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Until recently, conclusions drawn about leadership have been made from a decidedly Western perspective, primarily based on theory developed in the U.S. using data gathered from U.S. sources. As our data show, however, times have changed, as there has been a significant shift in the source of leadership research with study samples increasingly coming from outside the U.S. Although the GLOBE study illustrated that national culture has a significant impact on how leadership is practiced and perceived, our data also show that cultural influence is largely ignored in terms of its impact on empirical findings. This raises an important question: Are we being misled by applying theories built in the U.S. to empirical work performed in different cultural contexts? Through analysis of leadership research published in five major journals between 1991 and 2015, we address this and related issues, including authors' acknowledgement of cultural implications. We also discuss important issues associated with the results and propose steps to address the cultural influence on future leadership research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The cesarean section (CS) rate has risen globally during the last two decades. Effective and feasible strategies are needed to reduce it. The aim of this study was to assess the CS rate change after a two-stage intervention package that was designed to reduce the overall CS rate in Guangzhou, China.Methods and Findings: This intervention package was implemented by the Health Commission of Guangzhou Municipality in 2 stages (October 2010-September 2014 and October 2014-December 2016) and included programs for population health education, skills training for healthcare professionals, equipment and technical support for local healthcare facilities, and capacity building for the maternal near-miss care system. A retrospective repeated cross-sectional study was conducted to evaluate influences of the intervention on CS rates. A pre-intervention period from January 2008 to September 2010 served as the baseline. The primary outcome was the CS rate, and the secondary outcomes included maternal mortality ratio (MMR) and perinatal mortality rate (PMR), all obtained from the Guangzhou Perinatal Health Care and Delivery Surveillance System (GPHCDSS). The Cochran-Armitage test was used to examine the trends of the overall CS rate, MMR, and PMR across different stages. Segmented linear regression analysis was used to assess the change of the CS rate over the intervention period. A total of 1,921,932 records of births and 108 monthly CS rates from 2008 to 2016 were analyzed. The monthly CS rate declined across the intervention stages (Z = 75.067, p < 0.001), with an average rate of 42.4% at baseline, 39.8% at Stage 1, and 35.0% at Stage 2. The CS rate declined substantially among nulliparous women who delivered term singletons, with an accelerating decreasing trend observed across Stage 1 and Stage 2 (the difference in slopes: -0.09 [95% CI -0.16 to -0.02] between Stage 1 and baseline, p = 0.014; -0.11 [95% CI -0.20 to -0.02] between Stage 1 and Stage 2, p = 0.017). The CS rate in the remaining population increased during baseline and Stage 1 and subsequently decreased during Stage 2. The sensitivity analysis suggested no immediate impact of the universal two-child policy on the trend of the CS rate. The MMR (Z = -4.368, p < 0.001) and PMR (Z = -13.142, p < 0.001) declined by stage over the intervention period. One of the main limitations of the study is the lack of a parallel control group. Moreover, the influence of temporal changes in the study population on the CS rate was unknown. Given the observational nature of the present study, causality cannot be confirmed.Conclusions: Apparent decline in the overall CS rate was observed in Guangzhou, China, after the implementation of a two-stage intervention package. The decline was most evident among nulliparous women who delivered term singletons. Despite some limitations for causal inference, Guangzhou's experience in controlling the CS rate by implementing composite interventions with public health education and perinatal healthcare service improvement could have implications for other similar areas with high rates of CS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The taxonomic diversity of the genus Ulota in Asia is revised. Eighteen species (including two new species and two new records) are recognized in the region: U. crispa, U. curvifolia, U. delicata, U. drummondii, U. eurystoma, U. gigantospora, U. gymnostoma, U. japonica, U. latisegmenta, U. morrisonensis, U. perbreviseta, U. phyllantha, U. rehmannii, U. reptans, U. robusta, U. splendida, U. yakushimensis and U. yunnanensis. Ulota delicata and U. latisegmenta are new to science, U. rehmannii and U. yakushimensis are reported here for first time from China, and U. eurystoma and U. reptans are deleted from the Chinese flora. Ulota delicata, U. eurystoma, U. gigantospora, U. gymnostoma, U. latisegmenta, U. morrisonensis, U. reptans and U. yunnanensis are endemic to the area, while the remaining taxa are more widespread. Ulota hattorii is considered a synonym of U. splendida, and the occurrence of U. hutchinsiae and U. schmidii are still questionable because the type specimens are not located or too fragmental and the specimens upon which the former is reported from Asia are not available. Most species are common as epiphytes on trees, some occur also or exclusively on rocks. Observations from SEM-studies of peristomes and spores of U. crispa, U. curvifolia, U. delicata, U. drummondii, U. eurystoma, U. latisegmenta, U. morrisonensis, U. robusta, U. splendida and U. yakushimensis are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: We read the article entitled “Scientific publications in cardiology journals from Chinese authors in various parts of North Asia: 10-year survey of literature" and found that the methodology in that study was not appropriate. Clarification or revision on some raised concerns will make this article much convinced. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]