Immunome Research is a new Open Access, online journal, that will publish cutting edge research across the field of Immunomics. Immunome Research will publish a wide range of article types including specialty immunology databases, immunology database tools, immunome epitope research, epitope analysis tools, high-throughput technologies , white papers, mathematical and theoretical models, and prediction tools. Immunome Research is the official journal of the International Immunomics Society (IIMMS).Immunology research has been transformed in the post-genomics era, with high throughput molecular biology and information technologies taking an increasingly central role. This has led to the development of a new area of science termed "Immunomics", that encompasses genomic, high throughput and bioinformatic approaches to immunology. In recognition of the increasing importance of this field,  The explosive growth of molecular biology and information technology has radically transformed immunology research in the post-genomics era. Gone are the days when it was possible to do cutting edge immunology research without the use of molecular tools or ability to access and analyse data from numerous, diverse databases. Cross-fertilisation between these areas has led to a whole new field, called "Immunomics" which is set to transform the way in which immunology research is practiced. Immunomics lies at the intersection of traditional 'wet lab' immunology research, high-throughput technologies and computational immunology. Computational immunology, or immuno-informatics, draws its origins from areas including theoretical immunology, mathematical modelling, artificial intelligence, database management and sequence-alignment tools. The combination of traditional immunology with immuno-informatics, systems biology, high throughput genomics and proteomic molecular technologies is what makes immunomics so powerful.Immunome Research is an Open Access, online journal, that will publish cutting edge research across the field of Immunomics. Immunome Research's Open Access policy changes the way in which articles are published. First, all articles become freely and universally accessible online as soon as they are published, so an author's work can be read by anyone at no cost. Second, the authors hold copyright for their work and grant anyone the right to reproduce and disseminate the article, provided that it is correctly cited and no errors are introduced [Immunome Research's articles are archived in PubMed Central [Given the increasingly central role of immunomics in immunology research, it is timely that the first journal devoted to original research across the field of immunomics is now launched. troduced . Third,  Central , the US  Central  in Germa Central  in Franc Central , the NatOpen Access has been described as having four broad benefits for science and the general public. First, authors are assured that their work is disseminated to the widest possible audience, given that there are no barriers to accessing their work. This is accentuated by the authors being free to reproduce and distribute their work, for example by placing it on their institution's website. It has been suggested that free online articles are more highly cited because of their easier availability . Second,Immunome Research there was no specialty journal covering the new and rapidly expanding domain of immunomics. Previously, researchers were forced to publish their immunomics research either in general immunology or bioinformatics journals. Such journals do not have ready access to expert reviewers with knowledge across all domains of experimental immunology, high throughput technologies and immuno-informatics. Furthermore, researchers interested in the area of immunomics could not easily access or find relevant papers, which were spread across many different journals.Prior to the launch of Immunome Research is the official journal of the International Immunomics Society (IIMMS). IIMMS has a rapidly growing membership that has expressed the need to have a high quality specialist journal to provide consistent standards to the field of immunomics and to provide a focal point for growth of this area. IIMMS has established a number of working committees, a key role of which will be to develop white papers in their target areas, thereby providing a framework, structure and standards to ensure rapid and consistent growth of these key areas within immunomics.Immunome Research will publish a wide range of article types including specialty immunology databases, immunology database tools, immunome epitope research, epitope analysis tools, high-throughput technologies , white papers, mathematical and theoretical models, and prediction tools. Manuscripts in keeping with the journal's scope can be submitted online through the journal website. Each manuscript will be sent to two independent reviewers who will then provide written feedback, and indicate whether or not it is acceptable for publication.The difficulties in the development and application of computational immunology tools include the high complexity of immunological processes, the intrinsic imprecision of biological measurements, and the biases and misconceptions inherent to the scientific endeavour. Care needs to be taken that the computational tools are adequate and that they properly model the underlying immunological processes. The biases and misconceptions can easily be encoded in computational tools resulting in misinterpretation of the insights provided by computational approaches. One role of computational immunology is to convert immunological into computational problems; solve computational problem using mathematical and computational approaches, and we can then aim to convert these results into biologically meaningful interpretations.Immunome Research aims to become a valuable resource for the whole immunology research community.Bioinformatic tools available for database searching and biological sequence analysis have become increasingly sophisticated. These tools allow quick identification of sequences of interest and provide some bibliographic, taxonomic and feature information. Tools for sequence comparison, motif searching, or sequence profiling assist researchers in identifying biologically relevant sequence similarities and features. A newer generation of computational tools enables the modelling of biological interactions and simulation of laboratory experiments. These tools help researchers to identify and focus upon relevant experiments, thus speeding up the discovery process. Biological databases, sequence comparison tools, and more complex modelling and simulation tools are core resources, therefore, for computer-assisted discovery and data analysis. By providing a forum for publication of scientific articles across the broad domain of immunomics,


The International Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity (IJBNPA) has celebrated its third birthday. In February 2004 the IJBNPA (IJBNPA) was launched with the first official IJBNPA publication, an editorial of the founding editors-in-chief of the journal, Simone French and Tony Worsley. This official start was the result of more than six months of careful planning and preparations following the first annual meeting of the International Society of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity in Seattle in June 2003 and involving the Executive and Communications Committees of the society.The journal is now in its fourth year. There is a steady growth in the number of papers that are submitted to the journal . The journal is dedicated to only publish high-quality papers on innovative research on physical activity and eating behaviors. The number of papers that meet our strict quality and innovation criteria is limited, which is reflected by the number of papers that actually gets published .Because IJBNPA is an electronic journal, authors learn very quickly whether their paper will be published in the IJBNPA, and this swift review and publication process means that important research results, new theoretical insights, or important commentaries on emerging behavioral nutrition and physical activity issues can be shared with the relevant scientific and practice communities in a timely manner. The average time from initial submission to publication is 161 days.The papers that are published by the IJBNPA garner attention. According to the tracking information that is provided by the IJBNPA publisher, BioMed Central, in January 2006 ten of the 35 papers published in the IJBNPA were 'highly accessed' . Nine papers have been accessed more than 4,000 times, and the most frequently accessed paper was accessed more than 30,000 times over all [The papers published by the IJBNPA are mainly original empirical studies on important behavioral nutrition and physical activity issues. However, commentary papers are also published. For example, three ' theory debate' papers were recently published that discussed the strengths and weaknesses of behavioral theories applied in behavioral nutrition and physical activity research and practice -4.In 2005, the IJBNPA editorial board was expanded to 21 members from a wider range of countries (10 countries represented) and a further expansion is underway. IJBNPA is supported by a large and diverse group of peer-reviewers. These researchers who are willing to allocate their valuable time to provide critical comments to papers submitted to IJBNPA form the real backbone of the journal. Peer-review is an important basis for scientific quality control and progress, including that of IJBNPA.The journal is now indexed in PubMed and Embase, and indexing in Psychinfo is underway.encourage and disseminate novel and innovative research on physical activity and eating behaviors", with an "international focus" to "to redress the current narrow focus of models and interventions that have been developed and evaluated in homogeneous settings in the western industrialized world". IJBNPA aims to "include multiple levels of analysis, including populations, groups and individuals" and "include epidemiology, and behavioral, theoretical and measurement research areas", while maintaining "methodological rigor and high standards of scholarship".In their 2004 kick-off editorial French and Worsley clearly presented the goals of IJBNPA  to "encoThanks to the authors, peer-reviewers, editorial board members, ISBNPA members, and others who have contributed to the journal, the IJBNPA has begun to realize these important goals. But we are not there yet; the journal needs to be further strengthened.First, the number of high-quality papers published in IJBNPA needs to increase. At this stage, all ISBNPA members are called to submit their innovative and high-quality work to IJBNPA and to encourage their colleagues to do so.One important criterion considered by many when deciding where to submit their most interesting research papers is a journal's 'Impact Factor' (IF). The (in)famous score is based on how often papers in a journal are cited by others. Journals must meet several criteria prior to receiving an IF. Because it is so new, the IJBNPA does not yet have an IF. The editors are working with the IJBNPA publishers to develop the journal so that an IF can be given to the journal. So your high-quality papers are needed more than ever to continue to build a stronger IJBNPA with a high IF. Your support is also needed through encouraging your colleagues to submit their highest quality research papers to the IJBNPA and to frequently cite articles published in the IJBNPA in their own published papers.The Editors of the IJBNPA have been energized by the quality and quantity of interesting and innovative research published in the journal to date, and by the support for the journal from the nutrition and physical activity behavioral research community. Thank you for sharing your best work with the journal and for actively participating in the development of this exciting new research area. We look forward to working together to move the field forward into the future.


