To automate or not to automate: this is the question

New protocols and instrumentation significantly boost the outcome of structural biology, which has resulted in significant growth in the number of deposited Protein Data Bank structures. However, even an enormous increase of the productivity of a single step of the structure determination process may not significantly shorten the time between clone and deposition or publication. For example, in a medium size laboratory equipped with the LabDB and HKL-3000 systems, we show that automation of some (and integration of all) steps of the X-ray structure determination pathway is critical for laboratory productivity. Moreover, we show that the lag period after which the impact of a technology change is observed is longer than expected

L'utilisation abusive des benzodiazepines en France (causes et conséquences)

BORDEAUX2-BU Santé (330632101) / SudocSudocFranceF

Prot Sci

The human protein PTD012 is the longer product of an alternatively spliced gene and was described to be localized in the nucleus. The X-ray structure analysis at 1.7 Å resolution of PTD012 through SAD phasing reveals a monomeric protein and a novel fold. The shorter splice form was also studied and appears to be unfolded and non-functional. The structure of PTD012 displays an {alpha}betabeta{alpha} four-layer topology. A metal ion residing between the central beta-sheets is partially coordinated by three histidine residues. X-ray absorption near-edge structure (XANES) analysis identifies the PTD012-bound ion as Zn2+. Tetrahedral coordination of the ion is completed by the carboxylate oxygen atom of an acetate molecule taken up from the crystallization buffer. The binding of Zn2+ to PTD012 is reminiscent of zinc-containing enzymes such as carboxypeptidase, carbonic anhydrase, and beta-lactamase. Biochemical assays failed to demonstrate any of these enzyme activities in PTD012. However, PTD012 exhibits ester hydrolase activity on the substrate p-nitrophenyl acetate