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THERIOGENOLOGY
An International Journal of Animal Reproduction

Guide for Authors

Theriogenology is an international, peer-reviewed journal that publishes papers regarding the study of reproduction in domestic and non-domestic mammals, birds, reptiles, and fish. Theriogenology publishes only material that has never been previously published and is not being considered for publication elsewhere; the exception would be limited disclosure (e.g. publication of an abstract or in the proceedings of a scientific conference, with limited circulation).

All submissions will be reviewed by at least two anonymous reviewers to evaluate them for originality, clear statement of a hypothesis, appropriate experimental design, completeness of methods, a logical and comprehensive discussion, and conclusions that are supported by data. Authors are encouraged to name up to five potential reviewers and to provide contact information (including e-mail addresses). However, the Editors retain the right to choose reviewers as deemed appropriate.

Types of articles
  1. Original Research Papers (Regular Papers)
  2. Review Articles
  3. Technical Notes


Original Research Papers Papers report original research, not previously published (except by limited disclosure).

Review Articles cover topics of current interest. They may be submitted or invited. Review articles should include a meaningful abstract, but are not required to include Materials and Methods, Results and Discussion. However, the rules regarding numbering sections, formatting and references are similar to those for an Original Research Paper.

Technical Notes are concise, comprehensive descriptions of technical aspects of innovative methods (that will not be subsequently published as a full-length paper). The entire submitted manuscript typically should not exceed approximately 12 double-spaced pages.

Submission of manuscripts
Theriogenology uses the Elsevier Editorial System (EES), a web-based system for submission, review and revision. All manuscripts (original and revised versions) must be submitted electronically from the journal website (External link http://ees.elsevier.com/therio. )

Unnecessary cruelty in animal experimentation is not acceptable. Animal use must be in accordance with the International Guiding Principles for Biomedical Research Involving Animals, obtainable from: Executive Secretary, Council for the International Organizations of Medical Sciences, c/o World Health Organization, Via Appia, CH-1211 Geneva 27, Switzerland; or from their website (External link http://www.cioms.ch/frame_1985_texts_of_guidelines.htm .)

Preparation of manuscripts
  1. Manuscripts that do not meet acceptable standards will be returned to the authors. Prior to submission, manuscripts should be reviewed by someone with in-depth knowledge of scientific style and English grammar, syntax, semantics and spelling (contact the Editors for a list of persons providing this service). Manuscripts should be written in clear, concise and grammatically correct English and formatted according to the instructions listed below (also consult additional notes regarding style at the end of this document). ).
  2. Pages must be numbered at the bottom right corner and each line must be numbered on the left side.
  3. Every page of the manuscript (including abstracts, footnotes and references) must be doubled-spaced, all margins <2.5 cm, and text left justified.
  4. Starting with the Introduction, sections are to be numbered (1. Introduction); subordinate numbering is allowed (e.g. 1.1.), to a maximum of about four levels (1.1.1.1.).
  5. Titles and subtitles should be typed on a separate line, without indentation. Capitalize only the first letter of the first word of the title and all subtitles. Leave one blank line before the first paragraph and after the last paragraph of a section, and indent each paragraph.
  6. Manuscripts must be organized as follows (may be modified for Review Articles or Technical Notes, after consultation with the Editor):

Title Page (to include):
• Title, which should be clear, descriptive, not too long, with minimal abbreviations or commercial names (capitalize only the first letter of the first word)
• Initials, surnames and professional affiliations of all author(s)
• Current and complete postal addresses of all authors and affiliate institutions
• Corresponding Author with complete contact information including mailing address, complete telephone and fax numbers, and e-mail address

Abstract: on a separate page, not to exceed 250 words. The abstract should include the objective, main findings (including means and probability values, as appropriate), and primary conclusion(s) of the paper.

Five keywords (indexing terms): capitalize the first letter of each word or term and separate successive items with a semicolon. Authors are encouraged to consult a standard list of reference terms (e.g., External link http://www.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/meshhome.html ).

Introduction: should provide a brief context for the research. There should be three parts: a clear, brief description of the nature and extent of the problem; a brief review of the essential literature; and a statement of how the present study challenges, expands or improves existing knowledge. The final paragraph should include the hypothesis or objective(s), but should not include a summary of the findings of the current study.

Materials and Methods: : must contain enough information to allow a competent worker to duplicate the study. Materials and equipment should be named specifically, including the manufacturer/supplier, city, state/province (if applicable) and country. Descriptions of animals should include species, breed, sex, and age as well as (if appropriate) husbandry methods, climate, photoperiod, and geographic location. Experimental methods (including the experimental design) should be comprehensive and logical. The method of statistical evaluation must be clearly described (cite the software used). Indicate treatment and response variables, main effects and interactions, define experimental units and how they were allocated into groups.

