Diabetologia

• General information
• Editorial Board
• EASD

• What does an Editor look for?
• Instructions to Authors
• Guidelines for genetic association studies
• Clinical trials
• How to submit
• Acceptance: what next?
• Rejection: what next?

• Guidance for reviewers
• Referees 2006–2007

• View our cover gallery

• Style guide

Diabetologia style guide

This style guide is intended to be an evolving document to help make your copy-editing more efficient and to maintain consistency. If you come across an item that isn't covered or needs updating, please email us at diabetologia-j@bristol.ac.uk

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• Language – set to UK English in Word
• Work with track changes on
• Spelling: UK English, Oxford English Dictionary, -ise ending
• In general retain the author's style, but make changes to assist readability
• Not Oxford (serial) comma, except for clarity. For example: Diabetes is common in Somerset, Cumbria and Lancashire. The incidence was measured in Somerset, Cumbria, Hereford and Worcester, and Lancashire
• The typesetters automatically format the following items (except in Table headers and footnotes, and Figure legends) so there is no need for you to:
• italicise p in p value, n, F in F test, U in U test (printed version will be p value, n, F test, U test)
• place en-rules between pairs of numbers
• alter spacing around mathematical symbols (e.g. +, ±, = ) (printed version will be, for example, 0.38±0.5, p<0.05) (signs abutted by text will have space around them, for example, units for blood glucose AUC: mmol/l × h)
• alter spacing between values and symbols (printed version will be, for example, 5.6 mm, 8.8 g)

Use the author query sheet provided to list author queries. We have compiled a list of commonly used queries that you can adapt for specific circumstances. These should be used as the basis for your queries. Once we receive your copy-edited paper and the queries, we will forward the queries to the author. We will also forward the copy-edited paper to the author, asking him/her to review the paper and make changes in response to the queries.

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Title page

Title

• Check for sense and succinctness. Abbreviations are acceptable in the title if they make it more readable (but still define in parentheses later if the abbreviation occurs in the paper). In addition, make sure that any animal species are named. (Note that animals are used as models of type 1 and 2 diabetes; they cannot have type 1 or type 2 diabetes.) Use lowercase after colon (except if it is a complete question)
• We do not include a short title, so this can be deleted

Authors' details

• Surnames should be written out; no first names – initials only, e.g. J. N. Burton. There is no need to format the author list, e.g. names can be separated by centred dot, comma, space, etc. Delete academic titles
• Replace the corresponding author’s brief affiliation address with their full corresponding address, which should include street name, postcode, etc. (In Canadian addresses only the postcode goes after the country name, e.g. Canada TN2 1N4.) The corresponding author’s details should then include only their name and email address. You may need to check that the corresponding author’s full address applies to all authors listed as having the same affiliation (see standard author queries).
  Before:
  Dr Peter Brown^1,2, Dr William Green² and Prof. Jill White¹
  1. Department of Genetics, University of Stockport, Stockport, UK
  2. Department of Clinical Science, University of Macclesfield, Cheshire, UK
  Corresponding author: P. Brown, Department of Genetics, University of Stockport, Edgerton Road, Stockport, Cheshire SK35 8BJ, UK; email P.brown@stockport.ac.uk
  After:
  P. Brown^1,2, W. Green² and J. White¹
  1. Department of Genetics, University of Stockport, Edgerton Road, Stockport, Cheshire SK35 8BJ, UK
  2. Department of Clinical Science, University of Macclesfield, Cheshire, UK
  Corresponding author: P. Brown, email P.brown@stockport.ac.uk
• For two or more authors who contributed equally to a study, add a note as follows:
  P. Bloggs and R. Smith contributed equally to this study.
  
