Factors Affecting Responsibility Accounting: Evidence from Vietnamese Manufacturing Enterprises

Purpose: This study aims to examine (i) the number of product lines and steps in the manufacturing process affect the responsibility cost center in a responsibility accounting system (ii) the level of technology application, the qualification of managers at all levels affect the budgetary control system integrated to the responsibility accounting system in Vietnamese manufacturing enterprises.   Theoretical framework: The research identifies and examined the impacts of the number of product lines, the number of steps in the manufacturing process on the number of responsibility cost centers, and the impacts of the level of technology application, the qualification of managers at all levels on the budgetary control system to contribute the responsibility accounting system theory.   Design/methodology/approach:  A quantitative approach was applied with a sample of 108 Vietnamese manufacturing enterprises that is listed on the Vietnamese financial securities markets in 2020. OLS regression is applied to give a further analysis.   Findings: The regression findings support the significant positive impacts of the number of product lines and the number of steps in the manufacturing process on the number of cost centers as well as the significant positive correlation between the level of technology application and the effective budgetary control system, however, the effect of the qualification of managers at all levels is insignificant.   Research, Practical & Social implications: This study provides factors impacting the number of cost centers and the budgetary control system. The results of this study support the contingency theory.   Originality/value: These findings can be useful for Vietnamese manufacturing enterprises to take measures to strengthen cost control through the responsibility accounting system, thereby improving business efficiency

Antimicrobial and antioxidant activity of bacterial endophytes isolated from leaves of the mangrove plant Rhizophora stylosa

Mangroves are the most productive ecosystems and contain highly diverse plants and microbial communities. Mangrove endophytes are proved to be a rich source of bioactive secondary metabolites. The biological molecules produced by endophytes play an important role in protection of mangrove plants against herbivores, insects as well as pathogens. The present study aimed to isolate the endophytic bacteria from the mangrove plant Rhizophora stylosa and screen antimicrobial and antioxidant activity of ethyl acetate extracts from the isolated endophytic bacteria. A total of 64 endophytic bacterial strains from R. stylosa leaves were isolated, of which ethyl acetate extracts of 14 isolated endophytic strains showed antimicrobial activity against at least one of reference microorganisms Escherichia coli ATCC 25922, Pseudomonas aeruginosa ATCC 25923, Bacillus subtilis ATCC 27212, Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 12222 and Candida albicans ATCC 7754 with MIC values from 32 to 512 µg/ml. Among them, four strains showed activity against one reference microorganism, five strains showed activity against two reference microorganisms, four strains showed activity against three reference microorganisms, and one strain showed activity against four reference microorganisms. Additionally, the ethyl acetate extracts of 12 isolated endophytic bacteria showed ATBS and DPPH radical scavenging activity with scavenging values from 36.27 ± 2.6% to 71.46 ± 6.6% and from 26.22 ± 3.3% to 57.38 ± 5.8%, respectively. The identification of the five most active endophytic bacteria by 16S rRNA sequences revealed that the endophytes belonged to four genera, including Bacillus, Streptomyces, Pseudovibrio and Pseudomonas. The obtained results suggest that the endophytic bacteria from mangrove plants are a promising reservoir of antimicrobial and antioxidant agents.      

STUDENTS' PERCEPTION OF THE INFLUENCE OF INTONATION IN ENGLISH ON CONVEYING THE MEANING OF SPEECH IN COMMUNICATION

In communication, intonation plays an important role in conveying the meaning of a speech. In this article, we study students' perception of the influence of intonation in conveying the meaning of speech in communication to propose solutions to help students overcome intonation errors when communicating, as well as, help teachers have appropriate intonation teaching methods. Our data and analysis are based on research documents, surveys, and in-depth interviews with students. According to the study results, most students are well aware of the importance of intonation and of the factors affecting intonation, and they are also aware of the causes of intonation errors. However, students do not apply their knowledge of intonation to speech, they stop at the cognitive level. The study indicates that students often make intonation mistakes in Tag-question, Wh-question, and Imperative sentence in communication.  Article visualizations

