289 results on '"Livia Giordano"'
Search Results
2. Contextual and individual inequalities in breast cancer screening participation and outcomes in Turin (North-West Italy)
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Chiara Di Girolamo, Giulio Cammarata, Livia Giordano, Nicolás Zengarini, Elisa Ferracin, Viviana Vergini, Gianluigi Ferrante, and Fulvio Ricceri
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Neoplasms. Tumors. Oncology. Including cancer and carcinogens ,RC254-282 - Abstract
Abstract Breast cancer incidence and screening participation exhibit an unequal distribution in the population. This study aims to investigate the impact of socioeconomic position (SEP) on three breast screening indicators (participation, recall, and cancer detection rates) among women aged 50–69 in the city of Turin between 2010 and 2019. The study also aims to determine whether contextual factors (deprivation index) or individual factors (educational level) have a greater influence. The data used in this study are sourced from the Turin Breast Screening Program (TBSP) and the Turin Longitudinal Study (TLS). To test the hypothesis and account for the hierarchical structure of the data, multilevel models were used. Both contextual and individual SEP were found to be associated with screening participation. Participation increased with higher levels of deprivation (odds ratio for most deprived: 1.13; 95% CI 1.11–1.16) and decreased with higher educational levels (OR for low educated: 1.37; 95% CI 1.34–1.40). Contextual SEP did not show any association with recall or cancer detection rates, but individual SEP had an impact. Women with lower educational levels had a statistically significant 19% lower odds of being recalled and a statistically significant 20% lower odds of being diagnosed with cancer. Additionally, immigrant women were less likely to participate in screening, be recalled, or receive a cancer diagnosis. Educational level consistently influenced the analyzed screening indicators, while contextual deprivation appeared to have less importance. It is likely that women living in less deprived areas and with higher education have greater access to opportunistic screening.
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- 2024
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3. Presence and Role of Associations of Cancer Patients and Volunteers in Specialist Breast Centres: An Italian National Survey of Breast Centres Associated with Senonetwork
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Rosanna D’Antona, Silvia Deandrea, Elisabetta Sestini, Loredana Pau, Francesca Ferrè, Catia Angiolini, Marina Bortul, Lauro Bucchi, Francesca Caumo, Lucio Fortunato, Livia Giordano, Monica Giordano, Paola Mantellini, Irene Martelli, Giuseppe Melucci, Carlo Naldoni, Eugenio Paci, Gianni Saguatti, Corrado Tinterri, Milena Vainieri, and Luigi Cataliotti
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breast cancer ,breast centre ,associations ,patients ,volunteers ,survey ,Neoplasms. Tumors. Oncology. Including cancer and carcinogens ,RC254-282 - Abstract
This article aims to present the results of a national, cross-sectional, voluntary, online survey on the presence and roles of associations of breast cancer patients and volunteers in Italian specialist breast centres. The survey was developed according to standard methods. The questionnaire was pre-tested by a random sample of three breast centres, loaded onto the SurveyMonkey platform, and piloted by one volunteer breast centre. The breast centre clinical leads were invited to participate via email. A link to the online instrument was provided. No financial incentives were offered. The results were reported using standard descriptive statistics. The response rate was 82/128 (65%). Members of associations were routinely present in 70% Italian breast centres. Breast centres most often reporting their presence were those certified by the European Society of Breast Cancer Specialists. Patient support (reception and information, listening, identification of needs, and psychological support) was the primary area where associations were reported to offer services. The magnitude of this phenomenon warrants a study to investigate the impact of the activities of associations on the quality of life of patients and on the cost–benefit ratio of the service, and the modes of their interactions with the nursing staff and the medical staff.
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- 2023
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4. Role of solvation model on the stability of oxygenates on Pt(111): A comparison between microsolvation, extended bilayer, and extended metal/water interface
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Giovanni Di Liberto and Livia Giordano
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DFT ,electrocatalysis ,solvation ,ORR ,Industrial electrochemistry ,TP250-261 ,Chemistry ,QD1-999 - Abstract
Abstract The activity of catalysts is mainly dictated by the adsorption strength of reaction intermediates at their surfaces. For electrocatalysts in solution, the adsorption strength is not only determined by the intrinsic properties of catalysts and reactants, but also by the solvation energy of reaction intermediates, which is difficult to capture with theoretical methods. Here, we report the impact of different explicit solvation approaches in estimating the stability of oxygenates on the (111) surface of platinum, widely used in oxygen electrocatalysis. We simulate the adsorption of OH, O, and OOH intermediates, relevant for oxygen reduction and oxygen evolution reactions, on Pt(111) with different solvation environments. We apply the static water bilayer model, typically adopted to calculate solvation energies on Pt(111) in computational studies. We then study the trend of solvation energies under different microsolvation environments, by adsorbing the intermediates in presence of an increasing number of water molecules. Last, we use a dynamic approach based on ab‐initio molecular dynamics (AIMD) to account for dynamic effects. Our results indicate that the stabilities of oxygenates approach those of the water bilayer when the number of molecules increases from zero to three, but the free energies are affected in a not trivial way by the morphology and size of the water cluster, due to the increased complexity and configurational space. Moreover, static methods imply overcorrected free energies. The adoption of a molecular dynamics approach, based on single‐run AIMD simulation of the Pt(111)/H2O interface, allows retrieval estimates close to the experimental observation, including dynamic effects, and is highly transferrable. These results suggest that i) when using a microsolvation scheme, it is recommended to include a few water molecules, up to three to resemble the picture of the static bilayer model; ii) dynamic effects are important and can be included with a single‐run AIMD scheme.
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- 2024
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5. Plasma microRNA ratios associated with breast cancer detection in a nested case–control study from a mammography screening cohort
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Giovanna Chiorino, Elisabetta Petracci, Emir Sehovic, Ilaria Gregnanin, Elisa Camussi, Maurizia Mello-Grand, Paola Ostano, Emilia Riggi, Viviana Vergini, Alessia Russo, Enrico Berrino, Andrea Ortale, Francesca Garena, Tiziana Venesio, Federica Gallo, Elisabetta Favettini, Alfonso Frigerio, Giuseppe Matullo, Nereo Segnan, and Livia Giordano
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Medicine ,Science - Abstract
Abstract Mammographic breast cancer screening is effective in reducing breast cancer mortality. Nevertheless, several limitations are known. Therefore, developing an alternative or complementary non-invasive tool capable of increasing the accuracy of the screening process is highly desirable. The objective of this study was to identify circulating microRNA (miRs) ratios associated with BC in women attending mammography screening. A nested case–control study was conducted within the ANDROMEDA cohort (women of age 46–67 attending BC screening). Pre-diagnostic plasma samples, information on life-styles and common BC risk factors were collected. Small-RNA sequencing was carried out on plasma samples from 65 cases and 66 controls. miR ratios associated with BC were selected by two-sample Wilcoxon test and lasso logistic regression. Subsequent assessment by RT-qPCR of the miRs contained in the selected miR ratios was carried out as a platform validation. To identify the most promising biomarkers, penalised logistic regression was further applied to candidate miR ratios alone, or in combination with non-molecular factors. Small-RNA sequencing yielded 20 candidate miR ratios associated with BC, which were further assessed by RT-qPCR. In the resulting model, penalised logistic regression selected seven miR ratios (miR-199a-3p_let-7a-5p, miR-26b-5p_miR-142-5p, let-7b-5p_miR-19b-3p, miR-101-3p_miR-19b-3p, miR-93-5p_miR-19b-3p, let-7a-5p_miR-22-3p and miR-21-5p_miR-23a-3p), together with body mass index (BMI), menopausal status (MS), the interaction term BMI * MS, life-style score and breast density. The ROC AUC of the model was 0.79 with a sensitivity and specificity of 71.9% and 76.6%, respectively. We identified biomarkers potentially useful for BC screening measured through a widespread and low-cost technique. This is the first study reporting circulating miRs for BC detection in a screening setting. Validation in a wider sample is warranted. Trial registration: The Andromeda prospective cohort study protocol was retrospectively registered on 27-11-2015 (NCT02618538).
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- 2023
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6. Integrating mammography screening programmes into specialist breast centres in Italy: insights from a national survey of Senonetwork breast centres
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Silvia Deandrea, Francesca Ferrè, Rosanna D’Antona, Catia Angiolini, Marina Bortul, Lauro Bucchi, Francesca Caumo, Lucio Fortunato, Livia Giordano, Monica Giordano, Paola Mantellini, Irene Martelli, Giuseppe Melucci, Carlo Naldoni, Eugenio Paci, Loredana Pau, Gianni Saguatti, Elisabetta Sestini, Corrado Tinterri, Milena Vainieri, and Luigi Cataliotti
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Mammography screening ,Breast centre ,Health services integration ,UTAUT ,Survey ,Public aspects of medicine ,RA1-1270 - Abstract
Abstract Background Despite recommendations, mammography screening is often insufficiently integrated into specialist breast centres. A national, cross-sectional, voluntary, online survey on this issue was carried out among the Italian breast centres associated with Senonetwork, the Italian network of breast cancer services. Methods A 73-item questionnaire was created, pre-tested and piloted. Centres integrating and not integrating a screening programme were compared using the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) model. Centres’ clustering was performed using the Gower’s distance metric. Groups and clusters were compared with the equality-of-means test. Results The response rate was 82/128 (65%). Overall, 84% (69/82) breast centres reported a collaboration with a screening programme in performing and/or reading mammograms and in the diagnostic work-up of women with abnormal screening results. The same proportion was observed among those centres responding to all questions (62/74). Performance expectancies (or the perceived usefulness of integration in terms of clinical quality, patient convenience, ease of job, and professional growth), satisfaction and motivation were higher in those centres collaborating with the screening programme. Effort expectancy indicators (or the degree to which the respondents believe that the integration is easy to implement) and those concerning the existence of facilitating conditions were lower both in centres collaborating and not collaborating with the screening programme. Among the former, six clusters of centres, distributed from ‘no integration’ to ‘high’, were identified. In cluster analysis, the highest level of integration was associated with higher agreement that integration eases the job, offers better opportunities for professional growth, and makes the working environment more satisfactory. The least integrated cluster assigned the lowest score to the statement that local health authority made available the resources needed. Conclusions While confirming the positive effects of integrating screening programmes into breast centres, this survey has brought to light specific difficulties that must be faced. The results provide insights into the importance of integration focusing on the perspectives of professional career and motivation. The deficiency of facilitating conditions to integration is modifiable. Screening professionals’ societies may have a role as initiators of the integration. Other supporting actions may be included in health laws at the national and regional level.
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- 2022
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7. The emotional side of post-traumatic stress reaction during COVID-19 pandemic: an Italian survey
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Gianluigi Ferrante, Pierre Gilbert Rossini, Stefano Rousset, Luca Ostacoli, Cristiano Piccinelli, Sara Carletto, and Livia Giordano
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COVID-19 ,Lifestyle ,Mental health ,Public aspects of medicine ,RA1-1270 - Abstract
Abstract Background Social restrictions due to COVID-19 might have had a significant impact on mental health. The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of four emotional domains (nervousness, anger, numbness, physiological arousal) in a sample of citizens during the first pandemic wave in 2020, and their association with sociodemographic characteristics, housing conditions and lifestyle modifications. Methods A cross-sectional study based on a self-administered online questionnaire was set up to investigate emotions. Respondents were recruited through a non-probabilistic snowball sampling approach. The SPAN questionnaire was used to measure emotions in the interviewed population. The association between emotions and independent variables (gender, age, marital status, educational level, working condition, housing condition, COVID-19 positivity, sleep disturbance, increase in alcohol consumption and decrease in physical activity) was assessed through the multivariate Poisson regression. Results A total of 6,675 subjects were included in the analysis. Almost half of respondents (48.9%) experienced nervousness, 41.3% anger, 15.6% numbness and 18.8% physiological arousal. Females were more likely to face nervousness, anger and physiological arousal. For all the outcomes a decreasing trend was observed from younger to older. Singles were more likely to experience numbness compared to married people. Increase in alcohol consumption was associated with nervousness, anger and numbness. Decrease in physical activity was associated with nervousness, anger and physiological arousal. Restless sleep was the variable most associated with all emotional domains. Conclusions The first COVID-19 pandemic wave had a significant emotional impact on this sample, especially among younger people, singles and females. Even without reaching clinical relevance, these emotions could represent a form of psychological distress, which requires the implementation of preventive strategies, in particular regarding lifestyle care.
