ABSTRACT
The influence of economic factors on international relations at the end of the twentieth century increased significantly due to the progress of economic globalisation. In the Western Balkans, the already long and difficult process of economic and political transition was marked by military conflicts and political confrontation, followed by an attempt to build a functioning post-conflict society with limited success. The chapter deals with the concept of economic security in the region through three levels of analysis: The individual, the state, and the international system. From the point of view of all reference objects, the region faces serious threats that significantly reduce its economic security. In addition to the already existing factors (unemployment, fear of disease, poverty, lack of resources, collapsed industrial structure, insufficient competitiveness, and weak institutions), the limited effects of existing economic integration and the COVID-19 pandemic have contributed to this trend. At one point it looked like the region of the Western Balkans could become a security provider (instead of a mere consumer of European security), but political instability, the inefficiency of the existing regional organisations, and their inability to respond to crises seem to be reducing the region’s capacity to play a more significant positive role in the European security system. © 2023 selection and editorial matter, Nemanja Džuverović and Véra Stojarová.
ABSTRACT
Mitigation measures to reduce indoor transmission of SARS-CoV-2 and other pathogenic microorganisms are urgently needed to combat the current pandemic and to prevent future airborne epidemics or pandemics. Very efficient exhaust filters for nanoparticles down to sizes of only a few nanometers have been available for many years;they are used, for example, in diesel and, more recently, gasoline vehicles to reduce emissions. The size of soot particles emitted by combustion engines, i.e., primary particles and aggregates, includes those of viruses. Therefore, such particle filters should also efficiently remove viruses. This study aimed to design a filter test system with a controlled airflow allowing to aerosolize particles at the aerosol inlet and collect samples before and after the particle filter. As an example, results obtained for the NanoCleaner (R), a filter designed to clean cabin air in vehicles, are presented. Validation with soot particles produced with a CAST soot generator revealed a filter efficiency higher than 99.5%. To assess the relevance of the test filter system to measure efficiency for viral particles removal, MS2 bacteriophages, also called Escherichia virus MS2, were used as virus surrogate and aerosolized into the filter test system with the commercially available Eraser nebulizer. Filter efficiencies of more than 99% for MS2 bacteriophages were achieved using the NanoCleaner (R) in the filter test system. Experiments with ceramic wall-flow filters showed similar results. To enlighten the versatility of the filter test system, a typical aircraft cabin air filter was also characterized. The measurements confirmed the high filter efficiency, and in addition, we show a decrease of bacteriophage's survival on the filter material over 48 h post-exposure. In conclusion, we have established a versatile system that is modular to test any filter system for the efficiency of eliminating MS2 bacteriophages as virus surrogates from air.
ABSTRACT
RATIONALE: Immunization is a critical tool in the fight against infectious disease epidemics. Understanding hesitancy towards immunization is even more important nowadays, with the continuous threat of COVID-19 pandemic. Medical conspiracy beliefs, scientific skepticism, as well as low trust in governmental institutions, and evidence-based knowledge all have troubling effects on immunization. OBJECTIVE: To examine how these factors cross-react to influence vaccine behavior against any vaccine preventable disease (VPD), we hypothesized a model consisting of the belief in conspiracy theories as the predictor, and as the mediators subjective and objective vaccine knowledge, and trust in the health care system and science. The model was tested by examining the vaccine intentions for the children and self for any VPD. METHODS: Two separate studies were conducted on the representative samples of Serbian population; the first study investigated the intentions for child vaccination and the second study examined the vaccine intentions against any VPD, including adult vaccination. We used path analysis followed by logistic regression to analyze the data. RESULTS: The results revealed high vaccine hesitancy motivated by the belief in the vaccine conspiracy theories, through its effect on reduced trust in medical science and institutions, and low objective vaccine knowledge. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this study may be used to implement appropriate policy changes and implementation of the public health campaigns to promote immunization with a wide range of vaccines against common diseases, such as measles, human papillomaviruses, or pertussis, and novel diseases, such as COVID.