Suchergebnisse

For businesses where resources are scarce and the environment is volatile in political, economic and cultural terms, such as the current case of Mexico and Turkey businesses might suggest, the pursue of business practices that adopt a market orientation (MO) is critical to maintain market share and survive. We address whether MO and innovation and dynamism levels, relevant constructs in such volatile business environments, differ among small businesses in Mexico and Turkey. The analysis was conducted from an ownership (manager vs. owner) and gender (male vs. female) approach. Findings suggest that gender differences were not significant with respect to MO, innovation, and dynamism in Turkey. Neither there were gender differences with respect to MO in Mexico. However, women in Mexico showed a higher orientation for innovation and dynamism. Owner and manager differences towards MO, innovation, and dynamism were not found significant in both regions denoting the importance that these concepts attain regardless of being an owner and manager. Entrepreneurial forces remain focused on exhibiting a marketing concept that leads to remain as a source of income, employment, and growth

Abstract
The type IX secretion system (T9SS) is a nanomachinery utilized by bacterial pathogens to facilitate infection. The system is regulated by a signaling cascade serving as its activation switch. A pivotal member in this cascade, the response regulator protein PorX, represents a promising drug target to prevent the secretion of virulence factors. Here, we provide a comprehensive characterization of PorX both in vitro and in vivo. First, our structural studies revealed PorX harbors a unique enzymatic effector domain, which, surprisingly, shares structural similarities with the alkaline phosphatase superfamily, involved in nucleotide and lipid signaling pathways. Importantly, such pathways have not been associated with the T9SS until now. Enzymatic characterization of PorX's effector domain revealed a zinc-dependent phosphodiesterase activity, with active site dimensions suitable to accommodate a large substrate. Unlike typical response regulators that dimerize via their receiver domain upon phosphorylation, we found that zinc can also induce conformational changes and promote PorX's dimerization via an unexpected interface. These findings suggest that PorX can serve as a cellular zinc sensor, broadening our understanding of its regulatory mechanisms. Despite the strict conservation of PorX in T9SS-utilizing bacteria, we demonstrate that PorX is essential for virulence factors secretion in Porphyromonas gingivalis and affects metabolic enzymes secretion in the nonpathogenic Flavobacterium johnsoniae, but not for the secretion of gliding adhesins. Overall, this study advances our structural and functional understanding of PorX, highlighting its potential as a druggable target for intervention strategies aimed at disrupting the T9SS and mitigating virulence in pathogenic species.