bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Continuities in Size of Place Preferences in the United States, 1972–19921
Authors: Brown David L. , Fuguitt Glenn V. , Heaton Tun B. , Waseem Saba
Published: August 2010

AbstractThe directions of net migration and population redistribution in the U.S. have switched from nonmetropolitan deconcentration during the 1970s, to metropolitan concentration during the 1980s, and back to deconcentration once again in the early 1990s. The complex causes of these distribution shifts are thought to involve both structural reconfigurations of economic activities that affect the location of opportunities and residential preferences that are tied more closely to amenities and quality of life considerations. This paper uses comparable data from three representative sample surveys of the U.S. population to update and extend earlier research on the preferential basis of redistribution trends. Our analysis does not support the view that shifts in the direction of residential preferences during 1972–1992 tend to coincide with shifts in metropolitan‐nonmetropolitan net migration and population redistribution. Rather, a consistent finding across all three surveys is that most people prefer their current residence type, and those who do not are almost twice as likely to prefer lower rather than higher density settings. These findings support the importance of preferences to explanations of recent population trends, but these preferences are not in isolation from the economic contexts in which they occur.
Impacts of Rapid Urban Growth on Farmland Conversion: Application of New Regional Land Use Policy Models and Geographical Information Systems1
Authors: Bradshaw Ted K. , Muller Brian
Published: August 2010

AbstractGeographical Information Systems (GIS) computer mapping programs and new land use policy models are shown to be useful in understanding the dynamics of rural land conversion to urban uses. The California Central Valley Alternative Futures Model was constructed to evaluate patterns of growth that are forecasted to triple the population of the California Central Valley by 2040. The GIS sub‐divided the Valley into over 750,000 land units, and a logit analysis evaluated factors leading to actual patterns of recent growth. Undeveloped land units were assigned a probability of future development, and expected population increases were allocated to those land units with the highest probability of future growth under two growth scenarios: low density and compact growth. The model shows that low density growth would convert over 1,035,000 acres of farmland to urban uses, including over 600,000 acres of prime or statewide important quality land. Compact growth would convert only 474,000 acres total, of which only 266,000 would be on prime soils. This paper shows how new land use models and GIS programs enable rural sociologists to better understand how rural communities and their spatial environment interact—in particular, how these tools enable researchers to explore the forces and consequences of rural and exurban growth.
Economic Restructuring, Gender, and Informal Work: A Case Study of a Rural County1
Authors: Nelson Margaret K.
Published: August 2010

AbstractThis paper combines three issues that have previously been considered separately: economic restructuring, gender, and participation in the informal economy. Drawing on two complementary data sets of interviews with the residents of a rural county, the paper first suggests that the participation in the informal economy is extensive. The second major finding is that households whose members have held on to “good” work in the formal economy participate in the informal economy in a different way than do households whose members are less fortunate. Third, the paper demonstrates that participation in the informal economy is highly differentiated by gender. Finally the intersections among location in the formal economy, gender, and informal economic activities are discussed.
Privatization and Income Change in the Czech Republic: Tensions in the Lives of Rural and Urban Employed Men1
Authors: Lorenz Frederick O. , Hraba Joseph , Pechačová Zdeňka
Published: August 2010

In the Czech Republic, the privatization of property and the emergence of a market economy after the fall of communism created a unique “experiment in nature.” Before 1989, there was virtually no private sector and salary differences between rural and urban workers were relatively small. By the end of 1993, a substantial portion of both the rural and urban labor force had moved into the private sector. Using data from a sample of 443 men who were employed in 1989 and at the beginning of 1994, we found that urban workers who moved to the private sector had obtained larger salary increases and felt less economic pressure than rural workers and those who stayed in the public sector. Economic pressure, in turn, mediated between salary change and subsequent reports of health problems and psychological distress. Respondents also reported that the private sector offered them greater job flexibility. Job flexibility may reduce depressive symptoms by improving the match of workers' skills with the demands of the job, but private sector jobs may also be a source of uncertainty. Tensions associated with increasing rural disadvantage and with moving to the private sector are discussed.
Underemployment: Social Fact or Socially Constructed Reality?*
Authors: Stofferahn Curtis W.
Published: August 2010

AbstractThis paper contrasts rural underemployment as a social fact with rural underemployment as a socially constructed reality. Using both survey data and in‐depth interviews with persistently underemployed rural residents, we were able to determine whether we were imposing our definition of reality on the interviewees. The data from the interviews largely demonstrated a correspondence between our objective definition of reality as defined by measures of underemployment and the informants' subjective interpretation of their employment situation. This procedure demonstrated that the underemployed had created their own subjective reality, which had become an objective reality: a socially created fact. A few cases, however, raised concerns about the extent to which that reality was widely shared because the interviewees' definitions did not correspond to our objective definitions or did not make sense in their own situations. Other interviewees' comments raised significant questions about the applicability of formal labor market concepts and measures, which tend to overlook the unique characteristics of rural labor markets such as uncompensated labor, self‐employment, and multiple job holding. Thus the indepth interviews provided conceptual checks on the extent to which we can impose our definitions of the situation on respondents' subjective reality.
The Question of Rural Masculinities*
Authors: Campbell Hugh , Bell Michael Mayerfeld
Published: August 2010

