Challenges faced by a portuguese it company on the decision of entering and competing in international markets

The aim of this corporate project is to exemplify the methodology that companies can adopt in an eventual internationalization strategy, regardless of their origin, culture, size and resources. In recent years, domestic and international economic environments have provoked great instability in society at all levels and in several areas of business. People and companies feel the need to change strategies, reinvent processes, implement solutions and find new markets across borders. This paradigm shift is felt so much more by a Company; the more increasing globalisation is, in the consumption and operations in the sector where it operates. In product development and computer services and information management, competitive advantage is highly dependent on the development of technology and standardization of globally compatible operations, but it also has to adapt to a business customer that increasingly operates in an international environment. In this context, this project aims to identify the products and services of a Portuguese IT Company, susceptible to internationalize without suffering adaptation and significant investment in the respective markets. During the process of data collection questionnaires were used and interviews with managers from all Business Units of the Company were undertaken. Subsequently, the information gathered was presented to the Company's CEO, representative of the Executive Committee, in order to match the perspectives of those managers with the strategic objectives of the board. Since the Company being analysed is Portuguese it should be noted that PALOPS and LATAM markets are of interest.Pretende-se com este Projeto Corporativo exemplificar a metodologia que as empresas podem adotar numa eventual estratégia de internacionalização, independentemente da sua origem, cultura, dimensão e recursos. Nos últimos anos a conjuntura económica nacional e internacional têm provocado grandes instabilidades na sociedade a todos os níveis e nas mais diversas áreas de negócio. As pessoas e as empresas sentem a necessidade de mudar estratégias, reinventar processos, implementar soluções e descobrir novos mercados além-fronteiras. Esta viragem de paradigma é tanto mais sentida por uma empresa, quanto mais crescente a globalização no consumo e operações do sector onde se insere. No desenvolvimento de produtos e serviços informáticos e de gestão de informação, a vantagem competitiva está muito dependente do desenvolvimento de uma tecnologia e padronização de operações compatíveis mundialmente, mas também de se adaptar a um cliente empresarial que opera cada vez mais num contexto internacional. Neste contexto, este projeto tem como objetivo identificar os produtos e serviços de uma empresa portuguesa de IT, suscetíveis de internacionalizar sem que tenham de sofrer adaptações e investimento significativos nos respetivos mercados. Durante o processo de recolha de informação foram aplicados questionários e realizadas entrevistas aos gestores de todas as unidades de negócio da empresa. Posteriormente, a informação recolhida foi apresentada à ao CEO, representante da Comissão Executiva da empresa com o intuito de fazer o match das perspetivas dos gestores com os objetivos estratégicos da comissão. Sendo a empresa em análise portuguesa importa referir que os PALOPS e os LATAM são mercados de interesse

Assessing antimicrobial resistance occurrence in the Portuguese food system : poultry, pigs and derived food, 2014-2018

Research Areas: Public, Environmental & Occupational Health ; Infectious Diseases ; Veterinary SciencesAntimicrobial resistance (AMR) spread in the food system is a major threat to public and animal health. We describe AMR trends in zoonotic bacteria and identify risk factors associated with AMR occurrence in animals and derived food in Portugal. Data from the Portuguese AMR surveillance programme on food- producing ani-mals, 2014–2018, were used. AMR frequencies were calculated for Escherichia coli, Campylobacter and Salmonella in broilers, turkeys, pig populations and their derived food products. AMR-associated factors were studied for Salmonella isolates: popula-tion, sampling stage (farm, slaughterhouse and processing plant), sample type (en-vironmental, carcase and food), sampler (HACCP, industry, official and official and industry), sample context (control and eradication programmes and monitoring), year (2014–2018) and season. Logistic regression was applied to estimate crude odds ratio and adjusted odds ratio (aOR) with 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). The final models were obtained using a backward stepwise method. This study in-cluded 2,157 Escherichia coli, 561 Campylobacter and 1,071 Salmonella isolates. The highest prevalence estimates amongst tested antimicrobials for each bacterial spe-cies in 2014–2018 had the following ranges: (i) (fluoro)quinolones: E. coli: 8 4 % – 9 3 % , Campylobacter: 94%– 98%; (ii) tetracyclines: E. coli: 68%–91%, Campylobacter: 87%– 91%, Salmonella: 72%; (iii) penicillins: E. coli: 82%–100%; (iv) sulphonamides: E. coli: 68%– 82%. Compared with the reference categories for host (broiler), year (2014), season (winter) and sampler (HACCP own checks), resistance to at least one anti-microbial in Salmonella was significantly less likely in laying hens (aOR 0.28; 95% CI: 0.18– 0.42), 2016 (aOR 0.56; 95% CI: 0.33–0.93), 2017 (aOR 0.29; 95% CI: 0.17–0.51) and 2018 (aOR 0.35; 95% CI: 0.20–0.61), autumn (aOR 0.63; 95% CI: 0.40–0.97) and more likely to occur in broiler products (aOR 5.14; 95% CI: 2.61–10.54), pork products (aOR 6.84; 95% CI: 3.74–12.98) and official and industry combined sampling (aOR 2.16; 95% CI: 1.06–4.47). This study reveals a high prevalence of Salmonella resistance, especially during the summer and in post-farm stages of the Portuguese food system to nearly all antimicrobials and in the summer in farms to (fluoro)quinolones. Measures to tackle resistance are requiredinfo:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Sugar profile evaluation of Portuguese lavender honey

