Confucian Leadership Democracy: A Roadmap

What kind of polity is justified by classic Confucian values? Adopting an interpretive approach, this paper explores the idea of leadership democracy being expressive of classic Confucian values by first introducing the models of leadership democracy associated with Weber and Schumpeter and second connecting Confucian elitist values to them. I argue that leadership democracy best realizes the Confucian emphasis on the people as the source of legitimacy and the ruler as the engine of good governance. The Confucian idea of people-rootedness is borne out by citizens behaving as democratic plebeians who are empowered to choose their leader but devoid of moral and intellectual capabilities for collective decision-making. The Confucian idea of rulership is expressed by democratic leaders displaying competent statesmanship and compensating for intra-elite tensions within the Confucian tradition

The issue of gender equality in Confucian culture

The issue of gender equality has long been raised in South Korea, and this problem turns out to be especially prominent in the current job market. Despite the number of female graduates employed bypassing male graduates, according to the survey recently published by the Ministry of Education in South Korea, women still linger behind men in the employment rate — 65.2% for women as opposed to 69% for men. By the end of 2015, there are 494, 214 male employees in the top 10 largest chaebols, family business conglomerates such as Samsung, Hyundai, LG etc., while female staff are only 130, 930. Employers are reluctant to take on women as they are often deemed incompetent and inefficient compared to men. In marriage, wives assume more responsibility of looking after children than their husbands, which means that they have less time to spend on workloads than men

Definition, prevalence, and risk factors of low sex hormone-binding globulin in US adults

Context: Lower sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) is associated with many diseases including cardiovascular disease, cancer, polycystic ovarian syndrome, arthritis, and liver disease. However, the definition of low SHBG and its prevalence in US adults are unknown. Objective: To define low SHBG and to determine its prevalence and risk factors in US adults. Design, Setting, and Participants: This cohort study included adults ≥20 years from the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 2013 to 2016 who had fasting serum SHBG. Exposures: NHANES coverage during 2013-2016. Main Outcomes Measures: Definition, prevalence, and risk factors of low SHBG. Results: This study included 4093 adults (weighted sample size of 204 789 616) with a mean (SD) age of 47.5 (17.0) years. In a "healthy"reference sub-cohort of 1477 adults, low SHBG was defined as SHBG<12.3 nmol/L in men<50 years, <23.5 nmol/L in men≥50 years, <14.5 nmol/L in women<30 years, and <21.9 nmol/L in women≥30 years. The estimated US national prevalence of low SHBG was 3.3% in men, 2.7% in women, and 3.0% overall. Risk factors for this condition in both men and women included higher body mass index, diabetes, ethnicity (being other than Hispanic, non-Hispanic black, or non-Hispanic white), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, coronary heart disease, and smoking. Conclusions: This study established the criteria for low SHBG among US adults. The estimated US national prevalence of low SHBG was 3.3% in men and 2.7% in women. © 2021 The Author(s) 2021. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Endocrine Society

Tree nut consumption is associated with higher sex hormone-binding globulin levels in premenopausal US women

Low levels of sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG) are associated with many diseases including hypertension, diabetes, and polycystic ovarian syndrome. Walnuts increased circulating SHBG in 31 women complicated with polycystic ovarian syndrome. However, whether tree nuts increase SHBG in women in a general population is unknown. It was hypothesized in this study that consumption of tree nuts was positively associated with SHBG levels in women in a general population. This cohort study included 2699 adult women from the 2013- to 2016 US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Tree nut consumers were defined as those who consumed tree nuts on either of the 2 24-hours recall days. Associations of tree nut consumption with SHBG were assessed using least squares regression. Among the 2699 women, 234 were consuming tree nuts. The median SHBG concentrations were 67.1 and 59.3 nmol/L among tree nut consumers and non–consumers, respectively. Tree nut consumption was positively associated with circulating SHBG (β = 0.041, P = .018) but not testosterone nor estradiol after adjustment for all tested confounders. Sub-analyses showed that the positive association of tree nuts with SHBG presented in premenopausal women but not in postmenopausal women. Tree nut consumption remained independently associated with higher circulating levels of SHBG in premenopausal women when tree nut consumption was expressed as percentage of energy derived from tree nuts or when tree nut consumption was defined as a tree nut intake of ≥0.25 ounce per day. Future research will verify the effectiveness of using tree nuts to treat low SHBG in premenopausal women in the general population. © 202

Symmetry in Asymmetric Catalysis and Hydrogen Bond-Based Self-Assembly : Synthesis and Investigations