Results: : should fully describe the outcome, including all information described as collected in Materials and Methods. The use of tables and figures is encouraged, especially for data that cannot be easily described in the text. Emphasize important points in the text, but do not excessively repeat data in tables and figures. Avoid discussion and interpretation of the data in the Results section.

Discussion: includes principles, relationships, and general truths. First refer to the outcome of the present study, indicate how it is similar or different to that previously reported, and discuss your interpretation of the state of knowledge in the area. Theoretical or practical implications of the work should be discussed, and suggestions made regarding future studies. Major conclusions and implications should be stated in a brief, final paragraph.

Acknowledgements: cite sources of funds, materials and assistance.

References: follow style noted below.

Tables: follow guidelines noted below.

Figure Legends: should not be excessively long and detailed but should provide sufficient context that the figure can be interpreted in the absence of the rest of the paper.

Tables
  1. All tables should be referred to by consecutive Arabic numerals (e.g., Table 1) in the order in which they are first cited.
  2. Avoid excessively large tables and those without no or few significant differences.
  3. Each table should be on a separate page (at the end of the manuscript).
  4. Each table should have a brief, self-explanatory title.
  5. Column headings should be brief, self-explanatory and have minimal repetition. Standard abbreviations of units of measurement should be enclosed within parentheses. For column and row headings, capitalize only the first letter of the first word.
  6. Vertical lines should not be used to separate columns (leave extra space between columns).
  7. Information essential to interpreting the table should appear as a footnote below the table. .


Illustrations
  1. All illustrations should be referred to by consecutive Arabic numerals (e.g., Fig. 1).
  2. Units should be indicated in the figures.
  3. Each illustration should be identified by its number. An indication of the top of the illustrations is required in all cases where it is not immediately apparent.
  4. Illustrations should be consistent with the layout and size of the journal page (illustrations can be placed in a single column or across the entire page). Illustrations should be large enough to allow a reduction of 50%.
  5. Ensure that the lettering is big enough to allow a reduction of 50% without becoming illegible. The lettering should be in English. Use the same kind of lettering throughout and follow the style of the journal. Capitalize only the first letter of the first word of all axis labels.
  6. Use bar scales on all illustrations (instead of numerical scales that must be changed with reduction).
  7. Each illustration should have a caption (typed on a separate sheet).
  8. Explanations should be given in the legend. Text in the illustrations should be kept to a minimum.
  9. Photographs are only acceptable if they have good contrast and intensity. Reproductions of photographs already printed cannot be accepted.
  10. If you submit usable color figures, Elsevier will ensure that they appear free-of-charge in color in the electronic version of your paper, regardless of whether or not these illustrations are reproduced in color in the printed version. Color illustrations can only be included in print if the author agrees to pay for their publication. Technical complications may arise during conversion of color figures to `grey scale? (for the printed version); therefore, submit appropriate black and white prints corresponding to all color illustrations.
  11. Information regarding preparation of illustrations is available online on Elsevier?s Authors? Home: (External link http://www.elsevier.com/artworkinstructions ).


References
  1. All references cited in the text should be listed in a References section (after Acknowledgements). Ensure there is complete agreement between references cited in the text and those listed in the References section and that all information in the References section is accurate and complete.
  2. References in the text should be indicated by Arabic numerals in brackets (with multiple citations separated by a comma and no space between the comma and the next citation); three or more consecutive citations should be separated by a hyphen, i.e. [1,2] [1-3] [1-3,5].
  3. In the Reference section, references must be listed in numerical (NOT alphabetical) order, with reference number enclosed in brackets. References should use the following style:
    a. For periodicals
    Connor EE, Ashwell MS, Dahl GE. Characterization and expression of the bovine growth hormone-releasing hormone (GHRH) receptor. Domest Anim Endocrinol 2002;22:189-200.
    b. For books
    Betteridge KJ. Embryo Transfer. In: Reproduction in Domesticated Animals, King GJ (Ed.), World Animal Science B9, Elsevier B.V., 1993, pp. 413-418.
    c. For multi-author books
    Van Zutphen LFM, Baumans V, Beynen AC. Principles of Laboratory Animal Science, Revised Edition. Elsevier B.V., 2001.
  4. Abbreviate the titles of periodicals mentioned in the list of references in accordance with BIOSIS Serial Sources (published annually by BIOSIS). The correct abbreviation for this journal is: Theriogenology.
  5. 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.
  6. Work accepted for publication but not yet published should be referred to as "in press".
  7. 1.
  8. References concerning unpublished data and "personal communications" should not be cited in the reference list but may be mentioned in the text.


Preparation of supplementary data
Elsevier now accepts electronic supplementary material to support and enhance communication of your scientific research. Supplementary files offer the author additional opportunities to publish supporting applications, movies, animation sequences, high-resolution images, background datasets, sound files, etc. Supplementary files supplied will be published online alongside the electronic version of your article in Elsevier web products, including ScienceDirect: (External link 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. Detailed instructions are available online on Elsevier?s Authors? Home: External link http://www.elsevier.com/artworkinstructions

Footnotes
  1. Footnotes should only be used if absolutely essential (otherwise include in text).
  2. 1.
  3. If used, they should be numbered in the text, indicated by superscript numbers, and be as brief as possible.


Additional style notes
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 biotica (crops, plants, insects, birds, mammals, etc.) should be identified by their scientific names when the English term is first used, with the exception of common domestic animals.
  3. 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.
  4. For chemical nomenclature, the conventions of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry and the official recommendations of the IUPAC-IUB Combined Commission on Biochemical Nomenclature should be followed.

Please use the following words, phrases, abbreviations, and stylistic conventions:
  • Avoid the word "injected," (e.g., "Cows were injected with cloprostenol") but include the generic name, proprietary name, dosage and route of administration (e.g., "Cows were treated with cloprostenol [Estrumate 500 υg im]").
  • Either cite a P value (recommended for Abstract and for Results) or use the term `significant? (recommended for Discussion), but do not do both.
  • Terms with a specific statistical meaning (i.e. significant, tended and correlated), should only be used in a strict statistical context.
  • Numbers less than 10 are written as a word, unless followed by an abbreviation for unit of measure, e.g. five embryos, 5 min

Use the following expressions:
  • transrectal palpation, not rectal palpation
  • nucleus transfer, not nuclear transplant
  • estrus (noun) synchronization, but, estrous (adjective) behavior
  • sperm can be used as both noun and adjective
  • 120 to 125, not 120-125
  • treatment by period, not treatment X period
  • gravity: 100 X g (in lieu of speed for centrifugation)
  • magnification: X 100
  • identification number of an animal: No. 10, but 30 animals: n = 30
  • 3 d, Day 3 (define Day 0)

Standard definitions:
  • oogonium: female gamete before meiosis
  • oocyte, primary: female gamete from onset of the first maturation division (meiosis) until extrusion of the first polar body
  • oocyte secondary: female gamete from onset of second meiosis until extrusion of the second polar body
  • ovum: female gamete from the end of both meiotic divisions until the union of the male and female pronuclei (differs from the common use of ovum as a general term for any female gamete)
  • germinal vesicle: nucleus of the ovum.
  • zygote: a fertilized ovum, from the fusion of the male and female gamete until completion of the first cleavage.
  • embryo: a conceptus from 2-cell stage to the stage when cell migration and differentiation are largely complete
  • fetus: a conceptus after organogenesis is mostly complete (primarily increasing in size)
  • conceptus: an embryo or fetus with all its membranes and accessory structures.
  • abortion: expulsion of a conceptus incapable of independent life.
  • premature parturition: expulsion (before full term) of a conceptus capable of independent life
  • stillbirth: Do avoid this term (use fetal death or abortion)
Abbreviations:
Never use an abbreviation to start a sentence. Some abbreviations may be used anywhere else, including the manuscript?s title and figure and table titles and legends, without definition; others may not be used in the title, but may be used in the text without definition. In general, abbreviations must be defined when used for the first time (this may be avoided in the ABSTRACT if necessary to conserve space). To make reading the paper more pleasant, avoid using abbreviations and acronyms, instead use short synonyms, for instance: for "Cesarean section" instead of "CS" use "section" or "hysterectomy."

