Am J Prev Med

CC999999/Intramural CDC HHS/United States2017-02-19T00:00:00Z26456878PMC531651

National identity predicts public health support during a global pandemic

Changing collective behaviour and supporting non-pharmaceutical interventions is an important component in mitigating virus transmission during a pandemic. In a large international collaboration (Study 1, N = 49,968 across 67 countries), we investigated self-reported factors associated with public health behaviours (e.g., spatial distancing and stricter hygiene) and endorsed public policy interventions (e.g., closing bars and restaurants) during the early stage of the COVID-19 pandemic (April-May 2020). Respondents who reported identifying more strongly with their nation consistently reported greater engagement in public health behaviours and support for public health policies. Results were similar for representative and non-representative national samples. Study 2 (N = 42 countries) conceptually replicated the central finding using aggregate indices of national identity (obtained using the World Values Survey) and a measure of actual behaviour change during the pandemic (obtained from Google mobility reports). Higher levels of national identification prior to the pandemic predicted lower mobility during the early stage of the pandemic (r = −0.40). We discuss the potential implications of links between national identity, leadership, and public health for managing COVID-19 and future pandemics.publishedVersio

Polypropylene "Chain Shuttling" at Enantiomorphous and Enantiopure Catalytic Species:Direct and Quantitative Evidence from polymer Microstructure

The synthesis of olefin block copolymers and stereoblock polymers in the presence of Ziegler−Natta (and related) catalysts is a long-standing important industrial target, in view of the peculiar physical properties anticipated for the resulting materials (e.g., thermoplastic elastomers). The results reported in this Communication, demonstrate the wide scope of chain shuttling in catalytic olefin polymerization but also a fairly narrow operation window. In particular, for a given catalyst/CSA combination, the precondition that the alkyl-bridged, hetero-bimetallic intermediates assumed to be involved are labile seems to be exquisitely dependent (inter alia) on the chemical identity of the monomer (and therefore of the growing polymeryl), of the catalyst activator, andlast but not leastof the reaction solvent