The Obamacare Opportunity: Implementing the Affordable Care Act to Improve Health, Reduce Hardship, and Grow the Economy for All Californians

This report describes how California can take advantage of ACA implementation to increase access both to health coverage and to vital safety net and work support programs.In Section I, we describe California's public benefit take up problem. We identify the take up rates of the key safety net and work support programs, barriers to greater participation, and the benefits of increasing participation in such programs.In Section II, we describe how ACA implementation can increase take up rates for health insurance and public benefit programs. States can expand integration infrastructure and operations across a broad range of programs and the federal government will pay most of the costs.In Section III, we set forth various policy options for integrating California's Marketplace with public benefit programs. We describe California's existing integration efforts and present ACA and non-ACA best practices from other states regarding take up strategies.In Section IV, we make recommendations focused on a single goal -- increasing the take up rate of safety net and work support programs to improve health, reduce hardship, and grow the economy for all Californians

Role for growth regulation by estrogen in breast cancer 1 (GREB1) in hormone-dependent cancers

Sex hormones play important roles in the onset and progression of several cancers, such as breast, ovarian, and prostate cancer. Although drugs targeting sex hormone function are useful in treating cancer, tumors often develop resistance. Thus, we need to define the downstream effectors of sex hormones in order to develop new treatment strategies for these cancers. Recent studies unearthed one potential mediator of steroid hormone action in tumors: growth regulation by estrogen in breast cancer 1 (GREB1). GREB1 is an early estrogen-responsive gene, and its expression is correlated with estrogen levels in breast cancer patients. Additionally, GREB1 responds to androgen in prostate cancer cells, and can stimulate the proliferation of breast, ovarian, and prostate cancer cells. Recent studies have shown that GREB1 also responds to progesterone in human endometrial cells, suggesting that GREB1 is a pan steroid-responsive gene. This mini-review examines evidence that GREB1 participates in several hormone-dependent cancers and could be targeted to treat these cancers

DEMAND FOR WILD BLUEBERRIES AT FARM AND PROCESSOR LEVELS

The wild blueberry crop harvested in Maine and eastern Canada has increased considerably in recent years. The purpose of this study is to understand the recent trends in demand for wild blueberries with particular attention to the effects of production and the marketing of wild and cultivated blueberries. A price response model was developed to analyze farm-gate price and the processor price, using annual data from 1978 through 1997. Key explanatory variables in the model include quantity of wild blueberries, real per capita disposable income, the quantity of processed cultivated blueberries, and carry-over stocks of frozen blueberries.Demand and Price Analysis,

A PROFILE OF THE SPECIALTY FOOD RETAILING INDUSTRY IN THE EASTERN U.S.

This study investigated product introductions, marketing and distribution patterns among specialty food retailers in the eastern U. S. Based on 547 responses to a mailed survey, the results portray specialty food retailers as an extremely diverse group ranging from those who carry small specialty food sections within standard grocery or department stores to those who exclusively sell specialty foods. Respondents reported that new introductions account for about 22% of their total specialty food sales and that on average, they introduce about 23 products in a typical year. When evaluating new products, their most important considerations are quality followed by uniqueness.Agribusiness,

A STUDY OF CONSUMERS AT A SMALL FARMERS' MARKET IN MAINE: RESULTS FROM A 1995 SURVEY

This study was based on a survey of customers who shopped at a small farmers' market during the summer/fall market season of 1995. Information from a survey completed by 239 shoppers was used to develop a profile of the primary consumer group, defined as those who shop regularly at the market and spend the most per visit. Comparisons between survey data and census data for the local population showed that primary shoppers at the market had higher education, higher annual household income, tended to be slightly older, and were more likely to be employed women. For the most part, the respondents were loyal, weekly shoppers who patronized the market because of the high quality of the products. Most reported that they were willing to pay more for produce at the farmers' market.Consumer/Household Economics,

RESTAURANT AND SUPERMARKET LOBSTER PRICE PERCEPTIONS, RESPONSES, AND STRATEGIES

Consumer/Household Economics, Demand and Price Analysis,

DETERMINANTS OF CONSUMERS' PURCHASE DECISION FOR MAINE ROUND WHITE POTATOES

Potatoes are marketed by type (i.e. round white, russet, red, etc.), rather than by variety. However, the round white varieties currently marketed by the Maine potato industry are known to differ considerably in terms of product characteristics. This study was designed to test the hypothesis that consumer acceptance of potatoes in home use varies by variety and to quantify how their level of acceptance and other characteristics impact their repurchase decision. A discrete choice model was used. The results indicated that consumers do differentiate round white potato varieties based on the performance of the potatoes in home use. Their willingness to repurchase the round white potatoes is affected by the variety used and the overall serving quality of the potatoes in home use.Consumer/Household Economics,

Thermally-Switchable Metalenses Based on Quasi-Bound States in the Continuum

Dynamic wavefront shaping with optical metasurfaces has presented a major challenge and inspired a large number of highly elaborate solutions. Here, we experimentally demonstrate thermo-optically reconfigurable, nonlocal metasurfaces using simple device architectures and conventional CMOS-compatible dielectric materials. These metasurfaces support quasi-bound states in the continuum (q-BICs) derived from symmetry breaking and encoded with a spatially varying geometric phase, such that they shape optical wavefront exclusively on spectrally narrowband resonances. Due to the enhanced light-matter interaction enabled by the resonant q-BICs, a slight variation of the refractive index introduced by heating and cooling the entire device leads to a substantial shift of the resonant wavelength and a subsequent change to the optical wavefront associated with the resonance. We experimentally demonstrate a metalens modulator, the focusing capability of which can be thermally turned on and off, and reconfigurable metalenses, which can be thermo-optically switched to produce two distinct focal patterns. Our devices offer a pathway to realize reconfigurable, multifunctional meta-optics using established manufacturing processes and widely available dielectric materials that are conventionally not considered "active" materials due to their small thermo-optic or electro-optic coefficients