Predicting the success of induction of labour using cervical volume

Objectives Assessing the likelihood of success of induction of labour using cervical volume is an important research question. Data description We provide data generated in a prospective observational study which was carried out at North Colombo Teaching Hospital, Ragama, Sri Lanka. Study conducted to compare pre-induction digital cervical assessment, sonographic cervical length, and sonographic cervical volume with vaginal delivery rate within 24 h. Inductions with 100 singleton pregnancies at term were included.

What Makes a Commuter Cyclist? A Mixed Methods Study of Behavioural Antecedents and Perceptions of Commuter Cycling in the Wellington Region

<p>Encouraging active transport contributes to both environmental sustainability and public health objectives. However, due to a myriad of physical, societal and personal factors, shifting car trips to the bicycle is notoriously difficult especially in societies where car use is deeply engrained in both the social and urban fabric. It is therefore important to explore novel approaches to promote utilitarian cycling. Past studies have suggested there may be a link between cycling for recreation and cycling for transport. If this is the case, one could hypothesise that policies that promote recreational cycling may also indirectly promote utilitarian cycling. This study begins to explore this important research question by investigating whether recreational cyclists are more amenable to utilitarian cycling than non-cyclists, using a case study of commuting in the Wellington Region of New Zealand. Behaviour theory, based on the Theory of Planned Behaviour, provided the conceptual framework for a mixed methods analysis of Wellington Region commuters. Empirical modelling of commuter cycling behaviour showed that almost all antecedents of the behaviours of recreational cyclists are closer to those of commuter cyclists than to non-cyclists. Qualitative analysis provided further evidence that recreational cyclists are more prepared and willing to cycle their commute than non-cyclists. It is concluded that, for the study sample, recreational cyclists are indeed more amenable to commuting by bicycle than non-cyclists in the Wellington region.</p>

What Makes a Commuter Cyclist? A Mixed Methods Study of Behavioural Antecedents and Perceptions of Commuter Cycling in the Wellington Region

<p>Encouraging active transport contributes to both environmental sustainability and public health objectives. However, due to a myriad of physical, societal and personal factors, shifting car trips to the bicycle is notoriously difficult especially in societies where car use is deeply engrained in both the social and urban fabric. It is therefore important to explore novel approaches to promote utilitarian cycling. Past studies have suggested there may be a link between cycling for recreation and cycling for transport. If this is the case, one could hypothesise that policies that promote recreational cycling may also indirectly promote utilitarian cycling. This study begins to explore this important research question by investigating whether recreational cyclists are more amenable to utilitarian cycling than non-cyclists, using a case study of commuting in the Wellington Region of New Zealand. Behaviour theory, based on the Theory of Planned Behaviour, provided the conceptual framework for a mixed methods analysis of Wellington Region commuters. Empirical modelling of commuter cycling behaviour showed that almost all antecedents of the behaviours of recreational cyclists are closer to those of commuter cyclists than to non-cyclists. Qualitative analysis provided further evidence that recreational cyclists are more prepared and willing to cycle their commute than non-cyclists. It is concluded that, for the study sample, recreational cyclists are indeed more amenable to commuting by bicycle than non-cyclists in the Wellington region.</p>

Rights of Nature Versus Nature Conservation Rights of Nature Versus Conventional Nature Conservation: International Lessons from Australia’s Tarkine Wilderness

The rights-of-nature model is gaining traction as an innovative legal approach for nature conservation. Although adopted in several countries, it remains in its infancy, including in Australia. An important research question is whether rights of nature will offer superior environmental outcomes compared to traditional nature conservation techniques including creation of protected areas. This article investigates that question through a case study of the Tarkine wilderness, in the Australia state of Tasmania. It first identifies key lessons from existing international experience with affirmation of rights of nature, such as in New Zealand and Ecuador. The article then explores how rights of nature could apply in Australia’s Tarkine region and their value compared to existing or potential protected areas and other nature conservation measures under Australian or Tasmanian law. Affirming rights of nature represents a major conceptual shift in how people via the law relate to the natural world, but whether the model offers practical benefits for nature conservation depends on a variety of conditions, in addition to the need to address broader societal drivers of environmentaldegradation.

