What drives job satisfaction in IT companies?

Moro, S., Ramos, R. F., & Rita, P. (2021). What drives job satisfaction in IT companies? International Journal Of Productivity And Performance Management, 70(2), 391-407. [Advanced online publication on 19 March 2020]. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPPM-03-2019-0124Purpose: Strategic goal achievement in every sector of a company relies fundamentally on the firm's employees. This study aims to disclose the factors that spur employees of major Information Technology (IT) companies in the United States (US). Design/methodology/approach: In this paper, 15,000 reviews from the top 15 United States IT companies were collected from the social media platform Glassdoor to uncover the factors that satisfy IT employees. To learn the most meaningful features that influence the scores, positive and negative remarks, as well as advice to the management team, were analyzed through a support vector machine. Findings: Results highlight a positive attitude of coworkers, contributing to a positive environment and job satisfaction. However, unsatisfied IT employees reveal that work exhaustion is the main reason for their job dissatisfaction. Practical implications: IT human resource departments can use these valuable insights to align their strategies in accordance with their employees' desires and expectations in order to thrive. Originality/value: The study highlights the relevance of IT companies to understand the reasons behind their employees' satisfaction. Up until now, little is known concerning the variants of job satisfaction among IT employees, enriching the understanding in this particular professional area.authorsversionpublishe

How the response to service incidents change customer–firm relationships

Coelho, P. S., Rita, P., & Ramos, R. F. (2022). How the response to service incidents change customer–firm relationships. European Journal of Management and Business Economics. [Advanced online publication on 10 May 2022]. https://doi.org/10.1108/EJMBE-05-2021-0157Abstract Purpose This paper analyzes previously unmeasured effects of a response to a service incident called “benevolent” within the customer –firm relationship. Design/methodology/approach A questionnaire was administered to telecommunication customers in a Western European country, and the model was estimated using partial least squares (PLS). Findings This study shows that the customer–firm relationship is surprisingly affected by the response to expected incidents that the customer interprets as acts of benevolence or opportunism. This research also shows that the firm's incident response interpreted as benevolence or opportunism has an effect that merely positive or negative events do not. Acts of benevolence response towards an incident positively affect customer–firm relationship quality, and expectations of such acts may lead to an upward spiral in customer commitment. Originality/value While benevolence trust has been proposed and studied before, the response to incidents interpreted as benevolent or opportunistic and their consequences have been under-studied, hence exhibiting a research gap.publishersversionepub_ahead_of_prin

Discovering ethnic minority business research directions using text mining and topic modelling

Moro, S., Pires, G., Rita, P., Cortez, P., & Ramos, R. F. (2022). Discovering ethnic minority business research directions using text mining and topic modelling. Journal of Research in Marketing and Entrepreneurship. https://doi.org/10.1108/JRME-01-2022-0004Abstract Purpose This study aims to unveil within the current academic literature the principal directions in the ethnic entrepreneurship and small business marketing research context. Design/methodology/approach An automated literature analysis procedure was undertaken, attempting to cover all literature published on the subject since 1962. A total of 188 articles were analysed using text mining and topic modelling. Findings The results show a lack of framing of ethnic entrepreneurship literature outside the narrower scope of migration. Some core themes were found (e.g. network, diversity) around which several other themes orbit, including both related issues to the ethnic factor (e.g. barriers and minorities) and managerial issues (e.g. marketing and production). Originality/value Ethnic minority business and small business marketing research has seen a growing number of publications. However, a careful review of existing work is missing.authorsversionepub_ahead_of_prin

Impacts of sheep versus cattle livestock systems on birds of Mediterranean grasslands

Mediterranean pastures are experiencing strong changes in management, involving shifts from sheep to cattle-based livestock systems. The impacts of such shifts on biodiversity are still poorly understood. Here, we sought to contrast the grazing regime, vegetation structure, bird species richness and abundance, between sheep and cattle grazed parcels, to understand the mechanisms through which management decisions impact farmland birds. During spring 2019, we characterized livestock management, bird populations and sward structure in 23 cattle and 27 sheep grazed parcels. We used a Structural Equation Model to infer the direct and indirect effects of sheep and cattle grazing on birds. Although no effects were found on overall species richness, there were species-specific responses to sheep and cattle grazed systems. Grazing pressure (variable integrating stocking rate and the number of days in the parcel) had negative impacts on the prevalence/abundance of Zitting Cisticola, Corn Bunting and Little Bustard, either directly or indirectly, through the effects of grazing pressure on vegetation height. Animal density and vegetation cover had direct positive effects in Galerida spp. and Common Quail, respectively. Zitting Cisticola and Little Bustard also showed a direct response to livestock type. Our study emphasizes the importance of grazing pressure as a driver of negative impacts for bird populations in Mediterranean grasslands. Since the ongoing transition from sheep to cattle-based systems involves increases in stocking rate, and therefore potentially higher grazing pressure, we propose a policy change to cap the maximum allowed grazing pressure. At the landscape scale, a mix of sheep and cattle grazed fields would be beneficial for maintaining bird diversityinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Polyurea Dendrimer Folate-Targeted Nanodelivery of l-Buthionine sulfoximine as a Tool to Tackle Ovarian Cancer Chemoresistance

