Molecular Evolutionary Analyses of the RNA-Dependent RNA Polymerase Region in Norovirus Genogroup II

Noroviruses are the leading cause of viral gastroenteritis in humans across the world. RNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RdRp) plays a critical role in the replication of the viral genome. Although there have been some reports on a limited number of genotypes with respect to the norovirus evolution of the RdRp region, no comprehensive molecular evolution examination of the norovirus GII genotype has yet been undertaken. Therefore, we conducted an evolutionary analysis of the 25 genotypes of the norovirus GII RdRp region (full-length), collected globally using different bioinformatics technologies. The time-scaled phylogenetic tree, generated using the Bayesian Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) method, indicated that the common ancestor of GII diverged from GIV around 1443 CE [95% highest posterior density (HPD), 1336–1542]. The GII RdRp region emerged around 1731 CE (95% HPD, 1703–1757), forming three lineages. The evolutionary rate of the RdRp region of the norovirus GII strains was estimated at over 10−3 substitutions/site/year. The evolutionary rates were significantly distinct in each genotype. The composition of the phylogenetic distances differed among the strains for each genotype. Furthermore, we mapped the negative selection sites on the RdRp protein and many of these were predicted in the GII.P4 RdRp proteins. The phylodynamics of GII.P4, GII.P12, GII.P16, and GII.Pe showed that their effective population sizes increased during the period from 2003 to 2014. Our results cumulatively suggest that the RdRp region of the norovirus GII rapidly and uniquely evolved with a high divergence similar to that of the norovirus VP1 gene

グンマケンNチョウザイジュウコウレイシャ ノ カレイ ニ ヨル シンタイ エイヨウジョウタイ ノ ヘンカ ニ カンスル ジッタイチョウサ

本研究は,65歳以上の健康な地域在住高齢者の(対象者95名)栄養状態を把握し,栄養教育における課題を抽出することを目的とした。ベースラインの調査は,2000年に行い,追跡調査を2005年に行った。5年間に,男女ともに身長,体重が有意に低下していた。血液性状は,2000年に比べて2005年で赤血球数,ヘモグロビン濃度,アルブミン濃度およびHbA1c濃度が有意に低下し,HDLコレステロール濃度が有意に増加していた。しかし,アルブミン値が3.8g/dl未満の高齢者は一人もみられなかった。栄養素等摂取状況は,2000年に比べて2005年で男性ではビタミンCおよび鉄摂取量が有意に低下していた。女性ではビタミンB2,鉄摂取量が有意に低下していた。そこで鉄不足状態が発現する可能性についてヘモグロビン値を元に正常群(男性 : Hb≧13g/dl, 女性 : Hb≧12g/dl),鉄不足群(男性 : Hb<13g/dl, 女性 : Hb<12g/dl)の2群に分けて検討したところ,鉄不足群は2000年においては11名であったのに対し,2005年には26名に増えていた。性,年齢を補正した結果,正常群に比べて鉄不足群で,2000年時におけるたんぱく質,鉄およびビタミンB12摂取量が有意に低値を示した。以上の結果より,本研究対象者において低アルブミン血症を示す高齢者は観察されず,たんぱく質栄養状態は全対象者で良好であった可能性,2005年で増加した鉄不足状態の発現には,2000年におけるたんぱく質,鉄およびビタミンB12等の摂取量の不足が関わる可能性が示唆された。The purpose of this study was to estimate nutritional conditions among elderly community residents (95persons, ≧65 years old), and to explore strategies for nutritional education. A baseline survey was carried out in 2000 and was followed-up in 2005. During the 5 years, mean values of height and weight significantly decreased in both sexes. Levels of red blood cells, hemoglobin, serum albumin and serum HbA1c significantly decreased, while HDL-cholesterol levels significantly increased in a follow-up survey when compared to levels in the baseline survey. Intakes of dietary fat, iron and vitamin C in males, or iron and vitamin B2 in females were significantly decreased in the follow-up survey compared to those in the baseline survey. Based on hemoglobin levels in 2005, the participants were divided into two groups ; the iron normal group (male : Hb≧13g/dl, female : Hb≧12g/dl) and iron deficient group (male : Hb<13g/dl, female : Hb<12g/dl). Iron deficient group increased in the follow-up survey more than in the baseline survey. Adjusted for sex and age, protein, iron and vitamin B12 intakes in the baseline survey were significantly lower in the iron deficiency group than in the iron normal group. In addition, there were no subjects with hypoalbuminemia (Alb<3.8g/dl). In conclusion, this study suggested that dietary insufficiency of protein, iron and vitamin B12 intake at the onset of 2000 resulted in an increase in the number of iron deficiency persons in the follow-up survey

