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Australia has a high rate of antibiotic use. Government policy interventions are one strategy to optimise the use of antibiotics. On 1 April 2020, the Australian Government Department of Health introduced a policy intervention to increase the quality use of four antibiotics. To assess if the government policy intervention improved the appropriate supply of the four antibiotics amoxicillin, amoxicillin-clavulanic acid, cefalexin and roxithromycin. This study employed a retrospective cohort study design comparing a 10% sample (n = 345,018) of four antibiotics prescribed and dispensed in Australia during a three-month period (May, June, July) in 2019, and again in 2020 (after the policy intervention). The 10% sample of PBS data was obtained from the Australian Government Department of Health. Descriptive statistics, bivariate and multivariable logistic regression analysis were carried out. The results suggest the policy change improved the appropriate supply of original prescriptions in 2020 compared to 2019 OR = 1.75 (95% CI = 1.68–1.82, p < 0.001), and appropriate supply of repeat prescriptions OR = 1.56 (95% CI = 1.25–1.96, p < 0.001). In 2020, the proportion of appropriate supply of original prescriptions increased by an absolute difference of 1.8% (95% CI = 1.6–1.9%; P < 0.001), and appropriate supply of repeat prescriptions increased by 3.9% (95% CI = 2.2–5.5%; P < 0.001). The total number of antibiotic prescriptions prescribed and dispensed in 2019 (N = 219,960) reduced in 2020 (N = 125,058) after the policy intervention. The study provides evidence for the impact of a government policy intervention to improve the appropriate supply of antibiotics, although some of the reduction in antibiotic use was likely due to the concomitant COVID-19 pandemic. Further research is required to assess the impact of the intervention outside a pandemic. • Government policy change can be an antimicrobial stewardship intervention. • Australian Pharmaceutical Benefit's Scheme (PBS) policy change occurred in April 2020. • It was an effective antimicrobial stewardship intervention despite the pandemic. • It resulted in more appropriate and reduced use of antibiotic prescriptions. • This could inform future Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme policy change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of intact photosynthetic organisms (e.g. microalgae or cyanobacteria) for biotechnological approaches is a promising avenue to extract sustainable energy from oxygenic photosynthesis. More particularly, exogenous quinones can act as electron shuttles to reroute part of the photosynthetic electron flow of living cells to an outer collecting electrode. This encouraging approach is however hampered by reported poisoning or side-effects of exogenous quinones on the cell bioenergetics. In order to contribute to understand those effects, we investigated the modes and sites of interaction of two model quinones (2,6-DCBQ and 2,6-DMBQ) with the respiratory and photosynthetic electron transfer chains of the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii. By considering different analytical tools (chlorophyll a fluorescence, transient absorption spectrometry, O 2 consumption rate), the two exogenous quinones are shown to hamper the photosynthetic electron transfer from photosystem II (PSII) to the cytochrome b 6 f and, at longer term, PSII damage. In addition, the investigated quinones initiate the suppression of mitochondrial respiration, illustrated by the decrease of O 2 consumption. This results in the diminution of the ATP exchanges between mitochondrion and chloroplast responsible for the generation of the proton motive force across the thylakoid in darkness, and in turn affects the performances of the CF1FO ATPase. For all those effects, 2,6-DCBQ was more effective than 2,6-DMBQ in agreement with its higher redox potential and partition coefficient values. This work provides a new framework for the study of biophotovoltaic devices using photosynthetic organisms and quinones as mediators and could be extended to find the best candidates combining efficient bioelectricity production and limited toxicity. [Display omitted] [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

L'aphantasie est un concept récent décrivant l'incapacité d'utiliser son « œil mental » et de visualiser des images mentales dans son esprit. Bien que cette « imagination aveugle » ait été étudiée dans le but de comprendre les mécanismes neuronaux et les possibles conséquences de cette condition, les implications de l'aphantasie dans le domaine clinique demeurent méconnues. Cette étude exploratoire implique deux participantes apparentées, toutes deux aphantasiques, sélectionnées selon leur score extrême au VVIQ. Après un entretien visant à recueillir des données anamnestiques, les participantes ont passé trois tests d'imagerie mentale, une épreuve projective (Rorschach) et le questionnaire psychométrique du GeoCat. Dans un troisième temps, elles ont pris part à une séance d'hypnose en aveugle avec des suggestions employant