How crowdsourcing impacts prices and customer satisfaction: the Airbnb case

The travel accommodation industry has changed drastically due to the sharing economy. This sharing economy depends significantly on crowdsourcing in the form of quantitative and qualitative reviews. In this thesis, we study the impact of expressed sentiments in the text reviews on listing prices; we explore differences in the factors that lead to satisfaction according to customer origin and the effects of external shocks on Airbnb´s prices. We employ NLP to extract the sentiment and emotion scores to be modeled as a function of different characteristics and geophysical information. Our study provides an important contribute to the research on pricing and customer satisfaction in the sharing economy by finding a significant effect of the expression of positive sentiments on prices, describing the differences in the factors that lead to satisfaction according to customer origin, and revealing that guests moved away from main municipalities and valued listings with more bedrooms during the Covid-19 pandemic

Caso de Estudo: Aquartelamento da Academia Militar da Amadora

Os últimos anos mostraram que eventos extraordinários como a pandemia e o conflito entre a Rússia e a Ucrânia, alteraram por completo o panorama energético. Consequentemente, estes eventos provocaram a desordem e um grande choque noutras áreas como a saúde e economia com impacto no quotidiano das pessoas e das instituições. Contudo, a utilização de energias renováveis e a implementação de eficiência energética, tornam os sistemas mais resilientes a este tipo de alterações extremas, contribuindo assim para uma transição energética mais sustentável. Este trabalho consiste na aplicabilidade de um software de simulação energética em edifícios (CEA) que visa avaliar a implementação de eficiência energética em edifícios, assim como analisar o potencial de utilização de fontes renováveis nas unidades do Exército Português, usando como caso de estudo o Aquartelamento da Academia Militar da Amadora. Desta forma, este programa servirá como uma ferramenta de apoio na gestão de consumos e para aumentar a eficiência energética dos edifícios. O estudo começou pelo levantamento das caraterísticas da envolvente, perfis horários, sistemas AVAC, AQS e de fornecimento de todos os edifícios existentes no campus, como também a explicação da função de cada edifício. Numa fase posterior inseriram-se estes dados no software e foram feitas simulações energéticas para dois casos distintos. Para um dos casos utilizaram-se os arquétipos de construção e de sistemas já elaborados pelo programa com base em edifícios suíços. No outro, criaram-se arquétipos que definem a maior parte dos edifícios que o Exército Português possui. Após este processo, concluiu-se que os resultados foram bons, apresentando erros abaixo dos 25% que indicam um bom ajuste do modelo segundo a diretriz do ASHRAE. Assim, procedeu-se à proposta de medidas de eficiência energética e simulou-se o potencial da produção de energia renovável, mostrando a redução da fatura energética e a viabilidade destas medida

Comparative Effectiveness of COVID-19 Vaccines in Preventing Infections and Disease Progression from SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.5 and BA.2, Portugal

We estimated comparative primary and booster vaccine effectiveness (VE) of SARS-CoV-2 Omicron BA.5 and BA.2 lineages against infection and disease progression. During April-June 2022, we implemented a case-case and cohort study and classified lineages using whole-genome sequencing or spike gene target failure. For the case-case study, we estimated the adjusted odds ratios (aORs) of vaccination using a logistic regression. For the cohort study, we estimated VE against disease progression using a penalized logistic regression. We observed no reduced VE for primary (aOR 1.07 [95% CI 0.93-1.23]) or booster (aOR 0.96 [95% CI 0.84-1.09]) vaccination against BA.5 infection. Among BA.5 case-patients, booster VE against progression to hospitalization was lower than that among BA.2 case-patients (VE 77% [95% CI 49%-90%] vs. VE 93% [95% CI 86%-97%]). Although booster vaccination is less effective against BA.5 than against BA.2, it offers substantial protection against progression from BA.5 infection to severe disease.The acquisition of sequencing equipment and reagents used in this study by the Instituto Nacional de Saúde Doutor Ricardo Jorge was partially funded by the HERA project (grant no. 2021/PHF/23776) supported by the European Commission through the European Centre for Disease Control, and also partially funded by the GenomePT project (grant no. POCI-01-0145-FEDER-022184), supported by COMPETE 2020–Operational Programme for Competitiveness and Internationalisation, Lisboa Portugal Regional Operational Programme, Algarve Portugal Regional Operational, under the Portugal 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund, and by the Portuguese Science and Technology Foundation. Algarve Biomedical Center Laboratory received public funding through the Project ALG-D2-2021-06 Variants Screen in Southern Portugal– Monitoring Variants of Concern in Southern Portugal and the Portuguese Science and Technology Foundation national support through the Comprehensive Health Research Center (grant no. UIDP/04923/2020)info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Characterizing partial AZFc deletions of the Y chromosome with amplicon-specific sequence markers