It has been three years since the publication of the first article in the Journal of Carcinogenesis; it was the editorial that espoused the need for the launch of the journal. Having seen three springs and three falls, it is time to ask where we are as a journal and where we want to be in the years to come.The past three years have been satisfying publishing years for JC, given the fact that it is an online publication with processing charges paid by the authors under the open access model and there has been stiff competition from the established print journals. The quality of manuscripts published in JC is very impressive and I am confident that it will only improve as the journal grows. Scientists seem to be conditioned to measure the quality of a journal and the articles it publishes in terms of 'impact factor'. I am glad that JC has made a significant impact on the carcinogenesis research community and I am sure that an impact factor for the journal will follow soon. was recently founded with New Jersey, USA, as a home base.As we enter our fourth year, we have a reason to be upbeat. We have been fortunate in attracting several international scientists, both from industry and academia, to the Editorial Board. I am especially pleased that Dr. Rishab Gupta, director of immunodiagnosis and Vice-president for Education at John Wayne Cancer Institute, joined the editorial board as a managing editor. He brings outstanding leadership and vision to the editorial board. I am also pleased to announce that Carcinogenesis Foundation Acquired Risk for Cancer Incidence, ARCI. A manuscript being published in the Journal of Carcinogenesis in November 2005 presents an interesting work that supports the concept of ARCI. . Investigations into new paradigms like ARCI will have a far-reaching impact on the field of carcinogenesis and will open up new horizons for the scientific endeavors that seek to unravel the molecular secrets of malignant transformation of a normal cell. Several interesting questions are currently being addressed in the field of carcinogenesis research and they are expected to lead to insightful answers. Carcinogenesis Foundation and the Journal of Carcinogenesis will have tremendous opportunity to contribute to understanding the carcinogenesis processes and thereby to chemoprevention efforts.The formation of the Carcinogenesis Foundation is a historic opportunity. While its goal is to promote and advance research in the field of carcinogenesis, it has a specialized mission of understanding the phenomenon of increased cancer incidence among individuals who migrate to the western countries. The phenomenon is conceptualized and can be called While research is underway in several laboratories around the world, the public is waiting with a hope; a hope that a clear message that they could trust would emerge as to which factors increase the risk of carcinogenesis and which do not as the enlightened scientific community may have already deliberated and researched on them. How difficult is it to answer if vitamin E and B are protective against carcinogenesis or if they promote carcinogenesis? How difficult is it to find out if aspirin or other non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs prevent cancers? It may not be difficult if proper scientific methods and approaches are employed and the outcome is not prejudiced one way or the other for any reasons. It may not be difficult if socially conscious scientists approach the questions collectively with a humane outlook. As scientific approach is expected to yield one answer to one question and that answer should be verifiable in any part of the world, where is the source of discordant results to questions like those mentioned above? There seems to be two sources, one is study design and the investigators and the other is inherent in the biology of human subjects and experimental systems used for the study.Acquired Risk for Cancer Incidence is a concept that entails us to the community based carcinogenesis and cancer prevention research. Carcinogenesis Foundation proposes to participate in and encourage efforts that attempt to understand how the inherent biological and genetic variations in individuals influence the outcome of cancer prevention trials or cancer treatment.The biotechnology industry analysts seem to think that next decade will be dominated by products and processes that address the 'personalized medicine'. It certainly is the ultimate alternative to the current 'one pill cures all' approach. However, it is inevitable to go through community-based medicine before customized medicine can become a reality. While discordant results in biomedical research may have genesis in genetic diversities of subjects, a distinct contribution for this comes from lack of uniform protocols and procedures and lack of policies to prevent irresponsible scientific practices. Unfortunately, there are no international mechanisms to impose sanctions on ill trained scientists whose results misguide the public as well as the fellow scientists. It is interesting that scientific profession is the only profession that does not have certification and professional regulations like medical profession and others. It is time to think of ways and means by which a unified approach and common protocols are employed in biomedical research. It is also imperative that the individuals who go to the bench are screened and certified for technical competence and scientific integrity. These considerations may call for the creation of a body of a 'jury scientists'. Should cancer researchers be the in the forefront of such an experiment?


Current Oncology is now included in the U.S. National Library of Medicine’s PubMed search engine. PubMed provides access to bibliographic information that spans medline and oldmedline, plus out-of-scope citations  from certain medline journals, primarily those on general science and chemistry, whose life sciences articles are indexed for medline. Until now, Current Oncology has principally been indexed in Excerpta Medica, and so we are pleased to record this development and the related vote of confidence that it reflects.The Editorial Board is pleased to announce that “Palliative care aims to improve the life of patients and families through the early identification and impeccable management of suffering associated with advanced illness and emphasis on the positive aspects of life ...” So begins the overview from Dr. Neil MacDonald in his article discussing current and past cancer symptom trials and, in particular, their scope and limitations. His hard-hitting conclusions are worthy of study.Dr. Richard Mould continues his review of significant past events that helped shape modern radiotherapy practices in his review of the management of benign diseases (a favourite examination topic in years gone by).map.3 trial, an international breast cancer prevention trial.Drs. Goss, Richardson, and Johnston introduce our new section titled “Canadian Centre Activities” with a review of the National Cancer Institute of Canada Clinical Trials Group And in the Practice Guidelines section, panel reviews of the management of glioblastoma multiforme and the role of alemtuzumab in chronic lymphocytic leukemia are respectively chaired by Dr. Warren Mason and Dr. Christopher Smith.


Cough which has been founded specifically for this purpose. We also review the clinical problems posed by acute and chronic cough and highlight some of the current issues that are being tackled by cough researchers.There has been a rapidly increasing volume of research undertaken in the field of acute and chronic cough at both basic scientific and clinical levels. However, until now there has been no journal dedicated to publishing work in this field. In this editorial, we introduce the new online, open-access journal entitled  Cough. Besides being the only journal to specialise in this particular area of research, Cough is special for other reasons. Embracing the modern era of information technology, Cough is an entirely online journal. Our online submission system allows for rapid review and revision of manuscripts and when accepted, articles appear in the journal immediately. More significantly, Cough is an Open Access journal. All articles are freely and universally accessible without subscription. Authors of published articles retain the copyright to their work and the full text of each article is permanently archived in PubMed Central. It will be of interest to contributors that free online access can increase the impact of a paper [Between 2000 and 2004, the number of PubMed entries per year containing the keyword 'cough' has increased by forty percent. This partially reflects a general increase in the number of scientific publications over this period but it also represents a specific growth in interest in cough-related research. This interest spans a number of medical and scientific disciplines other than respiratory medicine, such as gastroenterology, rhinology, paediatrics, infectious disease, pharmacology, neurology, neuroanatomy, genetics, inflammation, etc. The need for a single journal that brings together clinicians and scientists in all of these disciplines with the aim of achieving a better understanding of cough-related disease has been long overdue. So it gives us great pleasure to welcome you to  a paper .Cough is a common symptom of many respiratory and non-respiratory disorders. It is useful from a diagnostic point of view to divide cough into acute (lasting less than three weeks) and chronic (lasting longer than eight weeks) types . Acute cChronic cough, on the other hand, is a rather different kettle of fish. It can arbitrarily be defined as lasting longer than eight weeks but by the time these patients reach the specialist cough centre, they have suffered for a median duration of four years . ChronicSo now that we have a forum in which cough researchers of all disciplines can take part, what directions might be taken by researchers in this field? At the level of both the afferent and efferent limbs of the cough reflex, we are now beginning to better understand the physiological and pathophysiological reflex. The anatomo-physiological approach to elucidating the cough reflex has led to the description in the guinea pig of a vagal afferent nerve subtype as being essential for defensive cough . The rolClinical cough research is, in many ways, in its infancy. Part of the reason for this might be, until relatively recently, the lack of availability of tools that adequately measure cough. For some time we have believed that almost all patients with chronic cough can be cured by systematically identifying and treating asthma, GORD and rhinosinusitis. Yet there is little evidence that proton pump inhibitors and nasal steroids have any real sustained benefit in the treatment of acid- and postnasal drip-associated cough. Sedating antihistamines combined with decongestants are reported to be effective in the treatment of cough due to rhinosinusitis but the benefits may be of central origin and have little to do with postnasal drip. Are our means of diagnosing these conditions adequate? Are our treatments appropriate and genuinely effective? There seems, anecdotally at least, to be a group of chronic coughers who elude diagnosis and do not respond to any specific treatment. These idiopathic coughers form a significant proportion of patients in certain cough centres . These pCough will help to keep us all better informed of developments in this area and assist those in the field in directing research endeavours. We would like to thank the members of our Editorial Board for their willingness to contribute both their time and expertise to this project. We are all, of course, indebted to the staff at BioMed Central for their invaluable assistance with this launch.Whatever directions are taken in the future by cough researchers, the journey will no doubt be an exciting one. The launch of A small proportion of article processing charges (APC) from accepted manuscripts goes to the editorial office to help with the running costs of the journal. Additional costs have been met by an unconditional grant from AstraZeneca.


Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine (JEE) invites manuscripts and reviews based on original interdisciplinary research from around the world on the inextricable relationships between human cultures and nature, on Traditional Environmental Knowledge (TEK), folk and traditional medical knowledge, as well as on the relevance of the above for Primary Health Care (PHC) policies in developing countries.Ethnobiology is a multidisciplinary field of study that draws on approaches and methods from both the social and biological sciences. Ethnobiology aims at investigating culturally based biological and environmental knowledge, cultural perception and cognition of the natural world, and associated behaviours and practices. Ethnomedicine is concerned with the cultural interpretations of health, disease and illness and also addresses the health care seeking process and healing practices. Research interest and activities in the areas of ethnobiology and ethnomedicine have increased tremendously in the last decade. Since the inception of the disciplines, scientific research in ethnobiology and ethnomedicine has made important contributions to understanding traditional subsistence and medical knowledge and practice. The  Ethnobiology is a multidisciplinary field of study that draws on approaches and methods from both the social and biological sciences. "Ethnobiology" has proven a rather difficult term to define since the scope of ethnobiological studies has changed considerably throughout history. One of its more recent definitions refers to the study of the reciprocal relationships between human cultures and the natural world . ReciproEthnobiology aims at investigating culturally-based biological and environmental knowledge, cultural perception and cognition of the natural world, and associated behaviours and practices.Ethnomedicine is concerned with the cultural interpretations of health, disease and illness and also addresses the health care-seeking process and healing practices.In both ethnobiology and ethnomedicine, the documentation of the consequences of particular behaviours and practices is through cultural and biological expertise intrinsic to the fields of anthropology and biology/medicine..Research interest and activities in the areas of ethnobiology and ethnomedicine have increased tremendously in the last decade. The number of research publications has doubled and the three international, widely recognised scientific societies involved in this area  have witnessed a continuous growth in their memberships. These three societies held their first joint scientific congress in June 2004 in the UK. Convention for Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage that was signed at the 32nd Session of UNESCO in Paris on 17 October 2003 includes the domain of knowledge and practices concerning nature and the universe. These developments convey a clear message that development paradigms are changing, recognizing that development must be considered in a manner that includes intellectual and spiritual traditions as well as indigenous and local peoples' rights to self-determination.Over the last ten years there has been a phenomenal growth of interest in indigenous, folk and local knowledge and practices among international organizations and the international development community, which include the World Health Organization (WHO), the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) and the World Bank. This interest is rooted in the growing understanding that indigenous knowledge and practices have a substantial value in the fields of agriculture, environmental management and biodiversity conservation, and health care. There is an increasing awareness that indigenous and local knowledge should be understood and utilized in any attempt to enhance human welfare. Importantly, the UNESCO Since the inception of the disciplines, scientific research in ethnobiology and ethnomedicine has made important contributions to our understanding of traditional subsistence and medical knowledge and practice. More recently, the focus has increasingly been on the issues of human well-being and environmental sustainability. The boundaries between ethnobiology and ethnomedicine are increasingly merging to address complex questions. An example includes the fight against malaria and the need to understand the complex interrelationships between cultural practices, knowledge and the environment. This requires an understanding of how local practices in agriculture facilitate or counter the spread of the vector, how people understand the life cycle of the mosquito and the epidemiology of malaria, how malaria symptoms are culturally identified and interpreted, and what kind of traditional medical treatments are being used, as well as how effective these treatments are . On the Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine will fill this void. It is our opinion that a new free-access journal in this area, sustained by a large part of the world-wide community of scholars who are working in these fields and the Editorial Board , will improve the circulation and exchange of high quality research in ethnobiology and ethnomedicine. Furthermore, we believe that the free and unhindered flow of information will not only promote a rapid increase in scientific knowledge but will also allow science to better serve the public community as a whole.There is a growing demand for access to integrated empirical studies in ethnobiology and ethnomedicine beyond the scope of the journals that are currently available. Much of the scientific literature in this interdisciplinary area can be categorized as being spread throughout a number of different scientific journals, where often ethnobiology and ethnomedicine are not the primary focus. While some journals do focus on ethnobiology, or on certain aspects of ethnomedicine , a widelJournal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine (JEE) invites manuscripts and reviews based on original interdisciplinary research from around the world on the inextricable relationships between human cultures and nature, on Traditional Environmental Knowledge (TEK), folk and traditional medical knowledge, as well as on the relevance of the above for Primary Health Care (PHC) policies in developing countries.The Topics include ethnobotany, ethnozoology, ethnoecology (including ethnopedology and ethnoclimatology), ethnopharmacy (ethnopharmacognosy/folk Materia Medica), ethnomedicine, ethnoveterinary, Traditional Medicines (TMs), traditional health care in households and domestic arenas, migrant health care/urban ethnobiology, pluralistic health care in developing countries, evidence-based community health, visual ethnobiology and ethnomedicine, gender studies and ethnobiology as well as other related areas in nutritional, medical and visual anthropology. Manuscripts focussing exclusively on phytopharmacological or phytochemical investigations of traditionally used biological materials do not fit in the scope of the journal, nor do papers purely about paleobotanical, agricultural or botanical studies. The journal will be particularly keen to draw the attention of external stakeholders  to the relevance of the traditional management of the environment in biological and cultural conservation.Potential readers of the journal are ethnobiologists, environmentalists, ethnopharmacists, physicians, veterinarians, health care specialists, medical, cognitive, and cultural anthropologists, development workers, and policy makers.JEE is a peer-reviewed journal. The entire reviewing process will be managed and recorded electronically. Each submission will go through a pre-evaluation process in which the Editor-in-Chief and one of the Editors (a native English speaker) will provide a cursory examination for basic English language adequacy, evaluate whether the manuscript fits the scope of the journal, and check the relevance of the manuscript to the international scientific audience of the JEE. This process will take one week.The Thereafter, authors of manuscripts deemed inappropriate will be informed. Authors of manuscripts with English language problems that fit within the scope of the journal will be informed and welcomed to resubmit their manuscripts after language editing. Manuscripts that do not fit broadly within the scope of the journal will be rejected. Manuscripts passing the initial pre-screening will go through the peer review process. This process should last no longer than four weeks (except in the cases of requests for major revisions).The Editor-in-Chief will select one Deputy/Associate Editor as Managing Editor in charge of the peer review process for the manuscript. The Editor-in-Chief can also act as Managing Editor.The Managing Editor will send the manuscript to two appropriate scholars who are internationally recognized experts in the specific field(s) featured in the manuscript, including at least one of the JEE Editorial Board Members. In the case that one of the experts, or both, would decline, the Managing Editor will send the manuscript as soon as possible to other reviewers. It is the Managing Editor's responsibility to manage the process within the given timescale.Both reviews will be double-blinded peer reviews (neither reviewers nor authors will be able to see their names/identities).Once peer reviews are received by the Managing Editor, the Managing Editor will decide the status of the manuscript, being either:- acceptable as it is- acceptable with minor revisions and corrections - to be rejectedFollowing resubmission with revisions drafted by the author(s), it is up to the Managing Editor to decide whether the manuscript should be returned to the original reviewers in order to obtain their final comments. This will depend on the nature and extent of the revisions. The Managing Editor will then make an editorial decision on the manuscript.In case of divergent opinions between two reviewers where the Managing Editor is unable to make a final decision, he/she will ask for assistance from one of the Associate or Deputy Editors of the journal.The Managing Editor will then send the peer reviews and the editorial decision to the Editor-in-Chief for final approval. The final decision communicated to authors will be sent out by the Editor-in-Chief.If the Managing Editor's final decision diverges from the overall view of the Editor-in-Chief, the Editor-in-Chief will ask for the assistance of one of the Deputy Editors. The final decision will be taken by the Editor-in-Chief.When the Managing Editor assigned to the manuscript is unable to meet the proposed deadlines for handling the manuscript, the Editor-in-Chief will select another Managing Editor for the manuscript or will act in some cases as (operative) Managing Editor.Journal of Ethnobiology and Ethnomedicine Open Access policy changes the way in which articles are published. First, all articles become freely and universally accessible online, so an author's work can be read by anyone at no cost. Second, the authors hold copyright for their work and grant anyone the right to reproduce and disseminate the article, provided that it is correctly cited and no errors are introduced [JEE's articles are archived in PubMed Central [The troduced . Third,  Central , the US  Central  in Germa Central  in Franc Central , the NatOpen Access has four broad benefits for science and the general public. First, authors are assured that their work is disseminated to the widest possible audience, given that there are no barriers to access their work. This is accentuated by the authors being free to reproduce and distribute their work, for example by placing it on their institution's website. Some studies have suggested a correlation between Open Access, higher citations, and higher Impact factors . Second,The author(s) declare that they have no competing interests.


