Announcements

We are pleased to inform you that Viruses (ISSN: 1999-4915) has received an updated CiteScore of 7.1, an increase of 7.57% compared with the 2021 metric. The 2022 CiteScore™ was released recently, making an assessment of the scientific influence of journals in the 2019 to 2022 period.

Viruses CiteScore ranks as follows:

• Q1 (74 out of 304 journals) in the “Infectious Diseases” category;
• Q2 (29 out of 75 journals) in the “Virology” category.

For more journal statistics, please visit https://www.mdpi.com/journal/viruses/stats.

Excellent performance is inseparable from the support and dedication of all journal editors, reviewers, authors, and readers. We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you who have contributed to the journal.

MDPI journals will be attending the 42nd annual meeting of the American Society for Virology as an exhibitor. This meeting will be held in Athens, Georgia, USA from 24 to 28 June 2023.

The American Society for Virology (ASV) is a wonderful community that brings together virologists from all areas of the field. As a result, the annual meetings are rich in diverse scientific offerings and they can be quite large (sometimes over 1600 attendees). This conference is hosted by the University of Georgia and held at the Classic Center; the scientific program will include symposia, concurrent workshops, poster sessions, exhibits, and special events. Professional development activities and social events will be interspersed throughout the meeting.

The following MDPI journals will be represented:

• Biomedicines;
• Life;
• Viruses;
• Cells;
• Vaccines;
• Veterinary Sciences;
• Microorganisms;
• CIMB;
• Pathogens;
• TropicalMed;
• Zoonotic Diseases;
• COVID.

If you are attending this conference, please feel free to start a conversation with us. Our delegates look forward to meeting you in person and answering any questions you may have. For more information about the conference and our booth, please visit: https://asv.org/asv2023/.

On 7 April 2023—World Health Day, the World Health Organization (WHO) will observe its 75th anniversary. In 1948, countries of the world came together and founded the WHO to promote health, keep the world safe, and serve the vulnerable, so that everyone, everywhere, can attain the highest level of health and well-being. The WHO’s 75th anniversary is an opportunity to look back at public health successes that have improved quality of life over the last seven decades. It is also an opportunity to motivate action to tackle the health challenges of today and tomorrow. In order to encourage everyone to understand health and pay attention to health, we have also curated a list of publications on topics related to universal health coverage, healthy diet, and mental health. We also want to remind everyone that all research published in MDPI journals is available in an open access format, allowing practitioners, policy makers, and people around the world to access the latest scientific knowledge to build upon and share. Although we still have a long way to go to achieve universal health, this day also provides an opportunity to celebrate the progress made and inspire further action toward a more just and equitable world. Join us on a journey at MDPI to achieve Health for All.

• The Antioxidant Potential of the Mediterranean Diet as a Predictor of Weight Loss after a Very Low-Calorie Ketogenic Diet (VLCKD) in Women with Overweight and Obesity

  Antioxidants 2023, 12(1), 18; https://doi.org/10.3390/antiox12010018

• Effectiveness of Non-Contact Dietary Coaching in Adults with Diabetes or Prediabetes Using a Continuous Glucose Monitoring Device: A Randomized Controlled Trial

  Healthcare 2023, 11(2), 252; https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare11020252

• The Association between Advanced Liver Fibrosis and Mortality Is Modified by Dietary Quality among Korean Adults: Results from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey with Mortality Data

  Nutrients 2023, 15(6), 1501; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15061501

• Physical Exercise and Diet: Regulation of Gut Microbiota to Prevent and Treat Metabolic Disorders to Maintain Health

  Nutrients 2023, 15(6), 1539; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15061539

• Modelling and Prediction of the Spread of COVID-19 in Cameroon and Assessing the Governmental Measures (March–September 2020)

  COVID 2021, 1(3), 622-644; https://doi.org/10.3390/covid1030052

• SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Health Care Workers of Trieste (North-Eastern Italy), 1 October 2020–7 February 2022: Occupational Risk and the Impact of the Omicron Variant

  Viruses 2022, 14(8), 1663; https://doi.org/10.3390/v14081663

• Vaccination Coverage during Childhood and Adolescence among Undergraduate Health Science Students in Greece

  Children 2022, 9(10), 1553; https://doi.org/10.3390/children9101553

• Determinants of Equity in Coverage of Measles-Containing Vaccines in Wales, UK, during the Elimination Era

  Vaccines 2023, 11(3), 680; https://doi.org/10.3390/vaccines11030680

• Sex Differences in Substance Use, Prevalence, Pharmacological Therapy, and Mental Health in Adolescents with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

