On 12 May 2023, MDPI and the journal Toxins (ISSN: 2072-6651) organized a webinar of the Toxins series, titled “Fungal Metabolites: From Toxins to Therapeutics”. The webinar focused on the study of mycotoxins. Mycotoxins are secondary metabolites produced by various filamentous fungi infecting plants and crops. It is now known that mycotoxins, through their biological activities, play crucial roles in fungi biology and ecology. Mycotoxins also have consequences for animal and human health through the ingestion of contaminated food and feeds, with animals/humans in that case being collateral casualties and not primary targets.

Dr. Marc Maresca and Dr. Isabelle Oswald gave an opening introduction first. Then, Prof. Sarah De Saeger introduced the mycotoxin bioanalysis: from human biomonitoring towards exposomics. Dr. Carine Al Ayoubi developed the evaluation of the mutagenicity and metabolism of the emerging mycotoxin versicolorin A, a precursor of aflatoxin B1. Dr. Hamza Olleik talked about whether fungal cyclo-depsipeptides are toxic or therapeutic. Lastly, Dr. Ana Olívia De Souza presented fungi from Brazilian biodiversity as a source of bioactive secondary metabolites.

Please note that this webinar is associated with a Topic in the Toxins journal: “Editorial Board Members’ Collection Series: Fungal Metabolites: From Toxins to Therapeutics”.

You can watch the recorded webinar at the following link: https://youtu.be/6PkHxGxDOds.

Webinar Chair and Keynote Speakers:

• Dr. Marc Maresca, Institut des Sciences Moléculaires de Marseille (ISM2)–BiosCiences–UMR, CNRS Aix Marseille Université, France;
• Dr. Isabelle Oswald, Research Center in Food Toxicology (Toxalim), Toulouse, University of Toulouse, France;
• Prof. Sarah De Saeger, Department of Bioanalysis, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium;
• Dr. Ana Olívia De Souza, Development and Innovation Laboratory, Instituto Butantan, Sao Paulo, Brazil;
• Dr. Carine Al-Ayoubi, UMR 1331 TOXALIM, INRAE, Toulouse, France;
• Dr. Hamza Olleik, Institut des Sciences Moléculaires de Marseille, Marseille, France.

On 12 April 2023, MDPI and the journal Toxins (ISSN: 2072-6651) organized a webinar of the Toxins series, entitled “Cyanobacterial Toxins: Toxins Production and Risk Assessment”. The webinar focused on cyanotoxins’ impacts, namely on irrigation waters, and on the recent cyanotoxin reports uncovered in Portugal. The webinar provided new perspectives, highlighted current impacts, and encouraged new challenges in global research on cyanotoxins.

Dr. Alexandre Campos first developed the cyanotoxins risk assessment on irrigation waters. Dr. Cristiana Moreira showed us the impacts of cyanotoxins on Portugal. After all of the presentations, Prof. Vitor Vasconcelos organized the discussion (Q&A) session. The chair and speakers answered questions raised by scholars one by one. The webinar then came to a successful conclusion.

Please note that this webinar is associated with a Special Issue in the Toxins journal: “Cyanobacterial Toxins: Toxins Production and Risk Assessment”. The deadline is 20 July 2023.

You can watch the recorded webinar at the following link: https://youtu.be/utBHM4rGswo.

Webinar Chair and Keynote Speakers:

• Prof. Vitor Vasconcelos, Department of Biology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Porto, Portugal;
• Dr. Alexandre Campos, Blue Biotechnology and Ecotoxicology Group, CIIMAR, Portugal;
• Dr. Cristiana Moreira, Blue Biotechnology and Ecotoxicology Group, CIIMAR, Portugal.

As a leading open access publisher, MDPI provides scholars with a high-quality and rich academic exchange platform by continuously expanding into new and exciting research areas.

In December 2022, MDPI launched five new journals, covering multiple subjects such as life sciences, biology, medicine and pharmacology, social sciences and humanities. These new journals are being edited by established scholars across the world.

If you are interested in creating more open access journals with us to publish cutting-edge research, please send your journal proposal application to [email protected].

MDPI is pleased to announce that we now display the co-authors’ email addresses in addition to the corresponding author’s email address on the webpage of published papers, protected by Captcha. For more information about this change, please visit the journal’s instructions for authors page. 

We believe this change will facilitate academic discussions and advance our cause of open science and research. The corresponding authors are responsible for communicating with their co-authors and indicating in our system (https://susy.mdpi.com/) if co-authors would prefer for their email addresses not to be displayed.

We are pleased to announce that Toxins (ISSN: 2072-6651) ranked fifth in the latest release of the Google Scholar Metrics under the subcategory “Toxicology”.

The h5-index of Toxins is 69, and the h5-median is 91. We express our gratitude to all the editors, reviewers, authors and readers of Toxins. Thank you for all your support for the journal.

Please feel free to contact us at [email protected] if you have any questions or suggestions for Toxins. For more information about our rank in Google Scholar Metrics, please visit the website: https://scholar.google.com/citations?view_op=top_venues&hl=en&vq=med_toxicology.

On 9 February 2023, Clarivate, a global leader in providing trusted insights and analytics, added the Preprint Citation Index to the Web of Science platform, streamlining the research process by allowing researchers to locate and link to preprints alongside other trusted content in the database.

The Preprint Citation Index will act as a bridge to connect cutting-edge preprints with peer-reviewed journal articles published within the Web of Science Core Collection. Alerts can be easily set to monitor new research across several repositories and authors will also be able to include preprints on their Web of Science Research Profile to more accurately display their various research outputs.

As of its launch, the Preprint Citation Index will provide nearly two million preprints from various repositories, including MDPI’s own Preprints.org.

MDPI's Preprints Platform – Preprints.org

To advance Open Science and the fast dissemination of research, MDPI offers researchers a free multidisciplinary preprint platform. Preprints.org accepts submissions from all research areas and offers authors high visibility, permanent archiving, article-level Metrics and immediately citable content by assigning a Digital Object Identifier (DOI) to all preprints.

During submission to any MDPI journal, authors have the option to share their research as a preprint. After an initial screening, the manuscript is available online in 48 hours or less. Once online, preprints can be downloaded, shared, commented on, and cited, providing authors maximum visibility.

We invite you to join the ranks of the over 100k researchers using Preprints.org and share your research.

For more information, please visit Preprints.org.

The articles below have been selected as cover articles for 2022 by the Editorial Office of Toxins (ISSN: 2072-6651). You can find the specific cover information at the following link:
https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6651/14. We hope that they provide insights and references for scholars in related fields.

Date: 9 February 2023
Time: 10:00 am CET | 4:00 am EST | 5:00 pm CST Asia
Webinar ID: 871 9573 7956
Webinar Secretariat: [email protected]
Keywords: fungal pathogens; secondary metabolites; phytotoxins; biological activities; biopesticides
Register in advance for this webinar:
https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/3316738791133/WN_O7wPRUh_SBmGoGjRcrjDkA

Chair:

Invited Speakers:

Interested in contributing to the topic?
The Special Issue below is open for submission. Please do not hesitate to send in your article.

Special Issue: “Biological Activities and Potential Applications of Phytotoxins”
Guest Editor: Dr. Marco Masi
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 28 April 2023

We are looking forward to your participation in our event!

We are pleased to announce the launch of a new initiative—the MDPI Special Issue Mentor Program.

This program will enable early career researchers (who must hold a Ph.D. in a related field) to experience editing a Special Issue in MDPI journals, under the mentorship of our experienced Editorial Board Members or other experienced scientists. The mentor program will provide an excellent opportunity for early career scientists to gain editorial experience, and to cultivate their ability to edit scientific research.

The mentee’s responsibilities include:

• Proposing a Special Issue title and assisting the mentor in preparing a summary (around 200–400 words) and 3–10 keywords describing the background, importance, and goal of the Issue;
• Writing a brief promotion plan for the Special Issue;
• Preparing a list of scholars who may be interested in the Issue and personally e-mailing invitations on behalf of Guest Editors;
• Writing an editorial for the online Special Issue together with the mentor.