Behavioral and Brain Functions (BBF) is an Open Access, peer-reviewed, online journal considering original research, review, and modeling articles in all aspects of neurobiology or behavior, favoring research that relates to both domains. Behavioral and Brain Functions is published by BioMed Central. The greatest challenge for empirical science is to understand human behavior; how human behavior arises from the myriad functions such as attention, language, memory and emotion; how these functions are reflected in brain structures and functions; and how the brain and behavior are altered in disease. Behavioral and Brain Functions covers the entire area of behavioral and cognitive neuroscience – an area where animal studies traditionally play a prominent role. Behavioral and Brain Functions is published online, allowing unlimited space for figures, extensive datasets to allow readers to study the data for themselves, and moving pictures, which are important qualities assisting communication in modern science. Behavioral and Brain Functions (BBF) is an Open Access, peer-reviewed, online journal considering original research, review, and modeling articles in all aspects of neurobiology or behavior, favoring research that relates to both domains. BBF is published by BioMed Central.Brain Awareness Week in March every year. The "Decade of the Brain" (1990–2000) was also important for promoting the field. The interdisciplinary nature of the field covers developments in human and animal behavioral science, neuroscience, neuropsychology, cognitive psychology, neurobiology, linguistics, computer science, and philosophy.The greatest challenge for empirical science is to understand human behavior, how human behavior arises from the myriad functions such as attention, language, memory and emotion, how these functions are reflected in the human brain, and how brain functions and behavior are altered in disease. Behavioral and cognitive neuroscience investigates the psychological, computational, and neuroscientific bases of normal and abnormal behavior. It is a field that receives a lot of attention through the Behavioral and Brain Functions is the first Open Access journal for basic research covering the entire area of behavioral and cognitive neuroscience – an area where animal studies traditionally play a prominent role. Behavioral and Brain Functions is published online, allowing unlimited space for figures, extensive datasets to allow readers to study the data for themselves, and moving pictures, which are important qualities assisting communication in modern science.Behavioral and Brain Functions' Open Access policy changes the way in which articles are published. First, all articles become freely and universally accessible online, and so an author's work can be read by anyone at no cost. Second, the authors hold copyright for their work and grant anyone the right to reproduce and disseminate the article, provided that it is correctly cited and no errors are introduced [Behavioral and Brain Functions' articles are archived in PubMed Central [troduced . Third,  Central , the US  Central  in Germa Central  in Franc Central , the NatOpen Access has four broad benefits for science and the general public. First, authors are assured that their work is disseminated to the widest possible audience, given that there are no barriers to access their work. This is accentuated by the authors being free to reproduce and distribute their work, for example by placing it on their institution's website. It has been suggested that free online articles are more highly cited because of their easier availability . Second,BBF Editorial Board are actively involved in promoting research and assisting researchers in poor and developing countries through The International Brain Research Organization (IBRO).The editorial board covers a broad cross-section of brain and behavior research. Several members of the Behavioral and Brain Functions. Peer review is anonymous. A recommendation of acceptance or rejection is at the discretion of the Editors based on the reviewers' recommendations. Articles will be published immediately upon acceptance and soon after they will be listed in PubMed and archived in PubMed Central as well as other national archives.Publication of research articles in the broad area of behavioral and cognitive neuroscience is dependent on: relevance to the aims of the journal; scientific validity and excellence; and coherence with the research area as a whole, as judged by two independent reviewers. An Editorial Board oversees the peer review of manuscripts submitted to Behavioral and Brain Functions have no financial incentive to accept manuscripts as they are not paid on the basis of the number of manuscripts accepted. In fact, they do not receive any financial remuneration for their involvement with the journal. We insist that decisions about a manuscript are based on the quality of the work, not on whether the authors' can pay the article-processing charge. Authors will be asked to declare any competing interests that they have.The Editor-in-Chief and the Editorial Board of


The scope of the journal includes both basic and applied research on halophilic organisms and saline environments, from gene systems to ecosystems. The stated goal of the journal is to meet publication needs for researchers working in coastal and inland saline environments and provide an interdisciplinary and readily accessible forum for scientists worldwide. The inaugural volume of the journal contains a significant number of high quality original research papers and reviews on a wide range of relevant topics. At the end of the launch period, from January 1, 2006 onwards, the journal will be introducing article-processing charges to cover the cost of publication. Charges will be partly or completely waived for authors from BioMed Central institutional subscribers and in cases of financial hardship.On the 4 Saline Systems [The first volume of  Systems  included Systems  provided Systems  on the eIn one microbial ecology paper, Echigo et al.  surveyedBranchipus schaefferi and Artemia franciscana. Sarma et al. [B. schaefferi are reduced at higher salinity levels, suggesting that this species is unlikely to be successful in colonizing inland saline water bodies and that proper conservation measures must be taken for their protection. Camargo et al. [A. franciscana occurring along the Colombian Caribbean coast, focusing on the species' quality for marine larvaeculture and aquaculture.Two research papers relevant to aquaculture reported studies on shrimp species, a et al.  reportedo et al.  reportedDunaliella, some of which can tolerate a wide range of salinity. This paper was a retrospective to mark the centennial of the discovery of these intriguing halophiles. Second, an extensive review of the organic compatible solutes of halotolerant and halophilic microorganisms was published by Roberts [Three reviews appeared in the first volume on diverse aspects of saline systems. A historical review was provided by Oren  on halop Roberts . This re Roberts  presenteSaline Systems by Rensing [A review of a new treatise on halophilic microorganisms was published in volume 1 of  Rensing . This bo Rensing .Saline Systems in particular. Authors should note that open access, made economically viable through APCs, provides many advantages over the traditional subscription model with its restriction to access and dissemination of knowledge (authors know that the existence of subscriptions does not exclude page and/or color charges). In the open access model, authors continue to retain copyright ownership to their publications and do not have to be concerned about the length of their manuscript or the number of figures, since the APC is a flat charge. The use of color does not incur any additional charges, and the articles are archived in perpetuity in the US NIH's PubMed Central and other archives and repositories, with free access over the world-wide-web.An important footnote is that our publisher, BioMed Central, is introducing article-processing charges (APCs) from January 1, 2006 onwards to recover the cost of publication. APCs are essential for the sustainability of open access publishing in general and for the success of Authors affiliated with institutional members of BioMed Central, of which there are over 500 at present, will continue to enjoy the advantages of membership. In many cases this will be a full waiver of APCs, although in some cases it will be a partial waiver, depending on the membership type. For those authors with hardship cases, individual waiver requests will be considered and may be granted in cases of lack of funds. A waiver application is required during the submission process, and a decision on the waiver will normally be made within two working days.Saline Systems. In 2006, we invite submissions of high quality manuscripts on all aspects of halophiles and saline environments.The past year was an exciting, fruitful, and successful inaugural year for


