We compared PneumID PCR with Amplex eazyplex LAMP assay for the diagnosis of Pneumocystis jirovec... more We compared PneumID PCR with Amplex eazyplex LAMP assay for the diagnosis of Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (PJP). Both assays enable the accurate diagnosis of definite PJP. Cut-off cycle threshold of the PneumID assay was <26.68 while the cut-off time-to-positivity of the eazyplex assay was 16:02 (minutes:seconds). The positive and negative percentage agreement of eazyplex assay with PneumID assay was 75% and 100% respectively, while the overall agreement was substantial with kappa = 0.80. For both assays, the establishment of cut-off values to differentiate probable PJP from colonization was not feasible as results overlapped. Lay Summary Both PneumID PCR and Amplex eazyplex LAMP assay enable accurate diagnosis of definite Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (PJP). PneumID assay was more sensitive than eazyplex assay for detection of P. jirovecii. However, differentiation between probable PJP from colonization was not feasible.
Poster: "2019 ASM / R-0053 / Endovascular management of splenic vascular pathologies – A rev... more Poster: "2019 ASM / R-0053 / Endovascular management of splenic vascular pathologies – A review " by: " E. Leung 1, J. Maingard1, M. J. Lee2, D. M. Brooks1, H. Asadi1, D. Burrows1, H. K. Kok1; 1VIC/AU, 2Dublin/IE"
In Japan, the emergency response team at the Fukushima Nuclear Station responded to rising temper... more In Japan, the emergency response team at the Fukushima Nuclear Station responded to rising temperatures by dumping sea water (later fresh water) onto the reactors in an attempt to cool them down. The IAEA reported that as of May 13, 2011, TEPCO had poured about 100 million liters of water onto the reactors in an attempt to prevent a meltdown. What are the consequences of these actions? If we assume that the costs of properly capturing, processing, and disposing of the added water (coolant) are about $5 per liter, then the costs associated with disposing of the wastewater total about $500 million. Furthermore, the dumping of sea water onto the reactors caused irreversible damage to the reactors, rendering them useless for future power generation, thereby foisting huge costs upon the nuclear station’s owners and investors. Finally, the dumping of sea water onto the reactors caused steam and water to spread radioactivity to air, land, and sea, thereby inflicting enormous social c...
China Region of Parsons Brinckerhoff. He has participated in MEP design for projects including Be... more China Region of Parsons Brinckerhoff. He has participated in MEP design for projects including Beijing CBD Z15, Tianjin CTF Centre and Chongqing Raffles City.
| 1917 patients attending GOPC, the LightMix E-gene and Xpert Xpress SARS-CoV-2 assays are more s... more | 1917 patients attending GOPC, the LightMix E-gene and Xpert Xpress SARS-CoV-2 assays are more suitable while testing by PF assay requires further study.
Patients infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), influenza A ... more Patients infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), influenza A (flu A), influenza B (flu B), and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) have overlapping clinical presentations, but the approaches to treatment and management of infections caused by these viruses are different. Therefore, rapid diagnosis in conjunction with infection prevention measures is important to prevent transmission of the diseases.
A change in momentum will inevitably perturb the all-embracing vacuum, whose reaction we understa... more A change in momentum will inevitably perturb the all-embracing vacuum, whose reaction we understand as inertia. Since the vacuum's physical properties relate to light, we propose that the vacuum embodies photons, but in pairs without net electromagnetic fields. In this physical form the free space houses energy in balance with the energy of matter in the whole Universe. Likewise, we reason that a local gravitational potential is the vacuum in a local balance with energy that is bound to a body. Since a body couples to the same vacuum universally and locally, we understand that inertial and gravitational masses are identical. By the same token, we infer that gravity and electromagnetism share the similar functional form because both are carried by the vacuum photons as paired and unpaired.