Abstract By way of introduction to this special issue on rural masculinities, we provide an overview of masculinity studies, emphasizing the influential work of Robert W. Connell on hegemonic masculinity. We go on to distinguish between two main avenues of rural inquiry in masculinity studies: studies of the masculine in the rural and studies of the rural in the masculine, or what we also term the masculine rural and the rural masculine. We apply this distinction to the six contributions to this special issue, showing how most of the papers maintain a kind of dialogue between the two. We conclude by arguing that studies of rural masculinities are a contribution rather than an alternative to feminist scholarship in the rural social sciences, and that the topic of rural masculinities provides rural scholarship with opportunities for conducting research in other disciplines.
Review Essay:Rural Sociology, Migration, and Community Change
Authors: Berry E. Helen
Published: August 2010

Research in Rural Sociology and Development: Focus on Migration, edited by Harry K. Schwarzweller and Brendan P. Mullan.

Population Change in the Rural West: 1975–1990, edited by John M. Wardwell and James H. Copp. Lanham, MD

Community of Strangers: Change, Turnover, Turbulence and the Transformation of a Midwestern Country Town, by Joseph A. Amato and John Radzilowski.
Empowering Communities Through Public Work, Science, and Local Food Systems: Revisiting Democracy and Globalization*
Authors: Lacy William B.
Published: August 2010

AbstractCommunities are the foundation of our society and of our overall well‐being. Unfortunately they are experiencing rapid transformations that may significantly erode their capacity to remain viable and sustainable both domestically and internationally. Issues of empowering communities are examined in regard to social justice, challenges to democracy, and globalization of the economy and other sectors of society. It is argued that the ways in which we view and structure work, generate and disseminate knowledge through science and technology, and produce, distribute, and consume food are essential factors affecting our self‐identity and the empowerment of our communities. How we shape decisions and actions around work, science and technology, and food, as well as other key factors affecting our communities, is crucial to achieving a just and sustainable agenda for the future. Finally, it is proposed that all citizens be engaged in a procedural process called discourse ethics, which is guided by the principles of justice, recognition, respect, and accountability.
Does It Cost Less to Live in Rural Areas? Evidence from New Data on Food Security and Hunger*
Authors: Nord Mark
Published: August 2010

AbstractRural‐urban differences in the association of food insecurity and hunger with income suggest that the cost of living is substantially lower in rural than in urban areas. This implies that the official poverty rate overstates rural economic hardship compared with that in urban areas. Geographic differences in cost of living implied by the association between food insecurity and income provide some validation of the cost of housing adjustment proposed by the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) panel on improving the measurement of poverty, but suggest that the NAS adjustment generally overcorrects for cost of living and would be seriously problematic in some regions.
Who's Afraid of the Big, Bad Wolf? Young People's Responses to the Conflicts Over Large Carnivores in Eastern Norway*
Authors: Skogen Ketil
Published: August 2010

Abstract Controversies over large carnivores are often interpreted as clashes between rural traditionalism and urban modernity. Rural communities, however, have never been culturally monolithic, and modernization will increase the diversity. To probe such diverse and changing attitudes towards nature, I conducted a qualitative study of young people in a rural community in eastern Norway. Contrary to popular images of such communities as unified against “pests,” all typical views of the carnivore issue were present. Those in favor of the large carnivores were typically middle‐class youths with a strong “outward” orientation, while those who wanted to shoot the predators were mostly working‐class boys with strong ties to the local hunting culture. This pattern was interpreted as a conflict between dominant and subordinate forms of knowledge, and between abstraction‐oriented and production‐oriented cultural forms. Aside from the growth of the pro‐carnivore middle‐class segments, the most significant effect of modernization appeared to be the removal of many young people from the subject matter of the conflict. A “subculturalization” of the working‐class hunting culture also could be discerned, however.
Rurality, Institutional Disadvantage, and Achievement/Attainment*
Authors: Roscigno Vincent J. , Crowle Martha L.
Published: August 2010

Abstract Students living in rural areas of the United States exhibit lower levels of educational achievement and a higher likelihood of dropping out of high school than do their nonrural counterparts. In this paper we extend the literature by offering a framework in which resources influencing achievement/attainment are viewed as embedded in, and varying across, rural and nonrural places because of differences in structures of local opportunity. We draw from the National Educational Longitudinal Survey and the Common Core of Data, and employ hierarchical linear and hierarchical logistic modeling techniques to test our ideas. Rural adolescents are disadvantaged in regard to those family and school resources which are conducive to educational success. These resources translate into important educational investments at both family and school levels, and explain rural deficits in both attainment and standardized achievement. We discuss the implications of our findings for analyses of rural deprivation and inequality specifically, and for educational processes and the spatial patterning of stratification in general.
Forest Conservation, Value Conflict, and Interest Formation in a Honduran National Park*
Authors: Pfeffer Max J. , Schelhas John W. , Day Leyla Ann
Published: August 2010

AbstractWe argue that attempts to superimpose park regulatory regimes on existing land uses in the tropics represent conflicts between alternative cultural models of natural resource management. The results of such conflicts are unique regulatory regimes emerging from distinctive processes that redefine the terms and limits of natural resource use. In creating a scarcity of available resources, parks encourage social differentiation and greater awareness of societal patterns of inequality, establishing a potential for the articulation of demands for social and environmental equity. We evaluate these claims with a case study of the Cerro Azul Meambar National Park in Honduras. We base our analysis on 54 indepth interviews of Park residents in five Park communities.
Locating the Community Field: A Study of Interorganizational Network Structure and Capacity for Community Action*
Authors: Sharp Jeff S.
Published: August 2010