• For US, Canadian and Australian states, use the two-letter Post Office abbreviation e.g. ON not Ontario. The name of the country is not abbreviated, except for the USA and UK
• Names of institutes/universities and towns/cities/countries can be left as supplied by the author (i.e. they do not have to be the English spelling)

Footnotes

• Move statements such as 'Part of this work was presented/was published as an abstract' to the acknowledgements section

Received / Accepted dates

• These dates should already be on the paper (date format: 4 July 2002). Editorials, Commentaries and Book Reviews do not have received and accepted dates. (Springer will add an online publication date at a later stage)

Abstract

• The abstract should have a four-part structure (Headings: 'Aims/hypothesis', 'Methods', 'Results', 'Conclusions/interpretation'). If abstracts are written in 'telegram' style, i.e. incomplete sentences, amend to full, written-out sentences. There should not be any citations. Include as few abbreviations as possible (these should be written out in full on first mention in the abstract if not in the accepted abbreviations list and again on first mention in text)

Randomised controlled trials

• If the study is a randomised control trial (RCT), the journal follows CONSORT guidelines for the abstract structure and content. See examples of correctly formatted abstracts. The abstract must conclude with a clinical trials registration number and details of funding. For example:
  Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00056378
  Funding: The study was funded by Galactozone.
  The paper should also include a flow chart. The Editorial Office has a checklist for RCTs

Clinical trials registration numbers

• In line with the requirements of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (www.icmje.org/ and ww.icmje.org/faq.pdf), and CONSORT guidelines (www.consort-statement.org/?o=1001), Diabetologia requires authors to have registered their trial in a registry at the time of conception
  
• Acceptable registers include:
  • Australian New Zealand Clinical Trials Registry (www.actr.org.au)
    
  • ClinicalTrials.gov (www.clinicaltrials.gov)
    
  • International Standard Randomised Controlled Trial Number Register (www.ISRCTN.org)
    
  • UMIN Clinical Trials Registry (www.umin.ac.jp/ctr/index.htm)
    
  • Nederlands Trial Register (www.trialregister.nl)
    
  • or any registries accepted by WHO as primary registers (see
    www.who.int/ictrp/network/primary_registers/en/index.html/)
    
• The abstract must conclude with a clinical trials registration number and details of funding.
  Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00094757
  Funding: The study was funded by Galactozone.
  
• If the registration number is not present, contact us straight away. If a registration number has not been provided to the Editorial Office, copy-editing will stop until the author has been contacted

Keywords

• Up to ten keywords can be included. Check for alphabetical order. Include the keyword 'Review' for review articles. Keywords should have an initial capital letter only.

Abbreviations list

• The list should include only abbreviations not listed in Instructions to Authors as accepted abbreviations and used more than once. Abbreviations not on the approved list should be defined in parentheses on first use in the abstract and on first use in the main text. If the authors have defined abbreviations that are on the journal's accepted list, delete the definition here and in the main text
• The written-out form of the abbreviation in the list is all lowercase (except for name of trials, etc.)
• Authors do not have to use the accepted abbreviation in place of the full version, although this may be more appropriate at times. Authors can use abbreviations and full versions interchangeably in text
• Abbreviations used only once in the Methods can be handled less strictly. Versus is always abbreviated to vs (no final point)
• Do not include any gene symbols, as these are not strictly abbreviations

Body of text

Levels of headings must be clearly differentiated by typographical means by the copy-editor:

• Style 1: If there are two heading levels:
• H1 Heading on line by itself in bold
• H2 Shoulder heading in italics (text runs on)
• Style 2: If there are three heading levels:
• H1 Heading on line by itself in bold
• H2 Heading on line by itself – not bold
• H3 Shoulder heading in italics. Text runs on
• Either Style 1 or Style 2 should be applied throughout the paper (not, for example, Style 1 in the Introduction and Style 2 in the Results).

Methods/Results/Conclusion

• Note that sections are headed Methods, Results, Conclusion
• Check heading hierarchy and style appropriately
• Delete trademark devices or type of company (e.g. Ltd, Inc, GmbH)
• Check that the suppliers' or manufacturers' details are given for animals or other biological materials, or for non-standard materials (USA: town/city, state, country; UK: town/city, country (no counties); for Canadian and US states use the two-letter Post Office abbreviation e.g. ON not Ontario.
• Check that there is an explanation of ± (standard deviation or standard error) in the text or in the Statistical analysis section

Ethical issues

• Check that the paper includes an ethics statement
• Studies on people: there should be a sentence stating that the study has the approval of an ethics committee and/or that studies have been carried out in accordance with Declaration of Helsinki. It is not mandatory to have both. There should also be a statement to the effect that informed consent was obtained from each participant
• Studies on animals: there should be a sentence stating either that the study was approved by the local ethics committee or that the study was conducted in accordance with the Principles of Laboratory Care. Details of the breeds and suppliers should also be included
• If the relevant statement is missing, raise as an author query

