2,091 research outputs found
Proof firm downsizing and diagnosis-specific disability pensioning in Norway
<br>Background: We wanted to investigate if firm downsizing is related to an increased rate of disability pensions among the former employed, especially for those with musculoskeletal and psychiatric diagnoses, and for those having to leave the firm.</br>
<br>Methods: Statistics Norway provided a linked file with demographic information and all social security grants from the National Insurance Administration for 1992–2004 for all inhabitants in Norway. Our sample was aged 30–55 years in 1995, being alive, employed and not having a disability pension at the end of 2000. Downsizing was defined as percent change in number of employed per firm from 1995 to end 2000. Employment data were missing for 25.6% of the sample.</br>
<br>Results: Disability pension rates in the next four years were 25% higher for those experiencing a 30-59% downsizing than for those not experiencing a reduction of the workforce. 1-29% and 60-100% downsizing did not have this effect. Stayers following down-sizing had higher disability pension rates than leavers. What we have called complex musculoskeletal and psychiatric diagnoses were relatively most common.</br>
<br>Conclusion: Moderate downsizing is followed by a significant increase in disability pension rates in the following four years, often with complex musculoskeletal and psychiatric diagnoses.</br>
Estimation of time delay by coherence analysis
Using coherence analysis (which is an extensively used method to study the
correlations in frequency domain, between two simultaneously measured signals)
we estimate the time delay between two signals. This method is suitable for
time delay estimation of narrow band coherence signals for which the
conventional methods cannot be reliably applied. We show by analysing coupled
R\"ossler attractors with a known delay, that the method yields satisfactory
results. Then, we apply this method to human pathologic tremor. The delay
between simultaneously measured traces of Electroencephalogram (EEG) and
Electromyogram (EMG) data of subjects with essential hand tremor is calculated.
We find that there is a delay of 11-27 milli-seconds () between the tremor
correlated parts (cortex) of the brain (EEG) and the trembling hand (EMG) which
is in agreement with the experimentally observed delay value of 15 for the
cortico-muscular conduction time. By surrogate analysis we calculate error-bars
of the estimated delay.Comment: 21 pages, 8 figures, elstart.cls file included. Accepted for
publication in Physica
Astrometric Positions and Proper Motions of 19 Radio Stars
We have used the Very Large Array, linked with the Pie Town Very Long
Baseline Array antenna, to determine astrometric positions of 19 radio stars in
the International Celestial Reference Frame (ICRF). The positions of these
stars were directly linked to the positions of distant quasars through phase
referencing observations. The positions of the ICRF quasars are known to 0.25
mas, thus providing an absolute reference at the angular resolution of our
radio observations. Average values for the errors in our derived positions for
all sources were 13 mas and 16 mas in R.A. and declination respectively, with
accuracies approaching 1-2 mas for some of the stars observed. Differences
between the ICRF positions of the 38 quasars, and those measured from our
observations showed no systematic offsets, with mean values of -0.3 mas in R.A.
and -1.0 mas in declination. Standard deviations of the quasar position
differences of 17 mas and 11 mas in R.A. and declination respectively, are
consistent with the mean position errors determined for the stars. Our measured
positions were combined with previous Very Large Array measurements taken from
1978-1995 to determine the proper motions of 15 of the stars in our list. With
mean errors of approximately 1.6 mas/yr, the accuracies of our proper motions
approach those derived from Hipparcos, and for a few of the stars in our
program, are better than the Hipparcos values. Comparing the positions of our
radio stars with the Hipparcos catalog, we find that at the epoch of our
observations, the two frames are aligned to within formal errors of
approximately 3 mas. This result confirms that the Hipparcos frame is inertial
at the expected level.Comment: 20 pages, 9 figures Accepted by the Astronomical Journal, 2003 March
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