グンマケンNチョウザイジュウコウレイシャ ノ カレイ ニ ヨル シンタイ エイヨウジョウタイ ノ ヘンカ ニ カンスル ジッタイチョウサ

本研究は,65歳以上の健康な地域在住高齢者の(対象者95名)栄養状態を把握し,栄養教育における課題を抽出することを目的とした。ベースラインの調査は,2000年に行い,追跡調査を2005年に行った。5年間に,男女ともに身長,体重が有意に低下していた。血液性状は,2000年に比べて2005年で赤血球数,ヘモグロビン濃度,アルブミン濃度およびHbA1c濃度が有意に低下し,HDLコレステロール濃度が有意に増加していた。しかし,アルブミン値が3.8g/dl未満の高齢者は一人もみられなかった。栄養素等摂取状況は,2000年に比べて2005年で男性ではビタミンCおよび鉄摂取量が有意に低下していた。女性ではビタミンB2,鉄摂取量が有意に低下していた。そこで鉄不足状態が発現する可能性についてヘモグロビン値を元に正常群(男性 : Hb≧13g/dl, 女性 : Hb≧12g/dl),鉄不足群(男性 : Hb<13g/dl, 女性 : Hb<12g/dl)の2群に分けて検討したところ,鉄不足群は2000年においては11名であったのに対し,2005年には26名に増えていた。性,年齢を補正した結果,正常群に比べて鉄不足群で,2000年時におけるたんぱく質,鉄およびビタミンB12摂取量が有意に低値を示した。以上の結果より,本研究対象者において低アルブミン血症を示す高齢者は観察されず,たんぱく質栄養状態は全対象者で良好であった可能性,2005年で増加した鉄不足状態の発現には,2000年におけるたんぱく質,鉄およびビタミンB12等の摂取量の不足が関わる可能性が示唆された。The purpose of this study was to estimate nutritional conditions among elderly community residents (95persons, ≧65 years old), and to explore strategies for nutritional education. A baseline survey was carried out in 2000 and was followed-up in 2005. During the 5 years, mean values of height and weight significantly decreased in both sexes. Levels of red blood cells, hemoglobin, serum albumin and serum HbA1c significantly decreased, while HDL-cholesterol levels significantly increased in a follow-up survey when compared to levels in the baseline survey. Intakes of dietary fat, iron and vitamin C in males, or iron and vitamin B2 in females were significantly decreased in the follow-up survey compared to those in the baseline survey. Based on hemoglobin levels in 2005, the participants were divided into two groups ; the iron normal group (male : Hb≧13g/dl, female : Hb≧12g/dl) and iron deficient group (male : Hb<13g/dl, female : Hb<12g/dl). Iron deficient group increased in the follow-up survey more than in the baseline survey. Adjusted for sex and age, protein, iron and vitamin B12 intakes in the baseline survey were significantly lower in the iron deficiency group than in the iron normal group. In addition, there were no subjects with hypoalbuminemia (Alb<3.8g/dl). In conclusion, this study suggested that dietary insufficiency of protein, iron and vitamin B12 intake at the onset of 2000 resulted in an increase in the number of iron deficiency persons in the follow-up survey

The Japanese Clinical Practice Guidelines for Management of Sepsis and Septic Shock 2020 (J-SSCG 2020)

