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Instruction for Authors
General information
The Journal of Manipulative and Physiological
Therapeutics (JMPT) is an international peer-reviewed journal dedicated to the advancement of manipulative and physiological therapeutics
and chiropractic health care principles and practice. The journal will consider original manuscripts on issues relevant to its mission
of promoting improvements in patient care, research, and education. Submissions must be original work and not currently under consideration
for publication in another peer-reviewed medium including both paper and electronic formats. The JMPT does not publish articles
containing material that has been reported at length elsewhere. The journal follows the standards as set forth in the Uniform Requirements
for Manuscripts (www.icmje.org).
MANUSCRIPT CATEGORIES
Manuscripts
should fit into one of the following categories (text word limit does not include abstract, tables, or reference word count):
Observational
and experimental investigations
Reports of new research findings into the enhancement factors of health, causal aspects of disease,
and the establishment of clinical efficacies of related diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. These types of studies may include: clinical
trials, intervention studies, cohort studies, case-control studies, observational studies, cost-effectiveness analyses, epidemiologic
evaluations, and studies of diagnostic tests. These reports should follow current and relevant guidelines (eg, CONSORT, MOOSE, QUOROM,
STARD, TREND, etc.) (text word limit, approximately 4000 words)
Systematic reviews and meta-analyses
Assessments of current
knowledge of a particular subject of interest that synthesize evidence relevant to well-defined questions about diagnosis, prognosis,
or therapy with emphasis on better correlation, the demonstration of ambiguities, and the delineation of areas that may constitute hypotheses
for further study. (text word limit, approximately 4000 words)
Clinical guidelines
Succinct, informative, summaries of
official or consensus positions on issues related to health care delivery, clinical practice, or public policy. (text word limit, approximately
2000 words)
Case reports and case series
Case reports reflect accounts of the diagnosis and treatment of unusual, difficult,
or otherwise interesting cases that may have independent educational value or may contribute to better standardization of care for a
particular health problem when correlated with similar reports of others. Case series are retrospective comparative assessments of the
diagnosis and treatment of several cases of a similar condition, ie, the comparative evaluation of two or more (perhaps hundreds) of
case reports. Consent for publication in print and electronic format must be obtained from patients and be made available to the editor
upon request. Authors should include a statement in the text that the patient(s) gave consent to have personal health information published
without divulging personal identifiers. For more information about HIPAA as it relates to obtaining patient consent for publication,
please refer to  http://privacyruleandresearch.nih.gov/faq.asp or your country's legal guidelines. (text word limit, approximately
1500 words)
Technical reports
Reporting and evaluation of new or improved equipment, procedures, or the critical evaluation
of old equipment or procedures that have not previously been critically evaluated. (text word limit, approximately 2000 words)
Editorial
Points of view or relevant information by the editor or authors invited by the editor relating to the purpose of the JMPT. (text
word limit, approximately 1200 words)
Commentary
Essays on matters relating to the clinical, professional, educational,
and/or politicolegal aspects of health care principles and practice and relevant to the mission of the JMPT. (text word limit,
approximately 1500 words)
Letters to the editor
Communications that are directed specifically to the editor that add to
the information base or clarify a deficiency in a recently published paper (must be within the last 4 months) and include relevant references
to substantiate comments. Letters must be accompanied with a signed assignment of copyright. No unidentified letters are accepted for
publication. All letters are subject to editing and abridgement. If a letter is accepted for publication, a blinded copy will be sent
to the author of the article who will have an opportunity to provide a response and new information that will be considered for publication
along with the letter. Direct communication between the writer of a letter and the author of an article should be avoided, because in
the interest of scientific objectivity differences of opinion are best handled by a third party—the editor—who can serve
as an arbitrator if there is a dispute, thus avoiding unnecessary irritations to either party. Also, if deficiencies exist in an article
published in the JMPT, all readers (and the scientific community in general) have a right to be informed of this fact. (text
word limit, 500 words, reference limit 8)
EDITORIAL POLICIES
Authorship
All authors of papers submitted to JMPT must have an intellectual stake in the material presented for publication and must be able to answer for the content of
the entire work. Authors should be able to certify participation in the work, vouch for its validity, acknowledge reviewing and approving
the final version of the paper, acknowledge that the work has not been previously published elsewhere, and be able to produce raw data
if requested by the editor. All authors are required to complete and return an authorship
form.
As stated in the Uniform Requirements (www.icmje.org),
credit for authorship requires the following 1) substantial contributions to conception and design, or acquisition of data, or analysis
and interpretation of data; 2) drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content; and 3) final approval
of the version to be published. Authors should meet conditions 1, 2, and 3. Each author must sign a statement attesting that he or she
fulfills the authorship criteria of the Uniform Requirements and is included on the copyright assignment form. Authors are required to
designate their level of participation of authorship on the authorship form. A change in authorship after submission must be signed by
all authors prior to being considered.
Human subjects
The JMPT endorses the ICMJE guidelines and the Declaration
of Helsinki, and all related conditions regarding the experimental use of human subjects and their informed consent will apply. Projects
that should go through approval from an ethics review board/committee or IRB should clearly include this statement in the Methods section.
Manuscripts that report the results of experimental investigations with human subjects must include a statement that informed consent
was obtained (in writing, from the subject or legal guardian) after the procedure(s) had been fully explained. Written informed consent
for publication in both paper and electronic media needs to be obtained from patients for case reports, case series, and retrospective
designs.
Patient anonymity
It is the authors' responsibility to maintain appropriate records as well as protect patients'
identity. Ethical and legal considerations require careful attention to the protection of the patient's anonymity in case reports and
other publications. Identifying information such as names, initials, actual case numbers, and specific dates must be avoided; identifying
information about a patient's personal history and characteristics should be disguised. Photographs or artistic likenesses of subjects
are publishable only with their written consent or the consent of legal guardian; the signed consent form, giving any special conditions
(ie, eyes blocked off), must accompany manuscript.
Conflict of interest
Conflict of interest exists when an author has
financial or personal interests that may influence his or her actions in regard to the authors' work, manuscript or decisions. Conflicts
of interest that exist, or that are perceived to exist, for individual authors in connection with the content of this paper should be
disclosed to the JMPT in the cover letter to the editor and in the authorship form. In recognition that it may be difficult
to judge material from authors where proprietary interests are concerned, authors should be ready to answer requests from the editor
regarding potential conflicts of interest. The editor makes the final determination concerning the extent of information released to
the public.
Funding sources
Sources of financial support of the project, such as grants, funding sources, equipment,
and supplies, should be clearly stated in the cover letter and in the authorship form. The role of funding organizations, if any, in
the conduct of the study should be described in the Methods section of the manuscript.
Copyright of journal contents
Material
published in the JMPT is covered by copyright. No content published by the JMPT (either in print or electronic) may
be stored or presented on another private site, organization's site, or displayed or reproduced by any other means, without the express
permission of the copyright holder.
Assignment of copyright
All submissions must be accompanied by a properly completed
authorship form, signed by all
authors and by employer if submission represents a "work for hire." Upon such submission, it is accepted by all authors that no further
dissemination of any part of the material contained in the manuscript is permitted, in any manner, without prior written approval from
the editor; nonobservance of this copyright stipulation may result in removal of the submission for publication.
Assignment of copyright
should be faxed to (630) 839-1792 in order to facilitate manuscript processing for peer review. A hard copy of the assignment of copyright
with original ink signatures needs to follow in the mail in order to be accepted for publication. Multiple authors may fax and mail separate
versions of the form (all signatures do not need to be on the same form) however manuscripts will not be processed until all signatures
have been received. Once faxed, hard copies should be sent to:
JMPT Manuscript Processing Department
200 East Roosevelt
Road
Lombard, IL 60148-4583
Permissions
It is the corresponding author's responsibility to secure all copyright permissions
and permission to state names or institutions in the acknowledgements and provide these to the JMPT editorial offices. Illustrations
or content from other publications (print or electronic) must be submitted with written permission from the publisher (and author if
required) and must be acknowledged in the manuscript.
Clinical trial registration
In order to reduce selective reporting
and increase full transparency of reporting of clinical trials, clinical trials should be registered in a public trials registry at or
before the onset of patient enrollment as a condition of consideration for publication. This policy applies to clinical trials starting
enrollment after July 1, 2005. For trials that began enrollment before this date, registration should be completed by September 13, 2005,
before considering the trial for publication. The (ICMJE) defines a clinical
trial as a study that prospectively assigns human subjects to intervention or comparison groups to evaluate the cause-and-effect relationship
between an intervention and a health outcome. Studies designed for other purposes, such as phase 1 trials, are exempt. Trial registration
numbers and the URLs for the registry should be included in the cover letter at the time of submission.
Redundant or Duplicate
Publication
The JMPT does not publish articles containing material that has been reported at length elsewhere. The corresponding
author must include in the cover letter a statement to the editor about all submissions and previous materials that might be considered
to be redundant or duplicate publication of similar work, including if the manuscript includes materials on which the authors have published
a previous report or have submitted a related report to another publication. Copies of the related material may be requested by the editor
in order to assist with the editorial decision of the paper.
If redundant or duplicate publication is attempted or occurs without
proper disclosure to the editor, editorial action will be taken as follows. If it is confirmed that a paper is a duplicate or redundant
publication and is discovered in the prepublication phase, the paper will be rejected, even if an accept notice has been distributed
previously to the authors. If duplicate or redundant publication is confirmed after publication, the paper will be retracted and the
appropriate boards/institutions notified.
Non-compliance with Author Instructions
Authors who do not comply with the
items set forth in these instructions may have the submission returned, rejected, or brought to higher authorities, such as ethics, licensing
or institutional boards for review at the editor's discretion.
EDITORIAL PROCESS
Pre-peer review, and internal review
by editors
To insure that only relevant and appropriate papers are sent to peer review, submitted manuscripts are pre-reviewed
for relevance, appropriate submission format, and basic quality before sending out to peer review. Therefore, reasons for early rejection
may include: the submission does not meet the requirements as stated in the instructions for authors, the work is of poor quality, or
the topic is not relevant to the mission of journal.
The editorial staff read each manuscript and then decide whether to send the
paper to outside reviewers. If a submission is rejected without external review, the author will be notified electronically within 2
to 3 weeks of receipt. Approximately 80% of submitted papers are sent to external peer review, which is made up of usually at least 2
reviewers.
Review process
All manuscripts are subject to blind (without author or institutional identification) critical
review by experts in the related field to assist the editor in determining appropriateness to JMPT objectives, originality,
validity, importance of content, substantiation of conclusions, and possible need for improvement. Manuscripts are considered privileged
communications and should not be retained or duplicated during the review process. Reviewers' comments may be returned with manuscript
if rejected or if strong recommendations for improvement are made. All reviewers remain anonymous.
Rapid review
Rapid
review speeds up the process of peer review and publication. Only manuscripts that are of very high quality that have findings likely
to affect practice immediately will be considered. Priority will be given to large clinical trials and meta-analysis.
Authors who
feel that their research warrants rapid review should email the editor and submit justification regarding the merits of the paper to
substantiate its inclusion for rapid review. The Editor will make the final decision regarding the suitability of a submission for rapid
review and publication. If a paper is not accepted for rapid review, the manuscript may still be submitted through the regular submission
process and timeline.
If a manuscript is accepted for rapid review, it will then be handled through an expedited peer review process
for decision. The results may include acceptance, major revision, minor revision, or rejection. Inclusion in the rapid review process
guarantees neither acceptance of the paper nor promise of rapid publication if accepted. Each decision and paper review will be done
separately. All papers that are selected for rapid review will be processed through peer review.
The expedited review process will
take approximately 15 business days. Authors will be notified about revision no later than 5 weeks after the manuscript is initially
received. If revision is requested, authors of a rapid review submission should return a revised manuscript within 2 weeks of notification.
At this time, a decision will be made for acceptance or rejection. If the manuscript is accepted, it will be scheduled immediately for
publication in the next available issue.
Criteria for editorial decisions
The JMPT can publish only a portion
of all papers submitted each year. Papers are selected based on the strength of the paper in regard to scientific merit and the potential
impact on improving patient care.
Acceptance for publication
Processing of a manuscript for peer review does not imply
acceptance to publish, even though it may be found to be within JMPT editorial objectives. Submissions may receive one of 5
responses from the editor: 1) incomplete or not ready for submission, 2) major revision, 3) minor revision, 4) accept, or 5) reject.
Aside from rejection for uncorrectable faults, a well-compiled manuscript may also be rejected because it adds little new information
to work that was previously published in the literature or addresses a new topic that deserves more in-depth reporting. In these cases,
the editor will usually provide the author of a rejected manuscript recommendations that may be helpful for submission elsewhere.
Post-acceptance copy editing
All manuscripts accepted for publication are subject to copyediting and revision as may be necessary
to ensure clarity, conciseness, correct usage, and conformance to approved style. Almost all papers that are accepted require some editorial
revision before publication. Authors will have the opportunity to approve revisions made during the copy editing process during the reviewing
of the proofs. Editors will work with authors to arrive at agreement when authors do not find the revisions acceptable, but the JMPT
reserves the right to refrain from publishing a manuscript if discussion with the author fails to reach a solution that satisfies the
editors.
Publication scheduling of accepted papers and proofs
Authors will be notified when they can expect to receive
proofs by email. Authors who cannot examine email proofs by the deadline (48 hours of receipt) should email the editor to designate a
colleague who will review proofs.
JMPT e-papers
Starting with the January 2002 issue, JMPT initiated
an electronic paper section in the journal. Electronic papers have their abstract published in the print version of the journal, while
the full-text version of the paper is included on the JMPT web site (www.mosby.com/jmpt).
While the editor will attempt to honor requests to publish or not publish a paper as an E-paper, the editor reserves the right to make
a final decision as to whether a given paper will be published as an E-paper. It is important to note that electronic publication includes
all the same rights and privileges as print publication, including inclusion in indexing agency databases.
Reprints and copies
Authors of papers published in the JMPT are encouraged to make reprints available to interested members of the scientific, academic,
and clinical communities so that the inherent knowledge may be more widely disseminated; a reprint order form will be provided with the
proofs to facilitate ordering quantity reprints. One complimentary copy of the JMPT issue in which an author's work appears
will be provided at no charge to the corresponding author; additional copies, if desired, must be ordered at regular cost directly from
the publisher. Authors are responsible for payment of reprints or additional copies.
Reproductions
The entire content
of the JMPT is protected by copyright, and no part may be reproduced (outside of the fair use stipulation of Public Law 94-553)
by any means without prior permission from the editor or publisher in writing. In particular, this policy applies to the reprinting of
an original article in print or in electronic format, in another publication and the use of any illustrations or text to create a new
work.
Revisions and resubmissions
If the authors have been given the opportunity by the editor to make specific changes
to a manuscript and return it for further consideration, this is considered a "revision." The manuscript will have the same manuscript
number and may be sent out to the same or different reviewers, depending on the needs of the revision. A request for revision does not
imply that the manuscript will be accepted. Manuscripts that are revised and returned may still be rejected.
If the authors have
received a rejection decision but wish the editor to reconsider the decision, this is considered a "resubmission." A new file will be
created, and the paper will receive a new manuscript number. The cover letter must explain that the paper is being resubmitted and substantiated
with explanations for why the paper should be allowed to be resubmitted.
SUBMISSION INFORMATION
Manuscript preparation
and submission
As of 01 May 2005, all manuscripts must be submitted through the Journal of Manipulative and Physiological
Therapeutics online submission and review Web site ( http://ees.elsevier.com/JMPT ). At this site, authors will be guided
through the creation and uploading of the various files.
At the time of submission, authors should send their completed assignment
of copyright form by fax, then mail a hard copy to the journal office. A fax copy of the completed copyright form is required before
a manuscript will be processed.
Submission items include the following as separate items: the cover letter with comments to the editor
(eg, special instructions, suggested reviewers' names and emails), the title page showing author details, the structured abstract, the
blinded manuscript without author details (including manuscript text, references, and table/figure legends), tables, and figures. Note
that original source files, not PDF files, are required. Files should be labeled with appropriate and descriptive file names (e.g., SmithText.doc,
Fig1.tif, Table3.doc). Upload text, tables, and graphics as separate files. Illustrations must be submitted in electronic format. Images
(300 dpi) should be provided in either TIF or EPS format. Do not imbed figures or tables into the text document.
The author should
specify a category designation for the manuscript (original research, case report, etc.) and choose a set of classifications from the
prescribed list provided online. Authors may send queries concerning the submission process, manuscript status, or journal procedures
to the Editorial Office.
Once the submission files are uploaded, the system automatically generates an electronic (PDF) proof, which
is then used for reviewing. All correspondence, including the Editor's decision and request for revisions, will be sent by e-mail.
Authors who are unable to provide an electronic version or have other circumstances that prevent online submission must contact the Editorial
Office prior to submission to discuss alternate options. The Publisher and Editors regret that they are not able to consider submissions
that do not follow these procedures.
Revised manuscripts should be accompanied by a unique file with responses to editor requests
and reviewers' comments. The preferred order of files is as follows: cover letter, response to reviews (revised manuscripts only), manuscript
file(s), table(s), figure(s).
Authors may use Elsevier's Author Gateway ( http://authors.elsevier.com ) to track accepted
articles and set up e-mail alerts to inform you of when an article's status has changed. Answers to questions arising after acceptance
of an article, especially those relating to proofs, are provided after registration of an article for publication.
Recommended
files size
It is recommended that files no greater than 2MB are uploaded during the submissions process.
Manuscript format
Manuscripts must be prepared in accordance with the Declaration of Vancouver "Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical
Journals" (available from the JMPT Editorial Office or from www.icmje.org).
The manuscript should be in double-spaced format. Do not break any words (hyphenate) at the end of any line and do not insert hard page
breaks.
Terminology
Standard spelling and terminology should be used whenever possible. Avoid creating new terms or acronyms
for entities that already exist. Technical terms that are used in statistics should not be used as non-technical terms, such as "random"
(which implies a randomizing device), "normal," "significant" (which implies statistical significance), and "sample."
Units of
Measurement
In most countries the International System of Units (SI) is standard, or is becoming so, and bioscientific journals
in general are in the process of requiring the reporting of data in these metric units. However, insofar as this practice is not yet
universal, particularly in the United States, it is permissible for the time being to report data in the units in which calculations
were originally made, followed by the opposite unit equivalents in parentheses; ie, English units (SI units) or SI units (English units).
Nevertheless, researchers and authors considering submission of manuscripts to the JMPT should begin to adopt SI as their primary
system of measurement as quickly as it is feasible.
Abbreviations and symbols
Use only standard abbreviations for units
of measurement, statistical terms, biological references, journal names, etc. Avoid abbreviations in titles and abstracts. The full term
should precede its abbreviation for the first use in the manuscript, unless it is a standard unit of measurement. For standard abbreviations,
consult the following: 1) Uniform requirements for manuscripts submitted to biomedical journals (Ann Intern Med 1997;126:36-47); 2) American
Medical Association manual of style. 9th ed. Baltimore: Williams & Wilkins; 1997; 3) Scientific style and format, the CBE manual
for authors, editors, and publishers. 6th ed. Cambridge (UK): Cambridge University Press; 1994; 4) O'Connor M, Woodford FP. Writing scientific
papers in English: an ELSE-Ciba Foundation guide for authors. Amsterdam: Elsevier-Excerpta Medica; 1975.
SUBMISSION COMPONENTS
Cover letter
The cover letter should explain why the paper should be published in the JMPT rather than elsewhere
and if the submission is original and not currently under consideration for publication in another peer-reviewed medium. The cover letter
should include a statement of intent to submit to the JMPT. The cover letter may also include any special information regarding
the submission that may be helpful in its consideration for publication.
Title page
The title page should contain the
following article and author information:
Article information:
___ the title of the article (concise, but informative);
___ a short running head of no more than 40 characters (count letters and spaces);
___ the word count for the text (word count excludes
abstract, acknowledgments, figure legends, and references);
___ the number of figures;
___ the number of tables;
___ up
to 5 short phrases in bullet form that emphasize the key learning points of the article
___ a short description of the manuscript
to appear in the JMPT Highlights, consisting of approximately two sentences and of no more than 40 words.
Author information:
___ first name, middle initial, and last name of each author, with highest academic degree(s);
___ title, position of each author
___ names of department(s) and institution(s) to which work should be attributed of each author;
___ for the corresponding author
(responsible for correspondence, proofreading, and reprint requests), the name, email, address, phone, and fax number.
Structured
abstract
The structured abstract should be no more than 250 words. Structured abstracts are required for all original data reports,
reviews of the literature, clinical guidelines, and case reports/series. The abstract should consist of 4 paragraphs, labeled: Purpose,
Methods (includes study design and statistical methods), Results, and Conclusions.
Key words
Provide approximately 4-6
key indexing terms that will assist indexers in cross-indexing your article and that may be published with the abstract. These terms
should come from the Index Medicus Medical Subject Headings (MeSH)
.
Manuscript organization
The text of observational and experimental articles is usually divided into sections with the
headings Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion. Longer articles may need subheadings within some sections to clarify or break
up content. Other types of articles such as case reports, reviews, editorials, and commentaries may need other formats.
Introduction
Clearly state the purpose of the article. Summarize the rationale for the study or observation. Give only pertinent references and do
not review the subject extensively; the introduction should serve only to introduce what was done and why it was done. State the specific
purpose, research objective, or hypothesis tested by the study (typically found at the end of the introduction section).
Methods
The selection and description of participants, technical information, and statistics used should be reported in this section. Describe
the selection of the observational or experimental subjects (patients or experimental animals, including controls). Papers of a specific
study design should follow current and relevant guidelines (e.g., CONSORT, MOOSE, QUOROM, STARD, TREND, etc.) and include appropriate
materials in the text. Identify the methods, apparatus (manufacturer's name and address in parentheses) and procedures in sufficient
detail to allow others to reproduce the work for comparison of results. Give references to establish methods, provide references and
brief descriptions for methods that have been published but may not be well known, describe new or substantially modified methods and
give reasons for using them and evaluate their limitations.
When reporting experiments with human subjects, indicate the procedures
used in accordance with the ethical standards of the Committee on Human Experimentation of the institution in which the research was
conducted and/or were done in accordance with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975. Clearly indicate the ethics review board or IRB that
approved the study. When reporting experiments on animals, indicate whether the institution's or the National Research Council's guide
for the care and use of laboratory animals was followed. Do not use patient names, initials, or hospital numbers or in any manner give
information by which the individuals can be identified. The author may be requested to provide the editor documentation from the ethics
board and methods used to review the work.
The source(s) of support in the form of funds, grants, equipment, or other real goods
should be clearly stated in the Methods section.
Statistics
Describe the statistical methods in enough detail that would
allow a knowledgeable reader with access to the original data to verify the results. Findings should include appropriate indicators of
measurement error or uncertainty, such as confidence intervals.
Examples of statistical details that should be included in the methods
section are: the eligibility of experimental subjects, details about randomization, methods for blinding, complications of treatment,
numbers of observations, dropouts from a clinical trial, the statistical programs used. In the results section, state the statistical
methods used to analyze the results. All statistical terms, abbreviations, and symbols should be defined.
Include numbers of observations
and the statistical significance of the findings when appropriate. Detailed statistical analyses, mathematical derivations, and the like
may sometimes be suitably presented in the form of one or more appendixes.
Results
Present your results in logical sequence
within the text, tables, and figures. Do not repeat findings in multiple places (e.g., do not include the same data in both text and
tables). Emphasize or summarize only important observations, do not discuss findings in this section.
Discussion
The discussion
should emphasize the important aspects of the study and include conclusions that follow from these observations. Do not repeat data presented
in the Results section and do not include information or work that is not directly relevant to the study. State new hypotheses when indicated,
but clearly label them as such. Statements that are unsupported, that generalize, or that over extrapolate the findings should not be
included. Limitations to the study, including bias, should be clearly stated.
Conclusions that may be drawn from the study may be
included in the discussion; however, they may be more appropriately presented in a separate section. The principal conclusions should
be directly linked to the goals of the study. Unqualified statements and conclusions not supported by your data should not be included.
Avoid claiming priority or referring to work that has not been completed or published. State new hypotheses when warranted but clearly
label them as such. Recommendations (for further study, etc), when appropriate, may be included.
Acknowledgments
Acknowledge
only those who have made substantive contributions to the study itself; this includes support personnel such as statistical or manuscript
review consultants, but not subjects used in the study or clerical staff. Clearly state what each contributor has provided. Authors are
responsible for obtaining the written permission (to be included with the submission) that is required from persons, institutions, or
businesses being acknowledged by name because readers may infer their endorsement of the data and conclusions.
Funding sources
and conflicts of interest
Statements about funding sources and conflicts of interests are stated here. If there were no funding
sources or identified conflicts of interest to declare, then this should be clearly stated in this section.
References
Authors are responsible for accurate reference and citation information, especially accuracy of author names, journal titles, volume
numbers, and page numbers. References should be numbered consecutively when they are first used in the text. Reference citation in the
text should be in superscript format and after punctuation (eg, The quick fox jumped over the dog.1). References should be listed in
numeric order (not alphabetically) following the text pages. The original citation number assigned to a reference should be reused each
time the reference is cited in the text, regardless of its previous position in the text: do not assign it another number. References
should not be included in abstracts. References that are only used in tables or figure legends should be numbered in the sequence established
by the first use of the particular table or figure in the text.
Only references that provide support for a particular statement in
the text, tables, and/or figures should be used. Reference or referring to unpublished work should be avoided. Excessive use of references
should be avoided.
Authors are responsible to verify references against the original document and not from reading the abstract alone.
Care should be taken to accurately represent the original work and not misconstrue the original meaning of the paper.
Reference
sources
Using only the abstract, referring to "unpublished observations" and "personal communications" should be avoided. Unpublished
references (submitted but not accepted) should not be listed as references. Manuscripts that are accepted but not yet published may be
included in the references with the designation "in press." The author should obtain written permission to cite these papers and may
be requested by the editor to provide documentation to verify the paper was accepted for publication. For the most part, sources of
information and reference support for a bioscientific paper should be limited to journals (rather than books) because that knowledge
is generally considered more recent and (in the case of refereed journals) more accurate.
Reference style
The style should
be in accordance with that specified by the US National Library of Medicine. Specific examples of correct reference form for journal
articles and other publications can be found at: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/bsd/uniform_requirements.html
The format for
at typical journal article is as follows:
— Last name of author(s) and their initials in capitals separated by a space with
a comma separating each author. (List all authors when 6 or fewer; when 7 or more, list only the first 6 and add et al.)
—
Title of article with first word capitalized and all other words in lower case, except names of persons, places, etc.
— Name
of journal, abbreviated according to Index Medicus http://www.nlm.nih.gov/tsd/serials/lji.html ; year of publication
(followed by a semicolon); volume number (followed by a colon); and inclusive pages of article (with redundant number dropped, ie, 105-10).
Tables
Tables should be numbered as they appear in the text (e.g., Table 1). Identify statistical measures of variation,
such as standard deviation and standard error of mean. If data are used from another source, the author should acknowledge the original
source in the text and include the written permission from the copyright holder to reproduce the material with the submission.
Using
arabic numerals, number each table consecutively (in the order in which they were listed in the text in parentheses) and supply a brief
title to appear at the top of the table above a horizontal line; place any necessary explanatory matter in footnotes at the bottom of
the table below a horizontal line and identify with footnote symbols *,†, ‡, §, ||, ¶, **, ††,
etc.
Do not submit tables as photographs. Avoid as much as possible the use of too many tables in relation to length of the text,
as this may produce difficulties in layout of the pages. Avoid the use of tables that do not fit in the 'portrait' layout. Table contents
and number of tables may be subject to editing.
Figures
Figures should be numbered as they appear in the text (eg, Fig
1). Illustrations (including lettering, numbering and/or symbols) must be of professional quality and of sufficient size so that when
reduced for publication all details will be clearly discernible; rough sketches with freehand or typed lettering are not acceptable.
All illustrations (including x-rays) must be sent as at least 300 dpi resolution in TIF format. Do not place titles or detailed explanations
in the illustration; such information should be given in the figure legends. Original data for graphs or charts may be requested by the
editor if the submitted figure is not clear or of poor quality for printing.
Each figure should be saved using the figure number
in its file name (eg, Fig1) and sent as separate files. Do not imbed images in the manuscript files and do not send in PowerPoint format.
Typically no more than eight figures are acceptable (eg, Fig 1A and Fig 1B are considered two figures).
If photographs of persons
are used, the subjects must not be identifiable or their pictures must be accompanied by signed written permission to publish the photographs.
If a figure has been previously published, acknowledge the original source and submit written permission from the copyright holder
to reproduce the material. Permission is required, regardless of authorship or publisher, except for documents in the public domain.
Articles appear in both the print and online versions of the journal, and wording of the letter should specify permission in all forms
and media. Failure to get electronic permission rights may result in the images not appearing in the paper.
The acceptance of color
illustrations is at the discretion of the editor. Costs of color printing will be incurred by the authors.
Table and figure legends
Type legends for tables and figures at the end of the text after the reference section. Identify each legend with Arabic numerals in
the same manner and sequence as they were indicated in the text in parentheses (ie, Figure 1). Do not type legends within or include
in images.
When symbols, arrows, numbers or letters are used to identify parts of the illustrations, identify and explain each one
clearly in the legend.
Manuscript submission checklist
__ Cover letter from principal or corresponding author
__
Title page including items outlined in instructions
__ Structured abstract (250 word maximum)
__ Manuscript
__ Tables
__ Figures (300 dpi TIFF)
__ Signed assignment of copyright, authorship attribution, conflict of interest and funding statement form
__ Permission to use previously published material and/or permission to use name in acknowledgments and/or to publish photographs of
subjects.
Instructions for authors updated: April 27, 2005
Reviewed by Elsevier legal department: April 27, 2005
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