Journal of Hepatology

The Journal of Hepatology, the official journal of the European Association for the Study of the Liver (EASL), publishes articles describing clinical and basic investigations in the field of hepatology.

Didier Samuel M.D.
Editor-In-Chief

Contact Information:
Editorial Office
7, Rue des Battoirs
CH-1205
Geneva, Switzerland
Telephone: +41 22 807 03 67
Fax: +41 22 510 24 00
Editorial office e-mail: jhepatology@easloffice.eu
Manuscript submission: http://ees.elsevier.com/jhepat/default.asp

TYPES OF MANUSCRIPTS

Original Manuscripts
Original articles describing clinical and basic investigations in the field of hepatology. Manuscripts submitted in this category are expected to be concise, well organized, and clearly written.

• The maximum length is 5000 words, including the abstract, references, tables, and figure legends.
• The structured abstract must not exceed 250 words.
• The title must not exceed 130 characters.
• A maximum of 4 tables and 4 figures is allowed.
• References should not exceed a maximum of 100.
• The abstract must be organized as follows:

• Background & Aims
• Methods
• Results
• Conclusions

Do not use abbreviations, footnotes or references in the abstract. An electronic word count of the abstract must be included.
- Three to ten key words at the end of the abstract must be provided.
- The manuscript must be arranged as follows:

a. Title page
b. Abstract in the Journal of Hepatologyformat
c. Introduction
d. Materials and methods (or Patients and methods)
e. Results
f. Discussion
g. Acknowledgements
h. References
i. Tables
j. Figure legends
k. Figures

Acceptance of original manuscripts will be based upon originality and importance of the investigation. These manuscripts are reviewed by the Editors and, in the majority of cases, by two experts in the field. Manuscripts requiring extensive revision will be at a disadvantage for publication and will be rejected. Authors shall be responsible for the quality of language and style and are strongly advised against submitting a manuscript which is not written in grammatically correct English. The Editors reserve the right to reject poorly written manuscripts even if their scientific content is qualitatively suitable for publication. Manuscripts are submitted with the understanding that they are original contributions and do not contain data that have been published elsewhere or are under consideration by another journal. Meeting abstracts do not constitute prior publication.

Review Articles
Review articles on selected clinical and basic topics of interest for the readers of the Journal of Hepatology will be solicited by the Editors. Review articles are expected to be clear, concise and updated.
- The maximum length is 5000 words, excluding the summary, references, tables, and figures.
- References should not exceed a maximum of 150.
- The inclusion of a maximum of 4 high-quality tables and 4 colored figures to summarize critical points is highly desirable.
- Review articles must be accompanied by a title page and a summary.
- Reviews should include at least one Key Point Box that briefly summarizes the content of the review.

Review articles are reviewed by the Editors and may be sent to outside expert reviewers before a final decision for publication is made. Revisions may be required.

Editorials
This section consists of invited brief editorial comments on articles published in the Journal of Hepatology.

• The length of an editorial should not exceed 1500 words, excluding references.
• A maximum of 1 table or 1 figure is allowed.
• References should not exceed a maximum of 20.
• A title page must be provided.

Case Reports
Case reports are not encouraged and will only be accepted if they represent an outstanding contribution to the aetiology, pathogenesis or treatment of a specific liver disorder. Regular case reports will not be accepted even if they provide interesting clinical information.

• The maximum length is 3000 words, including the summary and references.
• A maximum of 2 tables and 2 figures is allowed.
• References should not exceed a maximum of 15.
• A title page must be provided.

Letters to the Editor
Letters to the Editor will be considered for publication if they are related to articles published in recent issues of the Journal of Hepatology. Occasionally, Letters to the Editor that refer to articles not published in the Journal of Hepatology will be considered.

• The length of a Letter to the Editor should not exceed 800 words.
• A maximum of 1 table or 1 figure is allowed.
• References should not exceed a maximum of 10.
• No more than 4 Authors may appear in the author list.

Special Sections
The journal will contain special sections that focus on one or more specific topics within the hepatology field:

Frontiers in Liver Transplantation. Articles for Frontiers in Liver Transplantation section will review recent developments in the field of liver transplantation and will be solicited by the Editors only. Articles are expected to be clear, concise, and updated.
- The maximum length is 5000 words, excluding the summary, references, tables, and figures.
- The inclusion of a maximum of 4 high-quality tables and 4 colored figures to summarize critical points is highly desirable.
- References should not exceed a maximum of 150.
- It must be accompanied by a title page and a summary.

