The Financial Health of the Pension Guaranty Benefit Corporation (PBGC)

[Excerpt] The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corporation (PBGC) is a federal government agency created by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) to protect the pensions of participants covered by most private sector, defined benefit pension plans. The PBGC receives no appropriated funds. The agency’s costs are offset by the assets of the plans that the PBGC takes over and premiums paid by the sponsors of covered pension plans. The premiums are established by Congress. The PBGC’s single-employer program posted an all-time high deficit of $23 billion in 2004; as of September 30, 2006, the deficit was$18 billion. The PBGC discloses an additional, off-balance sheet liability for reasonably possible terminations; as of September 30, 2006, it was $73 billion

Differenzierung neurodegenerativer Parkinsonsyndrome mittels vestibulär evozierter myogener Potentiale und Gleichgewichtsprüfung

Objective: Vestibular Evoked Myogenic Potentials (VEMP) were investigated to differentiate between parkinsonian syndromes. We correlated balance and VEMP parameters to investigate the VEMP brainstem circuits as possible origin for postural instability. Methods: We assessed clinical status, ocular and cervical VEMP (oVEMP, cVEMP) and a balance assessment (posturography, Activities-specific Balance Confidence Scale, Berg Balance Scale, modified Barthel Index) in 76 subjects: 30 with Parkinson’s disease (PD), 16 with atypical parkinsonism (AP) and 30 healthy controls. VEMP were elicited by using a mini-shaker on the forehead. Results: Patients with PD had a prolonged oVEMP n10 in comparison to controls and prolonged p15 compared to controls and AP. Patients with AP showed reduced oVEMP amplitudes compared to PD and controls. CVEMP did not differ between groups. Postural impairment was higher in AP compared to controls and PD, particularly in the rating scales. No correlations between VEMP and posturography were found. A classifier using support vector machine was able to automatically classify controls and patient subgroups with moderate to good accuracy based on oVEMP latencies and balance questionnaires. Conclusions: Both oVEMP and posturography, but not cVEMP, may be differentially affected in PD and AP. We did not find evidence that impairment of the cVEMP or oVEMP pathways is directly related to postural impairment. Significance: OVEMP and balance assessment could be implemented in the differential diagnostic work-up of parkinsonian syndromes.:1. Einleitung 2. Publikationsmanuskript 3. Zusammenfassung 4. Literaturverzeichnis 5. Anlagen 6. Darstellung des eigenen Beitrages 7. Selbstständigkeitserklärung 8. Lebenslauf 9. Danksagun

Parasite Variability in the Invasive Crayfish, Faxonius rusticus, in Northern New Jersey

The Northeast United States has been thoroughly invaded by the well-known invasive crayfish species Faxonius rusticus (rusty crayfish). Similar to the exploration of man to new regions, the spread of invasive species can cause the introduction of new diseases and parasites while conversely the invader has to deal with the already existing diseases and parasites. For crayfish, the most notable of these is a fungal plague, which has a poorly understood distribution in the United States. In this study, I collected rusty crayfish in Northern New Jersey to better understand the locations where they exist in the state. I also dissected a sample of collected individuals to look for various parasites or signs of parasitism. My results suggest that rusty crayfish are more likely to experience parasitism while in a cobble substratum compared to a mud substratum. In addition, most observed signs were primary indicators of the fungal plague. Although rusty crayfish and the fungal plague are well understood separately, these findings indicate that the two organisms need to be looked at more closely together to further clarify how impactful the plague truly is to the rusty crayfish population

Distress Disclosure and Personality in College Students

This study examined distress disclosure, the tendency to confide unpleasant feelings and experiences to others. Other factors under consideration were gender, personality factors (such as extraversion and one\u27s general tendency to disclose), and the identity of the person to whom individuals were asked to disclose. The subject pool included 22 male and 34 female volunteers from Bucknell University. Participants were asked to complete a measure of basic demographics, the Distress Disclosure Index, and the NEO-FFI measure of personality. They were then asked to disclose about an aspect of their lives that they personally found stressful, as if they were confiding in a best friend, a parent, or a professor, respectively. The transcriptions of those recordings were coded for length, depth, and breadth of the disclosure. The researcher hypothesized that greater length, depth, and breadth would be disclosed by females who scored highly on the Distress Disclosure Index, had high extraversion scores on the NEO-FFI, and had been asked to disclose to a best friend. The study found positive associations between openness and depth, neuroticism and depth, and gender with length, such that males were more likely to have longer disclosures. Negative associations were found between extraversion and depth, neuroticism and length, and openness and breadth. Personality factors, gender, and the disclosure target may act as better predictors of the tendency to disclose, rather than of the particular dimensions of disclosure, since every instance is unique

