Sustainability and Holidays Plans in Covid Times: An Analysis of Portuguese Residents' Intentions

This study focuses on micro-environmental factors (Casado-Aranda et al, 2021) related to changes in consumers' travel behaviours, arising from COVID-19. It seeks to understand if risk perception associated with COVID had an impact on travel intentions of residents in Portugal and if there are changes, regarding more sustainable choices, in 2021 summer holiday's intentions. Data was collected through an online questionnaire between December 2020 and March 2021 (overlapping the first 3 months of the vaccination process, corresponding to 5% of the full vaccination of the Portuguese (Our World in Data, 2021) and reflects short-term effects (Miao et al, 2021) on the travel behaviours of residents in Portugal (n=610). Almost half of the participants (48,5%) responded positively to the probability of going on holidays in 2021. From these, the majority (64,2%) intended to travel only to domestic destinations, mostly justified by the willingness to help the country (54,5% of those who considered likely to go on holidays) and not as much as a risk perception associated to the pandemic (only referred by 26,8%). As for holiday's consumption intentions, residents expressed concerns that may have a positive impact on the socio economical sustainability of the destinations. In fact, from those who considered likely to travel, 71,6% referred that they will prefer national products, 64,5% will value more than before certified touristic services and 57,4% intends to shop mostly in small traditional business. In terms of environmental sustainability, 59,5% will have an increased concern in reserving touristic services environmentally responsible. Results emphasize the need for reflection on the effective positioning of sustainability issues concerning the tourism sector's future. COVID-19 has created an opportunity for tourism to review and relaunch itself, based on more responsible and sustainable approaches (Brouder, 2020;CasadoAranda et al, 2021;Jones and Confort, 2020). It's important to understand to what extent consumers are willing to assume more sustainable behaviours in their future travel options. These results ask for future research regarding the importance of understanding the difference between tourists' stated intentions and effective actions when it comes to sustainable travel behaviour.

A Functional Interaction Between Y674-R685 Region of the SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein and the Human α7 Nicotinic Receptor (preprint)

The α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptor (nAChR) is present in neuronal and non-neuronal cells and has anti-inflammatory actions. Molecular dynamics simulations suggested that α7 nAChR interacts with a region of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein (S), and a potential contribution of nAChRs to COVID-19 pathophysiology has been proposed. We applied whole-cell and single-channel recordings to determine whether the Y674-R685 region of the S protein can directly affect α7 nAChR function. The S fragment exerts a dual effect, acting as a low-efficacy agonist and a non-competitive inhibitor. It activates α7 nAChRs, in line with our previous molecular dynamics simulations showing favorable binding of this accessible region of the S protein to the nAChR agonist binding site. However, activation requires the presence of positive allosteric modulators that enhance open probability, indicating very low efficacy. The main effect of the S fragment on α7 nAChR is a negative modulation, which is evidenced by a profound decrease in the durations of channel openings and activation episodes and in the amplitude of macroscopic responses elicited by ACh. Our study identifies a novel functional interaction between α7 nAChR and a region of the S protein, thus providing molecular foundations for exploring the involvement of nAChRs in COVID-19 pathophysiology.

International Open Innovation Strategies of Firms in European Peripheral Regions

The involvement of companies in different open innovation activities, through knowledge outputs and inputs, has become increasingly important for the success of companies. However, the existing literature on open innovation is scarce concerning the internationalization process of companies. The internationalization of companies is fundamental in the continuous search to increase the performance of companies externally. The objective of the present research is to explain the strategic processes in the internationalization of companies located in peripheral regions at the time of the COVID-19 pandemic from the perspective of dynamic capabilities. The sample used for this research is composed of seven Portuguese companies. The methodology of qualitative nature is exploratory and uses a case study approach. Regarding the foremost modes of operation in international markets and strategies, we find that (1) companies have partnerships with local distributors or appoint exclusive importers/distributors, and (2) companies prefer to place their products in the market through their brand, “co-branded”projects with retailers, or “private label”projects. Of the seven companies under study, six use a standardization strategy, and one opts for a configuration-coordination strategy. Our findings clarified the literature on export and internationalization strategies in a peripheral country, allowing a closer incept of the organizational and dynamic capabilities and an overview of the supporting tools these companies have to compete in the global market. Our study is original because few articles study the internationalization strategies of companies at the time of the COVID-19 pandemic and in peripheral regions of Europe.

