Inflammation stands at the centre of a range of natural and pathological processes, such as ageing, wound healing, infection, arthritis, autoimmune disease, cardiovascular disease, cancer, and the inflammatory response to trauma or surgery. It is well accepted that inflammation, in the right place and at the right time, is at the center of a healthy host response to natural or man-made stresses. However, systemic or runaway inflammation is pathological and it is incumbent to understand better how the inflammatory process is curbed, either naturally or with intervention. We invite authors to submit original research articles as well review articles on strategies to curb inflammation in the following three areas (priority will be given to studies underpinned with plausible mechanisms of action):

• Spontaneous resolution
  • Much can be learnt from self-resolving arthritides and other relapsing/remitting syndromes (e.g., gout, spondyloarthritis, and autoinflammatory syndromes), for which detailed anti-inflammatory pathways have been described. Such pathways are exemplified but not limited to:
    • Anti-inflammatory cytokines (e.g., IL-10, transforming growth factor (TGF) beta)
    • Acute phase proteins (e.g., alpha 1 antitrypsin, hemopexin, haptoglobin, and adiponectin)
    • Glucocorticoids (e.g., cortisol)
    • Neuromediators (e.g., norepinephrine, acetylcholine)
    • Lipid mediators (e.g., lipoxin, resolvin, and maresin)
• Resolution in the context of chronic inflammation
  • Curbing inflammation can be a challenge in the setting of chronic inflammation or nonhealing wounds. Treatment approaches are invited in the context of:
    • Arthritis
    • Autoimmune conditions
    • Inflammatory bowel disease
    • Nonhealing wounds (e.g., diabetes)
• Attenuating the systemic inflammatory response
  • A systemic inflammatory response may arise in critical care heart surgery patients. Priority targets:
    • Anti-inflammatory treatments for the systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) in trauma victims (e.g., burns, hemorrhage, and ischemia-reperfusion injury)
    • Pharmacological or circuit modifications strategies to attenuate the systemic inflammatory response to heart surgery
    • Predisposing factors (e.g., genetic or comorbid factors) that place patients at increased risk of systemic inflammation

Before submission authors should carefully read over the journal's Author Guidelines, which are located at http://www.hindawi.com/journals/iji/guidelines/. Prospective authors should submit an electronic copy of their complete manuscript through the journal Manuscript Tracking System at http://mts.hindawi.com/submit/journals/iji/curb/ according to the following timetable: