European consortium together transforming future of COPD care

A European consortium of researchers has developed a new decision making framework for health professionals which they hope will transform the care of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)

University of Leicester

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A European consortium of researchers has developed a new decision making framework for health professionals which they hope will transform the care of patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

 

The new framework, which classifies the severity of exacerbations of COPD based on three key factors was developed by the Collaboration In COPD Exacerbations (CICERO) funded by the European Respiratory Society. It has just been published in The Lancet Respiratory Medicine and presented at the British Thoracic Society Winter Conference.

 

Associate Professor Dr Neil Greening from the University of Leicester’s Department of Respiratory Sciences and Honorary Consultant Respiratory Physician from University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust explains: “Exacerbations of COPD remain a major driver of hospital admissions and mortality worldwide.

 

“Every time a patient has an acute episode it can set off a cascade of recurrent exacerbations, accelerated lung function decline, and heightened risk of death.

 

“While this cycle is well documented, the variability in what we observe in these patients has long challenged our ability to predict outcomes and tailor their treatment.

 

“Traditionally, the severity of an acute exacerbation of COPD has been defined by healthcare use, such as hospital admission or medication use.

 

“However, this approach overlooks the complex interplay of factors that influence patient deterioration - including baseline health status, event intensity, and any underlying triggers.”

 

To address this gap, Dr Greening and Dr Hnin Aung, also from the University, together with CICERO colleagues from around Europe developed a novel multidimensional framework, the BAt model, designed to predict exacerbation severity and prognostic risk.

 

The model incorporates three domains: Baseline functional status (B), Acuity of the event (A), and the Trigger (t) driving the episode. By integrating these elements using routinely collected clinical data, the BAt classification offers a structured approach to characterising exacerbations beyond traditional metrics.

Dr Greening continued: “Health professionals could use BAt to guide site-of-care decisions, predict long term outcomes, and tailor treatment strategies to individual patients.

 

“This may also improve consistency across diverse clinical settings, from primary care to specialist centres.

 

“As COPD continues to impose a significant burden on patients and health systems, we believe the BAt model represents a promising step toward precision medicine.”

 

Dr Hnin Aung, Clinical Lecturer at the University of Leicester, and other researchers in London and Belgium are now working to refine and validate the framework, with the hope that it will soon become an integral tool in managing one of the world’s most challenging chronic diseases.

 

Dr Neil Greening receives funding from the NIHR Leicester BRC - part of the NIHR and hosted by the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust in partnership with the University of Leicester, Loughborough University and University Hospitals of Northamptonshire NHS Group.

 

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Journal

The Lancet Respiratory Medicine

Method of Research

Data/statistical analysis

Subject of Research

People

Article Title

Multidimensional prognostic risk stratification of COPD exacerbations: the baseline, acuity, and trigger (BAt) model

Article Publication Date

25-Nov-2025

 

How carbonates influence CO2-to-fuel conversion: New insights from gold electrocatalysts

Fritz Haber Institute of the Max Planck Society

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image: 

Role of carbonates and their radicals on CO2 electroreduction and hydrogen evolution.

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Credit: © Schleuse 01 / Maja Wypychowska

Key Insights

• Carbonate molecules organize interfacial water layers on gold, directly influencing CO2 conversion.
• Detected carbonate radicals act as proton relays and serve as carbon source.
• Water is confirmed as the primary proton donor for CO2 electroreduction and hydrogen evolution.

Introduction to CO2 Electroreduction

Turning atmospheric CO2 into fuels through electrocatalysis offers a sustainable alternative to fossil resources, but the process remains inefficient and costly. Competing reactions such as the hydrogen evolution limit performance, and the key to improvement lies at the catalyst interface: hydration layers formed by water and electrolytes regulate how efficiently these chemical transformations occur. “However, the role of carbonate anions and the nature of the interfacial hydration layers during CO2 electroreduction is still poorly understood,” says Dr. Christopher Kley, Helmholtz Young Investigator Group Leader at HZB and the Interface Science Department at FHI.

