"Watch them do what they do": Effects of the clinical learning environment on radiography students' clinical placement experiences.

Introduction: Clinical placement (CP) is essential to radiography education, providing students with opportunities to put theory into practice. However, a 'Best Practice Clinical Learning Environment' (BPCLE) for radiography students, is one that is adequately resourced, both in terms of equipment and professionals, as these are critical to the development of students' professional skills. Consequently, this study examined the effects of the clinical learning environment on Ghanaian radiography students' CP experiences.

Effects of factor v Leiden polymorphism on the pathogenesis and outcomes of preeclampsia.

Background: Factor V Leiden polymorphism is a well-recognized genetic factor in the etiology of preeclampsia. Considering that Ghana is recording high incidence of preeclampsia, we examined if factor V Leiden is a contributory factor to its development and pregnancy outcomes.

Methods: STROBE consensus checklist was adopted to recruit eighty-one (81) consenting subjects after ethical clearance.

Associations between IgG reactivity to Plasmodium falciparum erythrocyte membrane protein 1 (PfEMP1) antigens and Burkitt lymphoma in Ghana and Uganda case-control studies.

Background: Endemic Burkitt lymphoma (eBL) is an aggressive childhood B-cell lymphoma linked to Plasmodium falciparum (Pf) malaria in sub-Saharan Africa. We investigated antibody reactivity to several human receptor-binding domains of the Pf erythrocyte membrane protein 1 (PfEMP1) that play a key role in malaria pathogenesis and are targets of acquired immunity to malaria.

Methods: Serum/plasma IgG antibody reactivity was measured to 22 Pf antigens, including 18 to PfEMP1 CIDR domains between cases and controls from two populations (149 eBL cases and 150 controls from Ghana and 194 eBL cases and 600 controls from Uganda).

The changing clinical pattern of endemic Burkitt lymphoma in Western Africa: Experience from a tertiary center in Ghana.

Background: Burkitt lymphoma (BL) is the most common childhood cancer in Ghana, where the endemic variant is the predominant subtype and historically presents as a highly chemo-sensitive jaw tumor. This study aimed to update the current epidemiological characteristics of childhood BL in our institution.

Procedure: Patient data for all children diagnosed with BL and seen at Korle Bu Teaching Hospital between January 2007 and December 2012 were retrospectively analyzed.

Frequency of EBV LMP-1 Promoter and Coding Variations in Burkitt Lymphoma Samples in Africa and South America and Peripheral Blood in Uganda.

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is linked to several cancers, including endemic Burkitt lymphoma (eBL), but causal variants are unknown. We recently reported novel sequence variants in the LMP-1 gene and promoter in EBV genomes sequenced from 13 of 14 BL biopsies. Alignments of the novel sequence variants for 114 published EBV genomes, including 27 from BL cases, revealed four LMP-1 variant patterns, designated A to D.