bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Effect of Prostaglandin E Receptor Subtype EP4 Selective Agonist on the Secretion of Tumor Necrosis Factor‐α by Macrophages in Acute Ethanol‐Loaded Rats
Authors: Nakatani Yoshihiro , Kitazawa Toshiyuki , Fujimoto Masao , Tamura Nobuhiro , Uemura Masahito , Yamao Junichi , Fukui Hiroshi 
Published: April 2006

Background:It is suggested that endotoxin and proinflammatory cytokines play an important role in the development and progression of alcoholic liver disease. Recently, a prostaglandin receptor subtype EP4 agonist with cytoprotective effect has been developed. We examined the efficacy of an EP4 agonist ONO‐AE1‐437 on tumor necrosis factor‐α (TNF‐α) secretion of Kupffer cells, splenic macrophages, and alveolar macrophages in acute ethanol‐loaded rats.Methods:Kupffer cells, splenic macrophages, and alveolar macrophages were isolated from control and acute ethanol‐loaded rats (5 mg/g body weight of ethanol, intraperitoneally). After the preculture in the medium that containing 0, 0.1, 1, 10, or 100 nmol/liter of ONO‐AE1‐437, TNF‐α secretion of these cells stimulated by 100 ng/ml of endotoxin was determined for 3 hr.Results:The amount of TNF‐α secreted from alveolar macrophages was largest in both the control and the acute ethanol‐loaded rats. Acute ethanol load enhances TNF‐α secretion of splenic macrophages. The addition of ONO‐AE1‐437 significantly inhibited TNF‐α secretion of Kupffer cells and splenic macrophages in both the control and the acute ethanol‐loaded rats. Alveolar macrophages were less affected.Conclusions:An EP4 agonist ONO‐AE1‐437 suppresses excess TNF‐α secretion from macrophages and seems promising for future trial in patients with severe alcoholic hepatitis.
Clinical Characteristics of Portal Hemodynamics in Alcoholic Liver Cirrhosis
Authors: Hirata Mami , Kurose Kiyotaka , Minami Hisaka , Kumagi Teru , Akbar S M. Fazle , Michitaka Koujirou , Horiike Norio , Onji Morikazu 
Published: April 2006

Background: Low incidence of reversal blood flow at the portal vein has been reported by measurement in larger and extrahepatic blood vessels but not in intrahepatic blood vessels in patients with liver cirrhosis. Moreover, there is little information regarding the incidence of reversal blood on the basis of the cause of liver cirrhosis. The aim of this study was to measure the reversal blood flow in the portal vein including intrahepatic branches in patients with alcoholic and viral cirrhosis.Methods: The blood flow in the portal vein and existence of portosystemic shunt were studied in 52 and 27 patients with alcoholic and viral cirrhosis, respectively, by Doppler ultrasonography. The parameters of liver function test and the prevalence of ascites and esophageal varices were compared between patients with and without reversal blood flow.Results: Reversal blood flow at the portal vein was found only in patients with only alcoholic cirrhosis (17 of 52 patients) but not in any patients with viral cirrhosis (0 of 27 patients; p < 0.05). The incidence of portosystemic ascites and red color of esophageal varices was also higher in patients with alcoholic cirrhosis with reversal blood flow in the portal vein compared with patients without reversal blood flow (p < 0.05).Conclusions: Reversal blood flow in the portal vein is a characteristic feature of alcoholic cirrhosis. The presence of reversal blood flow indicates severe liver diseases, and this feature may have prognostic importance for patients with alcoholic cirrhosis.
Strategy for Hepatic Hyperplastic Nodules in Heavy Drinkers
Authors: Suzuki Michihiro , Maeyama Shiro , Takahashi Hideaki , Okuse Noriaki , Takahashi Yasuhito , Mizuno Hiroshi , Yotuyanagi Hiroshi , Suzuki Hiroshi , Itoh Fumio , Uchikoshi Toshiyuki 
Published: April 2006

