Effect of shell thickness on heterostructure of CdSe/CdS core/shell nanocrystals

Core/shell hetero-nanostructures are promising materials for fabricating optoelectronic devices, photodetectors, bioimaging, and biosensing. The CdSe/CdS core/shell nanocrystals (NCs) were synthesized in a wet chemical reaction. The shell thickness was modified by varying reaction times. The structure and optical properties as a function of the CdS shell thickness were investigated. A systematic redshift of the first exciton absorption peaks and photoluminescent (PL) spectra occurred after coating with CdS confirmed the shell growth over the CdSe core. The PL's intensity increased compared with that of bare NCs. The formation of high-quality NCs with uniform size distribution was shown in the transmission electron microscopy (TEM) image and confirmed by the narrow PL band and small FWHM

Justicia social en Vietnam: Perspectiva y práctica

El tema de la justicia social es un tema fundamental de cada época y tiene un gran significado de actualidad porque se plantea junto a la existencia humana, asociada a los sueños y aspiraciones hacia una vida bonita y feliz. Después de todo, el objetivo del crecimiento económico es servir a las personas, el sujeto del desarrollo, de manera justa y progresiva. Porque "los humanos, al dominar en última instancia su existencia social, también están dominando la naturaleza, dominándose a sí mismos y convirtiéndose en hombres libres" (Marx & Engels, 1995, p. 333). Se confirma además en el Informe sobre Desarrollo Humano de las Naciones Unidas (1995) cuando dice: “¿qué significa desarrollo sin tener en cuenta la vida humana?”. Después de todo, el propósito del desarrollo económico es sólo un medio para servir al desarrollo humano. Son las personas las que crean las condiciones, aprovechan las oportunidades y las convierten en una fuerza impulsora para alcanzar sus objetivos de desarrollo, lo que a su vez promoverá el desarrollo socioeconómico. En el proceso de integración internacional, Vietnam ha implementado activamente políticas para lograr la justicia social y ha logrado ciertos resultados, contribuyendo a mejorar el nivel de vida de todas las personas. Hay ciertas limitaciones que deben abordarse para lograr la justicia social en toda la vida social. El artículo analiza los puntos de vista y las prácticas de implementación de la justicia social en Vietnam, proponiendo así soluciones para implementar efectivamente la justicia social en Vietnam hoy

LED based lighting and communications: An emerging technology for a greener more sustainable future

The paper discusses on the effect that the growth in our energy consumption as a species is having upon the planet, and how the global lighting and telecommunications industries are major contributors. We demonstrate that through the adoption of LED based lighting combined with visible light communications, substantial economical and power savings by orders of magnitude can be made over existing technologies, contributing towards a greener more sustainable future. The future of LED technology is also discussed with a focus on organic technology, promising increased savings

Ownership, technology gap and technical efficiency of small and medium manufacturing firms in Vietnam: A stochastic meta frontier approach

The ownership - efficiency relationship in a firm has always been an important topic. In this paper, we focus on the state owned versus non-state-owned status of Vietnamese manufacturing firms, to shed light into the relationship between these two variables when using a more state-of-the-art method as a stochastic meta-frontier method. Applying the method for two periods: one during the global economic crisis and the other after the end of the crisis, the study determines that in both periods, there was a strong evidence that non-state-owned firms performed much better than state owned counterpart. We also found that the difference became even larger during the harsh time and sub-industries with non-state-owned firms could outperform the state-owned firms, significantly

Trends in, projections of, and inequalities in non-communicable disease management indicators in Vietnam 2010–2030 and progress toward universal health coverage : a Bayesian analysis at national and sub-national levels

Background: Movement towards Universal Health Coverage (UHC) can improve health services, risk factor management, and inequality in non-communicable diseases (NCD); conversely, prioritizing and monitoring NCD management can support pathways to UHC in resource-limited settings. We aimed to estimate trends in NCD management indicators in Vietnam from 2010, and projections to 2030 at national and sub-national levels; compute the probability of reaching UHC targets; and measure inequalities in NCD management indicators at demographic, geographic, and socio-economic levels. Methods: We included data of 37,595 households from four nationally representative surveys from 2010. We selected and estimated the coverage of NCD health service and risk management indicators nationally and by six sub-national groups. Using Bayesian models, we provided trends and projections and calculated the probability of reaching UHC targets of 80% coverage by 2030. We estimated multiple inequality indices including the relative index of inequality, slope index of inequality, and concentration index of inequality, and provided an assessment of improvement in inequalities over the study period. Findings: Nationally, all indicators showed a low probability of achieving 2030 targets except sufficient use of fruit and vegetables (SUFV) and non-use of tobacco (NUT). We observed declining trends in national coverage of non-harmful use of alcohol (NHUA), sufficient physical activity (SPA), non-overweight (NOW), and treatment of diabetes (TOD). Except for SPA, no indicator showed the likelihood of achieving 2030 targets at any regional level. Our model suggested a non-achievement of 2030 targets for all indicators in any wealth quintile and educational level, except for SUFV and NUT. There were diversities in tendency and magnitude of inequalities with widening gaps between genders (SPA, TOD), ethnic groups (SUFV), urban-rural areas (TOH), wealth quintiles, and educational levels (TOD, NUT, NHUA). Interpretation: Our study suggested slow progress in NCD management at the national level and among key sub-populations in Vietnam, together with existing and increasing inequalities between genders, ethnicities, geographic areas, and socioeconomic groups. We emphasised the necessity of continuously improving the healthcare system and facilities, distributing resources between geographic areas, and simultaneously integrating economic, education, and gender intervention and programs. Funding: None. © 2022 The Author(s