Frontiers in Liver Transplantation articles are reviewed by the Editors and may be sent to outside expert reviewers before a final decision for publication is made. Revisions may be required.

International Hepatology. International Hepatology commentaries will highlight a recent paper of interest from a high impact peer reviewed journal. International Hepatology commentaries will be solicited by the Editors only.

• Commentary articles should not exceed a maximum of 800 words, excluding tables or figures.
• A maximum of 1 table or 1 figure is allowed.
• References should not exceed a maximum of 10.
• A title page must be provided.

Controversies in Hepatology. The Controversies in Hepatology section will present two opposing viewpoints on a currently controversial subject within the field. Controversies in Hepatology commentaries will be solicited by the Editors only.

• The maximum length is 2,000 words, excluding the summary, references, tables and figures.
• A maximum of 2 tables and 2 figures is allowed.
• References should not exceed a maximum of 25.
• It must be accompanied by a title page and a summary.

Hepatology Snapshot. Hepatology Snapshot consists of a one page figure that graphically summarizes current knowledge about a particular subject within the hepatology field. Hepatology Snapshot commentaries will be solicited by the Editors only.

• The figure is accompanied by a short summary article that should not exceed a maximum of 800 words, excluding tables or figures.
• In lieu of the article, a detailed figure legend which includes all relevant background information can be included.
• References should not exceed a maximum of 10.
• A title page must be provided.

Clinical Application of Basic Science. Clinical Application of Basic Science articles will highlight and review relevant clinical applications of basic research. Articles are expected to be clear, concise and updated. Clinical Application of Basic Science commentaries will be solicited by the Editors only.

• The maximum length is 2000 words, excluding the summary, references, tables, and figures.
• A maximum of 2 tables and 2 figures is allowed.
• References should not exceed a maximum of 25.
• It must be accompanied by a title page and a summary.

MANUSCRIPT SUBMISSION
The only accepted form of submission for all types of manuscripts is through the Elsevier Editorial System (EES) website http://ees.elsevier.com/jhepat/default.asp Authors are kindly asked NOT to send their manuscripts by fax or mail to the Editorial Office.

Should you have any queries regarding the EES please contact their 24/7 support hotline:

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ORGANIZATION OF THE MANUSCRIPT

The submitted manuscript must be typed double-spaced throughout and numbered (including references, tables and figure legends). Preferably using a "standard" font (we prefer Times/Arial 12). For mathematical symbols, Greek letters, and other special characters, use normal text or Symbol font. The references must be in accordance with the Journal of Hepatology reference style (see References).

Approved nomenclature for gene and protein names and symbols should be used, including appropriate use of italics (all gene symbols and loci, should be in italics) and capitalization as it applies for each organism's standard nomenclature format, in text, tables, and figures. Full gene names are generally not in italics and Greek symbols are not used. Proteins should not be italicized.

Improperly prepared manuscripts will not be entered into the peer review process and will be sent back to the author for correction.

A letter of submission must be uploaded with all manuscripts. For revised manuscripts, the letter should be uploaded into the Comments to the Editor section. This letter may be used to outline the strengths of the manuscript. All commercial relationships (i.e. consultancies, patent-licensing agreements) that might pose a conflict of interest in connection with the submitted manuscript must be included in the letter. In case of possible conflicts of interest, the letter must include a detailed description of the nature of the conflict of interest, the full name of the entity with which there is a conflict, as well as address, telephone number, webpage address, a detailed financial disclosure, and any other important, relevant details.

Title page must contain:
a. A title of no more than 130 characters.
b. Names of the Authors including the first names of all the Authors in full.
c. Names of department(s) and institution(s) where the work was done.
d. Name, address, telephone and fax numbers, and electronic mail address of the corresponding Author.
e. Electronic word count.
f. Number of figures and tables.
g. List of abbreviations in the order of appearance.
h. Conflict of interest.
i. Financial support.

Animal trials. Manuscripts reporting experiments using animals must include a statement giving assurance that all animals received human care and that study protocols comply with the institution's guidelines. Statistical methods used should be outlined.

