- Email: [email protected]
Information for Authors
Thee Official Th fficial Clinical linical Practice Journal urnal of tthee AGA Institute
INFORMATION FOR AUTHORS
Content CLINICAL GASTROENTEROLOGY AND HEPATOLOGY publishes original papers, review articles, case reports, and special category articles on all aspects of the digestive tract and the liver. Manuscripts must be prepared in accordance with the “Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals” developed by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (N Engl J Med 1991;324:424 – 428).
Ethics CLINICAL GASTROENTEROLOGY AND HEPATOLOGY strongly discourages the submission of more than one article dealing with related aspects of the same study. In almost all cases, a single study is best reported in a single paper. The journal editors consider research/publication misconduct to be a serious breach of ethics and will take action as necessary to address such misconduct, which includes submission or publication of information that: ●
Is intentionally erroneous,
●
Has been published elsewhere by a different author without acknowledgment (plagiarism),
●
Has been published elsewhere by the same author without acknowledgment (duplicate publication), or
●
Is subsequently published elsewhere by the same author without acknowledgment, attribution, or permission from the AGA Institute, as holder of the copyright, to reprint or adapt the material.
Breaches in these standards may result in proscribed submission for all authors of the concerned manuscript and, when appropriate, notification of the authors’ institutions. All authors are fully responsible for the content of the manuscript. The publication of abstracts is not considered duplicate publication but should be disclosed in the cover letter accompanying the manuscript submission.
National Institutes of Health (NIH) Funding If a manuscript is accepted for publication and was supported in part, or in whole, by the NIH, the author may request that the manuscript be automatically posted to PubMed Central (PMC). If the author wishes to make this request, he or she should check the appropriate box located on the Copyright Assignment Form under the NIH Funding portion of the form. In addition, the author must provide the NIH grant number. If an author makes this request, the manuscript will automatically be entered in the PMC system and will be available to the public, free of charge, twelve months from the manuscript’s publication date. Conflict of Interest Authors
(Original
Articles
and
Review
Articles).
Authors of original research articles and review articles should disclose at the time of submission any financial arrangement (e.g., consultancies, stock ownership, equity interests, patentlicensing arrangements, research support, major honoraria, etc.) they may have with a company whose product figures prominently in the submitted manuscript or with a company making a competing product (see Copyright Assignment, Authorship Responsibility, Financial Disclosure, and Institutional Review Board/Animal Care Committee Approval form). Interactions that occur within 2 years before the submission date of an article are pertinent. The copyright assignment/ disclosure form can be found on www.cghjournal.org. Such information will be held in confidence while the paper is under review and will not influence the editorial decision; but if the article is accepted for publication, the editors will usually discuss with the authors the manner in which such information is to be communicated to the reader. All funding sources supporting the work and all institutional or corporate affiliations must be acknowledged in a footnote. Reviewers. Reviewers of research articles will be disqualified
from reviewing if they: Authorship Each author must have participated sufficiently in the work to take public responsibility for the content of the paper and must approve of the final version of the manuscript. Authorship should be based on substantive contributions to each of the following: ●
Conception and design of the study;
●
Generation, collection, assembly, analysis and/or interpretation of data;
●
Drafting or revision of the manuscript;
●
Approval of the final version of the manuscript.
●
Have had an ongoing collaboration, original publications, or grants with the authors within the previous 2 years, except in the case of being a part of a multicenter group from a different site; or
●
Are from the same institution as the authors.
Reviewers should disclose at the time of submission any financial arrangement (e.g., consultancies, stock ownership, equity interests, patent-licensing arrangements, research support, major honoraria, etc.) they may have with a company whose product figures prominently in the submitted manuscript or with a company making a competing product. Interactions that occur within 2 years before the submission date of an article are pertinent.
INFORMATION FOR AUTHORS (Continued)
Editorialists. Editorialists will be disqualified from writing
an editorial if they: ●
●
Have had an ongoing collaboration, original publications, or grants with the authors within the previous 2 years, except in the case of being a part of a multicenter group from a different site; or Are from the same institution as the authors.
