Information for submission of manuscripts

1. Please provide a cover letter with your submission. In this cover letter please specify the corresponding author as well as a telephone and facsimile number.

2. Submit three copies of your manuscript (original plus two copies), each with a complete set of original illustrations.

3. Entire manuscript (including tables and references) must be typed double-spaced and printed on standard-sized paper (A4). The left and right margins must be at least 1 inch.

4. Entire manuscript must be typed in a font size of at least 12 points.

5. Please number pages beginning with the title page (title page is page 1).

6. The order of appearance of material in all manuscripts should be as follows: title page, abstract, text, acknowledgments, references, tables, legends for figures, figures.

7. Title page must include a title of not more than two printed lines (160 letters and spaces), authors (no titles or degrees), institutional affiliations, a running headline of not more than 45 letters and spaces, a name and complete address to which correspondence and reprint requests should be sent, and footnotes indicating sources of financial support and changes of address.

8. Abstract (maximum 150 words) must be on a separate page before the introduction. Do not Submit an abstract with correspondence.

9. Acknowledgments of persons who assisted the authors should be included on the page preceding the references.

10. References must begin on a separate page.

11. References in the text must be cited by names (not by numbers).

12. References at the end of the paper must be arranged in alphabetical order.

13. Reference must follow the format established by the "Uniform Requirements for manuscripts submitted to Biomedical Journals" (see examples in Instruction to Authors).

14. If you reference your own unpublished work (i.e., an "in press" article) in the manuscript that you are submitting, you must enclose three copies of the "in press" article.

15. If you cite unpublished data that are not your own, you must provide a letter of permission from the author in question.

16. Please provide three glossy or laser-produced prints of each figure that you are submitting. Label all figures clearly with first author's name and figure number (place typed label on back figure).

17. Provide a figure legend for each figure. Figure legends must be on a separate page at end of manuscript.

18. Reproduction of color figures must be paid for by th(. author; please bear this in mind if you are considering submitting color figures.

Please refer to Instructions to Authors for further information regarding the title page, abstract, references, statistical analyses tables and figures, and style.