Determinants of Capital Structure in the Presence of Supply Chain Activities of Listed Construction Firms in Vietnam

The study aims to identify the capital structure determinants in the presence of the supply chain of the listed construction firms in Vietnam. The determinants of capital structure are factors affecting firm financial leverage, including firm profitability, size, growth rate, fixed assets, liquidity, interest coverage and state ownership along with the supply chain activities. The study is based on a data of 53 listed construction firms in the Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange over the period 2014-2018. The results indicated that the supply chain activities along with other determinants except profits and liquidity have a positive association with the capital structure of the listed construction firm in Vietnam. These findings guided to the policymakers that they should enhance the intensions towards the determinant of the capital structure along with supply chain activities to improve the organizational performance.

Factors Affecting Business Performance: Expanding Theoretical Measurements

Purpose: The article aims to expand a scale system of factors that impacts on business performance.   Theoretical framework: The paper based on the empirical data collected from various types of participants, including accountants (for information providing), managers (for decision-making), sales staff (for work), and lecturers (for research) in Vietnam.   Design/methodology/approach: By descriptive and comparative statistical analysis of SPSS 20 software with 124 valid observations, the survey has proposed the scale system of influencing factors (03 groups of external factors, 05 groups of internal factors) and business performance measures (10 financial and 11 non-financial indicators).   Findings: This study points out the different evaluations according to the demographic features of survey subjects on the group of financial indicators. Specifically, the group of accountants (representing information providers) obtains a lower score than the group of information users. Likewise, the post-graduated participants show stricter assessments of financial indicators in comparison to the rest of the group.   Research, Practical & Social implications: These results suggest the scale system for measuring influencing factors toward business performance in enterprises for further research.   Originality/value: The value of the study is providing an expansion of the factors affecting the efficiency of an enterprise and points out a commonly used set of financial performance measurement indicators. Research results provide useful references for research on related issues

Antibacterial activity of three wild wood-decaying fungi in southern Vietnam toward Vibrio parahaemolyticus bacterium in aquaculture wastewater

This research demonstrated antibacterial activity of wood-decaying fungi to treat the aquaculture pathogenic bacterium, Vibrio parahaemolyticus (V. parahaemolyticus). Three wild wood-decaying fungi (WDF) collected in Southern Vietnam including Flavodon flavus (F. flavus), Physisporinus vitreis (P. vitreis), and Schizophyllum commune (S. commune) were tested to treat V. parahaemolyticus presented in aquaculture wastewater. Fungal adaptation to different salt concentrations at 0, 10, 15, 20, and 30‰ was tested for the assessment of application potential of these fungi in the aquaculture farming. Fungal mycelium could adapt differently to saline conditions. All three strains grew well at low salt concentration (0-10‰), but only F. flavus survived up to 20‰ NaCl. For the antibacterial ability toward V. parahaemolyticus, two experiments using mycelium culture broth and mycofiltration were performed. Results revealed that all the three species of WDF effectively inhibited V. parahaemolyticus. Thus, mycelium culture broth of P. vitreis, S. commune, and F. flavus could inhibit 98.7, 96.5 and 97.8% V. parahaemolyticus, respectively after 8 hours. Even higher inhibitory effects were observed in the mycofiltration experiment, the efficiency reached 100% for P. vitreis, and 98% for F. flavus and S. commune after 8 hours. The obtained results showed very good application potential of myco-remediation technique using WDF in the treatment of V. parahaemolyticus in aquaculture farming. Mycofilter can be used as a new approach for controlling aquaculture disease, specifically Vibrio sp. treatment based on the antibiotic capability of these WDF. The reduction in pH of the mycelium broth can illustrated for the acidification during the mycelium development and could link with the bactericide capacity of these WDF

Mortality patterns in Vietnam, 2006: Findings from a national verbal autopsy survey