des métaphores visuelles, kinesthésiques puis libres. Les entretiens et les épreuves furent accompagnés d'entretiens micro-phénoménologiques afin de déplier les connaissances et processus implicites. Les données obtenues lors des entretiens de recherche montrent que les participantes sont capables de réaliser des tâches impliquant l'imagerie visuelle, mais en utilisant des processus singuliers. Elles mobilisent particulièrement des capacités associatives. Durant la séance d'hypnose, une des participantes s'est surprise à être submergée par des écrans de couleurs. Des similitudes cliniques apparaissent dans les structures de personnalité et les histoires de vie des deux participantes. Nous proposons que l'aphantasie, plus qu'un manque d'imagerie mentale, puisse être un style cognitif particulier, permettant la résolution de tâches d'imagerie mentale en utilisant d'autres processus. Nous interrogeons l'étiologie de l'aphantasie et analysons les intrications entre ce style cognitif et la structuration de la personnalité, notamment son lien potentiel avec la psychose ordinaire. L'utilisation de l'hypnose et d'outils cliniques permet à la fois d'explorer ce style cognitif et d'en comprendre les implications dans le domaine clinique et thérapeutique et dans la vie courante. Aphantasia is a recent concept describing an individual's incapacity to use their mind's eye and therefore to visualize mental images. Although this "blind imagination" was studied in order to understand the neuronal mechanisms and the possible consequences of this condition, the implications of aphantasia in the clinical field remain unknown. This exploratory research involves two related participants, both aphantasics, selected due to their extreme scores at the VVIQ. The participants took three mental imagery trials, a projective test, and the GeoCat psychometric questionnaire. In a third and final phase, they took part in a blind hypnosis with suggestions using visual, kinesthetic, or open metaphors. The interviews and the tests were accompanied by micro-phenomenological interviews to investigate the implicit knowledge and processes. The data obtained during these research interviews show that the participants are able to realize tasks involving visual imagery using singular processes. Particularly, they mobilize spatial and semantic skills. During the hypnosis session, one of the participants caught herself feeling overwhelmed by screens of color. Clinical similarities appear within the personality structure and life story of the two participants. We propose that aphantasia, more than a lack of mental imagery, could be a particular cognitive style, in which mental imagery tasks could be realized using other processes. We question the etiology of aphantasia and analyze the entanglement between this cognitive style and the structure of the personality, particularly its potential link with ordinary psychosis. The use of hypnosis enables us to explore this cognitive style, while also giving us a sense of its potential clinical, therapeutic, and quotidian implications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) is a novel post-infectious disease occurring in the context of SARS-CoV2 infection. COVID-19 vaccines have been authorized since December 2020, and adverse events including myocarditis have been reported following vaccination. We describe the cases of two pediatric patients presenting with clinical and laboratory features suggestive of MIS-C a few days after receiving their first dose of the Pfizer BNT162b2 vaccine. The outcome was favorable for both patients (after corticosteroid and immunoglobulin administration for one patient). These cases suggest an association between the COVID-19 vaccine and the occurrence of MIS-C. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To link to full-text access for this article, visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ydbio.2006.03.047 Byline: Anne Camus, Aitana Perea-Gomez, Anne Moreau, JerA[acute accent]me Collignon Keywords: Pregastrula mouse embryo; Gastrulation; Nodal signaling; Epiblast cell fate determination; Neural induction; Forebrain patterning; Anterior visceral endoderm; Organizer; Neurogenesis Abstract: After implantation, mouse embryos deficient for the activity of the transforming growth factor-[beta] member Nodal fail to form both the mesoderm and the definitive endoderm. They also fail to specify the anterior visceral endoderm, a specialized signaling center which has been shown to be required for the establishment of anterior identity in the epiblast. Our study reveals that Nodal.sup.-/- epiblast cells nevertheless express prematurely and ectopically molecular markers specific of anterior fate. Our analysis shows that neural specification occurs and regional identities characteristic of the forebrain are established precociously in the Nodal.sup.-/- mutant with a sequential progression equivalent to that of wild-type embryo. When explanted and cultured in vitro, Nodal.sup.-/- epiblast cells readily differentiate into neurons. Genes normally transcribed in organizer-derived tissues, such as Gsc and Foxa2, are also expressed in Nodal.sup.-/- epiblast. The analysis of Nodal.sup.-/- ;Gsc.sup.-/- compound mutant embryos shows that Gsc activity plays no critical role in the acquisition of forebrain characters by Nodal-deficient cells. This study suggests that the initial steps of neural specification and forebrain development may take place well before gastrulation in the mouse and highlights a possible role for Nodal, at pregastrula stages, in the inhibition of anterior and neural fate determination. Author Affiliation: Laboratoire de Developpement des Vertebres, Institut Jacques Monod UMR 7592 CNRS, Universites Paris 6 et 7, 2 place Jussieu, 75251 Paris, France Article History: Received 15 March 2006; Accepted 31 March 2006

