Wie Unternehmen des Baugewerbes die Corona-Krise bewerten

Die wirtschaftliche Situation der Unternehmen stellt sich im Baugewerbe besser dar als in den anderen Industrien. Gleichzeitig haben die Unternehmen des Baugewerbes weniger staatliche Maßnahmen in Anspruch genommen. Zur Kompensation der Mehrbelastung greifen die meisten von ihnen auf eine Reduktion von Löhnen und Boni zurück. Innerhalb des Baugewerbes werden zwischen Ausbau- und Bauhauptgewerbe starke Unterschiede in der krisenbedingten Belastung deutlich. Dies betrifft die Erwartungen zur Umsatzentwicklung sowie die Inanspruchnahme staatlicher Maßnahmen

Improved Diagnostics by Assessing the Micromorphology of Breast Calcifications via X-Ray Dark-Field Radiography

Breast microcalcifications play an essential role in the detection and evaluation of early breast cancer in clinical diagnostics. However, in digital mammography, microcalcifications are merely graded with respect to their global appearance within the mammogram, while their interior microstructure remains spatially unresolved and therefore not considered in cancer risk stratification. In this article, we exploit the sub-pixel resolution sensitivity of X-ray dark-field contrast for clinical microcalcification assessment. We demonstrate that the micromorphology, rather than chemical composition of microcalcification clusters (as hypothesised by recent literature), determines their absorption and small-angle scattering characteristics. We show that a quantitative classification of the inherent microstructure as ultra-fine, fine, pleomorphic and coarse textured is possible. Insights underlying the micromorphological nature of breast calcifications are verified by comprehensive high-resolution micro-CT measurements. We test the determined microtexture of microcalcifications as an indicator for malignancy and demonstrate its potential to improve breast cancer diagnosis, by providing a non-invasive tool for sub-resolution microcalcification assessment. Our results indicate that dark-field imaging of microcalcifications may enhance the diagnostic validity of current microcalcification analysis and reduce the number of invasive procedures

Improved Diagnostics by Assessing the Micromorphology of Breast Calcifications via X-Ray Dark-Field Radiography

Breast microcalcifications play an essential role in the detection and evaluation of early breast cancer in clinical diagnostics. However, in digital mammography, microcalcifications are merely graded with respect to their global appearance within the mammogram, while their interior microstructure remains spatially unresolved and therefore not considered in cancer risk stratification. In this article, we exploit the sub-pixel resolution sensitivity of X-ray dark-field contrast for clinical microcalcification assessment. We demonstrate that the micromorphology, rather than chemical composition of microcalcification clusters (as hypothesised by recent literature), determines their absorption and small-angle scattering characteristics. We show that a quantitative classification of the inherent microstructure as ultra-fine, fine, pleomorphic and coarse textured is possible. Insights underlying the micromorphological nature of breast calcifications are verified by comprehensive high-resolution micro-CT measurements. We test the determined microtexture of microcalcifications as an indicator for malignancy and demonstrate its potential to improve breast cancer diagnosis, by providing a non-invasive tool for sub-resolution microcalcification assessment. Our results indicate that dark-field imaging of microcalcifications may enhance the diagnostic validity of current microcalcification analysis and reduce the number of invasive procedures

Gene Circuit Analysis of the Terminal Gap Gene huckebein

The early embryo of Drosophila melanogaster provides a powerful model system to study the role of genes in pattern formation. The gap gene network constitutes the first zygotic regulatory tier in the hierarchy of the segmentation genes involved in specifying the position of body segments. Here, we use an integrative, systems-level approach to investigate the regulatory effect of the terminal gap gene huckebein (hkb) on gap gene expression. We present quantitative expression data for the Hkb protein, which enable us to include hkb in gap gene circuit models. Gap gene circuits are mathematical models of gene networks used as computational tools to extract regulatory information from spatial expression data. This is achieved by fitting the model to gap gene expression patterns, in order to obtain estimates for regulatory parameters which predict a specific network topology. We show how considering variability in the data combined with analysis of parameter determinability significantly improves the biological relevance and consistency of the approach. Our models are in agreement with earlier results, which they extend in two important respects: First, we show that Hkb is involved in the regulation of the posterior hunchback (hb) domain, but does not have any other essential function. Specifically, Hkb is required for the anterior shift in the posterior border of this domain, which is now reproduced correctly in our models. Second, gap gene circuits presented here are able to reproduce mutants of terminal gap genes, while previously published models were unable to reproduce any null mutants correctly. As a consequence, our models now capture the expression dynamics of all posterior gap genes and some variational properties of the system correctly. This is an important step towards a better, quantitative understanding of the developmental and evolutionary dynamics of the gap gene network

Effectiveness of medication in cluster headache

Background!#!The aim of this work is to analyze the reports on cluster headache attacks collected online in the citizen science project CLUE with respect to the effectiveness of drugs taken during the attacks. The collection of data within the framework of citizen science projects opens up the possibility of investigating the effectiveness of acute medication on the basis of a large number of individual attacks instead of a simple survey of patients.!##!Methods!#!Data from 8369 cluster headache attacks, containing information about acute medication taken and the assessment of its effect, were collected from 133 participants using an online platform and a smartphone app. Chi-square tests were used to investigate whether the effect of the three recommended acute drugs differs when distinguishing between participants with chronic or episodic cluster headache. Furthermore, it was investigated whether there are differences between smokers and non-smokers in the assessment of the effect of the acute medication.!##!Results!#!Our participants rated the effectiveness of sumatriptan 6 mg s.c. as significantly better than oxygen and zolmitriptan nasal spray. Oxygen is considered to be significantly better in episodic versus chronic cluster headache, and sumatriptan is considered to be significantly better in chronic versus episodic cluster headache. Smokers rate the effect of oxygen as significantly better than non-smokers.!##!Conclusions!#!Despite some methodological limitations, web-based data collection is able to support findings from clinical trials in a real world setting about effectiveness of acute cluster headache treatment in several situations