Firm Dynamics, Job Turnover, and Wage Distributions in an Open Economy

This paper explores the combined effects of reductions in trade frictions, tariffs, and firing costs on firm dynamics, job turnover, and wage distributions. It uses establishment-level data from Colombia to estimate an open economy dynamic model that links trade to job flows in a new way. The fitted model captures key features of Colombian firm dynamics and labor market outcomes, as well changes in these features during the past 25 years. Counterfactual experiments imply that integration with global product markets has increased both average income and job turnover in Colombia. In contrast, the experiments find little role for this country's labor market reforms in driving these variables. The results speak more generally to the effects of globalization on labor markets in Latin America and elsewhere

Shipping inside the Box: Containerization and Trade

We quantify the effect of container technology on transport costs and trade by estimating the modal choice between containerization and breakbulk shipping using micro-level trade data. The model is motivated by novel facts that relate container usage to shipment, destination and firm characteristics. We find container transport to have a higher first-mile cost and a lower distance elasticity, making it cost effective in longer distances. At the median distance across all country pairs, the box decreases variable shipping costs between 16 to 22 percent. The box explains a significant amount of the global trade increase since its inception: a quantitative exercise suggests that Turkish and U.S. maritime exports would have been about two-thirds of what they are today in the absence of containers

What Drives Home Market Advantage?

In the automobile industry, as in many tradable goods markets, firms earn their highest market share within their domestic market. This home market advantage persists despite substantial integration of international markets during the past several decades. The goal of this paper is to quantify the supply- and demand-driven sources of the home market advantage and to understand their implications for international trade and investment. Building on the random coefficients demand model developed by Berry, Levinsohn, and Pakes (1995), we estimate demand and supply in the automobile industry for nine countries across three continents, allowing for unobserved taste and cost variation at the car model and market levels. While trade and foreign production costs as well as taste heterogeneity matter for market outcomes, we find that preference for domestic brands is the single most important driver of home market advantage - even after controlling for brand histories and dealer networks

Energy Modelling and Calibration of Building Simulations: A Case Study of a Domestic Building with Natural Ventilation