Ethnicity

• Avoid the use of Caucasian to indicate white, as it is technically specific to people from the Caucasus region (AMA Manual of Style (2007) 10th edition New York Oxford University Press p 415; see also Freedman [1987] BMJ 294: 1630). Preferred terms are of European descent, Europid or white (raise as an author query) See also Bhopal & Donaldson, 1998
• American Indian is generally preferred to the broader term Native American, which is acceptable but also includes Hawaiian, Samoan and Alaskan natives. Wherever possible, specify the nation of peoples (e.g. Inuit, Navajo) rather than using the more general term
• Similarly, Asian persons may wish to be described according to their country or geographic area of origin, e.g. Chinese, Indian, Japanese, Sri Lankan, not Oriental or Orientals

Acknowledgements

• Use an English translation for foreign organisations where appropriate
• Do not include full names or titles, e.g. Dr John Smith should be abbreviated to J. Smith

Duality of interest statement

• Check that a statement is included, even if it is negative. The statement is positioned after the Acknowledgements
• Format: The authors declare that there is no duality of interest associated with this manuscript

Appendices

• Any appendices are placed before the references.

Electronic supplementary material

• This is supplied in a separate document/file. Check that there is a call out to the ESM at appropriate points in the text. Call outs should be in the form, for example: … (see Electronic supplementary material [ESM]). For subsequent callouts '… (ESM)'. If you need to refer to a particular table or figure in the ESM then callout: '… (ESM Table 1)'. There is no need to include ESM in the list of abbreviations
• ESM tables and figs are numbered to 'stand alone' from those in the main paper
• When editing ESM, the material is published exactly as is it edited, so you will need to check:
• Font: Times New Roman, 12 pt
• Head material: Electronic supplementary material (in bold)
• Tables/Figs headed: ESM Table 1 (in bold), ESM Table 2, etc.
• Plus/minus symbols are true symbols, not underlined plus symbol
• Degree symbols are true symbols, not raised o or 0
• Superscripts are true superscripts, not raised characters
• Format italics of p value, t test, etc
• Delete all comments
• The typesetters cannot implement any editorial changes to ESM figures. If any of the figures need more than cosmetic changes, you will need to ask for new versions of the figures in an author query. For example, necessary changes would include re-drawing figures to include SI units or making gene names and styling consistent between the main paper and the ESM figures
• ESM tables provided as Excel files may be made available to readers as the Excel files or as pdfs (the author can choose)

Tables and figures

• Check that Figures are cited in the main text in consecutive order. Use 'Fig.' throughout text unless the word occurs at the start of a sentence, in which case use 'Figure'. For multipart figures use 'Fig. 1 a,b' and 'Figs 2, 3' when referring to separate figures (a,b will be closed up automatically by the typesetters)
• There is no need to redefine abbreviations used in legends if they have already been defined in text and are included in abbreviations list
• In general, use superscript letters rather than symbols except for significance values (use *p<0.05, **p<0.01, ***p<0.001 as far as possible)
• Proofreaders: note that if a figure spans two columns and there are more than two lines in the legend, then the legend is spilt into two columns. If the legend is only one or two lines, then the legend runs across the two columns

Figures

• Marked-up figures may be returned by fax (0117 959 5352), or scanned and emailed (diabetologia-j@bristol.ac.uk)
• Figures should be correctly worded and labelled, with capital letters for first word of axis legends only
• Add a global note to indicate that axis labels should not be in bold. Check that curves and experimental points correspond with axes. Delete frames or headings from graphs
• Align figure identifier (a, b, c, etc.) with y-axis label
• Keys should not normally be included on figures; keys should be explained in the accompanying figure legend
• The typesetters can't accept pictorial symbols in the figure legends – they must be written out.
• For line graphs: Use black, white, grey, etc. rather than empty, filled, open, closed, etc. (for example use: black square, white square, black triangle, white triangle). There is no need to include black or white if all the symbols are either black or white (for example use: square, triangle). It is preferable to try to group symbols/format together for conciseness, for example:
  White symbols, low-fat diet; black symbols, high-fat diet; circles, girls; squares, boys.
  rather than:
  White circles, low-fat diet in girls; black circles, high-fat diet in girls; white squares, low-fat diet in boys; black squares, high fat diet in boys
• For bar charts: Use white bar, black bar, hatched bar, cross-hatched bar, grey bar, etc

