The lack of a universally applicable definition of terrorism has confounded the understanding of terrorism since the term was first coined in 18th Century France. Although a myriad of definitions of terrorism have been advanced over the years, virtually all of these definitions have been crisis-centered, frequently reflecting the political perspectives of those who seek to define it.In this article, we deconstruct these previously used definitions of terrorism in order to reconstruct a definition of terrorism that is consequence-centered, medically relevant, and universally harmonized. A universal medical and public health definition of terrorism will facilitate clinical and scientific research, education, and communication about terrorism-related events or disasters.We propose the following universal medical and public definition of terrorism: The intentional use of violence — real or threatened — against one or more non-combatants and/or those services essential for or protective of their health, resulting in adverse health effects in those immediately affected and their community, ranging from a loss of well-being or security to injury, illness, or death.

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ST239 and ST5 were the predominant MRSA clones in the study hospital. Risk factors were significantly different between ST239 and ST5 strains. The results of this study will be of use in designing larger prospective epidemiological studies for MRSA infection based on clonal types.

The immediate-type allergic reaction is involved in many allergic diseases such as asthma, allergic rhinitis, and sinusitis. The discovery of drugs for the treatment of immediate-type allergic disease is a very important subject in human health. The formulated ethanol extract of Artemisia asiatica Nakai (DA-9601) has been reported to have antioxidative and anti-inflammatory activities. In this report, we investigated the effect of DA-9601 on the immediatetype allergic reaction and studied its possible mechanisms of action, focusing on the mast cell-mediated allergic reaction. DA-9601 inhibited compound 48/80-induced systemic anaphylactic reactions and serum histamine release in mice. DA-9601 decreased the IgE-mediated passive cutaneous anaphylaxis, the model of local allergic reaction in vivo. DA-9601 dose-dependently reduced histamine release from mast cells activated by compound 48/80 or IgE. Furthermore, DA-9601 decreased the gene expression and production of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α in phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate plus A23187-stimulated mast cells. These findings provide evidence that DA-9601 could be a candidate as an anti-allergic agent.

initiated a pilot project to admit small number of qualified students who received BS degree or above in the field of sciences in 1996. This study was conducted to evaluate effectiveness of the pilot project.Methods: Students' academic grades, outcome of their opinion surveys on adaptability to the school life, difficulties and problems from the classes of 1996 to 2001 were analyzed.Results: A total of 57 students were admitted to this program over the past 7-year period, 54.8% of them from natural science major and 36.8% from engineering. Students admitted with BS degree were performing above average in the class by % rank. There was no significant difference in academic performance between the natural science and the engineering major. Of 20 graduated, only one took career in basic medical science (physiology). The students thought undergraduate education was helpful in maturing personal characters than in knowledge or skill attainment. Conclusion:The achievement of medical students admitted after baccalaureate level was comparable to that of students with two years of premedical education.