Guidelines for Authors

Clinical and Experimental Rheumatology is a bi-monthly journal which publishes original papers on clinical or experimental research pertinent to the rheumatic diseases; work on connective tissue diseases and other immune disorders also are within the journal's scope. Contributors may submit Editorials, Original Articles, Rapid Papers, Review Articles, Case Reports and Letters to the Editor. Every issue also contains a section dedicated to the area of Pediatric Rheumatology.

Articles will be considered for publication on the condition that they are submitted solely to Clinical and Experimental Rheumatology. The statements and opinions expressed in the articles and communications are those of the Authors, and the Editors and publisher disclaim any responsibility or liability for these statements.

Manuscripts will be acknowledged on receipt. All submitted articles will be read by the Editors and sent to two or more members of the Editorial Board or outside consultants for formal review. The referees' comments will be forwarded to the Authors.

Table of Contents

• Submission of Manuscripts
• Types of Articles
• References
• Tables and Figures
• Send submissions to:

Submission of Manuscripts

Mail four copies of the manuscript in a heavy-paper envelope (one original and three photocopies) together with four sets of tables and figures (place photographs in a separate envelope). After receiving the comments of the referees, however, when the authors send the revised version of a paper for the final decision of the Editors, they should include a copy on diskette formatted for Macintosh or a compatible IBM program.

Manuscripts should be accompanied by a cover letter containing:

1. a statement by the Authors that the article has not been published and is not under consideration for publication elsewhere;
2. information on prior publication or the submission elsewhere of any part of the work (note: if any of the material in the article has already been published in other than abstract form, enclose a copy of the previous publication);
3. a statement of financial or other relationships that could lead to a conflict of interest;
4. a statement that the manuscript has been read and approved by all of the authors;
5. in cases of excessive authorship (more than 6 authors for an original article, or more than 3 for a case report) an explanation of the contribution of each author must be provided;
6. the letter may also give information regarding the type of article the manuscript represents and why the authors feel it would be interest to the readers of Clinical and Experimental Rheumatology;
7. The manuscript must be accompanied by copies of permissions to reproduce published material, report sensitive personal information, to use illustrations of identifiable persons, or to name persons for their contributions.

In preparing their manuscripts authors should adhere to the norms laid out in the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals (JAMA 1993; 269: 2282-6). The style should be clear and concise, and authors not fluent in English should have their paper corrected by a native English speaker, preferably one with a scientific background.

Manuscripts must be typed double-spaced with wide margins (at least 2 cm on all sides). Single-spaced material is not acceptable. Begin each of the following sections on a separate page: title page; abstract and key words; text; acknowledgements; references; individual tables; and legends. Number the pages consecutively, beginning with the title page.

The title page should include:

1. a concise but informative title (do not use acronyms);
2. the first name, middle initial and last name of each author, with their highest academic degree(s) and institutional affiliation;
3. the name of the department(s) and institution(s) to which the work should be attributed;
4. the name, address, telephone and fax numbers, and E-mail address of the author responsible for correspondence;
5. the name and address of the author to whom reprint requests should be addressed, or the statement that reprints will not be available from the author;
6. a short running title (45 characters or less).

The second page should contain a concise abstract, proportional in length to the paper itself, and 3 to 10 indexing terms drawn from the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) list of Index Medicus. All measurements, including hematologic and clinical chemistry data, should be reported in metric units in terms of the International System of Units (SI). Only standard abbreviations should be used.

Table of Contents

Types of articles

• Editorials are brief discussions focusing on the significance and practical implications of topics of current interest.
  
• Rapid Papers report new and original scientific work supported by adequate data. The text should not exceed 1500 words. Include a structured abstract and a maximum of 15 references (see below for format). Submissions will undergo the standard review process and a decision will be taken within one month. Accepted papers will be published immediately as they stand.
  
• Original articles are reports of new and original work or descriptions of a consolidated body of experience in a given field. Epidemiological and psychosocial studies are also welcome. The text should not exceed 3500 words (see below for format).
  
• Brief papers are short communications analogous in content to the original articles (see below for format). The text should not exceed 1500 words, and the bibliography no more than 15 references.
  
• Reviews are welcome; they will undergo the same review process as other papers. The text should not exceed 4000 words, and should be preceded by a brief abstract.
  
• Case reports will be considered for publication only if they describe extremely unusual cases or are of particular interest to the clinician. The presentation should be concise (max. 1000 words), and include a short abstract, a clear exposition of the case, and a maximum of 15 references and three tables or figures.
  
• Original articles in the area of Pediatric Rheumatology are welcome.
  
• Letters to the Editor may report original work, address problems of current interest, or comment on articles that have recently appeared in the journal. In the last case, the letter will be sent to the authors of the article in question and their reply, if any, will be published together with the letter. Letters should not exceed 600 words, may include a maximum of one table or figure and 10 bibliographical references, and must be furnished with a title and a set of key words.

NOTE: Excessive authorship should be avoided. In particular, if a submitted case report or letter includes more than four authors, the respective contributions of each must be specified in the accompanying cover letter.

Structured abstract: A summary (250 words or less) suitable for use by abstracting journals, and divided into the following sections: Objective, Methods, Results, and Conclusion.

Introduction: State the purpose of the article and summarise the rationale for the study, giving only the most pertinent references.

Materials and methods: Describe how the study subjects (including controls) were selected. Identify the methods, apparatuses (including manufacturer), and procedures used in sufficient detail to allow other workers to reproduce the results. Give references to established procedures; provide references and brief descriptions for published but not well-known methods; describe new or substantially modified methods. Identify all drugs and chemicals used, including their generic name, dose, and route of administration.
Ethics: For experiments with human subjects, indicate whether the procedures followed were in accordance with the standards of the responsible local committee or with the Helsinki Delaration of 1975/83. For animal experiments, indicate which guidelines or national law on the use of laboratory animals were followed.
Statistics: Describe the statistical methods used (citing standard works) in sufficient detail that a knowledgeable reader with access to the original data may verify the reported results. Quantify findings with appropriate indicators of measurement error or uncertainty (such as confidence intervals). Avoid sole reliance on statistical hypothesis testing, such as the use of P values, which fail to convey important quantitative information.

