Transparent Er-Doped YO Ceramics with Long Optical Coherence Lifetime.

Er-doped YO nanoparticles (NPs) are used to synthesize transparent ceramics by hot isostatic pressing. Two sizes of NPs are studied, and 40 nm NPs show better performance than 200 nm NPs in transparent ceramics syntheses. The axial optical transmission through millimeter thickness of the prepared ceramics is about 80% in the wavelength range of 1000-2000 nm.

Oxidative stress in rats after 60 days of hypergalactosemia or hyperglycemia.

Two of the models used in current diabetes research include the hypergalactosemic rat and the hyperglucosemic, streptozotocin-induced diabetic rat. Few studies, however, have examined the concurrence of these two models regarding the effects of elevated hexoses on biomarkers of oxidative stress. This study compared the activities of superoxide dismutase, catalase, glutathione peroxidase, and glutathione reductase and the concentrations of glutathione, glutathione disulfide, and thiobarbituric acid reactants (as a measure of lipid peroxidation) in liver, kidney, and heart of Sprague-Dawley rats after 60 days of either a 50% galactose diet or insulin deficiency caused by streptozotocin injection.

Resource-based relative values for invasive procedures performed by eight surgical specialties.

We surveyed approximately 850 physicians in eight surgical specialties to investigate physicians' work in performing invasive services. Building on our analysis of physician work, we developed a relative value scale of physicians' services based on resource costs. First, we found that physician charges are not set in proportion to the resources required to perform a given procedure: there is a threefold variation, across hospital-based invasive procedures, in the ratio of charges to resource-based relative values.

Cross-specialty linkage of resource-based relative value scales. Linking specialties by services and procedures of equal work.

This article describes methods used to combine into a common scale resource-based relative values from separate specialties. The key to producing a common scale is identifying pairs ("links") of services from different specialties that require approximately equal amounts of intraservice work. We distinguished two kinds of pairs of link services, those judged to be the same and those judged to be equivalent, usually within a narrow category of medical activity.

A method for estimating the preservice and postservice work of physicians' services.

The goal of the Resource-Based Relative Value Scale is to measure the resource costs of physicians' services, or, more centrally, the physicians' total work. This article describes the estimation of relative values for physicians' work before and after the performance of a service (preservice and postservice work). For methodological and practical reasons, we could not obtain direct ratings of preservice and postservice work except for a few services.