AbstractI examine the concept of the community field to identify the structures, elements, and processes that generate improved capacity for community action. I conduct analysis of interlocking leadership among local organizations and recent community action in three Midwestern communities to determine the structure and attributes of the community field. I use findings from community power research to anticipate and guide interpretation of the different network structures found in each community. A community field is identified in the communities with pyramidal and coalitional structures. Inclusive, coordinating networks, institutions with stockpiled resources, and the existence of local planning processes are some of the community field‐like structures and processes I identify. The findings have implications for future rural community research and practice, including support for increased use of network analysis as a diagnostic tool for community development.
Local Environmental Groups: A Systematic Enumeration in Two Geographical Areas*
Authors: Kempton Willett , Holland Dorothy C. , Bunting‐Howarth Katherine , Hannan Erin , Payne Christopher
Published: August 2010

Abstract Local environmental groups, although acknowledged increasingly since the mid‐1980s, have not been sampled systematically, have been reported to consist of only a few types, and are often considered to be of only minor political significance. In this study we systematically inventoried all local environmental groups in two U.S. geographical areas: the Delmarva Peninsula and the state of North Carolina. We found 566 local groups, seven to 20 times the number reported in the best published directory. Three‐quarters did not fit the types most commonly characterized in the literature. Extrapolating from our study areas, we estimate that 16,000 to 30,000 local environmental groups are active in the United States. We find that these groups have a subset of “core” members, those active in organizing and local operations. We estimate the population of core members at 265,000 to 290,000, over 50 times the total of professional staff members of all U.S. national environmental organizations. These groups affect local and state environmental policy, enforcement of environmental laws, the shaping of environmental issues, and the social infrastructure for environmental behaviors.
Examining the Effects of Community Satisfaction and Attachment on Individual Well‐Being*
Authors: Theodori Gene L.
Published: August 2010

Abstract Using data collected in a general population survey from a random sample of individuals in four communities in Pennsylvania, I examine the effects of community satisfaction and attachment on self‐assessed individual well‐being. I find substantial support for the hypothesis that satisfaction with the community and attachment to the community are associated independently and positively with individual well‐being. Bivariate and multiple correlation/regression analyses reveal that greater community satisfaction and attachment result in higher levels of perceived well‐being. Although the total explained variances of the community satisfaction and attachment measures are small, they do not differ substantially from various social and demographic factors that have been found to be associated with well‐being. I propose possible implications of these findings and make suggestions for future research.
Poor People in Poor Places: Local Opportunity Structures and Household Poverty*
Authors: Cotter David A.
Published: August 2010

AbstractAccounts of poverty generally fall into either “individualist” or “structuralist” camps. Often these are seen as irreconcilable and incompatible competing perspectives. This paper integrates individualist and structuralist accounts of poverty by examining the relationship between “person poverty” and “place poverty” in nonmetropolitan and metropolitan labor markets, using a multilevel framework. I fashion a general model of poverty production and allocation, drawing on the labor market ecology perspective. After a discussion of this perspective, I develop a multilevel framework for analyzing data from the 1990 Census PUMS‐L sample, STF‐3c, and other sources to show how compositional and contextual factors affect households' likelihoods of being in poverty. These multilevel models also allow us to estimate the degree to which labor market conditions influence the magnitude of household labor supply characteristics. Results suggest that both compositional and contextual factors contribute to the metro‐nonmetro difference in poverty rates, and that the effects of employment vary in accordance with labor market characteristics.
Paths of Destruction and Regeneration: Globalization and Forests in the Tropics*
Authors: Rudel Thomas K.
Published: August 2010

AbstractGlobalization has spatially and temporally varied effects on forest cover in the tropics. It destroys primary forests (first nature) in some places at the same time that it creates secondary and scrub growth (second nature) in other places. In any one region, globalization first destroys forest and then induces some regrowth. It also contributes to the emergence of persistent rural poverty in tropical regions. Although forest destruction and regeneration would appear to have mutually offsetting environmental effects, the first effect is stronger than the second, so globalization exerts a negative net influence on biodiversity conservation and carbon sequestration. Case studies of change in forest cover in southeast Asia and west Africa illustrate these processes.
Village Context, Women's Status, and Son Preference Among Rural Chinese Women*
Authors: Li Jianghong , Lavely William
Published: August 2010

Abstract This study analyzes the variation in one measure of son preference that is of particular relevance in rural China: whether a woman considers it important to have a son, and the reasons why sons are important. To summarize our conclusions, we find that the expectation that a son will provide financial support in old age is strongly associated with the response that a son is important. This expectation is stronger in low income and mountainous villages, but it is weaker among women who earn cash income. The importance of a son is positively associated with ancestor worship and negatively associated with respondents' education, personal autonomy, the extent to which the husband shares housework, and exposure to the world beyond the village. We also find that sex‐specific rates of infant mortality vary systematically with mother's response on the importance of a son, providing a test of the validity of our preference measure.
Social and Ecological Dimensions of the Alternative‐Conventional Agricultural Paradigm Scale
Authors: Jackson‐Smith Douglas B. , Buttel Frederick H.
Published: August 2010

