Does importing more inputs raise exports? Firm level evidence from France

Following Melitz (2003)'s seminal paper, several theoretical and empirical studies have shown that only the subset of most productive firms export. While other studies provide evidence on a positive effect of an increase in imported inputs on firms' productivity, the link between imported intermediate inputs and export scope has not been made. This paper bridges the gap by studying the impact of imported inputs on the margins of exports. We use a unique firms' level database of imports at the product (HS6) level provided by French Customs for the 1995-2005 period. Access to new varieties of inputs may increase productivity, and thereby exports, through better complementarity of inputs, transfer of technology and/or decreased inputs price index. We test for these different mechanisms by distinguishing the origin of imports (developing vs. developed countries) and constructing an exact price index a la Broda and Weinstein (2006). We find a significant impact of higher diversification and increased number of imported inputs varieties on firm's TFP and export scope. Whereas the complementarity and transfer of technology mechanisms are supported by our results, the price effect seems very limited.Firm heterogeneity, imported inputs, TFP, export scope, varieties, price index, firm-level data

Detection, of Se6, Se7 and Se8 in Selenium Solutions by High-Pressure Liquid Chromatography

Dissolution of crystalline Se8 or extraction of glassy or red amorphous selenium, prepared from aqueous SeO2 by reduction, by organic solvents yields solutions containing Se6, Se7 and Se8 in equilibrium as shown by HPLC. The equilibrium explains the concentration dependence of the molar absorbance of such solutions observed earlier. Since the Raman spectrum of red amorphous selenium does not show any lines due to Se6 Se7 and Se8 a rapid interconversion of selenium molecules in solution at 20 °C is postulated. Red amorphous selenium may consist of a mixture of small and medium sized ring molecules

Photolyse von elementarem Schwefel (S6, S7, S8, S10, S12) in Kohlenstoffdisulfidlösung [1]

The photochemical decomposition of pure carbondisulfide as well as of solutions of pure S6 , S7 , S8 , S10 and S12 , respectively, in CS2 at 15 °C on irradiation by a high-pressure mercury lamp (200-600 nm) has been studied by quantitative HPLC analysis of the soluble products. In all cases mixtures of sulfur homocycles Sn (n = 5,6, ...) are formed with S8 , S7 and S6 being the dominating species, but traces of S5 , S9 , S10 and S12 have also been observed in most cases. S5 has been identified for the first time; it is formed in particular in the photolysis of S7 in CS2 . All irradiated sulfur solutions reach more or less the same photostationary equilibrium, but the decomposition of CS2 increases linearly with time and its effects are superimposed on the Sn interconversion reactions

Advanced Testing Chain Supporting the Validation of Smart Grid Systems and Technologies

New testing and development procedures and methods are needed to address topics like power system stability, operation and control in the context of grid integration of rapidly developing smart grid technologies. In this context, individual testing of units and components has to be reconsidered and appropriate testing procedures and methods need to be described and implemented. This paper addresses these needs by proposing a holistic and enhanced testing methodology that integrates simulation/software- and hardware-based testing infrastructure. This approach presents the advantage of a testing environment, which is very close to f i eld testing, includes the grid dynamic behavior feedback and is risks-free for the power system, for the equipment under test and for the personnel executing the tests. Furthermore, this paper gives an overview of successful implementation of the proposed testing approach within different testing infrastructure available at the premises of different research institutes in Europe.Comment: 2018 IEEE Workshop on Complexity in Engineering (COMPENG

Business Model Innovation to Support Smart Manufacturing

In today’s fast changing and hyper-competitive business environments such as the automotive industry, Business Modell Innovation (BMI) has emerged as a promising approach to achieve competitive advantage. At the same time, however, BMI entails high levels of uncertainty and financial risk. In order to reduce the cost and risk involved, product and process innovation as well as manufacturing – and particularly smart manufacturing – have become increasingly open and collaborative in the recent past. The aim of this paper is to investigate the role of open and collaborative innovation practices in BMI as basis for competitive manufacturing ecosystems and provide a comprehensive review of available literature in this field. For this purpose a systematic analysis of literature at the intersection of BMI and Open Innovation has been performed. Furthermore, the role of supply chain partners (suppliers, customers and research institutions for manufacturing ecosystems) in open BMI processes has been investigated

WEB ACCESSIBILITY IN THE AUSTRIAN HOTEL SECTOR

This contribution aims to provide an analysis of the current state of web accessibility in the tourism industry with the focus on the Austrian hotel sector. The results of the conducted study verify previous research, showing that tourism organizations considerably lack awareness of web accessibility. A three dimensional hotel categorization model on accessibility is introduced to encompass the complexity of accessibility in the hotel sector. This model can be used to evaluate the current state of hotel accessibility and may therefore provide a valuable tool for further benchmarking activities

