Instructions to
Authors Instructions to
Authors
Laboratory Animals publishes papers dealing with all aspects of the use of animals in biomedical research, including: new animal models; clinical case reports; descriptions of new or improved research techniques; reports on the influence of environmental and other variables on research results; descriptions of techniques which offer replacements for in vivo models; and basic data characterizing the haematology, biochemistry or pathology of new or existing animal models. The Editorial Board wishes to give especial encouragement to papers describing work which involves a reduction in the number of animals that need be used; or which replaces animal models with in vitro alternatives; or which represents a significant refinement in methodology, leading to improvements in the welfare or well-being of the animals used.
Papers will only be published if the experimental procedures employed conform with the principles and practice of the Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986. (Copies of the Act and its Codes of Practice may be obtained from The Stationery Office Books, PO Box 276, London SW8 5DT, United Kingdom, Fax +44 171 873 8200. Internet Site http://www.the-stationery-office.co.uk/.
All manuscripts are reviewed by independent referees, and the final decision on acceptance or rejection remains with the Editorial Board.
Three copies of the manuscript are required. All sections of the manuscript should be typewritten in double spacing on one side of the paper with margins of not less than 3 cm, and the pages numbered consecutively.
Manuscripts must be accompanied by a covering letter from the principal author confirming that all authors have consented to publication and that the paper has not been nor will be published elsewhere.
Articles for the journal should be sent to: Editorial Manager, Laboratory Animals, Publications Department, Royal Society of Medicine Services Ltd, 1 Wimpole Street, London W1M 8AE, UK. (Tel: + 44 171 408 2119).
News items and books for review should be sent to: Dr. H.B. Waynforth, SmithKline Beecham Pharmaceuticals, The Frythe, Welwyn, Herts AL6 9AR, UK. (Tel: 0707 325111).
The first page should contain (i) the full title of the paper; (2) a short title of not more than 40 characters for page headings; (3) the initials and last names of all authors; (4) the department(s) and the institution(s) where the work was carried out; (5) the name and address of the author responsible for correspondence about the manuscript and proofs.
All papers should be provided with a short summary for abstracting purposes and a list of keywords. The first heading after the summary (usually Introduction) is omitted. Where appropriate, the remainder of the paper should be arranged under the headings Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion, Acknowledgements, References.
Underlining should be used only for those words that are to appear in italics.
Abbreviations, if used, must be defined in full at their first mention in the text. The 24 h clock should be used for times and SI units should be used for all other measurements.
References to inbred strains should be in accordance with the International Index of Laboratory Animals, 6th edn, compiled, edited and published by M.F.W. Festing, 1993, and Genetic Variants and Strains of the Laboratory Mouse, edited by M.C. Green, published by Gustav Fischer, Stuttgart, 1981.
Reports on animal experiments should always include the following information on the animals and conditions of husbandry (based on the guidelines prepared by GV-SOLAS, see Laboratory Animals 19, 106-108).
Animals
Species
Breed or designation of stock or strain
Source
Genetic status (if not obvious from stock/strain designation): strain; outbred; hybrid; mutant
Age and/or weight at start of experiment (both should be given if possible)
Sex
Reputed microbiological status: conventional (microbiological status not specified)' specified pathogen free (pathogens or groups of pathogens from which the animals are free must be specified); gnotobiotic (germ-free or associated with pure cultures; all micro-organisms present must be specified)
Quarantine or acclimatization period
Husbandry during experiment
Measures to protect microbiological status: open system (no special protective measures); closed system (animals kept behind barriers or locks); isolator system
Housing equipment: type, material, dimensions; possibly cage type if a reference is included
Number of animals per cage or housing unit
Bedding: type, quality, pretreatment
Environmental temperature (C range): regulated; not regulated
Relative humidity (% range): regulated; not regulated
Lighting: natural; artificial (time of day and intensity)
Ventilation and filtration: proportion of fresh and recirculated air or air flow speeds over cages or gas or particle concentrations in the air
Period of conditioning to husbandry conditions and procedures used during experiment
Feeding
Feed: type and composition (according to Journal of Nutrition (1977) 107 (7), 1340-1348, and Journal of Nutrition (1984) 114 (1), 15-16), possibly brand name and identification number together with a reference: pretreatment; feeding schedule (quantity, frequency)
Water: type; quality; pretreatment; watering schedule (quantity, frequency)
Experimental Procedure
The description of the experimental procedure depends on the purpose of the experiment, but the following information must always be provided:
Number of animals and any pretreatment
Time schedule of the experiment (e.g. time of day of the investigation, time interval between sampling and processing)
Statistical procedures
Details should be given and references quoted.
Only the help of those who have made substantial contributions to the study and/or preparation of the paper should be acknowledged. The source(s) of grant support, equipment and drugs should be included.
Only essential references should be included and authors should verify them against the original documents. The Harvard system should be used: cite authors' names and dates of publication in the text, and provide a list of references at the end arranged alphabetically by author name. Where there are 3 or more authors the name of the first author is given in the text followed by et al. References to several works by the same author(s) published in the same year should be differentiated by letters a, b etc.
The list of references should include the following information:
Journals: Surnames and initials of authors (date, title of article. Name of journal in full, volume number, first and last page numbers
e.g. Hunskaar, S. & Fosse, R.T. (1993), Allergy to laboratory mice and rats: a review of its prevention, management and treatment, Laboratory Animals, 27, 206-221.
For a book: Surnames and initials of authors (date), title of book. Town of publisher, name of publisher
e.g. Flecknell, P.A. (1987), Laboratory Animal Anaesthesia, London, Academic Press.
For a chapter in a multi-author book: Surnames and initials of chapter authors (date), title of chapter. In: title of book (surnames and initials of book editors). Town of publisher, name of publisher, first and last page numbers of chapter.
e.g. Wagner, J.E. (1987) Parasitic diseases. In: Laboratory Hamsters (Van Hoosier GL Jr, McPherson CW, eds). Orlando: Academic Press, pp 135-56
Tables should not duplicate information given in the text. They should be numbered in the order in which they are mentioned in the text, be given a brief title, and each be typed on a separate sheet in double spacing. Vertical rules should not be used.
All illustrations (Figures) should be black and white, and should be numbered in the order in which they are mentioned in the text. They should be provided in camera-ready form with redundant areas trimmed; the figure number, author's name and the top/bottom should be marked on the back. Line drawings should be professionally drawn and labelled (freehand lettering is not acceptable); they may be submitted as photographic prints or high quality photocopies. All other illustrations should be black and white photographic prints. Micrographs should have a bar to indicate the magnification. Any lettering/numbering on illustrations should be sufficiently large to ensure legibility after reduction for publication, i.e. reduction to a width of 67 mm (one column width) or 144mm (page width).
The list of captions for illustrations should be typed in double spacing on a separate sheet of paper. Staining techniques and the magnification of micrographs should be stated, and arrows/abbreviations explained.
Three sets of illustrations should be submitted.
Proofs will be sent to the author designated to receive them, and corrections should be kept to a minimum. Fifty offprints of each article will be supplied free of charge, and additional offprints may be ordered from the publisher when the proofs are returned. Orders received after this time cannot be fulfilled.
Business correspondence should be addressed to the Editorial Manager, Publications Department, Royal Society of Medicine Services Limited, 1 Wimpole Street, London W1M 8AE, UK.
Laboratory Animals is cited by the following Abstracting and/or Indexing Services:
CABS (Current Awareness in Biological Sciences)
Chemical Abstracts
Current Contents
Excerpta Medica (EMBASE)
Index Medicus
ISI/BIOMED