A total of 179 Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) complete genomes were analyzed in terms of serotypes, prophage coding regions, and stx gene variants and their distribution. We further ...examined the genetic diversity of Stx-converting phage genomes (Stx phages), focusing on the lysis-lysogeny decision and lytic cassettes.
We show that most STEC isolates belong to non-O157 serotypes (73 %), regardless the sources and geographical regions. While the majority of STEC genomes contain a single stx gene (61 %), strains containing two (35 %), three (3 %) and four (1 %) stx genes were also found, being stx2 the most prevalent gene variant. Their location is exclusively found in intact prophage regions, indicating that they are phage-borne. We further demonstrate that Stx phages can be grouped into four clusters (A, B, C and D), three subclusters (A1, A2 and A3) and one singleton, based on their shared gene content. This cluster distribution is in good agreement with their predicted virion morphologies. Stx phage genomes are highly diverse with a vast number of 1,838 gene phamilies (phams) of related sequences (of which 677 are orphams i.e. unique genes) and, although having high mosaicism, they are generally organized into three major transcripts. While the mechanisms that guide lysis-lysogeny decision are complex, there is a strong selective pressure to maintain the stx genes location close to the lytic cassette composed of predicted SAR-endolysin and pin-holin lytic proteins. The evolution of STEC Stx phages seems to be strongly related to acquiring genetic material, probably from horizontal gene transfer events.
This work provides novel insights on the genetic structure of Stx phages, showing a high genetic diversity throughout the genomes, where the various lysis-lysogeny regulatory systems are in contrast with an uncommon, but conserved, lytic system always adjacent to stx genes.
In a globalization context, underlined by the speed of technological transformation and increasingly competitive markets, the perspective of human capital, as an asset of strategic importance, stands ...out in differentiating human resource practices. Under this reality, the employer branding (EB) concept gains more and more importance as a strategic tool to attract, retain, and involve human capital, given that this has become a source of competitive advantage to companies. Within this context, this study aimed to evaluate the relationship between employer branding strategies implemented by organizations, as well as their impact on the employee’s affective commitment, evident in certain organizational cultures, which are sustained over time. The methodological framework applied to this study is quantitative, and the data collection was carried out with the application of an employer branding and an affective commitment questionnaire. To achieve a good representation of the active population, the sample of the quantitative study was composed of 172 individuals, working in the public and private sectors in Portugal, exercising different positions in the different sectors of activity. Results obtained with these techniques indicate a high level of affective organizational commitment (AOC) of employees in the organizations surveyed, suggesting that affective commitment develops when the individual becomes involved and identifies with the organization.
Bacteriophages are the most abundant and diverse entities in the biosphere, and this diversity is driven by constant predator-prey evolutionary dynamics and horizontal gene transfer. Phage genome ...sequences are under-sampled and therefore present an untapped and uncharacterized source of genetic diversity, typically characterized by highly mosaic genomes and no universal genes. To better understand the diversity and relationships among phages infecting human pathogens, we have analysed the complete genome sequences of 205 phages of Staphylococcus sp.
These are predicted to encode 20,579 proteins, which can be sorted into 2139 phamilies (phams) of related sequences; 745 of these are orphams and possess only a single gene. Based on shared gene content, these phages were grouped into four clusters (A, B, C and D), 27 subclusters (A1-A2, B1-B17, C1-C6 and D1-D2) and one singleton. However, the genomes have mosaic architectures and individual genes with common ancestors are positioned in distinct genomic contexts in different clusters. The staphylococcal Cluster B siphoviridae are predicted to be temperate, and the integration cassettes are often closely-linked to genes implicated in bacterial virulence determinants. There are four unusual endolysin organization strategies found in Staphylococcus phage genomes, with endolysins predicted to be encoded as single genes, two genes spliced, two genes adjacent and as a single gene with inter-lytic-domain secondary translational start site. Comparison of the endolysins reveals multi-domain modularity, with conservation of the SH3 cell wall binding domain.
This study provides a high-resolution view of staphylococcal viral genetic diversity, and insights into their gene flux patterns within and across different phage groups (cluster and subclusters) providing insights into their evolution.
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As plants produce an enormous diversity of metabolites to help them adapt to the environment, the study of plant metabolism is of utmost importance to understand different plant ...phenotypes. Omics data have been generated at an unprecedented rate for several organisms, including plants, and are widely used to study the central dogma of molecular biology, connecting the genome to phenotypes. Constraint-based modelling (CBM) methods, working over genome-scale metabolic models (GSMMs), have been crucial for organising and analysing omics data by integrating them with biochemical knowledge. In 2009, the first plant GSMM was reconstructed and, since then, several advances have been made, including the creation of context- and multi-tissue models that have supported the study of plant metabolism. Nevertheless, plant metabolic modelling remains very challenging. In parallel, as omics datasets are complex and heterogeneous, machine learning (ML) models have been applied in their interpretation to foster knowledge discovery. Recently, the first studies combining both CBM and ML approaches have emerged and have shown promising results. Here, we present the major advances in plant metabolic modelling and review the main CBM-ML hybrid studies. Finally, we discuss the application of machine learning to address the unique challenges of plant metabolic modelling.