The Japanese Clinical Practice Guidelines for Management of Sepsis and Septic Shock 2020 (J-SSCG 2020), a Japanese-specific set of clinical practice guidelines for sepsis and septic shock created as revised from J-SSCG 2016 jointly by the Japanese Society of Intensive Care Medicine and the Japanese Association for Acute Medicine, was first released in September 2020 and published in February 2021. An English-language version of these guidelines was created based on the contents of the original Japanese-language version. The purpose of this guideline is to assist medical staff in making appropriate decisions to improve the prognosis of patients undergoing treatment for sepsis and septic shock. We aimed to provide high-quality guidelines that are easy to use and understand for specialists, general clinicians, and multidisciplinary medical professionals. J-SSCG 2016 took up new subjects that were not present in SSCG 2016 (e.g., ICU-acquired weakness [ICU-AW], post-intensive care syndrome [PICS], and body temperature management). The J-SSCG 2020 covered a total of 22 areas with four additional new areas (patient- and family-centered care, sepsis treatment system, neuro-intensive treatment, and stress ulcers). A total of 118 important clinical issues (clinical questions, CQs) were extracted regardless of the presence or absence of evidence. These CQs also include those that have been given particular focus within Japan. This is a large-scale guideline covering multiple fields; thus, in addition to the 25 committee members, we had the participation and support of a total of 226 members who are professionals (physicians, nurses, physiotherapists, clinical engineers, and pharmacists) and medical workers with a history of sepsis or critical illness. The GRADE method was adopted for making recommendations, and the modified Delphi method was used to determine recommendations by voting from all committee members.As a result, 79 GRADE-based recommendations, 5 Good Practice Statements (GPS), 18 expert consensuses, 27 answers to background questions (BQs), and summaries of definitions and diagnosis of sepsis were created as responses to 118 CQs. We also incorporated visual information for each CQ according to the time course of treatment, and we will also distribute this as an app. The J-SSCG 2020 is expected to be widely used as a useful bedside guideline in the field of sepsis treatment both in Japan and overseas involving multiple disciplines.other authors: Satoru Hashimoto,Daisuke Hasegawa,Junji Hatakeyama,Naoki Hara,Naoki Higashibeppu,Nana Furushima,Hirotaka Furusono,Yujiro Matsuishi,Tasuku Matsuyama,Yusuke Minematsu,Ryoichi Miyashita,Yuji Miyatake,Megumi Moriyasu,Toru Yamada,Hiroyuki Yamada,Ryo Yamamoto,Takeshi Yoshida,Yuhei Yoshida,Jumpei Yoshimura,Ryuichi Yotsumoto,Hiroshi Yonekura,Takeshi Wada,Eizo Watanabe,Makoto Aoki,Hideki Asai,Takakuni Abe,Yutaka Igarashi,Naoya Iguchi,Masami Ishikawa,Go Ishimaru,Shutaro Isokawa,Ryuta Itakura,Hisashi Imahase,Haruki Imura,Takashi Irinoda,Kenji Uehara,Noritaka Ushio,Takeshi Umegaki,Yuko Egawa,Yuki Enomoto,Kohei Ota,Yoshifumi Ohchi,Takanori Ohno,Hiroyuki Ohbe,Kazuyuki Oka,Nobunaga Okada,Yohei Okada,Hiromu Okano,Jun Okamoto,Hiroshi Okuda,Takayuki Ogura,Yu Onodera,Yuhta Oyama,Motoshi Kainuma,Eisuke Kako,Masahiro Kashiura,Hiromi Kato,Akihiro Kanaya,Tadashi Kaneko,Keita Kanehata,Ken-ichi Kano,Hiroyuki Kawano,Kazuya Kikutani,Hitoshi Kikuchi,Takahiro Kido,Sho Kimura,Hiroyuki Koami,Daisuke Kobashi,Iwao Saiki,Masahito Sakai,Ayaka Sakamoto,Tetsuya Sato,Yasuhiro Shiga,Manabu Shimoto,Shinya Shimoyama,Tomohisa Shoko,Yoh Sugawara,Atsunori Sugita,Satoshi Suzuki,Yuji Suzuki,Tomohiro Suhara,Kenji Sonota,Shuhei Takauji,Kohei Takashima,Sho Takahashi,Yoko Takahashi,Jun Takeshita,Yuuki Tanaka,Akihito Tampo,Taichiro Tsunoyama,Kenichi Tetsuhara,Kentaro Tokunaga,Yoshihiro Tomioka,Kentaro Tomita,Naoki Tominaga,Mitsunobu Toyosaki,Yukitoshi Toyoda,Hiromichi Naito,Isao Nagata,Tadashi Nagato,Yoshimi Nakamura,Yuki Nakamori,Isao Nahara,Hiromu Naraba,Chihiro Narita,Norihiro Nishioka,Tomoya Nishimura,Kei Nishiyama,Tomohisa Nomura,Taiki Haga,Yoshihiro Hagiwara,Katsuhiko Hashimoto,Takeshi Hatachi,Toshiaki Hamasaki,Takuya Hayashi,Minoru Hayashi,Atsuki Hayamizu,Go Haraguchi,Yohei Hirano,Ryo Fujii,Motoki Fujita,Naoyuki Fujimura,Hiraku Funakoshi,Masahito Horiguchi,Jun Maki,Naohisa Masunaga,Yosuke Matsumura,Takuya Mayumi,Keisuke Minami,Yuya Miyazaki,Kazuyuki Miyamoto,Teppei Murata,Machi Yanai,Takao Yano,Kohei Yamada,Naoki Yamada,Tomonori Yamamoto,Shodai Yoshihiro,Hiroshi Tanaka,Osamu NishidaGuideline