Editorialists should disclose at the time of submission any financial arrangement (e.g., consultancies, stock ownership, equity interests, patent-licensing arrangements, research support, major honoraria, etc.) they may have with a company whose product figures prominently in the submitted manuscript or with a company making a competing product. Interactions that occur within 2 years before the submission date of an article are pertinent. If the editorial is accepted for publication, the editors will usually discuss with the authors the manner in which such information is to be communicated to the reader. Continuing Medical Education (CME) Each issue of CLINICAL GASTROENTEROLOGY AND HEPATOLOGY will contain two to three continuing medical education exams associated with articles that appear in the issue. AGA members can take the exams online free of charge. Non-AGA members are required to pay a $15 processing fee. For CME exams that accompany original articles, readers can claim 1.0 AMA PRA Category 1 credit. Reviewers of manuscripts can also claim CME credit. After reviewing a manuscript on the journal’s manuscript tracking system, Editorial Manager, the reviewer will be prompted to claim up to 3.0 AMA PRA Category 1 credits. Cover Letter CLINICAL GASTROENTEROLOGY AND HEPATOLOGY strongly encourages authors to suggest 3 to 4 referees (include the mailing address, electronic address, phone, and fax numbers) and the Associate Editor they believe best qualified to review their paper. Authors may also list a non-preferred Associate Editor and non-preferred referees, but the ultimate selection of an Associate Editor and referees is at the sole discretion of the Editor and Associate Editor, respectively. State reasons for deviations, if any, from standard format and clarify any potential conflict related to the exclusive nature of the publication. The cover letter must also categorize the manuscript into one of the four following groups: Clinical Alimentary Tract, Clinical Liver/Pancreas/Biliary, Basic Alimentary Tract, or Basic Liver/Pancreas/Biliary. Manuscript Preparation Electronic Submission. All manuscripts submitted to CLINICAL GASTROENTEROLOGY AND HEPATOLOGY are made available for
online review. Authors may submit their manuscripts, with figures and tables, electronically via our website, http://www. editorialmanager.com/cgh. Please note that electronic submission will decrease review time by as much as 2 weeks, so authors are encouraged to use this method when possible. Complete instructions for online submission are located on the Website. Note: If you have submitted your manuscript electronically, you do not need to submit a hard copy. If your manuscript is
accepted you will be asked to provide the editorial office with hard copies of the missing materials. Other Enquiries. Visit Elsevier’s Author Gateway (http://
authors.elsevier.com) for the facility to track accepted articles and set up e-mail alerts to inform you of when an article’s status has changed. The Author Gateway also provides detailed artwork guidelines, copyright information, frequently asked questions and more. Contact details for questions arising after acceptance of an article, especially those relating to proofs, are provided after registration of an article for publication. Manual Submission. Since all manuscripts are made available
for online review, if you are unable to submit your manuscript electronically, the Editorial office can do so on your behalf. However, authors will incur a nonrefundable $75 charge for the processing and uploading of manual and e-mail submissions. All manual and e-mail submissions must be accompanied by a check, a purchase order, or credit card information or the submission will not be processed. Note: If you have submitted your manuscript electronically, you do not need to submit a hard copy. If your manuscript is accepted you will be asked to provide the editorial office with hard copies of the missing materials. Submit 1 complete manuscript typed in 12-pt font and double-spaced with 1-inch margins. Limit of 15 pages (approximately 4000 words for original articles; about 20 pages or 5000 – 6000 words for review articles) including tables, figures, and references (2 figures ⫽ 1 typed page). One diskette containing the text of the manuscript—saved in Rich Text Format (.rtf)—must accompany every manuscript and revision. Also, please include an electronic copy of your cover letter, and in the case of a revision your point-by-point reply to reviewers, on the diskette. Arrange manuscript as follows, each component beginning on a separate page: (1) title page, (2) abstract, (3) introduction, (4) materials and methods, (5) results, (6) discussion, (7) references, (8) figure legends, (9) tables. Place page number and first author’s last name at top of each page. Cite references, tables, and figures consecutively as they appear in the text. Authors are responsible for applying for permission for both print and electronic rights for all borrowed materials and are responsible for paying any fees related to the applications of these permissions. Title Page Title—Use no abbreviations. Limit: 120 characters with spaces. Short Title—Limit: 45 characters with spaces. Authors—Include first names of all authors and name and full location of department and institution where work was performed. Grant Support—List grant support and other assistance. Abbreviations—List abbreviations alphabetically. (Note: In general, the use of abbreviations is discouraged.)
