Thermal density fluctuations within phases and finite interphase widths lead to systematic deviations from Porod's law. The validity of present methods used to analyze these deviations and determine diffuse‐boundary widths is determined. In view of the inadequacies found in these methods, a simple yet accurate method is proposed to determine the diffuse‐boundary width from direct graphical analysis of slit‐smeared intensity data. The diffuse interface is modelled by a sigmoidal‐gradient model which is justified on thermodynamic grounds, with the interphase thickness as a function of the Flory–Huggins interaction parameter.

Morphological studies are reported for a thermotropic liquid crystalline polyester. Small angle light scattering studies were carried out as a function of temperature using Hv and Vv polarization with photographic as well as photometric techniques. No scattering was observed from a thin film cast from a dilute solution of the polymer in a highly volatile solvent. When the film was heated, scattering of light was observed above the glass transition temperature of the polyester. The scattering was found to be azimuthally dependent with Vv intensities being much higher than the corresponding Hv intensities. The size of the morphological features responsible for SALS patterns were calculated and were found not to change significantly with temperature ranging from glass transition temperature to the solid‐nematic transition temperature of the polyester. The WAXS pattern of solution cast polymer was representative of an amorphous structure. Solution cast films heat treated under various conditions (all above the Tg of the polymer) contained crystalline as well as amorphous structures. The maximum apparent crystallinity for annealed samples was of the order of 30%.

Previous studies have shown that approximately 40% of patients with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) and anaemia respond to treatment with human recombinant granulocyte-CSF (G-CSF) plus erythropoietin (epo). The present study was designed to investigate pre-treatment variables for their ability to predict erythroid responses to this treatment. 98 patients with MDS (30 RA, 31 RARS, 32 RAEB, five RAEB-t) were treated with a combination of G-CSF (0.3-3.0 microg/kg/d, s.c.) and epo (60-300 U/kg/d, s.c.) for at least 10 weeks. Minimum criteria for erythroid response was a 100% reduction of red blood cell (RBC) transfusion need or an increase in haemoglobin level of > or = 1.5 g/dl. 35 patients (36%) showed responses to treatment. Medium duration of response was 11-24 months. In multivariate analysis, serum erythropoietin levels and initial RBC-transfusion need retained high statistical significance (P < 0.01). Using pre-treatment serum epo levels as a ternary variable (< 100, 100-500 or > 500 U/l) and RBC transfusion need as a binary variable (< 2 or > or = 2 units per month), the analysis provided a predictive score for erythroid response. This score divided patients into three groups: one group with a high probability of erythroid responses (74%), one intermediate group (23%) and one group with poor responses to treatment (7%). This predictive scoring system could be used in decisions regarding use of these cytokines for treating the anaemia of MDS, both for defining patients who should not be given the treatment and for selecting patients for inclusion in prospective trials.

Anemia is prevalent in 30% to 90% of patients with cancer. Anemia can be corrected through either treating the underlying cause or providing supportive care through transfusion with packed red blood cells or administration of erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs), with or without iron supplementation. Recent studies showing detrimental health effects of ESAs sparked a series of FDA label revisions and a sea change in the perception of these once commonly used agents. In light of this, the NCCN Clinical Practice Guidelines in Oncology (NCCN Guidelines) for Cancer- and Chemotherapy-Induced Anemia underwent substantial revisions this year. The purpose of these NCCN Guidelines is twofold: 1) to operationalize the evaluation and treatment of anemia in adult cancer patients, with an emphasis on those who are receiving concomitant chemotherapy, and 2) to enable patients and clinicians to individualize anemia treatment options based on patient condition.

The glass transition (Tg) of thin polystyrene films (ca. 3000 A˚) cast on silicon wafers was determined by a new technique. An ellipsometer was used to determine the refractive index and thickness of the polystyrene films. Tg was determined by measuring the temperature dependence of the refractive index. The change in thickness with temperature was used to calculate the linear and bulk thermal expansion coefficients of the material. A significant shift in Tg, possibly due to strains induced in the cooled films, was observed between heating and cooling for polystyrene films. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

SynopsisThe small-angle x-ray scattering (SAXS) technique has been used to characterize the detailed microphase structure of two crosslinked segmented polyurethane elastomers. Both copolymers contain trifunctional polypropylene ether triols in the rubbery elastomeric block, but are synthesized with different hard segments: a symmetric 4,4'-diphenylmethane diisocyanate (MDI) chain extended with butanediol (BD); and an 80/20 mixture of asymmetric 2,4-toluene diisocyanate (TDI) and symmetric 2,6-toluene diisocyanate (TDI) chain extended with ethylene glycol (EG). Calculations of SAXS invariants and determinations of deviations from Porod's law are used to examine the degree of phase segregation of the hard-and soft-segment domains. Results show that the overall degree of phase separation is poorer in the asymmetric TDI/EG-based copolymer than in the symmetric MDI/BD-based copolymer. Determination of diffuse phase boundary thicknesses, however, reveals that the domain boundaries are sharper in the asymmetric TDI/EG system. The contrasting morphologies found in the two systems are interpreted in terms of differences in hard-soft segment compatibility, diisocyanate symmetry, and diisocyanate length. Coupled with conformational considerations, this information is used to construct a new model for polyurethane hard-segment microdomain structure. Important features of the model are that it takes into account the effects of hard-segment sequence length distribution and allows for folding of the longer hard-segment sequences back into the hard-segment domain.

The photographic light scattering technique permits a measurement of the size, anisotropy, radial periodicity, packing, and internal structure of polymer spherulites. The theory of some of these effects is described, and experiments are presented showing changes occurring in the melting and growth of spherulites.

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