Dear friends, colleagues and interested scientists,Diagnostic Pathology, and I want to encourage you to assist us further on in promoting the journal into a high standard, innovative, and easy to handle instrument for distribution, discussion and promotion of surgical pathology and associated fields of medicine and science.First of all I want to express my deep gratitude for your interest in our new journal Diagnostic Pathology does exist for about nine months. It has been designed to cover all aspects of diagnostic surgical pathology or tissue based diagnosis and related medical and biological disciplines. An editorial board of well – known experts assures the scientific quality of the submitted articles. In the beginning we had to learn how to handle the new technique of digital formalization of scientific articles and the journal too. The "formal trails" are now set up to the benefit of our authors. For example, the process of reviewing lasted for about two months in the beginning. Nowadays, most of the articles are peer reviewed within two weeks or even less to give the authors the full advantage of electronic communication. Our editorial team consists of active young experts who really enjoy their duty accompanied by internationally recognized scientists. All authors who submit articles can be assured that the scientific quality is checked completely neutral. In addition, we take into account the working conditions of our colleagues who might not have access to institutional support of high scientific standards. We do hope that we have found a balance between necessary scientific quality and the conditions to work out research results.At the end of this year our open access journal In order to guide our authors our journal offers a broad spectrum of article categories ranging from case reports to hypothesis, and from commentary to methodology. Articles dealing with database and debates have not been published so far. Most of the articles display case reports, which enjoy a frequent access by the readers too. For example, two of the 19 published case reports have been read by more than 1000 readers. We can conclude that case reports still contain attractive information, even in the times of data base research. The top ten most accessed articles include reviews, research and also case reports. Within a period of less than six months nearly 4000 colleagues read our most frequently accessed article on schizophrenia proteomics. All of our top ten articles had more than 900 readers each in this short period of time. Therefore, we are convinced that our idea of an open access journal addressed to diagnostic surgical pathology will have a good chance to become well established and recognized within the scenario of conventional scientific journals.Electronic Journal of Pathology and Histology in 1995) we will try to include novel technologies in this journal too. The new ideas include the introduction of interactive publication, i.e., an extension of already published data by additional similar investigations not necessary done by the same authors; the access to image servers that host large images of similar cases or diagnoses; an interactive reading of scientists allowing to add statements or comments into the published article; or the performance of computer programs established by the authors and altered by readers. The implementation of these ideas will open a new area in scientific publication and allow to take advantage of electronic distribution of scientific data. In addition, it will combine routine diagnostic pathology with on-line research and quality assurance, for example by automated generation of references supporting or confirming a diagnostic statement. We will certainly encourage our publisher to proceed in the described direction having established the present performance and stage of our Diagnostic Pathology.As we have gathered our experience with electronic journals in editing the first solely electronically published journal in surgical pathology (Coming back to our present stage, we are fully satisfied with the number of submitted articles and their quality. Out of a total of 68 submissions we had to reject 13 articles. We are able to publish four to eight articles per month, and we are convinced that we can even increase this rate in the near future. Unfortunately, the costs of open access publication are quite high for many authors. We try to help authors not possessing the necessary financial resources as much as possible. One of our efforts is to support colleagues working in developing countries, as we believe that science should be free of financial environment and interest as far as the circumstances permit.Therefore, we would like to encourage all our colleagues and especially our young colleagues and those who are interested in a broad, frequently used and free access to their articles to submit their ideas, research results, overviews, or observations on individual diagnosis, patients, or disease development to us. We assure all colleagues that our fast review process will take into consideration all aspects of their work conditions as long as a certain level of scientific quality is maintained. All our reviewers have done this duty to my full satisfaction, and I want to express my deep gratitude to them.I wish all our readers, authors, interested scientists, and members of our editorial board a Merry Christmas to personally enjoying cheerfulness, freedom, and peace, as well as a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year 2007.Berlin, December 2006Klaus Kayser M.D., Ph.D.Editor in Chief.


Recently, a number of electronic biomedical preprints servers, which allow the archiving of electronic papers without prior peer review, have been established, most notably the Clinical Medicine & Health Research NetPrints website and the The Lancet's Electronic Research Archive. These mark an extension to clinical medicine and health research of a novel experiment in the provision of public access to electronic versions of preprints. However, until now the biomedical community has been slow to adopt this new form of communication. This paper discusses how the value and attractiveness of eprint servers can be improved, and how electronic preprints  can be evaluated. Previous studies of variations in rejection rates after conventional peer review have indicated that the extent of scholarly consensus is an important variable for acceptance. This variable seems likely also to be important in readers' and editors' evaluations of eprints. A combination of unsolicited comments together with commissioned review might yield articles of higher quality than either could accomplish alone. However, if systematically applied to all eprints, such a process would be time-consuming and labor-intensive. A sequential review process is proposed, beginning with the acceptance of a preprint by an eprint server, followed by revision on the basis of comments received publicly or privately, and by the solicitation of selected eprints for commissioned review. This sequential process could have advantages, both for the authors of articles, and for journal editors. For example, the eprint would, in effect, have been submitted simultaneously to a large number of relevant journals. Some issues about evaluative studies of the outcomes of eprint submissions are also considered briefly. It would be particularly valuable if every eprint server included access to comparative statistics on visits by readers to individual eprints. The establishment of BMJ's Clinical Medicine NetPrints  and The There has been much controversy about proposals to extend to the biomedical sciences a concept first adopted by a sub-group of physical scientists. To what extent is it appropriate to apply, more widely, experience "drawn from a well-defined and highly interactive community of voracious readers with a pre-existing hard-copy preprint habit ..." ?A proposal designed to foster electronic publications in the biomedical sciences , was stOn the other hand, a major issue addressed by these websites is the information and communication needs of researchers and health professionals in resource-poor countries . The conStated purposes of the ClinMed NetPrints website include provision of access to electronic preprints of articles, and access to facilities for direct reader feedback prior to eventual publication in a paper journal . In an eIt is increasingly widely accepted that the conventional peer review of manuscripts is "expensive, slow, prone to bias, open to abuse, possibly anti-innovatory, and unable to detect fraud," and can yield published papers that "are often grossly deficient" . A publiThe remainder of the present article is divided into four sections. In the first, a problem (variable rejection rates) that might be expected to differ for eprints in comparison with conventional peer review is considered. In the second, a case study of a "gold standard" for electronic journals, involving a combination of online peer review with a second appraisal process (online comments from readers) is reviewed. In the third, a proposal about ClinMed NetPrints, involving a sequential process, initially providing an opportunity for readers to comment, followed by an invitation for selected NetPrints to be submitted for conventional peer review, is outlined. Finally, in a concluding section, some issues about evaluative studies of eprints are outlined briefly.In 1971, Zuckerman and Merton  publisheHargens  reviewedScholarly consensus seems likely to continue to be an important variable in the evaluation of eprints, even when acceptance for inclusion on an eprint server only depends on a favorable decision by the editorial staff of the server. Cole  has poinThe establishment of some form of trust might be regarded as a crucial aspect of scholarly consensus. As Eysenbach has noted, "manuscripts may first be 'published' on the Internet, but 'establishing trust' may be a separate process and may have many different faces" .The current consensus seems to be that, although there are problems with peer review, it is unlikely to be abandoned , but mayA case study of a journal that appears only in electronic form, and uses only online review, is provided by the Journal of Interactive Media in Education (JIME) . JIME usIn the second stage, revised articles that have been approved by the editors are posted, and identified as preprints, at the publicly-accessible JIME website . RevieweIn the third stage, the authors prepare a final version, which takes into account the comments that have been received, and submit it for final publication in the archives of the journal.This process might be regarded as a "gold standard" for online peer review. However, it takes time, and requires a lot of effort by all of those who are involved. It seems unlikely to be practical unless the number of articles is quite small , where authors can monitor the progress of the review of their article using a private web page , but comMight the comments from self-selected readers be considered as a substitute for comments from referees selected by the editors? Bingham and colleagues  have addIn an editorial about the launch of ClinMed NetPrints , it was The editors of BMJ  might be well advised to consider the NetPrints posted at the ClinMed NetPrints website as equivalent to articles that have been submitted directly to their journal. After screening the NetPrints using their usual editorial screening criteria, they could decide to invite selected authors to submit their NetPrints (or revised versions of them) for conventional peer review.Thus, a posted NetPrint would, in effect, have been submitted, simultaneously, to a  large number of relevant journals. Editors of different journals might soon discover that they are in competition with each other for the solicitation of NetPrints that they found to be interesting! Authors might then find that they must choose among journals, and decide to which one they would prefer to submit to first for conventional peer review.Such a process should have advantages for authors, especially those at an early stage in their research careers. Authors of articles deemed to be of interest could quickly find an appropriate publisher. Competition among journals (and among authors) might be expected to enhance both the quality of manuscripts and the efficiency of the publication process. It seems much less likely that editors of well-established, high-impact journals would find such a proposal appealing. However, editors of newly-established journals might welcome an opportunity to rely on an existing large pool of preprints into which they could dip in order to solicit submissions, especially preprints that clearly provide an excellent fit with their journal's particular "niche." Because of the advantages of such a process for a rising generation of researchers, editors of journals that refuse to participate in such a sequential publication process might, as time passes, find that they have lost some reputation, and hence, some impact.Might comments about preprints, received from readers, provide valuable critical appraisal prior to subsequent revision and submission for formal publication? In theory, the answer should be "yes." In practice, for the preprints posted at the ClinMed NetPrints site, only a very limited number of responses have been received. For example, a search of the website on July 31, 2000 revealed only two publicly-accessible responses to the 20 NetPrints posted between December 1999 and July 2000. It appears that, in the absence of an appropriate incentive (such as a request from a well-respected editor for a peer-review commentary), responses may not be frequent, unless the topic of the preprint is an especially controversial one.Of course, public access to these NetPrints provides an opportunity for their authors to solicit, from respected colleagues, constructive criticisms via private messages, or via one or more of the many online discussion groups and forums. An example of such a forum is provided by the archives of the September 1998 American Scientist Forum, moderated by Stevan Harnad .It should be noted that, no matter which journal publishes an article, it seems likely that it will, at some point in time, become publicly accessible in a major electronic archive. Examples are JSTOR , and PubThe major proposal presented here is based on the view that eprint servers such as the ClinMed NetPrints website provide a novel opportunity for the establishment of what Peter A. Singer has called " free market in knowledge" .Preprints archived at the server could be regarded as having been submitted, simultaneously, to all interested and relevant journals , a modelEvaluative studies of eprints are needed. For example, might articles published initially as preprints, and subsequently revised on the basis of comments received (publicly or privately) from readers, be of higher quality than articles submitted directly to a journal?When making such a comparison, what criteria should be used to evaluate the quality of articles? As noted above, most studies have "used the quality of the review as an outcome measure rather than the quality of the paper" . This im


