It is a condition of publication that all manuscripts must be written in clear and grammatical English
and be submitted to the Biochimica et Biophysica Acta - General Subjects web site at http://ees.elsevier.com/bbagen.
Minimal exceptions will be allowed.
Each manuscript is to be accompanied by an electronic cover letter outlining the basic findings
of the paper and their significance, providing the following information:
The full name and address of the corresponding
author (including telephone and fax numbers, and e-mail address).
Any known changes of address within a period of six months
after submission of the paper.
The full title of the submitted paper.
Submission of a manuscript implies
that the work described has not been published before (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 has been approved by all the authors and
tacitly or explicitly by the responsible authorities in the laboratories where the work was carried out and that, if accepted, it will
not be published elsewhere in the same form, in either the same or another language, without the consent of the editors and the publisher.
Reference should be made to previously published abstracts, etc. in the introductory section. Responsibility for the accuracy of the
material in the manuscript, including bibliographic citations, lies entirely with the authors.
Ethics
When conducting
scientific research using human tissue and which is intended for publication in BBA, authors should follow procedures that are in accordance
with the ethical standards as formulated in the Helsinki Declaration of 1975 (revised in 1983). When conducting experiments on animals,
authors should follow the institution's or the National Research Council's guide for the care and use of laboratory animals.
Revisions
and publications dates
Papers requiring revision and/or condensation will be returned to the authors by the Executive Editors,
specifying the requested alterations and including the (anonymous) referee reports.
Authors are requested to resubmit the revised
paper within three months. Papers not resubmitted within three months will be treated as new submissions.
Proofreading
Authors will receive proofs by e-mail. Since acceptance is based upon the submitted version of the paper, it is essential that no
new material be inserted in the text at the time of proofreading; furthermore, no alteration to style or meaning will be permitted at
this stage. Any new material that the authors wish to introduce for reasons of scientific accuracy will be checked by the Executive Editors,
and a charge may be made for corrections.
Offprints
The corresponding author, at no cost, will be provided with
a PDF file of the article via e-mail or, alternatively, 25 free paper offprints. There are no page charges. An offprint order form, price
list and copyright transfer form are sent upon receipt of the manuscript at the Publisher so that extra offprints may be ordered. It
is also essential that copyright be transferred at this stage.
Publication
Information concerning your accepted
article can be obtained by using the "Track a Paper" feature of Elsevier's Author Gateway.
This will provide you with:
general production status (in preparation, in proof, in issue)
date of publication and offprints dispatch date
volume, issue and page numbers
Through this site you can also set up e-mail alerts informing you of changes to your
manuscript's status.
BBA's publications
BBA publishes English-language papers only. Papers may be written in
either American or British English, provided that the preferred spelling is used consistently throughout.
Many readers of the
journal are not native speakers of English. It is therefore important to write succinctly and clearly, using short, simple sentences
and avoiding long adjectival phrases and laboratory jargon. The following types of papers are published:
A Regular paper
is the normal medium of publication. Although there is no fixed length, Regular papers should be as concise as possible, while providing
sufficient information for the work to be repeated and for the claims of the authors to be judged by the readers.
BBA reviews
are published in the independent section "Reviews on Cancer" and in all other sections of the journal. They are contributed by scientists
who are leading specialists in their field of expertise, normally at the invitation of the Executive Editors. Authors wishing to contribute
a review paper are advised first to contact one of the responsible Executive Editors (listed in the issues of BBA) to avoid overlap with
Reviews already commissioned.
Preparation of papers
Authors should consult a recent issue of the journal to make
themselves familiar with the conventions and layout of articles.
The entire text, including figure and table legends and the reference
list, should be double-spaced, leaving margins of approximately 3 cm (1 inch). All pages should be numbered consecutively and carry a
running title, in the upper right corner, starting with the title page of the manuscript. Every new paragraph should be clearly indented.
Do not use right-hand justification.
Title page. Page 1 should be concise, descriptive and informative. It should
include:
(1) The title of the article;
(2) The authors' full names (first name, middle initial(s),and surname); (3) Affiliations
(the name of department (if any), institution, city and state or country where the work was done), indicating which authors are associated
with which affiliation;
(4) Acknowledgement of grant support and of individuals who were of direct help in the preparation of the
study;
(5) Disclaimers, (if any);
(6) The name, address, telephone and fax numbers and E-mail address of the corresponding author.
Authors are requested to select a maximum of six key words and to present them on the title page of the typescript. They should cover
precisely the contents of the submitted paper and should give readers sufficient information as to the relevance of the paper to his/her
particular field.
Abstract. Page 2 of the typescript should be reserved for the Abstract which should have no more
than 200 words. This should follow a structured format, sub-divided into subsections entitled "Background"; "Methods"; "Results"; "Conclusions"
and "General Significance". Each subsection should be brief and informative, emphasizing those points that are unique to the paper. Since
summaries are increasingly used by abstracting services which will cut off after a fixed number of words, it is important not to exceed
the maximum number of words and to avoid bibliographic references and non-standard abbreviations.
