Improving osseointegration of Co-Cr by nanostructured titanium coatings

This study reports the deposition of nanostructured Ti films on Co-Cr substrates to improve their surface characteristics and biocompatibility. The microstructure of the Ti films was controlled by application of negative substrate bias voltages. The surface roughness of Co-Cr implants was increased significantly after Ti coatings. The nanostructured Ti films are found to improve osteointergration of Co-Cr implants as indicated by enhancing cellular attachment, proliferation and differentiation, which was attributed mainly to the application of a biocompatible Ti coating, possessed a higher surface area for cell attachments and growth

The debates and the long-awaited reform

Trung Tran, Phuong-Thao T. Trinh, Thu-Trang Vuong, Hiep-Hung Pham (2019). Chapter 1. The debates and the long-awaited reform. In Quan-Hoang Vuong, Trung Tran (Eds.), The Vietnamese Social Sciences at a Fork in the Road (pp. 17–32). Warsaw, Poland: De Gruyter / Sciendo. DOI:10.2478/9783110686081-006 Online ISBN: 9783110686081 © 2019 De Gruyter / Sciend

The impacts of value, disconfirmation and satisfaction on loyalty: Evidence from international higher education setting

Relationships with international students can be beneficial to higher education in terms of financial and human resources. For this reason, establishing and maintaining such relationships are usually pre-eminent concerns. In this study, we extended the application of the disconfirmation expectation model by incorporating components from subjective task value to predict the loyalty of international students toward their host countries. On a sample of 410 Vietnamese students enrolled in establishments of higher education in over 15 countries across the globe, we employed structural equation model to construct the conceptual model. Our empirical findings revealed that while the roles of satisfaction and disconfirmation are still important as direct and indirect antecedents of international student loyalty, its most powerful predictors are the three components of subjective task value: attainment, utility and intrinsic. These insights result in a number of implications for actors on the higher ducation scene, such as heads of institutions and policy makers

Synthesis of ZnO nanorod for immunosensor application

This paper reported a facile method to synthesize ZnO nanorods for immunosensor application. The ZnO nanorods were synthesized by hydrothermal reaction. Synthesis time affecting on morphology of nanorods was also studied. The immobilization of anti-rotavirus onto ZnO nanorod-deposited sensor was performed via absorption method. The electrochemical responses of the immunosensor were studied by cyclic voltammetry (C-V) method with [Fe(CN)6]3−/4− as redox probe. A linear decreased response in C-V for cell of rotavirus concentration was found in the range of 7.8×105 CFU/mL to 7.8×108 CFU/mL. The detection limit of the immunosensor was 7.8×105 CFU/mL. The results indicated application of ZnO nanorod sensor for label-free real-time detection of a wide dynamics range of biological species

An open database of productivity in Vietnam's social sciences and humanities for public use

This study presents a description of an open database on scientific output of Vietnamese researchers in social sciences and humanities, one that corrects for the shortcomings in current research publication databases such as data duplication, slow update, and a substantial cost of doing science. Here, using scientists’ self-reports, open online sources and cross-checking with Scopus database, we introduce a manual system and its semi-automated version of the database on the profiles of 657 Vietnamese researchers in social sciences and humanities who have published in Scopus-indexed journals from 2008 to 2018. The final system also records 973 foreign co-authors, 1,289 papers, and 789 affiliations. The data collection method, highly applicable for other sources, could be replicated in other developing countries while its content be used in cross-section, multivariate, and network data analyses. The open database is expected to help Vietnam revamp its research capacity and meet the public demand for greater transparency in science management

A Bayesian network approach for multi-sectoral flood damage assessment and multi-scenario analysis

Extreme weather and climate related events, from river flooding to droughts and tropical cyclones, are likely to become both more severe and more frequent in the coming decades, and the damages caused by these events will be felt across all sectors of society. In the face of this threat, policy-and decision-makers are increasingly calling for new approaches and tools to support risk management and climate adaptation pathways that can capture the full extent of the impacts. In this frame, a GIS-based Bayesian Network (BN) approach is presented for the capturing and modelling of multi-sectoral flooding damages against future 'what-if' scenarios. Building on a risk-based conceptual framework, the BN model was trained and validated by exploiting data collected from the 2014 Secchia River flooding event, as well as other contextual variables. Moreover, a novel approach to defining the structure of the BN was performed, reconfiguring the model according to expert judgment and data-based validation. The model showed a good predictive capacity for damages in the agricultural, industrial and residential sectors, predicting the severity of damages with a classification accuracy of about 60% for each of these assessment endpoints. 'What-if' scenario analysis was performed to understand the potential impacts of future changes in i) land use patterns and ii) increasing flood depths resulting from more severe flood events. The output of the model showed a rising probability of experiencing high monetary damages under both scenarios. In spite of constraints within the case study dataset, the results of the appraisal show good promise, and together with the designed BN model itself represent a valuable support for disaster risk management and reduction actions against extreme river flooding events, enabling better informed decision making

Determinants of attitudinal and behavioral loyalty among Vietnamese overseas students: the role of disconfirmation, satisfaction and switching cost

International students are important for higher education since they bring additional income for universities, enhance their ranking and reputation and might become high-qualified manpower for host countries in future. This research aims to extend the current knowledge through investigating the effects of disconfirmation, satisfaction and switching cost on attitudinal and behavioural loyalties of international students. A total of 410 Vietnamese overseas students answered our questionnaire survey. Using structural equation model, this study revealed that the mechanism resulting on attitudinal loyalty and behavioural loyalty of international students are different. While satisfaction is found as a partial mediator of the relationship disconfirmation – attitudinal loyalty; switching cost is found as a direct antecedent of behavioural loyalty. This article ends with implications in terms of theory and practice

Using YouTube Videos to Promote Universities : A Content Analysis

In today’s global higher education environment, international students represent not only an important source of external income for universities: the degree of cross-border student mobility also reflects the internationalization of higher education sector. Universities have engaged in efforts to sell themselves to prospective students and promotional videos are among the most widely used marketing tools for this purpose. This study reports the results of a study analyzing the content of 140 higher education promotional videos from 14 countries available on YouTube. The results reveal that while the pattern of use of YouTube for two-waycommunication with viewers, information contents and appeal messages among sampled universities is fairly homogenous, some marked differences emerge when cultural background and global position ranking of the university are taken into account. The implications of these findings are that, although, transnational higher education has been profoundly globalized, culture still plays a significant role in marketing practice for the recruitment of mobile students. In addition, different universities have various student-targeted segments. These findings provide the basis of a series of recommendations for universities looking to optimize their use of YouTube and promotional video design to market to international students