Significant efforts, time, and resources are devoted for peer-reviewing numerous CytoJournal manuscripts. The Editorial Board of CytoJournal shares a significant proportion of this activity. Additional peers are requested to join periodically as 'academic editors' and reviewers to review CytoJournal manuscripts. We thank all the reviewers and academic editors for their time and efforts for completing the peer-review of CytoJournal manuscripts during 2006. The continued success of this important academic exercise depends on their continued enthusiasm to support with their highest standards. We also thank all the contributing authors for selecting CytoJournal and supporting open access initiative, which allows retention of the copyrights to their corresponding academic accomplishments. In accordance with the 'close review' policy of CytoJournal, the peer-reviewers are not identified during the review process or in the published articles. CytoJournal periodically designates an 'academic editor' to some manuscripts for various reasons including specialized nature of topic to conflict of interest for conducting and completing the peer-review process for reviewing various manuscripts submitted to CytoJournal. The academic editors are acknowledged in the corresponding articles . As a toOn behalf of CytoJournal editorial board and Cytopathology-Foundation Inc, we thank all reviewers and academic editors participating in CytoJournal peer-review process during 2006 Table . As someWe also thank all the contributing authors for supporting the 'open access' initiative of CytoJournal. 'Open access' extends numerous benefits to the authors including the retention of their copyrights of their published material .We invite all the experts in cytopathology and related areas to join the ever increasing demand of good reviewers by sending e-mail to cytojournal@mcw.edu along with recent curriculum vitae.Sincerely,Vinod B. Shidham, MD, FRCPath, FIACExecutive editor and co-editor-in-chiefBarbara F. Atkinson, MDCo-editor-in-chief


Saline Systems addresses the publication needs of scientists conducting basic and applied research on coastal and inland saline environments and their flora and fauna. The journal covers research at all levels, from individual genes to whole genomes and entire ecosystems. Rapid progress in the molecular biology and microbial ecology of halotolerant and halophilic organisms and the sensitivity of many saline environments warrants an online journal with fast turnaround times. Many saline environments are threatened and the need for an Open Access journal to address the dissemination and sharing of knowledge on their conservation and management is compelling. Saline Systems provides an interdisciplinary forum for scientists working within all of the relevant fields. Saline Systems is being launched to address the publication needs of researchers exploring all aspects of saline environments. The journal is timely because rapid progress is being made in the molecular biology, genomics, and ecology of halotolerant and halophilic organisms inhabiting saline environments [ronments ,2. The aSaline environments, including coastal and inland ecosystems, harbour a substantial fraction of the biodiversity of the world. These serve as a major source of food for humankind through commercial fishing and aquaculture. About 3 billion people live near coastal communities, and escalating population growth and development are degrading the habitats critical to biodiversity and threatening the sustained vitality of coastal economies . GreaterThe primary aim of the journal is to enhance communication between and among scientists concerned with saline environments. Integration is intended to foster a deeper understanding of these critical environments world-wide, and of the halophilic and halotolerant organisms which inhabit them, as well as the underlying fundamental processes operating in them. Integration of knowledge at various levels is the hallmark of the systems biology approach. Such an approach permits information from interdisciplinary studies, from genetics and genomics, through physiology and biochemistry, to ecology and environmental biology, to be considered together, and sets the stage for predictive modelling of systems.Saline Systems include both coastal and inland regions, including natural lakes, marshes, springs, lagoons, and estuaries, and solar panes and other evaporitic and arid environments, and also their diverse micro- and macro-flora and -fauna. Specific approaches and research areas of interest include (1) the genomics, molecular biology, and environmental biology of halophilic and halotolerant organisms; (2) the limnology of salt lakes including microbial ecology, biogeochemical cycling, paleolimnology, and trophic and ecosystem dynamics; (3) the biodiversity, conservation, and resource management of saline environments; and (4) biotechnological applications of saline environments, including aquaculture.The environments of concern to Saline Systems covers the entire scope of the journal. The editorial board membership includes experts in the chemistry and biology of saline environments, including general limnology and biogeography, nutrient cycling, ecological modelling, and biostatistics, biology, taxonomy and phylogeny of halophilic archaea and bacteria, biology and ecology of halotolerant eukaryotes, including algae, fungi, protists, invertebrates, and plants, biology of Artemia, crustaceans, fish, and waterbirds, genomics and postgenomics of micro- and macroflora and fauna of saline environments, and aquatic conservation biology.The expertise of the editorial board of Saline Systems is an Open Access, online journal publishing high quality manuscripts on all aspects of basic and applied research on halophilic organisms and saline environments. A wide range of article types are published in the journal: research, book reviews, database articles, commentaries, methodology articles, short reports and reviews. Articles in Saline Systems are submitted and peer-reviewed via an online manuscript handling system, and accepted articles are published online immediately upon acceptance. In addition to the journal web site, the full text of each Open Access article is permanently archived in online repositories separate from the journal, including PubMed Central [Saline Systems become universally accessible online, and so an author's work can be freely read by anyone at no cost. Moreover, the authors hold copyright for their work, and they may grant anyone the right to reproduce and disseminate the article, provided that it is correctly cited and no errors are introduced [ Central , the US troduced .Saline Systems' policy of Open Access is highly beneficial for science and the general public. Traditional barriers to accessing research results are removed, resulting in dissemination to the widest possible audience. Authors become free to reproduce and distribute their work, for example on their institution's website. Articles are accessible beyond the traditional scientific audiences through increasingly powerful web search engines, which likely results in greater citations and higher impact [Saline Systems is not limited by library budgets, which are increasingly strained. Research published in the journal is accessible to all citizens, not just those with access to a library with a subscription. Importantly, scientists from resource-poor countries and institutions, as long as they have a connection to the internet [Saline Systems. It is very likely that our policy of Open Access will contribute toward levelling the scientific playing field and advance science.r impact ,8. Accesinternet , can accSaline Systems is that decisions about a manuscript are based solely on the quality of the work, not on whether the authors' can pay the article-processing charge. A fraction of the papers published in Saline Systems will have publication fees waived, at the discretion of the editors. Editors have no financial incentive or competing interest in articles published in the journal, and journal policies are intended primarily to advance science. We invite the entire community of scientists to contribute to the success of this timely field and its Open Access journal, Saline Systems.Another important policy of


Frontiers in Zoology has become a widely-read journal attracting submissions of reviews and original papers on research from all fields of zoology. To ensure that peer-reviewed research is Open Access, i.e. universally and freely available online to everyone and that it is archived in internationally recognised free repositories [Only a few months after its official launch by BioMed Central, sitories , from ApTraditionally, readers pay to access articles, either through subscriptions or by paying a fee each time they download an article. For many journals, subscription costs have increased over the last couple of years. Journal costs have always been a problem for researchers in some countries, but the recent cost escalation together with cuts in funding for universities have almost globally resulted in libraries describing to fewer journals . The avaFrontiers in Zoology are archived in PubMed Central [As summarized by Slade et al. , the Ope Central , the US  Central  in Germa Central  in Franc Central , the NatOpen Access has four broad benefits for science and the general public. First, authors are assured that their work is disseminated to the widest possible audience, given that there are no barriers to access their work. This is accentuated by the authors being free to reproduce and distribute their work, for example by placing it on their institution's website. It has been shown that free online articles are more highly cited because of their easier availability . Second,Frontiers in Zoology. Authors are asked to pay £ 330 if their article is accepted for publication. Waiver requests will be considered on a case-by-case basis, by the Editor-in-Chief. Authors can circumvent the charge by getting their institution to become a 'member' of BioMed Central, whereby the annual membership fee covers the APCs for all authors at that institution for that year. Current members include the Deutsche Zoologische Gesellschaft, who initiated and supports this journal, Harvard, Princeton and Yale universities, all UK universities, CNRS, INRA, and Institute Pasteur, Max Planck Society, and many others [Frontiers in Zoology and other BMC journals is completely free of costs for all whose institutions are listed as BioMed Central Institutional Members. Please note that no charge is made for articles that are rejected after peer review. Many funding agencies have also realized the importance of Open Access publishing and have specified that their grants may be used directly to pay APCs [APCs will allow continued Open Access to all articles published in y others . Publishpay APCs .Frontiers in Zoology does not levy additional page or colour charges on top of this fee, which can easily exceed £330. With the article being online only, any number of colour figures and photographs can be included, at no extra cost. Given that colour prints are often essential for the documentation of results from research on morphology, neurobiology, taxonomy etc. and extremely valuable also in other discipline of zoology, Frontiers in Zoology provides a suitable medium for the broad dissemination of high-quality research from all areas of zoological research.The APC pays for efficient and thorough peer review, for the article to be freely and universally accessible in various formats online, and for the processes required for inclusion in PubMed and archiving in PubMed Central, e-Depot, Potsdam and INIST. Although some authors may consider £ 330 expensive, it must be remembered that Frontiers in Zoology is not alone in the move to Open Access funded by APCs. The British Medical Journal has recently announced that it cannot continue to provide free access to its website [Although several journals now offer free access to their articles online, this is different from Open Access (as defined by the Bethesda Statement ). Journa website  and is c website . Also, t website . Given t website , the higFrontiers in Zoology to continue to publish attractive and important papers on outstanding research from all fields of zoology that will be accessible to everyone worldwide. We believe this change will support the current renaissance of integrative zoology as a modern and vigorous field of research, and we hope you will support this progress by submitting your next article to this Open Access journal.By providing a forum for Open Access, APCs will enable


