Design of a multiepitopic Zaire ebolavirus protein and its expression in plant cells.

The recent Ebola virus disease (EVD) outbreaks make the development of efficacious and low cost vaccines against Ebola virus (EBOV) an urgent goal. Multiepitopic vaccines allow a rational design rendering vaccines able to induce proper immune responses in terms of polarization and potency. In addition, the pathogen variants can be easily covered by including epitopes conserved among relevant isolates.

Community-based childhood obesity prevention intervention for parents improves health behaviors and food parenting practices among Hispanic, low-income parents.

Background: Given the current prevalence of childhood obesity among Hispanic populations, and the importance of parental feeding behaviors, we aimed to assess the impact of the evidence-based Healthy Children, Healthy Families (HCHF) intervention on responsive food parenting practices (FPPs) in a low-income Hispanic population.

Methods: This community-based pilot study used a non-experimental pre/post within-subjects design. Parents ( = 94) of children aged 3-11 years old were recruited to participate in an 8-week, weekly group-based intervention.

An immunoinformatic approach for identification of Trypanosoma cruzi HLA-A2-restricted CD8(+) T cell epitopes.

Chagas disease is a major neglected tropical disease caused by persistent chronic infection with the protozoan parasite Trypanosoma cruzi. An estimated 8 million people are infected with T. cruzi, however only 2 drugs are approved for treatment and no vaccines are available.

Building better biotherapeutics and vaccines by design: EpiVax, Inc., an immunology company.

EpiVax, Inc., is an early-stage informatics and immunology biotechnology company in Providence, Rhode Island. It applies computational tools to harness immunity in three major areas: immunomodulation, biotherapeutic immunogenicity risk assessment and de-risking, and vaccine development.

Report from the field: Fifth Vaccine Renaissance in Providence RI.

When the next pandemic emerges, will we be ready? Experts say that the number of animal to human "species jumps" is bound to increase as populations increase and the speed of travel between continents accelerates. Typical pandemic timelines no longer apply.(1) Pandemic H1N1 traveled the world in just weeks, as did SARS, despite major efforts to contain both outbreaks.

The Sir Mark Oliphant Conferences: international frontiers of science and technology.

The Vaccines and Immunotherapy Technologies Conference was organized by Professor Ian Frazer FAA, FTSE (Chair)(Centre for Immunology and Cancer Research, University of Queensland), Professor Peter Gray FTSE (Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, University of Queensland), Professor Ian Gust FTSE, (Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of Melbourne), Professor Graham Mitchell FAA, (Foursight Associates Pty Ltd), Professor Ian Ramshaw (John Curtin School of Medical Research, Australian National University) and held at The Shine Dome in Canberra, 9-11 April. The conference was funded by the Australian Department of Innovation, Industry, Science and Research.

The measles campaign in West and Central Africa: remembering the future.

The rainy season was once the harbinger of measles and child deaths in Western Africa, but measles has now become so uncommon that some younger West African doctors have never seen a single case. A series of successful measles campaigns were carried out in the late eighties through the early part of this century in West Africa--these campaigns have almost eliminated measles in Mali, the thirtieth poorest country in the world. This article provides a retelling of the measles campaigns that were carried out in West Africa during that time period for young doctors and vaccine researchers.