INFORMATION FOR AUTHORS (Continued)
Correspondence—Provide name, complete address, e-mail address, telephone number, and fax number of corresponding author. Reporting Clinical Trials When submitting manuscripts describing results of clinical trials to CLINICAL GASTROENTEROLOGY AND HEPATOLOGY, authors are now required to disclose information on the registration status of the trial. This requirement is regarded as a transitional step toward a policy of mandating registration of the clinical trial as a condition for publication in the AGA Institute journals. A clinical trial is defined as any research project that prospectively assigns human subjects to intervention and comparison groups of study the cause-and-effect relationship between a medical intervention and a health outcome. The trial must have at least one prospectively assigned concurrent control or comparison group in order to trigger the requirement for registration. The final policy is expected to be implemented in December 2007, at which time CLINICAL GASTROENTEROLOGY AND HEPATOLOGY will adopt the recommendations put forth by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). For more information on the ICMJE recommendations, please go to http://www.icmje.org/#Clin_trials. For studies that start after 2007, or those in which the final patient completed treatment after December 2007, full registration will be required. Appropriate online trial registries include: www. clinicaltrials.gov, www.isrctn.org, www.umin.ac.jp/ctr/index. htm, www.actr.org.au, www.trialregister.nl. Abstract Limit: 250 words. Do not use abbreviations, footnotes, or references. Authors should submit a structured abstract of no more than 250 words organized into the following categories as applicable: Background & Aims: Describe the importance of the study and the precise research objective(s) or study question(s). Methods: Methods should include information on the following aspects of study design when applicable. The methods section may employ subheadings at the discretion of the author. ●
Design—describe the basic study design, e.g., randomized controlled trial, cross sectional study, cohort study, case series, survey, etc.
●
Setting—specify whether the study was conducted in a primary or tertiary care setting, in an ambulatory care clinic or hospital, in the general community, etc.
●
Participants—indicate the number of study subjects and how they were selected, recruited, and assigned to the intervention.
●
Intervention—report the method of administration and duration of the intervention.
Results: Provide the main outcomes of the study, including confidence intervals or P values. Report the absolute values and risk differences so that readers can determine the absolute, as well as the relative, impact of the results. Conclusions: State only conclusions that are directly supported by the evidence and the implications of the findings.
Body of Paper Describe ethical guidelines followed; cite approval of institutional human research review committee or animal welfare committee; describe in detail hazardous procedures or chemicals involved, including precautions observed. Outline statistical methods used. Identify drugs and chemicals used by generic name (if trademarks are mentioned, manufacturer name and city are given). References Cite references in order of appearance in text using superscripted Arabic numerals. Cite personal communications and unpublished data directly in text without being numbered. Conform abbreviations to those used in Index Medicus. Conform style and punctuation to CLINICAL GASTROENTEROLOGY AND HEPATOLOGY requirements: Article (list 3 authors followed by et al): 13. Meltzer SJ, Ahnen DJ, Battifour H, et al. Protooncogene abnormalities in colon cancers and adenomatous polyps. Gastroenterology 1987;92:1174–1180. Book: 18. Day RA. How to write and publish a scientific paper. Philadelphia: Institute for Scientific Information, 1979. Article in Book: 22. Costa M, Furness JB, Llewellyn-Smith IF. Histochemistry of the enteric nervous system. In: Johnson LR, ed. Physiology of the gastrointestinal tract. Volume 1. 2nd ed. New York: Raven, 1987:1– 40. Tables Tables should be prepared without the use of tabs; most table editor programs can be uploaded successfully. If your table contains decimal fractions, please round your numbers to two places after the decimal point. Figures Images: Images can be clinical, pathologic (gross or microscopic), endoscopic, or radiographic. They should be of high quality (300 dpi or greater, clear, and in good focus) and illustrate well the diagnosis. Photographs: Photographs of identifiable patients must be accompanied by written permission to publish from the patient. Line Art and Graphs: Graphs, charts and other line art will be redrawn by our Medical Illustration Department for consistency with the overall style of the AGA Institute journals. Please be sure that any graphs or line art you submit is at a resolution of at least 150 dpi so that they are readable to reviewers. Cost: Authors will be required to pay for the printing of color figures ($650 for the first color figure and $100 each for additional figures). If the manuscript is reviewed with color figures, it must be published with color figures with printing fees paid for by the author. If the author does not wish to pay for printing color figures, then the authors upload grayscale or black-and-white files only to allow review of the data as they will ultimately be published. Figure Legends: Please do not embed or flatten the text into the image files. Figure legends should be typed and
INFORMATION FOR AUTHORS (Continued)
