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Covidmonitor is a crowdsensing tool to support epidemologists and public health authorities in monitoring the covid-19 pandemic. The tool collects data to support transdisciplinary studies aiming at improving the knowledge of the pandemic evolution as well as monitor the citizens' behaviour and mental health. Covidmonitor leverages a previously existing mobile crowdsensing platform, SenseMyCity, adapted in collaboration with epidemology, public health and psychology researchers. Our biggest challenge was to identify the relevant metrics for the target trans-disciplinary studies and map them to collectable data. Covidmonitor explores the concept of citizens as probes to sample collective behaviour. The mobile application launches questionnaires about hygiene practices, use of personal protection equipment, health and emotional state. The questionnaires are triggered by different logic, adequate to the multi-dimensional perspectives of the target studies. Covidmonitor also seamlessly collects relevant mobility data without significant battery consumption. Finally, it enables voluntary sharing of location and symptom history, to facilitate tracing in case of infection. The tool considers user privacy and data minimisation by design, and is currently under preliminary scrutiny of the data protection regulator in Portugal.

ICOTTS 2020. Conferência Internacional de Turismo, Tecnologia e Sistemas. Avanços em Turismo, Tecnologia e Sistemas, The Tourism Area Life Cycle destination goes through different phases from its exploration until its decline or rejuvenation. The knowledge about these different phases allows the improvement of investment decisions by the private sector or by the government, in a context of challenges and opportunities. The main objective of this study was to verify in which phase the Island of Sal and Cape Verde were at an individual and competitive level during the period 2010-2018, considering the Tourism Development Index (TDI). To calculate the TDI, destinations with the same ‘sun and beach’ market were chosen, such as the Dominican Republic, Morocco, Tunisia and the Canary Islands, because they compete for the same European market and their geographical proximity to this market; data from government and non-government sources were used. It was concluded that the Island of Sal is in the Development phase, the same phase as that of Cape Verde. As for competitiveness, they are in the exploration and stagnation phase, both needing to increase the TDI to 48% and 43%, respectively to reach the involvement phase. For the calculation of the TDI, data from Cape Verde can be used to analyse the Sal Island index and vice versa. Strategic policies must be considered in the long term, incorporating information on the relative positions of direct competitors and unexpected events such as COVID 19, which can be seen as an opportunity to diversify the offer, create new segments and discover new inbound markets. O destino do Ciclo de Vida em Área de Turismo passa por diferentes fases desde a sua exploração até ao seu declínio ou rejuvenescimento. O conhecimento dessas diferentes fases permite o aprimoramento das decisões de investimento da iniciativa privada ou do governo, em um contexto de desafios e oportunidades. O principal objetivo deste estudo foi verificar em que fase a Ilha do Sal e Cabo Verde se encontravam a nível individual e competitivo no período 2010-2018, considerando o Índice de Desenvolvimento do Turismo (IDT). Para o cálculo do TDI foram escolhidos destinos com o mesmo mercado 'sol e praia', como a República Dominicana, Marrocos, Tunísia e Ilhas Canárias, por concorrerem no mesmo mercado europeu e pela proximidade geográfica com este mercado; foram utilizados dados de fontes governamentais e não governamentais. Concluiu-se que a Ilha do Sal se encontra em fase de Desenvolvimento, a mesma que Cabo Verde. Quanto à competitividade, encontram-se em fase de exploração e estagnação, ambas precisando aumentar o TDI para 48% e 43%, respectivamente, para chegar à fase de envolvimento. Para o cálculo do TDI, os dados de Cabo Verde podem ser usados ​​para analisar o índice da Ilha do Sal e vice-versa. As políticas estratégicas devem ser consideradas no longo prazo, incorporando informações sobre as posições relativas dos concorrentes diretos e eventos inesperados como o COVID 19, que podem ser vistos como uma oportunidade para diversificar a oferta, criar novos segmentos e descobrir novos mercados emissores. ambos precisando aumentar o TDI para 48% e 43%, respectivamente, para atingir a fase de envolvimento. Para o cálculo do TDI, os dados de Cabo Verde podem ser usados ​​para analisar o índice da Ilha do Sal e vice-versa. As políticas estratégicas devem ser consideradas no longo prazo, incorporando informações sobre as posições relativas dos concorrentes diretos e eventos inesperados como o COVID 19, que podem ser vistos como uma oportunidade para diversificar a oferta, criar novos segmentos e descobrir novos mercados emissores. ambos precisando aumentar o TDI para 48% e 43%, respectivamente, para atingir a fase de envolvimento. Para o cálculo do TDI, os dados de Cabo Verde podem ser usados ​​para analisar o índice da Ilha do Sal e vice-versa. As políticas estratégicas devem ser consideradas no longo prazo, incorporando informações sobre as posições relativas dos concorrentes diretos e eventos inesperados como o COVID 19, que podem ser vistos como uma oportunidade para diversificar a oferta, criar novos segmentos e descobrir novos mercados emissores. Os autores agradecem à Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT, Portugal) o apoio financeiro dos fundos nacionais FCT / MCTES ao UNIAG, no âmbito do Projecto nº. UIDB / 04752/2020. info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

