Green Information Technology (IT) tools and practices contribute to environmental sustainability and business processes virtualization. To assess whether IT-enabled process virtualization capabilities impact organizational Green IT initiatives, Bose and Luo 2011 proposed a conceptual model that combines three theories: technology-organizationenvironment framework, process virtualization theory, and diffusion of innovation theory. We conducted an empirical analysis of data from 251 European firms, and found that environment context (competition intensity and regulatory support) was more important to Green IT initiatives than organization or technology context. Technology factors (sensory readiness, relationship readiness, synchronism readiness, and identification and control readiness) facilitating process virtualization were not found significant to organizational Green IT initiatives.

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Background Increasing evidence indicates that the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic had immediate health and social impact, disproportionately affecting certain socioeconomic groups. Assessing inequalities in risk of exposure and in adversities faced during the pandemic is critical to inform targeted actions that effectively prevent disproportionate spread and reduce social and health inequities. This study examines i) the socioeconomic and mental health characteristics of individuals working in the workplace, thus at increased risk of COVID-19 exposure, and ii) individual income losses resulting from the pandemic across socioeconomic subgroups of a working population, during the first confinement in Portugal. Methods This study uses data from ‘COVID-19 Barometer: Social Opinion’, a community-based online survey in Portugal. The sample for analysis comprised n = 129,078 workers. Logistic regressions were performed to estimate the adjusted odds ratios (AOR) of factors associated with working in the workplace during the confinement period and with having lost income due to the pandemic. Results Over a third of the participants reported working in the workplace during the first confinement. This was more likely among those with lower income [AOR = 2.93 (2.64-3.25)], lower education [AOR = 3.17 (3.04-3.30)] and working as employee [AOR = 1.09 (1.04-1.15)]. Working in the workplace was positively associated with frequent feelings of agitation, anxiety or sadness [AOR = 1.14 (1.09-1.20)] and perception of high risk of infection [AOR = 11.06 (10.53-11.61)]. About 43% of the respondents reported having lost income due to the pandemic. The economic consequences affected greatly the groups at increased risk of COVID-19 exposure, namely those with lower education [AOR = 1.36 (1.19-1.56)] and lower income [AOR = 3.13 (2.47-3.96)]. Conclusions The social gradient in risk of exposure and in economic impact of the pandemic can result in an accumulated vulnerability for socioeconomic deprived populations. The COVID-19 pandemic seems to have a double effect in these groups, contributing to heightened disparities and poor health outcomes, including in mental health. Protecting the most vulnerable populations is key to prevent the spread of the disease and mitigate the deepening of social and health disparities. Action is needed to develop policies and more extensive measures for reducing disproportionate experiences of adversity from the COVID-19 pandemic among most vulnerable populations.

Background: Hip/knee osteoarthritis (HKOA) is a leading cause of disability and imposes a major socioeconomic burden. The aim of this study is to estimate the prevalence of HKOA in Portugal, characterised the clinical severity of HKOA in the population, and identified sociodemographic, lifestyle, and clinical factors associated with higher clinical and radiographic severity.Methods: Participants with a diagnosis of HKOA from the EpiReumaPt study (2011–2013) were included (n = 1,087). Hip/knee osteoarthritis diagnosis was made through a structured evaluation by rheumatologists according to American College of Rheumatology criteria. Clinical severity was classified based on Hip Disability and Osteoarthritis Outcome Scale (HOOS) and Knee Injury and Osteoarthritis Outcome Scale (KOOS) score tertiles. Radiographic severity was classified based on the Kellgren-Lawrence grades as mild, moderate, or severe. Sociodemographic lifestyle and clinical variables, including the presence of anxiety and depression symptoms, were analysed. Factors associated with higher clinical and radiographic severity were identified using ordinal logistic regression models.Results: Hip/knee osteoarthritis diagnosis was present in 14.1% of the Portuguese population [12.4% with knee osteoarthritis (OA) and 2.9% with hip OA]. Clinical severity was similar between people with hip (HOOS = 55.79 ± 20.88) and knee (KOOS = 55.33 ± 20.641) OA. People in the high HOOS/KOOS tertile tended to be older (64.39 ± 0.70 years), female (75.2%), overweight (39.0%) or obese (45.9%), and had multimorbidity (86.1%). Factors significantly associated with higher clinical severity tertile were age [55–64 years: odds ratio (OR) = 3.18; 65–74 years: OR = 3.25; ≥75 years: OR = 4.24], female sex (OR = 1.60), multimorbidity (OR = 1.75), being overweight (OR = 2.01) or obese (OR = 2.82), and having anxiety symptoms (OR = 1.83). Years of education was inversely associated with higher clinical severity. Factors significantly associated with higher radiographic severity were age (65–74 years: OR = 3.59; ≥75 years: OR = 3.05) and being in the high HOOS/KOOS tertile (OR = 4.91). Being a female and live in Lisbon or in the Centre region were inversely associated with the higher radiographic severity.Conclusion: Hip/knee osteoarthritis is present in ~1.1 million of Portuguese people. Age, educational level, and obesity are independently associated with HKOA clinical severity, whereas age, sex, geographic location, and clinical severity are independently associated with radiographic severity.

Knee osteoarthritis affects an important percentage of the population throughout their life. Several factors seem to be related to the development of knee osteoarthritis including genetic predisposition, gender, age, meniscal deficiency, lower limb malalignments, joint instability, cartilage defects, and increasing sports participation. The latter has contributed to a higher prevalence of early onset of knee osteoarthritis at younger ages with this active population demanding more consistent and durable outcomes. The diagnosis is complex and the common signs and symptoms are often cloaked at these early stages. Classification systems have been developed and are based on the presence of knee pain and radiographic findings coupled with magnetic resonance or arthroscopic evidence of early joint degeneration. Nonsurgical treatment is often the first-line option and is mainly based on daily life adaptations, weight loss, and exercise, with pharmacological agents having only a symptomatic role. Surgical treatment shows positive results in relieving the joint symptomatology, increasing the knee function and delaying the development to further degenerative stages. Biologic therapies are an emerging field showing early promising results; however, further high-level research is required.