Observational issues in radiometric and interferometric detection and analysis of the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effects

This review discusses the techniques used in single-dish and interferometric radiometric observations of the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich effects, the pitfalls that arise, the systematic and other sources of error in the data, and the uncertainties in the interpretation of the results.Comment: 46 pages, 23 figures. To appear in Background Microwave Radiation and Intracluster Cosmology, Proceedings of the International School of Physics "Enrico Fermi", Eds. Melchiorri, F. & Rephaeli, Y., 200

Effects of Mosquito Control Chemicals on Aquatic Fauna

No mosquito abatement districts have ever been organized in Arkansas. Mosquito control efforts have been largely adulticiding operations by either aerial application or ground thermal fogging machines. Practically no chemical applications have been directed at the larval stage in residual water in ditches and depressions from which adult populations arise. Some larviciding with ethyl parathion has been done in ricefields. Although the treatment is very effective in mosquito reduction, voluntary treatment has not been completely successful. Because relatively little insecticide has been used as a larvicide in Arkansas, it was possible to evaluate the effect of recommended larvicides on non-target organisms in the aquatic environment. A developing mosquito control demonstration program in the rice-producing area provided the study site

What is a pilot or feasibility study? A review of current practice and editorial policy

Background: In 2004, a review of pilot studies published in seven major medical journals during 2000-01 recommended that the statistical analysis of such studies should be either mainly descriptive or focus on sample size estimation, while results from hypothesis testing must be interpreted with caution. We revisited these journals to see whether the subsequent recommendations have changed the practice of reporting pilot studies. We also conducted a survey to identify the methodological components in registered research studies which are described as 'pilot' or 'feasibility' studies. We extended this survey to grant-awarding bodies and editors of medical journals to discover their policies regarding the function and reporting of pilot studies. Methods: Papers from 2007-08 in seven medical journals were screened to retrieve published pilot studies. Reports of registered and completed studies on the UK Clinical Research Network (UKCRN) Portfolio database were retrieved and scrutinized. Guidance on the conduct and reporting of pilot studies was retrieved from the websites of three grant giving bodies and seven journal editors were canvassed. Results: 54 pilot or feasibility studies published in 2007-8 were found, of which 26 (48%) were pilot studies of interventions and the remainder feasibility studies. The majority incorporated hypothesis-testing (81%), a control arm (69%) and a randomization procedure (62%). Most (81%) pointed towards the need for further research. Only 8 out of 90 pilot studies identified by the earlier review led to subsequent main studies. Twelve studies which were interventional pilot/feasibility studies and which included testing of some component of the research process were identified through the UKCRN Portfolio database. There was no clear distinction in use of the terms 'pilot' and 'feasibility'. Five journal editors replied to our entreaty. In general they were loathe to publish studies described as 'pilot'. Conclusion: Pilot studies are still poorly reported, with inappropriate emphasis on hypothesis-testing. Authors should be aware of the different requirements of pilot studies, feasibility studies and main studies and report them appropriately. Authors should be explicit as to the purpose of a pilot study. The definitions of feasibility and pilot studies vary and we make proposals here to clarify terminology

Long-run Patterns of Labour Market Polarisation: Evidence from German Micro Data

The past four decades have witnessed dramatic changes in the structure of employment. In particular, the rapid increase in computational power has led to large-scale reductions in employment in jobs that can be described as intensive in routine tasks. These jobs have been shown to be concentrated in middle skill occupations. A large literature on labour market polarisation characterises and measures these processes at an aggregate level. How- ever to date there is little information regarding the individual worker adjustment processes related to routine- biased technological change. Using an administrative panel data set for Germany, we follow workers over an ex- tended period of time and provide evidence of both the short-term adjustment process and medium-run effects of routine task intensive job loss at an individual level. We initially demonstrate a marked, and steady, shift in em- ployment away from routine, middle-skill, occupations. In subsequent analysis, we demonstrate how exposure to jobs with higher routine task content is associated with a reduced likelihood of being in employment in both the short term (after one year) and medium term (five years). This employment penalty to routineness of work has increased over the past four decades. More generally, we demonstrate that routine task work is associated with reduced job stability and more likelihood of experiencing periods of unemployment. However, these negative ef- fects of routine work appear to be concentrated in increased employment to employment, and employment to unemployment transitions rather than longer periods of unemployment

Electroweak measurements from hadron machines

The hadron collider experiments continue to make significant contributions to electroweak physics which complement those from e /sup +/e/sup -/ machines. The higher cross sections and square root s allow some unique measurements to be made e.g the mass of the top quark. The precision of many measurements is comparable to, if not better than, that achieved at e/sup +/e/sup -/ machines. All results - top mass, W mass, W width, branching fractions, sin/sup 2/ theta /sub W/, cross sections etc. are in excellent agreement with the Standard Model in a range of processes: qq, eq, nu q over a wide span in Q/sup 2/. The future is bright and significant new results are expected from the Tevatron and HERA experiments before the LHC. (21 refs)