This report describes a preliminary study that took place during the second semester of the school year 2019–2020, where suddenly classes had to be held online due to COVID 19 pandemic. Kahoot! a gamified application was used in some of the problem-solving classes of an undergraduate physics course of the integrated masters of the Electrical and Computers Engineering program. The quizzes applied covered rigid body dynamics and thermodynamics, both contents included in the syllabus of the course. The study was planned prior to the pandemic and the necessary adjustments of teaching online altered the goals. A simple analysis of the data obtained with the Kahoot! quizzes is performed and the results are discussed in the context of the positive and negative effects of “going online”.

This paper studies the financial determinants of debt of Portuguese hotel companies using the main indicators suggested by the Trade-Off and the Pecking Order theories. The main objective of this study was to analyse the determinants that most contribute to the debt of Portuguese companies in the hotel industry. The study also aimed to understand the impact of crisis periods on the debt. Since data collected refers to the period between 2005 and 2020 it also analyses the impact of the 2008 financial crisis and, more recently, the global pandemic COVID-19. The results show that debt is negatively associated with profitability and age, and is positively associated with size, growth opportunities and tangibility. These results are in line with the Pecking Order theory, ranking the choice of financing methods. We can also conclude that the way hotels finance their assets will affect their level of debt. We also evidence that debt of Portuguese hotels companies increases in periods of crisis. This work is supported by UNIAG, R&D unit funded by the FCT – Portuguese Foundation for the Development of Science and Technology, Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education. Project no. UIDB/04752/2020. info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

Com a mudança de paradigma, os profissionais da área do fitness, viveram períodos de dificuldade e incerteza. A este respeito, Rego e Cunha (2020) referem que durante esta fase o líder deve envolver a equipa no “problema” ao invés de se afastar dos seus colaboradores, criando e alimentando rumores. Durante o estudo verificamos que os colaboradores estiveram sempre disponíveis e dispostos a ajudar no necessário, e os DT evidenciam que a principal estratégia utilizada foi a comunicação com a equipa. info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

