Objective Pregnancies complicated by diabetes mellitus impair offspring memory functions during infancy and early childhood. The purpose of this study was to investigate the long term consequences of such pregnancies on memory and memory-related brain regions in 10-year-old children. Method Nineteen (19) children of diabetic mothers (CDMs) and thirty-five (35) children of non-diabetic mothers participated in this 10 year follow-up study. Memory performance was assessed using a continuous recognition memory task during which children made old/new judgments in response to pictures of concrete and abstract objects presented after different lags or delays. In addition, the volume of the hippocampal formation was measured using high resolution structural images. Results At 10 years of age, recognition memory performance of CDMs did not differ from children of non-diabetic mothers. Similarly, the volume of the hippocampal formation did not differ between groups. However, the size of the hippocampal formation in CDMs predicted the time those children needed to provide accurate responses in the continuous recognition memory task. Conclusion CDMs do not show memory impairments by 10 years of age, despite evidence for such impairments early in life. However, subtle differences in underlying neural processes may still be present. These results have important implications for long-term cognitive development of CDMs.

The growth of online video provides a tremendous opportunity for Extension professionals to expand the reach of educational content. Through repurposing existing content, we at the University of Minnesota Extension Children, Youth, and Family Consortium created several brief educational videos that address pressing challenges for children and families. YouTube analytics indicate that our shorter videos are more often viewed, shared, and liked by our viewers than our full-length seminar videos are. Since we began creating these videos, we have doubled our number of YouTube channel subscribers and likes and increased our video view count over 180%. Online video is a promising way for Extension professionals to extend their reach to a global audience.

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For children experiencing chronic stress, succeeding academically in the face of other obstacles can be daunting. Many efforts focused on supporting students fail to address nonacademic aspects of well-being that can impact their ability to succeed. Working to bridge the gap between research and practice, here we describe the results of an Extension-Community partnership that sought to design learning environments to support elementary students’ healthy bodies and minds.   Project leaders took an ecological systems approach, intervening with students at a local elementary school across multiple contexts. This entailed creating a calming room in the school, building a community garden on the school grounds, and providing wrap-around educational programming for teachers, staff, and families. Interviews were conducted with teachers and school staff (N = 20) to measure their perceptions of the impact of this intervention. Results are presented within the framework of the socio-ecological model, accounting for the multilevel nature of the project impacts. Interview themes revealed the program’s success in supporting positive outcomes for students, staff, the school, and the surrounding community. Discussions center around the program’s impact on students and on lessons learned that could inform future efforts.

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