Giraffa camelopardalis) as well as e.g. suboptimal housing conditions for animals in captivity might lead to behavioural alterations as part of the overall adaptation process to the changing living conditions. In order to facilitate current and future studies on giraffe behaviour, a comprehensive ethogram was compiled based on existing literature, as well as observations on giraffes in the wild , and in captivity .Numerous factors like continuous habitat reduction or fragmentation for free-ranging giraffes (The resulting ethogram lists 65 different behavioural patterns, which were described and grouped into seven categories: General activities, Abnormal repetitive behaviours, General interactions, Bull-Cow behaviour, Bull-Bull behaviour, Cow-Bull behaviour, Maternal behaviours, and Interactions by calves. The behaviours were further described regarding a presumed purpose, particularly with respect to social interactions and sexual behaviour. Contradictory descriptions from previous studies were considered and discussed in comparison with our own observations.This ethogram provides a basis for current and future studies by suggesting a terminology which can be used for harmonizing behavioural observations, thus helping to facilitate comparability of future results. Subsequently, a better understanding of the behavioural ecology of giraffes in the wild as well as in captivity could aid future conservation efforts. Giraffa camelopardalis) is the tallest land-living animal and the only extant species of its genus [Giraffa, a division into nine subspecies are generally accepted [The giraffe , Zimbabwe, Entabeni Game Reserve (EGR), South Africa, and at the National Zoological Gardens of South Africa (NZG) in Pretoria.In a similar approach to other studies e.g. ,25, the Activities  and Interactions .All behaviours were described as brief and definite as possible, according to the descriptions by other authors and our own observations. In this regard, we tried to comment regarding the behaviours apparent social and/or ecological context, and assumed purpose. The resulting list of behaviours is divided into two main groups; In total, 104 publications  on giraffe behaviour, ecology, and general biology were reviewed for descriptions of behavioural patterns in wild and captive giraffes, listed in the Appendix.ad-libitum and all-occurrence sampling [2 in western Zimbabwe and is entirely unfenced. A presumably stable population of roughly 2800 giraffes are estimated to live in HNP and adjacent areas [Giraffes were predominantly observed using sampling . As an ent areas . Lions ant areas , and als2 and is entirely fenced. An otherwise unmanaged population of about 45 giraffes were kept in the reserve during the time of observation. Lions, cheetahs, and leopards are also present.About 40 giraffes were additionally observed on a daily basis in EGR for three weeks in September 2011. EGR is a private game reserve, covering 250 kmIn order to collect data on an abnormal repetitive behaviour in a captive animal, two adult giraffes  housed at NZG, were also briefly observed for 7 hours in February 2011.Activities and 35 Interactions. Activities were subdivided further into General activities  were also observed between other constellations of sex and age, thus listed under general interactions.This section includes behaviours which are characterised by any type of direct or indirect social interaction between individual giraffes. Behaviours of the This ethogram was compiled to serve as a basis for current and future studies designed to further examine the complex behavioural patterns of the species. Based on our own observations, several often older descriptions could be verified and even new insights added to what is stated in literature.activities and interactions might appear rather clear from a definition point of view, but should be used with precaution, because the complete intention and purpose of an observed behaviour always remains an interpretation based on a projection of the observer’s conception. The animal’s behaviour can not be reduced to the sum of different behavioural acts, which is why clear and precise terminology is essential to create a common language understandable among human observers and to contribute to the understanding of wildlife behaviour.The classification of the described behaviours into General Interactions), it is worth noting that many of these behaviours were originally described as exclusively exaggerated by one sex, or by a specific age class. However, during our observations, we also register the performance of these behaviours by the respective opposite sex, or across age classes, respectively.Regarding social interactions not restricted to one sex or age class  intention were summarised. Nevertheless, future studies might be able to reveal various forms of play behaviour in giraffe, similar to that of other ungulates, although probably not as pronounced as e.g. in horses .Several behaviours, although often only observed in form of an attempt  are classified as separate behaviours in this ethogram, because attempts seem to be distinct and important, therefore these behaviours might be considered as a separate sub-section in an ethogram used for observations.Dominance gesture), as it is also seen in other ungulates, e.g. horses [dominance and thus is also described contradictory in literature. According to Pratt and Anderson [dominance, a distance dependent expression for submission might be considered. In this regard, the plasticity of social behaviour and communication patterns should be borne in mind during conduction and interpretation of behavioural observations.It must be also mentioned, that for the visual communication of dominance, contradictory descriptions are given in literature. Pratt and Anderson  report t. horses  or reind. horses . The visAnderson ,27, the Anderson  reports Observed behaviours should be interpreted carefully and the researcher should consider the animal’s intention not only for the moment and place of observation but also on a larger temporal and spatial scale. An animal’s original intention is in many cases difficult to evaluate and rather oblique, which applies particularly to large animals like the giraffe with its rarely assessable visual facilities . FurtherA comprehensive and reliable tool to monitor giraffe behaviour in the wild as well as in captivity is a necessity to gain a better understanding of the giraffe’s life-history requirements. Subsequently, gaining a better understanding of giraffe behaviour will help to develop more effective conservation strategies for improving giraffe management in the wild and in captivity by creating species-tailored management plans.Journal of Wildlife Rehabilitation 27, 16-21.Awange JL, Aseto O, Ong’ang’a O (2004): A case study on the impact of giraffes in Ruma National Park, Kenya. Instit. Pares. Nat. Cong. Ruanda-Urund, Bruxelles. 202 pp.Backhaus D (1961): Beobachtungen an Giraffen in Zoologischen Gärten und freier Wildbahn. Giraffa camelopardalis). Journal of Comparative Psychology 121 No.1, 46-53.Bashaw MJ, Bloomsmith MA, Maple TL, Bercovitch FB (2007): The structure of social relationships among captive female giraffe : Consistency of captive giraffe behaviour under two different management regimes. . Animal Welfare 10, 281-290.Baxter E & Plowman AB (2001): The effect of increasing fibre on feeding, rumination and oral stereotypies in captive giraffes Journal of Mammalogy 85 No. 3, 428-431.Bercovitch FB, Bashaw MJ, Penny CG, Rieches RG (2004): Maternal investment in captive giraffes. . Hormones and Behavior 50, 314-321.Bercovitch FB, Bashaw MJ, del Castillo SM (2006): Sociosexual behaviour, male mating tactics, and the reproductive cycle of giraffe Giraffa camelopardalisAfrican Journal of Ecology 48, 962-971.Bercovitch FB & Berry PS (2009): Ecological determinants of her size in the Thornicroft’s giraffe in Zambia. African Journal of Ecology 48, 535-538.Bercovitch FB & Berry PS (2009): Reproductive life history of Thornicroft‘s giraffe in Zambia. Giraffa camelopüardalis) at Leipzig zoo. Erkrankungen der Zootiere 41, 327-328.Bernhard A, Eulenberger K (2003): Hand-rearing of a giraffe : Range movements of giraffe in the Luangwa Valley, Zambia. Onderstepoort Journal of Veterinary Research 75, 1-9.Bredin IP, Skinner JD, Mitchell G (2008): Can osteophagy provide giraffes with phosphorus and calcium? Giraffa camelopardalis angolensis. African Journal of Ecology 47, 720-728.Brenneman RA, Louis EEJr, Fennessy J (2009): Genetic structure of two populations of the Namibian Giraffe, Giraffa camelopardalis rothschildi) in Lake Nakuru National Park, Kenya. African Journal of Ecology 47, 711-719.Brenneman RA, Bagine, RK, Brown, DM, Ndetei R, Louis EEJr (2009): Implications of closed ecosystem conservation management: the decline of Rothschild’s giraffe  in Mokolodi Reserve, Botswana. University of Uppsala, Minor Fied Study.Blomqvist PA & Renberg L (2007): Feeding behaviour of Giraffe : The sex ratio of the giraffe. BMC Biology. doi:10.1186/1741-7007-5-57.Brown DM, Brenneman RA, Koepfli KP, Pollinger JP, Milá B, Georgiadis NJ, Louis EEJr, Grether GF, Jacobs DK, Wayne RK (2007): Extensive population structure in the giraffe. Giraffa camelopardalis peralta) in Niger. African Jorunal of Ecology 41, 201-210.Caister LE, Shields WM, Gosser A (2003): Female tannin avoidance: a possible explanation for habitat and dietary segregation of giraffes : Winning by a neck: tall giraffes avoid competing with shorter browsers. Giraffa camelopardalis. Animal Behaviour 69, 1337-1344.Cameron EZ & du Toit J. (2005): Social influence on vigilance behaviour in giraffes, Journal of Zoology, London 151, 313-321.Coe MJ (1967): Necking behaviour in the Giraffe. Rev. Écol. (Terre Vie) 64, 351-358.Ciofolo I, Ambouta K, Le Pendu Y (2009): Les dernières girafes d’Afrique de l’ouest: sauvegarde assure ou avenbir menacé? Mammalia 66, 183-194.Ciofolo I & Le Pendu Y (2002): The feeding behaviour of giraffe in Niger. Journal of Tropical Ecology 11, 577-588.Ciofolo I (1995): West Africa’s last giraffes: the conflict between development and conservation. Giraffa camelopardalis): Mesowear analysis classifies free-ranging specimens as browsers but captive ones as grazers. Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine 38, 433-445.Claus M, Franz-Odendaal TA, Brasch J, Castell JC, Kaiser T (2007): Tooth wear in captive giraffes  to the introduction of a tannin-containing pellet. Erkrankungen der Zootiere 41, 343.Clauss M, Flach EJ, Lechner-Doll M, Hatt JM (2003) Reaction of a group of captive giraffe Mammalia 26, 497-505.Dagg, AI (1962) The distribution of the giraffe in Africa. Journal of Mammalogy 51 No. 2, 279-287.Dagg AI (1970): Tactile encounters in a Herd of Captive Giraffes. Mammalian species 5, 1-8.Dagg AI (1971): Giraffa camelopardalis. Mammalia 34 No. 4, 686-695.Dagg AI & Taub A (1970): Flehmen. Giraffa camelopardalis) reproductive condition and the impact of endocrine status on daily time budgets. General and Comparative Endocrinology 141, 271-281.del Castillo SM, Bashaw MJ, Patton ML, Rieches RR, Bercovitch FB (2005): Fecal steroid analysis of female giraffe . Journal of Zoo and Wildlife Medicine 3,255-261.Dumonceaus GA, Baumann JE, Camilo GR (2006): Evaluation of progesterone in feces of captive reticulated giraffe : Effects of body size on the diurnal activity budget of African browsing ruminants. Giraffa camelopardalis angolensis in northwestern Namibia. University of Sydney, Australia, Phd thesis.Fennessy J (2004): Ecology of desert-dwelling giraffe Giraffa camelopardalis angolensis in the Northern Namib Desert. African Journal of Ecology 47 No. 3, 318-327.Fennessy J (2009): Home range and seasonal movements of Giraffa camelopardalis. IUCN 2010. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2010.3.Fennessy J & Brown D (2010): Journal of Tropical Ecology 22, 247-253.Fleming PA, Hofmeyr SD, Nicolson SW, du Toit JT (2006): Are giraffes pollinators of flower predators of Acacia nigrescens in Kruger National Park, South Africa? East African Wildlife Journal 10, 1-16.Foster J & Dagg I (1972): Notes on the biology of the giraffe. East African Wildlife Journal 4, 139-148Foster JB (1966) The giraffe of Nairobi National Park: home ranges, sex ratios, the herd and food. Theriogenology 29, 248.Gilbert DE, Loskutoff NM, Dorn CG, Nemec LA, Calle PP, Kraemer DC, Threlfall WR, Raphael BL (1988): Hormonal manipulation and ultrsonographic monitoring of ovarian activity in the giraffe. Oecologia 110, 291-300.Ginnett TF, Demment MW (1997) Sex differences in giraffe foraging behaviour at two spatial scales. African Journal of Ecology 37, 93-106.Ginnett TF, Demment MW (1999): Sexual segregation by Masai giraffes at two spatial scales. http://www.giraffeconservation.org/giraffe_facts.php?pgid=40 .Giraffe Conservation Foundation: The Facts. URL: Giraffa camelopardalis). Journal of Reproduction and Fertility 40, 45-50.Gombe S, Kayanja FI (1974): Ovarian progestins in Masai giraffe : The past distribution of giraffe in Zululand and its implications for reserve management. Grubb P (2005): Artiodactyla. In: D. E. Wilson and D. M. Reeder (eds), Mammal Species of the World. A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed), 637-722. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, USA.South African Journal of Science 70, No. 4, 122-123.Hall-Martin AJ (1974): Notes on utilization of different vegetation types by giraffe. Giraffa camelopardalis. D.Sc. thesis, University of Pretoria.Hall-Martin AJ (1975): Studies on the biology and productivity of the giraffe, East African Wildlife Journal 13, 237-248.Hall-Martin AJ, Skinner JD, van Dyk JM (1975): Reproduction in the giraffe in relation to some environmental factors. Giraffa camelopardalis. Journal of Reproduction and Fertility 52, 1-7.Hall-Martin AJ, Skinner JD, Hopkins BJ (1978): The development of the reproductive organs of the male giraffe, Giraffa camelopardalis). South African Journal on Wildlife Research 8, 91-94.Hall-Martin AJ & Skinner JD (1978): Observations on puberty and pregnancy in female giraffe : Mitochondrial DNA variablity in Giraffa camelopardalis: consequences for taxonmoy, phlyogeography and conservation of giraffes in West and central Africa. Zoo Biology 2, 105-125.Horwich R, Ktichen C, Wangel M, Ruthe R (1983): Behavioral development in Okapis and Giraffes. Giraffa camelopardalis, in the eastern Transvaal. Proceedings of the Zoological Society, London 131, 245-275.Innis AC (1958): The behaviour of giraffe, Journal of Reproduction and Development 53, 159-164.Isobe N, Nakao T, Shimada M, Fukumoto Y, Watanabe H, Minami S, Noda A, Yoshimura Y (2007) Fecal progestagen and estrone during pregnancy in a giraffe: a case report. http://www.aszk.org.au/docs/giraffe.pdf (accessed September 29 2010).Jolly L (2003): Giraffe husbandry manual. URL: Giraffa camelopardalis in the Willem-Pretorius-Game-Reserve, Orange Free State. South African Journal of Wildlife Research 10, 45-55.Kok, OB, Opperman, DP (1980): Feeding behaviour of giraffe Giraffa camelopardalis reticulata). South African Journal of Zoology 14, 108.Kristal MB, Noonan M (1979): Note on sleep in captive giraffes : Perinatal maternal and neonatal behaviour in the captive reticulated giraffeGiraffa camelopardalis) in the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park. Msc Thesis, University of Pretoria.Kruger JW (1994): The feeding ecology and behaviour of re-introduced giraffe : Ecological separation of the large mamal species in the Tarangire game reserve, Tanganyika. The Journal of Wildlife Management 42, 141-147.Langman VA (1978): Giraffe pica behaviour and pathology as indicator of nutritional stress. East African Wildlife Journal 10, 129-141.Leuthold BM & Leuthold W (1972) Food habbits of giraffe in Tsavo National Park, Kenya. East African Wildlife Journal 16, 231-243.Leuthold BM & Leuthold W (1978) Daytime activity patterns of gerenuk and giraffe in Tsavo National Park, Kenya. African Journal of Ecology 17, 19-34.Leuthold B (1979): Social organization and behaviour of giraffe in Tsavo East National Park. East African Wildlife Journal 16 No. 1, 1-20.Leuthold BM & Leuthold W (1978): Ecology of giraffes in Tsavo-East National Park, Kenya. African Journal of Ecology 38,78-85.Le Pendu Y, Ciofolo I, Gosser A (2000): The social organization of giraffes in Niger. Journal of Tropical Ecology 15, 341-353.Le Pendu Y & Ciofolo I (1999): Seasonal movements of giraffes in Niger. Biodiversity and Conservation 18, 2663-2677.Leroy R, de Visscher Ma, Halidou O, Boureima A (2009): The las African white giraffes live in farmer’s fields. Giraffa camelopardalis) and the Okapi (Okapia johnstoni). Zoo Biology 5, 331-338.Loskutoff NM, Walker L, Ott-Joslin JE, Raphael BL, Lasley BL (1986): Urinary steroid evaluations to monitor ovarian function in exotic ungulates: II. Comparison between the giraffe . Theriogenology 72, 22-31.Lueders I, Niemuller C, Pootoolal J, Rich P, Gray C, Streich WJ, Hildebrandt TB (2009): Sonomorphology of the reproductive tract in male and pregnant and nonpregnant female Rothschild‘s giraffes . Biology of Reproduction 81, 989-995.Lueders I, Hildebrandt TB, Pootoolal J, Rich P, Gray C (2009): Ovarian ultrasonography correlated with fecal progestins and estradiol during the estrous cycle and early pregnancy in giraffes : On the subspecies of Redvet 7, 2-6.Martinez del Castillo G (2006): Correction of the hoofs due to abnormal growth in juvenile captive giraffes. Giraffa camelopardalis. Transactions of the Society of South Africa 58 No. 1, 51-73.Mitchell G & Skinner JD (2003): On the origin, evolution and phylogeny of giraffes Journal of Zoology 278, 281-286.Mitchell G, van Sittert SJ, Skinner JD (2009): Sexual selection is not the origin of long necks in giraffes. Nowak RM (1999): Walker's Mammals of the World. Johns Hopkins University Press.East African Wildlife Journal 8, 53-62.Nesbit Evans EM (1970) The reaction of a group of Rothschild’s giraffe to a new environment. Giraffa camelopardalis) in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. MSc thesis, Rhodes University.Parker DM (2004): The feeding biology and potential impact of introduced giraffe . Australian Zoologist 9, 452-454.Patten RA (1940): Breeding the giraffe : The giraffe and its food resource in the Serengeti. I: Composition, biomass and production of available browse. African Journal of Ecology 21, 269-283.Pellew RA (1983): The giraffe and its food resource in the Serengeti. II. Response of the giraffe population to changes in the food supply. Journal of Applied Ecology 21, No. 1, 141-159.Pellew RA (1984): Food consumption and energy budgets of the giraffe. Animal Behaviour 79, 665-671.Périquet S, Valeix M, Loveridge AJ, Madzikanda H, MacDonald DW & Fritz H (2010): Individual vigilance of African herbivores while drinking: the role of immediate predation risk and context. Journal of experimental Biology 209, iii.Phillips K (2006): How giraffes keep the pressure up. Journal of Mammalogy 4, 574.Pournele GH (1955): Notes on the reproduction of a Baringo giraffe. Journal of Natural History 16, 481-489.Pratt DM & Anderson VH (1982): Population, distribution and behaviour of giraffe in the Arusha National Park, Tanzania. Journal of Natural History 19, 771-781.Pratt DM & Anderson VH (1985): Giraffe social behaviour. Zeitschrift für Tierpsychologie 51, 233-251.Pratt DM & Anderson VH (1979): Giraffe cow-calf relationships and social development of the calf in the Serengeti. Giraffa camelopardalis in the arid bushveld of the eastern Transvaal. South African Journal of Wildlife Research 7, 53-59.Sauer JJ, Theron GK, Skinner JD (1977): Food preferences of giraffe Giraffa camelopardalis reticulate de Winston). African Journal of Ecology 47, 374-381.Shorrocks B & Croft DP (2009): Necks and networks: a preliminary study of population structure in the reticulated giraffe  in Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe. African Journal of Ecology, DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2028.2011.01314.xSeeber PA, Ndlovu HT, Duncan P, Ganswindt A (2012a): Grazing behaviour of the giraffe (Suraud JP (2011): Identifying conservation constraints for the last West African giraffe: population dynamics determining factors and spatial distribution pattern. PhD thesis, University of Lyon.Zoo Biology 27, 200-212.Tarou Fernendez L, Bashaw MJ, Sartor RL, Bouwens NR, Maki TS (2008): Tongue twisters: feeding enrichment to reduce oral stereotypy in giraffe. Zoo Biology 19, 41-51.Tarou L, Bashaw MJ, Maple TL (2000): Social attachment in giraffe: Response to social separation. Giraffa camelopardalis) in Lake Manyara National Park, Tanzania. Journal of Zoology 251, 15-21.van der Jeugd HP & Prins HT (2000): Movements and group structure of giraffe  as a model. Animal Welfare 5, 139-153.Veasey JS, Waran NK, Young RJ (1996): On comparing the behaviour of zoo housed animals with wild conspecifics as a welfare indicator, using the giraffe : Infrasound and low frequency vocalizations from the giraffe; Helmholtz resonance in biology. Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology 3, 107-108.Wang T, Brondum E, Hasenkam M, Secher N, Bertelsen M, Grondahl C, Kastberg K, Buhl R, Aalkjaer C, Baandrup U, Nygaard H, Smerup M, Sloth E, Nissen P, Runge M (2008): Blood flows and pressures when the giraffe lowers its head. East African Wildlife Journal 9, 156-157.Western D (1971): Giraffe chewing a Grant’s gazelle carcass. Lammergeyer 17, 67.Woods TD (1972): The precopulatory behaviour in male giraffe. East African Wildlife Journal 9, 157.Wyatt JR (1971): Osteophagia in Masai giraffe. Ethology 87, 79-89.Young TP & Isbell LA (1991): Sex differences in Giraffe feeding ecology: energetic and social constraints. Giraffa camelopardalis) during winter. Chinese Journal of Zoology 39, 76-78.Yuan J, Dong G, Zhang D (2004): The activity pattern of giraffe (The authors declare that they have no competing interests.PAS and AG conceived the study and drafted the manuscript. IC reviewed the initial draft and contributed on information and behavioural interpretation. All authors contributed to, read, and approved the final manuscript.General Activities ,23,26-28Click here for fileAbnormal repetitive behaviours ,30,45,46Click here for fileGeneral Interactions ,44,47-50Click here for fileBull Cow Behaviour ,23,27.Click here for fileBull-Bull Behaviour ,23,41,60Click here for fileCow - Bull Behaviour ,27.Click here for fileBehavioural Interactions by Calves ,42,47.Click here for fileMaternal behaviour ,42,55. Click here for file


