Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology. 2006;26:2-4
doi: 10.1161/01.ATV.0000198400.82143.3b
(Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology. 2006;26:2.)
© 2006 American Heart Association, Inc.
Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology, 2006
Donald D. Heistad
Editor-in-Chief, for the Editors
Correspondence to Donald D. Heistad, MD, ATVB Editorial Office, 609 MRC, Cardiovascular Unit, The University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA 52242. Email atvb{at}uiowa.edu
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Introduction
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We will again provide for our readers an update of the state
of the journal. The original goals of our editorship, which
began in 1999, were to publish high-quality papers, provide
authors with timely review and publication of their manuscripts,
and publish papers of interest to our readers. We will summarize
data related to each of these goals, some changes and plans
for the journal, and thank several groups of people for their
help.
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Publication of High-Quality Papers
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It is clear that there is no perfect way to evaluate quality
of papers published in journals. Nevertheless, impact factor
is one measure of quality of papers. Decisions about promotion
and tenure are sometimes based in part on impact factor of journals
in which papers are published. Thus, impact factor may be important
to authors, in relation to selection of journals in which they
wish to publish their work.
The impact factor for ATVB again increased this past year, from 6.8 to 7.4 (Figure 1). The impact factor of the journal has increased more than 90% during the past few years. Impact factors of other journals in this area of research have not changed consistently during the last few years (Figure 1). We believe that ATVB is generally recognized as an appropriate forum for publication of excellent papers related to atherosclerosis, lipoproteins, vascular biology, and thrombosis.
Immediacy index provides information about the frequency of references to articles during the first year of their publication. The immediacy index for ATVB has increased substantially in the past few years (Figure 2) and may be a predictor of future increases in impact factor.
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Rapid Review and Publication
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We try to provide expert and rapid review of manuscripts that
are submitted to ATVB. The average time from receipt of new
manuscripts to notification of authors about the first decision
continues to decrease (
Figure 3). After acceptance of manuscripts,
the time to publication is only 5 to 10 days, because manuscripts
are published electronically (ATVBeFirst) before the print version.
The number of manuscripts submitted to the Journal has increased more than 2-fold during the past few years (Figure 4). We try to protect our Reviewers from reviewing excessive numbers of manuscripts, as we rely more on triage by the Editors. If review by at least two Editors indicates that a manuscript will not be competitive for publication, the manuscript is rejected without further review.
Because the number of manuscripts submitted to ATVB has increased substantially, it was necessary in the past to reduce the acceptance rate (Figure 5). The Scientific Publishing Committee of the American Heart Association has supported the Journal very well, however, by increasing the page budget (number of pages published) four times in the past five years. Thus, despite the large increase in number of manuscripts submitted, the acceptance rate has remained relatively constant recently.
Rapid high-quality reviews are a great service to our authors, as well as the Journal. We thank our "Stars of ATVB," who have reviewed eleven or more manuscripts within 11 days or less during the past year (Table). We especially thank our SuperStar of ATVB, Robert Hegele, who amazingly has reviewed 28 manuscripts within an average of 2 days during the past year (Table).
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Our Constituencies
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Almost half of manuscripts submitted to ATVB describe studies
of atherosclerosis and/or lipoproteins (
Figure 6). This area
of research is extremely important, and we believe that ATVB
is the leading forum for papers in this area.
Vascular Biology continues to grow rapidly as a discipline, and we believe that we now provide a home for manuscripts in this area of research. Although the name of the Journal is awkward and too long, the name provides for authors and readers a clear definition of topics that are appropriate for the journal.
Studies of thrombosis, especially the interaction between blood and blood vessels, are an important part of the journal. The number of papers submitted to the Journal that relate to thrombosis has increased 3-fold in the past few years (Figure 6). The acceptance rate for thrombosis papers is 19%, which is comparable to the overall acceptance rate of the Journal (Figure 5). We are pleased that authors of manuscripts related to thrombosis are more likely now to submit their work to ATVB, perhaps based on recent increases in impact factor.
