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 the 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 All necessary files have been uploaded • Keywords • All figure captions
• All tables (including title, description, footnotes)
Further considerations • Manuscript has been "spellchecked"
• References are in the correct format for this journal • All references mentioned in the Reference list are cited
in the text, and vice versa • Permission has been obtained for use of copyrighted material from other sources (including the
Web) • Colour figures are clearly marked as being intended for colour reproduction on the Web (free of charge) and in print
or to be reproduced in colour on the Web (free of charge) and in black-and-white in print • If only colour on the Web is required,
black and white versions of the figures are also supplied for printing purposes For any further information please contact the
Author Support Department at authorsupport@elsevier.com
Submission of articles
General Articles
must be written in English.
It is essential to give a fax number and e-mail address when submitting a manuscript. Articles must be
written in good English.
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and that, if accepted, it will not be published elsewhere in the same form, in English or in any other language, without the written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.
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.
Submission to this journal proceeds totally online. Use the following guidelines to prepare your article. Via the journal
homepage http://ees.elsevier.com/ycyto/ you will be guided stepwise through the creation and uploading of the various files.
The system automatically converts source files to a single Adobe Acrobat PDF version of the article, which is used in the peer-review
process. Please note that even though manuscript source files are converted to PDF at submission for the review process, these source
files are needed for further processing after acceptance. All correspondence, including notification of the Editor's decision and requests
for revision, takes place by e-mail and via the Author's homepage, removing the need for a hard-copy paper trail.
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.
Referee recommendations and negative preference
Please submit, with
the manuscript, the names and addresses (including contact email addressess) of a minimum of 5 people suggested as reviewers for your
manuscript. Please include reviewers who are independent and unbiased, from different institutions. You may also mention persons who
you would prefer not to review your paper.
Electronic format requirements for accepted articles
We accept most wordprocessing
formats, but 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.
Wordprocessor documents
It is important that the file be saved in the
native format of the wordprocessor 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 wordprocessor'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 wordprocessor'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.
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 wordprocessor.
Disclaimer Although Elsevier can process most wordprocessor file formats, should your electronic file prove
to be unusable, the article will be typeset from the hardcopy printout.
Presentation of manuscript
General
Please write your text in good English (American or British usage is accepted, but not a mixture of these). Italics are not 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). Help with English text for non-English-speaking Authors.
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.
Corresponding Author. Clearly indicate who is willing to handle correspondence
at all stages of refereeing and publication, also 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.
Present/permanent address. 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.
Abstract. A concise and factual abstract
is required (maximum length 200 words). The abstract should state briefly the purpose of the research, the principal results and major
conclusions. An abstract is often presented separate from the article, so it must be able to stand alone.
References should 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 a maximum of 5 keywords, avoiding general and plural terms and multiple concepts (avoid, for example, "and", "of").
Be sparing with abbreviations: only abbreviations firmly established in the field may be eligible. These keywords will be used for indexing
purposes.
Abbreviations. Define abbreviations that are not standard in this field at their first occurrence in the article:
in the abstract but also in the main text after it. Ensure consistency of abbreviations throughout the article.
N.B. Acknowledgements. Collate acknowledgements in a separate section at the end of the article and do not, therefore, include them on the title page, as
a footnote to the title or otherwise.
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. Results should be clear and concise. Discussion. This should explore the significance
of the results of the work, not repeat them.
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.
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.
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. You are urged to consult IUB: Biochemical Nomenclature and Related Documents: http://www.chem.qmw.ac.uk/iubmb/
for further information.
GenBank/DNA sequence linking 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 printed article,
the accession number text will not appear bold or underlined. In the final version of the electronic copy, 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.
Supplementary material submission on line
Preparation of supplementary data. Elsevier now accepts electronic
supplementary material (e-components) to support and enhance your scientific research. Supplementary files offer the Author additional
possibilities to publish supporting applications, movies, animation sequences, high-resolution images, background datasets, sound clips
and more. Supplementary files supplied will be published online alongside the electronic version of your article in Elsevier Web products,
including ScienceDirect: http://www.sciencedirect.com. In order to ensure that your submitted material is directly usable,
please ensure that data is provided in one of our recommended file formats. Authors should submit the material in electronic format together
with the article and supply a concise and descriptive caption for each file. For more detailed instructions about submitting electronic
artwork/files, please visit http://authors.elsevier.com/artwork.
This journal offers electronic submission services
and supplementary data files can be uploaded via the homepage of the journal at http://ees.elsevier.com/ycyto/.
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
are not recommended in the reference list, but may be mentioned in the text. If these references are included in the reference list they
should follow the standard reference style of the journal and should include a substitution of the publication date with either "Unpublished
results" or "Personal communication" 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).
Journal names should be abbreviated according to the Index Medicus journal abbreviations: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/tsd/serials/lji.html
Use of the Digital Object Identifier (DOI) The digital object identifier (DOI) may be used to cite and link to electronic
documents. The DOI consists of a unique alpha-numeric character string which is assigned to a document by the publisher upon the initial
electronic publication. The assigned DOI never changes. Therefore, it is an ideal medium for citing a document, particularly 'Articles
in press' because they have not yet received their full bibliographic information.
The correct format for citing a DOI is shown as follows
(example taken from a document in the journal Physics Letters B): doi:10.1016/j.physletb.2003.10.071 When you use the
DOI to create URL hyperlinks to documents on the web, they are guaranteed never to change.
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 • Always supply
high-quality printouts of your artwork, in case conversion of the electronic artwork is problematic. • 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. Files can be stored on diskette, ZIP-disk or CD (either
MS-DOS or Macintosh). This journal offers electronic submission services and graphic files can be uploaded via the homepage of the journal
at http://ees.elsevier.com/ycyto/.
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 wordprocessor (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.
Proofs
When your manuscript is received by the Publisher it is considered
to be in its final form. Proofs are not to be regarded as "drafts".
One set of page proofs in PDF format will be sent by e-mail
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.
The Publisher reserves the right to proceed
with publication if corrections are not communicated. Return corrections within 4 days of receipt of the proofs. Should there be no corrections,
please confirm this.
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 can be accepted.
