Nonequilibrium Thermodynamics and Lifetime of Physical Systems
  To describe the nonequilibrium states of a system we introduce a new thermodynamic parameter - the lifetime of a system. The statistical distributions which can be obtained out of the mesoscopic description characterizing the behaviour of a system by specifying the stochastic processes are written down. The expressions for the nonequilibrium entropy, temperature and entropy production are obtained, which at small values of fluxes coincide with those derived within the frame of extended irreversible thermodynamics. The expressions generalizing the Maxwell-Cattaneo relations of extended irreversible thermodynamics, and their analogues for mass transfer and chemical reactions are obtained. 
V. V. Ryazanov, S. G. Shpyrko