Regarding paper: "robustness of shrunken predictors in stratified population"

Article http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/bimj.4710360113 Authors reply http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/bimj.200810432     

"Multilevel grouped regression for analyzing self-reported health in relation to environmental factors: the model and its application" by C. G. M. Groothuis-Oudshoorn and H. M. E. Miedema

Article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/bimj.200410172 Author reply: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/bimj.200710417     

Authors’ reply

Article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/bimj.201100221 Letter to the Editor: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/bimj.201200254     

Authors' reply

Article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/bimj.200410172 Letter to the Editor: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/bimj.200710416     

Rejoinder

Article http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/bimj.4710360113 Letter to the editor http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/bimj.200810429     

Letter to the Editor

Regarding Paper “Sample size determination in clinical trials with multiple co‐primary endpoints including mixed continuous and binary variables” by T. Sozu , T. Sugimoto , and T. Hamasaki Biometrical Journal (2012) 54 (5): 716–729 Article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/bimj.201100221 Authors' Reply: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/bimj.201300032 This paper recently introduced a methodology for calculating the sample size in clinical trials with multiple mixed binary and continuous co‐primary endpoints modeled by the so‐called conditional grouped continuous model (CGCM). The purpose of this note is to clarify certain aspects of the methodology and propose an alternative approach based on latent means tests for the binary endpoints. We demonstrate that our approach is more powerful, yielding smaller sample sizes at powers comparable to those used in the paper.     

Letter to the Editor

Regarding Paper “Stratified Fisher's exact test and its sample size calculation” by Sin‐Ho Jung Biometrical Journal (2014) 56 (1): 129–140 Article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/bimj.201300048     

Cover Picture: Biotechnology Journal 2/2010

Cover illustration Focus: Transgenic Crops. This issue of BTJ highlights two articles about transgenic crops. Erlendsson et al. show for the first time that barley can be used as a green factory for growth factors (pp. 163–171); Herman et al. use a transclinic medicine model to access the safety of transgenic crops (pp. 172–182); Image © PhotoDisc/Getty Images. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/biot.200900111 ; http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/biot.200900217 .     

Photoacoustic and photothermal cytometry using photoswitchable proteins and nanoparticles with ultrasharp resonances

In the article by E. I. Galanzha et al. (doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jbio.201300140 ), published in J. Biophotonics 8, 81–93 (2015), the Conflict of Interest statement is missing. This erratum is published to correct this.     

Light‐emitting diode therapy in exercise‐trained mice increases muscle performance,cytochrome c oxidase activity,ATP and cell proliferation [J. Biophotonics 8, No. 9, 740–754 (2015)]

In the article by C. Ferraresi et al. (DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jbio.201400087 ), published in J. Biophotonics 8 , 740–754 (2015), a statement regarding the approval of some data the authors used is incorrect. This erratum is published to rectify this.     

Cover Picture: Biotechnology Journal 3/2014

This “regular” issue of Biotechnology Journal gathers the state‐of‐the‐art in biotechnology, including articles on CHO cells, plant biotechnology and tissue engineering. The cover image shows immunohistochemical staining of tissue sections using antibodies recognizing different target proteins (www.proteinatlas.org) and is provided by Sophia Hober et al., authors of “Antibody performance in western blot applications is context‐dependent” (http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/biot.201300341)     

Biotechnology in Asia

Cover illustration: The Asian Federation of Biotechnology (AFOB, http://www.afob.org ) was established to promote cooperation between all those interested in biotechnology in Asia and stimulate innovation and technology transfer with the goal of advancing biotechnology in Asia and the rest of the world. BTJ continues its cooperation with AFOB and Asian Congress on Biotechnology (ACB-2011), with a special issue of articles from selected invited speakers at the congress, edited by Jian-Jiang Zhong (Chair ACB-2011 Organizing Committee; SJTU, China), and Sang Yup Lee (BTJ's Editor-in-Chief; KAIST, Korea). Read the Editorial: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/201100445     

Predicting the spatial organization of chromosomes using epigenetic data

Chromosome folding can reinforce the demarcation between euchromatin and heterochromatin. Two new studies show how epigenetic data, including DNA methylation, can accurately predict chromosome folding in three dimensions. Such computational approaches reinforce the idea of a linkage between epigenetically marked chromatin domains and their segregation into distinct compartments at the megabase scale or topological domains at a higher resolution.Please see related articles: http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s13059-015-0741-y and http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/s13059-015-0740-z     

