Branched Copolymer Surfactants as Versatile Templates for Responsive Emulsifiers with Bespoke Temperature-Triggered Emulsion-Breaking or Gelation

It has been found that the thermoresponsive behavior of emulsions stabilized by block copolymer surfactants (BCSs) can induce either gelation or emulsion break-up with mild temperature changes. A hydrophilic, steric-stabilizing component of the BCS, polyethylene glycol methacrylate (PEGMA), is crucial to control the thermoresponsive behavior of the emulsions: longer PEG chains (950 g mol−1) lead to thermoregulation, whereas shorter PEGM chains (500 or 300 g mol−1) lead to emulsion break-up upon mild heating. Additionally, the relative abundance of PEGMA to the thermoresponsive component in the BCS controls the gelation temperature of BCS-stabilized emulsions. Small-angle neutron scattering and transmission electron microscopy reveal that the BCS forms oblate ellipsoids which grow anisotropically with temperature. In samples that form a gel, there is evidence that these nano-objects form supra-colloidal structures, which are responsible for the gel mesophase formation. An optimal BCS can form emulsions that transition from a liquid to gel state when warmed above 32 °C. This makes the system ideal for in situ gelation upon contact with the body. Overall, this study highlights the great potential of BCSs in generating thermoresponsive emulsions for drug delivery and other healthcare applications

Branched Copolymer Surfactants as Versatile Templates for Responsive Emulsifiers with Bespoke Temperature‐Triggered Emulsion‐Breaking or Gelation

© 2023 The Authors. Advanced Materials Interfaces published by Wiley-VCH GmbH. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY), https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/It has been found that the thermoresponsive behavior of emulsions stabilized by block copolymer surfactants (BCSs) can induce either gelation or emulsion break‐up with mild temperature changes. A hydrophilic, steric‐stabilizing component of the BCS, polyethylene glycol methacrylate (PEGMA), is crucial to control the thermoresponsive behavior of the emulsions: longer PEG chains (950 g mol−1) lead to thermoregulation, whereas shorter PEGM chains (500 or 300 g mol−1) lead to emulsion break‐up upon mild heating. Additionally, the relative abundance of PEGMA to the thermoresponsive component in the BCS controls the gelation temperature of BCS‐stabilized emulsions. Small‐angle neutron scattering and transmission electron microscopy reveal that the BCS forms oblate ellipsoids which grow anisotropically with temperature. In samples that form a gel, there is evidence that these nano‐objects form supra‐colloidal structures, which are responsible for the gel mesophase formation. An optimal BCS can form emulsions that transition from a liquid to gel state when warmed above 32 °C. This makes the system ideal for in situ gelation upon contact with the body. Overall, this study highlights the great potential of BCSs in generating thermoresponsive emulsions for drug delivery and other healthcare applications.Peer reviewe

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

Predicting attitudinal and behavioral responses to COVID-19 pandemic using machine learning

At the beginning of 2020, COVID-19 became a global problem. Despite all the efforts to emphasize the relevance of preventive measures, not everyone adhered to them. Thus, learning more about the characteristics determining attitudinal and behavioral responses to the pandemic is crucial to improving future interventions. In this study, we applied machine learning on the multinational data collected by the International Collaboration on the Social and Moral Psychology of COVID-19 (N = 51,404) to test the predictive efficacy of constructs from social, moral, cognitive, and personality psychology, as well as socio-demographic factors, in the attitudinal and behavioral responses to the pandemic. The results point to several valuable insights. Internalized moral identity provided the most consistent predictive contribution—individuals perceiving moral traits as central to their self-concept reported higher adherence to preventive measures. Similar results were found for morality as cooperation, symbolized moral identity, self-control, open-mindedness, and collective narcissism, while the inverse relationship was evident for the endorsement of conspiracy theories. However, we also found a non-neglible variability in the explained variance and predictive contributions with respect to macro-level factors such as the pandemic stage or cultural region. Overall, the results underscore the importance of morality-related and contextual factors in understanding adherence to public health recommendations during the pandemic.Peer reviewe

National identity predicts public health support during a global pandemic (vol 13, 517, 2022) : National identity predicts public health support during a global pandemic (Nature Communications, (2022), 13, 1, (517), 10.1038/s41467-021-27668-9)

Publisher Copyright: © The Author(s) 2022.In this article the author name ‘Agustin Ibanez’ was incorrectly written as ‘Augustin Ibanez’. The original article has been corrected.Peer reviewe

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

Predicting attitudinal and behavioral responses to COVID-19 pandemic using machine learning

At the beginning of 2020, COVID-19 became a global problem. Despite all the efforts to emphasize the relevance of preventive measures, not everyone adhered to them. Thus, learning more about the characteristics determining attitudinal and behavioral responses to the pandemic is crucial to improving future interventions. In this study, we applied machine learning on the multinational data collected by the International Collaboration on the Social and Moral Psychology of COVID-19 (N = 51,404) to test the predictive efficacy of constructs from social, moral, cognitive, and personality psychology, as well as socio-demographic factors, in the attitudinal and behavioral responses to the pandemic. The results point to several valuable insights. Internalized moral identity provided the most consistent predictive contribution—individuals perceiving moral traits as central to their self-concept reported higher adherence to preventive measures. Similar results were found for morality as cooperation, symbolized moral identity, self-control, open-mindedness, and collective narcissism, while the inverse relationship was evident for the endorsement of conspiracy theories. However, we also found a non-neglible variability in the explained variance and predictive contributions with respect to macro-level factors such as the pandemic stage or cultural region. Overall, the results underscore the importance of morality-related and contextual factors in understanding adherence to public health recommendations during the pandemic

Author Correction: National identity predicts public health support during a global pandemic

Correction to: Nature Communications https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-021-27668-9, published online 26 January 2022