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Visuospatial abilities are associated with children's performance in mathematics. However, little is known about the contribution of visual perception, especially during preadolescence. Here, we aimed to test the relationship between visual perception, mathematics and field-dependent/independent cognitive style (FDI). We also focused on preadolescence, during which cognitive style tends to structure itself. Ninety-eight pupils were recruited in a public school in Rome (Italy) and divided into two age groups: children (age range = 6–10) and preadolescents (age range = 11–14). The relationship between visual perception, mathematics and FDI was tested by computing bivariate correlations as a preliminary step and using mediation analysis to test the mediating role of FDI. We found that FDI mediated this relation during preadolescence, enhancing the positive correlation between variables. In addition to the theoretical advances, the results of the present study may have an educational impact. Future studies should better investigate which types of training lead to mathematical achievement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

KEAP1 mutations have been associated with reduced survival in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) patients treated with immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs), particularly in the presence of STK11 / KRAS alterations. We hypothesized that, beyond co-occurring genomic events, clonality prediction may help identify deleterious KEAP1 mutations and their counterparts with retained sensitivity to ICIs. Beta-binomial modelling of sequencing read counts was used to infer KEAP1 clonal inactivation by combined somatic mutation and loss of heterozygosity (KEAP1 C-LOH) versus partial inactivation [ KEAP1 clonal diploid-subclonal (KEAP1 CD-SC)] in the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center (MSK) MetTropism cohort (N = 2550). Clonality/LOH prediction was compared to a streamlined clinical classifier that relies on variant allele frequencies (VAFs) and tumor purity (TP) (VAF/TP ratio). The impact of this classification on survival outcomes was tested in two independent cohorts of LUAD patients treated with immunotherapy (MSK/Rome N = 237; DFCI N = 461). Immune-related features were studied by exploiting RNA-sequencing data (TCGA) and multiplexed immunofluorescence (DFCI mIF cohort). Clonality/LOH inference in the MSK MetTropism cohort overlapped with a clinical classification model defined by the VAF/TP ratio. In the ICI-treated MSK/Rome discovery cohort, predicted KEAP1 C-LOH mutations were associated with shorter progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) compared to KEAP1 wild-type cases (PFS log-rank P = 0.001; OS log-rank P < 0.001). Similar results were obtained in the DFCI validation cohort (PFS log-rank P = 0.006; OS log-rank P = 0.014). In both cohorts, we did not observe any significant difference in survival outcomes when comparing KEAP1 CD-SC and wild-type tumors. Immune deconvolution and multiplexed immunofluorescence revealed that KEAP1 C-LOH and KEAP1 CD-SC differed for immune-related features. KEAP1 C-LOH mutations are associated with an immune-excluded phenotype and worse clinical outcomes among advanced LUAD patients treated with ICIs. By contrast, survival outcomes of patients whose tumors harbored KEAP1 CD-SC mutations were similar to those with KEAP1 wild-type LUADs. • Variant allele frequency and tumor purity frame deleterious KEAP1 mutations in LUAD. • Clonal KEAP1 mutations with LOH (KEAP1 C-LOH) define a subset of LUAD patients unresponsive to immunotherapy. • Preserved immunotherapy efficacy was noticed in tumors with clonal diploid/subclonal KEAP1 mutations (KEAP1 CD-SC). • Immune-related pathways and markers were differentially represented across KEAP1 C-LOH, KEAP1 CD-SC, and wild-type tumors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A pilot study has been carried out to evaluate women's compliance to a screening program for cervical cancer. The study, initiated in 1994, was performed in conjunction with the ACRO project of the CNR by the Italian National Health Institute, in collaboration with La Sapienza University of Rome and the National Institute for Cancer Research in Genoa. A preliminary telephone survey was carried out on a sample of 400 women (200 in Rome and 200 in Genoa) to assess, among other factors, their attitude towards the screening program. Afterwards, an ad hoc advertising campaign was launched and 21,827 women, randomly chosen from the register office's lists, were sent a personal invitation to participate in the screening. Most women showed interest in attending the screening program at the interview, but the percentages of participation were low (25.7% in Genoa and 27.3% in Rome). On the other hand, a high percentage of women who participated in the screening had already had a Pap test in the previous three years (Genoa, 73%; Rome, 76%). The recruiting techniques that were used in this study, and that are commonly used, do not seem to reach the core of the target population for cervical screening, i.e. women who have never had a Pap test or who had a Pap test more than 5 years earlier. New methods of recruiting aimed at categories at risk and based more on direct contacts need to be developed.