Does bank affiliation affect firm capital structure? Evidence from a financial crisis

PurposeThis study aims to assess the determinants of corporate debt with a particular focus on bank-affiliated and non-bank-affiliated firms during the global financial crisis.Design/methodology/approachThe authors analyse the data of 395 listed manufacturing firms from Pakistan with 2,370 firm-year observations. The sample is divided into subsamples, namely bank-affiliated, non-bank-affiliated and stand-alone firms. Fixed and panel effect regression models are applied to determine the during, pre-crisis and post-crisis effects on corporate capital structure.FindingsThe robust results of the study reveal that non-bank-affiliated firms have different leverage determinant behaviours with a greater reliance on size, tangibility and profitability. However, bank-affiliated firms seemed to show greater immunity from a crisis compared to other firms. Simultaneously, the stand-alone firms remained at a disadvantage subject to internal financial ties of group-affiliated firms and form a base of market imperfection.Practical implicationsThis study's findings imply that financial managers should contain better ties with financial institutions to enhance financial immunity in worse time of financial crisis or COVID-19 global calamity. On the regulation front, these findings call for critical policy regulations to govern the internal ties with financial institutions to create a level playing field for the corporate sector.Originality/valueTo the best of the authors' knowledge, this study is the first to investigate determinants of corporate debt with a particular focus on bank-affiliated and non-bank-affiliated firms. This work is also novel to explore corporate debt of bank-affiliated and non-bank-affiliated firms during the financial crisis.

Post-Covid 19 World

As the world struggles to contain the Covid-19 pandemic, one thing is becoming clear: the world after the outbreak will be entirely different politically, socially, economically, and health-wise. No one will emerge from this crisis without suffering some loss. Previous threats to individual and social liberties were ineffective in changing our way of life, but now this vital asset of our civilization is in grave danger. The influential countries will redraw a new international order in the post-Covid-19 world, taking into account the lessons learned in coping with the current pandemic. The position of international organizations will be scrutinized as well. Low GDP growth, high debt, and reliance on oil and basic technology would make it difficult for developing countries to sustain independent foreign policies. In education, e-governance, commerce, and artificial intelligence;IT will play a significant role in all aspects of life. Monitoring of people with tracking devices will run counter to human rights issued in the name of security and protection. The tourism industry will continue to thrive, but visa requirements will be tightened. Covid-19 is teaching a valuable lesson. Survival of the fittest would not work in the march of civilization. Even if we have to bear them on our backs, we must accompany the poor and helpless.

Trend and enhanced surveillance of Monkeypox during COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria.

Monkeypox (MPX) is a viral zoonosis with lesions like smallpox. Though rare in Nigeria, sporadic outbreaks have been reported in 17 states since September 2017. Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic has further reduced surveillance and reporting of MPX disease. This study seeks to assess the effect of an enhanced surveillance approach to detect MPX cases and measure the cumulative incidence of MPX in priority states in Nigeria. We identified three priority states (Rivers, Delta and Bayelsa) and their Local Government Areas (LGAs) based on previous disease incidence. We also identified, trained, and incentivized community volunteers to conduct active case searches over three months (January to March 2021). We supported case investigation of suspected cases and followed up on cases in addition to routine active surveillance for MPX in health facilities and communities. Weekly and monthly follow-up was carried out during the same period. Out of the three states, 30 hotspots LGAs out of the 56 LGAs (54%) were engaged for enhanced surveillance. We trained three state supervisors, 30 LGA surveillance facilitators and 600 Community informants across the three priority states. Overall, twenty-five (25) suspected cases of MPX were identified. Out of these, three (12%) were confirmed as positive. Enhanced surveillance improved reporting of MPX diseases in hotspots LGAs across the priority states. Extension of this surveillance approach alongside tailored technical support is critical intra and post-pandemic.