Abstract This paper is an empirical test of the dimensionality and predictive value of the alternative‐conventional agricultural paradigm (ACAP) scale developed by Beus and Dunlap. While recognizing that this scale may be appropriate and useful in studies of the agricultural intelligentsia (agricultural scientists, farm policy makers, organization leaders, and farm people actively following and participating in policy deliberations), our data suggest several shortcomings of this scale among a more general sample of farm operators. Initially, the scale is not satisfactorily unidimensional; instead, relatively clear‐cut environmental and family‐farmist dimensions emerged in our analysis of farmer attitudes. Separate environmental and family‐farmist subscales performed better than an omnibus (or paradigmatic) scale in predicting farm operator behaviors.
Anti‐HBV effects of CpG oligodeoxynucleotide‐activated peripheral blood mononuclear cells from patients with chronic hepatitis B
Authors: LI NING , FAN XUE‐GONG , CHEN ZHAO‐HUI , HUANG YAN , QUAN JUN , LIU ZHENG‐BO
Published: August 2010

Unmethylated CpG dinucleotides in bacterial DNA or synthetic oligodeoxynucleotides containing immunostimulatory CpG motifs (CpG ODN) are known as a potent Th1‐like immune enhancer in vertebrates. Chronic hepatitis B is the immunocompromising condition. We therefore investigated the effects of CpG ODN on cultured cells from chronic hepatitis B patients and healthy controls. The inhibitory effects of CpG ODN on hepatitis B virus (HBV) were also studied. The secretion of IFN‐α by CpG ODN‐activated peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) from chronic hepatitis B patients and healthy controls was significantly increased when compared with PBMCs alone or GpC ODN‐stimulated PBMCs. After activation with CpG ODN, the IFN‐α secretion by chronically HBV‐infected patient PBMCs is less than that by healthy control PBMCs. Treatment of HepG2 2.2.15 cells with culture supernatants of PBMCs activated by CpG ODN can significantly suppress the secretion of HBsAg, HBeAg and HBV DNA as compared with that of PBMCs without CpG ODN activation under the same conditions. No inhibitory effect on the replication of HBV was found for CpG ODN treatment alone. Our results indicated that CpG ODN could efficiently enhance the immune response of chronic hepatitis B patients. Moreover, the CpG ODN‐activated PBMCs from chronic hepatitis B patients were able to significantly inhibit HBV replication in vitro, suggesting that CpG ODN may be a potential immunoregulator against HBV infection in the future.
Phagocytosis of heat‐killed Staphylococcus aureus by eosinophils: comparison with neutrophils
Authors: HATANO YASUKO , TANIUCHI SHOICHIRO , MASUDA MIDORI , TSUJI SHOJI , ITO TAICHI , HASUI MASAFUMI , KOBAYASHI YOHNOSUKE , KANEKO KAZUNARI
Published: August 2010

Eosinophils are characterized by several functional properties, such as chemotaxis, adhesion, superoxide anion production, and degranulation. In this article, we have studied the role of bacterial ingestion by eosinophils in comparison with that by neutrophils. Eosinophils and neutrophils were purified by using the Percoll gradient method followed by selection with CD16‐coated immunomagnetic beads and centrifugation through a Ficoll‐Hypaque gradient combined with dextran sedimentation, respectively. Both cells were preincubated with anti‐FcγRIIa mAb (CD32 mAb), anti‐FcγRIIIb mAb (CD16 mAb), anti‐CR3 (CD11b mAb), or anti‐CR1 (CD35 mAb) before being examined for phagocytosis of opsonized heat‐killed Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus). Phagocytosis and production of hydrogen peroxide were simultaneously measured by flow cytometry using S. aureus labeled with propidium iodide and stained with 2′,7′‐dichlorofluorescein diacetate. Eosinophils showed significantly lower activity than neutrophils in both phagocytosis and hydrogen peroxide production. Phagocytosis by both cells was decreased by heat‐inactivated serum. Phagocytosis by neutrophils was significantly inhibited by CD16 mAb and CD32 mAb, whereas that by eosinophils was only inhibited by CD35 mAb. Whereas the mechanism of phagocytosis by neutrophils was mediated by CD16 and CD32, that of eosinophils was modulated by complement receptor 1 (CD35).
Application of routine and immunohistochemical staining methods to liver tissue embedded in a water‐soluble resin
Authors: Zerpa H. , Malik N. J. , Arborgh B. Å. M. , Scheuer P. J.
Published: August 2010

ABSTRACT— A commercially available water‐soluble resin, JB‐4, was tested using human liver biopsy tissue. Processing was rapid and satisfactory. Single or serial sections 1 μm thick could be obtained. Routine stains and immunoperoxidase methods gave good results.
Prednisone treatment of chronic liver disease. I. Chronic aggressive hepatitis as a therapeutic marker
Authors: Schlichting P. , Fauerholdt L. , Christensen E. , Poulsen H. , Juhl E. , Tygstrup N. ,   The Copenhagen Study Group for Liver Diseases
Published: August 2010