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- 2022
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8. Cation- and pH-Dependent Hydrogen Evolution and Oxidation Reaction Kinetics
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Botao Huang, Reshma R. Rao, Sifan You, Kyaw Hpone Myint, Yizhi Song, Yanming Wang, Wendu Ding, Livia Giordano, Yirui Zhang, Tao Wang, Sokseiha Muy, Yu Katayama, Jeffrey C. Grossman, Adam P. Willard, Kang Xu, Ying Jiang, and Yang Shao-Horn
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Chemistry ,QD1-999 - Published
- 2021
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9. Risk of HPV-related extra-cervical cancers in women treated for cervical intraepithelial neoplasia
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Mario Preti, Stefano Rosso, Leonardo Micheletti, Carola Libero, Irene Sobrato, Livia Giordano, Paola Busso, Niccolò Gallio, Stefano Cosma, Federica Bevilacqua, and Chiara Benedetto
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HPV-related cancers ,Anogenital area ,Anal cancer ,Vaginal cancer ,Vulvar cancer ,Multiple subsequent cancers ,Neoplasms. Tumors. Oncology. Including cancer and carcinogens ,RC254-282 - Abstract
Abstract Background The aim was to estimate the risk of subsequent extra-cervical Human Papillomavirus (HPV) related cancer in patients surgically treated for high grade cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN 2–3). This is the first study in Italy investigating the occurrence of extra-cervical tumors in this cohort of patients. Methods 3184 patients surgically treated for CIN2–3 since 1992 at the Department of Surgical Sciences of University of Torino were considered. The risk of HPV-related cancer was calculated as Standardized Incidence Ratio (SIR), using as expected values tumour age specific incidence of resident population. Results 173 second primary cancer (SCPs) were identified. SIR to develop cancer after treatment for CIN2–3 was 2.2 (CI 95% 1.89–2.50). Among these occurrences, 10 are in HPV related sites: 1 anus (SIR = 1.8; 0.04–10.0), 3 vagina (SIR = 12.4; 2.56–36.3), 1 vulva (SIR = 1.7; 0.04–9.59), 5 oropharynx (SIR = 8.5; 2.76–19.8). Significant risk has been also recorded for pulmonary (SIR = 3.1; 0.70–5.27) and bladder (SIR = 4.05; 1.10–10.56), with smoking as possible cofactor. We also found increased risk for breast (SIR = 2.4; 2.07–2.84) and ovarian cancers (SIR = 2.1; 1.13–3.49), probably due to an higher adherence to spontaneous and programmed screening programs. Conclusions Our study supports the hypothesis of an increased risk of HPV-related tumours for CIN treated patients, mostly for CIN3. It is conceivable the need of early diagnosis for these cancers in this higher-risk populations.
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- 2020
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10. Monitoring and evaluation of breast cancer screening programmes: selecting candidate performance indicators
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Sergei Muratov, Carlos Canelo-Aybar, Jean-Eric Tarride, Pablo Alonso-Coello, Nadya Dimitrova, Bettina Borisch, Xavier Castells, Stephen W. Duffy, Patricia Fitzpatrick, Markus Follmann, Livia Giordano, Solveig Hofvind, Annette Lebeau, Cecily Quinn, Alberto Torresin, Claudia Vialli, Sabine Siesling, Antonio Ponti, Paolo Giorgi Rossi, Holger Schünemann, Lennarth Nyström, Mireille Broeders, and On behalf of the ECIBC contributor group
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Breast neoplasms/diagnostic imaging* ,Early detection of Cancer*/methods ,Female ,Mass screening/methods ,Programme evaluation ,Quality indicators ,Neoplasms. Tumors. Oncology. Including cancer and carcinogens ,RC254-282 - Abstract
Abstract Background In the scope of the European Commission Initiative on Breast Cancer (ECIBC) the Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) subgroup was tasked to identify breast cancer screening programme (BCSP) performance indicators, including their acceptable and desirable levels, which are associated with breast cancer (BC) mortality. This paper documents the methodology used for the indicator selection. Methods The indicators were identified through a multi-stage process. First, a scoping review was conducted to identify existing performance indicators. Second, building on existing frameworks for making well-informed health care choices, a specific conceptual framework was developed to guide the indicator selection. Third, two group exercises including a rating and ranking survey were conducted for indicator selection using pre-determined criteria, such as: relevance, measurability, accurateness, ethics and understandability. The selected indicators were mapped onto a BC screening pathway developed by the M&E subgroup to illustrate the steps of BC screening common to all EU countries. Results A total of 96 indicators were identified from an initial list of 1325 indicators. After removing redundant and irrelevant indicators and adding those missing, 39 candidate indicators underwent the rating and ranking exercise. Based on the results, the M&E subgroup selected 13 indicators: screening coverage, participation rate, recall rate, breast cancer detection rate, invasive breast cancer detection rate, cancers > 20 mm, cancers ≤10 mm, lymph node status, interval cancer rate, episode sensitivity, time interval between screening and first treatment, benign open surgical biopsy rate, and mastectomy rate. Conclusion This systematic approach led to the identification of 13 BCSP candidate performance indicators to be further evaluated for their association with BC mortality.
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- 2020
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11. Development and use of health outcome descriptors: a guideline development case study
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Tejan Baldeh, Zuleika Saz-Parkinson, Paola Muti, Nancy Santesso, Gian Paolo Morgano, Wojtek Wiercioch, Robby Nieuwlaat, Axel Gräwingholt, Mireille Broeders, Stephen Duffy, Solveig Hofvind, Lennarth Nystrom, Lydia Ioannidou-Mouzaka, Sue Warman, Helen McGarrigle, Susan Knox, Patricia Fitzpatrick, Paolo Giorgi Rossi, Cecily Quinn, Bettina Borisch, Annette Lebeau, Chris de Wolf, Miranda Langendam, Thomas Piggott, Livia Giordano, Cary van Landsveld-Verhoeven, Jacques Bernier, Peter Rabe, and Holger J. Schünemann
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Health outcomes ,Health states ,Health utility ,Guideline methodology ,Computer applications to medicine. Medical informatics ,R858-859.7 - Abstract
Abstract Background During healthcare guideline development, panel members often have implicit, different definitions of health outcomes that can lead to misunderstandings about how important these outcomes are and how to balance benefits and harms. McMaster GRADE Centre researchers developed ‘health outcome descriptors’ for standardizing descriptions of health outcomes and overcoming these problems to support the European Commission Initiative on Breast Cancer (ECIBC) Guideline Development Group (GDG). We aimed to determine which aspects of the development, content, and use of health outcome descriptors were valuable to guideline developers. Methods We developed 24 health outcome descriptors related to breast cancer screening and diagnosis for the European Commission Breast Guideline Development Group (GDG). Eighteen GDG members provided feedback in written format or in interviews. We then evaluated the process and conducted two health utility rating surveys. Results Feedback from GDG members revealed that health outcome descriptors are probably useful for developing recommendations and improving transparency of guideline methods. Time commitment, methodology training, and need for multidisciplinary expertise throughout development were considered important determinants of the process. Comparison of the two health utility surveys showed a decrease in standard deviation in the second survey across 21 (88%) of the outcomes. Conclusions Health outcome descriptors are feasible and should be developed prior to the outcome prioritization step in the guideline development process. Guideline developers should involve a subgroup of multidisciplinary experts in all stages of development and ensure all guideline panel members are trained in guideline methodology that includes understanding the importance of defining and understanding the outcomes of interest.
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- 2020
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12. The ANDROMEDA prospective cohort study: predictive value of combined criteria to tailor breast cancer screening and new opportunities from circulating markers: study protocol
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Livia Giordano, Federica Gallo, Elisabetta Petracci, Giovanna Chiorino, Nereo Segnan, and the Andromeda working group
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Breast cancer ,Tailored screening ,Risk prediction models ,Neoplasms. Tumors. Oncology. Including cancer and carcinogens ,RC254-282 - Abstract
Abstract Background In recent years growing interest has been posed on alternative ways to screen women for breast cancer involving different imaging techniques or adjusting screening interval by breast cancer risk estimates. A new research area is studying circulating microRNAs as molecular biomarkers potentially useful for non invasive early detection together with the analysis of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs). The Andromeda study is a prospective cohort study on women attending breast cancer screening in a northern Italian area. The aims of the study are: 1) to define appropriate women risk-based stratifications for personalized screening considering different factors (reproductive, family and biopsy history, breast density, lifestyle habits); 2) to evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of selected circulating microRNAs in a case-control study nested within the above mentioned cohort. Methods About 21,000 women aged 46–67 years compliant to screening mammography are expected to be enrolled. At enrolment, information on well-known breast cancer risk factors and life-styles habits are collected through self-admistered questionnaires. Information on breast density and anthropometric measurements (height, weight, body composition, and waist circumference) are recorded. In addition, women are requested to provide a blood sample for serum, plasma and buffy-coat storing for subsequent molecular analyses within the nested case-control study. This investigation will be performed on approximately 233 cases (screen-detected) and 699 matched controls to evaluate SNPs and circulating microRNAs. The whole study will last three years and the cohort will be followed up for ten years to observe the onset of new breast cancer cases. Discussion Nowadays women undergo the same screening protocol, independently of their breast density and their individual risk to develop breast cancer. New criteria to better stratify women in risk groups could enable the screening strategies to target high-risk women while reducing interventions in those at low-risk. In this frame the present study will contribute in identifying the feasibility and impact of implementing personalized breast cancer screening. Trial registration NCT02618538 (retrospectively registered on 27–11-2015.)
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- 2017
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13. Personalised informed choice on evidence and controversy on mammography screening: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial
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Anna Roberto, Cinzia Colombo, Giulia Candiani, Livia Giordano, Paola Mantellini, Eugenio Paci, Roberto Satolli, Mario Valenza, and Paola Mosconi
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Informed choice ,Mammography screening ,Decision aid ,Decision-making ,Neoplasms. Tumors. Oncology. Including cancer and carcinogens ,RC254-282 - Abstract
Abstract Background In Italy women aged 50–69 are invited for a population-based breast cancer (BC) screening. Physicians, policy makers and patients associations agree on the need to inform women about the benefits and harms in order to permit an informed decision. Decision aids (DA) are an effective way to support people in their decisions about health. This trial aims to assess women’s informed choices, according to their health literacy and values, on participating or not in BC screening for the first time. Benefits, harms and controversies are presented. Methods/design The impact of the DA will be evaluated in a randomized controlled trial with a two-week follow-up. Women will be randomized via web to DA or a standard brochure. We will invite 8160 women, to obtain a final sample of 816 women. The primary outcome will be informed choice, measured on the basis of knowledge, attitudes and intentions on BC screening. Secondary outcomes are participation rate, satisfaction on information and decisional conflict. Discussion The web DA will be open-source and implemented on BC screenings and its efficacy for increasing informed choice will be tested. This model could be applied to other healthcare settings, cancer screenings, and public health programs. Trial registration The protocol for this trial was registered with the Clinicaltrials.gov registry on March 16, 2017: NCT03097653 .
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- 2017
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14. Abstract GS4-08: 10-year results of a phase 3 trial of low-dose tamoxifen in non-invasive breast cancer
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Andrea De Censi, Matteo Lazzeroni, Matteo Puntoni, Luca Boni, Aliana Guerrieri Gonzaga, Tania Buttiron Webber, Marianna Fava, Irene Maria Briata, Livia Giordano, Maria Digennaro, Laura Cortesi, Fabio Falcini, Franca Avino, Francesco Millo, Katia Cagossi, Elisa Gallerani, Alessia De Simone, Anna Cariello, Giuseppe Aprile, Maria Renne, and Bernardo Bonanni
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Cancer Research ,Oncology - Abstract
We have previously shown in a phase 3 trial that tamoxifen 5 mg/day for 3 years decreased by 52% the incidence of recurrence of invasive breast cancer or DCIS after a median follow-up of 5.1 years in women with excised non invasive breast disease, including atypical ductal hyperplasia, DCIS or LCIS (DeCensi et al. JCO 2019; 37:1629). Toxicity was negligible with only an extra hot flash per day in the tamoxifen arm compared with the placebo arm. These findings were incorporated into the ASCO clinical practice guidelines for breast cancer risk reduction as an alternative option to standard doses and duration of tamoxifen or aromatase inhibitors in women with non-invasive disease (Visvanathan et al. JCO 2019; 37:3152). In the present study we update the findings on breast cancer recurrence after a median of 9.14 years (interquartile range, IQR, 7.16-10.73) and a total of 10.57 person years of follow up to see if the treatment effect is retained with more events and after a median of approximately 6 years from treatment cessation. We conducted a national multicenter randomized trial of tamoxifen, 5 mg/d or placebo administered for 3 years after surgery in women with hormone-sensitive or unknown breast intraepithelial neoplasia, including atypical ductal hyperplasia and lobular or ductal carcinoma in situ. The primary end point was the incidence of invasive breast cancer or ductal carcinoma in situ. Between November 1, 2008, and March 31, 2015, 1,160 women were screened and 500 aged 75 years of age or younger were included in the study. Women with high-grade or comedo/necrotic DCIS received adjuvant radiotherapy of 50 Gy in 25 courses. The mean age was 54 years (standard deviation, 9 years), and 55% of participants were postmenopausal. The mean (SD) body mass index, kg/m2, was 25.7 (4.8) on tamoxifen and 25.3 (4.2) on placebo. Twenty percent had ADH, 11% had LCIS, and the remaining 69% had DCIS. After a median follow-up of 9.14 years, there were 22 neoplastic events (invasive breast cancer or DCIS) with tamoxifen and 37 with placebo (annual rate 11.09, 95% CI, 7-30-16.84 on T vs 19.71, 95% CI, 14.28-27.21 on P per 1,000 person-years; hazard ratio, 0.56; 95% CI, 0.33 to 0.95; P = .03), which resulted in a 5-year number needed to treat of 18. Overall, 71% of the recurrences were invasive breast cancer. The follow-up was updated with the most recent visit within 12 months in two thirds of the participants, so an update of all participants will be performed by Sept 30th with full analysis of neoplastic events, annual risk rate ratio, serious adverse events and deaths. Moreover, an updated analysis of potential effect modifiers will be conducted, including menopausal status, baseline estradiol levels, menopausal symptoms, BMI, smoking status and Ki-67 of the primary lesion. In conclusion, our findings indicate that low dose tamoxifen given for 3 years still significantly prevents recurrences from non-invasive breast cancer after a median of 6 years from treatment cessation, providing a valid prevention/interception option in this disease group. Supported by Ente Ospedaliero Ospedali Galliera, Genova, Italy, the Italian Ministry of Health (RFPS-2006-1-339898), the Italian Association for Cancer Research (IG 2008 Grant No. 5611), and the Italian League against Cancer (LILT 7-08). Citation Format: Andrea De Censi, Matteo Lazzeroni, Matteo Puntoni, Luca Boni, Aliana Guerrieri Gonzaga, Tania Buttiron Webber, Marianna Fava, Irene Maria Briata, Livia Giordano, Maria Digennaro, Laura Cortesi, Fabio Falcini, Franca Avino, Francesco Millo, Katia Cagossi, Elisa Gallerani, Alessia De Simone, Anna Cariello, Giuseppe Aprile, Maria Renne, Bernardo Bonanni. 10-year results of a phase 3 trial of low-dose tamoxifen in non-invasive breast cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2022 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2022 Dec 6-10; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2023;83(5 Suppl):Abstract nr GS4-08.
