Evaluation of a hospital's financial condition is often contingent upon the analysis of financial ratios. This study of 114 Illinois hospitals sought to simplify the financial assessment process by exploring the empirical dimensions that underlie 25 financial ratios. Results of a factor analytic solution suggest that there are five underlying factors which account for approximately 77% of the total variance. Uses of summative scaled measures in health services financial management and research are discussed.
A 7.5-mm twin-screw extruder was developed specifically for the processing of energetic formulations involving nanoparticles. Prior to extrusion of energetic formulations, simulants of CMC, water, and alumina nanoparticle gels were extruded. Quantitative measures of degree of mixedness (statistics of concentration distributions) were obtained on samples processed with the twin-screw extruder and with conventional processing methods using wide-angle X-ray diffraction (WAXD) and thermo-gravimetric analysis (TGA) and were corroborated with microscopy. Twin-screw extrusion process generated more homogeneous mixtures of nanoparticles than conventional (intensive batch) mixing technologies and the use of surfactants further improved the homogeneity. With increasing homogeneity the suspension exhibited lower elasticity and shear viscosity. Overall, the results of this study emphasize the important roles played by the surface properties of rigid particles, the interfacial tension between the particles and the binder, and the rheological behavior of the binder. In the absence of properly selected binder and surfactant(s), the processing of nanoparticles, without agglomeration, is difficult to achieve. This finding may be relevant to the evaluation of past efforts, which have aimed to improve the ultimate properties of energetic formulations by incorporating nanoparticles.
Extruders used for the continuous processing of energetic materials require various types of safety features and thus are differentiated from the extruders commonly available to civilian industries. Items of particular importance to the user include the in-process volume, control of the energetic material properties (especially temperature and pressure), the ability to quickly release pressure, reduction of metal-to-metal contact, and the control of electrical discharge. In this article, two novel extrusion platforms, the first one involving a flexible manufacturing platform and the second designed to process nanoenergetics, are described to illustrate the procedures necessary to design extrusion platforms for energetics manufacture. Particular emphasis is given to the safety features that need to be incorporated during the design stage, along with a detailed discussion of the flexibility and ease of use of extrusion equipment. The use of material-specific mathematical modeling in the design of the extrusion platforms is also elucidated as a first line of defense for safety and ease of use.
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