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

Intrinsic room-temperature electrophosphorescence from a pi- conjugated polymer

Electrically induced phosphorescence from a poly(para- phenylene) ladder-type polymer is observed for the first time and characterized using time resolved spectroscopy. Short-lived phosphorescence is also observed in gated fluorescence spectra and is found to be quenched reversibly by oxygen. Thermally activated triplet diffusion to covalently bound palladium sites, which are formed at a concentration of about 80 ppm in a side reaction during polymer synthesis, is believed to be the cause of this novel effect, which suggests a new approach to the design of efficient electroluminescent materials

Intrinsic room-temperature electrophosphorescence from a pi- conjugated polymer

Electrically induced phosphorescence from a poly(para- phenylene) ladder-type polymer is observed for the first time and characterized using time resolved spectroscopy. Short-lived phosphorescence is also observed in gated fluorescence spectra and is found to be quenched reversibly by oxygen. Thermally activated triplet diffusion to covalently bound palladium sites, which are formed at a concentration of about 80 ppm in a side reaction during polymer synthesis, is believed to be the cause of this novel effect, which suggests a new approach to the design of efficient electroluminescent materials

Intrinsic room-temperature electrophosphorescence from a pi- conjugated polymer

Electrically induced phosphorescence from a poly(para- phenylene) ladder-type polymer is observed for the first time and characterized using time resolved spectroscopy. Short-lived phosphorescence is also observed in gated fluorescence spectra and is found to be quenched reversibly by oxygen. Thermally activated triplet diffusion to covalently bound palladium sites, which are formed at a concentration of about 80 ppm in a side reaction during polymer synthesis, is believed to be the cause of this novel effect, which suggests a new approach to the design of efficient electroluminescent materials

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