BioMed Central Blog
Global research initiative points way to cut stillbirths
A first-ever global review examining measures to prevent
over 3.2 million stillbirths worldwide was published in a BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth
supplement today.
Stillbirths are still underreported and largely absent
from data records and national policy-making. The supplement, entitled Stillbirths – the global picture and
evidence-based solutions, provides an in-depth analysis of the burden and evidence base for potential
interventions to avert stillbirths, especially in low-income countries.
The supplement, funded by Save
the Children through a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation, consists of six articles and a commentary.
Paper 1 addresses the global
burden, the epidemiology, risk factors and the causes of stillbirths and lays
down the methodology and framework for this worldwide review. Papers 2 and 3 cover the behavioural and medical interventions used
before and during pregnancy, which include interventions targeted at medical
conditions and infections in the mother. Paper 4 focuses on screening and monitoring interventions
during pregnancy and labour, including ultrasound and Doppler studies, managing
maternal diabetes, and partographs and cardiotocography, among others. Paper 5 deals with the evidence of interventions during
labour, while Paper 6 examines health system
solutions, including training health workers in facilities and also at
community level to improve care during pregnancy and childbirth.
This collaborative research initiative was led by
Professor Zulfiqar A. Bhutta, Head, Division of Maternal and Child Health (Aga
Khan University), with Drs. Gary L. Darmstadt and Rachel Haws from Johns
Hopkins University and Dr. Joy E. Lawn of Save the Children’s Saving Newborn
Lives division.
Commenting on the supplement, BioMed Central’s Editorial
Director (Medicine), Dr Melissa Norton said, “BMC Pregnancy and Childbirth is
proud to publish these in-depth reviews as an important first step in tackling
the problem of stillbirths, especially in relation to low-income
countries. The articles address the scale of the issue and discuss
possible solutions to be taken forward. We look forward to the
impact they will have on public health worldwide.”
Posted by Charlotte Webber at 12:40 Comments (0)
Molecular Autism: now accepting submissions
Molecular Autism, a new journal published by BioMed Central, is now accepting submissions.
Molecular Autism aims to be the major forum for research into the molecular basis of autism and related neurodevelopmental conditions. The journal will focus on research that relates causal and risk factors with these conditions, leading to model systems and novel therapeutics. This will include studies of genetics, neuropathology, neuroimaging, biomarkers, and molecular neurobiology.
The primary focus is on conditions in the autism spectrum (including Asperger syndrome), but the scope also encompasses molecular research into related neurodevelopmental conditions such as specific language impairment, dyspraxia, and specific or general developmental delays; and into related medical syndromes such as fragile X syndrome, tuberous sclerosis, and Rett syndrome.
Molecular Autism is edited by Professors Joseph D Buxbaum (Mount Sinai School of Medicine) and Simon Baron-Cohen (University of Cambridge) and supported by an expert international Editorial Board.
For more details on Molecular Autism, please see the journal’s information pages, or contact the editorial office. To keep up to date with new developments and to receive a copy of the print preview of our inaugural issue, simply register your email address on the website.
Submit your next piece of research to Molecular Autism now to ensure the high visibility of your work and benefit from no limits on word count or colour figures, rapid, high quality peer review and immediate publication on acceptance.
Victoria Thompson
Assistant Journal Development Editor
Posted by Iain Hrynaszkiewicz at 10:29 Comments (0)
Research Councils UK planning to increase support for open access
Research Councils UK, the organization responsible for the major share of public funding for scientific research in the UK, has just published the results of an independent study that it commissioned to look at the impact of the open access policies which were introduced by individual Research Councils in 2006, and more generally to examine the impact of open access journals and open access repositories on the traditional scholarly publishing system.
Based on the results of the study, the announcement noted that the Chief Executives of the Research Councils "have agreed that over time the UK Research Councils will support increased open access, by:
- building on their mandates on grant-holders to deposit research papers in suitable repositories within an agreed time period, and;
- extending their support for publishing in open access journals, including through the pay-to-publish model."
This news from RCUK follows a similarly positive joint report from the UK Research Information Network and Universities UK, which encouraged research institutions and funders to work together to develop a coordinated approach to the funding of open access publication costs.