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Accurate nationally representative statistics on total and cause-specific mortality in Vietnam are lacking due to incomplete capture in government reporting systems. This paper presents total and cause-specific mortality results from a national verbal autopsy survey conducted first time in Vietnam in conjunction with the annual population change survey and discusses methodological and logistical challenges associated with the implementation of a nation-wide assessment of mortality based on surveys.</p> <p>Verbal autopsy interviews, using the WHO standard questionnaire, were conducted with close relatives of the 6798 deaths identified in the 2007 population change survey in Vietnam. Data collectors were health staff recruited from the commune health station who undertook 3-day intensive training on VA interview. The Preston-Coale method assessed the level of completeness of mortality reporting from the population change survey. The number of deaths in each age-sex grouping is inflated according to the estimate of completeness to produce an <it>adjusted </it>number of deaths. Underlying causes of death were aggregated to the International Classification of Diseases Mortality Tabulation List 1. Leading causes of death were tabulated by sex for three broad age groups: 0-14 years; 15-59 years; and 60 years and above.</p> <p>Findings</p> <p>Completeness of mortality reporting was 69% for males and 54% for females with substantial regional variation. The use of VA has resulted in 10% of deaths being classified to ill-defined among males, and 15% among females. More ill-defined deaths were reported among the 60 year or above age group. Incomplete death reporting, wide geographical dispersal of deaths, extensive travel between households, and substantial variation in local responses to VA interviews challenged the implementation of a national mortality and cause of death assessment based on surveys.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Verbal autopsy can be a viable tool to identify cause of death in Vietnam. However logistical challenges limit its use in conjunction with the national sample survey. Sentinel population clusters for mortality surveillance should be tested to develop an effective and sustainable option for routine mortality and cause of death data collection in Vietnam.</p

An Outbreak of Severe Infections with Community-Acquired MRSA Carrying the Panton-Valentine Leukocidin Following Vaccination

Background: Infections with community-acquired methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA) are emerging worldwide. We investigated an outbreak of severe CA-MRSA infections in children following out-patient vaccination. Methods and Findings: We carried out a field investigation after adverse events following immunization (AEFI) were reported. We reviewed the clinical data from all cases. S. aureus recovered from skin infections and from nasal and throat swabs were analyzed by pulse-field gel electrophoresis, multi locus sequence typing, PCR and microarray. In May 2006, nine children presented with AEFI, ranging from fatal toxic shock syndrome, necrotizing soft tissue infection, purulent abscesses, to fever with rash. All had received a vaccination injection in different health centres in one District of Ho Chi Minh City. Eight children had been vaccinated by the same health care worker (HCW). Deficiencies in vaccine quality, storage practices, or preparation and delivery were not found. Infection control practices were insufficient. CA-MRSA was cultured in four children and from nasal and throat swabs from the HCW. Strains from children and HCW were indistinguishable. All carried the Panton-Valentine leukocidine (PVL), the staphylococcal enterotoxin B gene, the gene complex for staphylococcal-cassette-chromosome mec type V, and were sequence type 59. Strain HCM3A is epidemiologically unrelated to a strain of ST59 prevalent in the USA, althoughthey belong to the same lineage. Conclusions. We describe an outbreak of infections with CA-MRSA in children, transmitted by an asymptomatic colonized HCW during immunization injection. Consistent adherence to injection practice guidelines is needed to prevent CA-MRSA transmission in both in- and outpatient settings

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

Corporate social responsibility and behavioral intentions in an emerging market: The mediating roles of green brand image and green trust

This study is driven by the absence of thorough investigations into the behavioral intentions of organizational consumers in the B2B market for paint and coatings, particularly within the industrial and marine coatings sector in Vietnam. Employing the stimulus–organism–response model, we tested the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR), green brand image (GBI), green trust (GT), and behavioral intentions (word-of-mouth intention, willingness to pay, and purchase intention) in the Vietnamese industrial and marine coatings industry. We also examined how GBI and GT mediate the relationship between CSR and behavioral intentions. Structural equation modeling was used to test the structural and measurement models and hypothetical relationships. The sample comprised 332 responses from stakeholders in the Vietnamese coating industry. Evidently, GT and CSR positively influenced word-of-mouth, willingness-to-pay, and green purchase intentions, with trust and commitment to sustainability being important drivers. While GBI positively influences purchase intention and willingness-to-pay, it has a weak effect on word-of-mouth intention, indicating that additional strategies are needed to stimulate word of mouth. Further, GT mediates the relationship between green purchase intentions and GBI, as well as between CSR and green purchase intentions. The outcomes highlight the value of incorporating CSR, GT, and GBI into the business strategies of Vietnamese industrial and marine coating companies. We discuss several theoretical and managerial implications, and the importance of studying the influence of GT, CSR, and GBI on consumers’ behavioral intentions across various cultural contexts