An International Journal for Scientific Research into the Environment and its Relationship with Humankind
Guide for Authors
Submission to this journal proceeds totally online. Use the following guidelines to prepare your article. Via the homepage of this journal
http://ees.elsevier.com/stoten you will be guided stepwise through the creation and uploading of the various files. The
system automatically converts source files to a single Adobe Acrobat PDF version of the article, which is used in the peer-review process.
Please note that even though manuscript source files are converted to PDF at submission for the review process, these source files are
needed for further processing after acceptance. All correspondence, including notification of the Editor's decision and requests for
revision, takes place by e-mail and via the author's homepage, removing the need for a hard-copy paper trail.
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
BEFORE SUBMISSION.
1. Submission of a paper implies that it has not been published previously, that it is not under consideration
for publication elsewhere, and that if accepted it will not be published elsewhere in the same form, and/or similar content, in English
or in any other language, without the written consent of the Publisher. By the same token, papers previously published in proceedings
or any other journal in any other language should not be submitted without significant modification.
2. Manuscripts submitted under
multiple authorship are reviewed on the assumption that all listed authors concur with the submission and that a copy of the final manuscript
has been approved by all authors and tacitly or explicitly by the responsible authorities in the laboratories where the work was carried
out.
3. It is understood that with submission of this article the authors have complied with the institutional policies governing
the humane and ethical treatment of the experimental subjects, and that they are willing to share the original data and materials if
so requested.
4. Conflict of Interest/Full Disclosure: To allow scientists, the public and policy makers to make more informed judgements
about published research, Science of the Total Environment adopts a strong policy on conflicts of interest and disclosure. Authors should
acknowledge all sources of funding and any direct financial benefits that could result from publication. Editors likewise require reviewers
to disclose current or recent association with authors and any other special interest in this work.
Types of contribution Full papers reporting original and previously unpublished work.
Short Communications. A brief communication
of urgent matter or the reporting of preliminary findings to be given expedited publication.
Letters to the Editor. A written
discussion of papers published in the journal. Letters are accepted on the basis of new insights on the particular topic, relevance to
the published paper and timeliness.
Reviews. Critical evaluation of existing data, defined topics or emerging fields of
investigation, critical issues of public concern, sometimes including the historical development of topics. Those wishing to prepare
a review should first consult the Editors or Associate Editors concerning acceptability of topic and length.
Scientific Commentary.
Opinionated exposition on an important scientific issue or event designed to stimulate further discussion in a broader scientific forum.
Special Issues. Proceedings of symposia, workshops and/or conferences will be considered for publication as a special issue.
An Editor or Associate Editor should be contacted early in the conference planning process to get approval and for guidelines on special
issues of the journal.
Book Reviews will be included in the Journal on a range of relevant books which are not more than
two years old. Book reviews are handled by the Journal Editors. Unsolicited reviews will not usually be accepted, but suggestions for
appropriate books for review may be sent to one of the Editors.
Page Charge: None
Manuscript Page Limit There
is no restriction on the number of pages but brevity of papers is greatly encouraged. The length of a paper should be commensurate with
the scientific information being reported. In particular, the introductory material should be limited to a few paragraphs and results
presented in figures should not be repeated in tables.
If you are not able to submit your paper to STOTEN electronically please contact our Editorial Office at stoten@umich.edu for further
instructions on how to submit by e-mail. STOTEN no longer considers hardcopy submissions.
Submission of an article is understood
to imply that the article is original and is not being considered for publication elsewhere. Extended abstracts already published in
other journals or proceedings will not be accepted for publication. Upon acceptance of the article by the journal, the author(s) will
be asked to transfer the copyright of the article to the publisher. This transfer will ensure the widest possible dissemination of information.
Names and contact information for potential reviewers: All authors must suggest five suitable reviewers for their paper
upon submission (please include correct e-mail addresses). The suggested referees should not be a colleague, a close collaborator or
in the same institutional location or in the same country as the author(s). The suggested reviewers should not have published with the
author in the last five years.
All questions arising after acceptance of the manuscript, especially those relating to proofs,
should be directed to: Science of the Total Environment, Editorial Department, Elsevier Scientific Publishers Ireland Ltd., Elsevier
House, Brookvale Plaza, East Park, Shannon, Co. Clare, Ireland. Tel. +353 61 709158, Fax +353 61 709114, E-mail: authorsupport@elsevier.com.
US National Institutes of Health (NIH) voluntary posting (" Public Access") policy Elsevier facilitates author
response to the NIH voluntary posting request (referred to as the NIH "Public Access Policy"; see http://www.nih.gov/about/publicaccess/index.htm)
by posting the peer-reviewed author's manuscript directly to PubMed Central on request from the author, 12 months after formal publication.
Upon notification from Elsevier of acceptance, we will ask you to confirm via e-mail (by e-mailing us at NIHauthorrequest@elsevier.com)
that your work has received NIH funding and that you intend to respond to the NIH policy request, along with your NIH award number to
facilitate processing. Upon such confirmation, Elsevier will submit to PubMed Central on your behalf a version of your manuscript that
will include peer-review comments, for posting 12 months after formal publication. This will ensure that you will have responded fully
to the NIH request policy. There will be no need for you to post your manuscript directly with PubMed Central, and any such posting is
prohibited.
Manuscripts Manuscripts should be written in English and it is the responsibility of each author to provide
a grammatically correct manuscript for review. American or British English usage is accepted, but not a mixture of the two. Authors
whose native language is not English are strongly advised to have their manuscripts checked by an English-speaking colleague or use the
service of a professional English editor of technical reports prior to submission. Papers may not be sent out for review and may be rejected
if they are poorly written in English.
The Abstract should be single-spaced but the rest of the manuscript should use double spacing
throughout. Every page of the manuscript, including the title page, references, tables, etc. should be numbered. However, in the text
no reference should be made to page numbers; if necessary, one may refer to sections. Underline words that should be in italics, and
do not underline any other words. Avoid excessive usage of italics to emphasize part of the text.
The text must be line numbered
and will be used in structuring the reviewers' comments.
Manuscripts in general should be organised in the following order: •
Title (should be clear, descriptive and not too long) • Name(s) of author(s) • Complete postal address(es) of affiliations •
Full telephone number, fax number and e-mail address of the corresponding author • Present address(es) of author(s) if
applicable • Complete correspondence address to which the proofs should be sent • Abstract: The abstract should be clear,
descriptive and not longer than 400 words • Key words (indexing terms) normally 3-6 items • Introduction • Material
studied, area descriptions, methods, techniques, quality assurance/quality control program, etc. • Results • Discussion •
Conclusion (if different from the abstract) • Acknowledgements and any additional information, research grants, etc. •
References • Tables • Figure captions
Elsevier reserves the privilege of returning accepted manuscripts and illustrations
which are not in the form as given in this guide to the author for revision.
Tables
Tables should be numbered consecutively
with Arabic numerals in order of appearance in the text. Type each table double-spaced on a separate page with a short descriptive title
typed directly above and with essential footnotes below. Tables should never be included within the text, because file(s) containing
tables are attached separately in the electronic submission system.
Illustrations All illustrations (line drawings and
photographs) should accompany the submitted manuscript but should not be included within the text. Number figures consecutively with
Arabic numerals. Please visit the publisher's Web site at http://authors.elsevier.com/artwork for detailed instructions
on preparing electronic artwork. File(s) containing figures are also attached separately in the electronic submission system.
Colour:
If, together with your accepted article, you submit usable colour figures then Elsevier will ensure, at no additional charge, that these
figures will appear in colour on the web (e.g., ScienceDirect and other sites) regardless of whether or not these illustrations are reproduced
in colour in the printed version. For colour reproduction in print, you will receive information regarding the costs from Elsevier after
receipt of your accepted article. Please note: Because of technical complications which can arise by converting colour figures
to 'grey scale' (for the printed version should you opt not to pay for colour print) please submit in addition usable black and white
prints corresponding to all the colour illustrations.
References 1. All publications cited in the text should be presented
in a list of references following the text of the manuscript. Reference citation by the number system is not acceptable. The manuscript
should be carefully checked to ensure that the spelling of authors' names and dates are exactly the same in the text as in the reference
list.
2. In the text refer to the author's name (without initial) and year of publication, followed - if necessary - by a short
reference to appropriate pages. Examples: "Since Peterson (1993) has shown that ... " "This is in agreement with results obtained later
(Kramer, 1994, pp. 12-16)".
3. If reference is made in the text to a publication written by more than two authors the name of the
first author should be used followed by "et al." This indication, however, should never be used in the list of references. In the reference
list names of first author and all co-authors should be given.
4. Reference citations in the text should be arranged chronologically.
This list of references should be arranged alphabetically on authors' names, and chronologically per author. If an author's name in the
list is also mentioned with co-authors the following order should be used: publications of the single author, arranged according to publication
dates - publications of the same author with one co-author - publications of the author with more than one co-author. Publications by
the same author(s) in the same year should be listed as 1974a, 1974b, etc.
5. Use the following system for arranging your references
(consult a recent issue of the journal if necessary):
a. For periodicals Dufrenne J, Soentoro P, Tatini S, Day T, Notermans
S. Characteristics of Bacillus cereus related to safe food protection. Int J Food Microbiol 1994; 23: 99-100.
b. For
edited symposia, special issues, etc., published in a periodical Notermans S, Donnelly PK. Microbiological challenge testing
for ensuring safety of food products. In: Jakobsen M, editor. IUMS-ICFMH Fifteenth Int. Symp. Novel Approaches towards Food Safety Assurance,
31 August-3 September 1993, Bingen/Rhine, Germany, 1994; 24: 41-52.
c. For books Jesenská Z. Micromycetes in
Foodstuffs and Feedstuffs. Progress in Industrial Microbiology, 28. Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1993, 256 pp.
d. For multi-author books Caddick
MX. Nitrogen metabolite repression. In: Martinelli SD, Kinghorn JP, editors. Aspergillus: 50 Years on Progress in Industrial
Microbiology, 29. Elsevier, Amsterdam, 1994, pp. 323-353.
6. Abbreviate the titles of periodicals mentioned in the list of references,
according to the International List of Periodical Title Word Abbreviations.
7. In the case of publications in any language other
than English, the original title is to be retained. However, the titles of publications in non-Latin alphabets should be transliterated,
and a notation such as "(in Russian)" or "(in Greek, with English abstract)" should be added.
8. Work accepted for publication but
not yet published should be referred to as "in press".
9. References concerning unpublished data and "personal communications" should
not be cited in the reference list but may be mentioned in the text.
10. For a web based source, provide the name(s) of the author(s),
the title of the report or article, the complete web address and the month and year the site was visited for the cited information.
Formulae 1. Leave ample space around the formulae.
2. Subscripts and superscripts should be clear.
3. Give the
meaning of all symbols immediately after the equation in which they are first used.
4. For simple fractions use the solidus (/)
instead of a horizontal line.
5. Equations should be numbered serially at the right-hand side in parentheses. In general only equations
explicitly referred to in the text need be numbered.
6. The use of fractional powers instead of root signs is recommended. Also
powers of e are often more conveniently denoted by exp.
7. Levels of statistical significance which can be mentioned without further
explanation are *P < 0.05, **P < 0.01 and ***P < 0.001.
8. In chemical formulae, valence of ions should be given as, e.g.
Ca2+ and CO32-, not as Ca++ or CO3--.
9. Isotope numbers should
precede the symbols, e.g. 18O.
10. The repeated writing of chemical formulae in the text is to be avoided where reasonably
possible; instead, the name of the compound should be given in full. Exceptions may be made in the case of a very long name occurring
very frequently or in the case of a compound being described as the end product of a gravimetric determination (e.g. phosphate as P2O5).
Footnotes 1. Footnotes should only be used if absolutely essential. In most cases it should be possible to incorporate
the information in normal text.
2. If used, they should be numbered in the text, indicated by superscript numbers, and kept as short
as possible.
Nomenclature 1. Authors and editors are, by general agreement, obliged to accept the rules governing biological
nomenclature, as laid down in the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature, the International Code of Nomenclature of
Bacteria, and the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature.
2. All biocides and other organic compounds must
be identified by their Geneva names when first used in the text. Active ingredients of all formulations should be likewise identified.
3. For chemical nomenclature, the official recommendations of the IUPAC IUBMB Joint Commission on Biochemical Nomenclature
at http://www.chem.qmw.ac.uk/iubmb/ should be followed.
4. SI units should be used throughout.
Supplementary
data
Elsevier accepts supplementary material to support and enhance your scientific research. Supplementary files offer the author
additional possibilities to publish supporting applications, movies, animation sequences, high-resolution images, background datasets,
sound clips and more. Supplementary files supplied will be published online alongside the electronic version of your article in Elsevier
Web products, including ScienceDirect: http://www.sciencedirect.com. In order to ensure that your submitted material is
directly usable, please ensure that data is provided in one of our recommended file formats. Authors should submit the material in electronic
format together with the article and supply a concise and descriptive caption for each file. For more detailed instructions please visit
our artwork instruction pages at http://www.elsevier.com/artworkinstructions
Copyright An author, when
quoting from someone else's work or when considering reproducing an illustration or table from a book or journal article, should make
sure that he is not infringing a copyright. Although in general an author may quote from other published works, he should obtain
permission from the holder of the copyright if he wishes to make substantial extracts or to reproduce tables, plates, or other illustrations.
If the copyright-holder is not the author of the quoted or reproduced material, it is recommended that the permission of the author should
also be sought. Material in unpublished letters and manuscripts is also protected and must not be published unless permission has
been obtained. A suitable acknowledgment of any borrowed material must always be made.
Language editing Information
on author-paid and pre-accept language editing services available to authors can be found at http://www.elsevier.com/locate/languagepolishing.
Authors in Japan kindly note: Upon request Elsevier Japan will provide a list of people who can check and improve the English of
an article (before submission). Please contact our Tokyo office: Elsevier Japan K.K., 1-9-15 Higashi Azabu, Minato-ku, Tokyo 106-0044,
Japan; tel.: +81-3-5561-5032; fax: +81-3-5561-5045; e-mail: jp.info@elsevier.com.
Proofs PDF proofs will
be sent by e-mail to the corresponding author. To avoid delay in publication, only necessary changes should be made, and corrections
should be returned promptly.
Offprints The corresponding author will be provided, at no cost, with a PDF file of the article
via e-mail or, alternatively, 25 free paper offprints. The PDF file is a watermarked version of the published article and includes a
cover sheet with the journal cover image and a disclaimer outlining the terms and conditions of use.
Online Publication Each
article will appear on Elsevier's online journal database ScienceDirect as an "Article in Press" within approximately 4-6 weeks of acceptance.
Articles in Press for this journal can be viewed at http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/00489697. An Article in
Press may be cited prior to its publication by means of its unique digital object identifier (DOI) number, which does not change throughout
the publication process.
