Are nontariff measures and tariffs substitutes? Some panel data evidence

Using new estimates of ad valorem equivalent of nontariff measures (NTMs) over time, this paper examines NTMs and tariffs’ relationship for a sample of 70 economies for 4,949 products at the 6‐digit harmonized system level over the period 2003–2015. A panel data methodology models the lagged adjustment of NTMs to tariffs, consistent with a causal relationship. Trade policy substitution is found when the models are estimated in both levels and changes; with this holding for both OECD and non‐OECD countries, but not for the agriculture sector in OECD countries. Overall, there is a fairly complete substitution between policy instruments in absolute terms

Adipokines in atherosclerosis: unraveling complex roles

Adipokines are biologically active factors secreted by adipose tissue that act on local and distant tissues through autocrine, paracrine, and endocrine mechanisms. However, adipokines are believed to be involved in an increased risk of atherosclerosis. Classical adipokines include leptin, adiponectin, and ceramide, while newly identified adipokines include visceral adipose tissue-derived serpin, omentin, and asprosin. New evidence suggests that adipokines can play an essential role in atherosclerosis progression and regression. Here, we summarize the complex roles of various adipokines in atherosclerosis lesions. Representative protective adipokines include adiponectin and neuregulin 4; deteriorating adipokines include leptin, resistin, thrombospondin-1, and C1q/tumor necrosis factor-related protein 5; and adipokines with dual protective and deteriorating effects include C1q/tumor necrosis factor-related protein 1 and C1q/tumor necrosis factor-related protein 3; and adipose tissue-derived bioactive materials include sphingosine-1-phosphate, ceramide, and adipose tissue-derived exosomes. However, the role of a newly discovered adipokine, asprosin, in atherosclerosis remains unclear. This article reviews progress in the research on the effects of adipokines in atherosclerosis and how they may be regulated to halt its progression

Non-tariff and overall protection: evidence across countries and over time

This paper analyzes the evolution of the incidence and intensity of non-tariff measures (NTMs). It extends earlier work by measuring protection from NTMs over time from a newly available database and provides evidence on the evolution of NTMs. In particular, building on Kee, Nicita and Olarreaga (2009), this paper estimates the ad valorem equivalents (AVEs) of NTMs for 97 countries at the product level over the period 1997 to 2015. We show that the incidence and the intensity of NTMs were both increasing over this period, with NTMs becoming an even more dominant source of trade protection. We are also able to investigate the evolution of overall protection derived jointly fromtariffs and NTMs. The results show that the overall protection level, for most countries and products, has not decreased despite the fall in tariffs associated with multilateral, regional and bilateral trade agreements in recent decades. We also document an increase in overall trade protection during the recent 2008 financial crisis. Overall, this study sheds light on an under-researched aspect of trade liberalization: the proliferation and increase of NTMs

Design and baseline characteristics of the finerenone in reducing cardiovascular mortality and morbidity in diabetic kidney disease trial

Background: Among people with diabetes, those with kidney disease have exceptionally high rates of cardiovascular (CV) morbidity and mortality and progression of their underlying kidney disease. Finerenone is a novel, nonsteroidal, selective mineralocorticoid receptor antagonist that has shown to reduce albuminuria in type 2 diabetes (T2D) patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) while revealing only a low risk of hyperkalemia. However, the effect of finerenone on CV and renal outcomes has not yet been investigated in long-term trials. Patients and Methods: The Finerenone in Reducing CV Mortality and Morbidity in Diabetic Kidney Disease (FIGARO-DKD) trial aims to assess the efficacy and safety of finerenone compared to placebo at reducing clinically important CV and renal outcomes in T2D patients with CKD. FIGARO-DKD is a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel-group, event-driven trial running in 47 countries with an expected duration of approximately 6 years. FIGARO-DKD randomized 7,437 patients with an estimated glomerular filtration rate >= 25 mL/min/1.73 m(2) and albuminuria (urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio >= 30 to <= 5,000 mg/g). The study has at least 90% power to detect a 20% reduction in the risk of the primary outcome (overall two-sided significance level alpha = 0.05), the composite of time to first occurrence of CV death, nonfatal myocardial infarction, nonfatal stroke, or hospitalization for heart failure. Conclusions: FIGARO-DKD will determine whether an optimally treated cohort of T2D patients with CKD at high risk of CV and renal events will experience cardiorenal benefits with the addition of finerenone to their treatment regimen. Trial Registration: EudraCT number: 2015-000950-39; ClinicalTrials.gov identifier: NCT02545049

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Essays on trade restrictiveness and quality upgrading

