PDF《EDITORIAL》

EDITORIAL Changes in the Wind.

.. As JAFC begins 2006, and its 54th volume, a number of changes are in progress. Our Editorial Advisory Board and Associate Editors, the ACS Publications Division, and many of our authors and reviewers have contributed ideas and opinions that we take into consideration when making significant changes in the Journal'

s scope, policy, and guidelines. First, beginning with this issue, JAFC will accept for review only manuscripts submitted via the Journal'

s manuscript submission Website. Exceptions will be made only for authors who are unable to submit manuscripts in this way because of lack of access to the Internet. (All such non-Web submissions require prior permission from the editor.) In this day and age, we would not expect this to be the case except in highly unusual circumstances. JAFC, along with all other ACS journals, and in fact most journals worldwide, conducts all aspects of manuscript processing (reviewing, revisions) electronically. This begins with a high quality, consistently formatted, electronic version of the manuscript, prepared by the authors. Electronic processing has numerous advantages, not the least of which is reducing processing time. (JAFC processing time from receipt to printed publication now averages under

25 weeks, compared to over

30 weeks just

5 years ago. The time from receipt to posting of the article on the Web is even more impressivesjust

22 weeks for 2005.) Electronic processing is also more cost- effective, an important consideration as manuscript submissions increase. At this writing, manuscript submission to JAFC for

2005 is expected to be about

3360 manuscripts, an increase of about 25% over submissions in 2004. Also, JAFC and all other ACS journals will be paying closer attention to manuscript length. JAFC article length has crept upward from 5.9 published pages

5 years ago to 6.2 pages in 2005. This has significant impact on production costs. Authors are asked to use the Supporting Information option for lengthy data sets, compilation of spectra, etc. An exception to the page length limit can be made when the authors and Editor agree that the topic should command more pages to provide coverage and quality. In terms of scope, JAFC will return, unreviewed, manuscripts reporting bioactivity for extracts and other mixtures for which the individual components responsible for the activity have not been chemically characterized. Exceptions can be made when the bioactivity is of such significance that the report cannot wait for full characterization, but this will rest upon justification by the authors and the content of the manuscript. The manuscript cover letter must include not only such pertinent information as the manuscript title, corresponding author name and contact information (and submitter'

s contact information, if different from the corresponding author'

s), a list of graphics to be published in color, and the names and contact information for four potential reviewers but also a clear statement of the significance of the manuscript to agricul- tural and food chemistry, including its unique contributions to science, in a few words or sentences. Manuscripts submitted without a cover letter, or with a cover letter not addressing the manuscript'

s significance and originality, will be held until a cover letter is provided with the essential information. Because JAFC is first and foremost a chemistry/biochemistry journal, the content of all manuscripts must include chemistry/ biochemistry as a major component. A large proportion of submissions fall on the side of not having enough chemistry or biochemistry to fit in the scope of the Journal. Manuscripts that report sensory, toxicological, pharmacological, nutritional, or pesticidal activity without significant accompanying chemistry should be submitted to a journal in one of the fields mentioned. Structures, detailed mechanisms, metabolic/metabolomic schemes, analytical methods, and graphs showing changes in chemical composition with time are particularly appropriate for JAFC. Of course, they can be accompanied with relevant biological Figure 1. JAFC Editor Jim Seiber at the ACS Cycle of Excellence Author/ Reviewer Workshop held at the ACS Fall National Meeting in Washington, DC. Associate Editors Willis Wheeler and John Finley also made presentations at this workshop. A future author/reviewer workshop is planned for the Spring