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ACTA TROPICA

Guide for Authors

Guide for Authors click for pdf file

Acta Tropica publishes original research papers, short communications and review articles. Original papers should normally not exceed 10 printed pages including tables and figures. Short communications should not exceed 4 printed pages including tables and figures. Manuscripts must be accompanied by a letter signed by all the authors. Submission of a paper to Acta Tropica is understood to imply that it has not previously been published (except in an abstract form), and that it is not being considered for publication elsewhere. The act of submitting a manuscript to Acta Tropica carries with it the right to publish the paper. Responsibility for the accuracy of the material in the manuscript, including bibliographic citations, lies entirely with the authors.

Submission of articles Submission to this journal proceeds totally online. Use the following guidelines to prepare your article. Via the "Author Gateway" page of this journal (External link http://authors.elsevier.com/) 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.

Journal Scope. The content of papers submitted must fall within the Journal's Scope as stated on the website: External link http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/506043/description#description Manuscripts based on parasite/microbe or vector inhibition experiments with crude extracts or fractions, where the active ingredients are not defined, will normally not be accepted.

Original papers should be organized as follows: Abstract — Key words — Introduction — Material (or Patients) and Methods — Results — Discussion Acknowledgements — References.

(a) Manuscripts should be complete in all respects and be typewritten with double spacing and wide margins . The metric system is to be used throughout.

(b) Manuscripts must be checked carefully before submission. No changes will be allowed at the proof stage.

(c) The title page should be supplied as a separate sheet and include: title, the names, affiliations and complete postal addresses of all authors. One corresponding author is to be designated, with a telephone and/or telex (and FAX) number and (where appropriate) an e-mail number.

(d) An abstract, of not more than 5% of the length of the article, should be provided.

(e) Key words (indexing terms), normally 3–6 items, should be provided.

References should be assembled alphabetically on a separate sheet. In the text they should be referred to by name and year (Harvard System), the year being placed in parentheses, e.g., (Jones, 1970). More than one paper from the same author in the same year must be identified by the letters a, b, c, etc., placed after the year of publication. In the text, when referring to a work by more than two authors, the name of the first author should be given followed by et al. Literature references must consist of names and initials of all authors, year, title of paper referred to, abbreviated title of periodical, volume number and first and last page numbers of the paper. Periodicals, books and multi-author books should be in accordance with the following examples.

Musaka, R.A., Nayambati, V.M., Nantulya, V.M., Majiwa, P.A.O., Moloo, S.K. and Musoke, A.J.; 1988. The chromosome profiles of Trypanosomacongolese isolates from Kilifi, Kenya and their relationship to serodeme identity. Mol. Biochem. Parasitol. 30, 105–112.

Garcia, L.S. and Bruckner, D.A.; 1988. Diagnostic Medical Parasitology. Histological Identification of Parasites. Elsevier Sci. Publ. Co. Inc., New York, NY, pp. 326–334.

Scorza, J.V., Medina, R., Pérez, H. and Hérnandez, A.G.; 1985. Leishmaniasis in Venezuela. In: K.-P. Chang and R.S. Bray (Eds.), Human Parasitic Diseases, Vol. 1, Leishmaniasis, Elsevier, Amsterdam, pp. 283–296.

Journal titles should be abbreviated according to the List of Serial Title Word Abbreviations (available from International Serials Data System, 20 rue Bachaumont, 75002 Paris, France. ISBN 2-904938-02-8). References concerning unpublished data should not be cited in the reference list; work accepted for publication should be referred to as in press. Incomplete references can result in publication delay.

Instructions for authors regarding GenBank/DNA sequence linking

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 1 below). This combination of letters and format will enable Elsevier's typesetters to recognize the relevant texts as accession numbers and add the required link to GenBank's sequences.

Example 1: "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 (see Example 2 below).

Example 2: "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)".

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 (see Example 3 below).

Example 3: "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)".

Tables should be typed on separate sheets with double spacing, numbered consecutively, with Arabic numerals and not contain any vertical lines. A short descriptive title should appear above each table, with any explanations or footnotes (identified with a, b, c, etc.) below.

Figures must be suitable for high-quality reproduction. Line drawings should be in India ink on drawing or tracing paper, or be very sharp, well-contrasting prints on glossy paper suitable for immediate reproduction. Lettering should be complete, of professional quality and of a size appropriate to that of the illustration or drawing, taking into account the necessary reduction in size. Halftone illustrations must be presented as black and white prints, showing as much contrast as possible, in three complete sets. In the first two sets, labels and explanatory marks to be added should be indicated with black or white transfer letters. Photographs must be arranged into groups and mounted on white card in a camera-ready form (maximum size 12.5 × 20 cm). Figure numbers should not be placed on the photographs themselves, but at the side of the corresponding figure. The third set should comprise the photographs only, unmounted, with no additions at all and numbered on the back. Figure legends should be typed double-spaced on a separate sheet.

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, you will receive information regarding the costs from Elsevier after receipt of your accepted article. 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.

As only one figure caption may be used for both colour and black and white versions of figures, please ensure that the figure captions are meaningful for both versions, if applicable.

All figures should be clearly marked on the reverse side with the number, orientation (if necessary) and author's name; use a soft pencil or felt-tipped pen for marking photographs.

Page charges. There will be no page charges.

Proofs. One set of page proofs will be supplied for the author to check for typesetting accuracy, to be returned to the Publisher within 3 days of receipt. No changes to the original manuscript will be allowed at this stage.

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 coversheet with the journal cover image and a disclamier outlining terms and conditions of use. An order form will be sent to the author enabling further offprints to be ordered at prices listed on the form.

Author enquiries: Authors can keep a track on the progress of their accepted article, and set up e-mail alerts informing them of changes to their manuscript's status, by using the "Track a Paper" feature of Elsevier's Author Gateway.


Full details for the electronic submission of artwork can be obtained from External link http://authors.elsevier.com.

Authors in Japan please note: Upon request, Elsevier Japan will provide authors with a list of people who can check and improve the English of their paper (before submission). Please contact our Tokyo office: Elsevier Japan, 1-9-15 Higashi-Azabu, Minato-ku, Tokyo 106; Tel. (03)-5561-5032; Fax: (03)-5561-5045.
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