O mel produzido pela abelha Apis mellifera é um produto natural com uma grande tradição de consumo devido às suas propriedades nutricionais e terapêuticas. Em Portugal, o mel de rosmaninho é um dos mais comuns, devido à ampla dispersão espontânea de espécies do género Lavandula: L. pedunculata, a mais abundante, L. stoechas com as subespécies stoechas e luisieri e ainda, de uma forma localizada, a L. viridis. Esta diversidade, associada aos padrões de qualidade estabelecidos internacionalmente com base noutras espécies de Lavandula, colocam ao mel de rosmaninho Português dificuldades para se enquadrar nesse padrão. Neste trabalho apresentam-se os resultados de caraterização do perfil de açúcares para amostras, recolhidas em 2014 nas diferentes regiões do país com alto potencial para a produção deste tipo de mel monofloral. Os resultados de melissopalinologia confirmaram a monofloralidade de 72% das amostras em estudo, observando-se um perfil de hidratos de carbono caraterístico de méis de néctar, com predominância da frutose e glucose. Os teores destes monossacarídeos variam ligeiramente com a região de proveniência do mel, observando-se uma menor tendência de cristalização para os méis do sul de Portugal. Adicionalmente, foi também identificada a presença de sacarose e maltose, entre outros, em quantidades inferiores a 5%.The honey produced by the honeybee Apis mellifera is a natural product with a great tradition of consumption due to its nutritional and therapeutic properties. Lavender honey is one of the most common honeys in Portugal, due to the wide spread of different spontaneous species of Lavandula: L. pedunculata, the most abundant, L. stoechas with the subspecies stoechas and luisieri and, in specific location, L. viridis. This diversity, together with the international quality standards established based on other Lavandula species, places on Portuguese lavender honey enormous difficulties to fit within those parameters. In this paper we present the results for the sugar profile of samples collected in 2014 in different regions of the country with higher potential for lavender honey production. The melissopalynology results confirmed 72% of the honeys as unifloral lavender, with a sugar profile typical of nectar honeys, where fructose and glucose were the main components. The levels for this monosaccharides varies slightly with the geographical origin, with samples from the south pointing towards a lower tendency for crystallization. Besides these sugars, sucrose and maltose, among others, were also identified, but with levels below 5%.Este estudo foi financiado no âmbito do Programa Apícola Nacional 2014 -2016 PAN. Os autores agradecem às seguintes instituições pelo apoio na recolha de amostras e informação da atividade produtiva: Associação de Apicultores do Parque Natural do Tejo Internacional, Associação de Apicultores do Parque Natural do Vale do Guadiana, Associação dos Apicultores do Nordeste do Alentejo, Associação dos Apicultores do Parque Natural de Montesinho, Associação dos Apicultores do Parque Natural do Douro Internacional, Associação dos Apicultores do Sotavento Algarvio, Associação dos Apicultores do Sudoeste Alentejano e Costa Vicentina, Cooperativa dos Apicultores do Alto Tâmega e Cooperativa dos Produtores de Mel da Terra Quente e Frutos Secos. Agradecem ainda à Federação Nacional de Apicultores de Portugal pelo apoio técnico no desenvolvimento do projeto.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Multi-Drug and β-Lactam resistance in Escherichia Coli and Food-Borne Pathogens from animals and food in Portugal

