Evaluation of Target Date Funds

Target date funds are an emerging class of investment products, designed for retirement savings. The project considered methodologies for ranking such funds

On the structure and relationships of Trigonocarpus shorensis, sp. nov. : a new seed from the Palaeozoic rocks.

PhDThe bulk of the material which forms the basis of this communication was placed in the writer's hands for investigation by Prof. P. W. Oliver. And I gladly take this opportunity of expressing my deep indebtedness to him for much helpful advice and criticism and also for putting at my disposal for examination such slides of the University College Collection as I have had occasion to consult. My thanks are also due to Dr. D. H. Scott and to Prof. F. E. Wells for the loan of preparations of this seed. To Dr. Scott I am also indebted for permitting me to examine the more important sections in his unique collection of Trigonooarpus Parkinsoni, without which an adequate comparison between the two seeds would not have been possible. A full description of the new seed is embodied in the following pages together with a consideration of its relationships and the theoretical questions to which its structure gives rise. In the former connection the organisation of Trigonocarpus Oliveri is reconsidered and good reasons are shown for its exclusion from that genus. The same methods have been employed in the reconstruction of the present seed as were used in the investigation of Conostoma oblongum and C. anglo-germanicum. These have been recently described by the writer and need not be recapitulated here. In order to facilitate reference the same general plan of arrangement has been adopted as has been employed in other recent papers dealing with fossil seeds

Exercise rehabilitation for recovery from critical illness (Protocol)

Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh, UK. As part of an ongoing research education programme.This is the protocol for a review and there is no abstract. The objectives are as follows: The objective of this systematic review is to assess the effectiveness of exercise rehabilitation programmes, initiated after ICU discharge, on improving functional exercise capacity and quality of life in adult ICU survivors who have been mechanically ventilated for more than 24 hours. We will compare an exercise intervention to any other intervention or a control or 'usual care' programme. Exercise includes any structured or taught programmes. Respiratory or inspiratory muscle training is excluded due to it being initiated within the ICU environment, for example with weaning from a ventilator, and not as post-discharge rehabilitation as required for this review.sch_phyAngus 1997 Angus, DC. Understanding the incidence and long-term outcomes of ARDS. In: Gullo, A editor(s). Anaesthesia, pain, intensive care and emergency medicine: a scientific report. Berlin Heidelberg New York: Springer, 1997:289-98. Angus 2003 Angus DC, Carlet J, Brussels Roundtable 2002 Participants. Surviving intensive care: a report from the 2002 Brussels Roundtable. Intensive Care Medicine 2003;29(3):368-77. [PUBMED: 12536269 ] Baumgartner 1999 Baumgartner WA,Walinsky PL, Salazar JD, Tseng EE, Brock MV, Doty JR, et al.Assessing the impact of cerebral injury after cardiac surgery: will determining the mechanism reduce the injury?. The Annals of Thoracic Surgery 1999;67(6):1871-3. [PUBMED: 10391329] Brown 1990 Brown AB, McCartney N, Sale DG. Positive adaptation to weightlifting in the elderly. Journal of Applied Physiology 1990;69(5): 1725-33. [PUBMED: 2272965] Burtin 2009 Burtin C, Clerckx B, Robbeets C, Ferdinande P, Langer D, Troosters T, et al.Early exercise in critically ill patients enhances short-term functional recovery. Critical Care Medicine 2009;37(9): 2499-505. [PUBMED: 19623052] Chaboyer 2003 Chaboyer W, Grace J. Following the path of ICU survivors: a quality improvement activity. Nursing in Critical Care 2003;8(4): 149-55. [PUBMED: 12940690] Eddleston 2000 Eddleston J, White P, Guthrie E. Survival, morbidity, and quality of life after discharge from intensive care. Critical Care Medicine 2000; 28(7):2293-9. [PUBMED: 10921555] Elliott 2006 Elliott D, McKinley S, Alison J, Aitken L, King M. Study protocol: Home-based rehabilitation for survivors of a critical illness. Critical Care 2006;10(3):R90. [PUBMED: 16792792 ] Fiatarone 1994 Fiatarone MA, O'Neill EF, Ryan ND, Clements KM, Solares GR, Nelson ME, et al.Exercise training and nutritional supplementation for physical frailty in very elderly people. New England Journal of Medicine 1994;330(25):1769-75. [PUBMED: 8190152] Fletcher 2003 Fletcher S, Kennedy D, Ghosh I, Misra V, Kiff K, et al.Persistant neuromuscular and neurophysiological abnormalities in long-term survivors of prolonged critical illness. Critical Care Medicine 2003; 31(4):1012-6. [PUBMED: 12682465] Frank 2000 Frank M, Schlapfer H, Otte B, Yasikoff N, Conzelmann M. Results of neurorehabilitation. An outcome study 20 months after stroke. Praxis 2000;89(44):1799-808. [PUBMED: 11109917] Gill 2002 Gill TM, Baker DI, Gottschalk M, Peduzzi PN, Allore H, Byers A. A program to prevent functional decline in physically frail, elderly persons who live at home. New England Journal of Medicine 2002; 347(14):1068-74. [PUBMED: 12362007] Grimby 1986 Grimby G. Physical activity and muscle training in the elderly. Acta Medica Scandinavica. Supplementum. 1986;711:233-7. [PUBMED: 3535411] Guyatt 2008 Guyatt GH, Oxman AD, Kunz R, Vist GE, Falck-Ytter Y, Schunemann HJ, et al.What is quality of evidence- and why is it important to clinicians?. BMJ 2008;336:995-8. [PUBMED: 18456631] Higgins 2008 Higgins JPT, Green S, editors. Cochrane Handbook for Systematic Reviews of Interventions Version 5.0.1 [updated September 2008]. Available from www.cochrane-handbook.org: The Cochrane Collaboration, 2008. Iversen 2003 Iversen MD, Fossel AH, Katz JN. Enhancing function in older adults with chronic low back pain: a pilot study of endurance training. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation 2003;84 (9):1324-31. [PUBMED: 13680569] Jolliffe 2001 Jolliffe J, Rees K, Taylor RRS, Thompson DR, Oldridge N, Ebrahim S. Exercise-based rehabilitation for coronary heart disease. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2001, Issue 1. [DOI: 10.1002/14651858.CD001800.] King 1998 King J, Crowe J. Mobilisation practices in Canadian critical care units. Physiotherapy Canada 1998;50(3):206-11. [MEDLINE: 0346574] Kouidi 2002 Kouidi E. Exercise training in dialysis patients: why, when, and how?. Artificial Organs 2002;26(12):1009-13. [PUBMED: 12460377] Krishnan 2002 Krishnan KR, Delong M, Kraemer H, Carney R, Spiegel D, Gordon C, et al.Comorbidity of depression with other medical diseases in the elderly. Biological Psychiatry 2002;52(6):559-88. [PUBMED: 12361669] Lavie 2009 Lavie CJ, Thomas RJ, Squires RW, Allison TG, Milani RV. Exercise training and cardiac rehabilitation in primary and secondary prevention of coronary heart disease. Mayo Clinic Proceedings 2009; 84(4):373-83. [PUBMED: 19339657] Lewis 2003 Lewis M. Intensive care unit rehabilitation within the United Kingdom: a review. Physiotherapy 2003;89(9):531-8. [DOI: 10.1016/S0031-9406(05)60179-4] Martin 2005 Martin M, Salim A, Murray J, Demetriades D, Belzberg H, Rhee P. The decreasing incidence and mortality of acute respiratory distress syndrome after injury: a 5-year observational study. Journal of Trauma 2005;50(5):1107-13. [PUBMED: 16385287] Mazzeo 2001 Mazzeo RS, Tanaka H. Exercise prescription for the elderly: current recommendations. Sports Medicine 2001;31(11):809-18. [PUBMED: 11583105] Miller 2002 Miller MD, Crotty M, Giles LC, Bannerman E, Whitehead C, Cobiac L, et al.Corrected arm muscle area: an independent predictor of long-term mortality in community dwelling older adults?. Journal of the America Geriatrics Society 2002;50(7): 1272-7. [PUBMED: 12133024] Paffenbarger 1986 Paffenbarger RS, Hyde RT, Wing AL, Hseih CC. Physical activity, all-cause mortality, and longevity of college alumni. New England Journal of Medicine 1986;314(10):605-13. [PUBMED: 3945246] Puhan 2006 Puhan MA, Busching G, Schunemann HJ, VanOort E, Zaugg C, Frey M. Interval versus continuous high-intensity exercise in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a randomized trial. Annals of Internal Medicine 2006;145(11):816-25. [PUBMED: 17146066] Rantanen 2000 Rantanen T, Harris T, Leveille SG, Visser M, Foley D, et al.Muscle strength and body mass index as long-term predictors of mortality in initially healthy men. Journal of Gerontology. Series A: Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences 2000;55(3):M168-73. [PUBMED: 10795731] RevMan 5.0 The Nordic Cochrane Centre, The Cochrane Collaboration. Review Manager (RevMan). 5.0. Copenhagen: The Nordic Cochrane Centre, The Cochrane Collaboration, 2008. Schweickert 2009 Schweickert WD, Pohlman MC, Pohlman AS, Nigos C, Pawlik AJ, Esbrook CL, et al.Early physical and occupational therapy in mechanically ventilated, critically ill patients: a randomised controlled trial. Lancet 2009;373(epub):1874-82. [PUBMED: 19446324] Smith 2006 Smith TP, Kennedy SL, Smith M, Orent S, Fleshner M. Physiological improvements and health benefits during an exercisebased comprehensive rehabilitation program in medically complex patients. Exercise Immunology Review 2006;12:86-96. [PUBMED: 17201074] Stiller 2000 Stiller K. Physiotherapy in intensive care: toward an evidence-based practice. Chest 2000;118(6):1801-13. [PUBMED: 11115476] Storch 2008 Storch EK, Kruszynski DM. From rehabilitation to optimal function: role of clinical exercise therapy. Current Opinion in Critcal Care 2008;14(4):451-5. [PUBMED: 18614911] Wiles 2009 Wiles L, Stiller K. Passive limb movements for patients in an intensive care unit: A survey of physiotherapy practice in Australia. Journal of Critical Care 2009;epub:ahead of print. [PUBMED: 19819105] Yoshida 1999 Yoshida T, Kohzuki M, Yoshida K, Hiwatari M, Kamimoto M, Yamamoto C, et al.Physical and psychological improvements after phase II cardiac rehabilitation in patients with myocardial infarction. Nursing & Health Sciences 1999;1(3):163-70. [PUBMED: 10894639] Indicates the major publication for the study8pub1756pubArt.

