Official Journal of the OsteoArthritis Research Society International and affiliated to the International Cartilage Repair Society
Guide for Authors
OSTEOARTHRITIS AND CARTILAGE is the official journal of the Osteoarthritis Research Society International and the International Cartilage
Repair Society. The Journal serves as a focal point and a forum for the exchange of ideas for the many kinds of specialists and practitioners
concerned with osteoarthritis. One of its aims is to foster the cross-fertilisation of both the findings from clinical and basic sciences
of the various disciplines involved. The major objective of Osteoarthritis and Cartilage is to publish original full length manuscripts
on all aspects of osteoarthritis and cartilage repair. Original articles on clinical, laboratory and therapeutic research are welcome.
Review articles, editorials and letters are also accepted.
Submission of Manuscripts
Manuscripts are to be submitted through
the Editorial Manager on-line submission and peer-review system. Access to Osteoarthritis and Cartilage Editorial Manager is
as follows:
In order to access Editorial Manager, mouse click on Register in the upper left
corner. Once you have establised your Username and Password, you can sign on as an author and enter the information for submitting a
new manuscript.
Prepare your manuscript for upload as follows:
•Create a file containing just the title page and abstract
•Create a file containing the main text of the manuscript, including all references, excluding the title page and abstract •Do
not include figures within the main text file, but supply these as separate image files
For any additional information, please
contact the Editor:
Stefan Lohmander, at
Department of Orthopedics
Lund University Hospital
SE-22185 Lund
Sweden
Email: OAC@elsevier.com
Submissions become the property of the Osteoarthritis Research Society International.
Please read and follow the instructions to authors outlined below. Failure to follow these instructions will delay processing of the
manuscript.
Authorship
All authors should have made substantial contributions to all of the following: (1) the conception
and design of the study, or acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data, (2) drafting the article or revising it critically
for important intellectual content, (3) final approval of the version to be submitted.
Acknowledgement of other contributors
All contributors who do not meet the criteria for authorship as defined above should be listed in an acknowledgements section. Examples
of those who might be acknowledged include a person who provided purely technical help, writing assistance, or a department chair who
provided only general support. Authors should disclose whether they had any writing assistance and identify the entity that paid for
this assistance.
Conflict of interest
At the end of the text, under a subheading "Conflict of interest statement"
all authors must disclose any financial and personal relationships with other people or organisations that could inappropriately influence
(bias) their work. Examples of potential conflicts of interest include employment, consultancies, stock ownership, honoraria, paid expert
testimony, patent applications/registrations, and grants or other funding.
Role of the funding source
All sources of
funding should be declared as an acknowledgement at the end of the text. Authors should declare the role of study sponsors, if any, in
the study design, in the collection, analysis and interpretation of data; in the writing of the manuscript; and in the decision to submit
the manuscript for publication. If the study sponsors had no such involvement, the authors should state this.
A separate statement
must be submitted, signed by all authors, referable to validity of authorship, financial disclosure and the participation of those in
the acknowledgment. The format for the Authors' Disclosure can be downloaded from Editorial Manager or the Osteoarthritis and Cartilage
website at:
As a part of the submission, the author should indicate
closely related papers or manuscripts that have been submitted or published elsewhere in a note to the Editor.
Manuscripts will
be initially reviewed by the Editor-in-Chief or an Associate Editor. If eligible for publication, the manuscript will be reviewed by
two or more external reviewers. Revisions, if requested, will require resubmission within 90 days, unless otherwise specified.
Authors
are responsible for providing a manuscript written in clear English. Delay, or even rejection, may result when papers are poorly written
and in need of extensive editing. Where appropriate, authors should obtain the help of an individual or organization competent in medical
Scientific English, where English is the primary language.
When received, Editorial Manager will notify you of the manuscript number.
This number is to be used in all correspondence with the editor.
Manuscript Format
Manuscript format should comply with
the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors' 'Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals' (http://www.icmje.org)
except where otherwise specifically indicated.
