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Japanese toddler and preschool children, ages 1.5-5 years, have lower rates of obesity, ≥95 th percentile body mass index, compared with North American ones. We examined parental reported beverage consumption patterns in 3 Japanese based mother-child cohorts from three different regions of Japan compared with data from cross-sectional and longitudinal studies from North America. Specifically, we used data from the Hamamatsu Birth Cohort for Mothers and Children (HBC Study) in Hamamatsu (Shizuoka Prefecture), the Seiiku Boshi Birth Cohort from Setagaya, Tokyo and the TMM BirThree Cohort Study from Miyagi. We additionally compared cross-sectional data from preschoolers from 24 prefectures in Japan as previously reported from a national study. While Japanese children had lower but comparable rates to North American children for introduction of sugar-sweetened beverages and 100% fruit juices, Japanese children consumed these beverages daily at a much lower level than North American children. Additionally, North American children may get more added sugars from soda and fruit juices as a relative percentage of total added sugar. By contrast, Japanese children consume more sweetened dairy drinks as a relative percentage of total added sugar. Sweetened dairy drinks may have the added benefits of including fats, calcium and probiotics which may be associated with lower risk for obesity compared with consumption of other types of sugar sweetened beverages.

Background We aim to discover which, if any, of the subscales of internalizing and externalizing behavioral problems at age 3 are still associated with screen time (ST) at age 2 after adjusting for behavioral problems scores at age 2. Methods This study was conducted under the Tohoku Medical Megabank Project Birth and Three-Generation Cohort Study. Information was gathered prospectively, with 7207 mother–child pairs included in the analysis. Children's ST was categorized in hours a day at age 2 (<1, 1-<2, 2-<4, ≥4). We assessed children's behavioral problems using the Child Behavior Checklist for Ages 1½–5 (CBCL) at ages 2 and 3. 'Having behavioral problems' was defined by them being within a clinical range for internalizing behaviors (withdrawn, somatic complaints, anxious/depressed and emotionally reactive) and externalizing behaviors (attention problems and aggressive behaviors) at age 3. Continuous scores on each of the behavioral problem scales at age 2 were used as covariates. Results Greater ST for children at age 2 was associated with specific subscales for emotionally reactive and aggressive behaviors at age 3. Conclusions This study found that ST is prospectively associated with some behavioral scales but not others. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: This study aimed to investigate whether there is a significant association between teachers' and students' perceptions of school climate, and if not, whether teacher factors are associated with the respective perceptions. Methods: The participants included 1,831 students and 59 homeroom teachers from 11 public elementary and junior high schools in Japan. Multilevel models were used to examine the association between students' and teachers' perceptions of school climate. Results: Of the three teacher-rated school climate scales, only teacherperceived disciplinary climate was associated with students' perceptions of school climate. Teachers' working conditions, such as self-efficacy and stress, were associated with teachers' perceptions but not students' perceptions of school climate. Disciplinary climate was associated with students' perceptions of school climate, even after accounting for the teachers' working conditions. Discussion: Items questioning specific student behaviors, such as those included in the disciplinary climate scale, may be effective in avoiding incongruence with student evaluations. Moreover, maintaining disciplinary climate itself is important for students' positive perceptions of the school climate. A disciplinary climate in which teachers and students share responsibility for learning and classroom organization, and strategies that support positive student behavior are preferable to exclusionary discipline strategies. Incorporating feedback data gathered through classroom observations or student perceptions is also important in resolving the incongruence between teachers' and students' perceptions of the school climate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the transfer of methane‐derived carbon (MDC) to benthic macroinvertebrates such as chironomid larvae and oligochaetes has been well documented, knowledge of the transfer of MDC to fish is limited.We investigated the MDC contribution to 28 fish species through their growth stages and examined the relationship between fish traits including body size, and MDC contribution to fish within species in Lake Kasumigaura, Japan. We used carbon stable isotope ratios and a two‐source mixing model (methane‐oxidation bacteria [MOB] and particulate organic matter) to estimate the MDC contribution to fish.The MDC contribution to individual fish ranged from 0% to 21.5%. Anguilla japonica showed the highest MDC contribution (mean 3.8%). Fish species were classified into four groups according to two criteria: (a) whether the correlation between the MDC contribution and fish size (within species) was significantly negative (negative vs. not significant; ns); and (b) whether the 90th percentile of MDC contribution was 0% or not. The mean MDC contribution was highest (2.18% ± 2.93%, 12 species) for the group with (a)ns/(b)>0%, including the high contribution species such as Abbottina rivularis (mean 5.5%) and Biwia zezera (mean 9.8%). This group (12 species) included relatively high numbers of benthic habitat use (eight species) and omnivores (nine species). The mean MDC contributions were almost zero for the group with (a)ns/(b)=0% (seven species), which included only two species of benthic habitat use and one species of omnivores. The mean MDC contributions were intermediate for the other groups with (a)negative/(b)>0% (1.30% ± 1.17%, seven species) and (a)negative/(b)=0% (0.10%, two species). The negative correlation between fish size within species and MDC contribution in groups with (a)negative/(b)>0% and (a)negative/(b)=0% indicated that ontogenetic habitat and dietary shifts induced changes in MDC transfer.Our results suggest that 21 out of 28 fish species were involved in the MDC transfer in a shallow lake, but variation in MDC transfer could be explained by fish traits (trophic guild and habitat use). Although the mean MDC contribution to all fish species was low (0.61% ± 1.97%), the roughly estimated annual consumption rate of fish on MOB corresponded to approximately 10% of the MOB production in the sediment, suggesting that fish contribute to methane dynamics from the perspective of biogeochemical cycles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Executive functions are important factors that affect the well-being of children with ADHD. Therefore, inclusion of a convenient assessment of executive dysfunction in diagnosis and treatment of ADHD patients is warranted. However, executive dysfunction assessment presently relies on labbased neuropsychological tests and symptom rating scales. The present study examined the potential of a 3-D action puzzle video game to reflect ecologically valid executive functioning in pediatric ADHD patients. Methods: Participant gameplay metrics were compared to both their Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB) and Conners 3 Parent Form's executive functioning subscale scores. Participants consisted of 33 ADHD and non-ADHD patients aged 8-21. Results: Metrics from gameplay were associated with distinct CANTAB test scores, and a composite score from gameplay was significantly correlated with executive dysfunction from Conners 3. Conclusion: For children with ADHD, cognitive domains related to executive function and overall real-life executive functioning appear to both be measurable via video games. It may be possible to develop individualized behavioral therapy based on the quantitative data obtained from the video game used in this study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is associated with abnormal lipid metabolism, such as a high total ratio of omega‐6 to omega‐3 in polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs). PUFAs are metabolized to epoxy fatty acids by cytochrome P450 (CYP); then, dihydroxy fatty acid is produced by soluble epoxide hydrolase. This study examined the association between PUFA metabolites in the cord blood and ASD symptoms and adaptive functioning in children. Methods: This prospective cohort study utilized cord blood to quantify PUFA metabolites of the CYP pathway. The Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS‐2) and Vineland Adaptive Behaviors Scales, Second Edition (VABS‐II) were used to assess subsequent ASD symptoms and adaptive functioning in children at 6 years. The analysis included 200 children and their mothers. Results: Arachidonic acid‐derived diols, 11,12‐diHETrE was found to impact ASD symptom severity on the ADOS‐2‐calibrated severity scores and impairment in the socialization domain as assessed by the VABS‐II (P = 0.0003; P = 0.004, respectively). High levels of 11,12‐diHETrE impact social affect in ASD symptoms (P = 0.002), while low levels of 8,9‐diHETrE impact repetitive/restrictive behavior (P = 0.003). Notably, there was specificity in the association between diHETrE and ASD symptoms, especially in girls. Conclusion: These findings suggest that the dynamics of diHETrE during the fetal period is important in the developmental trajectory of children after birth. Given that the role of diol metabolites in neurodevelopment in vivo is completely uncharacterized, the results of this study provide important insight into the role of diHETrE and ASD pathophysiology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]