Optimal initiation of a GLWB in a variable annuity: no arbitrage approach

This paper offers a financial economic perspective on the optimal time (and age) at which the owner of a Variable Annuity (VA) policy with a Guaranteed Living Withdrawal Benefit (GLWB) rider should initiate guaranteed lifetime income payments. We abstract from utility, bequest and consumption preference issues by treating the VA as liquid and tradable. This allows us to use an American option pricing framework to derive a so-called optimal initiation region. Our main practical finding is that given current design parameters in which volatility (asset allocation) is restricted to less than 20%, while guaranteed payout rates (GPR) as well as bonus (roll-up) rates are less than 5%, GLWBs that are in-the-money should be turned on by the late 50s and certainly the early 60s. The exception to the rule is when a non-constant GPR is about to increase (soon) to a higher age band, in which case the optimal policy is to wait until the new GPR is hit and then initiate immediately. Also, to offer a different perspective, we invert the model and solve for the bonus (roll-up) rate that is required to justify delaying initiation at any age. We find that the required bonus is quite high and more than what is currently promised by existing products. Our methodology and results should be of interest to researchers as well as to the individuals that collectively have over \$1 USD trillion in aggregate invested in these products. We conclude by suggesting that much of the non-initiation at older age is irrational (which obviously benefits the insurance industry.

