The Official Journal of the Association for Veterinary Teaching and Research Work

Research in Veterinary Science publishes original contributions and review articles on research concerning the health and disease of animals, including studies in comparative medicine.

Types of contribution
1. Original research papers (Regular Papers)
2. Short Communications
3. Review articles

Original research papers should report the results of original research. The material should not have been previously published elsewhere, except in a preliminary form.

Short Communications should not exceed 1600 words and include no more than two tables or figures. They should have an abstract but no other divisions. Typescripts should be clearly marked Short Communication.

Review articles Review articles on veterinary topics are invited for publication. They should give an update on recent advances in a particular field and be targeted at research veterinarians who are not necessarily working in the same field. The length should not exceed 4000 words.

Submission of manuscripts

Submission to Research in Veterinary Science now proceeds online via Elsevier Editorial System - http://ees.elsevier.com/rvsc. Authors will be guided step-by-step through uploading files directly from their computers. Authors should select a set of classifications for their papers from a given list, as well as a category designation (Original Research Paper, Short Communication, and so on). Electronic PDF proofs will be automatically generated from uploaded files, and used for subsequent reviewing.

Authors should send queries concerning the submission process or journal procedures to AuthorSupport@elsevier.com. Authors can check the status of their manuscript within the review procedure using Elsevier Editorial System.

Authors submitting hard copy papers will be asked to resubmit using Elsevier Editorial System.

Submission of an article is understood to imply that the article is original and is not being considered for publication elsewhere. Submission also implies that all authors have approved the paper for release and are in agreement with its content. Upon acceptance of the article by the journal, the author(s) will be asked to transfer the copyright of the article to the Publisher. This transfer will ensure the widest possible dissemination of information.

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.

Acknowledgements
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 so state.

Language Editing: Elsevier's Authors Home provides details of some companies who can provide English language and copyediting services to authors who need assistance before they submit their article or before it is accepted for publication. Authors should contact these services directly. For more information about language editing services, please email authorsupport@elsevier.com.

Ethics
Before papers describing animal studies are accepted for publication in Research in Veterinary Science, the authors must satisfy the editors that the work conformed to appropriate ethical standards. Whether or not a particular piece of work is accepted for publication will be decided by the editors whose decision will be final.


The authors should provide written assurances that: (i) The project underwent ethical review and was given approval by an institutional animal care and use committee or by appropriately qualified scientific and lay colleagues. (ii) The care and use of experimental animals complied with local animal welfare laws, guidelines and policies.


The editors expect authors to have adhered to the following general priniciples: (i) Alternative procedures that replace the use of animals should be used if possible. Where this is not possible, the animals used should be carefully selected to be the least sentient species possible and of an appropriate strain. (ii) The minimum number of animals should be used consistent with achieving the scientific objectives of the study. (iii) Pain and distress should be minimised by the use of humane endpoints, sedation, anaesthesia, analgesia and post-operative care. (iv) Access to veterinary care must be available at all times. (v) Invesitgators and personnel that care for and use animals must be trained and possess relevant expertise and training that should be updated regularly. (vi) If animals have to be killed, this should be done humanely according to local euthanasia regulations, such as the Home Office guidelines in the UK or guidelines of the American Veterinary Association Panel on Euthanasia.

Title
Papers should be headed with the full title, the initials and surnames of the authors, and the name and address of the institution where the work was carried out. The full telephone number, Fax number and e-mail address of the corresponding author should also be provided.

Form of Papers

a) Abstract (not more than 150 words), self-contained and embodying the main conclusions. It should note the relevance to veterinary science as well as the aims and objectives of the work. Sentences such as 'the results are discussed', which merely describe the paper, are not allowed.
b) Keywords. Please supply a list of up to six keywords that describe the paper. c) Introduction.
d) Materials and methods employed.
e) Results, as concise as possible. Text, tables and figures illustrating the same data will rarely be permitted.
f) Discussion and conclusions.
g) Acknowledgements.
h) References.
i) Manuscripts should have numbered lines, with wide margins and double spacing, throughout, i.e. also for abstracts, footnotes and references. Every page of the manuscripts, including the tile page, references, tables, etc., should be numbered. However, in the text no reference should be made to page numbers; if necessary one may refer to sections. Avoid excessive usage of italics to emphasize part of the text.