BACKGROUND: The AZFc region of the human Y chromosome is a highly recombinogenic locus containing multi-copy male fertility genes located in repeated DNA blocks (amplicons). These AZFc gene families exhibit slight sequence variations between copies which are considered to have functional relevance. Yet, partial AZFc deletions yield phenotypes ranging from normospermia to azoospermia, thwarting definite conclusions on their real impact on fertility. RESULTS: The amplicon content of partial AZFc deletion products was characterized with novel amplicon-specific sequence markers. Data indicate that partial AZFc deletions are a male infertility risk [odds ratio: 5.6 (95% CI: 1.6–30.1)] and although high diversity of partial deletion products and sequence conversion profiles were recorded, the AZFc marker profiles detected in fertile men were also observed in infertile men. Additionally, the assessment of rearrangement recurrence by Y-lineage analysis indicated that while partial AZFc deletions occurred in highly diverse samples, haplotype diversity was minimal in fertile men sharing identical marker profiles. CONCLUSION: Although partial AZFc deletion products are highly heterogeneous in terms of amplicon content, this plasticity is not sufficient to account for the observed phenotypical variance. The lack of causative association between the deletion of specific gene copies and infertility suggests that AZFc gene content might be part of a multifactorial network, with Y-lineage evolution emerging as a possible phenotype modulator

Cytotoxicity and Mitochondrial Effects of Phenolic and Quinone-Based Mitochondria-Targeted and Untargeted Antioxidants on Human Neuronal and Hepatic Cell Lines: A Comparative Analysis

Mitochondriotropic antioxidants (MC3, MC6.2, MC4 and MC7.2) based on dietary antioxidants and analogs (caffeic, hydrocaffeic, trihydroxyphenylpropanoic and trihydroxycinnamic acids) were developed. In this study, we evaluate and compare the cytotoxicity profile of novel mitochondria-targeted molecules (generally known as MitoCINs) on human HepG2 and differentiated SH-SY5Y cells with the quinone-based mitochondria-targeted antioxidants MitoQ and SkQ1 and with two non-targeted antioxidants, resveratrol and coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10). We further evaluate their effects on mitochondrial membrane potential, cellular oxygen consumption and extracellular acidification rates. Overall, MitoCINs derivatives reduced cell viability at concentrations about six times higher than those observed with MitoQ and SkQ1. A toxicity ranking for both cell lines was produced: MC4 < MC7.2 < MC3 < MC6.2. These results suggest that C-6 carbon linker and the presence of a pyrogallol group result in lower cytotoxicity. MC3 and MC6.2 affected the mitochondrial function more significantly relative to MitoQ, SkQ1, resveratrol and CoQ10, while MC4 and MC7.2 displayed around 100-1000 times less cytotoxicity than SkQ1 and MitoQ. Based on the mitochondrial and cytotoxicity cellular data, MC4 and MC7.2 are proposed as leads that can be optimized to develop safe drug candidates with therapeutic application in mitochondrial oxidative stress-related diseases

MAMMALS IN PORTUGAL : A data set of terrestrial, volant, and marine mammal occurrences in P ortugal

