Guest Editors’ Introduction to the Special Issue on FIFO Work

This special edition of the Australian Bulletin of Labour is concerned with the recent and much-hyped phenomenon of Fly-In Fly-Out (FIFO) workers. We stress that our focus is on FIFO, not on the related question of work and employment in the resources sector, or on the broader impact of the resources sector on the regions and communities where it is located. There have been recent special editions of other journals on these matters: one assessing the impact of the Australian resources sector on rural societies (Rural Society 22, 2 2013) and another examining the dynamics and pattern of development in the Pilbara (Australian Geographer 44, 3 2013), as well as an inquiry—reported in 2013—undertaken by the Australian House of Representatives Standing Committee on Regional Australia (FHRE 2013)

Development of a High-Throughput Functional Screen Using Nanowell-Assisted Cell Patterning

Living-cell-based screens can facilitate lead discovery of functional therapeutics of interest. A versatile and scalable method is reported that uses dense arrays of nanowells for imparting defined patterns on monolayers of cells. It is shown that this approach can coordinate a multi-component biological assay by designing and implementing a high-throughput, functional nanoliter-scale neutralization assay to identify neutra­lizing antibodies against HIV.National Cancer Institute (U.S.) (P30-CA14051

TEPIC - A New High Temperature Structural Foam

The formulation, processing characteristics, microstructure and mechanical properties of a new structural foam, suitable for use at service temperatures up to 200 C, are reported. In each of these respects, the foam is compared to an existing material, called APO-BMI that is currently in use. When these two foams are directly compared, the new foam, called TEPIC, is found to be superior in its mechanical performance. TEPIC is formulated from a non-carcinogenic isocyanate, a di-functional epoxide, and glass microballoons. The authors' approach was to combine chemistries known to form thermally stable products. The principal polymerization products are an oxizolidinone produced by the reaction of the isocyanate with the epoxide and isocyanurate rings formed by the trimerization of the isocyanate. Processing has been examined and large-scale production is discussed in detail. Compared to APO-BMI processing, TEPIC processing is facile and economical. The structure of the foam resembles a traditional rigid polyurethane foam rather than that of the APO-BMI. That is, the foam is comprised of a continuous resin phase rather than weakly bonded glass microballoons. At a density of 0.42 g/cm{sup 3} or greater, maximum pore size in TEPIC was less than 2 mm, as required for the application

Spectroscopic Observations of Lyman-Break Galaxies at Redshift ~ 4, 5 and 6 in the GOODS-South Field

We report on observations of Lyman-break galaxies (LBGs) selected from the Great Observatories Origins Deep Survey at mean redshift z~4, 5 and 6, obtained with FORS2 spectrograph at the ESO-VLT.This program has yielded spectroscopic identifications for 114 galaxies of which 51 are at z~4, 31 at z~5, and 32 at z~6. The adopted selection criteria are effective, identifying galaxies at the expected redshift with minimal foreground contamination. Once selection effects are properly accounted for, the rest-frame UV spectra of the higher-redshift LBGs appear to be similar to their counterparts at z~3. As at z~3, LBGs at z~4 and z~5 show Lya both in emission and in absorption; when in absorption, strong interstellar lines and red UV spectra are observed, a fact also measured at z~2 and 3. At z~6, sensitivity issues bias our sample towards galaxies with Lya in emission; nevertheless, these spectra appear to be similar to their lower-redshift counterparts. As in other studies at similar redshifts, we find clear evidence that brighter LBGs tend to have weaker Lya emission lines. At fixed rest-frame UV luminosity, the equivalent width of the Lya emission line is larger at higher redshifts. At all redshifts where the measurements can be reliably made, the redshift of the Lya emission line turns out to be larger than that of the interstellar absorption lines,with a median velocity difference DeltaV~400 km/s at z~4 and 5, consistent with results at lower redshifts. This shows that powerful, large-scale winds are common at high redshift.In general,there is no strong correlation between the morphology of the UV light and the spectroscopic properties. However, galaxies with deep interstellar absorption lines and strong Lya absorption appear to be more diffuse than galaxies with Lya in emission.(abridged)Comment: 58 pages, 19 figures, accepted for publication in The Astrophysical Journa

Mechanical properties and energy absorption characteristics of a polyurethane foam

