Political Risk Versus Market Risk in Social Security

Pay-as-you-go Social Security is typically characterized as a universal defined benefit pension program. Implicit in this characterization is a sense that the participant%u2019s investment in future benefits is somehow guaranteed, or safe from risk. This study develops the concept of %u201Cpolitical risk%u201D as the possibility that some future legislature will be forced to change the tax and benefit provisions of pay-as-you-go social security programs, when there are changes in the demographic and macroeconomic variables that support it. Thus there is a %u201Cpolitical risk%u201D to participants that might be compared to the %u201Cmarket risk%u201D in a personal accounts retirement scheme. In this paper, we carry out a detailed quantitative analysis of political risk in the U.S. Social Security system, as well as an overview of policy reforms in several European countries that demonstrate political risk more broadly across social security systems. For the U.S., we compute the internal rates of return (IRRs) from Social Security for various age groups and income levels, using the existing law in effect each year since 1939. We find considerable variation in IRRs through time for any birth cohort. Participants experienced significant declines in IRRs as a result of adjustments made to restore the system%u2019s solvency in 1983 and 1994. If the system were brought into actuarial balance in 2005, younger cohorts would experience another significant decline in their lifetime IRR. Our review of other countries demonstrates political risk in other social security systems as well. Law changes necessitated by actuarial imbalances pass demographic risk on to participants. The debate over personal accounts, therefore, is not one of %u201Csafe%u201D versus %u201Crisky%u201D benefits, but one of portfolio choice.

Functional QTL mapping and genomic prediction of canopy height in wheat measured using a robotic field phenotyping platform

Genetic studies increasingly rely on high-throughput phenotyping, but the resulting longitudinal data pose analytical challenges. We used canopy height data from an automated field phenotyping platform to compare several approaches to scanning for quantitative trait loci (QTLs) and performing genomic prediction in a wheat recombinant inbred line mapping population based on up to 26 sampled time points (TPs). We detected four persistent QTLs (i.e. expressed for most of the growing season), with both empirical and simulation analyses demonstrating superior statistical power of detecting such QTLs through functional mapping approaches compared with conventional individual TP analyses. In contrast, even very simple individual TP approaches (e.g. interval mapping) had superior detection power for transient QTLs (i.e. expressed during very short periods). Using spline-smoothed phenotypic data resulted in improved genomic predictive abilities (5–8% higher than individual TP prediction), while the effect of including significant QTLs in prediction models was relatively minor (<1–4% improvement). Finally, although QTL detection power and predictive ability generally increased with the number of TPs analysed, gains beyond five or 10 TPs chosen based on phenological information had little practical significance. These results will inform the development of an integrated, semi-automated analytical pipeline, which will be more broadly applicable to similar data sets in wheat and other crops

Study of onion processing waste powder for potential use in food sector

The development of food products that contain value-added dietary fibre beside different classes of phytochemicals is of great interest nowadays. The present research aimed to evaluate the powder obtained from onion processing waste (OPW) for its potential use as a value-added by-product in food sector. Data on chemical and microbiological characterization of onion processing waste powder (OPWP) were obtained. The dietary fibre content and antioxidant activity were also determined. The results showed that the OPWP was a low-calorie natural source of insoluble fibres (60.52±0.13 g/100 g dw), total phenols (41.04±1.22 mg GAE/g dw), and total flavonoids (20.44±1.22 mg QE/g dw). Moreover, the OPWP could be considered as an important source of total fructans (9.04±0.28 g/100 g dw), fructooligosaccharides (2.76 g/100 g dw), and inulin (2.41±0.18 g/100 g dw). In conclusion, this OPWP could be used as a value-added and healthy food ingredient

Аппарат для внешнего остеосинтеза переломов дистальной трети плечевой кости

Метою роботи було удосконалення позаосередкового методу репозиції та фіксації переломів дистальної третини плечової кістки (ДТПК) з урахуванням анатомо-фізіологічних особливостей ділянки перелому. Використовували вдосконалений варіант монтажу апарата і технології черезкісткового остеосинтезу (ЧКО) на стержневій основі у випадку переломів ДТПК у 10 хворих. Конструкція пристрою дозволяє усунути зміщення відламків плечової кістки, забезпечує стабільність їх фіксації, зберігаючи функцію ліктьового і плечового суглобів. Показанням до застосування ЧКО були переломи типу А (7 хворих) і В (3 хворих) за класифікацією АО/ASIF. Аналіз результатів лікування показав, що запропонована технологія остеосинтезу дозволяє досягти хороших результатів (88,5±1,3) бали) у більшості хворих за умови мінімальної кількості ускладнень.The purpose of the present work was to improve the extrafocal method of reposition and fxation in fractures of the distal one-third humerus (DOTH) with regard for anatomical-physiological features of the fracture region. An improved variant of the device design and transosseous osteosynthesis (TOO) technology on the base of rods was used for DOTH fractures in 10 patients. The design of the device makes it possible to eliminate a displacement of humeral fragments and ensures their stable fxation, preventing any dysfunction of the elbow and shoulder joints. TOO was indicated by fractures of A (7 cases) and B (3 cases) types according to AO/ASIF classifcation. The analysis of treatment outcomes showed that the suggested technology of osteosynthesis made it possible to achieve good results (88.5±1.3 points) in the majority of patients with the minimum number of complications

