The Growth in Applications for Social Security Disability Insurance: A Spillover Effect from Workers’ Compensation

We investigate the determinants of application for Social Security Disability Insurance (DI) benefits in approxi­mately 45 jurisdictions between 1981 and 1999. We reproduce findings of previous studies of the determinants of DI application then test the additional influence of changes to workers’ compensation program benefits and rules on DI application rates. Our findings indicate that the programs are interrelated: When workers’ compensation benefits declined and eligibility rules tightened in the 1990s, the DI application rate increased

Can Extrinsic Reward Lead to Better Performance? Evidence From CEO Pay

The relationship between CEO extrinsic reward and firm performance is of great importance from both scholarly and practical perspectives. This study used the COMPUSTAT dataset tracing CEOs and their firm performance over twenty years. The results indicate that both CEO pay and company profit in the previous year had positive effects on company profit in the current year. In addition, there was a moderating effect of previous year’s company profit on the relationship between CEO pay in the previous year and company profit in the current year, in such a way that the effect of CEO pay on future company profit was more positive for less profitable companies. Furthermore, we found a curvilinear relationship between CEO pay and company profit, indicating that excessive CEO compensation was detrimental to company profit. Future research and implications are discussed

The Natural Ecology and Stock Enhancement of the Edible Jellyfish (Rhopilema esculentum Kishinouye, 1891) in the Liaodong Bay, Bohai Sea, China

Among the edible jellyfish species, Rhopilema esculentum Kishinouye, 1891, is one of the most abundant jellyfish species consumed. Therefore, this jellyfish species is an important fisheries source in China. The jellyfish fisheries in China show annually considerable fluctuations and have a very short season. In the chapter, we firstly try to review the natural ecology of R. esculentum, which includes the distribution and migration, growth model, and survival rate in the Liaodong Bay (LDB) based on the results of our field studies for more than 20 years. Secondly, we focus on reviewing the jellyfish fishery and population dynamic in the LDB. Thirdly, we emphasize the themes, including the survey methods, catch prediction, enhancement assessment, and fishery management, based on our survey results from 2005 to 2010. Finally, we present our field and experiment results of resource restoration. The high commercial value of R. esculentum enhancement in the LDB has made this a very successful enterprise

On Strong Convergence to Equilibrium for the Boltzmann Equation with Soft Potentials

The paper concerns $L^1$- convergence to equilibrium for weak solutions of the spatially homogeneous Boltzmann Equation for soft potentials (-4\le \gm<0), with and without angular cutoff. We prove the time-averaged $L^1$-convergence to equilibrium for all weak solutions whose initial data have finite entropy and finite moments up to order greater than 2+|\gm|. For the usual $L^1$-convergence we prove that the convergence rate can be controlled from below by the initial energy tails, and hence, for initial data with long energy tails, the convergence can be arbitrarily slow. We also show that under the integrable angular cutoff on the collision kernel with -1\le \gm<0, there are algebraic upper and lower bounds on the rate of $L^1$-convergence to equilibrium. Our methods of proof are based on entropy inequalities and moment estimates.Comment: This version contains a strengthened theorem 3, on rate of convergence, considerably relaxing the hypotheses on the initial data, and introducing a new method for avoiding use of poitwise lower bounds in applications of entropy production to convergence problem

The viability of the employer-provided health insurance system

The dissertation evaluate the viability of employer-provided health insurance (EPHI) system in the United States, using two confidential data sets that have been made available to me by the Bureau of Census, including the Medical Expenditure Panel Survey-Insurance Component and Longitudinal Business Database. The empirical findings suggest that the current EPHI system will sustain, at least in a short period. Despite the public accusations that employers are fleeing from the insurance market, I find that dropping health insurance coverage is indeed rare. Employers are also reluctant to replace their insurance plans with HMOs, regardless of its price advantage. Once health insurance is offered, employers still make insurance plans available to most of their workers. However, employers are controlling insurance costs in more subtle ways with some success. They transferred a significant portion of the EPHI costs to their workers through increasing their contribution to the insurance premiums or lowering their wages. Around 20 percent of the increased insurance costs were shifted to workers through employee contribution to health insurance, and at least another 20 percent was transferred through slowing down wage growth after 2001. My findings also suggest the quality for EPHI purchased by employers falls behind the advance of medical service in general. When the quality for EPHI at the market improves by 1 unit, a typical employer will only increase its quality for health insurance around 0.32 units. Finally, the empirical results of this dissertation suggest that offering health insurance is a blessing for the business. Establishments offering EPHI were 29.2 percent more like to survive than others. Furthermore, the gap of default rate between establishments offering health and those not offering did not shrink from 1997 to 2004, despite the increase of health insurance costs.Ph.D.Includes bibliographical references (p. 141-151)