The mentor’s responsibilities include:

• Conducting a final check before the Special Issue is published online;
• Performing editorial control of the Special Issue and quality control of the publications, both of which must be carried out in a timely manner;
• Providing suggestions to younger scholars if they have any doubts or concerns regarding submissions;
• Organizing video calls with young scholars and the Editorial Office regularly to discuss problems and improvement suggestions for the Special Issue;
• Making and submitting decisions regarding submissions with the assistance of mentees.

Certificates and awards:
After the Special Issue closes, the Editorial Office will provide official certificates for all the mentors and early career researchers.

If you are interested in this opportunity, please send your Special Issue proposal to the Editorial Office of a journal you choose, and we will discuss the process (i.e., mentor collaboration, Special Issue topic feasibility analysis, etc.) in further detail. The full list of MDPI journals is as follows: https://www.mdpi.com/about/journals.

In addition to the new Special Issue Mentor Program, we will continue to welcome all Special Issue proposals focusing on hot research topics.

MDPI has just become the first open access (OA) publisher to reach the milestone of one million articles published. That is one million articles freely available to all, to circulate and build upon! We are proud to share this special moment with the global scientific community.

This landmark has been reached thanks to the immeasurable support of more than 600,000 expert reviewers, 66,000 editorial board members and 6700 hard-working colleagues across MDPI’s global offices.

Within more than 25 years of publishing, our journals received 2.1 million manuscripts and generated 4.6 million peer review reports to get to one million papers published.

Reaching the milestone of one million articles published reinforces our mission to remove any existing barriers and to make scientific research accessible to all. Since its inception, MDPI’s goal has been to create reliable processes to make science open. This is a path towards facilitating the dissemination of novel insights in scientific communities.

Regular feedback from authors and reviewers shows that our service is greatly appreciated and needed. At the same time, the feedback helps us identify areas for further improvement.

As it stands, a significant share of published research findings remain closed access. More than half of the content published with the most well-known legacy publishers stays behind a paywall, and that is not including articles published in hybrid OA journals, or made available months or years after publication.

A new policy announced by the US administration in August 2022 requires that, as of January 2026, all US federally funded research be made freely and immediately available after publication. While the new policy does not mandate articles be published under an open access license, it is aligned with the open access movement in removing all barriers to research. Similarly, some of the most advanced research institutions in the world intend to have all funded research articles published in open access by 2025.

MDPI is proud to be the leading agent of the transition to open access.

"Thanks a Million" to all the contributors!

Recently, Clarivate^TM revealed its 2022 list of Highly Cited Researchers™—individuals at universities, research institutes and commercial organizations.

The scientists who were selected for this year’s list of Highly Cited Researchers have published highly cited papers in the 11-year period from January 2011 to December 2021, with citation frequency in the top 1% of academic subjects and the same year of publication in the Web of Science^TM database. Based on Web of Science Citation data, 6938 researchers from across the globe who have demonstrated a disproportionate level of significant and broad influence in their chosen field or fields over the last decade have been awarded Highly Cited Researcher 2022 designations. The list is truly global, spanning 69 countries or regions and spread across a diverse range of research sciences and social sciences.

According to statistics, two members of the Editorial Board of Toxins (ISSN: 2072-6651) have been selected into the list of Highly Cited Researchers of Clarivate in 2022. They are being recognized for their high-quality scientific research achievements and outstanding contributions to professional fields. The Toxins journal office sincerely congratulates all elected Editorial Board Members and hopes that they continue to have an academically productive relationship with the journal.

Winning Article: “Diet Breadth Mediates the Prey Specificity of Venom Potency in Snakes”
Authors: Keith Lyons, Michel M. Dugon and Kevin Healy

Photo: Keith attending the British Ecological Society’s 2019 conference at Waterfront Hall, Belfast, where he presented his research on snake venom evolution, which was later published in Toxins.

While studying at the University of Galway (formerly the National University of Ireland, Galway) as an Environmental Science student, Mr. Keith Lyons’s interest in venomous animals quickly became apparent to Dr. Michel Dugon during his second year Zoology lab demonstrations. Seeing his keen interest, Dr. Dugon offered Mr. Lyons a research scholarship for the duration of the summer of 2017, working as an intern with the Noble False Widow spider, Steatoda nobilis, and its venom. Mr. Keith Lyons enjoyed his time working with Dr. Dugon and his team so much that he continued the internship on a voluntary basis for three years, publishing a Steatoda records paper, working with venomous invertebrates and reptiles from Ireland and abroad, e.g., Morocco, and aiding Dr. Dugon in running Eco-Explorers, a STEAM voluntary outreach program that educates the public about native and exotic animals and their ecology. He also worked on his final year undergraduate project with Dr. Dugon, investigating the venoms of two native centipede species (Lithobius forficatus and Lithobius variegatus), the first detailed study of both species’ venom potencies.

As of November 2022, Mr. Keith Lyons is a University of Galway Macroecology Ph.D. student working with his primary supervisor Dr. Kevin Healy and co-supervisor Dr. Dugon. As part of his Ph.D. research, Mr. Lyons continues to work with venom by investigating factors that influence the potency and evolution of different species’ venoms through phylogenetic comparative methods, median lethal dose 50% (LD₅₀) and median effective dose 50% (ED₅₀) experiments. As of November 2022, he has published two studies in Toxins (ISSN: 2072-6651), one discussing how diet breadth drives the evolution of potency in snake venom and the other on how venom optimization and high potency makes Steatoda nobilis a successful invasive spider.

We want to congratulate Mr. Keith Lyons, Mr. Michel M. Dugon and Mr. Kevin Healy for winning the Toxins 2021 Best Paper Award.

Interview with one of the authors–Mr. Keith Lyons:

1. Could you please briefly introduce the main research content of the winning paper?
While venoms have been found to have prey-specific potencies, the role of diet breadth (also known as the number of different taxa found in a species natural diet) on venom potencies has yet to be tested at large macroecological scales. We performed a phylogenetic comparative analysis of 100 snake species and their venom LD₅₀s, collected from the scientific literature, to determine if the evolution of prey-specific venom potencies is a result of the breadth of a species’ diet.

2. Could you describe the difficulties and breakthrough innovations encountered in this research?
The main challenge of the study was compiling the biological data pertaining to snake diet and venom potency. It took a very long time to complete and countless literature searches often yielded little to no data. Despite the large size of the dataset we produced in the end, biological data relating to snakes are very limited. This is a trend we observed in spiders and other venomous groups, showing the importance of producing and compiling this kind of data.

3. How was your experience submitting to Toxins?
Submitting my research to Toxins was a smooth process. I appreciated this as it was my first time submitting research as the lead author. Everyone I corresponded with during the submission process was accommodating and helpful. The deadlines were reasonable throughout, and processing was quick.

4. How do you think Open Access impacts authors?
In the short term, no author is elated about having to pay publication fees, even with waivers (although waivers are greatly appreciated). However, once that obstacle is overcome, I feel it is worth it in the long term for authors, as greater accessibility means increased readership, which ultimately leads to more citations and interest in your research. I believe a significant part of why my snake venom research is performing so well because it was published in an Open Access journal. The benefits associated with increased accessibility are likely the reason behind Open Access publishing becoming more popular among the scientific community.

5. Any suggestions that you have for Toxins, or anything else that you want to talk about?
I would like to thank everyone involved with the journal Toxins for not only selecting my research as the “Issue Cover” for Volume 12 Issue 2 of their journal but also for the 2021 Best Paper (Research Article) Award. It means a lot to my Ph.D. supervisors and me, and we are very grateful for the interest shown in our research.

We are pleased to announce that the website of the MDPI Sustainability Foundation has been revamped! For the past couple of months, our UX UI team and front-end developers have been working hard to launch the website in time for the opening of the Sustainability Awards nominations.

The website is not the only thing that has had a remodeling. Indeed, the format of the Emerging Sustainability Leader Award (ESLA) has been updated. ESLA is now a competition open to individual researchers or start-ups founded by researchers under the age of 35. Nominee applications will go through 2 rounds of selection until the final 3 are decided. The finalists will then be invited to give pitch presentations during the Award Ceremony to win either first place (10,000 USD) or runner-up (2 x 5000 USD).

The World Sustainability Award, on the other hand, remains the same: a total prize money of 100,000 USD is up for grabs by senior individual researchers or groups of researchers from the international research community.

Nominations for both the World Sustainability Award and the Emerging Sustainability Leader award are now open! Check out our new website for more information on how to nominate.

