No abstract

The permittivity and dielectric loss of an acetamide-sodium thiocyanate mixture have been measured over a wide frequency interval, from lo-' to 10' Hz. The observed dielectric dispersions have been interpreted on the basis of a polymeric model previously proposed. The dipole moment of the acetamide molecule as a function of temperature and the displacement and mobility of solvated Na+ ion have been estimated.

The hospital discharge is often poorly standardized and affected by discontinuity and fragmentation of care, putting patients at high risk of both post-discharge adverse events and early readmission. The present ANMCO document reviews the modifiable components of the hospital discharge process related to adverse events or re-hospitalizations and suggests the optimal methods for redesigning the whole discharge process. The key principles for proper hospital discharge or transfer of care acknowledge that the hospital discharge:• is not an isolated event, but a process that has to be planned as soon as possible after the admission, ensuring that the patient and the caregiver understand and contribute to the planned decisions, as equal partners;• is facilitated by a comprehensive systemic approach that begins with a multidimensional evaluation process;• must be organized by an operator who is responsible for the coordination of all phases of the hospital patient journey, involving afterward the general practitioner and transferring to them the information and responsibility at discharge;• is the result of an integrated multidisciplinary team approach;• appropriately uses the transitional and intermediate care services;• is carried out in an organized system of care and continuum of services; and• programs the passage of information to after-discharge services.

Myocardial contrast echocardiography is a technique used in experimental and clinical settings in order to visualize the pattern of intramyocardial perfusion. In the acute phase of myocardial infarction, regional absence of flow during myocardial contrast echocardiography delineates the area at risk of necrosis, while the definitive non-perfused area expresses infarct size. Reopening the infarct-related artery, which may be achieved spontaneously by thrombolysis or percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty, is not a reliable indicator of intramyocardial reperfusion. If myocardial ischaemia due to coronary occlusion has been sufficiently prolonged and severe, not only myocyte viability, but also microvascular integrity is lost. Myocardial contrast echocardiography, using intracoronary injection of sonicated contrast medium, gives information about microvascular integrity and the effective presence of intramyocardial reflow. Anatomical integrity of microvasculature does not necessarily imply preserved function, and thus the microvessel vasodilating reserve may also be impaired. Myocardial contrast echocardiography has the potential to assess alterations in microvascular function, showing, in the myocardial area with reduced coronary reserve, a relatively reduced increase in echocontrast signal intensity when an intravenous vasodilator agent is administered.

The attenuation of ultrasonic longitudinal waves in the eutectic mixture CH3CONH2 + NaCNS has been measured in the temperature range 255.2-303.2 K and frequency range 5-105 MHz, and the velocities of propagation at 298.4 K for 5 and 15 MHz have been obtained. A distinct structural relaxation process was found in the measured area. Comparing these results with previously reported shear results (G. Berchiesi, G. Vitali, P. Passamonti and R. Plowiec, J. Chern. Soc., Furuduy Trans. 2, 1983, 79, 1257), the variation of the loss modulus, M", as a function of frequency was determined. Agreement was found with theoretical expectations ; however, the influence of the eutectic relaxation process, which takes place in the same area, is evident. Additional shear measurements performed at 10 MHz showed this influence to be stronger than at the higher frequencies reported previously. ~ ~~~Electrolytic solutions in molten amides present some interesting features concerning liquid-solid behaviour, which has been discussed previously. 1-3 Remarkable supercooling phenomena are evident with alkali-metal salts coupled with anions of strong acids;2 in addition, sodium salts exhibit the formation of the incongruently melting compound NaX -2RCONH2.'93 Previously, the eutectic mixture NaCNS + CH3CONH2 was investigated by the technique of shear ultrasonic waves.4 These measurements allow one to determine the shear modulus, G,, and its variation as a function of temperature. The master curve was also plotted following the B.E.L. (Barlow, Erginsov, Lamb) model and the viscoelastic relaxation spectrum was determined. In this paper measurements of the attenuation of longitudinal waves are reported with the calculation of the longitudinal loss modulus, M", and the structural relaxation spectrum. However, additional shear measurements at 10 MHz had to be performed to explain the scattering of some results in the relaxation area. THEORY The longitudinal modulus of a liquid M * ( i w ) = M'(w)+iM"(u) consists of the bulk modulus where rv = vv/ K 2 and the shear modulus G*(iu) = G'(o)+iG"(o) = G,iw,/~l +iwT,,,)