Simpson type inequalities and applications

A new generalized integral identity involving first order differentiable functions is obtained. Using this identity as an auxiliary result, we then obtain some new refinements of Simpson type inequalities using a new class called as strongly (s, m)-convex functions of higher order of \sigma >0. We also discuss some interesting applications of the obtained results in the theory of means. In last we present applications of the obtained results in obtaining Simpson-like quadrature formula

Determination of penicillic acid in Poultry food in Diyala Governorate

Contamination of the poultry feed with fungi and its toxin products can lead to nutrient losses and detrimental effects on animal health and production. This study was designed to isolate the fungi especially Penicillium spp. and to determine the concentrations of Penicillic acid (PA) levels in poultry food samples collected from different Layer andBroiler chicken farms in Diyala governorate. Food samples were collected from four sectors farms (Alkhalis, Baquba, Baldrooz and Almuqdadia) from Diyala governorate in the period extended from November 2015 to March 2016. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) was used to analysis food samples. Mucar spp., Rhizopus spp., Absidia spp., Aspergillus niger, Penicillium spp., Aspergillus ochraceus, Aspergillus fumigatus, Chrysonilia sitophila, Aspergillus flavus, Fusarium spp., Apophysmyces elegans, Paecilomyces lilacinus, Scopulariopsis, Circinella were isolated from different food samples. Moreover, Candida spp., Rhodotorula rubra, Geotricum candid and Cryptococcus neoformans were the most isolated yeast species. All feed samples were positive for PA. The highest levels of penicillic acid in Alkhalis, Baquba, Baldrooz and Almuqdadia were (53.47±2.75), (49.62±2.43), (48.39±2.35) and (47.29±2.37) respectively in Layer chicken and (53.66±2.79), (49.99±2.62), (48.25±2.35) and (47.23±2.42) respectively in broilers. No significant differences (P ≤ 0.05) was seen in the levels of PA among the food samples from the four different sectors. In conclusion, this study approved the presence of mycotoxigenic fungi in the poultry foods that increases the risk of mycotoxin poisons for the animal health and its implications for human health. The authors recommend another future study in another farms in Diyala including a large number of samples to understand the actual situation of the fungi toxin products

Protocol for a scoping review of the use of information and communication technology platforms for the delivery and utilisation of transgender healthcare

Introduction In recent years, there has been strong interest in making digital health and social tools more accessible, particularly among vulnerable and stigmatised groups such as transgender people. While transgender people experience unique physical, mental and sexual health needs, not much is currently known about the extent to which they use information and communication technologies such as short messaging service and videoconferencing to access health services. In this paper, we discuss our protocol for a scoping review of the literature about the delivery and utilisation of digitally mediated health services for transgender populations. Methods and analysis This scoping review of the provision and experience of telemedicine among transgender people will follow the methodological framework developed by Arksey and O’Malley. The search will be conducted using three online databases, namely PubMed, CINAHL and Scopus, with additional literature explored using Google Scholar to identify grey literature. Relevant English-language studies will be shortlisted after completing a title and abstract review based on defined inclusion criteria. Following that, a final list of included studies will be compiled after a full-text review of the shortlisted articles has been completed. To enable the screening process, a team of researchers will be assigned refereed publications explicitly referring to the provision and experience of transgender healthcare through telemedicine. Screening performed independently will then collaboratively be reviewed to maintain consistency. Ethics and dissemination The research is exempt from ethics approval since our analysis is based on extant research into the use of digital technologies in providing healthcare to transgender people. The results of this study will be disseminated through peer-reviewed academic publications and presentations. Our analysis will guide the design of further research and practice relating to the use of digital communication technologies to deliver healthcare services to transgender people

Information and communication technology-based health interventions for transgender people: A scoping review

In the recent past, there has been a strong interest in the use of information and communication technology (ICT) to deliver healthcare to ‘hard-to-reach’ populations. This scoping review aims to explore the types of ICT-based health interventions for transgender people, and the concerns on using these interventions and ways to address these concerns. Guided by the scoping review frameworks offered by Arksey & O’Malley and the PRISMA-ScR checklist, literature search was conducted in May 2021 and January 2022 in three databases (PubMed, CINAHL and Scopus). The two searches yielded a total of 889 non-duplicated articles, with 47 of them meeting the inclusion criteria. The 47 articles described 39 unique health projects/programs, covering 8 types of ICT-based interventions: videoconferencing, smartphone applications, messaging, e-coaching, self-learning platforms, telephone, social media, and e-consultation platforms. Over 80% of the health projects identified were conducted in North America, and 62% focused on HIV/sexual health. The findings of this review suggest that transgender people had often been regarded as a small subsample in ICT-based health projects that target other population groups (such as ‘men who have sex with men’ or ‘sexual minority’). Many projects did not indicate whether transgender people were included in the development or evaluation of the project. Relatively little is known about the implementation of ICT-based trans health interventions outside the context of HIV/sexual health, in resource limiting settings, and among transgender people of Asian, Indigenous or other non-White/Black/Hispanic backgrounds. While the range of interventions identified demonstrate the huge potentials of ICT to improve healthcare access for transgender people, the current body of literature is still far from adequate for making comprehensive recommendations on the best practice of ICT-based interventions for transgender people. Future ICT-based interventions need to be more inclusive and specified, in order to ensure the interventions are safe, accessible and effective for transgender people

Perspektif Model TAM Dalam Adaptasi Pembelajaran Akuntansi Melalui E-Learning Selama Pandemi COVID-19

This study aims to analyze students' intention to do online-accounting learning during the Covid-19 pandemic by adapting the Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) model. Testing the TAM model during a pandemic in the Indonesia context is expected to reveal the determinants of behavior in online accounting learning, which requires a comprehensive acknowledgment of knowledge, skills, and attitude, directly affected during a pandemic. The population is accounting students in Central Java, who were given an online questionnaire. A sample of 766 data was analyzed with the equation model structure (SEM) using WrapPLS. The results show that Perceived Ease of Use, Perceived Usefulness has a significant effect on E-Learning Actual Usage mediated by the Behavior Intention variable. These results further strengthen the TAM model in the context of the Covid-19 pandemic

The Dawn of Open Access to Phylogenetic Data

The scientific enterprise depends critically on the preservation of and open access to published data. This basic tenet applies acutely to phylogenies (estimates of evolutionary relationships among species). Increasingly, phylogenies are estimated from increasingly large, genome-scale datasets using increasingly complex statistical methods that require increasing levels of expertise and computational investment. Moreover, the resulting phylogenetic data provide an explicit historical perspective that critically informs research in a vast and growing number of scientific disciplines. One such use is the study of changes in rates of lineage diversification (speciation - extinction) through time. As part of a meta-analysis in this area, we sought to collect phylogenetic data (comprising nucleotide sequence alignment and tree files) from 217 studies published in 46 journals over a 13-year period. We document our attempts to procure those data (from online archives and by direct request to corresponding authors), and report results of analyses (using Bayesian logistic regression) to assess the impact of various factors on the success of our efforts. Overall, complete phylogenetic data for ~60% of these studies are effectively lost to science. Our study indicates that phylogenetic data are more likely to be deposited in online archives and/or shared upon request when: (1) the publishing journal has a strong data-sharing policy; (2) the publishing journal has a higher impact factor, and; (3) the data are requested from faculty rather than students. Although the situation appears dire, our analyses suggest that it is far from hopeless: recent initiatives by the scientific community -- including policy changes by journals and funding agencies -- are improving the state of affairs

The impact of a hybrid social marketing intervention on inequities in access, ownership and use of insecticide-treated nets

BACKGROUND: An ITN intervention was initiated in three predominantly rural districts of Eastern Province, Zambia, that lacked commercial distribution and communication infrastructures. Social marketing techniques were used for product and message development. Public sector clinics and village-based volunteers promoted and distributed subsidized ITNs priced at $2.5 per net. A study was conducted to assess the effects of the intervention on inequities in knowledge, access, ownership and use of ITNs. METHODS: A post-test only quasi-experimental study design was used to compare intervention and comparison districts. A total of 2,986 respondents were interviewed. Survey respondents were grouped into four socio-economic (SES) categories: low, medium-low, medium and high. Knowledge, access, ownership and use indicators are compared. Concentration index scores are calculated. Interactions between intervention status and SES help determine how different SES groups benefited from the intervention. RESULTS: Although overall use of nets remained relatively low, post-test data show that knowledge, access, ownership and use of mosquito nets was higher in intervention districts. A decline in SES inequity in access to nets occurred in intervention districts, resulting from a disproportionately greater increase in access among the low SES group. Declines in SES inequities in net ownership and use of nets were associated with the intervention. The largest increases in net ownership and use occurred among medium and high SES categories. CONCLUSION: Increasing access to nets among the poorest respondents in rural areas may not lead to increases in net use unless the price of nets is no longer a barrier to their purchase

Seasonal and geographic differences in treatment-seeking and household cost of febrile illness among children in Malawi

BACKGROUND: Households in malaria endemic countries experience considerable costs in accessing formal health facilities because of childhood malaria. The Ministry of Health in Malawi has defined certain villages as hard-to-reach on the basis of either their distance from health facilities or inaccessibility. Some of these villages have been assigned a community health worker, responsible for referring febrile children to a health facility. Health facility utilization and household costs of attending a health facility were compared between individuals living near the district hospital and those in hard-to-reach villages. METHODS: Two cross-sectional household surveys were conducted in the Chikhwawa district of Malawi; one during each of the wet and dry seasons. Half the participating villages were located near the hospital, the others were in areas defined as hard-to-reach. Data were collected on attendance to formal health facilities and economic costs incurred due to recent childhood febrile illness. RESULTS: Those living in hard-to-reach villages were less likely to attend a formal health facility compared to those living near the hospital (Dry season: OR 0.35, 95%CI0.18-0.67; Wet season: OR 0.46, 95%CI0.27-0.80). Analyses including community health workers (CHW) as a source of formal health-care decreased the strength of this relationship, and suggested that consulting a CHW may reduce attendance at health facilities, even if indicated. Although those in hard-to-reach villages were still less likely to attend in both the dry (OR 0.53, 95%CI 0.25-1.11) and wet (OR 0.60, 95%CI 0.37-0.98) seasons. Household costs for those who attended a health facility were greater for those in HTR villages (Dry: USD5.24; Wet: USD5.60) than for those living near the district hospital (Dry: USD3.45; Wet: USD4.46). CONCLUSION: Those living in hard-to-reach areas were less likely to attend a health facility for a childhood febrile event and experienced greater associated household costs. Consulting CHWs was infrequent, but appeared to reduce attendance at a health facility, even when indicated. Health service planners must consider geographic and financial barriers to accessing public health facilities in designing appropriate interventions