Influence of Corporate Control and Ownership Structure on the Value of Firms Listed at the Nairobi Securities Exchange

This study aimed at establishing the influence of corporate control and ownership structure on corporate values of companies listed at the Nairobi Securities Exchange. The paper tested the hypothesis that there is no significant moderating impact of ownership structure on the relationship between corporate control and corporate value growth based on Tobin Q and ROA measurements. The theory applied were agency theory, stewardship theory and stakeholder theory with the main anchoring theory being the agency theory. The study applied census survey for sixty four firms listed at the NSE. The time frame of analysis is five years between 2013 and 2017. Out of the 64 listed companies targeted, 58 were analyzed forming 90% of the population. The study applied census survey given that the population of the listed companies at the NSE were not many. Out of the 64 listed companies targeted, 59 were analyzed forming 92% of the population. Corporate control index was developed as a proxy for corporate control and ownership structure index was developed as a proxy for ownership structure. While ROA and Tobin Q were used to measure corporate value. The hypotheses were tested using both correlation and regression analysis. The key study variables of the listed companies were subjected to descriptive statistics and the results revealed a significant positive relationship between the variables. The study findings revealed significant moderating effect on the relationship between the value of the firm and its ownership structure

Influence of Corporate Control and Capital Structure on the Performance of Firms Listed at the Nairobi Security Exchange

This study aimed at establishing the influence of corporate control and capital structure on performance of firms listed at the Nairobi Securities Exchange. The focus was on how the link concerning corporate control and corporate’s returns is influenced by debt-equity structure for these listed firms. The paper tested the hypothesis that there is no significant intervening effect of capital structure on the nexus between corporate control and firm performance as measured by ROA and Tobin Q. The theory applied were agency theory and trade off theory. The study applied census survey for sixty four firms listed at the NSE. Leverage was used as a measure of capital structure while ROA and Tobin Q were used to measure corporate value. Regression analysis and correlation analysis were used to test the hypotheses. The key study variables of the listed companies were subjected to descriptive statistics and the results revealed a significant positive relationship between the variables. The intervening effect of debt-equity ratio was found to be significant in the relationship between in corporate control and corporate value. The study findings were in line with previous research findings also provided further insight on the contribution of independent variable, corporate control on the dependent variable, corporate value. Analyst and investors can utilize the findings to identify the key corporate control mechanism in financial markets. Keywords: Corporate control, capital structure, agency theory, trade off theory, firm performance

1D GRPIC Simulations of Stellar-Mass Black Hole Magnetospheres: Semi-Analytic Model of Gamma-Rays from Gaps

In the absence of a sufficient amount of plasma injection into the black hole (BH) magnetosphere, the force-free state of the magnetosphere cannot be maintained, leading to the emergence of strong, time-dependent, longitudinal electric field (spark gap). Recent studies of supermassive BH magnetospheres by using analytical methods and particle-in-cell (PIC) simulations propose the possibility of the efficient particle acceleration and consequent gamma-ray emissions in the spark gap. In this work, we perform one-dimensional general relativistic PIC simulations to examine the gamma-ray emission from stellar-mass BH magnetospheres. We find that intermittent spark gaps emerge and particles are efficiently accelerated, in a similar manner to the supermassive BH case. We build a semi-analytic model of the plasma dynamics and radiative processes which reproduces the maximum electron energies and peak gamma-ray luminosities in the simulation results. Based on this model, we show that gamma-ray signals from stellar-mass BHs wandering through the interstellar medium could be detected by gamma-ray telescopes such as the Fermi Large Area Telescope, or the Cherenkov Telescope Array.Comment: 15 pages, 9 figures, 1 table. Submitted to Ap

The potential for the double risk of rabies and antimicrobial resistance in a high rabies endemic setting:Detection of antibiotic resistance in bacterial isolates from infected dog bite wounds in Uganda

BACKGROUND: Post-exposure treatment for dog bites in humans aims at alleviating the risk of rabies and promoting wound healing. Wound healing may be complicated by bacteria. This study identified the different bacteria and their antibiotic susceptibilities in infected dog bite wounds (DBWs) in Uganda. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 376 dog bite patients. Wound swabs from patients with infected DBWs were collected and inoculated into recommended media. They were cultured for both aerobic and anaerobic bacteria. All isolated bacteria were identified based on colony characteristics, gram stain, and standard biochemical tests. Molecular identification was performed for strains that were resistant to three or more antibiotics. Antibiotic susceptibility testing was conducted using the disc diffusion method following the modified Kirby-Bauer method. The data were analysed using Stata version 15 software. RESULTS: Approximately half of the patients (52.9%, 199/376) presented with infected wounds. Majority of the swabs (84.4%, 168/199) were culture positive, and yielded a total of 768 isolates where about half (52.9%, 406/768) were gram positive bacteria, and about two-thirds (64.6%, 496/768) were recovered from category II wounds. Among the gram positive bacteria, 339 (83.5%) were aerobes where Staphylococcus aureus (103, 30.4%), Coagulase-negative staphylococci (68, 20.1%), and Corynebacterium spp (33, 9.7%) had the highest prevalence. For the 362 Gram negative isolates, 217 (59.9%) were aerobes and the commonest isolates were P. maltocida (64, 29.5%), Capnocytophaga canimorsus (36, 16.6%) and P. canis (26, 12.0%). Gram-positive isolates were resistant to metronidazole (93.6%), oxacillin (68.5%), ceftriaxone (14.6%) and amoxicillin/clavulanic acid (14.0%). Gram negative isolates were resistant to metronidazole (100%), ampicillin (30.7%), oxacillin (29.3%), and doxycycline (22.9%). Multidrug resistance was in 105 (29.0%) and 121/406 (29.8%) of the gram-negative and gram-positive isolates, respectively. All gram-positive isolates were susceptible to vancomycin and ciprofloxacin. CONCLUSIONS: Infection rates of DBWs in Uganda are high and the dominant bacterial isolates are Staphylococcus aureus, Pasteurella spps, and Capnocytophaga canimorsus. Multidrug resistance to commonly used antibiotics is high. The recommendation in the Uganda Clinical Guidelines to use metronidazole in the management of DBWs should be reviewed. DBWs should be enlisted for routine antimicrobial resistance surveillance and rational use of antimicrobial agents should be promoted. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s13756-022-01181-0

