Games, which can be defined as an externally structured, goal-directed type of play, are increasingly being used in high-stakes testing contexts to measure targeted constructs for use in the ...selection and promotion of employees. Despite this increasing popularity, little is known about how theory-driven game-based assessments (GBA), those designed to reflect a targeted construct, should be designed, or their potential for achieving their simultaneous goals of positive reactions and high-quality psychometric measurement. In the present research, we develop a theory of GBA design by integrating game design and development theory from human-computer interaction with psychometric theory. Next, we test measurement characteristics, prediction of performance, fairness, and reactions of a GBA designed according to this theory to measure latent general intelligence (g). Using an academic sample with GPA data (N = 633), we demonstrate convergence between latent GBA performance and g (β = .97). Adding an organizational sample with supervisory ratings of job performance (N = 49), we show GBA prediction of both GPA (r = .16) and supervisory ratings (r = .29). We also show incremental prediction of GPA using unit-weighted composites of the g test battery beyond that of the g-GBA battery but not the reverse. We also show the presence of similar adverse impact for both the traditional test battery and GBA but the absence of differential prediction of criteria. Reactions were more positive across all measures for the g-GBA compared to the traditional test battery. Overall, results support GBA design theory as a promising foundation from which to build high-quality theory-driven GBAs.
The use of the short form of the Körperkoordinationstest für Kinder (KTK3) to evaluate children's and adolescents' motor competence (MC) is increasing. When combined with an alternating one-handed ...catching and throwing ball task, assessing eye-hand coordination (EHC), it has been shown that the different aspects of motor skills are adequately covered in one compact KTK3+ test battery, studied in 6- to 10-year-old children. The present study aimed to validate the KTK3+ test battery and to provide contemporary MC normative values for boys and girls from 6- to 19-year-olds. A total of 2,271 children and adolescents (1,112 boys, 1,159 girls) participated in this study and were evaluated on the four included test items: jumping sideways (JS), moving sideways (MS), balancing backwards (BB), supplemented by an EHC task. Children's participation in organised sport was registered using a demographic questionnaire. For the first objective, a factor analysis with multidimensional scaling demonstrated that the one-dimensional model provided the best fit, with all test items correlating to the same latent construct: "MC". This was further supported with moderate to good correlations between all four test items (
= 0.453-0.799). Construct validity was investigated with a three-way MANOVA, demonstrating a significant multivariate interaction effect between sex and age group (
= 0.001) as well as a multivariate main effect of sex, age group, and organised sport participation (
< 0.001). Boys outperformed girls on two out of the four tests (JS and EHC,
< 0.005), while girls were better than boys on the BB test (
< 0.005). Performance scores increased across age groups on all tests (
< 0.001). Only for the BB test score, a plateau effect was noted around the age of 12 years. Children and adolescents participating in sports generally outperformed their peers who were not involved in organised sports, on the present KTK3+ test battery. For the second objective, raw score normative values are provided separately for both sexes between 6- to 19-year-olds. In combination with the one-factor structure confirmation, these sex, age, and sport participation effects demonstrate the validity of the test battery. The provided normative values are useful to evaluate MC in children and adolescents from 6 to 19 years old. The use of only four test items that are identical across all ages makes the KTK3+ test battery a practical instrument to assess and compare MC development.
New psychopharmacological treatments are needed for affective and nonaffective
psychoses, especially for the associated negative and cognitive symptoms. Earlier
developments mostly failed, probably ...partly because of limitations in behavioral models
used for validation. Now, deeper understanding of the genetics underlying disease
pathogenesis and progress in genetic engineering will generate many rodent models with
increased construct validity. To improve these models' translational value, we need
complementary data from nonhuman primates. We also have to improve and streamline
behavioral test systems to cope with increased demand. Here, we propose a comprehensive
neurocognitive test battery that should overcome the disadvantages of single tests and
yield cognitive/behavioral profiles for modeling subsets of patient symptoms. Further,
we delineate a concept for classifying disease-relevant cognitive endophenotypes to
balance between face and construct validity and clinical diagnostics. In summary, this
review discusses new concepts and the limitations and future potential of translational
research on cognition in psychiatry.
A limited number of patients return to sport (RTS) after an anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR) and patients who RTS have a relatively high risk for second ACL injury. The purpose of the ...current study was to compare the results of a test battery between patients who returned to the pre-injury level of sport (RTS group) and patients who did not (NO-RTS group).
It was hypothesized that the RTS group showed better test results.