Biochemical and structural characterization of BLM Helicase

Les Hélicases sont un sous-ensemble d'enzymes qui couplent l'énergie provenant de l'hydrolyse des nucléosides triphosphates (NTP) à la séparation des duplex d'acides nucléiques. Elles sont essentielles au métabolisme de l'ADN et de l'ARN (réparation, réplication, recombinaison et transcription). Les hélicases de la famille de RecQ sont essentielles et ont été très conservées lors de l'évolution. Chez l'humain, trois hélicases de type RecQ sont liées à de graves désordres autosomiques. Ils s'agissent du syndrome de Bloom (BS), du syndrome de Werner (WS) et du syndrome de Rothmund-Thomson (RTS) liés respectivement aux hélicases BLM, WRN et RecQ4. Cette thèse se focalise sur l'analyse des relations structurales et fonctionnelles de BLM. La formation d'érythèmes après exposition au soleil et le retard de croissance sont les principaux phénotypes du BS. La stérilité (ou l'infertilité), l'immunodéficience, et la prédisposition à un large spectre de cancers sont également les symptômes cliniques des patients BS. Les brèches et cassures de chromatides, les réarrangements structuraux de chromosomes, la configuration quadriradiale symétrique, tout comme les associations télomériques ou la quantité excessive de ponts d'anaphase représentent autant d'autres caractéristiques des patients BS. Mais, la haute fréquence d'échanges entre chromatides sœurs (SCE) détectable sous le microscope dans les lymphocytes du sang reste à l'heure actuelle le moyen le plus efficace de diagnostiquer la maladie. Cette thèse présente des résultats nouveaux, publiés dans trois articles scientifiques dan des journaux internationau x, sur les relations entre structure et fonctions de l'hélicase BLM qui peuvent être utiles dans l'identification de nouvelles stratégies thérapeutiques du syndrome de BLOOM.Bloom's syndrome (BS) is an autosomal recessive disorder, showing high frequency of sister chromatid exchange in lymphocyte of the patients. Since BS is preposition of a wide spectrum of cancer, the syndrome has been studied for understanding of the mechanism of cancer extensively. ln the first part, we proved the existence of a zinc-binding domain in which a zinc ion is coordinated by four cysteines residues in RecQ-Ct domain of BLM. This conclusion is drawn from our biophysical and biochemical studies. We modeled the 3D structure of BLM protein based on that of E.coli RecQ helicase, which revealed a similar structural domain in both helicases that coordinate zinc. The results from experiments with three mutants showed that their enzymatic activities were severely reduced or abrogated. The demetalization of zinc from BLM had no influence on the activities of BLM, but it would decrease the themostability of the protein. ln conclusion, BLM contains a zinc binding domain with one zinc ion in each protein. The second part of our studies includes the work for understanding of causative molecular mechanism of missense mutations which happened in helicase domain of BLM found in BS patients. On the basis of the work inthe fist part, we further modeled the 3D structure of BLM in complex with A TPyS and DNA. With the model, we deduced the possible causative mechanism of mutants. We produced mutant proteins and purified them to homogeneity. The A TPase activity, A TP binding activity, DNA binding activity and helicase activity ofthe mutants were ail checked. ln conclusion 1 showed that: 1. BLM642-129o possibly employ an "inchworm" model mechanism; 2. Amino acid residues from 861 to 901 are imprtant for DNA binding; 3. DNA binding ofBLM is mainly controlled by lobe2 and lobe3, lobel contribute to a transient ssDNA binding; 4.The annealing activity of RecQ helicase suggests a weak DNA binding activity.ORSAY-PARIS 11-BU Sciences (914712101) / SudocSudocFranceF

The Growth in Applications for Social Security Disability Insurance: A Spillover Effect from Workers’ Compensation

The findings and conclusions presented in the Bulletin are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the views of the Social Security Administration, the Department of Education, or the Cornell Rehabilitation Research and Training Center.We investigate the determinants of application for Social Security Disability Insurance (DI) benefits in approxi­mately 45 jurisdictions between 1981 and 1999. We reproduce findings of previous studies of the determinants of DI application then test the additional influence of changes to workers’ compensation program benefits and rules on DI application rates. Our findings indicate that the programs are interrelated: When workers’ compensation benefits declined and eligibility rules tightened in the 1990s, the DI application rate increased.DE140_PDF2.pdf: 409 downloads, before Oct. 1, 2020.0-DE140_HTML.htm: 222 downloads, before Oct. 1, 2020

Impact of College Education on Incorporated and Unincorporated Self-employment: Variations Among African Americans and Hispanics

Purpose – This study examines the impact of college education on incorporated and unincorporated selfemployments. It specifically compares the effects on African Americans and Hispanics with the effects on Whites. Design/methodology/approach – The study sample was drawn from the US Current Population Survey between 1989 and 2018. Based on a sample size of 1,657,043 individuals, this study employed logit regression models to test the hypotheses. Racial variations were examined using African Americans and Hispanics as moderators. Findings – The results suggest that college education increases incorporated self-employment and reduces unincorporated self-employment. The impact of college education on incorporated self-employment is stronger for African Americans and Hispanics than for Whites. In contrast, its effect on unincorporated self-employment is stronger for Whites than for African Americans and Hispanics. Research limitations/implications – The findings provide empirical evidence of how college experience changes the motivation of starting an incorporated or unincorporated business. The results suggest that college education impacts African Americans and Hispanics differently than Whites in pursuing their career path of entrepreneurship. Originality/value – It is the first study that examines the relationship between college education and incorporated/unincorporated self-employment. It also sheds light on radical variation