Background: Increased detection of nodular lesions that have not yet been definitively diagnosed as hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) has occured with the use of advanced imaging techniques. In heavy drinkers, the differential diagnosis between a hyperplastic nodule and early HCC on the basis of results of fine‐needle biopsy is often difficult. Negation of diagnosis of HCC after surgical resection has been reported, and nodular lesions have been found to decrease during follow‐up observation. On the basis of findings, a suitable strategy for the management of such lesions is suggested.Methods: We identified six patients who had hepatic nodular lesions on ultrasonography and were heavy drinkers. This group included five men and one woman with a mean age of 45.3 ± 3.8 years. Two patients had solitary lesions; four had multiple lesions, and of these, two were hepatitis C virus antibody positive (C+). In the five men, the nodular lesions were detected during hospitalization for ruptured or prophylactic treatment of gastroesophageal varices.Results: Five of the six patients had hypervascular lesions characterized by increased hepatic artery blood flow. However, dynamic computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging studies during late‐phase imaging could not confirm any decrease in portal blood flow. HCC was diagnosed by detailed imaging studies and liver biopsy in one C+ patient with a solitary nodule. In two of the other four patients, imaging findings were compatible with hypervascular HCC. Findings on liver biopsy do not always permit an easy differential diagnosis between a regenerative lesion (hyperplastic nodule) and a dysplastic or neoplastic lesion. One patient with a hypovascular lesion was C+, and liver biopsy showed a dysplastic nodule.Conclusion: Heavy drinkers with alcoholic liver disease often develop hypervascular, hyperplastic nodules. The accurate diagnosis of these nodules requires careful consideration of clinical factors, including a combination of images and histologic examination. However, some cases were still difficult to distinguish between HCC by applying advanced imaging techniques and biopsy results.
Comparison of Hepatocellular Carcinoma Patients With Alcoholic Liver Disease and Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis
Authors: Hashimoto Etsuko , Taniai Makiko , Kaneda Hiroyuki , Tokushige Katsutoshi , Hasegawa Kiyoshi , Okuda Hiroaki , Shiratori Keiko , Takasaki Ken 
Published: April 2006

Background: Alcoholic hepatitis and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) show different clinical features with similar liver histology, but both disorders may progress to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). HCC arising in alcoholic liver disease (ALD) or NASH, without hepatitis B or C virus infection, has been a rare observation, and there are no studies comparing the characteristics of ALD and NASH patients with HCC. Therefore, we compared the characteristics of ALD and NASH patients with HCC.Methods: A total of 1202 patients received a diagnosis of HCC at Tokyo Women's Medical University from 1989 to 2003, and their clinical data were collected prospectively. A clinical diagnosis was made to diagnose ALD, and clinical and histological changes were required to diagnose NASH. Of these patients, 88 received a diagnosis of HCC arising from ALD. Among them, a biopsy specimen was obtained in 50 patients (ALD‐HCC group). We compared the clinical and histological characteristics of 50 ALD and 8 NASH patients (NASH‐HCC group) associated with HCC. They all were negative for hepatitis virus infection by serological methods.Results: The most significant difference between these groups was sex. Women were significantly more common in the NASH‐HCC group (6% vs. 63%; p < 0.0001). The median age was 65 years in the ALD‐HCC group and 68 years in the NASH‐HCC group. The risk factors for NASH all were high in the NASH‐HCC group. However, liver function tests were similar in these groups. In the ALD‐HCC group, 46 (92%) patients showed severe fibrosis; 2 had septal fibrosis and 44 had cirrhosis. All patients in the NASH‐HCC group showed severe fibrosis, and seven had cirrhosis.Conclusions: Severe fibrosis might be an important risk factor for HCC. Patients who have ALD or NASH with cirrhosis may develop HCC. This seems to occur in a sufficient number of cases to warrant regular screening for this complication.
Hypervascular Liver Nodules in Heavy Drinkers of Alcohol
Authors: Kim Soo Ryang , Maekawa Yoko , Imoto Susumu , Sugano Masahiko , Kudo Masatoshi 
Published: April 2006

