Financial Accounting Through Case Studies

This thesis is a compilation of twelve case studies designed to promote an understanding of Generally Accepted Accounting Principles. Given the dynamic nature of accounting as a profession, it is imperative that students and professionals have a firm grasp of the foundational principles set forth by the Financial Accounting Standards Board. Each case provides insight related to the aforementioned standards and many corollary topics relevant to accounting professionals. The cases rely on both real and fictitious companies and their associated financial statements. The completion of these cases was of great benefit inasmuch as it provided the opportunity to examine essential accounting concepts through a lens of practical application after previously only seeing such topics in an academic setting. The cases seen in this thesis were completed under the direction of Dr. Victoria Dickinson in accordance with the requirements set forth by the University of Mississippi’s Patterson School of Accountancy and Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College Accountancy 420 course during the 2018-2019 academic year

Investigation of agricultural systems and ways of knowing in Samdrup Jongkhar, Bhutan : outcomes of research undertaken by the Samdrup Jongkhar Initiative (2011-15)

DraftBased on the complex intricacies uncovered through this research, the future responsibility of the Samdrup Jongkhar Initiative may be most effective as a facilitator between farmers and agricultural extension officers, paying particular attention to the role that religion plays in agricultural decision-making, building individual capacity, and forging collaborative relationships. The research documents traditional agricultural knowledge and agroecological practices, knowledge gained through organic agriculture training programmes, and the perspectives of farmers. Training in improved organic farming methods included: soil fertility and pest management, composting, seed storage, organization of co-operatives, terracing, and rainwater harvesting

Acceptability of neonatal sickle cell disease screening among parturient women at the Paul Moukambi Regional Hospital in rural Eastern Gabon, Central Africa

Neonatal screening and the effective management of sickle cell disease (SCD) are now well established in urban areas in some sub-Saharan African countries. The high rate of sickle cell trait in Koula-Moutou, Gabon, prompted an assessment of the psycho-clinical context of the introduction of neonatal screening in this rural area in eastern Gabon. Interviews were conducted with 215 women from February to June 2016 in Maternity and Maternal Child Protection services at the Paul Moukambi Regional Hospital Center in Koula-Moutou. Few childbearing women knew about SCD (24%), very few (6%) knew their hemoglobin status and only 30% of parturient women authorized sampling for neonatal SCD screening. Young mothers aged 16-28 years (p=0.018) and those who were educated (p=0.002) were more likely to authorize neonatal blood screening. There was no association between acceptance of blood sampling and knowledge of SCD or the parturient woman’s hemoglobin status. The barriers to acceptance for SCD neonatal diagnosis are related to the education and culture rather than the knowledge of this disease. Introduction of diagnosis in rural areas requires a team comprising a psychosocial worker and health workers known to the rural population, to remove inhibitions related to blood collection from newborn infants

Hemogram abnormalities in apparently healthy first-time blood donors in Libreville, Gabon.

Background: The objective of this study was to determine complete blood count (CBC) abnormalities in Libreville blood donors to advocate for hemoglobin pre-donation implementation and to take into account CBC results in blood donation qualification. Methods: This retrospective study was conducted with 4573 blood donors in March 2016 and from January to April 2017. CBC was performed using SysmexXP-300TM hematology analyzer (SYSMEX Corporation, Kobe, Japan). Results: Blood donors were predominantly males (83.7%) with an age ranging from 18 to 59 years. The abnormalities of leukocyte, platelet and erythrocyte counts were determined in blood donors. Leukopenia and thrombocytopenia were significantly more common in men than women (29.02% vs 24.4%, p = 0.011 and 16.2% vs 7.5%, p <0.001). Only 1.0% of women and 0.84% of men have leukocytosis, and 0.7% of women and 0.2% of men have thrombocytosis. Anemia was significantly more common in women compared to men (69.4% vs. 45.0%, P <0.001). Normocytic normochromic and normocytic hypochromic anemia were most common among Libreville blood donors with 39.4% and 23.6%; followed by microcytic normochromic (18.7%) and microcytic hypochromic (13.2%) anemia. Normocytic normochromic and normocytic hypochromic anemia were significantly more common in men than in women, whereas microcytic normochromic anemia was more prevalent among women compared to men (34.6% vs. 13.9%, p <0.001). Conclusions: The results of this study clearly show the need to perform a pre-donation hemoglobin test in blood donors and to take into account their hemogram in the blood donation selection process at the Libreville National Blood Transfusion Center. Keywords: Hemogram, Anemia, Blood Donors, Libreville, Gabon

