248 M . Bourguignon et J . -M . Bertho : Radioprotection 2024 , 59 ( 4 ), 247 – 249
Radioprotection : a progress report
It has now been eight years since the editorial committee of Radioprotection was renewed . This renewal was accompanied by a reflection on the objectives and areas of interest of the journal , as well as a collective position published in the article titled " What ’ s next in Radioprotection ?" ( Bourguignon et al ., 2017b ). The time has come to take stock of our progress and to look ahead once again .
Radioprotection remains a quarterly journal that publishes around forty articles per year . As you may have noticed , a duo currently leads the editorial committee . This was necessary due to the increase in the number of submissions and the wide diversity of topics covered . In 2023 , we received articles from 31 countries around the world . Thus , 86 % of the published articles are in English and 14 % in French . The acceptance rate for articles is now around 33 %.
Downloads of articles from the website https :// www . radioprotection . org / have seen a significant increase of 400 % over the past five years . This reflects the progress in the quality of our journal , whose two-year impact factor has risen from 0.225 in 2017 to 1.4 in 2023 , moving from the 4th quartile to the 2nd quartile in the " Nuclear Science and Technology " category of scientific journal rankings ( Journal Citation Report by Clarivate Analytics ). This positive evolution is the result of collective efforts , for which we must thank the authors for their excellent scientific contributions and the associate editors and reviewers for their hard work .
Since April 2024 , Radioprotection has been published in total open access ( OA ), with promises of favorable consequences for all authors due to the increased visibility of the articles that will result ( Bourguignon and Bertho , 2024 ). The move to OA has been accompanied by the cessation of paper publication , which no longer seems necessary . The chosen funding model is the " Subscribe to Open " ( S2O ) model , which incurs no cost for authors : the € 1600 processing and publication fees for each article have been eliminated . However , this model assumes that the libraries of scientific organizations pay a small subscription fee (€ 400 / year ) and that there are enough of them to cover the costs of publication for the year to come . We appeal for your support to ensure the sustainability of OA in the future .
Among the topics addressed , post-nuclear accident radiological protection and medical radiological protection are the two main areas of interest . However , the journal Radioprotection remains open to publishing articles in various fields of radiological protection , all of which face challenges : epidemiology , fundamental radiobiology , biological and physical dosimetry , radiotoxicology , ecotoxicology , and environmental radiological protection , not to mention the upcoming evolution of radiological protection doctrine and the recommendations of the ICRP ( Clement et al ., 2022 ).
Among the most read or cited recent articles , those addressing the post-accident situation ( Bertho et al ., 2022 : Swartz et al ., 2022 : Thu Zar et al ., 2022 : Ando et al ., 2023 : Takada and Schneider , 2023 ), medical radiological protection ( Benderitter et al ., 2021 : Cosset , 2022 : Nguyen et al ., 2022 ), radiobiology and radiopathology ( Foray et al ., 2021 : Rump et al ., 2022 ), artificial intelligence ( Andresz et al ., 2022 ), and the assessment of the dose-effect relationship ( Laurier et al ., 2023 ) can be highlighted .
Several avenues for improvement for Radioprotection have been identified . Continuing to publish in total OA without costs for authors is imperative for the future . Increasing the number of articles published each year is under consideration . Potentially introducing a template for articles would improve their presentation during the " forthcoming " waiting phase , as articles are already indexed in databases upon electronic publication . However , all of this requires financial support from libraries and institutions . Let us also recall the already identified needs concerning : – the mechanisms of action of ionizing radiation at the molecular , cellular , and tissue levels , particularly research in radiobiology on emerging methods such as Flash radiotherapy , mini-beam radiotherapy , and the variability of individual responses to ionizing radiation and dose repetition ;
– the health effects documented by epidemiological studies , especially those based on targeted cohorts identified through the use of biomarkers ;
– the evolution of the radiological protection system , particularly the assessment of risks in medicine based on absorbed dose , and considering combined exposures to various genotoxic agents . Your contributions are welcome in the journal Radioprotection .
Références
Ando R , Koyama Y , Kobayashi T , Sasaki D , Akimoto N , Schneider T , Lochard J , Kanai Y . 2023 . Report on the 24th Fukushima Dialogue “ Creating the Future of Fukushima Together With The Next Generation ”. Radioprotection 58 ( 3 ), 161 – 167 . https :// doi . org / 10.1051 / radiopro / 2023021 .
Andresz S , Zéphir A , Bez J , Karst M , Danieli J . 2022 . Artificial intelligence and radiation protection . A game changer or an update ? Radioprotection 57 ( 2 ), 157 – 164 . https :// doi . org / 10.1051 / radiopro / 2022004 .
Benderitter M , Herrera Reyes E , Benadjaoud MA , Vanhavere F , Impens N , Mayerhofer-Sebera U , Hierath M , Jourdain JR , Frija G , Repussard J . 2021 . MEDIRAD formulation of science-based recommendations for medical radiation protection : A stakeholder forum survey . Radioprotection 56 ( 4 ), 275 – 285 . https :// doi . org / 10.1051 / radiopro / 2021030 .
Bertho JM , Gabillaud-Poillion F , Reuter C , Riviere O . 2022 . Comparative study of nuclear post-accident management doctrines in Europe and North America . Radioprotection 57 ( 1 ), 9 – 16 . https :// doi . org / 10.1051 / radiopro / 2022002 .
Bourguignon M , Bérard P , Bertho JM , Farah J , Mercat C , Comité éditorial de Radioprotection . 2017a . Radioprotection : quel avenir ? Radioprotection 52 ( 1 ), 13 – 20 . https :// doi . org / 10.1051 / radiopro / 2017007 .