PRODUCTION SITE-WATER, SOIL-FOOD-RESIDENTS A CASE STUDY OF THE CRAFT SETTLEMENTS IN NAM DINH, VIETNAM

Joint Research on Environmental Science and Technology for the Eart

MINIMIZING HEAVY METAL IN CRAFT-SETTLEMENT WASTEWATER BY SULFATE-REDUCING BACTERIA-DESULFOVIBRIO DESSULFURICANS

Joint Research on Environmental Science and Technology for the Eart

DISTRIBUTION OF USEFUL AND HARMFUL MICROORGANISMS IN SHRIMP AQUACULTURE WATER IN TIEN HAI COASTAL OF THAI BINH PROVINCE

Joint Research on Environmental Science and Technology for the Eart

DIVERSITY OF MICROORGANISMS IN SOME FAMOUS BAYS OF VIETNAM AND THEIR ABILITY TO USE IN AQUACULTURE

Joint Research on Environmental Science and Technology for the Eart

ISOLATION AND SELECTION OF LIPASE-PRODUCING BACTERIA IN VIETNAM

Joint Research on Environmental Science and Technology for the Eart

What do Vietnamese executives understand corporate social responsibility?

The Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) literature in developing countries is seriously meager. This paper explores CSR in the Vietnamese construction industry which has faced many scandals and directed attention toward the question of the responsibilities of these businesses. The study employs the CSR definition documented by Carroll (1979; 1991) to develop a framework for exploring executives’ perceptions towards CSR. Using Carroll’s CSR pyramid and adopting in-depth interview as a method to collect data, the study critically examines the personal understanding of managers in nine companies in the construction industry. The findings show that although Vietnam is a developing country, managers are aware of the significance of environmental issue as a responsibility that businesses must address. Moreover, the managers also believe that corporate contributions to society, and corporate reputation and prestige, are expectations of society. Despite many breakthroughs in executives’ understanding of CSR, they are not sufficiently and systematically aware of CSR and need a stronger supports, such as issuing appropriate policies, from government in adopting CSR in real business practice

Customer satisfaction and corporate investment policies

This paper examines the effect of satisfaction with firms’ products and services on their capital investment policies. Using data from the American Customer Satisfaction Index from 1994 to 2013, the results of the regression models show that firms with higher customer satisfaction will invest more heavily in capital expenditures in the future. The results further show that this positive effect is more pronounced for firms with less growth opportunities or a high cost of capital. This would include those firms with low market-to-book ratios, young and small firms, or firms in more competitive industries. Overall, this study argues that customer satisfaction is an important factor affecting the firm’s investment policy. The findings provide a better understanding of the role of customer satisfaction which can generate growth opportunities, reduce cost and motivate a firm to invest more in capital

TECHNICAL ASSESSMENT OF GAMMA-AMINO BUTYRIC ACID (GABA) PRODUCTION FROM RICE BRAN

This research focused on technical assessment of GABA production from rice bran through fermentation by Lactobacillus brevis. Influence of operating pressure on separation of GABA by nanofiltration membrane was investigated and 4 bar was suitable for the nanofiltration process. The purification of GABA by nanofiltration with constant feed volume was carried out and purity of GABA reached 4.8 folds, compared to feed, at 5 volumes of added water. At 40 of concentration factor in concentration of GABA solution by nanofiltration with full recycle of retentate, content of GABA reached 49.8 g/L. The production of GABA from defatted rice bran at pilot scale was carried out at 1,000 L/batch (equal to 200 kg of rice bran) of fermentation. Estimation of mass balance showed that, with 200 kg of defatted rice bran, 7.0 kg of GABA powder was obtained. Results indicated that, it is potential to produce GABA from rice bran through the fermentation by Lactobacillus brevis

A Novel Thermostable Cytochrome P450 from Sequence-Based Metagenomics of Binh Chau Hot Spring as a Promising Catalyst for Testosterone Conversion

Biotechnological applications of cytochromes P450 show difficulties, such as low activity, thermal and/or solvent instability, narrow substrate specificity and redox partner dependence. In an attempt to overcome these limitations, an exploitation of novel thermophilic P450 enzymes from nature via uncultured approaches is desirable due to their great advantages that can resolve nearly all mentioned impediments. From the metagenomics library of the Binh Chau hot spring, an open reading frame (ORF) encoding a thermostable cytochrome P450—designated as P450-T3—which shared 66.6% amino acid sequence identity with CYP109C2 of Sorangium cellulosum So ce56 was selected for further identification and characterization. The ORF was synthesized artificially and heterologously expressed in Escherichia coli C43(DE3) using the pET17b system. The purified enzyme had a molecular weight of approximately 43 kDa. The melting temperature of the purified enzyme was 76.2 ◦C and its apparent half-life at 60 ◦C was 38.7 min. Redox partner screening revealed that P450-T3 was reduced well by the mammalian AdR-Adx4-108 and the yeast Arh1-Etp1 redox partners. Lauric acid, palmitic acid, embelin, retinoic acid (all-trans) and retinoic acid (13-cis) demonstrated binding to P450-T3. Interestingly, P450-T3 also bound and converted testosterone. Overall, P450-T3 might become a good candidate for biocatalytic applications on a larger scale