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 (essential) • 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 or to be reproduced in black-and-white
General 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carried out, and that, if accepted, it will not be published elsewhere in the same form, in English or in any other language, without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.
Upon acceptance of an article, authors will be asked to transfer copyright. This transfer
will ensure the widest possible dissemination of information. A letter will be sent to the corresponding author confirming receipt of
the manuscript. A form facilitating transfer of copyright will be provided. 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 Global Rights Department, P.O. Box 800, Oxford, OX5 1DX, UK; phone: (+44) 1865
843830, fax: (+44) 1865 853333, permissions@elsevier.com
Funding body agreements and policies
Elsevier
has established agreements and developed policies to allow authors whose articles appear in journals published by Elsevier, to comply
with potential manuscript archiving requirements as specified as conditions of their grant awards. To learn more about existing agreements
and policies please visit http://www.elsevier.com/fundingbodies
Submission to the journal prior to acceptance One copy of the manuscript, including one set of high-quality original illustrations,
suitable for direct reproduction, should be submitted. Authors should also send an electronic version of their article by e-mail
to the editor concerned, with an additional electronic copy to the central editorial office at e-mail: john.a.prince@manchester.ac.uk.This
electronic version will be used for the reviewing process. Authors, Reviewers and Editors send and receive all correspondence by e-mail
and no paper correspondence is necessary. Note: electronic articles submitted for the review process may need to be edited after
acceptance to follow journal standards. For this an "editable" file format is necessary. See the section on "Electronic format requirements
for accepted articles" and the further general instructions on how to prepare your article below.
Electronic format requirements
for accepted articles General points 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 (see also the Artwork
instructions). 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.
PREPERATION OF TEXT
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).
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
International Science Editing and Asia Science Editing can provide English language and copyediting services to authors who want to publish
in scientific, technical and medical Journals and need assistance before they submit their article or, before it is
accepted for publication. Authors can contact these services directly: International Science Editing (http://www.internationalscienceediting.com)
and Asia Science Editing (http://www.asiascienceediting.com) or, for more information about language editing services, please
contact authorsupport@elsevier.com who will be happy to deal with any questions.
Please note Elsevier neither endorses
nor takes responsibility for any products, goods or services offered by outside vendors through our services or in any advertising. For
more information please refer to our terms & conditions by visiting http://www.asiascienceediting.com and clicking 'terms
and conditions' at the very bottom of the page.
Print the entire manuscript on one side of the paper only, using double spacing
and wide (3 cm) margins. (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 to become familiar with layout and conventions. Number all pages consecutively. Provide the following data on the
title page (in the order given).
Title Concise and informative. Titles 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.
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). 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 8 keywords, to be chosen from the standard thesaurus. These keywords will be used for indexing purposes. List of keywords
may also be obtained as checked using the Medline and Embase databases.
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.
Arrangement
of the article
Subdivision of the article. Divide your article into clearly defined sections. Each subsection is given a
brief heading. Each heading should appear on its own separate line. Subsections should be used as much as possible when cross-referencing
text: refer to the subsection by heading as opposed to simply 'the text.'
Conclusions. The main conclusions of the study may
be presented in a short Conclusions section, which may stand alone or form a subsection of a Discussion or Results and Discussion section.
Appendices. If there is more than one appendix, they should be identified as A, B, etc. Formulae and equations in appendices
should be given separate numbering: (Eq. A.1), (Eq. A.2), etc.; in a subsequent appendix, (Eq. B.1) and so forth.
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).
Text graphics. Present incidental graphics not suitable
for mention as figures, plates or schemes at the end of the article and number them 'Graphic 1', etc. Their precise position in the text
can then be defined similarly (both on the manuscript and in the file). See further under the section, Preparation of illustrations.
Ensure that high-resolution graphics files are provided, even if the graphic appears as part of your normal wordprocessed text file.
Specific remarks
Mathematical formulae. Present simple formulae in the line of normal text where possible. In principle,
variables are to be presented in italics. Use the solidus (/) instead of a horizontal line, e.g., X/Y rather than X Y
Powers of e are often more conveniently denoted by exp. Number consecutively any equations that have to be displayed separate
from the text (if referred to explicitly in the text).
Footnotes. Footnotes should be used sparingly. Number them consecutively
throughout the article, using superscript Arabic numbers. Many wordprocessors 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.
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.
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. 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 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.
REFERENCES
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. Citation of a reference as 'in press'
implies that the item has been accepted for publication.
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 superscript numbers in the text. The actual authors can be referred to,
but the reference number(s) must always be given.
List: Number the references 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.
PREPERATION 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 and as hardcopy
printouts on separate sheets. • Provide captions to illustrations separately. • Produce images near to the desired
size of the printed version. Files can be stored on 3? inch diskette, ZIP-disk or CD (either MS-DOS or Macintosh). Please see
the detailed guide on electronic
artwork. You are urged to visit this site; some excerpts from the detailed information are given here.
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.
Non-electronic
illustrations Provide all illustrations as high-quality printouts, suitable for reproduction (which may include reduction) without
retouching. Number illustrations consecutively in the order in which they are referred to in the text. They should accompany the manuscript,
but should not be included within the text. Clearly mark all illustrations on the back (or - in case of line drawings - on the lower
front side) with the figure number and the author's name and, in cases of ambiguity, the correct orientation. Mark the appropriate
position of a figure in the article
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.
Line drawings Supply high-quality printouts on white paper produced with black ink. The lettering and symbols, as well as other details, should
have proportionate dimensions, so as not to become illegible or unclear after possible reduction; in general, the figures should be designed
for a reduction factor of two to three. The degree of reduction will be determined by the Publisher. Illustrations will not be enlarged.
Consider the page format of the journal when designing the illustrations. Photocopies are not suitable for reproduction. Do not use
any type of shading on computer-generated illustrations.
Photographs (halftones) Please supply original photographs for
reproduction, printed on glossy paper, very sharp and with good contrast. Remove non-essential areas of a photograph. Do not mount photographs
unless they form part of a composite figure. Where necessary, insert a scale bar in the illustration (not below it), as opposed to giving
a magnification factor in the legend. Note that photocopies of photographs are not acceptable.
Colour illustrations Submit colour illustrations as original photographs, high-quality computer prints or transparencies, close to the size expected in
publication, or as 35 mm slides. Polaroid colour prints are not suitable. 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) regardless of whether or not these illustrations are reproduced in colour in the printed version. For colour reproduction
in print, please discuss in advance with the editor. 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 note: Because of technical complications which can arise by 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 prints corresponding
to all the colour illustrations.
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 5 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 will be accepted.
Electronic 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.
