Experience with a "social model" of capacity building: the Peoples-uni

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Taking advantage of societal trends involving the "third sector", a social model of philanthropy and the open-source software and educational resource movements, provides the opportunity for online education for capacity building at low cost. The Peoples Open Access Education Initiative, Peoples-uni, aims to help build public health capacity in this way, and this paper describes its evolution.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The development of the Peoples-uni has involved the creation of an administrative infrastructure, calls for and identification of volunteers, development of both the information and communications technology infrastructure and course content, and identification of students and course delivery to them. A pilot course module was offered for delivery.</p> <p>Results and Discussion</p> <p>Volunteers have been prepared to become involved in the administrative structures, as trustees, members of advisory and quality assurance and educational oversight groups. More than 100 people have offered to be involved as course developers or as facilitators for course delivery, and to date 46 of these, from 13 countries, have been actively involved. Volunteer experts in information and communications technology have extended open-source course-delivery mechanisms. Following an encouraging pilot course module, 117 students from 23 countries have enrolled in the first set of six course modules. Although the business model is not fully developed, this approach allows current module delivery at USD 50 each, to be more affordable to the target audience than traditional university-based education.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>A social model of capacity building in public health has been started and has been able to attract volunteers and students from a wide range of countries. The costs are likely to be low enough to allow this method to make a substantial contribution to capacity building in low-income settings.</p

Effect of Electrically Mediated Intratumor and Intramuscular Delivery of a Plasmid Encoding IFN α on Visible B16 Mouse Melanomas

Interferon α may be used as a single agent therapy for metastatic malignant melanoma or as an adjuvant to chemotherapy. Delivery of interferon α by gene therapy offers an alternative to recombinant protein therapy. Electrically mediated delivery enhances plasmid expression in a number of tissues, for instance skin, liver, muscle and tumors including melanomas. Here we compare the effect of delivery of a plasmid encoding mouse interferon α on growth of visible B16 mouse melanomas following electrically mediated delivery to muscle or directly to the tumor. Intratumoral delivery of interferon α plasmid not only slows melanoma growth, but induces complete, long term, regression. This effect was not observed after intramuscular delivery

Helping to prioritise interventions for depression and schizophrenia: use of Population Impact Measures

BACKGROUND: To demonstrate the potential of Population Impact Measures in helping to prioritise alternative interventions for psychiatry, this paper estimates the number of relapses and hospital readmissions prevented for depression and schizophrenia by adopting best practice recommendations. The results are designed to relate to particular local populations. METHODS: Literature-based estimates of disease prevalence, relapse and re-admission rates, current and best practice treatment rates, levels of adherence with interventions and relative risk reduction associated with different interventions were obtained and calculations made of the Number of Events Prevented in your Population (NEPP). RESULTS: In a notional population of 100,000 adults, going from current to 'best' practice for different interventions, the number of relapses prevented in the next year for schizophrenia were 6 (increasing adherence to medication), 23 (family intervention), 43 (relapse prevention), and 44 (early intervention); and for depression the number of relapses prevented in the next year were 100 (increasing care management), 227 (continuing treatment with antidepressants), 279 (increasing rate of diagnosis), and 325 (Cognitive Behaviour Therapy). Hospital re-admissions prevented in the next year for schizophrenia were 6 (increasing adherence to medication), 36 (relapse prevention) and 40 (early intervention). CONCLUSION: Population Impact measures provide the possibility for a policy-maker to see the impact of a new intervention on the population as a whole, and to compare alternative interventions to best improve psychiatric disease outcomes. The methods are much simpler than others, and have the advantage of being transparent

Biobank: Who'd bank on it?

The document attached has been archived with permission from the editor of the Medical Journal of Australia. An external link to the publisher’s copy is included

Does a bursary scheme for students in low- to middle-income countries influence outcomes in a master’s programme in Public Health?

Introduction The People’s Open Access Education Initiative (Peoples-uni) provides online education for health professionals in Public Health at the master’s level. Although fees are low due to the use of volunteers and Open Educational Resources, a bursary scheme is provided to waive all or some of the fees. This study tests the hypothesis that student outcomes of completing and passing modules are higher among those given a bursary than others. Methods Data were retrieved for all students enrolling between 2009-2017, including demographics and module outcomes, where available. Multivariable logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with a successful bursary application, as well as to elicit whether a successful bursary application was associated with ever completing, or ever passing, a module. Results Data were obtained from 1499 students. Of these, 624 (42%) had ever completed a module, and 513 (34%) had ever passed a module. 503 students (34%) had applied for a bursary, of whom 285 (57%) were successful. After adjusting for demographic variables, employment status and education level, students who were given a bursary were more likely to ever pass a module (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] 2.3, 95% CI 1.7,3.3), as were those who applied for a bursary but were unsuccessful (aOR 1.9, 95% CI 1.3,2.8), compared with students who had not applied for a bursary. Similar results were obtained for the outcome of completing a module. Conclusions Students who were successful in gaining a bursary, as well as those who were not but still able to enroll, were more likely to complete or pass a module than those who did not apply. These results point to the success of the bursary scheme and give us confidence to continue to offer bursaries, in order to sustain the mission of improving population health through capacity building in low resource settings

Solar Energy Systems for Lunar Oxygen Generation

An evaluation of several solar concentrator-based systems for producing oxygen from lunar regolith was performed. The systems utilize a solar concentrator mirror to provide thermal energy for the oxygen production process. Thermal energy to power a Stirling heat engine and photovoltaics are compared for the production of electricity. The electricity produced is utilized to operate the equipment needed in the oxygen production process. The initial oxygen production method utilized in the analysis is hydrogen reduction of ilmenite. Utilizing this method of oxygen production a baseline system design was produced. This baseline system had an oxygen production rate of 0.6 kg/hr with a concentrator mirror size of 5 m. Variations were performed on the baseline design to show how changes in the system size and process (rate) affected the oxygen production rate. An evaluation of the power requirements for a carbothermal lunar regolith reduction reactor has also been conducted. The reactor had a total power requirement between 8,320 to 9,961 W when producing 1000 kg/year of oxygen. The solar concentrator used to provide the thermal power (over 82 percent of the total energy requirement) would have a diameter of less than 4 m

Quality, morale and the new contract with GPs

In UK general practice the goodwill that has sustained the GP workforce is waning

Pennsylvania Folklife Vol. 13, No. 3

• Piece-Patch Artistry • The Horse and Buggy Dutch • Pine Tar and its Uses • Much Ado About Cookies • Folk Festival Program • Outdoor Privies in the Dutch Country • Distillation and Distilleries Among the Dutch • The Folklife Studies Movementhttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/pafolklifemag/1015/thumbnail.jp