Measuring the competitiveness of the UK construction industry. Volume 1

EBS’s estimates of relative productivity in construction are as follows: 1. The US is about 25-35% ahead of the UK and Germany in terms of average labour productivity (ALP). 2. The UK is ahead of Germany in ALP on an output per worker basis, but not on an output per hour worked basis (this is due to Germans working fewer hours per week on average). These results are largely unchanged under various sensitivity tests, for example, using GDP PPP exchange rates instead of construction PPP exchange rates to convert national currencies to a common currency. The EBS estimate for the US-UK comparison is supported by UCL/DL (who estimate a US lead in ALP of 42% in 1999). UCL/DL’s estimates for the Germany-UK comparison are also similar to those of EBS, since they show Germany level with the UK in ALP on an output per worker basis, but ahead on an output per hour worked basis. Productivity comparisons of the UK with France are subject to difficulties. Depending on the exchange rates they use for conversion purposes, EBS find that France is well ahead of Britain on some measures of ALP (and indeed is close to the US) but on other measures French ALP is much the same as in Britain. UCL/DL argue strongly for using an exchange rate, which shows French construction ALP to be well ahead of the UK. They state that: ‘The French construction PPPs have been controversial for some time….[and tend to lead to] underestimates of French construction output’. There are difficulties in conducting this type of analysis that are hard to surmount, for example it is unlikely that labour inputs are well measured in any country because of illegal immigration, ‘ the hidden economy’, etc. However, unless there is reason to think that the proportion of uncounted construction workers is significantly higher or lower in Britain as compared to, say, the United States, then it seems reasonable to accept that ALP in the US construction industry is some way ahead of the UK. In many ways cross-country comparisons of productivity levels across the whole construction industry are not comparing like with like since the composition of construction output differs greatly from country to country. It is therefore hard to construct reliable national rankings based on aggregated data for construction given the present state of the data

The Effects of Temperature, Diet, and Other Factors on Development, Survivorship, and Oviposition of Aethina tumida (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae)

Developmental rate and survivorship of small hive beetle, Aethina tumida Murray (Coleoptera: Nitidulidae), life stages were measured across different temperatures (21, 25, 28, 32 and 35 C) and diets, which included natural and artificial pollen, honey, and bee pupae. Temperature affected hatch success, time to hatching, and larval growth. Eggs hatched in 61 h at 21 C but in 22 h at 35 C. Larvae achieved peak weight in 8 d at 35 C but needed 17 d at 21 C. Diet had comparatively little effect on larval survivorship or maximum weight, although larvae fed only bee pupae had lower survivorship. Access to soil influenced pupation success. Duration of the life stage spent in the soil, during which pupation occurs, was also affected by temperature: adults emerged after 32.7 d at 21C but after only 14.8 d at 35 C, albeit with high mortality. Minimum temperature for development was estimated at 13.5 C for eggs, and 10.0 C for larvae and pupae. Temperature influenced adult longevity and oviposition: on a honey and pollen diet average adult lifespan was 92.8 d at 24 C but only 11.6 d at 35 C. Beetles lived longer at 28 C or lower but produced the most eggs per female, regardless of diet, at 32 C. Beetle density influenced fecundity: beetles kept at three pairs per vial laid 6.7 times more eggs per female than those kept as single pairs. Overall, beetles fared best at 28-32 C with mortality of all stages highest at 35 C

The Rise Times of High and Low Redshift Type Ia Supernovae are Consistent

We present a self-consistent comparison of the rise times for low- and high-redshift Type Ia supernovae. Following previous studies, the early light curve is modeled using a t-squared law, which is then mated with a modified Leibundgut template light curve. The best-fit t-squared law is determined for ensemble samples of low- and high-redshift supernovae by fitting simultaneously for all light curve parameters for all supernovae in each sample. Our method fully accounts for the non-negligible covariance amongst the light curve fitting parameters, which previous analyses have neglected. Contrary to Riess et al. (1999), we find fair to good agreement between the rise times of the low- and high-redshift Type Ia supernovae. The uncertainty in the rise time of the high-redshift Type Ia supernovae is presently quite large (roughly +/- 1.2 days statistical), making any search for evidence of evolution based on a comparison of rise times premature. Furthermore, systematic effects on rise time determinations from the high-redshift observations, due to the form of the late-time light curve and the manner in which the light curves of these supernovae were sampled, can bias the high-redshift rise time determinations by up to +3.6/-1.9 days under extreme situations. The peak brightnesses - used for cosmology - do not suffer any significant bias, nor any significant increase in uncertainty.Comment: 18 pages, 4 figures, Accepted for publication in the Astronomical Journal. Also available at http://www.lbl.gov/~nugent/papers.html Typos were corrected and a few sentences were added for improved clarit

Percutaneous Absorption Of Dexamethasone Estimated By A Plasma Radioimmunoassay

Percutaneous absorption of dexamethasone and its effect on the pituitary adrenal axis were measured in vivo in normal human subjects after application to skin. Specific plasma dexamethasone and cortisol radioimmunoassays were used. Following application of 1% dexamethasone on 500cm2 of normal skin, the plasma dexamethasone concentration was maximal at 2 hr, and the average absorption was 0.25% over 8hr; significant cortisol suppression occurred at 2, 4, and 8hr. This technique: (1) provides an accurate assessment of the in vivo absorption of dexamethasone applied to human skin, (2) avoids exposure of the subjects to radioactive steroids, (3) permits estimation of the quantity of unmetabolized steroids absorbed, and (4) serves as a possible model for the development of similar assays for other topical steroids

