Announcements
25 October 2021
Open Access Week 2021 | It Matters How We Open Knowledge: Building Structural Equity, 25–31 October
Founded in 1996, MDPI was one of the first fully Open Access publisher. Over 25 years MDPI has grown to become the largest Open Access publisher globally, publishing over 160,000 articles across more than 350 journals in 2020. At the core, MDPI was founded in response to a pressing need of fast publication and inclusion. The scholar was set at the centre of the publication process for the first time. Acting as a service provider, rather than a product provider, MDPI exists to help scientists achive their objective to disseminate research results. At MDPI, we believe scientists deserve a better service from the publishing world.
The International Open Access Week (Open Access Week), founded by the SPARC (the Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition) Alliance and student partners in 2008, has been successfully running for 13 years. As an advocate and pioneer of open access publishing, MDPI actively responds to the call of International Open Access Week. This year’s theme of “It Matters How We Open Knowledge: Building Structural Equity” highlights the Recommendation’s call for equitable participation from all authors and readers.
For the last 25 years, MDPI has been committed to disseminating open research. Here is a video showing MDPI’s Commitment to Equity, Inclusion and Diversity for More than 25 Years.
International Open Access Week is an important opportunity to catalyze new conversations, create connections across and between communities that can facilitate this co-design, and advance progress in the building of more equitable foundations for opening knowledge—discussions and actions that need to be continued, year in and year out. MDPI has always aimed to provide professional and efficient publishing services to scholars around the world.
Our mission is to make scientific research accessible to everyone; this year, we interview and hold discussions with open science ambassadors on how to build an equal and inclusive environment for open science. Academic editors help us collaborate with more institutions to advocate for open access ideas.
Besides this, our scientific community is a key driver of our success and MDPI’s remarkable growth. Despite the pandemic, we have prepared online conferences and workshops to gather scholars from different communities.
The Basel Sustainable Publishing online forum provides an equal opportunity for stakeholders and researchers from multi-cultural environments to exchange ideas and eliminate barriers to participation.
Conference date: 25 October 2021, online
Conference website: https://bspf2021.sciforum.net/
Main topics: MDPI discusses the current dilemma of open access science from various perspectives such as governments, libraries, and publishers, and related measures on how to change the status quo of discrimination from a global perspective.
We aim to support equality, inclusion, diversity, and accessibility in scholarly communications. We collaborate with universities and key laboratories and have scholarly communications with researchers, teachers, and students on open access workshops.
- 25 October 2021
Energies journal and Institute of Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences
- 28 October 2021
Machines journal and State Key Laboratory of Traction Power, Southwest Jiaotong University
- 29 October 2021
Processes journal and Beijing Institute of Technology
- 29 October 2021
Coatings journal and Wuhan University of Technology
MDPI is committed to providing open access and high-quality publishing services for scholars and promoting rapid dissemination of academic achievements. We hope to promote the practices and policies of open access publishing and diversify the dissemination of academic achievements.
23 September 2021
2020 MDPI Top Reviewer Award—Winners Announced
22 September 2021
MDPI Joins SDG Publishers Compact
UN's 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are the blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all. In 2020 the SDG Publishers Compact was launched, aimed to inspire publishers and accelerate progress to achieve the 17 goals by 2030. Members of the programme are committed to support the publication of materials that will promote and inspire actions towards SDGs.
MDPI is an eager advocate of SDGs and has already been supporting the programme by creating Special Issues and publishing a series of books on SDGs prior to joining the Compact in 2021. MDPI's Sustainability Foundation initiated the World Sustainability Awards in 2016. We fully support UN's goals to promote sustainable actions that make the world a better place for all and, as part of its commitment, we will focus our actions on SDG10: Reduced Inequalities whilst promoting all 17 SDGs. For more details, please visit the programme’s website: https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/sdg-publishers-compact/.
Joining this initiative was a unanimous decision. MDPI has in its core values the dissemination of science for all, breaking the wall between research access and under-represented members of the scientific community and the general population. To support this initiative further and continue to support under-represented scientists, MDPI will take a series of actions that will be announced once ready.
The first action MDPI takes is to nominate Dr. Liliane Auwerter as the coordinator of the programme. Dr. Auwerter studied Environmental Process Technology (UTFPR, Brazil), obtained her MSc degree in Water and Environmental Engineering (University of Surrey, UK) and in 2020 completed her PhD in self-healing low-friction materials for water transport (Imperial College London, UK), always focusing on diverse scientific projects that would potentially bring sustainability to industrial processes. As a student in Brazil, she engaged in volunteering activities focused on environmental education and took part in the Millennial Development Goals meetings held at the university.
For more information, please contact:
Dr. Liliane Auwerter
Scientific Officer
liliane.auwerter@mdpi.com
3 August 2021
Announcement on Japanese Consumption Tax (JCT)
7 July 2021
Dairy | Meet Us Online at the International Symposium on Health of Transition Cows, 20–21 July 2021
Chair: Prof. Dr. Sven Dänicke
Date: 20 July 2021
Time: 4:00 pm CEST | 8:00 am MDT
Zoom Meeting Information:
Zoom Link:
https://ualberta-ca.zoom.us/j/97302371396?pwd=UTkvWTlHeTlqdjdzS2lQcG90L1BBdz09
Meeting ID: 973 0237 1396
Passcode: 775216
Prof. Dr. Erminio Trevisi (Catholic University of Sacred Heart – Italy)
Presentation: The transition period updated: new insights into the adaptation of dairy cows to the new lactation
Prof. Dr. Maria Filippa Addis (University of Milan, Italy)
Presentation: The mammary gland microbiome, lactation stages, and management variables: what do we know so far?
Dr. Grzegorz Zwierzchowski (University of Warmia and Mazuri in Olsztyn, Poland)
Presentation: Mastitis: a metabolomics perspective
Prof. Dr. Sven Dänicke (Institute of Animal Nutrition, Friedrich-Loeffler-Institute (FLI), Federal Research Institute for Animal Health, Brunswick, Germany)
Presentation: Fusarium mycotoxins in transition cows: Diagnosis of exposure and impact on health
Chair: Prof. Dr. Burim Ametaj
Date: 21 July 2021
Time: 4:00 pm CEST | 8:00 am MDT
Zoom Meeting information:
Zoom Link:
https://ualberta-ca.zoom.us/j/93082335444?pwd=VHJYdEM0dHppNTdrZ1hRL1RPMTlEZz09
Meeting ID: 930 8233 5444
Passcode: 671922
Dr. Andre Almeida (Instituto Superior de Agronomia, Universidade de Lisboa. Tapada da Ajuda, Lisboa, Portugal)
Presentation: Dairy4future, improving the Dairy sector in the EU’s Atlantic area: the Azores archipelago as a case study
Dr. Guanshi Zhang (University of Texas Health, San Antonio – USA)
Presentation: Dairy cow ketosis: A metabolomics perspective
Prof. Dr. Burim Ametaj (University of Alberta, Canada)
Presentation: Lameness: Lessons from immuno-metabolomics
The transition period, defined as the time around parturition, is marred by the high incidence of periparturient diseases. Although much progress has been made regarding the understanding of the etiopathology and treatment of those diseases, almost one in two cows continues to be affected by one or multiple diseases concurrently, especially during postpartum. In this symposium, renowned scientists have been invited to discuss transition cows, including the role of mycotoxins on health, mammary gland microbiome, ketosis, mastitis, lameness, as well as new insights into cow adaptation to the new lactation. The discussion will also include the future of the dairy sector in the European Union Atlantic area. There will be a total of 7 speakers that will deliver their speeches over the course of two days. Two Chairs will moderate the Symposium, including Prof. Dr. Burim Ametaj (Editor-in-Chief of the journal Dairy (MDPI)) and Prof. Dr. Sven Dänicke (Section Editor-in-Chief of the “Nutrition and Physiology” section of the journal Dairy (MDPI)).
For any questions about the Symposium, please send an email to dairy@mdpi.com.
28 April 2021
Book Builder—Compile a Customized E-Book from Your Favorite MDPI Open Access Content
MDPI Books recently released Book Builder, a new online tool to conveniently arrange, design and produce an eBook from any content published in MDPI journals. Book Builder offers two functions: on the one hand (1) Selections, available to every registered user of MDPI; on the other hand (2) Special Issue Reprints, which can be used exclusively by Guest Editors of Special Issues.
Selections
In just a matter of a few clicks, all users are now able to assemble books from MDPI articles and receive instantaneous feedback in the form of a fully produced and compiled book (PDF), which can be downloaded or ordered as print copy. Selections can include any paper published with MDPI, picking and combining content from different journals and special issues.
This way, the user may for example choose to compile an ebook focusing around a particular topic, or assemble articles from a group of others.
We invite you to make yourself familiar with the new tool! The Book Builder can be found here: https://www.mdpi.com/books/book_builder.
Special Issue Reprints
The Book Builder allows Guest Editors of MDPI journals to create a reprint from a successfully completed Special Issue or Topical Collection in book format. If you are a Guest Editor for an MDPI journal, you can use the new tool to create an PDF document which includes all articles published in the Special Issue as well as a book cover and table of contents.
For Special Issues containing a minimum of 5 articles, the Guest Editor can request its publication on the MDPI Book platform. Published reprints are assigned an ISBN and DOI.
In addition to the PDF copy of the Reprint Book, as a token of our gratitude, MDPI offers every Guest Editor one (1) complimentary print copy (via print-on-demand). All contributors benefit from a discount on orders of any additional print copies, to share with colleagues or libraries or others.
Why choose MDPI Books?
In line with our organization's values, MDPI Books publishes all content in open access, promoting the exchange of ideas and knowledge in a globalized world. MDPI Books encompasses all the benefits of open access—high availability and visibility, as well as wide and rapid dissemination. MDPI Books are distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution License, meaning as an author you retain the copyright for your work. In addition, with MDPI Books you can complement the digital version of your work with a high-quality printed counterpart.
If you are interested in editing a book volume or series, or have a monograph manuscript to be considered for publication, please submit your proposal online and look at our Information for Authors.
Contact: Laura Wagner, MDPI Books Manager (email)
15 April 2021
MDPI Celebrates Company Milestone With 25th Anniversary Page
"We exist to help scientists achieve their own objectives"
10 March 2021
Journal Selector: Helping to Find the Right MDPI Journal for Your Article
26 January 2021
Interview | Prof. Dr. John J. Kennelly for Dairy
John J. Kennelly, Professor Emeritus of University of Alberta, Canada, accepted our interview recently. The interview was conducted by Prof. Dr. Burim Ametaj, Editor-in-Chief of journal Dairy. The purpose of this interview was to honor and learn from distinguished scientists in the area of Dairy Science.
Prof. Dr. John J. Kennelly obtained his BAgrSc (First Class Hons) from University College Dublin in 1976 and his Ph.D. from the University of Alberta in 1980. His career at the University of Alberta spanned a period of 40 years, including seven years as the Chair of the Department of Agricultural, Food and Nutritional Sciences and 10 years as the Dean of the Faculty of Agricultural, Life & Environmental Sciences (ALES). His research has focused on the nutrition and lactation physiology of dairy cattle. His publications include over 150 peer-reviewed journal articles as well as numerous book chapters, conference proceedings and extension articles.
The journal Dairy (https://www.mdpi.com/journal/dairy) has 81 prominent editorial board members (https://www.mdpi.com/journal/dairy/editors) from all over the world. It covers all areas of dairy science. Although the journal Dairy is a new journal, it is growing rapidly and has published multiple articles from renowned researchers from different countries.
Work–Life Balance and Main Fields of Interest
1. How did you get involved in dairy science?
I grew up in Ireland on a dairy farm. I was the second eldest of a family of eleven and I ended up dropping out of school at the age of 12 as my father needed help on the farm. I worked full time on the home farm until I was 21. I then took up a job on a dairy farm outside Cork City in Ireland. This allowed me to go to night school to complete my high school credits over two winters. I was admitted to the Science program at University College Cork in 1972, even though I was missing the required physics and chemistry courses. This requirement was waived on the basis that I was a mature student, however, it made for a challenging first year of university as I struggled to get up to speed on chemistry and physics. After spending the first two years at University College Cork, I then transferred to University College Dublin for the final two years as it had the only BSc agriculture program in Ireland. I graduated in 1976 with a BSc (Agr), first class honors.
Despite my best efforts, I was unable to get a job in my field upon graduation, so I decided to pursue graduate work in Canada where I obtained a scholarship from the University of Alberta. I arrived in Edmonton on January 1st 1977 on a greyhound bus from Vancouver, where I had spent Christmas. It was −37 °C with howling winds and snow on my arrival. I decided then and there that I would complete my Ph.D. as quickly as possible and get out of Edmonton as I could not understand anyone living in those extreme weather conditions.
I completed my Ph.D. (Animal Nutrition) at the UofA in 1980. The Dairy Science Professor (Ross Grieve) in the Department of Animal Science retired that year, so I applied for his job. I did not really expect to get the job as my Ph.D. work was related to fibre utilization (microbial fermentation) in the hind gut of pigs. I was surprised to find that I was offered the job, I guess the university was not so picky in those days. I accepted the job fully expecting that I would only stay a few years and return to the balmier weather in Ireland.
2. What are some of the most exciting aspects of your work in dairy science?
I was very fortunate to have had the opportunity to start my academic career at the University of Alberta where senior faculty and staff were supportive of young faculty members like myself. It was also a time when there was superb funding for animal science research, so that within a couple of years we had an excellent group of graduate students, post docs and technicians to support our teaching, research and outreach programs. Perhaps the most exciting part of the research is that I was able to work with some wonderful people who helped build an integrated research program that spanned nutrition, ruminal fermentation and lactation physiology.
3. What key dairy initiatives had you pursued at your faculty?
My initial research focused on dairy cattle nutrition with an emphasis on enhancing the utilization of forages, grains and oilseeds grown in Alberta. Over the years, this research broadened to include ruminal digestion and the impacts of the end products of ruminal digestion on milk composition with particular emphasis on the fatty acid composition of milk. Research highlighting the important role that fatty acids, such as conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), play in human health inspired our research on the role of nutrition in enhancing these fatty acids in milk.
4. What is happening in your country in terms of dairy science?
Canadian dairy scientists have access to some of the best equipped dairy facilities in the world that are located across the university sector as well as at Agriculture and Agri-food Canada. The significant investment in infrastructure over the past decade has provided a platform for dairy scientist that has enabled them to be at the forefront of many innovations in dairy science. Canada also has had a long history of working closely with dairy producers, and other dairy stakeholders. This has helped ensure that research innovations are effectively transferred to the end user. With many institutions facing substantial budget cuts, it will be difficult for Canada to maintain its leadership position in the years ahead.
5. How do you see your work in dairy being applied today or in the future?
Research is always a work in progress where scientists build on the work of their predecessors. Thus, other scientists have built on our work as the understanding of animal biology has evolved. One of the areas that I have always been interested in has been helping to ensure that the knowledge gained through research is transferred to dairy producers, and others within the industry, without undue delay so that the efficiency, sustainability and profitability of this important sector is enhanced. Thus, in 1982, I took the initiative to set up the Western Canadian Dairy Seminar (WCDS) and I served as Program Director for the first 26 years of the conference. The WCDS will celebrate its 40th anniversary in 2022 and it is recognized as one of the premier dairy conferences in the world. Every year the seminar attracts over 700 people from all sectors of the dairy industry to Red Deer, Alberta, where the foremost experts from around the world present the latest information on all things dairy. I believe that the WCDS has been a major contributor to ensuring that Alberta, and indeed Canada, is at the leading edge of innovation in the dairy sector.
6. As you see it, what are dairy science’s greatest strengths?
Perhaps, the greatest strength of dairy science is that milk is such a fundamental product from a human health perspective. For thousands of years, milk has contributed nutrients to sustain human life and this continues today with the vast array of dairy products consumed by billions of people on a daily basis. One of the most fascinating aspects of dairy science is that it encompasses such a broad spectrum of research that includes production efficiency, metabolism, lactation physiology, food science as well as the role of milk and milk components in human nutrition and health. As our understanding of the link between nutrition and health has grown, so also has the key role that dairy products can play as part of a healthy diet.
7. What do you see as the greatest barriers for dairy research?
The costs associated with dairy cattle research tend to be higher than most other animal science research. This can be attributed to the high cost of housing for dairy cattle as well as to the long generation interval that often requires multi-year studies. As government funding for universities has declined, universities have difficulty supporting the costs associated with dairy research facilities. Working collaboratively with dairy producers to access their facilities is an option that has been successfully used by many scientists. However, there are significant limitations with respect to the type of research that can be conducted on commercial farms. Thus, in the absence of well equipped dairy facilities, it will be challenging to attract the next generation of dairy scientists.
8. What improvements, technological or otherwise, need to take place for dairy science to push it to the next level?
In recent years, there has been a growing body of research on the mechanisms underlying feed utilization, milk synthesis and overall efficiency and health of dairy cattle. Whether it is an understanding of the genetic basis for feed efficiency, milk yield, or milk composition, an understanding of the underlying mechanisms is the key to helping ensure the long-term sustainability and profitability of this sector. Over the past 30 years, there have been tremendous advances in terms of milk yield, however, this has come at a price in terms of animal health as reflected in indicators such as reproductive efficiency and incidence of metabolic diseases. Future productivity advances will require that we successfully address the interaction between increased milk yield, reproductive efficiency and animal health.
9. How does the future look in terms of funding for dairy science?
Securing appropriate funding has often been a challenge for dairy scientists. Dairy research is quite expensive, especially at the production level, due to the cost of maintaining a dairy research herd and the long generation interval that can require multiple years to complete experiments. Thus, securing adequate research funding continues to be a challenge for many dairy scientists. The direct involvement of dairy producers in funding research has really helped as this funding can also leverage other sources of funding.
10. Do you have any other comments that you wish to share about dairy science?
Milk is a highly nutritious food that has helped sustain humankind for thousands of years. Understanding the process by which the cow converts feed into a highly nutritious product is a fascinating journey that spans the complexity of ruminal digestion, nutrient transport and lactation physiology. Intensive genetic selection has resulted in cows that have an extraordinary ability to sustain high levels of milk yield. However, this has often come at a price in terms of reproductive fitness and overall animal health. This area certainly warrants greater research emphasis in the future.
11. What do you think are the most important characteristics of talented researchers? Do you have any suggestions to share with the young researchers?
I believe the most important characteristic of scientists is curiosity and a passion for their particular area of research. Understanding the underlying biology of ruminal digestion, lactation physiology, milk synthesis and its influence on animal health is certainly an exciting area that is ripe for new discoveries in the years and decades ahead.
12. Do you have any suggestions on the new journal “Dairy”?
Congratulations on launching a new Dairy journal. The future success of the Dairy journal will depend on the scientific credibility of the journal in terms of the rigor of its review process as well as the timeliness and efficiency of its publication process. It certainly looks like the journal is off to a good start and I wish you all the best in your role of communicating the latest advances in dairy science.
13. How do you see the future development of Open Access in academic publishing?
I very much welcome the development of Open Access journals as it provides greater choice for scientists.
15 December 2020
MDPI adopts C4DISC principles to improve diversity and inclusion in scholarly communications
MDPI is proud to adopt the principles of the Coalition for Diversity & Inclusion in Scholarly Communications (C4DISC) to support building equity, inclusion, diversity, and accessibility in scholarly communications.
The C4DISC represents organizations and individuals working in scholarly communications and is focused on addressing issues of diversity and inclusion within the publishing industry.
MDPI’s Managing Editors encourage the Editors-in-Chief and Associate Editors to appoint diverse expert Editorial Boards. This is also reflective in our multi-national and inclusive workplace. We are proud to create equal opportunities without regard to gender, ethnicity, geographic location, sexual orientation, age, disability, political beliefs, religion, or socio-economic status. There is no place for discrimination in our workplace and editors of MDPI journals are to uphold these principles in high regard.
Representatives from C4DISC meet monthly, and have started to implement initiatives to shed light and improve on the lack of diversity in scholarly communications. Some of the initiatives include developing a joint statement of principles; conducting market research; providing training resources, best practices, toolkits, and documentation for our collective memberships; and establishing outreach programs, curricula, events, and publications.
The Coalition is committed to:
- eliminating barriers to participation, extending equitable opportunities across all stakeholders, and ensuring that our practices and policies promote equitable treatment and do not allow, condone, or result in discrimination;
- creating and maintaining an environment that respects diverse traditions, heritages, and experiences;
- promoting diversity in all staff, volunteers, and audiences, including full participation in programs, policy formulation, and decision-making;
- raising awareness about career opportunities in our industries to groups who are currently underrepresented in the workforce;
- supporting our members in achieving diversity and inclusion within their organizations.
