The Marcellus Shale is the largest natural gas deposit in the U.S. and rapid development of this resource has raised concerns about regional air pollution. A field campaign was conducted in the southwestern Pennsylvania region of the Marcellus Shale to investigate the impact of unconventional natural gas (UNG) production operations on regional air quality. Whole air samples were collected throughout an 8050 km(2) grid surrounding Pittsburgh and analyzed for methane, carbon dioxide, and C1-C10 volatile organic compounds (VOCs). Elevated mixing ratios of methane and C2-C8 alkanes were observed in areas with the highest density of UNG wells. Source apportionment was used to identify characteristic emission ratios for UNG sources, and results indicated that UNG emissions were responsible for the majority of mixing ratios of C2-C8 alkanes, but accounted for a small proportion of alkene and aromatic compounds. The VOC emissions from UNG operations accounted for 17 ± 19% of the regional kinetic hydroxyl radical reactivity of nonbiogenic VOCs suggesting that natural gas emissions may affect compliance with federal ozone standards. A first approximation of methane emissions from the study area of 10.0 ± 5.2 kg s(-1) provides a baseline for determining the efficacy of regulatory emission control efforts.

Objectives Early childhood caries (ECC) negatively impacts many child health outcomes and can lead to greater costs for medical and dental care as well as negatively impact future oral health wellness. ECC risk factors are rooted in many social determinants of health. Addressing ECC at the population‐level is a national public health priority. The purpose of this study was to identify the South Carolina counties with the greatest risk for ECC. As policy‐makers seek to address inequities stemming from early childhood caries, documenting its prevalence is essential. Methods Since no county level ECC rates were published for South Carolina, we identified an opportunity to strengthen ECC surveillance through public use data, so as to properly equip policy‐makers and pediatric providers with an evidence based understanding of the scope of the problem. As a result we sought to develop an overall county level prevalence measure for ECC risk through an ecological analysis of public use data. Results Ten counties with the greatest overall risk for ECC were all rural as hypothesized. Additionally, seven of the 10 highest risk counties fell into what is often referred to as the “Corridor of Shame.” Conclusions We have found an affordable way of measuring county level risk for ECC that allows pediatric advocates and policy‐makers to develop population level interventions to reduce and measure risk with public‐use data.

In recent years, there has been increasing interest in developing a Computer Science curriculum for K-8 students. However, there have been significant barriers to creating and deploying a Computer Science curriculum in many areas, including teacher time and the prioritization of other 21st-century skills. At McMaster University, we have developed both general computer literacy activities and specific programming activities. Integration of these activities is made easy as they each support existing curricular goals. In this paper, we focus on programming in the functional language Elm and the graphics library GraphicSVG. Elm is in the ML (Meta Language) family, with a lean syntax and easy inclusion of Domain Specific Languages. This allows children to start experimenting with GraphicSVG as a language for describing shape, and pick up the core Elm language as they grow in sophistication. Teachers see children making connections between computer graphics and mathematics within the first hour. Graphics are defined declaratively, and support aggregation and transformation, i.e., Algebra. Variables are not needed initially, but are introduced as a time-saving feature, which is immediately accepted. Since variables are declarative, they match students' expectations. Advanced students are also exposed to State by making programs that react to user taps or clicks. The syntax required to do so closely follows the theoretical concepts, making it easy for them to grasp. For each of these concepts, we explain how they fit into the presentations we make to students, like the 5200 children taught in 2016.Finally, we describe ongoing work on a touch-based Elm editor for iPad, which features (1) type highlighting (as opposed to syntax highlighting), (2) preservation of correct syntax and typing across transformations, (3) context information (e.g. displaying parameter names for GraphicSVG functions), and (4) immediate feedback (e.g. restarting animations after every program change).