Carotid intima-media thickness and plaque assessment by trained medical residents: validation and preliminary testing of a training protocol.

Background: Training of nonsonographer physicians or staff members is needed to implement carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT) and plaque screening by ultrasound for the assessment of subclinical atherosclerosis. The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of formal training on CIMT assessment and plaque detection by medical residents.

Methods: A medical resident (R1) was trained using an abbreviated American Society of Echocardiography CIMT protocol.

Biogenesis, structure, and immune-suppressive effects of virus-like particles of a Drosophila parasitoid, Leptopilina victoriae.

Drosophila melanogaster larvae are attacked by virulent strains of parasitoid wasps. Females of Leptopilina heterotoma produce virus-like particles (VLPs) that efficiently destroy lamellocytes, a major larval immune effector cell type. We report here that L.