(C) 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 122: 29-34, 2011″
“The applicability of islet transplantation as treatment for type 1 diabetes is limited by renal and islet toxicities of currently available immunosuppressants. We describe a novel immunosuppressive regimen using the antileukocyte functional antigen-1 antibody efalizumab which permits long-term islet allograft survival while reducing the need for corticosteroids and calcineurin inhibitors (CNI). Eight patients with type 1 diabetes and hypoglycemic unawareness received intraportal

allogeneic islet transplants. Immunosuppression consisted of antithymocyte globulin induction followed by maintenance with efalizumab and sirolimus or mycophenolate. When efalizumab was withdrawn selleck from the market in mid 2009, all patients were transitioned to regimens consisting of mycophenolate and sirolimus or mycophenolate

and tacrolimus. All patients achieved insulin independence and four out of eight learn more patients became independent after single-islet transplants. Insulin independent patients had no further hypoglycemic events, hemoglobin A1c levels decreased and renal function remained stable. Efalizumab was well tolerated and no serious adverse events were encountered. Although long-term follow-up is limited by discontinuation of efalizumab and transition to conventional imunnosuppression (including CNI in four cases), these results demonstrate that insulin independence after islet transplantation can be achieved with a CNI and steroid-free regimen. Such an approach may minimize renal and islet toxicity and thus further improve long-term islet allograft survival.”
“Magnonic crystals are novel materials that open a new field to explore in the domain of spin dynamics in nanoscale systems. They also hold great promise for technological applications. The bulk, matrix, and edge magnonic states in a slab check details of two-dimensional magnonic

crystal in the form of a superlattice of arrays of cylindrical dots of finite thickness are considered. The presented calculations are based on the plane wave method reformulated to gain in generality and efficiency, with both the exchange and the demagnetizing fields taken into account. The analytical formulas for Fourier coefficients of position-dependent material parameters for finite arrays of rods of various cross-sectional geometry and arrangement in the unit cell have been derived and presented. The localization properties of the edge modes found result from the magnonic spectrum and not from the nonuniformity of the internal magnetic field. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3536534]“
“Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) were chosen due to their excellent electrical properties. As delivered, CNTs are highly agglomerated, and to exploit their high aspect ratio is then necessary to disagglomerate them as much as possible. A diblock copolymer surfactant was used to aid CNT disagglomeration.