Clinical Practice and Epidemiology in Mental Health will encompass all aspects of clinical and epidemiological research in psychiatry and mental health, and will aim to build a bridge between clinical and epidemiological research. There are several outstanding mental heath journals covering all aspects of this dynamic field, but none of these journals is devoted to bridging clinical and epidemiological research. The Open Access online distribution of the journal and its inclusion in the leading data bases  will ensure widespread and ready visibility, which are indispensable given the demand for immediate debate and comparison of scientific findings. This launch Editorial provides an overview of the field, and highlights some of the journal policies. Clinical Practice and Epidemiology in Mental Health (CPEMH).This editorial is designed to introduce the new online journal Mental health issues today can rely on medical model based researches, which are capable of providing reliable results following the introduction of descriptive diagnoses in psychiatry. This revolution (implying the use of a common language) took place as recently as the 1970's [Due to the current situation in psychiatric research, when providing a clinical definition for a disorder made up of a group of cases presenting a similar symptomatology and course, it may prove necessary to establish the degree of homogeneity revealed with regard to environmental and genetic risk factors. It would be of particular interest to evaluate whether the clinical homogeneity could also be extended to "conditions" identified in the general population receiving no psychiatric treatment.The association between clinical research and epidemiology is of considerable importance in the medical field, and at the current time is possibly even more so for the field of psychiatric research. Clinical Practice and Epidemiology in Mental Health will encompass all aspects of clinical and epidemiological research in psychiatry and mental health, and will aim to build a bridge between clinical and epidemiological research.CPEMH is aimed at clinicians and researchers focused on improving the knowledge base for the diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of mental health conditions; and improving the knowledge concerning frequencies and determinants of mental health conditions in the community and the populations at risk. The journal will also cover health services research and economic aspects of psychiatry, with special attention given to manuscripts presenting new results and methods in the important area of epidemiology of treatments in mental heath, particularly clinical epidemiologic investigation of psychotherapies and pharmaceutical agents.CPEMH's Open Access policy supports the changes in the way in which articles in mental health can be published [CPEMH articles are archived in the leading databases . Articles will be published online immediately upon acceptance and soon after listed in PubMed.Manuscripts submitted to the journal will be reviewed by expert reviewers in the field. Based on the above characteristics and by means of a series of commentaries on the current state of practice of different aspects of mental health, the journal will seek to stimulate discussion of the main psychiatric topics facing clinical and epidemiological research across the scientific community. An editorial board of international renown of about 50 members has been established . The memIt is no mere chance that the first commentary by Carta and Angst  deals wiThere are several outstanding mental heath journals covering all aspects of this dynamic field, but none of these journals is devoted to bridging clinical and epidemiological research. The Open Access online distribution of the journal and its inclusion in the leading databases  will ensure widespread and ready visibility, which are indispensable given the demand for immediate debate and comparison of scientific findings.We welcome any advice and input.CPEMH whose authors and readers will benefit from learning about mental health in regions of the world and in particular field of research (e.g psychotherapies vs pharmacoterapies) with limited financial resources. No member of the editorial or advisory boards of CPEMH or their Institutions will receive any portion of the article-processing charge.Critics of Open Access often suggest that Editors have a financial incentive to accept articles as more articles means more revenue. However, BioMed Central insists that decisions about a manuscript must be based on the quality of the work, not on whether the article-processing charge can be paid. This policy will certainly apply for


Particle and Fibre Toxicology, a new Open Access, peer-reviewed, online journal published by BioMed Central. The field of particle and fibre toxicology has a long and famous history stretching from Agricola and Paracelsus in the 15th and 16th century to the challenges of the 21st century-nanoparticles, nanotubes and particulate matter (PM10) to name just three. Throughout this time there has been no single journal dedicated to the toxicology of particles and fibres and this is finally corrected by the launch of Particle and Fibre Toxicology. The rationale for Particle and Fibre Toxicology rests on this need for a single multi-disciplinary journal that can cover all research relevant to particle and fibre toxicology, from Hygiene studies, through particle generation and characterisation, to animal, cell and human toxicology studies, dosimetry and modelling. The editorial also deals with the philosophy and practicalities of Open Access publishing, the journal's peer-review policy and conflict-of-interest. Particle and Fibre Toxicology is aimed at bringing together multi-disciplinary research findings towards a better understanding of how particles and fibres adversely affect the lungs and the body generally. We hope that the launch of the new journal will aid in the advance of this important discipline to the greater benefit of occupational and public health and invite scientists working in this key discipline to submit their research.This Editorial is to announce  Particle and Fibre Toxicology is a new Open Access, peer-reviewed, online journal published by BioMed Central, which will publish articles pertaining to all aspects of the toxicological effects of particles and fibres. Particles and fibres are toxicologically important in many scenarios. There is exposure, leading to adverse health effects, during manufacture and use of industrial products, accidental exposure during disturbance of the earth's crust in mining and quarrying, accidental exposure from general anthropogenic sources in the environment, and exposure to organic particles containing biologically active compounds such as endotoxins and glucans. Traditionally the particles and fibres most intensively studied include, PM10, PM2.5, asbestos, synthetic vitreous fibres, metals, quartz , and coalmine dust. There are, however, numerous other particle types under study. The diseases and conditions caused or affected by exposure to particles include cancer, fibrosis, asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and cardiovascular disease. Recently there has been increasing interest in the extra-pulmonary effects of particles, such as transport of particles to the blood and brain and the consequences of such transport on neurological function, blood coagulation and cardiovascular health.Recently a whole new class of particles, those in the nanoparticle size range, have come under intense scrutiny. Among those nanotubes and their toxicological effects are also receiving increased attention. Nanoparticles are increasingly used in 'Nanomedicine' for diagnostic, imaging and therapeutic purposes and these require special toxicological considerations .Particle and Fibre Toxicology welcomes manuscripts dealing with the following toxicological aspects pertaining to particles and fibres: mechanistic studies, dosimetry, physicochemical factors in particle toxicity, animal studies, the role of size in particle toxicity, the role of composition in particle toxicity, cell studies, studies in acellular systems, biopersistence and durability studies, studies aimed at improving the dose metric, inhalation studies with real and surrogate particles, mathematical modelling, deposition and clearance studies, anatomical and histological studies, regulation and regulatory studies, pathology studies, risk assessment, translocation studies on the fate of particles, and all toxicological studies that throw light on how particles cause harmful effects in the lungs, liver, blood and nervous system. Particle and Fibre Toxicology especially welcomes manuscripts relating to the toxicological hazards and risks of nanoparticles and nanotubes especially when used for specific biomedical purposes. The journal will consider the following types of article: research, commentary, debate, hypothesis, methodology articles, reviews and short reports.The field of particle and fibre toxicology has a long and famous history. During the 15th and 16th centuries Agricola and Paracelsus were the first to document lung diseases caused by inhalation of dust and by the time of the Industrial Revolution in 18th and 19th century, the toll of ill-health from dusty trades was enormous, with industrial hygiene still in its infancy. By the 20th century the global epidemic of lung disease caused by asbestos and crystalline silica demonstrated that the toxicology of dusts and fibres was still 'a work in progress'. In the 21st century we face the old challenges plus new ones, such as environmental particulate air pollution, the new focus on the extra-pulmonary effects of particles and potential risks from nanoparticles arising from the nanotechnology industry. A journal dedicated to the toxicology of particles and fibres is a new and worthy addition to this long history.Particle and Fibre Toxicology will provide a unique single outlet and focus of expertise in this multi-disciplinary subject. Those involved in research into particles and fibres include physicists, chemists, materials scientists, environmental scientists, hygienists, mechanistic toxicologists, inhalation toxicologists, cell biologists, medical specialists, epidemiologists and risk assessors. A single target journal specialising in particle and fibre toxicology will provide a focus for the diverse community employed in this global research enterprise. Focusing on the interface between particles/fibres and humans, Particle and Fibre Toxicology should aid in the advance of this important discipline to the ultimate improvement of occupational and public health.Studies on topics related to particle and fibre toxicology translate into thousands of scientific articles each year but historically these have been scattered across numerous journals. The target toxicology journal is usually chosen on the basis of the endpoint under study, or if humans are exposed, occupational and environmental journals may be chosen. Those experienced in particle and fibre research appreciate the special expertise required to carry out and interpret toxicological studies because of potentially confusing factors such as absorption, aggregation, surface coating, dosimetry and overload. Such details are not always appreciated by non-specialists. Particle and Fibre Toxicology. Peer review is anonymous. A recommendation of acceptance or rejection is at the discretion of the Editors based on the reviewers' recommendations and will be agreed in consultation with the reviewers. Articles will be published immediately upon acceptance (after peer review) and soon after they will be listed in PubMed and archived in PubMed Central.Publication of research articles in the broad area of particle toxicology is dependent on: relevance to the aims of the journal; scientific validity and excellence; and coherence with the research area as a whole, as judged by two independent reviewers. An International Editorial Board oversee the peer review of manuscripts submitted to Particle and Fibre Toxicology's Open Access policy changes the way in which articles are published. First, all articles become freely and universally accessible online, and so an author's work can be read by anyone at no cost. Second, the authors hold copyright for their work and grant anyone the right to reproduce and disseminate the article, provided that it is correctly cited and no errors are introduced [Particle and Fibre Toxicology's articles are archived in PubMed Central [troduced . Third,  Central , the US  Central  in Germa Central  in Franc Central , the NatOpen Access has four broad benefits for science and the general public. First, authors are assured that their work is disseminated to the widest possible audience, given that there are no barriers to access their work. This is accentuated by the authors being free to reproduce and distribute their work, for example by placing it on their institution's website. It has been suggested that free online articles are more highly cited because of their easier availability . Second,Particle and Fibre Toxicology all articles accepted by the journal will be subject to an article processing charge of $525. The fee will be payable by the authors unless their institution is a BioMed Central member, but will be waived in cases of genuine hardship.6 months after the launch of Particle and Fibre Toxicology should also help by acting as a focus for multidisciplinary research in this area. We therefore look on Particle and Fibre Toxicology as a significant opportunity to advance this important area of public and occupational health and invite scientists in this field to submit their work.The information revolution is a double-edged sword felt as keenly in science as anywhere else. We live in an age where health science is a multimillion pound/euro/dollar industry and its product, scientific articles, are produced in vast numbers. Scientists and regulators struggle to find this information and interpret it in ways that will benefit human health. This is particularly relevant in toxicology of particles and fibres because of its multidisciplinary nature. Open access publishing clearly helps us make our way through the forest of information by publishing rapidly and allowing easy access to research articles. Our new journal Particle and Fibre Toxicology have no financial incentive to accept manuscripts as they are not paid on the basis of the number of manuscripts accepted. In fact, they do not receive any financial remuneration for their involvement with the journal. We insist that decisions about a manuscript are based on the quality of the work, not on whether the authors' can pay the article-processing charge. Authors will be asked to declare any competing interests that they have.The Editor-in-Chief and the Editorial Board of