In recent decades, through several rounds of trade negotiations, tariff rates have been substantially reduced. As a result, non-tariff measures (NTMs) have become increasingly important, as policy-makers jostle to find alternatives to the tariff reduction. This thesis aims to examine the effect of NTMs on international trade and to explore how import competition measured by overall protection (i.e. tariff and AVEs of NTMs) affects product quality upgrading. The thesis consists of three empirical studies to examine these issues. The first study analyze the evolution of the incidence and intensity of NTMs. Building on Kee, Nicita and Olarreaga (2009), we estimate the ad valorem equivalents (AVEs) of NTMs for 53 countries at product level for multiple years over the period 1997 to 2012. This study extends Kee et al. (2009) by adding a time dimension and applying the NTM from a newly available database. The study suggests that the incidence and the protection level of NTMs were both increasing during this period; hence, NTMs have become the major source of trade protection. By adding tariff to the AVEs of NTMs as the overall protection, this study also analyzes the evolution of overall protection. The results show that the overall protection level, for most countries and products, has not decreased as tariff has. This means the overall protection has stayed constant or been increasing, and in turn suggesting the expected trade liberalization from the trade negotiations in recent decades has been partly nullified. The second study investigates whether governments are applying NTMs to substitute for tariff, building on the theoretical model in Essaji (2010) and the empirical framework in Kee and Neagu (2011) and Ronen (2014). With the estimated AVEs of NTMs for every three years during the period of 1997 to 2012, the second study explores the relationship between tariffs and NTMs in both levels and changes. The study finds a generally substitutable relationship between tariffs and NTMs, both statically and dynamically, and the results are robust to various robustness checks. The third study investigates the non-monotonic relationship between import competition and quality upgrading, as an extension of Amiti and Khandelwal (2013). With import competition measured by overall protection instead of tariff rate, as in Amiti and Khandelwal, this study questions whether tariff is an adequate measure for import competition in light of recent tariff reduction and the substitution uncovered between tariff and NTMs. In their study, Amiti and Khandelwal find that after import competition increases, firms close to the world technology frontier would innovate more while firms distant from the technology frontier are less likely to innovate. However, in our analysis, the two effects are insignificant when import competition is measured by overall protection, and the results remain so even after various robustness checks. Hence, tariff is found to be an inadequate measure for import competition

Essays on trade restrictiveness and quality upgrading

In recent decades, through several rounds of trade negotiations, tariff rates have been substantially reduced. As a result, non-tariff measures (NTMs) have become increasingly important, as policy-makers jostle to find alternatives to the tariff reduction. This thesis aims to examine the effect of NTMs on international trade and to explore how import competition measured by overall protection (i.e. tariff and AVEs of NTMs) affects product quality upgrading. The thesis consists of three empirical studies to examine these issues. The first study analyze the evolution of the incidence and intensity of NTMs. Building on Kee, Nicita and Olarreaga (2009), we estimate the ad valorem equivalents (AVEs) of NTMs for 53 countries at product level for multiple years over the period 1997 to 2012. This study extends Kee et al. (2009) by adding a time dimension and applying the NTM from a newly available database. The study suggests that the incidence and the protection level of NTMs were both increasing during this period; hence, NTMs have become the major source of trade protection. By adding tariff to the AVEs of NTMs as the overall protection, this study also analyzes the evolution of overall protection. The results show that the overall protection level, for most countries and products, has not decreased as tariff has. This means the overall protection has stayed constant or been increasing, and in turn suggesting the expected trade liberalization from the trade negotiations in recent decades has been partly nullified. The second study investigates whether governments are applying NTMs to substitute for tariff, building on the theoretical model in Essaji (2010) and the empirical framework in Kee and Neagu (2011) and Ronen (2014). With the estimated AVEs of NTMs for every three years during the period of 1997 to 2012, the second study explores the relationship between tariffs and NTMs in both levels and changes. The study finds a generally substitutable relationship between tariffs and NTMs, both statically and dynamically, and the results are robust to various robustness checks. The third study investigates the non-monotonic relationship between import competition and quality upgrading, as an extension of Amiti and Khandelwal (2013). With import competition measured by overall protection instead of tariff rate, as in Amiti and Khandelwal, this study questions whether tariff is an adequate measure for import competition in light of recent tariff reduction and the substitution uncovered between tariff and NTMs. In their study, Amiti and Khandelwal find that after import competition increases, firms close to the world technology frontier would innovate more while firms distant from the technology frontier are less likely to innovate. However, in our analysis, the two effects are insignificant when import competition is measured by overall protection, and the results remain so even after various robustness checks. Hence, tariff is found to be an inadequate measure for import competition

Cable Fault Location in VSC-HVDC System Based on Improved Local Mean Decomposition

Aiming at the problem of low positioning accuracy caused by modal aliasing and noise interference in DC cable fault location analysis of a VSC-HVDC system, a double-ended fault location method for flexible DC cables based on improved local mean decomposition is proposed. Firstly, the local mean decomposition (LMD) is used to decompose the six-mode voltage signal to obtain the product function (PF) component; then, to overcome the problem that the instantaneous frequency function of the LMD is limited by the extreme value, the Hilbert transform is performed on the PF1 to obtain the instantaneous frequency curve, and the arrival time of the voltage traveling wave head is determined from the mutation information. Finally, the fault distance is obtained by using the principle of double-ended traveling wave fault location. Different fault conditions are simulated, analyzed, and compared with wavelet transform and Hilbert&ndash;Huang transform. The results show that the proposed method has a positioning error within 1%, and it is less affected by interference noise and transition resistance