Contribution of reactive and proactive control to children's working memory performance:Insight from item recall durations in response sequence planning

The present study addressed whether developmental improvement in working memory span task performance relies upon a growing ability to proactively plan response sequences during childhood. Two hundred thirteen children completed a working memory span task in which they used a touchscreen to reproduce orally presented sequences of animal names. Children were assessed longitudinally at 7 time points between 3 and 10 years of age. Twenty-one young adults also completed the same task. Proactive response sequence planning was assessed by comparing recall durations for the 1st item (preparatory interval) and subsequent items. At preschool age, the preparatory interval was generally shorter than subsequent item recall durations, whereas it was systematically longer during elementary school and in adults. Although children mostly approached the task reactively at preschool, they proactively planned response sequences with increasing efficiency from age 7 on, like adults. These findings clarify the nature of the changes in executive control that support working memory performance with age

Seasonal variation in the correlation of airglow temperature and emission rate

The hydroxyl (OH) rotational temperature and band emission rate have been derived using year-round, ground-based measurements of the infrared OH nightglow from Sweden from 1991 to 2002. Recent work has suggested that, during the winter, all scales of dynamical variations of radiance and temperature arise from vertical motions, implying that the effective source concentrations of atomic oxygen are constant. The present data show correlations between temperature and radiance both during winter and summer that are consistent with those observed in that previous work. However, during the transition to summer there is a rapid decrease in the temperature and its variation that is not reflected in the band radiance, suggesting that only the shorter-scale variations are accompanied by significant vertical motion. This indicates that the shorter-scale dynamical variations occur against an independent, seasonally changing background temperature profile in a way that is consistent with that predicted by gravity-wave models

Prenatal cocaine exposure and prematurity: Neurodevelopmental growth

The consequences of prematurity and prenatal cocaine exposure on early neurobehavior and physical growth were examined longitudinally in a sample of 20 cocaine-exposed and 20 nonexposed preterm neonates. The magnitude of the difference in physical growth acceleration related to prenatal cocaine exposure increased with increasing birth gestational age, whereas growth rate differences in irritability decreased. In contrast, prenatal cocaine exposure, independent of prematurity, was related to reduced attention skills at 36 wks conceptional age and increased rates of neurobehavioral change. The effects of prenatal cocaine exposure differed with respect to the degree of prematurity, depending on the nature of the outcome examined, suggesting differing windows of vulnerability for different outcome domains. The usefulness of a developmental growth perspective was demonstrated

Atmospheric effects of radiation belt precipitation over Antarctica

第3回極域科学シンポジウム　横断セッション「中層大気・熱圏」 11月26日（月） 国立極地研究所 ２階大会議

Executive functioning in preschool children: Performance on A-Not-B and other delayed response format tasks

The A-not-B (AB) task has been hypothesized to measure executive/frontal lobe function; however, the developmental and measurement characteristics of this task have not been investigated. The present study examined performance on AB and comparison tasks adapted from developmental and neuroscience literature in 117 1.9-5.5 yr old preschool children. Age significantly predicted performance on AB, Delayed Alternation, Spatial Reversal, Color Reversal, and Self-Control tasks. A 4-factor analytic model best fit task performance data. AB task indices loaded on 2 factors with measures from the Self-Control and Delayed Alternation tasks, respectively. AB indices did not load with those from the reversal tasks despite similarities in task administration and presumed cognitive demand (working memory). These results indicate that AB is sensitive to individual differences in age-related performance in preschool children and suggest that AB performance is related to both working memory and inhibition processes in this age range

The effect of energetic electron precipitation on middle mesospheric night-time ozone during and after a moderate geomagnetic storm

Using a ground-based microwave radiometer at Troll Station, Antarctica (72°S, 2.5°E, L = 4.76), we have observed a decrease of 20–70% in the mesospheric ozone, coincident with increased nitric oxide, between 60 km and 75 km altitude associated with energetic electron precipitation (E > 30 keV) during a moderate geomagnetic storm (minimum Dst of −79 nT) in late July 2009. NOAA satellite data were used to identify the precipitating particles and to characterize their energy, spatial distribution and temporal variation over Antarctica during this isolated storm. Both the ozone decrease and nitric oxide increase initiate with the onset of the storm, and persist for several days after the precipitation ends, descending in the downward flow of the polar vortex. These combined data present a unique case study of the temporal and spatial morphology of chemical changes induced by electron precipitation during moderate geomagnetic storms, indicating that these commonplace events can cause significant effects on the middle mesospheric ozone distribution

Comment on ``Measurement of the 3^3He mass diffusion coefficient in superfluid 4^4He over the 0.45--0.95 K temperature range

The role of 3He-3He collisions in our diffusion experiment is addressed and shown to not be relevant to the measurement of 3He diffusion against phonons in superfluid helium.Comment: Two pages, in Europhysics Letters forma

Weight Status as a Mediator of the Association Between Preschool Extraversion and Adolescent Restrained Eating

Objectives To determine the longitudinal association between preschool extraversion and weight/dieting outcomes in adolescence. Methods Children (N = 180) were recruited as part of a longitudinal study, with child temperament assessed in preschool (age 5.25 years), weight assessed in 2nd grade and early adolescence, and eating outcomes assessed in early adolescence (mean age = 12.02 years). Results Preschoolers high in extraversion were significantly more likely to have higher body mass index z-scores (zBMI) and more restrained eating behaviors in adolescence. zBMI was found to mediate the relationship between extraversion and restrained eating, such that children with high levels of extraversion were more likely to have higher zBMI in adolescence and, owing to this higher weight status, to engage in more restrained eating. Conclusions Temperament is an important predictor of later maladaptive weight/dieting outcomes in adolescence, making it a potentially important early factor to consider in weight management interventions