Osteoarthritis (OA) causes chronic pain, physical disability, and mental health deterioration and reduces the quality of life of patients. Sleep is an important factor in the recovery, and adequate sleep is important for quality of life. Several features of patients with OA can affect sleep time, and sleep also affects OA. We investigated the relationship between OA and sleep duration. Data for 2010-2012 were collected from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. We included 11,540 participants (4915 men and 6625 women). Patients with OA were defined as participants with knee/hip joint pain and radiographic changes of the knee/hip joints. Sleep time was divided into 4 sections as follows: (1) 0-3 h, (2) 4-5 h, (3) 6-7 h, and (4) ≥ 8 h. Sleep time of 6 and 7 h was the most frequent and set as the reference time. In the multiple logistic regression model, the patients who slept for 0-3 and 4-5 h had odds ratios (ORs) of 2.28 (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.14-4.55) and 1.38 (95% CI 1.01-1.89) for men and 1.63 (95% CI 1.19-2.24) and 1.26 (95% CI 1.08-1.47) for women, respectively, for having OA. The prevalence of OA was lowest in the participants who had 6-7 h of sleep and progressively increased with shorter sleep time. Thus, sleep duration was significantly associated with OA.

White blood cells (WBCs) and storage period are the main factors of transfusion reactions. In the present study, cytokine/chemokine concentrations after leukoreduction (LR) and irradiation (IR) in stored canine whole blood were measured. Red blood cell storage lesion caused by IR and LR were also compared. Blood samples from 10 healthy Beagles were divided into four groups (no treatment, LR-, IR-, and LR + IR-treated). Leukocytes were removed by filtration in the LR group and gamma radiation (25 Gy) was applied in the IR group. Immunologic factors (WBCs, interleukin-6 [IL-6], C-X-C motif chemokine ligand 8 [CXCL-8], and tumor necrosis factor-alpha) and storage lesion factors (blood pH, potassium, and hemolysis) were evaluated on storage days 0, 7, 14, 21, and 28. Compared to the treated groups, IL-6 and CXCL-8 concentrations during storage were significantly higher in the control (no treatment) group. LR did not show changes in cytokine/chemokine concentrations, and storage lesion presence was relatively mild. IR significantly increased CXCL-8 after 14 days of storage, but IR of leukoreduced blood did not increase CXCL-8 during 28 days of storage. Storage lesions such as hemolysis, increased potassium, and low pH were observed 7 days after IR and storage of blood, regardless of LR. IR of leukoreduced blood is beneficial to avoid immune reactions; however, storage lesions should be considered upon storage.

Background The chromogenic anti‐Xa assay, the gold standard for monitoring the anti‐Xa effect of rivaroxaban, is not available as a cage‐side diagnostic test for use in a clinical setting. Hypothesis/Objectives To evaluate clinical modalities for measuring the anticoagulant effects of rivaroxaban using a point‐of‐care prothrombin time (PT) and thromboelastography (TEG). Animals Six healthy Beagle dogs. Methods Prospective, experimental study. Four different doses of rivaroxaban (0.5, 1, 2, and 4 mg/kg) were administered PO to dogs. Single PO and 3 consecutive dosing regimens also were assessed. Plasma rivaroxaban concentration was determined using a chromogenic anti‐Xa assay, point‐of‐care PT, and TEG analysis with 4 activators (RapidTEG, 1 : 100 tissue factor [TF100], 1 : 3700 tissue factor [TF3700], and kaolin), and results were compared. Spearman correlation coefficients were calculated between ratios (peak to baseline PT; peak reaction time [R] of TEG to baseline [R] of TEG) and anti‐Xa concentration. Results Anti‐Xa concentration had a significant correlation with point‐of‐care PT (R = 0.82, P < .001) and RapidTEG‐TEG, TF100‐TEG, and TF3700‐TEG (R = 0.76, P < .001; R = 0.82, P < .001; and R = 0.83, P < .001, respectively). Conclusions and Clinical Importance Overall, a 1.5‐1.9 × delay in PT and R values of TEG 3 hours after rivaroxaban administration is required to achieve therapeutic anti‐Xa concentrations of rivaroxaban in canine plasma. The R values of TEG, specifically using tissue factors (RapidTEG, TF100, TF3700) and point‐of‐care PT for rivaroxaban can be used practically for therapeutic monitoring of rivaroxaban in dogs.

Hybrid floors infilled with polymeric materials between two steel plates were developed as a prefabricated floor system in the construction industry. However, the floor’s fire resistance performance has not been investigated. To evaluate this, fire tests suggested by the Korean Standards should be performed. As these tests are costly and time consuming, the number of variables were limited. However, many variables can be investigated in other ways such as furnace tests and finite element analysis (FEA) with less cost and time. In this study, furnace tests on heated surface areas smaller than 1 m2 were conducted to investigate the thermal behavior of the hybrid floor at elevated temperatures. To obtain the reliability of the proposed thermal behavior analytical (TBA) model, verifications were conducted by FEAs. Thermal contact conductance including interfacial thermal properties between two materials was adopted in the TBA model, and the values at elevated temperatures were suggested based on thermo-gravimetric analyses results and verified by FEA. Errors between the tests and TBA model indicated that the model was adequate in predicting the temperature distribution in small-scale hybrids. Furthermore, larger furnace tests and analysis results were compared to verify the TBA model’s application to different sized hybrid floors.

No abstract