Controlled transscleral drug delivery formulations to the eye: establishing new concepts and paradigms in ocular anti-inflammatory therapeutics and antibacterial prophylaxis

Importance of the field: The use of topical agents poses unique and challenging hurdles for drug delivery. Topical steroids effectively control ocular inflammation, but are associated with the well-recognized dilemma of patient compliance. Although administration of topical antimicrobials as prophylaxis is acceptable among ophthalmologists, this common practice has no sound evidence base Developing a new antimicrobial agent or delivery strategy with enhanced penetration by considering the anatomical and physiological constraints exerted by the barriers of the eye is not a commonly perceived strategy. Exploiting the permeability of the sclera, subconjunctival routes may offer a promising alternative for enhanced drug delivery and tissue targeting.Area covered in this review: Ocular drug delivery strategies were reviewed for ocular inflammation and infections clinically adopted for newer class of antimicrobials, which use a multipronged approach to limit risks of endophthalmitis.What the reader will gain: The analysis substantiates a new transscleral drug delivery therapeutic approach for cataract surgery.Take home message: A new anti-inflammatory and anti-infective paradigm that frees the patient from the nuisance of topical therapeutics is introduced, opening a large investigative avenue for future improved therapies.

Neural networks training using the constructivism paradigms

The Backpropagation Algorithm (BA) is the standard method for training multilayer Artificial Neural Networks (ANN), although it converges very slowly and can stop in a local minimum. We present a new method for neural network training using the BA inspired on constructivism, an alphabetization method proposed by Emilia Ferreiro based on Piaget philosophy. Simulation results show that the proposed configuration usually obtains a lower final mean square error, when compared with the standard BA and with the BA with momentum factor.

Power electronics courses for the new paradigms of the electrical system

This paper presents a historical perspective of the Power Electronics education that has lead to the present situation in which such technology is indispensable for the exploitation of almost all type of clean energy primary sources. Some academic initiatives in Brazil are here discussed focusing the institutions grouped in a CAPES-Pró-Engenharia program. The curricula aspects and innovations are presented, emphasizing the multidisciplinary character of this field of Power Electronics application. © 2011 IEEE.

Planificación en economías mixtas de mercado y los paradigmas del desarrollo: problemas y alternativas = Planning in mixed market economies and the paradigms of development: problems and alternatives

Analiza la mayor integracion en una economia mundial inestable e incierta, los limites y potencialidades del actual esquema de planificacion, la crisis de los paradigmas economicos, y la necesidad de constituir un nuevo paradigma economico con un enfoque multidisciplinario.

Social policy paradigms in Latin America

Includes bibliography

Economic paradigms and the role of the State in Latin America

Includes bibliography

Planning in mixed market economies and the paradigms of development: problems and options

Analiza los factores que permiten comprender por qué la solución a la crisis no ha sido fácil: la mayor integración en una economía internacional inestable; la crisis de los paradigmas económicos; y los problemas técnicos, políticos e ideológicos que enfrenta el actual esquema de planificación de la región. Esboza algunas ideas acerca de como afrontar estos factores.

Development Aid to Water Management in Mali: The Actors, ‘Global’ Paradigms, and ‘Local’ Translations

Development aid involves a complex network of numerous and extremely heterogeneous actors. Nevertheless, all actors seem to speak the same ‘development jargon’ and to display a congruence that extends from the donor over the professional consultant to the village chief. And although the ideas about what counts as ‘good’ and ‘bad’ aid have constantly changed over time —with new paradigms and policies sprouting every few years— the apparent congruence between actors more or less remains unchanged. How can this be explained? Is it a strategy of all actors to get into the pocket of the donor, or are the social dynamics in development aid more complex? When a new development paradigm appears, where does it come from and how does it gain support? Is this support really homogeneous? To answer the questions, a multi-sited ethnography was conducted in the sector of water-related development aid, with a focus on 3 paradigms that are currently hegemonic in this sector: Integrated Water Resources Management, Capacity Building, and Adaptation to Climate Change. The sites of inquiry were: the headquarters of a multilateral organization, the headquarters of a development NGO, and the Inner Niger Delta in Mali. The research shows that paradigm shifts do not happen overnight but that new paradigms have long lines of descent. Moreover, they require a lot of work from actors in order to become hegemonic; the actors need to create a tight network of support. Each actor, however, interprets the paradigms in a slightly different way, depending on the position in the network. They implant their own interests in their interpretation of the paradigm (the actors ‘translate’ their interests), regardless of whether they constitute the donor, a mediator, or the aid recipient. These translations are necessary to cement and reproduce the network.

Learning Paradigms Exemplified by Virtual Experiments with Honey Bees

Learning is based on rules that can be elucidated by behavioural experiments. This article focuses on virtual experiments, in which non-associative learning (habituation, sensitization) and principles of associative learning (contiguity, inhibitory learning, generalization, overshadowing, positive and negative patterning) can be examined using 'virtual' honey bees in PER (Proboscis Reaction Extension) conditioning experiments. Users can develop experimental designs, simulate and document the experiments and find explanations and suggestions for the analysis of the learning experiments. The virtual experiments are based on video sequences and data from actual learning experiments. The bees' responses are determined by probability-based learning profiles.

