Test–retest reliability and practice effect of the Leuven Perceptual Organisation Screening Test

Visual diagnostic tests must have a high degree of consistency in their measurements (high reliability) to ensure accurate assessment of perceptual abilities. The current study assessed test–retest reliability and practice effects in the Leuven Perceptual Organisation Screening Test (L-POST) in 144 healthy volunteers, with time intervals between 0 and 756 days. We used Pearson's and intraclass correlation analysis, Bland–Altman analysis and multilevel modelling. Results from our analyses converged and supported an adequate reliability of the L-POST. Multilevel modelling demonstrated an absence of practice effect, suggesting that the L-POST is suitable for repeat administration. This study suggests that the L-POST has adequate reliability and is suitable for repeat administration even at short intervals. This study provides the basis for a more systematic evaluation for neuropsychological assessments, which can lead to the development of more reliable assessment batteries.

Reductions in sleep quality and circadian activity rhythmicity predict longitudinal changes in objective and subjective cognitive functioning in women treated for breast cancer

Purpose To examine long-term cognitive effects of chemotherapy and identify predictors among women with breast cancer (WBC). Patients and methods Sixty-nine WBC scheduled to receive chemotherapy, and 64 matched-controls with no cancer, participated. Objective and subjective cognition, total sleep time, nap time, circadian activity rhythms (CAR), sleep quality, fatigue, and depression were measured pre-chemotherapy (Baseline), end of cycle 4 (Cycle-4), and one-year post-chemotherapy (1-Year). Results WBC showed no change in objective cognitive measures from Baseline to Cycle-4 but significantly improved from both time points to 1-Year. Matched-controls showed an increase in test performance at all time points. WBC had significantly higher self-reported cognitive dysfunction at Cycle-4 and 1-Year compared to baseline and compared to matched-controls. Worse neuropsychological functioning was predicted by less robust CARs (i.e., inconsistent 24 h pattern), worse sleep quality, longer naps, and worse cognitive complaints. Worse subjective cognition was predicted by lower sleep quality and higher fatigue and depressed mood. Conclusion Objective testing showed increases in performance scores from pre- and post-chemotherapy to one year later in WBC, but matched-controls showed an increase in test performance from baseline to Cycle-4 and from Cycle-4 to 1-Year, likely due to a practice effect. The fact that WBC showed no practice effects may reflect a form of learning deficit. Compared with the matched-controls, WBC reported significant worsened cognitive function. In WBC, worse objective and subjective cognitive functioning were predicted by worse sleep and sleep-related behaviors (naps and CAR). Interventions that target sleep, circadian rhythms, and fatigue may benefit cognitive function in WBC.

Older Adults Performed Worse on Cognitive Assessment at Lonelier Moments: Using Ambulatory Assessment Approach

This study focused on investigating the short-term effect of loneliness on older adults’ cognitive performances in daily life. Loneliness is suggested as a risk factor for cognitive health, but results in previous studies are inconsistent due to the lack of valid measures and limited research design. The attention-depletion hypothesis highlights that acute stress could immediately compromise cognitive ability by consuming attentional resources. Accordingly, this study examined whether loneliness, as one of the stressors related to one’s social relationship, was immediately associated with worse daily cognitive performances in older adults. Using an ecological momentary assessment approach, 311 community-dwelling older adults (Mage=77.5 (range=70-90), 67% female, 45% white) reported their level of loneliness as well as performed cognitive assessment five times a day for 16 days. Multilevel modeling showed that on occasion when participants reported a higher level of loneliness than normal, they performed worse in the processing speed test (p<.01) and the short-term memory binding test (p<.01) during those moments, controlling for age, gender, education, ethnicity, IADL, and retest-practice effect. Moreover, those momentary associations between loneliness and cognitive performances remained significant after controlling for the momentary level of feeling depressed. Unlike the concurrent effect, there was no lagged effect of loneliness on daily cognitive performances. These results suggest that transient but intense feelings of loneliness can function as acute stress and thus, compromise daily cognitive functioning short-term. Results will be discussed in terms of the potential benefit of momentary real-time interventions to lessen feelings of loneliness to maintain older adults’ cognitive functioning.

Reliability and Validity of the Traditional Chinese Version of the Advance Care Planning Engagement Survey: A Pilot Evaluation in Taiwanese Outpatients

Objective: The Advance Care Planning Engagement Survey (ACP-ES) has proven effective in evaluating individuals’ engagement in advance care planning (ACP). However, a Traditional Chinese version of ACP-ES (ACPES-TC) has not yet been developed. Therefore, this study aimed to translate and preliminarily validate the ACPES-TC in the Taiwanese context. Material and Methods: A forward and backward translation process was conducted. The translated questionnaire was confirmed by clinical and academic experts. The ACPES-TC was then evaluated for its reliability and validity with participants in the community and from an outpatient clinic in a medical center in Northern Taiwan. The participants comprised healthy people aged 20 to 30 years and patients ≥55 years old, recruited from September 17 to October 28, 2019. Results: Seventy people were recruited, including 20 people aged 20 to 30 years in the community and 50 patients ≥ 55 years old from clinics. The ACPES-TC scores are significantly higher among those of older age, having financial independence, and under long-term medication ( p < .05). The patients’ preference for health-related decision-making is significantly correlated with the ACPES-TC score; the point-biserial correlation coefficient is 0.46 ( p < .001). The discriminant and criterion-related validities are verified. The ACPES-TC demonstrated a good internal consistency (Cronbach's α .97), acceptable one-week test-retest reliability (overall intraclass correlation coefficient 0.86), and low practice effect between the test and retest (Cohen's d .43). Conclusion: The overall reliability and validity of the ACPES-TC are fair, which could be used to evaluate the patients’ engagement in ACP in Taiwan. However, further studies with a full-scale psychometric evaluation are needed.

