A review of teleradiology in Africa – Towards mobile teleradiology in Nigeria

eHealth is promoted as a means to strengthen health systems and facilitate universal health coverage. Sub-components (e.g. telehealth, telemedicine, mhealth) are seen as mitigators of healthcare provider shortages and poor rural and remote access. Teleradiology (including mobile teleradiology), widespread in developed nations, is uncommon in developing nations. Decision- and policy-makers require evidence to inform their decisions regarding implementation of mobile teleradiology in Nigeria and other sub-Saharan countries. To gather evidence, Scopus and PubMed were searched using defined search strings (September 2020). Duplicates were removed, and titles and abstracts reviewed using specified selection criteria. Full-text papers of selected resources were retrieved and reviewed against the criteria. Insight from included studies was charted for eight a priori categories of information: needs assessment, implementation, connectivity, evaluation, costing, image display, image capture and concordance. Fifty-seven articles were identified, duplicates removed and titles and abstracts of remaining articles reviewed against study criteria. Twenty-six papers remained. After review of full-texts, ten met the study criteria. These were summarised, and key insights for the eight categories were charted. Few papers have been published on teleradiology in sub-Saharan Africa. Teleradiology, including mobile teleradiology, is feasible in sub-Saharan Africa for routine X-ray support of patients and healthcare providers in rural and remote locations. Former technical issues (image quality, transmission speed, image compression) have been largely obviated through the high-speed, high-resolution digital imaging and network transmission capabilities of contemporary smartphones and mobile networks, where accessible. Comprehensive studies within the region are needed to guide the widespread introduction of mobile teleradiology.

Remote Access Security: Optimum Strategy and Solutions for Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMEs)

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) are depending more on their ICT framework however they do not possess the ability to direct it reasonably because of monetary impediments, limited assets, and insufficient specialized expertise. A sizeable number of SME executives expect that ICT security per remote access in their organizations is only like introducing a firewall and refreshing the antivirus program as frequently on a case by case basis. Remote access initiatives, against hacking systems and approaches, remote access controls, and numerous other related aspects are only investigated solely after security breaches. To improve remote access security in an organization comprehensively, four aspects including organizational, work process, data, and technical aspects must be figured out. With SMEs’ limited spending plans and more requirements for remote employees, it is exceptionally evident that they will remain easy prey for attackers since they cannot bear the cost of the typical secure remote access technologies and solutions. This paper explored a more ideal solution that will fit into the usual SME low remote access security financial plans but at the same time sufficiently powerful to protect them from digital and other IT attacks.

Achieving Balance Through Fundamentals of Digital Librarianship

In efforts to strengthen its digitization program, the University Libraries of University of Guam have assembled members from its Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Library and Micronesian Area Research Center to identify standards and frameworks to facilitate sustainable, long-term access and preservation of its indigenous and historic collections. Following the 2019 Pacific Islands Association of Libraries Annual Conference hosted at the University of Guam RFK Library and the unveiling of the Para Hulo' Strategic Plan, a greater institutional emphasis has been placed on the need for digitally accessible archives and remote access. University Libraries investigates the need to balance utilitarian functions of traditional librarianship with the democratic ideals inherent in the profession, as expressed through revisiting a range of literature to articulate the connections between digital librarianship, traditional librarianship, and analog to digital conversion.

Digitisation of Ukraine in Terms of Public Electronic Services’ Distribution

Modern scientific and technological progress makes the use of information, communication, and digital technologies an attribute of any business’s functioning and people’s lives. COVID-19 pandemic, which has led to widespread quarantine restrictions, has necessitated an accelerated transition to digital remote access services. In this regard, the authors have investigated the development and spread of digital technologies in Ukraine to implement e-government policy. To assess the realities and determine the prospects of becoming a “state in a smartphone”, the authors have conducted a SWOT analysis of electronic public services. The analysis allowed to identify the advantages and threats of e-government at the present stage and outline the strategies for developing Ukrainian digitalisation. In the state as a service, digital changes are taking place in many industries and spheres, so the authors have identified key components of the digital state, including cybersecurity, e-government, smart cities, digital skills, e-court, e-health care, e-transport, and the Internet. These components are closely linked to e-democracy, e-business, and e-education. In Ukraine, there is a unique state web portal of electronic services, “Diia”, which provides access to dozens of electronic state services. Therefore, the authors have studied the purpose, features of use, opportunities, and difficulties of the portal and mobile application “Diia”. In the usage part, the authors have considered the specifics of authorisation on the portal through the file media of the digital signature and built the appropriate algorithm of actions. Along with the potential risks, modern information technologies provide many opportunities for their users. Finally, the study allowed to outline the prospects for the digitalisation of the Ukrainian state in modern realities

