Von Kundenorientierung über Festigung der Marktposition zum Unternehmenserfolg

Die vorliegende Arbeit beschäftigt sich mit der Kundenzufriedenheit, deren kurzfristigen und direkten Auswirkungen und deren indirekten Einflüsse auf die Marktposition und den Gewinn eines Unternehmens. Im ersten Teil der Arbeit werden die theoretischen Aspekte beleuchtet. Das Hauptaugenmerk liegt auf den beiden Themen Wettbewerb und Konkurrenz und der Kundenorientierung eines Unternehmens. Beide Aspekte sind für den wirtschaftlichen Erfolg äußerst maßgeblich und genau deswegen wird die Beschäftigung mit diesen Themen jedem Unternehmen nahegelegt. Der zweite Teil der Arbeit beschäftigt sich mit der empirischen Analyse, deren Ziel es ist den Einfluss von Kundenzufriedenheit und ihren Auswirkungen auf die Marktsituation eines Unternehmens am Beispiel der Kaffeehausgastronomie zu testen. Das getestete Modell zeigt interessante Ergebnisse. Es konnte bestätigt werden, dass sich die Kundenzufriedenheit auf alle getesteten Faktoren bis auf die Preissensibilität stark und signifikant auswirkt. Dieses Ergebnis bedeutet, dass ein zufriedener Kunde nicht automatisch bereit ist mehr für die Leistung zu bezahlen. Insgesamt betrachtet stellt sich heraus, dass das getestete Modell besser für Franchiseketten geeignet ist, während vermutlich bei den Wiener Kaffeehäusern andere Faktoren ausschlaggebend für die Kundenwahrnehmung sind. Es wird in der empirischen Studie auch bestätigt, dass die Wiener Kaffeehäuser nicht unter der Konkurrenz von neuen Franchiseketten zu leiden scheinen. Weitergehende Studien könnten das aufgestellte Modell auf andere Branchen ausdehnen um eine allgemein gültige Aussage treffen zu können oder sich mit den Indikatoren der Performance eines Unternehmens wie dem Umsatz und dem Gewinn beschäftigen. Erst dann wird nämlich der gesamte Einfluss von Kundenzufriedenheit deutlich gemacht und das theoretische Modell, welches dieser Arbeit als Ausgangspunkt zugrunde lag, könnte auf seine praktische Relevanz hin getestet werden

Molecular epidemiology of non-viral sexually transmitted infections in the central Alpine province of Bolzano, northern Italy from April 2016 to March 2017

Chlamydia trachomatis, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Trichomonas vaginalis, Ureaplasma parvum, Ureaplasma urealyticum, Mycoplasma hominis and Mycoplasma genitalium are established or presumed as (??) STI pathogens. The present study aims at ng describing the one-year molecular epidemiology of these seven pathogens in the Province of Bolzano, Northern Italy. From April 2016 to March 2017, a total of 2,949 patients, mainly females, were enrolled and 3,427 urine, vaginal, endocervical and/or urethral samples were subjected to simultaneous analysis of the seven pathogens by means of Real Time Polymerase Chain Reaction (AnyplexTM II STI-7 Detection Kit Seegene, Seoul, Korea). At least one of the seven microorganisms was detected in 40.7% of patients, with an uneven distribution: 43.1% in females (F) and 29.8% (p<0.001) in males (M). The prevalence of microorganisms was as follows: 30.3% U. parvum (F: 35.6%, M: 8.3%), 6.9% U. urealyticum (F: 6.8%, M: 7.0%), 4.9% M. hominis (F: 5.4%, M: 2.3%), 4.9% C. trachomatis (F: 3.4%, M: 11.4%), 1.1% M. genitalium (F: 1.0%, M: 1.2%), 1.2% N. gonorrhoeae (F: 0.17%, M: 5.6%) and 0.40% T. vaginalis (F: 0.38%, M: 0.53%). Mixed infections were detected in 7.4% of patients. The highest prevalence was observed for U. parvum, followed by U. urealyticum and M. hominis and a significant presence of multi-pathogen infections was registered

Distinct Roles for Intra- and Extracellular Siderophores during Aspergillus fumigatus Infection

Siderophore biosynthesis by the highly lethal mould Aspergillus fumigatus is essential for virulence, but non-existent in humans, presenting a rare opportunity to strategize therapeutically against this pathogen. We have previously demonstrated that A. fumigatus excretes fusarinine C and triacetylfusarinine C to capture extracellular iron, and uses ferricrocin for hyphal iron storage. Here, we delineate pathways of intra- and extracellular siderophore biosynthesis and show that A. fumigatus synthesizes a developmentally regulated fourth siderophore, termed hydroxyferricrocin, employed for conidial iron storage. By inactivation of the nonribosomal peptide synthetase SidC, we demonstrate that the intracellular siderophores are required for germ tube formation, asexual sporulation, resistance to oxidative stress, catalase A activity, and virulence. Restoration of the conidial hydroxyferricrocin content partially rescues the virulence of the apathogenic siderophore null mutant ΔsidA, demonstrating an important role for the conidial siderophore during initiation of infection. Abrogation of extracellular siderophore biosynthesis following inactivation of the acyl transferase SidF or the nonribosomal peptide synthetase SidD leads to complete dependence upon reductive iron assimilation for growth under iron-limiting conditions, partial sensitivity to oxidative stress, and significantly reduced virulence, despite normal germ tube formation. Our findings reveal distinct cellular and disease-related roles for intra- and extracellular siderophores during mammalian Aspergillus infection

DNA barcode reference libraries for the monitoring of aquatic biota in Europe: Gap-analysis and recommendations for future work