Abbreviation and symbols: Authors are asked to explain each scientific abbreviation at it first occurrence in their papers; for example, complement fixations test (CFT). The policy of the journal with respect to units and symbols is that SI (System International) symbols should be used.

Reference Format
Only papers closely related to the author's work should be mentioned; exhaustive lists should be avoided. References should be cited in the text thus: Brown and Smith (1985), Jones (1987a), Jones (1987b), or Smith et al (1988). The list of references at the end of the paper should be given in alphabetical order and should appear in the form:- Torgerson, P.R., Budke, C.M., 2003 Echinococcosis - an international public health challenge. Research in Veterinary Science 74, 191-202. References to books and monographs should include: (1) author(s) or editor(s); (2) year of publication; (3) title; (4) edition; (5) place of publication and publisher; (6) beginning and final page numbers.

Illustrations

1. All illustrations (line drawings and photographs) should be submitted as separate files, preferably in TIFF or EPS format.
2. Illustrations should be numbered according to their sequence in the text. References should be made in the text to each illustration.
3. Illustrations should be designed with the format of the page of the journal in mind. Illustrations should be of such a size as to allow a reduction of 50%.
4. Lettering should be big enough to allow a reduction of 50% without becoming illegible. Any lettering should be in English. Use the same kind of lettering throughout and follow the style of the journal.
5. If a scale should be given, use bar scales on all illustrations instead of numerical scales that must be changed with reduction.
6. Each illustration should have a caption. The captions to all illustrations should be typed on a separate sheet of the manuscript.
7. Explanations should be given in the figure legend(s). Drawn text in the illustrations should be kept to a minimum.
8. Photographs are only acceptable if they have good contrast and intensity.
9. If you submit usable colour figures, Elsevier would ensure that these figures appeared free-of-charge in colour in the electronic version of your accepted paper, regardless of whether or not these illustrations are reproduced in colour in the printed version. Colour illustrations can only be included in print if the additional cost of reproduction is contributed by the author: you would receive information regarding the costs from Elsevier after receipt of your accepted article.
Please note that because of technical complications which may arise by converting colour figures to 'grey scale' (for the printed version, should you not opt for colour in print), you should submit in addition usable black and white figures corresponding to all colour illustrations.
10. Advice on the preparation of illustrations can be found at the following URL: http://www.elsevier.com/artworkinstructions

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 together with the article and supply a concise and descriptive caption for each file.

Tables

1. Authors should take notice of the limitations set by the size and lay-out of the journal. Large tables should be avoided. Reversing columns and rows will often reduce the dimensions of a table.
2. If many data are to be presented, an attempt should be made to divide them over two or more tables.
3. Tables should be numbered according to their sequence in the text. The text should include references to all tables.
4. Each table should occupy a separate page of the manuscript. Tables should never be included in the text.
5. Each table should have a brief and self-explanatory title.
6. Column headings should be brief, but sufficiently explanatory. Standard abbreviations of units of measurement should be added between parentheses.
7. Vertical lines should not be used to separate columns. Leave some extra space between the columns instead.
8. Any explanation essential to the understanding of the table should be given as a footnote at the bottom of the table.

Copyright

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 (+1) 215 239 3804 or +44(0)1865 843830, fax +44(0)1865 853333, e-mail healthpermissions@elsevier.com. Requests may also be completed online via the Elsevier homepage http://www.elsevier.com/permissions.

Material in unpublished letters and manuscripts is also protected and must not be published unless permission has been obtained.

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 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

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).

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.

Author Enquiries

For enquiries relating to the submission of articles (including electronic submission where available) please visit the journal's homepage at http://www.elsevier.com/locate/rvsc. This also provides the facility to track accepted articles and set up e-mail alerts to inform you of when an article's status has changed.

Contact details for questions arising after acceptance of an article, especially those relating to proofs, are provided after registration of an article for publication.

Offprints

The corresponding author will, at no cost, 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.

Research in Veterinary Science has no page charges