submitted in .rtf (rich text format). This text will be reformatted in the style of the AGA Institute journals. Accepted Figure File Formats: We support the following among dozens of file formats: .bmp, .gif, .jpg, .pbm, .pcx, .png, .tif, .eps, .xbm, .psd, and .tga files. When sending image files, please do not embed them in Word or PowerPoint. You may submit mixed file formats (image1.jpg, image2.tif, image3.eps, etc.). Preferred Figure File Formats: .tiff and .psd. If you have created Photoshop image files containing separate layers with arrows or text, please send us the layered files (unflattened). Image File Formats not Supported at this Time: ChemDraw, CorelDraw, Canvas, FreeHand, Excel, PowerPoint, SigmaPlot, and Equation Editor. You may export image files from these programs as PDF, Jpeg, or other acceptable file formats. File Naming Convention: figures should be named consecutively such as “figure 1.tif,” “figure 2.jpg,” etc., with the file extension appended (.tif, .jpg, .eps, etc). Each figure should be saved as a separate electronic file. Color Files: should be submitted in the CMYK color space. Font: if your figures include text, an 8 to 10 point font should be used. Acceptable fonts are “sans serif” fonts such as Arial, Helvetica, and Myriad. Examples of unacceptable fonts (“serif” fonts) are Times, Palatino, and Georgia. Lettering should begin with an upper case letter, followed by lower case lettering. Multiple Panel Figures: Do not mount multiple part figures. Please submit each panel (image) separately. However, you may submit a multiple panel version to suggest the order in which you would like the panels arranged. You may also include a written, suggested layout. Each individual panel should be of the highest possible quality (300 dpi or higher) at actual print size. Upon Acceptance of Manuscript: Authors of accepted manuscripts will be asked to provide the Editorial Office with publication quality digital files (300 dpi or higher) in an approved format (preferably .tiff or .psd) at publication size (85mm for 1 column width, or 176mm for 2 column width). Our medical illustrator may contact you if a better quality image is needed. Image of the Month Image of the Month presents a striking clinical image that is meant to challenge and inform readers. The “Image of the Month” is presented as a short case report including up to three images. The section is intended to illustrate and teach important medical points. If you would like to submit an Image for publication in the Journal, please follow the instructions below. ●
●
Images can be either clinical, pathologic (gross or microscopic), endoscopic, or radiographic. They should be of high quality and illustrate well the diagnosis. Images for hardcopy submission should be original color or black and white photographic or digital prints 5 by 7 inches in size and should be submitted in duplicate. Arrows or other symbols, or label identifiers should be marked only on the second print. The back of each print and slide must be labeled with the last names of the contributors and an arrow indicating the top of image.
●
The case should be described in one typed double-spaced page or less. Format should be as follows: Short pertinent history, physical examination and laboratory findings, and initial clinical course. The image(s) should then be described with all labeled structures explained in the text.
●
The answer should discuss the image findings and the diagnosis in no more than one double-spaced typed page. The diagnosis and discussion should make an important medical teaching point and include from 1 to 3 pertinent references. Information regarding the specific patient in terms of follow-up and response to therapy should be given as appropriate.
●
No more than three authors are allowed on each submission. Contributors must provide their names, addresses, phone, and e-mail addresses. Contributors must sign and return the copyright form which assigns copyright to the AGA Institute and attest that the figure has not been submitted or published elsewhere.
●
“Image of the Month” submissions must be submitted online at http://www.editorialmanager.com/cgh.
Electronic Image of the Month Due to a high number of “Image of the Month” submissions and the increasing use of video in reports on clinical cases, CLINICAL GASTROENTEROLOGY AND HEPATOLOGY has developed a new section, ‘Electronic Image of the Month,’ where some accepted images or those that include video clips can be published online only. When an image is accepted for the electronic image of the month section, authors will receive a decision letter requesting approval to publish their article online only. If an author does not agree to these terms the article will not be considered further for publication. If authors choose to have their accepted image published in the ‘Electronic Image of the Month’ section, their article will be posted on our website, www.cghjournal.org, within 2–3 months. To submit your “Image of the Month” to CLINICAL GASTROENTEROLOGY AND HEPATOLOGY, log-on to http://www. editorialmanager.com/cgh. Authors are required to follow the “Image of the Month” guidelines provided above. Letters to the Editor Letters to the Editor offer opinions on manuscripts submitted to CLINICAL GASTROENTEROLOGY AND HEPATOLOGY. Text should not exceed 250 words with a limit of three references; no more than three authors are allowed on each submission. All letters become the property of CLINICAL GASTROENTEROLOGY AND HEPATOLOGY and are subject to editing by the editors. Letters commenting on manuscripts are sent to the authors of those manuscripts for a response. Letters are selected for their importance and not all letters submitted can be published. Letters should be submitted within a month from the publication of the manuscrpts. Editorial Office The address for the submission of manuscripts or correspondence is: Michael Camilleri, MD, Editor, CLINICAL GASTROENTEROLOGY AND HEPATOLOGY, AGA National Office, 4930 Del Ray Avenue, Bethesda, Maryland 20814. 娀 2006 by the AGA Institute
INFORMATION FOR AUTHORS
Content CLINICAL GASTROENTEROLOGY AND HEPATOLOGY publishes original papers, review articles, case reports, and special category articles on all aspects of the digestive tract and the liver. Manuscripts must be prepared in accordance with the “Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals” developed by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (N Engl J Med 1991;324:424 – 428).