The research was funded by iNOVA4Health—UID/Multi/04462/, a program financially supported by the Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia—Ministério da Educação e Ciência (FCT-MCTES), through nationalfunds and co-funded by FEDER under the PT2020 Partnership Agreement. We also acknowledge funding from FCT-MCTES through the project DREAM—PTDC/MEC-ONC/29327/2017 and FAI2017 from IPOLFG internal funding.: Ovarian cancer is a highly lethal disease, mainly due to chemoresistance. Our previous studies on metabolic remodeling in ovarian cancer have supported that the reliance on glutathione (GSH) bioavailability is a main adaptive metabolic mechanism, also accounting for chemoresistance to conventional therapy based on platinum salts. In this study, we tested the effects of the in vitro inhibition of GSH synthesis on the restoration of ovarian cancer cells sensitivity to carboplatin. GSH synthesis was inhibited by exposing cells to l-buthionine sulfoximine (l-BSO), an inhibitor of -glutamylcysteine ligase (GCL). Given the systemic toxicity of l-BSO, we developed a new formulation using polyurea (PURE) dendrimers nanoparticles (l-BSO@PUREG4-FA2), targeting l-BSO delivery in a folate functionalized nanoparticle.publishersversionpublishe

Combining bird tracking data with high-resolution thermal mapping to identify microclimate refugia

Elevated temperatures can have a range of fitness impacts, including high metabolic cost of thermoregulation, hence access to microclimate refugia may buffer individuals against exposure to high temperatures. However, studies examining the use of microclimate refugia, remain scarce. We combined high resolution microclimate modelling with GPS tracking data as a novel approach to identify the use and availability of cooler microclimate refugia (sites > 0.5 °C cooler than the surrounding landscape) at the scales experienced by individual animals. 77 little bustards (Tetrax tetrax) were tracked between 2009 and 2019. The 92,685 GPS locations obtained and their surrounding 500 m areas were characterised with hourly temperature and habitat information at 30 m × 30 m and used to determine microclimate refugia availability and use. We found that the semi-natural grassland landscapes used by little bustards have limited availability of cooler microclimate areas—fewer than 30% of the locations. The use of cooler microclimate sites by little bustards increased at higher ambient temperatures, suggesting that individuals actively utilise microclimate refugia in extreme heat conditions. Microclimate refugia availability and use were greater in areas with heterogeneous vegetation cover, and in coastal areas. This study identified the landscape characteristics that provide microclimate opportunities and shelter from extreme heat conditions. Little bustards made greater use of microclimate refugia with increasing temperatures, particularly during the breeding season, when individuals are highly site faithful. This information can help identify areas where populations might be particularly exposed to climate extremes due to a lack of microclimate refugia, and which habitat management measures may buffer populations from expected increased exposure to temperature extremes

Magnetic liposomes based on nickel ferrite and manganese ferrite nanoparticles for biomedical applications

In this work, nickel ferrite and manganese ferrite nanoparticles were synthesized and characterized. These nanoparticles were incorporated in liposomes for biomedical applications.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT

The NAD+-dependent deacetylase SIRT2 attenuates oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction and improves insulin sensitivity in hepatocytes