Micro- and Nanofluidics – Applications in Biotechnology

Cover illustration: Micro- and Nanofluidics – Applications in Biotechnology. This issue of BTJ edited by Hikmet Geckil and Utkan Demirci covers recent advances on BioMEMs (microelectromechanical systems used in biology) and lab-on-a-chip devices for cell and fluid manipulation, e.g. picoliter sequencing and PCR, as well as cytometry and imaging technologies. The cover image provided by Gurkan Yilmaz shows fluorescent particles moving inside a spiral channel in an dielectrophoretic particle separation experiment displayed by a fluorescent microscope. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/biot.201000204     

Cover Picture: Biotechnology Journal 8/2016

This regular issue of BTJ includes articles on biocatalysis, biochemical engineering, and bioprocess engineering. This cover page highlights the applications of biomolecules (e.g., proteins, enzymes, and DNA) in ionic liquids (ILs). The technological utility of biomolecules can be enhanced significantly by combining them with ILs. Image is provided by Magaret Sivapragasam, Muhammad Moniruzzaman, and Masahiro Goto authors of ”Recent advances in exploiting ionic liquids for biomolecules: Solubility, stability and applications“ ( http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/biot.201500603 ).     

Cellular & Molecular Bioengineering

Cover illustration: This issue includes articles presented at the International Conference on Cellular and Molecular Bioengineering (ICCMB) held in Singapore, August 2–4, 2010 and other articles on this topic, featuring stem cell stimulation, nanoparticle delivery and primary cell culture. The cover image shows a stereoscopic image of a Xenopus laevis tadpole 72 h after fertilization. This embryo was injected with quantum dots by near infrared laser injection as reported by Umanzor-Alvarez et al., in this issue. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/biot.201000205     

Cover Picture: Biotechnology Journal 5/2016

This regular issue of BTJ includes articles on biocatalysis, biomaterials, and industrial biotechnology. The cover picture shows several aspects of bacteriophage therapy, including phages adsorbing to bacterial cell surfaces, commercial preparations Pyo‐ and Intesi‐phages that are currently produced and used in Georgia, and administration of phages by medical staff to a patient. Image is provided by Aleksandre Ujmajuridze, Jon Caplin, Nino Chanishvili, and Aidan Coffey authors of ”Silk route to the acceptance and re‐implementation of bacteriophage therapy“ ( http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/biot.201600023 ).     

High quality draft genome sequence of the slightly halophilic bacterium Halomonas zhanjiangensis type strain JSM 078169T (DSM 21076T) from a sea urchin in southern China

Halomonas zhanjiangensis Chen et al. 2009 is a member of the genus Halomonas, family Halomonadaceae, class Gammaproteobacteria. Representatives of the genus Halomonas are a group of halophilic bacteria often isolated from salty environments. The type strain H. zhanjiangensis JSM 078169^T was isolated from a sea urchin (Hemicentrotus pulcherrimus) collected from the South China Sea. The genome of strain JSM 078169^T is the fourteenth sequenced genome in the genus Halomonas and the fifteenth in the family Halomonadaceae. The other thirteen genomes from the genus Halomonas are H. halocynthiae, H. venusta, H. alkaliphila, H. lutea, H. anticariensis, H. jeotgali, H. titanicae, H. desiderata, H. smyrnensis, H. salifodinae, H. boliviensis, H. elongata and H stevensii. Here, we describe the features of strain JSM 078169^T, together with the complete genome sequence and annotation from a culture of DSM 21076^T. The 4,060,520 bp long draft genome consists of 17 scaffolds with the 3,659 protein-coding and 80 RNA genes and is a part of Genomic Encyclopedia of Type Strains, Phase I: the one thousand microbial genomes (KMG) project.     

The ATM protein: The importance of being active

The ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM) protein kinase regulates the cellular response to deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) double-strand breaks by phosphorylating numerous players in the extensive DNA damage response network. Two papers in this issue (Daniel et al. 2012. J. Cell Biol. http://dx.doi.org/10.1083/jcb201204035; Yamamoto et al. 2012. J. Cell Biol. http://dx.doi.org/10.1083/jcb201204098) strikingly show that, in mice, the presence of a catalytically inactive version of ATM is embryonically lethal. This is surprising because mice completely lacking ATM have a much more moderate phenotype. The findings impact on basic cancer research and cancer therapeutics.     

Biotech Reviews

Cover illustration: Biotech Reviews. This special issue, edited by Sophia Hober (Stockholm, Sweden) covers review articles on key areas of biotechnology, synthetic biology, metabolic engineering as well as protein and biofuel engineering, nanobiotechnology, siRNA therapeutics and food biotechnology. Cover image: SPDM/localization microscopy of nanostructures in human cell nuclei, H2A proteins (red) and Snf2H proteins (green) in a human osteosarcoma cell nucleus (U2OS cells), provided by Manuel Gunkel, Heidelberg, Germany, taken from the Review on superresolution imaging by Cremer et al. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/biot.201100031 .