Dear PBAT-user,
Thank you for your continued use and support of PBAT. It’s because of you
and other faithful PBAT-users that PBAT has become such a success - beyond
my expectations. However, due to its success, my team and I have been
inundated with technical support requests and side projects that are making
it difficult for us to continue serving your needs. Therefore, I am excited
to announce that we have teamed up with Golden Helix to help ensure your
research needs are exceedingly met.
Golden Helix is a software company led by Christophe Lambert, PhD. from Duke
University. Christophe and his team are committed to the success of PBAT and
supporting a vibrant PBAT community. By working together we will make PBAT
easier to use, increase its functionality for family and population based
studies and ensure user support related issues are handled in a personal and
timely manner. Working with Golden Helix will also help me focus on my
research, developing needed new analysis methods for your benefit and the
advancement of genetic association studies.
So what does working together entail? Here are few key points from our
arrangement (more detailed information about each point is provided at the
end of this email):
1. Golden Helix recently released a commercial version of PBAT with a
graphical user interface which it has incorporated as a module into its
proprietary HelixTree software. This version is available for sale at a
modest price.
2. A major portion of royalties from sales of the commercial version will go
towards the development of needed new analysis methods and provide
financial assistance for students from developing countries.
3. PBAT v.3.3 and all subsequent releases will incorporate enhancements and
bug fixes developed jointly by me and Golden Helix. This will allow us to
release updates more frequently with increased functionality.
4. Golden Helix is now responsible for all user support issues, which it
offers as a service to those who purchase the commercial version. Golden
Helix works hard to resolve support issues within 24 hours – most likely the
same day.
5. The commercial version will be the one used for all PBAT short course
workshops. Furthermore, Golden Helix will give scholarships, time and
resources to support these workshops.
Taking all this into consideration, I have decided to no longer support new
updates of the freely available version of PBAT, but PBAT 3.2 will remain
available on my web-page.
Golden Helix and I understand that this may be inconvenient for you and
others because of insufficient funds. So to help bridge the funding gap,
Golden Helix has implemented a program called the Grant Anticipation Program
(GAP) that enables you to use the commercial version at a much smaller
upfront cost. All you have to do is provide proof that the purchase of PBAT
has been included as a line item in a recently applied for grant.
If you have any questions, comments or suggestions regarding the content of
this email, I encourage you to email me. You can also contact Golden Helix.
I have provided their contact information below.
With best wishes,
Christoph
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GUI version of PBAT available
With my guidance, Golden Helix recently released a commercial version of
PBAT with a graphical-user-interface (GUI). The GUI version has been
incorporated as a module into Golden Helix’s proprietary product, HelixTree®
v5.0. It is exceptionally user-friendly and can be used as a stand-alone
application or optionally combined with a comprehensive set of other genetic
analysis tools for family and population-based association studies.
Other important highlights include:
• HelixTree has a Project Navigator so you can now easily import, merge, and
analyze your data (pedigree/genotype/phenotype) as well as store and
annotate your results.
• HelixTree is Affymetrix GeneChip-compatible™ which allows you to directly
import Affymetrix .CHP files. You can also directly import a number of other
file formats including Illumina, HapMap and marker map data.
• HelixTree has a sparse storage mechanism making it more memory efficient
to store and analyze whole-genome datasets, even with extended pedigrees.
• Golden Helix can now make improvements to PBAT and we will continually
work together to improve functionality and fix software bugs.
In order to use the HelixTree/PBAT version you will need to purchase it from
Golden Helix. Discounted pricing is available for academic and non-profit
organizations and is actually pretty inexpensive relative to other
commercial software. For more information and to download a free evaluation
copy, please visit: www.goldenhelix.com/pbat.html.
User support services
User-support will now be handled by Golden Helix which it offers as a
service to those who purchase the commercial, GUI version of PBAT. By
purchasing the commercial package, you will now have access to a
comprehensive set of support services including:
• Personal and timely tech support (most tech support issues are answered
the same day they are received)
• Onsite and live webinar training
• Analysis consulting to help you design your studies and analyze your data
• Custom software development to help you rapidly integrate PBAT and other
methods into your workflow
For support related issues please contact: [log in to unmask]
Software availability and updates
PBAT v3.3 is due to be released on August, 17 and will include the following
new features:
• Fully supported power calculations for population-based studies.
• Estimation for gene-environment interactions and main effects. (The
estimation is robust against confounding due to population stratification.)
PBAT v3.3 and all subsequent updates will include improvements and bug fixes
developed jointly by me and Golden Helix. With Golden Helix’s help we will
be able to release more frequent updates making it possible for you to
experience a more user-friendly, efficient and powerful PBAT.
FBAT&PBAT Short Courses
The next PBAT short course will be held at the University of Ghent, Belgium
(September 11-13, 2006.) For this and all future short courses we will be
using the commercial version of PBAT. If you do not currently have access to
the GUI version, we will provide you with a free limited-time demo. Short
course attendees will also be eligible for a one-time, 10% discount on the
purchase of this new version.
Golden Helix’s contact information
Golden Helix, Inc.
716 S. 20th Avenue, Suite 102
Bozeman, MT 59718
Phone: 406-585-8137
Fax 406-522-1503
Homepage: www.goldenhelix.com
Support: [log in to unmask]
Information: [log in to unmask]
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Golden Helix welcomes your comments and suggestions on additional ways they
can help support the PBAT community. If you feel inclined, please write to
them at [log in to unmask] or call them at the number above.
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