Knee osteoarthritis (OA) affects the quality of life (QOL) of elderly people; this study examines the demographic characteristics and QOL of patients with knee OA and identifies demographic characteristics that affect the QOL of these patients. In this cross-sectional study, 30 healthy controls and 60 patients with mild-to-moderate bilateral knee OA aged between 55 and 75 years were enrolled. All participants completed a questionnaire containing questions on 10 demographic characteristics and the Medical Outcome Study 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36), and their QOL scores in the eight dimensions of the SF-36 were evaluated. In the OA group, significant correlations were observed between monthly disposable income and physical and mental health components. Monthly disposable income was found to considerably affect the QOL of patients with bilateral knee OA (i.e., it is a crucial factor affecting these patients). The findings of this study may provide a reference for formulating preventive strategies for healthy individuals and for future confirmatory research.

Background: Knee osteoarthritis (OA) affects the quality of life (QOL) and balance control of elderly people; our study explored the balance factors that affected the QOL in patients with knee OA.Objectives: To determine the balance factors that affected the QOL of patients with knee OA who attended general clinics.Method: A total of 30 healthy controls and 60 patients with mild-to-moderate bilateral knee OA, all aged 55–75 years, were enrolled in our cross-sectional study. All participants were interviewed; the Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey was used to assess their QOL in eight dimensions, and the Balance Master System was used to evaluate their balance control according to six parameters. Descriptive statistics were used to reduce the data; an independent t-test determined differences between the two groups, and a multiple regression analysis was undertaken to establish associations between variables from the balance control test and SH36 physical and mental health components. The level of statistical significance was set at 5%.Results: In the OA group, significant negative correlations were observed between sway velocity and the physical health component (p = 0.003) and between sway velocity and the mental health component (p = 0.006). Thus, sway velocity had a major impact on the QOL of patients with knee OA.Conclusions: The sway velocity at the centre of gravity in balance control was a crucial factor for determining the QOL of patients with bilateral knee OA.Clinical implications: Sway velocity is a key factor affecting the QOL and may provide a basis to formulate preventive actions and design treatment goals for patients with knee OA.

In the present study, behavioral, electrophysiological, and molecular biological experiments were developed to examine the role of aggressive interaction ("fighting experience") on downstream movement and olfactory function in relation to smoltification in hatchery-reared one-year-old masu salmon (Oncorhynchus masou). Individual salmon that lost the fighting contest in April and May moved downstream earlier than the winners. The olfactory response to salinity sensitivity of the losers, measured by electro-olfactogram to 10 -1 M sodium chloride, was significantly higher than that of the winners during the period from April to June. In May, the olfactory response to imprinting activity of the losers, previously exposed for one week to 10 -4 M L-glutamic acid was significantly high, and the salmon olfactory imprinting-related gene was also highly expressed. During the smoltification period, losing the aggressive interaction might exert strong influences on downstream movement and olfactory function in masu salmon. The present newly developed experiments provide new evidence for evaluating the relation between the aggressive interaction and the smoltification in masu salmon.3

Background Knee osteoarthritis (OA) affects the quality of life (QOL) of elderly people, this study examines the demographic characteristics and QOL of patients with knee OA and identifies demographic characteristics that affect the QOL of these patients. Methods In this cross-sectional study, 30 healthy controls and 60 patients with mild-to-moderate bilateral knee OA aged between 55 and 75 years were enrolled. All participants completed a questionnaire containing questions on 10 demographic characteristics and the Medical Outcome Study 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36), and their QOL scores in the eight dimensions of the SF-36 were evaluated. Results In the OA group, significant correlations were observed between monthly disposable income and physical and mental health components. Monthly disposable income was found to considerably affect the QOL of patients with knee OA. Conclusion Monthly disposable income is a crucial factor affecting the QOL of patients with bilateral knee OA. The findings of this study may provide a reference for formulating preventive strategies for healthy individuals and for future confirmatory research. Trial registration: This study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Fu Jen Catholic University (FJU-IRB NO: C107179).