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- 2023
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15. Design principles for transition metal nitride stability and ammonia generation in acid
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Jiayu Peng, Juan J. Giner-Sanz, Livia Giordano, William P. Mounfield, Graham M. Leverick, Yang Yu, Yuriy Román-Leshkov, Yang Shao-Horn, Peng, J, Giner-Sanz, J, Giordano, L, Mounfield, W, Leverick, G, Yu, Y, Román-Leshkov, Y, and Shao-Horn, Y
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General Energy ,electrocatalysi ,descriptor ,dissolution ,transition metal nitride ,stability ,ammonia ,energy - Abstract
Transition metal nitrides have shown promise as electrocatalysts in proton exchange membrane fuel cells and electrolyzers, but the instability of these nitrides in acid has limited their function for such technologies. On the other hand, having fast, complete nitride dissolution and ammonia formation in acid can offer new opportunities for distributed, on-demand ammonia generation. Optimizing nitride chemistries for these clean energy applications requires design principles for nitride dissolution and ammonia formation in acid. Here, we report that lowering the nitrogen 2p band center of transition metal nitrides relative to the Fermi level weakens metal–nitrogen bonds and increases labile metallic character, reducing dissolution reaction barriers and boosting ammonia formation kinetics in acid. Increasing the solubility of dissolved metal cations further facilitates the decomposition of nitrides in acid by prohibiting surface oxide passivation. These findings highlight essential future directions for preventing nitride dissolution or facilitating ammonia production for diverse acidic applications.
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- 2023
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16. Nitrate-mediated four-electron oxygen reduction on metal oxides for lithium-oxygen batteries
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Yun Guang Zhu, Graham Leverick, Livia Giordano, Shuting Feng, Yirui Zhang, Yang Yu, Ryoichi Tatara, Jaclyn R. Lunger, Yang Shao-Horn, Zhu, Y, Leverick, G, Giordano, L, Feng, S, Zhang, Y, Yu, Y, Tatara, R, Lunger, J, and Shao-Horn, Y
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nitrate redox ,lithium oxide ,molten-salt electrolyte ,redox mediator ,General Energy ,lithium nitrite ,lithium nitrate ,lithium-oxygen battery ,catalyst - Abstract
Li–O2 batteries can provide greater gravimetric energy than Li-ion batteries but suffer from poor efficiency and cycle life due to the instability of aprotic electrolytes. In this study, we show that the apparent four-electron oxygen reduction to form Li2O in Li–O2 batteries with molten nitrate is facilitated by the electrochemical reduction of nitrate to nitrite, and subsequent chemical oxidation of nitrite to nitrate by molecular oxygen, instead of a four-electron oxygen reduction aided by disproportionation of Li2O2 generated from two-electron reduction of molecular oxygen. By examining a series of transition metal catalysts using experiments and computation, optimizing the surface binding of nitrate to enhance the kinetics of the electrochemical reduction of nitrate to nitrite, as well as increasing the kinetics of nitrite oxidation by O2 was shown to increase the discharge voltage and render the observed high-rate capability for NiO-based surfaces in Li–O2 batteries.
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- 2022
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17. Role of Water Solvation on the Key Intermediates Catalyzing Oxygen Evolution on RuO2
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Giovanni Di Liberto, Gianfranco Pacchioni, Yang Shao-Horn, Livia Giordano, Di Liberto, G, Pacchioni, G, Shao-Horn, Y, and Giordano, L
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General Energy ,Physical and Theoretical Chemistry ,DFT, OER, RuO2 ,Surfaces, Coatings and Films ,Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials - Abstract
RuO2 and IrO2 are among the most active catalysts for the Oxygen Evolution Reaction (OER). Recently, it was demonstrated that the catalytic surface of these oxides plays a role in the reaction, where a hydrogen bond with a neighbor OH group stabilizes an unconventional −OO intermediate (−OO-H), prior to O2 evolution. Quantum chemical calculations neglecting solvation effects indicated that this intermediate is more stable than the conventional −OOH, and that deprotonation of the stabilizing −OH is the rate limiting step for OER on RuO2(110) and RuO2(100). In this work, we investigate the role of water molecules on the relative stability of −OOH and −OO-H oxygenates on RuO2 (110) by means of density functional theory calculations combined with ab initio Molecular Dynamics simulations (AIMD). We show that the two intermediates participate in a hydrogen bonding network with water to a similar extent, but leading to different interfacial water structures, with possible implications on interfacial proton dynamics and reaction kinetics. Moreover, −OOH can spontaneously convert to −OO-H through a process mediated by water, demonstrating the critical role of explicitly including water in the model. This study provides further mechanistic insights on the role of the oxide surface chemistry in the OER mechanism and highlights the importance of explicitly treating the catalyst/water interfaces including dynamical aspects to assess the stability and the interconversion mechanism of key surface species, since the adoption of static solvation approaches tends to overestimate the energetic difference between −OOH and −OO-H reaction intermediates.
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- 2023
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18. Tunable metal hydroxide–organic frameworks for catalysing oxygen evolution
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Shuai Yuan, Jiayu Peng, Bin Cai, Zhehao Huang, Angel T. Garcia-Esparza, Dimosthenis Sokaras, Yirui Zhang, Livia Giordano, Karthik Akkiraju, Yun Guang Zhu, René Hübner, Xiaodong Zou, Yuriy Román-Leshkov, Yang Shao-Horn, Yuan, S, Peng, J, Cai, B, Huang, Z, Garcia-Esparza, A, Sokaras, D, Zhang, Y, Giordano, L, Akkiraju, K, Zhu, Y, Hubner, R, Zou, X, Roman-Leshkov, Y, and Shao-Horn, Y
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Oxygen ,Mechanics of Materials ,Hydroxide ,Mechanical Engineering ,Hydroxides ,General Materials Science ,General Chemistry ,Condensed Matter Physics ,Metal-Organic Framework ,Catalysis ,Metal-Organic Frameworks ,Catalysi - Abstract
The oxygen evolution reaction is central to making chemicals and energy carriers using electrons. Combining the great tunability of enzymatic systems with known oxide-based catalysts can create breakthrough opportunities to achieve both high activity and stability. Here we report a series of metal hydroxide–organic frameworks (MHOFs) synthesized by transforming layered hydroxides into two-dimensional sheets crosslinked using aromatic carboxylate linkers. MHOFs act as a tunable catalytic platform for the oxygen evolution reaction, where the π–π interactions between adjacent stacked linkers dictate stability, while the nature of transition metals in the hydroxides modulates catalytic activity. Substituting Ni-based MHOFs with acidic cations or electron-withdrawing linkers enhances oxygen evolution reaction activity by over three orders of magnitude per metal site, with Fe substitution achieving a mass activity of 80 A gcatalyst-1 at 0.3 V overpotential for 20 h. Density functional theory calculationscorrelate the enhanced oxygen evolution reaction activity with the MHOF-based modulation of Ni redox and the optimized binding of oxygenated intermediates.
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- 2022
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19. Abstract OT2-10-02: Mypebs: An international randomized study comparing personalized, risk-stratified to standard breast cancer screening in women aged 40-70
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Suzette Delaloge, Paolo Giorgi Rossi, Michal Guindy, Fiona Gilbert, Jean-Benoit Burrion, Corinne Balleyguier, Marta Roman Exposito, Livia Giordano, Harry De Koning, Sandrine de Montgolfier, Stephane Ragusa, Damien Drubay, Marie-Eve Rouge-Bugat, Gareth D Evans, Debbie Keatley, Helene Blanche, Anne Boland, Emilien Gauthier, Aloys Dubois d'Aische, Cécile Vissac-Sabatier, Daniel Couch, Camille Baron, Jean-François Deleuze, Paul Pharoah, and Stefan Michiels
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Cancer Research ,Oncology - Abstract
Background Currently, mammographic-based breast cancer screening (BCS) using age as the single criterion for population selection, apart from rare high-risk indications, is being questioned for its imperfect sensitivity (interval cancers) and specificity (false positive recalls), as well as the risk of over-diagnoses. BC risk scores incorporating personal and family history, breast mammographic density and genetic information based on a polygenic score (PRS) give a promisingly accurate likelihood of a woman developing invasive BC in the next 5 years. MyPeBS, a European Commission H2020-funded randomized clinical trial (NCT03672331) conducted in 6 countries (Belgium, France, Israel, Italy, Spain and UK) aims to demonstrate the usefulness of a risk-based screening approach to improve BCS in the general population. Methods MyPeBS’s primary objective is to show non-inferiority of the risk-stratified BCS arm in terms of incidence rate of breast cancer of stage 2 and higher, compared to the standard BCS arm. The key secondary objective, if non-inferiority is shown, is to demonstrate superiority of the risk-based screening arm. MyPeBS also assesses whether this strategy allows reduces morbidity (less false positives); is equally or more cost-effective, and impacts women’s understanding, awareness and emotional responses as compared to standard of care. Women aged 40 to 70 are eligible if they did not have prior BC or high risk-condition, and live in a participating country and area. Participants are randomized 1:1 between standard BCS according to country’s/region’s ongoing policy, or risk-stratified BCS, where screening frequency and method depend on their individual 5 year predicted risk of invasive BC (Table 1). Stratification factors include age, prior mammogram and country. Risk assessment uses a centralized genotyping on a saliva sample to assess PRS 313 (Mavaddat et al, Am J Hum Genet 2019), which is embedded in either a BCSC-derived score for women with at most one first-degree relative with BC; or Tyrer-Cuzick score for women with > 1 family member with breast cancer. Women participate for 4 years. Planned accrual is 85000. On June 30th, 2021, 13882 women have been randomized. Table 1.BC Screening schedule in MyPeBS’ Risk-based armRisk levelLow riskAverage riskHigh riskVery high riskNumerical definition (invasive breast cancer risk at 5 years) Citation Format: Suzette Delaloge, Paolo Giorgi Rossi, Michal Guindy, Fiona Gilbert, Jean-Benoit Burrion, Corinne Balleyguier, Marta Roman Exposito, Livia Giordano, Harry De Koning, Sandrine de Montgolfier, Stephane Ragusa, Damien Drubay, Marie-Eve Rouge-Bugat, Gareth D Evans, Debbie Keatley, Helene Blanche, Anne Boland, Emilien Gauthier, Aloys Dubois d'Aische, Cécile Vissac-Sabatier, Daniel Couch, Camille Baron, Jean-François Deleuze, Paul Pharoah, Stefan Michiels. Mypebs: An international randomized study comparing personalized, risk-stratified to standard breast cancer screening in women aged 40-70 [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2021 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2021 Dec 7-10; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2022;82(4 Suppl):Abstract nr OT2-10-02.
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- 2022
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20. Randomized Placebo Controlled Trial of Low-Dose Tamoxifen to Prevent Recurrence in Breast Noninvasive Neoplasia: A 10-Year Follow-Up of TAM-01 Study
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Matteo Lazzeroni, Matteo Puntoni, Aliana Guerrieri-Gonzaga, Davide Serrano, Luca Boni, Tania Buttiron Webber, Marianna Fava, Irene M. Briata, Livia Giordano, Maria Digennaro, Laura Cortesi, Fabio Falcini, Patrizia Serra, Franca Avino, Francesco Millo, Katia Cagossi, Elisa Gallerani, Alessia De Simone, Anna Cariello, Giuseppe Aprile, Maria Renne, Bernardo Bonanni, and Andrea DeCensi
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Cancer Research ,Oncology - Abstract
Clinical trials frequently include multiple end points that mature at different times. The initial report, typically based on the primary end point, may be published when key planned co-primary or secondary analyses are not yet available. Clinical Trial Updates provide an opportunity to disseminate additional results from studies, published in JCO or elsewhere, for which the primary end point has already been reported. PURPOSE Five-year data of the phase III trial TAM-01 showed that low-dose tamoxifen at 5 mg once daily administered for 3 years in women with intraepithelial neoplasia (IEN) reduced by 52% the recurrence of invasive breast cancer or ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS), without additional adverse events over placebo. Here, we present the 10-year results. METHODS We randomly assigned 500 women with breast IEN (atypical ductal hyperplasia, lobular carcinoma in situ [LCIS], or hormone-sensitive or unknown DCIS) to low-dose tamoxifen or placebo after surgery with or without irradiation. The primary end point was the incidence of invasive breast cancer or DCIS. RESULTS The TAM-01 population included 500 women (20% atypical ductal hyperplasia, 11% LCIS, and 69% DCIS). The mean (±SD) age at the start of treatment was 54 ± 9 years, and 58% of participants were postmenopausal. After a median follow-up of 9.7 years (IQR, 8.3-10.9 years), 66 breast cancers (15 in situ; 51 invasive) were diagnosed: 25 in the tamoxifen group and 41 in the placebo group (annual rate per 1,000 person-years, 11.3 with tamoxifen v 19.5 with placebo; hazard ratio [HR], 0.58; 95% CI, 0.35 to 0.95; log-rank P = .03). Most recurrences were invasive (77%) and ipsilateral (59%). Regarding contralateral breast cancer incidence, there were six events in the tamoxifen arm and 16 in the placebo arm (HR, 0.36; 95% CI, 0.14 to 0.92; P = .025). The number needed to be treated to prevent one case of breast event with tamoxifen therapy was 22 in 5 years and 14 in 10 years. The benefit was seen across all patient subgroups. There was a significant 50% reduction of recurrence with tamoxifen in the DCIS cohort, which represents 70% of the overall population (HR, 0.50; 95% CI, 0.28 to 0.91; P = .02). No between-group difference in the incidence of serious adverse events was reported during the prolonged follow-up period. CONCLUSION Tamoxifen 5 mg once daily for 3 years significantly prevents recurrence from noninvasive breast cancer after 7 years from treatment cessation without long-term adverse events.
