Letters to the Editor I Letters to the Editor should be typed doublespaced and sent to Dr. H. Leon Bradlow, Editor, Steroids, Institute for Hormone Research, 55 East 34th Street (1st floor), New York, NY 10016, USA. Fax: (212)679-8980. Letters may be edited as required for reasons of space and clarity.
To the Editor: I would like to suggest that primary science journals cease to publish, at the beginning of the “Experimental” sections, detailed descriptions of which brand of melting point apparatus, NMR, IR, UV, mass spectrometers, etc., are used. Who cares which brand of HPLC equipment was used for producing the separation? The custom of publishing these minutiae is perhaps a relic from the days when different instruments gave widely differing numerical values. I am not arguing that all experimental detail should be eliminated. There are many cases where I find it important to know, for instance, which HPLC column was used. If the author really believes that in his separation one brand of solvent is successful and another is not, then that, too, is worth stating. Let’s keep details of general experimental conditions to the essential minimum. Perhaps you would consider bringing up this topic at your next “summit” meeting of editors. James C. Orr, Ph.D.
St. John’s, Newfoundland, Canada In response to Dr. Orr’s letter, we are placing this item on the agenda of our next editorial meeting. We would be interested in hearing from our readers on this subject. H. Leon Bradlow
Editor
0 1990 Butterworth-Heinemann
Steroids, 1990, vol. 55, July
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