Sixty-four patients (age 27.8 ± 8.8 years) were included. The results of a multicomponent test battery (jump-landing task assessed with the Landing Error Scoring System (LESS), three hop tests, isokinetic strength test for quadriceps and hamstring) were compared between groups with a 2 × 2 ANOVA.
The RTS group showed a significantly lower LESS score (p = 0.010), significantly higher absolute scores on hop tests with both legs (injured leg: single leg hop test p = 0.013, triple leg hop test p = 0.024, side hop test p = 0.021; non-injured leg: single leg hop test p = 0.011, triple leg hop test p = 0.023, side hop test p = 0.032) and significantly greater hamstring strength in the injured leg (p = 0.009 at 60°/s, p = 0.012 at 180°/s and p = 0.013 at 300°/s). No differences in test results were identified between patients who sustained a second ACL injury and patients who did not.
Patients after ACLR with better jump-landing patterns, hop performance and greater hamstring strength have greater likelihood for RTS. However, our findings show that RTS criteria fail to identify patients who are at risk for a second ACL injury.
A multitude of possible contaminants can be contained in bio-based fertilizers (BBFs) because of their complex matrix. The chemical characterization of BBFs is a challenging analytical task. ...Therefore, it is important for sustainable agricultural production to develop standard procedures to assess new bio-based fertilizers for possible hazards related to their application in order to guarantee their safety for soils organisms, plants and the environment.
There is a huge number of ecotoxicological tests for aquatic and terrestrial organisms. They were developed for the evaluation of chemicals, pesticides and industrial wastes on aquatic systems and soil functioning. These tests can be useful for the assessment of BBFs. Ecotoxicological tests in comparison to chemical analysis have the advantage to capture the effects of all possible contaminants and metabolites available in the product. The bioavailability of toxic compounds and their interaction are recorded while the cause-and-effect-chain is not elucidated. Numerous ecotoxicological tests work with liquid media, capturing the effects of pollutants that can be mobilized. Hence, standardized procedures how to produce solvents from BBFs are mandatory. Moreover, tests using the original (solid) material are necessary in order to determine the toxicity of a given BBF in its application form and to cover the potential toxicity of non-soluble compounds. To date there are no rules how to determine the ecotoxicological potential of BBFs. A tiered approach of chemical analytical parameters in combination with a set of ecotoxicological tests and the measurement of sensitive soil indicators seem to be a promising experimental setup for the evaluation of BBFs. A decision tree for such an approach was developed. An extended ecotoxicological test strategy of BBFs is mandatory to identify the most promising raw materials and BBF processing technologies to end up with sustainable fertilizer products showing a high agronomic efficiency.
Display omitted
•Bio-based fertilizers (BBFs) can contain a multitude of contaminants.•Test batteries of ecotoxicological tests are suitable for the evaluation of BBFs.•A combined approach of chemical & ecotoxicological evaluation and soil indicators is recommended.•Ecotoxicity rating help to improve a sustainable BBF production and to implement circular economy.
Mood and cognitive function can change after cold exposure. Recovering from extreme cold is important, especially for people who work outdoors. This study was conducted to investigate cognitive ...function in the recovery period after being exposed to different temperatures of cold environments. 12 subjects underwent different cold exposures at −5 °C, −10 °C, and −15 °C in a climate chamber. Cognitive function was measured with the Neurobehavioral Core Test Battery (NCTB) and Stroop color-word test after 40 min of recovery at a room of 24 °C. The results showed that 40 min of recovery after cold exposure could not eliminate the differences between different degrees of extremely cold exposure in the mood effects (confusion-bewilderment). A decrease in ambient temperature could reduce visual perception and memory functions. Manual dexterity decreased by 13.6% in −10 °C compared with that in 24 °C due to colder ambient temperatures. At different degrees of cold exposure, selective attention decreased significantly as the ambient temperature dropped. The results from this study could be used to better organize work and rest periods according to task characteristics and duration of cold exposure.
•Human mood and cognitive function after different extreme cold exposures were presented.•The lower temperature can exacerbate confusion-bewilderment.•Cold exposure affect visual perception and memory functions.•Manual dexterity decreased by 13.6% in −10 °C compared with that in 24 °C.
Background:
Return-to-sport (RTS) testing after anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction (ACLR) surgery has become popular. It has been recommended that such testing should incorporate several ...domains, or set of tests, but it is unclear which are most associated with a successful RTS.