The following abbreviations may be used in the text without definition (note that abbreviations exclude periods):



Units of Measure:

cpm - counts per min
dpm - disintegrations per min
g - gram
ga - gauge of hypodermic needle
h - hour
kg - kilogram
L - liter
mL - milliliter
vL - microliter
m - meter
min - minute
mo - month
sec - second
v:v - volume ratio
wk - week
wt/vol - weight per volume
yr - year

Routes of treatment:

id - intradermal
im - intramuscular
iu - intrauterine
iv - intravenous
sc - subcutaneous
po - oral

Statistical expressions:

ANOVA - analysis of variance
CV - coefficient of variation
df - degrees of freedom
F - variance ratio
NS - not significant
P - probability
SD - standard deviation
SEM - standard error of the mean
r - correlation coefficient

Additional information:
  1. For issues of style and format not addressed here, please consult Scientific Style and Format: The CBE Manual for Authors, Editors, and Publishers, Sixth Edition.
  2. For spelling, word formation and divisions, plurals, possessives, meanings and usage, consult the CBE Manual or a current college-level English language dictionary.
  3. For conflicts between instructions in this Guide and any of the references, the Guide takes precedence. Do not hesitate to contact the Editors if you have questions regarding manuscript preparation.


Permissions
  1. Authors, 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 they are not infringing a copyright.
  2. 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: contact Elsevier?s Rights Department, Philadelphia, PA, USA: phone (+1) 215 239 3804, fax (+1) 215 239 3805, e-mail healthpermissions@elsevier.com. Requests may also be completed online via the Elsevier homepage (External link http://www.elsevier.com/locate/permissions ).
  3. Material in unpublished letters and manuscripts is also protected and must not be published unless permission has been obtained.
  4. Any borrowed material must be appropriately acknowledged.


Proofs
Proofs will be sent by e-mail to the corresponding author (as listed on the title page). Only typesetter?s errors may be corrected; no changes or additions will be allowed.

Elsevier reserves the privilege of returning to the author for revision accepted manuscripts and illustrations that are not in appropriate format. Elsevier will endeavor to get your article corrected and published as quickly and accurately as possible. Therefore, ensure that all corrections are sent back to us in a single communication. Subsequent corrections will not be possible; please ensure your first communication is accurate, clear and complete. .

Copyright
Submission of an article implies that the article is original, is not being considered for publication elsewhere, all authors have approved the submission, agree with its content, and any person cited as a source of personal communications has approved such citation. Materials accepted for publication reflect the opinion(s) of the author(s), but not necessarily the opinions of the Editors, the Editorial Board, or the Publisher.

Upon acceptance of an article, Authors will be asked to transfer copyright (for more information on copyright see External link http://www.elsevier.com/authors .) to ensure the widest possible dissemination of information. The corresponding author will be notified and a copyright transfer form provided.

Authors? Rights
As an author you (or your employer or institution) may do the following:
  • make copies (print or electronic) of the article for your own personal use, including for your own classroom teaching use
  • make copies and distribute such copies (including through e-mail) of the article to research colleagues, for the personal use by such colleagues (but not commercially or systematically, e.g., via an e-mail list or list server)
  • post a pre-print version of the article on Internet websites including electronic pre-print servers, and to retain indefinitely such version on such servers or sites
  • post a revised personal version of the final text of the article (to reflect changes made in the peer review and editing process) on your personal or institutional website or server, with a link to the journal homepage (on elsevier.com)
  • present the article at a meeting or conference and to distribute copies of the article to the delegates attending such a meeting
  • for your employer, if the article is a `work for hire?, made within the scope of your employment, your employer may use all or part of the information in the article for other intra-company use (e.g., training)
  • retain patent and trademark rights and rights to any processes or procedure described in the article
  • include the article in full or in part in a thesis or dissertation (provided that this is not to be published commercially)
  • use the article or any part thereof in a printed compilation of your works, such as collected writings or lecture notes (subsequent to publication of your article in the journal)
  • prepare other derivative works, to extend the article into book-length form, or to otherwise re-use portions or excerpts in other works, with full acknowledgement of its original publication in the journal
NIH "Public Access" Policy
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: External link http://publicaccess.nih.gov/ ) 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 (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. Posting your manuscript directly with PubMed Central is prohibited.

Offprints
  1. An electronic offprint will be supplied free of charge.
  2. Additional paper offprints in multiples of 50 (maximum of 400) can be ordered on an offprint order form (included with the proofs).
  3. UNESCO coupons are acceptable for payment of extra paper offprints.


Author services
Enquiries concerning manuscripts and proofs: questions arising after acceptance of the manuscript, especially those relating to proofs, should be directed to Lorraine Bernazzani, Journal Manager, phone: 845-883-5681, fax: 845-883-5682, e-mail: L.Bernazzani@Elsevier.com.

Authors can also track the progress of their accepted article and set up e-mail alerts informing them of changes to their manuscript?s status, by using the "Track a Paper" feature of Elsevier?s Authors? Home: (External link http://www.elsevier.com/authors ).



Updated May 2008
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