Skew-normal Bayesian spatial heterogeneity panel data models.

This paper proposes a new regression model for the analysis of spatial panel data in the case of spatial heterogeneity and non-normality. In empirical economic research, the normality of error components is a routine assumption for the models with continuous responses. However, such an assumption may not be appropriate in many applications. This work relaxes the normality assumption by using a multivariate skew-normal distribution, which includes the normal distribution as a special case. The methodology is illustrated through a simulation study and application to insurance and gasoline demand data sets. In these analyses, a simple Bayesian framework that implements a Markov chain Monte Carlo algorithm is derived for parameter estimation and inference.

Evaluation of the Effects of Caffeic Acid Phenethyl Ester on Prostaglandin E2 and Two Key Cytokines Involved in Bleomycin-induced Pulmonary Fibrosis.

OBJECTIVE(S): Pulmonary fibrosis (PF) is the most common outcome of a collection of diverse lung disorders known as interstitial lung diseases. It is proposed that alterations in the levels of fibrogenic mediators and the profibrotic/antifibrotic imbalance play a substantial role in the progression of PF in animal models and possibly in humans. Caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE), an active component of propolis, has numerous biological effects. In the present study, the main objective was to investigate the effects of CAPE on some key mediators including TGF-ß1, TNF-α and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) involved in profibrotic/antifibrotic balance and pathogenesis of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF). MATERIALS AND METHODS: In this study, forty male Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into 5 groups (n=8). (1) "Bleomycin (BLM)-treated (Model) group": BLM (5 mg/kg, single intratracheal dose), (2) "Saline-treated group": the rats were given only saline, (3) "Treatment-1 group": BLM + CAPE (5 µmol/kg/day, 28 days, IP), (4) "Treatment-2 group": BLM + CAPE (10 µmol/kg/day, 28 days, IP) and (5) "Vehicle + CAPE group": CAPE (10 µmol/kg/day, 28 days, IP). RESULTS: BLM could significantly increase the levels of TNF-α and TGF-ß1 and decrease the PGE2 concentration compared to the saline control group. CAPE could considerably improve these values almost close to normal levels. CONCLUSION: Briefly, CAPE can be suggested as a novel, attractive and effective agent for prevention and treatment of pulmonary fibrosis.

Applied shared log-normal frailty Cox-proportional hazard model to evaluating the effect of vitamin A on the rat passive avoidance memory.

In this research, the Cox-proportional hazard model is used to investigate the effect of various values of vitamin A (3000, 4500 and 6000 IU kg(-1)) and sesame oil on the passive avoidance memory of rats by shuttle box. Present results confirm that various values of vitamin A do not improve the passive avoidance memory of rats (p < 0.05). We found that the animals are clustered (p < 0.001) and applying shared log-normal frailty for clustering improves present results (p < 0.05) such that sesame oil improves the passive avoidance memory task (p < 0.05). Therefore we should consider clustering in the analysis of biological data or we should use cloned animals.