Effective identification of species using short DNA fragments (DNA barcoding and DNA metabarcoding) requires reliable sequence reference libraries of known taxa. Both taxonomically comprehensive coverage and content quality are important for sufficient accuracy. For aquatic ecosystems in Europe, reliable barcode reference libraries are particularly important if molecular identification tools are to be implemented in biomonitoring and reports in the context of the EU Water Framework Directive (WFD) and the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD). We analysed gaps in the two most important reference databases, Barcode of Life Data Systems (BOLD) and NCBI GenBank, with a focus on the taxa most frequently used in WFD and MSFD. Our analyses show that coverage varies strongly among taxonomic groups, and among geographic regions. In general, groups that were actively targeted in barcode projects (e.g. fish, true bugs, caddisflies and vascular plants) are well represented in the barcode libraries, while others have fewer records (e.g. marine molluscs, ascidians, and freshwater diatoms). We also found that species monitored in several countries often are represented by barcodes in reference libraries, while species monitored in a single country frequently lack sequence records. A large proportion of species (up to 50%) in several taxonomic groups are only represented by private data in BOLD. Our results have implications for the future strategy to fill existing gaps in barcode libraries, especially if DNA metabarcoding is to be used in the monitoring of European aquatic biota under the WFD and MSFD. For example, missing species relevant to monitoring in multiple countries should be prioritized for future collaborative programs. We also discuss why a strategy for quality control and quality assurance of barcode reference libraries is needed and recommend future steps to ensure full utilisation of metabarcoding in aquatic biomonitoring.This paper is a deliverable of the European Cooperation in Science and Technology (COST) Action DNAqua-Net (CA15219) Working Group 1, led by Torbjørn Ekrem and Fedor Čiampor. Thanks to the University of Minho and University of Pécs for hosting workshops and working group meetings. We also thank staff at National Environment Agencies and others that provided national checklists of taxa used in biomonitoring, and otherwise assisted with checklist proof-reading: Jarmila Makovinská and Emília Mišíková Elexová (Slovakia); Steinar Sandøy and Dag Rosland (Norway); Mišel Jelič (Croatia); Marlen Vasquez (Cyprus); Adam Petrusek (Czech Republic); Kristel Panksep (Estonia); Panagiotis Kaspiditis (Greece); Matteo Montagna (Italy); Marija Katarzyte (Lithuania); Ana Rotter (Slovenia); Rosa Trabajo (Spain); Florian Altermatt (Switzerland); Kristian Meissner (Finland), Rigers Bakiu (Albania), Valentina Stamenkovic and Jelena Hinic (Macedonia); Patricia Mergen (Belgium); Gael Denys & the French Biodiversity Agency (France); Mary Kelly-Quinn (Ireland); Piotr Panek and Andrzej Zawal (Poland); Cesare Mario Puzzi (Italy); Carole Fitzpatrick (United Kingdom); Simon Vitecek (Austria); Ana Filipa Filipe (Portugal); Peter Anton Stæhr & Anne Winding (Denmark); Michael Monaghan (Germany); Alain Dohet, Lionel L'Hoste, Nora Welschbillig & Luc Ector (Luxembourg), Lujza Keresztes, (Romania). The authors also want to thank Dirk Steinke for providing the original European ERMS list for marine taxa and Florian Malard for comments on the manuscript. The preparation of the AMBI checklist was carried out in the scope of a Short-term Scientific Mission (ECOST-STSM-CA15219-150217- 082111) granted to SD visiting AZTI, Spain. ZC was supported by grants EFOP-3.6.1.-16-2016-00004 and 20765-3/2018/FEKUTSTRAT. TE was supported by the NorBOL-grant (226134/F50) from the Research Coun cil of Norway. BR, FL and MFG contributed through support from the GBOL project, which is generously funded by the German Federal Min istry of Education and Research (FKZ 01LI1101 and 01LI1501). MG contributed through support of the Polish National Science Centre, grants N N303 5794 39 and 2014/15/B/NZ8/00266. SF was funded by the project PORBIOTA - Portuguese E-Infrastructure for Information and Research on Biodiversity (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-022127), supported by Operational Thematic Program for Competitiveness and Internationalization (POCI), under the PORTUGAL 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund (FEDER)

The CCAAT-binding complex coordinates the oxidative stress response in eukaryotes

The heterotrimeric CCAAT-binding complex is evolutionary conserved in eukaryotic organisms. The corresponding Aspergillus nidulans CCAAT- binding factor (AnCF) consists of the subunits HapB, HapC and HapE. All of the three subunits are necessary for DNA binding. Here, we demonstrate that AnCF senses the redox status of the cell via oxidative modification of thiol groups within the histone fold motif of HapC. Mutational and in vitro interaction analyses revealed that two of these cysteine residues are indispensable for stable HapC/HapE subcomplex formation and high-affinity DNA binding of AnCF. Oxidized HapC is unable to participate in AnCF assembly and localizes in the cytoplasm, but can be recycled by the thioredoxin system in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, deletion of the hapC gene led to an impaired oxidative stress response. Therefore, the central transcription factor AnCF is regulated at the post-transcriptional level by the redox status of the cell serving for a coordinated activation and deactivation of antioxidative defense mechanisms including the specific transcriptional activator NapA, production of enzymes such as catalase, thioredoxin or peroxiredoxin, and maintenance of a distinct glutathione homeostasis. The underlying fine-tuned mechanism very likely represents a general feature of the CCAAT-binding complexes in eukaryotes

Regulation of Petrobactin and Bacillibactin Biosynthesis in Bacillus anthracis under Iron and Oxygen Variation

siderophore biosynthetic operons that are responsible for synthesis of petrobactin and bacillibactin, during variable growth conditions., a member of the bacillibactin biosynthetic operon, was only transcribed under conditions of iron-depletion, regardless of growth aeration.