ABSTRACT—A liver biopsy material comprising 477 biopsies from 477 patients included in a prospective, unblinded, randomized trial of treatment of cirrhosis with prednisone has been re‐evaluated using new and more restrictive histological criteria for the diagnosis of cirrhosis and chronic aggressive hepatitis (CAH). The material was divided according to the likelihood of cirrhosis being present: (A) cirrhosis (287 patients), (B) probably cirrhosis (101 patients) and (C) compatible with but not diagnostic for cirrhosis (89 patients). Each group was further divided according to the presence (I) or absence (II) of CAH. A total of 98 patients fulfilled the histological criteria for CAH. The effect of prednisone concerning survival was evaluated in each group. In the total group of patients with CAH a significant beneficial effect of prednisone was found (p=0.04). Among these patients the subgroup with cirrhosis in addition (group I A) also showed a significant effect of prednisone, while groups I B and I C only had a trend towards a beneficial effect (p=0.44 and p=0.36, respectively). In patients without CAH in the biopsy (Group II, A+B+C), no effect of prednisone was seen although a trend towards a harmful effect was found in patients with cirrhosis (Group II A). Control patients with CAH in all three subgroups had an insignificantly shorter survival than patients without CAH. All the CAH groups significantly more often included female patients with no history of alcoholism and a lower frequency of spider naevi. In addition, the CAH groups were more active as judged by biochemical and histological variables. It was further disclosed that the presence of large piecemeal necroses indicated a favourable effect of prednisone treatment, while alcoholism, ascites and male sex acted as indicators for an unfavourable treatment effect.
Thrice weekly lymphoblastoid interferon is effective in inhibiting hepatitis B virus replication
Authors: Lok A. S. F. , Weller I. V. D. , Karayiannis P. , Brown D. , Fowler M. J. F. , Monjardino J. , Thomas H. C. , Sherlock S.
Published: August 2010

ABSTRACT— Six patients with chronic hepatitis B virus (HBV)‐induced liver disease were treated with human lymphoblastoid interferon. Daily, alternate day or thrice weekly regimens were employed in two, one and three patients respectively. Thrice weekly intra‐muscular injections of 7.5 to 10 megaunits of interferon/m2 appeared to be as effective as daily injections in producing inhibition of HBV replication, were associated with fewer side effects and could be continued for up to 3 months. The effectiveness of this regimen in producing long‐term inhibition of viral replication must now be determined.
Determinants for hepatitis B e antigen clearance in chronic type B hepatitis
Authors: Liaw Yun‐Fan , Chu Chia‐Ming , Huang Miau‐Ju , Sheen I‐Shyan , Yang Chaur‐Young , Lin Deng‐Yn
Published: August 2010

ABSTRACT— A 6‐year (mean 24.5 months) longitudinal study has been undertaken in 237 HBeAg‐positive patients with clinicopathologically verified chronic hepatitis. HBeAg clearance occurred in 74 patients at a rate of 16% per year, and a cumulative probability of 67% at the end of a 5‐year follow‐up. HBeAg clearance was preceded by a temporary “exacerbation” with SGPT> 300 IU/L in 62% of the patients. On the other hand, irrespective of the level of SGPT elevation, only 23% of such exacerbations were followed by HBeAg clearance. Further analysis indicates that alphafetoprotein >100 ng/ml, frequently associated with bridging hepatic necrosis, during “exacerbation” predicts HBeAg clearance. In addition, patients with chronic lobular hepatitis and chronic active hepatitis have a higher annual HBeAg clearance rate than patients with chronic persistent hepatitis and nonspecific histologic changes (>15% vs <8%, P<0.03). Short‐term immunosuppressive treatment did not delay HBeAg seroconversion. Male patients had a higher annual HBeAg clearance rate than female patients (18.2% vs 8.7%, P<0.05). It was concluded that, in addition to the time factor, the nature of chronic hepatitis, the extent of hepatic damage during “exacerbation”, and the sex of the patients are important determinants for HBeAg clearance.
Steroid treatment lowers hepatic fibroplasia, as explored by serum aminoterminal procollagen III peptide, in chronic liver disease
Authors: Ballardini G. , Faccani A. , Bianchi F. B. , Fallani M. , Patrono D. , Capelli M. , Pisi E.
Published: August 2010

ABSTRACT—Serum aminoterminal type III procollagen peptide (sPIIIP) has been proposed as an index of hepatic fibroplasia. sPIIIP was retrospectively evaluated in 34 treated and five untreated patients affected by chronic active hepatitis with or without cirrhosis by an RIA test. Serum samples taken before and after 6 months of treatment were tested in all cases. In 15 of the treated and all untreated patients, 6–20 (median 13) sera, corresponding to a median follow‐up of 43 months were studied. Before treatment, the sPIIIP median value was 18.6 ng/ml; after 6 months of treatment, it decreased to 13.6 ng/ml (p <0.005). Follow‐up sPIIIP levels were significantly lower in treated than in untreated patients (p <0.05), at each interval considered, except for the last control (39 months). In seven patients, treatment was discontinued: sPIIIP rose rapidly in six; four of them were retreated and this was followed by a new decrease. In four patients, sPIIIP was tested weekly from the onset of the treatment: it reverted to normal values within the first week in all cases, while GOT decreased later. sPIIIP is significantly and rapidly reduced by steroids. Steroid withdrawal is generally followed by a rebound, with a new decrease when treatment is restarted. Since sPIIIP is more rapidly lowered than GOT levels, the above data support the hypothesis that steroids can directly affect collagen metabolism.
The lysosomal copper concentration in the liver in primary biliary cirrhosis
Authors: Janssens A. R. , Van Noord M. J. , Van Hoek C. J. G. , Ruiter D. J. , Mauw B. J. , Van den Hamer C. J. A.
Published: August 2010

