Protein aggregation is observed in various neurodegeneration diseases, including Parkinson's disease (PD). Alpha-synuclein, a causative gene product of familial PD, is a major component of large aggregates (inclusion bodies) in PD. Prefoldin, a molecular chaperone comprised of six subunits, PFD1~6, prevents misfolding of newly synthesized nascent polypeptides and also prevents aggregation of protein such as a pathogenic form of Huntingtin, a causative gene product of Huntington disease. In this study, we first found that aggregation of TagRFP-tagged wild-type -synuclein and its pathogenic mutants, but not that of GFP-tagged -synuclein,

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In June 2020, a large-scale food poisoning outbreak involving about 3000 elementary and junior high school students occurred in Yashio, Saitama, Japan. A school lunch was the only food stuff ingested by all of the patients. Escherichia coli serotype O7:H4 carrying the astA gene for enteroaggregative E. coli (EAggEC) heat-stable enterotoxin 1 (EAST1) was detected in faecal specimens from the patients, and sample inspection revealed its presence in a seaweed salad and red seaweed (Gigartina tenella) as one of the raw materials. Analysis of the antibiotic sensitivity of the isolates revealed resistance to ampicillin and cefotaxime. All isolates were confirmed to be of the same origin by pulsed-field gel electrophoresis after digestion with the restriction enzyme XbaI, and single nucleotide polymorphism analysis using whole genome sequencing. To our knowledge, this is the first report of a large-scale food poisoning caused by E. coli O7:H4, which lacks well-characterized virulence genes other than astA.

, a total of 170 food samples marketed in Saitama Prefecture were examined following the setting of provisional regulatory limits for radioactivity in drinking water and foodstuffs by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare on 1 April 2012. No sample exceeded the regulatory limits as determined by gamma ray spectrometry with a germanium semiconductor detector. However the radioactive cesium concentrations of food samples such as raw wood-shiitake and maccha powdered green tea produced in Saitama were nearly at the regulatory limits, being 74 Bq/kg and 84 Bq/kg, respectively.