It's All About Power: Validation of Trait and State Versions of the German Personal Sense of Power Scale

The present research was aimed at providing a German version of the Personal Sense of Power Scale (GPSPS; Anderson et al., 2012) and testing its psychometric properties. A personal sense of power describes the perception of one's ability to influence others. Probably every human relationship can be characterized by differences in power, which means that the measurement of experienced power is highly relevant. The availability of appropriate measures in different languages will help improve research and cross-cultural comparisons. Five studies were conducted. Internal consistency was high across all studies. Stability across 6 and 12 weeks was also high. A good fit was observed for a 6-item unidimensional version. Correlations with a variety of psychological and sociodemographic variables were in the expected directions, supporting nomological and criterion validity (Study 1). Measurement invariance across gender was demonstrated. In support of construct validity, a clinical sample scored significantly lower than others. Finally, two studies showed the sensitivity of a state version of the scale. We encourage researchers to use this scale as a reliable and valid instrument for assessing trait and state power

Negotiation Support System Functionality in Business Communication Applications – a Case-Based Evaluation

In times of E-Business, more and more transactions are conducted electronically. Especially in the context of electronic business negotiations there is a rising need for support provided by the communication medium. This need led to the development of several Negotiation Support Systems (NSSs) within the recent years. However, diffusion of NSSs into practice is scarce. The Negolook prototype developed in the course of our research follows the concept of such NSSs whilst being integrated into traditional business communication systems. It aims to bridge the gap between the uttered need for negotiation support and its actual use in practice. In this paper we present the prototype itself, a theoretical evaluation and, furthermore, we identify future research activities

Dominance and prestige in romantic relationships: Actor and partner links to relationship quality

Dominance and prestige reflect different forms of power and can affect relationship outcomes. Whereas dominance is a conflict-oriented way of dealing with people and grabbing status, prestige is derived from respect and esteem that is granted by others due to superior skills and knowledge. In this research, we tested three partially competing perspectives on potential associations of dominance and prestige with relationship quality (RQ). Sociobiological perspectives suggest that both concepts ensure the provision of valuable resources, and thus predict that both dominance and prestige would be positively linked to RQ. From a sociocultural perspective, men are expected to be dominant and prestigious whereas being dominant (and perhaps being prestigious) would violate the feminine gender-role stereotype; thus, both variables should relate positively to RQ only for men. From a personality perspective, dominance is characterized by undesirable attributes, whereas prestige is characterized by more desirable attributes; as such, only prestige should be positively related to RQ. We conducted four studies with individuals in romantic relationships in three different countries (Germany, Israel, and the US; Ntotal = 2,010 participants). The participants completed measures of dominance-prestige (as general attributes, as relationship-specific attributes, or in comparison with their partner) and measures of RQ. Although not entirely consistent across studies, our results were most consistent with the personality-based perspective. Prestige seems to benefit a relationship for both actors and partners whereas dominance is detrimental to relationship happiness. Yet, as some results showed that the negative link between dominance and RQ was stronger for women than for men, and the positive link between prestige and RQ was weaker for women than for men; thus some weak support for the sociocultural perspective was also found

A shortened whole brain radiation therapy protocol for meningoencephalitis of unknown origin in dogs

IntroductionA variety of treatment options have been described for canine meningoencephalitis of unknown origin (MUO). Few studies focused on radiation therapy as a second line immunomodulating treatment, implicating its effective use. However, a standard radiation therapy protocol is lacking, and further research will help to evaluate the effect of different dose regimens.MethodsTen dogs diagnosed with MUO based on MRI and CSF findings were prospectively enrolled. The dogs were treated with a shortened whole brain radiation therapy protocol (5 × 4 Gy) in combination with prednisolone. Neurologic changes were quantified using an established scoring scheme. Follow-up MRI and CSF examination was scheduled three months after radiation therapy. Overall survival and time to progression were calculated. Histopathology of the brain was performed in case of death.ResultsSeven dogs were diagnosed de novo and three had a history of relapsing MUO. Neurological status improved in all 10 dogs during radiation therapy, with 4/10 returning to normal shortly after radiation therapy. Three dogs died within the first three months after radiation therapy. At follow-up MRI lesions completely resolved in two dogs, partially resolved in five dogs, and progressed in one dog. After follow-up MRI, dogs were further treated with prednisolone monotherapy (two dogs) and additional immunosuppressant drugs (five dogs). Overall, four dogs showed disease progression, with a mean time to progression of 691 days (95%CI: 396–987) and mean overall survival for all dogs was 723 days (95%CI: 436–1011) (both medians not reached). Histopathology confirmed MUO in three dogs but was suggestive for oligodendroglioma in one dog. Radiation induced side effects were not seen.ConclusionShortened whole-brain radiation therapy could be an additional treatment option for MUO in conjunction to prednisolone, specifically for cases that require rapid relief of symptoms and with relapsing history

Macroscopic simulation and experimental measurement of melt pool characteristics in selective electron beam melting of Ti-6Al-4V

