PLA and SP were blended at 175 C in a microcompounder followed by extrusion of composite fibers and removal of SP from composite fibers by using hydrodispersion to form micropores in the composite fibers. Differential scanning calorimetric studies on unhydrolysed composite fibers showed that SP was partially miscible M PLA. Fourier transform infrared mapping of composite fiber cross sections revealed that SP was randomly dispersed throughout the cross section where the degree of dispersion depended on the SP content. As revealed by the scanning electron

micrographs, the size of the micropores was dependent on the SP content. Micropores on fiber cross sections were observed in fibers above find more 3% SP indicating that at least 3% SP content is needed to produce droplet morphology of SP in these fibers. These results show that SP can be successfully used in a blend with PLA to produce microporous fibers to fabricate three-dimensional nonwoven scaffolds for tissue engineering applications. (C) 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J click here Appl Polym Sci 117: 3350-3361, 2010″
“Background: Many researchers use observed questionnaire scores to evaluate score reliability

and to make conclusions and inferences regarding quality-of-life outcomes. The amount of false alarms from medical diagnoses that would be avoided if observed scores were substituted with expected scores is interesting, and understanding these differences is important for the care of cancer patients. Using expected scores to estimate the reliability of 95% confidence intervals (CIs) is rarely reported in published papers. We investigated the reliability of patient responses

to a quality-of-life questionnaire and made recommendations for future studies of the quality of life of patients.

Methods: A total of 115 patients completed the EORTC core questionnaire QLQ-C30 (version 3) after radiotherapy. The observed response scores, assumed to be one-dimensional, were summed and transformed into expected scores using the Rasch rating scale model with WINSTEPS software. selleck products A series of simulations was performed using a unified bootstrap procedure after manipulating scenarios with different questionnaire lengths and patient numbers to estimate the reliability at 95% confidence intervals. Skewness analyses of the 95% CIs were compared to detect different effects between groups according to the two data sets of observed and expected response scores.

Results: We found that (1) it is necessary to report CIs for reliability and skewness coefficients in papers; (2) data derived from expected response scores are preferable to making inferences; and (3) visual representations displaying the 95% CIs of skewness values applied to item-by-item analyses can provide a useful interpretation of quality-of-life outcomes.