Guide for authors

This should contain the title of the contribution and the names and addresses of the authors. The full postal address, e-mail address, telephone and facsimile number of the author who will receive correspondence and check the proofs should be included.

The running head or short title is the shortened version of your manuscript title. Not only does this help identifying your manuscript during the evaluation process, it also acts as the manuscript title on the journal homepage providing information at a glance for people who are reading the journal.

All manuscripts must include a brief but informative Abstract. It should not exceed 300 words and should describe the scope, hypothesis or rationale for the work and the main findings. The abstract should allow the reader to quickly have a clear idea about the rational for the work, the experiments conducted and the results of those experiments before reading the rest of the manuscript. Both common and scientific names should be included; the authorities are not given if they appear in the title. References to the literature and mathematical symbols/equations should not be included.

Key words (3-5) should be provided below the Abstract to assist with indexing of the article.

The Introduction should briefly indicate the objectives of the study and provide enough background information to clarify why the study was undertaken and what hypotheses were tested.

This section should be concise but provide sufficient detail of the material used and equipment and the procedure followed to allow the work to be repeated by others.

Results should be presented in a logical sequence in the text, tables and figures. Repetitive presentation of the same data in tables and figures should be avoided. The results should not contain material appropriate to the Discussion. All tables, graphs, statistical analyses and sample calculations should be presented in this section.

The results should be discussed in relation to any hypotheses advanced in the Introduction. Comment on results and indicate possible sources of error. Place the study in the context of other work reported in the literature. Only in exceptional cases should the “Results and Discussion” sections be combined. Refer to graphs, tables and figures by number. This helps tie the data into the text in a very effective manner. Authors should also take future research and limitations into account in the Discussion section.

The main conclusions of the experimental work should be presented. The contribution of the work to the scientific community and its economic implications should be emphasized.

The source of financial support must be acknowledged. Authors declare any financial support or relationships that may pose a conflict of interest in the submission form. Technical assistance may also be acknowledged.

The authors should acknowledge the funders of this manuscript and provide all necessary funding information.

Authors are required to include a statement of responsibility in the manuscript that specifies the contribution of every author. The level of detail varies; some disciplines produce manuscripts that comprise discrete efforts readily articulated in detail, whereas other fields operate as group efforts at all stages.

Include a conflict-of-interest statement in the manuscript, before the references: name each author’s financial, personal or other associations that could influence the work, or write “The authors declare no conflict of interest.” The same declaration is made in the submission form.

It is the Authors responsibility to ensure that the information in each reference is complete and accurate. Only published and “in press” references should appear in the reference list.

Tables should be self-contained and the data should not be duplicated in figures. Tables should be numbered consecutively. Each table should be presented on a separate page with a comprehensive but concise legend above the table. Tables should be double-spaced and vertical lines should not be used to separate columns. Column headings should be brief, with units of measurement in parentheses. All abbreviations should be defined in footnotes. Use superscript letters (not numbers) for footnotes and keep footnotes to a minimum. *, **, *** should be reserved for P values.

Only necessary illustrations should be included. All illustrations (line drawings and photographs) are classified as figures. Figures should be cited in consecutive order in the text. Figures should be sized to fit within the column or the full text width. Line figures should be supplied as sharp, black and white or color diagrams, drawn with a computer graphics package. Photographs should be sharp and magnifications should be indicated on photographs using a scale bar. Graphics should be supplied as high-resolution (at least 300 d.p.i.) electronic files. Digital images supplied as low-resolution cannot be used and will not be accepted. The legend should incorporate definitions of any symbols used and all abbreviations and units of measurement should be explained so that the figure can be understood without reference to the text.

SI units as outlined in the latest edition of Units, symbols and Abbreviations: A Guide for Medical and Scientific Editors and Authors (Royal Society of Medicine Press, London), should be used wherever possible. Statistics and measurements should always be given in figures; except where the number begins the sentence. When the number does not refer to a unit measurement, it is spelt out, except where the number is greater than nine. Use only standard abbreviations. The word Figure should be shortened to Fig. unless starting a sentence.