Measurement of psychological entitlement in 28 countries

This article presents the cross-cultural validation of the Entitlement Attitudes Questionnaire, a tool designed to measure three facets of psychological entitlement: active, passive, and revenge entitlement. Active entitlement was defined as the tendency to protect individual rights based on self-worthiness. Passive entitlement was defined as the belief in obligations to and expectations toward other people and institutions for the fulfillment of the individual’s needs. Revenge entitlement was defined as the tendency to protect one’s individual rights when violated by others and the tendency to reciprocate insults. The 15-item EAQ was validated in a series of three studies: the first one on a general Polish sample (N = 1,900), the second one on a sample of Polish students (N = 199), and the third one on student samples from 28 countries (N = 5,979). A three-factor solution was confirmed across all samples. Examination of measurement equivalence indicated partial metric invariance of EAQ for all national samples. Discriminant and convergent validity of the EAQ was also confirmed

Perpetrating Cyber Dating Abuse: A Brief Report on the Role of Aggression, Romantic Jealousy and Gender

There is increasing evidence that the use of elec-tronic communication technology (ECT) is being integrated into romantic relationships, which can be used as a medium to control a romantic partner. Most research focuses on the vic-tims of cyber dating abuse, however, we focused on the factors that predict perpetration of cyber dating abuse. We explored whether aggression (verbal aggression, physical aggression, anger and hostility), romantic jealousy (emotional, cognitive and behavioral jealousy), and gender predicted perpetration of cyber dating abuse (n = 189). We found that hostility, behav-ioral jealousy and gender significantly predicted perpetration of cyber dating abuse. The findings of this study contribute to our understanding of the psychological factors that drive cyber dating abuse in romantic relationships

An Actin-Based Wave Generator Organizes Cell Motility

Although many of the regulators of actin assembly are known, we do not understand how these components act together to organize cell shape and movement. To address this question, we analyzed the spatial dynamics of a key actin regulator—the Scar/WAVE complex—which plays an important role in regulating cell shape in both metazoans and plants. We have recently discovered that the Hem-1/Nap1 component of the Scar/WAVE complex localizes to propagating waves that appear to organize the leading edge of a motile immune cell, the human neutrophil. Actin is both an output and input to the Scar/WAVE complex: the complex stimulates actin assembly, and actin polymer is also required to remove the complex from the membrane. These reciprocal interactions appear to generate propagated waves of actin nucleation that exhibit many of the properties of morphogenesis in motile cells, such as the ability of cells to flow around barriers and the intricate spatial organization of protrusion at the leading edge. We propose that cell motility results from the collective behavior of multiple self-organizing waves

The mental health continuum-short form: the structure and application for cross-cultural studies-A 38 nation study

Objective: The Mental Health Continuum-Short Form (MHC-SF) is a brief scale measuring positive human functioning. The study aimed to examine the factor structure and to explore the cross-cultural utility of the MHC-SF using bifactor models and exploratory structural equation modelling. Method: Using multigroup confirmatory analysis (MGCFA) we examined the measurement invariance of the MHC-SF in 38 countries (university students, N = 8,066; 61.73% women, mean age 21.55 years). Results: MGCFA supported the cross-cultural replicability of a bifactor structure and a metric level of invariance between student samples. The average proportion of variance explained by the general factor was high (ECV =.66), suggesting that the three aspects of mental health (emotional, social, and psychological well-being) can be treated as a single dimension of well-being. Conclusion: The metric level of invariance offers the possibility of comparing correlates and predictors of positive mental functioning across countries; however, the comparison of the levels of mental health across countries is not possible due to lack of scalar invariance. Our study has preliminary character and could serve as an initial assessment of the structure of the MHC-SF across different cultural settings. Further studies on general populations are required for extending our findings.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Decomposition cross-correlation for analysis of collagen matrix deformation by single smooth muscle cells

Microvascular remodeling is known to depend on cellular interactions with matrix tissue. However, it is difficult to study the role of specific cells or matrix elements in an in vivo setting. The aim of this study is to develop an automated technique that can be employed to obtain and analyze local collagen matrix remodeling by single smooth muscle cells. We combined a motorized microscopic setup and time-lapse video microscopy with a new cross-correlation based image analysis algorithm to enable automated recording of cell-induced matrix reorganization. This method rendered 60–90 single cell studies per experiment, for which collagen deformation over time could be automatically derived. Thus, the current setup offers a tool to systematically study different components active in matrix remodeling

