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Introduction: In Japan, patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) who do not require medical intervention are provided care in recovery accommodation facilities (RAFs). However, some patients may require hospitalization if their symptoms become more severe during their stay. We conducted an observational study using epidemiological data of patients with COVID-19 admitted to RAFs in Tokyo., Methods: This was an observational cohort study using data from COVID-19 patients admitted to one of the RAFs in Tokyo from December 2020 to November 2021. Admissions to the facilities were limited to patients with asymptomatic or mild COVID-19 with no underlying disease or at least stable underlying disease at the time of admission. Patients were hospitalized when they required oxygen administration or when they had, or persistent fever, or severe respiratory symptoms. We evaluated the association between hospitalization and the risk factors for hospitalization using a Cox regression model., Results: The number of patients with COVID-19 admitted to the RAF was 6176. The number of hospitalized patients was 393 (6.4%), and the median length of stay was 5.50 days (IQR: 4.50, 6.50). In the Cox regression analysis, the hazard ratio increased with age and was significantly higher among patients aged >60 years (HR = 10.23, 95% CI: 6.72-15.57) than those in other age groups. This trend is similar to that observed in the sensitivity analysis., Conclusion: Patients with diabetes, the elderly, obesity, and medications for gout and psychiatric diseases may be at a high risk of hospitalization. In particular, an age over 60 years was strongly associated with hospitalization., (Copyright © 2022 Japanese Society of Chemotherapy and The Japanese Association for Infectious Diseases. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Prior to the designation of illegal drugs (psychoactive drugs) by prefectural regulations, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government conducts surveys on the risk of drugs, reports the results to the governor through the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Advisory Committee on Illegal Drugs, an affiliated organization, and provides the central government with information. The Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Public Health conducts identification of the constituents of drugs and biological effect tests to help the committee analyze and assess information on the risks of drugs. Narcotics and stimulants increase the concentrations of dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine, i.e., neurotransmitters, in the presynaptic clefts, exerting an excitatory effect. In the postsynaptic region, these neurotransmitters are considered to directly combine with the receptors and activate guanine nucleotide-binding proteins, causing activation. We have developed nine types (categorized into three groups) of simple, high-throughput measurement systems and examined their measurement methods. The systems are designed to assess the following properties of drugs: effects of: 1) inhibiting reuptake; 2) stimulating the release of neurotransmitters in the presynaptic region; and 3) activating G proteins in the postsynaptic region. The systems provide useful information in that they allow searches for the effects of a variety of psychoactive substances that are expected to become widespread, e.g., designer drugs, hallucinogenic plants and synthetic cannabinoids; they also allow you to conduct a test using micrograms of a drug, facilitating testing even when it is not available in a large quantity.

Examination for CBH351 maize was conducted by the qualitative polymerase chain reaction (PCR) method in maize grain and maize processed foods obtained in the Tokyo area. The numbers of samples possibly positive in the screening test were 7 of 22 (31.8%) for maize grain samples, 4 of 14 (28.6%) for semi-processed foods, 11 of 30 (36.7%) for canned products, 3 of 30 (10.0%) for maize snacks, 3 of 4 (75%) for tacos and 1 of 3 (33.3%) for tortillas. However, CBH351 maize was not detected in the confirmation test. Therefore, the results of the screening test were false-positive. Since the reaction might have been caused by the base sequences of the 3'-end of primers CaM03-5' and CBH02-3' used in the screening test, a new primer pair was designed. The PCR products obtained with the new primer pair TMC2-5'--TMS2-3' were specific for CBH351 and were not obtained with barley, wheat, rice, RRS, Bt11, or Event176. Thus, the new primer pair shows high specificity. CBH351 maize was detected from samples containing at least 0.05% CBH 351 maize DNA by using this primer pair.

Investigations of the validity of labeling regarding genetically modified (GM) products were conducted using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) methods for foreign-made processed foods made from corn and potato purchased in the Tokyo area and in the USA. Several kinds of GM crops were detected in 12 of 32 samples of processed corn samples. More than two GM events for which safety reviews have been completed in Japan were simultaneously detected in 10 samples. GM events MON810 and Bt11 were most frequently detected in the samples by qualitative PCR methods. MON810 was detected in 11 of the 12 samples, and Bt11 was detected in 6 of the 12 samples. In addition, Roundup Ready soy was detected in one of the 12 samples. On the other hand, CBH351, for which the safety assessment was withdrawn in Japan, was not detected in any of the 12 samples. A trial quantitative analysis was performed on six of the GM maize qualitatively positive samples. The estimated amounts of GM maize in these samples ranged from 0.2 to 2.8%, except for one sample, which contained 24.1%. For this sample, the total amount found by event-specific quantitative analysis was 23.8%. Additionally, Roundup Ready soy was detected in one sample of 21 potato-processed foods, although GM potatoes were not detected in any sample.