The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) issued a final rule CMS-1629-F to update the Medicare hospice payment rates and wage index (Final FY 2016 Hospice Wage Index [ZIP, 269KB]) for fiscal year (FY) 2016. The final rule reflects the ongoing efforts of CMS to support beneficiary access to hospice care.
Silicon is a chemical element with symbol Si and atomic number 14. It is a tetravalent metalloid, more reactive than germanium, the metalloid directly below it in the table.Controversy about silicon's character dates to its discovery; it was first prepared and characterized in pure form in 1823.easured by mass, silicon makes up 27.7% of the Earth's crust and is the second most abundant element in the crust, with only oxygen having a greater abundance. Silicon is usually found in the form of complex silicate minerals, and less often as silicon dioxide (silica, a major component of common sand).
In its crystalline form, pure silicon has a gray color and a metallic luster. Like germanium, silicon is rather strong, very brittle, and prone to chipping. Silicon, like carbon and germanium, crystallizes in a diamond cubic crystal structure, with a lattice spacing of 0.5430710 nm (5.430710 A). Ã¥