FINANCIAL LEVERAGE AND CORPORATE SURVIVAL: EVIDENCE FROM SELECTED FIRMS IN NIGERIA

The study assesses the impact of financial leverage on corporate survival of companies in cement industry in Nigeria over a period of 3 years (2013-2015). Total Debts to Total Assets Ratio (TDTA) and Total Debts to Total Equity Ratio (TDTE) are proxies for financial leverage while Return on Assets (ROA) and Probability of Bankruptcy (Probankr) proxied corporate survival. In addition, two control variables: Firm size (fmsize) and sales growth were used. The study population was the four (4) listed cement companies on the Nigeria Stock Exchange as at 2006 which also formed the sampled size. The study used panel data from annual reports of these companies and were analyzed using Regression (Ordinary Least Square). The study shows that TDTA and FMSIZE have significant positive relationship with ROA. TDTE and SALESGTH however, show negative insignificant relationship with ROA. On the other, TDTA, TDTE and FMSIZE have insignificant positive relationship with PROBANKR. SALESGTH however, shows a negative insignificant relationship with PROBANKR. It was recommended among others that cement companies in Nigeria should take advantage of trade-off theory of capital structure by using debt to make a better return on equity

Antimicrobial properties of the leaf extract of Loranthus Bengwensis (specie of African Mistletoe)

Studies were conducted on the antimicrobial activity of the leaf extracts of Loranthus bengwensis (A specie of African Mistletoe), a medicinal plant used in the treatment of several ailments. The leaves of this semi-parasitic plant were obtained from three different host plants at different locations within Kaduna metropolis. The leaf extracts were obtained by soxhlet extraction. Using the in vitro cup plate method of agar diffusion technique, the activity of the leaf extracts was evaluated against viable pure cultures of Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella spp and Escherichia coli. The results showed slight antimicrobial activity of the medicinal plant extract irrespective of the host plant.Keywords: Loranthus bengwensis, Staphylococcus aureus, Zone of inhibition, Cup-plate method, Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC)Journal of Pharmaceutical and Allied Sciences, Vol. 9 No. 2 (2012

Extraction and Characterization of Pectin from Peels of Lemon (Citrus limon), Grape Fruit (Citrus paradisi) and Sweet Orange (Citrus sinensis)

Abstract: This research study aimed at comparing the characteristics of three different pectins and to see which one is more suitable for industrial applications. Pectin, which is a family of complex polysaccharides that contains 1, 4-linked x and β galactosyluronic acid residues was extracted using alcohol precipitation method from peels of lemon, grape and sweet orange after which it was characterized using both qualitative and quantitative analysis to determine and compare the color equivalent weight methoxyl content, each content solubility in cold and hot alkali, pH as well as sugar and organic acid. The result showed that the colors of the pectin from these 3 sources were the same i.e., Brown they were all soluble in hot and cold alkali and water, the moisture content, the methoxyl content and the ash were all higher in the pectin extracted from peels of sweet orange with 95.25, 5.79 and 35%, respectively. However, the equivalent weight of the pectin extracted from peels of grape was higher with 793.6 mg/mol. The overall results showed that the pectin from these sources were suitable for industrial use