An Analysis of the Effects of Recent Social Security Reforms Using Aggregate and Public-Use Administrative Micro Data

In the last few years the United States Social Security Old Age Benefit system has undergone some of the most significant changes since its inception. We have seen in a short period of time the implementation of the phased increase in the Normal Retirement Age (NRA) with the resulting increase in the penalty for claiming benefits early, the elimination of the Earnings Test for those above the NRA, and the incremental increase in the Delayed Retirement Credit (DRC) for those claiming benefits after the NRA. Since these changes have taken place only recently, there is relatively little research using household level data analyzing the consequences of all these changes. Using aggregate data from the Social Security Administration and a Public Use Micro-Data extract from the Master Beneficiary Record we are able to uncover a number of interesting trends in benefit claiming behavior and level of benefits receipt, which can help us understand how the changes in the system are shaping the retirement benefits claiming behavior of Older Americans. We find significant effects of the removal of the earnings test and the increase in the NRA, but very small effects as a result of the increases in the DRC.Benítez-Silva acknowledges the financial support from Grant Number 5 P01 AG022481-04 from the National Institute on Aging, the MRRC and the Spanish Ministry of Science and Technology through project number SEJ2005-08783-C04-01, on related projects. Na Yin wants to thank the Center for Retirement Research at Boston College for their support on a related project.Peer reviewe

Neurological Symptoms In A Case Of Acute Aortic Dissection.

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Over 10% efficient wide bandgap CIGSe solar cells on transparent substrate with Na predeposition treatment

With the recent rise of new photovoltaic applications, it has become necessary to develop specific optoelectronic properties for thin-film technologies such as Cu(In,Ga)Se2 and to take advantage of their high degree of tunability. The feasibility of efficient wide bandgap absorbers on transparent conductive oxide substrates is, in that context, of critical importance. Using an original approach based on a predeposition sodium treatment, Cu(In,Ga)Se2 absorbers fabricated by sputtering and reactive annealing with a Ga to (Ga + In) content over 0.7 and an optical bandgap above 1.4 eV are deposited on transparent fluorine-doped tin oxide films, with the insertion of an ultrathin MoSe2 layer preserving the contact's ohmicity. Different material characterizations are carried out, and a thorough Raman analysis of the absorber reveals that the sodium pretreatment significantly enhances the Ga incorporation into the chalcopyrite matrix, along with markedly improving the film's morphology and crystalline quality. This translates to a spectacular boost of the photovoltaic performance for the resulting solar cell as compared with a reference device without Na, specifically in the voltage and fill factor. Eventually, an efficiency exceeding 10% is obtained without antireflection coating, a record value bridging the gap with the state of the art on nontransparent substrates.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Um estudo sobre a rela??o entre a arrecada??o pr?pria e seus efeitos nos indicadores sociais no munic?pio de Campina Grande.

? medida que a arrecada??o tribut?ria cresce, tornam-se necess?rios maiores investimentos em diversas fun??es governamentais a fim de proporcionar melhorias nas condi??es de vida das pessoas. Nesse sentido, o presente estudo objetiva avaliar se o aumento da arrecada??o pr?pria melhora os indicadores sociais do munic?pio de Campina Grande-PB. Metodologicamente o artigo se caracteriza como uma pesquisa de campo, com abordagem quantitativa e do tipo documental e bibliogr?fica. Foram levantados os dados que retratam a situa??o fiscal e social do munic?pio referentes ao per?odo de 2013 a 2017. Os resultados evidenciaram que o aumento da arrecada??o teve rela??o positiva com a melhoria dos indicadores da educa??o b?sica em toda a s?rie analisada, mostrando que existiu proporcionalidade direta entre arrecada??o, gasto e indicador; j? com os indicadores da sa?de, houve uma discreta propor??o, mas n?o o suficiente para apontar um efeito na melhoria dos mesmos. Os dados da ?rea habitacional oscilaram e mostraram que n?o h? uma rela??o constante e pertinente destes com o volume de arrecada??o. Constatou-se que nem sempre o aumento da arrecada??o e dos gastos p?blicos melhoram os indicadores sociais e que outros fatores podem afetar na condu??o das pol?ticas p?blicas e na qualidade da aplica??o dos recursos

