The impact of infrastructure investment on economic growth in the United Kingdom

Infrastructure investment has long been held as an accelerator or a driver of the economy. Internationally, the UK ranks poorly with the performance of infrastructure and ranks in the lower percentile for both infrastructure investment and GDP growth rate amongst comparative nations. Faced with the uncertainty of Brexit and the likely negative economic impact this will bring, infrastructure investment may be used to strengthen the UK economy. This study aims to examine how infrastructure funding impacts economic growth and how best the UK can maximize this potential by building on existing work.The research method is based on interviews carried out with respondents involved in infrastructure operating across various sectors. The findings show that investment in infrastructure is vital in the UK as it stimulates economic growth through employment creation due to factor productivity. However, it is critical for investment to be directed to regional opportunity areas with the potential to unlock economic growth and maximize returns whilst stimulating further growth to benefit other regions. There is also a need for policy consistency and to review UK infrastructure policy to streamline the process and to reduce cost and time overrun, with Brexit likely to impact negatively on infrastructure investment.

THE USE OF Eucalyptus camaldulensis AND Eucalyptus urophylla WOOD IN THE PRODUCTION OF EDGE GLUED PANELS

This study aimed to evaluate the shear strength of bonded wood joints of Eucalyptus camaldulensis and Eucalyptus urophylla with vinyl polyacetate (PVA) and isocianate polymeric emulsion (EPI) adhesives with the amount of glue of 150 and 180 g/m². The specimens were submitted to shear tests in dry and wet conditions, based on the procedure described in standard EN 13354 (2008). The results of the 5th lower percentile were compared with the requirements of EN 13353 (2008). Among the studied species, Eucalyptus camaldulensis showed better glue line shear strength when compared to Eucalyptus urophylla. However, both species are potentially viable for the edge glued panel (EGP) production, since they meet the minimum requirement of 2.5 MPa, referring to the 5th lower percentile, as established by EN 13353-2008 standard. Based on the results, it is recommended the use of EPI adhesive with the amount of glue of 150 g/m² for the bonding of the wood of these species, aiming at the production of EGP.

Sampling for Collection of Central Line–Day Denominators in Surveillance of Healthcare-Associated Bloodstream Infections

Objective.To determine the feasibility of estimating the number of central line-days at a hospital from a sample of months or individual days in a year, for surveillance of healthcare-associated bloodstream infections.Design.We used data reported to the National Nosocomial Infections Surveillance system in the adult and pediatric intensive care unit component for 1995-2003 and data from a sample of hospitals' daily counts of device use for 12 consecutive months. We calculated the percentile error as the central line-associated bloodstream infection percentile based on rates per line-days minus the percentile based on rates per estimated line-days.Setting and Participants.A total of 247 hospitals were used for sampling whole months and 12 hospitals were used for sampling individual days.Results.For a 1-month sample of central line–days data, the median percentile error was 3.3 (75th percentile, 7.9; 90th percentile, 15.4). The percentile error decreased with an increase in the number of months sampled. For a 3-month sample, the median percentile error was 1.4 (75th percentile, 4.3; 95th percentile, 8.3). Sampling individual days throughout the year yielded lower percentile errors than sampling an equivalent fraction of whole months. With 1 weekday sampled per week, the median percentile error ranged from 0.65 to 1.40, and the 90th percentile ranged from 2.8 to 5.0. Thus, for 90% of units, collecting data on line-days once a week provides an estimate within ± 5 percentile points of the true line-day rate.Conclusion.Sample-based estimates of central line-days can yield results that are acceptable for surveillance of healthcare-associated bloodstream infections.