Prostaglandins
and
Medicine
THE REASONS FOR STARTING D.F. Horrobin West, Montreal,
1:
l-4,
1978
A NEW JOURNAL ON PROSTAGLANDINS
and M. Karmazyn, Clinical H2W lR7, Canada.
Research
Institute,
110 Pine
Avenue
In 1977 about 2000 papers were published which dealt with prostaglandins or The closely related topics such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. number of publications is increasing at the rate of 20% to 30% per year. We therefore felt that there was a and the publishers, Churchill Livingstone, need for a new journal which would help in the development of this rapidly growing field. We are particularly interested in material which is relevant to medicine in We believe that in the coming years those the broadest sense of the word. working on prostaglandins are going to make major contributions to medicine. However, we also believe that these contributions must be founded on valid concepts derived from basic science and so we shall be pleased to publish pap. ers on all aspects of prostaglandins, from chemistry to the therapeutic uses of agents which imitate or modulate their action or synthesis. In developing an editorial policy seem to us to be the best features clude some innovations which will, and influential. The main features 1.
we have endeavoured to incorporate of existing biomedical journals make the journal both we hope, of the journal wi 11 be:
what and to interesting
in-
Delays in publishing papers derive from two main Speed of publication. sources, delays in making a decision about publication and delays in print, Refereeing and acceptance policy are dealt ing the accepted material. With regard to printing we firmly believe that with in the next section. P rov i ded what matters in a scientific paper is its information content. that the information is presented in a legible way, there is no need to The advent of use the most aesthetically satisfying printing techniques. electric typewriters and improved methods of printing from typewritten material seem to us to render unnecessary the typesetting stage of production. We believe that most scientists would prefer to see high quality reproduction of typewritten material than to accept the inevitable three to six months of extra delay introduced when the paper has to be typeset with proofs being sent back to the author for final correction and so on. For these reasons we have decided to opt fur direct photo-reproduction of This lays a burden on the author the papers as provided by the authors.
to ensure that this material is typed according to the highest standards. There is no doubt that journals produced using this technique are less pleasing to the eye than conventional journals. But there is also no doubt that the information is perfectly legible and that most authors believe that the important gain in speed of publication far outweighs the minor problems of a less pleasing appearance.
2.
Refereeing procedure. All papers wi 11 be seen by two referees and we shall impress on these referees the need for urgency. It takes as much time to review a paper if it is done immediately as it does if done six weeks after it has arrived in one’s desk! We shall aim to give a decision about a paper within four weeks of its arrival in our office and we shall regard a delay of more than eight weeks as unacceptable. The accepted papers will be sent to the printer one month before the cover date on the journal and we shall endeavour to adjust the size of the journal so that almost all accepted papers in the office are sent to the printer each month. This should make the maximum delay between acceptance and printing eight weeks and the minimum delay four weeks.
3.
Refereeing policy. In our experience as both authors and edi tors it seems to us that most referees’ comments can be roughly divided into three classes. About one third are valid and important and require either rejection or substantial modification to the paper. About one third are valid but relatively trivial and, since no paper is perfect, do not provide sufficient reason for delay in publication. The remaining third are either purely subjective or, if apparently objective, can be readily refuted by the authors. We believe that editors should edit and arbitrate between authors and referees and not merely hide behind the referees’ opinions. Broadly speaking, therefore, comments of the first type will be regarded as reasons for rejection or substantial modification of a paper but those of the second two types will not be allowed to delay publication.
4.
Types of papers published. The backbone of the journal wi 11 be provided by conventional papers of the experimental or clinical variety. However we believe that in science other forms of publication are of major importance. We shall therefore be interested in publishing material of the following types: a.
Short notes. It often happens that a piece of work is done which either does not justify a full paper or which one does not have the facilities to follow up in an appropriate way. Such observations can be important as starting points for new lines of study and we believe they should be published. Short notes of two or four pages wi 11 therefore be welcome.
b.
Hypotheses. In the physico-chemical sciences the importance of hyThere is no stigma attached to potheses is universally recognized. although they go far beyond the the publication of concepts which, are stimulating and lead to new types of experiment exi sting data, In biomedical science which would not have been done otherwise. It is a sobering thought that if Einstein had things are different. been a biomedical scientist he would almost certainly have died bitter and frustrated because of total inability to get his work pub-
2
lished
c.
d.
5.
since
it
“went
Reviews.
In a situation
papers, pers of
quality review this type.
beyond in
articles
the
data”.
which
no one
are
can
essential.
read all the published We shall welcome pa-
Comments. It is one of the strengths of the weekly journals that We shall have a comment section freely publish comments on papers. support or interpret in alternative in which people can criticize, ways the material published in previous issues.
Abstract mation relevant strictly Authors.
Finally of work following
they
As a contribution to the wide dissemination of inforservice. about prostaglandins we shall publish without charge abstracts of These must be prepared papers published in other journals. in accordance with the rules set out in the Instructions to
we hope that the in the prostaglandin problems which
journal may help to raise In particular field. are evident in the existing
progressively the standard we are concerned about the literature.
