The Official Journal of the Anaerobe Society of the Americas, and the Japanese Accociation for Anaerobic Infection Research
Guide for Authors
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
Anaerobe welcomes
original papers on all areas of research related to biological activities in strict anaerobic or microaerophilic environments. Studies
pertaining to obligate or facultative anaerobes, including both prokaryotes and eukaryotes, are encouraged. The journal will consider
original reports in the areas of metabolism, biochemistry, physiology, pathogenesis, electron transport, taxonomy, systematics, molecular
biology, industrial processes, ecology, veterinary science, evolution, infectious diseases, environmental activities, genetics, biotechnology,
antimicrobial agents, food spoilage, environmental microbiology, cell energetics, biotransformations, biocorrosion, normal flora, respiration,
methanogenesis, bioremediation, immunology, fermentation, epidemiology, vaccines, waste treatment and isolation as it relates to anaerobes.
Short communications are also welcome, as well as original and genuine advances to methodology as applied to anaerobes. Review articles
will normally be commissioned, but suggestions for reviews are actively encouraged. Mini reviews will be commissioned by the editor.
A major aim of the journal is to facilitate communication among different specialties.
Submission of articles
General
It is essential to give a fax number and e-mail address when submitting a manuscript. Articles must be written in good English.
Authors must indicate the journal section to which the paper is submitted on the title page. The Editor-in-Chief or the Associate
Editor heading that section of the journal will be responsible for the management of the paper. If the author cannot decide between two
sections, indicate as such and name both sections.
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 Publisher. A copy of any closely related manuscript that has been submitted or published elsewhere
should also be included.
Copyright
Upon acceptance of an article, authors will be asked to sign 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 (or letter) 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.
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, Oxford, UK: phone
(+44) 1865 843830, fax (+44) 1865 853333, e-mail permissions@elsevier.com. Requests may also be completed online via the
Elsevier homepage http://www.elsevier.com/locate/permissions.
Should authors be requested by the editor to revise the
text, the revised version should be submitted within 6 weeks. After this period, the article will be regarded as a new submission.
Submission Process
Submission to this journal proceeds totally on-line. Use the following guidelines to prepare your article.
Via the online submission page of this journal (http://ees.elsevier.com/anaerobe/) you will be guided stepwise through the
creation and uploading of the various files. Once the uploading is done, our system automatically generates an electronic (PDF) proof,
which is then used for reviewing. All correspondence, including notification of the Editor's decision and requests for revisions, will
be by e-mail.
The above represents a very brief outline of this form of submission. It can be advantageous to print this 'Guide
for Authors' section from the site for reference in the subsequent stages of article preparation.
If online submission is not possible,
manuscripts may be submitted by e-mail (anaerobe@elsevier.com). If this isn't possible the source files should be sent
on disk together with a matching hard copy (both text and figures and tables) by registered mail to the Anaerobe Editorial Office.
(Please note that this is not the preferred way of submission and could cause a delay in publication of the article.)
Please submit, with the manuscript, the names and addresses (including fax number and
email address) of 3 potential referees.
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 http://www.nih.gov/about/publicaccess/index.htm)
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 (by e-mailing us at 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. There will be no need for you to post your manuscript directly with PubMed Central, and any such posting is
prohibited.
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 http://www.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
Electronic format requirements
Word or WordPerfect is preferred.
Always keep a backup copy of the electronic file for reference and safety. Save your files
using the default extension of the program used.
Word processor documents
It is important that the file be saved in
the native format of the word processor 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 word processor'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 word processor'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 http://www.elsevier.com/locate/anaerobe).
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 Preparation of electronic illustrations.
To avoid unnecessary errors you are strongly
advised to use the 'spellchecker' function of your word processor.
Preparation of Text
Please write your text in good
English (American or British usage is accepted, but not a mixture of these). Italics are to be used for expressions of Latin origin,
for example, in vivo, et al., per se. Use decimal points (not commas); use a space for thousands (10 000 and above).
