MingDao University

About: MingDao University is a education organization based out in Bitou, Taiwan. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Thin film & Coating. The organization has 557 authors who have published 903 publications receiving 17915 citations.

Characterization and antibacterial performance of ZrNO–Ag coatings

Abstract: Composite metal nitride–metal (MeN–Me) physical vapor deposited (PVD) films (e.g. TaN–Cu, TiN–Cu, ZrN–Ag, etc.) are often considered for applications such as tribological and antibacterial coatings. In this study, ZrN, ZrO 2 –Ag and ZrNO–Ag coatings with different Ag contents were deposited by reactive magnetron sputtering. Monoclinic ZrO 2 and fcc Ag composite structures were obtained when Zr and Ag were cosputtered to react with oxygen. ZrNO–Ag showed a porous structure containing monoclinic ZrO 2 , fcc Ag and Zr 2 ON 2 . Actinobacillus actinomycetemcomitans ( A. actinomycetemcomitans ) and Staphylococcus aureus ( S. aureus ), major pathogens frequently found in the implant-associated infections, were cultured on the coated samples. The antibacterial effects were determined using in vitro anti-bacterial analyses by a fluorescence staining method employing Syto9 and bacterial viability agar tests. In addition, the biocompatibility of human gingival fibroblast (HGF) cells on coatings was also evaluated by a MTT test assay. It showed that the nanostructure and Ag content of the ZrO 2 –Ag and ZrNO–Ag coatings were correlated with the biocidal property. The ZrN coating deposited by magnetron sputtering did not improve the bacterial reduction of A. actinomycetemcomitans and S. aureus . The ZrO 2 –Ag and ZrNO–Ag coated samples had lower bacterial retention, and the ZrNO–Ag coatings with silver content of 11.8 at.% possessed the best antibacterial performance with excellent HGF cell compatibility as well.

Applying local culture features into creative craft products design

Abstract: The impact of worldwide commercial competition has brought about the emergence of cultural creative industries. We are now approaching a new era of aesthetic economy but also facing a decline in craft industries resulted from the impact of competitors' low-priced commodities. In order to upgrade our design industry, Taiwanese government has undertaken an important project titled "Challenge 2008: National Development Focus Plan". The emphases of the plan are on exploiting our rich cultural resources for developing design creativity and advancing the design industries by creating and promoting "experiential products," a reflection of the actual Taiwanese lifestyle. The purpose of this study is to convey/integrate Taiwanese local features into the design of cultural creative product. For the design processes, this study adapts the culture product design model, developed by Professor Rungtai Lin, with three main steps of attaining Cultural-specific features, formulating design concept model, and completing cultural product design. A series of craft products have been created as a demonstration to provide designers with valuable reference for successfully designing cultural creative products. An illustration for attributes of cultural product design is detailed for further synthesis of the design process.

Measuring Employee's Creativity: A New Theoretical Model and Empirical Study for Tourism Industry

Abstract: Based on the componential theory of creativity, this research built and tested a new theoretical model that links the 4P model (people, product, place, and process) with creativity via several intervening variables. Survey data and two-step structural equation modeling were used to evaluate a sample of 338 employees surveyed from 57 tourism and hospitality organizations in Taiwan. As anticipated, we found that people (e.g. personality) positively affected place (e.g. organizational environment and participation) and creative process (e.g. data collection, idea generation, and confirmation), which in turn influenced product outputs of creativity and satisfaction.