Guide for Authors
The International Journal for Experimental and Clinical Reproductive Immunobiology
The aim of the
Journal of
Reproductive Immunology
is to provide the critical forum for the dissemination of results from high quality research in all
aspects of experimental, animal and clinical reproductive immunobiology.
This encompasses normal and pathological processes of:
- Male and Female Reproductive Tracts
- Gametogenesis and Embryogenesis
- Implantation and Placental
Development
- Gestation and Parturition
- Mammary Gland and Lactation
Including:
- Infectious disease, including STDs
- Inflammation
- Autoimmunity
- Mucosal Immunology
- Cytokines
and Other Immune Mediators
- Immunoendocrinology
- Reproductive Immunotherapies
- Immunogenetics
- Developmental
Immunology
- Immunology of Reproductive Cancers
- Application of Immunological Techniques to Elucidate Reproductive
Processes or Dysfunction
The international character of the Journal is reflected in the breadth of its Editorial Board
and commitment to publish new and outstanding studies in different aspects of reproductive immunobiology from all five continents. The
Journal scope spans basic science, animal and clinical studies in all subareas of research relevant to reproductive immunobiology.
Types of papers
Original articles: a full-length report of original basic or clinical investigation
(generally not exceeding 3000 words or 45 references with up to 4 figures and 4 tables). An unstructured abstract of no more than 250
words stating objectives, study design, main outcome measures, results and conclusions is required. The text should be structured as
follows: Abstract, Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion, Acknowledgements, References, Tables, Figure Legends. We
offer fast-track peer review and publication of randomized controlled trials that we judge of importance to practice or research (see
Fast-track publication). We invite submission of all clinical trials, whether Phase I, II, or III.
Submission of randomized controlled
trials requires inclusion of a checklist and flowchart in accordance with the CONSORT guidelines and the registration number of the trial
and the name of the trial registry. Studies of diagnostic accuracy must be reported according to STARD guidelines. Observational studies
(cohort, case-control, or cross-sectional designs) must be reported according to the STROBE statement (see also
http://www.strobe-statement.org).
Short communications should not exceed 1,500 words with no more than one table or illustration and ten references. An unstructured
abstract of no more than 100 words is required. The text should be structured as follows: Abstract, Introduction, Materials and Methods,
Results and Discussion (combined), Acknowledgements, References, Tables, Figure Legends.
Review articles: a comprehensive
review providing a synthesis and interpretation of prior publications relating to an important research or clinical subject (generally
not exceeding 2000-3000 words, 2-3 figures and/or tables and 30-50 references). An unstructured abstract of no more than 250 words is
required. The Introduction should indicate why the topic is important and should state the specific objective(s) of the review. The Conclusion
should include the clinical implications and observations regarding the need for additional research. Systematic reviews should follow
the QUOROM guidelines. Meta-analysis of observational studies should follow the MOOSE guidelines.
Opinion Papers: are
welcomed, but should include new data or concepts and generally not exceed 1,500 words and ten references.
Letters to the Editor:
a question or challenge to a recently published article. Letters must be received within 6 weeks of publication of the article to which
they refer and should be no longer than 500 words.
Contact details for submission
Submission of manuscripts proceeds entirely online at
http://ees.elsevier.com/jri/.
Ethics in Publishing
For information
on Ethics in Publishing and Ethical guidelines for journal publication see
http://www.elsevier.com/publishingethics and
http://www.elsevier.com/ethicalguidelines.
Policy and ethics
The
work described in your article must have been carried out in accordance with
The Code of Ethics of the World Medical Association
(Declaration of Helsinki) for experiments involving humans http://www.wma.net/e/policy/b3.htm;
EC Directive 86/609/EEC
for animal experiments http://ec.europa.eu/environment/chemicals/lab_animals/legislation_en.htm;
Uniform Requirements
for manuscripts submitted to Biomedical journals http://www.icmje.org. This must be stated at an appropriate point
in the article.
Conflict of interest
All authors are requested to disclose
any actual or potential conflict of interest including any financial, personal or other relationships with other people or organizations
within three years of beginning the submitted work that could inappropriately influence, or be perceived to influence, their work. See
also
http://www.elsevier.com/conflictsofinterest.