The Role of Carbonates and their Radicals

To address these questions, Kley’s team member Dr. Ya-Wei Zhou established advanced spectroscopic techniques, including attenuated total reflectance surface-enhanced infrared absorption spectroscopy (ATR-SEIRAS). “This allowed us to detect carbonate anion radicals (CO3•–) originating from hydrated carbonate. Carbonates promote molecular ordering within interfacial hydration layers and the radicals act as proton relay and facilitate charge transfer to gold, accelerating hydrogen evolution”, explains Dr. Zhou, first author of the study. Further analysis using differential mass spectrometry (DEMS) revealed that carbonate radicals are also a carbon source, producing formaldehyde. Complementary isotope-labeled spectroscopy and density functional theory (DFT) modeling by Prof. Nuria Lopez’s team at ICIQ in Tarragona (Spain) confirmed that the water is the primary proton donor, rather than bicarbonate, shedding light into a long controversy in the literature.

Implications for Future Research

“These findings provide a new molecular-level perspective on the competition between CO2 electroreduction and hydrogen evolution on gold electrodes, prompting a reevaluation of the origin of electrocatalytic selectivity that need to be explored for materials systems such as copper which have shown more intricate selectivity trends”, says Prof. Beatriz Roldán Cuenya from FHI. By showing how carbonate molecules shape the local environment at the catalyst surface, the study highlights strategies to enhance reaction efficiency and selectivity, advancing electrocatalytic CO2 conversion and the development of more effective electrocatalytic systems for sustainable energy applications.

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Journal

Nature Chemistry

DOI

10.1038/s41557-025-01977-8 

Method of Research

Experimental study

Article Title

Carbonate anions and radicals induce interfacial water ordering in CO2 electroreduction on gold

Article Publication Date

25-Nov-2025

 

Peat as a sustainable precursor for fuel cell catalyst materials

Iron-nitrogen-carbon catalysts have the potential to replace the more expensive platinum catalysts currently used in fuel cells. Most important is the microstructure, as was shown by an international team at BESSY II

Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie

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At BESSY II, the samples were examined for a variety of structural parameters using small-angle X-ray scattering.

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Credit: E. Härk /HZB

Iron-nitrogen-carbon catalysts have the potential to replace the more expensive platinum catalysts currently used in fuel cells. This is shown by a study conducted by researchers from the Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin (HZB), Physikalisch-Technische Bundesanstalt (PTB) and universities in Tartu and Tallinn, Estonia. At BESSY II, the team observed the formation of complex microstructures within various samples. They then analysed which structural parameters were particularly important for fostering the preferred electrochemical reactions. The raw material for such catalysts is well decomposed peat.

 

Fuel cells convert the chemical energy of hydrogen directly into electrical energy, producing only water. Fuel cells could be an important component in a climate-neutral energy system. The greatest potential for improvement lies in the reduction of costs via the replacement of the electrocatalysts, which are currently based on the precious metal platinum.

A ‘nano-labyrinth’ for molecules

Carbon-based catalysts containing iron and nitrogen are a promising option for this purpose and can be used in anion exchange membrane fuel cells. This combination can be found in well-decomposed Estonian peat, for example. Carbon-based materials have remarkable properties, some of them are highly porous, with interconnected pores of different sizes that resemble passages in an ant colony. Hydrogen and oxygen atoms can migrate through these passages until they reach the catalytically active sites where the desired reactions actually can take place. The end product, water, is also transported away in this way. ‘By changing the hierarchical structure of the catalyst, the size and thickness of the pore walls, we can produce materials with very different properties,’ says Rutha Jäger, first author of the study from the University of Tartu.

Looking for the best structures

Eneli Härk, an electrochemist and small-angle scattering scientist at HZB, outlines the research question as follows: ‘We sought to understand why one of the Fe-N-C electrocatalysts exhibited exceptional efficiency and selectivity, with performance comparable to the best non-noble metal catalyst, while other Fe-N-C-samples did not perform as well’. With the technique of small-angle X-ray scattering at BESSY II they investigated the key structural characteristics: hierarchical porosity, structural disorder, and the interaction distance between active centres within the pores. ‘Small-angle X-ray scattering provides detailed and quantitative information on pore curvature and the ratio between pore size and pore wall thickness – parameters that are difficult to measure directly by other methods,’ Eneli Härk explains.

