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This research investigates the efficacy of government control in the context of financial constraints and earnings quality, focusing on Vietnam’s listed companies. Employing a dynamic approach and utilizing the System Generalized Method of Moments (SGMM) to mitigate endogeneity concerns, the study examines annual data from non-financial Vietnamese firms listed on the Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh Stock Exchange (HNX & HOSE) spanning 2012 to 2022. Non-financial firms are the study’s main focus because their operational dynamics, capital structures, and strategic priorities markedly differ from their financial counterparts. Moreover, non-financial companies in Vietnam contend with multifaceted challenges arising from government control including potential bureaucratic hurdles, regulatory constraints, and strategic limitations, directly affecting their financial flexibility, and consequently their ability to ensure earnings quality. Earnings quality is assessed through the average values of four key characteristics—persistence, predictability, variability, and smoothness—while financial constraints are proxied by firm size, foundation years, financial leverage, and dividend pay-outs. Findings reveal a deleterious impact of financial constraints on earnings quality, with state ownership exhibiting varying effects at different levels. Remarkably, the optimal range for state ownership, specifically State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) rates from 35% to 50%, is identified as pivotal in ameliorating the adverse consequences of financial constraints on earnings quality. The research acknowledges limitations in the exclusive focus on specific earnings characteristics and the potential multicollinearity issue arising from the interaction variable in the SGMM model. Practically, the study proposes policies emphasizing the need for investors to discern financial constraint signals, companies to mitigate financial constraints, and governments to play a pivotal role in alleviating financial constraints to enhance earnings quality. Socially, the research underscores the imperative nature of earnings quality in investment decisions, cautioning against investing in companies masking inefficiencies with manipulated profits, thereby posing risks to individual investors and the overall financial market. The originality of this study lies in its alternative representations of financial constraints, nuanced examination of state ownership at different levels, and its elucidation of the moderating role of state ownership in the relationship between financial constraints and earnings quality.

Macaques are useful animal models for studying the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and the development of anti‐rheumatic drugs. The purpose of this study was to identify the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) polymorphisms associated with the pathology of collagen‐induced arthritis (CIA) and anti‐collagen IgG induction in a cynomolgus macaque model, as MHC polymorphisms affect the onset of CIA in other animal models. Nine female Filipino cynomolgus macaques were immunized with bovine type II collagen (b‐CII) to induce CIA, which was diagnosed clinically by scoring the symptoms of joint swelling over 9 weeks. MHC polymorphisms and anti‐b‐CII antibody titers were compared between symptomatic and asymptomatic macaques. Four of 9 (44%) macaques were defined as the CIA‐affected group. Anti‐b‐CII IgG in the affected group increased in titer approximately 3 weeks earlier compared with the asymptomatic group. The mean plasma IgG1 titer in the CIA‐affected group was significantly higher (p < 0.05) than that of the asymptomatic group. Furthermore, the cynomolgus macaque MHC (Mafa)‐DRB1*10:05 or Mafa‐DRB1*10:07 alleles, which contain the well‐documented RA‐susceptibility five amino acid sequence known as the shared epitope (SE) in positions 70 to 74, with valine at position 11 (Val11, V11) and phenylalanine at position 13 (Phe13, F13), were detected in the affected group. In contrast, no MHC polymorphisms specific to the asymptomatic group were identified. In conclusion, the presence of V11 and F13 along with SE in the MHC‐DRB1 alleles seems essential for the production of IgG1 and the rapid induction of severe CIA in female Filipino cynomolgus macaques. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Attitude toward income inequality and its drivers have attracted great attention from policymakers around the globe. Nevertheless, it appears that there is a shortage of empirical studies on the issue, at least in the context of the Asia-Pacific region – the World’s most dynamic economic region. This study is conducted to determine key drivers of attitude toward income inequality from various demographic factors, including Gender, Age, Political party, Education, Supervision, Family income, and Class. Available data for 19 countries at a different level of economic growth and development in the region are collected from the World Values Survey in 2016. The findings from this empirical study suggest that the role of each demographic factor as a significant explanation of variation in the attitude toward income inequality is different across nations in the study. In addition, a set of demographic factors, significantly contributing to the variation in attitude toward income inequality, varies across selected countries in the study. Among the demographic factors, Supervision and Class tend to be dominant factors in explaining variation in the attitude toward income inequality.

Enterobacter sp. M4 and other bacterial strains were isolated from plant soft rot disease. Virulent phages such as EspM4VN isolated from soil are trending biological controls for plant disease. This phage has an icosahedral head (100 nm in diameter), a neck, and a contractile sheath (100 nm long and 18 nm wide). It belongs to the Ackermannviridae family and resembles Shigella phage Ag3 and Dickeya phages JA15 and XF4. We report herein that EspM4VN was stable from 10°C to 50°C and pH 4 to 10 but deactivated at 70°C and pH 3 and 12. This phage formed clear plaques only on Enterobacter sp. M4 among tested bacterial strains. A one-step growth curve showed that the latent phase was 20 min, rise period was 10 min, and an average of 122 phage particles were released from each absorbed cell. We found the phage’s genome size was 160,766 bp and that it annotated 219 open reading frames. The genome organization of EspM4VN has high similarity with the Salmonella phage SKML-39; Dickeya phages Coodle, PP35, JA15, and Limestone; and Shigella phage Ag3. The phage EspM4VN has five tRNA species, four tail-spike proteins, and a thymidylate synthase. Phylogenetic analysis based on structural proteins and enzymes indicated that EspM4VN was identified as a member of the genus Agtrevirus, subfamily Aglimvirinae, family Ackermannviridae.

Background: Peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) is one of the oil and cash crops in Vietnam. However, owing to the lack of appropriate management practices, the production and the area under cultivation of peanut have remained low. Mulches are the key factors contributing to promoting crop development and early harvest and increasing yields. Methods: The experiment consisted of three mulch treatments, viz., plastic mulch, straw mulch and no-mulch control. All the treatments were replicated thrice in a complete randomized block design. Result: In the conditions of mulch, the plant growth parameters (germination rate, growing time, plant height, number of branches per plant), leaf area index, the number of nodules per plant, dry matter accumulation, yield components and yield of peanut was much higher than that of no-mulch control. Among the mulches, plastic mulch was found superior to straw mulch in the pod yields and wateruse efficiency and moisture conservation, thereby can be considered as a reliable practice for increasing the productivity of peanut on the coastal sandy land in Nghe An province, Vietnam. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]