Announcements

The purpose of our Best Paper Awards is to promote and recognize the most impactful contributions published within MDPI journals.

The editors of each journal carefully selected reviews and research papers through a rigorous judging process based on criteria such as the scientific merit, overall impact, and the quality of presentation of the papers published in the journal last year.

We are honored to present the winners in the subject areas of “Biology & Life Sciences”, who were selected amongst extensive competition, and congratulate the authors for their outstanding scientific publications.

MDPI will continue to provide support and recognition to the academic community.

Animals:

• “Effects of Dietary Betaine on Growth Performance, Digestive Function, Carcass Traitsand Meat Quality in Indigenous Yellow-Feathered Broilers under Long-Term Heat Stress”

by Wenchao Liu, Yilin Yuan, Chenyu Sun, Balamuralikrishnan Balasubramanian, Zhihui Zhao and Lilong An

Animals 2019, 9(8), 506, doi 10.3390/ani9080506

• “The Ethics of Human–Animal Relationships and Public Discourse: A Case Study of Lions Bred for Their Bones”

by Peter Coals, Dawn Burnham, Andrew Loveridge, David W. Macdonald, Michael ’t Sas-Rolfes, Vivienne L. Williams and John A. Vucetich

Animals 2019, 9(2), 52; doi 10.3390/ani9020052

• “The Potential Role of Insects as Feed: A Multi-Perspective Review”

by Giovanni Sogari, Mario Amato, Ilaria Biasato, Silvana Chiesa and Laura Gasco

Animals 2019, 9(4), 119; doi 10.3390/ani9040119

Antibodies:

• “Antibody Structure and Function: The Basis for Engineering Therapeutics”

by Mark L. Chiu; Dennis R. Goulet; Alexey Teplyakov and Gary L. Gilliland

Antibodies 2019, 8(4), 55; doi 10.3390/antib8040055

Antioxidants:

• “Antioxidant and Anti-Inflammatory Activities of Flavanones from Glycyrrhiza glabra L. (licorice) Leaf Phytocomplexes: Identification of Licoflavanone as a Modulator of NF-kB/MAPK Pathway”

by Luca Frattaruolo, Gabriele Carullo, Matteo Brindisi, Sarah Mazzotta, Luca Bellissimo, Vittoria Rago, Rosita Curcio, Vincenza Dolce, Francesca Aiello and Anna Rita Cappello

Antioxidants 2019, 8(6), 186; doi 10.3390/antiox8060186

• “LC-ESI-QTOF/MS Characterisation of Phenolic Acids and Flavonoids in Polyphenol-Rich Fruits and Vegetables and Their Potential Antioxidant Activities”

by Chunhe Gu, Kate Howell, Frank R. Dunshea and Hafiz A. R. Suleria

Antioxidants 2019, 8(9), 405; doi 10.3390/antiox8090405

• “Nutritional Value, Chemical Composition and Cytotoxic Properties of Common Purslane (Portulaca oleracea L.) in Relation to Harvesting Stage and Plant Part”

by Spyridon A. Petropoulos, Ângela Fernandes, Maria Inês Dias, Ioannis B. Vasilakoglou, Konstantinos Petrotos, Lillian Barros and Isabel C. F. R. Ferreira

Antioxidants 2019, 8(8), 293; doi 10.3390/antiox8080293

• “A Comprehensive Review on Lipid Oxidation in Meat and Meat Products”

by Rubén Domínguez, Mirian Pateiro, Mohammed Gagaoua, Francisco J. Barba, Wangang Zhang and José M. Lorenzo

Antioxidants 2019, 8(10), 429; doi 10.3390/antiox8100429

Biology:

• “The Mammalian Circadian Timing System and the Suprachiasmatic Nucleus as Its Pacemaker”

by Michael H. Hastings, Elizabeth S. Maywood and Marco Brancaccio

Biology 2019, 8(1), 13; doi 10.3390/biology8010013

• “Combined Effects of Acute Temperature Change and Elevated pCO₂ on the Metabolic Rates and Hypoxia Tolerances of Clearnose Skate (Rostaraja eglanteria), Summer Flounder (Paralichthys dentatus), and Thorny Skate (Amblyraja radiata)”

by Gail D. Schwieterman, Daniel P. Crear, Brooke N. Anderson, Danielle R. Lavoie, James A. Sulikowski, Peter G. Bushnell and Richard W. Brill

Biology 2019, 8(3), 56; doi 10.3390/biology8030056

Biomolecules:

• “Flagella-Driven Motility of Bacteria”

by Shuichi Nakamura and Tohru Minamino

Biomolecules 2019, 9(7), 279; doi 10.3390/biom9070279

• “Systematic FTIR Spectroscopy Study of the Secondary Structure Changes in Human Serum Albumin under Various Denaturation Conditions”

by Dmitrii Usoltsev, Vera Sitnikovaandrey Kajava and Mayya Uspenskaya

Biomolecules 2019, 9(8), 359; doi 10.3390/biom9080359

• “Quantification of Fecal Short Chain Fatty Acids by Liquid Chromatography Tandem Mass Spectrometry—Investigation of Pre-Analytic Stability”

by Gerhard Liebisch, Josef Ecker, Sebastian Roth, Sabine Schweizer, Veronika Öttl, Hans-Frieder Schött, Hongsup Yoon, Dirk Haller, Ernst Holler, Ralph Burkhardt and Silke Matysik

Biomolecules 2019, 9(4), 121; doi 10.3390/biom9040121

• “Cytotoxicity of Dendrimers”

by Anna Janaszewska, Joanna Lazniewska, Przemysław Trzepiński, Monika Marcinkowska and Barbara Klajnert-Maculewicz

Biomolecules 2019, 9(8), 330; doi 10.3390/biom9080330

Cells:

• “Combined Inhibition of TGF-β Signaling and the PD-L1 Immune Checkpoint Is Differentially Effective in Tumor Models”

by Heng Sheng Sow, Jiang Ren, Marcel Camps, Ferry Ossendorp and Peter ten Dijke

Cells 2019, 8(4), 320; doi 10.3390/cells8040320

• “Exosome Treatment Enhances Anti-Inflammatory M2 Macrophages and Reduces Inflammation-Induced Pyroptosis in Doxorubicin-Induced Cardiomyopathy”

by Dinender K. Singla, Taylor A. Johnson and Zahra Tavakoli Dargani

Cells 2019, 8(10), 1224; doi 10.3390/cells8101224

• “Overview of Extracellular Vesicles, Their Origin, Composition, Purpose, and Methods for Exosome Isolation and Analysis”

by Laura M. Doyle and Michael Zhuo Wang

Cells 2019, 8(7), 727; doi 10.3390/cells8070727

• “Mesenchymal Stem Cells for Regenerative Medicine”

by Yu Han, Xuezhou Li, Yanbo Zhang, Yuping Han, Fei Chang and Jianxun Ding

Cells 2019, 8(8), 886; doi 10.3390/cells8080886

Genes:

• “A High-Quality De novo Genome Assembly from a Single Mosquito Using PacBio Sequencing”

by Sarah B. Kingan, Haynes Heaton, Juliana Cudini, Christine C. Lambert, Primo Baybayan, Brendan D. Galvin, Richard Durbin, Jonas Korlach and Mara K. N. Lawniczak

Genes 2019, 10(1), 62; doi 10.3390/genes10010062

• “Eukaryotic 5-methylcytosine (m⁵C) RNA Methyltransferases: Mechanisms, Cellular Functions, and Links to Disease”

by Katherine E Bohnsack, Claudia Höbartner and Markus T Bohnsack

Genes 2019, 10(2), 102; doi 10.3390/genes10020102

• “Tree Lab: Portable Genomics for Early Detection of Plant Viruses and Pests in Sub-Saharan Africa”

by Laura M. Boykin, Peter Sseruwagi, Titus Alicai, Elijah Ateka, Ibrahim Umar Mohammed, Jo-Ann L. Stanton, Charles Kayuki, Deogratius Mark, Tarcisius Fute, Joel Erasto, Hilda Bachwenkizi, Brenda Muga, Naomi Mumo, Jenniffer Mwangi, Phillip Abidrabo, Geoffrey Okao-Okuja, Geresemu Omuut, Jacinta Akol, Hellen B. Apio, Francis Osingada, Monica A. Kehoe, David Eccles, Anders Savill, Stephen Lamb, Tonny Kinene, Christopher B. Rawle, Abishek Muralidhar, Kirsty Mayall, Fred Tairo and Joseph Ndunguru

Genes 2019, 10(9), 632; doi 10.3390/genes10090632

• “Transcription Factors Associated with Abiotic and Biotic Stress Tolerance and Their Potential for Crops Improvement”

by Elamin Hafiz Baillo, Roy Njoroge Kimotho, Zhengbin Zhang and Ping Xu

Genes 2019, 10(10), 771; doi 10.3390/genes10100771

Horticulturae:

• “Recent Advances in Hormonal Regulation and Cross-Talk during Non-Climacteric Fruit Development and Ripening”

by Lida Fuentes, Carlos R. Figueroa and Monika Valdenegro

Horticulturae 2019, 5(2), 45; doi 10.3390/horticulturae5020045

• “Evaluation of Two Wild Populations of Hedge Mustard (Sisymbrium officinale (L.) Scop.) as a Potential Leafy Vegetable”

by Marta Guarise, Gigliola Borgonovo, Angela Bassoli and Antonio Ferrante

Horticulturae 2019, 5(1), 13; doi 10.3390/horticulturae5010013

Insects:

• “Olfactory Preference of Drosophila suzukii Shifts between Fruit and Fermentation Cues over the Season: Effects of Physiological Status”

by Rik Clymans, Vincent Van Kerckvoorde, Eva Bangels, Wannes Akkermans, Ammar Alhmedi, Patrick De Clercq, Tim Beliën and Dany bylemans

Insects 2019, 10(7), 200; doi 10.3390/insects10070200

• “Telenomus remus, a Candidate Parasitoid for the Biological Control of Spodoptera frugiperda in Africa, is already Present on the Continent”

by Marc Kenis, Hannalene du Plessis, Johnnie Van den Berg, Malick Niango Ba, Georg Goergen, Koffi Eric Kwadjo, Ibrahim Baoua, Tadele Tefera, Alan Buddie, Giovanni Cafà, Lisa Offord, Ivan Rwomushana and Andrew Polaszek

Insects 2019, 10(4), 92; doi 10.3390/insects10040092

• “Symbiotic Plant Biomass Decomposition in Fungus-Growing Termites”

by Rafael R. da Costa, Haofu Hu, Hongjie Li and Michael Poulsen

Insects 2019, 10(4), 87; doi 10.3390/insects10040087

International Journal of Molecular Sciences:

• “Aging, Melatonin, and the Pro- and Anti-Inflammatory Networks”

by Rüdiger Hardeland

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2019, 20(5), 1223; doi 10.3390/ijms20051223

• “Causative Links between Protein Aggregation and Oxidative Stress: A Review”

by Elise Lévy, Nadine El Banna, Dorothée Baïlle, Amélie Heneman-Masurel, Sandrine Truchet, Human Rezaei, Meng-Er Huang, Vincent Béringue, Davy Martin and Laurence Vernis

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2019, 20(16), 3896; doi 10.3390/ijms20163896

• “Immunobiology of Atherosclerosis: A Complex Net of Interactions”

by Beatriz Herrero-Fernandez, Raquel Gomez-Bris, Beatriz Somovilla-Crespo and Jose Maria Gonzalez-Granado

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2019, 20(21), 5293; doi 10.3390/ijms20215293

• “Development of a Gut-on-a-Chip Model for High Throughput Disease Modeling and Drug Discovery”

by Claudia Beaurivage, Elena Naumovska, Yee Xiang Chang, Edo D. Elstak, Arnaud Nicolas, Heidi Wouters, Guido van Moolenbroek, Henriëtte L. Lanz, Sebastiaan J. Trietsch, Jos Joore, Paul Vulto, Richard A.J. Janssen, Kai S. Erdmann, Jan Stallen and Dorota Kurek

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2019, 20(22), 5661; doi 10.3390/ijms20225661

• “Triple-Negative Breast Cancer with High Levels of Annexin A1 Expression Is Associated with Mast Cell Infiltration, Inflammationand Angiogenesis”

by Maiko Okano, Masanori Oshi, Ali Linsk Butash, Eriko Katsuta, Kazunoshin Tachibana, Katsuharu Saito, Hirokazu Okayama, Xuan Peng, Li Yan, Koji Kono, Toru Ohtake and Kazuaki Takabe

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2019, 20(17), 4197; doi 10.3390/ijms20174197

• “CGRP Induces Differential Regulation of Cytokines from Satellite Glial Cells in Trigeminal Ganglia and Orofacial Nociception”

by Shaista Afroz, Rieko Arakaki, Takuma Iwasa, Masamitsu Oshima, Maki Hosoki, Miho Inoue, Otto Baba, Yoshihiro Okayama and Yoshizo Matsuka

Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2019, 20(3), 711; doi 10.3390/ijms20030711

Life:

• “Characterization of Resistance in Gram-Negative Urinary Isolates Using Existing and Novel Indicators of Clinical Relevance: A 10-Year Data Analysis”

by Márió Gajdács, Zoltán Bátori, Marianna Ábrók, Andrea Lázár and Katalin Burián

Life 2020, 10(2), 16; doi 10.3390/life10020016

• “Neuroprotection or Neurotoxicity of Illicit Drugs on Parkinson’s Disease”

by Carla Ferreira, Catarina Almeida, Sandra Tenreiro and Alexandre Quintas

Life 2020, 10(6), 86; doi 10.3390/life10060086

Nutrients:

• “Gut Microbiome: Profound Implications for Diet and Disease”

by Ronald D. Hills, Benjamin A. Pontefract, Hillary R. Mishcon, Cody A. Black, Steven C. Sutton and Cory R. Theberge

Nutrients 2019, 11(7), 1613; doi 10.3390/nu11071613

• “Vitamin C Can Shorten the Length of Stay in the ICU: A Meta-Analysis”

by Harri Hemilä and Elizabeth Chalker

Nutrients 2019, 11(4), 708; doi 10.3390/nu11040708

• “Early Time-Restricted Feeding Improves 24-Hour Glucose Levels and Affects Markers of the Circadian Clock, Aging, and Autophagy in Humans”

by Humaira Jamshed, Robbie A. Beyl, Deborah L. Della Manna, Eddy S. Yang, Eric Ravussin and Courtney M. Peterson

Nutrients 2019, 11(6), 1234; doi 10.3390/nu11061234

Pathogens:

• “Alteration of Gut Microbiota in Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD): Cause or Consequence? IBD Treatment Targeting the Gut Microbiome”

by Israr Kha, Naeem Ullah, Lajia Zha, Yanrui Bai, Ashiq Khan, Tang Zhao, Tuanjie Che and Chunjiang Zhang

Pathogens 2019, 8(3), 126; doi 10.3390/pathogens8030126

• “Candida albicans Interactions with Mucosal Surfaces during Health and Disease”

by Spyridoula-Angeliki Nikou,Nessim Kichik, Rhys Brown, Nicole O. Ponde, Jemima Ho, Julian R. Naglik and Jonathan P. Richardson

Pathogens 2019, 8(2), 53; doi 10.3390/pathogens8020053

• “Bacteriophages in Natural and Artificial Environments”

by Steven Batinovic, Flavia Wassef, Sarah A. Knowler, Daniel T.F. Rice, Cassandra R. Stanton, Jayson Rose, Joseph Tucci, Tadashi Nittami, Antony Vinh, Grant R. Drummond, Christopher G. Sobey, Hiu Tat Chan, Robert J. Seviour, Steve Petrovski and Ashley E. Franks

Pathogens 2019, 8(3), 100; doi 10.3390/pathogens8030100

Plants:

• “Plant Disease Detection and Classification by Deep Learning”

by Muhammad Hammad Saleem, Johan Potgieter and Khalid Mahmood Arif 

Plants 2019, 8(11), 468; doi 10.3390/plants8110468

• “Involvement of Phenolic Acids in Short-Term Adaptation to Salinity Stress is Species-Specific among Brassicaceae”

by Ida Linić, Dunja Šamec, Jiří Grúz, Valerija Vujčić Bok, Miroslav Strnad and Branka Salopek-Sondi

Plants 2019, 8(6), 155; doi 10.3390/plants8060155

• “Isoform-Specific NO Synthesis by Arabidopsis thaliana Nitrate Reductase”

by Marie Agatha Mohn, Besarta Thaqi and Katrin Fischer-Schrader

Plants 2019, 8(3), 67; doi 10.3390/plants8030067

• “GWAS for Starch-Related Parameters in Japonica Rice (Oryza sativa L.)”

by Chiara Biselliandrea Volante, Francesca Desiderio, Alessandro Tondelli, Alberto Gianinetti, Franca Finocchiaro, Federica Taddei, Laura Gazza, Daniela Sgrulletta, Luigi Cattivelli and Giampiero Valè

Plants 2019, 8(8), 292; doi 10.3390/plants8080292

We are pleased to announce that the XXXVII DGKJP Kongress 2022 has set up a free media partnership with Children (ISSN: 2227-9067).

The German Society for Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy is pleased to invite you to the XXXVII DGKJP Kongress, held from 18 to 21 May 2022 in Magdeburg, Germany.

The motto of the congress is the “Future”, and a wide range of interesting sessions will be provided. The official congress language is German.

Further details can be found on the event’s website. Please have a look here: https://www.dgkjp-kongress.de/.

Children Editorial Office

It is our honor to congratulate the authors of publications in Children (ISSN: 2227-9067) that have been distinguished as highly cited papers by Clarivate in 2021, according to the Web of Science data:

”Obesity in Children and Adolescents during COVID-19 Pandemic”
by Androniki Stavridou, Evangelia Kapsali, Eleni Panagouli, Athanasios Thirios, Konstantinos Polychronis, Flora Bacopoulou, Theodora Psaltopoulou, Maria Tsolia, Theodoros N. Sergentanis and Artemis Tsitsika
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/8/2/135

“The Impact of COVID-19 on the Interrelation of Physical Activity, Screen Time and Health-Related Quality of Life in Children and Adolescents in Germany: Results of the Motorik-Modul Study”
by Kathrin Wunsch, Carina Nigg, Claudia Niessner, Steffen C. E. Schmidt, Doris Oriwol, Anke Hanssen-Doose, Alexander Burchartz, Ana Eichsteller, Simon Kolb, Annette Worth and Alexander Woll
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/8/2/98

“You Can’t Go to the Park, You Can’t Go Here, You Can’t Go There”: Exploring Parental Experiences of COVID-19 and Its Impact on Their Children’s Movement Behaviours”
by Negin A. Riazi, Kelly Wunderlich, Madelaine Gierc, Mariana Brussoni, Sarah A. Moore, Mark S. Tremblay and Guy Faulkner
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/8/3/219

“The Impact of COVID-19 School Closure on Child and Adolescent Health: A Rapid Systematic Review”
by Sonia Chaabane, Sathyanarayanan Doraiswamy, Karima Chaabna, Ravinder Mamtani and Sohaila Cheema
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/8/5/415

“Myocarditis and Pericarditis Following mRNA COVID-19 Vaccination: What Do We Know So Far?”
by Bibhuti B. Das, William B. Moskowitz, Mary B. Taylor and April Palmer
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/8/7/607

“Safety and Effects of the Rapid Maxillary Expander on Temporomandibular Joint in Subjects Affected by Juvenile Idiopathic Arthritis: A Retrospective Study”
by Andrea Abate, Davide Cavagnetto, Francesca Maria Emilia Rusconi, Paolo Cressoni and Luca Esposito
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/8/1/33

“Changes in Healthy Behaviors and Meeting 24-h Movement Guidelines in Spanish and Brazilian Preschoolers, Children and Adolescents during the COVID-19 Lockdown”
by José Francisco López-Gil, Mark S. Tremblay and Javier Brazo-Sayavera
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/8/2/83

“Neonatal Multisystem Inflammatory Syndrome (MIS-N) Associated with Prenatal Maternal SARS-CoV-2: A Case Series”
by Ravindra Pawar, Vijay Gavade, Nivedita Patil, Vijay Mali, Amol Girwalkar, Vyankatesh Tarkasband, Sanjog Loya, Amit Chavan, Narendra Nanivadekar, Rahul Shinde, Uday Patil and Satyan Lakshminrusimha
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/8/7/572

“Relative Age Effect on Motor Competence in Children Aged 4–5 Years”
by Rubén Navarro-Patón, Marcos Mecías-Calvo, José Eugenio Rodríguez Fernández and Víctor Arufe-Giráldez
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/8/2/115

“Validity of Appendicitis Inflammatory Response Score in Distinguishing Perforated from Non-Perforated Appendicitis in Children”
by Zenon Pogorelić, Jakov Mihanović, Stipe Ninčević, Bruna Lukšić, Sara Elezović Baloević and Ozren Polašek
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/8/4/309

It is our honor to congratulate the authors of publications in Children (ISSN: 2227-9067) that have been distinguished as highly cited papers in the field of pediatrics in 2020, according to the Web of Science data:

“Multi-System Inflammatory Syndrome in Children (MIS-C) Following SARS-CoV-2 Infection: Review of Clinical Presentation, Hypothetical Pathogenesis, and Proposed Management”
by Natasha A. Nakra, Dean A. Blumberg, Angel Herrera-Guerra, and Satyan Lakshminrusimha
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/7/7/69

“COVID-19 Impact on Behaviors across the 24-Hour Day in Children and Adolescents: Physical Activity, Sedentary Behavior, and Sleep”
by Lauren C. Bates, Gabriel Zieff, Kathleen Stanford, Justin B. Moore, Zachary Y. Kerr, Erik D. Hanson, Bethany Barone Gibbs, Christopher E. Kline, and Lee Stoner
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/7/9/138

“Prevalence and Associated Factors of Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties during COVID-19 Pandemic in Children with Neurodevelopmental Disorders”
by Jacqueline Nonweiler, Fiona Rattray, Jennifer Baulcomb, Francesca Happé and Michael Absoud
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/7/9/128

“COVID-19: Neurological Considerations in Neonates and Children”
by Carl E. Stafstrom and Lauren L. Jantzie
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/7/9/133

“Risk Perception of COVID-19 Infection and Adherence to Preventive Measures among Adolescents and Young Adults”
by Xin Yu Yang, Rui Ning Gong, Samuel Sassine, Maxime Morsa, Alexandra Sonia Tchogna, Olivier Drouin, Nicholas Chadi and Prévost Jantchou
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/7/12/311

“Contextualizing Parental/Familial Influence on Physical Activity in Adolescents before and during COVID-19 Pandemic: A Prospective Analysis”
by Barbara Gilic, Ljerka Ostojic, Marin Corluka, Tomislav Volaric and Damir Sekulic
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/7/9/125

“Parental Educational Attainment and Social Environment of Urban Public Schools in the U.S.: Blacks’ Diminished Returns”
by Shanika Boyce, Mohsen Bazargan, Cleopatra H. Caldwell, Marc A. Zimmerman and Shervin Assari
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/7/5/44

“High Levels of Stress Due to the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic among Parents of Children with and without Chronic Conditions across the USA”
by Miranda A.L. van Tilburg, Emily Edlynn, Marina Maddaloni, Klaas van Kempen, Maria Díaz-González de Ferris and Jody Thomas
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/7/10/193

“New and Emerging Targeted Therapies for Pediatric Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML)”
by Jing Chen and Chana L. Glasser
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/7/2/12

“Effects of a Need-Supportive Motor Skill Intervention on Children’s Motor Skill Competence and Physical Activity”
by Joonyoung Lee, Tao Zhang, Tsz Lun (Alan) Chu and Xiangli Gu
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9067/7/3/21

On behalf of the journal Children (ISSN: 2227-9067), we would like to introduce a new feature, “Editor's choice articles”, which will enable outstanding papers published in the journal to be highlighted. The Editor’s choice articles will be selected by the editors, and will include original articles that contain important and impactful findings, as well as excellently written review articles. With the introduction of this feature, readers can expect timely and useful highlights of recent articles in the journal, and deserving authors will receive more attention for their excellent contributions. We hope that this feature will enhance your reading pleasure and experience with Children.

Children Editorial Office

Children (ISSN: 2227-9067) is recruiting volunteer reviewers. The main responsibility of the reviewers is to regularly provide timely, high-quality reports on the submitted manuscripts. The responsibilities of the reviewers are available at https://www.mdpi.com/reviewers.

Peer review is an essential part in the publication process, ensuring that Children maintains high quality standards for its published papers. We are striving to recognize the efforts of reviewers.

When reviewing for Children you will:

• Receive a discount voucher code entitling you to a reduction in the article processing charge (APC) of a future submission to any MDPI journal. Vouchers are linked to your email address and can be applied online at submission or any time before acceptance. Note that vouchers cannot be used after an invoice has been issued. If your article is rejected, the voucher can be reused for your next submission;
• Receive a personalized reviewer certificate;
• Be included in the journal’s annual acknowledgment of reviewers;
• Be considered for the journal’s outstanding reviewer award;
• Build your profile on Publons and have your reviewing activity automatically added for participating journals. Publons profiles can also be integrated with ORCID.

If you want to apply, please see the following link: https://susy.mdpi.com/volunteer/journals/review.

Children Editorial Office

In order to further promote our Special Issue “Development of Sex Education in China”, our Editorial Board Member Dr. Kun Tang has communicated with UNESCO Officers to exchange thoughts on cooperation. The discussion covered plans such as seminars, conferences, and paper publications.

Dr. Kun Tang has contacted UNESCO for further promotion of the Special Issue “Development of Sex Education in China”. Furthermore, Hongyan Li, Project Officer of the UNESCO Representative Office in China, would like to be Co-Guest Editor for Dr. Tang’s Special Issue. They have discussed related scholars who could contribute research articles and review papers. At the same time, Managing Editor of Children (ISSN: 2227-9067) introduced the history of the journal and various outcomes of its publications. The article processing procedure was also presented, which was of interest to Hongyan Li. Furthermore, she thought the Open Access model was reasonable and effective.

Ms. Hongyan Li, is committed to promoting the UNESCO International Educational Technology Guidelines. Hongyan Li argues that the purpose of comprehensive sex education is to equip children and young people with certain knowledge, attitudes, skills, and values, so as to ensure their health, well-being, and dignity. Additionally, comprehensive sex education aims to foster mutually respectful social and sexual relations, helping children and young people learn to consider how their choices affect their own and others' happiness and how to protect their own rights and interests.

We are pleased to announce that Dr. Kun Tang has been appointed Editorial Board Member in Children (ISSN 2227-9067). He is also the Guest Editor of the Special Issue “Development of Sex Education in China”. He has visited MDPI in person, and during the visit he learned about the Special Issue operation and future plans in-depth.

Name: Dr. Kun Tang

Affiliations: Associate Professor in Tsing Hua University;

Member of the World Health Organization Advisory Group for Adolescent Health Metrics;

Member of the World Health Organization COVID-19 Global Research Roadmap Social Science Group.