Human trials. Manuscripts reporting data from research conducted on humans must include a statement of assurance in the methods section of the manuscript reading that: (1) informed consent was obtained from each patient included in the study and (2) the study protocol conforms to the ethical guidelines of the 1975 Declaration of Helsinki as reflected in a priori approval by the institution's human research committee.

Randomised controlled trials. Any paper that is a randomized control trial should adhere to the guidelines that can be found at the following web-site: www.consort-statement.org. The checklist should be printed out and faxed to the Editorial office at the time of submission. The trial registration number must be included on the title page of the manuscript reporting a registered clinical trial. Failure to do so will prevent entry to the peer review process.

Registration of clinical trials. The Journal of Hepatology endorses the policy of the WHO and the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) on the registration of clinical trials. Any trial that starts recruiting on or after July 1, 2005 should be registered in a publicly owned, publicly accessible registry and should satisfy a minimal standard dataset. Trials that started recruiting before that date will be considered for publication if registered before September 13, 2005. More detailed information regarding the definition of clinical trial, the minimal registration data set, and the requirements for an acceptable trial registry can be found in New Engl J Med 2004, 351:1250-1251 and New Engl J Med 2005, 352:2437-2438.

Drugs and chemicals. Drugs and chemicals should be used by generic name. If trademarks are mentioned, the manufacturer's name and city should be given. All funding sources supporting the work, either public or private, especially those from pharmaceutical companies, must be provided.

Genetic Sequence data. In papers reporting a novel DNA or amino sequence, verification that the data have been or will be submitted either to Gen-Bank or EMBL is required. Please provide this verification and the accession number in the covering letter.

References. References must be in accordance with the Journal of Hepatology reference style. References are ordered as they appear in the text and citation numbers for references are placed between "brackets" ("[ ]") in the text as well as in the reference list.
Authors should be listed surname first, followed by the initials of given names (e.g. Bolognesi M). If there are more than six authors, the names of the first six authors followed by et al. should appear. Titles of all cited articles are required. Titles of articles cited in reference list should be in upright, not italic text; the first word of the title is capitalized, the title written exactly as it appears in the work cited, ending with a full stop. Journal titles are abbreviated according to common usage, followed by Journal years, semicolon (;) before volume and colon (:) before full page range (see examples below).

All articles in the list of references should be cited in the text and, conversely, all references cited in the text must be included in the list. Personal communications and unpublished data should be cited directly in the text by the first Author, without being numbered. Please make sure you have the latest, updated version of your reference management software to make sure you have the correct reference format for the Journal of Hepatology.

An example of how references should look within the text:
"HVPG was measured by hepatic vein catheterization using a balloon catheter according to a procedure described elsewhere [14, 15] and used as an index of portal hypertension [16]."

An example of how the reference list should look:
[14] Merkel C, Bolognesi M, Bellon S, Zuin R, Noventa F, Finucci G, et al. Prognostic usefulness of hepatic vein catheterization in patients with cirrhosis and esophageal varices. Gastroenterology 1992;102:973-979.
[15] Groszmann RJ, Wongcharatrawee S. The hepatic venous pressure gradient: anything worth doing should be done right. Hepatology 2004;39:280-282.

Updated versions of the Journal of Hepatology EndNote® and Reference Manager® styles can be found here:
RefMan: ftp://support.isiresearchsoft.com/RefMan/Styles/Journal%20of%20Hepatology.os
EndNote: ftp://support.isiresearchsoft.com/pub/pc/styles/endnote4/J%20Hepatology.ens

Figures. A maximum of 4 figures is allowed. Figures will be often, but not always, re-designed by graphic designers. By signing and transferring the Copyright Agreement to EASL, the author gives permission to the graphic designers to alter the visual aspect of any figures, tables, or graphs. The scientific content of figures will not be altered. Please provide this information with your covering letter.

All graphics submitted to the Journal of Hepatology should be sent at their actual size, which is 100% of their print dimension and in portrait orientation.
Two standard widths are used and figures should fit in one (8.5 x 23.5 cm) or two (17.5 x 23.5 cm) columns (see Figure and Table Guidelines).

Figures should be supplied in the following preferred file formats: PDF (*.pdf), Power Point (*.ppt), Adobe Illustrator (*.ai, *.eps), Photoshop (*.psd) files in grayscales or in RGB color mode. It is highly recommended that figures not be sent in JPG (*.jpg) format.
Photographs (scans, immunofluorescences, EM, and histology images) should be submitted as: 1) TIFF (*.tif) with a resolution of at least 300 pixels per inch, or 2) Illustrator compatible EPS files with RGB color management (*.eps), 3) Photoshop (*.psd) or PDF (*.pdf) files (grayscales or RGB) at the appropriate resolution which is:

• 300 dpi for color figures
• 600 dpi for black and white figures
• 1200 dpi for line-art figures

For all photomicrographs, where possible, a scale should appear on the photograph. Photographs of identifiable patients should be accompanied by written permission to publish from patient(s).

Furthermore, panel lettering should be in Arial bold 14 pt, capitalized and no full stop (A, B) while lettering in figures (axes, conditions), should be in Arial 8 pt, lower case type with the first letter capitalized and no full stop. No type should be smaller than 6 pt. (For more detailed information, please refer to the Figure and Table Guidelines .)

Tables. Tables. Tables should be provided as Word files (*.doc) or Illustrator/InDesign (*.ai, *.eps, *.indd) compatible files. No TIFF and JPG files are acceptable for table submission. When submitting tables in Microsoft Word table function, no tab, space or colors should be used. Tables should contain a maximum of 10 columns. Tables submitted in landscape orientation will not be accepted. Tables should include a title, table legend, and if necessary footnotes. A maximum of 4 tables is allowed. Include tables in the submitted manuscript as a separate section.

Figure Legends. Figure legends should be listed one after the other, as part of the text document, separate from the figure files. Please do not write a legend below each figure. Each figure legend should have a brief title that describes the entire figure without citing specific panels, followed by a description of each panel, and the symbols used. Enough information should be provided in the figure legend text to permit interpretation of figures without reference to the text; but should not contain any details of methods, or exceed 100 words.

The abbreviated word for figure "Fig." should be typed and bolded, followed by the figure number and a period (i.e. "Fig. 1."). Every figure legend should have a Title written in bold. If a figure contains multiple sections (i.e. A, B, C, D) the letter for these subsections should be in capital letters. Within the figure legend text the capital letters should be surrounded by parenthesis [i.e. (A)…(B)…(C)…(D)]. Figures should be numbered according to the order of citation.

Supplementary material. Supplementary material, not for review, is acceptable. Supplementary material can be uploaded during the submission process. Supplemental movies may be submitted through Elsevier Editorial System as (*.mov), (*.avi), (*.mpeg), or (*.gif) files. By choosing the submission item labeled "Supplementary data," the PDF builder will imbed links within the PDF where editors and reviewers will be able to download the files. This also works for Excel files that do not display properly once converted to a PDF. Please note that the size limit for these items is 10 MB per file.
Large data sets (too large to be included within the manuscript) must be submitted online. Each file should be prepared as PDF, Excel, or text. The size of the file should not exceed 10MB.

ENGLISH

Authors may be asked to contact professionals regarding the correction of the English content of manuscripts either before or after acceptance. This expense will be the responsibility of the Authors.

PERMISSIONS

Permissions may be sought directly from Elsevier Global Rights Department:
e-mail: permissions@elsevier.com.
You may also learn more about Rights and Permissions directly through Elsevier's Permissions page:
http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/authorsview.authors/permissions

REVIEW PROCESS
Review process. Authors should be aware that manuscripts will be screened upon submission. Only the manuscripts which fully comply with the submission requirements outlined and in which the level of English is of an acceptable standard will enter the peer review process.

First submission. Once successful submission of a manuscript has taken place, an acknowledgement will be sent by e-mail to the Corresponding Author on the manuscript. All subsequent correspondence will be with the designated Corresponding Author. The number of the manuscript should be used by the Authors in all communications with the Editorial Office. All the manuscripts will be reviewed by the Editors and, and in some cases, by other expert reviewers. After review, the corresponding Author will be notified by letter of the decision taken by the Editor(s). This letter will be accompanied in most, but not all, cases by the comments of the reviewers. This letter will be sent via e-mail.

