Budget impact analysis of comprehensive genomic profiling in patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer

Aims: Broad molecular profiling of patients with advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is strongly advised to optimize genomic matching with available targeted treatment options or investigational agents. Unlike conventional molecular diagnostic testing, or smaller hotspot panels, comprehensive genomic profiling (CGP) identifies genomic alterations across hundreds of clinically relevant cancer genes from a single tissue specimen. The present study sought to estimate the budget impact of increased use of CGP using a 324-gene panel (FoundationOne) vs non-CGP (represented by a mix of conventional molecular diagnostic testing and smaller NGS hotspot panels) and the number needed to test with CGP to gain 1 life year.

Materials and methods: A decision analytic model was developed to assess the budget impact of increased CGP in advanced NSCLC from a US private payer perspective. Model inputs were based on published literature (epidemiology and treatment outcomes), real-world data (testing and rates, medical service costs), list prices for CGP and anti-cancer drugs, and assumptions for clinical trial participation.

Results: Among 2 million covered lives, 532 had advanced NSCLC; 266 underwent molecular diagnostic testing. An increase in CGP among those tested, from 2% to 10%, was associated with $0.02 per member per month budget impact, of which $0.013 was attributable to costs of prolonged drug treatment and survival and $0.005 to testing cost. Approximately 12 patients would need to be tested with CGP to add 1 life year.

Limitations: The model incorporated certain assumptions to account for inputs with a limited evidence profile and simplify the possible post-CGP treatments.

Conclusions: An increase in CGP utilization from 2% to 10% among patients with advanced NSCLC undergoing molecular diagnostic testing was associated with a modest budget impact, most of which was attributable to increased use of more effective treatments and prolonged survival.     

ARDL panel estimation of stock market indices and macroeconomic environment of CEE and SEE countries in the last decade of transition

We tested the hypothesis of the procyclicality of stock exchanges regarding the economic activity of CEE and SEE countries, to measure the level of financial integration during the last decade of the transition period, and to compare these two groups of emerging countries. Our ARDL panel estimates support the hypothesis of procyclicality in the transition period in the CEE and SEE regions, and further financial integration, due to the opening up of the market economy and repricing of systematic risk, followed by large capital inflows, trade liberalization and industrial production, along with the implementation of institutional reforms regarding EU integration. In addition, the significant positive coefficient of capital inflows and negative coefficient of unemployment rate in the CEE and SEE panel ARDL results confirm the volatility of the transition process, as is obvious in higher industrial production, followed by the significant impact of import on CEE countries and the much higher significant impact of export on SEE countries.     

Marketing of electric vehicles

Substituting electric vehicles for traditional ones could reduce local pollution and greenhouse emissions from the transportation system. However, these societal benefits come at high costs to the owner of the EV in terms of price, driving range, availability, loading capacity, speed and acceleration. In addition, the usability of an EV is hampered by the lack of an infrastructure for recharging. Such a product hardly sells itself to potential customers. Besides supportive national policies, skillful marketing is needed to get it accepted and diffused throughout society. This paper outlines a two‐phase strategy for the marketing of EVs based on a discussion of current and expected future characteristics of EVs and on a review of research on early adopters. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd and ERP Environment.     

Testing the Female Underperformance Hypothesis

Most previous studies have found evidence at the aggregate level that female entrepreneurs underperform relative to their male counterparts. This study conducts a comprehensive test of this finding. The test is conducted on a large Swedish sample of 4200 entrepreneurs (405 females) with 1 to 20 employees in all sectors of the economy. Our study confirms the results of several previous studies that female entrepreneurs tend to underperform relative to men when the data is examined at the most aggregate level. At the same time our data reveals sharp structural differences between male and female entrepreneurs. In an extensive multi-variate regression with a large number of controls it turns out that female underperformance disappears for three out of four performance variables. The only exception is sales. No gender difference is found for profitability. A more detailed analysis reveals that the evidence of female underperformance is much weaker in larger firms and nonexistent in firms with only one employee. If it is true that female entrepreneurs on average have weaker preferences for sales growth, while we consistently find that they do not underperform in terms of profitability, our study provides no support for female underperformance given differences in preferences.     

The Board's Demography—Firm Performance Relationship Revisited: A Bayesian Approach

Building on behavioral theory, we argue that the effect of board demography on the performance of small and medium‐sized family firms differs significantly at the individual firm level and that the degree by which board task performance meets board task needs explains this effect. Using a Bayesian estimation method, we obtain firm specific estimates of the effect of board demography on firm performance. Analysis of these estimates indicates that the size of the gap between board task needs and board task performance explains the effects of the board demographic characteristics—board size and percentage of family directors—on firm performance.     

农民工：未完成的无产阶级化

农民工是改革的产物,也是改革的创造者。30年改革尘埃未定,中国俨然已经成为“世界工厂”,农民工是这一历史过程的新兴主体,它承栽了中国走向全球化伴生的所有矛盾与苦难,也必然承担着书写中国社会转型历史的伟大使命。中国未来与这一多达两亿的打工阶级息息相关,农村问题、城市发展、城乡关系、改革走向,几乎一切有关中国现状和未来的重要探讨都离不开对这一新兴阶级的认识。在改革开放30年之际,为更全面、更深刻地思考农民工以及农民工所承载的历史,2009年1月11日至18日,中山大学华南农村研究中心与香港理工大学—北京大学中国社会工作研究中心联合主办了第一期“中国城乡协调发展研究高级讲习班”,此次主题为“农民工与农民工社区”。来自中山大学、香港理工大学、香港科技大学、香港中文大学、香港大学、北京大学、中国社会科学院、北京师范大学、云南大学、上海大学、西南大学、西北工业大学、中国青年政治学院、南京师范大学、江汉大学、汕头大学、澳大利亚国立大学、广东工业大学、加州大学伯克利分校、加州大学洛杉矾分校、香港“女工关怀”志愿者组织、云南连心社区照顾服务中心等单位的师生逾60人在中山大学华南农村研究中心就此主题展开热烈讨论。本刊作为此次讲习班的协办单位,将分两期刊发部分发言者的发言内容。以下文字根据录音整理,部分标题为编者另拟。     

Parental Ethnic Identity and Child Test Scores*

We examine the relationship between parental ethnic identity and the test scores of ethnic minority children. We use standard survey measures of the strength of parental identity alongside validated cognitive test scores in a rich British cohort study. We show that children whose mothers report either an adoption or an active rejection of the majority identity tend to score lower in cognitive tests at age 7, compared with those children whose mothers report neutral feelings about the majority identity. We find no consistent differences in test scores according to mothers’ minority identity. Our findings provide no support for education or citizenship policies that promote the adoption of the majority identity or discourage the maintenance of separate identities in ethnic minority communities.