A flexible AC distribution system device for a microgrid

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Smart distribution network device for microgrid applications

This paper focuses on the design of a smart distribution network device for improving the power quality and reliability of the overall power distribution system that the microgrid is connected to. The control design employs a newly developed Model Predictive Control algorithm which optimizes the steady-state and the transient control problems separately to achieve a faster computational time for large power systems. Kalman filters are also employed as state observers to identify the required signals needed for monitoring purposes as well as to extract the harmonic spectra of the grid voltage and the load currents. The design concept is verified through different test case scenarios to demonstrate the capability of the proposed device and the results obtained are discussed. © 2012 IEEE.published_or_final_versio

Oral health status and behaviours of preschool children in Hong Kong.

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Coordinated control and energy management of distributed generation inverters in a microgrid

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Emphysematous pyelonephritis: an eight-year retrospective review across four hospitals in a single cluster

香港泌尿外科學會Moderated Poster (Free Paper) Session II - Upper Tract and Robotic Surgery: MP.2-1OBJECTIVE: Emphysematous pyelonephritis (EPN) is a rare but life-threatening infection. We aim to review our cluster’s experience of managing this urologic emergency. PATIENTS & METHODS: Case notes of patients with EPN in four acute hospitals in the KWC (PMH, CMC, KWH and YCH) were retrospectively reviewed. The patients’ demographic data, clinical presentation, investigation findings, treatment and outcome were studied. OBJECTIVE: Emphysematous pyelonephritis (EPN) is a rare but life-threatening infection. We aim to review our cluster’s experience of managing this urologic emergency. PATIENTS & METHODS: Case notes of patients with EPN in four acute hospitals in the KWC (PMH, CMC, KWH and YCH) were retrospectively reviewed. The patients’ demographic data, clinical presentation, investigation findings, treatment and outcome were studied.published_or_final_versionThe 17th Annual Scientific Meeting of the Hong Kong Urological Association, Hong Kong, 6 November 2011. In Program Book, 2011, p. 6

High prevalence of Escherichia coli sequence type 131 among antimicrobial-resistant E. coli isolates from geriatric patients

Previous work on the subclones within Escherichia coli ST131 predominantly involved isolates from Western countries. This study assessed the prevalence and antimicrobial resistance attributed to this clonal group. A total of 340 consecutive, non-duplicated urinary E. coli isolates originating from four clinical laboratories in Hong Kong in 2013 were tested. ST131 prevalence among the total isolates was 18.5 % (63/340) and was higher among inpatient isolates (23.0 %) than outpatient isolates (11.8 %, P<0.001), and higher among isolates from patients aged ≥65 years than from patients aged 18–50 years and 51–64 years (25.4 vs 3.4 and 4.0 %, respectively, P<0.001). Of the 63 ST131 isolates, 43 (68.3 %) isolates belonged to the H30 subclone, whereas the remaining isolates belonged to H41 (n = 17), H54 (n = 2) and H22 (n = 1). All H30 isolates were ciprofloxacin-resistant, of which 18.6 % (8/43) belonged to the H30-Rx subclone. Twenty-six (41.3 %) ST131 isolates were ESBL-producers, of which 19 had bla CTX-M-14 (12 non-H30-Rx, two H30-Rx and five H41), six had bla CTX-M-15 (five non-H30-Rx and one H30-Rx) and one was bla CTX-M-negative (H30). In conclusion, ST131 accounts for a large share of the antimicrobial-resistant E. coli isolates from geriatric patients. Unlike previous reports, ESBL-producing ST131 strains mainly belonged to non-H30-Rx rather than the H30-Rx subclone, with bla CTX-M-14 as the dominant enzyme type.postprin

A detailed longitudinal study of infection attack rates among healthy adults in Hong Kong during the epidemic of the human swine influenza A/H1N1 virus in 2009

Conference Theme: Translating Health Research into Policy and Practice for Health of the PopulationPoster Presentations: Emerging / Infectious Diseases: abstract no. P109-Ab0091published_or_final_versio

The infection attack rate and severity of 2009 pandemic H1N1 influenza in Hong Kong

