Official Journal of the Canadian Society of Clinical Chemists
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Clinical Biochemistry publishes articles relating to the applications of molecular biology, biochemistry, chemistry and immunology to clinical investigation and to the diagnosis, therapy, and monitoring of human disease.

Publications
Original Research Communications (designated as one of two categories: Analytical or Clinical Investigation) may be offered as Full Papers or as Capsules. The latter format is recommended for brief communications (including technical evaluations and short clinical notes) comprising up to 1,500 words of text, 10 references, and two illustrative items (Tables and/or Figures).

Case Reports will be accepted only where they provide novel insight into disease mechanisms or diagnostic applications.

Critical Reviews will be welcome but prospective authors are strongly advised to seek authorization from the Editor-in-Chief to avoid conflict with scheduled reviews invited by the Editorial Board.

Manuscript submission
Manuscripts should be submitted to the Clinical Biochemistry web site at http://ees.elsevier.com/clb. A manuscript is accepted for consideration for publication in Clinical Biochemistry with the understanding that it has not been published previously (except in abstract form or as part of a public 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by the responsible authorities in the laboratories where the work was carried out and that, if accepted, it will not be published elsewhere in the same form, in either the same or another language, without the consent of the Editor-in-Chief and the Publisher.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. Relevant ethical approval must be noted for investigations involving human subjects.
The journal no longer accepts submissions of papers based on animal studies.
A submission letter should always accompany the submitted paper, providing the following information: (a) The full name and address of the corresponding author (including telephone and fax numbers and e-mail address).
(b) Any known changes of address within a period of six months after submission of the paper.
(c) The type of paper (Analytical or Clinical Investigation, Full Paper or Capsule, Case Reports, Critical Review etc).
(d) The full title of the submitted paper.
(e) The names, addresses and telephone, fax and e-mail details (where possible) of three suitable, potential reviewers. If there are compelling reasons for excluding some individuals as potential reviewers, these may be mentioned. However, the ultimate reviewer selection is at the Editor-in-Chief's discretion.

Authorship
This Journal accepts the guidelines on authorship developed by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors.

Peer-Review
Manuscripts will be reviewed by two anonymous reviewers, either members of the Editorial Board or invited experts. The reviewers' comments will be sent to the first author by the Editor or Associate Editor responsible for the manuscript together with a decision on acceptance for publication.

Revision and publication dates
Manuscripts requiring revision and/or condensation will be returned to the authors by the Editor-in-Chief, specifying the requested alterations and including the (anonymous) referee reports. Authors are requested to resubmit the revised manuscript within three months. Papers not resubmitted within three months will be treated as new submissions.

Preparation of papers
Start each of the following sections on a new page: title page, abstract and key words, text, acknowledgements, references, each table, legends to figures. A useful guide to preparation is the Council of Biology Editors Style Manual.

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 work;
(2) The category under which submitted;
(3) The authors' full names (first name, middle initial(s),and surname);
(4) 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;
(5) The name, address, telephone and fax numbers and e-mail address of the corresponding author.

Abstract. Page 2 of the typescript should be reserved for the abstract which should be presented in a structured format and should not exceed 150 words for Full Papers, or 75 words for Capsules. The following headings should be included followed by a colon: a) Objectives: b) Design and Methods: c) Results: d) Conclusions.

Key Words: List separately up to 10 key words for Full Papers, or 5 words for Capsules, using terms from the most current issue of medical subject headings of Index Medicus.

Text: When appropriate, the text should have sections for: Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion. Introduction: Define the reason for the study, the nature of the problem, and its relation to previous work. Methods: Describe equipment, experimental subjects, reagents, and procedures with sufficient detail to allow a competent reader to repeat the work. Trademarks and addresses of suppliers should be included. Provide references to established methods. Indicate the nature of ethical clearance when human subjects are involved. Results: Present in logical sequence the data generated using, as appropriate, tables and figures without duplication. Indicate the nature of data reduction and statistical procedures employed with appropriate references. Discussion: Indicate the conclusions that may be drawn and place them in the context of a critical appraisal of previous work. Distinguish clearly new information from previous findings, and speculation from fact. Problems arising out of the study may be identified, and relevant hypotheses may be generated.

