The renal function trajectory in clinical trial design: challenges and opportunities.

The changes in renal function over time as surrogate endpoints for new drug trials are complicated by many factors, including the often-expected initial decrease in estimated glomerular filtration rate when a new drug is started. Two articles in the journal address this challenge, but multiple other challenges are explored in this commentary. To maximize the benefits of expensive new drugs that may slow decline in renal function, these drugs should be reserved for those patients who have a high probability of rapid loss of kidney function.

Use of omic tools to assess methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) degradation in groundwater.

This study employed innovative technologies to evaluate multiple lines of evidence for natural attenuation (NA) of methyl tertiary-butyl ether (MTBE) in groundwater at the 22 Area of Marine Corps Base (MCB) Camp Pendleton after decommissioning of a biobarrier system. For comparison, data from the 13 Area Gas Station where active treatment of MTBE is occurring was used to evaluate the effectiveness of omic techniques in assessing biodegradation. Overall, the 22 Area Gas Station appeared to be anoxic.