  Brain Sci. 2022, 12(5), 590; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci12050590

• Impact on Students of the Act–Belong–Commit Mentally Healthy Schools Framework

  Children 2023, 10(3), 548; https://doi.org/10.3390/children10030548

• Psychological Health and Drugs: Data-Driven Discovery of Causes, Treatments, Effects, and Abuses

  Toxics 2023, 11(3), 287; https://doi.org/10.3390/toxics11030287

• Characterizing Touch Discrimination Impairment from Pooled Stroke Samples Using the Tactile Discrimination Test: Updated Criteria for Interpretation and Brief Test Version for Use in Clinical Practice Settings

  Brain Sci. 2023, 13(4), 533; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci13040533

Conference: 8th European Congress of Virology 2023
Date: 4–7 May 2023
Location: Gdańsk, Poland

MDPI will be attending the 8th European Congress of Virology 2023 (ECV 2023) as an exhibitor, and we welcome researchers from different backgrounds to visit and share their latest ideas with us.

This conference is organized by the European Society for Virology. ECV 2023 will be a great opportunity for European virologists representing various fields of research to meet, present their results, and discuss all the developments in virology that have taken place during this unusual time. It will also be a great opportunity to meet friends, renew old acquaintances, and establish new collaborations. Although coronavirus studies will undoubtedly be one of the leading subjects at ECV 2023, it is important to have all research areas represented, including basic, clinical, veterinary, and plant virology. 

The following MDPI journals will be represented:

• Viruses;
• Microorganism;
• Vaccines;
• Pathogens;
• Biomedicines;
• Veterinary Science;
• Immuno;
• COVID.

If you are planning to attend this conference, please do not hesitate to start an online conversation with us. Our delegates look forward to meeting you in person and answering any questions that you may have. For more information about the conference, please visit the following website: https://www.eusv-congress.eu/.

The 2023 American Society for Microbiology Annual Meeting (ASM Microbe 2023) will be held in Houston, USA, from 15 to 19 June 2023. This annual meeting is the largest gathering of microbiologists in the world, and it is expected that nearly 8,000 professionals from all over the world will attend the meeting. Founded in 1899, the American Society for Microbiology (ASM) is the oldest and largest single life science society in the world, consisting of more than 50,000 scientists and health professionals, of which more than one-third of the members are from countries and regions outside the United States. The mission of the American Society for Microbiology is to promote and advance the science of microbiology.

Topics include:

• Disaster Microbiology;
• Emerging Infections – What is the next pandemic? (Focus on Nipah and Marburg);
• Natural Product Discovery and Synthesis;
• Combating the Climate Crisis with Critters: Microbial Carbon Capture;
• Powering the Future: Applied Microbiology in the Energy Industry;
• Equity and Access in Laboratory Diagnostics;
• Microbiome Management in a Changing World.

The following MDPI journals will be represented:

• Microorganisms;
• Journal of Fungi;
• Viruses;
• Applied Biosciences;
• MPs;
• IJMS;
• Vaccines;
• Fermentation;
• Diversity;
• Metabolites;
• Biomolecules;
• Antibiotics;
• Pathogens;
• Life.

If you are attending this conference, please feel free to start an online conversation with us. Our delegates look forward to meeting you at booth number #2504 in person and answering any questions you may have. For more information about the conference and our virtual booth, please visit the following link: https://asm.org/Events/ASM-Microbe/Home.

We are pleased to announce that Prof. Dr. Juan Carlos de la Torre has been appointed Associate Editor of the Section “Viral Immunology, Vaccines, and Antivirals” in Viruses (ISSN 1999-4915).

Name: Prof. Dr. Juan Carlos de la Torre  

Affiliation: Department of Immunology and Microbiology IMM-6, Scripps Research, 10466 North Torrey Pines Road, La Jolla, CA 92037, USA

Interests: molecular, cell biology and pathogenesis of mammarenaviruses; virus-host cell interactions; antivirals; live attenuated vaccines