Submission declaration
Submission of an article implies that the work described has not been published previously (except in the form of an abstract
or as part of a published lecture or academic thesis), that it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere, that its publication
is approved by all authors and tacitly or explicitly by the responsible authorities where the work was carried out, and that, if accepted,
it will not be published elsewhere in the same form, in English or in any other language, without the written consent of the copyright-holder.
Contributors
Submission of multi-authored manuscripts to this journal requires the consent of each author
and all must sign the covering letter. All authors, and all contributors (including medical writers and editors) must specify their individual
contributions and any conflicts of interest in statements to be listed in the "Comments" field in EES (Elsevier Editorial System). The
following format is suggested: "I declare that I participated in the study by (here list the specific contributions made to the study)
and that I have seen and approved the final version. I have the following conflicts of interest" (list here all relevant conflicts).
Copyright
Upon acceptance of an article, authors will be asked to complete a 'Journal Publishing Agreement'
(for more information on this and copyright see
http://www.elsevier.com/copyright). Acceptance of the agreement will ensure
the widest possible dissemination of information. An e-mail will be sent to the corresponding author confirming receipt of the manuscript
together with a 'Journal Publishing Agreement' form or a link to the online version of this agreement.
Subscribers may reproduce
tables of contents or prepare lists of articles including abstracts for internal circulation within their institutions. Permission of
the Publisher is required for resale or distribution outside the institution and for all other derivative works, including compilations
and translations (please consult
http://www.elsevier.com/permissions). If excerpts from other copyrighted works are included,
the author(s) must obtain written permission from the copyright owners and credit the source(s) in the article. Elsevier has preprinted
forms for use by authors in these cases: please consult
http://www.elsevier.com/permissions.
Retained author rights
As an author you (or your employer or institution) retain certain rights; for details
you are referred to:
http://www.elsevier.com/authorsrights.
Role of the
funding source
You are requested to identify who provided financial support for the conduct of the research and/or preparation
of the article and to briefly describe the role of the sponsor(s), if any, in study design; in the collection, analysis and interpretation
of data; in the writing of the report; and in the decision to submit the paper for publication. If the funding source(s) had no such
involvement then this should be stated. Please see
http://www.elsevier.com/funding.
Funding body agreements and policies
Elsevier has established agreements and developed policies to allow authors whose
articles appear in journals published by Elsevier, to comply with potential manuscript archiving requirements as specified as conditions
of their grant awards. To learn more about existing agreements and policies please visit
http://www.elsevier.com/fundingbodies.
Language and language services
Please write your text in good English (American or British usage is accepted,
but not a mixture of these). Authors who require information about language editing and copyediting services pre- and post-submission
please visit
http://www.elsevier.com/languagepolishing or our customer support site at
http://epsupport.elsevier.com
for more information. Please note Elsevier neither endorses nor takes responsibility for any products, goods or services offered by outside
vendors through our services or in any advertising. For more information please refer to our Terms & Conditions:
http://www.elsevier.com/termsandconditions.
Patient details
Unless you have written permission from the patient (or, where applicable, the next
of kin), the personal details of any patient included in any part of the article and in any supplementary materials (including all illustrations
and videos) must be removed before submission. For further information see
http://www.elsevier.com/patientphotographs.
Submission
Submission to this journal proceeds totally online and you will be guided stepwise through the
creation and uploading of your files. The system automatically converts source files to a single PDF file of the article, which is used
in the peer-review process. Please note that even though manuscript source files are converted to PDF files 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 removing the need for a paper trail.
Referees
To expedite the review process Authors are required to provide the editorial office with the names and email
addresses of 4 potential referees that are able to competently review the article submitted for possible publication. The referees must
not be associated with or involved with the article in any way or be from the same institution as the author(s) of the article.
Use of wordprocessing software
It
is important that the file be saved in the native format of the wordprocessor used. The text should be in single-column format. Keep
the layout of the text as simple as possible. Most formatting codes will be removed and replaced on processing the article. In particular,
do not use the wordprocessor's options to justify text or to hyphenate words. However, do use bold face, italics, subscripts, superscripts
etc. Do not embed "graphically designed" equations or tables, but prepare these using the wordprocessor's facility. When preparing tables,
if you are using a table grid, use only one grid for each individual table and not a grid for each row. If no grid is used, use tabs,
not spaces, to align columns. The electronic text should be prepared in a way very similar to that of conventional manuscripts (see also
the Guide to Publishing with Elsevier:
http://www.elsevier.com/guidepublication). Do not import the figures into the text
file but, instead, indicate their approximate locations directly in the electronic text and on the manuscript. See also the section on
Electronic illustrations.
To avoid unnecessary errors you are strongly advised to use the "spell-check" and "grammar-check" functions
of your wordprocessor.
LaTeX
If the LaTeX file is suitable, proofs will
be produced without rekeying the text. The article should preferably be written using Elsevier's document class "elsarticle", or alternatively
the standard document class "article".
The Elsevier LaTeX style file package (including detailed instructions for LaTeX preparation)
can be obtained from the Quickguide:
http://www.elsevier.com/latex. It consists of the file: elsarticle.cls, complete user
documentation for the class file, bibliographic style files in various styles, and template files for a quick start.
Article structure
Subdivision - numbered sections
Divide your article into clearly defined and numbered sections. Subsections should be numbered 1.1 (then 1.1.1, 1.1.2, ...), 1.2,
etc. (the abstract is not included in section numbering). Use this numbering also for internal cross-referencing: do not just refer to
"the text". Any subsection may be given a brief heading. Each heading should appear on its own separate line.
Introduction
State the objectives of the work and provide an adequate background, avoiding a detailed
literature survey or a summary of the results.
Material and methods
The
Methods section should describe the research methodology in sufficient detail that others could reasonably be expected to be able to
duplicate the work. However, if the methodology has been previously published, the appropriate reference should be cited, and a full
description is not required. Methods of statistical analysis should be identified and, when appropriate, the basis for their selection
stated. Statistical software programs used should be cited in the text.
P values should be expressed to no more than three decimal
places. Reports in which statistical difference is lacking must provide some indication of the study's power to detect such differences,
and this information must be included in the abstract.
Results
The Results
section should present the findings in appropriate detail, but as concisely as possible. Tables and figures may be used, but duplication
between text and tables or figures is to be avoided.
Discussion
The Discussion
section should be used to critically appraise the implications of the findings and to compare them with those of other studies. Repetition
of the results section should be avoided. The last paragraph of the discussion should state the main conclusions of the study.
Conclusions
The main conclusions of the study may be presented in a short Conclusions section, which
may stand alone or form a subsection of a Discussion or Results and Discussion section.
Essential title page information
•
Title.
Concise and informative. Titles are often used in information-retrieval
systems. Avoid abbreviations and formulae where possible.
•
Author names and affiliations.
Where the family name
may be ambiguous (e.g., a double name), please indicate this clearly. Present the authors' affiliation addresses (where the actual work
was done) below the names. Indicate all affiliations with a lower-case superscript letter immediately after the author's name and in
front of the appropriate address. Provide the full postal address of each affiliation, including the country name, and, if available,
the e-mail address of each author.
•
Corresponding author.
Clearly indicate who will handle correspondence at
all stages of refereeing and publication, also post-publication.
Ensure that telephone and fax numbers (with country and area code)
are provided in addition to the e-mail address and the complete postal address.
•
Present/permanent address.
If an author has moved since the work described in the article was done, or was visiting at the time, a "Present address" (or "Permanent
address") may be indicated as a footnote to that author's name. The address at which the author actually did the work must be retained
as the main, affiliation address. Superscript Arabic numerals are used for such footnotes.
Abstract
A concise and factual abstract is required. The abstract should state briefly the purpose of the research, the
principal results and major conclusions. An abstract is often presented separately from the article, so it must be able to stand alone.
For this reason, References should be avoided, but if essential, then cite the author(s) and year(s). Also, non-standard or uncommon
abbreviations should be avoided, but if essential they must be defined at their first mention in the abstract itself.
Keywords
Immediately after the abstract, provide a maximum of 6 keywords while avoiding general and plural
terms and multiple concepts (avoid, for example, "and", "of"). Be sparing with abbreviations: only abbreviations firmly established in
the field may be eligible. These keywords will be used for indexing purposes
Abbreviations
Abbreviations other than those listed below must be defined in full in a footnote to be placed on the first page of the article.
Such abbreviations that are unavoidable in the abstract must be defined at their first mention there, as well as in the footnote. Ensure
consistency of abbreviations throughout the article.
Please
click here for a list of journal approved abbreviations.
Acknowledgements
Collate acknowledgements in a separate section at the end of the article before the references and do not, therefore, include
them on the title page, as a footnote to the title or otherwise. List here those individuals who provided help during the research (e.g.,
providing language help, writing assistance or proof reading the article, etc.).
Nomenclature
and units
Follow internationally accepted rules and conventions: use the international system of units (SI). If other quantities
are mentioned, give their equivalent in SI. You are urged to consult IUPAC: Nomenclature of Organic Chemistry:
http://www.iupac.org/
for further information.
Accession numbers
Accession numbers are unique
identifiers in bioinformatics allocated to nucleotide and protein sequences to allow tracking of different versions of that sequence
record and the associated sequence in a data repository [e.g., databases at the National Center for Biotechnical Information (NCBI) at
the National Library of Medicine ('GenBank') and the Worldwide Protein Data Bank]. There are different types of accession numbers in
use based on the type of sequence cited, each of which uses a different coding. Authors should explicitly mention the
type of accession
number together with the actual number, bearing in mind that an error in a letter or number can result in a dead link in the online
version of the article. Please use the following format: accession number type ID: xxxx (e.g., MMDB ID: 12345; PDB ID: 1TUP). Note that
in the final version of the
electronic copy, accession numbers will be linked to the appropriate database, enabling readers
to go directly to that source from the article.
Footnotes
Footnotes should
be used sparingly. Number them consecutively throughout the article, using superscript Arabic numbers. Many wordprocessors build footnotes
into the text, and this feature may be used. Should this not be the case, indicate the position of footnotes in the text and present
the footnotes themselves separately at the end of the article. Do not include footnotes in the Reference list.
Table footnotes
Indicate each footnote in a table with a superscript lowercase letter.
Artwork
Electronic artwork
General points
• Make sure
you use uniform lettering and sizing of your original artwork.
• Save text in illustrations as "graphics" or enclose the font.
• Only use the following fonts in your illustrations: Arial, Courier, Times, Symbol.
• Number the illustrations according
to their sequence in the text.
• Use a logical naming convention for your artwork files.
• Provide captions to illustrations
separately.
• Produce images near to the desired size of the printed version.
• Submit each figure as a separate file.
A detailed guide on electronic artwork is available on our website:
http://www.elsevier.com/artworkinstructions
You
are urged to visit this site; some excerpts from the detailed information are given here.
Formats
Regardless of
the application used, when your electronic artwork is finalised, please "save as" or convert the images to one of the following formats
(note the resolution requirements for line drawings, halftones, and line/halftone combinations given below):
EPS: Vector drawings.
Embed the font or save the text as "graphics".
TIFF: color or grayscale photographs (halftones): always use a minimum of 300 dpi.
TIFF: Bitmapped line drawings: use a minimum of 1000 dpi.
TIFF: Combinations bitmapped line/half-tone (color or grayscale): a
minimum of 500 dpi is required.
DOC, XLS or PPT: If your electronic artwork is created in any of these Microsoft Office applications
please supply "as is".
Please do not:
• Supply embedded graphics in your wordprocessor (spreadsheet, presentation)
document;
• Supply files that are optimised for screen use (like GIF, BMP, PICT, WPG); the resolution is too low;
•
Supply files that are too low in resolution;
• Submit graphics that are disproportionately large for the content.
Color artwork
Please make sure that artwork files are in an acceptable format (TIFF, EPS or MS Office
files) and with the correct resolution. If, together with your accepted article, you submit usable color figures then Elsevier will ensure,
at no additional charge, that these figures will appear in color on the Web (e.g., ScienceDirect and other sites) regardless of whether
or not these illustrations are reproduced in color in the printed version.
For color reproduction in print, you will receive information
regarding the costs from Elsevier after receipt of your accepted article. Please indicate your preference for color in print or on
the Web only. For further information on the preparation of electronic artwork, please see
http://www.elsevier.com/artworkinstructions.
Please note: Because of technical complications which can arise by converting color figures to "gray scale" (for the printed version
should you not opt for color in print) please submit in addition usable black and white versions of all the color illustrations.
Figure legends
Ensure that each figure has a legend. Supply legends separately as the final section of the
manuscript text file, not attached to the figure, numbered in Arabic numerals to match the figure. A legend should comprise a brief title
(
not on the figure itself) and a description of the illustration. Keep text in the illustrations themselves to a minimum but define
all symbols and abbreviations used (other than standard abbreviations listed above).
Tables
Number tables consecutively in accordance with their appearance in the text. Place footnotes to tables below the
table body and indicate them with superscript lowercase letters. Avoid vertical rules. Be sparing in the use of tables and ensure that
the data presented in tables do not duplicate results described elsewhere in the article.
References
Authors are responsible for the accuracy of references. The 'Harvard' style is used. References appearing
for the first time in a table or figure should be cited in the text where the table or figure is mentioned. References cited must have
been published in peer-reviewed publications.
Citation in text
Please
ensure that every reference cited in the text is also present in the reference list (and vice versa). Any references cited in the abstract
must be given in full. Unpublished results and personal communications are not recommended in the reference list, but may be mentioned
in the text. If these references are included in the reference list they should follow the standard reference style of the journal and
should include a substitution of the publication date with either "Unpublished results" or "Personal communication" Citation of a reference
as "in press" implies that the item has been accepted for publication.
Web references
As a minimum, the full URL should be given. Any further information, if known (DOI, author names, dates, reference to a source publication,
etc.), should also be given. Web references can be listed separately (e.g., after the reference list) under a different heading if desired,
or can be included in the reference list.
Reference style
In the text,
references should be cited by author and year (Harvard System). More than one paper from the same author in the same year must be identified
separately by the letters a, b, c, etc. placed after the year of publication. In the text, when referring to a work by more than two
authors, the name of the first author should be given followed by et al. In the reference list, citation of periodical, book or multi-author
book articles should comply with the following examples:
Text:
All citations in the text should refer to:
1.
Single author: the author's name (without initials, unless there is ambiguity) and the year of publication;
2.
Two
authors: both authors' names and the year of publication;
3.
Three or more authors: first author's name followed by
"et al." and the year of publication.
Citations may be made directly (or parenthetically). Groups of references should be listed
first alphabetically, then chronologically.
Examples: "as demonstrated (Allan, 1996a, 1996b, 1999; Allan and Jones, 1995). Kramer
et al. (2000) have recently shown ...."
List:
References should be arranged first alphabetically and then further
sorted chronologically if necessary. More than one reference from the same author(s) in the same year must be identified by the letters
"a", "b", "c", etc., placed after the year of publication.
Examples:
Reference to a journal publication:
Saito, S., Sasaki,
Y., Sakai, M., 2005. CD4+CD25high regulatory T cells in human pregnancy. J. Reprod. Immunol. 65, 111-120.
Reference to a book:
Anderson, D.J., 1996. Interaction between male genital tract infection, immunity and infertility. In: Bronson, R.A. et al. (Eds.), Reproductive
Immunology. Blackwell, Cambridge, MA, pp. 532-539.
Reference to a chapter in an edited book:
Cobley, U.T. et al., 2005. Reproductive
Immunobiology. Widdicombe Fair Press, London.
Note that for more than 6 authors the first 6 should be listed followed by "et al."
For further details you are referred to "Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts submitted to Biomedical Journals" (J Am Med Assoc 1997;277:927-934),
see also
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/tsd/serials/terms_cond.html
Journal
abbreviations source
Journal names should be abbreviated according to
Index Medicus journal abbreviations:
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/tsd/serials/lji.html;
List of serial title word abbreviations:
http://www.issn.org/2-22661-LTWA-online.php;
CAS (Chemical Abstracts Service):
http://www.cas.org/sent.html.
Supplementary material
Elsevier
accepts electronic 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 are 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. Video files: please supply 'stills' with your files:
you can choose any frame from the video or make a separate image. These will be used instead of standard icons and will personalize the
link to your supplementary information. For more detailed instructions please visit our artwork instruction pages at
http://www.elsevier.com/artworkinstructions.
Submission checklist
It is hoped that this list will be useful during the final checking of an article
prior to sending it to the journal's Editor for review. Please consult this Guide for Authors for further details of any item.
Ensure
that the following items are present:
One Author designated as corresponding Author:
• E-mail address
• Full
postal address
• Telephone and fax numbers
All necessary files have been uploaded
• Keywords
• All figure
captions
• All tables (including title, description, footnotes)
Further considerations
• Manuscript has been "spellchecked"
and "grammar-checked"
• References are in the correct format for this journal
• All references mentioned in the Reference
list are cited in the text, and vice versa
• Permission has been obtained for use of copyrighted material from other sources
(including the Web)
• Color figures are clearly marked as being intended for color reproduction on the Web (free of charge)
and in print or to be reproduced in color on the Web (free of charge) and in black-and-white in print
• If only color on the
Web is required, black and white versions of the figures are also supplied for printing purposes
For any further information please
visit our customer support site at
http://epsupport.elsevier.com.
Use of the Digital Object Identifier
The Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
may be used to cite and link to electronic documents. The DOI consists of a unique alpha-numeric character string which is assigned to
a document by the publisher upon the initial electronic publication. The assigned DOI never changes. Therefore, it is an ideal medium
for citing a document, particularly 'Articles in press' because they have not yet received their full bibliographic information. The
correct format for citing a DOI is shown as follows (example taken from a document in the journal
Physics Letters B):
doi:10.1016/j.physletb.2003.10.071
When you use the DOI to create URL hyperlinks to documents on the web, they are guaranteed never to change.
Proofs
One set of page proofs (as PDF files) will be sent by e-mail to the corresponding author (if we do
not have an e-mail address then paper proofs will be sent by post) or, a link will be provided in the e-mail so that authors can download
the files themselves. Elsevier now provides authors with PDF proofs which can be annotated; for this you will need to download Adobe
Reader version 7 (or higher) available free from
http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html. Instructions on how
to annotate PDF files will accompany the proofs (also given online). The exact system requirements are given at the Adobe site:
http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/acrrsystemreqs.html#70win.
If you do not wish to use the PDF annotations function, you may list the corrections (including replies to the Query Form) and
return them to Elsevier in an e-mail. Please list your corrections quoting line number. If, for any reason, this is not possible, then
mark the corrections and any other comments (including replies to the Query Form) on a printout of your proof and return by fax, or scan
the pages and e-mail, or by post. Please use this proof only for checking the typesetting, editing, completeness and correctness of the
text, tables and figures. Significant changes to the article as accepted for publication will only be considered at this stage with permission
from the Editor. We will do everything possible to get your article published quickly and accurately. Therefore, it is important to ensure
that all of your corrections are sent back to us in one communication: please check carefully before replying, as inclusion of any subsequent
corrections cannot be guaranteed. Proofreading is solely your responsibility. Note that Elsevier may proceed with the publication of
your article if no response is received.
Offprints
The corresponding author,
at no cost, will be provided with a PDF file of the article via e-mail. 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. Additional paper
offprints can be ordered by the authors. An order form with prices will be sent to the corresponding author.
For inquiries relating to the submission of articles (including electronic submission
where available) please visit this journal's homepage. You can track accepted articles at
http://www.elsevier.com/trackarticle
and set up e-mail alerts to inform you of when an article's status has changed. Also accessible from here is information on copyright,
frequently asked questions and more. Contact details for questions arising after acceptance of an article, especially those relating
to proofs, will be provided by the publisher.
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