The Effect of Carbon Sequestration on Farmers’ Income: A Case Study of Kenya Agricultural Carbon Project

Purpose - The purpose of the study was to assess the effect carbon sequestration has on farmers’ income. This objective was achieved by comparing how the carbon value, crop and livestock farming influence farmers’ income for smallholder farmers working under Kenya Agricultural Carbon Project (KACP) and those of the control group, that is, farmers practicing traditional methods. The study also compared margins from crop farming between the two groups of smallholder farmers to assess their level of agricultural productivity. Methodology - The study followed a descriptive statistics approach and more specifically a case study research design. Stratified random sampling was used to select thirty one participants for purposes of the study. In addition, the study employed more of quantitative than qualitative research approaches for data collection and analyses; correlation and multi linear regression analyses so as to complement the validity and reliability of the results. Findings - The results confirmed that indeed carbon sequestration does have an impact on farmers’ income. Farmers practicing sustainable agricultural land management practices are able to maximise their output using cost efficient means and are able to fetch higher margins compared to their counterparts using traditional means. Implications - Governmental agencies need to strengthen their environmental policies to encourage sustainable agricultural practices. This will aid alleviate poverty from increased agricultural productivity, strengthen food security and enable farmers become resilient to climate change. The policies will also enhance capacity building, research and community development in incorporating carbon sequestration projects into the carbon markets.  This will create a socio-economic transformation that will create more jobs and scale up the agro-sector. Value - Carbon sequestration through agro forestry among other sustainable agricultural practices is an untapped potential to realize in part the country’s vision 2030; poverty elimination and achievement of 10% forest cover. Farmers are urged to take advantage of climate smart agricultural practices that reduce environmental degradation and conserve resources while boosting income through improved crop yields and profitable systems such as carbon revenue and indirect income from carbon. In the process, farmers become food secure and resilient to climate change. This will in turn create more jobs and scale up the agro-sector which is the main driver of our country’s economy. Key Words: Carbon Sequestration, Kenya Agricultural Carbon Project (KACP), Farmer’s Incom

The effect of adenosine monophosphate deaminase overexpression on the accumulation of umami-related metabolites in tomatoes

Taste is perceived as one of a combination of five sensations, sweet, sour, bitter, salty, and umami. The umami taste is best known as a savoury sensation and plays a central role in food flavour, palatability, and eating satisfaction. Umami flavour can be imparted by the presence of glutamate and is greatly enhanced by the addition of ribonucleotides, such as inosine monophosphate (IMP) and guanosine monophosphate (GMP). The production of IMP is regulated by the enzyme adenosine monophosphate (AMP) deaminase which functions to convert AMP into IMP. We have generated transgenic tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) lines over expressing AMP deaminase under the control of a fruit-specific promoter. The transgenic lines showed substantially enhanced levels of AMP deaminase expression in comparison to the wild-type control. Elevated AMP deaminase levels resulted in the reduced accumulation of glutamate and increased levels of the umami nucleotide GMP. AMP concentrations were unchanged. The effects on the levels of glutamate and GMP were unexpected and are discussed in relation to the metabolite flux within this pathway

LOW-Γ JETS from COMPACT STELLAR MERGERS: CANDIDATE ELECTROMAGNETIC COUNTERPARTS to GRAVITATIONAL WAVE SOURCES

The American Astronomical Society. All rights reserved.Short gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) are believed to be produced by relativistic jets from mergers of neutron stars (NSs) or NSs and black-holes (BHs). If the Lorentz-factors Γ of jets from compact stellar mergers follow a similar power-law distribution to those observed for other high-energy astrophysical phenomena (e.g., blazars, active galactic nuclei), the population of jets should be dominated by low-Γ outflows. These jets will not produce prompt gamma-rays, but jet energy will be released as X-ray/optical/radio transients when they collide with the ambient medium. Using Monte Carlo simulations, we study the properties of such transients. Approximately 78% of merger jets Mpc result in failed GRBs if the jet Γ follows a power-law distribution of index -1.75. X-ray/optical transients from failed GRBs will have broad distributions of their characteristics: light-curves peak tp ∼ 0.1-10 days after a merger; flux peaks for X-ray 10-6 mJy ≲ Fx ≲ 10-2 mJy; and optical flux peaks at 14 ≲ mg ≲ 22. X-ray transients are detectable by Swift XRT, and ∼85% of optical transients will be detectable by telescopes with limiting magnitude mg ≳ 21, for well localized sources on the sky. X-ray/optical transients are followed by radio transients with peak times narrowly clustered around tp ∼ 10 days, and peak flux of ∼10-100 mJy at 10 GHz and ∼0.1 mJy at 150 MHz. By considering the all-sky rate of short GRBs within the LIGO/Virgo range, the rate of on-axis orphan afterglows from failed GRBs should be 2.6(26) per year for NS-NS(NS-BH) mergers, respectively. Since merger jets from gravitational-wave (GW) trigger events tend to be directed to us, a significant fraction of GW events could be associated with the on-axis orphan afterglow