Moderating effect of contextual factors on the relationship between travel motivation and destination loyalty among domestic tourists in the Coast region of Kenya

Despite the marginal growth recorded in the tourism sector in Kenya, the domestic visits and estimates fall far below the expectations. The study was guided by the following specific objective; to assess the moderating effect of contextual factors on the relationship between travel motivation and destination loyalty among domestic tourists in the Coast Region of Kenya. The study area comprised frequented attractions in the Coast region of Kenya. The study adopted an embedded mixed approach comprising descriptive survey and explanatory research designs. Simple random sampling and purposive techniques were adopted for domestic tourists, destination managers and experts respectively. Data was collected using questionnaires and interview schedules. Four hundred (400) questionnaires were distributed while 10 destination managers and 5 experts were interviewed. Data analysis was done using multiple regression models, hierarchical multiple regression and descriptive analysis. The multiple regression model results without interaction terms indicated that R-square = 0.442, implying that destination attributes and socio-psychological factors explain 44.2% of destination loyalty. The hierarchical multiple regression demonstrated that contextual factors have a moderating effect on interaction between travel motivation and destination loyalty since the model was significant {R2 = 0.255, F (7, 371) = 12.12, p =0.0001}. The model accounted for 25.5% of variation on destination loyalty. This means that the composite elements of contextual factors namely; political, economic, technological and socio-cultural factors significantly moderates the interaction between travel motivation and loyalty behaviour of domestic tourists. The null hypotheses were tested and rejected. The study recommends need for destinations and service providers to engage more on digital marketing and deploy technology during marketing initiatives and product development to capture niche segments since majority of the respondents were youth traveler

Identification of plant recognition receptors for nematode derived molecular patterns