Selective electron beam melting of Ti-6Al-4V is a promising additive manufacturing process to produce complex parts layer-by-layer additively. The quality and dimensional accuracy of the produced parts depend on various process parameters and their interactions. In the present contribution, the lifetime, width and depth of the pools of molten powder material are analyzed for different beam powers, scan speeds and line energies in experiments and simulations. In the experiments, thin-walled structures are built with an ARCAM AB A2 selective electron beam melting machine and for the simulations a thermal finite element simulation tool is used, which is developed by the authors to simulate the temperature distribution in the selective electron beam melting process. The experimental and numerical results are compared and a good agreement is observed. The lifetime of the melt pool increases linearly with the line energy, whereby the melt pool dimensions show a nonlinear relation with the line energy

QSAR modeling for In vitro assays: linking ToxCast™ database to the integrated modeling framework “OCHEM”

ToxCast™ project, phases I and II, is testing a combined total of 960 unique chemicals with more than 650 high-throughput assays. The aim of this database is to use advanced science tools to help understand how human body processes are impacted by exposures to chemicals and helps determine which exposures are most likely to lead to adverse health effects. To better serve this goal and to allow In silico analysis of In vitro assays, we linked the database with an integrated QSAR modeling framework. The Online Chemical Modeling Environment is a web-based platform that aims to automate and simplify the typical steps required for QSAR modeling. The platform consists of two major subsystems: the database of experimental measurements and the modeling framework. A user-contributed database contains a set of tools for easy input, search and modification of thousands of records. The OCHEM database is based on the wiki principle and focuses primarily on the quality and verifiability of the data. The database is tightly integrated with the modeling framework, which supports all the steps required to create a predictive model: data search, calculation and selection of a vast variety of molecular descriptors, application of machine learning methods, validation, analysis of the model and assessment of the applicability domain. Our intention is to make OCHEM a widely used platform to perform the QSPR/QSAR studies online and share it with other users on the Web. By such integration, scientists can model In vitro assays using In silico descriptor packages while making benefit of multi-learning features and automatics applicability domain estimation. http://ochem.eu &nbsp

A GRASP55-rab2 effector complex linking Golgi structure to membrane traffic

Membrane traffic between the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and Golgi apparatus and through the Golgi apparatus is a highly regulated process controlled by members of the rab GTPase family. The GTP form of rab1 regulates ER to Golgi transport by interaction with the vesicle tethering factor p115 and the cis-Golgi matrix protein GM130, also part of a complex with GRASP65 important for the organization of cis-Golgi cisternae. Here, we find that a novel coiled-coil protein golgin-45 interacts with the medial-Golgi matrix protein GRASP55 and the GTP form of rab2 but not other Golgi rab proteins. Depletion of golgin-45 disrupts the Golgi apparatus and causes a block in secretory protein transport. These results demonstrate that GRASP55 and golgin-45 form a rab2 effector complex on medial-Golgi essential for normal protein transport and Golgi structure

Automatische vektorbezogene Generierung von Straßennetzabbildern auf Basis von Floating Car Data: Automatische vektorbezogene Generierung von Straßennetzabbildern auf Basis von Floating Car Data

Straßen-Knoten-Netze als modelliertes Abbild der Straßeninfrastruktur bilden die Grundlage für eine Vielzahl von Diensten und Anwendungen. Die Verortung von Fahrzeugen, aber auch die Verkehrsumlegung, basieren darauf. Die Ermittlung optimaler Routen und die Visualisierung der Verkehrslage werden ermöglicht. Die resultierenden Anforderungen an das Netzabbild sind vielfältig und deren Bewältigung mit nicht unerheblichem Aufwand verbunden. Kernpunkte sind Genauigkeit, Aktualität und Flächendeckung. Ferner werden geringe Kosten bei dessen Erstellung angestrebt. Als Ergänzung zu manueller Digitalisierung und der Erfassung durch Messfahrzeuge mit hochpräziser Ortung stellt die Nutzbarmachung von Mehrwerten aus Floating Car Systemen einen viel versprechenden Ansatz dar. Vorgestellt wird ein Verfahren, welches mittels eines vektorbasierten Ansatzes Straßen-Knoten-Netze aus Floating Car Daten ermittelt.Node-edge-networks representing road infrastructure are base for various applications and services. Georeferencing of vehicles as well as traffic assignment are based on. Routing and traffic conditions visualisation become possible. Requirements concerning precision, topicality and area coverage of road network image are caused by. Low costs are aspired as well. Utilisation of additional benefits from floating car systems is a promising approach, supplementing common technologies like manual digitalisation or capturing road trajectories by special equipped probe vehicle. A vector based method aggregating positions information of floating car to process road infrastructure images will be presented

Modellierung abgesetzter Niederschläge: Entwicklung und Anwendung eines Verfahrens zur Berücksichtigung abgesetzter Niederschläge bei der Korrektur von Niederschlagsmessungen

Mittels eines neu entwickelten Verfahrens wurden 1 km-Rasterdaten für tägliche und monatliche Nebelniederschläge von 1967 bis 2014 für Sachsen erzeugt. Zum windbedingten Messfehler kann somit ein weiterer Verlust bei Niederschlagsmessungen für wasserhaushaltsrelevante Untersuchungen kompensiert werden. Die Veröffentlichung richtet sich an regionale Akteure, Planungsbüros, Bildungseinrichtungen und Unternehmen