A thousand splendid suns
2016; Medknow; Volume: 64; Issue: 1 Linguagem: Inglês
10.4103/0301-4738.178160
ISSN1998-3689
Autores Resumo"One could not count the moons that shimmer on her roofs, Or the thousand splendid suns that hide behind her walls." -Josephine Davis It is but rare that a scientific editorial can take the liberty of opening with poetic lines from Josephine Davis' English translation of Saib Tabrizi's poem, "Kabul" written in the 17th century. Allow me to explain: In the recent past, the Indian Journal of Ophthalmology (IJO) has gone from being a bimonthly publication to a monthly one. The entire editorial process now had to go from preparing one issue every 2 months to preparing an issue every month: Deadlines were halved and the entire process needed to be sped up. Doubling the frequency of publication obviously meant twice as many articles and unless the rigorous editorial process was maintained and strict reviewing guidelines were adhered too, there was a lingering doubt if this would adversely affect the quality of papers published. While there are some who feel that using the "impact factor" as the sole measure of a journal's performance is not without shortcomings, it remains, as of today, a reliable yardstick to gauge the quality of a journal. Moreover, in this regard, the IJO has performed well through this transition. Despite nearly doubling the total number of articles published, the impact factor remained nearly unchanged; bearing testament to the fact that even though quantity has increased, the quality has not changed. Which brings me back to "A Thousand Splendid Suns" – in 2015, for the 1st time ever, the IJO received over a thousand manuscripts that were submitted for possible publication in print. This is a record number of submissions in a calendar year for us; but above that, it is a vindication in the high quality of scientific content, editorial excellence, and faith that readers have in the IJO. But, what is important is that we continue to maintain out publishing standards and keep our editorial integrity intact. My editorial team remains my greatest strength, especially Associate Editor, Dr. Chaitra Jayadev and Editorial Assistant, Dr. Radhika Krishnan, who have worked tirelessly to meet deadlines and ensure each issue meets the cut. As we see an increase in submissions each year, we brace ourselves for the challenge that lies ahead, and I am confident that at IJO, as always, science and science alone shall triumph. We begin 2016 with a special issue on diabetic retinopathy, which guest editor Dr. Arup Das has put together. I hope the readers of IJO find this issue engaging and informative.
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