A Formacao De Educadores Ambientais No Programa Cultivando Agua Boa Da Itaipu Binacional: A Participacao Como Um Elemento Desencadeador Da Governança Ambiental Comunitária

The present study shares data and information from the experience of Training Environmental Educators FEA of the Cultivando gua Boa CAB Program of Itaipu Binacional Based on participatory methodologies FEA seeks to stimulate reflection and collective action valuing local knowledge in building more sustainable communities FEA carries out the federal government s proposal synthesized in the Environmental Educator Training Program PROFEA whose creators are the Ministry of the Environment and the Ministry of Education This article presents the research results related to the processes of participation in the training of environmental educators and their contribution to the achievement of community environmental governance The adopted approach was qualitative and as methodological procedures bibliographic documentary and field research were used this was carried out based on observations and interview

Rapid return to normal activities at a residential summer camp during COVID-19 Pandemic

Aim: Infection prevention and control (IPC) within residential settings is a central focus of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Youth residential summer camps are an excellent model for such environments and have thus far had mixed results. The aim of this report is to describe the successful implementation of a seven-week overnight summer camp with rapid return to normal activities from June to August 2020 Subjects and Methods: This retrospective study includes 427 individuals who traveled from 24 US States. All staff and campers were tested by serial nasopharyngeal PCR tests in the context of strict infection prevention and control (IPC) measures including cohorts and masking. The entire camp population was isolated from non-camp personnel with special measures for food, supply, and mail delivery. Results: During the two-week staff session, one staff member tested positive for SARS-CoV-2, was isolated, and sent safely off premises. All other campers and staff had three negative PCR tests: 1-8 days before arrival, upon arrival, and 5-6 days after arrival. After these three negative tests, 6 days into camp, most IPCs, including masking, were successfully lifted and a normal camp experience was possible. Conclusions: These findings indicate that serial PCR-based testing and strict adherence to IPC measures among cohorts can allow for successful assumption of near normal group activities in a residential setting during the COVID-19 pandemic. This result at an overnight summer camp has broad implications for similar residential communities such as boarding schools, other youth education and development programs, as well as nursing homes and military installations

Formação de Educadores Ambientais(FEA) no Programa Cultivando Água Boa da Bacia Hidrográfica Paraná III: o processo de construção e as interações como potências para a governança ambiental comunitária

Considera-se como um desafio em educação ambiental formar sujeitos articuladores de uma governança ambiental comunitária a partir de processos de educação e comunicação ambiental, o que está sendo enfrentado no Programa Cultivando Água Boa (CAB) na Bacia Hidrográfica Paraná III, no oeste do Paraná, por meio da Formação de Educadores Ambientais (FEA). O FEA guia-se pelo Programa de Formação de Educadores Ambientais (PROFEA), publicado pelo Ministério do Meio Ambiente. É uma das linhas do Programa Nacional de Educação Ambiental, que decorre da Política Nacional de Educação Ambiental (PNEA). O objetivo geral desta pesquisa se propôs a investigar os elementos que constituem uma padronagem de educação ambiental praticados no FEA/CAB. O método da pesquisa é bibliográfico, documental e de campo, com viés qualitativo. Como resultados verificam-se elementos relacionados a dois eixos, cada um com duas dimensões. Em relação ao eixo de construção, o processo coletivo do CAB e do educador ambiental do programa enquanto sujeito, foram determinantes para seu enraizamento. No eixo interação, a participação ativa e as trocas de saberes entre seus membros, fundamentaram as redes de relações que são amplas e fortalecidas no CAB. Os dois eixos, suas categorias e subcategorias sustentam a governança ambiental comunitária, sendo ela um processo de construção de cidadania e sustentabilidade local a partir de um programa socioambiental e de sujeitos ecológicos e da interação entre os diversos setores e segmentos que o integram, alicerçados na participação e nas trocas de saberes.Educating agents who articulate community environmental governance based on education and environmental communication processes is considered a challenge in environmental education. This is what Programa Cultivando Água Boa (CAB - Cultivating Good Water Program), in the Paraná River Basin III, western Paraná, seems to be facing with the Formação de Educadores Ambientais (FEA - Education of Environmental Agents). FEA is guided by Programa de Formação de Educadores Ambientais (PROFEA - Program for the Education of Environmental Agents), published by the Ministry of the Environment. It is one of the lines of the National Program for Environmental Education, which derives from the National Policy of Environmental Education (PNEA). The overall aim of this study is to investigate the environmental education standard practiced by FEA/CAB. The methodology is bibliographical, documental, and field research, with a qualitative slant. Elements related to two axes were observed as results, each one with two dimensions. One is the construction axis, in which the collective process of building CAB and educating environmental agents as actors in this project were determining for its consolidation. In the interaction axis, the active participation and exchanging of knowledges among its members have substantiated broad and strengthened relationship networks in CAB. Both axes, their categories and subcategories, support community environmental governance, which is a process of building citizenship and local sustainability of a socio-environmental program and of ecological actors, as well as the interaction between the several sectors and segments that comprise this process, which is anchored on participation and knowledge exchange