Plant parasitic nematodes are pathogens of great economic importance causing major losses in various food crops world-wide. A reliable, effective and efficient control method is establishing resistant cultivars of which understanding plant defense against nematodes is the first step towards this solution. Plant defence relies on recognition of Pathogen-Associated Molecular Patterns (PAMPs) by surface-localised Pattern-Recognition Receptors (PRRs) prior to pathogen penetration. Upon PAMP perception, PRRs trigger intracellular signalling cascades leading to activation of PAMP-Triggered Immunity (PTI). PRRs perceiving a wide-range of PAMPs have now been characterized for various models of plant-pathogen interactions; however, even though Nematode derived PAMPs (NAMPS) such as ascarosides have been identified, none of their perceiving receptors have been characterized. Here we show that invasion of Arabidopsis roots by parasitic nematodes triggers PTI-like responses including an upregulation of defense related genes. Treating Arabidopsis roots with a nematode aqueous solution (NemaWater) similarly induced expression of defense genes. Among the upregulated genes were a number of plasma-membrane – localized Receptor-Like Kinases (RLKs) belonging to Leucine Rich Repeat (LRRs), Never In Mitosis A (NIMA) rElated Kinases (NEKs), Cysteine-Rich RLKs (CRKs) and Phytosulfokine Kinase (PSK) families. Nematode infection assays with candidate genes demonstrated that loss of NILR1 (for NEMATODE-INDUCED LRR-RLK 1) expression enhances the susceptibility of plants to a broad range of nematodes suggesting that NILR1 is a PRR that perceives a conserved nematode-derived NAMP. This finding is equally supported by experiments showing that nilr1 is defective in ROS burst as well as in seedling growth inhibition upon NemaWater treatment compared with wild-type control. In addition, presence ROS burst by NemaWater on rice plants suggested triggering of PTI by a NILR1 homologue in rice. We further showed AtNEK5 and NILR3 as potential NAMP receptors due to susceptibility of their knock out mutants to sedentary nematodes while two CRKs; CRK 19 and CRK10 portrayed roles in defense against nematodes in a species dependent manner. In addition, we demonstrated that the co-receptor BAK1 can be utilized to mine for potential receptors and signalling components involved in immunity against nematodes through successful BAK1-GFP pull down assay. The identification of NILR1 among others PRR perceiving NAMPs and successful baiting of BAK1 to pulldown nematode derived immunity components are major steps forward in understanding plant basal defense against nematodes. Consequently, these findings will not only increase knowledge into plant-nematode interaction but also pave way for further exploration of plant immunity studies. As a direct effect, the vital information from this study remains as a resource for molecular breeding of nematode resistant plants and a solution to yield loss due to nematode.Pflanzenparasitäre Nematoden sind Pathogene von großer ökonomischer Relevanz, da sie weltweit enorme Verluste in diversen Nutzpflanzensorten verursachen. Eine verlässliche, effektive und effiziente Regulierung ist die Verwendung resistenter Kultivare, wobei das Verständnis der Verteidigungsstrategien von Pflanzen gegen Nematoden ein erster Schritt zu dieser Lösung ist. Pflanzliche Verteidigungsstrategien beruhen auf der Erkennung sogenannter "Pathogen-Associated Molecular Patterns" (PAMPs) durch "Pattern-Recognition Receptors" (PRRs) bevor der Pathogen eindringt. Durch die Perzeption von PAMPs lösen PRRs intrazelluläre Signalkaskaden aus, die zur Aktivierung der PAMP-Triggered Immunity (PTI) führen. PRRs, die eine Viezahl von PAMPs erkennen, werden inzwischen in unterschiedlichen Modellen über die Planze-Pathogen Interaktionen beschrieben. Jedoch, obwohl nematodenbezogene PAMPs (NAMPs), wie zum Beispiel Ascaroside, identifiziert wurden, wurde bislang kein entsprechender Rezeptor charakterisiert. Hier zeigen wir, dass die Invasion von Arabidopsiswurzeln durch pflanzenparasitäre Nematoden PTI ähnliche Signale auslöst, einschließlich einer Hochregulation von Genen der Pflanzenabwehr. Die Behandlung von Arabidopsiswurzeln mit einer wässrigen Nematodenlösung (NemaWater) induziert auf eine ähnliche Weise die Expression von Abwehrgenen. Unter den hochregulierten Genen befinden sich eine Reihe "Receptor-Like Kinases" (RLKs) der Plasmamembran, die zu den Familien der "Leucine Rich Repeat (LRRs), Never In Mitosis A (NIMA) rElated Kinases (NEKs), Cysteine-Rich RLKs (CRKs)" und "Phytosulfokine Kinase" (PSK) gehören. Nematoden-Infektionsstudien demonstrierten, dass der Verlust des Kandidatengens NILR1 (for NEMATODE-INDUCED LRR-RLK 1), die Anfälligkeit der Pflanzen gegenüber einer Reihe von Nematodenarten erhöht. Dieses Ergebnis legt nahe, dass es sich bei NILR1 um ein NAMP erkennendes PRR handelt. Gleichzeitig wird diese Annahme durch Experimente unterstützt, die zeigen, dass die transgene Pflanze nilr1 eine beeinträchtigte ROS Ausschüttung sowie eine Hemmung des Keimlingswachstums nach Behandlng mit NemaWater aufweist. Zusätzlich suggerierte die ROS Ausschüttung in Reispflanzen durch NemaWater Behandlung, dass in diesem Fall ein NILR1 Homolog PTI auslöst. Außerdem zeigten wir, dass es sich bei AtNEK5 und NILR3 um potentielle NAMP Rezeptoren handelt, da die entsprechenden Knockout-Mutanten anfälliger gegenüber sedentären Nematoden waren, während die Rollen von CRKs; CRK 19 und CRK10, in speziesabhängigen Abwehrmechanismen vermutet werden. Zusätzlich konnten wir demonstrieren, dass der Korezeptor BAK1 in einer "GFP pull down" Analyse zur Suche nach potentiellen Rezeptoren und Signalkomponenten, involviert in Immunitätsmechanismen gegen Nematoden, verwendet werden kann. Die Identifizierung von NILR1 neben anderen PRR erkennenden NAMPs und das erfolgreiche Ködern von BAK1 zum Detektieren von nematodenbezogenen Immunitätskomponenten sind wichtige Schritte zu einem Verständnis der basalen Pflanzenabwehr gegen Nematoden. Folglich werden diese Erkenntnisse nicht nur das Wissen über die Pflanzen-Nematoden Interaktion bereichern, sondern auch den Weg ebnen für zukünftige Untersuchungen des Pflanzenimmunsystems. Als direkter Effekt stellt diese Studie eine Resource für molekulare Züchtung nematodenresistenter Pflanzen sowie eine Strategie zur Reduktion von Ernteausfällenn dar

Analysing the Factors that Influence Social Media Adoption Among SME's in Developing Countries

Social media penetration is on the rise in developing countries and is an important channel of growth for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Many SMEs in developing countries use social media to connect their customers to their products and services. However, the factors that have led the existing SMEs in Africa to adopt or reject Social Media need to be clarified to understand the key contributing factors and influences at play. This paper adopts the learning-by-doing concept from economic theory to explore the factors that influence the adoption of social media. A primary survey follows this to examine the use of social media among firms in the commercial districts of Kenya and Nigeria. The preliminary surveys in both countries were combined into a single dataset to analyse the relationship between social media use and learning-by-doing. The results show that while small SMEs are limited in their social media capacity, medium size firms tend to invest in their social media presence, and larger-size firms still rely on traditional marketing channels

