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Major U.S. cigarette companies for decades conducted research and development regarding cigarette ignition propensity which has continued beyond fire safety standards for cigarettes that have recently been legislated. This paper describes recent scientific advances and technological development based on a comprehensive review of the physical, chemical, and engineering sciences, public health, and trade literature, U.S. and international patents, and research in the tobacco industry document libraries.

South Carolina Code of Laws, Title 23, Chapter 51, the "Reduced Cigarette Ignition Propensity Standards and Firefighter Protection Act," became effective January 1, 2010. The Act requires that cigarettes sold in South Carolina meet certain criteria designed to reduce the likelihood of cigarettes becoming an ignition source for upholstered furniture, mattresses, and bedding.

Abstract
We show that providing a low (vs. no) price discount can lower purchase propensity of low-priced products under certain conditions—when purchases are nonessential and purchase volume is small. Based on the theory of purchase value (Grewal, Monroe, and Krishnan 1998; Thaler 1983), we argue that offering a low price discount for nonessential purchases decreases perceived transaction value that in turn lowers consumers' purchase propensity. However, this boomerang effect reverses when purchase volume is larger or when the purchase is essential. We demonstrate this effect with secondary scanner panel data sets (with six different product categories) and in five laboratory experiments (with real purchases). We also document the process and delineate boundary conditions.

Abstract. How can we increase voter turnout among low-propensity voters? Researchers and practitioners have found interventions that increase voter turnout, but these interventions tend to increase turnout among individuals already likely to vote, and therefore appear to exacerbate existing inequalities in participation. This project developed and tested an intervention designed to encourage people with a lower prior likelihood of voting into the electorate. First, in summer 2018, we surveyed a diverse sample of voting and non-voting Californians about their political attitudes. We concluded that feeling inadequately informed and feeling inefficacious may contribute to low turnout rates. Based on the results of the survey, we designed messages to address these feelings and tested them in an experiment to increase turnout in two special elections in June 2019 by targeting these sentiments among people with infrequent prior turnout records. Letters with information and encouragement about the voting process did not increase turnout in the subsequent election. We conclude that further work is needed to identify interventions that successfully increase turnout among low-propensity voters.

OBJECTIVE: To estimate the effects of fire safe cigarette laws on fire mortality and cigarette-related fires in the USA. METHODS: We examined the gradual implementation of the laws to identify their average effects, using difference-in-differences analysis to account for common year effects, time-invariant state effects, state-specific trends and observable time-varying state-level covariates. RESULTS: We found no statistically significant effects on all-cause fire mortality, residential fire mortality or cigarette-caused fire rates. The estimates for cigarette-caused fire deaths were significant under some specifications, but were not robust to the inclusion of state-specific trends or comparisons to effects on other cause-determined fires. CONCLUSIONS: Given the mixed state of our results, we conclude that previous claims regarding the effects of fire safe cigarette laws may be premature.

Although voter ID laws have become a hot topic of political debate, existing scholarship has failed to produce conclusive evidence concerning the existence or frequency of electoral fraud, especially the type of fraud that would be prevented by photo identification laws and signature verification protocols for voting by mail. We propose a new method of measuring election fraud, especially identity fraud, that is superior to previous measurement efforts because it measures actual instances of fraud rather than waiting for conclusive proof of fraud produced in a criminal prosecution. We test our method in multiple jurisdictions, including two known cases of electoral fraud, and we find no additional cases of fraud. We speculate that public access to voting and registration records play an important role in preventing this type of election fraud, suggesting that these practices are perhaps more important than voter ID laws in preventing election fraud.

This work presents a series of simulations of the light-round process in a premixed annular combustor, consisting of 18 individual swirl bluff body burners, using improvements to the previously-published stochastic low-order model SPINTHIR that mimics flame propagation with a Langevin particle model and continuous new particle generation. The improvements presented include the effect of dilatation and a stochastic component to the quenching criterion, resulting in capturing reasonably well the bending behaviour of the turbulent flame speed with turbulent intensity. The results showed that the light-round mechanism was well reproduced compared to experiments. The various versions of the model captured the trend of light-round time τLR as a function of the mixture's laminar flame speed with different degrees of accuracy. Overall, the results here reported improve our low-order capability to model the ignition transient in complex multi-burner configurations, which can help the design process of gas turbine combustors. ; European Union Marie-Curie project ANNULIGHT (Grant Agreement No. 765998), and Clean Sky 2 project PROTEUS (Grant Agreement No 785349).

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present results of practical experience of cold starting a gasoline engine on low volatility fuel suitable for unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) deployment. Design/methodology/approach – Experimental research and development is carried out via dynamometer testing of systems capable of achieving cold start of a spark ignition UAV engine on kerosene JET A-1 fuel. Findings – Repeatable cold starts have been satisfactorily achieved at ambient temperatures of 5°C. The approximate threshold for warm engine restart has also been established. Practical implications – For safety and supply logistical reasons, the elimination of the use of gasoline fuel offers major advantages not only for UAVs but also for other internal combustion engine-powered equipment to be operated in military theatres of operation. For gasoline crankcase-scavenged two-stroke cycle engines, this presents development challenges in terms of modification of the lubrication strategy, achieving acceptable performance characteristics and the ability to successfully secure repeatable engine cold start. Originality/value – The majority of UAVs still operate on gasoline-based fuels. Successful modification to allow low volatility fuel operation would address single fuel policy objectives.