The challenges of assessing acute kidney injury in infants

Definitions of pediatric acute kidney injury (AKI) use changes of serum creatinine. There is a paucity of well-designed studies in infants because of creatinine age-dependency. The emerging role of cystatin C as a superior marker of renal dysfunction led to a carefully conducted study on AKI in infants by Zappitelli et al. This Commentary calls for the development of age-independent serum creatinine and estimated glomerular filtration rate z scores. © 2011 International Society of Nephrology

Thermally enhanced bioventing of petroleum hydrocarbons in cold regions

Thesis (Ph.D.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 1997Petroleum-based contamination of the environment has and will likely continue to be a problem as long as oil and natural gas supply much of the world energy demands. In cold regions, where vast quantities of these fuels are extracted and used, climate and frozen soils limit remedial efforts to a few technologies. Bioventing has shown promise as a viable method for the remediation of spilled petroleum-based fuels in cold regions. An in situ study of bioventing with soil warming was conducted at a Fairbanks, Alaska site. The main purpose of this research effort was to compare the effectiveness of thermal enhancement techniques applied to bioventing. Objectives included (1) developing a suitable thermal insulation system(s) that would provide year-round bioventing of petroleum contaminated soils, (2) modeling of the thermal regime below three treatment areas, (3) relating monitoring and testing data to thermally enhanced biodegradation, and (4) presenting the information in a way that is useful to engineers, biologists and environmental scientists. Active soil warming with electrical heat tape beneath polystyrene insulation and sand and gravel overburden raised subsurface soil temperatures from the ground surface to the water table by as much as 15\sp\circF. The actively warmed test plot was successfully heated year-round, preventing soil freezing and enhancing microbial activity. Soil gas, microbiological, and geochemical sampling data evidenced correlation between increased bioactivity and soil warming. Passively treated soils evidenced some winter increase in temperatures, although some periodic soil freezing did occur. Overall, biodegradation within both passively treated and untreated contaminated test plots was noticeably slower than within the actively warmed plot. Thermally enhanced bioventing successfully remediated hydrocarbon contamination in vadose zone soils at a subarctic site within two years. After oxygen, temperature appears to be the most important factor affecting microbial activity and biodegradation. Variable and low moisture contents did not seem detrimental to bioactivity

The challenges of assessing acute kidney injury in infants

Definitions of pediatric acute kidney injury (AKI) use changes of serum creatinine. There is a paucity of well-designed studies in infants because of creatinine age-dependency. The emerging role of cystatin C as a superior marker of renal dysfunction led to a carefully conducted study on AKI in infants by Zappitelli et al. This Commentary calls for the development of age-independent serum creatinine and estimated glomerular filtration rate z scores. © 2011 International Society of Nephrology

International Criminal Jurisdiction in the Twenty First Century: Rediscovering United States v. Bowman

In Part I of this Article, we provide a description of the facts and holding of United States v. Bowman. In Part II, we describe the ways in which lower courts have interpreted this decision. We point to various cases citing Bowman and show how these courts give exceedingly broad application to the holding - far broader application than the opinion warrants. Finally, in Part III, we discuss the ways in which the courts should read Bowman and demonstrate how this more accurate reading of the Court\u27s decision is consistent with the realities of twenty-first century global economies. In doing so, we illustrate how Bowman can be a leading case for a sensible international criminal jurisdiction jurisprudence in a global age

Negligence at the Breach: Information Fiduciaries and the Duty to Care for Data

Personal data is a cost of admission for much of modern life. Employers, tech companies, advertisers, information brokers, and others collect huge quantities of data about us all. Yet outside of a few highly-regulated industries, American companies face few legal restrictions on how they manage and use that data. Until now, individuals have had very limited remedies when their data is stolen from data collectors. But change is afoot. In a significant recent decision, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court took a consequential step holding that entities collecting personal data owe a duty of reasonable care to protect data subjects against harm. This tort decision left a critical question unresolved. What is “harm” in the context of privacy? What is it exactly that data collectors must protect data subjects against? This Article takes one state’s doctrinal move as a jumping-off point to consider a question of immense national importance—how to apply common law negligence principles in cases involving the disclosure and misuse of personal data, and specifically, what a “duty to care” means in the unsettled realm of privacy law. Building off Jack Balkin’s work, this Article proposes that fiduciary law offers an appealing framework for conceptualizing privacy harms and the corresponding responsibilities of the entities who are collecting our data. In doing so, it begins the conversation of how tort law can take a central place in protecting individuals when data holders betray their trust

Growth of vertically aligned Si wire arrays over large areas (>1 cm^2) with Au and Cu catalysts

Arrays of vertically oriented Si wires with diameters of 1.5 µm and lengths of up to 75 µm were grown over areas >1 cm^2 by photolithographically patterning an oxide buffer layer, followed by vapor-liquid-solid growth with either Au or Cu as the growth catalyst. The pattern fidelity depended critically on the presence of the oxide layer, which prevented migration of the catalyst on the surface during annealing and in the early stages of wire growth. These arrays can be used as the absorber material in novel photovoltaic architectures and potentially in photonic crystals in which large areas are needed

Residual renal function assessment with cystatin C

Su Jin Kim and coworkers from Korea published an important study on the relationship of residual renal function (RRF) and cystatin in pediatric peritoneal dialysis (PD) patients in this issue of Pediatric Nephrology, both in anuric patients and patients with RRF. Based on a lack of correlation between cystatin C and standard small solute-based dialysis adequacy parameters such as Kt/Vurea but a significant correlation with RRF, the authors concluded that cystatin C may be a good tool to monitor RRF. The editorial reviews the available literature in adults, the different handing between urea and cystatin C, and the determinants of cystatin C clearance in dialysis patients. In adults, cystatin C levels are determined predominantly by RRF, but not exclusively. In anephric hemodialysis and PD patients, there is a correlation with standard weekly Kt/Vurea. Cystatin C levels will also depend on ultrafiltration. Despite these factors that affect cystatin C levels beyond RRF, cystatin C is a useful parameter for monitoring PD patients that may be more closely related to long-term outcomes than small solute adequacy parameters. © 2010 IPNA