The Japanese Clinical Practice Guidelines for Management of Sepsis and Septic Shock 2020 (J-SSCG 2020)

The Japanese Clinical Practice Guidelines for Management of Sepsis and Septic Shock 2020 (J-SSCG 2020), a Japanese-specific set of clinical practice guidelines for sepsis and septic shock created as revised from J-SSCG 2016 jointly by the Japanese Society of Intensive Care Medicine and the Japanese Association for Acute Medicine, was first released in September 2020 and published in February 2021. An English-language version of these guidelines was created based on the contents of the original Japanese-language version. The purpose of this guideline is to assist medical staff in making appropriate decisions to improve the prognosis of patients undergoing treatment for sepsis and septic shock. We aimed to provide high-quality guidelines that are easy to use and understand for specialists, general clinicians, and multidisciplinary medical professionals. J-SSCG 2016 took up new subjects that were not present in SSCG 2016 (e.g., ICU-acquired weakness [ICU-AW], post-intensive care syndrome [PICS], and body temperature management). The J-SSCG 2020 covered a total of 22 areas with four additional new areas (patient- and family-centered care, sepsis treatment system, neuro-intensive treatment, and stress ulcers). A total of 118 important clinical issues (clinical questions, CQs) were extracted regardless of the presence or absence of evidence. These CQs also include those that have been given particular focus within Japan. This is a large-scale guideline covering multiple fields; thus, in addition to the 25 committee members, we had the participation and support of a total of 226 members who are professionals (physicians, nurses, physiotherapists, clinical engineers, and pharmacists) and medical workers with a history of sepsis or critical illness. The GRADE method was adopted for making recommendations, and the modified Delphi method was used to determine recommendations by voting from all committee members.other authors: Yasuhiro Norisue, Satoru Hashimoto, Daisuke Hasegawa, Junji Hatakeyama, Naoki Hara, Naoki Higashibeppu, Nana Furushima, Hirotaka Furusono, Yujiro Matsuishi, Tasuku Matsuyama, Yusuke Minematsu, Ryoichi Miyashita, Yuji Miyatake, Megumi Moriyasu, Toru Yamada, Hiroyuki Yamada, Ryo Yamamoto, Takeshi Yoshida, Yuhei Yoshida, Jumpei Yoshimura, Ryuichi Yotsumoto, Hiroshi Yonekura, Takeshi Wada, Eizo Watanabe, Makoto Aoki, Hideki Asai, Takakuni Abe, Yutaka Igarashi, Naoya Iguchi, Masami Ishikawa, Go Ishimaru, Shutaro Isokawa, Ryuta Itakura, Hisashi Imahase, Haruki Imura, Takashi Irinoda, Kenji Uehara, Noritaka Ushio, Takeshi Umegaki, Yuko Egawa, Yuki Enomoto, Kohei Ota, Yoshifumi Ohchi, Takanori Ohno, Hiroyuki Ohbe, Kazuyuki Oka, Nobunaga Okada, Yohei Okada, Hiromu Okano, Jun Okamoto, Hiroshi Okuda, Takayuki Ogura, Yu Onodera, Yuhta Oyama, Motoshi Kainuma, Eisuke Kako, Masahiro Kashiura, Hiromi Kato, Akihiro Kanaya, Tadashi Kaneko, Keita