This study aims to investigate the factors that influence corporate social responsibility disclosure (CSRD) in the banking sector in an emerging country. The quantitative model is estimated for a sample of banks in Vietnam for the period from 2013 to 2019. To explain the determinants of CSRD in banking, regression analysis using panel data was employed while taking bank size, bank age, financial performance, state ownership, and regulation as independent variables, and CSRD as a dependent variable. The results revealed that bank size, bank age, and regulation have positive impacts on CSRD, whereas state ownership has a negative impact, and financial performance was found to be insignificant. This study enriches the knowledge of CSRD, and it contributes empirical evidence of the impact of bank characteristics on CSRD. Particularly, empirical evidence suggests that regulation is an effective instrument for promoting the CSRD of banks in Vietnam. Therefore, the study identified the need for government regulation to increase disclosure because voluntary disclosure does not seem to be sufficient to achieve the desired results.

For the first time, the total lipid content and lipid class composition of  the Vietnamese soft corals (Sinularia brassica, Sinularia flexibilis) and fire corals (Millepora dichotoma, Millepora platyphylla) were investigated. The results indicated that the total lipid content of the investigated species was significantly different. Compositions of the lipid classes were analyzed using TLC and image analysis program Sorbfil TLC Videodensitometer DV and the results showed that phospholipids (PL, 10.91–16.02%), monoalkyldiacylglycerols (MADAG, 20.69-39.92%) and hydrocarbon wax (HW, 29.83-37.17%) were the main lipid classes of the total lipid in soft coral species. Meanwhile, PL (24.11-33.23%), TG (14.27–34.92%), ST (10.10–14.50%) and HW (12.08–19.95%) were predominant in fire coral species. ST, TG and FFA contents in soft and fire corals were at low level. DG was only present in the Sinularia flexibilis but not in other studied corals.

β-thalassemia is an autosomal recessive disease with the reduction or absence in the production of β-globin chain in the hemoglobin, which is caused by mutations in the Hemoglobin subunit beta (HBB) gene. In Vietnam, the number of β-thalassemia carriers range from 1.5 to 25.0%, depending on ethnic and geographical areas, which is much higher than WHO’s data worldwide (1.5%). Hence, preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) plays a crucial role in reducing the rate of β-thalassemia affected patients/carriers. In this research, we report the feasibility and reliability of conducting PGD in combination with the use of short tandem repeat (STR) markers in facilitating the birth of healthy children. Six STRs, which were reported to closely linked with the HBB gene, were used on 15 couples of β-thalassemia carriers. With 231 embryos, 168 blastocysts were formed (formation rate of 72.73%), and 88 were biopsied and examined with STRs haplotyping and pedigree analysis. Thus, the results were verified by Sanger sequencing, as a definitive diagnosis. Consequently, 11 over 15 couples have achieved pregnancy of healthy or at least asymptomatic offspring. Only three couples failed to detect any signs of pregnancy such as increased Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG) level, foetal sac, or heart; and one couple has not reached embryo transfer as they were proposed to continue with HLA-matching to screen for a potential umbilical cord blood donor sibling. Thus, these results have indicated that the combination of PGD with STRs analysis confirmed by Sanger sequencing has demonstrated to be a well-grounded and practical clinical strategy to improve the detection of β-thalassemia in the pregnancies of couples at-risk before embryo transfer, thus reducing β-thalassemia rate in the population.