Authors
in Japan kindly note that, upon request, Elsevier Japan will provide a list of people who can check and improve the English of an article
before submission. Contact our Tokyo office: Elsevier K.K., Editorial Service, 1-9-15 Higashi Azabu, Minato-ku, Tokyo 106-0044, Japan;
tel.: +81-3-5561-5032; fax: +81-3-5561-5045; e-mail: info@elsevier.co.jp
Use double spacing and wide (3 cm) margins
and it helps to have each line numbered in the left hand margin. (Avoid full justification, i.e., do not use a constant right-hand margin.)
Ensure that each new paragraph is clearly indicated. Present tables and figure legends on separate pages at the end of the manuscript.
If possible, consult a recent issue of the journal or refer to the sample issue online at http://sciencedirect.com/science/journal/1075-9964
to become familiar with layout and conventions.
The following information should be provided on the title page (in the order given).
Journal Section. Indicate journal section to which paper is being submitted. If the author cannot decide between two sections,
indicate as such and name both sections.
Title. Titles should be concise and informative. They 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. 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.
Corresponding author.
Clearly indicate who is to handle correspondence at all stages of pre- and 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. Every person listed
as an author is to have contributed in a meaningful way to the analysis and reporting of the work. Those who meet the criteria for authorship
should not be excluded. All authors must agree to all the contents of the manuscript, including the delegation of responsibility to the
corresponding author, and order in which their names appear.
Abstract. A concise and factual abstract is required (maximum
length 500 words). An abstract is often presented separate from the article, so it must be able to stand-alone. References should therefore
be avoided, but if essential, they must be cited in full, without reference to the reference list. 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 5 keywords, avoiding general and plural terms and multiple concepts (avoid, for example, 'and', 'of'). Only
abbreviations firmly established in the field may be eligible. These keywords will be used for indexing purposes.
Abbreviations.
Limit the use of abbreviations to only those that aid the reader. Define abbreviations that are not standard in this field in a footnote
to be placed on the first page of the article. Ensure consistency of abbreviations throughout the article.
Structure of the Article
Subdivision of the article. 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.
Materials and methods. Provide sufficient detail to allow the work to be reproduced. Methods
already published should be indicated by a reference: only relevant modifications should be described.
Results.
Discussion.
This should explore the significance of the results of the work, not repeat them. A combined Results and Discussion section is often
appropriate. Avoid extensive citations and discussion of published literature.
Conclusions. The main conclusions of the
study may be presented in a short Conclusions section, which may standalone or form a subsection of a Discussion or Results and Discussion
section.
Acknowledgements. Place acknowledgements, including information on grants received, before the references, in
a separate section, and not as a footnote on the title page.
References. See separate section, below.
Figure
legends, tables, figures, schemes. Present these, in this order, at the end of the article. They are described in more detail below.
High-resolution graphics files must always be provided separate from the main text file (see Preparation of illustrations).
Footnotes. Footnotes should be used sparingly. Number them consecutively throughout the article, using superscript Arabic
numbers. Many word processors 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 on a separate sheet at the end of the article. Do not include
footnotes in the Reference list.
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. If a table has
been previously published, written permission must be obtained and submitted with the manuscript.
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.
The complete Latin name (genus, species, authority, together with cultivar, strain or culture number
where appropriate) should be cited for every organism at first mention. Thereafter the generic name may be abbreviated to the initial
except where this could cause confusion. No further abbreviation is permitted.
Nomenclature of Microorganisms. Follow approved
bacterial nomenclature to be found online at http://www.dsmz.de/bactnom/bactname.htm. Bacterial names with standing in nomenclature can
be found online at http://www.bacterio.cict.fr. To use a name without standing in nomenclature, write the name in quotation marks at
first citation within the text and within the title and abstract, and include an explanation within the text.
Genetic Nomenclature.