Rare mutations and potentially damaging missense variants in genes encoding fibrillar collagens and proteins involved in their production are candidates for risk for preterm premature rupture of membranes

Preterm premature rupture of membranes (PPROM) is the leading identifiable cause of preterm birth with ~ 40% of preterm births being associated with PPROM and occurs in 1% - 2% of all pregnancies. We hypothesized that multiple rare variants in fetal genes involved in extracellular matrix synthesis would associate with PPROM, based on the assumption that impaired elaboration of matrix proteins would reduce fetal membrane tensile strength, predisposing to unscheduled rupture. We performed whole exome sequencing (WES) on neonatal DNA derived from pregnancies complicated by PPROM (49 cases) and healthy term deliveries (20 controls) to identify candidate mutations/variants. Genotyping for selected variants from the WES study was carried out on an additional 188 PPROM cases and 175 controls. All mothers were self-reported African Americans, and a panel of ancestry informative markers was used to control for genetic ancestry in all genetic association tests. In support of the primary hypothesis, a statistically significant genetic burden (all samples combined, SKAT-O p-value = 0.0225) of damaging/potentially damaging rare variants was identified in the genes of interest—fibrillar collagen genes, which contribute to fetal membrane strength and integrity. These findings suggest that the fetal contribution to PPROM is polygenic, and driven by an increased burden of rare variants that may also contribute to the disparities in rates of preterm birth among African Americans

ZuS - Zukunftsstrategie Lehrer*innenbildung Köln (Teilprojekt Qualitätssicherung). Skalendokumentation zum Fragebogen des hochschulweiten Bildungsmonitorings, Messzeitpunkt 2, Teil A.

Die vorliegende Dokumentation ist Teil eines Bildungsmonitorings, das im Rahmen des an der Universität zu Köln durchgeführten Projekts „Zukunftsstrategie Lehrer*innenbildung Köln – Heterogenität und Inklusion gestalten“ (ZuS) im Teilprojekt Qualitätssicherung (QS) durchgeführt wurde. Hierbei handelt es sich um den zweiten Messzeitpunkt im Sommersemester 2017. Das Bildungsmonitoring soll auf einer Makroebene Einblick geben in Prozesse des Kompetenzerwerbs während des Lehramtsstudiums und dazu beitragen, Merkmale der Ausbildung zu erkennen, die dabei von Bedeutung sind. Drei wesentliche Maßnahmen werden im Bildungsmonitoring ergriffen: Die Erfassung der Kompetenzentwicklung von Lehramtsstudierenden, die angebotenen und genutzten Lerngelegenheiten als Bedingungen der Kompetenzentwicklung und die Prüfung des Einflusses der Lerngelegenheiten auf die Kompetenzentwicklung. Verwendet wird ein Mehr-Kohorten-Längsschnitt-Design. Primäre Zielgruppe sind Bachelor- und Masterstudierende, die sich im Sommersemester 2017 im vierten Fachsemester befanden. Diese beiden Kohorten wurden bereits letztes Jahr (Sommersemester 2016) befragt und sollen auch nächstes Jahr (Sommersemester 2018) wissenschaftlich begleitet werden, um während der Projektlaufzeit ein umfassendes Bild über den Kompetenzerwerb während der gesamten Lehramtsausbildung an der Universität zu Köln zu erhalten. Die hier abgebildete Skalendokumentation umfasst den allgemeinen Teil des Bildungsmonitorings 2017. Sie informiert über die verwendeten Variablen, Items und Skalen, die bei der Befragung der Studierenden eingesetzt wurden. Zusätzlich werden technische Variablen berichtet, die bei der Datenerhebung und -aufbereitung relevant waren

Automation in Surgery: The Impact of Navigated-Control Assistance on the Performance, Workload and Situation Awareness of Surgeons

Dieser Beitrag ist mit Zustimmung des Rechteinhabers aufgrund einer (DFG geförderten) Allianz- bzw. Nationallizenz frei zugänglich.This publication is with permission of the rights owner freely accessible due to an Alliance licence and a national licence (funded by the DFG, German Research Foundation) respectively.The present study investigates performance consequences of a new approach of automated support for surgeons. “Navigated-Control” (NC) represents an advancement of image-guided navigation that does not only support the surgeon in navigating through a patient's anatomy, but also can stop the surgical device if it comes too close to risk structures which need to be protected to ensure patient safety. It is explored, how NC affects different aspects of surgical outcome, workload and stress, and situation awareness. Fourteen advanced students of medicine performed a simulated Mastoidectomy with and without NC support. The results reveal that NC support can reduce both, the risk of intra-operative injuries, as well as the physiological stress level of surgeons. However, “cost effects” emerged with respect to subjective workload, and a reduced spare capacity compared to unsupported surgeries. These latter effects do not seem to be related to the principle of NC but technical constraints of current implementations