Original Articles should amount to no more than 4000 words (excluding the abstract
and references), while Brief Reports (also excluding abstract and references) should be limited to 2000 words.
In all matters of
style, please consult the Manual of Style (ed. 8) published by the American Medical Association. Number each page sequentially, including
the title page, abstract, text, references, figure legends, and tables.
Each of the following sections should be included: Title
page, Abstract, Introduction, Method, Results, Discussion, Acknowledgments, References, Figure legends, each individual table.
Abstracts. Abstracts should be fewer than 250 words. ABSTRACTS for original contributions shall be structured. In brief, the
ABSTRACT should be divided into sections, at least including the following: (1) Objective; (2) Design-if clinical to include setting,
selection of patients, details on the intervention, outcome measures, etc.; if laboratory research to include details on methods; (3)
Results; (4) Conclusions. For further detail on how to construct an ABSTRACT and for other than original contributions (i. e. review
manuscripts) please refer to the guidelines published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA 2004;291:125-9).
Running headline. A short running title of not more than 40 characters (including spaces), suitable for page headings, should
be provided if the full title is longer than 40 characters.
It is requested that classification criteria be reported on patients
(where relevant) by a brief description of the clinical features of patients, and by reference to the criteria used.
Additional points:
insert an extra blank line at the end of headings and paragraphs; type text without end of line hyphenation, except for compound words;
be consistent with punctuation and only insert a single space between words and after punctuation.
Illustrations and Tables
Position of figures and tables in the text should be marked in the manuscript and cited in the text in order of appearance. Arabic numbering
should be used for both figures and tables. Each figure and each table should be submitted on a separate page.
Figures, especially
charts, graphs and line drawings, are generally reduced in size for publication. All numbers, letters and symbols should be large enough
that when reduced they will remain legible. Arrows should be added to radiographs, histology and other illustrations for clarity. Figures
not properly prepared will have to be returned to the contributor for revision.
Legends for illustrations should be included at
the end of the manuscript. A legend must accompany each illustration. Figures should be appended in a readily available format (e. g.,
BMP, TIF, or PDF). There is no charge for a limited number of color figures. Submitting your artwork in detailed electronic format helps
us to produce your work to the best possible standards, ensuring accuracy, clarity and a high level of detail. In general, figures in
JPG or PPT do not provide sufficient detail in reproduction. A detailed guide on electronic artwork is available on the Elsevier website:
http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/authors.authors/authorartworkinstructions
Each table should be appropriately numbered
and typed on a separate page. Legends should be typed above each table.
Although not essential at the time of submission, written
permission from publishers and authors to reproduce or adapt previously published illustrations and tables will be needed at the time
of acceptance and prior to the manuscript being forwarded to the publisher.
Style of References
References should be typed
double-spaced and listed in numerical sequence as they are cited in the text. Names of the first six authors are to be provided. The
reference style is based on the 'Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals' (http://www.icmje.org).
Both journal and book references should contain inclusive page numbers.
Personal communications and unpublished data should be cited
in parentheses in the text, and not included in the numbered reference listed at the end of the article. Such citations from someone
other than the authors (e. g., personal communication) can only be published if a signed letter of permission if provided.
References
on abstracts should be included only when essential, and then only if the abstract is from a readily accessible periodical (e.g. Federation
Proceedings: FEBS Abstracts). Such references must contain the word (Abstract) after the title.
References in the text should be
identified by superscript numbers, inside punctuation at the end of the sentence, and numbered in order of appearance. Along with the
entire manuscript, references should be double spaced.
Examples of References
Journal Articles
1. Standard
Journal Articles (List all authors when six or less; when seven or more, list the first six and add et al. Do not repeat page
numbers).
Wailing HW, Raggatt LJ, Irvine DW, Barmina OY, Toledano JE, Goldring MB, et al. Impairment of the collagenase-3
endocytotic receptor system in cells from patients with osteoarthritis. Osteoarthritis and Cartilage 2003;11:854-63.