Development of a high temperature battery final report

Development of battery with lithium-magnesium alloy anode, molten cuprous chloride cathode, and zeolite separator cells and cupric oxide cathode and porous glass separator cell

Crustal Accretion in the Gulf of California: An Intermediaterate Spreading Axis

An important objective of Deep Sea Drilling Project (DSDP) Leg 65 was to study crustal accretion at an ocean ridge axis with an intermediate-spreading rate for comparison with previously studied sections displaying slowand fast-spreading rates. The southern Gulf of California was selected for this purpose because the basement displays high seismic velocities (comparable to those observed for Cretaceous basement in the western North Atlantic) and high ambient sedimentation rates, which facilitated penetration of zero-age basement. Four sites were drilled, forming an axial transect immediately south of the Tamayo Fracture Zone (Figs. 1 and 2) and providing a series of characteristic sections into the crust. This chapter attempts to provide a brief synthesis of the results from Leg 65, focusing particularly on the lithology, geochemistry, and paleomagnetic properties of the cored basement material. From these data, we present an interpretation of the processes of magmatic evolution and crustal accretion occurring at the Gulf of California spreading axis

Effect of financial incentives on incentivised and non-incentivised clinical activities: longitudinal analysis of data from the UK Quality and Outcomes Framework

This is the final version. Available on open access from BMJ Publishing Group via the DOI in this recordData sharing: Technical appendix and statistical code available from the corresponding author ([email protected]). The dataset was derived from the General Practice Research Database and is not available from the authors, but it can be derived on application to GPRD.OBJECTIVE: To investigate whether the incentive scheme for UK general practitioners led them to neglect activities not included in the scheme. DESIGN: Longitudinal analysis of achievement rates for 42 activities (23 included in incentive scheme, 19 not included) selected from 428 identified indicators of quality of care. SETTING: 148 general practices in England (653 500 patients). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Achievement rates projected from trends in the pre-incentive period (2000-1 to 2002-3) and actual rates in the first three years of the scheme (2004-5 to 2006-7). RESULTS: Achievement rates improved for most indicators in the pre-incentive period. There were significant increases in the rate of improvement in the first year of the incentive scheme (2004-5) for 22 of the 23 incentivised indicators. Achievement for these indicators reached a plateau after 2004-5, but quality of care in 2006-7 remained higher than that predicted by pre-incentive trends for 14 incentivised indicators. There was no overall effect on the rate of improvement for non-incentivised indicators in the first year of the scheme, but by 2006-7 achievement rates were significantly below those predicted by pre-incentive trends. CONCLUSIONS: There were substantial improvements in quality for all indicators between 2001 and 2007. Improvements associated with financial incentives seem to have been achieved at the expense of small detrimental effects on aspects of care that were not incentivised.There was no direct funding for this study, but the National Primary Care Research and Development Centre receives core funding from the UK Department of Health

A trick for passing degenerate points in Ashtekar formulation

We examine one of the advantages of Ashtekar's formulation of general relativity: a tractability of degenerate points from the point of view of following the dynamics of classical spacetime. Assuming that all dynamical variables are finite, we conclude that an essential trick for such a continuous evolution is in complexifying variables. In order to restrict the complex region locally, we propose some `reality recovering' conditions on spacetime. Using a degenerate solution derived by pull-back technique, and integrating the dynamical equations numerically, we show that this idea works in an actual dynamical problem. We also discuss some features of these applications.Comment: 9 pages by RevTeX or 16 pages by LaTeX, 3 eps figures and epsf-style file are include