Kanehata, Ken-ichi Kano, Hiroyuki Kawano, Kazuya Kikutani, Hitoshi Kikuchi, Takahiro Kido, Sho Kimura, Hiroyuki Koami, Daisuke Kobashi, Iwao Saiki, Masahito Sakai, Ayaka Sakamoto, Tetsuya Sato, Yasuhiro Shiga, Manabu Shimoto, Shinya Shimoyama, Tomohisa Shoko, Yoh Sugawara, Atsunori Sugita, Satoshi Suzuki, Yuji Suzuki, Tomohiro Suhara, Kenji Sonota, Shuhei Takauji, Kohei Takashima, Sho Takahashi, Yoko Takahashi, Jun Takeshita, Yuuki Tanaka, Akihito Tampo, Taichiro Tsunoyama, Kenichi Tetsuhara, Kentaro Tokunaga, Yoshihiro Tomioka, Kentaro Tomita, Naoki Tominaga, Mitsunobu Toyosaki, Yukitoshi Toyoda, Hiromichi Naito, Isao Nagata, Tadashi Nagato, Yoshimi Nakamura, Yuki Nakamori, Isao Nahara, Hiromu Naraba, Chihiro Narita, Norihiro Nishioka, Tomoya Nishimura, Kei Nishiyama, Tomohisa Nomura, Taiki Haga, Yoshihiro Hagiwara, Katsuhiko Hashimoto, Takeshi Hatachi, Toshiaki Hamasaki, Takuya Hayashi, Minoru Hayashi, Atsuki Hayamizu, Go Haraguchi, Yohei Hirano, Ryo Fujii, Motoki Fujita, Naoyuki Fujimura, Hiraku Funakoshi, Masahito Horiguchi, Jun Maki, Naohisa Masunaga, Yosuke Matsumura, Takuya Mayumi, Keisuke Minami, Yuya Miyazaki, Kazuyuki Miyamoto, Teppei Murata, Machi Yanai, Takao Yano, Kohei Yamada, Naoki Yamada, Tomonori Yamamoto, Shodai Yoshihiro, Hiroshi Tanaka & Osamu Nishid

The Urinary Hormonal State of Cats Associated With Social Interaction With Humans

Research to assess the relationship between cats and humans is in a nascent stage. Some studies have assessed the stress status in cats using physiological indicators, such as the cortisol hormone, but have not focused on the social interaction with humans. Moreover, the role of oxytocin secretion in the relationship between cats and humans remains unclear. In this study, we determined the possibility of quantifying the urinary concentration of oxytocin in cats and assessed the effects of social contact with humans on the levels of urinary oxytocin and cortisol metabolite. Four cats were subjected to two conditions, namely, social (control), and non-social (no social contact with humans) conditions. The levels of cortisol and oxytocin metabolite in urine samples from the cats in both conditions were determined using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. The urinary concentrations of cortisol and oxytocin under the non-social condition were significantly higher than those under the social condition. In addition, the concentration of oxytocin significantly correlated with that of cortisol in cats under the non-social condition. In this study, it was possible to quantify the concentration of oxytocin in the urine of cats, and the obtained results suggest that cats recognize the social interaction with humans as important. This information might contribute to the establishment of an assessment method for the welfare of cats and might help in clarifying the relationship between cats and humans

Effects of the characteristic temperament of cats on the emotions and hemodynamic responses of humans.