Resumo Partindo da crença de que o envolvimento das escolas em processos de autoavaliação pode contribuir para que melhor se conheçam e, em função desse conhecimento, tomem decisões que contribuam ...para a concretização da justiça social, foi desenvolvido um estudo que analisou duas políticas de educação em Portugal justificadas por essa intenção e que exigem o recurso à autoavaliação. Os dados, recolhidos por entrevistas semi-directivas a diretores(as) de escolas, professores(as) de equipes de autoavaliação e ex-ministro da educação responsável pela lei de avaliação, permitem concluir que a autoavaliação, pelo conhecimento que fornece das situações vividas, pode apoiar práticas de justiça curricular promotoras de justiça social. No entanto, para isso, a autoavaliação não pode se esgotar na atenção a resultados obtidos em exames e em lógicas de performatividade.
Résumé En partant de la conviction que l’implication des écoles dans les processus d’auto-évaluation peut les aider à mieux se connaître pour, prendre des décisions d´après ces constats qui contribuent à réaliser la justice sociale, une étude menée au Portugal a analysé deux politiques éducatives fondées sur ces conceptions qui ont recours à l’auto-évaluation. Les données récoltées à travers des entretiens semi-directifs auprès de directeurs d’école, de professeures des équipes d’auto-évaluation et de l’ancien ministre de l’Éducation chargé de la loi d’évaluation nous permettent de conclure que l’auto-évaluation, grâce aux connaissances qu’elle fournit sur les situations vécues, peut promouvoir les pratiques de justice en milieu scolaire favorisant la justice sociale. Néanmoins, pour cela, notre attention ne doit pas se limiter aux résultats obtenus dans les examens et aux logiques de performativité.
Abstract Based on the belief that the involvement of schools in self-assessment processes allow them to better know each other and, based on this knowledge, make decisions that contribute to social justice, a study was developed focused on two education policies in Portugal, both justified in this intention and which require the use of self-evaluation. The data collected from semi-directive interviews with school principals, teachers, self-evaluation team coordinators and the ex-minister of education responsible for the evaluation law allows concluding that self-evaluation, due to the knowledge it provides from situations experienced and the effects generated, can support curricular justice practices that promote social justice. However, to do so, it must not be limited to the results obtained in national exams and on performative logic.
Resumen Partiendo de la creencia de que la involucración de las escuelas en procesos de autoevaluación puede contribuir para que estas se conozcan mejor y, en función de este conocimiento, tomen decisiones que contribuyan para la concreción de la justicia social, fue elaborado un estudio que analizó dos políticas de educación en Portugal justificadas en esta intención y que exigen el recurso de la autoevaluación. Los datos, recolectados mediante entrevistas semidirigidas con directores/as de escuelas, profesores/as de equipos de autoevaluación y un ex Ministro de Educación responsable por la ley de evaluación, permiten concluir que la autoevaluación, por los conocimientos que suministra de las situaciones vividas, puede apoyar a prácticas de justicia, en los planes de estudios, promotoras de la justicia social. Aun considerando esto, la finalidad propuesta no se debe agotar en la atención a resultados obtenidos en exámenes ni en lógicas de desempeño.
Genome-scale metabolic models (GEMs) are essential tools for
phenotype prediction and strain optimisation. The most straightforward GEMs reconstruction approach uses published models as templates to ...generate the initial draft, requiring further curation. Such an approach is used by BiGG Integration Tool (BIT), available for
users. This tool uses models from BiGG Models database as templates for the draft models. Moreover, BIT allows the selection between different template combinations. The main objective of this study is to assess the draft models generated using this tool and compare them BIT, comparing these to CarveMe models, both of which use the BiGG database, and curated models. For this, three organisms were selected, namely
,
and
The models’ variability was assessed using reactions and genes’ metabolic functions. This study concluded that models generated with BIT for each organism were differentiated, despite sharing a significant portion of metabolic functions. Furthermore, the template seems to influence the content of the models, though to a lower extent. When comparing each draft with curated models, BIT had better performances than CarveMe in all metrics. Hence, BIT can be considered a fast and reliable alternative for draft reconstruction for bacteria models.
In a historical retrospective, although the existing literature calls the management consulting industry an extraordinary sector and a unique phenomenon in the business context, in fact these ...statements are not accompanied by a number of academic studies that emphasize the importance of the effective work of the management consultants. To contest the lack of studies in this emerging area, this article aims to understand the implications of the border to the transfer of information and knowledge from management consultants to their client companies. The results of the empirical analysis in the form of semi-structured interviews and questionnaires applied to management consultants and SME managers in Portugal reveal that the competency factor must be based on the four knowledge families of business management - the know- know, the competence, know-how and know-how to be and it is only from this conjugation that any kind of constraints that can be found along the way (political, physical or cultural) are able to be unblocked.
