Tanja Bauer, Klaus Weinberger, Wolfgang Jilg – 30 December 2003 – Several naturally occurring variants of immunogenic T cell epitopes were identified within the hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg). The effect of these variants on the cellular immune response was studied in individuals vaccinated against HBV. Class‐II restricted T‐cell responses of 30 vaccinees were analyzed after stimulation of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) with 4 synthetic peptides representing the 4 T‐cell epitopes of HBsAg known as of yet.

Rafael Bañares, Agustín Albillos, Diego Rincón, Sonia Alonso, Mónica González, Luis Ruiz‐del‐Arbol, Magdalena Salcedo, Luis‐Miguel Molinero – 30 December 2003 – Endoscopic therapy, involving either injection sclerosis or band ligation, is considered the intervention of first choice for acute variceal bleeding (AVB). Pharmacologic agents have also been shown to be highly effective in the control of the bleeding episode.

Anup Ramachandran, Ramamoorthy Prabhu, Simmy Thomas, Jayasree Basivi Reddy, Anna Pulimood, Kunissery A. Balasubramanian – 30 December 2003 – Cirrhosis is associated with altered gastrointestinal function, and bacterial translocation from the gut plays an important role in the etiology of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP) seen in this condition. Although alterations in gut motility and intestinal permeability are recognized in cirrhosis, the intestinal damage at the cellular and subcellular levels is not well understood.

Christina Ziemann, Dirk Schäfer, Gudrun Rüdell, Georg F. Kahl, Karen I. Hirsch‐Ernst – 30 December 2003 – Overexpression of mdr1‐type P‐glycoproteins (P‐gps) is thought to contribute to primary chemotherapy resistance of untreated hepatocellular carcinoma. However, mechanisms of endogenous multidrug resistance 1 (mdr1) gene activation still remain unclear.

María de Luján Alvarez, Juan Pablo Cerliani, Juan Monti, Cristina Carnovale, María Teresa Ronco, Gerardo Pisani, María Cristina Lugano, María Cristina Carrillo – 30 December 2003 – To determine whether interferon alfa (IFN‐α) prevents in vivo oncogenesis in very‐early‐stage cancer cells, we evaluated the action of IFN‐α2b over preneoplastic foci in rats.

Stuart Raaka, Kier V. Huehnergarth, Kris V. Kowdley, Mary P. Bronner – 30 December 2003

Yasuharu Imai, Masahiko Ohsawa, Hideo Tanaka, Shinji Tamura, Hiroyuki Sugawara, Jun Kuyama, Kazuto Fukada, Takeshi Yonezawa M.D., Yuji Matszawa – 30 December 2003

Motoko Sasaki, S. Alice Long, Judy Van de Water, Xiao‐Song He, Len Shultz, Ross L. Coppel, Aftab Ansari, Yasuni Nakanuma, M. Eric Gershwin – 30 December 2003

Anna S. F. Lok, Brian J. McMahon, Henry Bodenheimer – 30 December 2003

Johnson Y. N. Lau, Robert C. Tam, T. Jake Liang, Zhi Hong – 30 December 2003