Messung nachhaltiger Wettbewerbsfähigkeit: Der um Nachhaltigkeit angepasste Global Competitiveness Index des Weltwirtschaftsforums

Seit zwei Jahren stellt das Weltwirtschaftsforum jährlich den Index »Sustainability-adjusted GCI« vor, der die Wettbewerbsfähigkeit der Länder im Hinblick auf langfristiges und nachhaltiges Wachstum bestimmt. Der Beitrag stellt die Ergebnisse vor

Humoral response in a patient with cutaneous nocardiosis

The clinical appearance of infection due to Nocardia spp. varies widely. The law sensitivity of direct microscopy and the slow growth of the organism challenge the laboratory diagnosis. We present the case of a skin abscess in an immunocompetent man caused by Nocardia brasiliensis. Diagnosis was made by cultivation and 16S rRNA sequencing. Using indirect immunofluorescence and Western blot, a strong antibody response to the N. brasiliensis isolate could be demonstrated. Serological tests might therefore be useful for the diagnosis and management of nocardial infections, copyright (R) 2000 S. Karger AG, Basel

Detection of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in sputum samples by modified fluorescent in situ hybridization

Pseudomonas aeruginosa is the most common and dominant infectious agent that causes chronic pneumonia in patients with cystic fibrosis (CF). Fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) is a powerful molecular method for the specific and rapid diagnosis of bacteria, including the detection of P. aeruginosa in sputum samples from CF patients. High background fluorescence of viscous sputum samples obtained from CF patients may impede detection of microorganisms by FISH. The aim of this study was to test the application of biotin during FISH technique to reduce unspecific background fluorescence in sputum samples to facilitate and improve detection of P. aeruginosa. Sixty-three sputum samples from CF patients were tested by FISH to detect P. aeruginosa. All the 63 samples were also examined by a modified FISH procedure including biotin treatment. The FISH results were compared with those of conventional culture method. The specificity of FISH was 100%. The sensitivity of FISH for detection of P. aeruginosa from samples without biotin treatment was 83.3%, whereas in biotin-treated samples was 88.1%. Biotin reduced background fluorescence of 12 sputum samples of CF patients and it did not show any adverse effect on FISH results of the remaining sputum samples. Therefore, using of biotin in FISH procedure seems to facilitate and improve the detection of respiratory tract infections by P. aeruginosa in this population

Alteration of the subducting oceanic lithosphere at the southern central Chile trench-outer rise

Hydrothermal circulation and brittle faulting processes affecting the oceanic lithosphere are usually confined to the upper crust for oceanic lithosphere created at intermediate to fast spreading rates. Lower crust and mantle rocks are therefore relatively dry and undeformed. However, recent studies at subduction zones suggest that hydration of the oceanic plate is most vigorous at the trench–outer rise, where extensional bending-related faulting affects the hydrogeology of the oceanic crust and mantle. To understand the degree of hydration, we studied the seismic velocity structure of the incoming Nazca plate offshore of southern central Chile (∼43°S); here the deep-sea trench is heavily filled with up to 2 km of sediments. Seismic refraction and wide-angle data, complemented by seismic reflection imaging of sediments, are used to derive a two-dimensional velocity model using joint refraction and reflection traveltime tomography. The seismic profile runs perpendicular to the spreading ridge and trench axes. The velocity model derived from the tomography inversion consists of a ∼5.3-km-thick oceanic crust and shows P wave velocities typical for mature fast spreading crust in the seaward section of the profile, with uppermost mantle velocities as fast as ∼8.3 km/s. Approaching the Chile trench, seismic velocities are significantly reduced, however, suggesting that the structures of both the oceanic crust and uppermost mantle have been altered, possibly due to a certain degree of fracturing and hydration. The decrease of the velocities roughly starts at the outer rise, ∼120 km from the deformation front, and continues into the trench. Even though the trench is filled with sediment, basement outcrops in the outer rise frequently pierce the sedimentary blanket. Anomalously low heat flow values near outcropping basement highs indicate an efficient inflow of cold seawater into the oceanic crust. Hydration and crustal cracks activated by extensional bending-related faulting are suggested to govern the reduced velocities in the vicinity of the trench. Considering typical flow distances of 50 km, water might be redistributed over most of the trench–outer rise area. Where trapped in faults, seawater may migrate down to mantle depth, causing up to ∼9% of serpentinization in at least the uppermost ∼2 km of the mantle between the outer rise and the trench axis