TURBIDITY REMOVAL BY MUCILAGE FROM BASELLA ALBA

Coagulation and flocculation are preliminary used in water treatment processes for turbidity removal, using popularily synthetic chemicals with health and environmental concerns. The use of natural flocculants has known to be a promising alteratives for chemical ones due to their environmental friendly behavior. This research investigated turbidity removal efficiency of mucilage extracted from Basella alba - an indigenous species in Vietnam - in the role of a flocculant. The removal efficiency of mucilage was investigated in combination with PAC or Alum on To Lich river water by mean of Jar tests. PAC or Alum alone can remove maximum 97% and 90% turbidity of To Lich river water at its original pH for the sedimentation time of 30 minutes. The combination of mucilage and PAC or Alum increased the efficiencies of turbidity removal and reduced the amount of chemicals needed. The corresponding increases were maximum 7% and 18%, respectively; while the reduction of PAC/Alum used was 75-80%

Technical efficiency of smallholder banana production: a case study in Viet Nam

Bananas are considered one of the leading trading crops due to their high demand all over the globe. Since the increasing demand leads to the expansion of global import, the existing literature is in dire need of updating, especially from the producing economies that fall in the category of developing nations. The study, thus, intends to estimate the critical efficiency of said area. Along with it, the study aims to determine the elements of banana production in the context of Vietnam using a stochastic frontier approach and technical efficiency technique. The sample of the study is the province of Vietnam named Hung Yen, and it made sure to collect the data from 160 farmers in 2022. Results of the study reveal that the farmers' technical efficiency fluctuates between the range of 89.68- 97.81%. However, the average technical efficiency of banana farmers was reported to be 95.92%. From the result, it is gauged that factors such as potassium, manure, distance, capital, and training showed positive signs at a 0.01 significance level. Also, the education and area coefficient show a positive sign at a 0.05 significance level. Finally, distance and district variables, which were the dummy variable, show a negative sign at 0.01 and 0.05 significance levels, respectively.Hoang Van Hung (Hung Yen University of Technology and Education (UTEHY)), Nguyen Van Huong (Hung Yen University of Technology and Education (UTEHY)), Le Thi Thuong (Hung Yen University of Technology and Education (UTEHY)), Thai Thi Kim Oanh (Vinh University (VU)), Nguyen Van Chuong (University of Financial – Business Administration (UFBA)), Nguyen Cong Tiep (Viet Nam National University of Agriculture (VNUA)), Thai Van Ha (Ha Noi University of Business and Technology (HUBT)), Nguyen Thi Luong (Can Tho University (CTU))Includes bibliographical references

Performance of Sampling/Resampling-based Particle Filters Applied to Non-Linear Problems

In this work, we propose a wireless body area sensor network (WBASN) to monitor patient position. Localization and tracking are enhanced by improving the effect of the received signal strength (RSS) variation. First, we propose a modified particle filter (PF) that adjusts resampling parameters for the Kullback-Leibler distance (KLD)-resampling algorithm to ameliorate the effect of RSS variation by generating a sample set near the high-likelihood region. The key issue of this method is to use a resampling parameter lower bound for reducing both the root mean square error (RMSE) and the mean number of particles used. To determine this lower bound, an optimal algorithm is proposed based on the maximum RMSE between the proposed algorithm and the KLD-resampling algorithm or based on the maximum mean number of particles used of these algorithms. Finally, PFs based on KLD-sampling and KLD-resampling are proposed to minimize the efficient number of particles and to reduce the estimation error compared to traditional algorithms

Investigation of Sodium Manganese Oxide Nanowires Synthesized by Hydrothermal Method for Alkaline Ion Battery

Sodium Manganese Oxide (NaxMnO2) has attracted much attention as cathode materials for alkaline ion battery due to the ability of fast charge and discharge ion Na+, in particular in nanoscale. We report on the synthesis of NaxMnO2 nanowires via hydrothermal synthesis route from Mn2O3 and NaOH solution. The morphological observation indicates that the obtained Na0.44MnO2 nanowires with diameters of about 20-30 nm, length up to several micrometers were formed by this process. The electrochemical properties of fabricated materials were investigated by means of cyclic voltammetry technique and show that Sodium Manganese Oxide (NaxMnO2) is a promising material in the field of research and fabrication alkaline ion battery

