Partial Dynamical Symmetry in a Fermionic Many-Body System

The concept of partial symmetry is introduced for an interacting fermion system. The associated Hamiltonians are shown to be closely related to a realistic nuclear quadrupole-quadrupole interaction. An application to $^{12}$C is presented.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, Proc. Int. Conf. "Bologna 2000 - Structure of the Nucleus at the Dawn of the Century", Bologna, Italy, May 29 - June 3, 200

Measuring facets of Worry: A LISREL analysis of the Worry Domains Questionnaire

In the development of the Worry Domains Questionnaire (WDQ) for the measurement of nonpathological worry, (Tallis, Eysenck & Mathews, 1992. A questionnaire for the measurement of nonpathological worry. Personality and Individual Differences, 13, 161–168) Tallis et al. had used cluster analytical procedures to establish the number of worry domains. The resulting structure of the WDQ, however, was never adequately tested. This study therefore examined the WDQ's structure by use of confirmatory factor analysis comparing models of different factor structures. In the first sample of 466 participants, a five-factor model yielded the best fit to the data, characterized by highly correlated yet distinct domains of everyday worrying as they were originally proposed. This model was cross-validated with a second sample of 503 participants, showing stable factor loadings across samples. Whereas these analyses displayed a good fit of the five-factor representation for the item-based models, overall fit of all models was more prominent when items were aggregated (subscale models). Implications of the results and suggestions for future research are discussed

Cow welfare aspects in automatic milking systems

This paper deals with the aspects of cow welfare in automatic milking systems, using literature and observations from the Suitia research farm and the first Finnish private farms. The welfare of a cow is largely dependent on her stockperson, also in automatic milking systems. Cow traffic arrangements are decisive in the cow's welfare

Emotion regulation difficulties related to depression and anxiety : a network approach to model relations among symptoms, positive reappraisal, and repetitive negative thinking

Frequent repetitive negative thinking and infrequent positive reappraisal use are theorized to increase risk for depression and anxiety. Yet, research has studied these regulatory strategies at the disorder level, ignoring the clinical heterogeneity and differential relations among their individual symptoms. In this study, we examined the associations among repetitive negative thinking, positive reappraisal, and individual symptoms of depression and anxiety disorders. Models of regularized partial-correlation networks were estimated using cross-sectional data from 468 participants. Results showed that repetitive negative thinking and positive reappraisal were differentially related to affective, cognitive, and somatic symptoms of depression and anxiety. Moreover, repetitive negative thinking was more central than positive reappraisal with stronger connections to individual symptoms. Finally, repetitive negative thinking was more important than positive reappraisal in connecting clusters of depression and anxiety symptoms. These findings cast light on potential pathways through which repetitive negative thinking and positive reappraisal may operate within depression and anxiety

Market differentiation potential of country-of-origin, quality and traceability labeling

Product labeling has gained considerable attention recently, as a means to both provide product-specific information and reduce quality uncertainty faced by consumers, as well as from a regulatory point of view. This article focuses on whether and to what extent origin, quality and traceability labeling is an appropriate way to differentiate food products. The focus is on fresh meat and fresh fish, two mainly generic food product categories with a high degree of credence character. Insights into the potential for market differentiation through origin, quality and traceability labeling are provided and discussed using primary data collected during the period 2000-2005 by means of four consumer surveys. In general, direct indications of quality, including mandatory information cues such as best-before dates and species names, but also including quality marks, are found to be more appealing to consumers in general than origin labeling, and the latter more than traceability. The different studies yield the conclusion that the market differentiation potential of origin and quality labeling pertains mainly to a product’s healthiness appeal, and this potential seems stronger for meat than for fish. The differentiation potential of traceability per se is rather limited. Instead, traceability is needed as the regulatory and logistic backbone for providing guarantees related to origin and quality

Somatic symptoms of generalized anxiety disorder from the DSM-IV: Associations with pathological worry and depression symptoms in a nonclinical sample

The present study investigates specificity of the six somatic symptoms that are associated with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), according to the fourth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. A nonclinical sample of 183 students provided severity ratings for (a) restlessness, (b) easily fatigued, (c) difficulty concentrating, (d) irritability, (e) muscle tension, and (f) sleep disturbance. In addition, they responded to questionnaires assessing pathological worry and depression symptoms. Partial correlations and multiple regression analyses indicated that only muscle tension showed a unique relation to pathological worry. In contrast, difficulty concentrating was exclusively related to depression symptoms. Present findings corroborate psychophysiological findings that elevated muscle tension is a specific characteristic of pathological worriers. Moreover, they suggest that the problem of unclear boundaries between GAD and major depression may be reduced if future revisions of the somatic symptom list for GAD emphasize muscle tension while de-emphasizing difficulty concentrating