A Study on the Deposition of Tin on the Contac ts Subjected to High Frequency Impac t Loading in Semiconductor Device Testing

Semiconductor device leads were previously plated with Lead (Pb). Due to environmental concern, the plating material has been switched to Tin (Sn). However, due to the softness of Tin element plating, it often wears off and its residues deposited to the surface of the contacts used in semiconductor device testing. As a result, significant drop of contact performance has been observed. This study intends to find out a theoretical explanation to the problem of tin deposition. As soon as the root cause is identified, studies go into the details of how to solve this problem. One of the economical suggestions is to apply lubricants on the contact. A theoretical calculation is derived to verify if the lubricant would significantly altered the overall resistance

Is Further Treatment Necessary for Patellar Crepitus After Total Knee Arthroplasty?

Introduction: Posterior-stabilized (PS) TKA that sacrifice the cruciate ligaments improves pain and function in patients with advanced osteoarthritis. Patellar crepitus appears to be due to a spectrum of peripatellar fibrosynovial formations and is usually encountered after PS-TKA, which uniquely has an intercondylar box to accept the tibial post. Symptoms of patellar crepitus occur most commonly during terminal knee extension and occur usually from 3 to 9 months after PS-TKA, and in some cases, this phenomenon is symptomatic enough to warrant an arthroscopic procedure or open arthrotomy. The development of patellar crepitus after PS-TKA appears related to many factors such as femoral component design, surgical errors, increased postoperative knee flexion, and postoperative patellar baja, which are also responsible for patellar clunk syndrome

An integrative gene selection with association analysis for microarray data classification

The rising interest in integrative approach has shifted gene selection from purely data-centric to incorporating additional biological knowledge. Integrative gene selection is viewed as a promising approach in microarray data classification that took into consideration the complex relationships among genes. However, in most of the existing methods, the selection of genes is still based on expression values alone and biological knowledge is integrated at the end of analysis to verify experimental results or to gain biological insights. Thus, this paper proposed an integrative gene selection based on filter method and association analysis for selecting genes that are not only differentially expressed but also informative for classification. Association analysis is employed to integrate microarray data with multiple types of biological knowledge simultaneously, and to identify groups of genes that are frequently co-occurred in target samples. It has been tested on four cancer-related datasets, and two types of biological knowledge are incorporated, namely Gene Ontology (GO) and KEGG Pathways (KEGG). The experimental results show that the recommended GO based models, KEGG based models, and GO-KEGG based models outperformed the expression-only models by attaining better classification accuracies with lesser number of genes. The performance of the integrative models verified the efficiency and scalability of association analysis in mining microarray data

When is it Safe for Patients to Drive after Right Total Hip Arthroplasty?

Introduction: Driving restrictions after total hip arthroplasty (THA) can be inconvenient and burdensome for patients. When patients may safely be allowed to drive remains controversial. Most studies recommend 6 weeks but recent advances in surgical approach, pain management and rapid recovery may have changed this time frame. The purpose of this study was to prospectively evaluate driving safety after THA through brake reaction time

Brand experience, trust components, and customer loyalty: Sustainable Malaysian SME brands study

Small and medium enterprises (SMEs) have been competing for survival in the business arena among established organizations.Competitive food service business today requires a unique and lasting brand experience to capture customer loyalty.Despite that, earning customer trust is vital to ensure ongoing revenue and profit for business sustainability.Due to the significance contribution from SMEs in the service sector to the nation economy, this study will examine the relationship between brand experience, trust dimensions (i.e. intentions and reliability), and customer loyalty on sustainable SME brands in Malaysia.Data were collected from 220 customers through intercept survey method.The result from SmartPLS 2.0 analysis provides significant support for every direct path between brand experience, intentions, reliability, and brand loyalty. Meaningful insights from the result are provided for SME owner-managers at the discussion section

Villoglandular papillary adenocarcinoma of the uterine cervix with lymph node metastasis - A case report and review of the literature