Prioritizing healthcare workers (HCWs) for vaccination against the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) allowed to study the vaccine effectiveness in this professional group. The quantification of antibodies levels after vaccination among HCWs could give insights about SARS-CoV-2 protection. The aim of this study is to investigate SARS-CoV-2 immune response based on quantitation of antibodies against the spike receptor binding domain (RBD) of the S protein (anti-SRBD) and nucleocapside (anti-N) after the first vaccination stage in HCWs from the Local Health Unit of the Northeast of Portugal. Methods: Serum samples from 427 vaccinated HCW were tested for anti-SARS-CoV-2 immunoglobulin with chemiluminescent microparticle SARS-CoV-2 2 IgG I (anti-N) and IgG II (anti-SRBD) immunoassays detected by using ARCHITECT i1000SR (Abbot) equipment. Blood samples were collected between November and December of 2021, before the administration of 3rd vaccine dose. The chemiluminescent reaction anti-N immunoassay was expressed as an index classified as positive for values higher than 0.6. Anti-SRBD was quantified between 21.0 and 40,000.0 arbitrary units per ml (AU/mL) and values ≥ 50 AU/ml were considered positive. We obtained data about age, gender), infection with SARS-CoV-2 (PCR+), smoking habits and number of days between complete vaccination and blood sample collection Median, interquartile interval IIQ) and frequencies were obtained. Multivariate regression linear model was conducted to assess the factors affecting the values of anti-SRBD (logarithmized variable). Results: From all 427 HCW with median age 45.7 years [IIQ: 37.8-55.0], 89 (20.8%) were males, 89 (20.8%) had PCR+, 422 (98.8%) and 46 (21%) tested positive for IgG anti-SRBD and anti-N, respectively. The median of anti- SRBD was 737.3 (IIQ: 376.2-2270.1). According to the multivariate regression analysis, anti-SRBD values decrease as increase age (p = 0.004) and number of days since vaccination (p =0.004). Also, be a smoker decreases but a PCR+ increases anti-SRBD values. Conclusions/Recommendations: The SARS-CoV-2 antibody measurements suggested that quantitative anti-SRBD responses fall over the time (from days of complete immunization) and are lower among older vaccinated HCW. info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion

People with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) constitute one of COVID-19 risk groups for poor prognosis upon infection. Variability in predisposition and clinical response to COVID-19 exist but our understanding of these factors in the COPD population is limited. This study explored the genetic background as a possible answer to COVID-19 infection response heterogeneity, either for the poor prognosis in people with COPD or across healthy worldwide populations. Significant SNPs (susceptibility: rs286914/rs123297601–3; severity: rs657152/rs113859424) were selected from the literature and their allelic frequencies5,6 used to calculate the probability of having multiple risk alleles in both our COPD cohort and each worldwide population. A polygenic risk analysis was conducted in the COPD cohort for the two mentioned phenotypes, and for hospitalization and survival to COVID-19 infection. No differences in genetic risk for COVID-19 susceptibility, hospitalization, severity or survival were found between people with COPD and the control group (all p-values>0.01), either considering risk alleles individually, allelic combinations or polygenic risk scores. Alternatively, all populations, even those with European ancestry (Portuguese/Spanish/Italian), showed significant differences from the European population in genetic risk for COVID-19 susceptibility and severity (all p-values<0.0001). Our results indicated a low genetic contribution for COVID-19 infection predisposition or worse outcomes in people with COPD. Also, our study unveiled a high genetic heterogeneity across major world populations for the same alleles, even within European subpopulations. Not Published

According to the New UNESCO global survey studying the effect of Covid-19 on higher education (2021) the pandemic has had an impact on higher education systems in terms of access and quality of teaching and learning. Covid-19 has caused the suspension and cancellation of teaching activities and its major impact on teaching and learning is the increase in online education. The Engimath - Mathematics on-line learning model in engineering education - was successfully carried out at the very right moment, as in recent two years there has been a significant increase in demand for a 100% online mathematics course with interactive learning materials and largescale practicing opportunities as well as for a mathematics online assessment model. This project has successfully developed a high-level online course as a basis for offering output-oriented education in engineering mathematics. Some of development stages, that led this project – EngiMath - to an outstanding successful end, will be presented in this paper. These go from the educational needs’ analysis to its implementation and use, even allowing an open and live test. Peer Reviewed Objectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::4 - Educació de Qualitat Objectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::4 - Educació de Qualitat::4.3 - Per a 2030, assegurar l’accés en condicions d’igualtat per a tots els homes i dones a una formació tècnica, professional i superior de qualitat, inclòs l’ensenyament universitari Objectius de Desenvolupament Sostenible::4 - Educació de Qualitat::4.4 - Per a 2030, augmentar substancialment el nombre de joves i persones adultes que tenen les competències necessàries, en particular tècniques i professionals, per a accedir a l’ocupació, el treball digne i l’emprenedoria