BioMed Central has published a series of case studies showing how research institutions are adapting their funding structures to support an open model for scholarly communication with the creation of central open access funds. Recent additions to the series include case studies on the University of Calgary and the Max Planck Society.
Posted by Charlotte Webber at 08:52 Comments (0)
Dissecting the proteomics of estrogen replacement therapy
In the current issue of Genome Medicine, researchers report the results of the most in-depth quantitative proteomic study in connection with a clinical trial to be conducted to date.
In the article ‘Application of serum proteomics to the Women's Health Initiative conjugated equine estrogens trial reveals a multitude of effects relevant to clinical findings’, Samir Hanash and colleagues report a state-of-art proteomic analysis on data from the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) trial. The authors find that intake of estrogen as part of hormone replacement therapy affects at least 10% of the women’s serum proteome.
Samir Hanash, based at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, states that, “Remarkably, as many as 10 percent of plasma proteins analyzed were found to be affected by estrogen hormone replacement therapy in post-menopausal women. These changes indicate a substantial effect on coagulation and metabolic proteins that may explain the increased risk of venous thromboembolism and stroke, and the reduced risk of fracture, found in the WHI trial.”
This work demonstrates the utility of comprehensive profiling of the serum proteome for clinical investigations. As the authors state, “Our findings should encourage other investigators to include quantitative proteomic analysis as part of clinical trials of new therapies to better understand the effect of therapy and to identify surrogate markers of response to treatment”.
Genome Medicine, BioMed Central’s premier medical journal, stands at the forefront of research and clinical practice in the post-genomic era. We welcome cutting-edge genomic and post-genomic research reporting findings that significantly advance our understanding and management of human health and disease.
Keep abreast of recent developments in these exciting times: register for article updates and submit your next manuscript of outstanding research to Genome Medicine.
Iratxe Puebla
Senior Editor, Genome Medicine
Posted by Iratxe Puebla at 12:28 Comments (0)
EQUATOR Network at the Peer Review Congress 2009
The EQUATOR Network (Enhancing the QUAlity and Transparency Of health Research), is holding a workshop and annual lecture prior to the 2009 Peer Review Congress in Vancouver. Both events will take place at the Westin Bayshore Hotel.
Workshop: Key guidelines for reporting health research studies
9 September 2009, 14:00 - 17:30
Sound knowledge of the principles of high quality reporting of various types of health research is crucial for researchers and professionals involved in the publication of medical research. Aimed at editors and peer reviewers of medical research journals, the workshop will provide an intensive overview of major scientific and ethical issues relating to the quality of health research reporting. Workshop facilitators include Prof Doug Altman, co-Editor-in-Chief of BioMed Central's journal, Trials. More information and details of how to register can be found on the EQUATOR website.
2nd EQUATOR Annual Lecture: Dr Richard Horton, Editor-in-Chief, The Lancet
9 September 2009, 18:00 - 19:00
The talk will focus on important issues relating to the research reporting and will include areas such as publication bias against low-income countries, failure to collaborate fairly with authors in low/middle income countries, examining the global impact of research findings, equity issues in medical research, and how high-income countries might work to promote a fairer reporting of global health issues. The lecture is free for all to attend.
BioMed Central has long supported initiatives for improving the quality and transparency of research reporting and is proudly sponsoring these events. All BioMed Central's journals that include clinical content endorse EQUATOR in their instructions for authors and peer review guidelines. The EQUATOR Network is an international initiative that seeks to enhance
reliability of medical research literature by promoting transparent and
accurate reporting of research studies.
Posted by Iain Hrynaszkiewicz at 11:58 Comments (0)
BioMed Central pedals for pounds - week 3
This week we caught up
with our Cycle Chile team to see how they’re getting along with their training. With 21 weeks to go, our team members are starting to come to grips with the steep hills involved in the ride. Don't forget you can help our team raise money for the Kenyatta University Programme by contributing to their justgiving page.
What prompted you to take part
in the Cycle Chile challenge?
Helen: Partly to give up cigarettes!
