The Federal Supplemental Benefits Program: An Appraisal of Emergency Extended Unemployment Insurance Benefits

Examines emergency policies to extend UI benefits during recessionary periods.https://research.upjohn.org/up_press/1139/thumbnail.jp

Nonmonetary Eligibility in State Unemployment Insurance Programs: Law and Practice

Consists of an econometric analysis of UI denial rates and factors that influence these rates, and in-depth studies of six state UI systems that explore factors that are typically unobservable in most statistical analyses.https://research.upjohn.org/up_press/1122/thumbnail.jp

Solving the Reemployment Puzzle: From Research to Policy

Wandner examines the research and evaluation of U.S. employment and training programs over the past 25 years. He also discusses the impact such research can have and how misuse of research findings can hamper program effectiveness.https://research.upjohn.org/up_press/1221/thumbnail.jp

Introduction [to Solving the Reemployment Puzzle]

Wandner examines the research and evaluation of U.S. employment and training programs over the past 25 years. He also discusses the impact such research can have and how misuse of research findings can hamper program effectiveness.https://research.upjohn.org/up_press/1221/thumbnail.jp

The Human Resource Implications of Plant Shutdowns

Human resource programs that were developed to serve those displaced by plant closings have been fragmented. Participation rates have been low in placement, job search assistance, relocation, and retrain ing programs, and results have not been particularly positive. Great emphasis was placed upon serving those in need when programs did develop. The fragmentation characteristic of previous policy—or nonpolicy— seems to have undergone considerable organization and rationalization with the advent of the Job Training Partnership Act (JTPA) and the association of several major labor-management displaced worker pro grams with the federal-state program. This change tends to emphasize placement and to focus upon training exclusively. As a result, not only will disadvantaged workers compete with displaced workers for training resources and jobs, but participation in programs for displaced workers will be encouraged for those who are most advantaged, thus consigning a large number of less-advantaged displaced workers to underemployment, permanent unemployment, and eventual dependence upon income main tenance.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/67203/2/10.1177_000271628447500106.pd

The antiangiogenic activity of naturally occurring and synthetic homoisoflavonoids from the Hyacinthaceae (sensu APGII)

Excessive blood vessel formation in the eye is implicated in wet age-related macular degeneration, proliferative diabetic retinopathy, neovascular glaucoma, and retinopathy of prematurity, which are major causes of blindness. Small molecule antiangiogenic drugs are strongly needed to supplement existing biologics. Homoisoflavonoids have been previously shown to have potent antiproliferative activities in endothelial cells over other cell types. Moreover, they demonstrated a strong antiangiogenic potential in vitro and in vivo in animal models of ocular neovascularization. Here, we tested the antiangiogenic activity of a group of naturally occurring homoisoflavonoids isolated from the family Hyacinthaceae and related synthetic compounds, chosen for synthesis based on structure–activity relationship observations. Several compounds showed interesting antiproliferative and antiangiogenic activities in vitro on retinal microvascular endothelial cells, a disease-relevant cell type, with the synthetic chromane, 46, showing the best activity (GI50 of 2.3 × 10–4 μM)

Bufadienolides and anti-angiogenic homoisoflavonoids from 'Rhodocodon cryptopodus', 'Rhodocodon rotundus' and 'Rhodocodon cyathiformis'

Background: Homoisoflavonoids have been shown to have potent anti-proliferative activities in endothelial cells over other cell types and have demonstrated a strong antiangiogenic potential in vitro and in vivo in animal models of ocular neovascularization. Three species of Rhodocodon (Scilloideaea subfamily of the Asparagaceae family), endemic to Madagascar, R. cryptopodus, R. rotundus and R. cyathiformis, were investigated. Purpose: To isolate and test homoisoflavonoids for their antiangiogenic activity against human retinal microvascular endothelial cells (HRECs), as well as specificity against other ocular cell lines. Methods: Plant material was extracted at room temperature with EtOH. Compounds were isolated using flash column chromatography and were identified using NMR and CD spectroscopy and HRESIMS. Compounds were tested for antiproliferative effects on primary human microvascular retinal endothelial cells (HRECs), ARPE19 retinal pigment epithelial cells, 92–1 uveal melanoma cells, and Y79 retinoblastoma cells. HRECs exposed to compounds were also tested for migration and tube formation ability. Results: Two homoisoflavonoids, 3S-5,7-dihydroxy-(3′-hydroxy-4′-methoxybenzyl)-4-chromanone (1) and 3S-5,7-dihydroxy-(4′-hydroxy-3′-methoxybenzyl)-4-chromanone (2), were isolated along with four bufadienolides. Compound 1 was found to be non-specifically antiproliferative, with GI50 values ranging from 0.21–0.85 μM across the four cell types, while compound 2 showed at least 100-fold specificity for HRECs over the other tested cell lines. Compound 1, with a 3S configuration, was 700 times more potent that the corresponding 3R enantiomer recently isolated from a Massonia species. Conclusion: Select homoisoflavonoids have promise as antiangiogenic agents that are not generally cytotoxic