A Rare Mutation in SPLUNC1 Affects Bacterial Adherence and Invasion in Meningococcal Disease.

Background: Neisseria meningitidis (Nm) is a nasopharyngeal commensal carried by healthy individuals. However, invasive infections occurs in a minority of individuals, with devastating consequences. There is evidence that common polymorphisms are associated with invasive meningococcal disease (IMD), but the contributions of rare variants other than those in the complement system have not been determined.

Mortality and morbidity in community-acquired sepsis in European pediatric intensive care units: a prospective cohort study from the European Childhood Life-threatening Infectious Disease Study (EUCLIDS).

Background: Sepsis is one of the main reasons for non-elective admission to pediatric intensive care units (PICUs), but little is known about determinants influencing outcome. We characterized children admitted with community-acquired sepsis to European PICUs and studied risk factors for mortality and disability.

Methods: Data were collected within the collaborative Seventh Framework Programme (FP7)-funded EUCLIDS study, which is a prospective multicenter cohort study aiming to evaluate genetic determinants of susceptibility and/or severity in sepsis.

Placebo Controlled Introduction of Prophylactic Supplementation of Probiotics to Decrease the Incidence of Necrotizing Enterocolitis at Dhulikhel Hospital in Nepal.

Background Although recent reports suggest that the use of probiotics may enhance intestinal functions in premature infants, the mechanisms are unclear, and open questions remain regarding the safety and its efficacy. Objective The objective of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of probiotics on prevention of necrotizing enterocolitis in preterm infants in Nepal. Method We conducted a randomized, double blind, placebo controlled study of 72 hospitalized preterm infants.

Magnetic resonance imaging and clinical findings in adults with tick-borne encephalitis.

Background: Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) is often performed for differential diagnosis, but only a few reports on the morphologic changes in TBE patients and their relation to the disease severity exist.

Methods: We retrospectively searched for all TBE patients who were admitted to the Departments of Neurology of the Medical University of Graz (Austria) and the Paracelsus Medical University of Salzburg (Austria) between 2003 and 2014. We recorded the clinical and demographic variables and rated overall disease severity as mild, moderate, severe or leading to death due to TBE.

Detection of mental imagery and attempted movements in patients with disorders of consciousness using EEG.

Further development of an EEG based communication device for patients with disorders of consciousness (DoC) could benefit from addressing the following gaps in knowledge-first, an evaluation of different types of motor imagery; second, an evaluation of passive feet movement as a mean of an initial classifier setup; and third, rapid delivery of biased feedback. To that end we investigated whether complex and/or familiar mental imagery, passive, and attempted feet movement can be reliably detected in patients with DoC using EEG recordings, aiming to provide them with a means of communication. Six patients in a minimally conscious state (MCS) took part in this study.

Evaluation of healthy EEG responses for spelling through listener-assisted scanning.

We investigated whether listener-assisted scanning, an alternative communication method for persons with severe motor and visual impairments but preserved cognitive skills, could be used for spelling with EEG. To that end spoken letters were presented sequentially, and the participants made selections by performing motor execution/imagery or a cognitive task. The motor task was a brisk dorsiflexion of both feet, and the cognitive task was related to working memory and perception of human voice.

The burden of pneumococcal meningitis in Austrian children between 2001 and 2008.

Unlabelled: The present study was conducted to evaluate the burden of pneumococcal meningitis in Austrian children between 2001 and 2008. Clinical outcome was retrospectively analyzed both on discharge and on follow-up investigations. This study was based on a prospective multicentre surveillance study on hospitalized invasive pneumococcal infections in Austrian children with a total annual "study population" of about 399,000 children aged below 5 years per year.

The auditory P300-based single-switch brain-computer interface: paradigm transition from healthy subjects to minimally conscious patients.

Objective: Within this work an auditory P300 brain-computer interface based on tone stream segregation, which allows for binary decisions, was developed and evaluated.

Methods And Materials: Two tone streams consisting of short beep tones with infrequently appearing deviant tones at random positions were used as stimuli. This paradigm was evaluated in 10 healthy subjects and applied to 12 patients in a minimally conscious state (MCS) at clinics in Graz, Würzburg, Rome, and Liège.

Brisk heart rate and EEG changes during execution and withholding of cue-paced foot motor imagery.

Cue-paced motor imagery (MI) is a frequently used mental strategy to realize a Brain-Computer Interface (BCI). Recently it has been reported that two MI tasks can be separated with a high accuracy within the first second after cue presentation onset. To investigate this phenomenon in detail we studied the dynamics of motor cortex beta oscillations in EEG and the changes in heart rate (HR) during visual cue-paced foot MI using a go (execution of imagery) vs.

A single-switch BCI based on passive and imagined movements: toward restoring communication in minimally conscious patients.

We investigate whether an electroencephalography technique could be used for yes/no communication with auditory scanning. To be usable by the target group, i.e.

The auditory p300-based SSBCI: a door to minimally conscious patients?

In this study we report on the evaluation of a novel auditory single-switch BCI in nine patients diagnosed with MCS. The task included a simple and a complex oddball paradigm, the latter uses the tone stream segregation phenomenon. In all patients a significant difference between deviant and frequent tones could be observed in EEG.

Evaluation of 36 formulas for calculating plasma osmolality.

Purpose: Measuring or calculating plasma osmolality is of interest in critical care medicine. Moreover, the osmolal gap (i.e.

About the stability of phase shifts between slow oscillations around 0.1 Hz in cardiovascular and cerebral systems.

One important feature of the baroreflex loop is its strong preference for oscillations around 0.1 Hz. In this study, we investigated heart rate intervals, arterial blood pressure (BP), and prefrontal oxyhemoglobin changes during 5 min rest and during brisk finger movements in 19 healthy subjects.

Cardiovascular responses after brisk finger movement and their dependency on the "eigenfrequency" of the baroreflex loop.

The baroreflex is mainly involved in short-term blood pressure regulation and strongly influenced by activations of medullary circulation centres in the brain stem and higher brain centres. One important feature of the baroreflex is its strong preference for oscillations around 0.1Hz, which can be seen as resonance or "eigenfrequency" (EF) of the control loop (so-called Mayer waves).

Toward a high-throughput auditory P300-based brain-computer interface.

Objective: Brain-computer interface (BCI) technology can provide severely disabled people with non-muscular communication. For those most severely disabled, limitations in eye mobility or visual acuity may necessitate auditory BCI systems. The present study investigates the efficacy of the use of six environmental sounds to operate a 6x6 P300 Speller.