Matt: I’ve never been to South America before so this seemed
like a good opportunity
Joe: I’m not sure what prompted me to be honest. I
guess I like the idea of a challenge
Ruth: I’ve been keen to do a cycling tour for a while
now and then when I saw this opportunity, I knew it was for me. I get to fulfil
my goal of cycling in a beautiful country and raise money for a good cause at
the same time.
Have you ever done anything
like this before?
A resounding ‘no!’ from all of
our participants
Ruth: I’ve done a trekking tour of Namibia where we helped to build schools and got involved with the local safari parks but nothing like this before.
How are you preparing for the
challenge?
Helen: I’ve been running and cycling fairly regularly
Ruth: I did an organised cycle run on Sunday but managed
to get lost! I’m going to Holland soon for a cycling holiday so I can get more
practice in though I know that won’t help me with the hills!
Matt: I cycle to work every day but I’m thinking I might
need to step that up and go for longer/harder rides soon!
Joe: Last weekend I cycled over Newlands Hause and
Honister Pass in the Lake District, to get away from the forest of
traffic lights in the city and to practice the 500m ascent that we’ll have
to do a lot of in the cycling tour
Lastly, what bits of the Cycle
Chile challenge are you looking forward to (or not looking forward to)?
Ruth: I’m dreading the 500m ascents right now, I need to
practice cycling up more hills before then. But I can’t wait for the whole
experience, taking in the scenery by day and relaxing in the evening.
Helen: I worry about not having the stamina to do it but
I’m really looking forward to seeing Chile and getting fit in the process
Posted by Charlotte Webber at 17:28 Comments (0)
Co-discoverer of HIV virus to make keynote speech at Frontiers of Retrovirology
Dr Robert Gallo the
co-discoverer of the HIV virus is to make a keynote speech at 'Frontiers of Retrovirology', the innovative conference that will bring together
retroelement and complex retrovirus researchers from around the globe. Dr Gallo
founded and is Director of the Institute of Human Virology
(IHV).
Taking place in Montpellier in
the south of France, Frontiers
of Retrovirology will prove to be a best-in-class conference bringing
together leading human retrovirus researchers to review current progress and to
chart future challenges. Internationally renowned speakers will present their
insights into the principles guiding the life cycle of endogenous retroelements,
complex human retroviruses, and their pathogenic interactions with the hosts.
To register for this unique and timely meeting (before space is filled), to submit your abstract, and to see the speaker line-up, please visit http://www.frontiersofretrovirology.com/
Posted by Charlotte Webber at 17:15 Comments (0)
Improved bovine genome assembly published in Genome Biology
A new whole bovine genome assembly is published today in Genome Biology by Steven Salzberg and colleagues. The authors employed the latest computational assembly techniques, combining the sequencing data with independent mapping and cow-human synteny data, to produce an assembly in which 91% of the genome has been assembled onto the Bos taurus chromosomes, including the first ever partial assembly of the Y chromosome. The new assembly corrects many errors and closes gaps from previous assemblies and will no doubt be a valuable resource for the cow genetics and comparative mammalian genomics communities.
Salzberg and colleagues use raw sequence data generated by the Bovine Genome Sequencing and Analysis Consortium at the Baylor College of Medicine, who also publish an assembly today in Science. Deanna Church and LaDeana Hillier discuss the implications of having two genome assemblies for the research community and genome databases in a thought-provoking Opinion article; they also tackle the broader issues of sequence data sharing and management in the post-genomic era.
Read more about the Salzberg and colleagues assembly and the Church and Hillier Opinion in Genome Biology.
Posted by Emma Ralph at 09:26 Comments (0)
A special series of companion papers from the FANTOM4 consortium
Genome Biology and BMC
Bioinformatics have published the first articles in a new
cross-journal article series reporting results from FANTOM4,
the latest research project from the FANTOM consortium.
FANTOM (Functional Annotation of Mouse) is an international collaborative research project initiated and organized by the RIKEN Omics Science Center in Yokohama, Japan. Previous work from the FANTOM consortium has focused on identifying the transcribed components of mammalian cells. FANTOM4 builds on this work, using novel methods to define how these cellular components are regulated and work together as a biological network in the acute myeloid leukemia cell line THP-1.
