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Purpose: Based on research data from 24 listed commercial banks in the period 2012-2022, via regression using the Bayesian approach, the study provided evidence of the optimal threshold in capital structure to improve the stability of banks. Design/methodology/approach: Regarding macroeconomic factors, economic growth tends to erode the banking system's stability, while inflation has a vague impact. Furthermore, through the Bayesian approach via the Monte Carlo algorithm, the study has proposed a method to determine the optimal capital structure for each specific bank to cope with risk. Findings: The results show that the deposit-to-asset value of ACB (Asia Commercial Bank) and CTG (Vietnam Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Industry and Trade) has exceeded the optimal threshold. For non-deposit-to-asset, ACB is approximately at the optimal level; for CTG, this ratio is significantly lower than the optimal level; hence, they could increase this ratio to control risks and create more capital to finance their activities. Research limitations/implications: This research result is an essential practical contribution; it could help specific banks determine the appropriate capital structure to maintain operational stability. Research results could reflect the characteristics of the market being studied. Then, we would use this research result as prior information and combine it with data from each specific bank to estimate the posterior probability of the impact of capital on risk, thereby estimating the appropriate capital structure for the bank that needs to be researched. Originality/value: The paper provided evidence of an optimal capital structure that is associated with lower risk in Vietnamese banks. In addition, foreign capital also tends to improve the stability of the banking system, while bank size increases risks.

In the current context, transitioning from a traditional linear economy to a circular economy is essential for countries, including Vietnam. The circular economy is a prevailing paradigm in contemporary discourse, serving as one of several economic models to foster sustainable development. Besides, Vietnam participates in various global economic integration free trade accords. These agreements include safety and environmental protection, among other things. Vietnam must adopt the circular economy paradigm for sustainable development. The circular economy is one of the country's 2021-2030 development priorities. The research objective identifies important elements impacting the circular economy and allows the author to provide legal policy implications for enhancing it in Vietnam. The article's key findings have five factors influencing the circular economy and circular economy affecting sustainable development with a significance of 0.01. The author applied qualitative and quantitative methodology, and the data surveyed 300 leaders from 30 Vietnamese provinces. The author analyzed the data using SPSS 20.0 and Amos. Besides, the study employed descriptive statistics like mean, standard deviation, and structural equation modeling. Finally, the implications of the results are to help and enable policymakers and provincial managers to integrate research findings into circular economy initiatives.

Background: Nurses often face high workloads, limited supervision, and challenging conditions. This study was conducted to assess the competence of clinical nurses and explore driving forces for nursing competence in a mountainous area of Vietnam. Method: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 356 clinical nurses working at nine district health centers, using a structured self-administered questionnaire. Logistic regression was used to examine factors associated with higher competence. Results: Of the nurses, 67.4% reported good overall competence. The highest rated domains were comprehensive care practice and collaboration with colleagues in patient care. However, notable gaps were noted in patient-centered competencies, especially patient communication and education (62.4%), prioritization of care based on patient needs (70.2%), and medication guidance communication (71.9%). Nurses who reported higher job motivation (odds ratio = 7.9, p < .001) and recent training (odds ratio = 3.6, p < .001) showed notably better competence. Conclusion: These findings highlight critical areas for improvement, particularly in patient-centered communication skills. Targeted training initiatives and strategies to enhance professional motivation are essential interventions to address these competence gaps, thereby improving health care quality and workforce retention in underserved mountainous areas.

Streptococcus suis is a pathogen of major economic significance to the swine industry and is increasingly recognized as an emerging zoonotic agent in Asia. In Vietnam, S. suis is the leading cause of bacterial meningitis in adult humans. Zoonotic transmission is most frequently associated with serotype 2 strains and occupational exposure to pigs or consumption of infected pork. To gain insight into the role of pigs for human consumption as a reservoir for zoonotic infection in southern Vietnam, we determined the prevalence and diversity of S. suis carriage in healthy slaughterhouse pigs. Nasopharyngeal tonsils were sampled from pigs at slaughterhouses serving six provinces in southern Vietnam and Ho Chi Minh City area from September 2006 to November 2007. Samples were screened by bacterial culture. Isolates of S. suis were serotyped and characterized by multi locus sequence typing (MLST) and pulse field gel electrophoresis (PFGE). Antibiotic susceptibility profiles and associated genetic resistance determinants, and the presence of putative virulence factors were determined. 41% (222/542) of pigs carried S. suis of one or multiple serotypes. 8% (45/542) carried S. suis serotype 2 which was the most common serotype found (45/317 strains, 14%). 80% of serotype 2 strains belonged to the MLST clonal complex 1,which was previously associated with meningitis cases in Vietnam and outbreaks of severe disease in China in 1998 and 2005. These strains clustered with representative strains isolated from patients with meningitis in PFGE analysis, and showed similar antimicrobial resistance and virulence factor profiles. Slaughterhouse pigs are a major reservoir of S. suis serotype 2 capable of causing human infection in southern Vietnam. Strict hygiene at processing facilities, and health education programs addressing food safety and proper handling of pork should be encouraged.