Quinoa (Chenopodium quinoa Wild.) Seed Yield and Efficiency in Soils Deficient of Nitrogen in the Bolivian Altiplano: An Analytical Review

Quinoa is a strategic crop due to its high N content and its adaptability to adverse conditions, where most of the soils are deficient of nitrogen (N). The central question in this review was the following: How can quinoa yield low levels of nitrogen in the soils of Altiplano? This question was unraveled based on different factors: (1) fertilization effect on productivity, (2) fertilization limits, (3) uptake and assimilation of nitrogen parameters, (4) monoculture practice effect, and (5) possible sources and strategies. One hundred eleven articles of different scientific platforms were revised and data were collected. Information from articles was used to calculate the partial factor productivity for nitrogen (PFPN), the apparent use efficiency of N (APUEN), available nitrogen (AN), and nitrogen content harvested in grains (HarvN). Quinoa responds positively to fertilization, but differences in yield were found among irrigated and rainfed conditions. Quinoa can produce 1850 kg grains ha−1 with 50 kg N ha−1 under irrigated conditions, and 670 kg grains ha−1 with 15 kg N ha−1 in rainfed conditions. Quinoa increases seed yield and HarvN increases N fertilization, but decreases nitrogen efficiency. In Altiplano, without nitrogen fertilizer, the quinoa yield relies on between 500 and 1000 kg ha−1, which shows that in the soil, there are other nitrogen sources.

Predictable Switching Between Recognition Memory and Magnitude Judgement Tasks: Effects and Implications

<p>Task switching and interruption effects—slower and (often) less accurate responses when a task changes compared to that when a task remains the same—have been investigated from both theoretical and applied vantage points (e.g., Altmann & Trafton, 2007; Jersild, 1927; Rogers & Monsell, 1995). The task switching research has typically used simple tasks with high stimulus-response (S-R) overlap, but there is a need to use different methods and tasks to test the boundaries of task switching effects and the theories used to explain them (Logan, 2003). This thesis examined the costs of switching between a recognition memory task, which is a more complex task than those typically used, and a magnitude judgement task (for the number of dots in a spatial array), which is the type of simple task that has been used (e.g., Altmann, 2002; Monsell, Sumner & Waters, 2003). Across seven experiments, participants switched between the recognition and magnitude tasks in predictable 1, 2, or 4-trial runs. The first two experiments examined task switching effects on recognition memory performance, with Experiment 2 investigating whether specific recognition processes (i.e., recollection and/or familiarity) were affected by switching tasks. Experiment 3 investigated the recovery from a task switch for both tasks and included a visual, task switch "reminder" cue in an attempt to improve switching performance. Finally, Experiments 4A, 4B, 5A, and 5B examined evidence for two well-known task switching phenomena, the practice effect and the preparation effect. The results led to four critical conclusions: (1) switching between two tasks with minimal S-R overlap produced significant RT and accuracy switch effects; (2) the cost to recognition memory accuracy did not reflect an impairment to controlled recollection processes; (3) the magnitude and persistence of task switching effects changed as a function of practice within an experiment; and (4) there was little evidence that participants began to switch tasks in advance of stimulus presentation. The results reported in this thesis provide a clear example of task switching driven by the type of stimulus (word or dots), where a change in stimulus type (i.e., from word to dots array or vice versa) initiated the time consuming process of retrieving/activating the appropriate task set. Future research will need to clarify whether the stimulus-driven nature of switching between the recognition and magnitude tasks remains when using different task switching paradigms and when S-R overlap is reintroduced.</p>

Predictable Switching Between Recognition Memory and Magnitude Judgement Tasks: Effects and Implications

<p>Task switching and interruption effects—slower and (often) less accurate responses when a task changes compared to that when a task remains the same—have been investigated from both theoretical and applied vantage points (e.g., Altmann & Trafton, 2007; Jersild, 1927; Rogers & Monsell, 1995). The task switching research has typically used simple tasks with high stimulus-response (S-R) overlap, but there is a need to use different methods and tasks to test the boundaries of task switching effects and the theories used to explain them (Logan, 2003). This thesis examined the costs of switching between a recognition memory task, which is a more complex task than those typically used, and a magnitude judgement task (for the number of dots in a spatial array), which is the type of simple task that has been used (e.g., Altmann, 2002; Monsell, Sumner & Waters, 2003). Across seven experiments, participants switched between the recognition and magnitude tasks in predictable 1, 2, or 4-trial runs. The first two experiments examined task switching effects on recognition memory performance, with Experiment 2 investigating whether specific recognition processes (i.e., recollection and/or familiarity) were affected by switching tasks. Experiment 3 investigated the recovery from a task switch for both tasks and included a visual, task switch "reminder" cue in an attempt to improve switching performance. Finally, Experiments 4A, 4B, 5A, and 5B examined evidence for two well-known task switching phenomena, the practice effect and the preparation effect. The results led to four critical conclusions: (1) switching between two tasks with minimal S-R overlap produced significant RT and accuracy switch effects; (2) the cost to recognition memory accuracy did not reflect an impairment to controlled recollection processes; (3) the magnitude and persistence of task switching effects changed as a function of practice within an experiment; and (4) there was little evidence that participants began to switch tasks in advance of stimulus presentation. The results reported in this thesis provide a clear example of task switching driven by the type of stimulus (word or dots), where a change in stimulus type (i.e., from word to dots array or vice versa) initiated the time consuming process of retrieving/activating the appropriate task set. Future research will need to clarify whether the stimulus-driven nature of switching between the recognition and magnitude tasks remains when using different task switching paradigms and when S-R overlap is reintroduced.</p>