Rethinking health sector procurement as developmental linkages in East Africa

Health care forms a large economic sector in all countries, and procurement of medicines and other essential commodities necessarily creates economic linkages between a country's health sector and local and international industrial development. These procurement processes may be positive or negative in their effects on populations' access to appropriate treatment and on local industrial development, yet procurement in low and middle income countries (LMICs) remains under-studied: generally analysed, when addressed at all, as a public sector technical and organisational challenge rather than a social and economic element of health system governance shaping its links to the wider economy. This article uses fieldwork in Tanzania and Kenya in 2012–15 to analyse procurement of essential medicines and supplies as a governance process for the health system and its industrial links, drawing on aspects of global value chain theory. We describe procurement work processes as experienced by front line staff in public, faith-based and private sectors, linking these experiences to wholesale funding sources and purchasing practices, and examining their implications for medicines access and for local industrial development within these East African countries. We show that in a context of poor access to reliable medicines, extensive reliance on private medicines purchase, and increasing globalisation of procurement systems, domestic linkages between health and industrial sectors have been weakened, especially in Tanzania. We argue in consequence for a more developmental perspective on health sector procurement design, including closer policy attention to strengthening vertical and horizontal relational working within local health-industry value chains, in the interests of both wider access to treatment and improved industrial development in Africa

Effect of health education on oral health-related quality of life among persons living with HIV at two comprehensive care centres in Kenya

Objective: To evaluate the effect of health education on quality of life of persons living with HIV/AIDS.Design: Quasi-Experimental study.Setting: Comprehensive Care Centres (CCC), at Kenyatta National Hospital and Mbagathi District Hospital.Subject: One hundred and ninety five persons living with HIV/AIDS attending CCC.Results: At baseline,48.2% of the participants had at least one oral health related attribute. There was a significant decrease in the prevalence of oral health related attributes among the cases but not the controls. A large effect size was observed in physical pain subscale among the cases after health education. Change in psychological discomfort psychological disability,handicap and functional subscales were significantly associated with change in gingival inflammation.Conclusion: Oral health education is a viable strategy in reducing oral health related attribute, leading to improved oral health related quality of life

Predictability of GARCH-Type Models in Estimating Stock Returns Volatility. Evidence from Kenya

Purpose: The aim of this paper was to  evaluate which of the seven GARCH-type models, namely sGARCH, IGARCH, EGARCH, TGARCH, GJRGARCH, APARCH, and CGARCH, was suitable for predicting the Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed firms' volatility.   Theoritical framework: The Efficient Market Hypothesis is crucial in predicting market value of stocks. Therefore, this study employed the efficient market hypothesis to the the predictability of the stocks returns volatility.   Design/Methodology/Approach: In  this study, we used census approach to collect data from 49 Nairobi Securities Exchange listed firms. The data was collected from 1st January 2011 to 31st December 2020. TO evaluate the volatility, we used the GARCH-type models.   Findings: The study found that the APARCH model as the best suitable for forecasting the volatility of Nairobi Securities Exchange-listed firms.   Research, Practical & Social implications: We propose the the APARCH model as the best suitable model for predicting volatility of stock returns. The findings can be used by investors in making judicious financial decisions. For acedmic purpose, the findings are essential in supporting new knowledge of which model is best fit in predicting the NSE stocks returns volatility.   Original/ Value: The study contributes to the literature on the best suitable model in predicting the volatility of the stocks returns

Valuing the stock price of the industrial companies listed on the Nairobi Securities Exchange using the Residual Income Model

A Research project submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of Bachelor Business Science Finance at Strathmore UniversityThe cross-sectional variation in stock returns due to the earnings announcement has gathered extensive research (Dimitropoulos & Asteriou, 2009) (Ball & Shivakumar, 2008) (Cohen, Dey, Lys, & Sunder, 2005) (Skinner & Sloan, 2002) (Beaver, 1968) as it is the primary mechanism through which public companies provide periodic financial performance updates to investors. Although earnings are one important determinant of stock prices, there are other accounting determinants, including balance sheet values (Dechow & Sloan, 2014). The balance sheet is an important source of information as it lists the assets (future economic benefits) and liabilities (future economic obligations) of the company. Lf the accounting process successfully identified all such benefits and obligations and valued them at their fair values, then the balance sheet itself would be sufficient for determining company value. The balance sheet, however, relies on amortized historical costs for many assets (e.g., property, plant and equipment) and ignores other assets altogether (e.g., internally generated intangibles). As a result, early research (Kormendi & Lipe , 1987) assumed that the balance sheet would be less relevant than the income statement for valuation (Dechow & Sloan, 2014)

