Nanostructured coatings for intraocular devices with drug delivery function

Despite numerous scientific research efforts, ocular drug delivery remains a challenge for scientists due to the problems related to the current methods that are 90% based on eye drops administration. This therapeutics has some limitations such as rapid drug loss, toxic effects on ocular surfaces and poor patient compliance with the drug regimen. Due to these limitations the current research is focused on the development of newer systems for delivery of the ophthalmic drugs. Nanotechnology-based drug delivery can improve viable solutions giving multiple functionalities to the devices that are inserted in the eye. For example, glaucoma is one of the most troubling chronic diseases, globally considered the second leading cause of blindness by the World Health Organization, whose treatment requires drug administration during years or even during all life. It is therefore imperative to develop alternative therapeutics to administer the drugs into the eye. We are developing a new strategy to deliver the drugs for the glaucoma treatment using biocompatible and nanostructured surfaces that can be used as a coating in an intraocular device. The design of these drug delivery biocompatible surfaces involves the control of its molecular structure and functionality. We have been using Scanning Tunneling Microscopy (STM) at the solid/liquid interface[1-3] to add the components of the monolayers, step-by-step, controlling their adsorption in real time. We used this method to built nanostructured coatings composed of glycosaminoglycans adsorbed on Highly Oriented Pyrolitc Graphite (HOPG). Molecular resolution images were obtained during the formation of the monolayer that revealed a well-packed and organized surface. Presently, we are using these monolayers to adsorb a drug for glaucoma treatment encapsulated in a nanocarrier. Drug release kinetic studies monitored by UV-spectroscopy are underway and preliminary results suggest that this monolayer is very stable and that it is possible to control the drug release as a function of time.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Water resources management in southern Europe : clues for a research and innovation based regional hypercluster

European countries are facing increasing pressures on their water resources despite stringent regulations and systematic efforts on environmental protection. In this context, research and innovation play a strategic role reinforcing the efficiency of water policies. The present study provides a multilevel assessment of research and innovation practices in the field of water resource management in southern European countries and regions (more specifically; Cyprus, Albania, Poitou-Charentes in France, Andalusia in Spain and the North of Portugal). The analysis was based on a strategic framework aimed at gaining an insight of the current constraints, as well as of the existing and future technological solutions for a better water resource management. The triple helix model proved to be a useful analytical framework for assessing the efforts of different groups towards a common goal. The analysis proved the existence of a significant evolution in the use of technological tools to assist decision-making processes in integrated river basin management in all regions. Nevertheless, the absence of formal channels for knowledge and data exchange between researchers and water resource managers complicates the formers involvement in the decision-making process regarding water allocation. Both researchers and consultants emphasize the low availability of data, together with the need to advance on water resource economics as relevant constraints in the field. The SWOT analysis showed similar concerns among the participating regions and provided a battery of effective projects that resulted in the preparation of a Joint Action Plan.The authors are grateful to all stakeholders that contributed, either by completing the online survey, either by personal interview, as well as to the external evaluators, who contributed to the methodological validation. The authors are also indebted to Alexandrina Rodrigues, Daniel Ribeiro and Teresa Tavares for the manuscript revision. The authors acknowledge NOVIWAM project partners for their valuable comments and contributions, as well as the funding provided by the European Union under the 7th Framework Programme for Research and Technological Development (Grant Agreement no 245460)

a dynamic model of firms strategic location choice

This paper analyzes the optimal location choice of a firm in a dynamic Cournot framework, in which firms' absorptive capacities may depend on their knowledge stock. The firm decides whether to locate irreversibly in a cluster or in isolation. In the cluster the firm benefits from inward spillovers from its competitors, but also generates outward spillovers. If the firm chooses to locate in isolation no knowledge flows occur. All firms' production costs are determined by their knowledge stocks, which evolve over time due to own R&D investments and potentially inward spillovers. It is shown that, if absorptive capacity is constant, the incentive to locate in the cluster decreases with respect to the firm's knowledge stock. Conversely, if absorptive capacity depends positively on knowledge stock, the firm's incentive to join the cluster is larger the more knowledge it has. It is also shown that qualitative properties of the equilibrium paths of R&D investments and knowledge stocks differ substantially depending on whether absorptive capacities are constant or knowledge dependent

Impacto de un programa de recuperación intensificada en cistectomía radical. Estudio comparativo de cohortes