ABSTRACT— The copper concentration in the lysosomes of periportal hepatocytes of nine patients with primary biliary cirrhosis was determined by X‐ray microanalysis in ultrathin sections, the chlorine concentration of the embedding medium being taken as internal standard. A positive correlation was found between the lysosomal and the total liver copper concentration. No correlation was found between the lysosomal copper concentration and the grade of orcein staining for lysosomal copper‐associated protein in paraffin sections. It is concluded that in contrast to the grade of orcein staining, the lysosomal copper concentration is a reliable measure of the total liver copper concentration in primary biliary cirrhosis.
Correlation of age with the status of hepatitis B virus replication and histological changes in chronic type B hepatitis
Authors: Chu Chia‐Hua‐Ming , Liaw Yun‐Fan , Sheen I‐Shyan , Chen Tong‐Jong
Published: August 2010

ABSTRACT—The interrelationships of age, hepatitis B virus (HBV)‐DNA, hepatitis B e antigen (HBeAg)/antibody (anti‐HBe) and hepatic histological changes were examined in a large series of patients with chronic type B hepatitis. A significant inverse relationship between serum levels of HBV‐DNA and the age of patients was demonstrated:a high level of HBV‐DNA (> 500 pg/ml) was found in 100%, 50%, 34%, 10% and 0% of patients in the second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth decade, respectively (P<0.001), whereas serum HBV‐DNA was negative in 0%, 6%, 8%, 40%, and 50% of cases in the respective decades (P<0.001). The correlation of HBV‐DNA with age was more pronounced in the HBeAg‐negative cases, of whom 81.3% (13/16) of patients below age 40 were positive for HBV‐DNA, in contrast to 33.3% (3/9) of those over 40 years (P<0.05). In addition, the mean age increased from 25.3 years for HBeAg‐positive patients with chronic persistent hepatitis (CPH) and nonspecific reactive histological changes (NSRH), to 32.7 years for HBeAg‐positive and 34.9 years for anti‐HBe positive patients with chronic active hepatitis and chronic lobular hepatitis (P<0.001), and 40.9 years for anti‐HBe positive CPH and NSRH (P<0.001). These data suggested that age correlated closely with the status of HBV replication and hepatic changes in chronic type B hepatitis.
Treatment of acute hepatic encephalopathy in cirrhotics with a branched‐chain amino acids enriched versus a conventional amino acids mixture. A controlled study of 70 patients
Authors: MICHEL H. , BORIES P. , AUBIN J. P. , POMIER‐LAYRARGUES G. , BAURET P. , BELLET‐HERMAN H.
Published: August 2010

ABSTRACT—Acute hepatic encephalopathy in 70 cirrhotic patients was monitored during parenteral administration of amino acids between January 1979 and January 1984. The diagnosis of cirrhosis was confirmed by needle biopsy, and HE by conventional clinical and EEG parameters. The infusion of AA solutions was initiated 48 h after admission and during a 5‐day period: 34 patients received a control aminoacid solution, a commercially available AA mixture (Azonutril®), and 36 patients a modified solution enriched in BAA prepared from crystallized AA dissolved in distilled water. The calorie intake for both groups was 1600 calories per day from glucose and lipid emulsion. No significant difference was noted based on clinical evolution, even though the plasma AAA/BAA ratio was corrected using the modified AA solution. Of the 34 patients in Group 1: 10 improved, 14 were unchanged, 10 deteriorated and 7 died. Of the 36 patients in Group 2: 12 improved, 14 were unchanged, 10 deteriorated and 7 died. EEG tracing evolved in parallel fashion. The authors conclude that modified AA solutions are ineffective in the treatment of acute hepatic encephalopathy in cirrhotic patients.
Frequencies of hepatitis B, delta and HTLV‐III virus markers in Saudi Arabia
Authors: ASHRAF S. J. , ARYA S. C. , ARENDRUP M. , KROGS‐GAARD K. , PARANDE C. M. , ÖRSKOV B. , AGEEL A. R.
Published: August 2010

ABSTRACT— Serum samples from 608 residents of Saudi Arabia were examined for the presence of hepatitis B, delta and HTLV‐III virus markers. The HBsAg carrier rate was 17% and the prevalence of all hepatitis B virus markers was 55%. Males between 16 and 25 years had a significantly higher prevalence of all HBV markers (69%; 95% confidence limits: 49%–82%) compared to females in the same age group (34%; 95% confidence limits: 25%–45%). The prevalence of HBsAg was significantly higher among males aged 25–35 years (24%; 95% confidence limits: 19%–40%) compared to females in the same age group (9%; 95% confidence limits: 4%–18%). In addition, the HBsAg carrier rate for all males (23%) was significantly higher compared to females (11%) (p<0.001). HBeAg was found in 12% of 89 HBsAg‐positive individuals, 48% were anti‐HBe positive and 40% were negative for both markers. Hepatitis B virus DNA was found in 11 of 41 individuals tested. Five of these were HBeAg positive and four were anti‐HBe positive. Anti‐delta was found in three of 36 HBsAg positive serum samples (8%). Of 485 individuals tested for anti‐HTLV‐III, none were positive.
Effect of murine schistosomiasis on hepatic cytochrome P‐450 and microsomal protein
Authors: KYEGOMBE D. B. , AL‐MOFLEH I. , AL‐KHUWAITIR S. , MAHMOUD A. , AL‐TUWAIJRI A.
Published: August 2010