Ethics CLINICAL GASTROENTEROLOGY AND HEPATOLOGY strongly discourages the submission of more than one article dealing with related aspects of the same study. In almost all cases, a single study is best reported in a single paper. The journal editors consider research/publication misconduct to be a serious breach of ethics and will take action as necessary to address such misconduct, which includes submission or publication of information that: ●
Is intentionally erroneous,
●
Has been published elsewhere by a different author without acknowledgment (plagiarism),
●
Has been published elsewhere by the same author without acknowledgment (duplicate publication), or
●
Is subsequently published elsewhere by the same author without acknowledgment, attribution, or permission from the AGA Institute, as holder of the copyright, to reprint or adapt the material.
Breaches in these standards may result in proscribed submission for all authors of the concerned manuscript and, when appropriate, notification of the authors’ institutions. All authors are fully responsible for the content of the manuscript. The publication of abstracts is not considered duplicate publication but should be disclosed in the cover letter accompanying the manuscript submission.
National Institutes of Health (NIH) Funding If a manuscript is accepted for publication and was supported in part, or in whole, by the NIH, the author may request that the manuscript be automatically posted to PubMed Central (PMC). If the author wishes to make this request, he or she should check the appropriate box located on the Copyright Assignment Form under the NIH Funding portion of the form. In addition, the author must provide the NIH grant number. If an author makes this request, the manuscript will automatically be entered in the PMC system and will be available to the public, free of charge, twelve months from the manuscript’s publication date. Conflict of Interest Authors
(Original
Articles
and
Review
Articles).
Authors of original research articles and review articles should disclose at the time of submission any financial arrangement (e.g., consultancies, stock ownership, equity interests, patentlicensing arrangements, research support, major honoraria, etc.) they may have with a company whose product figures prominently in the submitted manuscript or with a company making a competing product (see Copyright Assignment, Authorship Responsibility, Financial Disclosure, and Institutional Review Board/Animal Care Committee Approval form). Interactions that occur within 2 years before the submission date of an article are pertinent. The copyright assignment/ disclosure form can be found on www.cghjournal.org. Such information will be held in confidence while the paper is under review and will not influence the editorial decision; but if the article is accepted for publication, the editors will usually discuss with the authors the manner in which such information is to be communicated to the reader. All funding sources supporting the work and all institutional or corporate affiliations must be acknowledged in a footnote. Reviewers. Reviewers of research articles will be disqualified
from reviewing if they: Authorship Each author must have participated sufficiently in the work to take public responsibility for the content of the paper and must approve of the final version of the manuscript. Authorship should be based on substantive contributions to each of the following: ●
Conception and design of the study;
●
Generation, collection, assembly, analysis and/or interpretation of data;
●
Drafting or revision of the manuscript;
●
Approval of the final version of the manuscript.
●
Have had an ongoing collaboration, original publications, or grants with the authors within the previous 2 years, except in the case of being a part of a multicenter group from a different site; or
●
Are from the same institution as the authors.
Reviewers should disclose at the time of submission any financial arrangement (e.g., consultancies, stock ownership, equity interests, patent-licensing arrangements, research support, major honoraria, etc.) they may have with a company whose product figures prominently in the submitted manuscript or with a company making a competing product. Interactions that occur within 2 years before the submission date of an article are pertinent.
INFORMATION FOR AUTHORS (Continued)
Editorialists. Editorialists will be disqualified from writing
an editorial if they: ●
●
Have had an ongoing collaboration, original publications, or grants with the authors within the previous 2 years, except in the case of being a part of a multicenter group from a different site; or Are from the same institution as the authors.
