Polysaccharide composition ofPolygonum aviculare
A polysaccharide isolated from the epigeal parts ofPolygonum aviculare has been fractionated. It has been shown that the initial polysaccharide consists of at least four fractions differing in their monosaccharide compositions and physico-mechanical properties.
FRACTIONATION OF PECTINS FROM SUNFLOWERS, SUGAR BEETS, APPLES, AND CITRUS FRUITS
Pectins from sunflower heads, sugar beet, apple, and citrus fruits were separated into acid-insoluble pectic acids and acid-soluble polysaccharides. The acid-soluble polysaccharides were shown by m...
Public Hospitals : Options for Reform through Public-Private Partnerships
Globally, health expenditures rose from an average of 3 percent of GDP in 1950 to 8 percent (US$3 trillion) in 1999 (WHO 2000). The increase in spending has been driven by rising income, changing demographic and epidemiological trends, and costly new pharmaceuticals and technology. Although technology is allowing a shift to outpatient care, hospitals still account for 30–50 percent of health expenditures. Public funding has not kept pace with the growth in spending. Much of the increase has been financed from private sources (out-ofpocket payments and private insurance), while the share funded publicly (by tax revenue and national insurance) declined by 6 percent between 1977 and 1997. Constraints on public funding, combined with rising costs, have forced public hospitals to cut costs wherever possible while still endeavoring to guarantee universal (and often free) access to public patients.1 Governments have used different strategies to address these problems, such as shifting financing from general tax revenue to payroll-financed national health insurance, narrowing the basic package of services available to all citizens, linking hospital funding to outputs and efficiency, amalgamating hospitals into networks, increasing autonomy and incentives for management, and reducing the number of hospital beds. Some governments have also turned to public-private partnerships to bring private sector efficiency into public hospitals.