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- 2023
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21. Key performance indicators of breast cancer screening programmes in Italy, 2011-2019
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Francesca, Battisti, Paola, Mantellini, Patrizia, Falini, Leonardo, Ventura, Livia, Giordano, Gianni, Saguatti, Marco, Zappa, Silvia, Deandrea, and Giuseppe, Gorini
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Italy ,Predictive Value of Tests ,Humans ,Mass Screening ,Female ,Breast Neoplasms ,Early Detection of Cancer ,Mammography - Abstract
Performance indicators for organised breast cancer screening programmes in Italy, 2011-2019, were evaluated.Aggregated data were gathered by the National Centre for Screening Monitoring from over 150 regional or sub-regional screening programmes in Italy. Invitation and examination coverage, participation rate (PR), recall rate (RR), detection rate, positive predictive value (PPV) for the target population as a whole (women aged 50-69), by 5-year age-class, geographical macro-area (North, Centre, South-Islands with the exception of three Regions for missing/uncomplete data) and Region were estimated.Coverage showed an increasing positive trend, especially in the South-Islands, and PR was stable all over Italy. On the other hand, an increasing RR and decreasing PPV were recorded, especially at the first screening test and in some regions.The positive increase in coverage is accompanied by a worsening of some performance indicators for which a better resource allocation and staff training are required. For this reason, further and continuous monitoring is mandatory.
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- 2022
22. Direct Observation of Surface-Bound Intermediates During Methanol Oxidation on Platinum Under Alkaline Conditions
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Asuka Morinaga, Takeou Okanishi, Koichi Eguchi, Hiroki Muroyama, Yu Katayama, Toshiaki Matsui, Reshma R. Rao, Livia Giordano, Ryoma Kubota, Yang Shao-Horn, Jonathan Hwang, Katayama, Y, Kubota, R, Rao, R, Hwang, J, Giordano, L, Morinaga, A, Okanishi, T, Muroyama, H, Matsui, T, Shao-Horn, Y, and Eguchi, K
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chemistry.chemical_compound ,General Energy ,Chemistry ,Methanol Oxidation, Platinum, electrocatalysis ,Inorganic chemistry ,Direct observation ,chemistry.chemical_element ,Methanol ,Physical and Theoretical Chemistry ,Platinum ,Surfaces, Coatings and Films ,Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials - Abstract
Direct methanol fuel cells (DMFCs) using alkaline electrolytes are of interest due to the applicability of nonprecious metal-based materials for electrocatalysts. However, the lack of understanding of the methanol oxidation reaction (MOR) mechanism in alkaline media hinders the development of active catalysts for the MOR. In this work, ambient-pressure XPS and in situ surface-enhanced infrared spectroscopy were performed on the Pt surface in order to gain experimental insights into the reaction pathway for the MOR. We present a comprehensive reaction mechanism for the MOR in alkaline media and show that the MOR proceeds via two different pathways depending on the electrode potential. We confirmed the formation of partially hydrogenated CO adsorbates [HxCOad···(OH) (1 < x < 3)] via water and/or hydroxide ion-mediated dissociation of methanol. The HxCOad···(OH) species were further dehydrogenated to COad in the potential range of 0.40-0.60 VRHE and subsequently oxidized to CO2 by reactive OHad on the Pt surface at 0.65 VRHE (pathway I). Furthermore, H3C-Oad intermediates were observed at potentials higher than 0.9 VRHE, at which the MOR proceeds mainly via H3C-Oad instead of COad intermediates (pathway II). The oxidation current related to this conversion from H3C-Oad to CO2 (pathway II) dominates the overall MOR current, suggesting that the H3C-Oad pathway could be one of the keys to enhancing the MOR activity in an alkaline environment. Our findings pave the way toward a design strategy for MOR electrocatalysts with improved activity based on the experimental reaction mechanisms that have been identified.
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- 2021
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23. Enhancing oxygen reduction electrocatalysis by tuning interfacial hydrogen bonds
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Shi-Gang Sun, Bin Cai, Tao Wang, Botao Huang, Yang Shao-Horn, Yirui Zhang, Reshma R. Rao, Livia Giordano, Wang, T, Zhang, Y, Huang, B, Cai, B, Rao, R, Giordano, L, Sun, S, and Shao-Horn, Y
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Materials science ,Hydrogen bond ,Process Chemistry and Technology ,Kinetics ,Solvation ,chemistry.chemical_element ,Bioengineering ,Electrocatalyst ,Photochemistry ,Biochemistry ,Catalysis ,Acid dissociation constant ,Electron transfer ,chemistry.chemical_compound ,chemistry ,oxygen reduction reaction, hydrogen bonds, electrocataly ,Ionic liquid ,Platinum - Abstract
Proton activity at the electrified interface is central to the kinetics of proton-coupled electron transfer (PCET) reactions for making chemicals and fuels. Here we employ a library of protic ionic liquids in an interfacial layer on platinum and gold to alter local proton activity, where the intrinsic oxygen-reduction reaction (ORR) activity is enhanced up to fivefold, exhibiting a volcano-shaped dependence on the pKa of the ionic liquid. The enhanced ORR activity is attributed to strengthened hydrogen bonds between ORR products and ionic liquids with comparable pKas, resulting in favourable PCET kinetics. This proposed mechanism is supported by in situ surface-enhanced Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy and our simulation of PCET kinetics based on computed proton vibrational wavefunctions at the hydrogen-bonding interface. These findings highlight opportunities for using non-covalent interactions between hydrogen-bonded structures and solvation environments at the electrified interface to tune the kinetics of ORR and beyond. Understanding the role of hydrogen bonds at the electrode interface is important for controlling the kinetics of the oxygen-reduction reaction. Here the authors modify gold and platinum surfaces with a series of protic ionic liquids to show that pKa can be used to optimize proton-coupled electron transfer through hydrogen bonding.
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- 2021
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24. Activity descriptors and molecular level understating of perovskite oxide (electro)catalysts
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Livia Giordano
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- 2022
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25. Impact of COVID-19 on surgical treatment patterns in breast cancer: an Italian North-west tertiary referral breast unit analysis
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Maria Grazia Baù, Alessandra Surace, Ilaria Stura, Elisa Picardo, Marco Mitidieri, Chiara Benedetto, Fulvio Borella, Livia Giordano, Aurelia Mondino, Maria Piera Mano, and Marco Carosso
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Purpose Oncological treatments experienced a significant reduction during COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of our retrospective study was to evaluate breast cancer surgical treatment modification during COVID. Methods We retrospectively evaluated the patients treated during 2019 and compared to those treated in 2020 according to surgery choice, stratified by quarter for each study year. Results surgical activity decreased from 890 cases in 2019 to 638 cases in 2020, referred to distribution stratified by radicality and plastic reconstruction surgery (p = 0.0019). Our analysis found a reduction in conservative surgery between 2019 and 2020. An increased trend in axillary dissections was observed (47% of interventions done in 2019 vs 53% in 2020). Similarly, the number of bilateral mastectomies increased in 2020 compared to 2019 with 16 vs 32 (p = 0.001). Conclusion we impute the decrease of surgical activities in 2020 compared to 2019 not only to a screening delay but also to an increased patients fear of hospital access for routinary diagnostic procedures or for symptoms check-up. Especially during pandemic, preference should be given to the most effective minimal surgical procedure, with the fastest recovery time, that lower risks for the individual patient and reduce the need of healthcare resources.
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- 2022
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26. A randomised controlled trial of digital breast tomosynthesis vs digital mammography as primary screening tests: Screening results over subsequent episodes of the Proteus Donna study
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Paola Armaroli, Alfonso Frigerio, Loredana Correale, Antonio Ponti, Franca Artuso, Denise Casella, Paolo Falco, Elisabetta Favettini, Paolo Fonio, Livia Giordano, Vincenzo Marra, Luisella Milanesio, Lia Morra, Pietro Presti, Emilia Riggi, Viviana Vergini, and Nereo Segnan
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Cancer Research ,screening ,Incidence ,medical imaging ,Breast Neoplasms ,Proteus ,Oncology ,cancer ,Humans ,Mass Screening ,mammography ,randomised controlled trial ,Female ,Breast ,Early Detection of Cancer ,Mammography - Abstract
Proteus Donna is a randomised controlled trial aimed at prospectively evaluating screening with digital breast tomosynthesis (DBT), including interval cancer detection (ICD) and cancer detection (CD) in the analysis as a cumulative measure over subsequent screening episodes. Consenting women aged 46 to 68 attending the regional Breast Screening Service were randomly assigned to conventional digital mammography (DM, control arm) or DBT in addition to DM (DBT, study arm). At the subsequent round all participants underwent DM. Thirty-six months follow-up allowed for the identification of cancers detected in the subsequent screening and interscreening interval. Relative risk (RR) and 95% confidence interval (95% CI) were computed. Cumulative CD and Nelson-Aalen incidence were analysed over the follow-up period. Between 31 December 2014 and 31 December 2017, 43 022 women were randomised to DM and 30 844 to DBT. At baseline, CD was significantly higher (RR: 1.44, 95% CI: 1.21-1.71) in the study arm. ICD did not differ significantly between the two arms (RR: 0.92, 95% CI: 0.62-1.35). At subsequent screening with DM, the CD was lower (nearly significant) in the study arm (RR: 0.83, 95% CI: 0.65-1.06). Over the follow-up period, the cumulative CD (comprehensive of ICD) was slightly higher in the study arm (RR: 1.15, 95% CI: 1.01-1.31). The Nelson-Aalen cumulative incidence over time remained significantly higher in the study arm for approximately 24 months. Benign lesions detection was higher in the study arm at baseline and lower at subsequent tests. Outcomes are consistent with a lead time gain of DBT compared to DM, with an increase in false positives and moderate overdiagnosis.
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- 2022
27. Molecularly Tunable Polyanions for Single-Ion Conductors and Poly(solvate ionic liquids)
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Shuting Feng, Ryoichi Tatara, Jeremiah A. Johnson, Keisuke Shigenobu, Jeffrey Lopez, Wenxu Zhang, Bo Qiao, Kaoru Dokko, Livia Giordano, Mingjun Huang, Masayoshi Watanabe, Kazuhide Ueno, Yang Shao-Horn, Zhang, W, Feng, S, Huang, M, Qiao, B, Shigenobu, K, Giordano, L, Lopez, J, Tatara, R, Ueno, K, Dokko, K, Watanabe, M, Shao-Horn, Y, and Johnson, J
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Battery (electricity) ,Materials science ,Single ion ,Polymer electrolytes ,General Chemical Engineering ,02 engineering and technology ,General Chemistry ,010402 general chemistry ,021001 nanoscience & nanotechnology ,01 natural sciences ,0104 chemical sciences ,chemistry.chemical_compound ,Chemical engineering ,chemistry ,Ionic liquid ,Materials Chemistry ,Polymer electrolytes, ion conductor ,0210 nano-technology ,Electrical conductor - Abstract
Polymer electrolytes (PEs) have attracted tremendous research interest for their potential to offer improved safety and energy capacity in next-generation battery technologies. Among the different classes of PEs, single-ion conductors (SICs) are particularly interesting due to their high transference numbers. Nevertheless, a detailed understanding of how molecular structure impacts the properties of SIC-PEs is absent, limiting the ability to design improved materials. Here, we present the synthesis and characterization of a new class (seven examples provided) of polyanions featuring fluorinated aryl sulfonimide tagged (FAST) anions as side chains. These "polyFAST"salts are shown to outperform the widely used poly[(4-styrenesulfonyl) (trifluoromethanesulfonyl)imide] due to their strongly electron-withdrawing side chains and enhanced distance between anionic sites, providing higher electronic conductivities at all salt concentrations and in some cases superior electrochemical oxidative stability. Moreover, they provide a platform for discovery of fundamental relationships between macromolecular composition, as programmed through monomer structure, and SIC-PE bulk properties. Finally, we leverage the electron-deficient nature of polyFAST salts to demonstrate a new poly(solvate ionic liquid) (polySIL) concept that offers a promising pathway toward high-performance PEO-free SIC-PEs.