ABSTRACT—Experimental hepatic schistosomiasis was produced in CBA mice using a local strain ofS. mansoni.A comparative study of the hepatic concentrations of cytochrome P‐450 and microsomal protein in the control and infected animals was carried out.S. mansoniinfection significantly (P<0.05) reduced the liver cytochrome P‐450 and microsomal protein. This suggests impairment of drug metabolism in the liver of infected animals. The study calls attention to the possible clinical and pharmacokinetic implications of the late severeS. mansoniinfection of the liver in man.
Cyanamide hepatotoxicity. Incidence and clinicopathological features
Authors: Bruguera M. , Parés A. , Heredia D. , Rodés J.
Published: August 2010

ABSTRACT— Ground‐glass hepatocytes resembling those seen in HBsAg carriers on hematoxylin and eosin and on trichrome stained sections, but giving a negative reaction to orcein and a positive one to PAS, were found in liver biopsy specimens from nine asymptomatic former alcoholics who were on treatment with cyanamide, in one of four who had been treated with cyanamide several months before the liver biopsy procedure, in none of 15 treated with disulfiram, and in one of eight who had apparently not received aversive drugs. Portal and periportal inflammatory changes and fibrosis were more frequently observed in biopsy specimens containing PAS‐positive ground‐glass hepatocytes than in those without, but cirrhosis was found with a similar frequency. It is concluded that periportal PAS‐positive ground‐glass hepatocytes are a histological marker of cyanamide treatment.
Relationship of pre‐S encoded antigens in liver and clinical manifestations of chronic hepatitis B infection
Authors: Hess G. , Gerlich W. H. , Gerken G. , Manns M. , zum Büschenfelde K.‐H. Meyer
Published: August 2010

ABSTRACT—Pre‐S1and pre‐S2encoded antigens of hepatitis B virus were localized in liver tissue using monoclonal antibodies. They were found to be exclusively expressed in the cytoplasm of liver cells. Cell bound pre‐S1encoded protein was often detected in patients with chronic liver disease and viremia. Only a small number of the HBsAg positive cells also contained pre‐S1antigen. There was no correlation with nuclear HBcAg. Livers of non‐viremic HBsAg carriers contained many HBsAg expressing liver cells, that were frequently also positive for pre‐S2encoded protein but contained no detectable pre‐S1encoded protein at all. It remains open whether cell bound pre‐S2containing proteins of middle size have a significance for pathogenesis, as they are present in individuals with chronic liver disease as well as in healthy HBsAg carriers, and may be associated with both increased and normal liver enzymes. Cell bound pre‐S1antigen with viremia may, however, be involved in the maintenance of viremia and liver disease.
Evaluation of histochemical methods for the detection of copper overload in rat liver
Authors: Fuentealba I. C. , Haywood S. , Trafford J.
Published: August 2010

ABSTRACT— Histochemical methods have invariably shown a good correlation with copper analysis by absorption spectrophotometry in the identification of canine copper storage diseases. But, in Wilson's disease (WD) in humans no such correlation exists and similar discrepancies have also been observed in copper‐loaded rats. This study attempts to quantify stainable copper in the livers of copper‐loaded rats and relate this to the hepatic copper concentrations. Male rats fed a high copper diet (1500 ppm) for 16 weeks were killed at intervals. The livers were analysed for copper and graded according to stainable copper present in paraffin sections stained with rhodanine and rubeanic acid. Initially there was a good correlation between histochemically demonstrable copper and its total concentration, but subsequently, when high liver levels of the metal were present, copper staining was very variable. This unreliability has similarities with WD, in which the higher hepatic concentrations of presymptomatic patients are difficult to detect by conventional copper stains. The variation in the binding of copper and its intracellular localisation suggested by these results may have considerable significance in the pathogenesis of copper storage diseases.
Androgen receptor concentrations in needle biopsy specimens of human liver
Authors: Bannister P. , Meystre C. M. , Losowsky M. S.
Published: August 2010

ABSTRACT— The liver is a steroid‐responsive organ and contains high levels of androgen receptors (AR). The present study investigated cytosolic AR concentrations in diseased human liver obtained by needle biopsy. Insufficient tissue was available for full Scatchard analysis. Previous studies have shown the binding affinity of the liver AR to be sufficiently constant to allow the use of a single saturating dose analysis, using 3Hmibolerone as the active ligand, for the estimation of binding sites. Thirteen samples were studied and compared to normal liver. AR was identified in all samples and the level negatively correlated to the degree of liver damage. A role for AR in hepatocellular carcinoma has been postulated and anti‐androgens used in treatment. This study shows AR can be measured in needle‐biopsy specimens and, if hepatocellular carcinoma is proven to be hormone sensitive, then this technique may help in the assessment of such tumours.
Distribution of Ito cells in experimental hepatic fibrosis
Authors: Yokoi Yukio , Namihisa Toshihiko , Matsuzaki Kenichiro , Miyazaki Akihisa , Yamaguchi Yasushi
Published: August 2010