For nearly a century, ethnobiologists have collaborated with local community members in their efforts to document and safeguard our planet’s rich and varied biocultural heritage. Work in ethnobiology and ethnomedicine, including ethnobotany, ethnozoology, and ethnoecology, necessarily entails meticulous and rigorous systematic observation of the myriad ways indigenous and local communities cognize, utilize, and classify the floral and faunal resources on which they depend for survival. By its very nature, ethnobiology synthesizes humanism, ethnoscience, and empirical data collection and hypothesis-testing. Clearly, ethnographic and methodological flexibility are critical historically to the present and future successes of the programs we create and carry forth into the world.The practice of ethnobiology is itself inevitably capable of advancing pedagogies with real and lasting applications for students with only cursory knowledge of first-hand field experiences. Medical ethnobiology and ethnobotany, including ethnopharmacology, ethnoecology, conservation biology, and their related fields and approaches, are poised to evaluate carefully the richly and distinctly expressive component of our projects, wherever they are located geographically and situated culturally. Personal experiences, narratives, and reflections are occasionally minimized to varying degrees in the now-expansive body of ethnobiological and ethnomedical literature. Although notable exceptions certainly exist, our goal in the next months is to expand the scope of dialogue by turning attention to the most engaging forms of ethnography within ethnobiological accounts--that is, we seek to capture the stories, chronicles, imaginations, and memoirs of ethnnobiologists.Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine will begin to offer editorials drafted by several international ethnobiologists, who report their first-hand recollections of their earliest field experiences. These, we believe, are uniquely capable of rendering interpersonal interactions comprehensible and meaningful in vastly innovative, sometimes subtle, and often unexpected ways for students who are new to the field especially, and for intermediate and seasoned scholars with vested interests in the well-being of the communities they study.Every few months the Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine, our goal is to ready readers for the array of voices, narratives, admissions, tribulations, engagements, and experiences of scholars whose works reveal how ethnobiological research is personalized and internalized, how friendships are forged, how emotions, responses, and senses are heightened in the process, and how casual and intimate field experiences coalesce and emerge through the lives and minds of scholars working early in their careers.In introducing this novelty within the Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine we intend to provide readers a vibrant portrait of productive and rewarding learning journeys in the growing disciplines of ethnobiology and ethnomedicine.Readers with established research programs in ethnomedicine and ethnobiology will find the essays provocative and revealing. Undergraduate and graduate students from various programs worldwide may find these recollections compelling, inspiring, illuminating, and encouraging. We also hope they speak to the curiosities and mysteries associated inextricably with “first time encounters” in field settings. In publishing this series of essays in the


Most researchers acknowledge an intrinsic hierarchy in the scholarly journals  that they submit their work to, and adjust not only their submission but also their reading strategies accordingly. On the other hand, much has been written about the negative effects of institutionalizing journal rank as an impact measure. So far, contributions to the debate concerning the limitations of journal rank as a scientific impact assessment tool have either lacked data, or relied on only a few studies. In this review, we present the most recent and pertinent data on the consequences of our current scholarly communication system with respect to various measures of scientific quality . These data corroborate previous hypotheses: using journal rank as an assessment tool is bad scientific practice. Moreover, the data lead us to argue that any journal rank (not only the currently-favored Impact Factor) would have this negative impact. Therefore, we suggest that abandoning journals altogether, in favor of a library-based scholarly communication system, will ultimately be necessary. This new system will use modern information technology to vastly improve the filter, sort and discovery functions of the current journal system. Science is the bedrock of modern society, improving our lives through advances in medicine, communication, transportation, forensics, entertainment and countless other areas. Moreover, today's global problems cannot be solved without scientific input and understanding. The more our society relies on science, and the more our population becomes scientifically literate, the more important the reliability [i.e., veracity and integrity, or, “credibility”  used to communicate scientific results is thus central, not only to the composition of the scientific community at large (by selecting its members), but also to science's position in society. In recent years, the scientific study of the effectiveness of such measures of quality control has grown.http://retractionwatch.com), while 2011 has been described as the “the year of the retraction”  , or statistical methodology have also been tested. Four different studies on levels of evidence in medical and/or psychological research have found varying results. While two studies on surgery journals found a correlation between IF and the levels of evidence defined in the respective studies . Some of the sociological mechanisms behind these correlations have been documented, such as pressure to publish , leading to the potential for decreased ethical standards  reveal two very informative trends Figure . First, The only measure of citation count that does correlate strongly with journal rank (negatively) is the number of articles without any citations at all , normalized by the number of articles in that journal (the denominator). However, there is evidence that IF is, at least in some cases, not calculated but negotiated, that it is not reproducible, and that, even if it were reproducibly computed, the way it is derived is not mathematically sound. The fact that publishers have the option to negotiate how their IF is calculated is well-established—in the case of PLoS Medicine, the negotiation range was between 2 and about 11  journal rank is a weak to moderate predictor of utility and perceived importance; (2) journal rank is a moderate to strong predictor of both intentional and unintentional scientific unreliability; (3) journal rank is expensive, delays science and frustrates researchers; and, (4) journal rank as established by IF violates even the most basic scientific standards, but predicts subjective judgments of journal quality.While our latter two conclusions appear uncontroversial, the former two are counter-intuitive and require explanation. Weak correlations between future citations and journal rank based on IF may be caused by the poor statistical properties of the IF. This explanation could (and should) be tested by using any of the existing alternative ranking tools available  and computing correlations with the metrics discussed above. However, a recent analysis shows a high correlation between these ranks, so no large differences would be expected , but also contains at least equally strong, consistent effects of journal rank predicting scientific unreliability . Neither group of studies can thus be easily dismissed, suggesting that the incentives journal rank creates for the scientific community  at best cancel each other out. Such unintended consequences are well-known from other fields where metrics are applied , in an attempt to market their research to the top journals  the most important discoveries. Likewise, virtually any functionality the current system offers would easily be replicable in the system we envisage. However, above and beyond replicating current functionality, an open, standardized scholarly literature would place any and all thinkable scientific metrics only a few lines of code away, offering the possibility of a truly open evaluation system where any hypothesis can be tested. Metrics, social networks and intelligent software then can provide each individual user with regular, customized updates on the most relevant research. These updates respond to the behavior of the user and learn from and evolve with their preferences. With openly accessible, interoperable literature, data and software, agents can be developed that independently search for hypotheses in the vast knowledge accumulating there. But perhaps most importantly, with an openly accessible database of science, innovation can thrive, bringing us features and ideas nobody can think of today and nobody will ever be capable of imagining, if we do not bring the products of our labor back under our own control. It was the hypertext transfer protocol (http) standard that spurred innovation and made the internet what it is today. What is required is the equivalent of http for scholarly literature, data and software.Funds currently spent on journal subscriptions could easily suffice to finance the initial conversion of scholarly communication, even if only as long-term savings. One avenue to move in this direction may be the recently announced Episcience Project (Van Noorden, The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.