Methodical support of reading promotion by public libraries in Ukraine

The purpose of the article is to reveal the role, main directions, and modern tendencies of methodicalsupport of the activities of public libraries of Ukraine in the maintenance implementation of tasks to readingpromoting. The methodology consists of the application of general scientific and special methods: methods of analysis, synthesis and generalization, comparison, review and analytical method, documentary analysis,which allows achieving this goal. The scientific novelty of the work lies in the comprehensive and systematicapproach to expanding ideas about the impact of methodical work on the activities of public libraries ofUkraine in the reading promotion. Conclusions. It was found that the loss of public interest in reading hasacquired national significance and requires immediate action. In such conditions of the need to increase thedemand for Ukrainian books and increase the status of reading the role of public libraries in the readingpromotion increases. It was studied that in these conditions a new concept of methodical support of librariesfor the reading promotion is formed. The main components of methodical work on popularization of booksand reading are analyzed: development of recommendations, publication of methodical manuals, professionaldevelopment of specialists, training in their use of modern technologies, organization of public actions thatattract attention to books and reading, carrying out conferences, seminars, generalization of own experienceand experience of other libraries, publication of best practices of libraries on the pages of professionalpublications and electronic resources. It has been investigated that methodologists actively use digitaltechnologies by providing methodological and advisory assistance to libraries in popularizing books andreading. The share of electronic methodical resources and providing remote access to them is increasing, avariety of forms, methods, directions, and products of methodical activity are being developed.Keywords: reading promotion, public libraries, methodical activities, main directions of methodologicalwork, methodical support, methodical editions, professional training, professional competitions, translationof experience, forms and methods of work.

Fundamentals of Internet of Things (IoT): Applications, Challenges, Future Trends

One of the jargons in Information Technology is the Internet of Things (IoT). The future is the Internet of Things, which will transform real-world objects into intelligent objects. IoT aims to introduce plug-and-play technology providing the ultimate user, ease of operation, remote access control, and configurable. This paper presents IoT technology from a bird’s eye view covering its applications in all fields, various challenges faced, and future prospects/trends. IoT applications require higher data rates, large bandwidth, increased capacity, low latency, and high throughput..

Researching the problems of digital economy development as an indicator of the information society: potential threats and prospects

The object of the paper is peculiarities of digital economy development in the framework of informatization of socio-economic, socio-cultural relations. It contributes to the in-depth development of the noosphere, the emergence of new industries and a qualitative transformation of production and distribution relations. The paper examines the impact of digitalization on transformational changes in the economy. As noted at the 14th G20 Summit, the main goals of digitalization are the development of innovations, focused on the development of society 5.0, ensuring the free flow of data and at the same time solving problems, related to information security and the protection of intellectual property rights, as well as bridging the digital gap and promoting the digitalization of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises and the development of smart cities. The research methodology is based on theoretical and methodological analysis of the literature, statistical, comparative analysis, as well as synthesis, generalization and systems analysis. The study has revealed differences between the national approach and world experience in the interpretation of digitalization. For instance, in Ukraine the phenomenon involves, first of all, «digitization» in the field of data collection and analysis. At the same time, the concept of digitalization in developed countries is considered as the modernization of the manufacturing sector based on the implementation of information and communication technologies in order to reduce the capital and material intensity of products to increase competitiveness. In addition, the level of development of central bank digital currencies (CBDC) as one of the indicators of the information society has been analyzed. As a result, it was found, that about 80 % of all central banks in the world have been working on projects to issue their own digital currency. The basic requirements for national CBDC have been systematized. The practical significance, presented in the paper, lies in making recommendations for policy implementation of national economy digitalization. It is important, first of all, to «digitize» the real manufacturing sector, but not only create all sorts of «remote access services», clearly define the government position on cryptocurrencies and continue to implement the project of e-hryvnia (digital currency of National Bank of Ukraine) introduction.

A Cross-Sectional Evaluation of Self-Perceived Orthodontic Treatment Needs Amongst Tribal Adolescent With Remote Access to Orthodontic Treatment Using a Simplified Malocclusion Index

Background: Self-perceived orthodontic treatment need is strongly influenced by what is perceived to be the esthetic norm amongst a community, and reluctance toward treatment amongst adolescents with clinically ascertained malocclusion may often be due to readily remediable factors. Of particular interest is the prevalence of malocclusion amongst such communities as a probable indicator of the role of diet and genetics in establishing a predominant clinical phenotype that may also play a role in the construct of what is perceived as the esthetic norm amongst the community, thereby influencing the self-perceived need for treatment. Studies aimed at evaluating the association between self-perceived esthetics, and self-perceived treatment need have not been performed amongst a population with no prior exposure to orthodontic treatment Objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the self-perceived orthodontic treatment need amongst the tribal adolescents belonging to regions with remote access to orthodontic treatment by way of a verbally assigned index and to also identify the reasons of reluctance toward treatment to better understand how to make orthodontic treatment readily accessible to such populations. Participants, Materials, and Methods: The agency areas of Paderu located at 18.0833°N 82.667°E and Parvathipuram located at 18°46'N 83°25'E are 2 revenue districts of Visakhapatnam and Vizianagaram, respectively, in the state of Andhra Pradesh, India, that are home to various tribal populations with remote access to orthodontic treatment. A total of 2,016 school-going tribal adolescents of the Paderu revenue division and 819 tribal adolescents of the Parvathipuram revenue division were examined to ascertain the prevalence of malocclusion. Necessary consent and permissions were obtained from the tribal authorities, the school authorities, parents, and the institutional ethical clearance committee. The screening was done utilizing natural daylight in compliance with infection prevention and control protocol. Clinical examination aimed at categorizing the observed occlusion into either ideal occlusion or one of the three classes of Angle’s class I, II, and III malocclusions. The Simplified Malocclusion Index For Layperson Evaluation (SMILE) was verbally assigned in the vernacular language while interacting with each child and the findings made note of for calculation of relevant scores related to their orthodontic awareness, self-esteem as related to self-perceived esthetics, and their self-perceived need for treatment. Reasons for reluctance to undergo treatment were noted down if expressed. An initial group of 31 adolescents categorized as presenting with clinical malocclusion were randomly picked up and assigned the SMILE index a second time to assess the reliability of the index by way of Cohen’s kappa statistic. Results: The initial test group of 31 individuals assigned the SMILE twice showed a Cohen’s kappa of 0.93 validating almost perfect intraoperator agreement. The SMILE index revealed that 80.95% of the adolescents of Paderu revenue division had orthodontic awareness and 79.51% had self-perceived esthetics but only 15.97% felt a need for orthodontic treatment. Pearson’s Chi squared statistical analysis indicated a gender bias related to the self-perceived need for orthodontic treatment ( X 2 [1, N = 1,371] = 19.71, P < .001). The Index assigned to the Parvathipuram division revealed that 77.04% had orthodontic awareness and 78.38 had self-perceived esthetics but only 6.95% felt the need for orthodontic treatment. Pearson’s Chi squared statistical analysis indicated a gender bias related to the self-perceived need for orthodontic treatment ( X 2 [1, N = 764] = 4.95, P = .02). Conclusion: The self-perceived need for orthodontic treatment is often based on the self-perceived esthetics of an individual or the self-esteem as influenced by the perceived esthetic norm of the community. Orthodontic treatment of adolescents with borderline malocclusion derangements requires careful ascertaining of the actual perceived need of the patient to enable the rendering of a justifiable orthodontic treatment with the complete trust of the young patient. This helps build community trust in regions where orthodontic treatment has not yet made in roads and may help ensure higher end of treatment satisfaction levels.