AGGRESCAN3D (A3D): server for prediction of aggregation properties of protein structures.

Protein aggregation underlies an increasing number of disorders and constitutes a major bottleneck in the development of therapeutic proteins. Our present understanding on the molecular determinants of protein aggregation has crystalized in a series of predictive algorithms to identify aggregation-prone sites. A majority of these methods rely only on sequence. Therefore, they find difficulties to predict the aggregation properties of folded globular proteins, where aggregation-prone sites are often not contiguous in sequence or buried inside the native structure. The AGGRESCAN3D (A3D) server overcomes these limitations by taking into account the protein structure and the experimental aggregation propensity scale from the well-established AGGRESCAN method. Using the A3D server, the identified aggregation-prone residues can be virtually mutated to design variants with increased solubility, or to test the impact of pathogenic mutations. Additionally, A3D server enables to take into account the dynamic fluctuations of protein structure in solution, which may influence aggregation propensity. This is possible in A3D Dynamic Mode that exploits the CABS-flex approach for the fast simulations of flexibility of globular proteins. The A3D server can be accessed at http://biocomp.chem.uw.edu.pl/A3D/.

PrionW: a server to identify proteins containing glutamine/asparagine rich prion-like domains and their amyloid cores.

Prions are a particular type of amyloids with the ability to self-perpetuate and propagate in vivo. Prion-like conversion underlies important biological processes but is also connected to human disease. Yeast prions are the best understood transmissible amyloids. In these proteins, prion formation from an initially soluble state involves a structural conversion, driven, in many cases, by specific domains enriched in glutamine/asparagine (Q/N) residues. Importantly, domains sharing this compositional bias are also present in the proteomes of higher organisms, thus suggesting that prion-like conversion might be an evolutionary conserved mechanism. We have recently shown that the identification and evaluation of the potency of amyloid nucleating sequences in putative prion domains allows discrimination of genuine prions. PrionW is a web application that exploits this principle to scan sequences in order to identify proteins containing Q/N enriched prion-like domains (PrLDs) in large datasets. When used to scan the complete yeast proteome, PrionW identifies previously experimentally validated prions with high accuracy. Users can analyze up to 10 000 sequences at a time, PrLD-containing proteins are identified and their putative PrLDs and amyloid nucleating cores visualized and scored. The output files can be downloaded for further analysis. PrionW server can be accessed at http://bioinf.uab.cat/prionw/.

Factores de riesgo asociados al síndrome de desgaste profesional (Burnout) / Risk factors associated with professional burnout syndrome

La sobrecarga en el trabajo induce el Síndrome de desgaste profesional o Burnout, caracterizado por la fatiga emocional, despersonalización y sensación de bajo logro personal que aparecen como respuesta de tensiones emocionales. La presente revisión busca describir los factores laborales, sociales y económicos que fomentan el Síndrome de Burnout, analizando premisas que permitieron determinar factores de riesgos asociados. Las principales manifestaciones conductuales de mayor predominio son el agotamiento emocional, actitudes negativas y cambios bruscos de humor. Se ha observado que a objeto de modificar los factores que fomentan el síndrome de Burnout es menester implementar programa de salud en prevención del estrés en el ámbito laboral(AU)

The overload in the work that induces the Burnout Syndrome, which is characterized by emotional fatigue, depersonalization and feeling of low personal achievement that appear as a response of emotional tensions. Theis study aims to describe the labour, social and economic factors that expose producers to develop Burnout Syndrome, analyzing premises that allowed determining risk factors associated with this Syndrome. Emotional exhaustion, negative attitudes and sudden mood swings are the main behavioral manifestations. It has been observed that in order to modify the factors that foment the Burnout syndrome, it is necessary to implement a health program in the prevention of stress in the workplace(AU)