Rapid decay of transthoracic echocardiography skills at 1 month: A prospective observational study.

Objective: Focused transthoracic echocardiography (FTTE) is an emerging tool in the management of critically ill patients, but the lack of adequate training models has limited the expansion of this technology. Although basic FTTE training courses have been shown to be sufficient in developing echocardiography skills, limited data exist regarding skill retention. In an effort to develop an adequate FTTE training model, we sought to determine the degree of skill retention after FTTE training.

Safety and immunogenicity of new cell-cultured smallpox vaccine compared with calf-lymph derived vaccine: a blind, single-centre, randomised controlled trial.

Background: US government organisations have identified the need for a new smallpox vaccine to replenish limited stocks of the approved, calf-lymph derived vaccine, the manufacture of which is no longer acceptable. We aimed to compare the safety and immunogenicity of the new cell-cultured smallpox vaccine (CCSV) to that of the calf-lymph derived vaccine (as a positive control) in 350 healthy, adult volunteers.

Methods: We did a randomised controlled study at the University of Kentucky Medical Center.

Development of a novel vaccinia-neutralization assay based on reporter-gene expression.

In anticipation of large-scale smallpox vaccination, clinical trials of new vaccine candidates with improved safety profiles, and new vaccinia immune globulin (VIG) products, there is an immediate need to develop new assays to measure vaccinia-specific immune responses. The classical assay to measure vaccinia neutralization, the plaque-reduction neutralization test (PRNT), is slow, labor intensive, and difficult to validate and transfer. Here we describe the development of a novel vaccinia-neutralization assay based on the expression of a reporter gene, beta-galactosidase (beta-Gal).