Killing Time: Alienation theories in an era of chronic under-employment and over work

The ideological disorientation of the working class demands a restatement of the once obvious, but in ways that rework those insights for the current stage of globalisation. In ten years of research, ACIRRT has established an unrivalled empirical base about working life in Australia. Those reports have been done from an empiricist position which is part of the impasse confronting labour movements everywhere. This discussion paper reaches out for a counter to the grand project of capital expansion by renewing debate over the meaning of work itself

Immersed boundary-finite element model of fluid-structure interaction in the aortic root

It has long been recognized that aortic root elasticity helps to ensure efficient aortic valve closure, but our understanding of the functional importance of the elasticity and geometry of the aortic root continues to evolve as increasingly detailed in vivo imaging data become available. Herein, we describe fluid-structure interaction models of the aortic root, including the aortic valve leaflets, the sinuses of Valsalva, the aortic annulus, and the sinotubular junction, that employ a version of Peskin's immersed boundary (IB) method with a finite element (FE) description of the structural elasticity. We develop both an idealized model of the root with three-fold symmetry of the aortic sinuses and valve leaflets, and a more realistic model that accounts for the differences in the sizes of the left, right, and noncoronary sinuses and corresponding valve cusps. As in earlier work, we use fiber-based models of the valve leaflets, but this study extends earlier IB models of the aortic root by employing incompressible hyperelastic models of the mechanics of the sinuses and ascending aorta using a constitutive law fit to experimental data from human aortic root tissue. In vivo pressure loading is accounted for by a backwards displacement method that determines the unloaded configurations of the root models. Our models yield realistic cardiac output at physiological pressures, with low transvalvular pressure differences during forward flow, minimal regurgitation during valve closure, and realistic pressure loads when the valve is closed during diastole. Further, results from high-resolution computations demonstrate that IB models of the aortic valve are able to produce essentially grid-converged dynamics at practical grid spacings for the high-Reynolds number flows of the aortic root

The Aussie, 1918-1931: cartoons, digger remembrance and First World War identity

Feelings of community, cultural definition and memory were kept alive through the soldiers’ mass circulation tabloid, the Aussie, examined here in the light of theorization of memory and representation, applied to both text and cartoons. The publication’s aim for veterans’ values to become shared national values is analysed in the light of its high profile usage of soft cartoon humour and also of nostalgia – highlighting the limitations as well as the effectiveness in terms of Australia’s evolving national identity. When the post-war economic situation worsened, deeper issues of national tension were glossed over by the use of scapegoats such as ‘profiteers’ and ‘lazy workers’. The armed forces were obliged to take on a political role of lobbying for their cause, but the Aussie as ‘cheerful friend’ experienced its own identity crisis that proved to be terminal

Calcitonin receptor N-glycosylation enhances peptide hormone affinity by controlling receptor dynamics

The class B G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) calcitonin receptor (CTR) is a drug target for osteoporosis and diabetes. N-glycosylation of asparagine 130 in its extracellular domain (ECD) enhances calcitonin hormone affinity with the proximal GlcNAc residue mediating this effect through an unknown mechanism. Here, we present two crystal structures of salmon calcitonin-bound, GlcNAc-bearing CTR ECD at 1.78 and 2.85 Å resolutions and analyze the mechanism of the glycan effect. The N130 GlcNAc does not contact the hormone. Surprisingly, the structures are nearly identical to a structure of hormone-bound, N-glycan-free ECD, which suggested that the GlcNAc might affect CTR dynamics not observed in the static crystallographic snapshots. Hydrogen-deuterium exchange mass spectrometry and molecular dynamics simulations revealed that glycosylation stabilized a β-sheet adjacent to the N130 GlcNAc and the N-terminal α-helix near the peptide-binding site, while increasing flexibility of the peptide-binding site turret loop. These changes due to N-glycosylation increased the ligand on-rate and decreased its off rate. The glycan effect extended to RAMP-CTR amylin receptor complexes and was also conserved in the related CGRP receptor. These results reveal that N-glycosylation can modulate GPCR function by altering receptor dynamics

Big data opportunities and challenges for assessing multiple stressors across scales in aquatic ecosystems

Aquatic ecosystems are under threat from multiple stressors, which vary in distribution and intensity across temporal and spatial scales. Monitoring and assessment of these ecosystems have historically focussed on collection of physical and chemical information and increasingly include associated observations on biological condition. However, ecosystem assessment is often lacking because the scale and quality of biological observations frequently fail to match those available from physical and chemical measurements. The advent of high-performance computing, coupled with new earth observation platforms, has accelerated the adoption of molecular and remote sensing tools in ecosystem assessment. To assess how emerging science and tools can be applied to study multiple stressors on a large (ecosystem) scale and to facilitate greater integration of approaches among different scientific disciplines, a workshop was held on 10-12 September 2014 at the Sydney Institute of Marine Sciences, Australia. Here we introduce a conceptual framework for assessing multiple stressors across ecosystems using emerging sources of big data and critique a range of available big-data types that could support models for multiple stressors. We define big data as any set or series of data, which is either so large or complex, it becomes difficult to analyse using traditional data analysis methods

Transcriptional dynamics during cell wall removal and regeneration reveals key genes involved in cell wall development in rice

Efficient and cost-effective conversion of plant biomass to usable forms of energy requires a thorough understanding of cell wall biosynthesis, modification and degradation. To elucidate these processes, we assessed the expression dynamics during enzymatic removal and regeneration of rice cell walls in suspension cells over time. In total, 928 genes exhibited significant up-regulation during cell wall removal, whereas, 79 genes were up-regulated during cell wall regeneration. Both gene sets are enriched for kinases, transcription factors and genes predicted to be involved in cell wall-related functions. Integration of the gene expression datasets with a catalog of known and/or predicted biochemical pathways from rice, revealed metabolic and hormonal pathways involved in cell wall degradation and regeneration. Rice lines carrying Tos17 mutations in genes up-regulated during cell wall removal exhibit dwarf phenotypes. Many of the genes up-regulated during cell wall development are also up-regulated in response to infection and environmental perturbations indicating a coordinated response to diverse types of stress

Diving water dreaming

That Aboriginal works of art are title deeds is well established. The Olympic arts survey of Papunya Tula paintings is an oppurtunity to direct attention from land to water