What is it that makes a man a man?" asks John Hurt's Trevor "Broom" Bruttenholm in a voice-over a... more What is it that makes a man a man?" asks John Hurt's Trevor "Broom" Bruttenholm in a voice-over as the first images of Hellboy (Guillermo del Toro, 2004) flicker on the screen. The strangeness of the question only emerges later, as it is not yet clear who the "man" in question is. Is the locutor indulging in a bit of introspection? Or is the narrative voice referring to the eponymous character, who, as his name suggests, is a compound of two species: a humanoid creature brought from the netherworld? The question is relevant, however, for two reasons: first, it requires the viewer's acceptance that superheroes have something to tell us about such a complex issue as "masculinity;" secondly this diegetically justified question entails that one should pay a certain amount of attention to the contemporary representations of masculinity proposed by cinematographic fiction made in Hollywood. What can justify the choice of studying such a corpus is the fact that this type of movie has (re)gained the favors of the paying public. Never before in the American movie industry have there been so many productions dealing with superheroes in a single decade. Between the turn of the millennium (X-Men, Bryan Singer, 2000) and 2010 (Ironman 2, Jon Favreau), more than twenty films showing the exploits of characters who have made it to the motion pictures before (Superman, Batman, Spider-Man) and not so frequently seen ones (the X-Men, the Fan-The first decade of the twenty-first century has seen an exponential increase in the production of superhero movies made in Hollywood. One of the ways to explain the phenomenon has to do with reading these fictions as answers to contemporary issues following the 9/11 trauma, one of which concerns the understanding of the multi-faceted problematic of masculinities. This essay attempts to present some of the essential elements that make masculinities complex and to inscribe them in the larger context of their production.
A Cryogenic Engineering Conference Publication, 1988
We have developed a superconducting transformer (SCT) for measurement of the critical current of ... more We have developed a superconducting transformer (SCT) for measurement of the critical current of large composite superconductors for high field and high current applications such as those used in fusion magnets. It consists of a 700-turn superconducting primary and a one-turn secondary, of which the sample conductor forms a part. When an electrical current of up to 100 amperes is introduced into the primary, a current calculated to be greater than 25,000 amperes is induced in an opposite direction in the secondary. A 20-centimeter diameter, 7.5-Tesla magnet provides the background magnetic field. The secondary current is measured using both a Rogowski coil and a Hall probe. Calibration of the device is achieved by measurement against a superconductor critical current Standard Reference Material (SRM #1457) obtained from the National Bureau of Standards Advantages associated with this approach include elimination of an expensive high current, low ripple power supply, and the reduction in liquid helium boiloff as a result of being able to use a pair of current leads at least two orders of magnitude below that of the test current. The mathematical theory, design, and test results associated with our device will be presented.
The high-temperature superconductor, YBa Cu O x 2 3 7 (YBCO), is a promising candidate for high f... more The high-temperature superconductor, YBa Cu O x 2 3 7 (YBCO), is a promising candidate for high field magnet fabrication as it has critical temperature, T c, of over 80 K and an upper critical field over 100 T. In practical applications, the quality and stability of a superconducting magnet depends heavily on T c. Extensive research has been conducted to modify crystal structures of YBCO materials by chemical substitution and doping in order to enhance the superconducting transition temperature. The increase in T c fulfills the needs of practical applications with liquid-helium-free refrigeration and a delay in magnet failure. But the research requires significant manpower for materials synthesis, characterization, and quench detection, as well as costly equipment and facilities. In this work, the Gaussian process regression model is developed to predict YBCO superconducting transition temperature based on lattice parameters. Results here show a high correlation coefficient (99.78%) between the predicted and experimental superconducting transition temperature, a low prediction root mean square error (1.04% of the sample mean) and mean absolute error (0.27% of the sample mean), and stable model performance. This modeling approach contributes to efficient and low-cost estimations of superconducting transition temperature and understandings of the temperature based on lattice parameters.
Wiley Encyclopedia of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, 1999
The use of superconducting technology in power grids marks an important technological advance. Th... more The use of superconducting technology in power grids marks an important technological advance. The new procedure is necessary since power grids must now be radically changed in order to handle energy loads generated by a large number of different energy sources.
Abstract--Due to widespread use of digital and microprocessor-based electronic equipment, industr... more Abstract--Due to widespread use of digital and microprocessor-based electronic equipment, industry has become more sensitive to problems associated with the low quality of electric power. Low power quality can interrupt operation of sensitive or critical loads, and cause ...
