Does Hydration Impact Memory: A Systematic Review

With 60% of the adult human body composed of water it makes sense that maintaining proper hydration levels is important to survival as well as living a healthy life. Water has many roles throughout the human body: thermoregulation, being a carrier, being a lubricant, and acting as a reaction medium. As a carrier, water is responsible for allowing exchanges between cells, interstitial fluid and capillaries. In addition, water regulates the blood volume and allows blood circulation. Since water is responsible for these tasks, many systems in the body as well as the brain are reliant upon proper hydration levels to function properly

Contextual Factors of Harsh Parenting: Investigating the Role of Impulsivity and Parent Attribution Bias Under Conditions of Household Chaos

The use of harsh parenting strategies as a form of disciplining child misbehavior has been identified as an underlying factor for child abuse; thus, it is important to examine underlying causal factors for harsh parenting. While not originally formulated around harsh parenting, social information processing models of reactive aggression have highlighted internal attributions and impulsivity as key processes in social decision-making. Therefore, the current study integrated these theoretical models to explore how these processes are involved in harsh parenting behaviors and how these processes may interact in the context of environmental factors such as household chaos. Results revealed significant direct effects of internal parent attributions and impulsivity on harsh parenting behaviors. These effects remained significant above and beyond identified covariates (i.e., race/ethnicity, traditional authoritarian beliefs, cognitive reappraisal in emotion regulation, and negative affect). Furthermore, race/ethnicity and negative affect were no longer significant after internal parent attributions and impulsivity were entered into the full model. However, results revealed that impulsivity did not moderate the positive relationship between internal parent attributions and reported harsh parenting behavior. Furthermore, the study did not observe a conditional effect of household chaos on the proposed moderating effect of impulsivity. Nonetheless, these nonsignificant results may be indicative of limitations in the study’s attempts to recruit of a diverse parent sample. Future studies should closely examine interactions within a more diverse parent sample that reflects higher dysfunctional impulsivity

Examining the Role of Behavioral Inhibition in Harsh Parenting Preferences: An Analog Study

Understanding the cognitive processes involved in harsh parenting behavior would have broad implications for parenting interventions and training programs. Few studies have addressed how parental stressors, specifically infant crying, can influence individuals’ self-regulatory cognitive capacities and ultimately their preference for harsh parenting strategies. Furthermore, little research has explored the link between these cognitive processes and harsh parenting preferences; thus, little work has been done to establish a true causal relationship. This study examined the role of behavioral inhibition in harsh parenting preferences when individuals were exposed to an infant crying noise. Participants (n = 129) were undergraduate students (Mage = 19.97 years; 79.8% female; 47.3% African American, 39.5% Caucasian) who were randomly assigned to one of two conditions: (1) white noise and (2) infant crying noise. During the experiment they completed a cognitive task to capture their behavioral inhibition as well as measures of emotion regulation, parenting attitudes/beliefs, and other predictors of harsh parenting. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses indicated that infant crying noise did not moderate the relationship between behavioral inhibition and harsh parenting preferences. However, as hypothesized, the analyses indicated that lower behavioral inhibition predicted harsher physical parenting preferences. In addition, gender differences in harsh parenting preferences were explored using analysis of covariance analyses, which indicated that males and females did not differ in harsh parenting preferences. However, the current study did not collect enough males to meet power criteria, which may explain this non-significant effect. Methodological implications and recommendations for future research are discussed

Nashville-basin tornadoes: using storm types to elucidate the local climatology and forecasting challenges

Early 3 March 2020 was a devastating night for many middle Tennessee residents. A strong EF-3 tornado tore through Nashville at 65 mph, and another EF-4 killed 18 in Baxter and Cookeville alone. Residents of the Southeastern United States are particularly vulnerable to tornadoes. This study aims to better understand local forecasting challenges by looking at the types of storms that produce tornadoes. Storm types, also known as convective modes, divide tornado-producing storms into categories by length, shape, multiplicity, and intensity. Distinguishing storms by these modes allows for a broader understanding of their occurrences and impacts. This study specifically evaluates three forecasting success metrics for the Nashville county warning area from 2012–2018. This includes probability of detection (POD), false alarm ratio (FAR), and average lead time for four convective modes: cell in line, cell in cluster, discrete supercell, and quasi-linear convective system (QLCS). Three models were created to predict warnings, false alarms, and lead time with convective mode, nocturnality, and multiple-tornado days as predictors. The results affirm current literature findings that QLCSs are far more common to the Nashville basin than its surrounding areas, and QLCSs tend to occur at night as outbreaks. For this study period, QLCSs also have the best POD, FAR, and lead time, compared to other convective modes, which creates a unique climatological tornado profile that centers around QLCSs.