Resumo: Numa retrospetiva histórica, embora a literatura existente apelide o setor de consultoria de gestão como um setor extraordinário e um fenómeno único no contexto empresarial, na verdade estas afirmações não vêm acompanhadas por um número de estudos académicos que realcem a importância do trabalho efetivo dos consultores de gestão. Para combater a falta de estudos nesta área emergente, este artigo visa perceber as implicações do fluxo de fronteira ao nível da transferência de informação e conhecimentos dos consultores de gestão para as suas empresas cliente. Os resultados da análise empírica sob a forma de entrevistas semiestruturadas e questionários aplicados a consultores de gestão e gestores de PME em Portugal demonstram que o fator competência deve ser alicerçado às quatro famílias de saberes da gestão empresarial – o saber-saber, o saber-empreender, o saber-fazer e o saber-ser, sendo que só a partir desta conjugação se podem desbloquear quaisquer tipos de constrangimentos (sejam estes de carácter político, físico ou cultural) que possam vir a ser encontrados pelo caminho.
Background: In Portugal, educational policies have been implemented to ensure students' entitlement to equality of opportunity in terms of school access and school quality. Hence, questions about how ...school quality is assessed, and the relationship between school evaluation and equity, are of high importance.
Purpose: This small-scale study focused on two key Portuguese policy measures in this area, namely the TEIP (Educational Territories of Priority Intervention) programme and Schools' External Evaluation (SEE). It set out to analyse perceptions of how far these policy measures contribute to social justice and the improvement of school quality, following equity principles.
Method: In-depth, semi-structured interviews were carried out with personnel in four TEIP school clusters evaluated through the SEE process, and relevant policy-related personnel. The interview data were analysed qualitatively, using content analysis techniques.
Findings: Analysis suggested some differences in perceptions between groups of participants, with policy-related personnel associating efficiency and effectiveness discourses with equity and justice principles. Personnel from school clusters that were placed highly in evaluation rankings and classifications tended to perceive TEIP and SEE as largely positive ways of supporting school self-reflection and improvement, whereas personnel from school clusters not highly ranked were in general not so positive about the demands of external evaluation. Some expressed concerns that aspects involving bureaucracy could be counterproductive, leading to a de-emphasis on social justice.
Conclusion: The study draws attention to the multi-layered and complex relationship between equity and assessment of school quality. Although social justice is often regarded as a high priority in school evaluation, its association with discourses of efficiency and effectiveness can sometimes weaken equity and distort the concept of social justice in itself. It prompts the broader question of whether and how aspects of the assessment of school quality need to change in order to better support the principles of social justice.
Most business enterprises are small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and many of them are without a human resource and recruitment department. Thus, one of the challenges that organizations ...currently face is to find a strategy to retain and attract talent. To overcome this difficulty, enterprises must invest in employer branding policies and be aware of the factors that differentiate them from others when attracting employees. This study aims to develop an employer branding model applicable to SMEs, to increase and enhance the attraction and retention of talents. An exploratory approach based on a quantitative perspective was adopted to develop an employer branding model applied to SMEs, with two major reference employer branding models and frameworks used as the main support. The model of employer branding was applied to SMEs regarding four dimensions, whereby essential questions are asked, namely (1) organizational culture (e.g., do employees have a job description aligned with the corporate culture?), (2) company strategy (e.g., what is the strategy if business volume decreases?), (3) company reputation (e.g., how do you perceive and treat negative feedback?), and (4) reward systems (e.g., do you feel that your employees are motivated intrinsically or extrinsically or both?), ordered by layers based on a logical sequence. The new proposed model is expected to serve as a useful strategic tool and as a basis for attracting, retaining and managing talent, specifically in the SMEs context. This new model provides a set of strategic and competitiveness benefits for SMEs, while contributing to making enterprises more profitable. The model also contributes to SMEs having a better image and reputation, enabling them to stand out from others in the war for talent.
Tourism is currently one of the main sectors of profit for the worldwide economy. This study aims to explore ethics and sustainability in employer branding applied in the hotel industry, which is ...intended to correlate these very current and little-explored themes. This study aims to explore the investigation of these concepts that have grown, especially in the area of tourism and hospitality, as a way to better understand how the hotel sector can improve and develop strategic tools to achieve organisational success and capture the best talent. Methodologically, a Delphi method (three rounds) was performed through 26 participants recognised as experts of three major associations within the hotel industry in Portugal. As the main outcome, this research validated the Ethics and Sustainability in Hospitality Employer Branding Model, comprising three dimensions (HRM and EB Practices; Factors of business ethics and environmental sustainability; and Advantages of UH in implementing the EB strategy and RS communication) and underlying categories. Findings and practical implications to management are presented.
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