1.
Many papers are published which simple statistical evaluation. particularly favourable examples. lish papers which do not contain
simply show sample records without Everyone knows how easy it is to We shall therefore be reluctant statistical analysis.
even select to pub-
2.
Many papers are published in which the age and sex of the animals used are not specified. This is particularly true of papers on the cardiovascular, renal and nervous systems. Yet there is increasing evidence that age and sex profoundly modify responses to prostaglandins. We accept that many people have in preparation papers describing two or three year projects for which this information is not available and initially papers will not be rejected on those grounds. However, from January 1980, we shall be reluctant to publish papers in which age and sex are not clearly stated.
3.
There sex, hope exper
4.
Large numbers of papers are published on prostaglandins in which only single doses of a prostaglandin or a drug such as indomethacin are tested. This is a procedure which is difficult to defend at the best of times but in a field in which so many dose-response curves are “bell-shaped” it is unacceptably since the apparent qualitative effect of an agent will vary through 180 depending on which side of the “bell” one is. It is possible that careful dose-response studies will eliminate much of the apparent confusion which arises from single dose experiments. We hope therefore that as far as possible dose-response studies will be carried out by authors.
5.
Prostaglandin concentrations in order of 10-l 1 - ll-8M although point of synthesis. It therefore
is preliminary evidence that, even with animals of the same age and there are seasonal variations in responses to prostaglandins. We therefore that people will note and specify the season in which their i ments were performed.
most biological fluids they may be considerably seems to us difficult 3
seem to be of the higher at the to justify studies
in which grossly supra-physiological levels are used, if they are not also accompanied hy studies at physiological concentrations in addition to hi gher ones. We and others have found that because of the bell-shaped dose-response curves, many effects appear at physiological levels which do not occur when one does “screening” experiments at high concentration. We believe that there is a need for a new journal in the prostaglandin field and we want to publish a journal which sets standards which will be followed elsewhere. We want the journal to be efficient, helpful and exciting and in order to do this we are obviously dependent on the papers we receive. We hope that these will be sent in abundance. We also hope that anyone who has suggestions for improvements to the journal will not hesitate to write to us about them. Finally we wish to thank those many outstanding individuals who have agreed to It takes courage to be prepared to add one’s serve on the Editorial Board. name to a completely new venture. We greatly appreciate this and hope that we shall be able to live up to the standard which the names of the 6oard Members automatically set.
4
and
Medicine
THE REASONS FOR STARTING D.F. Horrobin West, Montreal,
1:
l-4,
1978
A NEW JOURNAL ON PROSTAGLANDINS
and M. Karmazyn, Clinical H2W lR7, Canada.
Research
Institute,
110 Pine
Avenue
In 1977 about 2000 papers were published which dealt with prostaglandins or The closely related topics such as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. number of publications is increasing at the rate of 20% to 30% per year. We therefore felt that there was a and the publishers, Churchill Livingstone, need for a new journal which would help in the development of this rapidly growing field. We are particularly interested in material which is relevant to medicine in We believe that in the coming years those the broadest sense of the word. working on prostaglandins are going to make major contributions to medicine. However, we also believe that these contributions must be founded on valid concepts derived from basic science and so we shall be pleased to publish pap. ers on all aspects of prostaglandins, from chemistry to the therapeutic uses of agents which imitate or modulate their action or synthesis. In developing an editorial policy seem to us to be the best features clude some innovations which will, and influential. The main features 1.
we have endeavoured to incorporate of existing biomedical journals make the journal both we hope, of the journal wi 11 be:
what and to interesting
in-
Delays in publishing papers derive from two main Speed of publication. sources, delays in making a decision about publication and delays in print, Refereeing and acceptance policy are dealt ing the accepted material. With regard to printing we firmly believe that with in the next section. P rov i ded what matters in a scientific paper is its information content. that the information is presented in a legible way, there is no need to The advent of use the most aesthetically satisfying printing techniques. electric typewriters and improved methods of printing from typewritten material seem to us to render unnecessary the typesetting stage of production. We believe that most scientists would prefer to see high quality reproduction of typewritten material than to accept the inevitable three to six months of extra delay introduced when the paper has to be typeset with proofs being sent back to the author for final correction and so on. For these reasons we have decided to opt fur direct photo-reproduction of This lays a burden on the author the papers as provided by the authors.
to ensure that this material is typed according to the highest standards. There is no doubt that journals produced using this technique are less pleasing to the eye than conventional journals. But there is also no doubt that the information is perfectly legible and that most authors believe that the important gain in speed of publication far outweighs the minor problems of a less pleasing appearance.
2.
