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Background: This study is conducted in the context of the remarkable development of digital technology that has a profound impact on many facets of life, including the comprehensive transformation of abilities and the working style of businesses and the workforce. To survive and develop in an emerging digital society and ever-changing digital environment, workers and business leaders need to equip themselves with the necessary digital skills to adapt to job requirements. Objective: This study explores the current status of the digital skills of human resources and its impact on the level of digital transformation readiness of Vietnamese enterprises. At the same time, the inverse relationship between digital skills and the digital divide was explored for the first time in Vietnam. Methodology: A secondary research method was used to summarize and analyze the results of surveys conducted by Vietnamese government agencies and previous studies to investigate the current status of digital skills of human resources and factors affecting the digital readiness of Vietnamese enterprises in the context of ongoing DX. Results: The results show that the digital skills of enterprise HR are weak, the level of DX readiness is low, and there is a reciprocal relationship between digital skills and the digital divide. The principal findings contribute to policy implications aimed at enhancing digital skills for the workforce and enterprises’ HR, and bridging the digital divide within the population in the long term. Doi: 10.28991/HIJ-2024-05-03-013 Full Text: PDF

This study investigates the interplay between faculty involvement in research and development (R&D) and effective teaching methods in higher education. It explores how faculty actively engaged in R&D can improve student learning. This positive impact is realized through various channels. First, it influences teaching by creating new knowledge and fostering a classroom environment that encourages exploration. Second, R&D enables the development of innovative teaching methods that address specific student needs and challenges. These methods can target areas like student motivation, how students approach academic tasks, and their sense of belonging within the institution. The paper acknowledges the challenges faculty face in balancing research and teaching. To address this, it proposes recommendations for a more integrated approach to faculty development, where research and teaching are seen as complementary activities that strengthen each other. This may involve providing the necessary resources and fostering a supportive work environment to facilitate faculty R&D efforts. Ultimately, by creating a culture that values both research and teaching, higher education institutions can empower faculty to become more effective educators and contribute to a richer learning experience for students.

Export-led growth has conventionally been regarded as a pivotal determinant of economic growth in developing countries. The article aims to affirm the vulnerability of Vietnam’s export sector due to its dependence on foreign direct investment flows and external market demand and evaluate the validity of the export-led growth strategy being applied in Vietnam among evolving global dynamics. The review of relevant literature explored the theoretical foundations, theories, and concepts of export-led and domestic demand-led growth with regard to the causal link between exports and economic growth. Qualitative and secondary research methods were used to analyze statistical data sets on imports and exports and domestic demand components to highlight their impact on the country’s GDP growth. The results showed that it is necessary to embrace both export-led growth and domestic demand-led growth as concurrent development paradigms, thereby ensuring the sustainability of Vietnam’s economic growth. Doi: 10.28991/HIJ-2024-05-02-05 Full Text: PDF

Introduction: Neonatal infections can rapidly become severe, with delays in treatment often proving fatal. Streptococcus agalactiae (Group B Streptococcus, GBS) is a common cause, typically transmitted from colonized pregnant women to neonates during childbirth. In Vietnam, routine prenatal care lacks standardized GBS screening protocols. This study aims to compare enhanced qPCR methods with the culture method, evaluate the diagnostic accuracy of these qPCR procedures, and assess the frequency of GBS infection in pregnant Vietnamese women during their final trimester. Materials and methods: Pregnant women aged 35 weeks gestation or more were recruited. Rectovaginal swabs were collected and analyzed for GBS using chromogenic culture, a commercial real-time PCR kit, and in-house real-time PCR assays targeting the cfb and sip genes. Clinical diagnostic values were calculated, and GBS prevalence was determined. Results: The study included 259 pregnant women with a mean age of 30.2 ± 5.0 years. Of these, 96.6 % had gestational ages of 37 weeks or more at delivery. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, and accuracy of the cfb-based and sip-based qPCR assays were 94.1/92.7, 99.0/99.5, 97.1/98.5, 97.8/97.3, and 97.6 %, respectively. The Kappa values were excellent (0.940 and 0.939), with results available in under 2 h. GBS prevalence was 24.7 % and 25.5 % by cfb-based and sip-based qPCR assays, aligning with the culture method (25.5 %). Conclusions: Both direct real-time PCR assays demonstrated high accuracy and were comparable to chromogenic culture in diagnosing GBS. A significant prevalence of GBS colonization was found among Vietnamese pregnant women in their final trimester.

