Political connection heterogeneity and firm value in Vietnam

The observation of firms’ political connections (PCs) in both types of ascribed and acquired PCs has raised the question of their benefits to firms’ operation. Based on 1,365 Vietnamese listed firm-year observations from 2010 to 2014, we find that although firms with both ascribed and acquired PCs have lower firm value (FV) than firms without any PCs, firms with acquired PCs exhibit better FV than those with ascribed PCs. The paper also reveals that concentrated ownership (CO) has a mediation impact on the association between acquired PCs and FV while it can help firms with acquired PCs in improving FV

Research on Managers' Perception of Digital Transformation in Small and Medium Enterprises

Digital transformation (DT) is the direction of many economies, organizations and businesses. Research on DT attracts great interest in academia. The article was carried out by the need to encourage a deeper understanding of DT in the context of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) through analyzing the current status of managers' perception of DT in SMEs in Vietnam. The author begins by reflecting on the theoretical issues of DT such as the concept and role of DT and explains in detail the challenges of DT for SMEs. Next, the research method is presented to describe the research process when making the article. The research results are the important content of the paper presented in the next section with three main topics: the nature of DT, the role of DT and challenges of DT to SMEs. According to research results, managers' perception of revenue still has some inadequacies, such as few managers realizing that revenue is about improving the business's operating processes instead of changing the way of selling and interacting. with customers,...; DT's role is not only gain new knowledge about customers, increase customer satisfaction, expand market opportunities, improve product development processes,… but also to improve business efficiency and increase labor productivity. However, the research results also show a good sign that managers think that the challenge to DT is not too great, completely controllable. Finally, the paper proposes a series of factors that need taking into consideration in order to move towards the digitization of SMEs. By focusing on analyzing key elements of managers' perception of the DT process in SMEs, the article has made a number of academic contribution

ARSENIC REMOVAL FROM GROUNDWATER BY IRON CO PRECIPITATION IN CONTACT FILTER

Joint Research on Environmental Science and Technology for the Eart

Influence of different cultivating and food sources on growth of earthworm, perionyx excavatus (PERR.)

Earthworm, Perionyx Excavatus, has been studied and the potential of this epigeic earthworm species for processing organic waste is well known. The substrate and feeding material were considered as effector of the growth, life cycle of earthworms. The current study carried on the evaluation of various cultivating and feeding materials that influenced on growth of earthworms, by calculating biomass, the total number of worms and relative growth rate. As the results, the cow manure fed in cultured and feeding materials showed the suitable in the growth of earthworm, with significant differences from other group which based on worm manure as the substrate and feeding materials. For further study, the adding component, including coir, straw and soil have to be studied to find out the better materials in earthworm cultivation

PILOT SCALE STUDY ON AMMONIUM REMOVAL IN PHAP VAN WATER PLANT, HANOI CITY

Joint Research on Environmental Science and Technology for the Eart

Safety and efficacy of fluoxetine on functional outcome after acute stroke (AFFINITY): a randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial

Background Trials of fluoxetine for recovery after stroke report conflicting results. The Assessment oF FluoxetINe In sTroke recoverY (AFFINITY) trial aimed to show if daily oral fluoxetine for 6 months after stroke improves functional outcome in an ethnically diverse population. Methods AFFINITY was a randomised, parallel-group, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial done in 43 hospital stroke units in Australia (n=29), New Zealand (four), and Vietnam (ten). Eligible patients were adults (aged ≥18 years) with a clinical diagnosis of acute stroke in the previous 2–15 days, brain imaging consistent with ischaemic or haemorrhagic stroke, and a persisting neurological deficit that produced a modified Rankin Scale (mRS) score of 1 or more. Patients were randomly assigned 1:1 via a web-based system using a minimisation algorithm to once daily, oral fluoxetine 20 mg capsules or matching placebo for 6 months. Patients, carers, investigators, and outcome assessors were masked to the treatment allocation. The primary outcome was functional status, measured by the mRS, at 6 months. The primary analysis was an ordinal logistic regression of the mRS at 6 months, adjusted for minimisation variables. Primary and safety analyses were done according to the patient's treatment allocation. The trial is registered with the Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry, ACTRN12611000774921. Findings Between Jan 11, 2013, and June 30, 2019, 1280 patients were recruited in Australia (n=532), New Zealand (n=42), and Vietnam (n=706), of whom 642 were randomly assigned to fluoxetine and 638 were randomly assigned to placebo. Mean duration of trial treatment was 167 days (SD 48·1). At 6 months, mRS data were available in 624 (97%) patients in the fluoxetine group and 632 (99%) in the placebo group. The distribution of mRS categories was similar in the fluoxetine and placebo groups (adjusted common odds ratio 0·94, 95% CI 0·76–1·15; p=0·53). Compared with patients in the placebo group, patients in the fluoxetine group had more falls (20 [3%] vs seven [1%]; p=0·018), bone fractures (19 [3%] vs six [1%]; p=0·014), and epileptic seizures (ten [2%] vs two [<1%]; p=0·038) at 6 months. Interpretation Oral fluoxetine 20 mg daily for 6 months after acute stroke did not improve functional outcome and increased the risk of falls, bone fractures, and epileptic seizures. These results do not support the use of fluoxetine to improve functional outcome after stroke

The Helicobacter pylori Genome Project : insights into H. pylori population structure from analysis of a worldwide collection of complete genomes

Helicobacter pylori, a dominant member of the gastric microbiota, shares co-evolutionary history with humans. This has led to the development of genetically distinct H. pylori subpopulations associated with the geographic origin of the host and with differential gastric disease risk. Here, we provide insights into H. pylori population structure as a part of the Helicobacter pylori Genome Project (HpGP), a multi-disciplinary initiative aimed at elucidating H. pylori pathogenesis and identifying new therapeutic targets. We collected 1011 well-characterized clinical strains from 50 countries and generated high-quality genome sequences. We analysed core genome diversity and population structure of the HpGP dataset and 255 worldwide reference genomes to outline the ancestral contribution to Eurasian, African, and American populations. We found evidence of substantial contribution of population hpNorthAsia and subpopulation hspUral in Northern European H. pylori. The genomes of H. pylori isolated from northern and southern Indigenous Americans differed in that bacteria isolated in northern Indigenous communities were more similar to North Asian H. pylori while the southern had higher relatedness to hpEastAsia. Notably, we also found a highly clonal yet geographically dispersed North American subpopulation, which is negative for the cag pathogenicity island, and present in 7% of sequenced US genomes. We expect the HpGP dataset and the corresponding strains to become a major asset for H. pylori genomics

Corruption, business environment, and firm growth in Vietnam

Corruption is fought by governments in both developing and developed countries because it can harm economic development. However, it has raised the question of why it still exists at a high level in emerging markets like Vietnam. With the data from surveys of the World Bank, Vietnam Competitive Initiative, and Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, this study provides details of the impact of corruption on firm growth and the effect of business environment on corruption at the firm‐perceived level across different firm ownership identities, namely state‐owned enterprise (SOE), shareholding enterprise (SHE), and foreign‐owned enterprise (FOE), in Vietnam. We demonstrate that corruption has a negative effect on the growth of firms with SHEs, FOEs, and non‐SOEs but a positive effect in SOEs. We also document that the difference in the levels of corruption across different provinces can be influenced by the quality of the local business environment, but again, those impacts are heterogeneous in firms with different ownership identities

Social capital, credit choices and growth in vietnamese household businesses

The study provides the impact of social capital on credit choices and growth of household businesses in Vietnam by using a data sample of 3,813 observations. Social capital is considered at different levels: micro for human capital and macro for social networks. It concludes that although both levels of social capital influence credit choices of household businesses, the micro level of social capital plays an important role in improving the household business’s growth, including asset and income growth. The study develops a broader view about the use of resources and financing choices in household businesses in Vietnam. Accordingly, it highlights the importance of social capital from multiple aspects — the household business itself, human capital, social networks and government — on the development of Vietnamese household businesses