Avaliação sorológica e molecular do parvovírus B19 (B19V) em doadores de sangue da Fundação Hemocentro de Brasília, Brasil : foco em mulheres em idade fértil

O parvovírus B19 (B19V) pode ser transmitido por via respiratória, verticalmente - da mãe para o feto - e via transfusão de sangue e transplante de órgãos. A infecção por transfusão de sangue ou hemoderivados ocorre devido à resistência do B19V aos métodos de inativação viral. Nosso estudo avaliou a presença do ácido desoxirribonucleico (DNA) B19V e a prevalência de imunoglobulina da classe G (IgG) anti-B19V em mulheres em idade fértil, doadoras de sangue do Distrito Federal, Brasil. Nossos resultados demonstraram a ausência de DNA de B19V nesses doadores. No entanto, foi observada a soroprevalência de IgG anti-B19V em 60,7% dessa população. Este estudo fornece dados importantes da circulação do B19V no Centro-Oeste do Brasil.Parvovirus B19 (B19V) can be transmitted by the respiratory route, vertically - from the mother to the fetus - and via blood transfusion or organ transplantation. Infection by transfusion of blood or blood products occurs due to the resistance of B19V to viral inactivation methods. Our study evaluated the presence of B19V deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) and the prevalence of anti-B19V class G immunoglobulin (IgG) in women of childbearing age blood donors of the Federal District, Brazil. Our results demonstrated the absence of B19V DNA in these blood donors. However, the seroprevalence for anti-B19V IgG was observed in 60.7% of this population. This study provides important data of B19V circulation in the Center-West of Brazil

The Yin and Yang of Yeast Transcription: Elements of a Global Feedback System between Metabolism and Chromatin

When grown in continuous culture, budding yeast cells tend to synchronize their respiratory activity to form a stable oscillation that percolates throughout cellular physiology and involves the majority of the protein-coding transcriptome. Oscillations in batch culture and at single cell level support the idea that these dynamics constitute a general growth principle. The precise molecular mechanisms and biological functions of the oscillation remain elusive. Fourier analysis of transcriptome time series datasets from two different oscillation periods (0.7 h and 5 h) reveals seven distinct co-expression clusters common to both systems (34% of all yeast ORF), which consolidate into two superclusters when correlated with a compilation of 1,327 unrelated transcriptome datasets. These superclusters encode for cell growth and anabolism during the phase of high, and mitochondrial growth, catabolism and stress response during the phase of low oxygen uptake. The promoters of each cluster are characterized by different nucleotide contents, promoter nucleosome configurations, and dependence on ATP-dependent nucleosome remodeling complexes. We show that the ATP:ADP ratio oscillates, compatible with alternating metabolic activity of the two superclusters and differential feedback on their transcription via activating (RSC) and repressive (Isw2) types of promoter structure remodeling. We propose a novel feedback mechanism, where the energetic state of the cell, reflected in the ATP:ADP ratio, gates the transcription of large, but functionally coherent groups of genes via differential effects of ATP-dependent nucleosome remodeling machineries. Besides providing a mechanistic hypothesis for the delayed negative feedback that results in the oscillatory phenotype, this mechanism may underpin the continuous adaptation of growth to environmental conditions

QTL analysis and genomic selection using RADseq derived markers in Sitka spruce: the potential utility of within family data

Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis (Bong.) Carr) is the most common commercial plantation species in Britain and a breeding programme based on traditional lines has been in operation since the early 1960s. Rotation lengths of 40-years have led breeders to adopt a process of indirect selection at younger ages based on traits well correlated with final selection, but still the generation interval is unlikely to reduce much below twenty years. Recent successful developments with genomic selection in animal breeding have led tree breeders to consider the application of this technology. In this study a RAD sequence assay was developed as a means of investigating the potential of molecular breeding in a non-model species. DNA was extracted from nearly 500 clonally replicated trees growing in a single full-sibling family at one site in Britain. The technique proved successful in identifying 132 QTLs for 5-year bud-burst and 2 QTLs for 6-year height. In addition, the accuracy of predicting phenotypes by genomic selection was strikingly high at 0.62 and 0.59 respectively. Sensitivity analysis with 200 offspring found only a slight fall in correlation values (0.54 and 0.38) although when the training population reduced to 50 offspring predictive values fell further (0.33 and 0.25). This proved an encouraging first investigation into the potential use of genomic selection in the breeding of Sitka spruce. The authors investigate how problems associated with effective population size and linkage disequilibrium can be avoided and suggest a practical way of incorporating genomic selection into a dynamic breeding programme