Determinants of Financial Performance of Microfinance Banks in Kenya

Microfinance provides strength to boost the economic activities of low-income earners and thus contributes to eradication of poverty. However, microfinance institutions face stringent competition from commercial banks; the growth of microloan activities of commercial banks may confront microfinance institutions with increased competition for borrowers. In Kenya, the micro finance sector has extremely high competition indicated by the shifting market share and profitability. This study sought to examine the determinants of financial performance of Microfinance banks in Kenya. The study adopted a descriptive research design and used secondary data from 7 Microfinance banks for a period of 5 years from 2011 to 2015. The data collected was analyzed using correlation and regression analysis. The study found a positive and statistically significant relationship between operational efficiency, capital adequacy, firm size and financial performance of microfinance banks in Kenya. However, the study found an insignificant negative relationship between liquidity risk, credit risk and financial performance of microfinance banks in Kenya. The study concluded that there is direct relationship between operational efficiency, capital adequacy, firm size and financial performance of microfinance banks in Kenya. Keywords: Financial performance, Operational Efficiency, Capital Adequacy, Firm Size Microfinance Banks

Bee diversity and floral resources along a disturbance gradient in Kaya Muhaka forest and surrounding farmlands of coastal Kenya

Bees provide important pollination services that maintain native plant populations and ecosystem resilience, which is critical to the conservation of the rich and endemic biodiversity of Kaya forests along the Kenyan Coast. This study examined bee composition and floral resources from the forest core to the surrounding farmlands around Kaya Muhaka forest. In total, 755 individual bees, representing 41 species from three families were recorded: Apidae, Halictidae and Megachilidae. Overall, Apidae were the most abundant with a proportion of 76% of the total bee individuals, Halictidae at 14% and Megachilidae at 10%. Bee composition was similar between forest edge and crop fields as compared to forest core and fallow farmlands. We found a significant decrease in bee diversity with increasing distance from the forest to the surrounding farming area. A high abundance of bees was recorded in fallow farmland, which could be explained by the high abundance of floral resources in the habitat. We found floral resources richness to significantly affect bee species richness. These findings are important for understanding the effects of land use change on insect pollinators and their degree of resilience in disturbed habitat

Extracellular vesicles could be a putative posttranscriptional regulatory mechanism that shapes intracellular RNA levels in Plasmodium falciparum

Plasmodium falciparum secretes extracellular vesicles (PfEVs) that contain parasite-derived RNA. However, the significance of the secreted RNA remains unexplored. Here, we compare secreted and intracellular RNA from asexual cultures of six P. falciparum lines. We find that secretion of RNA via extracellular vesicles is not only periodic throughout the asexual intraerythrocytic developmental cycle but is also highly conserved across P. falciparum isolates. We further demonstrate that the phases of RNA secreted via extracellular vesicles are discernibly shifted compared to those of the intracellular RNA within the secreting whole parasite. Finally, transcripts of genes with no known function during the asexual intraerythrocytic developmental cycle are enriched in PfEVs compared to the whole parasite. We conclude that the secretion of extracellular vesicles could be a putative posttranscriptional RNA regulation mechanism that is part of or synergise the classic RNA decay processes to maintain intracellular RNA levels in P. falciparum

Extracellular vesicles could be a putative posttranscriptional regulatory mechanism that shapes intracellular RNA levels in Plasmodium falciparum

© 2023 The Author(s). This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY), https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Plasmodium falciparum secretes extracellular vesicles (PfEVs) that contain parasite-derived RNA. However, the significance of the secreted RNA remains unexplored. Here, we compare secreted and intracellular RNA from asexual cultures of six P. falciparum lines. We find that secretion of RNA via extracellular vesicles is not only periodic throughout the asexual intraerythrocytic developmental cycle but is also highly conserved across P. falciparum isolates. We further demonstrate that the phases of RNA secreted via extracellular vesicles are discernibly shifted compared to those of the intracellular RNA within the secreting whole parasite. Finally, transcripts of genes with no known function during the asexual intraerythrocytic developmental cycle are enriched in PfEVs compared to the whole parasite. We conclude that the secretion of extracellular vesicles could be a putative posttranscriptional RNA regulation mechanism that is part of or synergise the classic RNA decay processes to maintain intracellular RNA levels in P. falciparum.Peer reviewe

Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Youths’ Public Facilities Use and Psychological Well-Being: A Mixed-Method Study

Purpose: In this study, we explored experiences and feelings of safety in public facilities in relation to psychological well-being among transgender and gender nonconforming (TGNC) youth in the Midwest in the summer of 2016, in the context of ongoing legislative proposals and regulations regarding school and public bathroom use in the United States. Methods: We used a mixed-method approach, with (1) a self-administered, paper-and-pencil survey of 120 TGNC youth, focusing on differences of self-esteem, resilience, quality of life (QoL), perceived stigma, feelings of safety, and experiences of public facility use and (2) two focus group interviews (n = 9) in which TGNC youth discussed individual perceptions, attitudes, and experiences of bathroom use outside participants’ homes. The samples consisted predominantly of individuals assigned female at birth and currently of trans-masculine identity. Results: TGNC youth in our sample who reported that they had felt unsafe in bathrooms due to appearance or gender identity had significantly lower levels of resilience (mean(felt safe) = 125.7 vs. mean(felt unsafe) = 116.1; p = 0.03, Cohen’s d = 0.44) and QoL (mean(felt safe) = 59.1 vs. mean(felt unsafe) = 51.9; p = 0.04, Cohen’s d = 0.39), compared to those who felt safe. Meanwhile, feeling unsafe in bathrooms was associated with a greater level of perceived LGBT stigma (mean(felt safe) = 2.3 vs. mean(felt unsafe) = 2.6; p = 0.03, Cohen’s d = 0.41) and problematic anxiety in the past year (2 (1) = 4.06; p = 0.04). Individuals in the focus groups provided specific examples of their experiences of and concerns about locker room or bathroom use in public facilities, and on the impact of school bathroomrelated policies and legislation on them. Conclusion: Perceptions of safety related to bathroom use are related to psychological well-being among TGNC youth. Our predominantly trans-masculine youth sample indicated that choice of bathroom and locker room use is important and that antiharassment policies need to support students’ use of their choice of bathrooms. This is particularly important information given debate of so-called bathroom bills, which attempt to restrict public bathroom use for TGNC youth, creating less choice and more stress and fear among these individuals

Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Youths’ Public Facilities Use and Psychological Well-Being: A Mixed-Method Study

Purpose: In this study, we explored experiences and feelings of safety in public facilities in relation to psychological well-being among transgender and gender nonconforming (TGNC) youth in the Midwest in the summer of 2016, in the context of ongoing legislative proposals and regulations regarding school and public bathroom use in the United States. Methods: We used a mixed-method approach, with (1) a self-administered, paper-and-pencil survey of 120 TGNC youth, focusing on differences of self-esteem, resilience, quality of life (QoL), perceived stigma, feelings of safety, and experiences of public facility use and (2) two focus group interviews (n = 9) in which TGNC youth discussed individual perceptions, attitudes, and experiences of bathroom use outside participants’ homes. The samples consisted predominantly of individuals assigned female at birth and currently of trans-masculine identity. Results: TGNC youth in our sample who reported that they had felt unsafe in bathrooms due to appearance or gender identity had significantly lower levels of resilience (mean(felt safe) = 125.7 vs. mean(felt unsafe) = 116.1; p = 0.03, Cohen’s d = 0.44) and QoL (mean(felt safe) = 59.1 vs. mean(felt unsafe) = 51.9; p = 0.04, Cohen’s d = 0.39), compared to those who felt safe. Meanwhile, feeling unsafe in bathrooms was associated with a greater level of perceived LGBT stigma (mean(felt safe) = 2.3 vs. mean(felt unsafe) = 2.6; p = 0.03, Cohen’s d = 0.41) and problematic anxiety in the past year (w2 (1) = 4.06; p = 0.04). Individuals in the focus groups provided specific examples of their experiences of and concerns about locker room or bathroom use in public facilities, and on the impact of school bathroomrelated policies and legislation on them. Conclusion: Perceptions of safety related to bathroom use are related to psychological well-being among TGNC youth. Our predominantly trans-masculine youth sample indicated that choice of bathroom and locker room use is important and that antiharassment policies need to support students’ use of their choice of bathrooms. This is particularly important information given debate of so-called bathroom bills, which attempt to restrict public bathroom use for TGNC youth, creating less choice and more stress and fear among these individuals

A Multilevel Analysis Examining the Relationship Between Quality of Antenatal Care and Maternal-Child Health Promotion Practices in Three East African Countries: a Three-Paper Dissertation.

Background: Quality of health care is an emerging concern across many low-and-middle-income countries. Particularly, there is limited empirical guidance in measuring Antenatal care (ANC) quality and its influence on maternal health promotion practices. Purpose: The overall aim of this three-paper dissertation is to examine the relationship of ANC quality on three maternal child health promotion practices outcome measures, which included child vaccination, appropriate diarrhea prevention practices, and breastfeeding, in three neighboring East African countries of Kenya, Uganda, and Tanzania. Methods: Data from the latest demographic and health survey (DHS) program for Kenya (2014), Uganda (2015) and Tanzania (2015/16) were used in this study. The main dependent variable -maternal child health promotion practices consisted of three separate measures, a) full child vaccination, b) appropriate diarrhea prevention practices, and c) breastfeeding (early initiation of breastfeeding [EIBF], exclusive breastfeeding [EBF] & continued breastfeeding [CBF] past six months). The main independent variable, ANC quality, was assessed using two measures a) ANC utilization, and b) essential ANC health promotion care practices (ANC HPCPs). While the level of ANC utilization focused on the extent to which the women engaged with the healthcare system (skilled care), the essential ANC HPCPs focused on the nature of interaction with the care providers by examining the type and level of care received across the pregnancy period. The analysis in all papers follow the same format beginning with descriptive statistics, bivariate analysis comparing the outcomes and other predictor variables and the results presented as crude(unadjusted) odds ratios and 95% confident intervals. Finally, multilevel binary logistic regression models to test the main hypothesis while adjusting for other covariates were conducted using Stata 16SE. Results: The findings of this dissertation suggest that ANC quality is significantly associated with the various maternal health promotion practices tested in each of the three papers. While the association between ANC quality and each of the outcomes was comparable across all countries, the level of significance varied by country. Overall, the analysis of the pooled data showed that intermediate and adequate levels of ANC utilization were associated with higher odds of full vaccination compared to poor ANC utilization. Women with adequate ANC utilization had about six times greater odds of having their children fully vaccinated as compared to those with poor ANC utilization [AOR:5.90; 95% CI:(2.27,15.32)]. Moreover, the odds of full vaccination increased by 32% with every score on the number of essential ANC HPCPs [AOR: 1.32; 95% CI:(1.16,1.51)]. Similarly, women who had intermediate [AOR:1.31: 95% CI: (1.18,1.46)], and adequate ANC utilization, [AOR: 1.41; 95% CI: (1.23,1.63)], had greater odds of practicing appropriate diarrhea prevention measures. In addition, for every score in essential ANC HPCPs during pregnancy visit, the odds of women’s diarrhea prevention practices increased by 16% [AOR:1.16; 95% CI: (1.13,1.20)]. Finally, across all breastfeeding outcomes, majority of women had poor ANC utilization while the least had adequate ANC utilization. Adequate ANC utilization was significantly associated with 18% greater odds of early initiation of breastfeeding (EIBF) compared to poor ANC utilization [AOR:1.19; 95% CI (1.02,1.39)]. Although women with intermediate level of ANC utilization had significantly lower unadjusted odds (COR: 0.88; 95% CI (0.78,0.99) of exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) compared to those with poor ANC utilization, the association was not significant in the fully adjusted EBF model (AOR: 1.51; 95% CI (0.87,2.64). Compared to women with poor ANC utilization, women with intermediate [AOR: 1.74; 95% CI (1.07,2.85)] and adequate [AOR: 2.39; 95% CI (1.18,4.81)] ANC utilization had 74% and more than twice the odds of continued breastfeeding (CBF) past 6 months. Conclusion: The findings provide additional evidence justifying the benefits of ANC quality on the health and growth trajectory of the child, especially in estimating the early initiation and progress in breastfeeding, vaccination coverage, and practice of diarrhea prevention measures. The findings also suggest that low maternal ANC service utilization may be an indication of future poor health seeking habits for children care services. Highlighting the importance of quality ANC and the possible social and structural factors that influence women decisions and child-health promotion practices is a step towards better child health and, eventually, reducing maternal and child mortality

Reader Response Americans and Kenyans Interpret D’Souza’s Anti-Obama Polemic

A research paper by Kioko Ireri, lecturer at the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, USIU-

Hegemony or Survival? How Propaganda Perpetuates and Sustains America’s Global Dominance

An article by Kioko Ireri, lecturer at the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, USIU-A

Bee diversity and floral resources along a disturbance gradient in Kaya Muhaka forest and surrounding farmlands of coastal Kenya

Article abstractKaya forests are rich in biodiversity and endemism along the coastal ecosystems of Kenya. The role of bees in pollination service that maintains native plant populations and resilience of such critical ecosystems is unprecedented. This study examined the diversity and floral resources for bees in Kaya Muhaka forest, forest edge, surrounding fallow farmlands and crop fields along a disturbance gradient with aim of informing local conservation and livelihood projects. In total, 755 individual bees, representing 52 species were recorded. Families; Apidae, Halictidae and Megachilidae were recorded. Overall, Apidae were most abundant with a proportion of 76%, Halictidae at 14% and Megachilidae at 10%. Bee composition was closely similar between forest edge and crop fields as compared to other habitats. However, bee diversity did not change significantly with increasing distance from the forest to surrounding farmlands, a pointer to high resilience of bee species. High abundance of bee populations was recorded in fallow farmlands, explained by high abundance of floral resources in the habitat. We noted a significant effect of floral resources richness on bee species richness. We compare these results to several recent bee faunal surveys including surveys in other parts of East Africa, Europe and Asia. These findings are important for understanding the effects of land use change on bee populations for effective conservation planning.Kaya forests are rich in biodiversity and endemism along the coastal ecosystems of Kenya. The role of bees in pollination service that maintains native plant populations and resilience of such critical ecosystems is unprecedented. This study examined the diversity and floral resources for bees in Kaya Muhaka forest, forest edge, surrounding fallow farmlands and crop fields along a disturbance gradient with aim of informing local conservation and livelihood projects. In total, 755 individual bees, representing 52 species were r ecorded. Families; Apidae, Halictidae and Megachilidae were recorded. Overall, Apidae were mo st abundant with a proportion of 76%, Halictidae at 14% and Megachilidae at 10%. Bee comp osition was closely similar between forest edge and crop fields as compared to other habitats. However, bee diversity did not change significantly with increasing distance from the for est to surrounding farmlands, a pointer to high resilience of bee species. High abundance of bee po pulations was recorded in fallow farmlands, explained by high abundance of floral resources in the habitat. We noted a significant effect of floral resources richness on bee species richness. We compare these results to several recent bee faunal surveys including surveys in other parts of East Africa, Europe and Asia. These findings are important for understanding the effects of land use change on bee populations for effective conservation planning