Preparation of Manuscripts

Instructions for Authors

Manuscripts should be written in simple, concise and grammatical English (either UK or US spellings but not a mixture), within the size limits specified for each type of article, prepared according to the guidelines below. The manuscripts should be written for a worldwide readership including many in non-English speaking countries. Authors whose first language is not English must have their manuscripts proofread by other colleagues.

Authors are strongly encouraged to consult previously published articles in the journal for style elements.

• Prepare main text in a standard PC-compatible word processing program (e.g., Microsoft Word) using Times New Roman font size 12, double-spaced throughout and submit as .doc/.docx, .pdf file.
• Provide unjustified text and inactivate auto-hyphenation.
• DO NOT embed figures, tables or any other non-textual features or footnotes in the main text body. Figures and table may be added at the end of the manuscript text.
• Greek and other special characters may be used but these should be inserted in the text (e.g., using the ‘Insert >> Symbol’ menu in Microsoft Word) and not by changing English characters into ‘Symbol’ font which may be lost during subsequent file processing. DO NOT USE ‘SYMBOL’ FONT.

 Articles should be prepared within the following limits to avoid additional charges (also see Publication Charges):-

*Excluding title page, figure legends and references
**Including any supplementary data

Reviews and Mini-reviews

• Title Page
• Abstract and Keywords
• Introduction
• Main text, divided into subheadings
• Conclusions
• Acknowledgements
• Statement of Competing Interests
• List of Abbreviations
• References
• Figure Legends
• Tables

Research Articles (full, short and clinical reports)

• Title Page
• Abstract and Keywords
• Introduction
• Materials and Methods
• Results
• Discussion
• Conclusions
• Acknowledgements
• Statement of Competing Interests
• List of Abbreviations
• References
• Figure Legends
• Tables

New Methods and Technologies should also be arranged as above. However, considerably greater detail of the experimental procedures should be provided than would normally be given for a research article.

Letter, Clinical Reports, Meeting Reports and News should not be divided into subheadings. Full contact details of all authors, including mailing address, telephone number, fax and email should be provided.

Article Processing Charges (APC) :

Average Article prorcessing time (APT) is 55 days

Withdrawal Policy

Withdrawal charges are applicable after manuscripts have undergone to preliminary analysis, peer-review, or even galley production, etc. Authors have 48 hrs to withdraw their manuscript after submission. We reserve the right to request authors to pay submission fee of no less than 20% of Article Processing Charges (3600 Euros) if a request for withdrawal is approved 48 hrs post-submission. This abhorrent unethical behaviour tarnishes the image of academic publishing and wastes peer-reviewers and editors time.

Sections of Manuscript

Title Page: The title page should provide (i) manuscript title, (ii) full names of all authors, (iii) institutional addresses of all authors, (iv) name, address, telephone, fax and email of the corresponding author and (v) running title of no more than 50 characters, excluding spaces.

Abstract and Keywords: The abstract should be comprehensive but concise consisting of no more than 300 words and should be structured to give a brief introduction to the study, main findings of the study, conclusions drawn from the study and their significance. Do not include references, headings and non-standard abbreviation. Also provide 5-7 carefully chosen keywords.

Introduction: Here authors should make a case for the study, providing a brief literature survey (avoid citing literature older than ten years, unless absolutely necessary) and background to the study, the hypothesis and the significance of the presented research.

Materials and Methods: Experimental procedures should be given in sufficient detail to allow these to be replicated by other researchers. The source of the various reagents and materials used in the study should be given, where possible.

Results: Results should be presented in a logical fashion avoiding repetition of the data and excluding material suitable for Discussion, unless the two sections have been combined. Data suitable for presentation in the form of a table or a figure should not be included in the main text.

Discussion: This section should present comprehensive analysis of the results in the light of any previous research. Discussion may also be combined with results.

Conclusions: Here provide main conclusions of the study, preferably in a bulleted form.

Acknowledgements: The authors should first acknowledge the source of funding for the research presented in their article followed by any personal credits.

Statement of Competing Interests: Include an explicit disclosure of any competing interests (financial or others) that may have influenced the study or the conclusions drawn from the study. If none, state ‘the authors have no competing interests’.