Mothering Children or Soldiers: Advancing Paradigms of the Women's Movement in Former Yugoslavia

The transition of political power in former Yugoslavia and the wars that followed have led to the country's reassessment of the proper role of women in society, culture, nation, and family. Advocates of a new vision of nationalist womanhood assert that the continued existence of the entire country depends solely on women carrying out their reproductive and nurturing roles. This new envisioning clearly serves a political purpose, solely at the expense of the women's movement that has made significant strides in this nation. It is the purpose of this article to provide a brief historical overview of the development of the new idealized "mother of the nation" from a strengths-based social work perspective.

Towards an Application of Globalization Paradigms to Modern Folk Music Revivals

This chapter maps out central globalizing perspectives that have influenced discourses on revival and related transformational processes of traditional forms of musical expression. Focusing on the Latvian groups Skandinieki and Iļģi and on electric folk in England, the chapter analyzes the extent to which meta-perspectives can help elucidate the impact of global flows on music revivals. As Held et al.’s 2003 globalization study indicates, revival situations can be interpreted from different meta-perspectives. Equating globalization with homogenization, a sceptic perspective perceives revival as an important means of preservation. A hyperglobal approach regards globalization not as a threat, but as a possible access to Western market structures. A transformationalist perspective perceives increasingly dense global networks as the basis for developing new structures, approached from an open perspective. Although supporting a transformationalist perspective, this chapter argues that an adequate modern approach toward revival requires the combination of all three perspectives.

Preference for cute infants does not depend on their ethnicity or species: Evidence from hypothetical adoption and donation paradigms

Results of previous work suggest a preference of adult observers for cute compared to less cute infants. In Study 1 we investigated whether the preference for cute infants depends on the ethnicity and species of the infant. We simultaneously presented two faces (one cute and one less cute) and asked Caucasian participants to choose the infant to whom they would rather give a toy (Task 1) and which infant they would rather adopt (Task 2). The infants were Caucasian or African human babies, or dog puppies. For all face categories and in both tasks we found a strong preference for cute infants. A possible reason for preferring cute infants may be that cute infants look healthier than less cute infants. To investigate whether cuteness is associated with the assessment of health we conducted Study 2. Faces of Caucasian and African infants and dog puppies were rated for cuteness and health. The findings revealed a significant relationship between health and cuteness evaluation across all stimuli. We suggest that one reason why cute infants are preferred might be because they are perceived as being healthier.

The effect of African Americans' ethnographic paradigms and cultural explanatory model of breast cancer in framing the male partner's attitudes and behaviors about the woman's breast cancer diagnosis

The disparate burden of breast cancer-related morbidity and mortality experienced by African American women compared with women of other races is a topic of intense debate in the medical and public health arenas. The anomaly is consistently attributed to the fact that at diagnosis, a large proportion of African American women have advanced-stage disease. Extensive research has documented the impacts of cultural factors and of socioeconomic factors in shaping African American women's breast-health practices; however, there is another factor of a more subtle influence that might have some role in establishing these women's vulnerability to this disease: the lack of or perceived lack of partner support. Themes expressed in the research literature reflect that many African American breast cancer patients and survivors consider their male partners as being apathetic and nonsupportive. ^ The purpose of this study was to learn how African American couples' ethnographic paradigms and cultural explanatory model of breast cancer frame the male partners' responses to the women's diagnosis and to assess his ability to cope and willingness to adapt to the subsequent challenges. The goal of the study was to determine whether these men's coping and adaptation skills positively or negatively affect the women's self-care attitudes and behaviors. ^ This study involved 4 African American couples in which the woman was a breast cancer survivor. Participants were recruited through a community-based cancer support group and a church-based cancer support group. Recruitment sessions were held at regular meetings of these organizations. Accrual took 2 months. In separate sessions, each male partner and each survivor completed a demographic survey and a questionnaire and were interviewed. Additionally, the couples were asked to participate in a communications activity (Adinkra). This activity was not done to fulfill any part of the study purpose and was not included in the data analysis; rather, it was done to assess its potential use as an intervention to promote dialogue between African American partners about the experience of breast cancer. ^ The questionnaire was analyzed on the basis of a coding schema and the interview responses were analyzed on the principles of hermeneutic phenomenology. In both cases, the instruments were used to determine whether the partner's coping skills reflected a compassionate attitude (positive response) versus an apathetic attitude (negative response) and whether his adaptation skills reflected supportive behaviors (the positive response) versus nonsupportive behaviors (the negative response). Overall, the women's responses showed that they perceived of their partners as being compassionate, yet nonsupportive, and the partner's perceived of themselves likewise. Only half of the women said that their partners' coping and adaptation abilities enabled them to relinquish traditional concepts of control and focus on their own well-being. ^ The themes that emerged indicate that African American men's attitudes and behaviors regarding his female partner's diagnosis of breast cancer and his ability to cope and willingness to adapt are influenced by their ritualistic mantras, folk beliefs, religious teachings/spiritual values, existential ideologies, socioeconomic status, and environmental factors and by their established perceptions of what causes breast cancer, what the treatments and outcomes are, and how the disease affects the entire family, particularly him. These findings imply that a culturally specific intervention might be useful in educating African American men about breast cancer and their roles in supporting their female partners, physically and psychologically, during diagnosis, treatment, and recovery. ^