Conference: The 88th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society of Mycotoxicology
Date: 6 January 2023
Venue: Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Research Council, Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan

MDPI will be attending the 88th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society of Mycotoxicology as the exhibitor. This meeting will take place on 6 January 2023 in Tsukuba, Ibaraki, Japan.

The 88th annual meeting is organized by the Japanese Society of Mycotoxicology (http://www.jsmyco.org). In addition to general lectures and poster presentations, there will be special lectures, symposiums, and luncheon seminars.

Special lecture: “Use of useful brewing bacteria such as aspergillus”
Symposium: “Challenge the elucidation of biological interactions”

The following MDPI journals will be represented:

• Toxins;
• Vaccines;
• JoF;
• JoX;
• Foods.

If you are planning to attend this conference, please feel free to stop by our booth. Our delegates look forward to meeting you in person and answering any questions you may have. For more information about the conference and booth, please visit the following website: https://www.jsmyco.org/conference/top.html.

Name: Prof. Dr. Jean-Denis Bailly
Email: [email protected]
The Winning Paper: “Aflatoxin Biosynthesis and Genetic Regulation: A Review”

Prof. Dr. Jean-Denis Bailly is a veterinarian. He defended his Ph.D. in 1995 and was hired as an associate professor in food safety at the National Veterinary School of Toulouse in 1996 and became a full-time professor in 2014. He has worked on mycotoxicology for more than 20 years with a focus on fungal biodiversity and its evolution and the biotic and abiotic factors controlling mycotoxin production. For several years, he has worked on the development of a strategy to inhibit AFB1 synthesis by using plant extracts. The aim is to inhibit toxin production without interfering with fungal growth in order not to create an ecological vacuum that could benefit other pathogenic organisms, nor lead to resistance appearance since there is no selective pressure on the fungi.

We want to congratulate Prof. Dr. Jean-Denis Bailly for winning the Toxins 2021 Best Paper Award.

The following is an interview with Prof. Dr. Jean-Denis Bailly:

1. Could you please briefly introduce the main content of the winning paper?
The main aim of this review is to present an exhaustive overview of all parameters that may interfere positively or negatively with aflatoxin B1 biosynthesis. AFB1 production is the result of complex biosynthetic pathways involving many genes that are themselves controlled by many environmental parameters.
This review mostly relies on the Ph.D. work of Dr. Isaura Caceres. She worked under my supervision on the identification of natural extracts able to inhibit aflatoxin B1 production in Aspergillus flavus. She was recently hired as an associate professor at the University of Bordeaux.

2. Could you describe the difficulties and breakthrough innovations in this research field?
AFB1 is probably the most important mycotoxin as a public health issue. It is carcinogenic in humans and this is also a natural contaminant leading to the highest number of DALYs (disability-adjusted life years) worldwide.
Understanding the molecular mechanisms that influence the production of this highly toxic food contaminant may help in identifying ways to prevent its biosynthesis and therefore improve food safety by targeting the environmental responses that lead to a decrease or suppression in toxin production.
However, secondary metabolism in fungi is very complex and varied, and many genes have been shown to interfere with AFB1 synthesis. It is challenging to identify the direct connections between these genes and their function and the AFB1 cluster gene.

3. How was your experience submitting to Toxins?
I had already submitted several papers to Toxins, which has become a highly recognized scientific journal in the field of natural toxins and especially mycotoxins. The submission process is quite easy and peer-review process is extremely rapid, which is very much appreciated.

4. How do you think Open Access impacts authors?
Open Access makes papers easily accessible, which favors their citation in other works. This is also a good way to make research available to all researchers, regardless of their country and funding resources.

Stanford University has recently published an update of the list of the top 2% most widely cited scientists—the World’s Top 2% Scientists.

The time node of the statistical data of this list is from 1960 to 2022, and it is divided into two lists: "Lifetime Scientific Influence Ranking" and "2022 Annual Scientific Influence Ranking". The "Lifetime Scientific Influence Ranking" counts the comprehensive influence performance of scientists during their careers, and the "2022 Annual Influence Ranking" focuses on highlighting the academic influence of scientists in the previous year. This ranking, considered the most prestigious worldwide, is based on the bibliometric information contained in the Scopus database and includes more than 200,000 researchers from the more than 10 million scientists considered to be active worldwide, with 22 scientific fields and 176 subfields taken into account.

We are pleased to share that 54 Editorial Board Members from Toxins (ISSN: 2072-6651) were featured in Stanford University World’s Top 2% Scientists list in 2022.

The latest Stanford rankings reflect the significant influence and research excellence of the scientists, who are committed to furthering their knowledge for the benefit of the world.

We would like to congratulate our Editorial Board Members on their excellent achievement and thank them for their immense contribution to the scientific progression and development of Toxins.

Peer Review Week began 19 September 2022 under the theme of “Research Integrity: Creating and Supporting Trust in Research”. Through various blog articles, podcast, and webinar, we discussed this crucial subject throughout the week, celebrating the essential role peer review plays in maintaining research quality.

To begin, we held a Webinar on the topic. Professor Peter W. Choate and Dr. Emmanuel Obeng-Gyasi joined Dr. Ioana Craciun, one of MDPI’s scientific officers, for an in-depth discussion.

We invite you to view the event recording:

During the week, the MDPI Blog in a series articles highlighted how good Peer Review safeguards research integrity. The following topics were covered:

• Peer Review Week 2022
• Research Integrity
• What We’ve Learned About Peer Review Reports
• 4 Steps to the Perfect Peer Review Report
• How to Write the Perfect Peer Review Report: An Interview
• Inviting Great Peer Reviewers

In a new edition of Insight Faster, an MDPI podcast, we were delighted to talk to the co-chairs of the Peer Review Week committee, Jayashree Rajagopalan (Senior Manager of Global Community Engagement for CACTUS) and Danielle Padula (Head of Marketing and Community Development at Scholastica) to get their take on this year’s event and its related topics.

You can find the Podcast here.

We hope you enjoy the contents!

The 2021 citation metrics have been released in the Journal Citation Reports (JCR), and we’re pleased to announce the following results for MDPI journals:

For more information on Impact Factors and what it means to index academic journals, please visit our related blog posts.

* Journals given their first Impact Factor in 2022

Source: 2021 Journal Impact Factors, Journal Citation Reports ^TM (Clarivate, 2022)

We are pleased to announce the launch of a new initiative—the Special Issue Mentor Program.

This program intends to provide an opportunity for early career scientists to enhance their editing, networking, and organizational skills and to work closely with our journal to gain more editorial experience. Early career scientists who have novel ideas for new Special Issues of Toxins (ISSN: 2072-6651) will act as Guest Editors under the mentorship of an experienced scientist; this mentor could be a member of the Toxins Editorial Board or may be from other well-established research institutes or laboratories, etc.

The mentee’s responsibilities include:

• Providing a CV, including a list of publications;
• Proposing a Special Issue title and a short introduction;
• Writing a brief promotion plan for the Special Issue;
• Writing an editorial for the online Special Issue;
• Reviewing and making decisions for submissions under the mentorship of our Editorial Board Members.

The mentor’s responsibilities include:

• Conducting a final check before the Special Issue is published online;
• Co-editing the Special Issue with younger scholars and performing quality control of publications in the Special Issue;
• Providing suggestions to younger scholars if they have doubts or concerns regarding submissions;
• Organizing video calls with young scholars and the office regularly to discuss problems and improvement suggestions for the Special Issue.

Certificates and awards:

When the Special Issue is closed, the Editorial Office will provide official certificates for all the mentors. Younger scholars will be prioritized as candidates for Toxins Young Investigator Awards in future editions.

If you are interested in this opportunity, please send your Special Issue proposal to the Toxins Editorial Office ([email protected]), or complete and submit the form at the following link: https://www.mdpi.com/journalproposal/sendproposalspecialissue/toxins. We will discuss the process (i.e., mentor collaboration, Special Issue topic feasibility analysis, etc.) in further detail after receiving your application.

In addition to the new Special Issue Mentor Program, Toxins continues to welcome all Special Issue proposals based on hot research topics as usual.

Toxins Editorial Office

The 2021 citation metrics have been officially released in Scopus!

