A Markov Sensitivity Model for Examining the Impact of Cost Allocations in Hospitals

The cost allocation process in hospitals typically entails an accounting step-down procedure whereby costs are allocated from non-revenue producing service centres to revenue centres. The resulting revenue centre costs are then compared with the third party (Blue Cross, Medicare, Medicaid) allowable costs. Any costs in excess of the allowable costs are not reimbursable. This procedure has been conceptualized using a Markov chain in a recent journal article. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how the Markov model may be used to assess the impact of various changes in the original data without having to recalculate the entire step-down process via a Markov model or any other procedure. The changes include an alternate step-down model, a different cost allocation basis for one or more service centres, and the expansion or contraction of one or more service centres.     

Asymptotic behavior of the solutions of certain parabolic equations

Some laws in physics describe the change of a flux and are represented by parabolic equations of the form (*) \documentclass{article}\pagestyle{empty}\begin{document}$$\frac{{\partial u}}{{\partial t}}=\frac{\partial}{{\partial x_j }}(\eta \frac{{\partial u}}{{ax_j}}-vju),$$\end{document} j≤m, where η and v_j are functions of both space and time. We show under quite general assumptions that the solutions of equation (*) with homogeneous Dirichlet boundary conditions and initial condition u(x, 0) = u_o(x) satisfy The decay rate d > 0 only depends on bounds for η, v and G § R^m the spatial domain, while the constant c depends additionally on which norm is considered. For the solutions of equation (*) with homogeneous Neumann boundary conditions and initial condition u₀(x) ≥ 0 we derive bounds d₁u₁ ≤ u(x, t) ≤ d₂u₂, Where d_i, i = 1, 2, depend on bounds for η, v and G, and the u_i are bounds on the initial condition u₀.     

Conjugate addition of (trimethylstannyl)copper reagents to α,β-acetylenic N,N-dimethylamides. Trapping of the intermediates with electrophiles

A study of the reaction of Me₃SnCu·.Me₂S (1) and [Me₃SnCuSPh]Li (2) with α,β - acetylenic N,N-dimethylamides 3 shows (a) that the overall process can be controlled experimentally so as to produce either N,N-dimethyl ($\text{E}$)-(4) or ($\text{Z}$)-3-trimethylstannyl-2-alkenamides (5), (b) that the initially formed intermediate derived from interaction of 2 and 3 is significantly more stable than that obtained by reaction of 2 and α,β-acetylenic esters, and (c) that the intermediate produced by treating 3 with 1 can be trapped with electrophiles other than proton.     

The mass spectra of some silver salts

Fifteen of twenty-four silver(I) carboxylates examined give useful electron impact mass spectra. The compounds vaporize at moderate temperatures, apparently mainly as dimer with traces of higher oligomer in only a few cases. The molecular ion for the dimer is generally weak or absent, with the most abundant silver containing ion being [Ag₂(O₂CR)]⁺ in most cases. Metastable defocusing and deuterium labeling experiments on silver acetate have established some of the fragmentation pathways. The reported loss of carbon dioxide from perfluorocarboxylates to give intense peaks for organosilver ions was not observed in this study. Attempts to obtain spectra on the silver salts of organic materials other than carboxylic acids were successful in several cases. Silver trifluoromethanesulfonate, although much less volatile, gives a spectrum and fragmentation very much like the carboxylates, whereas silver trifluoromethanethiolate gives a complex spectrum which suggests tetramer as a major gas phase species. Of three compounds examined which have silver to nitrogen bonding only silver(II) phthalocyanine is sufficiently volatile to give a spectrum without decomposition. The field desorption spectra of the four compounds examined all show the ions Ag_nX_{n ? 1} for X=acetate (n=1 ? 6), X=p-chlorobenzoate (n=1 ? 4), X=methanesulfonate (n=1 ? 7) and X=p-toluenesulfonate (n=1 ? 5).     

Yield of 16OS18O from the 18OH initiated oxidation of CS2 in 16O2

The yield of ¹⁶OS¹⁸O from the ¹⁸OH initiated oxidation of CS₂ in ¹⁶O₂ was measured by using a discharge flow reactor coupled to a chemical ionization mass spectrometer. ¹⁶OS¹⁸O is the dominant SO₂ isotopomer produced with a yield of 0.90 ± 0.20 relative to ¹⁸OH loss. The errors are estimates for the uncertainty at the 95% confidence level. The implications of these results to the understanding of the CS₂ oxidation mechanism are discussed. © 1994 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

1 This article is a US Government work and, as such, is in the public domain in the United States of America.

     

Elution order in gas chromatography

The retention behavior of a heterogeneous group of solutes has been examined on seven different stationary phases under isothermal and temperature-programmed conditions. Both ΔH_v (enthalpy of solute vaporization from the stationary phase) and ΔS_v (entropy of solute vaporization from the stationary phase) values were determined for each solute – stationary phase combination under isothermal conditions. Both program rate and carrier gas velocity were shown to affect solute elution order. Unless these and other experimental factors discussed are controlled, column equivalency studies based on solute elution order have dubious value.     

Barrierless electron transfer bond fragmentation reactions

The ultrafast N-O bond fragmentation in a series of N-methoxypyridyl radicals, formed by one-electron reduction of the corresponding N-methoxypyridiniums, has been investigated as potentially barrierless electron-transfer-initiated chemical reactions. A model for the reaction involving the electronic and geometric factors that control the shape of the potential energy surface for the reaction is described. On the basis of this model, molecular structural features appropriate for ultrafast reactivity are proposed. Femtosecond kinetic measurements on these reactions are consistent with a kinetic definition of an essentially barrierless reaction, i.e., that the lifetime of the radical is a few vibrational periods of the fragmenting bond, for the p-methoxy-N-methoxypyridyl radical.     

Application of the energy gap law to the decay of charge transfer excited states,solvent effects

Values of non-radiative decay rate constants (k_nr) and emission energies (E_cm) have been obtained for Os(Phen₃)²⁺ in a series of solvents and the results are consistent with the energy gap law. For hydroxylic solvents like water or methanol related studies suggest the existence of strong, specific contributions to the vibrational trapping energy of the solvent.     

Photophysics of aromatic molecules with low-lying pi sigma* states: excitation-energy dependence of fluorescence in jet-cooled aromatic nitriles

Excitation-energy dependence of fluorescence intensity and fluorescence lifetime has been measured for 4-dimethylaminobenzonitrile (DMABN), 4-aminobenzonitrile (ABN), 4-diisopropylaminobenzonitrile (DIABN), and 1-naphthonitrile (NN) in a supersonic free jet. In all cases, the fluorescence yield decreases rather dramatically, whereas the fluorescence lifetime decreases only moderately for S1 (pi pi*, L(b)) excess vibrational energy exceeding about 1000 cm(-1). This is confirmed by comparison of the normalized fluorescence excitation spectrum with the absorption spectrum of the compound in the vapor phase. The result indicates that the strong decrease in the relative fluorescence yield at higher energies is due mostly to a decrease in the radiative decay rate of the emitting state. Comparison of the experimental results with the TDDFT potential energy curves for excited states strongly suggests that the decrease in the radiative decay rate of the aminobenzonitriles at higher energies is due to the crossing of the pi pi* singlet state by the lower-lying pi sigma*(C[triple bond]N) singlet state of very small radiative decay rate. The threshold energy for the fluorescence "break-off" is in good agreement with the computed energy barrier for the pi pi*/pi sigma* crossing. For NN, on the other hand, the observed decrease is in fluorescence yield at higher excitation energies can best be attributed to the crossing of the pi pi* singlet state by the pi sigma* triplet state.