Background: Three cases of hypervascular nodules in the liver, without hepatitis B or C virus infection and with a history of alcohol abuse (120 ml/day for 15 to 30 years), are presented.Results: Ultrasound examination revealed hypoechoic nodules in segment 6 (2 cm in diameter, case 1), in the right and left lobes (1–2 cm multiple type, case 2), and in segment 4 (4 cm, case 3). Hepatic angiography and computed tomography during arteriography revealed hypervascular nodules in the three cases. First, hepatocellular carcinoma, focal nodular hyperplasia, hemangioma, hemangioendothelioma, inflammatory pseudotumor, and pseudolymphoma were diagnostically differentiated. Histologically, there was no evidence of hepatocellular carcinoma or of any of the pathologies considered in the differential diagnosis by imaging studies. In case 1, the lesion was composed of an irregular, thin, trabecular‐patterned hepatic acinus with slighter hypercellularity than in the nonnodular area. In cases 2 and 3, the lesions were composed mainly of fibrosis without hyperplasia, showing stellate scar–like fibrosis septa dividing the nodule. Marked pericellular fibrosis, neutrophilic infiltration, and Mallory bodies in the cytoplasm were also observed. In cases 1 and 2, small unpaired arteries explaining the hypervascularity of the nodules were observed.Conclusion: These hypervascular nodules were classified as regenerative, not neoplastic, nodules according to the classification of the International Working Party.
Role of Hepatitis B Virus in Hepatocarcinogenesis in Alcoholics
Authors: Yotsuyanagi Hiroshi , Hashidume Kiyoe , Suzuki Michihiro , Maeyama Shiro , Takayama Tadatoshi , Uchikoshi Toshiyuki 
Published: April 2006

Background: The pathogenesis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in alcoholics is not understood well. Occult hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection may have some roles.Methods: We compared the clinical features of HCC in patients with and without a history of excessive alcohol consumption. For hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg)‐negative, anti–hepatitis C virus (HCV)‐negative (NBNC) patients, HBV DNA in the tumor was detected by polymerase chain reaction (PCR)‐Southern blotting. Integrated and episomal forms of HBV DNA were detected using agarose gel electrophoresis after nested PCR and were quantified by real‐time PCR.Results: For patients who were anti–HCV positive in serum, the age at diagnosis of HCC was lower for alcoholics than nonalcoholics. For serum HBsAg‐positive patients and those who were NBNC, the age at diagnosis of HCC was the same for alcoholics and nonalcoholics. The numbers of tumors and of patients with vascular invasion did not differ between alcoholics and nonalcoholics in any subset. In three NBNC‐HCC patients with a history of alcohol abuse, HBV DNA was detected in the tumor. Integrated HBV DNA was detected in one patient, and the episomal form of HBV DNA was detected in two patients.Conclusion: HBV may be found in episomal and integrated forms in the chromosomal DNA of the livers of habitual drinkers who are negative for HBsAg and anti‐HCV and may have a direct role in hepatocarcinogenesis.
Clinicopathological Study of Hepatic Nodular Lesions in Patients With Alcoholic Liver Cirrhosis
Authors: Sobue Satoshi , Nomura Tomoyuki , Nakao Haruhisa , Mizuno Yaichi , Nojiri Syunsuke , Kanematsu Takayoshi , Senda Katsuhiro , Murasaki Gengo , Itoh Makoto 
Published: April 2006

Background: There have been few reports concerning the occurrence of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) in heavy drinkers not sensitized by hepatitis B virus (HBV) or hepatitis C virus. With current advances in diagnostic methods, hypervascular tumors are often discovered on imaging findings in alcoholics, and it is important to differentiate them from HCCs.Methods: The subjects were 16 alcoholics who had hepatic nodules and were hepatitis B surface antigen negative and hepatitis C virus antibody negative and were classified into two groups: (1) the HBV group with hepatitis B surface antibody and/or hepatitis B core antibody and (2) the alcoholic group without these antibodies. Computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging, and tumor biopsy were conducted for all subjects, and digital subtraction angiography or CT during arterial portography and CT during arteriography were performed for all but one case.Results: In the alcoholic group, there were no significant differences in the clinical features between the presence and absence of HCC. All nodules in the HBV group were HCCs, whereas in the alcoholic group, 6 of 16 lesions were HCCs and the others were hyperplastic nodules. Limited to the hypervascular tumors in the alcoholic group, on magnetic resonance imaging T1‐weighted images, hyperplastic nodules showed hyperintensity, whereas HCCs were iso‐ or hypointense.Conclusion: HCCs can occur at a high rate in alcoholics, especially in those with HBV‐associated antibodies. The patients with alcoholic liver cirrhosis sometimes have hypervascular tumors that are not cancer but hyperplastic nodules, and care must be taken in their treatment.
The Effect of Information Quality on Optimal Portfolio Choice
Authors: Lundtofte Frederik 
Published: April 2006