2. Corporate
Author
FDA Document: Guidelines for industry. The extent of population exposure to assess clinical safety: for drugs intended for
long-term treatment of non-life-threatening conditions, ICH-EIA, March 1995; Federal Register March 1, 1995 (60FR11270).
Books
1. Personal Author(s)
Moskowitz RW, Howell DS, Altman RD, Buckwalter JA, and Goldberg VM. Osteoarthritis: Diagnosis and Medical/Surgical
Management, Third Edition. Philadelphia, W. B. Saunders 2001.
2. Corporate Author
Drug Information for the Health Care Professional.
Volume 1 USP DI. Micromedex, Thomson Health Care. Quebecor World. Taunton, MA, XXII 2002.
3. Editor, Compiler, Chairman as Author
Favus MJ. Primer on the Metabolic Bone Diseases and Disorders of Mineral Metabolism, IV. An official publication of the American Society
for Bone and Mineral Research. Lippincott Williams and Wilkins, Philadelphia 1999:1-502.
4. Chapter in Book
Lozada CJ, Altman
RD. Management of osteoarthritis. In: Arthritis and Allied Conditions, Koopman WJ, Ed. Baltimore: Williams and Wilkins 2001:2246-63.
While authors should avoid unfamiliar abbreviations, a limited number of clearly defined abbreviations may be used. List the full
word on its first appearance followed by the abbreviation in parentheses. Once identified, the abbreviation should be used consistently
throughout the text. When in doubt, avoid unfamiliar abbreviations. If many abbreviations are used in the text, a glossary
of abbreviations should be appended to the manuscript. Authors are encouraged to review the list of approved abbreviations published
each year in Osteoarthritis and Cartilage.
Measurements should be expressed in metric units wherever possible, and along
with physical and chemical quantities, should be abbreviated as recommended in the instructions to authors of the current volume of Journal
of Biological Chemistry.
Symbols of units of measurement must accord with the Systéme International (SI). Abbreviations
for SI units and statistical terms are those in Baron DN (ed.) Units, Symbols and Abbreviations: A Guide for Medical and Scientific
Editors and Authors, 5th ed. London: Royal Society of Medicine Press. Preferred alternative units may be given in parentheses.
Randomised controlled trials
All randomised controlled trials submitted for publication in the journal should include a completed
Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) flow chart. Please refer to the CONSORT statement website at http://www.consort-statement.org
for more information. Osteoarthritis and Cartilage has adopted the proposal from the International Committee of Medical Journal
Editors (ICMJE) which requires, as a condition of consideration for publication of clinical trials, registration in a public trials registry.
Trials must register at or before the onset of patient enrolment. The clinical trial registration number should be included at the end
of the abstract of the article. For this purpose, a clinical trial is defined as any research project that prospectively assigns human
subjects to intervention or comparison groups to study the cause-and-effect relationship between a medical intervention and a health
outcome. Studies designed for other purposes, such as to study pharmacokinetics or major toxicity (e.g. phase I trials) would be exempt.
Further information can be found at www.icmje.org
Ethics
Work on human beings that is submitted to Osteoarthritis
and Cartilage should comply with the principles laid down in the Declaration of Helsinki; Recommendations guiding physicians in
biomedical research involving human subjects. Adopted by the 18th World Medical Assembly, Helsinki, Finland, June 1964, amended by the
29th World Medical Assembly, Tokyo, Japan, October 1975, the 35th World Medical Assembly, Venice, Italy, October 1983, and the 41st World
Medical Assembly, Hong Kong, September 1989. The manuscript should contain a statement that the work has been approved by the appropriate
ethical committees related to the institution(s) in which it was performed and that subjects gave informed consent to the work. Studies
involving experiments with animals must state that their care was in accordance with institution guidelines. Patients' and volunteers'
names, initials, and hospital numbers should not be used.
