Background: Akabane virus is a member of the genus Orthobunyavirus in the family Bunyaviridae. It is transmitted by hematophagous arthropod vectors such as Culicoides biting midges and is widely distributed in temperate to tropical regions of the world. The virus is well known as a teratogenic pathogen which causes abortions, stillbirths, premature births and congenital abnormalities with arthrogryposishydranencephaly syndrome in cattle, sheep and goats. On the other hand, it is reported that the virus rarely induces encephalomyelitis in cattle by postnatal infection. A first large-scale epidemic of Akabane viral encephalomyelitis in cattle occurred in the southern part of Japan from summer to autumn in 2006. The aim of this study is to define the epidemiological, pathological and virological properties of the disease.

Background:Information received subconsciously can influence exercise performance; however, it remains unclear whether subliminal or supraliminal reward is more effective in improving standing balance ability when priming stimuli are subconsciously delivered. The present study aimed to compare the effects of subliminal priming-plus-subliminal reward stimuli (experimental) with subliminal priming-plus-supraliminal reward stimuli (control) on standing balance ability.Methods:This was a single-blind (outcome assessor), parallel-group, randomized controlled trial involving healthy young adults recruited from a university in Japan. Assessments were conducted at baseline and immediately after intervention. The primary outcome was the functional reach test (FRT) measurement. The secondary outcome was one-leg standing time (OLST) with eyes closed. Of the 52 participants screened, 25 were randomly assigned to experimental and control groups each.Results:Both interventions were effective for improving the FRT between the baseline and intervention; however, smaller improvements were observed in the experimental group. We found a large between-groups effect size immediately after the intervention for the FRT (d = −0.92). In contrast, there were no differences in improvements in OLST between the 2 groups (d = −0.06); furthermore, neither intervention was found to be effective for this parameter.Conclusion:We concluded that subliminal priming with conscious reward stimuli results in improvements in immediate-term forward reach ability, which is superior to that achieved by subliminal priming with subconscious reward stimuli.

Peaton virus (PEAV; family Peribunyaviridae, genus Orthobunyavirus) appears to be capable of producing congenital malformations in ruminants; however, its pathogenicity remains unknown given its relatively low incidence. We evaluated the relationship between congenital abnormalities of calves and PEAV infection by serologic, epidemiologic, pathologic, and virologic investigations using specimens from 31 malformed calves in the years 1996-2016 in Japan. Antibody testing was carried out for known teratogenic viruses, including Akabane, Aino, Chuzan, and bovine viral diarrhea viruses, in the precolostral sera of these abnormal calves, but all results were negative. However, all 31 malformed calves were positive for antibodies against PEAV. A PEAV-specific gene was amplified from central nervous system tissues from a stillborn calf delivered in April 2007, and its nucleotide sequence was identical with that of PEAV isolated from healthy sentinel cattle in September 2006. These findings indicate that PEAV can cause bovine congenital anomalies.