The shrimp aquaculture industry has recently witnessed dramatic growth. Shrimp farming has gradually shifted from extensive to intensive or super-intensive models. However, the intensification of shrimp aquaculture is associated with energy security and environmental issues. The aeration system requires high energy demand to run mechanical aerators to maintain dissolved oxygen concentration in cultured ponds. Besides, intensive shrimp farms usually produce wastewater with high pollutant concentrations that may jeopardize the ecosystem when discharged. In an attempt to minimize the impacts of these problems, rigorous technological approaches have been carried out. This review provides recent advanced technologies employed to improve aeration and wastewater management. Moreover, this paper also introduces a sustainable energy model being studied and developed for aeration and wastewater treatment at shrimp farms. HIGHLIGHTS The latest technologies in aeration for the shrimp farming industry were reviewed.; The latest technologies in wastewater treatment for shrimp farming were reviewed.; An advanced system, including aeration and wastewater treatment, was introduced.; The sustainable energy model can bring about a transformative shift in aquaculture.;

Background: Legal policy plays an important role in promoting innovation. It creates a legal framework and favourable environment for research, development, and application of new technologies and contributes to improving the business efficiency of small and medium enterprises. Objective: The study evaluates critical factors affecting the innovation capability and business efficiency of small and medium enterprises in Vietnam. Methodology: The author applied a quantitative method, using a descriptive survey as the instrument for data collection and a structured questionnaire as the sample size. The sample size was 500 managers representing 500 small and medium enterprises (SMEs). The study's model was tested using a structural equation model, and results were presented in tables. Result: Research results show that eight factors affect innovation capability based on a significance level of 1%. The factors are (1) total quality management, (2) organisational learning, (3) government support, (4) collaboration network, (5) ability to absorb knowledge, (6) internal human resources, (7) strategic vision, and (8) technology application. Moreover, innovation capability influences the business efficiency of small and medium enterprises. Conclusion: The research results contribute particular academic value and are a reference for research on innovation capacity. The study adjusted the scale for innovation capacity, knowledge absorption capacity, cooperation network, organisational learning, and comprehensive quality management following actual data conditions farewell in Vietnam. Unique Contribution: This study is beneficial in both theory and practice in measuring innovation capacity and related variables impacting innovation capacity on business efficiency. Key Recommendation: From the above results, the author proposes eight policy recommendations to improve small and medium enterprises' innovation capability and business efficiency in the context of development and integration in Vietnam. To take advantage of this opportunity, it is necessary to synchronously implement the above solutions to remove institutional bottlenecks and promote innovation capability in Vietnamese enterprises.

The main antioxidant polyphenol compounds in the mango (Mangifera indica L.) leaf extract are susceptible to environmental degradations. Thus, in biomedical applications, the mango leaf extract is commonly encapsulated in a carrier. However, most studies employed the synthetic carrier materials that could affect the human health, and the complicated formulation procedure that could hinder the scalability. Therefore, this work, for the first time, explored the use of silk fibroin (an FDA-approved biomaterial), in nanoparticles platform, to encapsulate and deliver the mango leaf extract, utilizing the simple coacervation preparation method. Initially, the mango leaf ethanolic extract was obtained through maceration, resulting in a total phenolic content of 76.39 ± 0.14 mg GAE/g DPW and a notably high antioxidant activity (IC50 = 6.872 ± 0.512 μg/mL). Subsequently, silk fibroin nanoparticles loaded with the extract were developed by the coacervation technique. Depending on the fibroin content, these nanoparticles exhibited an appropriate size range of 500–800 nm with narrow size distributions, a spherical shape with smooth surfaces, a dominant silk-II crystalline structure, a drug entrapment efficiency exceeding 70%, and retained the main biomarker mangiferin. Moreover, the phenolic-compounds release profiles from the particles followed the three-step process, the first burst-release step, the second sustained-release step, and the third degradation step. The particles were also non-toxic to the erythrocytes and the human embryonic kidney HEK-293 cell line. Lastly, the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay demonstrated that the antioxidant activity of the mango leaf extract was preserved within the extract-loaded nanoparticles. The results suggested that the silk fibroin nanoparticles could be a potential platform to effectively encapsulate and deliver the mango leaf extract for biomedical purposes.

The subject of stimulating employees toward digital transformation has always been one of the most significant topics, attracting the interests of scientists and decision-makers. This study analyzes the impact of critical factors, including self-efficacy, attitude, leadership, and employee characteristics on employee readiness for digital transformation and job performance. The variables were selected based on the extended theory of planned behavior and personal resource adaption models. To achieve the research objective, partial least squares structural equation modeling was employed. Data were collected from a survey of 302 employees of SMEs in Vietnam. Research findings showed that employees attitude (β = 0.1148; p < 0.05), self-efficacy (β = 0.3737; p < 0.05), and characteristics (β = 0.3328; p < 0.05) affected their readiness for digital transformation. Employees self-efficacy and characteristics also demonstrated direct impacts on job performance. Meanwhile, leadership showed no direct impact (p = 0.6430) but an indirect impact on job performance through readiness (β = 0.1360, p < 0.05). Additionally, among the factors, employee readiness is the most substantial predictor of job performance (β = 0.5152). The findings can benefit Vietnamese SME managers and policymakers, as they can better understand employees and develop effective strategies and measures to promote employee readiness and job performance in a digital transformation context. AcknowledgmentThis article is a scientific product of the ministry-level project “Research on factors affecting digital transformation of small and medium-sized enterprises in Vietnam”, code B2022-BKA-22, funded by the Ministry of Education and Training of Vietnam.