Editorialists should disclose at the time of submission any financial arrangement (e.g., consultancies, stock ownership, equity interests, patent-licensing arrangements, research support, major honoraria, etc.) they may have with a company whose product figures prominently in the submitted manuscript or with a company making a competing product. Interactions that occur within 2 years before the submission date of an article are pertinent. If the editorial is accepted for publication, the editors will usually discuss with the authors the manner in which such information is to be communicated to the reader. Continuing Medical Education (CME) Each issue of CLINICAL GASTROENTEROLOGY AND HEPATOLOGY will contain two to three continuing medical education exams associated with articles that appear in the issue. AGA members can take the exams online free of charge. Non-AGA members are required to pay a $15 processing fee. For CME exams that accompany original articles, readers can claim 1.0 AMA PRA Category 1 credit. Reviewers of manuscripts can also claim CME credit. After reviewing a manuscript on the journal’s manuscript tracking system, Editorial Manager, the reviewer will be prompted to claim up to 3.0 AMA PRA Category 1 credits. Cover Letter CLINICAL GASTROENTEROLOGY AND HEPATOLOGY strongly encourages authors to suggest 3 to 4 referees (include the mailing address, electronic address, phone, and fax numbers) and the Associate Editor they believe best qualified to review their paper. Authors may also list a non-preferred Associate Editor and non-preferred referees, but the ultimate selection of an Associate Editor and referees is at the sole discretion of the Editor and Associate Editor, respectively. State reasons for deviations, if any, from standard format and clarify any potential conflict related to the exclusive nature of the publication. The cover letter must also categorize the manuscript into one of the four following groups: Clinical Alimentary Tract, Clinical Liver/Pancreas/Biliary, Basic Alimentary Tract, or Basic Liver/Pancreas/Biliary. Manuscript Preparation Electronic Submission. All manuscripts submitted to CLINICAL GASTROENTEROLOGY AND HEPATOLOGY are made available for
online review. Authors may submit their manuscripts, with figures and tables, electronically via our website, http://www. editorialmanager.com/cgh. Please note that electronic submission will decrease review time by as much as 2 weeks, so authors are encouraged to use this method when possible. Complete instructions for online submission are located on the Website. Note: If you have submitted your manuscript electronically, you do not need to submit a hard copy. If your manuscript is
accepted you will be asked to provide the editorial office with hard copies of the missing materials. Other Enquiries. Visit Elsevier’s Author Gateway (http://
authors.elsevier.com) for the facility to track accepted articles and set up e-mail alerts to inform you of when an article’s status has changed. The Author Gateway also provides detailed artwork guidelines, copyright information, frequently asked questions and more. Contact details for questions arising after acceptance of an article, especially those relating to proofs, are provided after registration of an article for publication. Manual Submission. Since all manuscripts are made available
for online review, if you are unable to submit your manuscript electronically, the Editorial office can do so on your behalf. However, authors will incur a nonrefundable $75 charge for the processing and uploading of manual and e-mail submissions. All manual and e-mail submissions must be accompanied by a check, a purchase order, or credit card information or the submission will not be processed. Note: If you have submitted your manuscript electronically, you do not need to submit a hard copy. If your manuscript is accepted you will be asked to provide the editorial office with hard copies of the missing materials. Submit 1 complete manuscript typed in 12-pt font and double-spaced with 1-inch margins. Limit of 15 pages (approximately 4000 words for original articles; about 20 pages or 5000 – 6000 words for review articles) including tables, figures, and references (2 figures ⫽ 1 typed page). One diskette containing the text of the manuscript—saved in Rich Text Format (.rtf)—must accompany every manuscript and revision. Also, please include an electronic copy of your cover letter, and in the case of a revision your point-by-point reply to reviewers, on the diskette. Arrange manuscript as follows, each component beginning on a separate page: (1) title page, (2) abstract, (3) introduction, (4) materials and methods, (5) results, (6) discussion, (7) references, (8) figure legends, (9) tables. Place page number and first author’s last name at top of each page. Cite references, tables, and figures consecutively as they appear in the text. Authors are responsible for applying for permission for both print and electronic rights for all borrowed materials and are responsible for paying any fees related to the applications of these permissions. Title Page Title—Use no abbreviations. Limit: 120 characters with spaces. Short Title—Limit: 45 characters with spaces. Authors—Include first names of all authors and name and full location of department and institution where work was performed. Grant Support—List grant support and other assistance. Abbreviations—List abbreviations alphabetically. (Note: In general, the use of abbreviations is discouraged.)