Among
the first FANTOM4 papers to be published in Genome
Biology is a description of a suite of computer
programs from Josee Dostie and colleagues which allow chromatin conformation
signatures to be identified. In the same journal, Alistair Forrest
and colleagues describe EdgeExpressDB,
a new database and associated tools for interpreting biological networks
and comparing large high-throughput expression datasets. Further
work published in BMC
Bioinformatics by John Quackenbush and colleagues outlines two
new data-driven normalization strategies for high-throughput
real-time quantitative
PCR data. Additional research articles in this
article series will be published over coming months.
The FANTOM4 papers, including three additional companion articles just published
in Nature Genetics, are put in context
by Phil Kapranov’s minireview,
which is also published in the latest issue of Genome Biology.
Posted by Ruth Rowland at 21:34 Comments (0)
Thematic series on Workforce in Public Health
This new
thematic series, which recently began publication in Australia and New Zealand Health Policy,
examines a diverse range of topics associated with the public health
workforce. The articles in the series focus on Australian and New Zealand examples
of ongoing improvements and issues in this sector which are applicable to
countries across the globe.
Health workforce has increasingly become a major concern and a worldwide health policy issue, particularly following the “brain drain” of health professionals from developing countries. As Editors Vivian Lin, Rebecca Watson and Brian Oldenburg mention in the series Editorial, there is a considerable need to evaluate the existing public health workforce in order to assess what is required to train and educate future public health workers and which related health policy agendas currently need attention.
The first five articles in the series highlight improvements, innovations and challenges associated with educating and training the public health workforce, workforce planning and capacity development and the evaluation of public health activity in a country.
If you would like to receive email notifications when the forthcoming six articles in the series are published, please sign up for article alerts.
Posted by Anne Braae at 09:41 Comments (0)
Open access research celebrated at BioMed Central's Research Awards ceremony
The winners of BioMed Central’s 3rd Annual Research Awards were
announced at an awards ceremony at London’s Barbican Centre last week. The
event was attended by shortlisted authors, eminent researchers from around the
world, open access advocates and science journalists.
The Awards celebrate the best medical and biological research published in any
of BioMed Central's open access journals in the last year.
The Medicine and Biology Prizes, sponsored by Microsoft Research, were won by the following research articles:
Biology Award – Basil Honegger, University of
Zürich
Imp-L2,
a putative homolog of vertebrate IGF-binding protein 7, counteracts insulin
signaling in Drosophila and is essential for starvation resistance
Honegger B, Galic M, Köhler K, Wittwer F, Brogiolo W, Hafen E, Stocker
H
Journal of Biology 2008, 7:10
(15 April 2008)
Medicine Award – Weiqi Yan and Guomin Xiao, Zhejiang
University
Improved
outcomes from the administration of progesterone for patients with acute severe
traumatic brain injury: a randomized controlled trial
Xiao G, Wei J, Yan W, Wang W, Lu Z
Critical
Care 2008, 12:R61 (30 April 2008)
This year, three new awards were introduced:
Case Report of the Year
Mycobacterium tuberculosis monoarthritis in a child
Rajakumar D, Rosenberg AM
Pediatric
Rheumatology 2008, 6:15 (18 September 2008)
Open Access Institute of the Year - University
of Nottingham
Guests at the event were treated to a lively routine from Brian Malow, ‘the
science comedian’. As part of their commitment to open access, Pfizer were
proud to be the sponsor the Research Awards Dinner.
Full details of the awards can be found at the BioMed Central Annual Research Awards website. BioMed Central's Facebook Page also has an album of photos from the event. A short video highlighting the evening's events, including Brian Malow, can be found at BioMed Central's YouTube page.
Posted by Charlotte Webber at 16:22 Comments (0)
Genome Medicine publishes first research article
Genome Medicine is proud to announce the publication of its first research article. The article, covering work on systems medicine and informatics, reflects the journal’s aim to publish high-quality research across a wide range of topics relevant for medical researchers and clinicians.
The article, titled ‘A kernel-based integration of genome-wide data for clinical decision support’, reports work by Bart de Moor’s group at the University of Leuven and describes a novel algorithm that allows the integration of genome-wide data from different sources and leads to improved clinical outcome prediction from cancer data sets.