Tension, compression and impact properties of a polyurethane encapsulant foam have been measured as a function of foam density. Significant differences in the behavior of the foam were observed depending on the mode of testing. Over the range of densities examined, both the modulus and the elastic collapse stress of the foam exhibited power-law dependencies with respect to density. The power-law relationship for the modulus was the same for both tension and compression testing and is explained in terms of the elastic compliance of the cellular structure of the foam using a simple geometric model. Euler buckling is used to rationalize the density dependence of the collapse stress. Neither tension nor compression testing yielded realistic measurements of energy absorption (toughness). In the former case, the energy absorption characteristics of the foam were severely limited due to the inherent lack of tensile ductility. In the latter case, the absence of a failure mechanism led to arbitrary measures of energy absorption that were not indicative of true material properties. Only impact testing revealed an intrinsic limitation in the toughness characteristics of the material with respect to foam density. The results suggest that dynamic testing should be used when assessing the shock mitigating qualities of a foam

Automated pipeline for rapid production and screening of HIV-specific monoclonal antibodies using pichia pastoris

Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) that bind and neutralize human pathogens have great therapeutic potential. Advances in automated screening and liquid handling have resulted in the ability to discover antigen-specific antibodies either directly from human blood or from various combinatorial libraries (phage, bacteria or yeast). There remain, however, bottlenecks in the cloning, expression and evaluation of such lead antibodies identified in primary screens that hinder high-throughput screening. As such, ‘hit-to-lead identification’ remains both expensive and time-consuming. By combining the advantages of overlap extension PCR (OE-PCR) and a genetically stable yet easily manipulatable microbial expression host Pichia pastoris, we have developed an automated pipeline for the rapid production and screening of full-length antigenspecific mAbs. Here, we demonstrate the speed, feasibility and cost-effectiveness of our approach by generating several broadly neutralizing antibodies against human immunodeficiency virus (HIV).Bill & Melinda Gates FoundationUnited States. Defense Advanced Research Projects AgencySpace and Naval Warfare Systems Center San Diego (U.S.) (Contract N66001-13-C-4025)W. M. Keck FoundationNational Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (U.S.) (U19AI090970).National Cancer Institute (U.S.) (David H. Koch Institute for Integrative Cancer Research at MIT. Support (Core) Grant P30-CA14051

Q-LET - Quick Lensing Estimation Tool - An application to SN2003es

Q-LET is a FORTRAN 77 code that enables a quick estimate of the gravitational lensing effects on a point- or an extended source. The user provided input consists of the redshifts, angular positions relative to the source, mass or velocity dispersion estimate and halo type for the lens galaxies. The considered halo types are the Navarro-Frenk-White and the Singular Isothermal Sphere. The code uses the so-called multiple lens-plane method to find the magnification and intrinsic shape of the source. This method takes into account the multiple deflections that may arise when several mass accumulations are situated at different redshifts close to the line-of-sight. The Q-LET code is applied to the recently discovered supernova, SN2003es, which is likely to be of Type Ia as its host galaxy is classified as an elliptical. We find that SN2003es is likely to have been significantly magnified by gravitational lensing and that this should be considered in high-z studies if this SN is to be used to determine the cosmological parameters. Q-LET was motivated by the supernova searches, where lensing can be a problem, but it can also be applied to any simple lens system where a quick estimate is wanted, e.g. the single lens case.Comment: 16 pages, 5 figures. Submitted to JCAP. Software available at http://www.physto.se/~cg/qlet/qlet.ht

‘I’m my own boss…’: Active intermediation and ‘entrepreneurial’ worker agency in the Australian gig-economy

Platform firm in the gig-economy are disrupting work as a social practice, production systems and recasting capital-labour relations. This qualitative study examines worker agency in the Australian food-delivery sector; a segment where platforms actively intermediate both product and labour markets. Within this sector, worker agency poses a potential challenge to platform-organisations; however this study reveals how these platforms’ work organisation and market regulation constrain agency potential. Shaped by the work’s spatio-temporal features, organisational fixes and institutional context, it is shown how food-delivery workers, transiently attached to the labour market, predominantly engage in ‘entrepreneurial agency’ – a low-level agency expression aimed at materially improving individual conditions and aligning with, rather than challenging, platforms’ business models