Resubmission of manuscripts. In some cases, Authors will be invited to submit a revised version of the manuscript for further review. This invitation does not imply, in any case, that the revised version will be accepted for publication. In general, revised manuscripts must be received in the Editorial Office within four months of the date of the first decision. Authors should submit the resubmitted manuscript with all changes underlined. The resubmitted manuscript should be accompanied by a cover letter stating that the manuscript has been revised according to the comments made by the Editor and the Reviewers. Figures and tables must be uploaded. Please ensure that a separate point by point response to the reviewers is included with the covering letter. Please do not send revised manuscripts to the Editorial Office via e-mail. Revised manuscripts should be uploaded in the Elsevier Editorial System website.

PROOFS
Proofs will be made available to the author(s) to be checked. It is the responsibility of the author(s) to make sure that the quality and accuracy of the manuscript, figures, and tables in the proofs is correct. Authors should return their proofs within 48 hours, by fax or e-mail if the corrections are minor, to expedite publication. All questions arising after acceptance of a paper, especially those concerning proofs, should be directed to the Publisher, Elsevier, Radarweg 29, 1043 NX Amsterdam, The Netherlands, tel.: +31 (0)20 485 2533, fax: +31 (0)20 485 2521, e-mail: JHEPAT@elsevier.com. Further changes or additions to the edited manuscript after these corrections cannot be accepted.

COVER ILLUSTRATIONS

Cover illustrations will be chosen by the Editors. Authors are highly encouraged to submit high quality color figures and images suitable for publication on the cover at the time of submission of the manuscript.

REPRINTS

Reprints must be ordered in advance. An order form indicating the cost of the reprints is sent from the Publisher with page proofs. Reprint orders, payments, and inquiries must be forwarded to the Publisher, not to the Editorial Office.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Announcements of meetings that could be of interest to the readers of the Journal of Hepatology should be sent to the Editorial Office at least 4 months before the date of publication. Short announcements are published free of charge. Large announcements are considered as advertising and the prices vary according to the size and the number of insertions.

ADVERTISEMENTS

Information about advertisements in the Journal of Hepatology can be obtained from the Publisher.

Copyright assignments, Financial disclosures, and Institutional Review Board/Animal Care Committee Approval. Upon article acceptance, the corresponding author will be contacted and asked to submit the above forms. It is the author's responsibility to make sure these forms are signed and duly returned to the editorial office via fax. If these forms are not received the manuscript will NOT be published.

Drug Declaration/Conflict of Interest Form

This form should be printed out and the suitable statement chosen among the listed ones (A-G). It should then be signed by the corresponding author and faxed to the Editorial Office at +41 22 510 24 00. If this form is not received the paper will NOT be published. Download form here: Copyright form.

Methodological and Statistical instructions for Authors submitting manuscripts to the Journal of Hepatology

The manuscripts should include a complete and detailed description of what was done. This includes a description of the design, measurement and collection of data, the study objective and major hypotheses, type and source of subjects, inclusion and exclusion criteria and measures of outcome, number of subjects studied and why this number was chosen. Any deviation from the study protocol should be stated. The baseline characteristics of any compared groups should be described in detail and -if necessary -adjusted for in the analysis of the outcome. For randomized clinical trials the following should also be clearly documented: treatments, sample size estimation, method of random allocation and measures taken for maintaining its concealment including blinding, numbers treated, followed-up, being withdrawn, dropping out, and having side effects (numbers and type). The statistical methods used should be relevant and clearly stated. Special or complex statistical methods should be explained and referenced. Complex analyses should be performed with the assistance of a qualified statistician. Unqualified use of such analyses is strongly discouraged. The underlying assumptions of the statistical methods used should be tested to ensure that the assumptions are fulfilled. For small data sets and if variable distributions are non-normal, distribution free (non-parametric) statistical methods should be used. The actual p values - whether significant or not - should always be presented (not NS). Confidence intervals convey more information than p values and should be presented whenever possible. Continuous variables can always be summarized using the median and range which are therefore preferred. Only in the infrequent case of a Normal distribution are the mean and standard deviation (SD) useful. Complex analyses (including Cox and logistic regression analysis) should be presented in sufficient detail: i.e. variable scoring, regression coefficients, standard errors and any constants. Odds-ratios or relative risks are not sufficient documentation of such analyses. The handling of any missing values in the data should be clearly specified. The number of statistical tests performed should be kept at a minimum to reduce spurious positive results. Explorative (hypothesis generating) analyses without confirmation using independent data are discouraged. Figures showing individual observations e.g. scatter plots are encouraged. Histograms may also be useful. Tables should indicate the number of observations on which each result is being based.