We are pleased to announce that 182 MDPI journals are included, of which:

● 21 journals received their first CiteScore.
● 85% of journals increased their CiteScore from 2020.
● 155 journals (85%) ranked above average, in at least one category.

The following 65 MDPI journals (36%) ranked among the top 25% of journals, in at least one category:

Source: 2021 CiteScores™ (Elsevier)

In order to acknowledge our reviewers, who so generously dedicate their time to reviewing papers and demonstrate diligence, professionalism, and timeliness when reviewing manuscripts, MDPI journals regularly offer outstanding reviewer awards to scholars who participate in the peer-review process.

We are proud to recognize winners for the year 2021 in the “Biology & Life Sciences” category for their outstanding contributions among extensive competition by presenting them with an Outstanding Reviewer Award.

We would like to take this opportunity to congratulate all the winners on their achievement.

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

Biology:

• Enrico Vito Perrino, CIHEAM, Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Bari, Italy
• Dhirendra Kumar, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, Research Triangle Park, USA
• Carlos A. Viegas, Univesity of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, Portugal
• Yuri Shavrukov, Flinders University, Australia
• Bipin Gaihre, Mayo Clinic, USA

Brain Sciences:

• Craig D. Workman, University of Iowa, USA
• Vivian Ciaramitaro, University of Massachusetts Boston, USA
• Yang Zhang, University of Minnesota, USA

Cells:

• Bonam Srinivasa Reddy, Université de Paris, France
• Homma Takujiro, Yamagata University, Japan
• Hwang, In Koo, Seoul National University, South Korea
• Kobeissy Firas, University of Florida, USA
• Rebelo, Sandra, University of Aveiro, Portugal

Diversity:

• Günter Gollmann, University of Vienna, Austria
• Stephan Koblmüller, University of Graz, Austria
• Emiliano Mori, Istituto di Ricerca sugli Ecosistemi Terrestri, Italy

Horticulturae:

• Joshua D. Klein, Agricultural Research Organization—The Volcani Center, Israel
• Ana Cristina S Figueiredo, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, Portugal

Insects:

• Carmelo Peter Bonsignore, Università Mediterranea di Reggio Calabria, Italy
• Klaus H. Hoffmann, University of Bayreuth, Germany
• Ivan Milosavljević, University of California, USA

Metabolites:

• Remigiusz Bachor, University of Wrocław, Poland
• Nguyen Phuoc Long, Inje University College of Medicine, South Korea
• Chi Chen, University of Minnesota, USA

Nutrients:

• Jadwiga Hamułka, Warsaw University of Life Sciences, Poland
• Grace Campbell, University of Sydney, Australia
• Nicholas Norwitz, Harvard Medical School, USA
• Stefan Kabisch, Charité University Hospital Berlin, Germany
• Luis Rodrigo, University of Oviedo, Spain

Veterinary Sciences:

• Carlos Viegas, Univesity of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro, Portugal
• Arvind Sharma, The University of Queensland, Australia

MDPI’s Young Investigator Awards recognize promising junior researchers, acknowledge their contributions, and enhance communication among scientists. We are proud to present the 2021 winners in the “Biology & Life Sciences” category. The winners were selected by the journals’ editors.

We warmly congratulate the awarded young investigators for their outstanding contributions.

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

Agriculture:

• Carlos Guzmán, University of Cordoba, Spain

Animals:

• Katharina Hohlbaum, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany

Cells:

• Uri Ben-David, Tel Aviv University, Israel

Diversity:

• Enrico Lunghi, Institute of Zoology Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing, China

Foods:

• Guodong Zhang, University of Massachusetts Amherst, USA

Horticulturae:

• Luke Bell, Temperate Horticulture, University of Reading, UK

International Journal of Molecular Sciences:

• Alessandro D’Urso, University of Catania, Italy.
• Apostolos Zaravinos, University of Cyprus, Cyprus
• Cesar de la Fuente-Nunez, University of Pennsylvania, USA
• Maria Teresa Caccamo, Messina University, Italy
• Tiziana Bonifacino, University of Genoa, Italy

Journal of Fungi:

• Federico Baltar, University of Vienna, Austria
• Rebecca Drummond, University of Birmingham, UK
• Miriam Oses-Ruiz, Public University of Navarre, Spain

Life:

• João Pedro da Silva Machado Lobo, University of Porto, Portugal
• Vincenzo Russo, University of Campania Luigi Vanvitelli, Italy

Metabolites:

• Gabriele Rocchetti, Catholic University of Sacred Heart, Italy

Nutrients:

• Fiona Lavelle, Queen's University Belfast, UK
• Matthew Snelson, Monash University, Australia

Pathogens:

• Si Ming Man, Australian National University, Australia
• Jasper Fuk-Woo Chan, University of Hong Kong, China

Plants:

• Stefania Sut, University of Padova, Italy
• Mohamed Ahmed El-Esawi, Tanta University, Tanta, Egypt

Vaccines:

• Nicholas M. Provine, University of Oxford, UK

Viruses:

• Nicholas S. Heaton, Duke University, USA

We are proud to recognize the winners of MDPI’s 2021 Travel Awards in the “Biology & Life Sciences” category for their outstanding presentations and to present them with the prize.

MDPI journals regularly offer travel awards to encourage talented junior scientists to present their latest research at academic conferences in specific fields, which helps to increase their influence.

The winners mentioned below were carefully selected by the journal editors based on an outline of their research and the work to be presented at an academic conference.

We would like to warmly congratulate the winners of 2021 Travel Awards and wish them the greatest success with their future research endeavors. MDPI will continue to enhance communication among scientists.

Agriculture:

• Zahra Bitarafan, Norwegian Institute of Bioeconomy Research (NIBIO), Norway
• Nikolaos Tsoulias, Leibniz Institute for Agricultural Engineering and Bioeconomy (ATB), Germany

Fermentation:

• Michela Verni, University of Bari, Italy
• Philipp Demling, RWTH Aachen University, Germany

Horticulturae:

• Jagveer Singh, Punjab Agricultural University, India
• Ibrar Hussain, State University of Londrina, Brazil

Microorganisms:

• Francis Muchaamba, University of Zurich, Switzerland

Methods and Protocols:

• Tanja Eisemann, SBP Medical Discovery Institute, USA

Nutrients:

• Mrinalini Dey, National Institute for Health Research, UK
• Ben Kirk, University of Melbourne, Australia
• Kirrilly Pursey, University of Newcastle, Australia
• Dieuwertje Kok, Wageningen University, the Netherlands
• Hanna Huber, University of Bonn, Germany
• Marlene Lages, University of Porto, Portugal
• Zohra S. Lassi, University of Adelaide, Australia
• Rik Olde Engberink, Amsterdam University Medicial Center, the Netherlands
• Sarah Warkentin, University of Porto (ISPUP), Portugal
• Álvaro Hernáez, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Norway
• Leila Abdelhamid, Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine, Virginia Tech, USA
• Maria Michela Cesare, University of Siena, Italy
• Kaisa Hiippala, University of Helsinki, Finland

Pathogens:

• Vanessa Silva, University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro, Portugal
• Hejun Liu, Scripps Research Institute, USA
• Tomokazu Tamura, Princeton University, USA

Toxins:

• Cecilie Knudsen, Technical University of Denmark, Denmark
• Laura Biessy, Cawthron Institute, New Zealand
• Marcelo Mendes Rabelo, University of Florida, USA

Vaccines:

• Hee Chun Chung, Seoul National University, South Korea
• Alejandro Marin Lopez, Yale University, USA

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

1. Muscle Tone Physiology and Abnormalities
Jacky Ganguly et al.
Toxins 2021, 13(4), 282; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins13040282
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6651/13/4/282

2. Botulinum Toxin: An Update on Pharmacology and Newer Products in Development
Supriyo Choudhury et al.
Toxins 2021, 13(1), 58; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins13010058
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6651/13/1/58

3. Physical and Chemical Methods for Reduction in Aflatoxin Content of Feed and Food
Péter Sipos et al.
Toxins 2021, 13(3), 204; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins13030204
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6651/13/3/204

4. The Food Poisoning Toxins of Bacillus cereus
Richard Dietrich et al.
Toxins 2021, 13(2), 98; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins13020098
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6651/13/2/98

5. Aflatoxin Detoxification Using Microorganisms and Enzymes
Yun Guan et al.
Toxins 2021, 13(1), 46; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins13010046
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6651/13/1/46

6. Botulinum Toxin in Movement Disorders: An Update
Joseph Jankovic et al.
Toxins 2021, 13(1), 42; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins13010042
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6651/13/1/42

7. Wasp Venom Biochemical Components and Their Potential in Biological Applications and Nanotechnological Interventions
Aida A. Abd El-Wahed et al.
Toxins 2021, 13(3), 206; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins13030206
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6651/13/3/206

8. Cannabis: A Toxin-Producing Plant with Potential Therapeutic Uses
Zeinab Breijyeh et al.
Toxins 2021, 13(2), 117; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins13020117
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6651/13/2/117

9. Association of Polygenic Risk Score and Bacterial Toxins at Screening Colonoscopy with Colorectal Cancer Progression: A Multicenter Case-Control Study
Alfonso Piciocchi et al.
Toxins 2021, 13(8), 569; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins13080569
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6651/13/8/569

10. Effective Locations for Injecting Botulinum Toxin into the Mentalis Muscle; Cadaveric and Ultrasonographic Study
Da-Yae Choi et al.
Toxins 2021, 13(2), 96; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxins13020096
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6651/13/2/96

The editorial team of Toxins (ISSN: 2072-6651) is pleased to announce the winner of the 2021 Outstanding Toxicologist Award for Women: Christina Schroeder, at the National Cancer Institute, NIH, USA.

Dr. Schroeder’s research focuses on biodiscovery and peptide engineering in venom-derived toxins to investigate ion channels involved in pain and cancer. She completed her Ph.D. in Pharmacology at the University of Queensland, Australia, on the structure–activity relationships of omega-conotoxins targeting calcium channels. She completed her postdoctoral training at the Scripps Research Institute, USA, the University of Queensland, and the University of New South Wales, Australia. In 2014 she was granted research funding from the National Health and Medical Research Council, Australia, and in 2017 she was awarded a Future Fellowship from the Australian Research Council, allowing her to pursue independent research at the Institute for Molecular Bioscience, at the University of Queensland. She has published more than 80 articles on the discovery, structure, and function of animal toxins targeting ion channels and submitted 28 NMR-obtained toxin structures to the PDB. Her most noteworthy work contributed to the understanding of the importance of toxin–membrane binding for sodium channel inhibition and the development of bivalent toxins with dual pharmacology, specifically targeting sodium channels involved in pain. In 2020, she joined the Chemical Biology Laboratory at the National Cancer Institute, NIH, USA, as a Stadtman investigator, and she holds an adjunct Associate Professor position at the University of Queensland, Australia.

We would like to congratulate the winner in recognition of her excellence in research related to toxicology. We look forward to her future academic contributions.

The editorial team of Toxins (ISSN: 2072-6651) would like to congratulate the winner of the Best Poster Award, Ms. Anne-Cécile Van Baelen, and the winner of the Best Oral Communication Award, Dr. Barbara Ribeiro, at the 27th Meeting on Toxinology of the French Society of Toxinology (SFET).

Left: Ms. Anne-Cécile Van Baelen, doctoral fellow from SIMoS, CEA de Saclay, Gif-sur-Yvette, Fance;

Right: Dr. Barbara Ribeiro postdoctoral fellow from the Institute du Thorax, Nantes, France.

The following are the titles of their work:

“Characterization of Innovative Animal Toxins for the Functional Study of Angiotensin Receptors”

Authors: Anne-Cécile Van Baelen, Nicolas Gilles, Denis Servent and Philippe Robin

Affiliation: Université Paris-Saclay, CEA Départment Médicaments et Technologies pour la Santé (DMTS), SIMoS, F-91191 Gif-sur-Yvette, France

“Functional Impact of BeKm-1, a High-Affinity hERG Blocker, on Cardiomyocytes Derived from Human-Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells”

Authors: Stephan De Waard, Jérôme Montnach, Barbara Ribeiro, Sébastien Nicolas, Virginie Forest, Flavien Charpentier, Matteo Elia Mangoni, Nathalie Gaborit, Michel Ronjat, Gildas Loussouarn, Patricia Lemarchand and Michel De Waard

Affiliation: L’unité de recherche de I’institut du thorax Inserm UMR 1087 / CNRS UMR 6291 Nantes, France

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.

Academic editors play a crucial role in leading our journals and ensuring that each article undergoes a robust and timely peer-review. With the launch of Topics this year and addition of Topic Editors to our family of academic editors, we decided it would be a good time to restructure our academic boards, thus providing more clarity and support for each role. MDPI is pleased to announce the launch of a new position—Topical Advisory Panel Member, that will replace the previous position of Topics Board Member. The Topical Advisory Panel will be comprised of early career researchers eager to gain experience in editorial work.

The main responsibility of the new members of the Topical Advisory Panel is to regularly provide support to Guest Editors, Topic Editors, and Section Board Members. The responsibilities of the Topical Advisory Panel are available here: https://www.mdpi.com/editors.

Each year, the members’ performances are evaluated, and outstanding members are promoted to the Editorial Board by the Editor-in-Chief.

To qualify as a Topical Advisory Panel Member, applicants must:

• Have expertise and experience in the field related to the journal;
• Have received a Ph.D. in the last 10 years, approximately;
• Have at least 6-8 published papers in the last 5 years as first author or corresponding author;
• Currently hold an independent research position in academia or a government institute.

If you are interested in this role, please contact the editorial office by email.

We look forward to hearing from you soon.

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.

Read our anniversary blog post: "Sharing 'Collective Human Knowledge': The Benefits of Open Access Publication"

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

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We are very honored that 43 new editorial members have joined Toxins since April. We would like to welcome these recognized researchers:

Dr. Thomas Durek, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia;
Prof. Dr. Shihua Wang, Fujian Agriculture and Forestry University, China;
Prof. Dr. Wentao Xu, China Agricultural University, China;
Dr. Sonia Marin-Sillue, University of Lleida, Spain;
Prof. Dr. Miklós Mézes, Szent Istvan University, Godollo, Hungary;
Prof. Dr. Maurizio Brigotti, Università di Bologna, Italy;
Dr. Steve Morton, NOAA National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, USA;
Prof. Dr. Juan Ferré, Universitat de València, Spain;
Prof. Dr. Allan Cembella, Universität Bremen, Bibliothekstraße, Germany;
Prof. Dr. Jean-Denis Bailly, Université de Toulouse, France;
Prof. Dr. Cristina Juan García, University of Valencia, Spain;
Prof. Dr. Sabine Schorr-Galindo, Université de La Réunion, France;
Prof. Dr. Harald Genth, Hannover Medical School, Germany;
Prof. Dr. Marylène Poirié, Sophia Agrobiotech Institute, INRAE, France;
Prof. Dr Thomas M. Harris, Vanderbilt University, USA;
Dr. Mark Poli, US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases, USA;
Dr. Triantafyllos Kaloudis, Athens Water Supply & Sewerage Company, Greece;
Prof. Dr. Antonio Evidente, University of Naples “Federico II”, Italy;
Dr. Marco Masi, University of Naples, Italy;
Prof. Dr. John Leslie, Kansas State University, USA;
Prof. Dr. Borden Lacy, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, USA;
Dr. Rosario Iglesias, University of Valladolid, Spain;
Prof. Dr. Mandar Jog, University of Western, Canada;
Prof. Dr. Alfonso Fasano, University of Toronto, Canada;
Prof. Dr. Jun Chen, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Science, China;
Dr. Ken Teter, University of Central Florida, USA;
Dr. Jacob Galan, Texas A&M University-Kingsville, USA;
Prof. Dr. Eric Oswald, Toulouse University Hospital, France;
Dr. Imourana Alassane-Kpembi, Université de Montréal, Canada;
Dr. Nolwenn Hymery, Université de Brest, France;
Prof. Dr. Ana Juan-Garcí, University of Valencia, Spain;
Prof. Dr. András Székács, National Agricultural Research and Innovation Centre, Hungary;
Dr. Mark McClain, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, USA;
Prof. Dr. Jang-Seu Ki, Sangmyung University, Korea;
Dr. Marie-Yasmine Dechraoui Bottein, University of Copenhagen, Denmark;
Dr. Shupeng Yang, Institute of Apicultural Research, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, China.

Toxins has recently been receiving an increasing number of interesting paper submissions. We would like to invite you to review manuscripts for Toxins (https://www.mdpi.com/journal/toxins).

Volunteer reviewers of Toxins will enjoy the following benefits:

• All reviewers will receive a personalized review confirmation certificate in appreciation of their efforts;
• All reviewers will be considered for the outstanding reviewer award granted annually by the Toxins Editorial Board and Editorial Team, to gratefully acknowledge the work they have done;
• Those reviewers who provide timely, thorough, and rigorous peer review reports will receive a discount voucher that can be applied to their future publications in any MDPI journal;
• All reviewers will be included in the journal’s annual reviewer acknowledgements;
• Proactive and cooperative volunteer reviewers may be offered the opportunity to join the Editorial Board of the journal (subject to the approval of the Editor-in-Chief);
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If you are interested in joining us as a volunteer reviewer, please click on the link below to apply:
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After your registration has been approved, you will be able to see a list of manuscripts that are recruiting reviewers. 

If you have any other questions, please contact the Toxins Editorial Office ([email protected]). We look forward to hearing from you.

This serves to announce to our valued authors based in Japan that value-added tax, or consumption tax will now be imposed on article processing fees and other service fees for all papers submitted, or resubmitted (assigned new paper IDs), effective from 15 August 2021. The change is in accordance with the Japanese "Act for Partial Revision of the Income Tax Act and Other Acts" (Act No. 9 of 2015), which includes a revision of consumption taxation on cross-border supplies of services such as digital content distribution.

For additional information from the National Tax Agency please see here ("Cross-border supplies of electronic services").

Contact: Setsuko Nishihara, MDPI Tokyo

The 2020 citation metrics have been officially released in the Journal Citation Reports (JCR)!

We are pleased to announce that 85 MDPI journals are included, of which:

• 10 journals received their first impact factor
• 96% of journals increased their impact factor from 2019
• 32 journals (38%) ranked among the top 25% of journals, in at least one category

* Journals given their first Impact Factor in 2021

Source: 2020 Journal Impact Factors, Journal Citation Reports ® (Clarivate, 2021)

Dear Colleagues,

As Editor-in-Chief of Toxins, I am pleased to announce that the following applicant has been selected as the winner of the Toxins 2020 Young Investigator Award.

Dr. Andreas Hougaard Laustsen
Technical University of Denmark, Denmark

With so many high-quality applicants, the evaluation process and final decision were challenging. We would like to thank all the applicants for submitting their fascinating range of research topics. On behalf of the Assessment Committee, I congratulate the winner on his accomplishment.

Prof. Dr. Jay W. Fox
Editor-in-Chief, Toxins

On behalf of the Toxins 2020 Young Investigator Award Evaluation Committee

Biotoxins seriously threaten human and animal health, and are directly related to food safety. It has been a research hotspot in the fields of agriculture, food and public health. In order to strengthen China’s biotoxin research, especially academic exchanges among young researchers, the "Biotoxin Research" Youth Forum will be held from June 9–11 in Beijing, China.

1. Conference topics

The meeting will be organized around the following three topics:

1.1. Detection, Monitoring and Early Warning of Biotoxins (Convenors: Qi Zhang and Wentao Xu)

1.2. Toxicological Evaluation and Risk Assessment of Biotoxins (Convenors: Xiulan Sun and Meng Wang)

1.3. Safety Control of Biotoxins (Convenors: Fuguo Xing and Peilong Wang)

2. Conference Organization

Organizer:

National Science and Technology Innovation Alliance for Mycotoxin Prevention and Control

Institute of Food Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences

Oil Crops Research Institute, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences

Shanghai Institute of Nutrition and Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Participation Unit:

Toxins (MDPI)

Beijing Meizheng Biotechnology Group

Shanghai Yirou Information Technology Co., Ltd. (Continuous update...)

Main sponsor:

Mars Global Food Safety Center, Beijing Qinbang Biotechnology, Beijing Zhongjian Baotai, Qingdao Pribolab, Agilent Technologies, Shanghai Xiongtu Biotechnology, Hebei Elisa (Continuous update...)

3. Academic Advisory Committee

Director: Peiwu Li (Academician)

Deputy Director: Fengzhong Wang (Director)

Committee: Yongning Wu, Shuo Wang, Zhixian Gao, Shiping Tian, Ying Chen, Zhonghua Ma, Yang Liu, Changpo Sun, Jianrong Shi and Aibo Wu

4. Youth Academic Committee (in alphabetical order)

Boqiang Li, Erqi Guan, Fei Shen, Fuguo Xing, Hongyin Zhang, Jianhong Xu, Jin Mao, Jun Tian, Liangbin Hu, Meng Wang, Qi Zhang, Qiugang Ma, Xiaolin Zhang, Xiulan Sun, Wentao Xu, Wei Guo, Wei Wang, Yan Wang, Yueju Zhao and Zhongjie Zhang 

5. Organizing Committee

Aibo Wu, Qi Zhang, Fuguo Xing, Meng Wang, Peilong Wang, Wentao Xu, Wei Guo, Mengning Ren, Yanjia Wen, Gang Wang, Jing Jin, Xu Li, Bolei Yang, Junning Ma and Bowen Tai

6. Schedule

• 9 June 2021

All day: Conference registration, exhibitions set up

• 10 June 2021

Morning:

Opening ceremony

Leader's speech:

1. Fengzhong Wang (director)
2. Leader of the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs

Expert report:

1. Peiwu Li (Academician, Invited)—(45 min)
2. Shiping Tian (Professor) Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences—(25 min)
3. Zhonghua Ma (Professor), College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University—(25 min)
4. Ren Lai (Professor), Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences—(25 min)
5. Jinglin Wang (Professor) Institute of Microbiology and Epidemiology, Academy of Military Medical Sciences—(25 min)

Afternoon:

Expert report:

6. Aibo Wu (Professor) Shanghai Institute of Nutrition and Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences—(25 min)
7. Yang Liu (Professor), School of Food Science and Engineering, Foshan University of Science and Technology—(25 min)
8. Changpo Sun (Professor) Standard Quality Center, National Grain and Material Reserve Bureau—(25 min)
9. Jianrong Shi (Professor) Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences
10. Hongyin Zhang (Professor) School of Food and Bioengineering, Jiangsu University

To be continued...

• 11 June 2021

Session Report

Morning:

Topic 1: Rapid Detection of Biotoxins

Topic 2: Toxicity Evaluation of Biotoxins

Topic 3: Comprehensive Prevention and Control of Biotoxins

Afternoon:

Topic 4: Biotoxins Monitoring and Early Warning

Topic 5: Risk Assessment of Biotoxins

Topic 6: Safe Detoxification of Biotoxins

7. Contacts

Academic Contact:

Fuguo Xing 010-62811868, 15801607126

Gang Wang 010-62819472, 15501150911

Jing Jin 010-62819472, 15210682859

Bowen Tai 010-62819472, 13269858921

Chenxi Zhang 010-62819472, 15701575736

Email: [email protected]

Exhibitor Contact:

Xu Li 010-62819472，13811976783

Bolei Yang 010-62819472, 18519373787

Mailing address: Institute of Food Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, No. 2, Yuanmingyuan West Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100193, China

Email: [email protected]

Preparatory Group for the Youth Forum on Biotoxin Research

Dear Colleagues,

As Editor-in-Chief of Toxins, I am pleased to announce that the following three applicants have been selected as the winners of the Toxins 2021 Travel Award.

• Cecilie Knudsen
  A Ph.D. student at the Technical University of Denmark, Denmark

• Laura Biessy
  A Ph.D. student at the Cawthron Institute, New Zealand

• Marcelo Mendes Rabelo
  A postdoctoral researcher at the University of Florida, USA

With so many high-quality applicants, the evaluation process and final decision were challenging. We would like to thank all the applicants for submitting their fascinating range of research topics. On behalf of the assessment committee, I congratulate the winners on their accomplishments.

Prof. Dr. Jay W. Fox
Editor-in-Chief, Toxins

On behalf of the Toxins 2021 Travel Awards Evaluation Committee

The editorial team of Toxins would like to congratulate the winners of the Best Speaker Award, Benjamin J. Tombling and Nisharnthi M. Duggan, at the 7th Venoms to Drugs Conference.

