Attention-based Multi-Source-Free Domain Adaptation for EEG Emotion Recognition

Electroencephalography (EEG) based emotion recognition in affective brain-computer interfaces has advanced significantly in recent years. Unsupervised domain adaptation (UDA) methods have been successfully used to mitigate the need for large amounts of training data, which is required due to the inter-subject variability of EEG signals. Typical UDA solutions require access to raw source data to leverage the knowledge learned from the labelled source domains (previous subjects) across the target domain (a new subject), raising privacy concerns. To tackle this issue, we propose Attention-based Multi-Source-Free Domain Adaptation (AMFDA) for EEG emotion recognition. AMFDA attempts to transfer knowledge of source models to the target domain by aggregating adapted source models based on a set of learnable weights without accessing the source data. While the classifiers of source models are frozen, the set of learnable weights and the feature extractors are learned based on information maximization and a novel self-supervised pseudo-labelling method. A channel-wise attention layer is also used in the proposed framework to enhance the performance of source models, which in turn improves the performance of target models. We conducted extensive experiments on SEED and SEED-IV. The experimental results demonstrate that the proposed AMFDA method performs comparably to UDA state-of-the-art methods

Multicenter Evaluation of Candida QuickFISH BC for Identification of Candida Species Directly from Blood Culture Bottles

Candida species are common causes of bloodstream infections (BSI), with high mortality. Four species cause >90% of Candida BSI: C. albicans, C. glabrata, C. parapsilosis, and C. tropicalis. Differentiation of Candida spp. is important because of differences in virulence and antimicrobial susceptibility. Candida QuickFISH BC, a multicolor, qualitative nucleic acid hybridization assay for the identification of C. albicans (green fluorescence), C. glabrata (red fluorescence), and C. parapsilosis (yellow fluorescence), was tested on Bactec and BacT/Alert blood culture bottles which signaled positive on automated blood culture devices and were positive for yeast by Gram stain at seven study sites. The results were compared to conventional identification. A total of 419 yeast-positive blood culture bottles were studied, consisting of 258 clinical samples (89 C. glabrata, 79 C. albicans, 23 C. parapsilosis, 18 C. tropicalis, and 49 other species) and 161 contrived samples inoculated with clinical isolates (40 C. glabrata, 46 C. albicans, 36 C. parapsilosis, 19 C. tropicalis, and 20 other species). A total of 415 samples contained a single fungal species, with C. glabrata (n = 129; 30.8%) being the most common isolate, followed by C. albicans (n = 125; 29.8%), C. parapsilosis (n = 59; 14.1%), C. tropicalis (n = 37; 8.8%), and C. krusei (n = 17; 4.1%). The overall agreement (with range for the three major Candida species) between the two methods was 99.3% (98.3 to 100%), with a sensitivity of 99.7% (98.3 to 100%) and a specificity of 98.0% (99.4 to 100%). This study showed that Candida QuickFISH BC is a rapid and accurate method for identifying C. albicans, C. glabrata, and C. parapsilosis, the three most common Candida species causing BSI, directly from blood culture bottles

In Vitro Anti-Listerial Activities of Crude n-Hexane and Aqueous Extracts of Garcinia kola (heckel) Seeds

We assessed the anti-Listerial activities of crude n-hexane and aqueous extracts of Garcinia kola seeds against a panel of 42 Listeria isolates previously isolated from wastewater effluents in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa and belonging to Listeria monocytogenes, Listeria grayi and Listeria ivanovii species. The n-hexane fraction was active against 45% of the test bacteria with zones of inhibition ranging between 8–17 mm, while the aqueous fraction was active against 29% with zones of inhibition ranging between 8–11 mm. The minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) were within the ranges of 0.079–0.625 mg/mL for the n-hexane extract and 10 to >10 mg/mL for the aqueous extract. The rate of kill experiment carried out for the n-hexane extract only, revealed complete elimination of the initial bacterial population for L. grayi (LAL 15) at 3× and 4× MIC after 90 and 60 min; L. monocytogenes (LAL 8) at 3× and 4× MIC after 60 and 15 min; L. ivanovii (LEL 18) at 3× and 4× MIC after 120 and 15 min; L. ivanovii (LEL 30) at 2, 3 and 4× MIC values after 105, 90 and 15 min exposure time respectively. The rate of kill activities were time- and concentration-dependant and the extract proved to be bactericidal as it achieved a more than 3log10 decrease in viable cell counts after 2 h exposure time for all of the four test organisms at 3× and 4× MIC values. The results therefore show the potential presence of anti-Listerial compounds in Garcinia kola seeds that can be exploited in effective anti-Listerial chemotherapy

Increased prevalence of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus nasal colonization in household contacts of children with community acquired disease