Genome Medicine publishes research articles of outstanding quality in all areas of medicine studied from a genomic or post-genomic perspective. The journal also regularly publishes reviews, minireviews and commentaries that assess progress in the management of health and disease informed from genomic and post-genomic research, as well as the ethical, social and legal challenges associated with developments in this emerging field.
Genome Medicine is led by six renowned Section Editors and supported by an internationally recognized Editorial Board.
Submit your next manuscript to Genome Medicine to be among the first authors to publish in this exciting journal, to take advantage of our rapid, high-quality peer review and to maximize the visibility of your research.
For any further information about the journal, its scope and policies, as well as for all pre-submission enquiries, please contact the editorial office. The editors are also keen to receive readers’ comments on the journal and its contents, so if you have any feedback or suggestions, please do get in touch.
Iratxe Puebla
Senior Editor, Genome Medicine
Posted by Iratxe Puebla at 13:19 Comments (0)
BioMed Central pedals for pounds
As part
of BioMed Central's pledge to raise £10,760 for the Kenyatta
University
programme, four of our own editorial team members will
be taking on the Cycle
Chile Challenge. In late September, Ruth, Matt, Helen and Joe
(pictured) will embark on an off-the-beaten track adventure in Patagonia, covering 375km of wilderness, including giant glaciers, volcanic mountains and
lush rainforest. Of course, it's not all pretty scenery, this will be a tough
ride involving intense training and each of our eager cyclists must raise
£2900. You can help the team reach its target by contributing via their justgiving page.
Posted by Charlotte Webber at 09:29 Comments (0)
A new report released on 27th March 2009 by Universities UK and the Research Information Network, delivers an important set of recommendations aiming to ensure best practice at UK higher education institutions (HEIs) in relation to the payment of open access publication fees. The UUK/RIN working group included representatives from universities, research funders, publishers and research authors, and the report's recommendations identify actions each of these groups can take in order to ensure that the funding of open access publishing is handled in a coordinated way.
A key focus of the report is the need for institutions to take an integrated approach, and to communicate clearly to their employees. The report notes that "the response in the UK to the development of open access journals remains haphazard". It also notes that a 2008 JISC survey of UK biomedical authors found that "only 28% of those employed by HEIs believed that they had received any guidance from their employer on the payment of publication fees" even though 72% of these respondents had published in an open access journals in the last 5 years
To address this lack of clearly communicated policies, the report recommends "HEIs should designate a single person at senior level (for example, a pro or deputy vice chancellor) to coordinate their activities", and furthermore "All funders should clarify how they will provide financial support for researchers in meeting their open access policies in general, and the payment of publication fees in particular."
Noting that the payment of Open Access publication fees as directly-incurred costs (i.e. from grants) is often problematic, the report unambiguously advises institutions to develop central open access funds: "We recommend HEIs establish dedicated budgets to which researchers can apply for funds to meet the costs of publication fees".
The reports relevance extends beyond the UK, especially in the light of recent mandatory open access initiatives in the USA at Harvard and MIT. Central funding for open access publication costs is a natural way to ensure that such open access deposit policies can be sustained long-term, without undermining peer-review and the journal system on which scholarly communication depends. BioMed Central has produced case studies on several institutions which already have such open access funds in operation, and we are forward to collaborating with the many other institutions that are now working to develop similar schemes.
Read the UUK/RIN report in full
Posted by Matthew Cockerill at 19:03 Comments (2)
Four more BioMed Central journals tracked for Impact Factors by Thomson Reuters
Further to last month’s indexing news,
we have been informed that a further four BioMed Central journals have now also been
accepted for tracking by Thomson Reuters and are on course to receive Impact
Factors.
The journals are:
- Journal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition
- Particle & Fibre Toxicology
- Theoretical Biology & Medical Modelling
which are due to receive Impact Factors in June 2010, and
which is due to receive its first Impact Factor in June 2011.
We would like to congratulate the Editors and editorial teams responsible for each of these journals on their success in building the quality and reputation of their journal.
Molecular Neurodegeneration and Particle & Fibre Toxicology already have impressive unofficial impact factors of 4.00 and 5.11 (calculated using data from the Science Citation Index ), which certainly bodes well for the future.Posted by Charlotte Hubbard at 18:52 Comments (0)