[EN] In this paper, the building energy performance modelling tools TRNSYS (TRaNsient SYstem Simulation program) and TRNFlow (TRaNsient Flow) have been used to obtain the energy demand of a domestic building that includes the air infiltration rate and the effect of natural ventilation by using window operation data. An initial model has been fitted to monitoring data from the case study, building over a period when there were no heat gains in the building in order to obtain the building infiltration air change rate. After this calibration, a constant air-change rate model was established alongside two further models developed in the calibration process. Air change rate has been explored in order to determine air infiltrations caused by natural ventilation due to windows being opened. These results were compared to estimates gained through a previously published method and were found to be in good agreement. The main conclusion from the work was that the modelling ventilation rate in naturally ventilated residential buildings using TRNSYS and TRNSFlow can improve the simulation-based energy assessment.Aparicio-Fernández, C.; Vivancos, J.; Cosar-Jorda, P.; Buswell, RA. (2019). Energy Modelling and Calibration of Building Simulations: A Case Study of a Domestic Building with Natural Ventilation. Energies. 12(17):1-13. https://doi.org/10.3390/en12173360S1131217Grygierek, K., & Ferdyn-Grygierek, J. (2018). Multi-Objective Optimization of the Envelope of Building with Natural Ventilation. Energies, 11(6), 1383. doi:10.3390/en11061383Moran, P., Goggins, J., & Hajdukiewicz, M. (2017). Super-insulate or use renewable technology? Life cycle cost, energy and global warming potential analysis of nearly zero energy buildings (NZEB) in a temperate oceanic climate. Energy and Buildings, 139, 590-607. doi:10.1016/j.enbuild.2017.01.029Allouhi, A., El Fouih, Y., Kousksou, T., Jamil, A., Zeraouli, Y., & Mourad, Y. (2015). Energy consumption and efficiency in buildings: current status and future trends. Journal of Cleaner Production, 109, 118-130. doi:10.1016/j.jclepro.2015.05.139Cosar-Jorda, P., Buswell, R. A., & Mitchell, V. A. (2018). Determining of the role of ventilation in residential energy demand reduction using a heat-balance approach. Building and Environment, 144, 508-518. doi:10.1016/j.buildenv.2018.08.053Feijó-Muñoz, J., Poza-Casado, I., González-Lezcano, R. A., Pardal, C., Echarri, V., Assiego De Larriva, R., … Meiss, A. (2018). Methodology for the Study of the Envelope Airtightness of Residential Buildings in Spain: A Case Study. Energies, 11(4), 704. doi:10.3390/en11040704Domínguez-Amarillo, S., Fernández-Agüera, J., Campano, M. Á., & Acosta, I. (2019). Effect of Airtightness on Thermal Loads in Legacy Low-Income Housing. Energies, 12(9), 1677. doi:10.3390/en12091677Cheng, P. L., & Li, X. (2018). Air infiltration rates in the bedrooms of 202 residences and estimated parametric infiltration rate distribution in Guangzhou, China. Energy and Buildings, 164, 219-225. doi:10.1016/j.enbuild.2017.12.062Hou, J., Zhang, Y., Sun, Y., Wang, P., Zhang, Q., Kong, X., & Sundell, J. (2018). Air change rates at night in northeast Chinese homes. Building and Environment, 132, 273-281. doi:10.1016/j.buildenv.2018.01.030Zhai, Z. (John), Mankibi, M. E., & Zoubir, A. (2015). Review of Natural Ventilation Models. Energy Procedia, 78, 2700-2705. doi:10.1016/j.egypro.2015.11.355Han, G., Srebric, J., & Enache-Pommer, E. (2015). Different modeling strategies of infiltration rates for an office building to improve accuracy of building energy simulations. Energy and Buildings, 86, 288-295. doi:10.1016/j.enbuild.2014.10.028Laverge, J., & Janssens, A. (2013). Optimization of design flow rates and component sizing for residential ventilation. Building and Environment, 65, 81-89. doi:10.1016/j.buildenv.2013.03.019Bhandari, M., Hun, D., Shrestha, S., Pallin, S., & Lapsa, M. (2018). A Simplified Methodology to Estimate Energy Savings in Commercial Buildings from Improvements in Airtightness. Energies, 11(12), 3322. doi:10.3390/en11123322Pisello, A. L., Castaldo, V. L., Taylor, J. E., & Cotana, F. (2016). The impact of natural ventilation on building energy requirement at inter-building scale. Energy and Buildings, 127, 870-883. doi:10.1016/j.enbuild.2016.06.023Tronchin, L., Fabbri, K., & Bertolli, C. (2018). Controlled Mechanical Ventilation in Buildings: A Comparison between Energy Use and Primary Energy among Twenty Different Devices. Energies, 11(8), 2123. doi:10.3390/en11082123Ashdown, M. M. A., Crawley, J., Biddulph, P., Wingfield, J., Lowe, R., & Elwell, C. A. (2019). Characterising the airtightness of dwellings. International Journal of Building Pathology and Adaptation, 38(1), 89-106. doi:10.1108/ijbpa-02-2019-0024Crawley, J., Wingfield, J., & Elwell, C. (2018). The relationship between airtightness and ventilation in new UK dwellings. Building Services Engineering Research and Technology, 40(3), 274-289. doi:10.1177/0143624418822199Jones, B., Das, P., Chalabi, Z., Davies, M., Hamilton, I., Lowe, R., … Taylor, J. (2015). Assessing uncertainty in housing stock infiltration rates and associated heat loss: English and UK case studies. Building and Environment, 92, 644-656. doi:10.1016/j.buildenv.2015.05.033Schulze, T., & Eicker, U. (2013). Controlled natural ventilation for energy efficient buildings. Energy and Buildings, 56, 221-232. doi:10.1016/j.enbuild.2012.07.044Stavridou, A. D., & Prinos, P. E. (2017). Unsteady CFD Simulation in a Naturally Ventilated Room with a Localized Heat Source. Procedia Environmental Sciences, 38, 322-330. doi:10.1016/j.proenv.2017.03.087LEEDR Project Home Energy Datasethttps://repository.lboro.ac.uk/articles/LEEDR_project_home_energy_dataset/6176450Met Office Integrated Data Archive System (MIDAS) Land and Marine Surface Stations Data (1853-current)http://catalogue.ceda.ac.uk/uuid/220a65615218d5c9cc9e4785a3234bd0Buswell, R., Webb, L., Mitchell, V., & Leder Mackley, K. (2016). Multidisciplinary research: should effort be the measure of success? Building Research & Information, 45(5), 539-555. doi:10.1080/09613218.2016.1194601National Grid UKhttps://www.nationalgrid.com/uk/gas/market-operations-and-data/calorific-value-cvHome Heating Guide: Boiler Efficiency Tableshttps://www.homeheatingguide.co.uk/efficiency-tablesRuiz, G., & Bandera, C. (2017). Validation of Calibrated Energy Models: Common Errors. Energies, 10(10), 1587. doi:10.3390/en10101587Hong, T., Piette, M. A., Chen, Y., Lee, S. H., Taylor-Lange, S. C., Zhang, R., … Price, P. (2015). Commercial Building Energy Saver: An energy retrofit analysis toolkit. Applied Energy, 159, 298-309. doi:10.1016/j.apenergy.2015.09.002Nasir, Z. A., & Colbeck, I. (2013). Particulate pollution in different housing types in a UK suburban location. Science of The Total Environment, 445-446, 165-176. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2012.12.042Dimitroulopoulou, C. (2012). Ventilation in European dwellings: A review. Building and Environment, 47, 109-125. doi:10.1016/j.buildenv.2011.07.01

