1H T2‐NMR monitoring of crosslinked polyolefin aging

This work examines the correlation between the ¹H‐NMR T₂ relaxation constant and the mechanical properties of aged crosslinked polyolefin cable insulation. T₂ experiments on unswollen samples could not differentiate between unaged and highly aged materials; all exhibited ¹H T₂ constants of approximately 0.5 ms. To accentuate the effects of aging, samples were swollen in various solvents. Unaged samples had T₂ values of approximately 15 ms in good solvents. With thermal aging, T₂ values decreased as the ultimate tensile elongation decreased. However, the correlation between T₂ and elongation differed for samples irradiated with high‐energy radiation and for materials aged above versus below the crystalline melting temperature. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 90: 2578–2582, 2003     

PdO/Pd system equilibrium phase diagram under a gas mixture of oxygen and nitrogen

The thermal equilibrium decomposition properties of the PdO-Pd system under oxygen partial pressures ranging from 0.1 to 1.0 atm in a total combined pressure of oxygen and nitrogen of 1.0 atm were investigated by means of thermal-gravimetric analyses. The phase diagram of Pd-PdO over the range of oxygen/nitrogen gas concentration was established. The decomposition temperature of PdO to Pd was found to increase with the partial pressure of oxygen.     

Sacrospinous colpopexy in the management of uterovaginal prolapse

The tet(M) genes were characterized from 84 isolates of 10 different bacterial species isolated from the periodontal pockets of 16 patients with periodontal disease. A 740 bp polymerase chain reaction product from the hypervariable region of the tet(M) structural gene was cleaved with the restriction enzymes AluI and HinfI. Three different restriction patterns were identified for each of the two enzymes. By DNA sequencing, using a direct solid-phase automated sequencing method, the isolates could be grouped into 3 different clusters of tet(M) subtypes. The internal DNA homology within each subtype was 98-100%; the homology between clusters was 89-94%. Two different subtypes were identified in 9 of 10 bacterial species, and the remaining species had 3 different subtypes. One of the subtypes (M3) was seen mainly in the anaerobic isolates. This subtype was different from all earlier sequenced structural tet(M) genes present in the Genbank. Most patients had two different subtypes of tet(M), and a third subtype was seen in the 3 patients who exhibited the greatest variety of tetracycline-resistant bacterial species. It appears that the presence of one subtype of the tet(M) gene within a patient or bacterial species does not prevent the acquisition of another subtype of the same gene. This study identified a new subtype of the tet(M) gene and grouped it into 3 distinct yet highly homologous genetic subtypes.     

Live animal performance, carcass traits, and meat palatability of calf- and yearling-fed cloned steers

Two groups of Brangus steers produced by nuclear transplantation cloning were used in parallel studies investigating the impact of calf- and yearling-feeding. The first group (n = 8) were fed as calves (CF; n = 4) or yearlings (YF; n = 4) to a constant age end point of 16 mo. The second group (n = 10) were fed as calves (CF; n = 5) or yearlings (YF; n = 5) to a constant live weight end point (530 kg). When slaughtered at the same age, CF and YF steers did not differ (P > .05) in feedlot ADG, but the CF steers were heavier and had higher dressing percentages, numeric yield grades, and quality grades (P < .05). Top loin steaks from the groups of steers did not differ (P > .05) in palatability traits. When fed to a constant live weight, the YF steers gained more rapidly (P < .05) and had lower (P < .05) numeric yield grades than did CF steers. Again CF steers had higher (P < .05) dressing percentages. There was no difference (P > .05) between the treatments in carcass quality grade or meat palatability characteristics. Thus, when finished to a constant weight end point, YF steers gained more rapidly, with no adverse effects on carcass quality grade or palatability traits; however, CF steers consistently produced higher dressing percentages, largely due to greater external fatness.     

The dynamics of market-level change

Health care exhibits a competitive dynamic today that increasingly resembles that in other service industries. Organizations are becoming larger to achieve scale economies and to increase market power. Vertical integration, whether through ownership or complex contracts, is also being pursued both to seek efficiencies and to improve the bargaining position of the organization. External forces that are driving these changes include more aggressive activities on the part of purchasers to contain their costs, developments in information technology, management innovation in other service industries, and advances in medical technology. Within the health care industry, there is a pattern of organizations taking the initiative to respond to these external forces--often in anticipation of them--and other organizations then responding to the pressures in turn placed on them. Although information on strategies is communicated rapidly throughout the country, what is attempted and what succeeds differs a great deal across communities. The nature of current health care institutions in the community, including the presence of large entities with extensive capital and strong management in a particular segment of the health system and the community's experience with managed care are important factors in the path that change takes.