What makes a country attractive to foreign investors? To what extent do conditions of governance and politics matter? This book provides the most systematic exploration to date of these crucial ...questions at the nexus of politics and economics. Using quantitative data and interviews with investment promotion agencies, investment location consultants, political risk insurers, and decision makers at multinational corporations, Nathan Jensen arrives at a surprising conclusion: Countries may be competing for international capital, but government fiscal policy--both taxation and spending--has little impact on multinationals' investment decisions.
Although government policy has a limited ability to determine patterns of foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows, political institutions are central to explaining why some countries are more successful in attracting international capital. First, democratic institutions lower political risks for multinational corporations. Indeed, they lead to massive amounts of foreign direct investment. Second, politically federal institutions, in contrast to fiscally federal institutions, lower political risks for multinationals and allow host countries to attract higher levels of FDI inflows. Third, the International Monetary Fund, often cited as a catalyst for promoting foreign investment, actually deters multinationals from investment in countries under IMF programs. Even after controlling for the factors that lead countries to seek IMF support, IMF agreements are associated with much lower levels of FDI inflows.
Pincer complexes are formed by the binding of a chemical structure to a metal atom with at least one carbon-metal bond. Usually the metal atom has three bonds to a chemical backbone, enclosing the ...atom like a pincer. The resulting structure protects the metal atom and gives it unique properties.The last decade has witnessed the continuous growth in the development of pincer complexes. These species have passed from being curiosity compounds to chemical chameleons able to perform a wide variety of applications. Their unique metal bound structures provide some of the most active catalysts yet known for organic transformations involving the activation of bonds. The Chemistry of Pincer Compounds details use of pincer compounds including homogeneous catalysis, enantioselective organic transformations, the activation of strong bonds, the biological importance of pincer compounds as potential therapeutic or pharmaceutical agents, dendrimeric and supported materials.
* Describes the chemistry and applications of this important class of organometallic and coordination compounds* Covers the areas in which pincer complexes have had an impact* Includes information on more recent and interesting pincer compounds not just those that are well-known
Several concepts for platinum-based catalysts for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) are presented that exceed the US Department of Energy targets for Pt-related ORR mass activity. Most concepts ...achieve their high ORR activity by increasing the Pt specific activity at the expense of a lower electrochemically active surface area (ECSA). In the potential region controlled by kinetics, such a lower ECSA is counterbalanced by the high specific activity. At higher overpotentials, however, which are often applied in real systems, a low ECSA leads to limitations in the reaction rate not by kinetics, but by mass transport. Here we report on self-supported platinum-cobalt oxide networks that combine a high specific activity with a high ECSA. The high ECSA is achieved by a platinum-cobalt oxide bone nanostructure that exhibits unprecedentedly high mass activity for self-supported ORR catalysts. This concept promises a stable fuel-cell operation at high temperature, high current density and low humidification.
While commonly known for degradation of the extracellular matrix, matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) exhibit broad potential for use in targeting of bioactive and imaging agents in cancer treatment. ...MMPs are upregulated at all stages of expression in cancers. A comprehensive analysis of published literature on expression of all MMP subtypes at the genetic, protein, and activity levels in normal and diseased tissues indicate targeting applicability in a variety of cancers. This expression significantly increases at advanced cancer stages, providing an improved opportunity for controlled release in higher-stage patients. Since MMPs are integral at every stage of metastasis, MMP roles in cancer are discussed with a focus on MMP distribution and mobility within cells and tumors for cancer targeting applications. Several strategies for MMP utilization in targeting - such as matrix degradation, MMP cleavage, MMP binding, and MMP-induced environmental changes - are addressed.
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Glycerol-water mixtures were studied at molar concentrations ranging from
x
gly
= 1 (neat glycerol) to
x
gly
= 0.3 using shear mechanical spectroscopy. We observed a low frequency mode in neat ...glycerol, similar to what has been reported for monohydroxy alcohols. This mode has no dielectric counterpart and disappears with increased water concentration. We propose that the hydrogen-bonded network formed between glycerol molecules is responsible for the observed slow mode and that water acts as a plasticizer for the overall dynamics and as a lubricant softening the hydrogen-bonding contribution to the macroscopic viscosity of this binary system.
Glycerol-water mixtures were studied at molar concentrations ranging from
x
gly
= 1 (neat glycerol) to
x
gly
= 0.3 using shear mechanical spectroscopy.