Decrease on malaria clinical cases from 2017 to 2019 in Franceville, Southeast Gabon, Central Africa

Background. In Gabon, malaria remains a major public health problem. All malaria cases with axillary temperature ≥ 37.5°C with a parasites density ≥ 1200/μL are serious cases and must be treated as a medical emergency. Thus, early diagnosis is essential for successful treatment. Because of the impact of malaria on the population, the surveillance of malaria infections in hospitals is urgently needed. The aim of this study was to to assess of clinical cases of malaria in a private health structure in Franceville between 2017 and 2019.Methods. For that, we conducted a retrospective study using data on malaria cases recorded in a private medical analysis laboratory in Franceville, southeast Gabon. Malaria was diagnosed in this laboratory using a Rapid Diagnostic Test and confirmed by microscopic analysis.Results. Analysis of 2518 patient forms revealed an increase in malaria prevalence in Franceville between 2017-2019. The global clinical cases was 26.1% (658/2015). Children under 5 years (44.0%) and patients aged 5-14 years (40.1%) were more affected than patients aged ≥15 years (18.8%, P=0.0001). Malaria infection was also significantly dependent on season and gender. We observed at least three Plasmodium species and the predominant Plasmodium species was P. falciparum 80.0%, followed by P. ovale (19.5%) and P. malariae (17.8%).Conclusion. Our study showed that malaria remains a public health priority for the population of Franceville and that the prevalence of clinical cases of malaria at the laboratory decrease between 2017 and 2019. Our results highlight the need for strategies to control malaria in Franceville, adapted to epidemiological contexts and environmental constraint

Human T-Lymphotropic virus type 1 and human immunodeficiency virus co-infection in rural Gabon

Introduction Human T-cell lymphotrophic virus type-1 (HTLV-1) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV-1) co-infection occur in many populations. People living with HIV-1 and infected with HTLV-1 seem more likely to progress rapidly towards AIDS. Both HTLV-1 and HIV-1 are endemic in Gabon (Central Africa). We investigated HTLV-1 and HIV-1 co-infection in the Haut-Ogooué province, and assessed factors that may favor the rapid evolution and progression to AIDS in co-infected patients. Methods Plasma samples from HTLV-1 patients were tested using ELISA, and positive samples were then tested by western blot assay (WB). We used the polymerase chain reaction to detect HTLV-1 Tax/Rex genes using DNA extracted from the buffy coat of ELISA-positives samples. Results We recruited 299 individuals (mean age 46 years) including 90 (30%) men and 209 (70%) women, all of whom are under treatment at the Ambulatory Treatment Centre of the province. Of these, 45 were ELISA HTLV-1/2 seropositive. According to WB criteria, 21 of 45 were confirmed positive: 20 were HTLV-1 (44%), 1 was HTLV-1/2 (2%), 2 were indeterminate (4%) and 22 were seronegative (49%). PCR results showed that 23 individuals were positive for the Tax/Rex region. Considering both serological and molecular assays, the prevalence of HTLV-1 infection was estimated at 7.7%. Being a woman and increasing age were found to be independent risk factors for co-infection. Mean CD4+ cell counts were higher in HTLV-1/HIV-1 co-infected (578.1 (± 340.8) cells/mm3) than in HIV-1 mono-infected (481.0 (± 299.0) cells/mm3) Individuals. Similarly, the mean HIV-1 viral load was Log 3.0 (± 1.6) copies/ml in mono-infected and Log 2.3 (± 0.7) copies/ml in coinfected individuals. Conclusion We described an overall high prevalence of HTLV-1/HIV-1 co-infection in Gabon. Our findings stress the need of strategies to prevent and manage these co-infections

Attraction and repulsion of mobile wild organisms to finfish and shellfish aquaculture: a review

Knowledge of aquaculture–environment interactions is essential for the development of a sustainable aquaculture industry and efficient marine spatial planning. The effects of fish and shellfish farming on sessile wild populations, particularly infauna, have been studied intensively. Mobile fauna, including crustaceans, fish, birds and marine mammals, also interact with aquaculture operations, but the interactions are more complex and these animals may be attracted to (attraction) or show an aversion to (repulsion) farm operations with various degrees of effects. This review outlines the main mechanisms and effects of attraction and repulsion of wild animals to/from marine finfish cage and bivalve aquaculture, with a focus on effects on fisheries-related species. Effects considered in this review include those related to the provision of physical structure (farm infrastructure acting as fish aggregating devices (FADs) or artificial reefs (ARs), the provision of food (e.g. farmed animals, waste feed and faeces, fouling organisms associated with farm structures) and some farm activities (e.g. boating, cleaning). The reviews show that the distribution of mobile organisms associated with farming structures varies over various spatial (vertical and horizontal) and temporal scales (season, feeding time, day/night period). Attraction/repulsion mechanisms have a variety of direct and indirect effects on wild organisms at the level of individuals and populations and may have implication for the management of fisheries species and the ecosystem in the context of marine spatial planning. This review revealed considerable uncertainties regarding the long-term and ecosystem-wide consequences of these interactions. The use of modelling may help better understand consequences, but long-term studies are necessary to better elucidate effects