Homepage: https://www.scripps.edu/delatorre/research.html

Prof. Dr. Juan Carlos de la Torre is a Professor at the Department of Immunology and Microbiology at Scripps Research, Las Jolla, CA, USA. He obtained his Ph.D. in molecular biology and virology from the Universidad Autonoma de Madrid, Spain, in 1985. After conducting a postdoctoral research training with Dr. John Holland (UCSD) on evolution of RNA viruses, and subsequently with Dr. Michael Oldstone (Scripps Research) on viral pathogenesis, he joined the Scripps Research faculty in 1996. His research focuses on the molecular, cell biology and pathogenesis of mammarenaviruses, as well as the development of strategies, antivirals, and vaccines, to combat human pathogenic mammarenaviruses. Several mammarenaviruses cause hemorrhagic fever (HF) disease in humans and pose important public health problems in their endemic regions. In addition, the worldwide-distributed prototypic mammarenavirus LCMV is a neglected human pathogen. There are no FDA-licensed mammarenavirus vaccines and current anti-mammarenaviral therapy is limited to an off-label use of ribavirin whose efficacy remains controversial. His laboratory pioneered the development of mammarenavirus reverse genetics that has provided investigators with a novel and powerful approach for the investigation of mammarenavirus replication, gene expression, assembly and budding, as well as virus-host cell factor interactions that determine the infection outcome. These advances in mammarenavirus genetics also allow investigators to identify and characterize novel antiviral drugs, as well as implement novel vaccine platforms to combat human pathogenic mammrenaviruses.

The following is a short Q&A with Prof. Dr. Juan Carlos de la Torre, who shared his vision for the journal with us, as well as his views of the research area and Open Access publishing:

1. What appealed to you about the journal that made you want to take the role as its Associate Editor?

I have been serving as a reviewer for Viruses for some time and the scope of the journal, the overall quality of the papers being submitted there, as well as their review process, fit very well with my scientific interests and views about scientific publication.

2. What is your vision for the journal?

Viruses should focus on providing a publishing space for high-quality publications covering diverse areas of virology, while ensuring reasonable publication expenses for the authors and that the review process is timely.

3. What does the future of this field of research look like?

I think the future of virology will involve multidisciplinary collaborations, including large scale collaborative efforts. The combined expertise of different laboratories coordinated into effective collaborations can address complex problems in a timely manner that are beyond the capabilities of any single laboratory. This will pose new challenges for publication in terms of the mechanisms that will be implemented to appropriately recognize the contributions of each group and individuals.

4. What do you think of the development of Open Access in the publishing field?

In short, I am 100% in favor of Open Access in the publishing field.

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 newjournal-committee@mdpi.com.

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 Prof. Dr. Enzo Tramontano has been appointed as the Associate Editor of the Section “Viral Immunology, Vaccines, and Antivirals” in Viruses (ISSN: 1999-4915).

Name: Prof. Dr. Enzo Tramontano

Affiliation: Chair, Department of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Cagliari, Cittadella Universitaria di Monserrato SS554, Monserrato, 09042 Cagliari, Italy

Interests: virology; antiviral drugs; drug development; endogenous retroviruses; viral escape of innate immunity

Homepage: https://unica.it/unica/page/it/enzo_tramontano

Prof. Dr. Enzo Tramontano is a Professor of microbiology and Chair of the Department of Life and Environmental Sciences at the University of Cagliari (Italy), and is currently the Vice-President of the Italian Society for Virology (SIV-ISV). His research activities focus on the i) discovery and development of antiviral agents; ii) understanding the molecular mechanism of innate immunity viral evasion; iii) study of the expression of retroviral sequences stably integrated into human genomes to explore their physiological and pathological role.

The following is a short Q&A with Prof. Dr. Enzo Tramontano, who shared his vision for the journal with us, as well as his views of the research area and Open Access publishing:

1. What appealed to you about the journal that made you want to take the role as its Associate Editor?

It is a relatively new, well-respected international scientific journal with a dynamic Editor-in-Chief and a strong and diversified Editorial Board. I believe it will be an exciting task.

2. What is your vision for the journal?

The journal should be a platform of excellence for virology research, providing cutting-edge high-quality research papers and accurate review articles focused on prominent topics. In addition, I believe it must also contribute to inspiring a new generation of virologists with a passion for questions and discoveries, as well as the scientific rigor for investigating them.

3. What does the future of this field of research look like?

Viruses are an essential component of our planet. The COVID-19 pandemic has reminded us how they may impact our daily life, but their role far exceeds their pathological effects. Virology is a rising field in which new basic knowledge may lead to many novel technological advances, as it has already been proven historically.

4. What do you think of the development of Open Access in the publishing field?

The Open Access policy addresses the need of improving the diffusion of scientific information, speeding up technological innovation and boosting the benefits of public investment in research. Open Access may also improve the impact of science outside the scientific community, reaching a wider audience on relevant topics.

We wish Prof. Dr. Enzo Tramontano every success in his new position, and we look forward to his contributions to the journal.

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.