We describe a method for tying a self-locking knot to apply tension to a free tendon end for hamstring graft anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction. This is faster, safer and easier than whip stitching and is secure enough to feed the graft through bone tunnels.The suture is folded and the tendon is laid on top . The sut


Objectives. Graft failure after heart transplantation led to poor outcomes. We tried to analyze the outcomes of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) rescue in graft survival after transplantation. Methods. A retrospective review of 385 consecutive heart transplants revealed 46 patients of graft failure requiring ECMO rescue (48 episodes). The pretransplant and ECMO-related variables were evaluated. Results. The median age was 37.7 ± 18.8 years, and the median support time was 155 ± 145 hours. Success rate was 47.9% (23/48). Pretransplant ECMO use was 25% (12/48) and they had 58.3% mortality. The success rate in “early” graft failures was 51.4% (18/35) and 50% for “late” graft failure. The ischemic time with graft failure (178 ± 70 min) was significantly longer than that without graft failure. Preoperative status and the longer ischemic time may be the major factors for failure. Long-term 5-year survival demonstrated significant survival difference between graft failure and nongraft failure. No survival difference was shown between “early” and “late” graft failure. Conclusions. Graft failure still carried high mortality if advanced circulatory support was required. Early graft failure and late graft failure had similar outcomes. Further investigation of the risk factors shows that ECMO does play a role of rescue in catastrophic conditions. Graft failure after cardiac transplantation remains a significant source of mortality, especially for the primary graft failure , 2. It iWe have documented that extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) could be applied in several situations, including myocarditis , postcarThe present study was approved by the Institutional Review Board of Investigation. Between 1987  and April of 2010, a total of 385 consecutive patients underwent cardiac transplantation. We retrospectively reviewed our experience of applying ECMO after transplantation and followed these patients until 2012. The patients were either early or late phase and due to primary graft failure or late rejection were leading towards myocardial dysfunction. The present study described and analyzed the result of ECMO application to rescue graft failure after heart transplantation refractory to medical therapy and intraaortic balloon pump (IABP) in the posttransplant period. According to the definition of graft failure after heart transplantation given elsewhere [A “triple immunosuppression” regimen basically consisting of cyclosporine A (ciclosporin A), methylpredisolones, and azathioprine was utilized in the immediate post-transplant period. Rabbit antithymocyte globulin immunoinduction therapy was administered during the first 5 days of induction. Cyclosporine started 5 days after transplantation or after recovery of renal function depending on patient's clinical status. For clinical evaluation of cardiac graft rejection, transvenous endomyocardial biopsy was performed three to four times in the first month and then every 3 months in the first year. The dosage of immunosuppressants was adjusted by the results of endomyocardial biopsies. Tacrolimus (FK-506) and mycophenolate mofetil (Cellcept) were used for recurrent rejection or severe adverse reactions to cyclosporine and azathioprine. The immunosuppressant agent would be reduced when infection was highly suspected. The whole ECMO apparatus, including centrifugal pump and oxygenator  was primed with normal saline alone due to the emergent situation. The protocol and procedure had been described elsewhere . CannulaThe ECMO circuit consisted of a centrifugal pump, a hollow fiber microporous membrane oxygenator, and percutaneous thin-wall cannula , all of which were coated with a heparin-bound Carmeda Bioactive surface. VA ECMO was routinely instituted from the groin area. The 800 mL ECMO priming solution contained 1600 U heparin; the tubing sets in our ECMO circuit were heparin-bound, and expected that the duration of ECMO support. When a small femoral artery was found after exploration of the femoral vessels and the distal leg perfusion was not adequate after arterial cannulation, a small additional tube connected by a Y-adapter was inserted to the distal leg to prevent distal leg ischemia.  In the event of extension of the duration of ECMO support from temporary to prolonged use, low-dose heparin was administered to keep the activated clotting time at 160 to 180 seconds in order to prevent ECMO-related hemolysis or thrombotic complications.  When the ECMO-related hemolysis or plasma leaked from the oxygenator, then the entire circuit was changed.Hemodilution after the hook-up of ECMO to the patients was corrected by packed red blood cells transfusion. Hematocrit was kept between 30% and 35%. Lower hematocrit compromised oxygen delivery, but higher hematocrit increased complications of clot formation and hemolysis by centrifugal pump.Continuous monitoring of postoxygenator blood oxygenation saturation provided an indicator for the gas exchange function of the oxygenator. Systemic heparinization was not needed on the first day of ECMO support; there would be higher risk of bleeding immediately after the heart transplantation operation. Whatever happens, heparin infusion would not be used until the bleeding was controlled, which usually took 1 to 2 days. Once bleeding had decreased, we would begin heparin drip and keep the activated clotting time between 160 and 180 seconds. We changed the ECMO apparatus when oxygenator dysfunction, clot formation, or hemolysis were found. Symptoms and signs of low cardiac output were usually resolved after the ECMO support was initiated, and catecholamine infusion could be tapered accordingly. Arterial pulse pressure wave contour, serial echocardiography, and blood oxygenation saturation in the preoxygenator circuit were used to monitor the recovery of cardiac allograft.  From our experience, we were able to achieve initial cardiac recovery signs based on insufficient information about the patients on ECMO for the arterial pulse contour.If hemodynamics could be well maintained by reduced ECMO blood flow at 0.5 L/min for 1 hour, perhaps ECMO should also be removed at bedside. Anyhow, the wound was primarily repaired.t-test. Nominal variables were expressed as percentages and analyzed by the χ2 test. Statistical significance was assumed at a P value of less than 0.05. The Kaplan-Meier survival curve was performed according to their long-term follow-up data. We treated each ECMO course for each episode. Each ECMO course was defined from setup to hospital discharge or death in hospital. We counted for the “failure” or “success” for each ECMO episode. “Failure” was defined as failed in surviving hospital discharge; even they might be weaned ECMO successfully and die in hospital because of complications. “Success” was defined as successful weaning ECMO and surviving to hospital discharge. Donor-, surgery-, and ECMO-related variables were evaluated for association among “failure” and “success.” Continuous variables were expressed as mean ± standard deviation, and means were compared by independent sample Student's There were a total of 46 patients  with 48 episodes of ECMO applications for graft failure after heart transplantation who were recruited in the present retrospective study. The mean age was in the range 37.7 ± 18.8 years. In the same period, there were 387 consecutive patients that underwent cardiac transplantation in our institution. There were 12 episodes requiring pretransplantation ECMO support (25%), and “early” graft failure after heart transplantation were 35 episodes (72.9%), in which 30 episodes were “immediate” graft failure after heart transplantation . Five episodes of ECMO setup occurred in intensive care unit within 7 days after transplantation. ECMO was set up in the rest of 13 episodes > 7 days after transplantation, and 10 of them were categorized as “late” graft failure after heart transplantation (>60 days after transplantation). One male patient received 3 times of ECMO support after transplantation. He was a case of congenital corrected transposition of great arteries and received conventional repair when he was 2 years old. He developed systemic ventricular failure 9 years after repair. He also received emergent ECMO support under resuscitation due to the deteriorated congestive heart failure and sudden cardiac arrest. He received a heart transplantation after 68-hour support. graft failure after heart transplantation developed, and the ECMO was supported for additional 26 hours with successful decannulation and discharge from hospital. However, acute graft dysfunction happened 2 years after discharge. Therefore, he had to received another installation of ECMO for 132-hour support because of rejection leading to unstable hemodynamic conditions. He was discharged again uneventfully. Unfortunately, progressive graft dysfunction persisted due to vasculopathy leading to collapse at the fourth year after transplantation. He received ECMO for the third time and was listed for retransplantation due to a collapse. He underwent re-transplantation and early graft failure after heart transplantation occurred. ECMO was extended for an additional 173 hours with successful wean-off, but he still expired 63 days after the retransplantation due to multiple organ failure and sepsis.n = 3) in ECMO support between 7 and 60 days after transplantation. The data of the present study, “early,” “immediate,” and “late” graft failure after heart transplantation were demonstrated in The overall success rate of graft failure after heart transplantation was 47.9% (23 episodes surviving to discharge in 48 episodes). The success rate was 51.4% (18/35) in “early” graft failure after heart transplantation and 50% (5/10) in “late” graft failure after heart transplantation. The subgroup of “immediate” ECMO had 50% success rate as well . Five epn = 339), and it revealed significant difference in donor ischemic time . The 5-year survival curve was around 45% survival in 5-years . The comThe 5-year survival curve between “immediate” graft failure after heart transplantation and “nonimmediate” graft failure after heart transplantation was demonstrated in The survival curve comparison between “late” graft failure after heart transplantation (ECMO at >60 days after transplantation) and those ECMO < 60 days also did not show any statistical difference . The “laP < 0.01, P = 0.39, We also examined the risk factors between the success and failure episodes. The only significant difference between the two episodes was the ECMO duration  report, early graft failure is a major cause of death in the perioperative period after transplantation . Its incWe tried to figure out any risk factors for failure but failed to demonstrate any specific factor related to failure except the ECMO duration. The donor ischemic time and pretransplant ECMO application were not significantly different between successful and unsuccessful graft failure after heart transplantation. Even for CPR, we could not identify it as a risk factor. It might be due to the limited case number or the efficient resuscitation and ECMO initiation in our center . We identified a specific subgroup within the study with extremely high mortality (100%), graft failure after heart transplantation patients receiving ECMO between 7 and 60 days. We thought it might be related to the heterogenic cause, mixture of rejection, and sepsis in the period or was a statistical issue only. The conclusion remains as further investigation and data collection in the future.The causes of graft failures after heart transplantation sometimes were difficult to determine. The major cause for “late” graft failure after heart transplantation group was considered to be acute rejection, chronic vasculopathy with deterioration, and septic episodes for the “late” graft failure after heart transplantation group. However, it was difficult to differentiate these causes. The uncertain diagnosed causes in “early” graft failure after heart transplantation group were quite common , 16, 18.The long-term result in graft failure after heart transplantation was inferior to those without graft failure after heart transplantation, which was reconfirmed when the data was published elsewhere . graft fThere were some limitations for our present study. First, this is a retrospective study and it ranges for more than 20 years. The improvements in concept and technique might change greatly during this time period. It would definitely change the outcome, and the patients' condition might be more critical now than before. Second, the patient number is not enough for performing a statistic analysis. This is the reason that we only have a risk factor for “success” and “failure” analysis. Third, we hesitated to implant a ventricular assist device (VAD) for patients transplanted, because they had a priority in transplant wait list. It would cause a social and economic conflict. Therefore, we do not have the graft failure after heart transplantation supported with ECMO comparison. Graft failure after heart transplantation requiring mechanical support is still a challenging situation. ECMO can provide 50% survival in the devastating conditions. Early graft failure after heart transplantation and late graft failure after heart transplantation had similar outcomes. Further investigation on the risk factors analysis is required to prevent the graft failure after heart transplantation and improve the outcome.


