Impact on social security penalties of increased remote Work for the Dole requirements

CAEPR Working Paper 108/2016 described the number and pattern of social security penalties being applied to jobseekers participating in the Remote Jobs and Communities Program. The paper argued that more onerous requirements of jobseekers in the remote areas covered by that scheme was a major driver of their being overrepresented among those being penalised across the social security system. From 1 July 2015, under what was renamed the Community Development Programme, even more stringent requirements were applied – in particular, the requirement that 18–49-year-olds participate in Work for the Dole for 25 hours per week, five days per week, year-round. The paper predicted that this would lead to further increases in penalties. This paper analyses the first release of data about penalties applied under the new arrangements, covering the period from 1 July 2015 to 31 December 2015. It shows that penalties have, indeed, increased at a startling rate, and provides further evidence of the disproportionate impact of this change on Indigenous people

Financial penalties under the Remote Jobs and Communities Program

In July 2013, a new Australian Government-funded labour market program was implemented across remote Australia: the Remote Jobs and Communities Program (RJCP). The program (now renamed and restructured as the Community Development Programme - CDP) had a case load of around 36 000 people, of whom about 85% were Indigenous. Most people in the program were required to participate in activities as a condition of receiving income support and were subject to the Job Seeker Compliance Framework, which sets out financial penalties and safeguards for those who fail to comply. This paper examines penalties applied to participants in RJCP during the two years from 1 July 2013 and compares them with penalties applied under the general equivalent program, Job Services Australia. We find that penalties were applied to RJCP jobseekers at a much higher rate, and that this was particularly the case for penalties associated with mandatory Work for the Dole-type activities and 'persistent noncompliance'. The difference appears to arise from (1) more onerous program requirements in RJCP, (2) ineffectiveness of protections for remote jobseekers, and (3) different individual and local responses to program requirements and penalties. We end by noting the recent reform of RJCP into CDP and the likely impact on future application of financial penalties

Low prevalence of an acute phase response in asymptomatic children from a malaria-endemic area of Papua New Guinea

Levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), a classic marker for the acute phase response (APR), were measured in children with asymptomatic malaria infection in the Amele region of Papua New Guinea (PNG). Despite the presence of parasitemia, the prevalence of CRP levels consistent with an APR (CRP > 10 (xg/mL) was very low (< 10%). Splenomegaly was significantly associated with increased parasitemia (P < 0.001) and CRP levels (P < 0.001), highlighting the importance of splenomegaly as an indicator of recent high density infection in this population. Multivariate analysis showed that CRP levels were significantly associated with splenomegaly, fever, hemoglobin, and age (P < 0.002). CRP levels also increased with increasing parasitemia (P < 0.001) but remained < 3.5 (xg/mL. The low levels of CRP indicate that children in the Amele modulate inflammation associated with malaria

Diode laser modification of ceramic material surface properties for improved wettability and adhesion

To date, very little work has been published with regard specifically to the use of lasers for modifying the surface properties of materials in order to improve their wettability and adhesion characteristics. Using a 60 W high power diode laser (HPDL) the effects of HPDL radiation on the wettability and adhesion characteristics of certain ceramic materials have been determined. It was found that laser treatment of the materials surfaces’ modified the surface energy and accordingly, wetting experiments, by the sessile drop technique using a variety of test liquids, revealed that laser treatment of the range of ceramic materials surfaces resulted in a decrease in the contact angles. The work shows clearly that laser radiation can be used to alter the wetting and adhesion characteristics of a number of ceramic materials by means of changing the surface energy

Serum anti-Müllerian hormone concentrations before and after treatment of an ovarian granulosa cell tumour in a cat

Case summary A 15-year-old female cat was presented for investigation of progressive behavioural changes, polyuria, polydipsia and periuria. An ovarian granulosa cell tumour was identified and the cat underwent therapeutic ovariohysterectomy (OHE). The cat’s clinical signs resolved, but 6 months later it was diagnosed as having an anaplastic astrocytoma and was euthanased. Serum anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) concentration prior to OHE was increased vs a control group of entire and neutered female cats. Following OHE, serum AMH concentration decreased to <1% of the original value. Relevance and novel information Serum AMH measurement may represent a novel diagnostic and monitoring tool for functional ovarian neoplasms in cats

Hormonal Regulation of Glucocorticoid Inactivation and Reactivation in aT3-1 and LßT2 Gonadotroph Cells