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- 2021
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28. A dynamic web-based decision aid to improve informed choice in organised breast cancer screening. A pragmatic randomised trial in Italy
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Roberto Cosimo Faggiano, Daniela Luciano, Paola Mosconi, Eugenio Paci, Lina Jaramillo, Livia Giordano, Paola Mantellini, Roberto Satolli, Stefania Caroli, Anna Roberto, Cinzia Colombo, Cinzia Campari, Mario Valenza, Lorenzo Orione, Vanda Marchiò, Bruna Belmessieri, Giulia Candiani, Silvia Deandrea, Liliana Costa, Patrizia Falini, Eva Carnesciali, Anna Silvestri, and Roberta Castagno
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Cancer Research ,Informed choice ,medicine.medical_specialty ,MEDLINE ,Breast Neoplasms ,Decisional conflict ,Article ,Decision Support Techniques ,Education ,03 medical and health sciences ,Breast cancer screening ,0302 clinical medicine ,Primary outcome ,medicine ,Humans ,030212 general & internal medicine ,Overdiagnosis ,Early Detection of Cancer ,Cancer ,Internet ,medicine.diagnostic_test ,business.industry ,Correction ,Information quality ,Middle Aged ,Italy ,Socioeconomic Factors ,Oncology ,030220 oncology & carcinogenesis ,Family medicine ,Female ,business ,Mammography ,Program Evaluation - Abstract
Background Improving the quality of information and communication is a priority in organised breast cancer screening and an ethical duty. Programmes must offer the information each woman is looking for, promoting informed decision-making. This study aimed to develop and evaluate a web-based dynamic decision aid (DA). Methods A pragmatic randomised trial carried out in six regional organised screening programmes recruited women at the first invitation receiving DA or a web-based standard brochure (SB). The primary outcome was informed choice measured on knowledge, attitudes, and intentions. Follow-up period: 7–10 days. Secondary outcomes included participation rate, satisfaction, decisional conflict, and acceptability of DA. Results Two thousand one hundred and nineteen women were randomised and 1001 completed the study. Respectively, 43.9% and 36.9% in the DA and SB reached the informed choice. The DA gave a 13-point higher proportion of women aware about overdiagnosis compared to SB (38.3% versus 25.2%, p Conclusion DA increases informed choice. Complete information including the pros, cons, controversies, and overdiagnosis–overtreatment issues boost a woman’s knowledge without reducing the rate of actual screening participation. Clinical trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov number NCT 03097653.
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- 2020
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29. Operando identification of site-dependent water oxidation activity on ruthenium dioxide single-crystal surfaces
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Apurva Mehta, Hoydoo You, Anders Pedersen, Reshma R. Rao, Yu Katayama, Hua Zhou, Tejs Vegge, Livia Giordano, Jaclyn R. Lunger, Niels Bendtsen Halck, Ifan E. L. Stephens, Yang Shao-Horn, Jonathan Hwang, Manuel J. Kolb, Ib Chorkendorff, Rao, R, Kolb, M, Giordano, L, Pedersen, A, Katayama, Y, Hwang, J, Mehta, A, You, H, Lunger, J, Zhou, H, Halck, N, Vegge, T, Chorkendorff, I, Stephens, I, and Shao-Horn, Y
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Hydrogen bond ,Process Chemistry and Technology ,Binding energy ,Oxygen evolution ,Infrared spectroscopy ,chemistry.chemical_element ,Bioengineering ,Electrocatalysis, OER ,Photochemistry ,Biochemistry ,Oxygen ,Catalysis ,Ruthenium ,chemistry ,Density functional theory - Abstract
Understanding the nature of active sites is central to controlling (electro)catalytic activity. Here we employed surface X-ray scattering coupled with density functional theory and surface-enhanced infrared absorption spectroscopy to examine the oxygen evolution reaction on RuO2 surfaces as a function of voltage. At 1.5 VRHE, our results suggest that there is an –OO group on the coordinatively unsaturated ruthenium (RuCUS) site of the (100) surface (and similarly for (110)), but adsorbed oxygen on the RuCUS site of (101). Density functional theory results indicate that the removal of –OO from the RuCUS site, which is stabilized by a hydrogen bond to a neighbouring –OH (–OO–H), could be the rate-determining step for (100) (similarly for (110)), where its reduced binding on (100) increased activity. A further reduction in binding energy on the RuCUS site of (101) resulted in a different rate-determining step (–O + H2O – (H+ + e−) → –OO–H) and decreased activity. Our study provides molecular details on the active sites, and the influence of their local coordination environment on activity. Understanding the nature of active sites is central to controlling the activity of a given catalyst. This work combines operando characterization and computational techniques to examine the oxygen evolution reaction mechanism on RuO2 surfaces.
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- 2020
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30. Performance indicators in breast cancer screening in the European Union: A comparison across countries of screen positivity and detection rates
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Livia Giordano, Ahti Anttila, Diama Bhadra Vale, Nereo Segnan, Partha Basu, Joakim Dillner, Carlo Senore, Stefan Lönnberg, Katja Jarm, Mariano Tomatis, Antonio Ponti, Miriam Elfström, Isabelle Soerjomataram, André Lopes Carvalho, Ronco G, Rengaswamy Sankaranarayanan, Emilia Riggi, and Paola Armaroli
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Cancer Research ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Breast Neoplasms ,Target population ,03 medical and health sciences ,Breast cancer screening ,0302 clinical medicine ,Breast cancer ,Predictive Value of Tests ,Cancer screening ,medicine ,Humans ,media_common.cataloged_instance ,European Union ,European union ,Early Detection of Cancer ,Aged ,Quality Indicators, Health Care ,media_common ,medicine.diagnostic_test ,business.industry ,Obstetrics ,Middle Aged ,Ductal carcinoma ,medicine.disease ,Oncology ,030220 oncology & carcinogenesis ,Female ,Performance indicator ,Detection rate ,business - Abstract
Comparable performance indicators for breast cancer screening in the European Union (EU) have not been previously reported. We estimated adjusted breast cancer screening positivity rate (PR) and detection rates (DR) to investigate variation across EU countries. For the age 50-69 years, the adjusted EU-pooled PR for initial screening was 8.9% (cross-programme variation range 3.2-19.5%) while DR of invasive cancers was 5.3/1,000 (range 3.8-7.4/1,000) and DR of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) was 1.3/1,000 (range 0.7-2.7/1,000). For subsequent screening, the adjusted EU-pooled PR was 3.6% (range 1.4-8.4%), the DR was 4.0/1,000 (range 2.2-5.8/1,000) and 0.8/1,000 (range 0.5-1.3/1,000) for invasive and DCIS, respectively. Adjusted performance indicators showed remarkable heterogeneity, likely due to different background breast cancer risk and awareness between target populations, and also different screening protocols and organisation. Periodic reporting of the screening indicators permits comparison and evaluation of the screening activities between and within countries aiming to improve the quality and the outcomes of screening programmes. Cancer Screening Registries would be a milestone in this direction and EU Screening Reports provide a fundamental contribution to building them.
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- 2020
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31. The Consensus Project: Participation in cervical cancer screening by the first cohorts of girls offered HPV vaccination at age 15–16 years in Italy
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Carmen B Visioli, Paolo Giorgi Rossi, Paola Armaroli, Anna Iossa, Raffaella Rizzolo, Luigina A Bonelli, Ezio Venturino, Francesca M Carozzi, Simonetta Bisanzi, Laura De Marco, Livia Giordano, Elisa Camussi, Annarosa Del Mistro, and Marco Zappa
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Health Policy ,Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health - Abstract
Objective To evaluate the association between human papillomavirus vaccination status and participation in cervical cancer screening (at age 25) by the first cohorts of girls who were offered vaccination at the age of 15 to 16 years in Italy. Methods Women born in 1993, 1994 and 1995 were invited to participate in cervical cancer screening between 2018 and 2020. We report participation in screening by vaccination status in three large areas, Florence province, Piedmont region and Savona province, where the Consensus Project was carried out. The relative risk of participation among vaccinated (≥2 doses) and unvaccinated women was estimated. Odds ratios (OR) of participation by vaccination status were estimated by logistic regression, adjusted by birthplace and birth cohort. Results Overall, 34,993 women were invited for screening: 13,006 (37.2%) participated and 10,062 of these agreed to participate in the Consensus intervention study. Among the invited women and screening participants, vaccinated women were 51.0% and 60.6%, respectively. Comparing vaccinated and unvaccinated women, the adjusted OR of screening participation was 1.80 (95% confidence interval (CI): 1.72–1.89), 2.17 (95% CI: 1.94–2.42), 1.59 (95% CI: 1.50–1.68) and 1.15 (95% CI: 0.86–1.54) for overall, Florence, Piedmont and Savona, respectively. About 33% of the invited women were unvaccinated and did not participate in screening: 25.8%, 59.5% and 64.2% of women born in Italy, in high migration pressure countries and in advanced development countries, respectively. Conclusions Screening participation was higher among vaccinated than unvaccinated women. Active policies are needed to reduce inequalities, targeting the unscreened and unvaccinated population, particularly non-native women, to accelerate cervical cancer elimination in Italy.
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- 2023
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32. Human- and machine-centred designs of molecules and materials for sustainability and decarbonization
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Peng, J, Schwalbe-Koda, D, Akkiraju, K, Xie, T, Giordano, L, Yu, Y, John Eom, C, Lunger, J, Zheng, D, Rao, R, Muy, S, Grossman, J, Reuter, K, Gómez-Bombarelli &, R, Shao-Horn, Y, Jiayu Peng, Daniel Schwalbe-Koda, Karthik Akkiraju, Tian Xie, Livia Giordano, Yang Yu, C. John Eom, Jaclyn R. Lunger, Daniel J. Zheng, Reshma R. Rao, Sokseiha Muy, Jeffrey C. Grossman, Karsten Reuter, Rafael Gómez-Bombarelli &, Yang Shao-Horn, Peng, J, Schwalbe-Koda, D, Akkiraju, K, Xie, T, Giordano, L, Yu, Y, John Eom, C, Lunger, J, Zheng, D, Rao, R, Muy, S, Grossman, J, Reuter, K, Gómez-Bombarelli &, R, Shao-Horn, Y, Jiayu Peng, Daniel Schwalbe-Koda, Karthik Akkiraju, Tian Xie, Livia Giordano, Yang Yu, C. John Eom, Jaclyn R. Lunger, Daniel J. Zheng, Reshma R. Rao, Sokseiha Muy, Jeffrey C. Grossman, Karsten Reuter, Rafael Gómez-Bombarelli &, and Yang Shao-Horn
- Abstract
Breakthroughs in molecular and materials discovery require meaningful outliers to be identified in existing trends. As knowledge accumulates, the inherent bias of human intuition makes it harder to elucidate increasingly opaque chemical and physical principles. Moreover, given the limited manual and intellectual throughput of investigators, these principles cannot be efficiently applied to design new materials across a vast chemical space. Many data-driven approaches, following advances in high-throughput capabilities and machine learning, have tackled these limitations. In this Review, we compare traditional, human-centred methods with state-of-the-art, data-driven approaches to molecular and materials discovery. We first introduce the limitations of human-centred Edisonian, model-system and descriptor-based approaches. We then discuss how data-driven approaches can address these limitations by promoting throughput, reducing cognitive overload and biases, and establishing atomistic understanding that is transferable across a broad chemical space. We examine how high-throughput capabilities can be combined with active learning and inverse design to efficiently optimize materials out of millions or an intractable number of candidates. Lastly, we pinpoint challenges to accelerate future workflows and ultimately enable self-driving platforms, which automate and streamline the optimization of molecules and materials in iterative cycles.
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- 2022
33. Electronic Structure-Based Descriptors for Oxide Properties and Functions
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Livia Giordano, Karthik Akkiraju, Ryan Jacobs, Daniele Vivona, Dane Morgan, Yang Shao-Horn, Giordano, L, Akkiraju, K, Jacobs, R, Vivona, D, Morgan, D, and Shao-Horn, Y
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Oxides, electrocatalysis, catalysis, descriptors, oxygen 2p band center ,General Medicine ,General Chemistry - Abstract
ConspectusThe transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy requires the development of efficient and cost-effective energy storage technologies. A promising way forward is to harness the energy of intermittent renewable sources, such as solar and wind, to perform (electro)catalytic reactions to generate fuels, thus storing energy in the form of chemical bonds. However, current catalysts rely on the use of expensive, rare, or geographically localized elements, such as platinum. Widespread adoption of new (electro)catalytic technologies hinges on the discovery and development of materials containing earth-abundant elements, which can efficiently catalyze an array of (electro)chemical reactions.In the context of catalysis, descriptors provide correlations between fundamental physical properties, such as the electronic structure, and the resulting catalytic activity. The use of easily accessible descriptors has proven to be a powerful method to advance and accelerate discovery and design of new catalyst materials. The position of the oxygen electronic 2p band center has been proposed to capture the basic physical properties of oxides, including oxygen vacancy formation energy, diffusion barrier of oxygen ions, and work function. Moreover, the adsorption strength of relevant reaction intermediates at the surface of oxides can be strongly correlated with the energy of the oxygen 2p states, which affects the catalytic activity of reactions, such as oxygen electrocatalysis, and oxidative dehydrogenation of organic molecules. Such descriptors for catalytic activity can be used to predict the activity of new catalysts and understand trends and behavior among different catalysts.In this Account, we discuss how the energy of the oxygen 2p states can be used as a descriptor for oxide bulk and surface chemical properties. We show how the oxide redox properties vary linearly with the position of the oxygen 2p band center with respect to the Fermi level, and we discuss how this descriptor can be expanded across different materials and structural families, including possible generalizations to compounds outside oxides. We highlight the power of the oxygen 2p band center to predict the catalytic activity of oxides. We conclude with an outlook examining under which conditions this descriptor can be applied to predict oxide properties and possible opportunities for further refining and accelerating property predictions of oxides by leveraging material databases and machine learning.
