In Pursuit of Affordable Health Care: On the Ground Lessons From Families in Massachusetts

Based on focus group discussions, compares the coverage and healthcare costs of families with employer-sponsored insurance and those without after the state's 2006 healthcare reform. Draws lessons on eligibility rules, enrollment procedures, and outreach

Medicaid as a Platform for Broader Health Reform: Supporting High-Need and Low-Income Populations

Outlines how policy makers can build on Medicaid to expand health coverage for low-income, high-need people by basing eligibility on income, boosting provider participation, increasing federal funding, and containing costs as a step toward broader reform

Chronic Disease and Co-Morbidity Among Dual Eligibles: Implications for Patterns of Medicaid and Medicare Service Use and Spending

Compares spending patterns for people enrolled in both Medicaid and Medicare with multiple chronic and mental conditions with those for other beneficiaries and examines underlying factors. Explores challenges and policy implications of reform provisions

Turning to Medicaid and SCHIP in an Economic Recession: Conversations With Recent Applicants and Enrollees

Based on focus group discussions, examines how the loss of jobs and employer-sponsored health insurance affects families. Explores the limitations of COBRA and private insurance and the role of Medicaid and State Children's Health Insurance Programs

Isolated sequences from the linked Myf-5 and MRF4 genes drive distinct patterns of muscle-specific expression in transgenic mice

In developing mouse embryos, MyoD family regulatory genes are expressed specifically in muscle precursors and mature myofibers. This pattern, taken together with the well-established ability of MyoD family members to convert a variety of cell types to skeletal muscle, suggests a significant role for these genes in regulating skeletal myogenesis. The possibility that expression of these genes may be causally associated with segregation of the myogenic lineage from other mesodermal derivatives, or with the subsequent maintenance of muscle phenotypes at later times, raises the issue of how MyoD family genes are themselves regulated during development. In this work, we have initiated studies to identify DNA sequences that govern Myf-5 and MRF4 (herculin, myf-6) transcription. Myf-5 is the first of the MyoD family to be expressed in the developing mouse embryo, while MRF4 is the most abundantly expressed myogenic factor in postnatal animals. In spite of their strikingly divergent patterns of expression, Myf-5 and MRF4 are tightly linked in the mouse genome; their translational start codons are only 8.5 kilobases apart. Here, the 5' flanking regions of the mouse Myf-5 and MRF4 genes were separately linked to a bacterial β-galactosidase (lacZ) gene, and these constructs were each used to produce several lines of transgenic mice. Transgene expression was monitored by X-gal staining of whole embryos and by in situ hybridization of embryo sections. For the Myf-5/lacZ lines, the most intense transgene expression was in the visceral arches and their craniofacial muscle derivatives, beginning at day 8.75 post coitum (p.c.). This correlates with endogenous Myf-5 expression in visceral arches. However, while Myf-5 is also expressed in somites starting at day 8 p.c., transgene expression in the trunk is not observed until day 12 p.c. Thus, the Myf-5/lacZ construct responds to early Myf-5 activators in the visceral arches but not in the somites, suggesting that myogenic determination in the nonsomitic head mesoderm may be under separate control from that of the somitic trunk mesoderm. MRF4/lacZ lines displayed an entirely different pattern from Myf-5. Transgene expression appeared in muscles starting at day 16.5 p.c. and became increasingly prominent at later times. However, an early wave of myotomal expression that is characteristic of the endogenous MRF4 was not recapitulated by the transgene

SNP Miniplexes for Individual Identification of Random-Bred Domestic Cats.

Phenotypic and genotypic characteristics of the cat can be obtained from single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) analyses of fur. This study developed miniplexes using SNPs with high discriminating power for random-bred domestic cats, focusing on individual and phenotypic identification. Seventy-eight SNPs were investigated using a multiplex PCR followed by a fluorescently labeled single base extension (SBE) technique (SNaPshot(®) ). The SNP miniplexes were evaluated for reliability, reproducibility, sensitivity, species specificity, detection limitations, and assignment accuracy. Six SNPplexes were developed containing 39 intergenic SNPs and 26 phenotypic SNPs, including a sex identification marker, ZFXY. The combined random match probability (cRMP) was 6.58 × 10(-19) across all Western cat populations and the likelihood ratio was 1.52 × 10(18) . These SNPplexes can distinguish individual cats and their phenotypic traits, which could provide insight into crime reconstructions. A SNP database of 237 cats from 13 worldwide populations is now available for forensic applications

Finance Flies High: How Unilever Redesigned the Finance Function to Build Brand Value and Drive Growth

Unilever\u27s finance team played a key role in the success of their brands. The company achieved its fourth consecutive year of accelerating organic sales growth from less than 0.5% in 2004 to more than 7% in 2008, according to Jim Lawrence, Unilever\u27s CFO. Its strategy is to focus on volume growth and strengthening the competitive position of the company\u27s brands. In this article, the authors examine how the finance function at Unilever was redesigned to deliver the firm\u27s strategic goals, including an emphasis on volume growth and competitive position of its brands. Beginning in 2005, the finance team at Unilever asked on how the finance function should operate to achieve their goals. The result was the creation of a five-step process dubbed Finance of the Future. The steps are: 1. Define Finance of the Future. 2. Develop strategic thrusts. 3. Create global Finance Excellence Center. 4. Develop innovative business partners. 5. Organize for success: The New Finance Structure

“Choice of Service, Choice of Cost”- A Transformational Change Program in IT - The Case of a Global Consumer Products Company: Case Study

This paper presents a framework for development of a transformational change management program (Flamholtz and Randle, 2008) in an information technology (IT) organization of a global Fortune 200 consumer products company. The goal of the transformation was to build leading edge global IT service offerings, to internal and ultimately external customers. The program played a pivotal role in the company’s Path to Growth Strategy. This strategy included very specific targets for sales, margins and earnings growth over a five-year period. The case illustrates how a well conceived change program, integrated with an organization’s overall strategic plan, is a competitive advantage

A Transformational Change Program in IT - The Case of a Global Consumer Products Company

This paper presents a framework for development of a transformational change management program (Flamholtz and Randle, 2008) in an information technology (IT) organization of a global Fortune 200 consumer products company. The goal of the transformation was to build leading edge global IT service offerings, to internal and ultimately external customers. the program played a pivotal role in the company\u27s Path to Growth Strategy. This strategy included very specific targets for sales, margins and earnings growth over a five year period. The case illustrates how a well conceived change program, integrated with an organization\u27s overall strategic plan, is a competitive advantage

What\u27s In Your Leadership Toolbox?

Senior finance executives play a pivotal role in achieving corporate strategic vision, fostering growth, and enhancing return on invested capital. But their role is becoming more and more complex. In addition to traditional functions, they and their finance teams must now do financial modeling, integrate data analytics, handle strategies for cyber security and complicated risk management, and more. To find out what capabilities must today\u27s financial leaders have to be successful, the authors interviewed CFOs and human resources (HR) executives and identified the key required competencies. They identified six competencies frequently named by finance and HR executives that they believe contribute to the development of exceptional finance leaders: 1. Communicate a vision and path. 2. Assess the competitive environment with an external orientation. 3. Foster breakthrough thinking. 4. Develop outstanding financial talent. 5. Build team commitment. 6. Propel to action