Diagnostic Pathology [Welcome to the new journal athology ! This joWhy a new pathology journal, and why in a solely electronic presentation?Diagnostic Pathology follows from the statement: We want to publish submitted articles independent of any restrictions arising from the conditions imposed by regular print issues. Traditional print journals need to adjust the number of published articles to the available space. If space is a scarce resource, this may mean rejecting submissions that should be published or result in a long waiting time until publication. Alternatively, if the number of submissions is low, the situation may result in acceptance of articles that do not meet stringent quality criteria. These outcomes are undesirable and amount to non-scientific behavior. As an online journal that publishes articles immediately on acceptance, with no dictates from deadlines, issues and volumes, Diagnostic Pathology is under no pressure to publish any article that does not stand up to fair but strict peer review.One reason to start Our second motivation for launching is a response to another basically unscientific practice that colleagues loathe but often find forced to pursue. I am referring to the common practice of submitting to the journal with the highest available impact factor; if the article does not get accepted, the journal with the next lower ranking will be selected, and so on. What gets entirely ignored is the very point of conducting science: the dissemination of knowledge to anyone who is interested, be it as fellow researchers, patients, or in any other capacity. The practice described above more often than not leads to publication in journals that are inaccessible for many, if not the vast majority of people who would like to have access.Traditional journals offer restricted access to articles. Often only the title, keywords, and abstract are available for free. The download of the full article then requires a payment by the requesting scientist or her/his institution. As a consequence, many researchers read only the abstract of the article they are interested in, rather than the full article. This practice is even worse as several journals restrict the abstract size of their articles to less than 300 words. From the scientific point of view, a far better strategy is to offer all readers unrestricted access to the full articles.Diagnostic Pathology will accept any publication as long as it is sound science and holds the potential for scientific impact – which, with the exception of a few rare discoveries, is largely unpredictable anyway. We are convinced that a very considerable number of research articles have been rejected by 'high score' journals due to various non-scientific reasons. The embedding of Diagnostic Pathology into the World Wide Web and its free global accessibility offers all published articles the judgment of the interested scientific community. Thus, the scientific value of an article published in Diagnostic Pathology is subject to the evaluation of the scientific community only.Diagnostic Pathology will levy an article-processing charge for each manuscript accepted after peer review (payable on acceptance). However, there will be an initial period without charges, and many colleagues will find that their institutions or funding agencies will cover the costs for them [To enable the journal to make all of its content open access, for them ,3.Diagnostic Pathology as a new open access journal. We will certainly do our best to ensure that both sides, authors and the research community, will benefit from this new and exciting scientific initiative.I can only encourage my colleagues to carefully weigh the scientific and financial arguments and to submit articles to


Natural philosophy once spanned the fields of philosophy, science, and medicine. Scientific disciplines and medical specialties have rapidly achieved independence, and the availability of the internet and open-access publishing promises a further expansion of knowledge. Nevertheless, a consideration of the grounding concepts and ethical principles that underlie health care remains paramount. It is timely, therefore, to contribute to the global conversation on health care with an open-access journal that focuses on addressing the conceptual basis of medicine and related disciplines, considering the ethical aspects of clinical practice, and exploring its intersection with the humanities (including history of medicine). Open-access publishing has been a spectacular innovation for science and medicine, giving readers rapid and free access to new information, and launching a global conversation on health care. Health care researchers and practitioners have, in turn, busily produced new basic experiments, clinical trials, and reviews and guidelines for publication on the world-wide web, spurring further virtual debate and discussion. It is timely, we believe, to contribute to this conversation by making space for an open-access journal that takes a particularly broad view of health care, addressing the conceptual basis of medicine and related disciplines, considering the ethical aspects of clinical practice, and exploring its intersection with the humanities (including history of medicine).Those interested in the conceptual and historical roots of medicine will not need reminding that early on work in natural philosophy spanned philosophy, science, and medicine. While scientific advances have led to the development of an ever-growing range of scientific disciplines and medical specialties, a consideration of the grounding concepts and ethical principles that underlie health care remains as crucial as ever. Indeed, advances in knowledge, and changes in practice, mean that these grounding concepts and ethical principles require constant reconsideration and reworking. This, then, is the work of philosophy of medicine, of bioethics, and of work at the overlap between the clinic and the humanities.Philosophy, Ethics, and Humanities in Medicine is the first open-access journal that aims to expand the discussion on health care by focusing on the intersection between philosophy, ethics, and the humanities and clinical theory and practice. The arguments for open access have been outlined previously; authors are ensured of wide dissemination of their work and are at liberty to further reproduce and disseminate their articles, readers can find articles on standard search engines and obtain ready access regardless of the quality of their libraries, and taxpayers are easily able to review the outputs of publicly funded research [To our knowledge research . The advIn the spirit of open-access publishing and the internet conversation on health care, we will encourage a broad range of submissions, hoping to attract authors from different disciplines. Details of our editorial board and editorial policy are available on the journal's website . The jouWe hope that those working at the intersection between philosophy, ethics, the humanities and clinical theory and practice will become increasingly aware of the value of open-access publication, and will use the journal to contribute to the ongoing global conversation on health care. We are aware, on the other hand, that this is an intersection that has relatively little funding and few full-time researchers, and so attracting a steady flow of articles and discussion represents a considerable challenge. But if the good practice of medicine necessarily requires a good conceptual base – then we have little choice but to launch this journal, and to attempt to extend the virtual debate on health care to address its foundational constructs and practices.Dan Stein has received research grants and/or consultancy honoraria from Astrazeneca, Eli-Lilly, GlaxoSmithKline, Lundbeck, Orion, Pfizer, Pharmacia, Roche, Servier, Solvay, Sumitomo, and Wyeth.