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- 2022
34. Human- and machine-centred designs of molecules and materials for sustainability and decarbonization
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Jiayu Peng, Daniel Schwalbe-Koda, Karthik Akkiraju, Tian Xie, Livia Giordano, Yang Yu, C. John Eom, Jaclyn R. Lunger, Daniel J. Zheng, Reshma R. Rao, Sokseiha Muy, Jeffrey C. Grossman, Karsten Reuter, Rafael Gómez-Bombarelli, Yang Shao-Horn, Peng, J, Schwalbe-Koda, D, Akkiraju, K, Xie, T, Giordano, L, Yu, Y, John Eom, C, Lunger, J, Zheng, D, Rao, R, Muy, S, Grossman, J, Reuter, K, Gómez-Bombarelli &, R, and Shao-Horn, Y
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transition-metal oxides ,quantum-chemistry ,catalytic-activity ,surface science ,reduction activity ,Surfaces, Coatings and Films ,Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials ,Biomaterials ,oxygen evolution reaction ,Machine learning, materials, catalysis ,Materials Chemistry ,organic photovoltaics ,inorganic crystals ,ammonia-synthesis ,scaling relations ,Energy (miscellaneous) - Abstract
Data-driven approaches based on high-throughput capabilities and machine learning hold promise in revolutionizing human-centred materials discovery for sustainability and decarbonization. This Review examines the strengths and limitations of different traditional and emerging approaches to demonstrate their inherent connection and highlight the evolving paradigms of materials design., Breakthroughs in molecular and materials discovery require meaningful outliers to be identified in existing trends. As knowledge accumulates, the inherent bias of human intuition makes it harder to elucidate increasingly opaque chemical and physical principles. Moreover, given the limited manual and intellectual throughput of investigators, these principles cannot be efficiently applied to design new materials across a vast chemical space. Many data-driven approaches, following advances in high-throughput capabilities and machine learning, have tackled these limitations. In this Review, we compare traditional, human-centred methods with state-of-the-art, data-driven approaches to molecular and materials discovery. We first introduce the limitations of human-centred Edisonian, model-system and descriptor-based approaches. We then discuss how data-driven approaches can address these limitations by promoting throughput, reducing cognitive overload and biases, and establishing atomistic understanding that is transferable across a broad chemical space. We examine how high-throughput capabilities can be combined with active learning and inverse design to efficiently optimize materials out of millions or an intractable number of candidates. Lastly, we pinpoint challenges to accelerate future workflows and ultimately enable self-driving platforms, which automate and streamline the optimization of molecules and materials in iterative cycles.
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- 2022
35. Implications of Nonelectrochemical Reaction Steps on the Oxygen Evolution Reaction: Oxygen Dimer Formation on Perovskite Oxide and Oxynitride Surfaces
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Nathalie Vonrüti, Reshma Rao, Livia Giordano, Yang Shao-Horn, Ulrich Aschauer, Vonruti, N, Rao, R, Giordano, L, Shao-Horn, Y, and Aschauer, U
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lattice oxygen vacancy ,oxygen dimer ,540 Chemistry ,OER ,570 Life sciences ,biology ,General Chemistry ,alternative mechanism ,DFT ,Catalysis - Abstract
According to the conventional understanding, the oxygen evolution reaction on metal oxide surfaces involves four proton-coupled electron transfer steps with *OH, *O, and *OOH reaction intermediates. Recently, several alternative reaction mechanisms with lower overpotentials were proposed for highly active catalysts. While for such reaction mechanisms additional intermediates leading to nonelectrochemical reaction steps could be considered, they are usually neglected when the thermodynamic overpotential of such mechanisms is investigated. We show here that this is a valid approximation for endothermic nonelectrochemical steps, which only affect the kinetics, while exothermic nonelectrochemical steps can also affect the thermodynamic overpotential. We show this on the basis of density functional theory calculations for one of those proposed mechanisms on surfaces of different perovskite oxides and oxynitrides. We find that for weakly binding surfaces the *O adsorbate spontaneously adopts a bidentate bridged dimer structure in a nonelectrochemical step with an energy gain in excess of 1 eV. This decrease in free energy needs to be compensated by an equivalent increase in magnitude of the electrochemical steps, which can affect the thermodynamic overpotential. This change may result in reaction mechanisms without nonelectrochemical steps having smaller thermodynamic overpotentials and thus being more favorable.
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- 2022
36. Surface Oxygen Vacancies Confined by Ferroelectric Polarization for Tunable CO Oxidation Kinetics
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Zhaohui Ren, Luoyuan Ruan, Lichang Yin, Karthik Akkiraju, Livia Giordano, Zhongran Liu, Shi Li, Zixing Ye, Songda Li, Hangsheng Yang, Yong Wang, He Tian, Gang Liu, Yang Shao‐Horn, Gaorong Han, Ren, Z, Ruan, L, Yin, L, Akkiraju, K, Giordano, L, Liu, Z, Li, S, Ye, Z, Yang, H, Wang, Y, Tian, H, Liu, G, Shao-Horn, Y, and Han, G
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polarization screening ,Mechanics of Materials ,Mechanical Engineering ,ferroelectric ,General Materials Science ,surface oxygen vacancie ,tunable oxidation reaction - Abstract
Surface oxygen vacancies have been widely discussed to be crucial for tailoring the activity of various chemical reactions from CO, NO, to water oxidation by using oxide-supported catalysts. However, the real role and potential function of surface oxygen vacancies in the reaction remains unclear because of their very short lifetime. Here, it is reported that surface oxygen vacancies can be well confined electrostatically for a polarization screening near the perimeter interface between Pt {111} nanocrystals and the negative polar surface (001) of ferroelectric PbTiO3. Strikingly, such a catalyst demonstrates a tunable catalytic CO oxidation kinetics from 200 °C to near room temperature by increasing the O2 gas pressure, accompanied by the conversion curve from a hysteresis-free loop to one with hysteresis. The combination of reaction kinetics, electronic energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) analysis, and density functional theory (DFT) calculations, indicates that the oxygen vacancies stabilized by the negative polar surface are the active sites for O2 adsorption as a rate-determining step, and then dissociated O moves to the surface of the Pt nanocrystals for oxidizing adsorbed CO. The results open a new pathway for tunable catalytic activity of CO oxidation.
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- 2022
37. Predictive values of symptoms for SARS-CoV-2 infection among primary care patients in Piedmont
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Cristiano, Piccinelli, Stefano, Rousset, Emilia, Riggi, Marco, Albonico, Marco, Araldi, Maria, Milano, PierRiccardo, Rossi, Gianluigi, Ferrante, Livia, Giordano, and Carlo, Senore
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Italy ,Primary Health Care ,SARS-CoV-2 ,COVID-19 ,Humans ,Prospective Studies - Abstract
to investigate the combinations of clinical features and symptoms that best predict the positive outcome of the SARS-CoV-2 swab in a primary care setting.prospective cohort study.patients listed in the rosters of general practitioners volunteering for the study who reported flu-like symptoms and/or anosmia/ageusia between 01.03.2020 and 30.06.2020.positive molecular swab result. The predictive value of the reported symptoms and their association with this outcome were estimated using multivariable logistic regression models, adopting an inverse probability weighting approach.a swab was requested for 1,045 (77.2%) out of 1,354 patients included in the study: 79.6% of them were tested, with a positive result in 50.4% of cases. Patients aged 40 to 64 years (OR 1.59; 95%CI 1.09-2.33) and those older than 64 years (OR 2.64; 95%CI 1.66-4.19) showed a higher likelihood of a positive swab results, compared with younger subjects (40 years). A positive association with a positive swab result was observed among patients reporting fever37.5°C (OR 1.67; 95%CI: 1.18-2.36) and anosmia/ageusia (OR 1.44; 95%CI: 1.01-2.04). The predictive value of fever tended to increase with increasing age, while an opposite trend was observed for anosmia/ageusia. No difference by gender was observed.among patients reporting flu-like symptoms in a general practice setting, fever37.5 and anosmia/ageusia were predictive of a positive SARS-CoV-2 swab test result and this association was modified by age. Although the generalizability of these findings might be limited, this study highlights the importance of the contribution of the research conducted in primary care settings to the definition of effective and sustainable strategies to contrast the pandemic emergency.
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- 2021
38. Depression and post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms during the COVID-19 pandemic in Italy
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P. Armaroli, Elisa Camussi, Livia Giordano, Cristiano Piccinelli, Carlo Senore, Fabrizio Bert, Stefano Rousset, Gianluigi Ferrante, and Roberta Siliquini
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education.field_of_study ,medicine.medical_specialty ,business.industry ,media_common.quotation_subject ,Public health ,Population ,Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health ,Traumatic stress ,Anger ,Mental health ,Patient Health Questionnaire ,symbols.namesake ,1.C. Oral presentations: The effects of COVID-19 on mental health ,symbols ,Medicine ,AcademicSubjects/MED00860 ,AcademicSubjects/SOC01210 ,Poisson regression ,education ,business ,AcademicSubjects/SOC02610 ,Parallel Programme ,Depression (differential diagnoses) ,Demography ,media_common - Abstract
Introduction Social restrictions imposed by the Italian Government during the COVID-19 emergency might have had a significant impact on mental health. The purpose of this study was to estimate the prevalence of depressive and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTDS) symptoms in a sample of Italian citizens during the first COVID-19 pandemic wave. Materials and methods A cross-sectional survey was carried out between April and June 2020 using a snowball sampling. Depressive symptoms were explored through the Patient Heath Questionnaire-2 (PHQ-2), while the post-traumatic stress disorder (PTDS) was investigated through the SPAN (Startle, Physical arousal, Anger, Numbness) questionnaire. Poisson regression models were used to explore the association between the outcomes under study and sociodemographic/housing characteristics. Results A total of 10.758 interviews were collected and 7.847 (73%), complete for a minimum set of indicators (age, sex, area of residence), were included in the final analysis. The majority of the respondents were females (71%). Sample mean age was 48.6 years. The prevalence of depressive symptoms was 21.2% and that of PTDS was 43.8%. Symptoms of depression and PTDS significantly diminished across age groups, in particular in people over 70 years compared with people aged 14-29 years (PR 0.65, 95% CI 0.49-0.86). A higher prevalence was found in students compared with retired people, both for depressive symptoms (PR 1.49, 95% CI: 1.05-2.10) and PTDS (PR 1.31, 95% CI: 1.02-1.69). Conclusions Prevalence of depressive and PTDS symptoms was high, in particular among younger people and students. That could potentially lead to adverse mental health outcomes in the future, with serious public health consequences. As the pandemic emergency is not solved yet, it is necessary to implement preventive strategies in order to protect the mental well-being of particularly vulnerable subgroups in the population. Key messages The prevalence of psychological symptoms was high in this sample during the first wave of COVID-19 pandemic. The subgroups of the population at higher risk for adverse psychological outcomes were younger people and students.
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- 2021
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39. ['Donnainformata-mammografia': a decision aid developed and validated in the Italian setting]
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Cinzia, Colombo, Giulia, Candiani, Roberto, Satolli, Anna, Roberto, Livia, Giordano, Eugenio, Paci, and Paola, Mosconi
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Italy ,Decision Making ,Humans ,Mass Screening ,Breast Neoplasms ,Female ,Early Detection of Cancer ,Decision Support Techniques - Abstract
The decision aid "Donnainformata-mammografia" (https://www.donnainformata-mammografia.it/en/) has been developed with the aim of providing clear information on the benefits and harms of breast cancer screening, and the controversies on the relationship between mortality reduction and overdiagnosis. It was evaluated in a randomized clinical trial showing it increases informed choice and does not decrease participation in screening.This article describes the framework, the guiding principles, and the operational phases of the tool development.The project was developed within the national screening programme. The promoters decided to state their placement, to start from the information needs of women and what is already known, and to balance spontaneous navigation with "nudging" to key contents. Three focus groups with 18 women and 4 interviews were organized. Participants expressed a favourable attitude towards screening, and no knowledge of the debate on screening efficacy and overdiagnosis. A literature review and a comparison of decision aids were conducted. The online tool included the results of these steps. The home page presents key information with links to relevant topics, so that the person can decide to stop there having an overview or to continue. The «ready to decide» button, which leads to the section of decision support, can be clicked on every page. Here, the person can evaluate a list of key points on the basis of her values, in order to decide to participate in screening or not.