INFORMATION FOR AUTHORS (Continued)
Correspondence—Provide name, complete address, e-mail address, telephone number, and fax number of corresponding author. Reporting Clinical Trials When submitting manuscripts describing results of clinical trials to CLINICAL GASTROENTEROLOGY AND HEPATOLOGY, authors are now required to disclose information on the registration status of the trial. This requirement is regarded as a transitional step toward a policy of mandating registration of the clinical trial as a condition for publication in the AGA Institute journals. A clinical trial is defined as any research project that prospectively assigns human subjects to intervention and comparison groups of study the cause-and-effect relationship between a medical intervention and a health outcome. The trial must have at least one prospectively assigned concurrent control or comparison group in order to trigger the requirement for registration. The final policy is expected to be implemented in December 2007, at which time CLINICAL GASTROENTEROLOGY AND HEPATOLOGY will adopt the recommendations put forth by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). For more information on the ICMJE recommendations, please go to http://www.icmje.org/#Clin_trials. For studies that start after 2007, or those in which the final patient completed treatment after December 2007, full registration will be required. Appropriate online trial registries include: www. clinicaltrials.gov, www.isrctn.org, www.umin.ac.jp/ctr/index. htm, www.actr.org.au, www.trialregister.nl. Abstract Limit: 250 words. Do not use abbreviations, footnotes, or references. Authors should submit a structured abstract of no more than 250 words organized into the following categories as applicable: Background & Aims: Describe the importance of the study and the precise research objective(s) or study question(s). Methods: Methods should include information on the following aspects of study design when applicable. The methods section may employ subheadings at the discretion of the author. ●
Design—describe the basic study design, e.g., randomized controlled trial, cross sectional study, cohort study, case series, survey, etc.
●
Setting—specify whether the study was conducted in a primary or tertiary care setting, in an ambulatory care clinic or hospital, in the general community, etc.
●
Participants—indicate the number of study subjects and how they were selected, recruited, and assigned to the intervention.
●
Intervention—report the method of administration and duration of the intervention.
Results: Provide the main outcomes of the study, including confidence intervals or P values. Report the absolute values and risk differences so that readers can determine the absolute, as well as the relative, impact of the results. Conclusions: State only conclusions that are directly supported by the evidence and the implications of the findings.
Body of Paper Describe ethical guidelines followed; cite approval of institutional human research review committee or animal welfare committee; describe in detail hazardous procedures or chemicals involved, including precautions observed. Outline statistical methods used. Identify drugs and chemicals used by generic name (if trademarks are mentioned, manufacturer name and city are given). References Cite references in order of appearance in text using superscripted Arabic numerals. Cite personal communications and unpublished data directly in text without being numbered. Conform abbreviations to those used in Index Medicus. Conform style and punctuation to CLINICAL GASTROENTEROLOGY AND HEPATOLOGY requirements: Article (list 3 authors followed by et al): 13. Meltzer SJ, Ahnen DJ, Battifour H, et al. Protooncogene abnormalities in colon cancers and adenomatous polyps. Gastroenterology 1987;92:1174–1180. Book: 18. Day RA. How to write and publish a scientific paper. Philadelphia: Institute for Scientific Information, 1979. Article in Book: 22. Costa M, Furness JB, Llewellyn-Smith IF. Histochemistry of the enteric nervous system. In: Johnson LR, ed. Physiology of the gastrointestinal tract. Volume 1. 2nd ed. New York: Raven, 1987:1– 40. Tables Tables should be prepared without the use of tabs; most table editor programs can be uploaded successfully. If your table contains decimal fractions, please round your numbers to two places after the decimal point. Figures Images: Images can be clinical, pathologic (gross or microscopic), endoscopic, or radiographic. They should be of high quality (300 dpi or greater, clear, and in good focus) and illustrate well the diagnosis. Photographs: Photographs of identifiable patients must be accompanied by written permission to publish from the patient. Line Art and Graphs: Graphs, charts and other line art will be redrawn by our Medical Illustration Department for consistency with the overall style of the AGA Institute journals. Please be sure that any graphs or line art you submit is at a resolution of at least 150 dpi so that they are readable to reviewers. Cost: Authors will be required to pay for the printing of color figures ($650 for the first color figure and $100 each for additional figures). If the manuscript is reviewed with color figures, it must be published with color figures with printing fees paid for by the author. If the author does not wish to pay for printing color figures, then the authors upload grayscale or black-and-white files only to allow review of the data as they will ultimately be published. Figure Legends: Please do not embed or flatten the text into the image files. Figure legends should be typed and
INFORMATION FOR AUTHORS (Continued)
submitted in .rtf (rich text format). This text will be reformatted in the style of the AGA Institute journals. Accepted Figure File Formats: We support the following among dozens of file formats: .bmp, .gif, .jpg, .pbm, .pcx, .png, .tif, .eps, .xbm, .psd, and .tga files. When sending image files, please do not embed them in Word or PowerPoint. You may submit mixed file formats (image1.jpg, image2.tif, image3.eps, etc.). Preferred Figure File Formats: .tiff and .psd. If you have created Photoshop image files containing separate layers with arrows or text, please send us the layered files (unflattened). Image File Formats not Supported at this Time: ChemDraw, CorelDraw, Canvas, FreeHand, Excel, PowerPoint, SigmaPlot, and Equation Editor. You may export image files from these programs as PDF, Jpeg, or other acceptable file formats. File Naming Convention: figures should be named consecutively such as “figure 1.tif,” “figure 2.jpg,” etc., with the file extension appended (.tif, .jpg, .eps, etc). Each figure should be saved as a separate electronic file. Color Files: should be submitted in the CMYK color space. Font: if your figures include text, an 8 to 10 point font should be used. Acceptable fonts are “sans serif” fonts such as Arial, Helvetica, and Myriad. Examples of unacceptable fonts (“serif” fonts) are Times, Palatino, and Georgia. Lettering should begin with an upper case letter, followed by lower case lettering. Multiple Panel Figures: Do not mount multiple part figures. Please submit each panel (image) separately. However, you may submit a multiple panel version to suggest the order in which you would like the panels arranged. You may also include a written, suggested layout. Each individual panel should be of the highest possible quality (300 dpi or higher) at actual print size. Upon Acceptance of Manuscript: Authors of accepted manuscripts will be asked to provide the Editorial Office with publication quality digital files (300 dpi or higher) in an approved format (preferably .tiff or .psd) at publication size (85mm for 1 column width, or 176mm for 2 column width). Our medical illustrator may contact you if a better quality image is needed. Image of the Month Image of the Month presents a striking clinical image that is meant to challenge and inform readers. The “Image of the Month” is presented as a short case report including up to three images. The section is intended to illustrate and teach important medical points. If you would like to submit an Image for publication in the Journal, please follow the instructions below. ●
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Images can be either clinical, pathologic (gross or microscopic), endoscopic, or radiographic. They should be of high quality and illustrate well the diagnosis. Images for hardcopy submission should be original color or black and white photographic or digital prints 5 by 7 inches in size and should be submitted in duplicate. Arrows or other symbols, or label identifiers should be marked only on the second print. The back of each print and slide must be labeled with the last names of the contributors and an arrow indicating the top of image.
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The case should be described in one typed double-spaced page or less. Format should be as follows: Short pertinent history, physical examination and laboratory findings, and initial clinical course. The image(s) should then be described with all labeled structures explained in the text.
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The answer should discuss the image findings and the diagnosis in no more than one double-spaced typed page. The diagnosis and discussion should make an important medical teaching point and include from 1 to 3 pertinent references. Information regarding the specific patient in terms of follow-up and response to therapy should be given as appropriate.
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No more than three authors are allowed on each submission. Contributors must provide their names, addresses, phone, and e-mail addresses. Contributors must sign and return the copyright form which assigns copyright to the AGA Institute and attest that the figure has not been submitted or published elsewhere.
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“Image of the Month” submissions must be submitted online at http://www.editorialmanager.com/cgh.
Electronic Image of the Month Due to a high number of “Image of the Month” submissions and the increasing use of video in reports on clinical cases, CLINICAL GASTROENTEROLOGY AND HEPATOLOGY has developed a new section, ‘Electronic Image of the Month,’ where some accepted images or those that include video clips can be published online only. When an image is accepted for the electronic image of the month section, authors will receive a decision letter requesting approval to publish their article online only. If an author does not agree to these terms the article will not be considered further for publication. If authors choose to have their accepted image published in the ‘Electronic Image of the Month’ section, their article will be posted on our website, www.cghjournal.org, within 2–3 months. To submit your “Image of the Month” to CLINICAL GASTROENTEROLOGY AND HEPATOLOGY, log-on to http://www. editorialmanager.com/cgh. Authors are required to follow the “Image of the Month” guidelines provided above. Letters to the Editor Letters to the Editor offer opinions on manuscripts submitted to CLINICAL GASTROENTEROLOGY AND HEPATOLOGY. Text should not exceed 250 words with a limit of three references; no more than three authors are allowed on each submission. All letters become the property of CLINICAL GASTROENTEROLOGY AND HEPATOLOGY and are subject to editing by the editors. Letters commenting on manuscripts are sent to the authors of those manuscripts for a response. Letters are selected for their importance and not all letters submitted can be published. Letters should be submitted within a month from the publication of the manuscrpts. Editorial Office The address for the submission of manuscripts or correspondence is: Michael Camilleri, MD, Editor, CLINICAL GASTROENTEROLOGY AND HEPATOLOGY, AGA National Office, 4930 Del Ray Avenue, Bethesda, Maryland 20814. 娀 2006 by the AGA Institute