Tables

Check that tables are cited in consecutive order in the main text. Bold type cannot be used in tables to link a particular cell, column or line to a particular footnote. If authors do this, the footnote should be re-worded and a superscript letter inserted in the relevant cells. Blank cells in tables are permitted (but not blank rows or columns)

• The typesetters will not print any internal gridlines or rows of space. You may need to edit the table and/or raise author queries with this in mind
• Superscript letters used to link to footnotes should appear in the following order in the table: left to right along column headers, left to right along each subsequent row (including the row header)
• Entries in the left-hand column subordinate to those above them (in contrast to independent entries) should be indented by two em spaces (control + space). If you have more than two levels, indent level 2 by two em spaces, then level 3 by four em spaces
• The typesetters will format the tables, so there is no need to align values

Figure legends, table headers and table footnotes

• The typesetters do not format the figure legends, table headers and table footnotes, so they must be edited as they are to be printed
• In general:
• p, n, r, t, etc. in italics
• No spaces around *, <, =, ±, >, etc. (e.g. *p<0.05, mean±SEM), except where a sign is surrounded by text (for example: high-fat × zinc interaction)
• En dashes for number ranges, etc.
• Add commas in values >999 (e.g. 1,000 10,498)
• True multiplication signs, degree symbols, plus/minus signs, etc.
• Abbreviations not in italics. If they are in a list, arrange alphabetically and separate with commas and semicolons, e.g.
  FFM, fat-free mass; PAD, peripheral arterial disease; RER, respiratory exchange ratio
• Abbreviations such as NA (not available or not applicable), ND (no data) and NT (not tested) may also be used where appropriate and should be explained in the table footnotes
• Table headers
• Table 1(emspace)One sentence of text (no full stop)
• Table footnotes
• Arrange each distinct footnote on a separate line (no full stop at the end of each footnote) and in an appropriate order, e.g.
  Data are means±SEM
  Text
  Explanation of superscript letters (preferably one per line)
  Statistical information (p values, etc.)
  Abbreviations
• Superscript letter(no space)text
  
• Figure legends
• Fig. 1(emspace)Text(no full stop)
• Letters to indicate panels are in bold, e.g. (b, c). The panel letters are enclosed in brackets if they are within the sentence, but not if they are at the start of the sentence, e.g.
  Fig. 3(emspace)a Respiratory exchange ratio. b Electron transport
  Fig. 4(emspace)Total GIP (a) and intact GIP (b) were measured in mice
• Figure symbol descriptors not in italics (e.g. black squares, high-fat diet) (the typesetters cannot accept pictorial symbols – they must be written out)

Textboxes

• Style as a textbox (Insert/Textbox), not as text with an outer border
• Text in Times New Roman 11 pt, left-aligned
• Line spacing 1.0 (text and footnotes)
• Heading (if included) in bold
• Column headers (if included) roman, not bold, with rule below
• No full stop at end of each section
• Include any footnotes within the text box
• No lines of space between sections; paragraph spacing after 6pt throughout (Format/Paragrah/Indents and Spacing)
• No internal gridlines
• Border line weight 0.75
• Remove any font colouring or highlighting (this has to be done specifically on each textbox, not as a global change for the whole paper)