Insulin resistance is a major predictor of the development of metabolic disorders. Sirtuins (SIRTs) have emerged as potential targets that can be manipulated to counteract age-related diseases, including type 2 diabetes. SIRT2 has been recently shown to exert important metabolic effects, but whether SIRT2 regulates insulin sensitivity in hepatocytes is currently unknown. The aim of this study is to investigate this possibility and to elucidate underlying molecular mechanisms. Here, we show that SIRT2 is downregulated in insulin-resistant hepatocytes and livers, and this was accompanied by increased generation of reactive oxygen species, activation of stress-sensitive ERK1/2 kinase, and mitochondrial dysfunction. Conversely, SIRT2 overexpression in insulin-resistant hepatocytes improved insulin sensitivity, mitigated reactive oxygen species production and ameliorated mitochondrial dysfunction. Further analysis revealed a reestablishment of mitochondrial morphology, with a higher number of elongated mitochondria rather than fragmented mitochondria instigated by insulin resistance. Mechanistically, SIRT2 was able to increase fusion-related protein Mfn2 and decrease mitochondrial-associated Drp1. SIRT2 also attenuated the downregulation of TFAM, a key mtDNA-associated protein, contributing to the increase in mitochondrial mass. Importantly, we found that SIRT2 expression in PBMCs of human subjects was negatively correlated with obesity and insulin resistance. These results suggest a novel function for hepatic SIRT2 in the regulation of insulin sensitivity and raise the possibility that SIRT2 activators may offer novel opportunities for preventing or treating insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes.European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), Centro 2020 Regional Operational Programme (CENTRO-01-0145-FEDER-000012: HealthyAging2020); COMPETE 2020 - Operational Programme for Competitiveness and Internationalisation and Portuguese national funds via FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007440, SFRH/BPD/109347/2015 to R.M.O., SFRH/BD/86655/2012 to L.N. and SFRH/BPD/111815/2015 to P.G.); FLAD Life Science 2020 Grant to A.C.R.; European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO Installation Grant to T.F.O.); DFG Center for Nanoscale Microscopy and Molecular Physiology of the Brain (CNMPB) to T.F.O

The NAD+-dependent deacetylase SIRT2 attenuates oxidative stress and mitochondrial dysfunction and improves insulin sensitivity in hepatocytes

Funding Information: European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), Centro 2020 Regional Operational Programme (CENTRO-01-0145-FEDER-000012: HealthyAging2020); COMPETE 2020 - Operational Programme for Competitiveness and Internationalisation and Portuguese national funds via FCT – Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007440, SFRH/BPD/109347/ 2015 to R.M.O., SFRH/BD/86655/2012 to L.N. and SFRH/BPD/ 111815/2015 to P.G.); FLAD Life Science 2020 Grant to A.C.R.; European Molecular Biology Organization (EMBO Installation Grant to T.F.O.); DFG Center for Nanoscale Microscopy and Molecular Physiology of the Brain (CNMPB) to T.F.O.Insulin resistance is a major predictor of the development of metabolic disorders. Sirtuins (SIRTs) have emerged as potential targets that can be manipulated to counteract age-related diseases, including type 2 diabetes. SIRT2 has been recently shown to exert important metabolic effects, but whether SIRT2 regulates insulin sensitivity in hepatocytes is currently unknown. The aim of this study is to investigate this possibility and to elucidate underlying molecular mechanisms. Here, we show that SIRT2 is downregulated in insulin-resistant hepatocytes and livers, and this was accompanied by increased generation of reactive oxygen species, activation of stress-sensitive ERK1/2 kinase, and mitochondrial dysfunction. Conversely, SIRT2 overexpression in insulin-resistant hepatocytes improved insulin sensitivity, mitigated reactive oxygen species production and ameliorated mitochondrial dysfunction. Further analysis revealed a reestablishment of mitochondrial morphology, with a higher number of elongated mitochondria rather than fragmented mitochondria instigated by insulin resistance. Mechanistically, SIRT2 was able to increase fusion-related protein Mfn2 and decrease mitochondrial-associated Drp1. SIRT2 also attenuated the downregulation of TFAM, a key mtDNA-associated protein, contributing to the increase in mitochondrial mass. Importantly, we found that SIRT2 expression in PBMCs of human subjects was negatively correlated with obesity and insulin resistance. These results suggest a novel function for hepatic SIRT2 in the regulation of insulin sensitivity and raise the possibility that SIRT2 activators may offer novel opportunities for preventing or treating insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes.publishersversionpublishe

Magnetoliposomes based on manganese ferrite nanoparticles as nanocarriers for antitumor drugs

Publicado em "NanoPT2016 book of abstracts"In this work, manganese ferrite (MnFe2O4) nanoparticles with superparamagnetic behaviour at room temperature and size distribution of 26 ± 5 nm, were obtained by coprecipitation method. Structural and magnetic properties of the nanoparticles (NPs) were evaluated by XRD, HR-TEM and SQUID. The synthesized NPs were either entrapped in liposomes, originating aqueous magnetoliposomes (AMLs), or covered with a lipid bilayer, forming solid magnetoliposomes (SMLs).This work was supported by FEDER through the COMPETE/QREN/EU Program and by the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) in the framework of the Strategic Projects of CFUM [PEst-C/FIS/UI0607/2013 (F-COMP-01-0124-FEDER-022711)] and CQ/UM [PEst-C/QUI/UI0686/2013 (FCOMP-01-0124-FEDER -022716)]. FCT, POPH-QREN and FSE are acknowledged for the PhD grant of A.R.O. Rodrigues (SFRH/BD/90949/2012) and for financial support to MAP-Fis PhD Programme