Connecting Modernities

Editors’ introductory chapter delineates common threads among the volume’s cross-disciplinary contributions and connects these to the history of research on modernity as well as the most compelling issues confronting us today. The introduction discusses how the pandemic carries on the possibility (threat?) of a tabula rasa condition, a civilizational detour based on a foundation of global awareness of nature and society. The authors support the need for global problem-solving strategies, new global ethics, and a global resource management paradigm solidly cognizant of the commons and redistribution. The introduction explores the main hiatuses in today’s modernity and provides an update to the necessary assertion of a global modernity in the midst of political, ecological, and health crises.

A Blueprint for Ocean Literacy: EU4Ocean

In this paper, we discuss the importance of the efficient communication of science results to citizens across the world. In order for people to absorb information, we need to understand the principles and apply the best available means to facilitate the process of increasing global awareness of the changes. This explicitly applies to the verification of how we appeal to people with respect to various environmental issues and, hence, how we can modernize the educational approaches to challenge the global change. We state that, in order to follow the philosophy of sustainable development goals with respect to ocean issues, we need an attractive alternative to the existing areas of consumption. We also state that the ocean issues are at the core of any process aiming to secure sustainability. New methods and tools of education and scientific communication, especially those which are offered by non-formal approaches, are necessary, and we present here some of the activities of the EU4Ocean coalition as best practice examples.

The Impact of the Global and Local Awareness Diffusion on Epidemic Transmission Considering the Heterogeneity of Individual Influences

In this paper, we propose a coupled awareness - epidemic spreading model considering the heterogeneity of individual influences, which aims to explore the interaction between awareness diffusion and epidemic transmission. The considered heterogeneity of individual influences are threefold: the heterogeneity of individual influences in the information layer, the heterogeneity of individual influences in the epidemic layer and the heterogeneity of individual behavioral responses to epidemics. In addition, the individuals' receptive preference for information and the impacts of individuals' perceived local awareness ratio and individuals' perceived epidemic severity on self-protective behavior are included. The epidemic threshold is theoretically established according to the microscopic Markov chain approach and mean-field approach. Results indicate that the critical local and global awareness ratios have two-stage effects on the epidemic threshold. Besides, either the heterogeneity of individual influences in the information layer or the strength of individuals' responses to epidemics can influence the epidemic threshold with a nonlinear way. However, the heterogeneity of individual influences in the epidemic layer has few effect on the epidemic threshold, but can affects the magnitude of the final infected density.

CONTEMPORARY JEWELRY DESIGNS WITHIN THE CONCEPT OF SUSTAINABILITY

The negative effects of rapidly changing living standards in the world have become more visible in the last 10 years. The increase in production and consumption, depending on the main factor of the gradual increase in population, has expanded the framework of industrial areas. Increasing waste materials and depleted resources have begun to be dealt with within the waste management discipline. Sustainability is; It is interested in the characteristics of the measures that should be taken in a way that will not reduce the consumption and welfare levels of the people in the future compared to the present. These concepts, which offer positive concrete effects in the life processes of societies, act together; It has produced useful results with reuse, recycling and recovery methods. In this study, the usability of some solid waste materials in contemporary jewelry designs will be discussed in the upcycling process, which is evaluated within the scope of reuse. Since the beginning of the 1990s, pre- and post-production waste controls and recycling studies have been carried out in the jewelry sector, and sensitivity has been started to be increased. Along with the sector, the work carried out by contemporary jewelry designers at the level of global awareness is also geared towards sustainability. The designers preferred to use upcycling as a contribution to waste management -even on a small scale- in the materials, production methods and production stages to be used in their products. This attitude is related to the fact that waste materials evolve into a piece of jewelry other than their original use, and emerge directly as a design product. In addition, it has provided an effective popularity on the society in terms of environmental benefits and artistic features. Keywords: Contemporary, sustainable, waste, jewelry, design

Prediction of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron Variant Immunogenicity, Immune Escape and Pathogenicity, through Analysis of Spike Protein-specific Core Unique Peptides