Mammals are threatened worldwide, with 26% of all species being includedin the IUCN threatened categories. This overall pattern is primarily associatedwith habitat loss or degradation, and human persecution for terrestrial mam-mals, and pollution, open net fishing, climate change, and prey depletion formarine mammals. Mammals play a key role in maintaining ecosystems func-tionality and resilience, and therefore information on their distribution is cru-cial to delineate and support conservation actions. MAMMALS INPORTUGAL is a publicly available data set compiling unpublishedgeoreferenced occurrence records of 92 terrestrial, volant, and marine mam-mals in mainland Portugal and archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira thatincludes 105,026 data entries between 1873 and 2021 (72% of the data occur-ring in 2000 and 2021). The methods used to collect the data were: live obser-vations/captures (43%), sign surveys (35%), camera trapping (16%),bioacoustics surveys (4%) and radiotracking, and inquiries that represent lessthan 1% of the records. The data set includes 13 types of records: (1) burrowsjsoil moundsjtunnel, (2) capture, (3) colony, (4) dead animaljhairjskullsjjaws, (5) genetic confirmation, (6) inquiries, (7) observation of live animal (8),observation in shelters, (9) photo trappingjvideo, (10) predators dietjpelletsjpine cones/nuts, (11) scatjtrackjditch, (12) telemetry and (13) vocalizationjecholocation. The spatial uncertainty of most records ranges between 0 and100 m (76%). Rodentia (n=31,573) has the highest number of records followedby Chiroptera (n=18,857), Carnivora (n=18,594), Lagomorpha (n=17,496),Cetartiodactyla (n=11,568) and Eulipotyphla (n=7008). The data setincludes records of species classified by the IUCN as threatened(e.g.,Oryctolagus cuniculus[n=12,159],Monachus monachus[n=1,512],andLynx pardinus[n=197]). We believe that this data set may stimulate thepublication of other European countries data sets that would certainly contrib-ute to ecology and conservation-related research, and therefore assisting onthe development of more accurate and tailored conservation managementstrategies for each species. There are no copyright restrictions; please cite thisdata paper when the data are used in publications.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Mammals in Portugal: a data set of terrestrial, volant, and marine mammal occurrences in Portugal

Mammals are threatened worldwide, with ~26% of all species being included in the IUCN threatened categories. This overall pattern is primarily associated with habitat loss or degradation, and human persecution for terrestrial mammals, and pollution, open net fishing, climate change, and prey depletion for marine mammals. Mammals play a key role in maintaining ecosystems functionality and resilience, and therefore information on their distribution is crucial to delineate and support conservation actions. MAMMALS IN PORTUGAL is a publicly available data set compiling unpublished georeferenced occurrence records of 92 terrestrial, volant, and marine mammals in mainland Portugal and archipelagos of the Azores and Madeira that includes 105,026 data entries between 1873 and 2021 (72% of the data occurring in 2000 and 2021). The methods used to collect the data were: live observations/captures (43%), sign surveys (35%), camera trapping (16%), bioacoustics surveys (4%) and radiotracking, and inquiries that represent less than 1% of the records. The data set includes 13 types of records: (1) burrows | soil mounds | tunnel, (2) capture, (3) colony, (4) dead animal | hair | skulls | jaws, (5) genetic confirmation, (6) inquiries, (7) observation of live animal (8), observation in shelters, (9) photo trapping | video, (10) predators diet | pellets | pine cones/nuts, (11) scat | track | ditch, (12) telemetry and (13) vocalization | echolocation. The spatial uncertainty of most records ranges between 0 and 100 m (76%). Rodentia (n =31,573) has the highest number of records followed by Chiroptera (n = 18,857), Carnivora (n = 18,594), Lagomorpha (n = 17,496), Cetartiodactyla (n = 11,568) and Eulipotyphla (n = 7008). The data set includes records of species classified by the IUCN as threatened (e.g., Oryctolagus cuniculus [n = 12,159], Monachus monachus [n = 1,512], and Lynx pardinus [n = 197]). We believe that this data set may stimulate the publication of other European countries data sets that would certainly contribute to ecology and conservation-related research, and therefore assisting on the development of more accurate and tailored conservation management strategies for each species. There are no copyright restrictions; please cite this data paper when the data are used in publications