Motivation for Heat Adaption: How Perception and Exposure Affect Individual Behaviors During Hot Weather in Knoxville, Tennessee

Heat is the deadliest meteorological hazard; however, those exposed to heat often do not feel they are in danger of heat-health effects and do not take precautions to avoid heat exposure. Socioeconomic factors, such as the high cost of running air conditioning, might prevent people from taking adaption measures. We assessed via a mixed-methods survey how residents of urban Knoxville, Tennessee, (n = 86) describe and interpret their personal vulnerability during hot weather. Thematic analyses reveal that many respondents describe uncomfortably hot weather based on its consequences, such as health effects and the need to change normal behavior, which misaligns with traditional heat-communication measures using specific weather conditions. Only 55% of those who perceived excessive heat as dangerous cited health as a cause for concern. Respondents who have experienced health issues during hot weather were more likely to perceive heat as dangerous and take actions to reduce heat exposure. Social cohesion was not a chief concern for our respondents, even though it has been connected to reducing time-delayed heat-health effects. Results support using thematic analyses, an underutilized tool in climatology research, to improve understanding of public perception of atmospheric hazards. We recommend a multi-faceted approach to addressing heat vulnerability

Grouping dynamics of lowland woolly monkeys (Lagothrix lagotricha poeppigii) in Amazonian Ecuador

Predator avoidance, resource distribution, and reproductive strategies all play a crucial role in shaping the social structure of animal societies. The fission-fusion dynamics of some animal societies – where core social units are able to break apart or coalesce into parties of variable size and composition – can allow individuals to mediate the cost-benefit tradeoffs of varying party size according to particular environmental or social conditions. Here, I couple ecological, behavioral, and spatial data with molecular genetic methods and analytical techniques (Social Network Analysis) to examine spatiotemporal association patterns among woolly monkeys from four social groups at the Tiputini Biodiversity Station (TBS) in Amazonian Ecuador. The woolly monkeys in this populations demonstrated relatively high degrees of fission-fusion dynamics, with groups dividing frequently into subgroups and showing temporally variable cohesion among group members. I found no evidence, however, that subgroups consistently and repeatedly comprised the same sets of individuals. Spatial associations and social interactions were not limited to members of a single social group, and tolerant associations between members of some social groups occurred with relatively high frequency. Genetic analyses revealed no difference in the average relatedness of male and female same-sex dyads, although, adult males tended to have more close relatives both within and between social groups than adult females. Regardless of sex, animals were no more likely to associate with genetic relatives than with to non-relatives. This study also corroborated earlier suggestions that woolly monkeys exhibit some degree of bisexual dispersal, with some males leaving their natal group, in contrast to the pattern that characterizes closely related species of primates. Genetic data also suggest that woolly monkeys live in a dispersed network of kin, where both males and females had first order relatives in neighboring groups. Kinship ties among animals in different groups may play a role in facilitating tolerant mixed group associations, which are common in the study population. As observed in other studies, home range overlap between neighboring groups was extensive, with particular pairs of groups showing higher degrees of overlap than others. Finally, woolly monkeys demonstrated strong reproductive seasonality, with births and conceptions confined to a few months out of the year. My finding that seasonal variation in group cohesion and ranging patterns was not related to fruit availability, but did covary with a behavioral index of mating opportunities, suggest that grouping and ranging dynamics in woolly monkeys may not primarily be driven by competition over food, but rather by competition over mates.Anthropolog

Staying Safe in a Tornado: A Qualitative Inquiry into Public Knowledge, Access, and Response to Tornado Warnings

Tornadoes in the southeastern United States continue to cause substantial injury, death, and destruction. The present study seeks to 1) understand inadequate warning access, less understanding, and/or less likelihood of responding to tornado warnings; 2) examine public attitudes about NWS communications; and 3) explore the perceptions of NWS personnel regarding public response to tornado warnings, factors that might influence response, and how their perceptions impact their communication. Participants include a purposive sample of NWS forecasters in Tennessee (n = 11) and residents (n = 45) who were identified as having low access to, low knowledge of, or an unsafe response to tornado warnings in a previous study. A qualitative approach with semistructured interviews was used. Findings indicated that most participants had at least one warning source. Barriers to warning access included electricity outages, rurality, lack of storm radio, heavy sleeping, and hearing impairments. Most participants had knowledge of NWS guidelines for safe shelter seeking but still engaged in behaviors considered unsafe. Proximity, personal experience, and influence of family and friends emerged as influencers of response to warnings. NWS personnel perceived that proximity played a significant role in shelter-seeking behavior as well as the need for confirmation. Poor access to safe shelter arose as a major concern for NWS personnel, specifically mobile home residents. Messaging and specificity in warnings to evoke safe shelter-seeking behavior surfaced as critical issues for NWS personnel. Implications for education and policy changes to enhance public safety and improve public health are noted

Examing Patterns of Intended Response to Tornado Warnings Among Residents of Tennessee, United States, Through a Latent Class Analysis Approach

In the past five years, the southern region of the United States has had a large number of fatal tornadoes. Previous research indicates that residents of this area may not be taking appropriate shelter. The present study uses a random sample of Tennessee residents (N = 1126) and the latent class analysis (LCA) technique to explore discrete types of responders according to their pattern of intended behaviors when presented with a tornado warning scenario in the daytime or nighttime. LCA revealed three distinct groups in the day subsample – Tech Users, Typical Actors, and Passive Reactors – and three in the night subsample – Tech Users, Typical Actors, and Non-Reactors. Being a Tech User or Typical Actor was positively associated with intending to seek safe shelter, although being a Passive Reactor or Non-Reactor was not. Further, Tech Users/Typical Actors were seeking and obtaining more warning information from other sources compared to Passive Reactors/Non-Reactors. While few demographic variables were associated with class assignment, bivariate and multivariate analyses illustrated that cognitive factors, such as previous experience with tornadoes and perceived accuracy of warnings, are significantly associated with class membership when controlling for non-cognitive factors. The distinctions made within and between the subsamples can support the National Weather Service\u27s efforts to better target the public with future messages about tornado safety as well as guide researchers on future studies