I welcome you to this second issue for the year 2011 comprising very interesting articles to read. We are proud to inform about the inclusion of our journal in SCImago Journal Ranking [SJR] recently. SJR is one of the two major journal rating systems that exist in the world: the Journal of Citation reports by ISI-Thomson and the SCImago indexes issued by Elsevier. The SCImago Journal and Country Rank portal is developed by SCImago Research Group working at three Spanish universities (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC), University of Granada, Extremadura, Carlos III (Madrid) and Alcalá de Henares). It is named after the SCImago Journal Rank Indicator (SJR) developed by the group. The citation data used is derived from Scopus database and journal rankings are available for journals contained in the Scopus database. The SJR indicator is calculated based on three year’s citation data and attributes different weight to citations depending on the prestige of the citing journal. The prestige of a journal is estimated using PageRank algorithm in the network of journals. The prestige of a journal is transferred through the references that a journal receives from other journals.Cites/Document (C/D) for its own collection of journals. The following calculation used to determine impact factors [IFs] and Cites/Document [C/D]. Briefly, the IF or the C/D for any journal “J” in any year “N” is given by the following equation:SJR began publishing C(N) is the total number of cites appearing in journals from each respective collection to articles published by journal “J” in years “N-2” and “N-1”, and A(N-i) is the number of articles published by “J” in years “N-1" and “N-2”. It will help us to analyse the journal metrics of Journal of Young Pharmacists, based on our citation performance. By end of this year, we are very much expecting a good citation scale for our journal. This issue brings you many articles covering in different field of pharmaceutical sciences.where Peer review is a process carried out by experts in a related field of article subject and presents their opinions in order to check and validate the research being done and submitted to a journal. We have a good number of reviewers assisting us in refining the manuscript and improving the article quality based on their suggestions. However, this process is always a tussle, sometimes time-based, or response-based. We are identifying and adding the reviewers at regular basis. We thank all the active reviewers of J Young Pharm for their quality review, which helped us getting good indexing status in a short span of time. Journalonweb.com (CourtesAn average 15 to 16 articles in each issue takes us 3–6 months to complete the peer review process and refining the quality of papers. Present days have seen many journals, which are publishing nearly hundreds of manuscripts in a single issue; it is highly impossible to conduct peer review process in a quarter, it is being worst part of the journal publishing and such journals will damage the country’s image on scholarly content and its publishing. Authors should be wise enough and have good sense in choosing a right journal, which will impact their writing and could be further used and cited by other researchers. Journal quality will always be judged based on many factors, such as editor’s experience, Editorial board, Quality of articles, Quality of peer review, Reviewers, publishing on time, non-interruption in publishing of issues etc., pharmacoFinally, I would like to acknowledge with gratitude the support of Medknow Publications and Media Pvt. Ltd, Mumbai, India. We are happy to hear, any criticism, suggestions and appreciations. Please feel free to write to us at any point of time during your publication process.Happy reading!!!


The approach relied on predictions of HLA-binding capacity for a panel of DR, DP, and DQ alleles representative of those most commonly expressed in the general population, coupled with high throughput ELISPOT assays. The results identified hundreds of novel epitopes and antigens, and documented the novel observation that T cells in latent MTB infection are confined to the CXCR3+CCR6+ phenotype and largely directed against three antigenic “islands” within the MTB genome. In parallel, we have made generally available to the scientific community the technical approaches and reagents developed in the process, such as motifs, algorithms, and binding assays for several common HLA class II alleles, and a panel of single allele HLA class II transfected cell lines representative of the most frequent specificities in the general population. Recent efforts have been focused on characterization of epitopes and antigens recognized by patients with active TB and individuals vaccinated with BCG, with the aim of providing the first systematic evaluation of the overlap between latent, active, and BCG cohorts. The definition of a broad range of epitopes restricted by common HLA molecules, will facilitate development of diagnostic reagents, allow a rigorous evaluation of T-cell responses associated with TB infection in humans, and enable the evaluation of the immunogenicity of different vaccine candidates. Furthermore, it might suggest new candidates for vaccine and diagnostic development.We have recently described the first true genome-wide screen for CD4 Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB). MTB is responsible for 1.4 million deaths annually and 9 million new infections are reported each year. The majority of infected individuals control the pathogen by mounting a successful, long-lived, and protective immune response, leading to either resolution or a clinically latent infection. Approximately, 10% of latently infected individuals subsequently develop active TB  coverage of almost 90% at each locus, and accounts for over 66% of all genes at each locus  Table 11. ConsidTaken together, these data highlight that broadly reactive HLA class II epitopes can be identified, and that these promiscuous epitopes can account for a large fraction of the specific immune response. Further, the bioinformatic tools necessary to identify candidate epitopes, as well as specific cellular and immunochemical reagents to allow detailed characterization of epitope-specific responses are available and have been well-validated in several studies.+CCR6+ phenotype  , generalhenotype , 58 and henotype .in vitro for HLA class II binding, as well as the necessity of synthesizing overlapping peptides. The resulting synthetic peptide library of 20,610 peptides , were tested in high throughput ex vivo IFNγ ELISPOT using circulating T cells from LTBI donors. Each individual donor tested recognized 24 epitopes on average, revealing striking heterogeneity of responses to MTB. The epitopes identified were ranked on the basis of magnitude of response to assess their relative dominance. Overall, the top 80 epitopes accounted for 75% of the total response and the top 175 epitopes accounted for 90% of the total response. The epitopes were mapped to individual MTB antigens using the H37Rv as a reference genome. A total of 82 antigens were recognized by more than 10% of LTBI donors, accounting for approximately 80% of the total response. Thus, natural immunity to MTB is multiantigenic. Taken together, these results demonstrate the feasibility, novelty, and success of the genome-wide screen for epitopes recognized by LTBIs.To enable a genome-wide screen for epitopes recognized by LTBIs , proteinThe protein category and the genomic location of the identified antigens were determined using the TubercuList database . This re+ T cells recognizing epitopes derived from different TB antigens were associated with similar multifunctional cytokine expression patterns. The most frequent CD4+ T cells were IFNγ+TNFα+IL-2+ or IFNγ+TNFα+, followed by TNFα+ single producing CD4+ T cells. To a lesser extent, TNFα+IL-2+, single IFNγ+, and single IL-2+ cells were also detected.Characterization and tracking of pathogen-specific T cells can be achieved once specific T-cell epitopes have been defined. Here, we briefly review our published data relating to the characterization of T cells derived from LTBI donors . A varie+ purified cells. To overcome low T-cell frequency, a magnetic bead enrichment technique was preformed  in children and adults –83.Several candidate TB vaccines are in clinical trial and many of them are designed to boost the BCG response. One candidate is MVA85A , which was developed as a heterologous boost for BCG , 85. Rv3BCG was developed 90 years ago, but there is still a fundamental need for more knowledge regarding the actual mechanism of BCG immunogenicity, immunodominance, and crossreactivity with TB. Several studies have investigated mycobacterial antigen-specific human T-cell responses primed by vaccination with BCG , 87, 88.The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.


