Governance of corporate social responsibility and return on assets in the South African mining firms

Governance of corporate social responsibility (CSR) remains a permanent subject in the sustainability development debates despite its long history. This article examines issues of governance by establishing the relationship between CSR and return on assets (ROA) of Johannesburg Security Exchange (JSE) listed mining firms. The purpose of focusing on mining firms is necessitated by the need to address socioeconomic ills which are phenomenal within the South Africa’s mining communities. Hence, the objective of this article is to investigate the interactions in the CSR, based on employees and black suppliers. The secondary data on CSR and ROA for the years 2010–2014 were collected from the integrated reports of purposively sampled 10 mining firms listed on JSE (SRI) Index. The case study research strategy was adopted from which data was collected and gathered using content analysis. The CSR aggregates such as Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment (BBBEE) procurement and skill and training expenditure are used as independent variables while ROA is used as a dependent variable. The multiple regression statistics are used to test the relationship, which is the manifestation of the underlying governance. The findings reveal that CSR has a negative impact on ROA. However, after the incorporation of the number of employees as a control variable, the results show that there is a positive relationship between CSR and ROA. In this way, the study confirms that tenets of good corporate governance are satisfied in the relationship of CSR and ROA in the selected mining firms, notwithstanding the continued poverty among mining communities

Antihyperglycemic and Antihyperlipidemic Effects of Aqueous Extracts of Lannea edulis in Alloxan-Induced Diabetic Rats

Lannea edulis (Sond.) Engl. commonly known as wild grape is used traditionally for the treatment of diabetes. It is only found in Eastern and Southern Africa. Phytochemical screening, antihyperglycemic and antihyperlipidemic effects of aqueous extracts of L. edulis in alloxan induced diabetic rats were carried out. We report herein the findings of this research work. Lannea edulis crude aqueous extracts were obtained by hot infusion and evaporation method. Phytochemical screening was carried out and subsequently toxicity studies of the aqueous extracts were performed to establish the Lethal Dose 50 (LD50) in albino rats. Alloxan monohydrate was used to induce diabetes in the rats. Lannea edulis positive control group doses of 100, 300, and 500 mg/kg were administered to 3 groups for 14 days. The positive control group was administered 5 mg/kg of glibenclamide. The negative and normal control groups were administered distilled water. To determine fasting blood glucose, blood was drawn on days 0, 1, 3, 5, 7, and 14 while it was drawn on days 0 and 14 for the determination of lipids. Phytochemical screening revealed the presence of flavonoids, saponins, tannins, cardiac glycosides, alkaloids and steroids. L. edulis diabetic positive control groups showed significant (P < 0.05) dose dependent reductions in fasting blood glucose levels. When day 0 mean blood glucose levels were compared to day 3 mean blood glucose levels of their respective groups, the 300 mg/kg L. edulis group showed a 23.3% drop and the 500 mg/kg L. edulis group showed a 52.6% drop. The 100 mg/kg L. edulis diabetic positive control group showed a 25.1% drop by day 5, the day on which it showed statistical significance (P < 0.05) compared to the diabetic control. In addition, administration of aqueous extracts of L. edulis to diabetic rats for 14 days significantly decreased (P < 0.05) the levels of serum total cholesterol, triglycerides, Low Density Lipoprotein (LDL) and Very Low Density Lipoprotein (VLDL) whilst increasing the levels of High Density Lipoprotein (HDL), when compared to the diabetic control group. It was concluded that L. edulis showed significant and dose dependent antihyperglycemic and antihyperlipidemic effects thus confirming its traditional use

Host-Directed Therapies for tackling Multi-Drug Resistant TB – learning from the Pasteur-Bechamp debates

Tuberculosis (TB) remains a global emergency causing an estimated 1.5 million deaths annually. For several decades the major focus of TB treatment has been on antibiotic development targeting Mycobacterium tuberculosis (M.tb). The lengthy TB treatment duration and poor treatment outcomes associated with multi-drug resistant TB (MDR-TB) are of major concern. The sparse new TB drug pipeline and widespread emergence of MDR-TB signal an urgent need for more innovative interventions to improve treatment outcomes. Building on the historical Pasteur-Bechamp debates on the role of the ‘microbe’ versus the ‘host internal milieu’ in disease causation, we make the case for parallel investments into host-directed therapies (HDTs). A range of potential HDTs are now available which require evaluation in randomized controlled clinical trials as adjunct therapies for shortening the duration of TB therapy and improving treatment outcomes for drug-susceptible TB and MDR-TB. Funder initiatives that may enable further research into HDTs are described