Lanthanide(
iii
) coordination chemistry in solution is inherently complicated by the lack of directional interactions and rapid ligand exchange. The latter can be eliminated in kinetically inert ...complexes, but remains a challenge in complexes between lanthanide(
iii
) ions and smaller ligands. As multiple conformations and partial decomplexation is an issue even with multidentate ligands, it will influence the observed solution properties of complexes of smaller ligands common in the field of f-elements coordination chemistry such as acetylacetonates and dipicolinates. Here, europium(
iii
) complexes with one, two and three dipicolinates were investigated in a series of 13 samples, where the composition was varied from 0 to 3 equivalents of dipicolinate. While the results did show the formation of three distinct europium(
iii
) dipicolinate complexes confirming the literature data on the system, clear discrepancies in speciation related properties were evident when comparing the results from absorption and luminescence spectroscopy. It was concluded that the difference is due to the difference in time constant of the two experiments. Furthermore, it is shown that the information obtained from luminescence arises from a weigthed average, and with discepancies between the observed and actual concentration exceeding 25%, it is advised that the weighted averages are taken into consideration when reporting on solution properties of lanthanide(
iii
) complexes. From the resolved optical spectra of Eu(H
2
O)
9
3+
, Eu(DPA)(H
2
O)
6
+
, Eu(DPA)
2
(H
2
O)
3
−
, and Eu(DPA)
3
3−
, the excited energy levels and transition probabilities are determined, and it was concluded that both transition probabilities and ligand field effects on the microstates are different in all four species.
Europium(
iii
) dipicolinate complexes have been a model system in lanthanide solution chemistry for decades, here it is investigated in unprecedented detail.
Abstract Background This study evaluates persistence and severity of docetaxel-induced neuropathy (peripheral neuropathy (PN)) and impact on health related quality of life in survivors from ...early-stage breast cancer. Methods One thousand and thirty-one patients with early-stage breast cancer, who received at least one cycle of docetaxel and provided information on PN during treatment, completed questionnaires on PN as an outcome (Common Toxicity Criteria (CTC) scores, European Organisation for Research and Treatment of Cancer Chemotherapy-Induced Peripheral Neuropathy 20 (EORTC CIPN20) and EORTC Quality of Life Questionnaire (QLQ)-C30) after 1–3 years. Findings Upon completion of docetaxel treatment, 241 patients (23%) reported PN, grades 2–4. PN persisted for 1–3 years among 81 (34%) while PN regressed to grades 0–1 among 160 (66%). Among 790 patients (77%) without PN, 76 (10%) developed PN 1–3 years later while 714 (90%) stayed free from PN. Significant risk factors for persistent PN were age ⩾55 ( p = 0.001), maximum grade of PN during docetaxel treatment ( p < 0.0001), persistent muscle and joint pain ( p < 0.0001), stomatitis ( p = 0.047) and fatigue ( p = 0.001). Persistent PN had a significant negative correlation with health-related quality of life (HRQOL), functional scales and symptom scales. Interpretations Overall, 15% of breast cancer survivors treated with docetaxel report PN 1–3 years after treatment with a significant negative impact on HRQOL.
This study was conducted to determine the frequency of PIK3CA mutations and human epidermal growth factor receptor-2 (HER2) phosphorylation status (pHER2-Tyr1221/1222) and if PIK3CA, phosphatase and ...tensin homolog (PTEN), or pHER2 has an impact on outcome in HER2-positive early-stage breast cancer patients treated with adjuvant chemotherapy and trastuzumab.
Two hundred and forty HER2-positive early-stage breast cancer patients receiving adjuvant treatment (cyclophosphamide 600 mg/m2, epirubicin 60 mg/m2, and fluorouracil 600 mg/m2) before administration of 1 year trastuzumab were assessable. PTEN and pHER2 expression were assessed by immunohistochemistry. PIK3CA mutations (exons 9 and 20) were determined by pyrosequencing.
Five-year overall survival (OS) and invasive disease-free survival were 87.8% and 81.0%, respectively. Twenty-six percent of patients had a PIK3CA mutation, 24% were PTEN low, 45% pHER2 high, and 47% patients had increased PI3K pathway activation (PTEN low and/or PIK3CA mutation). No significant correlations were observed between the clinicopathological variables and PIK3CA, PTEN, and pHER2 status. In both univariate and multivariate analyses, patients with PIK3CA mutations or high PI3K pathway activity had a significant worse OS multivariate: hazard ratio (HR) 2.14, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.01–4.51, P = 0.046; and HR 2.35, 95% CI 1.10–5.04, P = 0.03.
Patients with PIK3CA mutations or increased PI3K pathway activity had a significantly poorer survival despite adequate treatment with adjuvant chemotherapy and trastuzumab.
For decades, free trade was advocated as the vehicle for peace, prosperity, and democracy in an increasingly globalized market. More recently, the proliferation of foreign direct investment has ...raised questions about its impact upon local economies and politics. Here, seven scholars bring together their wide-ranging expertise to investigate the factors that determine the attractiveness of a locale to investors and the extent of their political power. Multinational corporations prefer to invest where legal and political institutions support the rule of law, protections for property rights, and democratic processes. Corporate influence on local institutions, in turn, depends upon the relative power of other players and the types of policies at issue.
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