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     

Letter to the Editor

Article http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/bimj.200710382 Authors reply http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/bimj.200810480     

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     

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     

Genome sequence and description of Aeromicrobium massiliense sp. nov.

Aeromicrobium massiliense strain JC14^Tsp. nov. is the type strain of Aeromicrobium massiliense sp. nov., a new species within the genus Aeromicrobium. This strain, whose genome is described here, was isolated from the fecal microbiota of an asymptomatic patient. Aeromicrobium massiliense is an aerobic rod-shaped gram-positive bacterium. Here we describe the features of this organism, together with the complete genome sequence and annotation. The 3,322,119 bp long genome contains 3,296 protein-coding and 51 RNA genes.     

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     

High quality draft genome sequence of Staphylococcus cohnii subsp. cohnii strain hu-01

Staphylococcus cohnii subsp. cohnii belongs to the family Staphylococcaceae in the order Bacillales, class Bacilli and phylum Firmicutes. The increasing relevance of S. cohnii to human health prompted us to determine the genomic sequence of Staphylococcus cohnii subsp. cohnii strain hu-01, a multidrug-resistant isolate from a hospital in China. Here we describe the features of S. cohnii subsp. cohnii strain hu-01, together with the genome sequence and its annotation. This is the first genome sequence of the species Staphylococcus cohnii.     

Genome sequence of the chromate-resistant bacterium Leucobacter salsicius type strain M1-8T

Leucobacter salsicius M1-8^T is a member of the Microbacteriaceae family within the class Actinomycetales. This strain is a Gram-positive, rod-shaped bacterium and was previously isolated from a Korean fermented food. Most members of the genus Leucobacter are chromate-resistant and this feature could be exploited in biotechnological applications. However, the genus Leucobacter is poorly characterized at the genome level, despite its potential importance. Thus, the present study determined the features of Leucobacter salsicius M1-8^T, as well as its genome sequence and annotation. The genome comprised 3,185,418 bp with a G+C content of 64.5%, which included 2,865 protein-coding genes and 68 RNA genes. This strain possessed two predicted genes associated with chromate resistance, which might facilitate its growth in heavy metal-rich environments.     

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     

Genome sequence and description of Corynebacterium ihumii sp. nov.

Corynebacterium ihumii strain GD7^T sp. nov. is proposed as the type strain of a new species, which belongs to the family Corynebacteriaceae of the class Actinobacteria. This strain was isolated from the fecal flora of a 62 year-old male patient, as a part of the culturomics study. Corynebacterium ihumii is a Gram positive, facultativly anaerobic, nonsporulating bacillus. Here, we describe the features of this organism, together with the high quality draft genome sequence, annotation and the comparison with other member of the genus Corynebacteria. C. ihumii genome is 2,232,265 bp long (one chromosome but no plasmid) containing 2,125 protein-coding and 53 RNA genes, including 4 rRNA genes. The whole-genome shotgun sequence of Corynebacterium ihumii strain GD7^T sp. nov has been deposited in EMBL under accession number GCA_000403725.