Towards host-directed therapies for tuberculosis

The treatment of tuberculosis is based on combinations of drugs that directly target Mycobacterium tuberculosis. A new global initiative is now focusing on a complementary approach of developing adjunct host-directed therapies. Despite the availability of effective antibiotics for tuberculosis (TB) for the past half century, it remains an important global health problem; there are ~9 million active TB cases and ~1.5 million TB-induced deaths per year (see the World Health Organization (WHO) Global Tuberculosis Report in Further information). Health services around the world face major barriers to achieving optimal outcomes from current TB treatment regimens. These barriers include: the spread of multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB) and extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB); complex and toxic treatment regimens for MDR-TB; HIV co-infection; pharmacokinetic interactions between TB drugs and antiretroviral drugs; relapse; permanent damage to lung and other tissues; long-term functional disability; immune reconstitution inflammatory syndrome (IRIS); and co-morbidity with non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and chronic obstructive airway diseases. Another fundamental problem is the long duration of TB drug treatment (6 months for drug-sensitive TB and at least 18 months for drug-resistant TB) to achieve a cure, owing to the presence of dormant Mycobacterium tuberculosis bacilli that are phenotypically resistant to current classes of anti-TB drugs, which can only target bacterial replication. There is therefore an urgent need for new TB treatments. However, the TB drug pipeline is thin1, 2. For the past 60 years, efforts to develop new treatments have focused on compounds and regimens that target M. tuberculosis directly. Recently, however, attention has focused on investigating a range of adjunct treatment interventions known as host-directed therapies (HDTs) that instead target the host response to infection. Here, we highlight the rationale for HDTs, the current portfolio of HDTs and their mechanisms of action, and a consortium-based approach to drive forward their evaluation in clinical trials

Aphrodisiac Properties of Mutimba Vula and Mwana Apeluke Herbs sold in Lusaka, Zambia

Background: Male potency has been a talk of many years since humanity existed and the use of various kinds of substances to stimulate sexual desire has been done for many years. Many plant-based concoctions have been released on the Zambian market for consumption without scientifically proven results or effects. Herbalists, Traditional health practitioners (THPs) have put up many advertisements to spread their market base but all the same without any proven results to show to would-be customers to use a particular product. Two local herbal extracts, Mutimba vula (MTV) and Mwana apeluke (MWN) were studied for the presence of medicinally active components and for their sexual behaviour effects in male rats.Aim of the study: The main objective of this research work was to determine aphrodisiac properties of MTV and MWN aqueous herbal extracts.Methodology: Phytochemical screening to determine presence of medicinally active components was performed following standard guidelines. Thereafter, 3 g each of dried powder of MTV and MWN were soaked in 250 mL of distilled water for 3 hours for extraction of active ingredients. Two concentrations, high and low doses of the herbal extracts were administered orally to the treatment groups for 21 days followed by sexual behaviour analysis. Concentration of testosterone in blood samples was determined using a Testosterone Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) test.Results: Herbal extracts showed varying amounts of saponins, tannins, flavonoids, alkaloids and glycosides. The mounting frequency (p= 0.039), intromission frequency (p= 0.032) and penile erections increased (p= 0.001) significantly indicating enhanced sexual activity in animals treated with the plant extracts. The results indicated that there was no dose-dependent relationship between serum Testosterone levels and the treatment groups (p= 0.061).Conclusion: It was established that oral administration of Mutimba vula and Mwana apeluke caused increased sexual performance in rats. However, more studies are needed to exploit the possible mode of action.Key Words: Aphrodisiacs, potency, Mutimba vula, Mwana apeluke, Testosteron

Environmental Management Practices and Firm Performance in a South African Mining Firm

This paper examines the impact of environmental management practices on the financial performance of a South African mining firm. The major aim of this paper is to investigate whether such practices have a close relationship with the mining firm's financial performance (represented by return on equity [roe]). The approach is a case study of a South African mining firm listed under the socially responsible index (sri) of the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (jse). It uses Green-Steel sa (pseudonym used in place of the real name) as a case study. Using multiple regression statistics, the return on equity of Green-Steel sa is regressed on three environmental management practices of GreenSteel (carbon reduction, energy efficiency, and water usage). The result shows there is no significant relationship between the variables and this lends credence to information gathered from Green-Steel environmental reports that Green-Steel's environmental management practices are driven mostly by a desire to abide by regulations and also by a moral obligation to use environmental management practices to mitigate climate change impact

The Relationship between Waste Management Expenditure and Waste Reduction Targets on Selected JSE Companies

Waste generation and waste management are critical environmental issues faced by countries all over the world. Furthermore, there are greater environmental, economic, and social demands on firms to reduce the environmental impacts due to environmental problems brought about by their operating activities. There is a current debate as to the financial implications of waste management expenditure on waste reduction targets. This study examines the relationship between waste management expenditure on waste reduction targets, and the impact of waste reduction targets on firms’ profitability. This study used the quantitative method that utilizes the multiple regressions method to analyses data from selected South African Johannesburg Stock Exchange’s (JSE) Socially Responsible Index (SRI) listed manufacturing and mining firms for ten years (2007–2016). The study tests if there is a relationship between waste management expenditure and waste reduction targets, as well as the impact of waste reduction targets on firms’ profitability. Results show that waste reduction targets have a positive, but insignificant, correlation on the profitability of firms, and also indicate that there is a relationship between waste management expenditure and waste reduction targets. The study recommends that firms should focus more on minimizing waste generation to reduce costs