Design strategies in facades for the reduction of housing energy consumption

This article analyzes the energy-saving potential of various facade design strategies from a life cycle perspective, including the energy needed in the use stage and the embodied energy of materials. The results provide reference data on the behaviour of these systems in Spain and make it possible to identify the best strategies for reducing energy consumption in a wide variety of potential situations that may arise in both new construction and in the rehabilitation of existing facades. The impact categories studied are fossil fuel depletion and climate change, and design strategies are linked to climate data, orientation, air change rate, facade materials and wall composition. Exchanges between the interior and exterior environments take place through the building envelope, some of whose key design parameters include lighting, ventilation and heat flux. Improving this envelope can greatly reduce environmental impact, ensuring indoor environmental quality. This analysis confirms the need to consider the interactions among the parameters studied, as it shows that there are several design solutions with similar impacts, which can be adapted to project requirements. In both new construction and rehabilitation, some of these parameters may be determined by other design decisions not necessarily aimed at reducing environmental impact, so it can be very useful to be aware of a variety of design alternatives that can be implemented in specific projects

Security and Price Arbitrage

We examine the effect of international price arbitrage on the effectiveness of unilateral export controls. The restriction on the quality of exports of security sensitive products limits the outside option of domestic customers: if the product available on the international market is of low quality the firm can charge a high price to domestic customers for its latest technology. This effect leads the government to set looser export controls on security sensitive products

Antia-Buch flap reconstruction for helical rim defects. Case report

Introducción y objetivo: El colgajo Antia-Buch es un procedimiento en el que se utilizan dos colgajos condrocutáneos para reconstruir la región helicial del pabellón auricular. La laxitud del tejido se confiere, en gran medida, por el colgajo inferior y se requiere la resección condrocutánea de la escafa para el cierre. Esto da como resultado la pérdida de la altura de la oreja. Nuestro objetivo es realizar la exéresis de una lesión de mediano tamaño sin comprometer la morfología del pabellón auricular. Descripción: Realizamos una reconstrucción por colgajo de Antia-Buch en paciente con carcinoma espinocelular de hélix derecho. Resultados: Se extirpa carcinoma epidermode con márgenes libres obteniendo un buen resultado estético del pabellón auricular. Discusión: El colgajo de Antia-Buch es utilizado para defectos de mediano tamaño de la región helicial. Entre los distintos pasos quirúrgicos hay que destacar las descargas V-Y para evitar tensión en los tejidos y conservar el pericondrio del colgajo para la nutrición condral. Conclusiones: Técnica en la que se obtiene buen resultado estético, sin comprometer la radicalidad de la excisión.Introduction and objective: The Antia-Buch flap is a procedure in which two chondrocutaneous flaps are used to reconstruct the helicial region of the auricular pinna. The laxity of the tissue is conferred, to a large extent, by the inferior flap and the chondrocutaneous resection of the scafa is required for closure. This results in the loss of the height of the ear. Our objective is to perform the exeresis of a medium-sized lesion without compromising the morphology of the auricular pinna. Description: We performed an Antia-Buch flap reconstruction in a patient with spinocellular carcinoma of the right helix. Results: Squamous cell carcinoma with free margins was removed obtaining a good aesthetic result of the auricular pinna. Discussion: The Antia-Buch flap is used for medium size defects of the helicial region. Among the different surgical steps, highlight the V-Y discharges to avoid tension in the tissues and conserve the perichondrium of the flap for chondral nutrition. Conclusions: Technique in which good aesthetic results are obtained, without compromising the radicality of the excision

Arms export controls, subsidies and the WTO exemption

Owing to the WTO exemption that allows governments to subsidise arms exports, the arms trade is one of the few remaining areas of trade where we observe lump-sum and per unit transfers to exports. This paper examines the effect of arms controls, in the form of licensing delays, on the incentives to subsidise arms exports and conversely the effect of the WTO arms trade exemption on the incentives to break arms control agreements. Our main result is that arms controls and free trade commitments re-enforce each other. Licensing delays reduce the incentive to subsidise and free trade without subsidies reduces the benefits of a unilateral abrogation of arms controls. Transparency actually worsens the Nash inefficiencies at play in that incomplete information leads to lower subsidies and lower arms exports

Income redistribution and access to innovations in health care

We study the impact a redistribution of income has on the decisions of a health care innovator and the utility of consumers. We find that income redistribution from rich to poor increases the quality of the medical innovation, reduces its price and increases the utility of some of the consumers whose income is reduced through the redistribution

