BluSaigon is one of the most impressive projects and has successfully raised capital at the TV show Shark Tank – Billion dollar deal. The CEO and founder of this project is Ton Nu Xuan Quyen – the daughter of businessman Ton Thanh Nghia – “tycoon” in the industry of exporting buttons made of shells and pearls. Since 1997, irrigation engineer Ton Thanh Nghia and 6 workers have diligently cut each shell in a loft in Phu Nhuan district, Saigon. That was the time Mr. Nghia started Ton Van button company. Today, each button – Ton Van’s product has become a delicate accessory attached to the fashion outfits of the world’s leading fashion houses Dior, Escada, Ralph Lauren… Entrepreneur Ton Thanh Nghia – founder of Ton Van, button brand Make in Vietnam. In 25 years of starting a business, Mr. Nghia has always been concerned about introducing and giving friends and international partners a true Vietnamese gift. With the available advantages from the processing of snail shells, Mr. Nghia has created unique items from this natural product. He has gradually researched and made pens from seashells, snail shells, and pearls, and it was not until last year that he made a satisfactory product. Products of Ton Van and BluSaigon are made with natural materials such as abalone shells, pearls, and snail shells. Following his father’s wishes, Nghia’s daughter Ton Nu Xuan Quyen was the one who brought those handmade products to the world. These unique items are sold under a new brand, BluSaigon. This is a company specializing in creating unique handicrafts and fine arts products to bring the beauty of Vietnamese handicrafts to the world. Ballpoint pens and fountain pens cost VND 20 million BluSaigon’s products are all handcrafted items, skillfully crafted by hand. They are made based on natural ingredients from all over the world such as New Zealand abalone shell, Australian abalone, Chilean abalone, green turban snail, black pearl, white, yellow, pink pearl, .. ., gold, silver, resin, buffalo horn and high quality ebony. This is the main raw material for this Make in Vietnam company to create high-quality handicrafts and fine arts with high creativity such as ballpoint pens, fountain pens or jewelry such as earrings and necklaces. . The process of making a luxury pen Make in Vietnam. Among these products, the most special are still pens made from pearl shell, lacquer and rustic (wooden case) pens. Depending on the material, BluSaigon’s ballpoint pens are priced from 1.2-3 million VND. With the line of ink pens, the common price of this product line is about 6-7 million VND. In particular, the platinum-plated New Zealand abalone Urushi lacquer ballpoint pen is priced at up to VND 15 million/piece. In addition to high-end pens, BluSaigon also has jewelry product lines such as earrings, necklaces made of abalone shells, pearls with prices from 600,000 – 1.8 million. These Make in Vietnam pens cost millions, even tens of millions of dong. According to CEO and founder Ton Nu Xuan Quyen, the most expensive pen that BluSaigon makes costs up to 20 million VND/piece. Explaining this somewhat luxurious price, she said that each screw on the pen is unique, so all products are different and unique. By making these products BluSaigon will be able to preserve the thousand-year-old Vietnamese art of mosaic. BluSaigon’s 2020 sales are about 3 billion VND, profit is at 20%. The company now has a website, sells through Amazon, Indiegogo and has received quite positive feedback, CEO Ton Nu Xuan Quyen shared. A finished pen costs up to 20 million VND. The world luxury goods market is now worth $400 billion. BluSaigon is following the path of luxury brands like Mont Blanc to bring Vietnamese products to the world. Founder Ton Nu Xuan Quyen’s wish is to turn her products into a national gift of Vietnam. She also hopes that in the future the high-end products of this brand can become a souvenir that we give to our children and grandchildren.

