Intramuscular Olanzapine and Intramuscular Haloperidol in Acute Schizophrenia: Antipsychotic Efficacy and Extrapyramidal Safety During the First 24 Hours of Treatment

To determine the antipsychotic efficacy and extrapyramidal safety of intramuscular (IM) olanzapine and IM haloperidol during the first 24 hours of treatment of acute schizophrenia. Method: Patients (n = 311) with acute schizophrenia were randomly allocated (2:2: 1) to receive IM olanzapine (10.0 mg, n = 131), IM haloperidol (7.5 mg, n = 126), or IM placebo (n = 54). Results: After the first injection, IM olanzapine was comparable to IM haloperidol and superior to IM placebo for reducing mean change scores from baseline on the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BRPS) Positive at 2 hours (-2.9 olanzapine, -2.7 haloperidol, and -1.5 placebo) and 24 hours (-2.8 olanzapine, -3.2 haloperidol, and -1.3 placebo); the BPRS Total at 2 hours (-14.2 olanzapine,-13.1 haloperidol, and -7.1 placebo) and 24 hours (-12.8 olanzapine, -12.9 haloperidol, and -6.2 placebo); and the Clinical Global Impressions (CGI) scale at 24 hours (-0.5 olanzapine, -0.5 haloperidol, and -0.1 placebo). Patients treated with IM olanzapine had significantly fewer incidences of treatment-emergent parkinsonism (4.3% olanzapine vs 13.3% haloperidol, P = 0.036), but not akathisia (1.1% olanzapine vs 6.5% haloperidol, P = 0.065), than did patients treated with IM haloperidol; they also required significantly less anticholinergic treatment (4.6% olanzapine vs 20.6% haloperidol, P < 0.001). Mean extrapyramidal symptoms (EPS) safety scores improved significantly from baseline during IM olanzapine treatment, compared with a general worsening during IM haloperidol treatment (Simpson-Angus Scale total score mean change: -0.61 olanzapine vs 0.70 haloperidol; P < 0.001; Barnes Akathisia Scale global score mean change: -0.27 olanzapine vs 0.01 haloperidol; P < 0.05). Conclusion: IM olanzapine was comparable to IM haloperidol for reducing the symptoms of acute schizophrenia during the first 24 hours of treatment, the efficacy of both being evident within 2 hours after the first injection. In general, more EPS were observed during treatment with IM haloperidol than with IM olanzapine.

N-3,5 '-cycloxanthosine, the first natural occurrence of a cyclonucleoside

An Eryus sp. of marine sponge from the Great Australian Bight has yielded the first reported natural occurrence of a cyclonucleoside, N-3,5'-cycloxanthosine. The structure of N-3,5'-cycloxanthosine was confirmed by detailed spectroscopic analysis and total synthesis.

First-principle study of adsorption of hydrogen on Ti-doped Mg(0001) surface

Ab initio density functional theory (DFT) calculations are performed to study the adsorption of H-2 molecules on a Ti-doped Mg(0001) surface. We find that two hydrogen molecules are able to dissociate on top of the Ti atom with very small activation barriers (0.103 and 0.145 eV for the first and second H-2 molecules, respectively). Additionally, a molecular adsorption state of H-2 above the Ti atom is observed for the first time and is attributed to the polarization of the H-2 molecule by the Ti cation. Our results parallel recent findings for H-2 adsorption on Ti-doped carbon nanotubes or fullerenes. They provide new insight into the preliminary stages of hydrogen adsorption onto Ti-incorporated Mg surfaces.

A profissão de pastor presbiteriano na cidade de São Paulo

A pesquisa realizada entre pastores pertencentes à Igreja Presbiteriana do Brasil (IPB) na cidade de São Paulo mostra que o pastor presbiteriano perdeu o privilegiado status de que gozava até o final da primeira metade do século XX. Longe se vão os dias em que o pastor era um profissional cuja ocupação era respeitada e valorizada e a carreira pastoral era vista como um caminho seguro para a ascensão social de muitos jovens, especialmente os oriundos de cidades pequenas e do mundo rural. Principalmente após os anos 50, mudanças de várias ordens ocorreram, alterando a antiga situação. O processo de secula rização e a conseqüente desvalorização das instituições religiosas tradicionais afetaram diretamente o pastor presbiteriano. Desde então, ganhou força a indagação: Para que serve o pastor? Por sua vez, o campo religioso brasileiro, particularmente nos últimos 25 anos do século XX, assistiu à irrupção de novos movimentos religiosos, aumentando então a competitividade. Surgiram, por exemplo, movimentos e igrejas neopentecostais lideradas por um novo tipo de pastor, que age conforme outros scripts, assumindo papéis mais adequados às regras de uma sociedade midiática. Nesse novo contexto, o pastor presbiteriano reagiu com perplexidade e foi buscar formas de recuperar o prestígio perdido. Um dos caminhos encontrados foi a profissionalização do papel de pastor, que assim se tornou um especialista em assistência social, ensino ou aconselhamento, estratégia aliás bastante valorizada na sociedade contemporânea. Entretanto, teológica e ideologicamente, esse especialista religioso continua se legitimando como um pastor ortodoxo e conservador, já que esse é o papel a ele atribuído na organização religiosa à qual pertence, a condição sine qua non para que ele siga desenvolvendo a sua carreira como pastor da IPB.

