Nonformal Education in Ghana: A Project Report

This report presents a description and analysis of nonformal educational activities carried out in Ghana over a two-year period in 1976-77. Its purpose is to share the ideas, problems, and learnings that emerged from this experience with those who are concerned with the improvement of rural nonformal education programs as well as the development of more effective collaborative relationships between American universities and such field programs

Dosimetry of Custom Inserts for Electron Beams Produced by a Varian Clinac 1800: Effect on Dose Output and Mean Incident Energy

Customizing of electron beam treatment dimensions is a common clinical technique. The degree in which the measured energy and dose output for a particular beam varies depends on the degree of blocking and the nominal energy of that beam. Published measurements for the Varian Clinac 1800 are sparse and measurements for each custom insert manufactured are time consuming. Relative output and mean incident energy measurements were performed for 160 nominal beam energy / cone / insert combinations on a Varian 1800 at the Rock Hill Radiation Therapy Center in Rock Hill, South Carolina. Relative output measurements of the manufacturer supplied cones indicated no consistency in the data for all nominal beam energies. For example, the variation in relative output for increasing treatment field dimensions for the 6 MeV beam is different than for the 20 MeV beam. For custom square inserts within each cone, however, the data presented consistent behavior for all beams. The "square root" model for approximating relative output worked well with the custom square inserts and rectangular inserts with a relatively low length to width ratio. For rectangular inserts with a high length to width ratio, the model exhibited a positive bias for all nominal beam energies and cones. It is theorized this bias may be due to the need to extrapolate the measured data for very small dimensions. By using some alternative measurement technique for these smaller dimensions, the bias may be reduced to an acceptable level. The resulting energy measurements using the manufacturer supplied cones and inserts were mimicked by the use of custom inserts defining the same square dimensions for each cone. These data showed no effect of the inserts / cones on mean incident energy for the 6 MeV, 9 MeV, and 12 MeV nominal beam energies. An effect on mean incident energy for the 16 MeV and 20 MeV beams was noted only for the cases of the 4x4 and 6x6 inserts and for cases of rectangular inserts with a high length to width ratio. The "square root" model for approximating mean incident energy appeared to be a valid predictive tool for these measurements.Master of Science in Public Healt

A Resident Initiated Prite Review Course: Trials and Tribulations

The experience of developing a review course to study for the Psychiatry Resident\u27s In-Training Exam (PRITE) is discussed. Residents in our program felt that the review course was useful with respect to the following: studying for the PRITE; future study for National Boards; and learning of new material. The Psychiatry Resident\u27s In-Training Exam (PRITE) was developed in 1979 as a mechanism to assess the knowledge base of psychiatric residents in a standardized format (1,2,3). The exam was originally designed to simulate the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology (ABPN) examination, PART I, and has gained widespread acceptance despite questions about its ability to accurately test or reflect the knowledge of the examinee (1,4,5). Principles derived from a system for self-education of residents published by Taylor and Torrey (6) were applied to a review course developed at this institution to improve the knowledge base of each resident with the goal of increasing performance on the PRITE and, ultimately, ABPN exam Part 1. This paper discusses the review course from its conception to final evaluation with views offered from the organizers, the residency director, and the residents taught by this method. It was hypothesized that most participants would feel that the review course was useful in studying for the PRITE exam and that those who had actively participated (i.e., made a handout or gave a lecture) would feel the review course was more useful than those who were passive participants

L-Arginine promotes gut hormone release and reduces food intake in rodents

Aims: To investigate the anorectic effect of L‐arginine (L‐Arg) in rodents. Methods: We investigated the effects of L‐Arg on food intake, and the role of the anorectic gut hormones glucagon‐like peptide‐1 (GLP‐1) and peptide YY (PYY), the G‐protein‐coupled receptor family C group 6 member A (GPRC6A) and the vagus nerve in mediating these effects in rodents. Results: Oral gavage of L‐Arg reduced food intake in rodents, and chronically reduced cumulative food intake in diet‐induced obese mice. Lack of the GPRC6A in mice and subdiaphragmatic vagal deafferentation in rats did not influence these anorectic effects. L‐Arg stimulated GLP‐1 and PYY release in vitro and in vivo. Pharmacological blockade of GLP‐1 and PYY receptors did not influence the anorectic effect of L‐Arg. L‐Arg‐mediated PYY release modulated net ion transport across the gut mucosa. Intracerebroventricular (i.c.v.) and intraperitoneal (i.p.) administration of L‐Arg suppressed food intake in rats. Conclusions: L‐Arg reduced food intake and stimulated gut hormone release in rodents. The anorectic effect of L‐Arg is unlikely to be mediated by GLP‐1 and PYY, does not require GPRC6A signalling and is not mediated via the vagus. I.c.v. and i.p. administration of L‐Arg suppressed food intake in rats, suggesting that L‐Arg may act on the brain to influence food intake. Further work is required to determine the mechanisms by which L‐Arg suppresses food intake and its utility in the treatment of obesity