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Assessing executive functions in individuals with disorders or clinical conditions can be challenging, as they may lack the abilities needed for conventional test formats. The use of more personalized test versions, such as adaptive assessments, might be helpful in evaluating individuals with specific needs. This paper introduces PsycAssist, a web-based artificial intelligence system designed for neuropsychological adaptive assessment and training. PsycAssist is a highly flexible and scalable system based on procedural knowledge space theory and may be used potentially with many types of tests. We present the architecture and adaptive assessment engine of PsycAssist and the two currently available tests: Adap-ToL, an adaptive version of the Tower of London-like test to assess planning skills, and MatriKS, a Raven-like test to evaluate fluid intelligence. Finally, we describe the results of an investigation of the usability of Adap-ToL and MatriKS: the evaluators perceived these tools as appropriate and well-suited for their intended purposes, and the test-takers perceived the assessment as a positive experience. To sum up, PsycAssist represents an innovative and promising tool to tailor evaluation and training to the specific characteristics of the individual, useful for clinical practice.

PURPOSE: We sought to determine the optimal hypofractionated regimens of moderately hypofractionated (HFRT) versus conventionally fractionated (CFRT) external beam radiotherapy for localized prostate cancer (LPCA), having as primary endpoints the 5-year biochemical failure (BF) and late gastrointestinal (GI) and genitourinary (GU) toxicity. METHODS AND MATERIALS: We performed a systematic literature review of the Medline and National Library of Medicine databases according to the PRISMA guidelines. Only phase III trials of CFRT versus moderate HFRT for LPCa, reporting 5-year BF and/or minimum 3-year late ≥G2 toxicity rates were considered. RESULTS: A total of 11 manuscripts reporting the outcomes of 8145 patients gathered from 9 randomized trials met the eligibility criteria. No significant difference between CFRT and HFRT was found in any of the investigated outcome measures. 80%, 15% and 29% isolevel curves for freedom from BF (FFBF), GI and GU toxicity, respectively, resulting from grouping the median values of all endpoints, were calculated as a function of both total dose (Dtot) and dose per fraction (d). Trials using fractionation schedules (d × n) lying above the FFBF and below toxicity isolevels are expected to produce the best therapeutic ratio. CONCLUSIONS: Our analysis indicates an optimal therapeutic window within which Dtot, d and n can be safely adjusted. Owing to both the risks of uncertainty due to inclusion of trials with d up to 3.5 Gy, and the exploitation of different cell killing mechanisms associated to larger d, the extrapolation to extremely hypo-fractionated regimens is not warranted

Ventral and dorsal streams are visual pathways deputed to transmit information from the photoreceptors of the retina to the lateral geniculate nucleus and then to the primary visual cortex (V1). Several studies investigated whether one pathway is more vulnerable than the other during development, and whether these streams develop at different rates. The results are still discordant. The aim of the present study was to understand the functionality of the dorsal and the ventral streams in two populations affected by different genetic disorders, Noonan syndrome (NS) and 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11.2DS), and explore the possible genotype–phenotype relationships. ‘Form coherence’ abilities for the ventral stream and ‘motion coherence’ abilities for the dorsal stream were evaluated in 19 participants with NS and 20 participants with 22q11.2DS. Collected data were compared with 55 age-matched controls. Participants with NS and 22q11.2DS did not differ in the form coherence task, and their performance was significantly lower than that of controls. However, in the motion coherence task, the group with NS and controls did not differ, and both obtained significantly higher scores than the group with 22q11.2DS. Our findings indicate that deficits in the dorsal stream are related to the specific genotype, and that in our syndromic groups the ventral stream is more vulnerable than the dorsal stream.