Proceedings of the 2008 international workshop on Context enabled source and service selection, integration and adaptation organized with the 17th International World Wide Web Conference (WWW 2008) - CSSSIA '08, 2008
International Journal of Infectious Diseases, 2013
Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) occur worldwide, with significant economic costs and mort... more Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) occur worldwide, with significant economic costs and mortality. For decades, Gramnegative bacilli (GNB) have maintained their share of HAIs; however Acinetobacter are the only GNB associated with consistently increasing proportions of HAIs. Acinetobacter baumannii is predicted to become a predominant cause of HAIs due to the selective pressure from antimicrobials in intensive care units (ICUs), in addition to its incredible ability to acquire resistance. 1 In the hospital setting, carbapenems, such as imipenem, are reserved for the treatment of the most severely ill patients due to their high potency, broad-spectrum activity, and good safety profile. 2 In this study, the prevalence of Gram-negative rods causing HAIs was investigated in three Egyptian ICUs. A. baumannii showed the highest percentages of carbapenem resistance. The mechanism of resistance and clonal relatedness were further studied. 2. Methods A total of 547 HAIs in three ICUs were investigated in the period between January 2011 and September 2012. The three hospitals were: hospital A, 6 th October Hospital (13 ICU beds); hospital B, MUST Hospital (seven ICU beds); and hospital C, National Cancer Institute (12 ICU beds). Only cases confirmed to be HAIs (i.e., infection was first present on or after the third hospital day) were included. Antimicrobial susceptibility and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) testing were done using standard protocols. 3 Evaluation of the molecular mechanisms of carbapenem resistance in the carbapenem-resistant A. baumannii (CRAB) isolates was performed using standard assays, such as the modified Hodge test, inhibitor-potentiated disk diffusion (IPD), effect of the efflux pump inhibitor carbonyl cyanide chlorophenylhydrazone (CCCP), and PCR detection of bla OXA-51-like, bla OXA-23-like, and class 1 integrase (int1) genes, as reviewed by Durante-Mangoni and Zarrilli. 4 Finally,
IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics - Part A: Systems and Humans, 2011
What if physical artifacts or devices can be aware of each others' physical presence and location... more What if physical artifacts or devices can be aware of each others' physical presence and location, and interact with each other without user intervention or to enable innovative applications? We propose a model for devices to manage awareness of each other extending a spatial model of interaction previously used in virtual environments. While there has been previous work on cooperative artifacts, our model is unique in introducing a quantitative technique. Also, our model is novel in adding to proximity-based interactions among devices the concepts of: (i) aura collision types based on relative locations of devices, and (ii) multiple (adjustable) levels of awareness and concealment measures so that each device can control how much it wants to be aware of others and how much it wants to be concealed from others. Our model is general and supports awareness of devices in (sufficiently) close physical proximity and the right aura sizes. Such devices' awareness of each other facilitates or triggers interaction, and normally precedes interaction among devices (as in human communication). Our model has numerous applications, from smart soft-toy features to proximity-triggered data exchanges.
We compared PneumID PCR with Amplex eazyplex LAMP assay for the diagnosis of Pneumocystis jirovec... more We compared PneumID PCR with Amplex eazyplex LAMP assay for the diagnosis of Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (PJP). Both assays enable the accurate diagnosis of definite PJP. Cut-off cycle threshold of the PneumID assay was <26.68 while the cut-off time-to-positivity of the eazyplex assay was 16:02 (minutes:seconds). The positive and negative percentage agreement of eazyplex assay with PneumID assay was 75% and 100% respectively, while the overall agreement was substantial with kappa = 0.80. For both assays, the establishment of cut-off values to differentiate probable PJP from colonization was not feasible as results overlapped. Lay Summary Both PneumID PCR and Amplex eazyplex LAMP assay enable accurate diagnosis of definite Pneumocystis jirovecii pneumonia (PJP). PneumID assay was more sensitive than eazyplex assay for detection of P. jirovecii. However, differentiation between probable PJP from colonization was not feasible.
Poster: "2019 ASM / R-0053 / Endovascular management of splenic vascular pathologies – A rev... more Poster: "2019 ASM / R-0053 / Endovascular management of splenic vascular pathologies – A review " by: " E. Leung 1, J. Maingard1, M. J. Lee2, D. M. Brooks1, H. Asadi1, D. Burrows1, H. K. Kok1; 1VIC/AU, 2Dublin/IE"
In Japan, the emergency response team at the Fukushima Nuclear Station responded to rising temper... more In Japan, the emergency response team at the Fukushima Nuclear Station responded to rising temperatures by dumping sea water (later fresh water) onto the reactors in an attempt to cool them down. The IAEA reported that as of May 13, 2011, TEPCO had poured about 100 million liters of water onto the reactors in an attempt to prevent a meltdown. What are the consequences of these actions? If we assume that the costs of properly capturing, processing, and disposing of the added water (coolant) are about $5 per liter, then the costs associated with disposing of the wastewater total about $500 million. Furthermore, the dumping of sea water onto the reactors caused irreversible damage to the reactors, rendering them useless for future power generation, thereby foisting huge costs upon the nuclear station’s owners and investors. Finally, the dumping of sea water onto the reactors caused steam and water to spread radioactivity to air, land, and sea, thereby inflicting enormous social c...
China Region of Parsons Brinckerhoff. He has participated in MEP design for projects including Be... more China Region of Parsons Brinckerhoff. He has participated in MEP design for projects including Beijing CBD Z15, Tianjin CTF Centre and Chongqing Raffles City.
| 1917 patients attending GOPC, the LightMix E-gene and Xpert Xpress SARS-CoV-2 assays are more s... more | 1917 patients attending GOPC, the LightMix E-gene and Xpert Xpress SARS-CoV-2 assays are more suitable while testing by PF assay requires further study.
Patients infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), influenza A ... more Patients infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), influenza A (flu A), influenza B (flu B), and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) have overlapping clinical presentations, but the approaches to treatment and management of infections caused by these viruses are different. Therefore, rapid diagnosis in conjunction with infection prevention measures is important to prevent transmission of the diseases.
A change in momentum will inevitably perturb the all-embracing vacuum, whose reaction we understa... more A change in momentum will inevitably perturb the all-embracing vacuum, whose reaction we understand as inertia. Since the vacuum's physical properties relate to light, we propose that the vacuum embodies photons, but in pairs without net electromagnetic fields. In this physical form the free space houses energy in balance with the energy of matter in the whole Universe. Likewise, we reason that a local gravitational potential is the vacuum in a local balance with energy that is bound to a body. Since a body couples to the same vacuum universally and locally, we understand that inertial and gravitational masses are identical. By the same token, we infer that gravity and electromagnetism share the similar functional form because both are carried by the vacuum photons as paired and unpaired.
What is it that makes a man a man?" asks John Hurt's Trevor "Broom" Bruttenholm in a voice-over a... more What is it that makes a man a man?" asks John Hurt's Trevor "Broom" Bruttenholm in a voice-over as the first images of Hellboy (Guillermo del Toro, 2004) flicker on the screen. The strangeness of the question only emerges later, as it is not yet clear who the "man" in question is. Is the locutor indulging in a bit of introspection? Or is the narrative voice referring to the eponymous character, who, as his name suggests, is a compound of two species: a humanoid creature brought from the netherworld? The question is relevant, however, for two reasons: first, it requires the viewer's acceptance that superheroes have something to tell us about such a complex issue as "masculinity;" secondly this diegetically justified question entails that one should pay a certain amount of attention to the contemporary representations of masculinity proposed by cinematographic fiction made in Hollywood. What can justify the choice of studying such a corpus is the fact that this type of movie has (re)gained the favors of the paying public. Never before in the American movie industry have there been so many productions dealing with superheroes in a single decade. Between the turn of the millennium (X-Men, Bryan Singer, 2000) and 2010 (Ironman 2, Jon Favreau), more than twenty films showing the exploits of characters who have made it to the motion pictures before (Superman, Batman, Spider-Man) and not so frequently seen ones (the X-Men, the Fan-The first decade of the twenty-first century has seen an exponential increase in the production of superhero movies made in Hollywood. One of the ways to explain the phenomenon has to do with reading these fictions as answers to contemporary issues following the 9/11 trauma, one of which concerns the understanding of the multi-faceted problematic of masculinities. This essay attempts to present some of the essential elements that make masculinities complex and to inscribe them in the larger context of their production.
A Cryogenic Engineering Conference Publication, 1988
We have developed a superconducting transformer (SCT) for measurement of the critical current of ... more We have developed a superconducting transformer (SCT) for measurement of the critical current of large composite superconductors for high field and high current applications such as those used in fusion magnets. It consists of a 700-turn superconducting primary and a one-turn secondary, of which the sample conductor forms a part. When an electrical current of up to 100 amperes is introduced into the primary, a current calculated to be greater than 25,000 amperes is induced in an opposite direction in the secondary. A 20-centimeter diameter, 7.5-Tesla magnet provides the background magnetic field. The secondary current is measured using both a Rogowski coil and a Hall probe. Calibration of the device is achieved by measurement against a superconductor critical current Standard Reference Material (SRM #1457) obtained from the National Bureau of Standards Advantages associated with this approach include elimination of an expensive high current, low ripple power supply, and the reduction in liquid helium boiloff as a result of being able to use a pair of current leads at least two orders of magnitude below that of the test current. The mathematical theory, design, and test results associated with our device will be presented.
The high-temperature superconductor, YBa Cu O x 2 3 7 (YBCO), is a promising candidate for high f... more The high-temperature superconductor, YBa Cu O x 2 3 7 (YBCO), is a promising candidate for high field magnet fabrication as it has critical temperature, T c, of over 80 K and an upper critical field over 100 T. In practical applications, the quality and stability of a superconducting magnet depends heavily on T c. Extensive research has been conducted to modify crystal structures of YBCO materials by chemical substitution and doping in order to enhance the superconducting transition temperature. The increase in T c fulfills the needs of practical applications with liquid-helium-free refrigeration and a delay in magnet failure. But the research requires significant manpower for materials synthesis, characterization, and quench detection, as well as costly equipment and facilities. In this work, the Gaussian process regression model is developed to predict YBCO superconducting transition temperature based on lattice parameters. Results here show a high correlation coefficient (99.78%) between the predicted and experimental superconducting transition temperature, a low prediction root mean square error (1.04% of the sample mean) and mean absolute error (0.27% of the sample mean), and stable model performance. This modeling approach contributes to efficient and low-cost estimations of superconducting transition temperature and understandings of the temperature based on lattice parameters.
Wiley Encyclopedia of Electrical and Electronics Engineering, 1999
The use of superconducting technology in power grids marks an important technological advance. Th... more The use of superconducting technology in power grids marks an important technological advance. The new procedure is necessary since power grids must now be radically changed in order to handle energy loads generated by a large number of different energy sources.
Abstract--Due to widespread use of digital and microprocessor-based electronic equipment, industr... more Abstract--Due to widespread use of digital and microprocessor-based electronic equipment, industry has become more sensitive to problems associated with the low quality of electric power. Low power quality can interrupt operation of sensitive or critical loads, and cause ...
Proceedings of the 2008 international workshop on Context enabled source and service selection, integration and adaptation organized with the 17th International World Wide Web Conference (WWW 2008) - CSSSIA '08, 2008
International Journal of Infectious Diseases, 2013
Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) occur worldwide, with significant economic costs and mort... more Healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) occur worldwide, with significant economic costs and mortality. For decades, Gramnegative bacilli (GNB) have maintained their share of HAIs; however Acinetobacter are the only GNB associated with consistently increasing proportions of HAIs. Acinetobacter baumannii is predicted to become a predominant cause of HAIs due to the selective pressure from antimicrobials in intensive care units (ICUs), in addition to its incredible ability to acquire resistance. 1 In the hospital setting, carbapenems, such as imipenem, are reserved for the treatment of the most severely ill patients due to their high potency, broad-spectrum activity, and good safety profile. 2 In this study, the prevalence of Gram-negative rods causing HAIs was investigated in three Egyptian ICUs. A. baumannii showed the highest percentages of carbapenem resistance. The mechanism of resistance and clonal relatedness were further studied. 2. Methods A total of 547 HAIs in three ICUs were investigated in the period between January 2011 and September 2012. The three hospitals were: hospital A, 6 th October Hospital (13 ICU beds); hospital B, MUST Hospital (seven ICU beds); and hospital C, National Cancer Institute (12 ICU beds). Only cases confirmed to be HAIs (i.e., infection was first present on or after the third hospital day) were included. Antimicrobial susceptibility and minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) testing were done using standard protocols. 3 Evaluation of the molecular mechanisms of carbapenem resistance in the carbapenem-resistant A. baumannii (CRAB) isolates was performed using standard assays, such as the modified Hodge test, inhibitor-potentiated disk diffusion (IPD), effect of the efflux pump inhibitor carbonyl cyanide chlorophenylhydrazone (CCCP), and PCR detection of bla OXA-51-like, bla OXA-23-like, and class 1 integrase (int1) genes, as reviewed by Durante-Mangoni and Zarrilli. 4 Finally,
IEEE Transactions on Systems, Man, and Cybernetics - Part A: Systems and Humans, 2011
What if physical artifacts or devices can be aware of each others' physical presence and location... more What if physical artifacts or devices can be aware of each others' physical presence and location, and interact with each other without user intervention or to enable innovative applications? We propose a model for devices to manage awareness of each other extending a spatial model of interaction previously used in virtual environments. While there has been previous work on cooperative artifacts, our model is unique in introducing a quantitative technique. Also, our model is novel in adding to proximity-based interactions among devices the concepts of: (i) aura collision types based on relative locations of devices, and (ii) multiple (adjustable) levels of awareness and concealment measures so that each device can control how much it wants to be aware of others and how much it wants to be concealed from others. Our model is general and supports awareness of devices in (sufficiently) close physical proximity and the right aura sizes. Such devices' awareness of each other facilitates or triggers interaction, and normally precedes interaction among devices (as in human communication). Our model has numerous applications, from smart soft-toy features to proximity-triggered data exchanges.
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Papers by Eddie Leung