Apocynin Dietary Supplementation Delays Mouse Ovarian Ageing

Advanced maternal age is associated with higher infertility rates, pregnancy-associated complications, and progeny health issues. The ovary is considered the main responsible for these consequences due to a continuous decay in follicle number and oocyte quality. Intracellular imbalance between oxidant molecules and antioxidant mechanisms, in favour of the former, results in oxidative stress (OS) that is believed to contribute to ovarian ageing. This work is aimed at evaluating whether an age-related increase in ovarian OS, inflammation, and fibrosis may contribute to tissue dysfunction and whether specific antioxidant supplementation with a NADPH oxidase inhibitor (apocynin) could ameliorate them. Mice aged 8-12 weeks (reproductively young) or 38-42 weeks (reproductively aged) were employed. Aged mice were divided into two groups, with one receiving apocynin (5 mM) in the drinking water, for 7 weeks, upon which animals were sacrificed and their ovaries collected. Ovarian structure was similar at both ages, but the ovaries from reproductively aged mice exhibited lipofuscin deposition, enhanced fibrosis, and a significant age-related reduction in primordial and primary follicle number when compared to younger animals. Protein carbonylation and nitration, and markers of OS were significantly increased with age. Moreover, mRNA levels of inflammation markers, collagens, metalloproteinases (MMPs), and tissue inhibitor MMPs (TIMPs) were upregulated. Expression of the antifibrotic miRNA29c-3p was significantly reduced. Apocynin supplementation ameliorated most of the age-related observed changes, sometimes to values similar to those observed in young females. These findings indicate that there is an age-related increase in OS that plays an important role in enhancing inflammation and collagen deposition, contributing to a decline in female fertility. Apocynin supplementation suggests that the imbalance can be ameliorated and thus delay ovarian ageing harmful effects.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

An oceanic current against the wind : how does Taiwan island steer warm water into the East China Sea?

Author Posting. © American Meteorological Society, 2007. This article is posted here by permission of American Meteorological Society for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of Physical Oceanography 37 (2007): 2563-2569, doi:10.1175/JPO3134.1.Along the Taiwan Strait (<100 m in depth) a northeastward flow persists in all seasons despite the annually averaged wind stress that is strongly southwestward. The forcing mechanism of this countercurrent is examined by using a simple ocean model. The results from a suite of experiments demonstrate that it is the Kuroshio that plays the deciding role for setting the flow direction along the Taiwan Strait. The momentum balance along the strait is mainly between the wind stress, friction, and pressure gradient. Since both wind stress and friction act against the northward flow, it is most likely the pressure gradient that forces the northward flow, as noted in some previous studies. What remains unknown is why there is a considerable pressure difference between the southern and northern strait. The Kuroshio flows along the east coast of Taiwan, and thus the western boundary current layer dynamics applies there. Integrating the momentum equation along Taiwan’s east coast shows that there must be a pressure difference between the southern and the northern tip of Taiwan to counter a considerable friction exerted by the mighty Kuroshio. This same pressure difference is also felt on the other side of the island where it forces the northward flow through Taiwan Strait. The model shows that the local wind stress acts to dampen this northward flow. This mechanism can be illustrated by an integral constraint for flow around an island.This study has been supported by National Science Foundation through Grant OCE-0351055

Quality of life in medical students who act in PBL methodology

Introduction: The learning takes place, mainly, by the integration of new knowledge acquired to previously existing ones, that is, by the elaboration of new information, in any of its previously analyzed forms. In the Problem Based Learning (PBL) method, constructivism is obtained at the expense of activation of prior knowledge, elaboration of new information, establishment of goals for self-directed study, and increament in the complexity of semantic networks in the final discussion of problem solving. Quality of life (QoL) can be considered as a subject of multiple approaches, contextualizations and applicability of which is used by several areas of knowledge. All the components that make up the quality of life can be measured and evaluated using quantitative instruments, including questionnaires, the main one being the WHOQOL-Bref, developed by the WHO, for having a cross-cultural evaluation methodology that allows uniform results. Objectives: To analyze in a global way the quality of life of medical students who work in the PBL model of the University of Ribeirão Preto (UNAERP). Methodology: A total of 90 students from the UNAERP medical school, aged over 18, enrolled in the 1st, 6th and 11th stages were included in this study. After signing the TCLE approved by the local CEP, the students answered a questionnaire based on the WHOQOL-bref. Results: A total of 55.5% of the women and 44.5% of the men with a mean age varying according to the stages (20 years, 1st stage, 22 years, 6th stage and 26 years in the 11th stage) were evaluated. When analyzing the degree of satisfaction of the students with regard to the PBL methodology, a percentage of 49.1% satisfaction was observed at the beginning of the course (1st stage), followed by 65.4% in the 6th stage and 77% at the end of the course (11th stage). The student’s satisfaction with the ability to perform the activities of his day-to-day recorded that in the first stage, 21.2% can carry out their activities with adequacy; in stage 6, 34.5% and in stage 11, 69.8% feel satisfied or very satisfied in this analysis. Students also had increased satisfaction with their academic performance when compared to the beginning and end of the course; on the other hand, in the intermediate phase, a percentage decrease can be observed as can be observed in the first stage: 42.8%; 6th stage: 33.5%; 11: 77%. Discussion and conclusions of the results: In this study, we measured the quality of life of university students of medicine at UNAERP and then made them reflect on how they deal with their personal, physical, social and mental issues throughout their training course. The PBL methodology enhances the need for independent study and focuses on student-led learning and improvement, which allows the student to evolve with a progressive improvement in the ability to perform day-to-day tasks and academic performance