Edoardo Bassini (1844-1924): father of modern-day hernia surgery.

According to Roman scripture, it was Celsus who attempted the first inguinal hernia repair in history during the first century A.D. His attempts were unsuccessful and resulted in an early recurrence of the hernia, which eventually led to the patient’s death.1 Over the next two millennia, little understanding was gained regarding the anatomy of the inguinal canal. It was only in the last 100 years that major advancements in herniorrhaphy were established, thanks in large part to the work of Edoardo Bassini, who revolutionized the surgical treatment of the inguinal hernia with a technique which has become the basis of modern-day herniorrhaphy

Nexus between Oil Price and Stock Performance of Power Industry in Malaysia

This paper examines the reaction of KLCI and five major power sector stocks listed on Bursa Malaysia to the changes in the world spot oil price using cointegration technique and impulse response analysis. Results indicate the existence of a long run positive relationship of world spot oil price with the stock returns of KLCI, TENAGA, TANJONG and YTLP. The impulse response analysis further shows that, in most of the cases, the oil price shock has only an impact on the short time horizon. As Malaysia is a net oil exporting country practicing oil and gas subsidization, the oil price shocks lead to the wealth transfer effect from oil importing to oil exporting countries, thus, confer a positive impact on the stock market.Stock market; Power industry; Oil price

Resistivity measurement of ZnO:AI films for solar cell

Aluminium doped Zinc Oxide films were deposited on glass slide by RF magnetron sputtering using a ZnO target mixed with A120J. All the films were growth in room temperature without intentional heating. The resistivity of the ZnO:AI films were measured using van der Pauw method in terms of the preparation conditions such as RF power, working pressure, deposition time, O2 content in sputtering gas and target-substrate distance. Resistivity of the deposited films shows the following behaviours: decreases with the increasing RF power and film thickness while increase with increasing target substrate distance, and O2 content in sputtering gas. Resistivity for films prepared in different working pressure decreases with the Argon pressure but increased after the optimal pressure of 45mTorr

Contaminants on Electrical Contacts Used in Semiconductor Device Testing

Electrical contacts used in semiconductor device testing are often deposited with a small pip of dark colour contaminants after being subjected to repeating cycles of impact loading. Samples of used electrical contacts are checked under SEM and EDX. It is discovered that the contaminants contain high percentage of tin elements. The reason as to why the contamination formed is investigated and it is found to be the result of material transfer from device lead. It is caused by the molten metal bridge formed when the contact begins to move apart

Podcast applications in language learning : a review of recent studies.

Many dynamic approaches have emerged due to computer technology in facilitating language learning skills. Podcasting is one such novel tool being exploited by teachers to deliver educational content and to encourage learning outside the classroom. Research on podcasting pedagogy suggests that podcasting greatly helps learners develop various skills of English language. The study reviewed twenty journal articles to determine the effects of podcast on ESL students’ language skills and attitude levels. It was found that podcasts greatly support learning not just in speaking and listening but also in other language skills and areas such as grammar, pronunciation and vocabulary

Survivorship, Complications, and Outcomes Following Distal Femoral Replacement Using Megaprosthesis

