Assessing the Financial Health of Medicaid Managed Care Plans and the Quality of Patient Care They Provide

Examines the administrative and medical expenses, quality of care, and financial stability of publicly traded health plans contracted to manage the care of Medicaid beneficiaries by plan characteristics and compared with non-publicly traded plans

Modulation of Negative Work Output from a Steering Muscle of the Blowfly Calliphora Vicina

Of the 17 muscles responsible for flight control in flies, only the first basalar muscle (b1) is known to fire an action potential each and every wing beat at a precise phase of the wing-beat period. The phase of action potentials in the b1 is shifted during turns, implicating the b1 in the control of aerodynamic yaw torque. We used the work loop technique to quantify the effects of phase modulation on the mechanical output of the b1 of the blowfly Calliphora vicina. During cyclic length oscillations at 10 and 50 Hz, the magnitude of positive work output by the b1 was similar to that measured previously from other insect muscles. However, when tested at wing-beat frequency (150 Hz), the net work performed in each cycle was negative. The twitch kinetics of the b1 suggest that negative work output reflects intrinsic specializations of the b1 muscle. Our results suggest that, in addition to a possible role as a passive elastic element, the phase-sensitivity of its mechanical properties may endow the b1 with the capacity to modulate wing-beat kinematics during turning maneuvers

Foreign banks’ attraction to the financial centre Frankfurt : a "u"-shaped relationship

This paper traces the location of foreign banks in Germany from 1949 to 2006. As suggested by new economic geography models we find a ‘u’-shaped concentration of foreign banks in Germany. Only after a competition between several cities, Frankfurt has emerged as the pre-eminent financial centre, triggered by the ‘historical event’ of setting up the German central bank in Frankfurt. After a strong increase, Frankfurt’s share in the location of foreign banks in Germany decreases slowly but significantly since the mid 1980’s. We conclude that there will be a lesser role in Europe for secondtier financial centres in the future

LOCAL ENFORCEMENT OF LAWS PROHIBITING DISCRIMINATION IN HOUSING: THE NEW YORK CITY HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION

This article examines the problem of housing discrimination in New York City as well as the role of the Human Rights Commission in fighting illegally discriminatory practices. Part I describes the evidence demonstrating housing market discrimination and examines the harmful impact these practices have on many New Yorkers. Part II examines the New York City Human Rights Commission\u27s battle against housing discrimination from its founding in 1955 to the present day. As part of this analysis, New York City\u27s Human Rights Law is compared with analogous protections enacted by the State of New York and the federal government. Data on all housing discrimination complaints filed with the Commission in 1992 and 1993 is also studied. Finally, Part III of the article comments briefly on how the Commission can face the challenges of the future in seeking to break down barriers to residential mobility and integration

Directional Sensitivity and Mechanical Coupling Dynamics of Campaniform Sensilla During Chordwise Deformations of the Fly Wing

The complex morphology of an insect campaniform sensillum is responsible for transforming strains of the integument into a displacement of the campaniform dome and subsequently a deformation of the dendritic membrane. In this paper, the first step in this coupling process was investigated in identified campaniform sensilla on the wing of the blowfly by stimulating the sensilla with chord-wise deflections of the wing blade. Campaniform sensilla neurones were sensitive to both dorsal and ventral deflections of the wing, and thus exhibited no strong directional sensitivity to the chord-wise components of wing deformation. These results are consistent with a simplified mechanical model in which the wing veins act as cylinders that undergo bending and torsion during chord-wise wing deformation. By comparing the responses of campaniform neurones to chord-wise deflections of the wing with those evoked by direct punctate stimulation of the dome, it is possible to estimate the dynamic properties of the coupling process that links wing deformation to dome deformation. In the identified campaniform neurone examined, wing-dome coupling attenuates high frequencies and transforms the chord-wise deflections of the wing into dome deformation similar in degree of excitation to that caused by direct punctate indentions that are two or more orders of magnitude smaller in size