Vincent Bloch

Structural biology, homology modelling and rational drug design require accurate three-dimensional macromolecular coordinates. However, the coordinates in the Protein Data Bank (PDB) have not all been obtained using the latest experimental and computational methods. In this study a method is presented for automated re-refinement of existing structure models in the PDB. A large-scale benchmark with 16 807 PDB entries showed that they can be improved in terms of fit to the deposited experimental X-ray data as well as in terms of geometric quality. The re-refinement protocol uses TLS models to describe concerted atom movement. The resulting structure models are made available through the PDB_REDO databank (http://www.cmbi.ru.nl/pdb_redo/). Grid computing techniques were used to overcome the computational requirements of this endeavour.

In the cat, the cortical arousal induced by reticular or nociceptive stimulation is more intense and more long-lasting after elimination of the caudal and medial part of the medulla than in preparations with intact brain. This difference is explained by the intervention of a phasic-ascending inhibitory bulbar control secondarily triggered by the mesencephalic activating system.