Letter from the Editor

For the past few years, the number of papers submitted for publication to EMHJ annually has hovered around the 300 mark. For example, in 2003 we received 280 manuscripts and in 2004 we received 304. Of these, 149 and 168 were accepted respectively giving acceptance rates of 530/0 and 55%. In 2005, however, an unprecedented number of papers were submitted for publication -515 manuscripts -which represents a 69% increase. This clearly demonstrates the growing prominence of the Journal which is encouraging to note. Of interest is the distribution of papers with regard to country. In 2005, as in previous years, Islamic Republic of Iran ranked as the leading contributing country with 38% of the total submissions. It was followed by Egypt with 11%, Saudi Arabia with 7% and Jordan with 6%. It is gratifying to see that close after these, with 4% of the submissions each, came Iraq and Sudan, two countries that have experienced much hardship and conflict and yet have still managed to carry out research.