Aneurisma intracraniano na criança

Os aneurismas cerebrais são raros na criança, embora a sua ruptura seja a principal causa de hemorragia subaracnoideia neste grupo etário. Apresenta-se o caso de uma criança de 11 anos de idade, que recorreu ao hospital por cefaleia súbita e intensa, sem história prévia de traumatismos ou infecções. O estudo clínico e imagiológico realizado foi sugestivo de hemorragia subaracnoideia. A angiografia cerebral permitiu o diagnóstico de aneurisma da bifurcação da artéria carótida interna esquerda. Foi submetida a cirurgia, com boa evolução pós-operatória. Pretende-se com este caso alertar para as dificuldades no diagnóstico diferencial de ruptura de aneurisma cerebral na criança e salientar que um diagnóstico correcto e precoce permite melhorar o prognóstico

Uso de narrativas para o aprendizado da tecnologia grupal por profissionais de Centros de Atenção Psicossocial

Objetivo: Analisar os resultados sobre o uso de narrativas de cuidado grupal no processo de qualificação dos profissionais dos Centros de Atenção Psicossocial para o aprendizado do uso da tecnologia grupal. Método: Pesquisa-ação envolvendo 21 trabalhadores de 11 Centros de Atenção Psicossocial do Centro-Oeste brasileiro. Para coleta de dados foram utilizadas narrativas escritas pelos participantes sobre suas práticas de trabalho com grupos terapêuticos e oficinas presenciais para discussão teórica a partir das mesmas. Os dados foram submetidos à análise de narrativas com o suporte do software de análise qualitativa. Resultados: A categoria “Angústias e Questionamentos” evidenciou o desconhecimento dos trabalhadores quanto à conceituação de grupo e dinâmica de grupo, os desafios do manejo grupal e o desconforto com as frustrações vividas no grupo. A categoria “Aprendizados para Coordenação de Grupo” revelou aquisição de conhecimento para o planejamento e funcionamento grupal, e compreensão do papel de coordenador de grupos para o cuidado em saúde mental. Conclusão: Narrar as cenas de cuidado grupal possibilitou aos participantes exercitar o pensamento crítico reflexivo, reconhecer a teoria da tecnologia grupal e desenvolver habilidades para coordenar grupos.Objective: To analyze the results of the use of narratives in group therapy for the qualification process of professionals in the Psychosocial Care Centers on the use of group dynamics. Method: This is an action research involving 21 workers from 11 Psychosocial Care Centers in the Brazilian Central-West region. For data collection, narratives written by the participants about their work practices with therapeutic groups and theoretical discussion based on in-person workshops were used. Data were subjected to narrative analysis with the support of qualitative analysis software. Results: The category “Concerns and Questioning” showed the workers’ lack of knowledge regarding the concept of group and group dynamics, the group management challenges, and the discomfort with the frustrations experienced by the group. The category “Learning for Group Coordination” showed knowledge acquisition for group planning and functioning, and understanding of the role of the group coordinator for mental health care. Conclusion: Narrating the scenes of group care allowed participants to exercise critical reflexive thinking, recognize the theory of group dynamics, and develop skills to coordinate groups.Objetivo: Analizar los resultados sobre el uso de narrativas de atención grupal en el proceso de cualificación de los profesionales de los Centros de Atención Psicosocial para el aprendizaje del uso de la tecnología grupal. Método: Investigación-acción realizada con 21 trabajadores de 11 Centros de Atención Psicosocial ubicados en la región centro occidental de Brasil. Los datos se recogieron mediante narrativas escritas por los participantes acerca de sus prácticas de trabajo con grupos terapéuticos y talleres presenciales de discusión teórica basados en ellas. Estos datos se sometieron a un análisis narrativo con el apoyo de un software de análisis cualitativo. Resultados: La categoría “Angustias y Cuestionamientos” evidenció el desconocimiento de los trabajadores con respecto a la conceptualización de grupo y de dinámica de grupo; los desafíos de la gestión de grupo y la incomodidad con las frustraciones vividas en el grupo. La categoría “Aprendizajes para la Coordinación de Grupos” reveló la adquisición de conocimientos para la planificación y el funcionamiento del grupo, y la comprensión del papel de coordinador de grupos para la atención a la salud mental. Conclusión: La narración de las escenas de atención grupal les posibilitó a los participantes ejercitar el pensamiento crítico reflexivo, reconocer la teoría de la tecnología grupal y desarrollar habilidades para coordinar grupos