Kathleen B. Schwarz, Tara J. Moore, Rodney E. Willoughby, Siok‐Bi Wee, Steven L. Vonderfecht, Robert H. Yolken – 1 October 1990 – Recent observations in children with rotavirus gastroenteritis and in infant mice given rotavirus vaccine by oral administration suggest that this well‐known gastrointestinal pathogen may infect the liver. To examine this possibility, the susceptibility of Hep G2 cells to infection with a variety of rotavirus strains was tested. These cells were used because they are considered to be well differentiated and exhibit many liver‐specific functions.

Shie‐Pon Tzung, Katherine C. Gaines, Peter Lance, M. Jane Ehrke, Stefan A. Cohen – 1 October 1990 – Murine lymphokine‐activated‐killer cell activity was readily induced by culturing spleen cells with 10 U/ml of interleukin‐2 for 4 days. In contrast, very little activity was generated under the same culture conditions when nonparenchymal liver cells were used as the responding cells.

Mark G. Davies, Michael J. Rowan, Padraig Macmathuna, P. W. Napoleon Keeling, Donald G. Weir, John Feely – 1 October 1990 – Recently many variants of electroencephalogramevoked responses have been studied as potential diagnostic aids in the detection and evaluation of hepatic encephalopathy. This study assesses the value of the auditory P300 event—related potential — a slow component of the auditory evoked response — as a tool in this field. Twenty‐one nonencephalopathic and 12 encephalopathic (grade 1/2) cirrhotic patients and 26 controls were assessed clinically and psychometrically.

Wim G. V. Quint, Inge de Bruijn, Hans Kruining, Rudolf A. Heijtink – 1 October 1990 – Serum samples from 62 women, inadvertently infected with hepatitis B virus in an in vitro fertilization program, were tested for the presence of hepatitis B virus‐DNA using the polymerase chain reaction. Under conditions of a strict spatial separation of DNA extraction, amplification and product analysis, we succeeded in detection of as few as 360 hepatitis B virus particles per milliliter.

Juan Antonio Quiroga, Inmaculada Castillo, Juan Carlos Porres, Santos Casado, Federico Sáez, María Gracia Martínez, Mariano Gómez, Luis Inglada, Luis Sánchez‐Sicilia, Adela Mora, Fernando Galiana, Guillermina Barril, Vicente Carreño – 1 October 1990 – Patients undergoing long‐term hemodialysis are at high risk of acquiring hepatitis B yet tend to have poor rates of response to hepatitis B vaccine.

Julius L. Toth, P. Robert C. Harvey, G. Aravinda Upadyha, Steven M. Strasberg – 1 October 1990 – To study albumin absorption by the gallbladder in man, an in vitro model was first established in the pig and compared with in vivo function in the same species. Water and electrolyte transport and 125I‐albumin absorption and protein secretion in vivo and in vitro were compared. Then similar in vitro studies were performed on human gallbladders obtained at surgery. The in vivo study in the pig was performed without disturbing the gallbladder except to tie a cannula in the cystic duct end.

Juan Rosai – 1 October 1990 – Hepatocellular carcinoma with osteoclast‐like giant cells (hepatic giant cell carcinoma ([HGCC]) is a rare entity, with only three cases reported. The tumor is histologically similar to giant cell tumor (GCT) of bone, and the origin of the multinucleated giant cells and mononuclear stromal cells has not been determined. The purpose of this report is to present a case of this rare tumor and compare its ultrastructural and immunohistochemical features with those of a conventional GCT of bone.

1 October 1990

Jens H. Henriksen – 1 October 1990 – In patients with cirrhosis, O2 uptake, i.e., O2 consumption, is abnormally deceased. We administered 50% O2 for 30 min in eight patients with alcoholic cirrhosis to determine whether the subsequent increase in arterial O2 content may correct the low O2 consumption. In addition, we studied in these patients the reflex control of cardiac output and blood pressure by arterial baroreceptors, as O2 inhalation induces a systemic vasoconstriction.

Mordechai Rabinovitz, Albert B. Zajko, Tarek Hassanein, Balu Shetty, Klaus M. Bron, Robert R. Schade, Judith S. Gavaler, Geoffrey Block, David H. van Thiel, Andrew Dekker – 1 October 1990 – Malignant strictures of the extrahepatic bile ducts are difficult to distinguish from benign strictures, particularly in patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis.