INFORMATION FOR AUTHORS

Journal of the American Society of Echocardiography usesa Web-based online manuscript submission and reviewsystem. Please visit http://ees.elsevier.com/jase to submit your manuscript electronically. The website guides authors stepwise through the creation and uploading of the various files. Note that original source files, not PDF files, are required. 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 by e-mail.

The Journal will consider for publication suitable articles on topics pertaining to ultrasonic examination of the cardiovascular system or echocardiography. All communications relating to the editorial management of the Journal should be sent to Alan S. Pearlman, MD, FASE.

Copyright Transfer Letters

Statements and opinions expressed in the articles and communications herein are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of the Editor or publisher, and the Editor and publisher disclaim any responsibility or liability for such material. Neither the Editor nor the publisher guarantees, warrants, or endorses any product or service advertised in this publication. Neither do they guarantee any claim made by the manufacturer of such product or service. In accordance with the Copyright Act of 1976, which became effective Jan 1, 1978, the following statement signed by all authors must accompany each manuscript submitted for possible publication:

"The undersigned author(s) transfer all copyright ownership of the manuscript (title of article) to the American Society of Echocardiography, in the event the work is published. The undersigned warrant(s) that the article is original, does not infringe upon any copyright or other proprietary right of any third party, is not under consideration by another journal, and has not been previously published."

Authors will be consulted, when possible, regarding republication of their material. All contributing authors must sign the Copyright Transfer Letter in order to proceed with publication.

U.S. Government Employees can refer to www.elsevier.com/wps/find/authorsview.authors/nihauthorrequest for alternate instructions regarding copyright transfer.

Editorial Policies

Review

All articles are reviewed by 2 or more referees. Acceptance is based on significance, originality, and validity of the material presented. If the article is accepted for publication, editorial revisions may be made to aid clarity and understanding without altering the meaning.

Sections

The following sections are established features of the Journal.
Original investigations
Original, in-depth investigations, related experimental research articles. (See "Preparation of Manuscripts")

Review articles
Concise and comprehensive articles devoted to reviewing a certain area or topic.

Forum
Letters to the editor. Brief letters or notes to the Editor regarding published material or information of timely interest.

Editorial Comment
Brief, substantiated commentary on special subjects.

Special reports
This section will appear periodically when pertinent and will include items of special interest on a particular subject.

Case reports

All case reports in the Journal of American Society of Echocardiography are published only in the web-based electronic version of the Journal. The title, list of authors, and a short abstract (120 words or less) will be included in the print version of the Journal. Thus, a suitable abstract should be included with each submission. Electronic publication permits the display of real-time, dynamic images, and also allows authors to provide more illustrations and color images at no cost. Illustrations that show inherently moving information, such as two-dimensional or color Doppler images, should be presented as video clips. When necessary, still pictures with labels are also permitted as a supplement to the moving images. Video-clips should be submitted as MPG, MOV, AVI, or GIF files. The authors should verify that all video clips take less than a minute to load, and that they play properly. To limit the loading time, the clips should preferably contain only one cardiac cycle, and file size should be less than 1.5 megabytes. Larger clips are permissible with 3-D images.

Case reports are intended to be brief communications; while pertinent teaching points are appropriate, excessive "review of the literature" is not necessary and is counter to the format of a Case Report. Space for publishing Case Report is quite limited, and priority is given to cases that discuss important clinical dilemmas, or very unusual findings, accompanied by excellent images and a concise, relevant discussion.

Preparation of Manuscripts

Only original manuscripts will be considered for publication. Manuscripts must be less than 30 double-spaced pages in length, including figures and tables. Correct preparation of the manuscript by the author will expedite the reviewing and publication procedures. Please note the following requirements and the instructions for online submission at http://ees.elsevier.com/jase.The article, including all tables, should be formatted in Microsoft Word. The use of appropriate subheadings throughout the body of the text (Methods, Results, and Discussion sections) is required. Legends for figures and tables should appear after the reference list. Illustrations must also be submitted electronically as separate files (not embedded). File specifications are listed below in "Illustrations".

Style

Manuscripts must conform to acceptable English usage. Standard abbreviations should be used consistently throughout the article. Unusual or coined abbreviations should be spelled out the first time they appear in the text and followed in parentheses by the abbreviation. Consult the latest editions of the Council of Biology Editors Style Manual, The Chicago Manual of Style by The University of Chicago Press, or the Manual of Style by the AMA for current usage.

Pagination

Begin numbering with the title page as page 1, the summary page as page 2, and continue throughout the text, references, figure legends, and tables. Page numbers should appear in the upper right-hand corner of the pages.

Title page

The title page should include the title, authors' full names, highest earned academic degrees, and institutional affiliations and locations. Designate one author as correspondent (provide address, business and home telephone numbers, and e-mail address) to receive correspondence, galley proofs, and reprint requests.

Abstract/Summary

Each article should be accompanied by an abstract/summary not to exceed 250 words, typed double-spaced on a separate page.

References

References must be numbered serially in the order in which they appear in the text and typed double-spaced on a separate page. Reference list format should conform to "Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals" (Ann Intern Med 1997;126:36- 47). Abbreviations for journal names should conform to those in Cumulated Index Medicus.

EXAMPLES (list all authors when 6 or fewer; when 7 or more,list first 6 and add "et al"):

Format for journals:
Oleske J, Minnefor A, Cooper R Jr, Smith PB, Oswald BR,Atkinson J, et al. Immune deficiency syndrome in children.JAMA 1983;249:2345-9.

Format for books:
Eisen HN. Immunology: an introduction to molecular and cellularprinciples of the immune response. 5th ed. New York:Harper & Row; 1974. p. 406.

Format for chapters:
Fromer PL.Workshop on congestive heart failure. In: BraunwaldE, Mock MB, editors. Congestive heart failure. New York:Grune & Stratton; 1982. p. 1-2.

Unpublished data and personal communications may becited in the text but should not be listed as references.Authors are responsible for the accuracy of their references.

Illustrations

Illustrations should be numbered in the orderof their mention in the text.
Illustrations should be numbered in the order of their mention in the text.
Illustrations must be submitted in electronic format. All images should be at least 5 inches wide. Images should be provided in either TIF or EPS format, per the instructions for online submission at http://ees.elsevier.com/jase. Macintosh or PC is acceptable. Graphics software such as Photoshop and Illustrator (not presentation software such as PowerPoint, CorelDraw, or Harvard Graphics) should be used in the creation of the art. Color images need to be CMYK, at least 300 DPI. Gray scale images should also be at least 300 DPI. Combinations of gray scale and line art should be at least 1200 DPI.

For best possible reproduction, avoid using shading or dotted patterns; if unavoidable, submit this type of illustration in the form of a glossy photograph for best results. Use thick, solid lines and bold, solid type. Place lettering on a white background; avoid reverse type (white lettering on a dark background). Typewritten or freehand lettering is unacceptable. All lettering must be done professionally and should be in proportion to the drawing, graph, or photograph. Do not send original art work, x-ray films, or electrocardiographic strips. Any special instructions regarding sizing should be clearly noted.

If the manuscript is accepted, 1 glossy copy of each illustration must be submitted to the Editorial Office (see mailing address above). Glossies should be marked lightly on the back with the author's last name and figure number and an arrow to indicate the top edge. See Case Reports for instruction regarding illustrations of moving images.

Videos

Electronic publication permits the display of real-time, dynamic images, and also allows authors to provide more illustrations and color images at no cost. Illustrations that show inherently moving information, such as two-dimensional or color Doppler images, should be presented as video clips. When necessary, still pictures with labels are also permitted as a supplement to the moving images. Video-clips should be submitted as MPG, MOV, AVI, or GIF files. The authors should verify that all video clips take less than a minute to load, and that they play properly. To limit the loading time, the clips should preferably contain only one cardiac cycle, and file size should be less than 1.5 megabytes. Larger clips are permissible with 3-D images.

Figure and/or Video Legends

The Figure and/or Video Legend is a list and description of image captions. The list should be typed double-spaced on a separate page and numbered to correspond with each figure or video. If an illustration has been previously published, the legend must give full credit to the original source.

Tables

Tables should be double-spaced throughout, including column heads, data, and footnotes. Each table must be submitted on a separate page. A concise title describing the table's content should be supplied for each table. All columns must carry concise headings describing the data in the column. If a table or any data therein has been previously published, a footnote to the table must give full credit to the original source. Tables should be self-explanatory and should supplement, not duplicate, the text. Type all footnotes immediately below the table and define abbreviations.

Human research

Authors should identify that informed consent was obtained when applicable. Thereby the manuscript should also include the notation that the study was approved by the institutional committee on human research.

Permissions

Direct quotations, tables, or illustrations that have appeared in copyrighted material must be accompanied by written permission for their use from the copyright owner and original author along with complete information as to source. Photographs of identifiable persons must be accompanied by signed releases showing informed consent. 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 online version.

Reprints

Single reprints may be obtained from the author. Reprint order forms will be sent to authors as articles are published.

OPEN ACCESS

This journal offers you the option of making your article freely available to all via the ScienceDirect platform. To prevent any conflict of interest, you can make this choice only after receiving notification that your article has been accepted for publication. The fee of $3,000 excludes taxes and other potential author fees such as color charges. In some cases, institutions and funding bodies have entered into agreement with Elsevier to meet these fees on behalf of their authors. Details of these agreements are available at http://www.elsevier.com/fundingbodies. Authors of accepted articles who wish to take advantage of this option should complete and submit the order form (available at http://www.elsevier.com/locate/openaccessform.pdf). Whatever access option you choose, you retain many rights as an author, including the right to post a revised personal version of your article on your own website. More information can be found here: http://www.elsevier.com/authorsrights.

CHECKLIST

__ Letter of submission
__ Copyright transfer letter (fax to Editorial Office or upload with manuscript)
__ Title page
__ Title of article
__ Full name(s), academic degrees, and affiliations of author( s)
__ Name, address, e-mail address, business and home telephone and fax numbers of author to whom correspondence should be sent
__ Reprint request line
__ Abstract (double-spaced)
__ Article proper (double-spaced)
__ References (double-spaced) on a separate page
__ Legends (double-spaced) on a separate page
__ Tables (double-spaced) on a separate page
__ Illustrations, properly formatted
__ Permission to reproduce published material in all forms and media (fax to Editorial Office)
__ Informed consent to publish recognizable likenesses
__ Statement of humane animal care
Note: Follow instructions for online submission at http://ees.elsevier.com/jase .

Updated September 2010