The regulation of reproductive function by glucocorticoids occurs at all levels of the hypothalamo-pituitary-gonadal axis. Within the pituitary, glucocorticoids have been shown to directly alter gene expression in gonadotrophs, indicating that these cell types are sensitive to regulation by the glucocorticoid receptor. Whilst the major glucocorticoid metabolising enzymes, 11β-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase (11βHSD; HSD11B1 and HSD11B2), have been described in human pituitary adenomas, the activity of these enzymes within different pituitary cell types has not been reported. Radiometric conversion assays were performed in αT3-1, LβT2 (gonadotrophs), AtT-20 (corticotrophs) and GH3 (somatolactotrophs) anterior pituitary cell lines, using tritiated cortisol, corticosterone, cortisone or 11-dehydrocorticosterone as substrates. The net oxidation of cortisol/corticosterone and net reduction of cortisone/11-dehydrocorticosterone were significantly higher in the two gonadotroph cells lines compared with the AtT-20 and GH3 cells after 4 h. Whilst these enzyme activities remained the same in αT3-1 and LβT2 cells over a 24 h period, there was a significant increase in glucocorticoid metabolism in both AtT-20 and GH3 cells over this same period, suggesting cell-type specific activity of the 11βHSD enzyme(s). Stimulation of both gonadotroph cell lines with either 100 nM GnRH or PACAP (known physiological regulators of gonadotrophs) resulted in significantly increased 11β-dehydrogenase (11βDH) and 11-ketosteroid reductase (11KSR) activities, over both 4 and 24 h. These data reveal that gonadotroph 11βHSD enzyme activity can act to regulate local glucocorticoid availability to mediate the influence of the HPA axis on gonadotroph function

Minimally Invasive Markers of Stress and Production Parameters in Dairy Cows before and after the Installation of a Voluntary Milking System

Automatic milking systems (AMS) are a low-labour alternative to conventional parlours, with previous studies demonstrating that cows vary in their ability to cope with the change to AMS. Cortisol expression can be combined with other measures to assess stress: saliva and hair have the advantage of requiring minimally invasive sampling. No work has investigated the long-term impact of introduction of AMS. The aims of the study were to assess short-term and chronic stress associated with a change in milking system by measuring salivary and hair cortisol levels and to assess the impact on health and production parameters. Cows from one farm changing their milking system were recruited to the study and sampled for saliva (n = 10) and hair (n = 12) before and after installation. Cortisol levels were measured using a salivary cortisol enzyme immunoassay kit. Body condition, lameness and milk parameters of the whole herd were regularly assessed. Salivary cortisol showed no diurnal pattern but was affected by lameness and gestation. Non-lame cows showed a reduction in salivary cortisol after AMS introduction (p < 0.001). Hair cortisol levels increased after AMS, but it was unclear if this change was seasonal. Milk yield increased by 13% and somatic cell count reduced by 28%. Body condition score was consistently good, but lameness remained high throughout the study. Production values alone do not represent high welfare. The high lameness and associated cortisol levels suggest that cow stress requires consideration when changing milking systems

Wettability characteristics of carbon steel modified with CO2, Nd:YAG, Excimer and high power diode lasers

Interaction of CO2, Nd:YAG, excimer and high power diode laser (HPDL) radiation with the surface of a common mild steel (EN8) was found to effect changes in the wettability characteristics of the steel, namely changes in the measured contact angle. These modifications are related to changes in the surface roughness, changes in the surface oxygen content and changes in the surface energy of the mild steel. The wettability characteristics of the selected mild steel could be controlled and/or modified by laser surface treatment. A correlation between the change of the wetting properties of the mild steel and the laser wavelength was found

Optimal Scheduling of Trains on a Single Line Track

This paper describes the development and use of a model designed to optimise train schedules on single line rail corridors. The model has been developed with two major applications in mind, namely: as a decision support tool for train dispatchers to schedule trains in real time in an optimal way; and as a planning tool to evaluate the impact of timetable changes, as well as railroad infrastructure changes. The mathematical programming model described here schedules trains over a single line track. The priority of each train in a conflict depends on an estimate of the remaining crossing and overtaking delay, as well as the current delay. This priority is used in a branch and bound procedure to allow and optimal solution to reasonable size train scheduling problems to be determined efficiently. The use of the model in an application to a 'real life' problem is discussed. The impacts of changing demand by increasing the number of trains, and reducing the number of sidings for a 150 kilometre section of single line track are discussed. It is concluded that the model is able to produce useful results in terms of optimal schedules in a reasonable time for the test applications shown here

Carbon steel wettability characteristics enhancement for improved enamelling using a 1.2 kW high power diode laser

High-power diode laser (HPDL) surface treatment of a common engineering carbon steel(EN8) was found to effect significant changes to the wettability characteristics of the metal. These modifications have been investigated in terms of the changes in the surface roughness of the steel, the presence of any surface melting, the polar component of the steel surface energy and the relative surface oxygen content of the steel. The morphological and wetting characteristics of the mild steel and the enamel were determined using optical microscopy, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), X-ray photoemission spectroscopy (XPS), energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) analysis and wetting experiments by the sessile drop technique. This work has shown that HPDL radiation can be used to alter the wetting characteristics of carbon steel so as to facilitate improved enamelling