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- 2021
40. Ligand-Dependent Energetics for Dehydrogenation: Implications in Li-Ion Battery Electrolyte Stability and Selective Oxidation Catalysis of Hydrogen-Containing Molecules
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Filippo Maglia, Jan Rossmeisl, Isaac Lund, Sokseiha Muy, Livia Giordano, Yang Yu, Yirui Zhang, Yang Shao-Horn, Roland Jung, Soo Min Kim, Nenian Charles, Thomas M. Østergaard, Giordano, L, Ostergaard, T, Muy, S, Yu, Y, Charles, N, Kim, S, Zhang, Y, Maglia, F, Jung, R, Lund, I, Rossmeisl, J, and Shao-Horn, Y
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Hydrogen ,Ligand ,General Chemical Engineering ,Energetics ,Inorganic chemistry ,food and beverages ,chemistry.chemical_element ,02 engineering and technology ,General Chemistry ,Electrolyte ,Electrode-Electrolyte interface ,010402 general chemistry ,021001 nanoscience & nanotechnology ,Li-ion batterie ,01 natural sciences ,0104 chemical sciences ,Ion ,Catalysis ,chemistry ,Materials Chemistry ,Molecule ,Dehydrogenation ,0210 nano-technology ,Density Functional Theory - Abstract
The hydrogen adsorption energetics on the surface of inorganic compounds can be used to predict electrolyte stability in Li-ion batteries and catalytic activity for selective oxidation of small molecules such as H2 and CH4. Using first-principles density functional theory (DFT), the hydrogen adsorption was found to be unfavorable on high-band-gap insulators, which could be attributed to a lower energy level associated with adsorbed hydrogen relative to the bottom of the conduction band. In contrast, the hydrogen adsorption was shown to be the most favorable on metallic and semiconducting compounds, which results from an electron transfer from adsorbed hydrogen to the Fermi level or the bottom of the conduction band. Of significance, computed hydrogen adsorption energetics on insulating, semiconducting, and metallic oxides; phosphates; fluorides; and sulfides were decreased by lowering the ligand p band center, while the energy penalty for ligand vacancy formation was increased, indicative of decreased surface reducibility. A statistical regression analysis, where 16 structural and electronic parameters such as metal-ligand distance, electronegativity difference, Bader charges, bulk and surface metal and ligand band centers, band gap, ligand band width, and work function were examined, further showed that the surface ligand p band center is the most accurate single descriptor that governs the hydrogen adsorption tendency, and additional considerations of the band gap and average metal-ligand distance further reconcile the differences among compounds with different ligands/structures, whose ligand bands are different in shape and width. We discuss the implications of these findings for passivating coatings and design of catalysts and the need for novel theoretical methods to accurately estimate these quantities from first principles. These results establish a universal design principle for future high-throughput studies aiming to design electrode surfaces to minimize electrolyte oxidation by dehydrogenation in Li-ion batteries and enhance the H-H and C-H activation for selective oxidation catalysis.
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- 2019
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41. Leveraging the Inductive Effect to Promote Oxygen Evolution on Oxides and Metal Hydroxide-Organic Frameworks
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Jiayu Peng, Shuai Yuan, Bin Cai, Livia Giordano, Yuriy Román-Leshkov, and Yang Shao-Horn
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Late transition metal oxides are reported to be the most active non-precious catalysts for the oxygen evolution reaction (OER), but the most active oxides based on Ni or Co still have turnover frequencies per metal site at least one order of magnitude lower than that of oxygen-evolving complex (OEC) in biological systems.[1] The OEC contains an intricate manganese-calcium-oxo cluster, and its unparalleled OER activity can be attributed to the unique characteristics of Mn centers regulated by Ca2+ cations. Such electronic structure tuning can be generalized as the inductive effect.[2] Specifically, substituting metal oxides and complexes using foreign metals with higher electronegativity can increase their redox potentials and promote their activity. We have employed this concept to design bismuth-substituted strontium cobaltite, where the strongly electronegative Bi3+ ions give rise to Co centers with record intrinsic OER activity in alkaline solutions.[3] Unfortunately, metal substitution in oxides exhibits a much smaller tunability of electronic structures than that found in metal-oxo clusters. For instance, Ca2+ substitution of Mn4+ in synthetic [CaMn3O4] clusters can modulate the Mn3+/4+ redox potential by ~1 V,[4] whereas negligible changes of ~0.02 V are typically observed for oxides.[5] To tackle this limitation, we have designed metal hydroxide-organic frameworks (MHOFs) that combine the great tunability of enzymatic systems with known oxide-based chemistries.[6] A series of MHOFs were constructed by transforming layered hydroxides into 2D sheets composed of metal-octahedra chains cross-linked with neighboring chains using organic linkers. MHOFs can act as a tunable platform for the OER, where the nature of π-π-interactions between adjacent stacked linkers and the transition metals in the layered metal hydroxides dictate stability and activity, respectively. Substituting MHOF nanosheets with more electron-withdrawing cations increased their OER activity, where Fe-substituted Ni-based MHOFs exhibited three orders of magnitude enhancement in activity per metal site, rivaling those of state-of-the-art OER catalysts. This enhancement was correlated with the MHOF-based modulation of Ni redox potentials and the optimized binding of reaction intermediates. These results represent a step forward toward designing metal centers with ligand fields akin to those in homogenous/enzymatic systems, where MHOFs can act as a versatile platform to develop catalysts with unparalleled tunability. References: [1] W. T. Hong, M. Risch, K. A. Stoerzinger, A. Grimaud, J. Suntivich, Y. Shao-Horn, Energy Environ. Sci. 2015, 8, 1404. [2] D. A. Kuznetsov, B. Han, Y. Yu, R. R. Rao, J. Hwang, Y. Román-Leshkov, Y. Shao-Horn, Joule 2018, 2, 225. [3] D. A. Kuznetsov, J. Peng, L. Giordano, Y. Román-Leshkov, Y. Shao-Horn, J. Phys. Chem. C 2020, 124, 6562. [4] E. Y. Tsui, R. Tran, J. Yano, T. Agapie, Nat. Chem. 2013, 5, 293. [5] L. J. Enman, M. S. Burke, A. S. Batchellor, S. W. Boettcher, ACS Catal. 2016, 6, 2416. [6] S. Yuan, J. Peng, B. Cai, Z. Huang, A. T. Garcia-Esparza, D. Sokaras, Y. Zhang, L. Giordano, K. Akkiraju, Y. G. Zhu, R. Hübner, X. Zou, Y. Román-Leshkov, Y. Shao-Horn, Nat. Mater. 2022, DOI 10.1038/s41563-022-01199-0. Figure 1
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- 2022
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42. Stability Design Principles of Manganese-Based Oxides in Acid
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Jiayu Peng, Livia Giordano, Timothy C. Davenport, Yang Shao-Horn, Peng, J, Giordano, L, Davenport, T, and Shao-Horn, Y
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Catalysis, manganese, oxides, dissolution, stability ,General Chemical Engineering ,Materials Chemistry ,General Chemistry - Abstract
The use of non-precious catalysts (e.g., transition metal oxides) in electrochemical energy technologies in acid (e.g., proton exchange membrane fuel cells and electrolyzers) has been significantly hampered by the instability of such catalysts at low pHs. While first-row late transition metal oxides based on Fe, Co, and/or Ni have been reported with comparable or higher catalytic activity for the alkaline oxygen reduction and oxygen evolution reactions than their precious-metal-based counterparts (e.g., Pt and IrO2),[1] these oxide catalysts are not stable in acid.[2] Moreover, Mn-based oxides are more acid-stable than those based on late transition metals[1] and can be potentially stabilized by reaching dissolution-deposition equilibrium at moderately acidic pHs,[3] but they still corrode and deactivate in strong acid and after long operation.[4] To tackle this challenge, extensive efforts over the past decades have been focused on combining active, yet unstable metal oxides with corrosion-resistant oxides.[5-7] Nevertheless, having a higher fraction of corrosion-resistant elements results in more acid-stable, yet less active catalysts, indicating an activity-stability trade-off.[2,5,6] To design transition metal oxide catalysts (such as Mn-based oxides) with an optimal trade-off or bypass this limitation, it is critical to establish their stability descriptors in acid. These descriptors can offer a fundamental understanding of oxide dissolution and provide guiding principles to enhance their intrinsic stability. In this work, we employed a library of Mn-based oxides with diverse structures and Mn oxidation states to identify oxide stability descriptors in acid based on intrinsic electronic structure and energetic parameters. Using time-dependent dissolution experiments and density functional theory calculations, greater amounts and faster kinetics of oxide dissolution in acid were correlated with decreased Mn oxidation states, which are accompanied by lowered Mn-O covalency, weakened Mn-O bonds, and reduced barriers for key reaction steps (such as protonation, vacancy formation, and metal ion solvation). Such design principles were shown broadly with a computational screening across a vast chemical space of ~1,000 Mn-based oxides, where an Mn oxidation state of 4+ was found to give rise to the lowest energetic driving force for the dissolution of Mn-based oxides in acid. Moreover, limiting the percentage of ionic metal substituents in oxides and using more acidic substituents were shown to stabilize Mn-based oxides in acid. These findings can provide novel insights into designing acid-stable Mn-based oxides for renewable energy storage and conversion. References: [1] C. Wei, R. R. Rao, J. Peng, B. Huang, I. E. L. Stephens, M. Risch, Z. J. Xu, Y. Shao-Horn, Adv. Mater. 2019, 31, 1806296. [2] K. K. Rao, Y. Lai, L. Zhou, J. A. Haber, M. Bajdich, J. M. Gregoire, Chem. Mater. 2022, 34, 899. [3] M. Huynh, D. K. Bediako, D. G. Nocera, J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2014, 136, 6002. [4] A. Li, H. Ooka, N. Bonnet, T. Hayashi, Y. Sun, Q. Jiang, C. Li, H. Han, R. Nakamura, Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. 2019, 58, 5054. [5] R. Frydendal, E. A. Paoli, I. Chorkendorff, J. Rossmeisl, I. E. L. Stephens, Adv. Energy Mater. 2015, 5, 1500991. [6] L. Zhou, A. Shinde, J. H. Montoya, A. Singh, S. Gul, J. Yano, Y. Ye, E. J. Crumlin, M. H. Richter, J. K. Cooper, H. S. Stein, J. A. Haber, K. A. Persson, J. M. Gregoire, ACS Catal. 2018, 8, 10938. [7] L. Zhou, H. Li, Y. Lai, M. Richter, K. Kan, J. A. Haber, S. Kelly, Z. Wang, Y. Lu, R. S. Kim, X. Li, J. Yano, J. K. Nørskov, J. M. Gregoire, ACS Energy Lett. 2022, 7, 993. Figure 1
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- 2022
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43. Promoting healthy lifestyle habits among participants in cancer screening programs: Results of the randomized controlled Sti.Vi study
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Emilia, Riggi, Michela, Baccini, Elisa, Camussi, Federica, Gallo, Caterina, Anatrone, Andrea, Pezzana, Carlo, Senore, Livia, Giordano, and Nereo, Segnan
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Background: Unhealthy diets, physical inactivity, alcohol and tobacco consumption are among the leading risk factors for non-communicable diseases. It is estimated that around 40% of cancers could be prevented by adopting healthy lifestyles. Design and methods: The Stili di Vita (Sti.Vi) study was a randomized study for assessing the impact of healthy lifestyle interventions on anthropometric measures, metabolic parameters, and health outcomes among participants of cancer screening programs in Turin (Italy). Eligible women aged 50–54 years, invited to biennial mammography screening, and 58-years-old men and women, invited to a once-only sigmoidoscopy for colorectal cancer (CRC) screening were randomly allocated to Diet group (DG), Physical Activity group (PAG), Physical Activity plus Diet group (PADG), or control group (CG). Physical and eating habits, metabolic and anthropometric measurements, repeatedly collected, were the study outcomes. The active intervention, offered to participants assigned to the DG, PAG, and PADG arms, consisted of a basic module and an advanced module. The effect of the interventions was estimated through logistic regression or a difference in differences approach. A multiple imputation procedure was implemented to deal with missing values and q-values have been calculated in the presence of multiple hypothesis testing. Results: Out of the 8442 screened attendees, 1270 signed informed consent, while 1125 participants accomplished the baseline visit. Participants were equally distributed across the four treatments as following: 273 (24.3%) in DG, 288 (25.6%) in the PAG, 283 (25.1%) in PADG, and 281 (25%) in the CG. Participants assigned to DG or PADG increased their consumption of whole grains (OR = 1.77, 95% CI: 1.20–2.60 and OR = 1.55, 95% CI: 1.06–2.27, respectively) and legumes (OR = 1.77, 95% CI: 1.12–2.79 and OR = 2.24, 95% CI: 1.41–3.57, respectively), with respect to CG. The participants randomized to DG reduced processed meat and increased fruit consumption (OR = 2.57, 95% CI: 1.76–3.76 and OR = 2.38, 95% CI: 1.12–5.06, respectively). The effects were more evident in the CRC screening subgroup. No relevant difference was observed between PAG and CG. No impact was observed on physical activity habits. Conclusions: Our findings suggest that active interventions can increase awareness and induce diet changes. However, participation rate and compliance to the courses was quite low, innovative strategies to enhance participants’ retention are needed, with the ultimate goal of increasing awareness and inducing positive lifestyle changes.
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- 2022
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44. Alkali Metal Salt Interference on the Salicylate Method for Quantifying Ammonia from Nitrogen Reduction
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Juan José Giner-Sanz, Graham M. Leverick, Livia Giordano, Valentín Pérez-Herranz, and Yang Shao-Horn
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- 2022
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45. A comparison of diagnostic indicators of cervical cancer screening among women accessing through volunteer organisations and those via the organised programme in Turin (Piedmont Region, Northern Italy)
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Gianluigi, Ferrante, Roberta, Castagno, Raffaella, Rizzolo, Paola, Armaroli, Adele, Caprioglio, Cristina, Larato, and Livia, Giordano
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Adult ,Vaginal Smears ,Volunteers ,Papillomavirus Infections ,Uterine Cervical Neoplasms ,Middle Aged ,Uterine Cervical Dysplasia ,State Medicine ,Cohort Studies ,Italy ,Colposcopy ,Pregnancy ,Humans ,Mass Screening ,Female ,Papillomaviridae ,Early Detection of Cancer - Abstract
to compare cervical cancer screening diagnostic indicators in women accessing screening through volunteer non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and in those who access via the National Health Service (NHS) programme.cohort study on archive data.the study cohort consists of 93,086 women aged 30-64 years who underwent an HPV test via NHS screening programme or through premises implemented within volunteers NGOs in Turin between 2015 and 2019. The screening history and Census data recorded into the Piedmont screening archive were used.positive baseline HPV test, positive triage cytology (low-grade lesions, ASC-US, L-SIL and high-grade lesions, H-SIL, ASC-H, AGC, Cancer), attendance at one-year HPV test repeat, referral and attendance to colposcopy at first and test repeat, and detection rate at first and test repeat, for cervical intraepithelial neoplasia grade=2 (CIN2+) and=3 (CIN3+), overall detection rates.women performing cervical screening through volunteer NGOs (WASVO) are disadvantaged in terms of diagnostic indicators compared to women accessing via the NHS. WASVO are 60% more likely to be positive at the first HPV-test (adjusted prevalence ratio 1.6; 95%CI 1.2-2.0); their likelihood of being referred to colposcopy is double (adj PR 2.1; 95%CI 1.3-3.4); attendance rate to one year HPV test repeat is lower (adj PR 0.2; 95%CI 0.1-0.5); detection rates at first HPV screening test both for CIN2+ (adj PR 2.1; 95%CI 0.9-4.6) and CIN3+ (adj PR 2.1; 95%CI 0.9-5.1) is higher, even if statistical significance is borderline for the latter results.those responsible for screening programmes should establish and maintain collaborative relationships with local volunteer NGOs and migrant organisations for promoting strategies to raise awareness on cancer prevention among subgroups that are not captured in the main screening programs.
