The first year in Barcelona

Abstract

It has now been one year since the Editorial Office of the Journal of Hepatology, official journal of the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) moved to Barcelona. It is the first time that the Editorial Office has been established in Southern Europe, after beginning its journey in London in 1985–1989, continuing through Paris (1990–1994) and to Munich (1995–1999).A number of changes have taken place in the Journal during this past year. These changes have been aimed at increasing the appeal of the Journal, selecting the best manuscripts submitted, increasing the comprehension of the information provided, and widening its diffusion worldwide. The format of the Journal has changed, especially the cover, which now includes a color photograph and several headlines of inside articles. Changes have also taken place in some of the sections of the Journal. Each issue contains several short editorials, the main objective of which is to put the results of some original articles included in the issue into perspective for both the expert and non-expert reader. The traditional section of Review Article, which provides an in-depth discussion of important topics, has been maintained, but an effort has been made to attract to the Journal the summaries of important Meetings and Consensus Conferences on topics with relevant interest for the clinicians. Last year these topics included spontaneous bacterial peritonitis, hemochromatosis, and portal hypertension. A new section, named The Bridge and written by Andrés T. Blei, has been incorporated at the beginning of each issue. This section, which is aimed at providing the busy reader with a focused glimpse of the most interesting articles, has been very well received by the readers. Unfortunately for the Journal, AT Blei is stepping down from his position of Associate Editor of Journal of Hepatology and author of the Bridge due to his recent appointment as new Editor-in-chief of Hepatology. The Editors thank him for his excellent work in the Journal and wish him every success in his new position.Some authors submitting their manuscripts to the Journal may have already realized the increasing difficulty of having their work accepted by the Journal. The number of submissions has risen by more than 10% annually over the last 6 years and reached the 1000 mark in the year 2000. This has meant a greater pressure to maintain the same number of printed pages in order to avoid cost increases and therefore, in turn, the Editors have been forced to put submitted manuscripts through a stringent review process and select exclusively on originality and scientific importance of the data. The acceptance rate for original manuscripts during the year 2000 was of 24% and will very likely decrease further during the current year. The good side of this selection policy is that the best manuscripts are usually picked up. The bad side of it is that some interesting and high quality manuscripts may not be accepted because of not reaching the criteria of originality and scientific value. This difficult task of selection may not always be recognized, especially when a negative decision falls on one's own work. Fortunately for the Journal, this difficult task has been possible because of the commitment of a large number of excellent reviewers and a small team of active, highly qualified and efficient Associate Editors. Another innovation that has been a very useful part of the selection process, is the appointment of a statistical consultant, who reviews the statistical analysis of selected manuscripts. This, by no doubt, has had a very positive impact on the quality of manuscripts published in the Journal.During the year 2000 the Journal has reached its higher impact factor ever, 3.705. It now ranks fourth among the gastrointestinal and liver journals, after Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Gut. This increase in the impact factor is mainly due to the enormous task made by the former Editor-in-Chief Gustav Paumgartner and his team of Associate Editors and editorial staff in Munich. The Journal of Hepatology and EASL are also thankful for the excellent job done by Munksgaard in the publication of the Journal since 1993 until December 2000. Lise Baltzer, Janet Carolan, Karin Lokke, and Pernille Hammelsoe especially deserve credit for their day-to-day dedication and efficiency. Finally, the Editors and EASL would like to thank the investigators from Europe as well as Non-European countries, especially Japan and United States, who by sending their work to the Journal have contributed to this great success.As all important scientific publications, the Journal of Hepatology is facing the challenges of the new century, which include a rapid and efficient evaluation of manuscripts submitted, a fast publication of accepted manuscripts, and a broadened diffusion of published information through the new electronic ways of communication. The Journal of Hepatology is preparing itself to face these new challenges. A new Publisher, Elsevier Science, has been appointed by EASL. This may help the Journal of Hepatology to face the challenges of the new era. Some of the innovations due to this new cooperation between the Journal of Hepatology and Elsevier will be seen immediately and others will follow in the upcoming months. A new electronic system of communication between the Editorial Office and the authors of manuscripts and reviewers will be implemented. This will help the authors to keep track of their manuscripts throughout the whole review process and the reviewers to do their job timely and efficiently. For accepted manuscripts, the proofs will be sent electronically to the corresponding author together with attached queries. Information on the status of an accepted article prior to publication can be followed electronically (www.elsevier.nl/oasis). Finally, an effort will be made to improve the electronic publication of the Journal of Hepatology and update the system by including the issues of most recent years.For all the reasons I have outlined, these are very exciting times for the Journal of Hepatology. The Editors hope that all of these new developments, some of which have already taken place in the Journal or will take place in the near future will help improve the role of the Journal of Hepatology as an international vehicle of communication and education among physicians and scientists