Introduction: Distal femoral bone loss is often managed with a combination of modular prostheses, structural and non-structural allografts, and metal augmentation. However, when bone loss of the distal femur is severe, the viability of these methods can be limited.In the setting of severe bone loss, endoprosthetic reconstruction (EPR) with a megaprosthesis has become increasingly popular for both malignant and non-neoplastic indications. The primary aim of this study was to determine the short-term prosthesis survivorship, as well as complications, for patients who presented with non-neoplastic disease indications for megaprosthesis distal femoral replacement (DFR) at a single institution. The secondary aim was to identify factors that influenced the outcome of DFR. Methods: A retrospective review was performed to identify patients who underwent megaprosthetic DFR surgery for a non-neoplastic indication, including native and preiprosthetic fractures, septic and aseptic nonunion, periprosthetic joint infection (PJI), and aseptic loosening or mechanical failure of a previous prosthesis. Information regarding complications, reoperations, demographics and comorbidities were recorded, excluding patients with less than 24 months follow-up. Reoperation for implant failure was used as the final endpoint for survivorship. Results: Seventy-five patients were identified. DFR survivorship was 86% at one year and 76% at five years. Patients who sustained a native fracture or had non-union demonstrated the highest survival rate at one and five years, (91%, 82% respectively) followed by patients with aseptic loosening or mechanical failure of previous implants, and then patients with PJI. A total of 36 (48 %) patients experienced at least one post-operative complication and 27 patients (36%) required at least one reoperation. Fracture, aseptic loosening, and PJI were complications more likely to require reoperation for prosthesis failure. Furthermore, patient demographics and comorbidities were not significant for predicting failure. Discussion: DFR is a viable surgical option for significant distal femoral bone loss with good short-term survivorship. There is a high overall complication rate, however the complication profile, as well as survivorship may vary based on the initial indication for DFR

Keperluan memahami psikologi saudara muslim

The principal approaches of Islamic civilization (Islam Hadhari) are giving upmost respect towards one individual. These include groups of Muslim converts called saudara Muslim. One who just converted to Islam will usually faces psychological challenges/ dilemma and needs the upmost understanding from the society surrounding them. The psychological aspect of Muslim converts is the most important aspect that needs to be address by the society. Muslim converts that have a peace of mind will eventually lead them to a good live. The unstable state of psychological will eventually make them live in stress and shaken their faith of converts. This article is to identify the phases of psychology faced by the Muslim converts, psychological challenges faced by them and the da’wah approaches that can help them in their lives as Muslim converts. This study is being conducted in fieldwork research and arm chair research. The results show that Muslim converts is experiencing five psychology phases: the phase of peace and calmness, conflict of faith phases, resistance in finding the right faith, phases of psychological pressure and back to peace and calmness phases. The psychological challenges being faced by Muslim converts includes understanding Islam as one religion, psychological pressure from the family, foster family and society and lastly psychological pressure in adapting into the new religions. The da’wah Islamiah approaches can help to overcome the psychological challenges being faced by the Muslim converts in order to achieve serenity in live which is called mutma’innah

Separation of Gold from Nickel, Cobalt and Zinc by a Poly(hydroxamic acid) Ion-exchange Resin

Behaviour of poly(hydroxamic acid) resin prepared from poly(ethylacrylate) towards gold, silver, copper, iron, nickel, cobalt, and zinc in dilute acid solutions was evaluated. Batch method study shows that although this resin shows high affinity towards the gold ion, it can also be used for the extraction of other metal ions. Sorptions of these metal ions by the resin column are complete and their desorptions from the column can be carried out quantitatively by suitable eluants. Further investigations show that gold can be completely separated from nickel, cobalt and zinc in addition to its separations from silver, iron and copper

Distinctive Structural and Non-Structural Building Defects and Failures in Educational Buildings

Although the maintenance-free building may be a theoretical possibility, all buildings are subject to the vagaries of defects, failures, deterioration and variation. The examples of these problems are fungus growth, peeling paint, termite attack, dampness, defective rainwater goods, roof defects, harmful growth, settlement, foundation failure, roof collapse and others. There are a great number of building defects and failures arose and being reported officially by mass media, especially problems with educational buildings. Theoretically, all buildings tend to deteriorate over period of time due to aging or other factors, regardless the types of buildings. There are several main factors can be taken into account such as design fault, poor maintenance, poor workmanship, building age and location of building. This paper will discuss on distinctive structural and non-structural building defects and failures than frequently happened in educational buildings. This paper is noteworthy to render varies of problems generally faced by Malaysian educational buildings to the public. As such, the awareness among them can be raised or improved. Furthermore, the public will concern, especially the government authorities should emphasize the laws and regulations to enforce the safety of construction work as well as the procedure in giving approval to the occupation of educational buildings