Center for Biofilm Engineering News Update:  January 2002 Volume 5, Issue 1   __________________________________________   Research Highlights   Recent Media   Biofouling - the Journal of Bioadhesion and Biofilm Research, published a CBE diagram on the front cover of a recent issue. The diagram was submitted by Dr. Lewandowski's Structure and Function Research Group and appears in Volume 17(3) 2001.     _______   Ranking Publications   The Science Citation Index (SCI) ranks journals by the "impact factor" developed by Eugene Garfield and first published in 1964. The SCI ranks 7,000 journals in 230 categories from 3,000 publishers in over 60 countries. A publication is ranked by the number of times it is cited in other publications. The more a publication is cited the higher the impact factor rating it receives. The Citation Index eliminates the bias that publications with more frequent issues would have over quarterly publications or annual reviews, the bias of large journals over small ones, and the bias that older journals could have over newer ones. Readers should also keep in mind that the number of citations is influenced by the size of a scientific community interested in the work. A lower impact rating should not be interpreted as less important work. Obviously, technical publications have a smaller readership and will be cited less than more widely read reviews. In 2000, over 3,000 scientific journals ranked below 1 and only 19 journals ranked above 20. The listing below shows the YR 2000 ranking of scientific journals the CBE has published in or has been quoted in YR 2001 (listed by increasing impact factor).  Natural History (0.08*) Water Science and Technology (0.5*) ASM News (0.6*) Water Research (1.3*) Journal of Applied Microbiology (1.5*) Journal of Microbiological Methods (1.5*) Biofouling (1.8*) Biotechnology and Bioengineering (2.2*) Scientific American (2.2*) Applied and Environmental Microbiology (3.4*) Journal of Bacteriology (3.5*) Infection & Immunity (4.2*) Current Opinion in Microbiology (5.4*) Trends in Microbiology (6.0*) Lancet (10.2*) Science (23.8*) Nature (25.8*) *Impact factor For more information on the ISI's impact factoring, see  The Impact Factor - http://www.isinet.com/isi/hot/essays/journalcitationreports/7.html Using the Impact Factor - http://www.isinet.com/isi/hot/essays/journalcitationreports/8.html   _______   High Impact Article by a CBE Scientist Environmental Science & Technology (ES&T) recently published an article about its 10 most cited papers. Since the science from these papers is already well known, the ES&T tells about the people, events and issues that led to these publications.   CBE's statistician, Marty Hamilton, was lead author of one of these 10 most cited papers, “Trimmed Spearman-Karber Method for Estimating Median Lethal Concentrations in Toxicity Bioassays” by Martin Hamilton, Rosemarie Russo, and Robert V. Thurston, Montana State University-Bozeman; 1977, 11, 714–719.   While the article does not focus on biofilm research, it aptly depicts how a research method can be developed, applied to many disciplines, and contribute significantly to research. This research method developed in 1977 by Dr. Hamilton and his MSU colleagues, is still used  extensively.   The article on most cited papers can be found in the magazine section of the journal Environmental Science and Technology, December 1, 2001 Volume 35, No. 23, pp 488A–494A at the web address http://pubs.acs.org/journals/esthag/index_magazine.html.  Click on the link to High Impact Research.  Marty's paper is under the title "Connecting dead fish with the Olympics." NOTE: The ES&T article has been linked with permission from The American Chemical Society.  NOTE: ES&T's impact rating for YR 2000 was 3.0     _______   Standarized Biofilm Methods Research Area News   Marty Hamilton was recently appointed to be a member of a Task Group on Disinfectants by the Association of Official Analytical Chemists - International (AOAC). The mission of the task group is to modernize AOAC disinfectant test methods (AOAC Official Methods of Analysis, Chapter 6, Disinfectants). The Task Group has 10-12 members and is chaired by Norm Miner of MicroChem. Darla Goeres is a continuing member on the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) Subcommittee E35.15. Her goal on this committee is to help facilitate the creation of standard methods for the growth, treatment and quantification of biofilms. Paul Sturman will be participating in the Dental Unit Water Line (DUWL) methods development task force meeting to be held in Chicago on February 20, 2002. The meeting will be attended by academic, industrial, and governmental scientists and will seek to form a consensus on testing methodologies for quantifying attached microbial growth in DUWL. Marty and Darla will be reporting on the progress of these groups at the Technical Advisory Committee meeting, Montana State University-Bozeman, February 14-15, 2002.     _________________________________________   Welcome New Industrial Associate Members   Church and Dwight Co., Inc. Church and Dwight Co. manufacture a wide variety of consumer products, the best known of which is Arm and Hammer Baking Soda. The designated representative for the company is Mel Czechowski. Mel was formerly a representative of Betz Dearborn. The Church and Dwight Company's website is http://www.churchanddwight.com DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc. DePuy Orthopaedics, Inc. is a leading designer, manufacturer and distributor of orthopaedic devices and supplies including hip, knee, ankle, shoulder, wrist, elbow, and finger replacements, and operating room products. Max Sherman is the designated representative. DePuy Orthopaedics' website is http://www.depuy.com/about/index.html     _________________________________________   Research Associate Position Announcement   The Center for Biofilm Engineering at Montana State University is recruiting a Research Associate to be responsible for the laboratory implementation of all project research conducted in the Biofilm Systems Training Laboratory. A Masters of Science in microbiology or a closely related field is required. To view the complete position description go to: http://www.montana.edu/msuinfo/jobs/prof/sn440-3.htm.     _________________________________________   Upcoming CBE Workshops and Meetings   See the Events Calendar at http://www.erc.montana.edu/CBEssentials-SW/whats_new/index.htm     __________________________________________   CBE People in Action   Dr. Zbigniew Lewandowski presented a poster "Staphylococcus aureus and Toxic Shock Syndrome," ASM Meeting, Chicago, IL, December 15-18, 2001. Dr. Phil Stewart presented "Antibiotic Resistance in Biofilms" in the Session: Biofilms in Chronic Infections, Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC) Meeting, Chicago, IL, December 17-19, 2001. Dr. Bill Costerton as invited speaker presented "Anti-Biofilm Strategies for IV Catheter-Associated Infections" and "Biofilms: An Overview," to the 41st Interscience Conference on Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy (ICAAC), Chicago, IL, December 16-19, 2001.  __________________________________________   Theses   See theses abstracts at http://www.erc.montana.edu/Res-Lib99-SW/pubs/Theses/default.htm     __________________________________________   Web Watch   Biofilm Websites Receive Recognition   The online magazine, Nature Science, recently showed the websites of the Biofilm Institute, Inc. and the Biofilms Online Manual by Dr. John Lennox, as linkouts from a biofilm-related article, "Seaweed inspires antibacterial," 11 January 2002.      Subscribe to the BiofilmsOnline.com Newsletter   A newsletter subscription will keep you notified of recent postings in the Biofilm News, Patents and Research Digest. The Subscribe link is located under Current Contents.  See the BiofilmsOnline.com December issue at http://www.BiofilmsOnline.com.   _______   Industry Sponsored Research   The CBE has developed new web pages with information about Industry Sponsored Research. Check the Recent Web Updates pages to locate the latest information posted on the CBE web. See http://www.erc.montana.edu/Recent%20Web%20Updates/default.htm     __________________________________________   Upcoming CBE Events & Other Upcoming Workshops and Meetings   http://www.erc.montana.edu/CBEssentials-SW/whats_new/index.htm     __________________________________________   Newsletter Listserve   The CBE News Update is a listserve newsletter. If you need to subscribe or unsubscribe from the listserve, follow the directions at the following CBE website.   http://www.erc.montana.edu/Res-Lib99-SW/newsarchives/subscribe.htm   An alternative to subscribing to the listserve is to view the CBE News Update on our web page at http://www.erc.montana.edu/Ind-Col99-SW/Current_Newsletter/default.htm. Newsletter archives can be found at http://www.erc.montana.edu/Res-Lib99-SW/newsarchives/index.htm   __________________________________________   Diane Williams  editor of the CBE News Update