AbstractThree types of agents acting on different information sets are considered: fully informed agents, insiders, and outsiders. Differences in information quality are shown to affect the properties of their optimal portfolios. For an outsider, the share of wealth invested in the stock is decreasing in the variance of the stock. However, for an insider, the effect of an increasing stock variance on the optimal portfolio weight is ambiguous. In a calibration to U.S. data, the confidence intervals of the insider's demand for the stock converge, whereas the outsider's confidence intervals become wider.
The Original Maturity of Corporate Bonds: The Influence of Credit Rating, Asset Maturity, Security, and Macroeconomic Conditions
Authors: Bali Geetanjali , Skinner Frank S. 
Published: April 2006

AbstractWe examine the determinants of the new issue maturity of corporate bonds. As credit rating decreases, new bond issues have longer maturities, but substantial variation in maturity within each rating class remains. We seek to explain the variation of new issue maturity within credit classes. We find that asset maturity, security covenants, and macroeconomic conditions influence the new issue maturity of bonds within rating categories.
Block Trade Price Asymmetry and Changes in Depth: Evidence from the Australian Stock Exchange
Authors: Anderson Hamish D. , Cooper Sapphire , Prevost Andrew K. 
Published: April 2006

AbstractThis paper examines the price response to large block transactions on the Australian Stock Exchange during the 1999 sample period. We find asymmetry in the price reaction between buyer‐ and seller‐initiated trades with respect to size and resiliency following the trade. We extend previous research by examining order book changes surrounding block trades and relating price effects to changes in book depth. Purchases are associated with persistent order book imbalance, while the sales imbalance is insignificant. Cross‐sectional analysis demonstrates that price resiliency following a trade is related to the speed at which limit orders arrive to replenish book depth.
The Asymmetric Impact of Monetary Policy on Currency Markets
Authors: Lobo Bento J. , Darrat Ali F. , Ramchander Sanjay 
Published: April 2006

AbstractThis study examines whether tightening and easing actions of the Federal Reserve symmetrically influence currency markets. Using daily data on four exchange rates from 1989 to 2001, we find that changes in the Fed's interest rate target are positively related to changes in the value of the dollar. Surprises associated with monetary tightening have a larger announcement effect as compared to monetary easing for the British pound, German mark, and Canadian dollar, whereas the opposite is true for the Japanese yen. The results appear to be driven by the reactions of foreign central banks to Fed actions, the Fed's credibility as a policymaker, and by the change in the Fed's disclosure policy beginning in 1994.
Relative irritancy of free fatty acids of different chain length
Authors: Stillman Michael A. , Maibach Howrd I. , Shallita Alan R. 
Published: April 2006

Free Putty acids of human skin surface Lipids have previously been implicated in The pathogenesis of acne vulgaris because of their apparent irritant and comedogenic properties. Prior studies on the relative irritancy of free fatty acids revealed the saturated C8 to C14 fatty acids and a C18 dienotic unsaturated fatty acid to he most irritating.Saturated free fatty acids from C3 to C18, and unsaturated C18 free fatly acids were applied daily under occlusive patch tests to human skin until detectable erythema appeared. The most irritating fatty acids were C8 through C12. Of the unsaturated fatty acids tested, only linoleic acid produced irritation.
Sensitivity to cinnamic aldehyde in a toothpaste. 2. Further studies
Authors: Kirton V. , Wilkinson D. S. 
Published: April 2006

The authors carried out further studies to assess the significance of the finding of patients sensitive to cinnamic aldehyde in a toothpaste. Selected groups of patients in whom sensitivity to this might have been overlooked were patch‐tested. With the exception of three patients, two with cosmetic sensitivity and one with hand eczema, the results were negative.The frequency of use of the original toothpaste was assessed among patients attending the clinic and this was followed by a circular letter to general practitioners and dentists inviting referral of patients with oral symptoms. As a result, five further cases, four of whom gave positive patch test reactions to cinnamic aldehyde, were discovered.The authors emphasize the importance of attempting to obtain accurate information as quickly as possible when ‘new’ or hitherto unsuspected allergens are implicated.
Allergic paraben and benzyl alcohol hypersensitivity relationship of the “delayed” and “immediate” varieties
Authors: Fisher Alexander A. 
Published: April 2006

