With media consumption constantly evolving, it is crucial to understand how information is perceived based on the medium used to deliver it. The current study surveyed Dallas-Fort Worth community members (N = 40) to determine how textual versus audiovisual news may influence an audience’s perception of crime dangerousness and community safety concerns within their area. Using a randomized, between-subjects design, participants were assigned to one of two conditions - either an audiovisual broadcast about a recent local news clip or a textual transcript of the same news story. Subsequently, participants completed standardized measures assessing perceptions of crime severity, community safety, social media use frequency, and demographic characteristics. We hypothesize that the audiovisual news media format will predict stronger emotions and heightened judgments of crime severity and community safety. Such findings carry important implications for journalism, politics, and criminal justice, as the format through which news is delivered may shape public perception of crime beyond what the facts alone convey. Both media producers and consumers should be aware of these effects to avoid forming distorted or amplified reactions to crime reports, and ensure more accurate evaluations of potential danger. 

Vulnerable populations face elevated risks for diminished well-being, prompting growing interest in interventions as a form of social support. Evaluating the effectiveness of such interventions is critical for understanding their impact on well-being outcomes. The current study utilizes data collected as part of ACTION, a NIDA-funded R01 study examining the feasibility of two interventions: a mobile health unit and a patient navigator. Specifically, the current study investigates changes in well-being scores from baseline to a 6-month follow-up. A moderated regression analysis was conducted to assess whether the number of interventionist visits moderated changes in well-being scores over this period. Results revealed significant main effects for three well-being domains (anxiety, depression, and sociality) while the interaction effect was nonsignificant. These findings indicate that well-being scores changed significantly over the 6-month period. However, the number of interventionist visits did not significantly moderate this change. Future research should explore additional factors that may moderate improvements in well-being among vulnerable populations.

Widespread use of hormonal birth control (HBC) calls for a deeper understanding of its systemic side effects. Emerging research suggests HBC may deplete essential micronutrients (Palmery et al., 2013), including B vitamins, magnesium, and zinc, which serve as critical cofactors for neurotransmitter synthesis and energy regulation (Muscaritoli, 2021). These deficiencies are hypothesized to interfere with physiological systems, leading to mood instability, chronic fatigue, and functional somatic symptoms that can significantly impair daily functioning (Kennedy, 2016). This study addresses a virtual literature gap regarding the efficacy of targeted, non-pharmacological interventions for these issues. Utilizing a longitudinal, double-blind design, we investigated whether taking a daily supplement for 28 days, designed to combat nutritional deficiencies in HBC users, increases happiness levels, decreases mood instability, increases energy, and improves digestive health. By identifying safe interventions to mitigate these symptoms, this research contributes to personalized health strategies and improved well-being for women. Data are forthcoming.

As trauma-informed care continues to flourish, professionals across diverse roles interact with children in different ways that may shape how intervention principles are applied. Trust-Based Relational Intervention is an attachment-based, trauma-informed approach that equips professionals working with children and youth with evidence-based relational strategies through Practitioner Training. Although TBRI is implemented across a range of child-serving contexts, limited research has examined the specific roles individuals report playing in their work with youth and how these roles have evolved over time among TBRI practitioners. This exploratory study examines the expansion of the roles TBRI Practitioners play in working with youths. Data from 2,185 participants from across five years of training sessions (2021-2025) was analyzed to assess trends in role representation across 6 professional categories: (1) I work in leadership, (2) I work directly with youth, (3) I supervise staff, (4) I train clients or staff, (5) I am support staff or direct care or leadership, (6) Other (specific). This study contributes to the understanding of trends in professional roles within TBRI training and elucidates the importance in understanding relational contexts when applying and implementing this training.

The zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata) is a commonly studied model organism for understanding the neural basis of motor learning due to its ability to learn its characteristic song. Researchers investigating the neuronal mechanisms that produce zebra finch song are often interested in measuring the internal pressure of the zebra finch's air sac, which physiologically produces the observed song. Unfortunately, this is an often difficult and intrusive signal to measure. Previous work has used biophysical modeling to demonstrate that air sac pressure can be reconstructed from a bird's song using a dynamical system with parameters fine tuned to a specific bird. In this project, we aim to develop a machine learning model that can infer internal air sac pressure from acoustic data across multiple birds. Specifically, we train a variational recurrent neural network to translate observed acoustic data into a low-dimensional set of latent variables that can be decoded into air sac pressure.