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INTRODUCTION |
THE JULY 1999 issue of the American
Journal of Physiology: Lung Cellular
and Molecular Physiology
(AJP:Lung)
marks completion of the Journal's tenth year of publication. Over that
interval, the Journal has grown from a bimonthly publication with a
large component of invited material to a healthy monthly publication of
primary research articles. We owe a special debt to Dr. Don Massaro,
the Journal's first Editor, who worked tirelessly to establish a
constant flow of submissions and invited papers in the early years of
AJP:Lung.
It was Dr. Massaro's leadership in the growth of the Journal, taking
it to a monthly schedule of publication, that ensured its success.
This anniversary offers the American Physiological Society (APS), the
Editors, and the scientific community opportunities to examine the past
and current status of the Journal and to examine how well the Journal
has fulfilled its goals. The purpose of this editorial is to address
those issues as well as to solicit input from our authors and readers.
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FORMATION OF A NEW APS JOURNAL |
By the early to mid-1980s, the focus of pulmonary research in many
laboratories had moved from classic physiological experiments toward
investigation of the basic mechanisms underlying pulmonary disease
using the methods of cell and molecular biology. These changes in
research approach, along with a growing number of investigators working
in these disciplines, stimulated discussion within the APS as to
whether there was a need for a new specialized journal focused on these
emerging areas of activity. Over the same interval, the
Journal of Applied Physiology
(JAP) had grown to near-maximal size; both submissions and the number of published pages had increased more than twofold over the previous 10 years, with papers on
respiration accounting for >50% of published articles (1).
These events led the APS Publications Committee, at their meeting in
March 1987, to consider the possibility of deriving a new pulmonary
journal from subject matter that formerly had been published in
JAP and in the "Cell" and
"Endocrine" sections of the American Journal of
Physiology (AJP).
Under the leadership of Paul C. Johnson, committee members discussed
the potential scope of such a publication, which would focus on the
emerging areas of cellular and molecular physiology of the lungs and
respiratory system. After a great deal of debate, a decision was made
to solicit advice from members of the Respiration Section, from other
relevant constituencies of the Society, and from leaders of the
pulmonary research community.
In October 1987, prominent investigators in the field of pulmonary cell
and molecular biology met to advise the Publications Committee
concerning the proposed journal. Issues of scope and content were
discussed in detail, along with potential candidates for Editor and
possible members of the Editorial Board. In a subsequent meeting, the
Publications Committee considered additional input from individuals and
from APS section representatives as background for further discussion.
Scientific considerations had to be balanced against both the risks and
costs of the proposed endeavor. It was considered essential that any
change be structured to protect the integrity of
JAP. It was further recognized that
financial risk to APS would be lowered if the new Journal were
established under the umbrella of the
AJP, which enjoyed both a large
subscription base and a strong and established reputation.
Nevertheless, there was significant concern as to whether sufficient
submissions would be forthcoming to sustain a regular schedule of publication.
In this context, leaders in relevant areas of pulmonary research
identified a need in the scientific community for a more specialized
pulmonary journal and predicted, based on a survey of the literature,
that enough material would be available to support such a venture. It
was further anticipated that the ongoing movement of young
investigators to incorporate cellular and molecular techniques into
physiological investigations would support continued growth of a more
focused publication. Importantly, the APS leadership envisioned that
the message sent by the proposed journal would help attract young
investigators to the Society and, by incorporating new tools and
techniques into physiology, would improve the quality of programming at
the annual meetings.
The Publications Committee met again in March 1988 to further consider
the above issues as well as alternative courses of action. An informal
market analysis had been completed to examine the position of the
proposed journal in the context of competition with
JAP and with a similar new journal
being debated simultaneously by the American Thoracic Society. In these
discussions, the title of the new journal was deemed to be of major
importance, as was the statement of scope, which by this time had been
prepared, discussed, and amended. A number of titles were proposed, but the final selection, AJP:
Lung Cellular and Molecular
Physiology, was not made until a meeting in May 1988, when the new Editor, Don Massaro, met with the Committee. The statement
of scope addressed the intent of
AJP:Lung
to publish "...original investigative and theoretical papers dealing
with molecular, cellular, and morphological aspects of normal and
abnormal function and response of cells and components of the
respiratory system...."
By April 1989, AJP:Lung
had received 80 submissions and the review process had been completed
for 29 of these manuscripts. A portion of this total reflected
transfers from JAP (with permission of
the authors). In addition, two invited reviews, three commentaries, and
a historical perspective had been scheduled for the first issue. With
these commitments in hand, the first bimonthly issue of the Journal was
set for publication in August 1989. Publication continued in alternate
months until a monthly schedule was initiated in January 1992. Dr.
Massaro continued to lead the Journal in its early phases of growth and
development through December 1992, when the editorship was moved to
this office.