Analyzing surface EMG signals to determine relationship between jaw imbalance and arm strength loss

BACKGROUND: This study investigated the relationship between dental occlusion and arm strength; in particular, the imbalance in the jaw can cause loss in arm strength phenomenon. One of the goals of this study was to record the maximum forces that the subjects can resist against the pull-down force on their hands while biting a spacer of adjustable height on the right or left side of the jaw. Then EMG measurement was used to determine the EMG-Force relationship of the jaw, neck and arms muscles. This gave us useful insights on the arms strength loss due to the biomechanical effects of the imbalance in the jaw mechanism. METHODS: In this study to determine the effects of the imbalance in the jaw to the strength of the arms, we conducted experiments with a pool of 20 healthy subjects of both genders. The subjects were asked to resist a pull down force applied on the contralateral arm while biting on a firm spacer using one side of the jaw. Four different muscles – masseter muscles, deltoid muscles, bicep muscles and trapezoid muscles – were involved. Integrated EMG (iEMG) and Higuchi fractal dimension (HFD) were used to analyze the EMG signals. RESULTS: The results showed that (1) Imbalance in the jaw causes loss of arm strength contra-laterally; (2) The loss is approximately a linear function of the height of the spacers. Moreover, the iEMG showed the intensity of muscle activities decreased when the degrees of jaw imbalance increased (spacer thickness increased). In addition, the tendency of Higuchi fractal dimension decreased for all muscles. CONCLUSIONS: This finding indicates that muscle fatigue and the decrease in muscle contraction level leads to the loss of arm strength

IDENTIFICATION OF A BACTERIOCIN PRODUCING BY LACTOCOCCUS LACTIS SUBSP. LACTIS PD14

The strain Lactococcus PD14 isolated from cow’s fresh milk was identified as Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis. The bacteriocin produced by PD14  was isolated and purified by absorption-desorption method described and then this bacteriocin was purified by solid-phase extraction-SPE and HPLC method with column C18. The result of tricine- SDS-PAGE indicated the molecular weight of bacteriocin was about 3.5 kDa, the same as nisin. The prenisin encoding gene was cloned and sequenced successfully for PD14. The nis gene of the strain PD14 was 99 % homology with nisA and nisZ while 98 % with nisF, 97 % with nisQ. The deduced amino acid sequence of prenisin was determined, which had minor difference from published sequence of nisA in one amino acid. At the position aminoacid -18, prenisin of PD14 had valine while  the known prenisin A had phenylalanine. The matured nisin of PD14 was completely similar to the known amino acid sequence of nisA. Thus, the strain Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis. PD14 produced a bacteriocin which was identified as nisin A

Facile Synthesis of Carbon Quantum Dots by Plasma-liquid Interaction Method

Carbon quantum dots (CQDs) are a novel type of fluorescent nano-materials with various unique properties. They are recently attracting enormous interest due to their superiority in water solubility, chemical inertness, low toxicity, ease of functionalization as well as resistance to photo-bleaching and potential applications in biomedical indication, photo-catalysis, energy conversion, optoelectronics, and sensing. In this work, we present a facile and environmentally friendly synthesis of CQDs based on plasma - liquid interaction method. This is a single-step method and does not use toxic chemicals. The size distribution of obtained CQDs is rather uniform at approximately 3 nm. The emission peak of CQDs shifts from 427 nm to 523 nm as the excitation wavelength is varied from 340 nm to 460 nm. The non-equilibrium reactive chemistry of plasma liquid interaction is responsible for acceleration of the CQDs formation process

Depression and Anxiety as Key Factors Associated With Quality of Life Among Lung Cancer Patients in Hai Phong, Vietnam

Background: Cancer is a leading cause of death. People living with cancer experience a variety of symptoms that might profoundly affect their quality of life (QoL).Objective: The study aims to identify factors associated with the QoL of patients with lung cancer at the oncology department of Viet Tiep Hospital, Hai Phong city, Vietnam in 2018.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted to collect data from lung cancer inpatients in Hai Phong city, Vietnam. The EQ-5D-5L and the EuroQol (EQ)-visual analogue scale (EQ VAS) were used to assess health-related quality of life (QoL). A multivariable regression analysis was performed on the EQ-5D utility score and the EQ VAS score as dependent variables, and socioeconomic, social support, and psychological factors as potential predictors.Results: A total of 125 lung cancer patients were enrolled in this study. The highest proportion of respondents reporting any problems was in anxiety/depression (92.8%), pain/discomfort (81.2%), usual activities (75.2%), and mobility (60%) dimensions, while the lowest percentage was in self-care dimension (40.8%). The multivariate analyses showed that a low QoL score was significantly associated with depression, incapacity to pay, low response to treatment, and presence of side effects.Conclusion: QoL of lung cancer patients is associated with anxiety/depression and other factors that can be modified by specific interventions. It is therefore possible to take care of psychological aspects to improve the QoL of Vietnamese people suffering from this condition