Purpose of Review Anesthesia workforce gaps in low-and middle-income countries (LMICs) can hinder safe surgical care. Several countries have fewer than one anesthesiologist per million population and some have fewer than two anesthesiologists nationally. Limited apprenticeship opportunities and inadequate supervision present serious challenges in these locations. Although simulation training could help disseminate expert guidance, the high cost, technical challenges, and varied approaches limit application. We reviewed the literature on cost-efficient and effective simulation training programs for anesthesia workforces in LMICs. Recent Findings Publications relevant to anesthesia simulation in these countries are limited but include anesthesia skill gap identification, technical skill training, and scenario management. Summary High-cost, high-technology simulation available in high-resource countries is often impractical in LMICs. We identified low-cost approaches that are typically used to assess skill deficiencies and develop nontechnical and technical skills. Future studies should evaluate optimal modalities and equipment for greatest impact.

Background Ultrasound-guided peripheral intravenous line (USGPIV) placement is becoming an important tool in current clinical practice. Many residency programs utilize unstructured clinical observation to evaluate residents in this and other procedural skills. Simulation-based assessment permits educators to make objective, standardized observations, and may be ideal for assessment of important procedural competencies.

Transport properties of high-energy-density plasmas are influenced by the ion collision rate. Traditionally, this rate involves the Coulomb logarithm, ln Λ. Typical values of ln Λ are ≈ 10 to 20 in kinetic theories where transport properties are dominated by weak-scattering events caused by long-range forces. The validity of these theories breaks down for strongly-coupled plasmas, when ln Λ is of order one. We present measurements and simulations of collision data in strongly-coupled plasmas when ln Λ is small. Experiments are carried out in the first dual-species ultracold neutral plasma (UNP), using Ca + and Yb + ions. We find strong collisional coupling between the different ion species in the bulk of the plasma. We simulate the plasma using a two-species fluid code that includes Coulomb logarithms derived from either a screened Coulomb potential or a the potential of mean force. We find generally good agreement between the experimental measurements and the simulations. With some improvements, the mixed Ca + and Yb + dual-species UNP will be a promising platform for testing theoretical expressions for ln Λ and collision cross-sections from kinetic theories through measurements of energy relaxation, stopping power, two-stream instabilities, and the evolution of sculpted distribution functions in an idealized environment in which the initial temperatures, densities, and charge states are accurately known.

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