Don Massaro's efforts were essential in taking the Journal from a
debated idea to reality. In the course of his editorship, he faced
significant obstacles as he began to build
AJP:Lung. Commitment and support of APS, along with the standing reputation and
success of APS journals, helped to convince authors that the potential
of the new journal was high. Nevertheless, unpredictable submission
rates and the initial schedule for publication in alternate months
lengthened the interval between submission and publication. In
addition, at the same time that the APS was launching
AJP:Lung, the American Lung Association had committed to the establishment of the
American Journal of Respiratory Cell and Molecular
Biology (AJRCMB),
which would serve nearly the same segment of the pulmonary research
community. The possibility of a competitor journal being initiated in
parallel with the new section of the
AJP raised concerns within the
Publications Committee. Furthermore, investigators voiced concern as to
whether both new journals would remain viable and, consequently,
whether papers in one or both would "disappear" were the
publications to fail. The first issues of both journals were published
nearly simultaneously, in July
(AJRCMB) and August (AJP:Lung) 1989.
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THE CURRENT STANDING OF AJP:LUNG |
Ten years later, it is evident that participation of the scientific
community, support of the Publications Committee, and commitment of APS
to publish scientific journals of high quality have combined to support
the growth and development of
AJP:Lung. Both the number of submissions and total pages published in the Journal
increased >2.5-fold between 1992, the first year of monthly publication, and 1998. Independent of this growth, processing and
review of manuscripts have accelerated. The average time consumed by
the review process has decreased progressively over the past 6 years.
In 1998, manuscripts were transferred to the reviewers in an average of
4.7 days and the average time from submission to the first editorial
decision was 35 days. Similarly, the interval between acceptance and
publication averaged 3.2 months for research articles and about 2.2 months for Rapid Communications. The latter intervals approximate
minimal times required for the final editing and printing process.
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SUPPORT FROM THE RESEARCH COMMUNITY |
In large part, the growth and current status of
AJP:Lung
reflect substantial contributions of the scientific community. The role
of individual investigators in the peer review process has been
essential. During the past 10 years, well over 100 scientific experts
have served on the Editorial Board, many of these for extended
intervals. Literally hundreds of additional investigators from diverse
fields have committed their time and expertise to the review of
submitted manuscripts. At the editorial level, 13 individuals have
taken the responsibility to serve as Associate Editor. All of these
contributors, many of whom are "invisible" in their duties, have
been invaluable to development of the Journal.
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SUPPORT FROM APS |
Commitment of APS to scientific publications has been a further
essential component of the Journal's growth. During the past 10 years,
extensive support from the APS editorial staff, working with the
Publications Committee, has led the transition to utilize the most
up-to-date editing, typesetting, and printing procedures, all of which
accelerate the rate at which accepted manuscripts appear in print as
well as improve the quality of the finished product. For example, in
1998, manuscripts accepted by the Journal have entered the editing and
printing process immediately after final acceptance, eliminating
backlogs that may delay publication. Further support from the Society
has made the APS journals available on-line and has subsidized the cost
of color figures. Beginning this month, scientifically warranted color
figures are free to APS members.
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WHAT REMAINS TO BE ADDRESSED? |
Over the past years, the Journal has faced few serious problems and has
fulfilled many of its goals. The few problems encountered have been
resolved largely through the Editors, working with support of the APS
publications staff and the Publications Committee. This has allowed us
to focus more closely on efforts to build and streamline Journal
operations and to identify specific areas for additional attention. We
continue to work in the following areas to improve further.
We recognize that research based in pulmonary cell and molecular
biology is of international importance and is ongoing throughout the
world, yet
AJP:Lung
has remained largely a "domestic" journal. In 1998, only 21% of
all manuscripts received by the Journal were submitted from
laboratories outside the United States and Canada. Of these
submissions, 6% were from Japan and the remaining 15% were from
Western Europe, with England, France, and Germany accounting for the
largest contributions. In contrast,
AJP as a whole attracts 36% of total
submissions from outside North America. There is thus further potential
to expand the international visibility of
AJP:Lung
and to improve participation of investigators outside North America; we
are working toward that goal.
In addition, several areas of important pulmonary research have not
been adequately represented in the Journal. One of these is concerned
with the cellular neurophysiology of respiratory control. Sophisticated
new approaches are now being applied to evaluate cellular function in
these essential regulatory cell populations both in vivo and in vitro.
Many relevant neurophysiological, signaling, and related studies are
appropriate for publication in
AJP:Lung.
We encourage investigators in this interesting and growing field to
consider and discuss submission of their work (2).
Finally, the Journal exists to serve its constituency, the scientific
community. In this regard, we have appreciated the many constructive
comments and suggestions from our readers and trust that they will
continue in the future. The door is open; we welcome your input and
discussion as we embark on our second decade.