Validating the German Version of the Quality of Relationship Inventory: Confirming the Three-Factor Structure and Report of Psychometric Properties

Research on psychosocial influences such as relationship characteristics has received increased attention in the clinical as well as social-psychological field. Several studies demonstrated that the quality of relationships, in particular with respect to the perceived support within intimate relationships, profoundly affects individuals' mental and physical health. There is, however, a limited choice of valid and internationally known assessments of relationship quality in Germany. We report the validation of the German version of the Quality of Relationships Inventory (QRI). First, we evaluated its factor structure in a representative German sample of 1.494 participants by means of confirmatory factor analysis. Our findings support the previously proposed three-factor structure. Second, importance and satisfaction with different relationship domains (family/children and relationship/sexuality) were linked with the QRI scales, demonstrating high construct validity. Finally, we report sex and age differences regarding the perceived relationship support, conflict and depth in our German sample. In conclusion, the QRI is a reliable and valid measurement to assess social support in romantic relationships in the German population

Hybrid cellular Potts model for solid tumor growth

We present a hybrid computational framework whose aim is to reproduce and analyze the early growth of a solid tumor. The model couples an extended version of the discrete Cellular Potts Model, used to represent the phenomenological behavior of malignant cells, with a continuous approach of reaction-diffusion equations, employed to describe the evolution of microscopic variables, as the growth factors and the matrix proteins present in the host tissue and the proteolytic enzymes secreted by the tumor. The behavior of each cancer cell is determined by a balance of interaction forces, such as homotypic (cell-cell) and heterotypic (cell-matrix) adhesions and haptotaxis, and is mediated by its molecular state, which regulates the motility and proliferation rate. The resulting model captures the different phases of the development of the tumor mass, i.e. its exponential growth and the subsequent stabilization in a steady-state due to limitations in vital molecules. The proposed approach also predicts the influence on the cancer morphology of changes in specific intercellular adhesive mechanisms