Evaluative judgments were related to a neural network discussed i

Evaluative judgments were related to a neural network discussed in the context of self-referential processing and theory of mind. More precisely, the neural network consisted of frontomedian regions, the temporal pole, and the posterior superior temporal gyrus and sulcus/angular

gyrus. Patients showed higher activations in this network and the inferior frontal gyrus, whereas healthy control subjects activated more dopaminergic structures, namely the ventral tegmental area, during evaluative judgments. One possible interpretation of the data is that deficits in the ventral tegmental area, and consequently the mesocorticolimbic projection system, have to be compensated for by higher brain activations in the frontomedian and anterior cingulate cortex in patients with diffuse axonal injury. In conclusion, our AZD0530 mouse study supports the hypothesis that traumatic brain injury is characterized by frontomedian dysfunctions, which may be responsible for clinical deficits in the long-term and which might be modified by rehabilitative strategies check details in the future. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.”
“Background Streptococcus

pneumoniae is a leading cause of bacterial pneumonia, meningitis, and sepsis in children worldwide. However, many countries lack national estimates of disease burden. Effective interventions are available, including pneumococcal conjugate vaccine and case management. To support local and global policy decisions on pneumococcal disease prevention and treatment, we estimated country-specific incidence of serious cases and deaths in children younger than

5 years.

Methods We measured the burden of pneumococcal pneumonia by applying the proportion of pneumonia cases caused by S pneumoniae derived from efficacy estimates from vaccine trials to WHO country-specific estimates of all-cause pneumonia cases and deaths. We also estimated burden of meningitis and non-pneumonia, non-meningitis invasive disease using disease incidence and case-fatality data from a systematic literature review. When high-quality data were available from a country, these were used for national estimates. Otherwise, estimates were based on data from neighbouring countries with similar child mortality. Estimates why were adjusted for HIV prevalence and access to care and, when applicable, use of vaccine against Haemophilus influenzae type b.

Findings In 2000, about 14.5 million episodes of serious pneumococcal disease (uncertainty range 11.1-18.0 million) were estimated to occur. Pneumococcal disease caused about 826 000 deaths (582 000-926 000) in children aged 1-59 months, of which 91 000 (63 000-102 000) were in HIV-positive and 735000 (519 000-825 000) in HIV-negative children. Of the deaths in HIV-negative children, over 61% (449 000 [316 000-501 000]) occurred in ten African and Asian countries.

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