References: Literature cited should be restricted to papers from peer-review journals listed in Index Medicus, or to articles and chapters in books that might reasonably be expected to be available to readers of this Journal. Presentations at Meetings may only be cited with reference to an abstract published in a peer-review journal. Number references consecutively in their order of appearance and arrange them in chronological order within groups simultaneously cited for the first time. "Unpublished observations" and "personal communications" may not be used as references but may be inserted in parentheses in the text. 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 of correct forms of references are as follows:
1. Standard Journal Article
Frohlich J, McLeod R, Hon K. Lecithin: Cholesterol acyl transferase (LCAT). Clin Biochem 1982;15:269-78.

Books and monographs:
2. Personal author(s): Zilva JF, Pannall PR. Clinical chemistry in diagnosis and treatment. 4th ed. Chicago: Year Book Med Publ. Inc., 1984.
3. Chapter in book: Wright LA. Diagnostic clinical toxicology. In: Gornall AG, Ed. Applied biochemistry of clinical disorders. Hagerstown, MD: Harper & Row, l980. p. 378-88.

Cite review articles where appropriate and restrict references to those that are strictly relevant.

Tables: Each table, and every column should be provided with an explanatory heading, with units of measure clearly indicated. The heading of the table should make its general meaning understandable without reference to the text. Cite each table in the text in consecutive order.

Figures: Please visit our Web site at http://authors.elsevier.com/artwork for detailed instructions on preparing electronic artwork.

Colour Figures: Colour 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 colour figures, then the publisher 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 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. For further information on the preparation of electronic artwork, please see http://authors.elsevier.com/artwork. [Please note: Because of technical complications that can arise in converting colour figures to "grey scale" (for the printed version should you not opt for colour in print), please submit in addition usable black-and-white files corresponding to all the colour illustrations.]

Figure Legends: Legends should be collated, typed double-spaced, numbered with Arabic numerals corresponding to the illustrations, and submitted on a separate page. When symbols, arrows, numbers, or letters are used to identify parts of the illustrations, each should be explained clearly in the legend.

Figures: Figure legends should be provided as text, placed after the reference section in the main manuscript file. Number figures consecutively with Arabic numerals. When creating your figures, use font sizes and line weights that will reproduce clearly and accurately when figures are sized to the appropriate column width. Please visit our Web site at http://authors.elsevier.com/artwork for detailed instructions on preparing electronic artwork.

Abbreviations and Units: Standard abbreviations as listed in the Council of Biology Editors Style Manual may be used without definition. Use non-standard abbreviations sparingly, preceding their first use in the text with the corresponding full designation. Use units in conformity with the standard International System (SI) of units.

Publication
Copyright Transfer: Upon acceptance of an article, authors will be asked to transfer copyright by email (for more information on copyright, see http://authors.elsevier.com). This transfer will ensure the widest possible dissemination of information. A form facilitating transfer of copyright will be provided.

Proofreading
Corresponding authors will receive proofs as a PDF file by e-mail. As 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 alterations to style or meaning will be permitted at this stage. Any new material that the authors may wish to introduce, for reasons of scientific accuracy, will be checked by the Editor-in-Chief and a charge may be made for corrections. The publisher will do everything possible to get your article corrected and published as quickly and accurate as possible. Therefore, it is important to ensure that all of your corrections are sent back to us in one communication. Subsequent corrections will not be possible, so please ensure your first sending is complete.
Contact details for questions arising after acceptance of an article, especially those relating to proofs, are provided when an article is accepted for publication by Elsevier.

Page charges
There are no page charges.

Offprints
E-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.