Universal tick vaccines : candidates and remaining challenges

Recent advancements in molecular biology, particularly regarding massively parallel sequencing technologies, have enabled scientists to gain more insight into the physiology of ticks. While there has been progress in identifying tick proteins and the pathways they are involved in, the specificities of tick-host interaction at the molecular level are not yet fully understood. Indeed, the development of effective commercial tick vaccines has been slower than expected. While omics studies have pointed to some potential vaccine immunogens, selecting suitable antigens for a multiantigenic vaccine is very complex due to the participation of redundant molecules in biological pathways. The expansion of ticks and their pathogens into new territories and exposure to new hosts makes it necessary to evaluate vaccine efficacy in unusual and non-domestic host species. This situation makes ticks and tick-borne diseases an increasing threat to animal and human health globally, demanding an urgent availability of vaccines against multiple tick species and their pathogens. This review discusses the challenges and advancements in the search for universal tick vaccines, including promising new antigen candidates, and indicates future directions in this crucial research field

Effect of essential oils against acaricide‐susceptible and acaricide‑resistant Rhipicephalus ticks

The indiscriminate use of acaricides is a problem worldwide and has increased the selection of acaricide-resistant tick populations. The goal of this study was to evaluate the acaricide effects of two essential oils (from Schinus molle and Bulnesia sarmientoi) using the larval immersion test on three Rhipicephalus tick species. Rhipicephalus evertsi, Rhipicephalus appendiculatus and Rhipicephalus pulchelus ticks collected in Kenya, without history of acaricide exposure, were tested, as well as individuals from two populations of Rhipicephalus microplus (with or without history of acaricide exposure), for comparison. The sample most resistant to the treatments was a population of R. microplus with previous acaricide exposure, whereas the least tolerant sample was a strain of the same species that never had contact with acaricides (Porto Alegre strain). Interestingly, the field tick samples without previous acaricide exposure responded to essential oils with a mortality profile resembling that observed in the acaricide-resistant R. microplus field population, and not the susceptible Porto Alegre strain. The essential oil of B. sarmientoi and its two components tested (guaiol and bulnesol) caused the highest mortality rates in the tested species and are potential molecules for future studies on control methods against these species

Exposure to parasitic infections determines features and phenotypes of active convulsive epilepsy in Africa

Background: Epilepsy affects 70 million people worldwide, 80% of whom are in low-and-middle income countries (LMICs). Infections of the central nervous system (CNS) contribute considerably to the burden of epilepsy in LMICs, but the nature and presentation of epilepsy following these infections is not fully understood. We examined if epilepsy foutcomes are associated with the exposure to parasitic infections. Methods: This was a case-comparison study nested in a cross-sectional survey of people with active convulsive epilepsy, with cases as those exposed to parasitic infections, and comparison as those unexposed. Associations of exposure to parasites with clinical and electroencephalographic features of epilepsy were done using a modified mixed effects Poisson regression model across five sites in Africa. Multiplicative and additive scale (RERI) interactions were explored to determine the effect of co-infections on epilepsy features. Population attributable fractions (PAF) were calculated to determine the proportion of severe clinical and electroencephalographic features of epilepsy attributable to CNS infections. Results: A total of 997 participants with active convulsive epilepsy from the five African sites were analyzed, 51% of whom were males. Exposure to parasitic infections was associated with more frequent seizures in adult epilepsy (relative risk (RR)=2.58, 95% confidence interval (95%CI):1.71-3.89). In children, exposure to any parasite was associated with convulsive status epilepticus (RR=4.68, (95%CI: 3.79-5.78), intellectual disabilities (RR=2.13, 95%CI: 1.35-3.34) and neurological deficits (RR=1.92, 95%CI: 1.42-2.61). Toxoplasma gondii and Onchocerca volvulus interacted synergistically to increase the risk of status epilepticus (RERI=0.91, 95%CI=0.48-1.35) in the data pooled across the sites. Exposure to parasitic infections contributed to 30% of severe features of epilepsy as shown by PAF. Conclusions: Parasitic infections may determine features and phenotypes of epilepsy through synergistic or antagonistic interactions, which can be different in children and adults. Interventions to control or manage infections may reduce complications and improve prognosis in epilepsy