Relationship between maternal and newborn endothelial function and oxidative stress.

Objective: To evaluate the Relationship between maternal and newborn endothelial function and oxidative stress.

Methods: Forty-three pregnant women and their offspring were evaluated. As markers of endothelial function, the flow-mediated dilation (FMD) was measured in pregnant women in the second and third trimesters, and nitric oxide (NO) was quantified in the endothelial cells of the umbilical cord vein.

Antigenicity and immunogenicity of a novel Plasmodium vivax circumsporozoite derived synthetic vaccine construct.

Background: The circumsporozoite (CS) protein is a major malaria sporozoite surface antigen currently being considered as vaccine candidate. Plasmodium vivax CS (PvCS) protein comprises a dimorphic central repeat fragment flanked by conserved regions that contain functional domains involved in parasite invasion of host cells. The protein amino (N-terminal) flank has a cleavage region (region I), essential for proteolytic processing prior to parasite invasion of liver cells.

Neurodegenerative diversity in human cortical contusion: histological analysis of tissue derived from decompressive craniectomy.

The principal aim in the management of patients with cerebral contusion (CC) following severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) is the prevention, amelioration, and treatment of secondary neuronal dysfunction and pathology. Distinguishing between irreversibly damaged and surviving tissue could have considerable therapeutic and prognostic implications for patients. To characterize structurally the neuronal compartment of the contused region in samples derived from patients who suffered severe TBI and were subjected to decompressive craniectomy, we used NeuN, a neuronal marker.