Funding Information: Funding: The present publication was funded by Fundação Ciência e Tecnologia, IP national support through CHRC (UIDP/04923/2020). Costa, M.M. was funded by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (PD/BD/135759/2018). Funding Information: The present publication was funded by Funda??o Ci?ncia e Tecnologia, IP national support through CHRC (UIDP/04923/2020). Costa, M.M. was funded by Funda??o para a Ci?ncia e Tecnologia (PD/BD/135759/2018). Publisher Copyright: © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.Animal and food sources are seen as a potential transmission pathway of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) to humans. The aim of this study is to describe Campylobacter, Salmonella, and commensal Escherichia coli multi-drug resistance (MDR) in the food chain between 2014 and 2019 in Portugal. AMR surveillance data from food-producing animals and food were assessed. MDR relative frequencies were estimated by bacterial genus and year. AMR profiles were created using ob-servations of resistance to antimicrobial classes from each isolate. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing results were clustered using k-modes. Clusters were described by population, AMR classification, β-lactamases, sample stage, sample type, season, and year. Overall, MDR was more prevalent for E. coli, ranging from 74–90% in animal and 94–100% in food samples. MDR was found to be more widespread in resistance profiles that were common among E. coli and Salmonella isolates and in those exclusively observed for E. coli, frequently including (fluoro)quinolones and cephalosporins resistance. β-lactam resistance was observed around 75% to 3rd/4th-generation cephalosporins in E. coli. Clusters suggest an escalating MDR behaviour from farm to post-farm stages in all bacteria and that Salmonella (fluoro)quinolones resistance may be associated with broilers. These findings support policy and decision making to tackle MDR in farm and post-farm stages.publishersversionpublishe

Multi-drug and beta-lactam resistance in Escherichia coli and food-borne pathogens from animals and food in Portugal, 2014-2019

Research Areas: Infectious Diseases ; Pharmacology & PharmacyAnimal and food sources are seen as a potential transmission pathway of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) to humans. The aim of this study is to describe Campylobacter, Salmonella, and commensal Escherichia coli multi-drug resistance (MDR) in the food chain between 2014 and 2019 in Portugal. AMR surveillance data from food-producing animals and food were assessed. MDR relative frequencies were estimated by bacterial genus and year. AMR profiles were created using observations of resistance to antimicrobial classes from each isolate. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing results were clustered using k-modes. Clusters were described by population, AMR classification, β-lactamases, sample stage, sample type, season, and year. Overall, MDR was more prevalent for E. coli, ranging from 74–90% in animal and 94–100% in food samples. MDR was found to be more widespread in resistance profiles that were common among E. coli and Salmonella isolates and in those exclusively observed for E. coli, frequently including (fluoro)quinolones and cephalosporins resistance. β-lactam resistance was observed around 75% to 3rd/4th-generation cephalosporins in E. coli. Clusters suggest an escalating MDR behaviour from farm to post-farm stages in all bacteria and that Salmonella (fluoro)quinolones resistance may be associated with broilers. These findings support policy and decision making to tackle MDR in farm and post-farm stagesinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Transcriptomes analysis of Aeromonas molluscorum Av27 cells exposed to tributyltin (TBT) : unravelling the effects from the molecular level to the organism

This work was supported by FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER-010630 project, co-funded by FEDER, European Funds through COMPETE and FCT within project PEst-C/MAR/LA0017/2013. Andreia Cruz was funded by the PhD grant SFRH/BD/36047/2007 from FCT and by a post-doctoral grant (BPD/UI88/2886/2013), from the project “Sustainable Use of Marine Resources” - MARES (CENTRO-07-ST24-FEDER-002033), funded by QREN, Mais Centro - Programa Operacional Regional do Centro e UE/Fundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional. Bioinformatics support was provided by Miguel Pinheiro from the Bioinformatics Unit at St Andrews University funded by a Wellcome Trust ISSF grant (097831/Z/11/Z).Aeromonas molluscorum Av27 cells were exposed to 0, 5 and 50 μM of TBT and the respective transcriptomes were obtained by pyrosequencing. Gene Ontology revealed that exposure to 5 μM TBT results in a higher number of repressed genes in contrast with 50 μM of TBT, where the number of over-expressed genes is greater. At both TBT concentrations, higher variations in gene expression were found in the functional categories associated with enzymatic activities, transport/binding and oxidation-reduction. A number of proteins are affected by TBT, such as the acriflavin resistance protein, several transcription-related proteins, several Hsps, ABC transporters, CorA and ZntB and other outer membrane efflux proteins, all of these involved in cellular metabolic processes, important to maintain overall cell viability. Using the STRING tool, several proteins with unknown function were related with others involved in degradation processes, such as the pyoverdine chromophore biosynthetic protein, that has been described as playing a role in the Sn-C cleavage of organotins. This approach has allowed a better understanding of the molecular effects of exposure of bacterial cells to TBT. Furthermore it contributes to the knowledge of the functional genomic aspects of bacteria exposed to this pollutant. Furthermore, the transcriptomic data gathered, and now publically available, constitute a valuable resource for comparative genome analysis.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