Cats positive effects on their owners' physiological and psychological health, including improved mood and activation of the human prefrontal cortex and inferior frontal gyrus in the brain. However, the association between the health benefits provided by cat ownership and the characteristic behaviors and reactions of cats is unclear. We recruited 29 participants to measure human prefrontal cortex activity, using functional near-infrared spectroscopy, during interactions with a cat. After the experiments, participants subjectively responded to a questionnaire regarding success rates for interactions with the cat, and completed the Self-assessment Manikin-a scale used to measure emotion. Interactions comprised eight types in four categories (touch, play, train, and feed). This study showed that interactions with a cat significantly activated the prefrontal cortex, regardless of interaction type. During training, the integral values of oxygenated hemoglobin in the left inferior frontal gyrus were the highest in all the interaction categories; however, success rates were lower than in the touch and feed interactions. Regarding the Self-assessment Manikin scores, all interaction categories showed a positive correlation between success rate and valence score, especially in the train and play interactions than in the touch and feed interactions. These results indicate that interactions with a cat activate the prefrontal cortex in humans, including the inferior frontal gyrus region. Moreover, cats' autonomous behaviors and reactions positively influenced the participants. The characteristic temperament of cats may be a key factor influencing the health benefits of owning cats

Syn and anti conformers of diammonium aquabis(malonato)oxidovanadate(IV) in an anhydrate crystal

The asymmetric unit of the title anhydrate compound, (NH4)2[VO(C3H2O4)2(H2O)], consists of two independent complex anions and four ammonium cations. In the complex anions, the VIV atoms are each coordinated by two malonate ligands, one water molecule and one oxide O atom in a distorted octahedral geometry. The equatorial plane is formed by the malonate O atoms, while the axial positions are occupied by water and oxide O atoms. The difference between the two independent complexes is the relative conformation of the malonate ligands. The two ligands in one complex anion are in a syn conformation, while in the other they adopt an anti conformation. In the crystal, the complex anions interact with the counter-cations and adjacent anions through O—H...O, N—H...O and C—H...O hydrogen bonds. Stacks of alternating layers consisting of either anti or syn isomers, formed with the aid of the hydrogen bonding, are observed. DFT calculations for the anti and syn isomers show a similar thermodynamic stability to each other. The crystal used for this analysis was an inversion twin with the ratio of the twin components being 0.270 (13):0.730 (13)

Physiological Assessment of the Health and Welfare of Domestic Cats—An Exploration of Factors Affecting Urinary Cortisol and Oxytocin

Physiological samples are beneficial in assessing the health and welfare of cats. However, most studies have been conducted in specialized environments, such as shelters or laboratories, and have not focused on cats living in domestic settings. In addition, most studies have assessed physiological stress states in cats based on cortisol, and none have quantified positive indicators, such as oxytocin. Here, we collected urine samples from 49 domestic cats and quantified urinary cortisol, oxytocin, and creatinine using ELISA. To identify factors influencing hormone levels, owners responded to questionnaires regarding their housing environment, individual cat information, and the frequency of daily interactions with their cats. Using principal component analysis, principal component scores for daily interactions were extracted. These results showed that the frequency of tactile and auditory signal-based communication by owners was positively correlated with the mean concentration of oxytocin in the urine. Additionally, this communication was more frequent in younger cats or cats that had experienced a shorter length of cohabitation with the owner. However, no factors associated with urinary cortisol concentration were identified. Our study indicates that interactions and relationships with the owner influence the physiological status of cats and suggests that oxytocin is a valuable parameter for assessing their health and welfare