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- 2021
46. [Did social isolation during the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic have an impact on the lifestyles of citizens?]
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Gianluigi, Ferrante, Elisa, Camussi, Cristiano, Piccinelli, Carlo, Senore, Paola, Armaroli, Andrea, Ortale, Francesca, Garena, and Livia, Giordano
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Adult ,Male ,Adolescent ,Alcohol Drinking ,Physical Distancing ,Vulnerable Populations ,Young Adult ,Surveys and Questionnaires ,Humans ,Exercise ,Life Style ,Pandemics ,Aged ,SARS-CoV-2 ,Smoking ,COVID-19 ,Feeding Behavior ,Middle Aged ,Cross-Sectional Studies ,Italy ,Social Isolation ,Socioeconomic Factors ,Quarantine ,Female ,Diet, Healthy ,Sedentary Behavior ,Energy Intake - Abstract
to study the impact of social isolation, related to the SARS-CoV-2 epidemic, on lifestyles in Italy, with particular reference to physical activity, alcohol consumption, smoking, and eating habits. Moreover, to investigate the association between lifestyle changes during the pandemic and sociodemographic characteristics.epidemiological investigation based on a cross-sectional study.between April 21st and June 7th 2020, an electronic questionnaire to collect information on physical activity, alcohol consumption, smoking, and eating habits during the period of home containment was made available on the web. Respondents were recruited through non-probabilistic snowball sampling. The link to the electronic questionnaire was disseminated through institutional websites, social networks (Facebook, Twitter), and messaging systems such as WhatsApp, Telegram, and SMS. A total of 10,758 interviews were collected, of which 7,847 (73%) were complete for a minimum set of indicators (age, gender, and area of residence).reduction of physical activity, increase in alcohol consumption, increase in cigarette smoking, increase in consumption of unhealthy foods (processed meat, red meat or desserts) without increasing healthy foods (vegetables, legumes or whole grains) and, vice versa, increase in consumption of healthy foods without increasing unhealthy foods.the population under study consists of 7,847 people with a mean age of 48.6 years (standard deviation: 13.9). Most of respondents are women (71.3%), 92.5% have a high school or university degree and 91% live in Northern Italy. During home containment, 56% of interviewees reported they had reduced the time devoted to physical activity. In particular, this happened among older people and those living in large cities. More than 17% of respondents increased their alcohol consumption, especially men, those highly educated and those living in large urban centres. Older age and residence in the Southern Italy represent, instead, protective factors for this outcome. Among smokers, 30% increased cigarette consumption during the period of home containment, on average of 5.6 cigarettes per day. A small proportion of former smokers (0.6%) resumed smoking. With regard to eating habits, 3 out of 10 respondents (29.9%) reported an inappropriate eating behaviour (increasing unhealthy food without increasing healthy ones). This behaviour was less frequent among men (adjusted Prevalence Ratio 0.80, p=0.005). A lower percentage of respondents (24.5%) increased the consumption of healthy foods without increasing the consumption of unhealthy ones.the results of this survey show that social isolation during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has had an impact on citizens' behaviours. In particular, it was found a noteworthy increase in sedentariness, alcohol consumption, and tobacco smoking. A meaningful proportion of respondents reported a worsening of eating habits, especially among women. However, for each of the behavioural risk factors investigated, small proportions of respondents with resilient attitudes were also found, namely, capable of taking advantage of social isolation for improving their daily habits. Studying changes in lifestyles during a pandemic, identifying population groups most at risk of adopting unfavourable behaviours, is a useful tool for policy makers to plan targeted and effective public health interventions.
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- 2021
47. Towards controlling the reversibility of anionic redox in transition metal oxides for high-energy Li-ion positive electrodes
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Livia Giordano, Pinar Karayaylali, Ronghui Kou, Yang Shao-Horn, Cheng-Jun Sun, Forrest S. Gittleson, Yang Yu, Dimosthenis Sokaras, Roland Jung, Filippo Maglia, Yu, Y, Karayaylali, P, Sokaras, D, Giordano, L, Kou, R, Sun, C, Maglia, F, Jung, R, Gittleson, F, and Shao-Horn, Y
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Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment ,Inorganic chemistry ,chemistry.chemical_element ,Ionic bonding ,02 engineering and technology ,010402 general chemistry ,021001 nanoscience & nanotechnology ,Electrochemistry ,01 natural sciences ,Pollution ,Oxygen ,Redox ,0104 chemical sciences ,Metal ,Nuclear Energy and Engineering ,chemistry ,Transition metal ,Octahedron ,visual_art ,visual_art.visual_art_medium ,Li-ion batteries, anionic redox, positive electrode, oxide ,Environmental Chemistry ,Density functional theory ,0210 nano-technology - Abstract
Anionic redox in positive electrode materials in Li-ion batteries provides an additional redox couple besides conventional metal redox, which can be harvested to further boost the energy density of current Li-ion batteries. However, the requirement for the reversible anionic redox activity remains under debate, hindering the rational design of new materials with reversible anionic redox. In this work, we employed differential electrochemical mass spectrometry (DEMS) to monitor the release of oxygen and to quantify the reversibility of the anionic redox of Li2Ru0.75M0.25O3 (M = Ti, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ru, Sn, Pt, Ir) upon first charge. X-ray absorption spectroscopy, coupled with density functional theory (DFT) calculations, show that various substituents have a minimal effect on the nominal metal redox, yet more ionic substituents and reduced metal-oxygen covalency introduce irreversible oxygen redox, accompanied with easier distortion of the M-O octahedron and a smaller barrier for forming an oxygen dimer within the octahedron. Therefore, a strong metal-oxygen covalency is needed to enhance the reversible oxygen redox. We proposed an electron-phonon-coupled descriptor for the reversibility of oxygen redox, laying the foundation for high-throughput screening of novel materials that enable reversible anionic redox activity. This journal is
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- 2021
48. Early assessment of the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer screening services: The International Cancer Screening Network COVID-19 survey
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Anath Flugelman, Christine Campbell, Mireille J. M. Broeders, Jean-Luc Bulliard, Livia Giordano, Andrea Burón, K. Miriam Elfström, Linda Rabeneck, Douglas M. Puricelli Perin, Robert A. Smith, Mona Saraiya, Aruna Kamineni, and Antonio Ponti
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2019-20 coronavirus outbreak ,medicine.medical_specialty ,Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) ,Epidemiology ,01 natural sciences ,Article ,Cancer screening ,03 medical and health sciences ,0302 clinical medicine ,All institutes and research themes of the Radboud University Medical Center ,Neoplasms ,Surveys and Questionnaires ,Pandemic ,medicine ,Humans ,030212 general & internal medicine ,0101 mathematics ,Pandemics ,Early Detection of Cancer ,Government ,business.industry ,SARS-CoV-2 ,010102 general mathematics ,Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health ,COVID-19 ,Women's cancers Radboud Institute for Health Sciences [Radboudumc 17] ,Neoplasms diagnosis ,Preparedness ,Family medicine ,Scale (social sciences) ,Disruption ,business ,Health care services - Abstract
Screening can decrease the burden of breast, cervical, and colorectal cancers. The COVID-19 pandemic led many countries to suspend cancer screening services as part of their response to the pandemic. The International Cancer Screening Network (ICSN) carried out an online survey to assess the effects of the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic on cancer screening. A 33-item survey was distributed to 834 email addresses to gather information about settings and assess decision-making processes that led to cancer screening suspension. Information about communication, impact on resources, and patient follow-up was collected. Quantitative data was analyzed as frequencies overall and by setting, while a comment section under each survey item captured nuanced details. Responses were recategorized into 66 settings, representing 35 countries. Most settings suspended cancer screening services (n = 60, 90.9%) in March 2020 (n = 45, 68.2%), guided by a government decision (n = 51, 77.3%). Few settings made the decision whether to suspend services based on a preparedness plan (n = 17, 25.8%). In most settings, professionals were reassigned (n = 41, 62.1%) and infrastructure repurposed (n = 35, 53.0%). The first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic has had profound effects on cancer screening worldwide, including the suspension of services in almost all settings. Most settings were unprepared to deal with the scale of the pandemic but demonstrated flexibility in the response. These results contribute to inform, through experiences and lessons learned, the next steps for the global cancer screening community to further evaluate the impact of COVID-19 and prepare for future disruptions.
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- 2021
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49. Regulating oxygen activity of perovskites to promote NOx oxidation and reduction kinetics
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Karthik Akkiraju, Yang Shao-Horn, Ethan J. Crumlin, Jonathan Hwang, Hendrik Bluhm, Livia Giordano, Xiao Renshaw Wang, Reshma R. Rao, Hwang, J, Rao, R, Giordano, L, Akkiraju, K, Wang, X, Crumlin, E, Bluhm, H, and Shao-Horn, Y
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Chemistry ,Process Chemistry and Technology ,Kinetics ,chemistry.chemical_element ,Bioengineering ,NO oxidation, NOx, perovskites, catalysi ,Photochemistry ,Biochemistry ,Redox ,Oxygen ,Catalysis ,Adsorption ,X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy ,NOx ,Perovskite (structure) - Abstract
Understanding the adsorption and oxidation of NO on metal oxides is of immense interest to environmental and atmospheric (bio)chemistry. Here, we show that the surface oxygen activity, defined as the oxygen 2p-band centre relative to the Fermi level, dictates the adsorption and surface coverage of NOx and the kinetics of NO oxidation for La1−xSrxCoO3 perovskites. Density functional theory and ambient-pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy revealed favourable NO adsorption on surface oxygen sites. Increasing the surface oxygen activity by increasing the strontium substitution led to stronger adsorption and greater storage of NO2, which resulted in more adsorbed nitrogen-like species and molecular nitrogen formed upon exposure to CO. The NO oxidation kinetics exhibited a volcano trend with surface oxygen activity, centred at La0.8Sr0.2CoO3 and with an intrinsic activity comparable to state-of-the-art catalysts. We rationalize the volcano trend by showing that increasing the NO adsorption enhances the oxidation kinetics, although NO adsorption that is too strong poisons the surface oxygen sites with adsorbed NO2 to impede the kinetics. Understanding the mechanism for the catalytic conversion of NOx is crucial to develop superior greenhouse gas abatement schemes, although it remains challenging. Here, the authors reveal important aspects of the redox properties of NOx on a La1–xSrxCoO3 perovskite by a combination of density functional theory calculations and ambient-pressure X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy.
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- 2021
50. Enhanced cycling of ni-rich positive electrodes by fluorine modification
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Roland Jung, Forrest S. Gittleson, Yun Guang Zhu, Filippo Maglia, Yang Shao-Horn, Yang Yu, Yirui Zhang, Livia Giordano, Yu, Y, Zhang, Y, Giordano, L, Zhu, Y, Maglia, F, Jung, R, Gittleson, F, and Shao-Horn, Y
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Materials science ,Renewable Energy, Sustainability and the Environment ,Inorganic chemistry ,chemistry.chemical_element ,Condensed Matter Physics ,Surfaces, Coatings and Films ,Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials ,chemistry ,Electrode ,Materials Chemistry ,Electrochemistry ,Fluorine ,Li-ion batteries, NMC, Ni-rich positive electrodes, fluorination ,Cycling - Abstract
Ni-rich positive electrodes for Li-ion batteries can provide enhanced initial discharge capacity yet suffer from significant capacity degradation upon cycling. Fluorination of Ni-rich NMC811 positive electrodes results in a capacity retention of more than 90% after 100 cycles upon cycling to 4.4 VLi. The increased cycling stability of F-modified NMC811 can be attributed to the modification of the oxide electronic structures, where density functional theory calculations shows that incorporating fluorine into the oxide lattice decrease the driving force of carbonate dissociation on the oxide surface. In situ infrared (IR) spectroscopy and ex situ X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) further supports this argument by showing less carbonate oxidation for F-modified LiNi0.8Mn0.1Co0.1O2 (NMC811) than as-received NMC811 upon charging. The reduced carbonate oxidation is coupled with minimal salt decomposition on the electrode surface, as revealed by XPS. Further comparing in situ IR and XPS with that of the heat-treated NMC811 and Li2CO3 allows for decoupling the solvent decomposition products, where oxides are responsible for the vinylene carbonate formation with two hydrogens removed whereas surface metal carbonates promote dehydrogenated ethylene carbonate with just one hydrogen removed. This work points towards the importance of the anion engineering to increase the cycling stability of Ni-rich NMC positive electrodes.
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- 2021
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