A voltammetric tool for the evaluation of propolis antioxidant activity

Propolis (bee glue) is a sticky dark-colored material that honeybees collected from parts of plants, buds and exudates, and used as construction and defense material in the hive. This resinous substance is a rich source of phenolic compounds, and its chemical composition is strongly influenced by its phytogeographic origin. This research outlines the evaluation of the redox profile and the quantification of the total antioxidant capacity in Portuguese propolis from different origins and potential floral sources Populus x canadensis Moench and Cistus ladanifer L through cyclic voltammetry and differential pulse voltammetry. Although several oxidation processes were showed by propolis samples, which were dependent of the resin origin, common oxidation potentials within the majority of samples of a region were detected, suggesting an analogous chemical composition in respect of electroactive species. Based on the quantification of the total electroactive antioxidant power, it was found that propolis with higher antioxidant activity was from coast center, followed by north ~ Azores Archipelago > central interior > Madeira Island > south.Soraia I. Falcão thanks Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) for the PhD grant SFRH/BD/44855/2008, financially supported by POPH-QREN and FSE. Thanks also to FCT for financial support provided to CIMO (PEst-OE/AGR/ UI0690/2011). Thanks to National Federation of Portuguese Beekeepers for propolis samples.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Implications of porous-flow in the design of freeze-thaw systems for biopharmaceuticals and rational scale-down methodology

Porous-flow through an ice matrix is a ubiquitous phenomenon during both freezing and thawing of biopharmaceutical formulations. During the freezing process, when the ice dendrites are formed, the proteins and excipients are excluded from the ice front. A concentrated aqueous solution is entrapped by the ice dendrites, creating what is called a mushy layer. By the action of gravity or pressure forces, the concentrated solution may flow through the ice matrix, disrupting the homogeneity of the mixture at the macro-scale. The concentrated solution is transported away from the mushy layer, creating spots of more concentrated solution in some regions of the container. During the thawing process, the same phenomenon occurs and is responsible for the strong stratification of the biomixture observed in the final liquid solution. Macro-concentration in the ice matrix and final stratification of the liquid solution are adverse phenomena that may trigger protein aggregation. Therefore, well-designed scale-down methods should mimic these adverse conditions that happen at large scales. Please click Additional Files below to see the full abstract

Avaliação da atividade antioxidante do mel de rosmaninho português

O mel de Rosmaninho é um dos méis monoflorais mais comuns em Portugal, devido à ampla dispersão espontânea de diferentes espécies do género Lavandula: L. pedunculata, a mais abundante, L. stoechas com as subespécies stoechas e luisieri e ainda, de uma forma localizada, a L. viridis. O mel, á semelhança de muitos outros produtos pode apresentar uma grande variedade de compostos com atividade terapêutica, nomeadamente ácidos fenólicos e flavonóides, os quais dependem da origem floral, bem como de fatores sazonais e ambientais. Estes compostos são uma fonte de antioxidantes o que permite considerar o mel um alimento nutracêutico mas também potência o seu uso a nível medicinal dada a sua atividade antimicrobiana. O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a bioatividade do mel de rosmaninho proveniente de sete áreas geográficas diferentes de Portugal através da quantificação do teor em fenóis totais, pela avaliação da capacidade bloqueadora de radicais e pelo seu poder redutor. O teor em fenóis totais foi identificado pelo método de Folin Ciocalteu apresentando as amostras de mel valores que oscilam entre o mínimo de 0,28 e, um máximo de 0,69 mgGAEkg . A capacidade dos antioxidantes presentes na amostras sequestrar radicais livres foi avaliada através do efeito bloqueador dos radicais de DPPH (2, 2-difenil-l-pirrilhidrazilo). Os valores observados, apresentados como ECso, oscilaram entre 30 e 150mgmL'1. Para avaliar a presença de agentes redutores utiljzou-se o método da redução do complexo Fe3+ ferrocianeto à sua forma ferrosa, Fe2+, observando-se valores que oscilaram entre 0,05 e 0,09g/100g de mel. De um modo geral verifica-se que o néctar de rosmaninho, quando comparado com méis de outras origens florais, não apresenta teores de compostos fenólicos muito elevados, diminuindo o teor com o aumento da percentagem de rosmaninho identificada por melissopalinologia. Consequentemente, a atividade antioxidante é mais reduzida nestes méis.Este estudo foi financiado no âmbito do Programa Nacional Apicola Português 2014-2016 PAN, numa colaboração com a Federação Nacional dos Apicultores de Portugal.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio