I am writing this editorial on the way home from the AASV Annual Meeting in New Orleans. As I mentioned in my March-April 2016 editorial, I always find the annual meeting highly motivational.1 And this year I thought the meeting delivered once again. I just wanted to give a shout-out to the organizers for another great meeting – thank you!
I have discussed the topic of journal impact factors in a previous editorial, and in that editorial I explained how impact factors are calculated.2 I also discussed that journal impact factors do not necessarily reflect the impact or quality of individual manuscripts on a particular subject area, but that impact factors are an important consideration when some authors choose the journal to which they submit their publications. To remind you, the reporting of impact factors is always a few years behind, as the calculation involves counting citations from the two most previous full calendar years. So what that means is that JSHAP’s most current impact factor is for 2014 and it was based on the number of citations from items published in 2012 and 2013 divided by the total number of items published in 2012 and 2013. I am re-visiting the topic of impact factors because I wanted to share with you that JSHAP’s impact factor for 2014 is 1.205! This represents a dramatic increase, as our next highest impact factor was in 2013 at 0.771. What I am very happy about is the positive trend in improvement each year in JSHAP’s impact factor, as well as the size of the increase for 2014. And, as I have said previously, JSHAP’s impact factor is considered by some authors when choosing a journal to submit to, so this increase is very positive for the journal. This has put JSHAP’s rating in the veterinary sciences category of journals at 47 of 133 and also represents the journal’s highest ranking ever. Of course, many individuals contribute to all the hard work behind the research, writing, peer-review, and publication of the manuscripts published in JSHAP. A shout-out to all of you who contribute to the success of JSHAP!
Once again, I really enjoyed reading this issue of JSHAP and I am certain that the contributions to this issue will continue to affect the journal’s impact factor down the road – a shout-out to the authors! This issue contains a very interesting peer-reviewed commentary on feed mill biosecurity plans by Cochrane et al3 and is a commentary on the systematic approach towards preventing biological pathogens in swine feed. Additionally, the original research article by Jeong et al4 makes a valuable contribution to the peer-reviewed literature on important vaccine comparisons. The journal does not receive very many manuscripts in the “Production Tool” genre, so I was very interested in the information in the manuscript by Campler et al5 that presents tips and techniques for rubber-mat placement. And this issue also contains a case study by Clement et al6 focused on the humoral responses elicited by feedback exposure to porcine epidemic diarrhea virus, another very timely topic.
I will leave you to enjoy this issue of JSHAP, I know I did.
References
1. O’Sullivan T. Motivation [editorial]. J Swine Health Prod. 2016;24:69.
2. O’Sullivan T. Impact! [editorial]. J Swine Health Prod. 2013;21:239.
3. Cochrane RA, Dritz SS, Woodworth JC, Stark CR, Huss AR, Cano JP, Thompson RW, Fahrenholz AC, Jones CK. Feed mill biosecurity plans: a systematic approach to prevent biological pathogens in swine feed. J Swine Health Prod. 2016;24:154–164.
4. Jeong J, Kang HS, Park C, Seo HW, Kang I, Choi K, Chae C. Comparative efficacy of concurrent administration of a porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) vaccine plus a porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) vaccine from two commercial sources in pigs challenged with both viruses. J Swine Health Prod. 2016;24:130–141.
5. Campler M, Pairis-Garcia M, Stalder KJ, Johnson AK. Rubber mat placement in a farrowing and lactation facility: Tips and techniques. J Swine Health and Prod. 2016;24:142–146.
6. Clement T, Singrey A, Lawson S, Okda F, Nelson J; Diel D, Nelson EA, Christopher-Hennings J. Measurement of neutralizing antibodies against porcine epidemic diarrhea virus in sow serum, colostrum, and milk samples and piglet serum samples after feedback. J Swine Health Prod. 2016;24:147–153.
Terri O’Sullivan, DVM, PhD Executive Editor