Interleukin-18 and testosterone levels in men with metabolic syndrome

Objective: Interleukin 18 (IL-18) is an adipokine associated with obesity. Data about the relationship of IL-18 to the metabolic syndrome (MS) are still scarce. Low testosterone (T) levels are common in men with MS, but we did not find data about the levels of IL-18 in men with low T. The aim of this study was to determine the levels of IL-18 in men with MS with or without low T.

Patients and methods: A total of 251 men were included in the study. Of them 218 had MS (IDF 2005) and they were divided according to their morning total testosterone (TT) level (cutoff 10.4?nmol/l) into two groups: MS-low T (N?=?84) and MS-normal T (N?=?134). The control group consisted of 33 men without MS and low T. IL-18 was determined in serum using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. A small group of eight men with MS and low T levels received testosterone therapy for three months and physical and laboratory parameters were monitored at the end of that period.

Results: MS men were at mean age (±SD)?=?53.77?±?9.59 years; body mass index (BMI)?=?34.0?±?6.3?kg/m²; and TT?=?12.59?±?5.66?nmol/l. The control group was at age?=?52.12?±?5.2 years (NS); BMI?=?25.6?±?2.4?kg/m² (p?p?p?p?p?p?Conclusions: In this study, higher IL-18 levels were found in the presence of MS compared to healthy men, but they did not differ between men having MS with or without LOH.     

A phase expansion for non-Markovian availability models with time-based aperiodic rejuvenation and checkpointing

Abstract

This paper presents a stochastic framework, consisting of stochastic reward net (SRN) for capturing the transient behaviors of the system and its related non-Markovian state transition diagram, to model an operational software system that undergoes aperiodic time-based rejuvenation and checkpointing schemes, and further to investigate whether there exists the optimal rejuvenation schedule that maximizes the system steady-state availability. A phase expansion approach is adopted to solve the non-Markovian availability models, which are actually neither the semi-Markov processes nor the Markov regenerative processes. Our numerical results show an appropriate rejuvenation trigger timing range, resulting in the positive improvement effect on the system availability of a database system, and that there exists the optimal rejuvenation trigger timing maximizing the system availability.     

Variational Bayes for Phase-Type Distribution

This article develops an algorithm for estimating parameters of general phase-type (PH) distribution based on Bayes estimation. The idea of Bayes estimation is to regard parameters as random variables, and the posterior distribution of parameters which is updated by the likelihood function provides estimators of parameters. One of the advantages of Bayes estimation is to evaluate uncertainty of estimators. In this article, we propose a fast algorithm for computing posterior distributions approximately, based on variational approximation. We formulate the optimal variational posterior distributions for PH distributions and develop the efficient computation algorithm for the optimal variational posterior distributions of discrete and continuous PH distributions.     

Consistent Bayesian information criterion based on a mixture prior for possibly high-dimensional multivariate linear regression models

In the problem of selecting variables in a multivariate linear regression model, we derive new Bayesian information criteria based on a prior mixing a smooth distribution and a delta distribution. Each of them can be interpreted as a fusion of the Akaike information criterion (AIC) and the Bayesian information criterion (BIC). Inheriting their asymptotic properties, our information criteria are consistent in variable selection in both the large-sample and the high-dimensional asymptotic frameworks. In numerical simulations, variable selection methods based on our information criteria choose the true set of variables with high probability in most cases.     

Non-expected utility maximizers behave as if expected utility maximizers: An experimental test

We investigate the behaviors of subjects who either do or do not adhere to the expected utility theory using the Becker–DeGroot–Marschak (BDM) method. We directly examine the validity of the expected utility theory in order to distinguish subjects into two groups: those who adhere to the expected utility theory (expected utility maximizers) and those who do not adhere to it (non-expected utility maximizers), and then execute the BDM experiment in the both groups. We find that the differences in the stated prices between the expected and non-expected utility maximizers are not significant. This result implies practical usefulness for the BDM method.     

Your Money or Your Life: Behavioral and Emotional Predictors of Money Pathology

This study sought to examine self-reportedemotional and behavioral correlates of money pathology,defined as inappropriate behavior with respect to moneyand associated material goods. In all, 267 British adult subjects completed a battery ofquestionnaires including Rubinstein's (1981) extensivePsychology Today survey on money and Forman's ipsativemeasures that describe five Money Pathology Scales(miser, spendthrift, tycoon, bargain hunter, gambler),an overall pathology scale combining the five and hisshort moneysanity measure. The former measure was factoranalyzed and selected factor scores regressed on to the moneysanity measure along withdemographic measures in order to attempt to establishwhich individual difference factors best predicted thedifferent types of money pathology. Thus females were more extravagant, prone to depression, but lesslikely to take moral risks for money, while richer, moreright-wing people tended to be more materialistic. Thosewith overall less money sanity tended more to believe luck and dishonesty were moreimportant in making money; were self-denying andeconomically pessimistic, and had powerful negativeemotions like anger and anxiety around money. Multiple regressions on to the money types showed thatbetween 15 and 30% of the variance could be explainedand accounted for, by the selected independent variables(demographic, religious and political belief, illness, and more general attitudes towardwealth). Demographic variables like age, and negativeemotions about money were consistent predictors of moneypathology. Results are discussed in terms of the small, but growing literature on the psychologyof money (Furnham, 1997; Furnham & Argyle,1998).     

国教化实施以后儒教的神秘主义特征和合理主义特征——从历学史角度作新的探讨

日本学界一般将汉代国教化以后的儒教看作是一种重视纬书的、具有神秘主义和非合理主义特征的国家宗教,并且将国教化以后的儒教史描写成这样一个过程,即神秘主义的、非合理主义的儒教为一方,站在国教化以后儒教的批判对立面、发扬合理主义思想的一批知识分子为一方,最终后者战胜了前者.但如果以汉代历学史,特别是以对东汉章帝所实施元和改历的研究为基础再次展开探索,就知道国教化以后儒教所重视的纬书中既有神秘主义和非合理主义的特性,同时也有至今为止被完全忽视了的、合理主义的特性.基于这一事实,对国教化以后的儒教及国教化以后的儒教史作重新研究后发现,国教化以后儒教内部,有可能存在着自发抑制神秘主义、非合理主义特性,发扬合理主义特性的要素.因此可以预测,国教化以后的儒教史中,或许存有"儒教自发的自我发展运动"之可能性.