The following is a short Q&A with Dr. Kun Tang, who shared his current research focus and his views on the journal Children:

1. What is your current research focus?

We are currently doing comprehensive sexuality education, and what I am focusing on is especially related to sex education or evaluation; that is, no matter what type of sex education, I hope to see how it turns out and how effective it is. I will not discuss which doctrine is better. What I want to look at is the effect. As long as it is conducive to the development of sex education in China, the cognitive improvement of children's physical health and the improvement of practical problems are the most important. Therefore, if we can better promote the development of sex education in China, the implementation of this work is the primary task of my research.

2. Why did you decide to cooperate with Children?

Children has an open access model, which is popular for scholars and readers. The article processing time can therefore be much shorter than for many other publishers. In addition, I have noticed that the updated Impact Factor for Children is 2.863 (+37% compared with the previous year), according to the latest released Journal Citation Reports® (Clarivate Analytics, 2020). Children now ranks 40/129 (Q2) among all titles in the “Pediatrics” category. It attracts many researchers and the dramatic increase in its ranking in the past year was outstanding. Therefore, I have decided not only to be a Guest Editor but also an Editorial Board Member. I support the Open Access policies proposed and hope we can contribute significantly to Children.

More details about the journal’s statistics can be found at the following link: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/children/stats.

We are pleased to announce that 43 new scholars have been appointed Editorial Board Members for the journal Children (ISSN: 2227-9067):

Dr. Piero Farruggia

Dr. Cinzia Maspero

Dr. Mingbang Wang

Dr. Andrea Scaramuzza

Dr. Giovanni Filocamo

Prof. Dr. María Fernández-Hawrylak

Dr. Santosh K. Tadakamadla

Prof. Dr. Syuji Takei

Prof. Dr. Tonia Vassilakou

Prof. Dr. Luigi Titomanlio

Dr. Eugene Kim

Prof. Dr. Francesco Inchingolo

Dr. Kimberly A. Pyke-Grimm

Prof. Dr. Evalotte Mörelius

Dr. Jennifer Stinson

Dr. Anna Axelin

Prof. Dr. Antonio Scarano

Prof. Dr. Maria Grazia Cagetti

Prof. Dr. Jyu-Lin Chen

Dr. Mariá Cernada

Dr. Sarah Moxon

Dr. Jane D. Champion

Dr. Kun Tang

Dr. Anna Lewandowska

Prof. Dr. Ivan Hand

Prof. Dr. Angelo Aulisa

Dr. Min Sun Kim

Prof. Dr. Alfonso Papparella

Prof. Dr. Marzia Lazzerini

Prof. Dr. Marek Mandera

Dr. Cristian Zeni

Dr. Gerda van Wezel-Meijler

Dr. Nahla Zaghloul

Dr. Allan Glanzman

Dr. Bin-Bin Chen

Dr. Michele Callea

Dr. Ashlesha Kaushik

Dr. Francesco Leon

Dr. Eungkwon Pae

Dr. Samriddha Ray

Dr. Maria Marino

Dr. Benjamin J. Landis

Dr. William T. Zempsky

It is our great honor to congratulate the Editorial Board Members and Editors in MDPI's journals who have been distinguished as 2021 Highly Cited Researchers by Clarivate, according to Web of Science data. We herewith express our gratitude for the immense impact the named researchers continue to make on scientific progress and on our journals' development.

Clarivate's annual list of Highly Cited Researchers^TM identifies the most highly cited scientists for the past decade. Their impactful papers are among the top 1 per cent in the citation distribution of one or more of 22 fields analyzed in the "Essential Science Indicators", distinguishing them as hugely influential among their peers.

The full list of 2021 Highly Cited Researchers  can be accessed at the following webpage in the Web of Science^TM https://recognition.webofscience.com/awards/highly-cited/2021/.

--- Highly Cited Researchers (HCR) is a Clarivate product.