Review of helical rim reconstruction techniques

Introducción y objetivo: En este artículo se revisan los resultados de la reconstrucción de los defectos de la superficie del borde helicial después de la extirpación del cáncer de piel. Analizaremos los distintos métodos de reconstrucción y modalidades de tratamiento. Método: Revisión en las base de datos PubMed con estrategia de búsqueda: ((((((helical rim) OR helix)) AND defects) AND reconstruction) AND skin cancer. Se obtuvieron 46 artículos en idioma inglés o español de los que se seleccionaron 19 para el estudio cualitativo. Resultados: Más de la mitad de los pacientes se reconstruyeron mediante cierre directo en un primer tiempo; el resto precisaron de varios tiempos de reconstrucción. Discusión: Hay varios métodos para la reparación quirúrgica de los defectos del borde helicial. Los defectos pequeños del hélix generalmente se pueden cerrar tras resecciones en cuña. Para defectos de mediano tamaño, se pueden usar colgajos de avance condrocutáneos. Los defectos grandes, suelen necesitar un colgajo posterior pediculado o un colgajo fascial temporoparietal con injertos de piel y cartílago. Conclusiones: Esta pequeña revisión resume diversas las opciones de reconstrucción para los defectos que involucran el hélix, facilitando una rápida toma de decisiones para los cirujanos según la naturaleza del defecto.Introduction and objective: In this article we review the results of the reconstruction of the helical rim defects after the removal of the skin cancer. We Analyze the different methods of reconstruction and treatment modalities. Method: Narrative review in PubMed databases and search strategy: (((((((helical rim) OR helix)) AND defects) AND reconstruction) AND skin cancer. 46 articles were obtained in English or Spanish from which were selected 19 for the qualitative study. Results: More than half were reconstructed by simple single‐step techniques; others required several reconstruction times. Discussion: There are several methods of surgical repair of helical rim defects. Small defects can usually be closed primarily with various wedge resections. For medium-sized defects, chondrocutaneous advancement flaps. Large defects typically need bipediculated tubing flaps or a temporoparietal fascial flap with skin and cartilage grafts. Conclusions: This mini review summarizes various reconstruction options for defects involving helical rim defects, facilitating rapid decision for surgeons according to the nature of the defect

Weak IPR and imitation in the south and international exhaustion of patent rights in the north for innovated drugs: A policy game

We consider a policy game between a high-income country hosting a drug innovator and a low-income country hosting a drug imitator. The low-income country chooses whether to enforce an International Patent Regime (strict IPR) or not (weak IPR) and the high-income country chooses whether to allow parallel imports (PI) of on-patent drugs or market based discrimination (MBD). We show that, for a moderately high imitation cost, both (Strict IPR, Parallel Imports) and (Weak IPR, MBD) emerge as the Subgame Perfect Nash Equilibrium (SPNE) policy choices. For relatively smaller imitation costs, (Weak IPR, MBD) is the unique SPNE policy choice. The welfare properties reveal that although innovation may be higher at the (Strict IPR, PI), the market coverage and national welfare of the low-income country, and the total welfare are all lower. This opens up the efficiency issue of implementing TRIPS and at the same time allowing international exhaustion of patent rights

Strategic procurement, openness and market structure

We examine strategic procurement behaviour by governments and its effect on market structure in sectors, such as defence, where the government is the dominant consumer. In a world economy with trade between producers, and between producers and non-producers, we use a modified Dixit-Stiglitz utility function with an independent taste for variety. Governments can, in effect, choose the number of domestic firms and their size by adjusting the procurement price. Unlike the standard model with no independent taste for variety and no external sector of non-producers, there are incentives for subsidies, openness impacts on industrial structure and there are potential gains from procurement coordination between producer countries

Microwave-Promoted Copper-Free Sonogashira–Hagihara Couplings of Aryl Imidazolylsulfonates in Water

Aryl imidazol-1-ylsulfonates have been efficiently cross-coupled with aryl-, alkyl-, and silylacetylenes in neat water under copper-free conditions at 110 °C assisted by microwave irradiation. Using 0.5 mol% of an oxime palladacycle as precatalyst, 2-dicyclohexylphosphino-2′,6′-dimethoxybiphenyl (SPhos, 2 mol%) as ligand, hexadecyltrimethylammonium bromide (CTAB) as additive, and triethylamine (TEA) as base, a wide array of disubstituted alkynes has been prepared in good to high yields in only 30 min.Financial support from the MICINN (Projects CTQ2007-62771/BQU, CTQ2010-20387 and Consolider INGENIO 2010 CSD2007-00006), FEDER, from the Generalitat Valenciana (Project PROMETEO/2009/038), and the University of Alicante is acknowledged