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Following the fast spread of the coronavirus (Covid-19) across Europe and North America in March 2020, many people started stockpiling commodities like toilet paper. Despite the high relevance for public authorities to adequately address stockpiling behavior, empirical studies on the psychological underpinnings of toilet paper stockpiling are still scarce. In this study, we investigated the relation between personality traits, perceived threat of Covid-19, and stockpiling of toilet paper in an online survey (N = 996) across 22 countries. Results suggest that people who felt more threatened by Covid-19 stockpiled more toilet paper. Further, a predisposition towards Emotionality predicted the perceived threat of Covid-19 and affected stockpiling behavior indirectly. Finally, Conscientiousness was related to toilet paper stockpiling, such that individuals higher in Conscientiousness tended to stockpile more toilet paper. These results emphasize the importance of clear communication by public authorities acknowledging anxiety and, at the same time, transmitting a sense of control.

Cellulose nanofiber films (CNFF) were treated via a welding process using ionic liquids (ILs). Acid-base-conjugated ILs derived from 1,5-diazabicyclo[4.3.0]non-5-ene [DBN] and 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium acetate ([emim][OAc]) were utilized. The removal efficiency of ILs from welded CNFF was assessed using liquid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The mechanical and physical properties of CNFF indicated surface plasticization of CNFF, which improved transparency. Upon treatment, the average CNFF toughness increased by 27%, and the films reached a Young's modulus of ∼5.8 GPa. These first attempts for IL "welding" show promise to tune the surfaces of biobased films, expanding the scope of properties for the production of new biobased materials in a green chemistry context. The results of this work are highly relevant to the fabrication of CNFFs using ionic liquids and related solvents. acceptedVersion

Introduction \ud Data collection using paper-based questionnaires can be time consuming and return errors affect data accuracy, completeness, and information quality in health surveys. We compared smartphone and paper-based data collection systems in the Burden of Obstructive Lung Disease (BOLD) study in rural Sudan. \ud Methods \ud This exploratory pilot study was designed to run in parallel with the cross-sectional household survey. The Open Data Kit was used to programme questionnaires in Arabic into smartphones. We included 100 study participants (83% women; median age = 41.5 ± 16.4 years) from the BOLD study from 3 rural villages in East-Gezira and Kamleen localities of Gezira state, Sudan. Questionnaire data were collected using smartphone and paper-based technologies simultaneously. We used Kappa statistics and inter-rater class coefficient to test agreement between the two methods. Results Symptoms reported included cough (24%), phlegm (15%), wheezing (17%), and shortness of breath (18%). One in five were or had been cigarette smokers. The two data collection methods varied between perfect to slight agreement across the 204 variables evaluated (Kappa varied between 1.00 and 0.02 and inter-rater coefficient between 1.00 and -0.12). Errors were most commonly seen with paper questionnaires (83% of errors seen) vs smartphones (17% of errors seen) administered questionnaires with questions with complex skip-patterns being a major source of errors in paper questionnaires. Automated checks and validations in smartphone-administered questionnaires avoided skip-pattern related errors. Incomplete and inconsistent records were more likely seen on paper questionnaires. \ud Conclusion \ud Compared to paper-based data collection, smartphone technology worked well for data collection in the study, which was conducted in a challenging rural environment in Sudan. This approach provided timely, quality data with fewer errors and inconsistencies compared to paper-based data collection. We recommend this method for future BOLD studies and other population-based studies in similar settings.

Bisphenol A (BPA) is an endocrine disrupting chemical used in a wide range of consumer products including photoactive dyes used in thermal paper. Recent studies have shown that dermal absorption of BPA can occur when handling these papers. Yet, regulatory agencies have largely dismissed thermal paper as a major source of BPA exposure. Exposure estimates provided by agencies such as the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) are based on assumptions about how humans interact with this material, stating that ‘typical’ exposures for adults involve only one handling per day for short periods of time (30% of individuals hold thermal paper with more than three fingertips, and >60% allow the paper to touch their palm. Only 11% of the participants we observed were consistent with the EFSA model for time of contact and dermal surface area. Mathematical modeling based on handling times we measured and previously published transfer coefficients, concentrations of BPA in paper, and absorption factors indicate the most conservative estimated intake from handling thermal paper in this population is 51.1 ng/kg/day, similar to EFSA’s estimates of 59 ng/kg/day from dermal exposures. Less conservative estimates, using published data on concentrations in thermal paper and transfer rates to skin, indicate that exposures are likely significantly higher. Based on our observational data, we propose that the current models for estimating dermal BPA exposures are not consistent with normal human behavior and should be reevaluated.

Many complex physical systems exhibit a rich variety of discrete behavioural modes. Often, the system complexity limits the applicability of standard modelling tools. Hence, understanding the underlying physics of different behaviours and distinguishing between them is challenging. Although traditional machine learning techniques could predict and classify behaviour well, typically they do not provide any meaningful insight into the underlying physics of the system. In this paper we present a novel method for extracting physically meaningful clusters of discrete behaviour from limited experimental observations. This method obtains a set of physically plausible functions that both facilitate behavioural clustering and aid in system understanding. We demonstrate the approach on the V-shaped falling paper system, a new falling paper type system that exhibits four distinct behavioural modes depending on a few morphological parameters. Using just 49 experimental observations, the method discovered a set of candidate functions that distinguish behaviours with an error of 2.04%, while also aiding insight into the physical phenomena driving each behaviour. © 2019 Howison et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.

In 2005, Human-Smoked (HS) tar and nicotine yields from commercial Canadian cigarettes were determined using a part filter analysis method to obtain estimates representative of human smoking behavior. In 2006, new cigarette designs were introduced to ensure compliance with the Canadian Low Ignition Propensity (LIP) regulations. It was not known how the changes in product design would affect HS yields. To assess the impact of the cigarette design modifications on HS yields, a further group of Canadian smokers was recruited for smoking the modified version of 10 products previously assessed. No differences in estimated HS tar yields were found between products following product modification. The HS nicotine yield was different for one product. In general, HS yields were higher than ISO machine yields while Canadian intense machine yields were more representative of the maximum HS yields. The same product ranking order was obtained for HS yields and the two machine yields but differences between the mean HS yields and ISO yields were smaller as the product ISO yields increased. Higher HS yields were measured when products were smoked by male smokers. The methodology used in this study showed the wide range of HS yields obtained by smokers as well as a good degree of stability in average HS yields just before and after the introduction of LIP regulations.