Text. After the
Abstract, Original Research Communications should be organized in the following format: Introduction, Materials and methods, Results,
Discussion, Acknowledgements, List of abbreviations, References. Introduction
This is a short section in which the authors
should clearly state the reasons for and aims of the investigation. Summarise the rationale for the study and hypothesis tested by it,
with brief reference to relevant previous work. Materials and methods
The section Materials and methods should be detailed
enough for readers to reproduce the experiments. Authors should always refer to other work on the same subject, indicating whether or
not their experimental results are in agreement with previous work. Conclusions drawn from experiments described in the tables or figures
can often appear most conveniently in the Results section. Result and Discussion
The overall conclusions based on the work
reported should be given in the Discussion. In some cases, Results and Discussion sections may more appropriately be combined than separated
(at the author's discretion). Every effort should be made to avoid jargon, to spell out all non-standard abbreviations the first time
they are mentioned and to present the contents of the study as clearly and concisely as possible.
Reports of new or improved methods
should be as brief as is consistent with clarity (up to about 1000 words). They should unequivocally identify the element of novelty
claimed and the advantages over existing technology. Performance characteristics, including effects of interfering substances, comparisons
with results of accepted methods and reference values based on appropriate population samples should be documented by adequate data.
Citing of earlier publications is preferred to repetition of details for reagents, procedures, etc., which are always in print. Nevertheless,
the information provided must suffice to allow readers to duplicate the work or to compare the technique with current practice. Instrument
and kit evaluations usually will not be accepted unless a new principle is involved.
Acknowledgements
Only persons
who have made substantial contributions to the work should be acknowledged. Authors are responsible for obtaining written permission
from everyone acknowledged by name because readers may infer their endorsement of the data and conclusions.
The source(s) of support
in the form of grants, equipment, drugs, or all of these should be acknowledged here.
References
Type references double-spaced
and number them consecutively in the order in which they are first quoted in the text. Identify references in text, tables and legends
by arabic numerals [square brackets]. References cited only in tables or in legends to figures should be numbered in accordance with
a sequence established by the first identification in the text of the particular table or illustrations. Please note that all authors
should be listed when six or less; when seven or more, list only the first three and add et al. The names of journals should be abbreviated
according to the list of serial title word abbreviations (ISDS, Paris, l985, ISBN 2-904938-02-8).
Do not include references to personal
communications, unpublished data or manuscripts either 'in preparation' or 'submitted for publication'. Reference to a paper as 'in press'
implies that it has been accepted for publication. Recheck references in the text against the reference list after your manuscript
has been revised and renumber accordingly.
Incomplete references can result in publication delay.
Examples
[1]M.
Wikstrom, J.E. Morgan, M.I. Verkhovsky, Proton and electrical charge translocation by cytochrome-c oxidase, Biochim. Biophys. Acta 1318
(1997) 299-306. [2]E.C. Slater, Biochimica et Biophysica Acta: The Story of a Biochemical Journal, Elsevier Publishers, Amsterdam,
1986.
[3]D.E. Vance, Glycerolipid biosynthesis in eukaryotes, in: D.E. Vance, J.E. Vance (Eds.), New Comprehensive Biochemistry,
vol. 31, Biochemistry of Lipids, Lipoproteins and Membranes, Elsevier B.V., Amsterdam, 1996, pp. 153-181.
Reference to a paper
as "in press" implies that it has been accepted for publication. Evidence (e.g., a photocopy of the note of acceptance from the journal
concerned) should accompany the submitted typescript. Papers that are "in press" should be included as a number in the text. Other papers
submitted before or simultaneously with the paper in question should be included as a number in the text and in the References section,
stating the name of the journal. Copies of papers that are submitted elsewhere should be provided for inspection by the Editors. Omission
of this information will delay publication and may lead to redating of a submitted manuscript. Papers presented at scientific meetings
that are not available in published form should not be cited as references in the References section.
Unpublished results should
not be listed in the References section. In the text they are mentioned as follows: "(Tervoort, M.V. and Glimcher, J., unpublished data)".
When unpublished results are cited, the data should be provided for the Editors' information when essential for proper evaluation, or
if requested.
A personal communication should be mentionedin the text as follows: "(Tervoort, M.V., personal communication)".
Authors should not make unauthorized use of personal communications. Personal communications are not to be included in the References
section.
Tables
Tables should be used sparingly; they should be used only when the data cannot be presented
clearly in the text. Authors are requested to consult recent issues of BBA for the proper table layout.
Each table, including
its legend, should be included on a separate page. The heading of the table should make its general meaning understandable without reference
to the text.
Figures and illustrations
Figures should be used to illustrate experimental results clearly. As figures
are often reduced to a one-column width, authors should bear in mind the size of BBA's printed page and they should ensure that symbols,
lettering and lines are sufficiently large and clear to be legible after reduction. (Column width is 8.4 cm, preferred figure size is
approximately double this).
Legends should be collated and typed with double- or triple- spacing on a separate sheet. A legend
should consist of an opening sentence constituting a brief title (without extra capitalization), followed by a brief description of the
figure.
Color Figures. Color figures may be included in the article in the printed issue, but generally this expense
must be borne by the authors. However, 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
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.
For further information on the preparation of electronic artwork
and for a complete list of acceptable file formats, please see http://authors.elsevier.com/artwork.
Please note:
Because of technical complications which can arise by converting color figures to 'grey scale' (for the printed version should you not
opt for color in print) please submit in addition, usable black and white prints corresponding to all the color illustrations.
As only one figure caption may be used for both color and black and white versions of figures, please ensure that figure captions
are meaningful for both versions, if applicable.
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.
Preparation of supplementary data. Elsevier now 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 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 Author Gateway at http://authors.elsevier.com.