International Journal of Molecular Science is instituting an annual award to recognize outstanding papers in the area of chemistry, molecular physics and molecular biology published in International Journal of Molecular Science.International Journal of Molecular Science Best Paper Award” for 2014 [International Journal of Molecular Science from all papers published in 2010. The awards are issued to reviews and articles separately. We are pleased to announce that the following five papers have been chosen:We are pleased to announce the third “Parul Vatsa, Lisa Sanchez, Christophe Clement, Fabienne Baillieul and Stephan DoreyDietary Protection Against Free Radicals: A Case for Multiple Testing to Establish Structure-activityRelationships for Antioxidant Potential of Anthocyanic Plant SpeciesInt. J. Mol. Sci.2010, 11(12), 5095–5108; doi:10.3390/ijms11125095http://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/11/12/5095Available online: Junko Okuda-Shimazaki, Saiko Takaku, Koki Kanehira, Shuji Sonezaki and Akiyohshi TaniguchiEffects of Titanium Dioxide Nanoparticle Aggregate Size on Gene ExpressionInt. J. Mol. Sci.2010, 11(6), 2383–2392; doi:10.3390/ijms11062383http://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/11/6/2383Available online: Giuseppe Calogero, Gaetano Di Marco, Silvia Cazzanti, Stefano Caramori, Roberto Argazzi, Aldo Di Carlo and Carlo Alberto BignozziEfficient Dye-Sensitized Solar Cells Using Red Turnip and Purple Wild Sicilian Prickly Pear FruitsInt. J. Mol. Sci.2010, 11(1), 254–267; doi:10.3390/ijms11010254http://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/11/1/254Available online: Kati Hanhineva, Riitta Törrönen, Isabel Bondia-Pons, Jenna Pekkinen, Marjukka Kolehmainen, Hannu Mykkänen and Kaisa PoutanenImpact of Dietary Polyphenols on Carbohydrate MetabolismInt. J. Mol. Sci.2010, 11(4), 1365–1402; doi:10.3390/ijms11041365http://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/11/4/1365Available online: Sonia De Pascual-Teresa, Diego A. Moreno and Cristina García-VigueraFlavanols and Anthocyanins in Cardiovascular Health: A Review of Current EvidenceInt. J. Mol. Sci.2010, 11(4), 1679–1703; doi:10.3390/ijms11041679http://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/11/4/1679Available online: International Journal of Molecular Science and the scientific research field. On behalf of the Prize Awarding Committee and the Editorial Board of International Journal of Molecular Science, we would like to congratulate these three teams for their excellent work. In recognition of their accomplishment, Dr. Stephan Dorey, Dr. Akiyohshi Taniguchi and Dr. Carlo Alberto Bignozzi will receive prizes of CHF 1000, CHF 800, and CHF 500, respectively, and the privilege of publishing an additional paper free of charge in Open Access format in International Journal of Molecular Science, after the usual peer-review procedure. Dr. Kati Hanhineva and Dr. Diego A. Moreno will receive the privilege of publishing an additional research article free of charge in Open Access format in International Journal of Molecular Science, after the usual peer-review procedure.We believe that these five exceptional papers are valuable contributions to Editor-in-Chief, Section ‘Molecular Diagnostics’Prof. Dr. Stephen A. BustinPostgraduate Medical Institute, Anglia Ruskin University, Chelmsford CM1 1SQ, UKstephen.bustin@anglia.ac.ukE-Mail: Editor-in-Chief, Section ‘Molecular Recognition’Prof. Dr. Ian A. NichollsBioorganic & Biophysical Chemistry Laboratory Linnæus University Centre for Biomaterials Chemistry and School of Chemistry & Biomedicine Linnæus University, Kalmar SE-39182, Swedenian.nicholls@lnu.seE-Mail: Editor-in-Chief, Section ‘Molecular Toxicology’Dr. Michael IbaDepartment of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USAiba@eohsi.rutgers.eduE-Mail:


HCV genotype 3a is the major cause of infection in Pakistani population. One of the major problems of HCV infection especially in the developing countries that limits the limits the antiviral therapy is the long term treatment, high dosage and side effects. Studies of antigenic epitopes of viral sequences of a specific origin can provide an effective way to overcome the mutation rate and to determine the promiscuous binders to be used for epitope based subunit vaccine design. An Immunoinformatic tools were applied for the predictive analysis of HCV 3a antigenic epitopes of Pakistani origin. All the predicted epitopes were then subjected for their conservancy analysis in HCV genotypes 1, 2 and 3 of diverse origin (worldwide). Using freely available web servers, 150 MHC II epitopes were predicted as promiscuous binders against 51 subjected alleles. E2 protein represented the 20% of all the predicted MHC II epitopes. 75.33% of the predicted MHC II epitopes were (77-100%) conserve in genotype 3; 47.33% and 40.66% in genotype 1 and 2 respectively. 69 MHC I epitopes were predicted as promiscuous binders against 47 subjected alleles. NS4b represented 26% of all the MHC I predicted epitopes. Significantly higher epitope conservancy was represented by genotype 3 i.e. 78.26% and 21.05% for genotype 1 and 2.The study revealed comprehensive catalogue of potential HCV derived CTL epitopes from viral proteome of Pakistan origin. A considerable number of predicted epitopes were found to be conserved in different HCV genotype. However, the number of conserved epitopes in HCV genotype 3 was significantly higher in contrast to its conservancy in HCV genotype 1 and 2. Despite of the lower conservancy in genotype 1 and 2, all the predicted epitopes have important implications in diagnostics as well as CTL-based rational vaccine design, effective for most population of the world and especially the Pakistani Population. Flavivirus, Pestivirus, and Hepacivirus. Members of these genera cause various diseases in humans and other animals such as birds, horses and pigs. The only genera Flavivirus contain more than 70 members including Hepatitis C Virus (HCV), Dengue virus, West Nile virus and tick-borne encephalitis virus . The number of individual bases in the genome i.e. the number of adenine; cytosine, guanine and thymine were calculated from DDBJ database. The molecular weight of proteins, percentage of highly repeated amino acid and the least repeated amino acid in the viral protein was calculated by using sequence and search analysis tool at PIR database  × A(2) × C(3) × D(4) × P(5) × G(6) × R(7) × A(8) × A(9)Score = P(1) + A(2) + C(3) + D(4) + P(5) + G(6) + R(7) + A(8) + A(9)Where P (1) is score of P at position 1.Only the promiscuous epitopes with score higher than the chosen threshold score were assigned as predicted epitopes for the selected HLA alleles . For thehttp://tools.immuneepitope.org/tools/conservancy/iedb_input). All the epitopes having 77-100% conservancy were selected while rejecting the epitopes having variation at the anchor residues. The anchor residues in the predicted epitopes were highlighted by making it bold. The epitopes that were 100% conserved in the selected proteins of the 3 viral genotypes 1, 2 and 3 were also fully bold. Epitopes with 88/77% conservancy were with single or double amino acid variation respectively and to highlight them bold format was used in the conservancy column against each genotype.All the predicted epitopes of HCV 3a proteins of Pakistani origin were subjected for worldwide conservancy analysis among HCV genotype 1, 2 and 3. 5 sequences against each HCV protein (used for epitope prediction) were retrieved from NCBI randomly. The predicted epitopes of HCV 3a (Pakistani origin) along with 5 selected sequences of individual genotypes  were submitted to epitope conservancy analysis tool available at IEDB database (Asteric sign (*) indicates that one out of five selected sequences either does not respond to epitope conservancy or have conservancy lower then 77%. Double asteric sign (**) indicates that only one sequence responds for 77-100% conservancy to the selected epitope.The Peptides with single or double amino acid variation were analyzed for their hydropathic characteristics or pI value . The pI HCV 3a genome of Pakistani origin comprises 9474 bp with GC content 2622 and 2700 respectively. The GC contents are 12.35% higher then AT contents. The genome encodes a polyprotein that subsequently get fragmented into structural and non structural protein of obvious molecular weight. The envelope protein E2 comprises highest moleculat weight 38755.3 KDa , I (Isoleucine), L (Leucine), M (Methionine), V , W (Tryptophan) and Y (Tyrosine) were mainly the anchor residues for MHC II predicted epitopes and are nonpolar in nature. Total 150 epitopes were predicted against 51 alleles of MHC II Table . The higTotal 69 epitopes were predicted as promiscuous epitopes for MHC I alleles. The anchor residues in case of MHCI are quite varying both in amino acid residues and also in their nature. Mostly represented anchor residues are neutral nonpolar and neutral polar. However, quite small percentage of anchor residues were also acidic polar and basic polar in nature. The highest number of MHC I binding epitopes were represented by NS4b protein comprising 26% of all MHC I predicted epitopes. NFVSGIQYL epitope of NS4b is the best promiscuous binder of highest binding score. NS4b is followed by NS2, E2 and NS3 proteins representing 20.28% (NS2 epitopes) and 11.59% (for E2 and NS3). In case of NS2, 14 promiscuous epitopes were predicted with varying binding efficiency. GSRDGVILL, DGVILLTSL, WAAAGLKDL and LQVWVPPLL are the good binders both in term of score and the HLA allele coverage . E2 predicted epitopes covers 20 to 28 HLA alleles except the PLLHSTTEL epitope that covers only 11 HLA alleles but with highest binding efficiency. NS3 epitopes covers 8 to 25 HLA alleles and were also ranked on the basis of their binding efficiency predicted by the score. The least represented epitopes were by NS5a_1a. It comprises only one epitope (HVKNGSMRL) as predicted promiscuous binders for 16 MHC I binding alleles. The promiscuous binders of MHC I for other proteins were also predicted and summarized in table Out of total 150 predicted MHC II epitopes, 75.33% were (77-100%) conserve in genotype 3  conserve in genotype 3 (Table The modern technique for control of HCV infection is a vaccine preparation that can specifically induce antibody-mediated immunity. The rapid advancements in the computational methodologies and immunoinformatics/immuno-bioinformatics provide new strategies for the synthesis of antigen specific epitopic vaccine against infectious agents such as viruses and pathogens. Epitopic vaccine against HIV, malaria and tuberculosis provided promising results and supported the defensive and therapeutic uses of these vaccines . Thus inBy the use of an efficient CTL based epitope delivery technology; the predicted epitopes could eventually become vaccines in their own or fused as polytopes. The design of the HCV vaccine using conserved epitopes can avoid viral mutation and thus provides more efficient results. The study shows that the predicted epitopes were highly conserved in HCV genotype 3 and also but less conserved in genotype 1 and 2 both for MHC I and MHC II. Moreover, to ensure the viral detection at all stages of its intracellular evolution we have used all the viral proteins. Therefore, the total number of predicted epitopes were also maximized in correspond to the number of covered proteins used for the analysis.HCV: hepatitis C virus; HLA: human leukocyte antigen; MHC: major histocompatability complex; CTL: cytotoxic T lymphocytes.The authors declare that they have no competing interests.AS and SH designed the study. AS performed the immunoinformatics analysis and drafted the manuscript. MI critically reviewed the manuscript. All authors have read and approved the final manuscript.


