During the next few years, health systems in developed societies, especially in Japan and Europe, will face increased aging of the population and increased demands on health care systems. This situation, combined with decreasing numbers of health care professionals in our area, could seriously compromise the quality of current health care (Basu, 2008). However, diagnostic and therapeutic tools ...

Despite the fact that adeno-associated virus type 2 (AAV2) is an extremely attractive gene therapy vector, its application has been limited to certain tissues such as muscle and the brain. In an attempt to broaden the array of target organs for this vector, molecular studies on the mechanism(s) of AAV transduction have expanded over the past several years. These studies have led to the developm...

The risk of occupational death is disproportionately high for emergency medical services (EMS) personnel, largely as a consequence of the high incidence of transportation-related fatalities. The purpose of this narrative review is twofold: to raise awareness in the EMS community by examining the various factors that contribute to vehicular EMS injuries and fatalities and to outline practical st...

Learning anatomy and surgical procedures requires both a conceptual understanding of three-dimensional anatomy and a hands-on manipulation of tools and tissue. Such virtual resources are not available widely, are expensive, and may be culturally disallowed. Simulation technology, using high-performance computers and graphics, permits realistic real-time display of anatomy. Haptics technology su...

The adhesive system of mussels evolved into a powerful and adaptive system with affinity to a wide range of surfaces. It is widely known that thereby 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (Dopa) plays a central role. However underlying binding energies remain unknown at the single molecular scale. Here, we use single-molecule force spectroscopy to estimate binding energies of single catechols with a large...

The descriptions of medical caring and of highly technical specialism and science utilize different vocabularies and language. Medical caring has an ancient glossary of words, gestures, and behavior which is rapidly being transformed by specialization and advances in the technology of communication. The technologic capabilities of intensive care have, for example, exceeded the human life span a...

Chinese language was usually considered difficult to learn, because of its complicated shape, different pronunciations and multiple meanings. In recent years, the amount of female spouses from Southeast Asia increased rapidly in Taiwan. To acquaint them with local society, some institutions were asked to give Chinese courses regularly. There have been some researches showed that using mobile de...

The historical development of neurology has hinged largely on keen observation and the ability of skilled clinicians to draw inferences from experience. Incremental additions to our understanding of the nervous system traditionally have emanated from two sources: the bench and the bedside. Just as technologic sophistication in basic research has evolved over the past 200 years, so too have ther...

The diagnosis of tuberculous meningitis remains an enigma despite recent technologic advances, such as computerized tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and more recently, polymerase chain reaction of the cerebrospinal fluid. We report a patient with tuberculous meningitis who, when treated with appropriate antitubercular medications, made no progress in her recovery. Approximatel...

We review the genetic risk factors for late-onset Alzheimer's disease (AD) and their role in AD pathogenesis. More recent advances in understanding of the human genome-technologic advances in methods to analyze millions of polymorphisms in thousands of subjects-have revealed new genes associated with AD risk, including ABCA7, BIN1, CASS4, CD33, CD2AP, CELF1, CLU, CR1, DSG2, EPHA1, FERMT2, HLA-D...