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BACKGROUND: Exposure to arsenic (As) in well water is a well-documented public health issue for Maine and New Hampshire, as well as for other states in the United States and abroad. Arsenic contamination of well water in these locations is primarily attributed to metasedimentary bedrock that leaches As into groundwater. However, As can also enter groundwater reserves from soils contaminated by the historical use of arsenical pesticides. Approximately half of the households in Maine and New Hampshire rely on private wells, many of which have elevated As. Arsenic exposure has been associated with an increased risk of cancer, cardiovascular disease, reduced infection resistance, and lower intelligence quotient in children. Despite these known health impacts, well water testing and treatment are not universal. OBJECTIVES: We have approached the problem of low well water testing rates in Maine and New Hampshire communities by developing the All About Arsenic (AAA) project, which engages secondary school teachers and students as citizen scientists in collecting well water samples for analysis of As and other toxic metals and supports their outreach efforts to their communities. METHODS: We assessed this project's public health impact by analyzing student data relative to existing well water quality datasets in both states. In addition, we surveyed private well owners who contributed well water samples to the project to determine the actions taken to mitigate As in well water. RESULTS: Students collected 3,070 drinking water samples for metals testing, and 752 exceeded New Hampshire's As standard of 5ppb. The AAA data has more than doubled the amount of information available to public health agencies about well water quality in multiple municipalities across both states. Students also collected information about well types and treatment systems. Their data reveal that some homeowners did not know what type of wells they had or whether they had filtration systems. Those with filtration systems were often unaware of the type of system, what the system was filtering for, or whether the system was designed to remove As. Through interviews with pilot survey participants, we learned that some had begun mitigating their exposure to As and other toxic metals in response to test results from the AAA project. DISCUSSION: A school-based approach to collecting and analyzing private well water samples can successfully reach communities with low testing rates for toxic elements, such as As and other metals. Importantly, information generated through the program can impact household decisionmaking, and students can influence local and state policymaking by sharing information in their communities. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP13421, Introduction Arsenic (As) in well water is a well-documented public health issue around the world, including in Northern New England states. Of particular note is that bladder cancer mortality rates [...]

DOI 10.1007/s11294-011-9293-4 Published online: 17 April 2011 [C] International Atlantic Economic Society 2011 Abstract This paper addresses two questions. First, how does the quality, rather than the quantity, of education [...]

The current study examined the accuracy of the multiple-stimulus without replacement (MSWO) preference assessment for identifying preferred common classroom activities as reinforcers with children with behavioral disorders. The accuracy of predictions from the MSWO regarding high, medium, and low stimulus preference was tested by providing contingent access to activities for completing math problems within an independent seatwork format. Overall, there was an interaction effect between preference ranking (high, medium, or low) and number of problems completed. The results confirm and extend previous findings regarding the accuracy of predictions with the MSWO. The findings also reveal, however, some individual differences that may account for instances in which student behavior did not conform to predictions of stimulus preference assessments. DESCRIPTORS: math problem completion, preferences, reinforcer, preference assessment

Byline: Kenneth C. Land (1), Vicki L. Lamb (1), Sarah O. Meadows (1), Ashley Taylor (1) Keywords: child well-being; indices; quality of life Abstract: This paper first reviews the goals of the founding documents of the social indicators and quality-of-life movements of the 1960s and 1970s. It next describes the current state of knowledge with respect to the founding goals of this field. The focus then turns to the topic of measuring changes in child and youth well-being in the United States over the past few decades. In particular, the evidence-based approach used in the construction of the recently developed composite Child and Youth Well-Being Index (CWI) is described. Some findings from the CWI regarding changes in child and youth well-being in the period 1975--2004 are reported. Trends in the CWI then are compared with data on trends in subjective well-being of high school seniors -- similarities of trends in these two series provide validating support for the interpretation of the CWI as an index of changes in the quality-of-life of children and youth. Using data on some additional indicator series, most of which were initiated in the 1990s, an Expanded CWI is then described. The qualitative pattern of change in the expanded CWI is shown to be similar to that of the basic CWI, except that the expanded CWI shows a more pronounced decline in the early-1990s and a slower rate of improvement into the early-2000s. The paper concludes with some possible directions for future work. Author Affiliation: (1) Department of Sociology, Duke University, 268 Sociology--Psychology Building, P.O. Box 90088, Durham, NC, 27708-0088, USA Article History: Registration Date: 09/05/2006 Accepted Date: 02/02/2006 Online Date: 29/07/2006 Article note: Revision of a paper presented at the Measuring Child Well-Being: The Pros and Cons of Composite Indices Session, American Statistical Association Annual Meeting, Minneapolis, MN, August 7--11, 2005. We thank Kristin Moore for useful comments. The research on the Child and Youth Well-Being Index reported herein was supported by a grant from the Foundation for Child Development.

Electrically tunable nanostructured surfaces that allow fully reversible, electrically controlled tuning of the liquid-solid interaction that covers the widest possible range from super hydrophobic behavior to nearly complete wetting is studied. Results suggest that these tunable nanostructured surfaces can provide a new insight into the physics of liquid-solid interfaces and can promote the development of novel applications.

A new approach is presented for fabricating monolithic crystalline silicon tilting-mirror microoptoelectromechanical systems (MOEMS) devices. The activation electrodes, etched from a thick silicon layer deposited over insulating oxide onto the top surface of a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) wafer, are displaced from the mirrors and interact with these tilting elements via electrostatic fringing fields. In contrast to the more usual parallel-plate activation, the rotation angle saturates at high voltages. This paper discusses concept, design, and processing, and also compares modeling and measured performance of a specific 9[degrees] tilt range device array. [977] Index Terms--MEMS, MOEMS, micromachined structures, optical telecommunications.