Rather than relying on trial and error, the team designed a systematic study. Five samples were synthesized concurrently, at different synthesis temperatures from 800 to 1000°C, and using different pore modifiers to systematically vary the pore and pore wall structure. These samples, along with a commercial catalyst, were characterized at BESSY II using anomalous small-angle X-ray scattering (ASAXS) and conventional SAXS to determine their pore structure and active centres distribution. The materials were subsequently tested as oxygen reduction reaction catalysts to empirically correlate structural features with electrochemical performance. From the X-ray investigations, the team derived 13 structural parameters that influence the catalytic performance, including porosity, disorder, and pore curvature. ‘Small-angle scattering provides us with a precise map of the anthill, so to speak, while the electrochemical behaviour of the catalyst shows us how the “ants”, i.e. the molecules, move within it,’ explains Eneli Härk. One result is that, with a pore curvature of at least three nanometres, oxygen reduction to water works best, and the formation of troublesome hydrogen peroxide is also minimised.

Outlook – a pathway to cut costs

‘We knew how the materials work electrochemically in principle and that the hierarchical porosity of the material is important, but why one of them works better remained a mystery. Now, however, we have finally been able to uncover the structural nuances that promote the reaction,’ says Rutha Jäger. Since Fe-N-C can be synthesized from well decomposed peat, the material is truly environmentally friendly. ‘Estonian deposits offer a promising resource for producing high-tech functional materials’, Rutha Jäger adds. The findings demonstrate a viable pathway from peat to functional fuel cells, potentially cutting system costs and enhancing sustainability.

The image taken wit a transmission electron micrsocope in high resolution shows the complex and intricate structure inside the Fe-N-Carbon material.

Credit

HZB

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Journal

ACS Nano

DOI

10.1021/acsnano.5c14955 

Method of Research

Experimental study

Subject of Research

Not applicable

Article Title

Small-Angle X-ray Scattering Monitoring of Porosity Evolution in Iron−Nitrogen−Carbon Electrocatalysts.

Article Publication Date

23-Nov-2025

 

Cross-national willingness to share

PNAS Nexus

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Each cell displays the average cross-national social preference (SVO angle) of individuals from the respective sender nation toward the individuals from the respective receiver nation. Higher values, shown in blue, represent more positive, cooperative attitudes. 

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Credit: Clemens et al.

Global challenges necessitate cooperation beyond national borders. Prosociality—the tendency to share with and value the outcomes of others—can help achieve this objective. While it is well-established that people favor their own compatriots, people also display substantial prosociality toward individuals from other nations, though not all foreigners are treated equally.

Vanessa Clemens and colleagues invited 6,182 participants from 25 nations to take part in a sharing game with individuals from each of the participating nations. Each person received 150 “Talers” — a made-up currency — and chose between different ways of sharing the Talers between themselves and another person from a specific nation. For each participant, one decision was randomly selected to be paid out in local currency, so the stakes were real. Almost 90% of people shared more with people from their own country rather than with people from other countries. People also shared more with those from culturally similar nations than from less culturally similar nations. People shared less than average with people from nations with which their own country had a present or past national conflict. People from countries with stable institutions shared more than average. People from wealthy nations shared more with individuals from less wealthy nations than average, possibly reflecting a desire to decrease inequality between nations. Overall, people were most likely to be generous toward people from Ghana and Kenya and least likely to give lots of Talers to people from the United Sates or China. According to the authors, cross-national prosociality may have broad implications for geopolitical relations and provide insights for those aiming to increase international cooperation.

The data can be explored at https://dlc-studies.uni-koeln.de/research/cross-national-social-preferences/. 

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Journal

PNAS Nexus

Article Title

Beyond ingroup favoritism: Investigating cross-national social preferences across 25 nations

Article Publication Date

25-Nov-2025