Their venom is made up of a mixture called peptide conus. Each of them will have a unique venom formula. More than 50,000 conus peptides have been discovered, they are all neurotoxins and no vertebrate species on our planet possesses this form of venom. Marbled Cone snail possesses an extremely splendid appearance but is considered the most venomous snail species on the planet. They are purely carnivores and predators, feeding mainly on sea worms, small fish, mollusks and even other cone snails. It can release venom at any time in its life, and this species is always ready to wipe out all living things around it. A cone snail, like most snails, moves slowly. However, its attack is extremely quick and powerful. They use a sophisticated detection system to find their prey. Snails eat fish, sea worms or other snails if food sources are scarce. Their secret to hunting doesn’t lie in movement speed, instead they hunt using venom and develop an extremely efficient venom system. Because of their slow movement speed, cone snails often hunt by “holding a tree waiting for a rabbit”, which will lie in the sand at the bottom of the water, only revealing its long tubular mouth and tentacles in the sand. Once it detects prey such as a small fish or something passing by, it will use strong muscle contractions to shoot the tongue connected with the venom gland from its long tubular mouth at lightning speed and “close the gap”. nail” into the body, injecting poison into the prey. This venom will paralyze prey within seconds and die instantly. To prevent their prey from struggling, some species of snails have created a toxin that can reduce pain and anesthetize the prey’s nerves, making the prey feel no pain and slowly die without even realizing it. know. When the prey is fixed and no longer struggling, the conch will withdraw the “hook” (toothed tongue), pulling the paralyzed prey into the mouth. One study estimated that this species alone caused 36 deaths. Divers are afraid to face the Marbled Cone snail. They are very beautiful, just like other normal snail shells, but when hit, they are very fast and even with diving gloves, the snail’s proboscis can still penetrate. A few microliters of the toxin in a snail’s saliva is strong enough to kill at least 10 people. Once the poison enters your system, you may not feel symptoms for several minutes or days. Although the bite is not painful, you may feel numbness or tingling. However, then your whole body may shake, your eyes will go blurry, and your breathing may stop after just a few hours. However, the function of this extremely toxic substance is only for self-defense and to catch prey, but they never actively attack humans. Up to now, about 30 people have died from accidental contact with the marbled cone’s spit. The life of the snail shell collector will end when the sharp hook of this snail pierces the person. The most powerful poison called neurotoxin will temporarily paralyze your nerves. After that, the respiratory organs will close, making it difficult for you to breathe and this can be the worst part. Symptoms of a snail sting include local pain, swelling, numbness, tingling, and vomiting. Symptoms may appear immediately or slowly over several days. In severe cases, muscle paralysis, vision changes and respiratory failure can lead to death. The various neurotoxins contained in cone snails are called cono toxins. In addition to being toxic to humans, in this venom mixture there are many beneficial substances, which can work accurately and quickly on the human nervous system without causing side effects. Therefore, this snail can also open up a new medical future for humans. For example, cono peptides have the potential to prevent spasticity caused by spinal cord injury and may help diagnose and treat small cell lung cancer. Conotoxins can immediately generate nerve signals that reduce heart rate or turn off pain receptors. Ziconotide isolated from it is used as an analgesic. It is said to be 1000 times more effective than morphine and not addictive. Conotoxin ACV1, isolated from Victoria cone cone in Australia, is more effective than morphine and Ziconotide, has a longer analgesic effect and is convenient to use without side effects. It has been shown to be very effective in the treatment of post-operative and neurological conditions, and even accelerates the recovery of nerve damage, and is expected to be developed as a treatment for anxiety. , Parkinson’s disease, muscle tension and hypertension.

