What the 2008 Stock Market Crash Means for Retirement Security

Compares future retirement resources before and after the stock market decline, by gender, marital status, race/ethnicity, education, and retirement income quintile, under three scenarios: no recovery, full recovery, and partial recovery in ten years

Dissolution of Kansas Evaporites, The Radioactive Waste Disposal Problem

The radioactive waste repository at Lyons, Kansas, focused attention on the problem of evaporite dissolution. More study is needed in the determination of the mechanisms responsible for deterioration. Also recent water use policies have been questioned with the need pointed out for increased effectiveness in planning. Good water planning has to take into account the role of evaporite dissolution in water quality

Novel ionization reagent for the measurement of gas-phase ammonia and amines using a stand-alone atmospheric pressure gas chromatography (APGC) source.

RationaleContaminants present in ambient air or in sampling lines can interfere with the target analysis through overlapping peaks or causing a high background. This study presents a positive outcome from the unexpected presence of N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone, released from a PALL HEPA filter, in the analysis of atmospherically relevant gas-phase amines using chemical ionization mass spectrometry.MethodsGas-phase measurements were performed using a triple quadrupole mass spectrometer equipped with a modified atmospheric pressure gas chromatography (APGC) source which allows sampling of the headspace above pure amine standards. Gas-phase N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) emitted from a PALL HEPA filter located in the inlet stream served as the ionizing agent.ResultsThis study demonstrates that some alkylamines efficiently form a [NMP + amine+H]+ cluster with NMP upon chemical ionization at atmospheric pressure. The extent of cluster formation depends largely on the proton affinity of the amine compared with that of NMP. Aromatic amines (aniline, pyridine) and diamines (putrescine) were shown not to form cluster ions with NMP.ConclusionsThe use of NMP as an ionizing agent with stand-alone APGC provided high sensitivity for ammonia and the smaller amines. The main advantages, in addition to sensitivity, are direct sampling into the APGC source and avoiding uptake on sampling lines which can be a significant problem with ammonia and amines

What predicts oral health stability in a long-term care population?

The purpose of this study was to determine whether oral health stability was achievable over time for institutionalized elderly who routinely received comprehensive care and to examine the factors associated with stability. Records of 868 dentate nursing home residents, each with a minimum of 24 months continuous care, were analyzed to determine the number of services by type for each time period between periodic examinations. Presenting dental condition, age, gender, functional status, payer source and facility characteristics were tested as explanatory variables. Oral health status was considered stable when a resident had a“good checkup” (needing no further treatment), otherwise it was coded as unstable. Generalized estimating equations (GEE) were used to analyze predictors of stability over time. Stability over time was achieved in 44% of the study group and negatively associated with male gender, advanced age, and more initial treatment needs. The data show that high levels of initial unmet needs were associated with difficulty achieving oral health stability for institutionalized elderly who routinely received comprehensive care.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/75086/1/j.1754-4505.2005.tb01426.x.pd

Medicare, Managed Care, and Behavioral Health Care

This issue brief examines Medicare and managed care for Medicare beneficiaries with behavioral health needs. Although only a relatively small proportion of Medicare beneficiaries are enrolled in managed care arrangements at the present time, proposals to expand the use of Medicare managed care can be expected to receive a good deal of attention in the coming years as part of a larger debate over Medicare\u27s long term future. Thus, this issue brief examines the Medicare+Choice (M+C) program from the perspective of Medicare beneficiaries with mental illness and addiction disorders

Effect of phosphorous acid and pruning height on renovated \u27Woodard\u27 rabbiteye blueberry

Phosphorous acid is a fungicide that may have other plant health-inducing properties. A previous study showed greater vigor in blueberry plants treated with phosphorous acid. In the current study, old, low-vigor ‘Woodard’ rabbiteye blueberries were selected for renovation in 2017. The bushes had not been pruned or otherwise managed in several years. To test the hypothesis that adding phosphorous acid treatments (Agri-Fos) to the renovation process would increase plant vigor, three treatments were used: no addition of phosphorous acid, phosphorous acid applied as a drench at renovation pruning plus in the following spring, and drench plus monthly foliar applications of phosphorous acid after renovation pruning and again the following year. Renovation pruning was done at two height treatments on 14 July 2017: bushes were pruned at ground level and at 50 cm resulting in a 2 x 3 factorial. End of season shoot number was significantly different between the 50 cm cut and the ground level cut treatments (35.6 shoots/bush vs. 21.3 shoots/bush, respectively). However, shoot length was significantly greater for the ground cut (80.5 cm) vs. 50 cm cut (72.1 cm). Shoot diameters were not significantly different. Other factors such as first bud push after pruning and crop load rating were not significant. Yields were higher for the 50 cm cut treatment when compared to the ground level prune (318.7 g vs. 58.1 g, respectively) with similar results for average berry weight (1.78 g vs. 1.49 g, respectively). Interestingly, phenological development recordings of flower stage did not differ at stages 2 to 4, but were different in stages 5 and 6. Flower development on bushes in the 50 cm treatment was earlier by nine days at stage 5 and nine days at stage 6 compared to those in the ground cut treatment. There were no significant differences due to phosphorous acid treatments in any data evaluated, nor any significant interactions between phosphorous acid treatment and pruning height treatment. More time may be needed to ascertain any differences among phosphorous acid treatments as its effect may be induced rather than direct