Villoglandular papillary adenocarcinoma was first described by Young and Scully in 1989 as a distinct entity with the histological features of exophytic growth proliferation, villous and papillary architecture and mild to moderate nuclear atypia. We report one case of villoglandular papillary adenocarcinoma (VGPA) of the uterine cervix with lymph node metastasis and reviewed the clinicopathological features of six other cases reported in the literature. Our patient is the seventh similar reported cases. They ranged in age from 29 to 54 (mean, 41) years. Five had lymphovascular invasion. All except our patient were treated with radical hysterectomy and radiotherapy. She was followed-up for 7 months and unfortunately died due to chest infectio

A state approach to the management of concurrent design task design of symmetrical woble plate compressor

This paper discusses how state space control concepts may be applied to the modelling and control of coupled, concurrent design tasks subjected to unexpected, dynamic disturbances. The Homogeneous State Space (HSS) model determines the natural response shape of the design process and predicts the number of iterations before all the design tasks are completed, while the Non-Homogeneous State-Space (NHSS) model precisely monitors and controls the stability and the convergence rate of each design task. The amount of additional work or resources required by each task at every stage of iteration can be determined; this facilitates workload distribution and resource allocation in design task planning and scheduling. A case study of the design of a new symmetrical wobble plate compressor is discussed to validate the proposed models in monitoring and controlling the stability of design tasks under the influence of unexpected disturbance

The Role of Emotional and Rational Trust in Explaining Attitudinal and Behavioral Loyalty: An Insight Into SME Brands

Brand trust is a powerful asset for Small and Medium size Enterprises (SMEs) to retain good relationships with their loyal customers, to ensure their long term survival. However, SME managers first need to understand the consequences of the two unique emotional and rational components of trust on attitudinal and behavioral loyalty, because both loyalty dimensions have unique consequences for a brand’s performance. Hence, this study aims to answer two research issues: (1) Do brand intentions and brand reliability influence both attitudinal loyalty and behavioral loyalty? (2) Which component of trust explains attitudinal and behavioral loyalty more? Data were obtained from 210 customers through the use of an intercept survey method on successful SME brands in the restaurant industry. The findings revealed that emotional and rational trust influenced both attitudinal and behavioral loyalty. Despite that, customers have a higher tendency to exhibit attitudinal and behavioral loyalty when a brand can be relied upon to deliver on its promises

Production and optimization of L-asparaginase by Bacillus sp. KK2S4 from corn cob

L-Asparaginase (L-asparagine amido hydrolase, E.C.3.5.1.1) is an important enzyme which has antitumor properties. This paper describes the production and optimization of L-asparaginase by Bacillus sp. KK2S4 utilization of ground corn cob waste as substrate to reduce and manage the waste in our environment. Thirty-nine (39) bacterial isolates were screened for their L-asparaginase productivity and protein content. Only Bacillus sp. KK2S4 was identified before and selected as the most potent isolate. Modified M9 (MM9) minimal complete medium (glucose free) was used as production media for enzyme production. The highest enzyme production was detected at pH 5.0 in presence of lactose and NaNO3 as the best carbon and nitrogen sources with high activity increasing percentage of 1058.9, 377.3 and 566.7%, respectively.Keywords: L-Asparaginase production, corn cob waste, enzyme optimization, anti-tumor agentAfrican Journal of Biotechnology Vol. 12(19), pp. 2654-265

Performance Appraisal Management in A Malaysian Secondary School

The purpose of this study is to explore the implementation of performance assessment in one of the Malaysian public secondary schools. Topics like what is a performance appraisal; the goal of having a performance appraisal in school; the processes for conducting performance appraisal at school; the benefits of having a performance appraisal in school; how performance appraisal affects school improvement; ways to improve performance appraisal in school; common problems with school performance appraisal are explored. There are six respondents have been selected in this case study including one principal and six teachers from an urban school in Malaysia. Eight open ended questions have been developed for the interview session with the principal and two open ended questions with teachers. Data were collected with personal in-depth interview and group interview. The results revealed that performance appraisal is important for the principal to track teachers’ productivity, to improve their career, provide a brighter career pathway and help teachers to improve their job quality. Teacher in the other hand thought that the performance appraisal should have stringent criteria and fair evaluation. It is recommended that this process need a highly cooperation and two-way communication between both parties of principal and teachers