interested in liver diseases. It has now been one year since the Editorial Office of the Journal of Hepatology, official journal of the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL) moved to Barcelona. It is the first time that the Editorial Office has been established in Southern Europe, after beginning its journey in London in 1985–1989, continuing through Paris (1990–1994) and to Munich (1995–1999). A number of changes have taken place in the Journal during this past year. These changes have been aimed at increasing the appeal of the Journal, selecting the best manuscripts submitted, increasing the comprehension of the information provided, and widening its diffusion worldwide. The format of the Journal has changed, especially the cover, which now includes a color photograph and several headlines of inside articles. Changes have also taken place in some of the sections of the Journal. Each issue contains several short editorials, the main objective of which is to put the results of some original articles included in the issue into perspective for both the expert and non-expert reader. The traditional section of Review Article, which provides an in-depth discussion of important topics, has been maintained, but an effort has been made to attract to the Journal the summaries of important Meetings and Consensus Conferences on topics with relevant interest for the clinicians. Last year these topics included spontaneous bacterial peritonitis, hemochromatosis, and portal hypertension. A new section, named The Bridge and written by Andrés T. Blei, has been incorporated at the beginning of each issue. This section, which is aimed at providing the busy reader with a focused glimpse of the most interesting articles, has been very well received by the readers. Unfortunately for the Journal, AT Blei is stepping down from his position of Associate Editor of Journal of Hepatology and author of the Bridge due to his recent appointment as new Editor-in-chief of Hepatology. The Editors thank him for his excellent work in the Journal and wish him every success in his new position. Some authors submitting their manuscripts to the Journal may have already realized the increasing difficulty of having their work accepted by the Journal. The number of submissions has risen by more than 10% annually over the last 6 years and reached the 1000 mark in the year 2000. This has meant a greater pressure to maintain the same number of printed pages in order to avoid cost increases and therefore, in turn, the Editors have been forced to put submitted manuscripts through a stringent review process and select exclusively on originality and scientific importance of the data. The acceptance rate for original manuscripts during the year 2000 was of 24% and will very likely decrease further during the current year. The good side of this selection policy is that the best manuscripts are usually picked up. The bad side of it is that some interesting and high quality manuscripts may not be accepted because of not reaching the criteria of originality and scientific value. This difficult task of selection may not always be recognized, especially when a negative decision falls on one's own work. Fortunately for the Journal, this difficult task has been possible because of the commitment of a large number of excellent reviewers and a small team of active, highly qualified and efficient Associate Editors. Another innovation that has been a very useful part of the selection process, is the appointment of a statistical consultant, who reviews the statistical analysis of selected manuscripts. This, by no doubt, has had a very positive impact on the quality of manuscripts published in the Journal. During the year 2000 the Journal has reached its higher impact factor ever, 3.705. It now ranks fourth among the gastrointestinal and liver journals, after Gastroenterology, Hepatology, and Gut. This increase in the impact factor is mainly due to the enormous task made by the former Editor-in-Chief Gustav Paumgartner and his team of Associate Editors and editorial staff in Munich. The Journal of Hepatology and EASL are also thankful for the excellent job done by Munksgaard in the publication of the Journal since 1993 until December 2000. Lise Baltzer, Janet Carolan, Karin Lokke, and Pernille Hammelsoe especially deserve credit for their day-to-day dedication and efficiency. Finally, the Editors and EASL would like to thank the investigators from Europe as well as Non-European countries, especially Japan and United States, who by sending their work to the Journal have contributed to this great success. As all important scientific publications, the Journal of Hepatology is facing the challenges of the new century, which include a rapid and efficient evaluation of manuscripts submitted, a fast publication of accepted manuscripts, and a broadened diffusion of published information through the new electronic ways of communication. The Journal of Hepatology is preparing itself to face these new challenges. A new Publisher, Elsevier Science, has been appointed by EASL. This may help the Journal of Hepatology to face the challenges of the new era. Some of the innovations due to this new cooperation between the Journal of Hepatology and Elsevier will be seen immediately and others will follow in the upcoming months. A new electronic system of communication between the Editorial Office and the authors of manuscripts and reviewers will be implemented. This will help the authors to keep track of their manuscripts throughout the whole review process and the reviewers to do their job timely and efficiently. For accepted manuscripts, the proofs will be sent electronically to the corresponding author together with attached queries. Information on the status of an accepted article prior to publication can be followed electronically (www.elsevier.nl/oasis). Finally, an effort will be made to improve the electronic publication of the Journal of Hepatology and update the system by including the issues of most recent years. For all the reasons I have outlined, these are very exciting times for the Journal of Hepatology. The Editors hope that all of these new developments, some of which have already taken place in the Journal or will take place in the near future will help improve the role of the Journal of Hepatology as an international vehicle of communication and education among physicians and scientists interested in liver diseases.