Unemployment Insurance Application and Receipt: Findings on Demographic Disparities and Suggestions for Change

In this brief, we highlight research published in the October 2012 issue of Monthly Labor Review by Alix Gould-Werth and H. Luke Shaefer of the University of Michigan that examines the extent to which the likelihood of applying for, and of receiving unemployment insurance conditional on application, varies by education level and by racial and ethnic background. Second, we highlight findings showing how perceptions of ineligibility among those who fail to apply may vary by these demographic categories. This research demonstrates that low-educated and racial minority unemployed workers -- those who may need financial support most during periods without work -- are doubly disadvantaged in accessing unemployment insurance: not only do they report lower application rates, but the unemployed who do apply also report lower rates of receipt. Even though the authors' findings leave unanswered questions about the eligibility of non-applicants and the reasons applicants fail to access UI, their evidence suggests that increasing rates of application among disadvantaged populations would narrow the gap in benefit receipt. Thus, after summarizing the relevant findings, we offer recommendations for increasing application rates

Budgetary policies and available actions: a generalisation of decision rules for allocation and research decisions

The allocation problem in health care can be characterised as a mathematical programming problem but attempts to incorporate uncertainty in costs and effect have suffered from important limitations. A two stage stochastic mathematical programming formulation is developed and applied to a numerical example to explore and demonstrate the implications of this more general and comprehensive approach. The solution to the allocation problem for different budgets, budgetary policies, and available actions are then demonstrated. This analysis is used to evaluate different budgetary policies and examine the adequacy of standard decision rules in cost-effectiveness analysis. The research decision is then considered alongside the allocation problem. This more general formulation demonstrates that the value of further research depends on: i) the budgetary policy in place; ii) the realisations revealed during the budget period; iii) remedial actions that may be available; and iv) variability in parameters values.

Gene Expression in Lucilia sericata (Diptera: Calliphoridae) Larvae Exposed to Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Acinetobacter baumannii

The green bottle fly (Lucilia sericata) larvae are amongst the first colonizers of carrion and are well studied for their impact in forensics, decomposition ecology, and medicine. The larvae of L. sericata are the only FDA approved species for maggot therapy and can be successful in wound debridement, disinfection, and contribute to wound healing and tissue regeneration. Because these larvae naturally colonize habitats with high microbial loads, it is not surprising that they have a large repertoire of antimicrobial peptides. In this study, 2nd instar L. sericata larvae were exposed to Gramnegative bacteria (Pseudomonas aeruginosa or Acinetobacter baumannii) and evaluated for differences in transcript abundance due to bacterial exposure identified through RNA-seq analysis. Differentially expressed genes were identified and characterized by analyzing RNA-seq data with traditional software analysis and gene ontology methodologies. Up-regulated and down-regulated genes included those associated with the recognition, signaling cascades, and effector molecule transcription of the insect immune response pathways. Differentially expressed transcripts also included some previously identified antimicrobial peptides. Other differentially expressed genes were uncharacterized and so functions were not attributed to these genes. The data produced in this study may contribute to future studies such as the potential identification of new antimicrobial peptides, genome editing or genetic engineering of Medical Maggots™, and transcriptome studies in L. sericata as well as other organisms

Tackling doping in sport : a call to take action on the dopogenic environment

Widespread allegations of doping in sport consistently make front page news. The findings of an independent commission for the WADA1 underscore the importance of moving beyond a focus on individual athletes to concurrently address individual, social and environmental factors in anti-doping policy and practice (socioecological perspective)

Towards Efficient Spectral Converters through Materials Design for Luminescent Solar Devices.

Single-junction photovoltaic devices exhibit a bottleneck in their efficiency due to incomplete or inefficient harvesting of photons in the low- or high-energy regions of the solar spectrum. Spectral converters can be used to convert solar photons into energies that are more effectively captured by the photovoltaic device through a photoluminescence process. Here, recent advances in the fields of luminescent solar concentration, luminescent downshifting, and upconversion are discussed. The focus is specifically on the role that materials science has to play in overcoming barriers in the optical performance in all spectral converters and on their successful integration with both established (e.g., c-Si, GaAs) and emerging (perovskite, organic, dye-sensitized) cell types. Current challenges and emerging research directions, which need to be addressed for the development of next-generation luminescent solar devices, are also discussed.This work was supported by the Science Foundation Ireland under Grant No. 12/IP/1608

DASHES Protocol:Development and feasibility testing of a tailored community programme to support people in recovery from problematic alcohol and drug use to cut down or stop smoking using co-creation

Background: Despite the continued global decline in adult tobacco prevalence, rates continue to be significantly higher in groups with problematic drug or alcohol use (PDA). It is estimated that people with alcohol, drug or mental health problems account for approximately half of all smoking deaths. In the UK, there are free stop smoking services for the general population. However, these services have been criticized as unsuitable for people in recovery from PDA due to their design, time-limited support, strict requirement for smoking abstinence and lack of consideration of harm reduction approaches. This has led to calls for alternative approaches to support this marginalized and underserved group. This research study seeks to respond to this call by co-creating and feasibility testing a tailored, trauma-informed service specifically for people seeking help for PDA, who are not in immediate crisis, and who may also want to reduce or stop their tobacco smoking. Methods: The mixed-method study design has two parts. The development study (part one) will use participatory peer research methods to work with the target client group and key stakeholders involved in service delivery, commissioning, and policy to design the service (intervention). The feasibility study (part two) will test the delivery of the intervention protocol and capture data that will enable the assessment of whether progression to a future pilot randomized control trial is merited. Conclusions: The outcome of this study will be a theoretically informed, co-created intervention with the potential to improve population health by supporting people with problematic drug or alcohol use to cut down or stop tobacco smoking