Kink angle was considered to be an important character throughout longitudinal compression process. Three factors including plastic matrix, initial fiber misalignment and rotation due to loading were considered for theoretical analysis. Besides, the relationship between kink angle and fiber volume fraction was improved and optimized by theoretical derivation. In addition, finite element models considering fiber stochastic strength and Drucker-Prager constitutive model for matrix were conducted in ABAQUS to analyze kink band formation process, which corresponded with the experimental results. Through simulation, the loading and failure procedure can be evidently divided into three stages: elastic stage, softening stage, and fiber break stage. It also shows that kink band is a result of fiber misalignment and plastic matrix. Different values of initial fiber misalignment angle, wavelength and fiber volume fraction were considered to explore the effects on compressive strength and kink angle. Results show that compressive strength increases with the decreasing of initial fiber misalignment angle, the decreasing of initial fiber misalignment wavelength and the increasing of fiber volume fraction, while kink angle decreases in these situations. Orthogonal array in statistics was also built to distinguish the effect degree of these factors. It indicates that initial fiber misalignment angle has the largest impact on compressive strength and kink angle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The author discusses the 2014 film "Transformers: Age of Extinction" directed by Michael Bay and the collaboration between the film studio Paramount Pictures Corp. and the Chinese motion picture industry to produce it. The author describes the Chinese box office revenues of previous "Transformers" films as a reason for the collaboration, and the various strategies used by the Chinese to incorporate characters, settings, and product placement.

In order to establish a simplified viscosity evaluating method of high viscosity asphalt binders (HVABs), shear rate sweep test in the shear rate range of 1.25 × 10-1,250 s was performed. Results showed that HVABs exhibited yield pseudo-plastic fluid behavior at 60 °C and the overlapped range of the first Newtonian region was 8 × 10-2 × 10 s. Based on the results, the simplified shear rate sweep test in the shear rate range of 0.001-0.1 s was proposed and low shear viscosity at 0.01 s (LSV) was suggested as the viscosity evaluating indicator of HVABs, which exhibited both close values to zero shear viscosity and significant correlation with rutting resistance of porous asphalt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To say that we are losing ourselves in the homogenizing mass which is consuming the same products sold around the globe would be a simplification. In the example of K-pop, I am trying to delineate the ways in which creative consumption makes corporations comply with the local traditions and the tastes of individual consumers in developing effective marketing strategies. Indeed, the power of cultural diversity does not consist in being isolated from pop culture, but it results from the nature of consumption practices, because it does matter to people what things they creatively consume and how they do this. This work is an important part of the process of identity formation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Apiaceae (Umbelliferae) is a large angiosperm family that includes many medicinally important species. The ability to identify these species and their adulterants is important, yet difficult to do so because of their subtle fruit morphological differences and often lack of diagnostic features in preserved specimens. Moreover, dried roots are often the official medical organs, making visual identification to species almost impossible. DNA barcoding has been proposed as a powerful taxonomic tool for species identification. The Consortium for the Barcode of Life ( CBOL) Plant Working Group has recommended the combination of rbcL+ matK as the core plant barcode. Recently, the China Plant BOL Group proposed that the nuclear ribosomal DNA internal transcribed spacer ( ITS), as well as a subset of this marker ( ITS2), be incorporated alongside rbcL+matK into the core barcode for seed plants, particularly angiosperms. In this study, we assess the effectiveness of these four markers plus psbA-trnH as Apiaceae barcodes. A total of 6032 sequences representing 1957 species in 385 diverse genera were sampled, of which 211 sequences from 50 individuals (representing seven species) were newly obtained. Of these five markers, ITS and ITS2 showed superior results in intra- and interspecific divergence and DNA barcoding gap assessments. For the matched data set (173 samples representing 45 species in five genera), the ITS locus had the highest identification efficiency (73.3%), yet ITS2 also performed relatively well with 66.7% identification efficiency. The identification efficiency increased to 82.2% when using an ITS+ psbA-trnH marker combination ( ITS2+ psbA-trnH was 80%), which was significantly higher than that of rbcL+matK (40%). For the full sample data set (3052 ITS sequences, 3732 ITS2 sequences, 1011 psbA-trnH sequences, 567 matK sequences and 566 rbcL sequences), ITS, ITS2, psbA-trnH, matK and rbcL had 70.0%, 64.3%, 49.5%, 38.6% and 32.1% discrimination abilities, respectively. These results confirm that ITS or its subset ITS2 be incorporated into the core barcode for Apiaceae and that the combination of ITS/ ITS2+ psbA-trnH has much potential value as a powerful, standard DNA barcode for Apiaceae identification. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper studies the connection between the emergence and market making activities of the large Korean entertainment houses and the global level success of 'K-pop,' an increasingly popular type of Korean popular music. We review a set of conventional explanations, respectively pointing to cultural factors, government support, and technological development as core factors that led to the global success of K-pop. We find all three explanations unsatisfactory and, alternatively, building on studies of market intermediaries, argue that the roles of three large entertainment houses-SM Entertainment, YG Entertainment, and JYP Entertainment-have been the most crucial in the development and success of K-pop. Through combining data from Korean music charts, newspaper articles, and revenue data, we trace the increasingly systematic musical production strategies of the entertainment houses and the macro-consequences of their organizational activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To identify the 100 top-cited articles published in orthodontics journals and to analyze their characteristics to investigate the achievement and development of orthodontics research in past decades. Methods and Materials: The Institute for Scientific Information Web of Knowledge Database and the 2011 Journal Citation Report Science Editions were used to retrieve the 100 top-cited articles published in orthodontics journals since 1975. Some basic information was collected by the Analyze Tool on the Web of Science, including citation time, publication title, journal name, publication year, and country and institution of origin. A further study was then performed to determine authorship, article type, field of study, study design, and level of evidence. Results: The 100 target articles were retrieved from three journals: American Journal of Orthodontics and Dentofacial Orthopedics (n = 74), The Angle Orthodontist (n=15), and European Journal of Orthodontics (n = 11). Since 1975, the articles cited 89 to 545 times mainly originated from the United States, and the overwhelming majority of articles were clinical. The most common study design was case series; 40 articles were classified as level IV and 12 as level V evidence. Conclusions: The 100 top-cited articles in orthodontics are generally old articles, rarely possessing high-level evidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]