Um estudo de caso de ajustamentos de conduta firmados nos últimos seis anos pelo Ministério Público Estadual de Lajeado/RS: análise da participação e conscientização ambiental dos envolvidos

O objetivo do trabalho aqui proposto é analisar as formas de resolução de conflitos ambientais na esfera jurídica, verificar os caminhos para a substituição da deliberação unilateral e técnica pela participação cidadã e democrática nas tomadas de decisões em Termos de Ajustamento de Conduta e apontar se os acordos firmados em Inquéritos Civis Públicos estão gerando conscientização ambiental nos envolvidos. Dado que a atuação do Ministério Público na área de meio ambiente se dá através da investigação via Inquérito Civil Público, do ajuizamento de Ações Civis Públicas e no processamento dos crimes ambientais, parte-se do pressuposto de que, diante da necessidade de lidar com as incertezas do conhecimento científico e de incorporar as percepções e valores dos leigos, bem como do fato de que os conflitos ambientais são complexos, englobando questões éticas, econômicas, sociais e técnicas, o debate público surge como elemento enriquecedor para a decisão participativa e como gerador de conscientização ambiental. No Inquérito Civil Público há a possibilidade de se firmar o Termo de Ajustamento de Conduta (TAC), um acordo no qual o investigado se compromete a cumprir medidas mitigadoras e reparadoras do dano ambiental. Foi realizado um estudo de caso em Inquéritos Civis Públicos instaurados pela Promotoria de Justiça Especializada de Lajeado-RS nos últimos seis anos, todos com Termo de Ajustamento de Conduta firmado com pessoa física, concluindo-se que há pouca participação na tomada das decisões e elaboração dos TAC, bem como que, após a firmatura do TAC, não aumentou o grau de conscientização ambiental dos envolvidos.The goal of the proposed work is to analyze ways of solutions for environmental conflicts in the legal sphere, check the ways to replace the unilateral and technical deliberation by citizen and democratic participation in decision-making in Terms of Adjustment of Conduct and point if agreements signed into Public Civil Inquires are generating environmental awareness on the involved people. Since the public prosecutor performance in the environmental area is through research via Civil Public Inquiry, the filing of Public Civil Actions and prosecution of environmental crimes, it is assumed that, faced with the need to deal with uncertainties in scientific knowledge and incorporate the perceptions and values of the layman as well as the fact that environmental conflicts are complex, encompassing ethical, economic, social and technical issues, public discussion emerges as an enriching element for participatory decision and generator environmental awareness. In Civil Public Inquiry there is the possibility to sign the Terms of Adjustment of Conduct (TAC), an agreement in which the investigation undertakes to comply with the mitigation and repairing measures of the environmental damage. A case study was conducted on Civil Public Inquiry of the last 6 years on Public Prosecution Specialized of Lajeado-RS, all with the Terms of Adjustment of Conduct signed by private individuals, concluding that there is little participation in decision-making and development of TAC, as well after the signing of the TAC, has not increased the level of environmental awareness of those involved people