No abstract

In humans, one of the major factors associated with infective endocarditis (IE) is the concurrent presence of periodontal disease (PD). However, in veterinary medicine, the relevance of PD in the evolution of dogs’ endocarditis remains poorly understood. In order to try to establish a correlation between mouth-associated Enterococcus spp. and infective endocarditis in dogs, the present study evaluated the presence and diversity of enterococci in the gum and heart of dogs with PD. Samples were collected during necropsy of 32 dogs with PD and visually diagnosed with IE, which died of natural causes or euthanasia. Enterococci were isolated, identified and further characterized by Pulsed-Field Gel Electrophoresis (PFGE); susceptibility to antimicrobial agents and pathogenicity potential was also evaluated. In seven sampled animals, PFGE-patterns, resistance and virulence profiles were found to be identical between mouth and heart enterococci obtained from the same dog, allowing the establishment of an association between enterococcal periodontal disease and endocarditis in dogs. These findings represent a crucial step towards understanding the pathogenesis of PD-driven IE, and constitute a major progress in veterinary medicine.

PurposeGrounded on the social exchange theory (SET), this paper aims to analyze the different networks of conditions that lead to the presence and absence of total commitment, in its affective, continuance and normative dimensions. Six conditions – competencies development, empowerment, work-family conflict, trust, transformational leadership and seniority – are studied to explore and explain the exchanges and reciprocity relationships between organizations and employees.Design/methodology/approachUsing a sample of 546 employees from Portuguese large companies, the study uses the fuzzy-set qualitative comparative analysis (fsQCA) to explore how causal conditions jointly link to the outcome of organizational commitment.FindingsThe results show more causal configurations leading to the most favorable dimensions of commitment (affective, normative and the absence of continuance commitment), which is a positive sign for organizations. Employees' seniority stands out in all types of commitment, reflecting the affective and emotional themes in Portuguese culture.Originality/valueThis study makes an original contribution to the literature on organizational commitment by showing the alternative complementarity of the conditions in the context of the SET, only possible through fsQCA. It also provides inputs for practitioners who can adopt strategies and measures to develop the paths that lead to successful outcomes (presence of commitment) and avoid those that lead to undesired ones (absence of commitment).