As the International Journal of Radiation Biology (IJRB) continues into its second half century of publication, the Editors want to express their profound thanks to the authors who have chosen to submit their work to IJRB and the referees who have given of their time and expertise to review this work. The success of IJRB is dependent on the continuing support of all our authors and reviewers as well as the recruitment of new authors and reviewers.
The active participation of the twenty-seven members of our Editorial Board (from eleven different countries and listed on the inside cover of IJRB) in the manuscript review process, in decisions regarding the suitability for publication of manuscripts and in suggestions regarding Journal policy continues to be a source of support for the Editors.
Looking back on 2010
We are happy to report that our featured illustrations on the cover of monthly issues of the Journal have received a positive response from authors and readers. Each illustration is taken from an article appearing in that monthly issue. An acknowledgement of this article is made on the inside cover of the Journal. New manuscripts were received from over thirty-five different countries. We are always on the look-out for outstanding manuscripts, either original work or a succinct review.
IJRB has joined the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), an organization whose membership is made up of a number of scientific peer reviewed journals. COPE is concerned about the integrity of peer-review and provides a forum for journals to discuss issues related to literary and scientific plagiarism. COPE also provides a Code of Conduct to assist journal editors with investigations of any allegations regarding falsification of scientific data and/or plagiarism.
Progress in electronic editing and processing of manuscripts continues with updates of our electronic manuscript processing system Scholar One/Manuscript Central. Through our journal publisher, Informa, using the iThenticate system, we are now able to check a manuscript for text overlap with previously published work. This can occur when a manuscript referee or editor suspect the problem exists.
Looking forward to 2011
The Editors and Guest Editors are looking forward to publishing two special Issues one on Monte Carlo Track Structure Codes Used in Medical Physics, Radiation Biophysics and Biology (Guest Editor Dr. Hooshang Nikjoo) and one containing papers from research studies conducted by the Centers for Medical Countermeasures Against Radiation (Guest Editors Jacqueline Williams and David Brenner).
In our ongoing efforts to shorten publication time of submitted papers and reviews, we have been focusing on reducing our time to online electronic publication by using iFirst, a quick electronic release system. After proofs are sent back from authors, manuscripts can be published online with iFirst. When fully implemented and with the authors cooperation, on-line appearance of the manuscript will occur within 45 days or less of acceptance. Meanwhile towards the end of the year, we are hoping to be able to publish manuscripts online (in PDF format) immediately after acceptance. Author agreement will be a requirement but the Editors will be making the final decisions on the suitability of manuscripts for this PDF publication process.
We welcome your feedback towards improving the quality of the Journal.