The recently discovered Omicron variant of the SARS-CoV-2 corona virus has raised a new, global, awareness, since it is considered as a new variant of concern from all major health organizations, including WHO and ECDC. Omicron variant is characterized by 30 amino acid changes, three small deletions and one small insertion in the Spike protein. In this study, we have identified the Core Unique Peptides (CrUPs) that reside exclusively in the Omicron variant of Spike protein and are absent from the human proteome, thus creating a new dataset of peptides named as C/H-CrUPs. Furthermore, we have analyzed their protein locations and compared them with the respective ones of Alpha and Delta SARS-CoV-2 variants. In Omicron, 115 C/H-CrUPs were generated and 119 C/H-CrUPs were lost, almost four times as many compared to the other two variants. From position 440 to position 508, at the Receptor Binding Motif (RBM), 8 mutations were detected, resulting in the construction of 28 novel C/H-CrUPs. Most importantly, in Omicron variant, new C/H-CrUPs carrying two or three mutant amino acids were produced, as a consequence of the accumulation of multiple mutations in the RBM. Remarkably, these Omicron-derived C/H-CrUPs that bear several mutated amino acids could not be recognized in any other viral Spike variant. We suggest that virus binding to the ACE2 receptor is facilitated by the herein identified C/H-CrUPs in contact point mutations and Spike-cleavage sites, while the immunoregulatory NF9 peptide is not detectably affected. Taken together, our findings indicate that Omicron variant contains intrinsic abilities to escape immune-system attack, while its mutations can mediate strong viral binding to the ACE2 receptor, leading to highly efficient fusion of the virus to the target cell. However, the intact NF9 peptide suggests that Omicron exhibits reduced pathogenicity compared to Delta variant.

A sour taste in your mouth: consumer privileges and the socio-ecological imperatives of chocolate as pedagogy

This article describes how I use autoethnography as a methodological approach to display the multiple layers of my consciousness as a critical global sustainability educator. I use writing to demonstrate how my reflective processes on my work with chocolate as pedagogy in schools facilitate an exploration of the philosophical and pedagogical underpinnings of what it means and what it takes to educate for sustainability and global awareness and in culturally diverse settings. My desire here is to share insights by writing, describing, examining and theorising my experiences of using chocolate as a pedagogical resource for global education and socio-ecological learning to university students. By using autoethnography, I take the position that writing is a way of knowing, as well as a method of self-discovery and analysis. My aim, therefore, is simple: to use autoethnography as a processual avenue to demonstrate how I used cocoa production in Ghana, and chocolate consumption around the world, to deepen understandings of larger issues around production and consumption, as well as the linkages between learning, society and sustainability. In doing so, I foreground my personal reflective experiences in using chocolate as a teaching resource. Those experiences are objectified as the focus of the research, and I become the subject of research.

Understanding Antimicrobial Resistance from the Perspective of Public Policy: A Multinational Knowledge, Attitude, and Perception Survey to Determine Global Awareness

Minimizing the effect of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) requires an adequate policy response that relies on good governance and coordination. This study aims to have a better comprehension of how AMR is understood and perceived by policy-makers and stakeholders in a multinational context. A digital survey was designed to capture the knowledge, attitudes, and perceptions (KAP) towards AMR, and it was distributed to politicians, policy advisors, and stakeholders. A total of 351 individuals from 15 different countries participated, 80% from high-income countries (HICs) and 20% from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). The Netherlands, Spain, and Myanmar were the top 3 represented countries. Participants had sufficient knowledge regarding AMR and reported the importance of political willingness to tackle AMR. Overall, LMIC participants demonstrated better knowledge of AMR but showed poor perception and attitude towards antimicrobial use compared to HIC participants. In addition, level of education and field of expertise were significantly associated with knowledge, perception, and practices regardless of demographic characteristics. Inter-regional differences in KAP regarding AMR exist among politicians, policy advisors, and relevant stakeholders. This study captures multinational policy-maker and stakeholder mapping that can be used to propose further policy implementation on various governance levels.

The effectiveness of commercial household ultraviolet C germicidal devices in Thailand

Ultraviolet C (UVC), or ultraviolet germicidal irradiation (UVGI), is known for its effective air, water, and surface disinfectant properties. With the rise of global awareness about public sanitation and personal hygiene due to the emergence of the current coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic, several applications of UVC were introduced to the commercial market. The present experimental study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of commercial household UVC germicidal devices for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) inactivation. Ten UVC devices were included in the study comprising of 7 low-pressure mercury lamps (LPMLs) and 3 UVC- light-emitting diodes (LEDs). Considering applications, 3 were handheld UVGI surface disinfection equipment, 4 were UVGI disinfection chambers, and 3 were movable UVGI air and surface purifiers. To determine SARS-CoV-2 inactivation performance, UVC irradiance (mW/cm2) was measured 3 times repeatedly at distance and duration corresponding to manufacturers’ usage instructions. The required UVC dosage could not be achieved by either of UVC-LED devices (1 handheld UVGI surface disinfection equipment and 2 UVGI disinfection chambers). Five of seven LPMLs can sufficiently emit UVC irradiance for SARS-CoV-2-inactivation. A lack of standardization in the distance and cycle duration for each UVC application was observed. Standard usage guidelines for UVC devices are required to improve the effectiveness of UVC irradiance for SARS-CoV-2 inactivation as well as to minimize the potential side effects of UVC.