This species is extremely toxic, it prefers to hide in coral reefs, rocks and sandy seabeds from intertidal to intertidal zones in southeastern China and tropical seas. Their bodies contain more than 200 pharmacologically active substances and a single drop of venom can kill 20 adults. To date there have been at least 100 recorded deaths from the venom of this species and the actual number could be much higher. The creature we are talking about here is the Cone Snail, also known as the cone snail, is a marine gastropod mollusk, so far more than 70 species have been found along the coast. along the coast of China and there are more than 1,000 species discovered in the world. Their venom is made up of a mixture called peptide conus. Each of them will have a unique venom formula. More than 50,000 conus peptides have been discovered, they are all neurotoxins and no vertebrate species on our planet possesses this form of venom. The Cone Snail has a mostly cone-shaped appearance and the largest can be 23 cm long. They are purely carnivores and predators, feeding mainly on sea worms, small fish, mollusks and even other cone snails. It can release venom at any time in its life, and this species is always ready to wipe out all living things around it. But surely you will find it difficult to understand because in our impression, snails are very slow-moving mollusks, how can they hunt, especially fast-moving species like fish? In fact, the secret to their hunting is not in their movement speed, instead they hunt by using their venom and developing an extremely efficient venom system. All cone snails are masters of poisons, likened to the five poisons in the animal kingdom. They have a tongue pocket in their throat, which contains many hollow toothed tongues, which resemble spearheads and are made of hard chitin. Because of their slow movement speed, cone snails often hunt by “holding a tree and waiting for rabbits”, which will lie in the sand at the bottom of the water, only revealing their long tubular mouth and tentacles in the sand. Once it detects prey such as a small fish or something passing by, it will use strong muscle contractions to shoot the tongue connected with the venom gland from its long tubular mouth at lightning speed and “close the gap”. nail” into the body, injecting poison into the prey. This venom will paralyze prey within seconds and die instantly. To prevent their prey from struggling, some species of snails have created a toxin that can reduce pain and anesthetize the prey’s nerves, making the prey feel no pain and slowly die without even realizing it. know. When the prey is fixed and no longer struggling, the conch will withdraw the “hook” (toothed tongue), pulling the paralyzed prey into the mouth. It’s worth noting that even when it’s not during mealtimes, if it feels threatened, the conch shells will shoot out without hesitation. So if you see brightly colored and beautiful cones on the beach, don’t stress. It came out by accident. Pick it up, especially the larger cone snails. This behavior can kill you because the conch’s nose can pierce the skin, gloves or wetsuit. Especially among cone snails, there is a species called Gastridium geographus, also known as geographical cone snail, killer snail, they are known as one of the most poisonous snails in the world, and one of the most dangerous snails in the world. marine animals that are extremely toxic to humans. One study estimated that this species alone caused 36 deaths. Symptoms of a snail sting include local pain, swelling, numbness, tingling, and vomiting. Symptoms may appear immediately or slowly over several days. In severe cases, muscle paralysis, vision changes and respiratory failure can lead to death. The various neurotoxins contained in cone snails are called cono toxins. In addition to being toxic to humans, in this venom mixture there are many beneficial substances, which can work accurately and quickly on the human nervous system without causing side effects. Therefore, this snail can also open up a new medical future for humans. For example, cono peptides have the potential to prevent spasticity caused by spinal cord injury and may help diagnose and treat small cell lung cancer. Conotoxins can immediately generate nerve signals that reduce heart rate or turn off pain receptors. Ziconotide isolated from it is used as an analgesic. It is said to be 1000 times more effective than morphine and not addictive. Conotoxin ACV1, isolated from Victoria cone cone in Australia, is more effective than morphine and Ziconotide, has a longer analgesic effect and is convenient to use without side effects. It has been shown to be very effective in the treatment of post-operative and neurological conditions, and even accelerates the recovery of nerve damage, and is expected to be developed as a treatment for anxiety. , Parkinson’s disease, muscle tension and hypertension.

Li Bai (701-762) was one of the most famous poets of the Tang Dynasty in China. He is not only known as a great poet, he is also known as “Zu Trung Tien” because of his rare wine-loving style. In particular, in his poems, there was once a cup of wine that could not be exhausted no matter how he drank it: “The ladle of the falcon, the cup of the parrot, one hundred five thirty-six thousand days, one day should be inclined three hundred cups.” (Tuong Duong ca). The cup of wine “drinking forever” really exists in history. Photo: Sina Archaeologists have always been very interested in the “parrot cup” or “parrot cup” that Li Bai refers to, but such artifacts have never been excavated. It was not until the discovery of an ancient Jin Dynasty (317 – 420) tomb in 1965 that archaeologists found the strange wine glass described in these poems. Invention ahead of its time In 1965, archaeologists discovered a family tomb in Xiangshan, Nanjing. Based on the stele unearthed, the archaeological team judged that the owner of the tomb belonged to the Vuong family, one of the four largest clans of the Eastern Jin Dynasty. Here, in addition to finding a large number of burial items, which are of great value to the study of family culture and funeral customs of the Wei and Jin dynasties, scientists were also very surprised. when unearthed a large snail shell in the grave . The cup was unearthed. Photo: Sina The appearance of the Anh Vu snail caused a lot of controversy in the professional world, because this was the first time they unearthed a strange artifact. Through research, the experts eventually discovered: It turns out that this is the famous “parrot cup” in history, this cup is originally made from Anh Vu snail shell. Perhaps, the owner of the tomb is also a person with a passion for wine like poet Ly Bach, so he decided to bring this cup to his final resting place. This is the first time people have unearthed a parrot cup, so experts are very interested and want to study why the parrot cup can contain such a large amount of alcohol, because from the outside, this is really a normal Anh Vu snail shell, nothing special. The secret inside To find out the answer to this problem, experts decided to take an X-ray of the cup, it turned out that the image of “300 cup tilting day” in Li Bai’s poetry was not a product of pompous tricks, it’s true. Inside the parrot cup there are lots of naturally created nets that occupy the dense interior of the prison and, all hidden nets are connected by small holes. When the ancients poured wine into the parrot cup, the wine would gradually seep into the net through small holes. In this way, when the ancients poured wine from a parrot cup, the wine inside would not be poured out all at once, but flowed out little by little under the influence of air pressure.In this way, it gives the illusion that the alcohol in it never runs out. Recreate the image inside the parrot cup. Photo: Sina After the experts learned this secret, they felt great admiration for the wisdom of the ancients. The working principle of the parrot cup is very similar to today’s activated carbon, it uses the spatial structure inside the object to achieve the purpose of slowing down the flow. Drinking with a small glass of wine with such a long pouring power is very elegant and rich in emotion, so the parrot cup is always sought after by antique wine lovers. The parrot cup is so popular, but why has it disappeared from history? Experts believe that the cause is due to the main material of the cup – the Anh Vu snail, which has a very small number. This animal lives on the seabed several hundred meters deep in the tropics and subtropics, so it is not easy to find.

Located on the riverbank of Cam Thanh commune in Hoi An (Quang Nam), the house is owned by Ms. Giang – an environmental expert. She conceived of the house as a space mixed with greenery. According to the group of architects, this house is not only a place to go home for a family of four, but it is also home to birds, spiders, or insects in the foliage. This is a small community center where homeowners work with their own environmental group and meet neighbors to build community relationships. Therefore, the architect creates an organization that has overlap in occupying space. The house in view of the architect is a traditional inn in Hoi An ancient town but rolled up like a shell. Houses are also built with these local materials at a very affordable cost. The spaces on the ground floor of the house are first raised together with a large garden and then spread out into the garden. Functional groups put in a garden rather than a garden set in a house. In the dining room, for example, the floor is both the floor but also a large bench placed in the garden where people work in groups or chat. With a prefabricated steel building structure leaning against thick walls on the ground floor, exposed structures of the house can be seen. Internally, human activities are encouraged to take place in different situations, creating different spatial boundaries. Thanks to that, the space shape changes, promoting the activities of people and neighbors to create a complete home. Photo source: Chimnon studio Video: House 25m2- the opportunity to have a house for many people? Source: VTV24

The picture shows the seminar and exchange site.

On April 19th, Yan Xiaoshen, Secretary of the Party Committee of the China Building Materials Federation (hereinafter referred to as the Federation) met with the visiting executive vice chairman unit Wang Cheng, the party secretary and chairman of Anhui Conch Group, and the former party secretary and chairman Gao Dengbang and his party , The two sides conducted in-depth exchanges on relevant special projects on the basis of the previous period of cooperation.

Yan Xiaofeng welcomed the new team of Conch Group to visit the federation after the formation, and expressed gratitude to Conch Group for its long-term support to the federation. He pointed out that during the “Thirteenth Five-Year Plan” period, Conch Group was among the top 500 companies in the world under the leadership of Gaodeng. It has delivered outstanding results in terms of economic efficiency, technological innovation, and social responsibility, and achieved leapfrog development. I believe that Wang Cheng will bring new breakthroughs and new developments to Conch Group in the future. After introducing the historical evolution of the federation, he said that since this year the federation has actively promoted the implementation of the important decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee and the State Council, in accordance with the work requirements of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission of the State Council, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and other higher-level government departments and the spirit of the Council’s general meeting. To implement the new development goals of the building materials industry of “being suitable for business and good for mankind” and the task of “13 comprehensive upgrades”.