Effects of bee density and sublethal imidacloprid exposure on cluster temperatures of caged honey bees

International audienceAbstractSurvivorship, syrup consumption, and cluster temperatures of honey bees were kept in hoarding cages with different numbers of bees. Cages with either 50, 100, 150, or 200 bees each were monitored over 4–6 weeks in incubators with 12h/12h 30° C/15° C temperature cycles to induce clustering. Survivorship and syrup consumption rates per bee were not different among the bee density groups, but cluster temperatures were. Cluster temperatures ranged from 0.45°C above incubator temperature in the 50 bee cages to 4.05° C in the 200 bee cages over the 1st 7 days, with each additional bee adding on average 0.02° C to cluster temperature. In another set of experiments, cages were established with about 200 bees each, and imidacloprid added to the syrup at 0, 5, 20, and 100 ppb. Imidacloprid in the syrup did not affect bee survivorship but it did reduce syrup consumption per bee, with bees fed 100 ppb imidacloprid syrup consuming on average 631 mg per bee over 28 days while average consumption among the other groups ranged from 853 to 914 mg. Cluster temperature was affected by imidacloprid treatment: bees fed 5 ppb imidacloprid syrup had higher cluster temperatures over the 1st 10 days, 4.17° C above incubator temperature, than either bees fed 100 ppb syrup or control (2.35 and 3.19° C, respectively)

Star formation in the merging Galaxy NGC3256

The central 5 kpc of the ultra-luminous merging galaxy NGC 3256 was mapped at J, H, K, L, and 10 micrometer, and a 2 micrometer spectra of the nuclear region was obtained. This data was used to identify and characterize the super starburst which has apparently been triggered and fuelled by the merger of two gas rich galaxies. It is also shown that the old stellar population has relaxed into a single spheroidal system, and that a supernova driven wind might eventually drive any remaining gas from the system to leave a relic which will be indistinguishable from an elliptical galaxy

56Ni dredge-up in the type IIp Supernova 1995V

We present contemporary infrared and optical spectra of the plateau type II SN 1995V in NGC 1087 covering four epochs, approximately 22 to 84 days after shock breakout. The data show, for the first time, the infrared spectroscopic evolution during the plateau phase of a typical type II event. In the optical region P Cygni lines of the Balmer series and of metals lines were identified. The infrared (IR) spectra were largely dominated by the continuum, but P Cygni Paschen lines and Brackett gamma lines were also clearly seen. The other prominent IR features are confined to wavelengths blueward of 11000 \AA and include Sr II 10327, Fe II 10547, C I 10695 and He I 10830 \AA. We demonstrate the presence of He I 10830 \AA on days 69 and 85. The presence of this line at such late times implies re-ionisation. A likely re-ionising mechanism is gamma-ray deposition following the radioactive decay of 56Ni. We examine this mechanism by constructing a spectral model for the He I 10830 \AA line based on explosion model s15s7b2f of Weaver & Woosley (1993). We find that this does not generate the observed line owing to the confinement of the 56Ni to the central zones of the ejecta. In order to reproduce the He I line, it was necessary to introduce additional upward mixing of the 56Ni, with 10^{-5} of the total nickel mass reaching above the helium photosphere. In addition, we argue that the He I line-formation region is likely to have been in the form of pure helium clumps in the hydrogen envelope.Comment: Accepted for publication in MNRAS, 32 pages including 11 figures (uses psfig.sty - included

A Spitzer Space Telescope study of SN 2002hh: an infrared echo from a Type IIP supernova

We present late-time (590-994 d) mid-IR photometry of the normal, but highly-reddened Type IIP supernova SN 2002hh. Bright, cool, slowly-fading emission is detected from the direction of the supernova. Most of this flux appears not to be driven by the supernova event but instead probably originates in a cool, obscured star-formation region or molecular cloud along the line-of-sight. We also show, however, that the declining component of the flux is consistent with an SN-powered IR echo from a dusty progenitor CSM. Mid-IR emission could also be coming from newly-condensed dust and/or an ejecta/CSM impact but their contributions are likely to be small. For the case of a CSM-IR echo, we infer a dust mass of as little as 0.036 M(solar) with a corresponding CSM mass of 3.6(0.01/r(dg))M(solar) where r(dg) is the dust-to-gas mass ratio. Such a CSM would have resulted from episodic mass loss whose rate declined significantly about 28,000 years ago. Alternatively, an IR echo from a surrounding, dense, dusty molecular cloud might also have been responsible for the fading component. Either way, this is the first time that an IR echo has been clearly identified in a Type IIP supernova. We find no evidence for or against the proposal that Type IIP supernovae produce large amounts of dust via grain condensation in the ejecta. However, within the CSM-IR echo scenario, the mass of dust derived implies that the progenitors of the most common of core-collapse supernovae may make an important contribution to the universal dust content.Comment: 41 pages, 11 figures, 4 tables, accepted for publication in Astrophysical Journal (References corrected