ELECTROMYOGRAPHIC ANALYSIS OF TAI CHI CHUAN: A PILOT STUDY

This investigation determined the electromyographical characteristic of the Tai Chi Chuan. An experienced Tai Chi Chuan Master was asked to perform the basic movements of Ward off, Roll Back, Press and Push. Both “gentle practising mode” and “strenuous defense mode” were performed. The Push movement was used for data analysis. The results revealed that the large muscle groups of the entire body were activated during Tai Chi Chuan. In most of the time, the work of muscles was quite low in both modes. However, it could generate a peak electromyographic activity as high as the fourth times of the maximal voluntary contraction in the ”strenuous defense mode”. It’s ability for defense combat shouldn’t be neglected. The results also demonstrated that Tai Chi Chuan involves the work of muscles of the trunk and the lower limbs greater than the upper limbs

Complete response to FOLFOX4 therapy in a patient with advanced urothelial cancer: a case report

No standard has been established for salvage therapy in gemcitabine refractory advanced urothelial cancer. We report the complete response to FOLFOX4 therapy of a metastatic urothelial cancer patient, for whom adjuvant gemcitabine plus cisplatin combination chemotherapy had failed. A 54-year-old male patient with urothelial cancer (transitional cell carcinoma) in the right kidney underwent three rounds of adjuvant gemcitabine-cisplatin chemotherapy after extensive radical nephrectomy. However, he had new liver, lung metastases and synchronous two separate primary colon cancer. The lung metastasis lesion was confirmed as a metastatic urothelial cancer via percutaneous transthoracic needle biopsy (PTNB). Liver and lung metastasis lesions disappeared after the 4th cycle of FOLFOX4 chemotherapy. In addition, colon cancer also disappeared after the 8th cycle of FOLFOX4 chemotherapy. The patient was still showing a complete response after 4 months. Clinical trials using the FOLFOX regimen as salvage therapy for gemcitabine-refractory advanced urothelial cancer are warranted

The Occurrence and Speed of CMEs Related to Two Characteristic Evolution Patterns of Helicity Injection in Their Solar Source Regions

Long-term (a few days) variation of magnetic helicity injection was calculated for 28 solar active regions which produced 47 CMEs to find its relationships with the CME occurrence and speed using SOHO/MDI line-of-sight magnetograms. As a result, we found that the 47 CMEs can be categorized into two different groups by two characteristic evolution patterns of helicity injection in their source active regions which appeared for about 0.5-4.5 days before their occurrence: (1) a monotonically increasing pattern with one sign of helicity (Group A; 30 CMEs in 23 active regions) and (2) a pattern of significant helicity injection followed by its sign reversal (Group B; 17 CMEs in 5 active regions). We also found that CME speed has a correlation with average helicity injection rate with linear correlation coefficients of 0.85 and 0.63 for Group A and Group B, respectively. In addition, these two CME groups show different characteristics as follows: (1) the average CME speed of Group B (1330km/s) is much faster than that of Group A (870km/s), (2) the CMEs in Group A tend to be single events, whereas those in Group B mainly consist of successive events, and (3) flares related to the CMEs in Group B are relatively more energetic and impulsive than those in Group A. Our findings therefore suggest that the two CME groups have different pre-CME conditions in their source active regions and different CME characteristics.Comment: 25 pages, 7 figures, accepted for publication in Ap

Aseptic Meningitis in Kikuchi's Disease

The involvement of the nervous system in Kikuchi's disease (KD) is rare. Although some reports of meningeal involvement in KD were described in the literature from Japan, it has rarely been reported in Korea. A 23-year-old man presented with severe headache, fever, and vomiting. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis revealed an opening pressure 300 mmH2O, WBC 283/mm3, glucose 44 mg/dl and protein 86 mg/dl. Multiple tender lymph nodes on the left anterior neck were found on the 9th day of his hospital stay. The lymph node biopsy disclosed histopathologic features typical of KD. We report a patient with KD accompanied by aseptic meningitis, emphasizing the importance of recognizing this disorder in diagnosing patients with meningitis

Attenuated Age-Related Thinning of Peripapillary Retinal Nerve Fiber Layer in Long Eyes

PURPOSE: To assess the impact of axial length on the age-related peripapillary retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thinning. METHODS: This cross-sectional observational comparative case series included 172 eyes from 172 healthy Korean subjects. Peripapillary RNFL thickness was measured using an Optic Disc Cube 200 x 200 scan of spectral domain Cirrus HD OCT and the axial length was measured using IOL Master Advanced Technology. In age groups based on decade, the normal ranges of peripapillary RNFL thickness for average, quadrant, and clock-hour sectors were determined with 95% confidence intervals. After dividing the eyes into two groups according to axial length (cut-off, 24.50 mm), the degrees of age-related RNFL thinning were compared. RESULTS: Among the eyes included in the study, 53 (30.81%) were considered to be long eyes (axial length, 25.04 +/- 0.48 microm) and 119 (69.19%) were short-to-normal length eyes (axial length, 23.57 +/- 0.60 microm). The decrease in average RNFL thickness with age was less in long eyes (negative slope, -0.12 microm/yr) than in short-to-normal length eyes (negative slope, -0.32 microm/yr) (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: Age-related thinning of peripapillary RNFL thickness is attenuated in long eyes compared to short-to-normal length eyes.ope

Prevalence and Characteristics of Glaucoma among Korean Adults

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence and characteristics of glaucoma in the population of the rural Korean town, Sangju. METHODS: Residents of Sangju aged greater than 50 years old were included in this study. Participants completed an interview examining their medical and ophthalmic history Information was collected on the participants' uncorrected and best corrected vision scores, slit lamp examination results, angle width measurements using the Van Herick technique, gonioscopy if the angle width was less than 1 / 4 angle, intraocular pressure (IOP) assessed with the Goldmann applanation tonometry, optic disc examination results, and a visual field test results using frequency-doubling perimetry in cases in which glaucoma was suspected. Glaucoma was diagnosed according to the criteria described by the International Society for Geographic and Epidemiological Ophthalmology. RESULTS: 1,118 residents aged greater than 50 years were examined initially from a population of 2,984 people. Of these, 671 subjects (60%) participated in this study. The prevalence of glaucoma was determined to be 3.4% (95% confidence interval [CI], 2.1-4.8). Open-angle glaucoma with low IOP was determined to be the most common form with a prevalence rate as high as 2.5% (95% CI, 1.8-3.7). Additionally, primary angle closure glaucoma was determined to have a prevalence rate of 0.3% (95% CI, 0.1-0.9). Open-angle glaucoma with low IOP accounted for 94.4% of the open-angle glaucoma cases. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of glaucoma among the population of rural Sangju was 3.4%, and open-angle glaucoma with low IOP was the most common form accounting for 94.4% of the total number of cases.ope