Joint analysis of X-ray and Sunyaev Zel'dovich observations of galaxy clusters using an analytic model of the intra-cluster medium

We perform a joint analysis of X-ray and Sunyaev Zel'dovich (SZ) effect data using an analytic model that describes the gas properties of galaxy clusters. The joint analysis allows the measurement of the cluster gas mass fraction profile and Hubble constant independent of cosmological parameters. Weak cosmological priors are used to calculate the overdensity radius within which the gas mass fractions are reported. Such an analysis can provide direct constraints on the evolution of the cluster gas mass fraction with redshift. We validate the model and the joint analysis on high signal-to-noise data from the Chandra X-ray Observatory and the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich Array for two clusters, Abell 2631 and Abell 2204.Comment: ApJ in pres

Comparison of Pressure Profiles of Massive Relaxed Galaxy Clusters using Sunyaev-Zel'dovich and X-ray Data

We present Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) effect observations of a sample of 25 massive relaxed galaxy clusters observed with the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich Array (SZA), an 8-element interferometer that is part of the Combined Array for Research in Millimeter-wave Astronomy (CARMA). We perform an analysis of new SZA data and archival Chandra observations of this sample to investigate the integrated pressure -- a proxy for cluster mass -- determined from X-ray and SZ observations, two independent probes of the intra-cluster medium. This analysis makes use of a model for the intra-cluster medium introduced by Bulbul (2010) which can be applied simultaneously to SZ and X-ray data. With this model, we estimate the pressure profile for each cluster using a joint analysis of the SZ and X-ray data, and using the SZ data alone. We find that the integrated pressures measured from X-ray and SZ data are consistent. This conclusion is in agreement with recent results obtained using WMAP and Planck data, confirming that SZ and X-ray observations of massive clusters detect the same amount of thermal pressure from the intra-cluster medium. To test for possible biases introduced by our choice of model, we also fit the SZ data using the universal pressure profile proposed by Arnaud (2010), and find consistency between the two models out to r500 in the pressure profiles and integrated pressures.Comment: Accepted for New Journal of Physics, Focus Issue on Galaxy Cluster

Decline in the seroprevalence of syphilis markers among first-time blood donors in Libreville (Gabon) between 2004 and 2016.

BACKGROUND: Very few studies have been conducted on the seroprevalence of syphilis in Gabon. According to the World Health Organization, the average seroprevalence of syphilis has declined from 5.5 to 1.1% in Central Africa. The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that syphilis decreased in Gabon between 2004 and 2016 and to identify factors involved in this pattern by testing a large sample of first-time blood donors in the capital Libreville. METHODS: The detection of Treponema pallidum was done using a Rapid Plasma Reagin test (RPR) and confirmed by an ELISA test using the Biorad Syphilis Total Antibody EIA II kit or BioMerieux Trepanostika TP recombinant. Assays were performed by dedicated technicians according to manufacturers' recommendations and following the laboratory standard operating procedures. Test results were manually transferred into the laboratory Excel files and hand-written in the laboratory logbook for syphilis testing. Logistic regression was used to assess the impact of sociodemographic characteristics on syphilis marker seroprevalence in both univariate and multivariable analysis. Odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals were calculated. RESULTS: The seroprevalence of syphilis markers was 8.4% (95% CI = 7.9-8.9) in 2004 and 2.4% (95% CI = 2.1-2.7) in 2016. The difference was significant [OR = 3.78; 95% CI (3.26-4.38); P < 0.001]. The decrease in syphilis seroprevalence was significant in both women and men and in each age group in univariate analysis. In multivariable analysis, controlling for all sociodemographic factors, the decrease in syphilis seroprevalence from 2004 to 2016 remained significant (OR = 3.29; 95% CI = 2.88-3.88, P < 0.001). The seroprevalence of syphilis decreased significantly in men compared to women and young donors compared to donors aged ≥36 years. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows a significant decline in syphilis seroprevalence in first-time blood donors in Libreville, Gabon. Government actions, including multiple HIV prevention activities, are a likely part of this decline