Short Communications
Short papers may be submitted for the rapid
communication of data of special interest. Such manuscripts, which should not exceed 1500 words and 15 references, should follow the
general format described above with the following exceptions.
Instead of a separate Abstract and Introduction,
the Short Communication should begin with a brief paragraph stating the problem addressed and concluding with the major finding of the
report; this paragraph will serve both as Introduction and Summary. Methods, Results and Discussion sections should be combined, and
no more than two Figures and/or Tables should be included. Authors' names and addresses should appear at the end of the paper along with
three key words.
Editorials, Review Articles and Special Articles
Authors are encouraged to submit brief reviews and
editorials. All such articles are subject to the normal reviewing process. Editorials should be no longer than eight typed pages inclusive.
Letters
Comments regarding articles published in the Journal are solicited and should be sent as 'Letter to the Editor'.
Such Letters, which should not be original communications (see Short Communications for the appropriate format for such manuscripts),
are subject to editorial review. When a published article is subjected to comment or criticism, the authors of that article will be invited
to write a letter or reply.
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.
Subscribers may reproduce tables of contents or prepare lists of articles including abstracts for internal circulation within their institutions.
Permission of the Publisher is required for resale or distribution outside the institution and for all other derivative works, including
compilations and translations (please consult http://www.elsevier.com/permissions).
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: please consult http://www.elsevier.com/permissions.
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 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 please visit: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/authors.authors/authorartworkinstructions.
Proofs
One set of page proofs in PDF format will be sent by e-mail to the corresponding author (if we do not have an e-mail address then paper
proofs will be sent by post). Elsevier now sends PDF proofs which can be annotated; for this you will need to download Adobe Reader version
7 available free from http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep2.html. Instructions on how to annotate PDF files will
accompany the proofs. The exact system requirements are given at the Adobe site: http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/acrrsystemreqs.html#70win.
If you do not wish to use the PDF annotations function, you may list the corrections (including replies to the Query Form) and return
to Elsevier in an e-mail. Please list your corrections quoting line number. If, for any reason, this is not possible, then mark the corrections
and any other comments (including replies to the Query Form) on a printout of your proof and return by fax, or scan the pages and e-mail,
or by post.
Please use this proof only for checking the typesetting, editing, completeness and correctness of the text, tables and figures.
Significant changes to the article as accepted for publication will only be considered at this stage with permission from the Editor.
We will do everything possible to get your article published quickly and accurately. Therefore, it is important to ensure that all of
your corrections are sent back to us in one communication: please check carefully before replying, as inclusion of any subsequent corrections
cannot be guaranteed. Proofreading is solely your responsibility. Note that Elsevier may proceed with the publication of your article
if no response is received.
Offprints
The corresponding author, at no 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
cover sheet with the journal cover image and a disclaimer outlining the terms and conditions of use. Additional paper offprints can be
ordered by the authors. An order form with prices will be sent to the corresponding author.
Manuscript Checklist
Manuscript
Preparation - Text • Double spacing of entire text, including abstract and references • Liberal margins •
Number pages sequentially • Each section begins on separate page
Author Information • All authors
• Academic titles of all authors • Institution of each author • Source of support • Disclaimers •
Name of corresponding author with address, phone number, FAX number, e-mail address
Abstract • 250 word structured
abstract in the style of the Journal of the American Medical Association • 4-8 keywords • Running title
Body of Text • References numbered sequentially and quoted in text • Tables numbered sequentially and quoted
in text • Figures numbered sequentially and quoted in text
Appended to Manuscript • Tables •
Figures • Permission to reproduce previously published illustrations and tables • Verification of authorship (form
downloaded, signed and mailed or sent by FAX to Editor-in-Chief).
Funding Body Agreements and Policies
Elsevier has
established agreements and developed policies to allow authors who publish in Elsevier journals 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.