Waist circumference (WC) is an indicator of intra-abdominal adipose tissue, high levels of which confer an increased risk of cardiometabolic disease. Population data on WC should be more informative than data on body mass index (BMI), which is a general indicator of body size. This study aimed to evaluate the importance of WC relative to BMI in cross-sectional relationships with blood pressure (BP), glucose, and total cholesterol (TC) in the adult population of Vietnam. The data were collected in a population-based survey conducted during 2009-10 using the \"WHO STEPwise approach to surveillance of risk factors for non-communicable disease\" (STEPS) methodology. The survey participants (n = 14 706 aged 25 to 64 years) were selected by multi-stage stratified cluster sampling from eight provinces representative of the eight geographical regions of Vietnam. All measurements were performed in accordance with the STEPS protocols. All analyses were performed using complex survey methods. The measurements of WC and BMI were highly correlated (men r = 0.80, women r = 0.77). For men, the strongest and predominant associations with BP, glucose, and TC were for WC or an index based on WC. For women, this was true for glucose but BMI was more important for BP and TC. WC or an index based on WC provided better discrimination than BMI of hypertension and elevated glucose, and of raised TC for men. Information on four new anthropometric indices did not improve model fit or subject discrimination. For BP/hypertension, glucose/elevated glucose, and TC/raised TC, WC was more informative than BMI for Vietnamese men, but both WC and BMI were important for Vietnamese women. Both WC and BMI need to be assessed for estimation of CVD risk in Vietnam.

Interleukin 6 (IL-6) is a cytokine with various biological functions in immune regulation, hematopoiesis, and inflammation. Elevated IL-6 levels have been identified in several severe disorders such as sepsis, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), and most recently, COVID-19. The biological activity of IL-6 relies on interactions with its specific receptor, IL-6Rα, including the membrane-bound IL-6 receptor (mIL-6R) and the soluble IL-6 receptor (sIL-6R). Thus, inhibition of the interaction between these two proteins would be a potential treatment for IL-6 related diseases. To date, no orally available small-molecule drug has been approved. This study focuses on finding potential small molecules that can inhibit protein-protein interactions between IL-6 and its receptor IL-6Rα using its crystal structure (PDB ID: 5FUC). First, two pharmacophore models were constructed based on the interactions between key residues of IL-6 (Phe74, Phe78, Leu178, Arg179, Arg182) and IL-6Rα (Phe229, Tyr230, Glu277, Glu278, Phe279). A database of approximately 22 million compounds was screened using 3D-pharmacophore models, molecular docking models, and ADMET properties. By analyzing the interactive capability of successfully docked compounds with important amino acids, 12 potential ligands were selected for further analysis via molecular dynamics simulations. Based on the stability of the complexes, the high interactions rate of each ligand with the key residues of IL-6/IL-6Rα, and the low binding free energy calculation, two compounds ZINC83804241 and ZINC02997430, were identified as the most potential IL-6 inhibitor candidates. These results will pave the way for the design and optimization of more specific compounds to combat cytokine storm in severe coronavirus patients.

This research used the Bayesian method and Gibbs sampling algorithm on an unbalanced database and examined the impacts of the liquidity creation (LC) on the financial stability (FS) of the banks in Southeast Asian countries from 2007 to 2021. With both 'Cat Fat' and 'Cat Nonfat' method, the study results point out that LC has a positive impact on the BS within the ASEAN by enhancing the stability level of banks in these countries. The study findings of the impact of liquidity creation (LC) on banking stability (BS) within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are critically important because they provide profound implications for regulators and bank managers in determining LC behavior in emerging markets. These outcomes are particularly relevant to liquidity regulations as per Basel III standards. As such, assets with more liquidity are to be held while loans and deposits with illiquidity might cause unexpected effects when LC is reduced. More importantly, this article also contributes empirical results on the relationship between LC and BS. This is the first study to examine the correlation between LC and financial stability of Southeast Asian banks. The study findings of the impact of liquidity creation (LC) on banking stability (BS) within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are critically important because they provide profound implications for regulators and bank managers in determining LC behavior in emerging markets. These outcomes are particularly relevant to liquidity regulations as per Basel III standards. As such, assets with more liquidity are to be held while loans and deposits with illiquidity might cause unexpected effects when LC is reduced. More importantly, this article also contributes empirical results on the relationship between LC and BS. Originality/value: This is the first study to examine the correlation between LC and financial stability of Southeast Asian banks.

Interactions between interleukin (IL)-8 and its receptors, CXCR1, and CXCR2, serve crucial roles in inflammatory conditions and various types of cancers. Inhibition of this signaling pathway has been exploited as a promising strategy in treating these diseases. However, most studies only focused on the design of allosteric antagonists-bound receptors on the intracellular side of IL-8 receptors. Recently, the first cryo-EM structures of IL-8-CXCR2-Gi complexes have been solved, revealing the unique binding and activation modes of the endogenous chemokine IL-8. Hence, we set to identify small molecule inhibitors for IL-8 using critical protein-protein interaction between IL-8 and CXCR2 at the orthosteric binding site. The pharmacophore models and molecular docking screened compounds from DrugBank and NCI databases. The oral bioavailability of the top 23 ligands from the screening was then predicted by the SwissAMDE tool. Molecular dynamics simulation and free binding energy calculation were performed for the best compounds. The result indicated that DB14770, DB12121, and DB03916 could form strong interactions and stable protein-ligand complexes with IL-8. These three candidates are potential IL-8 inhibitors that can be further evaluated by in vitro experiments in the next stage.

The improper treatment of landfill leachates is one of the major problems associated with waste landfilling and causes serious environmental pollution at waste landfill sites and their surroundings. To develop a suitable landfill leachate treatment system and to minimize the risk of environmental pollution, it is important to characterize seasonal and temporal variations of landfill leachates. This study investigated the leachate quality of the Nam Son waste landfill in Hanoi, Vietnam in 2017–2019 and characterized the potential risks of landfill leachate using a leachate pollution index (LPI). The results of this study showed that the seasonal and temporal variation of the overall LPI during the monitoring period was small and in the range of 20–25 (values 2.5 times higher than the maximum permissible limits of Vietnam National Technical Regulation on Industrial Wastewater). The LPI sub-indices attributed to organic and inorganic pollutants were major components of the LPI. Especially, the annually averaged values of LPI of inorganic pollutants were 7.7 times higher than the maximum permissible limits, suggesting that the treatment of inorganic pollutants, such as ammonium-nitrogen (NH4+–N) and total nitrogen (TN), is highly required at Nam Son landfill to prevent environmental pollution surrounding the landfill site.

IL(interleukin)-6 is a multifunctional cytokine crucial for immunological, hematopoiesis, inflammation, and bone metabolism. Strikingly, IL-6 has been shown to significantly contribute to the initiation of cytokine storm—an acute systemic inflammatory syndrome in Covid-19 patients. Recent study has showed that blocking the IL-6 signaling pathway with an anti-IL-6 receptor monoclonal antibody (mAb) can reduce the severity of COVID-19 symptoms and enhance patient survival. However, the mAb has several drawbacks, such as high cost, potential immunogenicity, and invasive administration due to the large-molecule protein product. Instead, these issues could be mitigated using small molecule IL-6 inhibitors, but none are currently available. This study aimed to discover IL-6 inhibitors based on the PPI with a novel camelid Fab fragment, namely 68F2, in a crystal protein complex structure (PDB ID: 4ZS7). The pharmacophore models and molecular docking were used to screen compounds from DrugBank databases. The oral bioavailability of the top 24 ligands from the screening was predicted by the SwissAMDE tool. Subsequently, the selected molecules from docking and MD simulation illustrated a promising binding affinity in the formation of stable complexes at the active binding pocket of IL-6. Binding energies using the MM-PBSA technique were applied to the top 4 hit compounds. The result indicated that DB08402 and DB12903 could form strong interactions and build stable protein–ligand complexes with IL-6. These potential compounds may serve as a basis for further developing small molecule IL-6 inhibitors in the future.