From a review of the literature, and the results of scratch, intracutaneous and subcutaneous injections of patients with parabens and benzyl alcohol sensitivity of the delayed type characterised by allergic contact dermatitis and strongly positive patch tests, it would appear that such sensitivity is not usually accompanied by the immediate urticarial type of allergic sensitivity. This communication concerns itself with results of testing patients with clinical sensitivity and positive patch test reactions to the parabens or benzyl alcohol with scratch, intracutaneous and subcutaneous injections of these preservatives in order to determine the relationship of the “delayed” type of allergic hypersensitivity to the parabens and benzyl alcohol with the “immediate” variety of hypersensitivity.The parabens and benzyl alcohol are widely employed as preservatives for many allergenic extracts used in scratch and intracutaneous testing. In addition, these preservatives are used in injectable corticosteroid medicaments and in local anesthetic solutions. In order to determine whether the presence of these preservatives in allergenic extracts would produce false positive scratch or intracutaneous tests or might produce an immediate, urticarial or anaphylactic reaction in patients with allergic contact dermatitis and positive patch test reactions to these preservatives, two patients with positive patch test reactions and allergic contact dermatitis to the parabens and two with similar benzyl alcohol sensitivity were tested in the manner detailed in the following case reports.
The effect of perfume “ageing” on the allergenicity of individual perfume ingredients
Authors: Fisher Alexander A. , Dooms‐Goossens Anne 
Published: April 2006

An ingredient of a perfume which is a sensitizer may become hypoallergenic by interacting with other ingredients during the ageing process of the perfume. Thus, a patient with an exquisite allergic sensitivity to cinnamic aldehyde tolerates two perfumes containing cinnamic aldehyde without acquiring a dermatitis.There are several theories of why cinnamic aldehyde can become a non‐sensitizer in a perfume mixture. Testing with a mature perfume may be much more significant than testing with individual ingredients.
Occupational dermatosis due to a soil fumigant
Authors: Nater J. P. , Gooskens V. H. J. 
Published: April 2006

D‐D® mixture is a preplant soil fumigant. It contains dichloropropanes and dichloropropenes. epichlorohydrin and is known as a primary irritant.Three cases of untoward reaction to D‐D are reported. By patch testing, the existence of a contact allergic sensitivity to D‐D could be proved in one patient. The other two cases reacted negativoly; they were probably of a primary irritant origin.Patch tests with compounds related to D‐D suggest that the cause of contact allergy must be sought in the propene(s) fraction of D‐D. In future cases of untoward reactions to D‐D, patch testing appears to be necessary in order to differentiate between a contact allergic and a primary irritant reaction.
Phototoxicity of methoxsalen in various vehicles
Authors: Suhonen Raimo 
Published: April 2006

Methoxsalen (8‐methoxypsoralen) was used as the phototoxic substance in the study of the properties of various vehicles in photoepicutaneous testing. Macrogols as such were relatively poor bases, and positive reactions were seen only occasionally at a concentration of 0.05 % methoxsalen.Increasing amounts of water in macrogols brought forth more numerous and stronger reactions. The phototoxicity also increased when ethanol was added. The reactions were, however, weaker thantothose with aqueous bases.Wool fat and glycerol as vehicles usually reacted in the same way as polyethylene glycols when water was added. An explanation of the mechanism of the changes in the properties of vehicles due to the addition of water/ethanol requires further investigation.
Allergic contact dermatitis and conjunctivitis to corticosteroids
Authors: Alani Safwat D. , Alani Milhim D. 
Published: April 2006

This is a report of two patients suspected of having allergic dermato‐conjunctivitis due to corticosteroids. Both were tested with (he constituents of the ointments they were using, that is, corticosteroids, antibacterial agents, preservatives, and other active ingredients of the ointment bases. Both patients showed positive allergic patch test reactions to the respective corticosteroid betamethasonc valerate, and one to hydrocortisone, neomycin, and a rubber additive.The importance of routine patch testing in ophthalmic practice to detect sensitizers in cases of allergy is mentioned. Hydrocortisone (25) in petrolatum is recommended for patch testing.