Objetivo: Evaluar los resultados de la instauración de un programa de recuperación intensificada (ERAS) para cistectomía radical en abordaje abierto con respecto a la cohorte histórica de un mismo hospital. Material y métodos: Estudio de análisis retrospectivo de 138 pacientes sometidos a cistectomía radical con derivación ileal tipo Bricker o Studer de forma consecutiva (97 históricos vs. 41 ERAS). Se compararon tasa de complicaciones a 30 días, complicaciones estadio Clavien-Dindo > 2, mortalidad, estancia y tasa de readmisión en el hospital y en cuidados críticos, reintervención y necesidad de sondaje nasogástrico, trasfusión o nutrición parenteral. Resultados: No se hallaron diferencias estadísticamente significativas en cuanto a la tasa de complicaciones globales tras 30 días de alta (73,171 vs. 77.32%; OR 1,25, IC 95% 0,54-2,981; p = 0,601) ni en Clavien-Dindo > 2 (41,463 vs. 42.268%; OR 1.033, IC 95% 0,492-2,167; p = 0,93), así como en mortalidad, estancias o tasas de readmisión y reintervención. La necesidad de sondaje nasogástrico fue menor en el grupo ERAS (43,902 vs. 78,351%; OR 4,624, IC 95% 2,112-10,123; p < 0,0001), así como la necesidad de nutrición parenteral total (26,829 vs. 34,021%; OR 12,234, IC 95% 5,165-28,92; p < 0,0001) y el tiempo bajo intubación orotraqueal desde la inducción anestésica (mediana [RIC] = 325 (285-355) vs. 540 (360-600) min; p < 0,0001). Conclusión: Los programas de recuperación intensificada en cistectomía radical disminuyen el intervencionismo sobre el paciente sin aumentar la morbimortalidad

NOVIWAM : Five European countries together for improving water quality and water use efficiency

The European NOVIWAM (NOvel Integrated Water Management Systems for Southern European Regions, www.noviwam.eu) program aims to promote interregional co-operation in the field of water management tools and methods. One of its originality is to analyze in depth the relations between decision makers, stakeholders and researchers in order to disseminate know-how and technologies, and to tackle the compelling water management problems faced in the Euro-Mediterranean climate regions. In a first period, aiming at a good ecological and chemical state of waters and at a sustainable and efficient resource management, five European countries/regions (Albania, Cyprus, Poitou-Charentes in France, Northern Region in Portugal and Andalusia in Spain) are working together. The program will thus contribute to the objectives of the European Water Framework Directive. But additionally, the NOVIWAM program will establish a schedule for the implementation of a « Join action plan », trying to involve other countries into it, and generalize the conclusions of this three year work at a regional and international level.NOVIWAM (Grant Agreement nº 245460

knowledge spillovers congestion effects and long run location patterns

We introduce an evolutionary two-country model to characterize long run location patterns of the manufacturing activities of competing multinational enterprises. Firms located in country 1 can decide to offshore their manufacturing activities to country 2. The profitability of production in a country depends on several factors: unitary costs of production, the number of firms that are located in each country, within-country spillovers, and cross-border spillovers. Furthermore, profits in country 2 are influenced by congestion costs. Country 1 is assumed to be technologically advanced and has an advantage in terms of internal spillovers. In contrast, country 2 offers lower production unit cost which, however, may be offset by congestion costs. The firms' (re)location choices are based on a simple comparison of current production costs obtained in the two countries and the dynamics of switching is modeled by a simple replicator dynamics. The global analysis of the resulting one-dimensional dynamical system reveals that a large advantage in terms of unitary production costs encourages the firms to off-shore manufacturing activities to country 2. This off-shoring process stops when congestion costs offset this advantage of country 2, even though congestion costs do not cause all manufacturing activities to be re-shored to country 1. The re-shoring process can be accelerated by an increase of within-country spillovers in country 1, while cross-border spillovers tend to favor a geographic dispersion of manufacturing activities and make location patterns that lead to suboptimal long run outcomes less likely

Global delivery models: the role of talent, speed and time zones in the global outsourcing industry

Global delivery models (GDMs) are transforming the global IT and business process outsourcing industry. GDMs are a new form of client-specific investment promoting service integration with clients by combining client proximity with time-zone spread for 24/7 service operations. We investigate antecedents and contingencies of setting up GDM structures. Based on comprehensive data we show that providers are likely to establish GDM location configurations when clients value access to globally distributed talent and speed of service delivery, in particular when services are highly commoditized. Findings imply that coordination across time zones increasingly affects international operations in business-to-business and born-global industries

Changing perspectives on the internationalization of R&D and innovation by multinational enterprises: a review of the literature

Internationalization of R&D and innovation by Multinational Enterprises (MNEs) has undergone a gradual and comprehensive change in perspective over the past 50 years. From sporadic works in the late 1950s and in the 1960s, it became a systematically analysed topic in the 1970s, starting with pioneering reports and “foundation texts”. Our review unfolds the theoretical and empirical evolution of the literature from dyadic interpretations of centralization versus decentralization of R&D by MNEs to more comprehensive frameworks, wherein established MNEs from Advanced Economies still play a pivotal role, but new players and places also emerge in the global generation and diffusion of knowledge. Hence views of R&D internationalization increasingly rely on concepts, ideas and methods from IB and other related disciplines such as industrial organization, international economics and economic geography. Two main findings are highlighted. First, scholarly research pays an increasing attention to the network-like characteristics of international R&D activities. Second, different streams of literature have emphasized the role of location- specific factors in R&D internationalization. The increasing emphasis on these aspects has created new research opportunities in some key areas, including inter alia: cross-border knowledge sourcing strategies, changes in the geography of R&D and innovation, and the international fragmentation of production and R&D activities