OBJECTIVES: Minimally invasive paracentetic suprapubic cystostomy is a technique that should be learned by all surgical trainees and residents. This study aimed to develop a self-made training model for paracentetic suprapubic cystostomy and placement of the suprapubic catheter and then to evaluate its effectiveness in training fourth-year medical students. METHODS: Medical students were divided into an experimental group receiving comprehensive training involving literature, video, and model use and a control group receiving all the same training protocols as the experimental group except without hands-on practice using the model. Each student’s performance was video-recorded, followed by subjective and objective evaluations by urology experts and statistical analysis. RESULTS: All students completed the surgical procedures successfully. The experimental group’s performance scores were significantly higher than those of the control group (median final performance scores of 91.0 vs. 86.8, respectively). Excellent scores were achieved by more students in the experimental group than in the control group (55% vs. 20%), and fewer poor scores were observed in the experimental group than in the control group (5% vs. 30%). CONCLUSIONS: Based on its cost-effectiveness, reusability, and training effectiveness, this paracentetic suprapubic cystostomy training model is able to achieve goals in teaching practice quickly and easily. Use of the model should be encouraged for training senior medical students and resident physicians who may be expected to perform emergent suprapubic catheter insertion at some time.

Interplay between the host and human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) has a pivotal role in the outcome of infection. A region (referred to as UL/b’) present in the Toledo strain of HCMV and low passage clinical isolates contains 19 additional genes, which are absent in the highly passaged laboratory strain AD169. Products of the UL/b’ genes may determine the manifestations of HCMV infection in vivo. However, little is known about the host factors, which interact with UL/b’ proteins. This study was conducted to investigate the function of the HCMV UL136 protein. By yeast two-hybrid screening, the β1 subunit of the host Na+/K+-ATPase (ATP1B1) was identified to be a candidate protein, which interacts with the HCMV UL136 protein. The interaction was further evaluated both in vitro by pull-down assay and in vivo by immunofluorescent co-localization. The results showed that the UL136 protein can interact with ATP1B1 in vitro. Co-localization of UL136-EGFP and ATP1B1-DsRed in cell membranes suggests that ATP1B1 was a partner of the UL136 protein. It can be proposed that the HCMV UL136 protein may have important roles in processes such as cell-to-cell spread, and in maintaining cell osmotic pressure and intracellular ion homeostasis during HCMV infection.