Association of kidney disease measures with risk of renal function worsening in patients with type 1 diabetes

Background: Albuminuria has been classically considered a marker of kidney damage progression in diabetic patients and it is routinely assessed to monitor kidney function. However, the role of a mild GFR reduction on the development of stage 653 CKD has been less explored in type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) patients. Aim of the present study was to evaluate the prognostic role of kidney disease measures, namely albuminuria and reduced GFR, on the development of stage 653 CKD in a large cohort of patients affected by T1DM. Methods: A total of 4284 patients affected by T1DM followed-up at 76 diabetes centers participating to the Italian Association of Clinical Diabetologists (Associazione Medici Diabetologi, AMD) initiative constitutes the study population. Urinary albumin excretion (ACR) and estimated GFR (eGFR) were retrieved and analyzed. The incidence of stage 653 CKD (eGFR < 60 mL/min/1.73 m2) or eGFR reduction > 30% from baseline was evaluated. Results: The mean estimated GFR was 98 \ub1 17 mL/min/1.73m2 and the proportion of patients with albuminuria was 15.3% (n = 654) at baseline. About 8% (n = 337) of patients developed one of the two renal endpoints during the 4-year follow-up period. Age, albuminuria (micro or macro) and baseline eGFR < 90 ml/min/m2 were independent risk factors for stage 653 CKD and renal function worsening. When compared to patients with eGFR > 90 ml/min/1.73m2 and normoalbuminuria, those with albuminuria at baseline had a 1.69 greater risk of reaching stage 3 CKD, while patients with mild eGFR reduction (i.e. eGFR between 90 and 60 mL/min/1.73 m2) show a 3.81 greater risk that rose to 8.24 for those patients with albuminuria and mild eGFR reduction at baseline. Conclusions: Albuminuria and eGFR reduction represent independent risk factors for incident stage 653 CKD in T1DM patients. The simultaneous occurrence of reduced eGFR and albuminuria have a synergistic effect on renal function worsening

The influence of keto defects on photoexcitation dynamics in polyfluorene

The optical properties of two differently substituted types of polyfluorenes, 9-monoalkylated PF (mono-PF) and 9,9-dialkylated PF (bi-PF) where studied by means of photo-induced absorption (PIA) and ultrafast pump and probe measurements. The photo-induced absorption was complemented by measurements on a fluorene-fluorenone copolymer, which can be seen as a model substance for the polyfluorenes containing keto-defect sites. By differential transmission measurements we show that for the 9-monoalkylated PF measurements the singlet and triplet signal is strongly reduced compared to the 9,9-dialkylated PF. Instead, the polaron signal becomes the dominant feature. © 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

A detailed study of the photophysics of organic semiconducting nanospheres

Conjugated polymers are an intriguing class of organic semiconductors which can be utilized as active medium in a wide range of electronic applications. Semiconducting polymer nanospheres fabricated from a conjugated polymer dispersed in aqueous phase have been realized successfully utilizing the miniemulsion process. This class of material combines the properties of conjugated polymers and nanostructured matter and can overcome certain limitations in the film formation of defined multi-layer structures and self assemblies and can, therefore, enable new device design concepts. We present first spectroscopic investigations to characterize nanospheres of methyl-substituted ladder-type poly(para-phenylene) in film and compare them to conventional bulk films of the same polymer. The dynamics of the various photo-excited states is probed via both steady state and transient differential transmission spectroscopy. © 2003 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Organic light-emitting devices fabricated from semiconducting nanospheres

The successful fabrication of organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) utilizing organic semiconducting polymer nanospheres was reported. The devices consist of a homogeneous single layer of nanosized semiconducting conjugated polymer nanospheres (SPNs) and reveal improved opto-electronic characteristics compared with "traditionally" fabricated OLEDs for which the active layer was cast from a solution of the conjugated polymer in an organic solvent. Optical spectroscopy have evidenced that conjugated polymers can be converted into aqueous SPN dispersions without generation of electronic defects; the SPNs display the photophysical properties of the bulk polymer

Organic light-emitting devices fabricated from semiconducting nanospheres

The successful fabrication of organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) utilizing organic semiconducting polymer nanospheres was reported. The devices consist of a homogeneous single layer of nanosized semiconducting conjugated polymer nanospheres (SPNs) and reveal improved opto-electronic characteristics compared with "traditionally" fabricated OLEDs for which the active layer was cast from a solution of the conjugated polymer in an organic solvent. Optical spectroscopy have evidenced that conjugated polymers can be converted into aqueous SPN dispersions without generation of electronic defects; the SPNs display the photophysical properties of the bulk polymer