Background. Serial cross-sectional data on antibody levels to the 2009 pandemic H1N1 influenza A virus from a population can be used to estimate the infection attack rates and immunity against future infection in the community. Methods. From April through December 2009, we obtained 12,217 serum specimens from blood donors (aged 16-59 years), 2520 specimens from hospital outpatients (aged 5-59 years), and 917 specimens from subjects involved in a community pediatric cohort study (aged 5-14 years). We estimated infection attack rates by comparing the proportions of specimens with antibody titers ≥1:40 by viral microneutralization before and after the first wave of the pandemic. Estimates were validated using paired serum samples from 324 individuals that spanned the first wave. Combining these estimates with epidemiologic surveillance data, we calculated the proportion of infections that led to hospitalization, admission to the intensive care unit (ICU), and death. Results. We found that 3.3% and 14% of persons aged 5-59 years had antibody titers ≥1:40 before and after the first wave, respectively. The overall attack rate was 10.7%, with age stratification as follows: 43.4% in persons aged 5-14 years, 15.8% in persons aged 15-19 years, 11.8% in persons aged 20-29 years, and 4%-4.6% in persons aged 30-59 years. Case-hospitalization rates were 0.47%-0.87% among persons aged 5-59 years. Case-ICU rates were 7.9 cases per 100,000 infections in persons aged 5-14 years and 75 cases per 100,000 infections in persons aged 50-59 years, respectively. Case-fatality rates were 0.4 cases per 100,000 infections in persons aged 5-14 years and 26.5 cases per 100,000 infections in persons aged 50-59 years, respectively. Conclusions. Almost half of all school-aged children in Hong Kong were infected during the first wave. Compared with school children aged 5-14 years, older adults aged 50-59 years had 9.5 and 66 times higher risks of ICU admission and death if infected, respectively. © 2010 by the Infectious Diseases Society of America. All rights reserved.published_or_final_versio

Monitoring iron chelation effect in hearts of thalassaemia patients with improved sensitivity using reduced transverse relaxation rate (RR2)

Posters - Myocardial Viability: Human Models: No. 3660Accurate MRI characterization of myocardial iron is needed to improve the diagnosis and management of thalassaemia patients with transfusional iron overload. This study aimed to demonstrate that a new transverse relaxation index, the reduced R2 (RR2) that is estimated from non-monoexponential multi-echo CPMG signal decay and sensitive to ferritin iron, could detect the myocardial iron changes immediately following 1-week iron chelation suspension in thalassaemia patients at 3T.postprin

The Endogenous Th17 Response in NO<inf>2</inf>-Promoted Allergic Airway Disease Is Dispensable for Airway Hyperresponsiveness and Distinct from Th17 Adoptive Transfer

Severe, glucocorticoid-resistant asthma comprises 5-7% of patients with asthma. IL-17 is a biomarker of severe asthma, and the adoptive transfer of Th17 cells in mice is sufficient to induce glucocorticoid-resistant allergic airway disease. Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) is an environmental toxin that correlates with asthma severity, exacerbation, and risk of adverse outcomes. Mice that are allergically sensitized to the antigen ovalbumin by exposure to NO2 exhibit a mixed Th2/Th17 adaptive immune response and eosinophil and neutrophil recruitment to the airway following antigen challenge, a phenotype reminiscent of severe clinical asthma. Because IL-1 receptor (IL-1R) signaling is critical in the generation of the Th17 response in vivo, we hypothesized that the IL-1R/Th17 axis contributes to pulmonary inflammation and airway hyperresponsiveness (AHR) in NO2-promoted allergic airway disease and manifests in glucocorticoid-resistant cytokine production. IL-17A neutralization at the time of antigen challenge or genetic deficiency in IL-1R resulted in decreased neutrophil recruitment to the airway following antigen challenge but did not protect against the development of AHR. Instead, IL-1R-/- mice developed exacerbated AHR compared to WT mice. Lung cells from NO2-allergically inflamed mice that were treated in vitro with dexamethasone (Dex) during antigen restimulation exhibited reduced Th17 cytokine production, whereas Th17 cytokine production by lung cells from recipient mice of in vitro Th17-polarized OTII T-cells was resistant to Dex. These results demonstrate that the IL-1R/Th17 axis does not contribute to AHR development in NO2-promoted allergic airway disease, that Th17 adoptive transfer does not necessarily reflect an endogenously-generated Th17 response, and that functions of Th17 responses are contingent on the experimental conditions in which they are generated. © 2013 Martin et al