ATVB is the official journal of the ATVB Council of the American Heart Association, the European Vascular Biology Organization, and the Japanese Medical Vascular Biology Association. The relationship with these organizations provides a strong base of support for the journal.
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Overseas Offices
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Professor Goran Hansson is European Editor of the Journal. Professor
Hansson continues to serve as Chair of the Nobel Committee for
Physiology or Medicine.
Professor Akira Takeshita is Asian Editor of ATVB, and Professor Ryozo Nagai is Associate Editor in the Asian office of ATVB. Professor Takeshita worked with AstraZeneca to obtain continuing support for translation of ATVB into Japanese. The Japanese edition of ATVB is available to 15 000 readers.
Only about a third of papers published in ATVB originate from the United States (Figure 7). The acceptance rate is within 2% for the three editorial offices.
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Continuing Initiatives
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Letters to the Editor have evolved into two types of letters.
First, there are exchanges about papers that were published
recently in the Journal. Second, we are publishing letters which
describe original research findings. The letters are in essence
short papers that describe findings that are either preliminary
or narrower in scope than full-length original papers. The Letters,
like original papers, undergo peer review.
Series of Brief Reviews, with Guest Editors, are entitled ATVB In Focus. The goal is to provide timely reviews of topics of special importance. Papers in ATVB In Focus have an electronic link with earlier papers in the Series. Several ATVB In Focus Series have been completed:
- ABC Transporters and Cholesterol Efflux; Alan Tall, Guest Editor
- Lipoproteins; James Scott, Guest Editor
- Smooth Muscle Cell: Developmental Emphasis; Guilio Gabbiani, Guest Editor
Ongoing ATVB in Focus Series include:
- Extracellular Mediators in Atherosclerosis and Thrombosis; Marschall Runge, Guest Editor
- Noninvasive Assessment of Atherosclerosis: From Structure to Function; William Haynes, Guest Editor
- Platelet Signal Transduction and Interactions With Vascular Cells; Skip Brass, Guest Editor
- Endothelium; Frank Faraci, Guest Editor
- Redox Mechanisms in Blood Vessels; Kathy Griendling, Guest Editor
- Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms; Robert Thompson, Guest Editor
- Vascular Effects of Diabetes; Richard Cohen, Guest Editor
- Immunity and Atherosclerosis; Goran Hansson, Guest Editor
- Novel Approaches to the Treatment of Dyslipidemia; Dan Rader, Guest Editor
- Nutrition and Atherosclerosis; Margo Denke, Guest Editor
- Regulation of Coagulation; Yale Nemerson, Guest Editor
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New Investigator Awards
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Three new investigators will be honored each year for their
outstanding papers in
ATVB. The first authors of one original
paper each year in each section of the Journal (Atherosclerosis/Lipoproteins,
Thrombosis and Vascular Biology) will be honored. The three
awards are:
- The Daniel Steinberg New Investigator Award for Atherosclerosis/Lipoproteins
- The Karl Link New Investigator Award for Thrombosis
- The Werner Risau New Investigator Award for Vascular Biology
The awards recognize outstanding work by new investigators and encourage investigators to send their best work to ATVB. Each recipient of the award will receive a plaque and a check for $2500, funded by Lippincott, Williams & Wilkins.
The first or last author must be an Assistant Professor (or equivalent) or a more junior rank at the time of submission of the manuscript. Awards will be based primarily on the quality of the paper that is published. Recipients of the awards will be announced in the Spring.
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Summary
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As we begin the seventh year of editorship of the Journal,
ATVB continues to do well. The impact factor and immediacy index
increased substantially again this year and are very strong
when compared with other journals that focus on atherosclerosis,
thrombosis, and vascular biology. The number of manuscripts
submitted continues to increase. The time to first decision
is short, and papers are published rapidly after acceptance.
The Editors thank the Consulting Editors, members of the Editorial Board, reviewers (please see Acknowledgement to Reviewers at atvb.ahajournals.org), authors, and readers of the Journal. We also thank the Publishing Committee of the American Heart Association and Lippincott, Williams and Wilkins for their support. We encourage your feedback and advice to be sent to atvb@uiowa.edu.
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Introduction
Publication of High-Quality...
