21:T4a3,In the 2016/2017 winter season in Japan, HuNoV GII.P16-GII.2 strains (2016 strains) emerged and caused large outbreaks of acute gastroenteritis. To better understand the outbreaks, we examined the molecular evolution of the VP1 gene and RdRp region in 2016 strains from patients by studying their time-scale evolutionary phylogeny, positive/negative selection, conformational epitopes, and phylodynamics. The time-scale phylogeny suggested that the common ancestors of the 2016 strains VP1 gene and RdRp region diverged in 2006 and 1999, respectively, and that the 2016 strain was the progeny of a pre-2016 GII.2. The evolutionary rates of the VP1 gene and RdRp region were around 10^-3 substitutions/site/year. Amino acid substitutions (position 341) in an epitope in the P2 domain of 2016 strains were not found in pre-2016 GII.2 strains. Bayesian skyline plot analyses showed that the effective population size of the VP1 gene in GII.2 strains was almost constant for those 50 years, although the number of patients with NoV GII.2 increased in 2016. The 2016 strain may be involved in future outbreaks in Japan and elsewhere.22:T503,The sustainable performance of foundations of various urban buildings and infrastructures is strongly affected by groundwater level (GWL), as GWL causes changes in the stress state within soil. In the present study, the components affecting GWL were investigated, focusing on the effects of precipitation and river stage. These components were analyzed using a six-year database established for hydrological and groundwater monitoring data. Five study regions for which daily measured precipitation, river stage, and GWL data were available were compared. Different periods of precipitation, geographical characteristics, and local surface conditions were considered in the analysis. The results indicated that key influence components on GWL are different depending on the hydrological, geological, and geographical characteristics of the target regions. River stage had the strongest influence on GWL in urban areas near large rivers with a high ratio of paved surface. In rural areas, where the paved surface area ratio and soil permeability were low, the moving average showed a closer correlation to GWL than river stage. A moving average-based method to predict GWL variation with time was proposed for regions with a low ratio of paved surface area and low permeability soils.

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