This study aimed to determine the impact of COVID-19 on the automotive industry in Vietnam. Another objective was to promote some potential recovery scenarios after economic shocks. Finally, the study examined a solution to overcome COVID-19 and lead Vietnam’s automotive industry towards the “new normal.” Qualitative research was used in conjunction with questionnaires and document reviews to achieve the above objectives. In the qualitative stage, in-depth interviews were conducted with 32 experts in the industrial sector to explore the impact of COVID-19 on the automotive industry in Vietnam. Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) with Partial Least Squares (PLS) and Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) were used to explore and measure the impact of factors affecting the automotive industry with 620 respondents for a study regarding the industry that prevents the author from having more actionable recommendations. The findings revealed that five identified factors, which are business effects, supply chain and manufacturing, response and imperatives, leadership, government, and regulatory intervention, could be components of the impact of COVID-19 on the automotive industry in Vietnam. Two recommendations that were pointed out include conducting the 4RE Solution and applying the integration Block-chain leadership model to help Vietnam overcome the crisis and take this pandemic as a chance to restructure for a renewed automotive industry.

AbstractGuava (Psidium guajava L.) is a well-known plant containing high levels of natural antioxidants, the phenolic compounds, which have been employed in numerous cosmetic products. However, these molecules are unstable to oxidants, light, temperature, pH, water, and enzymatic activities. Therefore, to enhance their stability and preserve their antioxidant activity, this study investigated the silk fibroin nanoparticles (SFNs) ability to encapsulate, deliver, and heat-protect the phenolic compounds of the guava leaves ethanolic extract. Firstly, the guava ethanolic extract was produced by maceration, which possessed a total phenolic content of 312.6 mg GAE/g DPW and a high antioxidant activity (IC50 = 5.397 ± 0.618 µg/mL). Then, the extract loaded SFNs were manufactured by desolvation method, and the particles demonstrated appropriate sizes of 200–700 nm with narrow size distribution, spherical shape, silk-II crystalline structure, high drug entrapment efficiency of > 70% (dependent on the fibroin content), and a two-phase sustained drug release for at least 210 min. Using the 2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl (DPPH) assay, the antioxidant activity of the guava extract was well-preserved in the extract loaded SFNs. Finally, after being treated with high temperature of 70 °C for 24 h, the guava extract almost loses all of its antioxidant property (5 times decrement), whereas the extract loaded SFNs could retain the extract activity. Conclusively, the SFNs proved much potential to deliver and heat-protect the guava extract phenolic compounds, and preserve their antioxidant activity. Confirmed by this case, SFNs could be further explored in protecting other natural compounds from environmental factors.

The study seeks to explore the influence of university-enterprise collaboration orientation on university's performance. Specifically, the study investigates the effects of alliance scanning, alliance coordination, and alliance learning on university's innovative performance and market performance. The effects were tested on the sample of 191 managers of 37 universities in Vietnam with a survey. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used for testing these effects. The results show that all dimensions of alliance orientation including alliance scanning, alliance coordination, and alliance learning are significantly correlated with innovative performance. For market performance, only alliance coordination and alliance learning are significantly relevant to, but alliance scanning has a non-significant effect. As the pioneering study examining the effect of dimensions of university-enterprise alliance orientation on university's innovative performance and market performance, this study extends the extant literature, particularly the modest research domain of university-enterprise cooperation. The study also added empirical evidence of Vietnamese context -- an underexplored Asian developing context for studies of university-industry linkages which is vastly different from other contexts like developed Western economies. Furthermore, it offered a revised measure of market performance of university that will be useful for future research.

Fe3O4/thiamine particles were prepared in this work via precipitation method. The synthesis method is based on the principle of precipitation of Fe3O4 particles in the presence of thiamine coating agent. Also, the potential application of Fe3O4/ thiamine in the removal of methylene blue (MB) was investigated. Several factors that affect the synthesis of Fe3O4/thiamine such as base concentration, mass ratio of FeCl2 to thiamine, reaction temperature, and reaction time were determined. Optimal conditions for preparing Fe3O4/thiamine are NH4OH concentration = 10%, mass ratio of FeCl2:thiamine = 5:1 (g g-1), reaction temperature = 30 °C, reaction time = 120 min. The average particle size of Fe3O4/thiamine is 293.7 nm while the specific surface area, pore diameter, and magnetization of the obtained Fe3O4/ thiamine particles are 57 m2 g-1, 192.67 Å, and 2.4 emu g-1, respectively. The interesting point of this work is to obtain the Fe3O4/thiamine at low temperature with less amount of NH4OH used. Furthermore, 79.08% of MB could be removed using Fe3O4/thiamine as an adsorbent, with a maximum adsorption capacity of 31.63 mg g-1 at pH of 10, a MB concentration of 50 mg L-1, and an adsorption time of 15 min. Adsorption kinetics studies showed that the pseudo-second-order model fitted the experimental data better than the pseudo-first-order and the adsorption process is physical adsorption following the Freundlich adsorption isotherm model. An adsorption mechanism of MB onto Fe3O4/thiamine was also suggested. The synthesized Fe3O4/ thiamine particles could be a potential material for treating wastewater.

