Holistic and mechanical combination in psychological assessment:Why algorithms are underutilized and what is needed to increase their use

Although mechanical combination results in more valid judgments and decisions than holistic combination, existing publications suggest that mechanical combination is rarely used in practice. Yet, these publications are either descriptions of anecdotal experiences or outdated surveys. Therefore, in several Western countries, we conducted two surveys (total N = 323) and two focus groups to investigate (1) how decision makers in psychological and HR practice combine information, (2) why they do (not) use mechanical combination, and (3) what may be needed to increase its use in practice. Many participants reported mostly using holistic combination, usually in teams. The most common reasons for not using mechanical combination were that algorithms are unavailable in practice and that stakeholders do not accept their use. Furthermore, decision makers do not quantify information, do not believe in research findings on evidence-based decision making, and think that combining holistic and mechanical combination results in the best decisions. The most important reason why mechanical combination is used was to increase predictive validity. To stimulate the use of mechanical combination in practice, our results suggest that decision makers should receive more training on evidence-based decision making, and decision aids supporting the use of mechanical combination should be developed

Age-related improvement in complex language comprehension: Results of a cross-sectional study with 361 children aged 5 to 15

We investigated age-related improvement in speed and accuracy of complex language comprehension with 361 children attending kindergarten and the 2nd, 4th, 6th, 7th, and 8th grades. Language comprehension was measured using both the neuropsychological procedure proposed by Luria (1966, 1980) and an adapted version of the Token Test. Levels of short-term memory and verbal intelligence were controlled for in the evaluation of language comprehension. The findings show that the accuracy of language comprehension continued to develop until the 6th grade, whereas the speed of language comprehension continued to improve up until the 7th grade. We thus conclude that the complex language comprehension of children is not fully developed until early adolescence. We further contend that the speed of complex language comprehension appears to be more sensitive than accuracy with respect to measuring developmental differences

Intraoperative ultrasound during surgical exploration in patients with pancreatic cancer and vascular involvement (ULTRAPANC): a prospective multicenter study

BackgroundDetermining the resectability of pancreatic cancer with vascular involvement on preoperative computed tomography imaging remains challenging, especially following preoperative chemotherapy and chemoradiotherapy. Intraoperative ultrasound (IOUS) may provide real-time additional information, but prospective multicenter series confirming its value are lacking. Patients and MethodsThis prospective multicenter study included patients undergoing surgical exploration for pancreatic cancer with vascular involvement. All patients underwent IOUS at the start of explorative laparotomy. Primary outcomes were resectability status as defined by the National Comprehensive Cancer Network and the extent of vascular involvement. ResultsOverall, 85 patients were included, of whom 74 (87%) were post preoperative chemotherapy, and mostly following FOLFIRINOX regimen (n = 57; 76%). On the basis of preoperative imaging, 34 (40%) patients were staged as resectable (RPC), 32 (38%) borderline resectable (BRPC), and 19 (22%) locally advanced pancreatic cancer (LAPC). IOUS changed the resectability status in 32/85 (38%) patients (p < 0.001), including 8/19 (42%) patients with LAPC who were downstaged (4 to BRPC, 4 to RPC), and 22/32 (69%) patients with BRPC who were downstaged to RPC. Among patients with presumed superior mesenteric artery (SMA) involvement, 20/28 (71%) had no SMA involvement on IOUS. In 15 of these 20 patients a pancreatic resection was performed, all with R0 SMA margin. ConclusionIOUS during surgical exploration for pancreatic cancer and vascular involvement downstaged the resectability status in over one-third of patients, which could facilitate progress during surgical exploration. This finding should be confirmed by larger studies, including detailed pathology assessment.Radiolog

ASO vsual abstract: intraoperative Ultrasound During Surgical Exploration in Patients with Pancreatic Cancer and Vascular Involvement (ULTRAPANC): a prospective multicenter study

Surgical oncolog

Response time variability and response inhibition predict affective problems in adolescent girls, not in boys: the TRAILS study

The present study examines the relationship between neurocognitive functioning and affective problems through adolescence, in a cross-sectional and longitudinal perspective. Baseline response speed, response speed variability, response inhibition, attentional flexibility and working memory were assessed in a cohort of 2,179 adolescents (age 10–12 years) from the TRacking Adolescents’ Individual Lives Survey (TRAILS). Affective problems were measured with the DSM-oriented Affective Problems scale of the Youth Self Report at wave 1 (baseline assessment), wave 2 (after 2.5 years) and wave 3 (after 5 years). Cross-sectionally, baseline response speed, response time variability, response inhibition and working memory were associated with baseline affective problems in girls, but not in boys. Longitudinally, enhanced response time variability predicted affective problems after 2.5 and 5 years in girls, but not in boys. Decreased response inhibition predicted affective problems after 5 years follow-up in girls, and again not in boys. The results are discussed in light of recent insights in gender differences in adolescence and state–trait issues in depression

The FAS fluency test in Brazilian children and teenagers: executive demands and the effects of age and gender

The FAS Verbal Fluency Test is widely used in neuropsychological clinical services and research. This study investigated the contributions of different executive functions, age and gender to FAS test performance in a sample of children and teenagers divided into two groups: G1 comprised 263 children aged 6-10 years, and G2 comprised 150 teenagers aged 10-14 years. All participants were assessed using the Cancellation Attention Test, the Auditory Working Memory Test, the Visual Working Memory Test, the Semantic Generation Test, and the Trail Making Test, in addition to the FAS test. For G1, age, auditory working memory and shifting were predictors of FAS performance. For G2, gender, auditory working memory, shifting and inhibition comprised the FAS explanatory model. The study contributed to our understanding of which are the best predictor variables for the FAS test in a Brazilian sample and how executive demands change with age