Purpose:
To determine (1) the proportion of patients who can pass a set of self-report and functional tests at 6 months after ACLR; (2) age, sex, and activity level differences between patients who pass and those who do not; and (3) whether specific types of tests are associated with a return to competitive sport at 12 months.
Study Design:
Cohort study; Level of evidence, 2.
Methods:
This was a prospective longitudinal study of 450 patients who had primary ACLR. At 6 months postoperatively, patients completed 2 self-report measures, the International Knee Documentation Committee (IKDC) subjective knee form and ACL–Return to Sport after Injury (ACL-RSI) scale, and 3 functional measures: single hop and triple crossover hop for distance and isokinetic quadriceps strength. Limb symmetry index scores of ≥90 for functional tests, IKDC scores ≥85, and ACL-RSI scores ≥65 were considered indicators of satisfactory recovery. Proportional statistics and contingency analysis were used to determine associations between age, sex, preinjury sports level, and (1) meeting test thresholds and (2) RTS at 12 months.
Results:
Only 17 (3.8%) patients met all 5 test criteria at 6 months, and 95 (21%) patients did not pass any test. More of the younger patients (<21 years) passed all of the functional tests (P < .01), and more male patients met the IKDC threshold (P = .03). Patients who played level I sports before injury had the same pass rates as those who played level II/III sports. Patients who passed the thresholds for the ACL-RSI and IKDC scales had 4 and 3 times the odds, respectively, of RTS at 12 months (both P < .0001). Meeting the threshold for quadriceps strength or either of the hop tests at 6 months was not associated with RTS.
Conclusion:
At 6 months after ACLR, few patients met all of the thresholds of the common tests used to assess RTS ability, although younger patients had higher rates of passing the functional tests. Self-perceived symptoms/function and psychological readiness were associated with a return at 12 months.
Objective: There is a pressing need to develop alternatives to the traditional pencil-and-paper, in-ward neuropsychological testing. Remote neuropsychological assessment (tele-neuropsychology; ...TeleNP) would be extremely useful not only in emergencies but also to reach several patients who cannot reach the hospital. However, there is a lack of instruments that are specifically designed for TeleNP that allow a comprehensive evaluation of cognitive functions. Here, we describe the development and implementation of Valutazione Neuropsicologica Interattiva in Telemedicina (VaNIT), a TeleNP tool including several neuropsychological tests that can be administered remotely. VaNIT was designed and developed to match three key specific requirements: (1) multidimensionality of the assessment—VaNIT includes 29 tests assessing cognitive efficiency, linguistic abilities, memory, and visuospatial functions; (2) evidence-based test selection; (3) interactive virtual environment—developed on a web-based platform with integrated video call. Method: In a pilot study, we explored VaNIT’s usability and feasibility in healthy individuals. Forty healthy individuals (20 males; range = 18–87) underwent the pilot study via PC administration. Results: Age and education consistently affected the vast majority of measures, whereas no relevant sex differences were detected. Novel tasks proved to sufficiently converge to well-known measures at the within-domain level. Conclusions: VaNIT represents an example of digital innovation in the medical area that aims at preserving the interactive nature of the neuropsychological examination. Ultimately, the goal of this work is to reach clinicians and researchers working in the field to make a joint effort in order to rapidly provide diagnostic tools that could in the future be part of the standard toolkit of the neuropsychologist. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved) (Source: journal abstract)
Rationale
Triangulation of approaches (i.e., using several tests of the same construct) can be extremely useful for increasing the robustness of the findings being widely used when working with ...behavioral testing, especially when using rodents as a translational model. Although zebrafish are widely used in neuropharmacology research due to their high-throughput screening potential for new therapeutic drugs, behavioral test battery effects following pharmacological manipulations are still unknown.
Methods
Here, we tested the effects of an anxiety test battery and test time following pharmacological manipulations in zebrafish by using two behavioral tasks: the novel tank diving task (NTT) and the light–dark test (LDT). Fluoxetine and conspecific alarm substance (CAS) were chosen to induce anxiolytic and anxiogenic-like behavior, respectively.
Results
For non-drug-treated animals, no differences were observed for testing order (NTT → LDT or LDT → NTT) and there was a strong correlation between performances on the two behavioral tasks. However, we found that during drug treatment, NTT/LDT responses are affected by the tested order depending on the test time being fluoxetine effects higher at the second behavioral task (6 min later) and CAS effects lower across time.
Conclusions
Overall, our data supports the use of baseline behavior assessment using this anxiety test battery. However, when working with drug exposure, data analysis must carefully consider time-drug-response and data variability across behavioral tasks.
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