#COVIDisAirborne: AI-Enabled Multiscale Computational Microscopy of Delta SARS-CoV-2 in a Respiratory Aerosol (preprint)

We seek to completely revise current models of airborne transmission of respiratory viruses by providing never-before-seen atomic- level views of the SARS-CoV-2 virus within a respiratory aerosol. Our work dramatically extends the capabilities of multiscale computational microscopy to address the significant gaps that exist in current experimental methods, which are limited in their ability to interrogate aerosols at the atomic/molecular level and thus obscure our understanding of airborne transmission. We demonstrate how our integrated data-driven platform provides a new way of exploring the composition, structure, and dynamics of aerosols and aerosolized viruses, while driving simulation method development along several important axes. We present a series of initial scientific discoveries for the SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant, noting that the full scientific impact of this work has yet to be realized.

A Functional Interaction Between the SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein and the Human α7 Nicotinic Receptor (preprint)

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). Infection relies on the binding of the viral spike protein (S) to angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 in host cells. Regions of the S protein have been suggested to interact with nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs), and a potential contribution of nAChRs to COVID-19 pathophysiology has been proposed. α7 nAChR is an interesting candidate target since it is present in neuronal and non-neuronal cells, including immune cells, and has anti-inflammatory actions. We here identified a novel direct functional interaction between the α7 nAChR and a region of the S protein (Y674-R685). The S fragment exerts a dual effect, acting as a low-efficacy agonist and a non-competitive inhibitor. It activates the α7 nAChR, in line with our previous molecular dynamics simulations showing favorable binding of this accessible region of the S protein to the nAChR agonist binding pocket. However, activation requires the presence of positive allosteric modulators that enhance channel opening probability, indicating very low activation efficacy. The S fragment exerts an additional inhibition, which may be the predominant effect on α7 responses. This study reveals a functional interaction between α7 and the Y674-R685 fragment of the S protein, which opens doors for exploring the involvement of nAChRs in COVID-19 pathophysiology.

Physical Health of Food Consumers during the COVID-19 Pandemic

The present research aims to analyze the habits observed in the perception of the general physical health condition of Portuguese food consumers in the COVID-19 pandemic. The investigation is focused on indicators such as weight, physical activity, and consumption habits through the adoption of healthy and not healthy food. Centered on a quantitative approach, the research is based on the application of a questionnaire to a sample of 741 Portuguese consumers, between November 2020 and February 2021, a period during which the most severe measures of social isolation were imposed by the Portuguese government, since the beginning of the pandemic. Moreover, the questionnaire was applied to consumers over 18 years old. According to this population, and considering a 95% confidence level and a margin of error of 4%, the sample has a minimum of 601 responses. Being so, the results of this research are representative for the Portuguese food consumers. The theoretical model was estimated using Partial Least Squares (PLS) in the Smart PLS 3.0 software. The obtained results allowed us to conclude that the Portuguese perception of their weight did not change in the pandemic, despite showing that in general, the pandemic had a negative impact on their physical condition. On the other hand, the results show that the Portuguese associate the practice of physical exercise with physical well-being. Respondents also confirm a positive relationship between “positive eating behaviors (such as consumption of fruits and vegetables, low saturated foods and rich in monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats” and water consumption) and “the perception of physical health in general”. On the contrary, respondents’ perception of the choice of negative eating behaviors (measured by the consumption of products with a high content of salt and sugar, snacks, and processed frozen and pre-cooked foods) have a negative impact on the “assessment of physical health, in the COVID-19 pandemic”. Hence, it was concluded that the Portuguese consider that an eventual increase in weight does not necessarily correspond to a perception of worse physical health;the practice of physical exercise and good eating habits corresponds to a perception of better physical health;the adoption of bad eating habits corresponds to the perception of bad physical health.