Yan Xiaofeng emphasized that achieving carbon peak and carbon neutrality is not only an extensive and profound economic and social systemic change, but also a profound impact on the future development of the building materials industry. We must attach great importance to this. In order to implement in a timely manner General Secretary Jin Ping’s instructions on China’s carbon peaking and carbon neutrality work, in January this year, the Federation took the lead in issuing the “Proposal for Promoting Carbon Peaking and Carbon Neutrality in the Building Materials Industry” to the entire industry, advocating The industry has comprehensively improved the level of green and low-carbon development, promoted carbon reduction in an orderly and effective manner, and achieved carbon peaks ahead of schedule. It clearly stated that “China’s building materials industry should fully achieve carbon peaks by 2025, and key industries such as cement should be achieved by 2023 Take the lead in achieving carbon peaks”; in March this year, the “China Building Materials Industry Carbon Emission Report (2020)” and the “Building Materials Industry Carbon Emission Accounting Method” were released, the first in China’s industrial sector to achieve carbon emissions ahead of schedule. Peak initiated and released a carbon emission report, and the industry responded positively and enthusiastically, which also attracted great attention from relevant government departments and all walks of life.

Yan Xiaofeng pointed out that Conch Group is the executive vice chairman unit of the federation. As a benchmark enterprise in the building materials industry in China, it must work together with the federation on the basis of improving the quality of development and take carbon emission reduction and carbon neutrality work as the starting point. Continue to strengthen investment in scientific research and innovation, and promote the research and development of new cementitious materials, new cement calcination processes, raw materials and fossil energy substitution, carbon dioxide capture and conversion, and smart mines, innovative mining methods, and improvement of construction methods for building materials companies. Research and application to better play the leading and leading role of Conch Group in the industry. The federation will continue to support Conch Group’s innovative development, high-quality development and corporate brand, product brand, entrepreneur brand promotion, jointly promote the Chinese brand of building materials to the world, and enhance the international influence of China’s building materials industry and enterprises.

Wang Cheng and Gao Dengbang respectively expressed their gratitude to the Federation for its long-term care and support for Conch Group, especially since the general meeting of the Council of the Federation, the leaders of the Federation and Conch Group have focused on issues such as the construction materials industry and the innovative development of Conch Group. We have communicated many times and put forward many constructive, forward-looking and pertinent opinions. Conch Group has made arrangements for related work in accordance with its own actual conditions, and is actively studying and promoting implementation. Over the years, Conch Group has attached great importance to innovative research and development. Recently, the projects of “R&D and application of key technologies for intelligent manufacturing in the whole process of cement production” and “R&D and engineering application of key technologies for carbon capture and purification of cement kiln flue gas” have been awarded by Anhui Province The first prize for scientific and technological progress was approved to establish the Anhui Technology Innovation Center for Green Building Materials and High-end Manufacturing. In the future, Conch Group will further play the role of the technological innovation system and platform, focusing on “high-end technology, intelligent factory, information management, and green industry”, and “science and innovation + industry” as the starting point to make “green” become The bright background of Conch’s high-quality development. Conch Group will actively respond to the initiative of the Federation to fully realize the carbon peak in the building materials industry in advance, and focus on the implementation work. It hopes to further strengthen the exchange and interaction with the Federation in terms of macro policies, resource integration, innovative services, and topics. Research and R&D test bases, especially in terms of carbon emission reduction and carbon neutrality, are actively cooperating, and hope to continue to receive more support and help from the Federation in many aspects such as technology, talents, projects, and publicity services, and jointly create industry-university-research projects. Demonstration platform and base.

Chen Guoqing, Deputy Secretary and Vice President of the China Building Materials Federation, Zhang Dongzhuang, Member of the Standing Committee of the Party Committee and Vice President, He Jun, Member of the Standing Committee of the Party Committee and Secretary General, Wang Jianchao, Member of the Party Committee and Deputy General Manager of Anhui Conch Group Co., Ltd., Anhui Conch Cement Co., Ltd. Li Qunfeng, member of the company’s party committee and deputy general manager, attended the forum. (Jianlian)

Editor in charge: Liu Xuan and Jiang Chenyu

Proofreading: Hexinlong

Supervision: Menghua