Vertebroplasty RESPONSE

[Anstract Not Available

Basilar artery angulation and vertigo due to the hemodynamic effect of dominant vertebral artery

Vertebral arteries form the basilar artery at the pontobulbar junction. The vertebral artery may have dominancy in one of them. The branches of basilar arteries supply blood for the vestibular nuclei and its connections. Vertigo is seen generally in the upper middle aged patients. Vertigo can be observed in dolichoectasia of basilar artery such as angulation and elongation, because of the diminished blood supply and changed hemodynamic factors of vestibular nuclei and its connections. We hypothesized that angulation or elongation of basilar artery can be estimated according to the unilateral vertebral artery dominant hypertensive patients. The basilar artery can angulate from the dominant side of vertebral artery to the recessive side. These angulation and elongation can effect the hemodynamic factors in absence of growing collateral arteries. So, the vertigo attacks may occur in these patients. (C) 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

Next-Generation Sequencing to Detect Deletion of RB1 and ERBB4 Genes in Chromophobe Renal Cell Carcinoma: A Potential Role in Distinguishing Chromophobe Renal Cell Carcinoma from Renal Oncocytoma

Overlapping morphologic, immunohistochemical, and ultrastructural features make it difficult to diagnose chromophobe renal cell carcinoma (ChRCC) and renal oncocytoma (RO). Because ChRCC is a malignant tumor, whereas RO is a tumor with benign behavior, it is important to distinguish these two entities. We aimed to identify genetic markers that distinguish ChRCC from RO by using next-generation sequencing (NGS). NGS for hotspot mutations or gene copy number changes was performed on 12 renal neoplasms, including seven ChRCC and five RO cases. Matched normal tissues from the same patients were used to exclude germline variants. Rare hotspot mutations were found in cancer-critical genes (TP53 and PIK3CA) in ChRCC but not RO. The NGS gene copy number analysis revealed multiple abnormalities. The two most common deletions were tumor-suppressor genes RB1 and ERBB4 in ChRCC but not RO. Fluorescence in situ hybridization was performed on 65 cases (ChRCC, n = 33; RO, n = 32) to verify hemizygous deletion of RB1 (17/33, 52%) or ERBB4 (11/33, 33%) in ChRCC, but not in RO (0/32, 0%). In total, ChRCCs (23/33, 70%) carry either a hemizygous deletion of RB1 or ERBB4. The combined use of RB1 and ERBB4 fluorescence in situ hybridization to detect deletion of these genes may offer a highly sensitive and specific assay to distinguish ChRCC from RO

The effect of maternal polycystic ovary morphology on first-trimester maternal serum biochemical markers of aneuploidy and fetal nuchal translucency thickness

Objective: To evaluate the effect of maternal polycystic ovary (PCO) morphology on maternal serum free beta-human chorionic gonadotropin (beta-hCG), pregnancy associated plasma protein A (PAPP-A), and nuchal translucency (NT) thickness in the first-trimester. Material and Methods: A total of 92 pregnant women in the first-trimester were included in the study. Of them, 57 had PCO morphology, and 35 women constituted the control group, with apparently normal ovaries. Maternal serum free beta-hCG, PAPP-A, and NT thickness were measured and compared in all patients. Results: The multiples of median (MoM) levels of serum free beta-hCG were significantly higher in the PCO morphology group compared to the normal ovary group (p = 0.024). However, the MoM levels of PAPP-A were similar in both groups (p = 0.947). No difference was found between the groups in terms of fasting glucose levels and NT measurements (p = 0.976 and 0.565, respectively). Conclusion: In pregnancies with maternal PCO morphology, the presence of higher maternal serum free beta-hCG levels may require correction in the calculation of risks related to first-trimester screening for chromosomal abnormalities. Larger studies are needed to confirm our preliminary data

A new transodontoid fixation technique for delayed type II odontoid fracture: technical note

Background: A different transodontoid screw fixation technique Was studied in delayed type II odontoid fractures. This study presents observations oil a different transodontoid fixation technique to remove and decrease the amount of sclerotic layers to accelerate the Fusion process after the operation. Methods: Ten cases of chromic type II odontoid fractures, were operated oil via transodontoid screw fixation between 2000 and 2007 which were admitted 6 weeks or later after the trauma. Four of these 10 delayed patients were operated oil using a new anterior transodontoid screw fixation technique, whereas the other 6 delayed patients were operated On using, classical anterior transodontoid screw fixation. Results: Four delayed cases with type It odontoid fracture operated oil via this new technique had good results throughout the minimum 38 months' follow-up period. We did not observe nonunion, infection, and/or other complications such as vascular or brain-stern injury. Conclusion: Transodontoid screw fixation should be considered as a preferable treatment modality. This surgical intervention may be all alternative to conservative treatment even for cases with delayed type II odontoid fractures. (C) 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved