Abstract. [Purpose] Driving is a complex activity involving cognitive and motor skills. It is an essential component of daily life for older adults. However, aging may decrease a driver's psychomotor performance and increase the risk of traffic accidents. Driving reaction time (DRT) requires visuo-motor coordination and fast DRTS are needed to cope with unexpected conditions or traffic lights. The purpose of the current study was to compare the DRT of elderly drivers and young drivers using a tri-axial accelerometer and a foot switch.[Methods] Twenty-four subjects (younger=12, elderly=12) participated in this study. DRT was measured with a tri-axial accelerometer and foot switch. DRT was classified by initiation and termination as on or off according to contact with the brake pedal during the brake pedal task.[Results] The ANOVA model for accelerometer-DRT yielded significant main effects for phase, but not for axis. Termination was delayed significantly more than initiation. The elderly group showed significantly more delay than the younger group. In the elderly group, termination was delayed more than initiation, but there was no difference in delay between initiation and termination in the young group . In foot switch-DRT, termination was delayed much more than initiation in both groups (p<0.05). The elderly group showed significantly more delay than the young group. [Conclusion] We suggest that the driving ability of elderly drivers can be assessed with reasonable accuracy using accelerometer-DRT, which minimizes the expense and risk associated with on-road assessments of this population.

Historical innovations in mechanical thrombectomy devices and strategies for ischemic stroke have resulted in improved angiographic outcomes and better clinical outcomes. Various devices have been used, but the two most common approaches are aspiration thrombectomy and stent-retrieval thrombectomy. Aspiration thrombectomy has advanced from the traditional Penumbra system to forced arterial suction thrombectomy and a direct aspiration first-pass technique. Newer generation aspiration catheters with flexible distal tips and a larger bore have demonstrated faster and better recanalization relative to older devices. Recently, several species of distal access catheters have similar structural characteristics to the Penumbra reperfusion catheter. Therefore, we used the distal access catheter for forced arterial suction thrombectomy in three patients with acute ischemic stroke. In each case, we achieved fast and complete recanalization without significant complications. Forced arterial suction thrombectomy using a distal access catheter might provide another option for mechanical thrombectomy in patients with acute ischemic stroke.

No abstract

Inflammation in rheumatoid arthritis is characterized by immune cell infiltration and cytokine secretion. In particular, mast cells and their cytokines play an important role in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis. Korean medicine, BaekJeol-Tang (BT) was designed by traditional Korean medicine theory. We already reported therapeutic effect of BT in rheumatoid arthritis. Here, we report the specific underlying mechanism of BT in activated human mast cells, HMC-1 cells. In addition, we report for the first time that BT significantly inhibited the production and mRNA expression of proinflammatory cytokines including thymic stromal lymphopoietin, interleukin (IL)-1β, IL-6, IL-8, and tumor necrosis factor-α in activated HMC-1 cells. BT also decreased the activation of mitogen-activated protein kinases, nuclear factor-κB, and caspapase-1. Taken together, these results indicate that BT has potential as a regulator of inflammatory reactions for the treatment of arthritis such as osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis.

Recently, the market for portable instruments has been increasing markedly. If a very small optical disc drive can be realized, it is expected that a new market for memories will be created, because the running cost of an optical disc is very low. The main issues in such realization are miniaturization of a loading mechanism with a disc cartridge and recording density growth. In this paper, we propose a miniaturized optical pickup and mechanism that realizes a 5-mm-high drive usable with a cartridge disc. An optical axis shift using a prism pair is introduced for using conventional optical parts. A plano-concave lens and a hologram lens are used to compensate for achromatic aberration. Finally, signals reproduced by the miniaturized pickup are showed. Data-to-clock jitter was 6.3% for Blu-ray Disc (BD) storage density.