List of Abbreviations: Define all non-standard abbreviations in parenthesis on their first appearance in the text as well as provide a list. Standard abbreviations need not to be included in the list.

References: Authors must ensure that all references are cited accurately and those in the main text body are also included in the list of references and vice versa. Standard abbreviations should be used for journal names. References older than ten years should only be cited if absolutely necessary.

Personal communications should be cited as sparingly as possible and where used should be accompanied by written authorisation from the provider of the information.Furthermore, citation of web resources/websites is strongly discouraged. Manuscripts in preparation or submitted for publication, but not yet accepted, should only be included in the main text as ‘in preparation’ or ‘submitted’.

In the main text, cite references in chronological order. Separate two or more citations by a semicolon and append a lowercase letter to the year to distinguish between two or more citations from the same authorship, in the order in which they appear in the list of references. Cite the references using the following format:-

• Two authors: (Linxa and Brownee, 2000)
• More than two authors: (Linxa et al, 2000)
• Articles in press: (Linxa and Brownee, in press)
• Personal communication or unpublished data: (Linxa JK and Brownee EGN, personal communication or unpublished data)
• In preparation or submitted manuscript: (Linxa JK and Brownee EGN, in preparation or submitted)

 In the list, the references should be given in an alphabetical order in the following format:

Journal Article

• Two authors: Linxa JK and Brownee EGN. 2000. Molecular basis of spindle formation. J Adv Mol Cell Sci, 5, 221-230.
• Three authors: Linxa JK, Smythen TCA and Brownee EGN. 2000. Molecular basis of spindle formation. J Adv Mol Cell Sci, 5, 221-230.
• More than six authors: Linxa JK, Smythen TCA, Brownee EGN et al. 2000. Molecular basis of spindle formation. J Adv Mol Cell Sci, 5, 221-230.

Book Chapters

• Linxa JK and Brownee EGN. 2000. Molecular Basis of spindle formation. In: Smythen TCA and Tubber BCN (Eds) Advances in Molecular Biology of Cell Division, Publisher, City, Country, Edition, pp 221-230.

Books

• Smythen TCA. Advances in Molecular Biology of Cell Division, Publisher, City, Country, Edition.

Articles in Press

• Linxa JK, Smythen TCA, Brownee EGN et al. 2000. Molecular basis of spindle formation. J Adv Mol Cell Sci, in press.

Figures Legends: Figure legends should be comprehensive but concise and should not duplicate information given in the main text, and should be included in the main text file after References.

Figures/Line Drawings: These must be prepared electronically in a PC-compatible program in actual publication size and should be supplied in editable .ppt/.pptx, .eps, or .tiff format. Single column figures (ca. 8 cm wide) are most preferable unless such dimensions seriously impair quality and make data difficult to follow. Multipart figures must not have more than 5 parts and must fit into a single journal page. Images should be optimised and must not exceed 2MB in size. At the initial manuscript submission stage, combine all figures into a single file (e.g., a Word, PowerPoint or a .pdf file). Figures will be published in the size provided by the authors unless otherwise agreed. For labelling figures, use Verdana or Arial font size 8. Label parts of figures with capital letters (Verdana or Arial font size 10, bold). Use the same labelling style for all figures.

Tables: Large tables are discouraged unless they are vital for proper tabulation and understanding of data. However, tables must not be larger than a single page and be prepared in ‘potrait’ orientation, and MUST NOT BE DIVIDED INTO SUB-TABLES (i.e., Table 1A, 1B etc). Tables should complement, but not repeat, information given in the main text. Each table should be given on a separate page with a comprehensive but concise legend on the top. Give appropriate units for each column, where possible, and define any abbreviations in footnotes.

Sequence Information

Submit DNA/protein sequences to appropriate databases and provide electronic link to the specific databases and the accession numbers of the submitted sequences.

Copyright Permissions

Please ensure that you have obtained permission for reproduction of any previously published figures, tables, any other objects or textual materials included in your manuscript from the original copyright owner. Such responsibility lies entirely with the authors and the Publisher or the Journal will not be liable for infringement of anyone’s copyright or other rights by the authors.