A Model of Fuel and Energy Sector Contribution to Economic Growth

The study examined the impact of foreign direct investment (FDI) in the fuel and energy sector and related industries on economic growth in response to the debates on FDI's impact on economic growth being positive (government officials and policymakers) or negative (the World Bank, some researchers). The hypothesis that a significant relationship is present between the Russian Federation GDP and gross FDI in Fuel and Energy Sector (fuels and non-fuels fossils mining, coke and petrochemicals production, rubber and plastic production, and energy supply) is introduced and validated by using a regression model. The derived model tests changes of regression results patterns of the Russian GDP against FDI in energy-related industries in different periods 1998-2004 and 2010-2017. GDP is assessed in five different measures: current US dollars, international US dollars (purchasing power parity), growth rates of the former and the latter, and physical growth index. It was concluded that, to a greater extent, economic growth is influenced by foreign investment in energy supply and petrochemical production in the both periods. Increased investment in power generation also contributes to economic growth, while other constituents of the sector, including mining, have a statistically insignificant or even retarding effect on economic growth, thus evidencing in favor of the World Bank's criticism towards FDI. Policy implications of the findings prove the necessity to introduce structural changes intended to redirect capital flows from oil and gas to prevent from economic growth deterioration in the long-term perspective. Keywords: Economic growth; Foreign Direct Investment; Fuel and energy sector JEL Classifications: C3, O4, Q43 DOI: https://doi.org/10.32479/ijeep.784

Masked red-emitting carbopyronine dyes with photosensitive 2-diazo-1-indanone caging group

Caged near-IR emitting fluorescent dyes are in high demand in optical microscopy but up to now were unavailable. We discovered that the combination of a carbopyronine dye core and a photosensitive 2-diazo-1-indanone residue leads to masked near-IR emitting fluorescent dyes. Illumination of these caged dyes with either UV or visible light (λ < 420 nm) efficiently generates fluorescent compounds with absorption and emission at 635 nm and 660 nm, respectively. A high-yielding synthetic route with attractive possibilities for further dye design is described in detail. Good photostability, high contrast, and a large fluorescence quantum yield after uncaging are the most important features of the new compounds for non-invasive imaging in high-resolution optical microscopy. For use in immunolabelling the caged dyes were decorated with a (hydrophilic) linker and an (activated) carboxyl group.Fil: Kolmakov, Kirill. Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry; AlemaniaFil: Wurm, Christian. Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry; AlemaniaFil: Sednev, Maksim V.. Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry; AlemaniaFil: Bossi, Mariano Luis. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Química, Física de los Materiales, Medioambiente y Energía. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Química, Física de los Materiales, Medioambiente y Energía; Argentina. Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry; AlemaniaFil: Belov, Vladimir N.. Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry; AlemaniaFil: Hell, Stefan W.. Max Planck Institute for Biophysical Chemistry; Alemani

Monodisperse Metal Nanoparticle Catalysts: Synthesis, Characterizations, and Molecular Studies Under Reaction Conditions

We aim to develop novel catalysts that exhibit high activity, selectivity and stability under real catalytic conditions. In the recent decades, the fast development of nanoscience and nanotechnology has allowed synthesis of nanoparticles with well-defined size, shape and composition using colloidal methods. Utilization of mesoporous oxide supports effectively prevents the nanoparticles from aggregating at high temperatures and high pressures. Nanoparticles of less than 2 nm sizes were found to show unique activity and selectivity during reactions, which was due to the special surface electronic structure and atomic arrangements that are present at small particle surfaces. While oxide support materials are employed to stabilize metal nanoparticles under working conditions, the supports are also known to strongly interact with the metals through encapsulation, adsorbate spillover, and charge transfer. These factors change the catalytic performance of the metal catalysts as well as the conductivity of oxides. The employment of new in situ techniques, mainly high-pressure scanning tunneling microscopy (HPSTM) and ambient-pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (APXPS) allows the determination of the surface structure and chemical states under reaction conditions. HPSTM has identified the importance of both adsorbate mobility to catalytic turnovers and the metal substrate reconstruction driven by gaseous reactants such as CO and O-2. APXPS is able to monitor both reacting species at catalyst surfaces and the oxidation state of the catalyst while it is being exposed to gases. The surface composition of bimetallic nanoparticles depends on whether the catalysts are under oxidizing or reducing conditions, which is further correlated with the catalysis by the bimetallic catalytic systems. The product selectivity in multipath reactions correlates with the size and shape of monodisperse metal nanoparticle catalysts in structure sensitive reactions.close11111