Manoel Moises, Mãe Bela e o protestantismo rural na história da Igreja Presbiteriana em Cabeceira Grande-MG (1947-1970

A ideia de um protestantismo rural é caracterizada pela relação dos crentes com o lúdico e a familiaridade com o sagrado. Este tipo protestante tupiniquim, genuinamente brasileiro, se desenvolveu em locais de pouca ou nenhuma resistência por parte do catolicismo, religião hegemônica no contexto brasileiro, fator que possibilitou arranjos e rearranjos que o diferenciam do protestantismo dito oficial. Esta pesquisa procura, pois, identificar algumas características deste protestantismo rural, principalmente sua interação com as culturas populares tradicionais no contexto fundante da Igreja Presbiteriana de Cabeceira Grande-MG. Através da metodologia de pesquisa em história oral e micro-história, o foco do estudo será aproximado à vida de duas importantes figuras que se destacaram neste contexto: o lavrador Manoel Moises e a parteira Mãe Bela. Manoel Moises, pioneiro protestante, chega à região em 1947, trazendo a sua mudança em um carro de bois. A origem da Igreja Presbiteriana em Cabeceira Grande deve-se às atividades deste pregador leigo e autônomo. Posteriormente, a comunidade já formada recebe a visita de pastores vinculados às Agências Missionárias estrangeiras atuantes na região. Assim como Manoel Moises é referência constante nas memórias locais, Mãe Bela, uma das primeiras convertidas ao protestantismo naquele lugar, é também lembrada por sua atuação como parteira e pelos seus conhecimentos da medicina tradicional, articulados com o imaginário religioso local. Mãe Bela também foi a doadora do terreno em que foi construído o templo da Igreja Presbiteriana, inaugurado em 1970.

The construction of masculinities and femininities in the Church of England:the case of the male clergy spouse

The ordination of women to the priesthood in the Church of England in 1994 signified great change. The impact of the new priests was well documented, and their integration became the focus of much research in the following years. One important area of change was the altered dynamics of gender identity. New roles had opened up for women, but new identities had also emerged for men. While women priests were a new historical emergence, so too were clergy husbands. This paper will consider the historical construction of masculinities and femininities within the church and will go on to look at this in the context of clergy spouses, specifically focusing on men occupying this role. Some provisional findings, acting as work in progress, will be considered.

Religious diplomacy and socialism. The Romanian Orthodox Church and the Church of England, 1956-1959

This article analyzes the relationship between the Orthodox Church and the communist regime during one of the most intense periods of religious persecution in the Romanian People's Republic from 1956 to 1959. The church hierarchy demonstrated its support for the socialist construction of the country, while, at the same time, the regime began a campaign against religion by arresting clergy and reducing the number of religious people in monasteries; rumours even circulated that in 1958 Patriarch Justinian was under house arrest. Seeking closer contact with Western Europe, the regime allowed the hierarchy to meet foreign clergymen, especially from the Church of England. These diplomatic religious encounters played a double role. The regime realised that it could benefit from international ecclesiastical relations, while the image of Justinian in the West changed from that of "red patriarch" to that of a leader who was genuinely interested in his church's survival.

Evaluation of research in efficiency and productivity:a survey and analysis of the first 30 years of scholarly literature in DEA

Since the original Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) study by Charnes et al. [Measuring the efficiency of decision-making units. European Journal of Operational Research 1978;2(6):429–44], there has been rapid and continuous growth in the field. As a result, a considerable amount of published research has appeared, with a significant portion focused on DEA applications of efficiency and productivity in both public and private sector activities. While several bibliographic collections have been reported, a comprehensive listing and analysis of DEA research covering its first 30 years of history is not available. This paper thus presents an extensive, if not nearly complete, listing of DEA research covering theoretical developments as well as “real-world” applications from inception to the year 2007. A listing of the most utilized/relevant journals, a keyword analysis, and selected statistics are presented.