Assessing a novel critical care ultrasonography training program for intensive care unit nurses in China

Critical care ultrasonography(CCUS)is essential in the evaluation of shock,respiratory failure,and to guide central venous access.[1] Nurses also use ultrasound for nursing practice such as thrombosis screening,ultrasound-guided vascular puncture,feeding tube placement,and lung physical therapy.[2]CCUS strengths are lack of radiation,portability,and low costs.Therefore,CCUS has considerable clinical use in critical care.

Selective elimination of host cells harboring replication-competent human immunodeficiency virus reservoirs:a promising therapeutic strategy for HIV cure

Many seminal advances have been made in human immunodeficiency virus(HIV)/AIDS research over the past four decades.Treatment strategies,such as gene therapy and immunotherapy,are yielding promising results to effectively control HIV infection.Despite this,a cure for HIV/AIDS is not envisioned in the near future.A recently published academic study has raised awareness regarding a promising alternative therapeutic option for HIV/AIDS,referred to as“selective elimination of host cells capable of producing HIV”(SECH).Similar to the“shock and kill strategy,”the SECH approach requires the simultaneous administration of drugs targeting key mechanisms in specific cells to efficiently eliminate HIV replication-competent cellular reservoirs.Herein,we comprehensively review the specific mechanisms targeted by the SECH strategy.Briefly,the suggested cocktail of drugs should contain(i)latency reversal agents to promote the latency reversal process in replication-competent reservoir cells,(ii)pro-apoptotic and anti-autophagy drugs to induce death of infected cells through various pathways,and finally(iii)drugs that eliminate new cycles of infection by prevention of HIV attachment to host cells,and by HIV integrase inhibitor drugs.Finally,we discuss three major challenges that are likely to restrict the application of the SECH strategy in HIV/AIDS patients.

A comparative analysis of the endoscopic endonasal and pterional approaches for clipping anterior communicating artery aneurysms on three-dimensional printed models

Anterior communicating artery(ACoA)aneurysms account for the largest proportion of intracranial aneurysms and are the most likely to rupture.[1]The main treatment methods are endovascular embolization and traditional craniotomy clipping.[2]With the rapid development of interventional materials and technologies in the last two decades,many medical centers have adopted endovascular embolization as the preferred treatment for intracranial aneurysms.However,some aneurysms still require traditional craniotomy clipping.Transsphenoidal endoscopy technology has also developed rapidly in recent years.[3]Because intracranial aneurysms are mostly within the circle of Willis and occur on the ventral side of the skull base,a few neurosurgeons have tried to use an endoscopic endonasal approach(EEA)for clipping.[4-6]However,the number of cases reported in the literature is small and more anatomical studies are needed to deeply analyze the approach and technique.