[Display omitted] • We quantified attraction of Zeugodacus cucurbitae to induced host-plant volatiles. • Female age and type of olfactory cues influenced Zeugodacus cucurbitae behavior. • Induced volatiles involved in Zeugodacus cucurbitae attraction are short-lived. In many insect species including fruit flies (Diptera: Tephritidae), the behavioral responses to volatiles emitted by their host plants can be modulated by environmental conditions and by the physiological state of the insect. Here, we quantified (1) the effects of female age on the attraction of female melon fly, Zeugodacus cucurbitae (Diptera: Tephritidae) to volatiles emitted by intact and mechanically damaged tomato (Solanum lycopersicum), eggplant (S. melongena), zucchini (Cucurbita pepo), bitter melon (Momordica charantia), and cucumber (Cucumis sativus) fruit, and (2) the influence of time elapsed since fruit damage on the outcome. The investigations were conducted under semi-natural conditions in Hawai'i. Results from the first experiment revealed that, for freshly damaged tomato, eggplant, and zucchini, the level of female response was comparatively low and was not affected by female age. For bitter melon and cucumber, higher levels of response to freshly damaged fruit were documented, and the response levels gradually increased as female age increased from 1 to 4 weeks, reaching 70% for 4-week-old females exposed to cucumber odor. Results from our second experiment indicated that, on average, 56% of the females released responded in 20 min when cucumbers were freshly sliced, and the level of response was reduced 6-fold within a couple of hours. Females did not respond to tomato and cucumber odor when fruits were damaged >8 h before testing. Fruit volatiles involved in female Z. cucurbitae attraction seem to be released shortly upon mechanical damage and they are short-lived. The plasticity of the olfaction-driven behavior observed in Z. cucurbitae depending on female age and on the strength of the olfactory cues associated with preferred and less preferred hosts, adds another dimension to our understanding of the host-seeking behavior of this invasive species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Policy recommendations based on unit labour costs (ULC) indices can lead to undesirable and counterproductive policies, because they do not reveal possible distortions in the base year. In this paper, we discuss the problems with the ULC-current account relation and provide an alternative measure for relative wage costs called Wage Competitive index (WCI) based on the assumption of convergence of the returns on capital. We show how to calculate it and that it is more efficient than traditional ULC and REER indicators. The implication is that policymakers should not focus on nominal wage setting only, but also more broadly on all factors which affect the return on capital. This implies that the well-known Rehn – Meidner rule , which underlies the Macroeconomic Dialogue should be modified. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Vision is most of the time used to access numerical information. • Blindness does not prevent the development of numerical skills. • Blindness shapes the qualitative properties of the number representation. • Computational biases constrain the reorganization of the brain numerical networks. Is vision a necessary building block for the foundations of mathematical cognition? A straightforward model to test the causal role visual experience plays in the development of numerical abilities is to study people born without sight. In this review we will demonstrate that congenitally blind people can develop numerical abilities that equal or even surpass those of sighted individuals, despite representing numbers using a qualitatively different representational format. We will also show that numerical thinking in blind people maps onto regions typically involved in visuo-spatial processing in the sighted, highlighting how intrinsic computational biases may constrain the reorganization of numerical networks in case of early visual deprivation. More generally, we will illustrate how the study of arithmetic abilities in congenitally blind people represents a compelling model to understand how sensory experience scaffolds the development of higher-level cognitive representations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]