"How Come You Don't Call Me?" Smartphone Communication App Usage as an Indicator of Loneliness and Social Well-Being across the Adult Lifespan during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Loneliness and lack of social well-being are associated with adverse health outcomes and have increased during the COVID-19 pandemic. Smartphone communication data have been suggested to help monitor loneliness, but this requires further evidence. We investigated the informative value of smartphone communication app data for predicting subjective loneliness and social well-being in a sample of 364 participants ranging from 18 to 78 years of age (52.2% female; mean age = 42.54, SD = 13.22) derived from the CORONA HEALTH APP study from July to December 2020 in Germany. The participants experienced relatively high levels of loneliness and low social well-being during the time period characterized by the COVID-19 pandemic. Apart from positive associations with phone call use times, smartphone communication app use was associated with social well-being and loneliness only when considering the age of participants. Younger participants with higher use times tended to report less social well-being and higher loneliness, while the opposite association was found for older adults. Thus, the informative value of smartphone communication use time was rather small and became evident only in consideration of age. The results highlight the need for further investigations and the need to address several limitations in order to draw conclusions at the population level.

The fatty acid site is coupled to functional motifs in the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein and modulates spike allosteric behaviour (preprint)

The SARS-CoV-2 spike protein is the first contact point between the SARS-CoV-2 virus and host cells and mediates membrane fusion. Recently, a fatty acid binding site was identified in the spike (Toelzer et al. Science 2020). The presence of linoleic acid at this site modulates binding of the spike to the human ACE2 receptor, stabilizing a locked conformation of the protein. Here, dynamical-nonequilibrium molecular dynamics simulations reveal that this fatty acid site is coupled to functionally relevant regions of the spike, some of them far from the fatty acid binding pocket. Removal of a ligand from the fatty acid binding site significantly affects the dynamics of distant, functionally important regions of the spike, including the receptor-binding motif, furin cleavage site and fusion-peptide-adjacent regions. The results also show significant differences in behaviour between clinical variants of the spike: e.g. the D614G mutation shows a significantly different conformational response for some structural motifs relevant for binding and fusion. The simulations identify structural networks through which changes at the fatty acid binding site are transmitted within the protein. These communication networks significantly involve positions that are prone to mutation, indicating that observed genetic variation in the spike may alter its response to linoleate binding and associated allosteric communication.

Simulations support the interaction of the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein with nicotinic acetylcholine receptors and suggest subtype specificity (preprint)

Changeux et al. recently suggested that the SARS-CoV-2 spike (S) protein may interact with nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs). Such interactions may be involved in pathology and infectivity. Here, we use molecular simulations of validated atomically detailed structures of nAChRs, and of the S protein, to investigate this nicotinic hypothesis. We examine the binding of the Y674-R685 loop of the S protein to three nAChRs, namely the human 4{beta}2 and 7 subtypes and the muscle-like {beta}{gamma}d receptor from Tetronarce californica. Our results indicate that Y674-R685 has affinity for nAChRs and the region responsible for binding contains the PRRA motif, a four-residue insertion not found in other SARS-like coronaviruses. In particular, R682 has a key role in the stabilisation of the complexes as it forms interactions with loops A, B and C in the receptors binding pocket. The conformational behaviour of the bound Y674-R685 region is highly dependent on the receptor subtype, adopting extended conformations in the 4{beta}2 and 7 complexes and more compact ones when bound to the muscle-like receptor. In the 4{beta}2 and {beta}{gamma}d complexes, the interaction of Y674-R685 with the receptors forces the loop C region to adopt an open conformation similar to other known nAChR antagonists. In contrast, in the 7 complex, Y674-R685 penetrates deeply into the binding pocket where it forms interactions with the residues lining the aromatic box, namely with TrpB, TyrC1 and TyrC2. Estimates of binding energy suggest that Y674-R685 forms stable complexes with all three nAChR subtypes. Analyses of the simulations of the full-length S protein show that the Y674-R685 region is accessible for binding, and suggest a potential binding orientation of the S protein with nAChRs.