ABSTRACT— Ito cells (FSC) have been thought to be collagen‐producing cells with regard to hepatic fibrosis. We have found that desmin, a structural protein of muscular intermediate filaments, is found in the cytoplasm of FSC, even in negative vitamin A‐autofluorescence FSC, by using immunocytochemical techniques. In the present study, numbers of FSC produced by the administration of heterogeneic serum or carbon tetrachloride were detected in fibrous and non‐fibrous areas of hepatic lobules by using a morphometrical analyser. After 8 weeks of intraperitoneal injections of heterogeneic serum into rats, FSC in fibrous septa increased in number and the increase continued to 12 weeks – although the numbers of FSC in non‐fibrous areas and in controls given homologous serum did not change during the experiment. In the case of rats administered CCl4 once, FSC in fibrous areas increased in numbers after 48 h through 72 h, although the number of FSC in non‐fibrous areas and in controls did not change. The results, with an apparent increase in numbers of FSC in fibrous areas and no change in non‐fibrous areas, showed the possibility of hyperplasia due to cell division of FSC in the new fibroplastic areas.
Changes in cerebral receptors for gamma aminobutyric acid in patients with hepatic encephalopathy
Authors: Ferenci P. , Riederer P. , Jellinger K. , Schafer D. F. , Jones E. A.
Published: August 2010

ABSTRACT—If the gamma‐aminobutyric acid (GABA) inhibitory neurotransmitter system plays an important role in the mediation of hepatic encephalopathy (HE) in man, changes in the status of receptors for GABA in the brain may occur in patients with HE. To test this possibility, brains were obtained at autopsy from 11 patients who had died of causes unrelated to liver disease and from 11 patients who had died with chronic liver disease. Eight of the liver disease group had overt HE at the time of death. The specific binding of GABA to synaptic membranes isolated from frontal cortex was determined. Mean specific binding of GABA for patients with cirrhosis without overt HE was similar to that for control patients. In contrast, corresponding means for patients who had mild HE (stages I–III) and for patients who had severe HE (stage IV) were 45% higher (p<0.05) and 43% lower, respectively, than that for control patients. The mean specific binding of GABA was significantly greater for patients with mild HE than in patients with severe HE (p<0.025). Scatchard plots of the GABA binding data were curvilinear and consistent with a model of GABA receptors with two independent binding sites. Computer‐assisted analysis of the binding data indicated that the altered GABA binding observed in patients with HE is attributable to changes in the affinity rather than the density of both GABA receptors (increased affinities in mild HE, and decreased affinities in hepatic coma). These findings are compatible with the hypothesis that alterations in GABAergic neurotransmission are associated with and contribute to the syndrome of HE in man.
Caffeine intake, fasting plasma caffeine and caffeine clearance in patients with liver diseases
Authors: Marchesini G. , Checchia G. A. , Grossi G. , Lolli Rossella , Bianchi G. P. , Zoli M. , Pisi E.
Published: August 2010

ABSTRACT—The effects of a variable daily administration of caffeine on fasting levels of caffeine in plasma and in saliva were measured in 24 patients with liver disease and hepatocellular dysfunction of variable degree. For 2 consecutive days the patients received either 250 mg of caffeine (in 2 separate doses of 125 mg each at 8:00 a.m. and at 6:00 p.m.) or a single dose of 125 mg at 6:00 p.m. Caffeine clearance was also measured and the results were correlated with the galactose elimination capacity and with antipyrine clearance. At the beginning of the study, fasting caffeine concentrations were largely variable, without any relation to liver function. A strict negative correlation between fasting caffeine and caffeine clearance was only observed after 2 days of controlled caffeine administration (rs= ‐0.814). Under these conditions, fasting caffeine also correlated with antipyrine clearance (rs= ‐0.671, n = 20) and with galactose elimination (rs= ‐0.565). Our data prove that fasting caffeine concentrations after an evening dose may be used as an index of liver function only in subjects under a strictly controlled dietary caffeine intake. The large availability of caffeine in the diet makes the compound scarcely reliable for a correct measurement of liver function based on a single sample, and correct clearance determination is needed.
Pathology of hepatolithiasis associated with biliary malformation in Japan
Authors: Nakanuma Ysuni , Terada Tadashi , Nagakawa Takukazu , Kakita Akira , Yoshikawa Tatsuya , Ohta Goroku , Yamaguchi Kouji , Yamamoto Kensuke ,   The Japanese Hepatolithiasis Study Group
Published: August 2010

ABSTRACT— A national survey of the morphologic features of hepatolithiasis in Japan disclosed that 13 (4.8%) of the 273 cases examined were associated with obvious biliary malformations: Caroli's disease with congenital hepatic fibrosis (one case), adult polycystic disease of the liver and kidneys (one case), choledochal cyst (nine cases), and anomalous pancreaticobiliary ductal union (four cases). The latter two malformations overlapped in two cases. Intrahepatic calculi in all of these cases were of brown pigment stones, suggesting that focal bile stasis as well as bacterial infection might have played an important role in their formation and growth. It seems likely that such phenomena occur in the congenitally dilated segments of the intrahepatic biliary tree. These data imply that biliary malformation is one of the lithogenic factors in hepatolithiasis in Japan.