Harmonia axyridis has been introduced in many countries as a biological control agent, but has become an invasive species threatening the biodiversity of native ladybirds. Its invasive success has been attributed to its vigorous resistance against diverse pathogens. This study demonstrates that harmonine -1,17-diaminooctadec-9-ene), which is present in H. axyridis haemolymph, displays broad-spectrum antimicrobial activity that includes human pathogens. Antibacterial activity is most pronounced against fast-growing mycobacteria and Mycobacterium tuberculosis, and the growth of both chloroquine-sensitive and -resistant Plasmodium falciparum strains is inhibited. Harmonine displays gametocytocidal activity, and inhibits the exflagellation of microgametocytes and zygote formation. In an Anopheles stephensi mosquito feeding model, harmonine displays transmission-blocking activity.The harlequin ladybird beetle  Since the beginning of the twentieth century, this species has been introduced as a biological control agent against aphid and/or coccid pests into North America, Europe and the Soviet Union. In addition, H. axyridis has been commercially available as a biological control agent for greenhouses and urban ecosystems since the mid-1990s. Over the last two decades, H. axyridis has become an invasive species in many countries. In Europe, H. axyridis populations have been growing rapidly since the turn of the millennium, threatening populations of native ladybird species [Coccinella septempunctata and Adalia bipunctata [R,9Z)-1,17-diaminooctadec-9-ene) was identified as the principal antimicrobial compound of H. axyridis haemolymph.punctata . Besidespunctata , many inpunctata . In the 2.(a)H. axyridis subsequently used for captive breeding were collected in and around Gießen and Ober-Mörlen, Germany. Adults of the seven-spot ladybird (C. septempunctata) and eggs of the two-spot ladybird (A. bipunctata) were obtained from Kath Biotech AG . All ladybird species were reared in cages at 26°C and 60 per cent relative humidity under a 16 : 8 photoperiod. Bean plants (Phaseolus vulgaris) infested by pea aphids (Acyrthosiphon pisum) were provided as a food source.Adults of (b)H. axyridis beetles. Groups of five beetles were vortexed for 10 s in 0.2 ml water in a 1.5 ml tube, and the combined liquid was heated to 95°C for 1 h and the precipitated material removed by centrifugation. The supernatant was supplemented with acetonitrile to a final concentration of 20 per cent (v/v) and passed over a strong anion exchange solid-phase extraction cartridge . The flow-through was loaded onto a strong cation exchange column  and eluted with a linear gradient of NaCl (0–1 M in water containing 20% acetonitrile). Fractions containing active compounds from the radial diffusion assay eluted at approximately 700 mM NaCl. After removal of excess acetonitrile by vacuum evaporation, final purification was achieved by chromatography on a reversed-phase column  by applying a gradient of 8–80% acetonitrile in water containing 0.1 per cent formic acid. The activity was recovered at approximately 45 per cent acetonitrile. Structure determination was performed on a micrOTOF-Q II mass spectrometer . Harmonine was synthesized following the protocol of Enders & Bartzen [Haemolymph released by reflex bleeding was collected from 500 (c)−1 beetle weight), and 5 µl of the supernatant was applied to yeast extract and tryptone agar test plates (well diameter 3 mm) containing Escherichia coli DE 31. Minimal inhibitory concentration (MIC) values were determined in triplicate with 1 : 2 serial dilutions. Activity against Mycobacterium tuberculosis was determined using the BACTEC MGIT 960 system (Becton Dickinson).For radial diffusion assays, beetles were homogenized in 20 per cent acetonitrile (10 µl mg(d)Plasmodium falciparum ring forms were plated in 96-well plates at a parasitaemia of 1 per cent in the presence of 1 : 2 serial dilutions of harmonine. After incubating the plates for 72 h, the viability of the parasites was assessed using the Malstat assay [P. falciparum gametocytes in triplicate in 24-well plates in the presence of harmonine [Anopheles stephensi mosquitoes on harmonine-containing gametocyte cultures. The mosquito midguts were dissected 12 days post-infection and inspected for oocysts by mercurochrome staining.Synchronized cultures containing (e)Cells (HUVEC (ATCC CRL-17230), K-562 (DSMZ ACC 10) and MCF-7 (DSMZ ACC 115), Sf9 (Promega), High Five (Invitrogen)) were plated together with harmonine in 96-well plates and incubated for 72 h. Cell viability was determined using the CellTiter-Blue (Promega) or 3--2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. Subconfluent monolayers of HeLa cells (DSMZ ACC 57) were incubated with harmonine for 72 h before staining with methylene blue.3.(a)Harmonia axyridis haemolymph generated an inhibition zone that was not observed with haemolymph from C. septempunctata or A. bipunctata (a). The active compound was purified by collecting haemolymph released by reflex bleeding from 500 H. axyridis beetles. Applying the radial diffusion assay for the detection of active fractions, a purification procedure by heat denaturation, anion exchange chromatography (activity in flow-through), cation exchange chromatography and reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography resulted in a single compound, which was identified as harmonine -1,17-diaminooctadec-9-ene) (b) by electrospray ionization quadrupole time-of-flight (ESI-Qq-TOF) mass spectrometry. Using synthetic harmonine as standard, the amount of harmonine contained in an individual H. axyridis beetle was determined to be 160 ± 44 µg. With an estimated haemolymph volume of 21 ± 4 µl (determined by weight loss on drying), this corresponds to a harmonine concentration of approximately 27 mM. Harmonine was neither detectable in C. septempunctata nor in A. bipunctata haemolymph (c).In initial experiments, the antimicrobial activity of haemolymph from ladybirds was assessed using a radial diffusion assay. punctata a. The acc-9-ene) b by elecemolymph c.Figure(b)Candida albicans with MIC values in the range between 5.5 and 354 µM (Staphylococcus aureus and an multi-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) strain. Pronounced activity was observed against four strains of fast-growing mycobacteria . Comparable activity was also observed against M. tuberculosis (MIC = 44 µM).Synthetic harmonine displayed activity against 12 bacterial strains and the yeast d 354 µM . Harmoni(c)P. falciparum, which causes malaria tropica, was inhibited by harmonine with half-inhibitory concentration (IC50) values of 4.8 and 7.6 µM for the chloroquine-sensitive strain 3D7 and the chloroquine-resistant strain Dd2, respectively  and 158 nM (Dd2), indicating the absence of cross resistance between harmonine and chloroquine.The growth of asexual blood stages of the protozoan parasite ectively . Chloroq50 concentration) reduced the number of P. falciparum NF54 gametocytes to 18 per cent compared with the 0.5 per cent dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) control, and all gametocytes were killed at 50 µM . The positive control substance primaquine  reduced gametocyte numbers to 42 per cent. Microgametogenesis was inhibited by harmonine with an IC50 value of 5.8 µM , indicating a significant reduction in parasite transmission . The mean oocyte numbers were 1.0 ± 1.6 and 5.1 ± 5.3% in the harmonine and control groups, respectively.When (d)50 values of 21.3 ± 2.1, 18.5 ± 0.6 and 38.0 ± 5.6 µM, respectively. The IC50 values for the lepidopteran cell lines Sf9 and High Five were 57 ± 8 and 53 ± 18 µM, respectively. Cytotoxicity for HeLa cells was observed at 37.0 ± 1.7 µM, causing 50 per cent destruction of the cell monolayer.Proliferation of the human cell lines HUVEC, K-562 and MCF-7 was inhibited by harmonine with IC4.et al. [Myrmica rubra [et al. [H. axyridis. Although harmonine was less active than standard antibiotics, the MIC values were significantly below the estimated harmonine concentration in H. axyridis haemolymph. At antibacterial concentrations, harmonine also displayed antiproliferative and cytotoxic activity against human and lepidopteran cell lines. How H. axyridis is able to resist the cytotoxic potential of harmonine remains unknown. The pronounced activity of harmonine against mycobacteria together with activity against an MRSA strain is indicative for a novel mode of action, which might be exploited by the development of derivatives less toxic to human cells. At remarkably low concentrations, harmonine inhibited the growth of the malaria parasite P. falciparum and prevented transmission of sexual parasite stages to the mosquito. Therefore, further studies may provide a base for the development of novel anti-malarial drugs with both parasitocidal and transmission-blocking activities.Harmonine had previously been isolated by Braconier et al.  based onca rubra . Alam et [et al.  reported


Autologous saphenous vein grafting has been broadly used as a bypass conduit, interposition graft, and patch graft in a variety of operations in cardiac, thoracic, neurovascular, general vascular, vascular access, and urology surgeries, since they are superior to prosthetic veins. Modified saphenous vein grafts (SVG), including spiral and cylindrical grafts, and vein cuffs or patches, are employed in vascular revascularization to satisfy the large size of the receipt vessels or to obtain a better patency. A loop SVG helps flap survival in a muscle flap transfer in plastic and reconstructive surgery. For dialysis or transfusion purposes, a straight or loop arteriovenous fistula created in the forearm or the thigh with an SVG has acceptable patency. The saphenous vein has even been used as a stent cover to minimize the potential complications of standard angioplasty technique. However, the use of saphenous vein grafting is now largely diminished in treating cerebrovascular disorders, superior vena cava syndrome, and visceral revascularization due to the introduction of angioplasty and stenting techniques. The SVG remains the preferable biomaterial in coronary artery bypass, coronary ostioplasty, free flap transfer, and surgical treatment of Peyronie disease. Implications associated with saphenous vein grafting in vascular access surgery for the purpose of dialysis and chemotherapy are considerable. Vascular cuffs and patches have been developed as an important and effective means of enhancing the patency rates of the grafts by linking the synthetic material to the receipt vessel. In addition, saphenous veins can be a cell source for tissue engineering. We review the versatile roles that saphenous vein grafting has played as well as its current status in therapy. Saphenous vein (SV) grafting has been broadly employed in a variety of operations including cardiac, thoracic, neurovascular, general