See the image of the awardees below (from left to right): Glenn King (Program Committee), Nisharnthi M. Duggan from Richard Payne’s lab at the University of Sydney (Best Speaker Award Winner), Paul Alewood (Convenor), Benjamin J. Tombling from David Craik’s lab at the University of Queensland (Best Speaker Award Winner), and Richard Lewis (Program Committee).

Here are the titles and abstracts of their work:

To Affinity and Beyond: Engineering Sub-optimal Peptide Drug leads Using Bioactive Cyclisation

Benjamin J. Tombling

Institute for Molecular Bioscience, Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Innovations in Peptide and Protein Science, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Qld 4072, Australia

Peptides are regarded as promising next-generation therapeutics. However, to facilitate the translation of bioactive peptides into the clinic, optimisation strategies are almost always required. Peptide cyclisation strategies have been used to improve the drug-like properties of linear peptides. Until now, the primary focus has been on the use of ‘inert’ peptide linkers with respect to a biological target. Here, we show that affinity can be significantly improved by enriching the linker with functional amino acids, a concept termed bioactive cyclisation. We engineered a peptide inhibitor of PCSK9, a target for the clinical management of hypercholesterolemia, to demonstrate this concept. The identification of an optimised cyclisation linker from library screening produced a cyclic peptide with 100-fold improved affinity over the sub-optimal parent peptide. Furthermore, the cyclic peptide efficiently restores cholesterol metabolism in functional human liver cell assays, demonstrating a clear relationship between affinity and efficacy. The combination of thermodynamic binding analysis, SAR, NMR and MD studies confirmed the cyclisation linker forms favourable interactions with PCSK9, which are responsible for enhanced activity. A comprehensive analysis of bioactive peptides suggests many have underdeveloped affinities and we propose that implementing bioactive cyclisation linkers is a valuable addition to the armamentarium of peptide optimisation tools. This work was recently published in Journal of Medicinal Chemistry (DOI: 10.1021/acs.jmedchem.0c01766)

Brief Introduction of Benjamin J. Tombling: Benjamin completed his undergraduate studies in chemistry at The University Edinburgh before moving to Brisbane, Australia, where he recently finished his PhD under the supervision of Dr Conan Wang and Professor David Craik at The University of Queensland. His research has focused on establishing a platform of technologies to enhance the drug-like properties of underdeveloped peptide drugs leads, predominately for the development of inhibitors of PCSK9—a validated therapeutic target for the clinical management of hypercholesterolemia. However, a major incentive behind his work is that the strategies developed have the potential to be broadly applied throughout peptide drug design, including the engineering of toxin-derived peptides. Outside of the lab, he has a keen interest for watching and playing a variety of sports, and he enjoys spending time at the beach and cooking up a BBQ, taking advantage of the sunny days that Australia has to offer.

Total Chemical Synthesis of Venom and Salivary Proteins via Ligation Technologies

Nisharnthi M. Duggan, Sameer S. Kulkarni, Timothy S. Chisholm, Emma E. Watson and
Richard J. Payne

School of Chemistry, The University of Sydney, NSW 2006, NSW, Australia

The therapeutic potential of venom polypeptides and proteins is well recognised, with several venoms and venom-derived molecules approved for clinical use [1]. This has led to a significant demand for technologies to rapidly and efficiently access these biomolecules, especially when production through recombinant expression is low yielding, or for those bearing functionally important post-translational modifications (PTMs) [2]. We have developed a range of ligation technologies that enable the rapid chemical synthesis of peptides and proteins, with or without PTMs [3]. This talk will highlight the use of solid phase peptide synthesis and native chemical ligation in the synthesis of neuroprotective, cysteine-knot, funnel-web spider venom-derived peptide Hi1a, as well as the optimisation of oxidative folding [4]. A more recently developed methodology is the diselenide-selenoester ligation reaction [5,6]. This technology enables the fusion of peptide fragments with unprecedented kinetics and can be coupled with in situ deselenisation chemistry to afford native polypeptides and proteins [6,7]. The power of the DSL methodology will be highlighted via two examples: 1) the one-pot synthesis of anti-thrombotic salivary protein thrombostasin and 2) the total synthesis of a library of modified anti-thrombotic sulfoproteins, each of which could be assembled, purified and quantified for a bioassay within a few hours [8].

1. King, G. F. Expert Opin Biol Ther. 2011, 11, 1469-1484.
2. Kulkarni, S. et al. Nature Rev. Chem. 2018, 2, 0122.
3. Thompson, R. E. et al.  J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2014, 136, 8161-8164.
4. King, G. F. et al. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 2016, 114, 3750-3755.
5. Mitchell, N. J. et al. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 2015, 137, 14011-14014.
6. Kulkarni, S. et al. Nature Protocols, 2019, 14, 2229-2257.
7. Mitchell, N. J. et al. Chem. 2017, 2(5), 703-715.
8. Watson, E. E. et al. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U. S. A. 2019, 16, 13873-13878.

Brief Introduction of Nisharnthi M. Duggan: Nisha is a PhD candidate at The University of Sydney, working for Professor Richard Payne in the area of organic chemistry and chemical biology. She graduated from Monash University in 2016 with a Bachelor of Science (Advanced, Hons I), including an honors research project focusing on synthetic methodology with Professor David Lupton. In 2017, Nisha took a break from her studies to undertake research at the ANU with Professor Michael Sherburn, and then briefly worked as an experimental scientist at CSIRO in Melbourne before moving to Sydney to commence her PhD in 2018. Throughout her PhD, Nisha has worked on the synthesis of venom and salivary peptides that may be used to treat stroke and thrombotic disease.

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MDPI has been a pioneer of Open Access publishing ever since the concept was first created.

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We welcome the following 34 recognized researchers, who recently joined the Editorial Board of Toxins:

Prof. Dr. Matthew P. Rowe, University of Oklahoma, USA
Dr. Siro Luvisetto, Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology (IBBC), National Research Council (CNR) of Italy, Italy
Dr. Juan C. Blanco, Marine Research Centre (CIMA), Spain
Prof. Dr. Christine Edwards, Robert Gordon University, UK
Dr. Lorena Tuchscherr, Institute of Medical Microbiology, Germany
Dr. Antonia Susca, Institute of Science of Food Production (ISPA), National Research Council (CNR), Italy
Dr. Houda Berrada Ramdani, Universitat de València (UV), Spain
Dr. Alicia Rodríguez, University of Extremadura, Spain
Prof. Federica Cheli, Coordinating Research Centres (CRC) – Innovation for well-being and Environment (I-WE) - Università degli Studi di Milano, Italy
Dr. Zbigniew Adamski, Adam Mickiewicz University, Poland
Prof. Dr. Sophie Liabeuf, UPJV University, France
Dr. Francesco Giansanti, University of L’Aquila, Italy
Dr. Massimo Bortolotti, Alma Mater Studiorum—University of Bologna, Italy
Dr. Emiko Sato, Tohoku University, Japan
Prof. Dr. Andrea Bolognesi, University of Bologna, Italy
Dr. Fabrizio Anniballi, Department of Food Safety, Nutrition and Veterinary Public Health, Italy
Dr. Bruno Goud, Department of Cell Biology and Cancer (UMR CNRS 144), Institut Curie, France
Dr. Laurent Marsollier, French Institute of Health and Medical Research, France
Prof. Dr. Antonella Giannantoni, University of Siena, Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria Santa Maria alle Scotte, Italy
Prof. Dr. Andrea Santamato, Riuniti Hospital, University of Foggia, Italy
Dr. Christina Schroeder, National Cancer Institute, National Institutes of Health, USA
Dr. Jeroen Kool, Division of BioAnalytical Chemistry, Amsterdam Institute of Molecular and Life Sciences, The Netherlands
Dr. Sandra Sousa, Institute for Molecular and Cell Biology, Portugal
Dr. Florence Richard-Forget, INRAE, UR 1264 MycSA Mycologie et Sécurité des Aliments. Centre de recherche Nouvelle-Aquitaine-Bordeaux, France
Prof. Ren Lai, Kunming Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China
Prof. Dr. Ligang Zhou, China Agricultural University, China
Prof. Dr. Yidong Wu, Nanjing Agricultural University, China
Dr. Peter A. Keyel, Texas Tech University, USA
Prof. Dr. Moo-Seung Lee, Korea University of Science and Technology, Korea
Dr. Stéphanie Simon, Université Paris-Saclay, CEA, INRAE, Département Médicaments et Technologies pour la santé, France
Prof. Dr. José Miguel Ferreras, Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Physiology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Valladolid, Spain
Prof. Dr. Lucía Citores, Department of Biochemistry, Molecular Biology and Physiology, Faculty of Sciences, University of Valladolid, Spain
Prof. Dr. Sofia N. Chulze, Research Institute on Mycology and Mycotoxicology (IMICO), National Scientific and Technological Research Council from Argentina (CONICET), Universidad Nacional de Río Cuarto (UNRC), Argentina
Prof. Dr. Daniel Gillet, Section of Molecular Engineering for Health (SIMoS), JOLIOT, CEA, Université Paris-Saclay, France

Further details about the Editorial Board can be found at: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/toxins/editors.

The Editorial Team of Toxins would like to congratulate the winner of the GT-Toxins Award, Katharina Sessler, at the 6th German Pharm-Tox Summit.

Here is the title and abstract of her work:

The Enzyme Subunit SubA of Shiga Toxin-Producing E. coli Strains Demonstrates Comparable Intracellular Transport and Cytotoxic Activity as the Holotoxin SubAB

1 University Ulm Medical Center, Institute of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Ulm, Germany

2 University Ulm, Institute of Biophysics, Ulm, Germany

3 University of Hohenheim, Institute of Food Science and Biotechnology, Hohenheim, Germany

Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) strains are bacterial pathogens, which are mainly found in the gastrointestinal tract of farm and wildlife animals. The bacteria can be transmitted to humans via food and causes diarrheal and extraintestinal diseases. In addition to the Shiga toxin, some STEC strains also produce a second toxin, namely the subtilase cytotoxin (SubAB) [1]. SubAB belongs to the family of AB5 toxins, consisting of an enzymatically active A subunit (SubA) and separate B subunits (SubB), which mediate cell binding and uptake of SubAB. Inside the host cell, SubAB is transported via a retrograde pathway into the endoplasmic reticulum (ER), where it cleaves the glucose-regulated protein GRP78. SubAB-induced GRP78 cleavage activates a cellular stress response eventually resulting in cell death [1]. We previously demonstrated that SubA, without SubB, binds and intoxicates HeLa cells [2], whereas the cellular and molecular mechanisms behind this remained unclear. In the present study, we found that even in the absence of SubB, SubA is internalized into cells, reaches the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) and cleaves the chaperone GRP78. Furthermore, SubA-induced GRP78 cleavage in cells is prevented by the pre-treatment of cells with brefeldin A (BFA), which inhibits the transport of protein toxins into the ER. Obviously, SubA contains a yet undescribed ER localization signal, predicted by the software scanProsite™ as a SEEL motif at the C-terminus. Hence, a SubA mutant, lacking the SEEL motif (SubA_ΔC344), was generated, which exhibited no cytotoxicity alone, but only together with SubB, when tested on HeLa and HCT116 cells. Fluorescence microscopy revealed that SubA_ΔC344 is generally taken up into cells, but further investigations regarding substrate cleavage have shown that SubAΔC344-induced GRP78 cleavage was delayed when compared to wildtype SubA. We therefore assume that the SEEL motif plays a crucial role in guiding SubA into the ER [3]. Furthermore, we confirmed our findings in the human intestinal mini-gut organoid system. Our results not only contribute to a better understanding of the mode of action of the subtilase cytotoxin, but also raise the question whether a B component-independent cytotoxic effect of the A component is also true for other bacterial AB5 toxins.

1. Paton AW et al. (2010), Toxins (Basel) 2(2):215–228.
2. Funk J et al. (2015), Infect Immun 83(6):2338–2349.
3. Sessler K et al. (2021); Arch. Toxicol. (in press)

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We are pleased to introduce Journal Selector, a new feature that measures similarity in academic contexts. By simply entering the title and/or abstract into our Journal Selector, the author will see a list of the most related scientific journals published by MDPI. This method helps authors select the correct journals for their papers, highlighting the time of publication and citability.

The methodology is known as representation learning, where words are represented as vectors in hyperspace. Representation helps us differentiate between different concepts within articles, and in turn, helps us identify similarities between them.

We used an advanced machine learning model to better capture the semantic meanings of words. This helps the algorithm make better predictions by leveraging scientific text representation. In turn, this ensures high precision, helping authors decide which journal they should submit their paper to.

The goal is to support authors to publish their work in the most suitable journal for their research, as fast as possible, accelerating their career progress.

Contact: Andrea Perlato, Head of Data Analytics, MDPI (email)

We are pleased to announce the winners of the Toxins 2020 Outstanding Reviewer Award. The Toxins Editorial Board and Editorial Team would like to gratefully acknowledge the time and energy dedicated by reviewers to checking the manuscripts submitted to Toxins. It is due to their efforts that the high quality of the journal and quick turnaround is maintained.

The following awardees have been selected by the Editor-in-Chief of Toxins, Prof. Dr. Jay W. Fox. Each of them will receive a customized gift and a certificate to recognize their outstanding work:

Dr. Kirill S. Antonets

Affiliation: Laboratory for Proteomics of Supra-Organismal Systems, All-Russia Research Institute for Agricultural Microbiology (ARRIAM), Saint Petersburg, Russia.

Faculty of Biology, St. Petersburg State University (SPbSU), Saint Petersburg, Russia.

Research Interests: bioinformatics; structural biology; bacterial genomics; transcriptomics; molecular biology of host–pathogen interactions

"I would like to thank the Toxins Editorial Board for this Award and for their efforts in providing fast, convenient and transparent processing of manuscripts and reviews."

Dr. Alberto Rico-Yuste

Affiliation: Department of Analytical Chemistry, Complutense University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain.

Research Interests: molecular imprinted polymers; optical chemosensors; food analysis; mycotoxins; spectroscopy; fluorescence

“First of all, I would like to thank the committee for considering me worthy of this award. I consider that reviewing articles is an important part of scientific work.At the same time that it helps to improve the quality of the journals and of the articles that appear in them, it allows to increase the critical capacity of the reviewer. In addition, it is a way to learn and broaden one's knowledge. The publication of an article is the result of a lot of work and I believe that it is everyone's job that their contribution to the scientific society has more weight. That is why I must also thank my mentors for instilling in me the importance of carrying out this type of review with great professionalism and thoroughness.”

For more information about Toxins awards, please see the following link: https://www.mdpi.com/journal/toxins/awards.

It is our pleasure to welcome the following 3 recognized researchers, who recently joined the Editorial Board of Toxins:

Prof. Dr. Aibo Wu
CAS Key Laboratory of Nutrition, Metabolism and Food Safety, Shanghai Institute of Nutrition and Health, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Interests: mycotoxins; microbial molecular biology; fungal biology; molecular microbiology

Prof. Dr. Michael Richardson
Institute of Biology Leiden, Leiden University
Interests: evo-devo; reptiles; evolution; chick embryo

Prof. Dr. Yukako Fujinaga
Department of Bacteriology, Kanazawa University
Interests: Clostridium botulinum; botulinum toxin; clostridial neurotoxins

We look forward to their contributions to the journal.

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.

At MDPI we have slightly revised the layout for articles to be published in the 2021 Volume, starting at the end of December 2020. As of today, the article templates available for download on ‘Instructions for Authors’ pages have been updated.

The most noticeable change can be found on the first page of the article, where a left-hand column has been created to include the following front matter elements: (i) the recommended citation style for the article, (ii) the publishing history, (iii) as well as the Creative Commons Attribution license used (iv) a standard note regarding affiliations. At the same time, the extra spacing on the left means the authors’ affiliations are now more clearly set apart than before. Other front matter key elements such as journal logo, article type, article title, authors, abstract and keywords remain unchanged.

The blank column on the left runs through all pages in an article; as a result, the main text is slightly more condensed, which improve reader friendliness for smaller screens. Small figures/tables are aligned on the left with standard indenture, while large figures/tables are centered and covering the full width of the page. The revised layout was applied in the article pictured below, to serve as an example:

1) Information is displayed in the left information bar.