Synthesis and Optical Characterization of Building-Block Plasmonic Gold Nanostructures

Plasmonics, the field involves manipulating light at the nanoscale, has been being an emergent research field worldwide. Synthesizing the plasmonic gold nanostructures with controlled morphology and desired optical properties is of special importance towards specific applications in the field. Here, we report the chemical synthesis and the optical properties of various plasmonic Au nanostructures, namely Au nanoparticles (AuNPs), Au nanorods (AuNRs) and random Au nano-islands (AuNI) that are the building blocks for plasmonic research. The results show that the AuNPs exhibited a single plasmonic resonance, the AuNRs displayed two identical and separated modes of the resonance, and the random Au nano-islands presented a very broad resonance. Specifically, tailoring the anisotropy of the Au nanorods enabled extending their resonant frequencies from the visible to the near infrared ones, which is in accordance with the finite different time domain simulations

Opposing Roles of HDAC6 in Liver Regeneration and Hepatocarcinogenesis

Histone deacetylase 6 (HDAC6), a deacetylase of p53, has emerged as a privileged inhibitory target for cancer therapy because of its deacetylating activity for p53 at K120 and K373/382. However, intricate roles of HDAC6 in hepatocellular carcinogenesis have been suggested by recent evidence, namely that HDAC6 ablation suppresses innate immunity, which plays critical roles in tumor immunosurveillance and antitumor immune responses. Therefore, it is valuable to determine whether HDAC6 ablation inhibits hepatocellular carcinogenesis using in vivo animal models. Here, we firstly showed that HDAC6 ablation increased K320 acetylation of p53, known as pro-survival acetylation, in all tested animal models but did not always increase K120 and K373/382 acetylation of p53, known as pro-apoptotic acetylation. HDAC6 ablation induced cellular senescence in primary MEFs and inhibited cell proliferation in HepG2 cells and liver regeneration after two-thirds partial hepatectomy. However, the genetic ablation of HDAC6 did not inhibit hepatocarcinogenesis, but instead slightly enhanced it in two independent mouse models (DEN + HFD and DEN + TAA). Notably, HDAC6 ablation significantly promoted hepatocarcinogenesis in a multiple DEN treatment hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) mouse model, mimicking chronic DNA damage in the liver, which correlated with hyperacetylation at K320 of p53 and a decrease in inflammatory cytokines and chemokines. Our data from three independent in vivo animal HCC models emphasize the importance of the complex roles of HDAC6 ablation in hepatocellular carcinogenesis, highlighting its immunosuppressive effects

Quantifying antimicrobial access and usage for paediatric diarrhoeal disease in an urban community setting in Asia.

OBJECTIVES: Antimicrobial-resistant infections are a major global health issue. Ease of antimicrobial access in developing countries is proposed to be a key driver of the antimicrobial resistance (AMR) epidemic despite a lack of community antimicrobial usage data. METHODS: Using a mixed-methods approach (geospatial mapping, simulated clients, healthcare utilization, longitudinal cohort) we assessed antimicrobial access in the community and quantified antimicrobial usage for childhood diarrhoea in an urban Vietnamese setting. RESULTS: The study area had a pharmacy density of 15.7 pharmacies/km2 (a pharmacy for every 1316 people). Using a simulated client method at pharmacies within the area, we found that 8% (3/37) and 22% (8/37) of outlets sold antimicrobials for paediatric watery and mucoid diarrhoea, respectively. However, despite ease of pharmacy access, the majority of caregivers would choose to take their child to a healthcare facility, with 81% (319/396) and 88% (347/396) of responders selecting a specialized hospital as one of their top three preferences when seeking treatment for watery and mucoid diarrhoea, respectively. We calculated that at least 19% (2688/14427) of diarrhoea episodes in those aged 1 to <5 years would receive an antimicrobial annually; however, antimicrobial usage was almost 10 times greater in hospitals than in the community. CONCLUSIONS: Our data question the impact of community antimicrobial usage on AMR and highlight the need for better education and guidelines for all professionals with the authority to prescribe antimicrobials