Ziprasidone: Pharmacological and clinical profile of the newest atypical antipsychotic.

Notes that ziprasidone is the 5th atypical antipsychotic to be approved by the Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of schizophrenia. Since 1989, when the first atypical agent was introduced to the US market, clinical use of these compounds has progressed to the point that several atypical agents are considered first-line treatment for schizophrenia. This article reviews pharmacological and clinical aspects of ziprasidone to familiarize clinicians who will encounter its use. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Wave climate off the Swedish west coast

This paper presents and discusses the wave climate off the Swedish west coast. It is based on 8 years (1997–2004) of wave data from 13 sites, nearshore and offshore, in the Skagerrak and Kattegat. The data is a product of the WAM and SWAN wave models calibrated at one site by a wave measurement buoy. It is found that the average energy flux is approximately 5.2 kW/m in the offshore Skagerrak, 2.8 kW/m in the nearshore Skagerrak, and 2.4 kW/m in the Kattegat. One of the studied sites, i.e. site 9, is the location of a wave energy research site run by the Centre for Renewable Electric Energy Conversion at Uppsala University. This site has had a wave power plant installed since the spring of 2006, and another seven are planned to be installed during 2008. Wave energy as a renewable energy source was the driving interest that led to this study and the results are briefly discussed from this perspective.     

Amino acids evolution during ripening of goats' milk cheese manufactured with different coagulants

Powdered plant coagulant obtained from the cardoon flowers ( Cynara cardunculus ) was compared with calf rennet for the manufacture of traditional raw goats' milk cheese, by determining differences in the profiles of the amino acids throughout the ripening period. Derivatisation with o -phtaldialdehyde and a C₁₈ column were used for chromatographic separations. In order to establish the relationships between the different variables and to detect the most important causes of variability, principal component analysis was applied to the free amino acids data, which reduced to two dimensions where cheese samples from 2 to 60 days and cheeses from 90 to 120 days were distributed dependently of ripening time and coagulant used. Leu, Val, Lys, Gly, Tyr and Asp were correlated with PC1, which separated the samples according to their ripening time. Arg, His, Trp, Ser and Thr were correlated with PC2, which separated the samples according to the coagulant used.     

Physical properties of edible coatings and films made with a polysaccharide from Anacardium occidentale L.

The effect of the concentrations of the polysaccharide from Anacardium occidentale L. (Policaju) and a surfactant (Tween 80) on relevant properties of edible coatings/films, in view of their application on apples (cv. Golden) was evaluated. The influence of the interactions between those two constituents on apples’ surface properties and on the coating/film’s wettability, water vapor permeability, opacity and mechanical properties was evaluated. The effects of the studied variables (polysaccharide and surfactant concentrations) were analyzed according to a 2² factorial design. Pareto bar charts were used to understand the most significant factors on the studied properties. The addition of surfactant reduced the cohesion forces, therefore reducing the surface tension and increasing the wettability; this resulted in an improved compatibility between the solution and the fruit skin surface. The opacity was also reduced. The results of each of the analyzed properties were adjusted to a polynomial, multifactor model, which provided a good fitting accuracy. This model is important once it will reduce the characterization work needed in subsequent applications of these coatings/films on foods.     

Development and mean life of aluminum first-surface mirrors for solar energy applications

Aluminum solar mirrors are an alternative for solar concentrators. This paper presents the first aluminum-surface solar mirrors, which, after 12 years of exposure to the aggressive weather conditions of Mexico City, have a reflectance decrease of only 3% (from 0.85 to 0.82), with only small scratches on the SiO₂ layer. Furthermore, two alternatives are presented for solar aluminum mirrors: mirrors with integrated first and second surfaces and first-surface compound mirrors. Each mirror and its fabrication are described, along with their weather tests. The aluminum first-surface solar mirror lasts for at least 12 years, and is a good alternative material for parabolic troughs, heliostats, CPC, Fresnel technology and dish concentrators.     

Bitwise Implementation of a Two-Dimensional Cellular Automata Biofilm Model

Mathematical modeling using the cellular automata (CA) approach is an attractive alternative to models based on partial differential equations when the domains to be simulated have complex boundary conditions. The computational efficiency of CA models is readily observed when using parallel processors, but implementations in personal computers are, although feasible, not quite efficient. In an effort to improve the computational efficiency of CA implementations in personal computers, we introduce in this paper a bitwise implementation based on the use of each bit as a different CA cell. Thus, in a 32-bit processor, each computer word stores information about 32 different CA cells. We illustrate the bitwise implementation with a biofilm model that simulates substrate diffusion and microbial growth of a single-species, single-substrate, structurally heterogeneous biofilm. The efficiency of the bitwise implementation was evaluated by comparing the computational time of equivalent CA biofilm models that used more common low-level implementations, namely, if-then operators and look-up tables. The processing speed of the bitwise implementation was over an order of magnitude higher than the processing speed of the other two implementations. Regarding the biofilm simulations, the CA model exhibited self-organization of the biofilm morphology as a function of kinetic and physical parameters.     

Tunable shapes in supported metal nanoparticles: From nanoflowers to nanocubes

The facile preparation of a range of supported nanoparticles on porous materials was successfully accomplished through the use of a range of environmentally friendly protocols including a modified impregnation/reduction methodology, ultrasounds and microwave irradiation. Materials were characterised by transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and XPS. Different morphologies including conventional nanospheres, nanoflower aggregates, nanorod-like structures and nanocubes were achieved under different conditions. The reported supported nanoparticles are envisaged to have interesting applications in various areas including catalysis, optics and sensors.     

Metamaterial Blueprints for Reflectionless Waveguide Bends

A derivation of metamaterial blueprints for the reflectionless (perfectly matched) guiding of electromagnetic waves through waveguide bends is performed. The sensitivity of the response with respect to small perturbations in the associated constitutive tensors is examined.     

Degradation of the compressive strength of rectangular plates due to initial deflection

The paper addresses the problem of the influence of initial deflections on the collapse strength of thin rectangular plates in longitudinal compression. Measured data on distortions of stiffened plating in ships are considered in studying the strength of plates. For comparison of the strength values, the initial deflections are normalised by an energy measure and by the commonly employed amplitude to thickness ratio. It is suggested that this energy measure is able to provide an integral measure of the degree of initial deflections.     

Milk Drink Using Whey Butter Cheese (queijo manteiga) and Acerola Juice as a Potential Source of Vitamin C

The production of a beverage from whey butter cheese (WBC) and acerola juice (AJ) presents good commercialization potential, uniting the benefits provided by the former with those of latter, including the ingestion of essential amino acids and increasing the vitamin C content, resulting in a product of differentiated nutritive value. Three beverage formulations were developed: B₁ (50% WBC–50% AJ v/v), B₂ (70% WBC–30% AJ, v/v), and B₃ (30% WBC–70% AJ, v/v). Lower protein and carbohydrate values were found for the formulations with less whey (p < 0.05). All the beverages presented an energy value below those declared for dairy beverages commercialized on the Brazilian market. The beverages B₁ and B₂ were considered food products that were sources of vitamin C. B₂ presented significant variations for all the sensory attributes evaluated (p < 0.05), although the results were similar to those obtained for B₁, suggesting the commercialization potential of these formulations.