Travel patterns, risk behaviour and health problems of travellers with rheumatic diseases compared to controls: A multi-centre, observational study.

Background: Patients with chronic conditions travel around the world more than ever. Only few studies have examined travel patterns and health outcomes of patients with rheumatic diseases during international travel.

Method: We conducted a multi-centre prospective cohort study in Switzerland, in which we studied the immunogenicity and safety of vaccinations in patients with rheumatic diseases and travellers without rheumatic diseases (controls).

Time-averaged order parameter restraints in molecular dynamics simulations.

A method is described that allows experimental S(2) order parameters to be enforced as a time-averaged quantity in molecular dynamics simulations. The two parameters that characterize time-averaged restraining, the memory relaxation time and the weight of the restraining potential energy term in the potential energy function used in the simulation, are systematically investigated based on two model systems, a vector with one end restrained in space and a pentapeptide. For the latter it is shown that the backbone N-H order parameter of individual residues can be enforced such that the spatial fluctuations of quantities depending on atomic coordinates are not significantly perturbed.

Interfacing the GROMOS (bio)molecular simulation software to quantum-chemical program packages.

The newly implemented quantum-chemical/molecular-mechanical (QM/MM) functionality of the Groningen molecular simulation (GROMOS) software for (bio)molecular simulation is described. The implementation scheme is based on direct coupling of the GROMOS C++ software to executables of the quantum-chemical program packages MNDO and TURBOMOLE, allowing for an independent further development of these packages. The new functions are validated for different test systems using program and model testing techniques.

New functionalities in the GROMOS biomolecular simulation software.

Since the most recent description of the functionalities of the GROMOS software for biomolecular simulation in 2005 many new functions have been implemented. In this article, the new functionalities that involve modified forces in a molecular dynamics (MD) simulation are described: the treatment of electronic polarizability, an implicit surface area and internal volume solvation term to calculate interatomic forces, functions for the GROMOS coarse-grained supramolecular force field, a multiplicative switching function for nonbonded interactions, adiabatic decoupling of a number of degrees of freedom with temperature or force scaling to enhance sampling, and nonequilibrium MD to calculate the dielectric permittivity or viscosity. Examples that illustrate the use of these functionalities are given.

GROMOS++ Software for the Analysis of Biomolecular Simulation Trajectories.

GROMOS++ is a set of C++ programs for pre- and postprocessing of molecular dynamics simulation trajectories and as such is part of the GROningen MOlecular Simulation software for (bio)molecular simulation. It contains more than 70 programs that can be used to prepare data for the production of molecular simulation trajectories and to analyze these. These programs are reviewed and the various structural, dynamic, and thermodynamic quantities that can be analyzed using time series, correlation functions, and distributions are described together with technical aspects of their implementation in GROMOS.

Biomolecular structure refinement using the GROMOS simulation software.

For the understanding of cellular processes the molecular structure of biomolecules has to be accurately determined. Initial models can be significantly improved by structure refinement techniques. Here, we present the refinement methods and analysis techniques implemented in the GROMOS software for biomolecular simulation.

Definition and testing of the GROMOS force-field versions 54A7 and 54B7.

New parameter sets of the GROMOS biomolecular force field, 54A7 and 54B7, are introduced. These parameter sets summarise some previously published force field modifications: The 53A6 helical propensities are corrected through new φ/ψ torsional angle terms and a modification of the N-H, C=O repulsion, a new atom type for a charged -CH(3) in the choline moiety is added, the Na(+) and Cl(-) ions are modified to reproduce the free energy of hydration, and additional improper torsional angle types for free energy calculations involving a chirality change are introduced. The new helical propensity modification is tested using the benchmark proteins hen egg-white lysozyme, fox1 RNA binding domain, chorismate mutase and the GCN4-p1 peptide.

A GPU solvent-solvent interaction calculation accelerator for biomolecular simulations using the GROMOS software.

During the past few years, graphics processing units (GPUs) have become extremely popular in the high performance computing community. In this study, we present an implementation of an acceleration engine for the solvent-solvent interaction evaluation of molecular dynamics simulations. By careful optimization of the algorithm speed-ups up to a factor of 54 (single-precision GPU vs.

Disulfide bond shuffling in bovine alpha-lactalbumin: MD simulation confirms experiment.

A simple and straightforward classical molecular dynamics simulation technique is proposed to predict possible disulfide bridge shuffling. Application to bovine alpha-lactalbumin shows that shuffling can be observed on short simulation time scales and yields results in agreement with experiment.

Mechanism and thermodynamics of binding of the polypyrimidine tract binding protein to RNA.

The polypyrimidine tract binding protein (PTB) is involved in many physiological processes, including alternative splicing, internal ribosomal entry side (IRES)-mediated initiation of translation, and polyadenylation, as well as in ensuring mRNA stability. However, the role of PTB in these processes is not fully understood, and this has motivated us to undertake a computational study of the protein. PTB RNA binding domains (RBDs) 3 and 4 and their complexes with oligopyrimidine RNAs were simulated using the GROMOS simulation software using the GROMOS 45A4 force field.