Energy Conversion System based on Photovoltaic-Battery-Ultra Capacitor-Diesel Sources for a Mobile Hospital (preprint)

This article deals with the energy management of a hybrid system composed of PV, Battery,ultracapacitor and diesel synchronous generators for a mobile hospital. The proposed power system can supply energy to Shelter Hospital for better treatment of patients in remote states, particularly in the event of a pandemic situation such as COVID-19. For this reason, a hybrid power system in which a diesel generator is used with a photovoltaic energy source for reliable availability of power supply. Moreover, batteries and ultra-capacitors are also integrated to obtain a hybrid power generation and storage system to ensure the smooth operation of mobile hospital weather conditions. Photovoltaic panels are connected to a boost converter to follow maximum power tracking (MPPT) and Power curtailment modes. The battery is connected to a bidirectional reversible DC-DC converter for DC bus voltage regulation and state of charge (SOC) control. The ultra-capacitor is associated with the battery to compensate for the peak power. The diesel generator is connected in parallel with the photovoltaic generator, battery, and ultra-capacitor to continuously provide the power required by the load. The integrated operation of all the generation and storage systems is complex for shelter hospital. Hence; an efficient energy management algorithm is developed to manage the continuous energy flow between the elements of the hybrid power system and mobile hospital load through the control of the power converters. Finally, validation results are presented to show the effectiveness of the proposed energy management of the hybrid power system.

Higher admission activated partial thromboplastin time, neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio, serum sodium, and anticoagulant use predict in-hospital COVID-19 mortality in people with Diabetes: Findings from Two University Hospitals in the U.K.

AIMS: To create and compare survival models from admission laboratory indices in people hospitalized with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) with and without diabetes. METHODS: Retrospective observational study of patients with COVID-19 with or without diabetes admitted to Sheffield Teaching Hospitals from 29 February to 01 May 2020. Predictive variables for in-hospital mortality from COVID-19 were explored using Cox proportional hazard models. RESULTS: Out of 505 patients, 156 (30.8%) had diabetes mellitus (DM) of which 143 (91.7%) had type 2 diabetes. There were significantly higher in-hospital COVID-19 deaths in those with DM [DM COVID-19 deaths 54 (34.6%) vs. non-DM COVID-19 deaths 88 (25.2%): P < 0.05]. Activated partial thromboplastin time (APPT) > 24 s without anticoagulants (HR 6.38, 95% CI: 1.07-37.87: P = 0.04), APTT > 24 s with anticoagulants (HR 24.01, 95% CI: 3.63-159.01: P < 0.001), neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio > 8 (HR 6.18, 95% CI: 2.36-16.16: P < 0.001), and sodium > 136 mmol/L (HR 3.27, 95% CI: 1.12-9.56: P = 0.03) at admission, were only associated with in-hospital COVID-19 mortality for those with diabetes. CONCLUSIONS: At admission, elevated APTT with or without anticoagulants, neutrophil-lymphocyte ratio and serum sodium are unique factors that predict in-hospital COVID-19 mortality in patients with diabetes compared to those without. This novel finding may lead to research into haematological and biochemical mechanisms to understand why those with diabetes are more susceptible to poor outcomes when infected with Covid-19, and contribute to identification of those most at risk when admitted to hospital.

ENT RELATED SYMPTOMATOLOGY OF COVID-19 IN OUR INSTITUTION

ABSTRACT Objective: To investigate the symptoms of COVID-19 disease cases which according to published scientific literature mainly includes upper respiratory track symptoms. Study Design: Case series study. Place and Duration of Study: It was carried out at ENT department, Pakistan Naval Ship Shifa, Karachi, from Mar 2020 to Jun 2020. Methodology: It was from March, 2020 to June, 2020. Patients included in study were above the age of 10 years who were able to give us the details about their symptoms, contact and recent travel history and cooperated for their nasopharyngeal swabs for COVID-19 RT PCR tests. Probability, convenient, sampling technique was used for our study. Frequencies of age, gender, clinical symptoms of patients were analyzed by using descriptive statistics of SPSS. Results: This study included 231 patients with COVID-19 positive nasopharyngeal swabs for RT-PC, out of which 200 were males and 31 were females. Mean age is 38.23 ± 14.77 years. Among the airway symptoms, multiple symptoms like fever, cough, myalgia were seen in 84 cases (36.4%) and cough was found in 22 (9.5%) of patients. Fever with cough was seen in 21 (9.2%) of patients. 58 (25.1%) cases were asymptomatic and were carriers. History of contact was positive in 122 (52.8%) of cases. Conclusion: COVID patients have fever, cough and myalgia as the most common symptoms and such patients should be assessed with care and as per the standard guidelines of institutions.