Correlation between national surveillance and search engine query data on respiratory syncytial virus infections in Japan

Background The respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) disease burden is significant, especially in infants and children with an underlying disease. Prophylaxis with palivizumab is recommended for these high-risk groups. Early recognition of a RSV epidemic is important for timely administration of palivizumab. We herein aimed to assess the correlation between national surveillance and Google Trends data pertaining to RSV infections in Japan. Methods The present, retrospective survey was performed between January 1, 2018 and November 14, 2021 and evaluated the correlation between national surveillance data and Google Trends data. Joinpoint regression was used to identify the points at which changes in trends occurred. Results A strong correlation was observed every study year (2018 [r = 0.87, p < 0.01], 2019 [r = 0.83, p < 0.01], 2020 [r = 0.83, p < 0.01], and 2021 [r = 0.96, p < 0.01]). The change-points in the Google Trends data indicating the start of the RSV epidemic were observed earlier than by sentinel surveillance in 2018 and 2021 and simultaneously with sentinel surveillance in 2019. No epidemic surge was observed in either the Google Trends or the surveillance data from 2020. Conclusions Our data suggested that Google Trends has the potential to enable the early identification of RSV epidemics. In countries without a national surveillance system, Google Trends may serve as an alternative early warning system

Molecular dynamics simulations on interaction between dislocation and Y2O3 nanocluster in FE

For a new insight on the mechanical properties of oxide dispersion strengthened (ODS) steels from atomistic viewpoints, we have implemented molecular dynamics simulations on the interaction between Y2O3 nanocluster and dislocation in bcc Fe. There is so far no all-round interatomic potential function that can represent all the bonding state, i.e. metal, ion and covalent systems, so that we have adopted rough approximation. That is, each atom in Y2O3 is not discriminated but treated as “monatomic” pseudo-atom; and its motion is represented with the simple pairwise potential function as same as Johnson potential for Fe. The potential parameters are fitted to the energy change in the hcp infinite crystal, by using the ab-initio density functional theory(DFT) calculation for explicitly discriminated Y and O. We have set edge/screw dislocation in the centre of periodic slab cell, and approached it to the “YO” monatomic nano-cluster coherently precipitated in bcc-Fe matrix. The dislocation behavior is discussed by changing the size and periodic distance of the nano-cluster. Among the many useful results, we have obtained a conclusion that the edge dislocation is strongly trapped by YO sphere larger than the diameter of d =0 .9nm, while the screw dislocation shows various behavior, e.g. it cuts through the precipiate without remarkable resistance if the dislocation line tension is high, or it changes the slip plane leaving jogs at the position anterior to the precipiate with loose line tensio

Epidemiology of Pediatric Acute Encephalitis/Encephalopathy in Japan

We studied the etiology of pediatric acute encephalitis/encephalopathy (pAEE) using epidemiological data obtained from a nationwide survey in Japan. Two-step questionnaires were sent to the pediatric departments of hospitals throughout the country in 2007, querying the number of the cases during 2005-2006 as the first step, and asking for the details of clinical information as the second step. In all, 636 children with pAEE (age ≤ 15 years) were enrolled. For the known etiology of pAEE (63.5% of the total cases), 26 microbes and 2 clinical entities were listed, but the etiology of 36.5% remained unknown. Influenza virus (26.7%), exanthem subitum (12.3%), and rotavirus (4.1%) were the most common, and the incidence of pAEE peaked at the age of 1 year. This trend was common among all etiologies. Among the neurological symptoms observed at the onset of pAEE, seizures were observed more often in patients aged ≤ 3 years, although abnormal speech and behavior were also common in older children. Undesirable outcomes (death and neurological sequelae) occurred at high rates in patients with any known etiology other than mycoplasma. In conclusion, these findings provide comprehensive insight into pAEE in Japan