Total Factor Productivity Estimation: A Practical Review

This paper aims to provide empirical researchers with an overview of the methodological issues that arise when estimating total factor productivity at the establishment level, as well as of the existing techniques designed to overcome them. Apart from the well-known simultaneity and selection bias; attention is given to methodological issues that have emerged more recently and that are related to the use of deflated values of inputs and outputs (as opposed to quantities) in estimating productivity at the firm level, as well as to the endogeneity of product choice. Using data on single-product firms active in the Belgian food and beverages sector, I illustrate the biases introduced in traditional TFP estimates and discuss the perfirmance of a number of alternative estimators that have been proposed in the literature

Congenital Partial Bronchial Atresia of Right Section Middle Lobe- A Rare Cause of Dyspnoea

Congenital Bronchial Atresia (CBA) is a rare congenital condition with features of focal obliteration of a proximal segment of a bronchus. Left upper lobe is the most commonly involved lobe. Authors hereby, present a case report of a 17-year-old male who presented with exertional dyspnoea, cough and chest pain. High Resolution Computed Tomography (HRCT) chest showed hyperventilated lung parenchyma with paucity of bronchovascular pattern in right middle lobe. Bronchoscopy revealed right middle lobe bronchial segmental atresia with rudimentary bronchus above that segment. The patient was treated with bronchodilators, steroids and improved symptomatically and advised surgical management. Patient was not willing for the same and hence managed conservatively. Though definite management for CBA is done surgically, medical management can be preferred for patients with mild symptoms and without recurrent infections.</jats:p

Comparison of the effects of acarbose and metformin use on ovulation rates in clomiphene citrate-resistant polycystic ovary syndrome

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of metformin and acarbose on insulin resistance, hormone profiles and ovulation rates in patients with clomiphene citrate-resistant polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). METHODS: Thirty clomiphene citrate-resistant patients were selected randomly and divided into two groups. Group I was treated with 100mg/day clomiphene citrate and 300mg/day acarbose 100mg/day orally. for 3 months. Group II was treated with clomiphene citrate 100mg/day and metformin 1700mg/day orally, for 3 months. Serum fasting insulin and glucose, FSH, LH, estradiol.. progesterone. prolactin and total testosterone levels plus body mass index (BMI) were measured before and after treatment. Follicle growth was followed by transvaginal ultrasonography. RESULTS: LH:FSH ratio and total testosterone concentrations decreased (P < 0.05) and ovulation rates increased in both groups. Reduction in weight and BMI was only significant in the acarbose group. CONCLUSIONS: Both treatment modalities were effective in the treatment of insulin resistance and improving ovulation rates. Increase in the number of eumenorrhoeic and norm oinsulinaernic cases and decrease in the number of insulin-resistant cases were significant in both groups (P < 0.05). Ovulation rate was greater in the metformin group in the second month of therapy (P < 0.05). Acarbose was found to be a safe and effective agent that could be used in cases with clomiphene-resistant PCOS

MRI study of corpus callosum in children and adolescents with bipolar disorder

This structural magnetic resonance imaging study examined the length, areas, and circularity of the corpus callosum (CC) in 16 children and adolescents with bipolar disorder and 21 healthy controls. Bipolar disorder patients had lower circularity of the CC splenium compared with healthy controls. No significant differences in CC length or area were observed, suggesting that reported CC abnormalities appear late in the course of bipolar disorder