Like all states, Nebraska faces distinct challenges in how it allocates resources to meet the most immediate needs of its citizens while investing responsibly in long-term social and economic growth. This report presents selected indicators that describe the status of infants and toddlers in Nebraska; Often comparable data for the U.S. as a whole…

Asthma, one of the most common chronic disorders in childhood, affects more than seven million children in the United States, and is the third leading cause of hospitalization for children. Statistics like these make planning and preparing for asthma in the early childhood setting a high priority. With the high rates of asthma in the U.S. today,…

Extension is focusing on healthy homes programming. Extension educators are not qualified to diagnose consumers' medical problems as they relate to housing. We cannot give medical advice. Instead, we can help educate consumers about home conditions that may affect their well-being. Extension educators need appropriate healthy homes tools to…

The Career and Technical Education (CTE) program took the initiative to investigate safety practices in its programs, especially with regard to chemicals and hazardous materials. This report highlights some responses from the CTE safety survey in 2010.

An experiment exploring the photochemical properties of quinones was developed. Their unique photochemistry and highly reactive nature make them an ideal class of compounds for examining structure-activity relationships. For several substituted quinones, photochemical reactivity was related to structure and ultimately to the Gibbs energy for…

This study aimed to understand the environmental knowledge (EK) of the residents of Hong Kong. A territory-wide survey was administered to investigate the subjective and objective EK of the respondents as well as their means of receiving information about the environment. The results indicated that Hong Kong's residents have a comparatively low…

Throughout history, the advance of civilization has been closely tied to the idea that all people have rights: universal, inalienable entitlements to freedom, dignity and security, to be treated fairly and to live free from oppression. The health and soul of all societies depend on how these human rights are recognized--and acted upon. Until the…

This article presents case studies from three districts implementing green cleaning. In 2008, Missouri passed legislation requiring state education officials to convene a committee of stakeholders with the purpose of developing green cleaning guidelines and specifications for schools. The guide, published by the Department of Elementary and…

This study evaluates media coverage of two important environmental issues from the 1980s (acid rain and chlorofluorocarbons), providing historical context for current media coverage analysis. Focusing on popular magazine articles, this study identifies key characteristics of content and presentation. Content-related characteristics are inclusion…

This study investigated the knowledge gains and attitude shifts attributable to a unique online science education game, "Uncommon Scents." The game was developed to teach middle school students about the biological consequences of exposure to toxic chemicals in an environmental science context, as well as the risks associated with abusing these…

The theoretical basis of reactive oxygen species and their impact on health issues are relatively easy to understand by biomedical students. The detection of reactive oxygen species requires expensive equipment, the procedures are time consuming and costly, and the results are hard to interpret. Moreover, cause-and-effect relationships in the…

Childhood exposure to even low levels of lead can adversely affect neurodevelopment, behavior, and cognitive performance. This paper investigates the link between lead exposure and student achievement in Massachusetts. Panel data analysis is conducted at the school-cohort level for children born between 1991 and 2000 and attending 3rd and 4th…

This publication, part of the new Building and Infrastructure Protection Series (BIPS) published by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) Infrastructure Protection and Disaster Management Division (IDD), serves to advance high performance and integrated design for buildings and infrastructure. This…

This article connects Extension education and the Healthy Homes Initiative. Background on housing research and education is provided in the context of four issues (toxic materials, dangerous gases, hazards related to asthma, and other residential hazards). The federally funded Healthy Homes Partnership is described, and implications for…

This project involved developing a method to remediate large quantities of aqueous waste from a general chemistry laboratory experiment. Aqueous Ni(II) waste from a general chemistry laboratory experiment was converted into solid nickel hydroxide hydrate with a substantial decrease in waste volume. The remediation method was developed for a…