Refereeing procedure. All papers wi 11 be seen by two referees and we shall impress on these referees the need for urgency. It takes as much time to review a paper if it is done immediately as it does if done six weeks after it has arrived in one’s desk! We shall aim to give a decision about a paper within four weeks of its arrival in our office and we shall regard a delay of more than eight weeks as unacceptable. The accepted papers will be sent to the printer one month before the cover date on the journal and we shall endeavour to adjust the size of the journal so that almost all accepted papers in the office are sent to the printer each month. This should make the maximum delay between acceptance and printing eight weeks and the minimum delay four weeks.
3.
Refereeing policy. In our experience as both authors and edi tors it seems to us that most referees’ comments can be roughly divided into three classes. About one third are valid and important and require either rejection or substantial modification to the paper. About one third are valid but relatively trivial and, since no paper is perfect, do not provide sufficient reason for delay in publication. The remaining third are either purely subjective or, if apparently objective, can be readily refuted by the authors. We believe that editors should edit and arbitrate between authors and referees and not merely hide behind the referees’ opinions. Broadly speaking, therefore, comments of the first type will be regarded as reasons for rejection or substantial modification of a paper but those of the second two types will not be allowed to delay publication.
4.
Types of papers published. The backbone of the journal wi 11 be provided by conventional papers of the experimental or clinical variety. However we believe that in science other forms of publication are of major importance. We shall therefore be interested in publishing material of the following types: a.
Short notes. It often happens that a piece of work is done which either does not justify a full paper or which one does not have the facilities to follow up in an appropriate way. Such observations can be important as starting points for new lines of study and we believe they should be published. Short notes of two or four pages wi 11 therefore be welcome.
b.
Hypotheses. In the physico-chemical sciences the importance of hyThere is no stigma attached to potheses is universally recognized. although they go far beyond the the publication of concepts which, are stimulating and lead to new types of experiment exi sting data, In biomedical science which would not have been done otherwise. It is a sobering thought that if Einstein had things are different. been a biomedical scientist he would almost certainly have died bitter and frustrated because of total inability to get his work pub-
2
lished
c.
d.
5.
since
it
“went
Reviews.
In a situation
papers, pers of
quality review this type.
beyond in
articles
the
data”.
which
no one
are
can
essential.
read all the published We shall welcome pa-
Comments. It is one of the strengths of the weekly journals that We shall have a comment section freely publish comments on papers. support or interpret in alternative in which people can criticize, ways the material published in previous issues.
Abstract mation relevant strictly Authors.
Finally of work following
they
As a contribution to the wide dissemination of inforservice. about prostaglandins we shall publish without charge abstracts of These must be prepared papers published in other journals. in accordance with the rules set out in the Instructions to
we hope that the in the prostaglandin problems which
journal may help to raise In particular field. are evident in the existing
progressively the standard we are concerned about the literature.
1.
Many papers are published which simple statistical evaluation. particularly favourable examples. lish papers which do not contain
simply show sample records without Everyone knows how easy it is to We shall therefore be reluctant statistical analysis.
even select to pub-
2.
Many papers are published in which the age and sex of the animals used are not specified. This is particularly true of papers on the cardiovascular, renal and nervous systems. Yet there is increasing evidence that age and sex profoundly modify responses to prostaglandins. We accept that many people have in preparation papers describing two or three year projects for which this information is not available and initially papers will not be rejected on those grounds. However, from January 1980, we shall be reluctant to publish papers in which age and sex are not clearly stated.
3.
There sex, hope exper
4.
Large numbers of papers are published on prostaglandins in which only single doses of a prostaglandin or a drug such as indomethacin are tested. This is a procedure which is difficult to defend at the best of times but in a field in which so many dose-response curves are “bell-shaped” it is unacceptably since the apparent qualitative effect of an agent will vary through 180 depending on which side of the “bell” one is. It is possible that careful dose-response studies will eliminate much of the apparent confusion which arises from single dose experiments. We hope therefore that as far as possible dose-response studies will be carried out by authors.
5.
Prostaglandin concentrations in order of 10-l 1 - ll-8M although point of synthesis. It therefore
is preliminary evidence that, even with animals of the same age and there are seasonal variations in responses to prostaglandins. We therefore that people will note and specify the season in which their i ments were performed.
most biological fluids they may be considerably seems to us difficult 3
seem to be of the higher at the to justify studies
in which grossly supra-physiological levels are used, if they are not also accompanied hy studies at physiological concentrations in addition to hi gher ones. We and others have found that because of the bell-shaped dose-response curves, many effects appear at physiological levels which do not occur when one does “screening” experiments at high concentration. We believe that there is a need for a new journal in the prostaglandin field and we want to publish a journal which sets standards which will be followed elsewhere. We want the journal to be efficient, helpful and exciting and in order to do this we are obviously dependent on the papers we receive. We hope that these will be sent in abundance. We also hope that anyone who has suggestions for improvements to the journal will not hesitate to write to us about them. Finally we wish to thank those many outstanding individuals who have agreed to It takes courage to be prepared to add one’s serve on the Editorial Board. name to a completely new venture. We greatly appreciate this and hope that we shall be able to live up to the standard which the names of the 6oard Members automatically set.
4
