At the XXXII Congresso Brasileiro de Pneumologia e Tisiologia (XXXII Brazilian Congress on Pulmonology and Phthisiology), held in the city of Salvador, the General Assembly of the Sociedade Brasileira de Pneumologia e Tisiologia (SBPT, Brazilian Society of Pulmonology and Phthisiology) approved changes to the statutes of the society. These changes have a direct impact on the workings of the Jornal Brasileiro de Pneumologia (JBP, Brazilian Journal of Pulmonology). From now on, the responsibility of publishing the journal will no longer lie with the Communications Director. Instead, the holder of newly-created position of JBP Editor will now be charged with this duty. In addition, the journal will now be run in accordance with the JBP regulations, which were created, after arduous debate, by the current and former administrations of the SBPT. Although these changes may seem merely bureaucratic in nature, they represent, in fact, an important step in modernizing and perfecting not only the journal but the SBPT itself.

The SBPT directors, as well as those involved in the production of the JBP, have, over the last few years, become increasingly convinced that, in order to have a journal with scientific impact and rapid growth, it is necessary to establish a structure that is more complex, more professional and less subject to external factors generated in the daily routine of SBPT members. The great enthusiast and defender of this work ethic was my predecessor, Dr. Geraldo Lorenzi-Filho, to whom the JBP owes a great debt.

In keeping with this new dynamic, the JBP Editor will, from now on, dedicate himself exclusively to the journal, being assured a term in office of at least four years. Although still answerable to the SBPT directorship, the JBP Editor is guaranteed the independence required to defend the interests of the journal. In defining and developing his role, he will be aided by the Associate Editors, who will soon become familiar with the workings of the entire process. The process of selecting a new JBP Editor will follow the example of the major international journals. After wide distribution of an announcement, a commission composed of the SBPT directors and former editors of the journal will, after reviewing the résumés and proposals of the applicants, choose the new Editor from among the qualified candidates.

The JBP, previously known simply as the Jornal de Pneumologia (Journal of Pulmonology), has always been an important link between the SBPT and its associates. Since 1975, together with the Congressos Brasileiros de Pneumologia e Tisiologia (Brazilian Congresses on Pulmonology and Phthisiology) the journal constitutes one of the principal means of communication between the society and its members. The journal, through its review articles, case reports, original articles, supplements and release of Consensus statements, provides a constant source of information for keeping its readers current. Recognition of the level of quality achieved by the journal led to its being indexed in the Literatura Latinoamericana y del Caribe en Ciencias de la Salud (LILACS, Latin American and Caribbean Health Sciences Literature) database and in SciELO Brazil, where it is classified as Qualis A Nacional (National Quality A) by the institution Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES, Coordination of the Advancement of Upper-Level Personnel).

In recent years, the volume of Brazilian scientific production has increased considerably(1). From 1997 to 2000, Brazilian scientists published 34,274 articles in Institute for Scientific Information (ISI)-indexed journals. The number of students receiving their Masters or Doctorate in 1990 was 5579 and 1410, respectively. By 2000, these numbers had risen to 18,374 and 5344(1).

The growing Brazilian scientific production creates the need for adequate vehicles through which to publish. Within this context, the JBP takes on added importance. From this perspective, the JBP can therefore be seen as an asset, belonging not only to the members of the SBPT but also to all Brazilian researchers working in the field of respiratory medicine.

The intense competition of these modern times demands that professionals and institutions remain in a state of constant evolution. In order to carry out its mission, the JBP will soon be forced to undergo minor modifications. Online submission of articles is now in the implementation phase and, after a transition phase, will become the exclusive means of submitting an article for publication in the journal. This will streamline process of review and acceptance of articles considerably, facilitating the activities of the secretaries and allowing the journal to become, as soon as possible, a monthly publication.

The much desired indexing for MEDLINE, the database of the National Library of Medicine, and in the ISI system are historic milestones that all of those involved with the JBP continue to pursue and that will very likely be reached in the near future. To that end, we are constantly attempting to match the standards of our journal to those of the international norms. This fact should not be a cause for concern since clinicians continue to keep themselves current through absorbing not only the most up-to-date data contained in the original articles but also the review articles written on pertinent themes, the interesting case reports and, naturally, the supplements targeted specifically at congresses and reviews of relevant topics. It should be stated that, with this objective in mind, the SBPT will still make available to its associates the Revista de Casos Clínicos (Journal of Clinical Cases), as well as the Pneumo-Roms and online courses via the MedCenter Educa platform.

For the JBP to maintain its rate of growth, we will count on the participation of the readership. We sincerely request that researchers, whether working with patients or experimental models, submit their original articles to the JBP. It is well known that this type of study constitutes the backbone of any valued scientific publication. Although we recognize the fact that, at the moment, there are foreign periodicals that are more attractive and have higher impact factors, we would like to remind such authors that our journal now makes English-language versions of all published texts available on the Internet, at no cost to the author.

To our colleagues working in clinical practice, who may encounter illnesses that are rare or present educational peculiarities, we ask that they send us their descriptions of such cases in the form of case reports. In the event that the Editorial Board does not approve a given case report for publication in the JBP, the text will be submitted to analysis of its potential for release in other SBPT publications.

To those tireless and anonymous laborers, the reviewers, we kindly request that deadlines for rulings and correspondence be met. Otherwise, we will not realize a full return on the investment made in installing the system of online submission of articles.

The process of attempting to make the JBP a scientific periodical of international status was set in motion 30 years ago by Prof. Dr. Manuel Lopes dos Santos, its first editor. Since then, the baton has passed through many a distinguished hand and has now been handed off to a new runner. However, this is an enterprise that involves too much work for one man alone. In the coming years, I will depend upon the cooperation of the Associate Editors, members of the Editorial Board and all of the JBP readers who also believe that, in the words of Edgar Allan Poe:

"Those who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night."

José Antônio Baddini Martinez
Editor Jornal Brasileiro de Pneumologia

Reference

1. de Meis L, Velloso A, Lannes D, Carmo MS, de Meis C. The growing competition in Brazilian science: rites of passage, stress and burnout. Braz J Med Biol Res 2003; 36:1135-41.