Results. Present results succinctly and in logical sequence in the text, tables, and illustrations. In the text emphasize or summarise only the most important observations; avoid repeating the data given in the tables and illustrations.

Discussion. Highlight only the new and most significant aspects of the study and discuss the conclusions that follow from them. Do not repeat in detail material already presented in the Results. Include the implications of your findings and their limitations. Relate the observations to other relevant studies. Avoid conclusions not completely supported by your data.

Acknowledgements. Specify: (a) inputs that deserve acknowledgement but do not justify authorship (scientific advisers, critical review of the proposal, data collection, or participation in a clinical trial [Note: authors must obtain written permission from persons who are acknowledged by name, as readers may infer their endorsement of the data and conclusions]; (b) technical assistance; (c) financial and material support; and (d) financial relationships that may involve a conflict of interest.

Table of Contents

References

References should be compiled numerically according to their order of citation in the text [identified by arabic numbers in parentheses], and typed double-spaced. Use the format described in the Uniform Requirements, which is based on the US National Library of Medicine's Index Medicus. Journals titles should be abbreviated in accordance with the List of Journals Indexed in Index Medicus (published each January in Index Medicus).

"Unpublished observations" and "personal communications" may not be used as references, and citing abstracts should be avoided. References to written, but not oral, communications may be inserted in the text within parentheses. Manuscripts that have been submitted but not yet accepted should be cited in the text as "unpublished observations".
References must be verified by the authors against the original documents. List all authors when 6 or less; when 7 or more list only the first three and et al.

Standard Journal Article:

You CH, Lee KY, Chey RY, Menguy R: Electrogastrographic study of patients with unexplained nausea, bloating and vomiting. Gastroenterology 1980; 79: 311-4.

Books and monographs

Personal Author:
Eisen HN: Immunology: An Introduction to Molecular and Cellular Principles of the Immune Response. 5th ed., New York, Harper and Row, 1974: 406.

Editor or Compiler as Author:
Dausset J, Colombani J (Eds.): Histocompatibility Testing 1972. Copenhagen, Munksgaard 1973: 12-8.

Chapter in a Book:
Weinstein L, Swartz MN: Pathogenic properties of invading microorganisms. In Sodeman WA Jr, Sodeman WA (Eds.): Pathologic Physiology: Mechanisms of Disease. Philadelphia, WB Saunders 1974: 457-72.

Published Proceedings Paper:
DePont B: Bone marrow transplantation in severe combined immunodeficiency with an unrelated MLC compatible donor. In White HJ, Smith R (Eds.): Proceedings of the third annual meeting of the International Society for Experimental Hematology. Houston, International Society for Experimental Hematology, 1974: 44-6.

Monograph in a Series:
Hunninghake GW, Gadek JE, Szapiel SV et al.: The human alveolar macrophage. In Harris CC (Ed.): Cultured Human Cells and Tissues in Biomedical Research. New York, Academic Press 1980: 54-6. (Stoner GD (Ed.): Methods and Perspectives in Cell Biology, vol. 1).

Agency Publication:
Ranofsky AL: Surgical operations in short-stay hospitals: United States - 1975. Hyattsville, Maryland, National Center for Health Statistics 1978; DHEW publication no. (PHS)78-1785 (Vital and Health Statistics; series 13; no. 34).

Dissertation or Thesis:
Cairns RB: Infrared spectroscopic studies of solid oxygen [Dissertation]. Berkeley, California, University of California, 1965, 156 p.

Table of Contents

Tables and Figures

Restrict tables and figures to those necessary to explain the argument of the paper and assess its support. Use graphs in the place of tables with many entries; do not duplicate data in more than one form. If a figure or table has already been published, authors must acknowledge the original source, and procure and submit written permission from the copyright holder to reproduce the material.

Type each table double-spaced on a separate sheet. Number tables consecutively in the order of their first citation in the text. Supply a title or legend for each. Place explanatory material in footnotes (using *, ¥, ·, ||, ¶, **, $, §, etc.), not in the legend. Explain non-standard abbreviations, and identify statistical measures of variations such as the SD and SEM.

Figures must be prepared on a computer or professionally drawn and photographed. Freehand or typewritten lettering is not acceptable. Graphics may be sent in one original (labelled "original") and 3 photocopies. For half-tone work send sharply contrasted, black-and-white photographic prints in 4 copies. Lettering should be clear, homogeneous, and large enough that when reduced for publication it will still be legible. The effect of reduction in size of the figure itself to fit the journal format should also be taken into consideration. Each figure must labelled on the back with its number, the authorÌs name, and the indication"top". Figures should be numbered consecutively in the order in which they are mentioned in the text.

The Authors are expected to bear the costs of printing color plates; arrangements may be made with the Editor.

Proof-reading. Contributors will be provided with one set of galley proofs and are asked to read them for printer's errors and return them within one week by fax (sending the original proofs by regular mail). Changes within reason are allowed at no extra cost, but excessive alterations and additions will be charged to the author.

Reprints. Reprints can be ordered from the Editor, using the order form that is sent with the proofs. Orders must be received before the article goes to press; those received after that time are subject to a surcharge.

Table of Contents

Send manuscripts and all other editorial material to:

Clinical and Experimental Rheumatology
via Santa Maria 31
56126 Pisa
Italy

For e-mail queries and information

Table of Contents