Standard genetic nomenclature is to be used and any deviations should be endorsed by an appropriate authoritative body.
DNA sequences
and GenBank Accession numbers. Many Elsevier journals cite "gene accession numbers" in their running text and footnotes. Gene accession
numbers refer to genes or DNA sequences about which further information can be found in the databases at the National Center for Biotechnical
Information (NCBI) at the National Library of Medicine. When previously published accession numbers are cited in the manuscript, the
original journal article where it was cited is to be marked in the references section where possible. Elsevier authors wishing to enable
other scientists to use the accession numbers cited in their papers via links to these sources, should type this information in the following
manner:
For each and every accession number cited in an article, authors should type the accession number in bold,
underlined text. Letters in the accession number should always be capitalised. (See Example below). This combination of letters
and format will enable Elsevier's typesetters to recognise the relevant texts as accession numbers and add the required link to GenBank's
sequences.
Example: "(GenBank accession nos. AI631510, AI631511, AI632198, and BF223228), a B-cell tumor from a chronic lymphatic leukemia (GenBank accession no. BE675048), and a T-cell
lymphoma (GenBank accession no. AA361117)".
Authors are encouraged to check accession numbers used very carefully. An error in a letter or number can result in a dead link. In the final version of the printedarticle,
the accession number text will not appear bold or underlined. In the final version of the electroniccopy, the
accession number text will be linked to the appropriate source in the NCBI databases enabling readers to go directly to that source from
the article.
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. Data should also include details on organisms, growth conditions etc that might not be included in the paper itself.
References
Responsibility for the accuracy of bibliographic citations lies entirely with the authors.
Citations
in the 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 should not be in the reference list, but
may be mentioned in the text. Written permission must be obtained from all investigators cited in any personal communication who are
not co-authors of the present manuscript. Citation of a reference as 'in press' implies that the item has been accepted for publication
and a copy of the title page of the relevant article must be submitted.
Citing and listing of web references: As a minimum,
the full URL should be given. Any further information, if known (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.
Text: Indicate references by number(s) in square brackets in line with the text. The
actual authors can be referred to, but the reference number(s) must always be given.
List: Number the references (numbers
in square brackets) in the list in the order in which they appear in the text.
Examples:
Reference to a journal publication:
[1] Van der Geer J, Hanraads JAJ, Lupton RA. The art of writing a scientific article. J Sci Commun 2000;163:51-9.
Reference
to a book:
[2] Strunk Jr W, White EB. The elements of style. 3rd ed. New York: Macmillan; 1979.
Reference to a chapter in an
edited book:
[3] Mettam GR, Adams LB. How to prepare an electronic version of your article. In: Jones BS, Smith RZ, editors. Introduction
to the electronic age, New York: E-Publishing Inc; 1999, p. 281-304
Note shortened form for last page number. e.g., 51-9, and 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.nejm.org/general/text/requirements/1.htm)
Preparation of Illustrations
Preparation of electronic illustrations
Submitting your artwork in an electronic
format helps us to produce your work to the best possible standards, ensuring accuracy, clarity and a high level of detail.
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, Helvetica, Times, Symbol.
•Number the illustrations according to their sequence in the text.
•Use a logical naming convention for your artwork
files, and supply a separate listing of the files and the software used.
•Provide all illustrations as separate files.
•Provide captions to illustrations separately.
•Produce images near to the desired size of the printed version.
A detailed guide on electronic artwork is available on our website: http://www.elsevier.com/artworkinstructionsYou are
urged to visit this site; some excerpts from the detailed information are given here.
Permissions
The corresponding
author is responsible for obtaining permission from both the original author and the original publisher to reproduce or modify figures
from previous publications. The original signed permission(s) must be submitted directly to the editor no later then post-review stage.
In the figure caption, a statement should be included to say that it is being reprinted with permission from the relevant source.
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: Colour or greyscale 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 (colour or
greyscale): 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 word processor (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.
Captions
Ensure that each illustration has a caption. Supply captions on a separate sheet, not attached to the figure. A caption
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 explain all symbols and abbreviations used.
Colour illustrations
If, together with your accepted
article, you submit usable colour figures then Elsevier will ensure, at no additional charge, that these figures will appear in colour
on the web (e.g., ScienceDirect and other sites) in addition to colour reproduction in print. For further information on the preparation
of electronic artwork, please see http://www.elsevier.com/artworkinstructions.
Policy on use of Human and Animal
Subjects Anaerobe endorses the code of Ethics of the World Medical Association (Declaration of Helsinki) for experiments
involving humans: http://www.wma.net/e/policy.be.htm. Contributors are obligated to discourage any use of microbiology contrary to the
welfare of humans. To protect the privacy of individuals mentioned in clinical statistics, do not identify them by their initials but
by randomly chosen letters. For reporting experiments on animals, the Methods section should state whether the institutions or a national
research council's guide for the care and use of laboratory animals was followed. Copies of guidelines and policy statements followed
are to be made available to the Editor if necessary.
Data Deposition Requirements Microarray data
All primary
microarray data should be submitted to one of the public repositories - Array Express, GEO or CIBEX - in a format that complies with
MIAME guidelines. Living materials
Any plasmids, viruses and living materials such as microbial strains and cell lines
reported for the first time in this article are to be deposited in publicly accessible culture collections and to refer to the collections
and strain numbers in the text.
Nucleotide and amino acid sequences
Newly determined nucleotide and amino acids sequence
data will be deposited and GenBank/EMBL/DDBJ accession numbers are to be included in the manuscript no later than the modification stage
of the review process. Sequence data should be released to the public no later than the publication date of the article.
Structural
Determinants
Coordinates for new structures of macromolecules are to be deposited in the Protein Data Bank and assigned identification
codes will be included in the manuscripts no later than the modification stage of the review process. Coordinates should be released
to the public no later than the publication date of the article.
Conflict of Interests
All authors are expected to disclose
in the submission cover letter any commercial affiliations as well as consultancies and patent-licensing arrangements that could potentially
pose a conflict of interest regarding the article. Details of the disclosure will be kept confidential, but please indicate in the Acknowledgements
a general statement disclosing financial or other relationships that are relevant to the study, ie, funding sources, both institutional
and corporate.
Proofs
When Elsevier receives your manuscript it is considered to be in its final form.
Elsevier will
send by e-mail page proofs in PDF format to the corresponding author, to be checked for typesetting/editing. No changes in, or additions
to, the accepted (and subsequently edited) manuscript will be allowed at this stage. Proofreading is solely your responsibility.
A form with queries from the copyeditor may accompany your proofs. Please answer all queries and make any corrections or additions required.
Elsevier will do everything possible to get your article corrected and published as quickly and accurately as possible. In order
to do this we need your help. When you receive the (PDF) proof of your article for correction, 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. Note that this does not mean you have any less time to make your corrections, just that only one set of corrections will
be accepted.
Elsevier reserves the right to proceed with publication if corrections are not communicated. Return corrections within
2 days of receipt of the proofs. Should there be no corrections, please confirm this.
Offprints and reprints
The corresponding
author at no extra cost, will be provided with a PDF file of the article via e-mail or, alternatively, 25 free paper offprints. The PDF
file is a watermarked version of the published article and includes a coversheet with the journal cover image and a disclaimer outlining
the terms and conditions of use. Extra copies of offprints, minimum 50, can be ordered on the form sent out to you.
Author enquiries
For enquiries relating to the submission of articles (including electronic submission where available) please visit this journal's
homepage at http://www.elsevier.com/locate/anaerobe. 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, as well as copyright information, frequently asked questions
and more.
Contact details for questions arising after acceptance of an article, especially those relating to proofs, are provided
after registration of an article for publication.