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>To measure Methicillin-resistant <it>Staphylococcus aureus </it>(MRSA) nasal colonization prevalence in household contacts of children with current community associated (CA)-MRSA infections (study group) in comparison with a group of household contacts of children without suspected <it>Staphylococcus aureus </it>infection (a control group).</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>This is a cross sectional study. Cultures of the anterior nares were taken. Relatedness of isolated strains was tested using pulse field gel electrophoresis (PFGE).</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The prevalence of MRSA colonization in the study group was significantly higher than in the control group (18/77 (23%) vs 3/77 (3.9%); p ≤ 0.001). The prevalence of SA colonization was 28/77 (36%) in the study group and 16/77 (21%) in the control group (p = 0.032). The prevalence of SA nasal colonization among patients was 6/24 (25%); one with methicillin-susceptible <it>S. aureus </it>(MSSA) and 5 with MRSA. In the study (patient) group, 14/24 (58%) families had at least one household member who was colonized with MRSA compared to 2/29 (6.9%) in the control group (p = 0.001). Of 69 total isolates tested by PFGE, 40 (58%) were related to USA300. Panton-Valetine leukocidin (PVL) genes were detected in 30/52 (58%) tested isolates. Among the families with ≥1 contact colonized with MRSA, similar PFGE profiles were found between the index patient and a contact in 10/14 families.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Prevalence of asymptomatic nasal carriage of MRSA is higher among household contacts of patients with CA-MRSA disease than control group. Decolonizing such carriers may help prevent recurrent CA-MRSA infections.</p

Genetic Evidence for Inhibition of Bacterial Division Protein FtsZ by Berberine

Background: Berberine is a plant alkaloid that is widely used as an anti-infective in traditional medicine. Escherichia coli exposed to berberine form filaments, suggesting an antibacterial mechanism that involves inhibition of cell division. Berberine is a DNA ligand and may induce filamentation through induction of the SOS response. Also, there is biochemical evidence for berberine inhibition of the cell division protein FtsZ. Here we aimed to assess possible berberine mechanism(s) of action in growing bacteria using genetics tools. Methodology/Principal Findings: First, we tested whether berberine inhibits bacterial growth through DNA damage and induction of the SOS response. The SOS response induced by berberine was much lower compared to that induced by mitomycin C in an SOS response reporter strain. Also, cell filamentation was observed in an SOS-negative E. coli strain. To test whether berberine inhibits FtsZ, we assessed its effects on formation of the cell division Z-rings, and observed a dramatic reduction in Z-rings in the presence of berberine. We next used two different strategies for RNA silencing of ftsZ and both resulted in sensitisation of bacteria to berberine, visible as a drop in the Minimum Inhibitory Concentration (MIC). Furthermore, Fractional Inhibitory Concentration Indices (FICIs) showed a high level of synergy between ftsZ silencing and berberine treatment (FICI values of 0.23 and 0.25 for peptide nucleic acid- and expressed antisense RNA-based silencing of ftsZ, respectively). Finally, over-expression of ftsZ led to a mild rescue effect in berberine-treated cells

Management of KPC-Producing Klebsiella pneumoniae Infections

Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemase (KPC)-producing K. pneumoniae (KPC-KP) has become one of the most important contemporary pathogens, especially in endemic areas

Weissella confusa: problems with identification of an opportunistic pathogen that has been found in fermented foods and proposed as a probiotic.

Weissella confusa is found in fermented foods and has been suggested as a probiotic, but also causes sepsis and other serious infections in humans and animals. The incidence of human infections is underestimated partly due to confusion with viridans streptococci and partly due to difficulty making a definitive identification, even if the organism is recognized to belong to another genus, owing to the inability of commercial organism systems to identify it. We report our experiences identifying W. confusa isolated from two immune-compromised patients, both of whom developed sepsis with this organism. Two gram positive MicroScan gram positive combination panels, could not identify the organism because they did not have W. confusa in their data bases, but did not provide a false identification. W. confusa is in the data base of the RapID™ Str panel (Remel), which gave three incorrect, high probability results (≥ 95%). 16S rDNA sequencing identified the isolates as W. confusa. Maldi-Tof, performed by two of our reference laboratories, also correctly identified both isolates

Case Series of Cerebral Venous Sinus Thrombosis After COVID-19 Vaccination

Background: While care for COVID-19 patients has improved with clinical experience, there remains a critical and unmet medical need for vaccines suitable to help or alleviate COVID-19 infections during the pandemic. Although the available vaccines have some benign autoimmune side effects, such as mild thrombocytopenia, in rare cases, the side effects, such as central vein thrombosis, severe thrombocytopenia, and intracranial hemorrhage, are life-threatening. Case Presentation: We report 3 female patients (19, 24, and 43 years old) who developed cerebral venous sinus thrombosis (CVST) after the AstraZeneca ChAdOx1-S COVID-19 vaccination. Despite medical and surgical treatment, they finally became brain dead. Conclusion: Medical professionals should know the manifestations and diagnostic methods of CVST after the COVID-19 vaccination and how to properly treat and manage it