Worry, problem elaboration and suppression of imagery: the role of concreteness

Both lay concept and scientific theory claim that worry may be helpful for defining and analyzing problems. Recent studies, however, indicate that worrisome problem elaborations are less concrete than worry-free problem elaborations. This challenges the problem solving view of worry because abstract problem analyses are unlikely to lead to concrete problem solutions. Instead the findings support the avoidance theory of worry which claims that worry suppresses aversive imagery. Following research findings in the dual-coding framework [Paivio, A. (1971). Imagery and verbal processes. New York: Holt, Rhinehart and Winston; Paivio, A. (1986). Mental representations: a dual coding approach. New York: Oxford University Press.], the present article proposes that reduced concreteness may play a central role in the understanding of worry. First, reduced concreteness can explain how worry reduces imagery. Second, it offers an explanation why worrisome problem analyses are unlikely to arrive at solutions. Third, it provides a key for the understanding of worry maintenance

An Exercise-Induced Improvement In Isolated Skeletal Muscle Contractility Does Not Affect The Performance-Enhancing Benefit Of 70 [Mu]M Caffeine Treatment.

This study aimed to examine the effects of exercise-induced increases in skeletal muscle contractile performance on isolated skeletal muscle caffeine sensitivity. 30-week old CD1 mice (n=28) either acted as controls or underwent eight weeks of voluntary wheel running. Following the treatment intervention, whole soleus (SOL) or a section of the costal diaphragm (DIA) was isolated from each mouse and tested to determine the effect of 70μM caffeine on work loop power output. Although caffeine elicited a significant increase in power of both the SOL and the DIA, relative to a non-caffeine control, the effect was not different between the experimental groups, despite the muscles of the trained group producing significantly greater muscle power. There was no significant relationship between training volume or baseline work loop power and the caffeine response. These results indicate that an exercise-induced increase in muscle performance did not influence the performance-enhancing effects of caffeine.N/

A perturbative approach to the reconstruction of the eigenvalue spectrum of a normal covariance matrix from a spherically truncated counterpart

In this paper we propose a perturbative method for the reconstruction of the covariance matrix of a multinormal distribution, under the assumption that the only available information amounts to the covariance matrix of a spherically truncated counterpart of the same distribution. We expand the relevant equations up to the fourth perturbative order and discuss the analytic properties of the first few perturbative terms. We finally compare the proposed approach with an exact iterative algorithm (presented in Palombi et al. (2017)) in the hypothesis that the spherically truncated covariance matrix is estimated from samples of various sizes.Comment: 39 pages, 7 figures. v2: version accepted for publication in J. Comp. Appl. Mat

Security Guarantees for Ukraine: Until NATO Membership, Extending the Joint Expeditionary Force Is the Best Option

There are no security "guarantees," but NATO membership is as close as it gets - and has long proven its effectiveness in deterring ­Russian aggression. It is thus the only real option for Ukraine - and for wider European security. Addressing the lack of political will to recognize this, especially in Washington and Berlin, means finding an interim solution that provides credible, collective security in the meantime and fosters more durable, fairly delivered European ­security in the long term

Reliability and validity of two widely-used worry questionnaires: self-report and self-peer convergence

The reliability and validity of the Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ) and the Worry Domains Questionnaire (WDQ) were examined with self-ratings from a non-clinical sample of 148 students in a test-retest design across four weeks. Ratings from three well-acquainted peers were also obtained. With internal consistencies and test-retest correlations of at least 0.85, the present study confirmed the high reliability of the questionnaires. Moreover, both measures demonstrated substantial convergent validity: Average agreement among peers was 0.42 (PSWQ) and 0.47 (WDQ) and aggregated self-peer agreement was 0.55 (PSWQ) and 0.49 (WDQ). Self-peer agreement was not biased by social desirability. These findings challenge views that worry is an unreliable and unobservable phenomenon