Relevance. The paper examines the transformation of the nature of employment and working life in the framework of the formation of a new technological and resource space in the post-Fordist era. The analysis of changes in the socially significant qualities of mass participants in economic relations (employees and employers, entrepreneurs) is given. New characteristics of the subjects of post-Fordist labor are determined, which other actors must take into account when constructing their expectations and labor interactions, with regard to employees` new social and role specifics. The aim of the study is to present the evolution of views on the nature of transformation of the character of employment and working life when changing technological paradigms based on the identification of competing theories, taking into account the established new labor practices that are characteristic of modern capitalism. The main research method is the systematization, analysis and generalization of scientific theories of Russian and foreign authors. The results of the study are a critical analysis of the individual interpretative abilities of the Fordist worker, which do not yet have a market value, which determine his opportunistic behavior and the growth of production costs. On the contrary, the post-Fordist worker, being involved in the information flow and exchange, has new resource characteristics, reduces his labor activity to a means of self-affirmation, as well as temporary and casual employment, and is ready for change. The conclusions are that the lack of a clear differentiation of the new social role of the post-Fordist worker leads to contradictions in social and labor relations and requires social security. The scientific community needs to make more efforts to study the autopoietic aspects of the quality of working life. In the post-Fordist era, the concepts of «social» and «state» are becoming less and less reliable for ensuring the quality of people’s working life and its population diversity, which puts forward on the current agenda, on the one hand, the entrepreneurialization of everyday, and not just economic life, and, on the other, responsibilization of individuals in the process of complicated and unstable interactions.

Silk fibroin is a natural polymer with physicochemical properties heavily dependent on its silkworm sources and cultivation conditions. Hence, this study critically compared the characteristics and capacity to generate micro-/nanoparticles of fibroin extracted from the Thai silk and Vietnamese silk. Both Thai fibroin (SFT) and Vietnamese fibroin (SFV) were extracted and fabricated into micro-/nanoparticles using the same methods of desalination and condensation, respectively. Firstly, the amino acid compositions of SFT and SFV were determined and found to be similar, suggesting that the different cultivation conditions did not alter the fibroin chemical contents. Secondly, utilizing various analytical techniques, the SFT structure revealed less heavy chains, more light chains and P-25 glycoproteins, and lower crystallinity than those of SFV. Accordingly, compared to the particles formed by SFT, the SFV-based particles were significantly bigger (∼1700 nm vs. ∼150 nm), and possessed less drug (Amphotericin B) entrapment efficiency (64.3 ± 4.4% vs. 79.3 ± 5.1%), higher hemototoxicity, and less biostability in the blood. Conclusively, these differences add more insights for the appropriate applications of each fibroin kind to best promote its qualities and effectiveness.

The presence of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is an issue for industrial processing, such as gasoline, natural gas, and biogas. In this study, hydroxyapatite (HA) nanoparticles with high purity were successfully extracted from red tilapia fish scales and used as supporting materials for zinc oxide (ZnO) to remove H2S. Various amounts of ZnO decorated on HA nanoparticles were prepared from a zinc nitrate hexahydrate precursor. Powder X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) of the ZnO/HA samples demonstrated the successful synthesis of ZnO/HA with high purity. The scanning electron microscope (SEM) image analysis confirmed the uniform deposition of ZnO on HA nanoparticles which were smaller than 245 nm. The ZnO/HA samples with different ZnO loadings (i.e., 5, 10, and 15 wt%) were used to remove H2S at room temperature. The specific surface area of HA and ZnO/HA determined by the Brunauer-Emmett-Teller (BET) method was 37.022 (m2/g) and 111.609 (m2/g), respectively. The experimental results demonstrated the highest breakthrough sulfur capacity of 26.3 mg S/g with the sorbent ZnO (15 wt%)/HA nanoparticles. This H2S adsorption capacity was the highest capacity ever achieved for ZnO/HA.Therefore, there are great possibilities for effective removal of H2S at the ambient conditions using the ZnO (15 wt%)/HA nanoparticles, where HA nanoparticles could be sustainably extracted from the abundant organic source of red tilapia fish scales.