The thesis elaborates on four different projects focusing on synthesizing symmetry-related molecules and investigating their performance as catalysts for asymmetric catalysis or as monomers for hydrogen bond-based self-assembly.Chapter 2 describes a new method to desymmetrize a meso-ligand. Two pseudo-Cs-symmetric bissalen complexes from a meso bissalen ligand and two different pairs of metal ions were designed and synthesized. The resulting complexes catalyzed asymmetric ring-opening of meso-epoxides with up to 76% ee of the product, indicating a new approach to applying meso-ligand in asymmetric catalysis. Chapters 3 and 4 deal with the synthesis of a C3-symmetric tricyclic trilactam and its derivatives as monomers for hydrogen bond-based self-assembly. In Chapter 3, we have accomplished the racemic and enantiomeric syntheses of the unfunctionalized trilactam that had been attempted for a long time. Solid-state hydrogen bond-based self-assembly of the two trilactams was revealed by single-crystal X-ray diffraction. Due to the poor solubility of the unsubstituted trilactams in non-polar solvents, the studies on their self-assembly in solution were hindered. In Chapter 4, we turned our efforts towards the synthesis of a more lipophilic trilactam, aiming to study its self-assembly in non-polar solvents. Many functionalizations of different intermediates involved in the synthesis of the unfunctionalized trilactam were attempted but failed to result in the lipophilic trilactam. An unexpected oxidative rearrangement of an α,β-unsaturated-γ-lactam was discovered during the attempts towards the lipophilic trilactam. Substrate scope screening of the reaction and DFT calculation of the possible transition state of the rearrangement step indicated an important role played by the β-substituent of the unsaturated γ-lactam.Chapter 5 presents two different approaches aiming at increasing the biocompatibility of a C2-symmetric molecule as a monomer for hydrogen bond-based self-assembly, i.e., increasing the hydrophilicity of the monomer while keeping its lipophilicity. The approach where we tried to improve the hydrophilicity of the monomer by complexing it with cyclodextrins did not work well. The effect of cyclodextrin complexation on the hydrophilicity of the monomer was limited. The other approach, where PEG groups were installed on the side chain of the monomer, worked very well. The resulting monomer could get dissolved in water and extracted back to organic solvents. 1H NMR spectra of the PEGylated monomer in toluene-d6 and C6D6 indicated the formation of a self-assembled aggregate

Establishment of sex difference in circulating uric acid is associated with higher testosterone and lower sex hormone-binding globulin in adolescent boys

Men have higher circulating levels of uric acid than women. This sex difference is suspected to be a result of suppressive effects of estradiol on uric acid. If so, estradiol would be inversely associated with circulating uric acid. This study aimed to test this hypothesis. This cross-sectional study included 9472 participants (weighted sample size of 184,342,210) aged 12–80 years from the 2013 to 2016 US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Associations of sex hormones with uric acid were analyzed using weighted least squares regression, adjusting for demographic characteristics, lifestyle risk factors, and comorbidities. Neither free nor bioavailable estradiol was inversely associated with circulating uric acid in adolescent boys or girls, or adult men or women, or perimenopausal women after full adjustment. The sex difference in uric acid was established during adolescence as a result of a dramatic increase in uric acid in adolescent boys. During adolescence, the increase in estradiol in girls over time was accompanied by a relatively unchanged level of uric acid. All three fractions of estradiol (free, bioavailable, and total) were positively associated with uric acid in adolescent boys and girls after full adjustment. In adolescent boys, all three fractions of testosterone were positively associated with serum uric acid, and sex hormone-binding globulin was inversely associated with uric acid after full adjustment. These results suggest that estradiol is not inversely associated with circulating uric acid in adolescents and the establishment of sex difference in circulating uric acid during adolescence is associated with higher testosterone and lower sex hormone-binding globulin in adolescent boys. © 2021, The Author(s)

Late non-fasting plasma glucose predicts cardiovascular mortality independent of hemoglobin A1c

It is unknown whether non-fasting plasma glucose (PG) is associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality. This study aimed to investigate this association in US adults. This study included adults from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys from 1988 to 2014. Mortality outcomes were ascertained by linkage to the National Death Index records. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) of PG for CVD mortality. Among 34,907 participants, 1956, 5564, and 27,387 had PG from participants in early non-fasting, late non-fasting, and fasting states, respectively (defined as a period since last calorie intake of 0–2.9, 3.0–7.9, o

Fasting status modifies the association between triglyceride and all-cause mortality : a cohort study

Background and Aims: Both fasting and non-fasting levels of triglyceride have been shown positively associated with all-cause mortality. It is unknown whether fasting status modifies this association. This study aimed to address this question. Methods: This study included 34,512 US adults (27,036 fasting and 7476 nonfasting participants). All-cause mortality was ascertained by linkage to the National Death Index records. Cox proportional hazards models were used to estimate hazard ratios of triglyceride for mortality. Results: This cohort was followed up for a mean of 13.0 years. During the follow-up, 8491 all-cause deaths were recorded. A 1-natural-log-unit increase in triglyceride was associated with an 8% higher multivariate-adjusted risk of all-cause mortality. Interaction analyses showed that fasting status interacted with triglyceride in predicting all-cause mortality. Sub-analyses showed that a 1-natural-log-unit increase in triglyceride was associated with a 17% higher multivariate-adjusted risk of all-cause mortality in the nonfasting subcohort; however, there lacked such an association in the fasting sub-cohort. Similarly, high (200–499 mg/dL) and very high levels of triglyceride