Aim:The aim of this study was to investigate the factors related to readmission to a ward for dementia patients with special attention to sex-related issues. Methods:We reviewed the data of 326 patients who were hospitalized in a ward for dementia patients between 1 April 2000 and 31 March 2008, and followed up for 24 months after discharge. For univariate and multivariate analyses, patients were divided into: (i) patients who were not readmitted to our ward within 24 months (control); (ii) patients who were readmitted to our ward within 3 months (early readmission); and (iii) patients readmitted within 4 to 24 months (late readmission). Results: Factors related to readmission differedbetween sexes as well as between the early and late stage. A small number of cohabitants and outcome (hospital) were factors related to early readmission in men, while outcome (hospital) and long stay in the ward were related to early readmission in women. High physical function, care distress and short stay in the ward were the factors related to late readmission in women. Conclusions:Most patients who were transferred to another hospital were readmitted within 3 months. Some women were readmitted in the late stage. They had relatively high cognitive and physical functions and most of their caregivers had care distress. The causes of readmission were not due to a decline in cognitive function. It is important to prevent complications in dementia patients and to establish a caregiving system for dementia patients that decreases the burden on caregivers in order to reduce the rate of readmission.Key words: factors, sex difference, outcome, readmission, ward for dementia patients. I N A PREVIOUS study, we investigated the distress of family members caring for dementia patients and the effect of sex differences among care recipients.1 In a second study, we identified predictors that influenced the outcome after discharge from a ward for dementia patients. In the hospital group, the incidence of complications was high for each sex. In men, the activities of daily living (ADL) score predicted the outcome between the group returning home for care and the institutionalized group. In women, the revised version of Hasegawa's Dementia Scale (HDS-R) score, caregiver, and number of cohabitants influenced the outcome. In women, it was supposed that the predictors of outcome were mainly related to the system under which they received care.2 In a third study, it was observed that there were sex differences among predictors of the length of stay. However, it was difficult to predict the length of stay on admission. Retrospectively, the length of stay was determined by physical and psychological conditions in men. In women, it was supposed that the caregiver's desire to provide care at home reduced the length of stay. However, complication was a common predictor of extension of stay in both sexes. 3 *Correspondence: Toshiyuki Ono, MD, PhD, Department of Psychiatry, Tsuruga Onsen Hospital, 41-1-5 Yoshiko, Tsuruga, Fukui 914-0024, Japan. Email: tur...

Background: In our previous studies, we found both gender differences among care recipients and predictors that influenced outcomes after discharge from a ward for demented elderly. Here, we investigate predictors that influence the length of stay for each sex. Methods:We studied the data of 390 patients with dementia who were hospitalized in a ward for demented elderly between 1 April 2000 and 31 March 2008, and treated until 31 March 2009. The patients were divided into groups classified by gender. We analyzed the gender differences of characteristics and evaluated the predictors that influenced the length of stay in the ward for demented elderly using Cox's proportional hazards model. A model using the initial scores of the Revised Hasegawa Dementia Scale (HDS-R), Assessment Scale for Symptoms of Dementia (ASSD) and Nishimura's activity of daily living scale (N-ADL), which were examined on admission, was named Model 1. In Model 1, we checked the effect of each patient's characteristics, except for complications and destinations, on their length of stay. Model 2 used the final scores of HDS-R, ASSD and N-ADL including complications and destinations. Results: There was a clear gender difference in the length of stay. The length of stay of women was longer than that of men. It was difficult to predict the length of stay in Model 1. Age was the only predictor in women and no predictor was identified in men. In Model 2, complications and the final HDS-R and N-ADL scores were predictors of the length of stay in men. Age, complications and destinations were predictors of the length of stay in women. Conclusions: It was observed that there were gender differences among predictors of the length of stay. However, it was difficult to predict the length of stay on admission. Retrospectively, the length of stay was determined by physical and psychological conditions, not by the social variables in men. In women, it was supposed that the caregiver's wish to give care at home reduced the length of stay. Besides, complication was a common predictor of the extension of stay in each sex. We have to decrease the number of complications as much as possible to reduce the length of stay.

Strongly c-axis oriented Pb (ZrxTi1-x) O3 thin films were successfully grown on (100) Pt/(100) MgO substrate using the metalorganic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) method . The electrical properties of PZT thin films with thickness of 2ƒÊm are almost the same values of PZT single crystal . But they sharply change below film thickness of 0.5ƒÊm: dielectric constant and remanent polarization decrease , and coercive field increases. These phenomena are explained by the model that low dielectric constant layer exist in series with normal PZT layer.The origins of this layer is considered to be the intrinsic stress produced by the coalescence of crystal grains .

Background: In a previous study, we found gender differences among care recipients and suggested that elderly women living alone have difficulty receiving care from their families. We investigated the gender differences among predictors which influenced outcomes after discharge from a ward for treatment of demented elderly with severe psychotic symptoms. Methods: We enrolled the data of 325 patients with dementia who were hospitalized between 1 April 2000 and 31 March 2007, and discharged by 31 March 2008. Two hundred and ninety-four patients were divided into men and women. We checked the gender differences of their characteristics. After that, they were subdivided into three groups to analyze the effect of each patient's characteristics and care situation on their outcomes: (i) given home care (home); (ii) became institutionalized (institution); and (iii) transferred to another hospital (hospital). Results: In the hospital groups, the incidence of complications was high for each sex. The differences between the institution group and home group were shown by N-ADL score in men. In contrast, the predictors in women were the HDS-R score, the number of cohabitants and the caregiver. Conclusions: It was observed that there were gender differences among outcome predictors. The outcomes of demented patients were predicted by both complications and condition on admission. Most women did not return to their homes because of the situation in which they received care. It is necessary to establish a clear system for providing care for the demented elderly, especially for women.

Background I Purpose. Most patients with hepatocellular carcinoma in Japan also have liver cirrhosis. Therefore, reliable information about liver function is essential before undertaking liver resection. Occasionally preoperative estimates and intraoperative findings are disparate. This study used rats with liver fibrosis and a new tactile sensor to determine whether quantification of liver hardness intraoperatively can be used to validate the preoperative assessment of liver function prior to hepatectomy. Methods. Liver fibrosis was induced by administration of thioacetamide to rats. Laparotomy was performed. In some rats, blood samples were taken for examination, and liver stiffness and tactile values were measured by a new tactile sensor. A biopsy specimen from each removed liver was taken, and the hepatic fibrosis index was measured by computed color image analysis after Azan blue staining. The other rats underwent partial hepatectomy, and the bromodeoxyuridine labeling index was calculated in them. Correlations between stiffness, tactile values, and other data were calculated. Results. A strong correlation existed between stiffness and both the hepatic fibrosis index and the bromodeoxyuridine labeling index, and between tactile values and both the hepatic fibrosis index and the bromodeoxyuridine labeling index. Conclusions. Liver hardness proved to be a function of hepatic fibrosis. The tactile sensor proved to be an easy and reliable way to evaluate the hepatic fibrosis index. Quantification of liver hardness by tactile sensor predicted liver regenerative activity.