vascular, vascular access, and urologic surgeries as a bypass conduit, interposition graft, and patch graft, with acceptable results, comparable to or better than for prosthetic materials.148Autologous SV grafting is popularly used in vascular surgery as a bypass graft, for the relief of hand and forearm ischemia,20Palma and Esperon28Figures 4). Seigman35Compliance mismatch between the graft and the recipient artery along with hemodynamic factors constitute the major causes of graft failure associated with thrombosis and the development of subintimal hyperplasia at the anastomotic site.Arterial reconstruction with an autologous SVG patch or conduit is a method of choice for the surgical treatment of hepatic artery aneurysm.364344The repair of a long bile duct defect in a left hepatectomy for hepatocellular carcinoma may resort to a saphenous vein patch.46SV grafting was also employed in visceral revascularization for variceal hemorrhage, hepatic cirrhosis, and acute mesenteric ischemia.Aortorenal bypass was a standard technique for revascularization of the kidney with a compromised arterial circulation, such as in renovascular disease with severe hypertension,5256Aortorenal bypass was not only indicated for renovascular hypertension, renal failure due to stenotic arterial lesions, but also for acute anuria. Cole and RabinWhen the aorta cannot be used for a standard renal bypass because of a previous aortic operation, severe degenerative atherosclerosis or complete aortic thrombosis, a unilateral (hepatic) or bilateral (hepatic or splenic) visceral bypass should be considered. A right hepatorenal artery SVG bypass and a splenorenal artery anastomosis on the left plus a hepatorenal artery SVG bypass on the right side were performed in two patients with degenerative abdominal aorta, respectively.58Figure 5) with good results. SV grafting added its versatility as catheter conduit for arterial infusion chemotherapy to treat hepatocellular carcinomas and metastatic liver cancer after hepatectomy or in unresectable patients with satisfactory perfusion.59SV grafting has even been useful when remodeled into a cylinder configuration for a size-match purpose for the construction of either jugular or portal veins. Urayama et al4 and Sakamoto et al5 respectively utilized such remodeled SVGs where the saphenous vein was split longitudinally and sutured side-to-side  being the classic fashion. The sequential graft (a graft with one inflow anastomosis and more than one outflow anastomoses in single or different receipt coronary arteries) was introduced in an aim to decrease the number of anastomoses, shorten the operative time, and improve graft patency.65Figure 6). The indication for anastomosing a second vein or arterial graft onto a vein graft hood is an inadequate length of the second graft or the avoidance of proximal anastomoses on an atheromatous ascending aorta.An SVG can also function as a hood of a second graft . The edges of the vein were sutured together to form a large conduit ranging in diameter from 9.5 to 15.0 mm.90In 1962, Benvenuto et alThe use of an SVG for a bypass or reconstructive purpose was a preferable treatment of choice in neurosurgery for the management of extracranial atherosclerotic disease, extra- and intracranial aneurysms, and tumors involving the carotid artery at the skull base or cervical regions.13In 1969, Yasargil performed the first extracranial-to-intracranial bypass with ligation of the middle cerebral artery for the treatment of a complex cerebral aneurysm. This surgical technique was then employed widely in the treatment of giant intracranial aneurysms.92A long vein bypass graft used for the treatment of a giant aneurysm was first described by Iwabuchi et al96A short graft may be placed between the petrous portion of the internal carotid artery and the intradural portion of internal carotid artery or middle cerebral artery. Short vein grafts have some disadvantages compared to long ones in poor exposition of the petrous carotid artery, sacrifice of the great petrosal nerve, technical difficulty, and discontinuation of blood flow of the internal carotid artery for 30-60 minutes. A long saphenous vein graft proved more effective and safe in providing high-flow bypass in the anterior circulation.97Initial experiences with interposed SVGs for ischemic and traumatic occlusion of the internal carotid artery and intracranial aneurysm obtained encouraging results with an overall patency rate of 80% at a 12-month follow-up.The literature on cerebrovascular venous reconstruction is rare. Steiger et alFree flap transfer for the treatment of tissue defect caused by trauma,The penile deep dorsal vein, inferior tibial vein, and saphenous vein are the grafts of choice in the surgical treatment of shortened penis caused by Peyronie disease.114112115118In 1972, Lawton and SharzerThe vascular access for chemotherapy was always wrist radiocephalic or elbow cephalic, basilica or medial cubital vein to branchial fistula. Wobbes et alThe saphenous vein can be a source of tissue engineering. Studies have shown that that cells isolated from the saphenous veins, or from veins and arteries of the umbilical cord might be feasible cell sources for tissue engineering of heart valve for the pulmonary position.126When an autologous saphenous vein is unavailable, a homologous saphenous vein under different preservation methods, such as frozen, denatured, lyophilized, cryopreserved, and fresh, can be an alternative in creating vascular access. Preserved vein homografts tolerate repeated puncture by large dialysis needles. Similarly, when satisfactory autologous SVGs are not available, cryopreserved homologous SVGs, either cryopreserved or denatured, can be an alternative conduit to the autologous ones in coronary artery bypass,7812812713014The use of an SVG bypass in neurosurgery has decreased largely because of improved endovascular therapies in many circumstances. The “gold standard” for the treatment of giant aneurysms remains surgical clipping. Nevertheless, a small but consistent number of SVG bypass procedures will be required for the treatment of complex cerebrovascular disease.136In conclusion, SV grafting plays an important role as a material superior to the prosthesis in bypass grafting, interposition conduit, patch repair, loop creation, vein cuff, stent cover, catheter route in many circumstances, and has shown excellent outcomes as evidenced by the patency rates of the autologeous graft. Percutaneous transluminal angioplasty and stenting techniques have largely substituted vascular repair and reconstruction procedures with admirable results. The use of SV grafting has dwindled with the introduction of percutaneous transluminal angioplasty and stenting techniques, but in indicated cases the use of SV grafting can be unavoidable. Hence it is each surgeon’s responsibility to husband every centimeter of the SVG during harvestment, as we have seen even the varicose SVG put into use.


Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins[Journal of Venomous Animals and Toxins including Tropical Diseases (JVATiTD) with ISSN 1678–9199. The journal finally became online-only[Science Citation Index Expanded™[The nd Toxins, ISSN 01nd Toxins of UNESPnd Toxins. In 2003ine-only and was xpanded™ and ScopJVATiTD has been experiencing significant growth since 2006, in which year 52 articles were published with a rejection rate of 11.86%. The rejection rate has subsequently increased year after year, reaching 41.33% in 2012. The average elapsed time between submission and acceptance from 2007 to 2012 was 135, 139, 133, 88, 86 and 78 days; the respective elapsed time between acceptance and publication was: 196, 143, 170, 132, 95 and 84 days; the overall time between submission and publication was: 331, 282, 303, 220, 181 and 162 days.Thus, the elapsed time between submission and acceptance is shorter than the one between acceptance and publication. This analysis leads to the conclusion that the speed and visibility of publication have risen significantly in the last five years, given that the current average time between submission and publication is similar to that of journals with higher global impact, that is, only 162 days.As a consequence of these achievements, there has been a substantial increase in the submission of articles, especially after indexing of the journal in the Journal Citation Reports® (JCR). JVATiTDScience Citation Index ExpandedTM[Finally, a partnership with BioMed Central – The OpxpandedTM, e-DepotxpandedTM, CrossRexpandedTM, QuertlexpandedTM, SCIRUSxpandedTM and WebcxpandedTM.This partnership with BioMed Central will, beyond the shadow of a doubt, increase our impact factor and, consequently, improve our journal classification worldwide.The author declares no conflicts of interest.


Journal of Epidemiology from Dr. Hiroyasu Iso, who served in that capacity in 2011–2012. Dr. Iso was elected Executive Head of the JEA, and it is almost impossible to manage simultaneously the responsibilities of these important jobs. I was the EIC in 2008–2010, so this is my second opportunity. Despite his relatively short tenure, Dr. Iso has made great contributions to the journal, such as promoting publication of review articles, particularly from authors outside Japan. In addition, the number of manuscripts from outside Japan has notably increased: in 2012 the percentage of articles submitted, by country/region, was 32% from Japan, 14% from China, 10% from Taiwan, 8% from Korea, 12% from other Asian countries , 10% from Europe, 9% from the Middle East, 3% from the United States, and 1% each from South America and Africa. The average impact factor in 2011 was 1.858. To manage the increase in articles submitted to the journal, the number of associate editors on the editorial team was increased from 18 to 25, which will ensure that the editorial process will continue in a timely fashion. Editorial board members are now expected to understand both the most recent research in their fields and the processes and priorities of journal management, such as how to address plagiarism, fabrication, and falsification. The time may come when the tasks of journal management exceed the resources of our academic society, but at present we have decided to continue to manage the journal internally, so as to preserve our independence. The editorial team aims to maintain the high standards of an international journal by continuing to publish original and review articles on a wide range of research topics and to ultimately establish our journal as a leader in the field of epidemiology.It is my great privilege to take over as Editor-in-Chief (EIC) of the Tomotaka Sobue, MD, MPHEditor-in-ChiefJournal of EpidemiologyProfessor of Environmental Medicine and Population SciencesDepartment of Environment and Social MedicineOsaka University Graduate School of Medicine