Danube University Krems

About: Danube University Krems is a education organization based out in Krems, Niederösterreich, Austria. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Stroke & Population. The organization has 498 authors who have published 1572 publications receiving 68797 citations.

Early Dynamics of Plasma Dna in a Mouse Model of Sepsis.

Abstract: Concentration of extracellular DNA (ecDNA) in plasma of septic patients is higher in comparison to healthy controls and is associated with worse prognosis in intensive care patients. Decrease of ecDNA in plasma by treatment with deoxyribonuclease (DNase) showed to have beneficial effects in animal models of sepsis. A previously published study showed that timing of DNase application is crucial for the effect of DNase. No published study monitored plasma ecDNA dynamics during sepsis in detail yet. The aim of our study was to describe the early dynamics of plasma ecDNA but also plasma DNase activity in a mouse model of sepsis. Sepsis was induced using intraperitoneal injection of E. coli and mice were euthanized every hour to obtain sufficient volume of plasma. Our results show that the concentration of plasma ecDNA is rising continuously during the first 5 h after infection and is 20-fold higher 5 h after induction of sepsis in comparison to control mice. Subcellular origin of plasma ecDNA was analyzed but fundamental differences in dynamics between nuclear and mitochondrial ecDNA were not found. DNase activity in plasma seems to rise slowly until the fourth hour, but the interindividual variability is high. In conclusion, this is the first study that describes the dynamics of plasma ecDNA and DNase activity in early sepsis in detail. Our study is the basis for further studies focused on the timing of exogenous DNase treatment in sepsis. Additional studies will be needed to monitor plasma ecDNA in later time points that are more clinically relevant.

On clock synchronization over wireless LAN using timing advertisement mechanism and TSF timers

Abstract: The most recent version of the IEEE 802.11 standard, 802.11-2012 has extended the means of clock synchronization for wireless LANs. One of the mechanisms in the standard is called timing advertisement (TA). It involves calculating and maintaining the time offset with respect to the timing synchronization function (TSF) timer of the access point (AP). In the wireless stations, the TSF-based synchronization mechanism and the offset is combined to establish synchronization to an external timebase. However, such a method provides only loose synchronization unless the skew estimate between the external time source and the TSF timer of the AP is also conveyed to the nodes in the network, for which the standard provides no support. This study, in turn, provides another method, which is called SyncTSF, in which the external clocks at the AP and the nodes are synchronized to their respective TSF timers. Through analysis and measurements, it is shown that both SyncTSF and TA-based synchronization are limited by the frequency skews between the TSF timers of the AP and the nodes. Hence, for these methods to offer good synchronization accuracy, a mechanism to distribute frequency skews from the AP to the nodes should be provided.

Enabling Sophisticated Lifecycle Support for Mobile Healthcare Data Collection Applications

Abstract: The widespread dissemination of smart mobile devices enables new ways of collecting longitudinal data sets in a multitude of healthcare scenarios. On the one hand, mobile data collection can be accomplished more effectively and quicker compared with validated paper-based instruments. On the other hand, it can increase the data quality significantly and enable data collection in scenarios not covered by existing approaches so far. Previous attempts to utilize smart mobile devices for collecting data in these scenarios, however, often struggle with high costs for developing and maintaining mobile applications, which need to run on a multitude of mobile operating systems. Therefore, in the QuestionSys project, we are developing a generic (i.e., platform-independent) framework for enabling mobile data collection and sensor data integration in healthcare scenarios. The latter, in turn, is addressed by a model-driven approach, which is shown this paper along with the core components of the QuestionSys framework. In particular, it is shown how healthcare experts are empowered to create mobile data collection and sensing applications on their own and with reasonable efforts.