Lentiviral Vectors and Protocols for Creation of Stable hESC Lines for Fluorescent Tracking and Drug Resistance Selection of Cardiomyocytes

Developmental, physiological and tissue engineering studies critical to the development of successful myocardial regeneration therapies require new ways to effectively visualize and isolate large numbers of fluorescently labeled, functional cardiomyocytes.Here we describe methods for the clonal expansion of engineered hESCs and make available a suite of lentiviral vectors for that combine Blasticidin, Neomycin and Puromycin resistance based drug selection of pure populations of stem cells and cardiomyocytes with ubiquitous or lineage-specific promoters that direct expression of fluorescent proteins to visualize and track cardiomyocytes and their progenitors. The phospho-glycerate kinase (PGK) promoter was used to ubiquitously direct expression of histone-2B fused eGFP and mCherry proteins to the nucleus to monitor DNA content and enable tracking of cell migration and lineage. Vectors with T/Brachyury and alpha-myosin heavy chain (alphaMHC) promoters targeted fluorescent or drug-resistance proteins to early mesoderm and cardiomyocytes. The drug selection protocol yielded 96% pure cardiomyocytes that could be cultured for over 4 months. Puromycin-selected cardiomyocytes exhibited a gene expression profile similar to that of adult human cardiomyocytes and generated force and action potentials consistent with normal fetal cardiomyocytes, documenting these parameters in hESC-derived cardiomyocytes and validating that the selected cells retained normal differentiation and function.The protocols, vectors and gene expression data comprise tools to enhance cardiomyocyte production for large-scale applications

Cyber and in-person intimate partner violence victimization: Examining maladaptive psychosocial and behavioral correlates

This study examines psychological and behavioral correlates of cyber and in-person intimate partner victimization (IP-IPV; psychological, physical, and sexual violence) including strain (i.e., depression and anger), substance use, and antisocial behavior among young adults. Because intimate partner cyber aggression victimization (C-IPV) has received less research attention than IP-IPV, it is important to learn whether such victimization experiences are similar to in-person victimization experiences in terms of their associations with maladaptive functioning or whether they comprise a unique form of IPV. The study also explores strain as a potential mediator of the link between IPV victimization and maladaptive behavior. A sample of undergraduate students aged 18-25 who were in intimate relationships during the past year participated in a voluntary and anonymous online survey (n = 540). Results signaled that C-IPV and IP-IPV shared similar correlates (e.g. depression, substance use, and antisocial behavior) and C-IPV was linked with more forms of maladaptive behavior than certain types of in-person IPV victimization (e.g., sexual and physical) experiences. Results indicated partial support for the predicted mediation. Males were also at higher risk for engaging in substance use and antisocial behavior across all models. The study suggests that harmful electronic exchanges may have adverse consequences for young adults. As such, services providers and educators addressing the issue of IPV should tailor prevention and intervention strategies in a way that is inclusive of cyber aggression and considers it a public health concern.</jats:p

Cyber and in-person intimate partner violence victimization: Examining maladaptive psychosocial and behavioral correlates

This study examines psychological and behavioral correlates of cyber and in-person intimate partner victimization (IP-IPV; psychological, physical, and sexual violence) including strain (i.e., depression and anger), substance use, and antisocial behavior among young adults. Because intimate partner cyber aggression victimization (C-IPV) has received less research attention than IP-IPV, it is important to learn whether such victimization experiences are similar to in-person victimization experiences in terms of their associations with maladaptive functioning or whether they comprise a unique form of IPV. The study also explores strain as a potential mediator of the link between IPV victimization and maladaptive behavior. A sample of undergraduate students aged 18-25 who were in intimate relationships during the past year participated in a voluntary and anonymous online survey (n = 540). Results signaled that C-IPV and IP-IPV shared similar correlates (e.g. depression, substance use, and antisocial behavior) and C-IPV was linked with more forms of maladaptive behavior than certain types of in-person IPV victimization (e.g., sexual and physical) experiences. Results indicated partial support for the predicted mediation. Males were also at higher risk for engaging in substance use and antisocial behavior across all models. The study suggests that harmful electronic exchanges may have adverse consequences for young adults. As such, services providers and educators addressing the issue of IPV should tailor prevention and intervention strategies in a way that is inclusive of cyber aggression and considers it a public health concern