Unbiased Learning to Rank

How to obtain an unbiased ranking model by learning to rank with biased user feedback is an important research question for IR. Existing work on unbiased learning to rank (ULTR) can be broadly categorized into two groups—the studies on unbiased learning algorithms with logged data, namely, the offline unbiased learning, and the studies on unbiased parameters estimation with real-time user interactions, namely, the online learning to rank. While their definitions of unbiasness are different, these two types of ULTR algorithms share the same goal—to find the best models that rank documents based on their intrinsic relevance or utility. However, most studies on offline and online unbiased learning to rank are carried in parallel without detailed comparisons on their background theories and empirical performance. In this article, we formalize the task of unbiased learning to rank and show that existing algorithms for offline unbiased learning and online learning to rank are just the two sides of the same coin. We evaluate eight state-of-the-art ULTR algorithms and find that many of them can be used in both offline settings and online environments with or without minor modifications. Further, we analyze how different offline and online learning paradigms would affect the theoretical foundation and empirical effectiveness of each algorithm on both synthetic and real search data. Our findings provide important insights and guidelines for choosing and deploying ULTR algorithms in practice.

Macroeconomic Uncertainty and Risk: Collective Optimism of Small-Business Owners

How small-business owners assess uncertainty and risk in the macroeconomic environment to report optimism toward their business activity is an important research question for policymakers and academics alike. Drawing on a monthly optimism index and a variety of uncertainty and volatility (risk) trackers from January 1986 to June 2017, in line with the expectation that business owners dislike uncertainty in economic policy, economic policy uncertainty may lower optimism. Business investment and sentiment volatility, however, contributed positively to optimism. The findings provide preliminary implications for policymakers in targeting indicators salient to the optimism index of small-business owners.

Evaluation of treatment effect modification by biomarkers measured pre- and post-randomization in the presence of non-monotone missingness

Summary In vaccine studies, an important research question is to study effect modification of clinical treatment efficacy by intermediate biomarker-based principal strata. In settings where participants entering a trial may have prior exposure and therefore variable baseline biomarker values, clinical treatment efficacy may further depend jointly on a biomarker measured at baseline and measured at a fixed time after vaccination. This makes it important to conduct a bivariate effect modification analysis by both the intermediate biomarker-based principal strata and the baseline biomarker values. Existing research allows this assessment if the sampling of baseline and intermediate biomarkers follows a monotone pattern, i.e., if participants who have the biomarker measured post-randomization would also have the biomarker measured at baseline. However, additional complications in study design could happen in practice. For example, in a dengue correlates study, baseline biomarker values were only available from a fraction of participants who have biomarkers measured post-randomization. How to conduct the bivariate effect modification analysis in these studies remains an open research question. In this article, we propose approaches for bivariate effect modification analysis in the complicated sampling design based on an estimated likelihood framework. We demonstrate advantages of the proposed method over existing methods through numerical studies and illustrate our method with data sets from two phase 3 dengue vaccine efficacy trials.

Contribution of Neurotrophins to the Immune System Regulation and Possible Connection to Alcohol Addiction

The first references to neurotrophic factors date back to the middle of the 20th century when the nerve growth factor (NGF) was first discovered. Later studies delivered a large amount of data on neurotrophic factors. However, many questions regarding neurotrophin signaling still remain unanswered. One of the principal topics in neurotrophin research is their role in the immune system regulation. Another important research question is the possible involvement of neurotrophin signaling in the pathological processes associated with alcoholism. Among known neurotrophins, NT-4 remains the least studied and appears to be involved in alcoholism and chronic stress pathogenesis. In this review we discuss known neurotrophin signaling cascades mediated by different neurotrophin receptors, as well as provide a generalization of the data regarding the influence of neurotrophins NGF, BDNF, and NT-4 on the immune system and their potential contribution to the pathogenesis of alcoholism.

Effects of consumers’ construal levels on post-impulse purchase emotions

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine how abstract vs concrete mindsets impact consumers’ post-purchase affective states. Drawing on construal level theory, the study examines when consumers experience “pleasure” or “guilt” after impulse buying. Design/methodology/approach The basic premises of this research was tested using multiple studies. Study 1 was conducted in the field, the second study engaged an online survey, while the third study used a laboratory experiment. Findings After impulse buying, consumers with abstract mindsets reported strong feelings of pleasure, whereas those with concrete mindsets experienced profound guilt. Research limitations/implications Research on affective responses (i.e. pleasure and guilt) following impulse purchase is limited. However, the present study helps understand an important research question: when do consumers feel pleasure (or guilt) after impulse buying? Practical implications Marketers can frame messages that align with abstract mindsets to enhance pleasure and reduce guilt after impulse buying. Social implications Policymakers can persuade consumers to refrain from making impulsive decisions through communication that reminds them of past impulse purchase behaviour, by triggering a concrete mindset. Originality/value This research extends the literature on post-purchase effects by demonstrating that consumers’ mindsets determine the intensity of their affective state after impulse buying.