See Diabetologia (2008) 51:1105 for an example

References

• References in the text should be given as a range when applicable, i.e. [1−5, 7]
• Page numbers are always given in full, i.e. 1074−1083 not 1074−83
• There is no need to convert round brackets to square ones, nor to convert hyphens to en rules (the typesetters will do this automatically)
• There is no need to worry about any formatting (e.g. positioning of year, abbreviation of journal titles) – as long as all information is present then typesetters will do the rest
• If there are more than six authors, change reference to name of first three authors followed by et al (house style is for no full stop after 'et al' in reference list, but the typesetters will remove any full stops automatically. Note, however, that in the text, et al. should be given a full stop)
• Scan references for potential problems and, where possible, correct any mistakes by checking on PubMed or raise as an author query
• There is no need to abbreviate written-out journal names as the typesetters will do this automatically. However, if abbreviations have been given but look incorrect refer to the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) for correct journal abbreviations
• The language that a paper is printed in (if not English) should be specified after the page number, in round brackets, e.g. … in type 1 diabetic patients. Diabetologia 45:212−215 (article in Japanese)
• The style for supplements is: Int J Obes Relat Metab Disord 25(Suppl 5): S56−S62, i.e. round brackets, no space
• The style for website URLs is: Authors (year) Title. URL, accessed date. You may need to ask the author for the access date. For example:
  European Medicines Agency, Committee for Proprietary Medicinal Products (2002) Note for guidance on clinical investigation of medicinal products in the treatment of diabetes mellitus. Available from www.emea.europa.eu/pdfs/human/ewp/108000en.pdf, accessed 17 April 2008
• Use the 'core name' of a publisher, e.g. Wiley instead of John Wiley. Give only one location for a publisher, using either the first supplied in the manuscript (if more than one is given) or the publisher's main location
• Use 'in press' only in place of volume and page numbers that are not yet available [e.g. … JAMA (in press)], not as a substitute for the (probable) year of publication or for a journal name, both of which are required. Add an author query asking for publication details or DOI. If the paper is 'in press' and no DOI is available, then we require written confirmation of acceptance
• Abstracts are allowed only for the current year and the preceding year. If the author uses older abstracts, use an author query to ask for a full reference. If this is not available, the data will be cited as 'unpublished results' or 'unpublished data' (whichever the author prefers). (See section below on obtaining written consent.) We allow for more flexibility in meta-analysis papers: if you find an older abstract there please let us know
• The format for references that are abstracts is the same as for journal articles but with (Abstract) after the page numbers
• We allow reference to unpublished and ongoing work in the main text but not in the reference list. If references are made to unpublished results by one or a number of the authors of the manuscript, these should include the author's name and should be written in parentheses, e.g. (J. Smith, unpublished data) or (J. Smith, unpublished results). The terms 'unpublished data' or 'unpublished results' are preferable to alternatives such as 'manuscript submitted for publication'. Personal communications are also inserted in the main text, not in the reference list (e.g. J. Smith, Department of Medicine, University of Bristol, UK, personal communication)
• Written consent is needed if the person referred to in regard to unpublished results or in a personal communication is not one of authors. Raise an author query asking the author to provide written evidence of consent and details of affiliation (or to remove reference to personal communication)

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Formats for other types of articles

Commentary

• Rubric: Commentary
• There are no received/accepted dates. There is no abstract. A list of abbreviations may be included. The inclusion of keywords is encouraged but not mandatory

Book review

• Rubric: Book Review
• Book review titles are styled, for example:

  Jones F, Smith AB, Brown W (eds) The diabetic foot (second edn). Humana Press, Totowa, New Jersey, 2006
  567 pp (ISBN 2 98567 564 4). Hardcover £15

  P. White

• There are no received/accepted dates. The printed version will include an online publication date.
• A colour illustration of the cover of the book is always included

Letters

• Rubric: Letter
• The titles of comments should be styled with a unique title, for example:

  Further investigation of the metabolic consequences of fetal and early postnatal growth restriction.

  You may need to ask the author to provide this.

• A title of a response to a comment would be styled as the unique title provided by the initial respondent, for example:

  Further investigation of the metabolic consequences of fetal and early postnatal growth restriction Reply to Peters JB, Smith M, Harris P, et al. [letter]

• Letters begin 'To the Editor:' with the text run on
• There are received/accepted dates but no abstract. The inclusion of keywords is encouraged but not mandatory. Try to keep the number of abbreviations to a minimum

Research letter

• Rubric: Research letter
• Research letters begin 'To the Editor:' with the text run on
• There are received/accepted dates but no abstract. The inclusion of keywords is encouraged but not mandatory. Try to keep the number of abbreviations to a minimum

Annual lectures

Titles of annual lectures are styled, for example:
[Title of lecture] The Camillo Golgi Lecture 2005

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Terms to avoid

• Type 1 or type 2 diabetes associated with an animal. Re-phrase to indicate that the animal is being used as a model for type 1 or 2 diabetes
• Prediabetic, unless used in a strictly temporal sense
• Antidiabetic: replace with oral hypoglycaemic or glucose-lowering drugs (raise an author query)
• 'regular insulin' (American term) should be replaced by 'soluble insulin'
• Gender (cultural term): change to sex (biological term)
• Diabetics: use diabetic patients or participants
• Subjects: as far as possible, use participants
• Caucasians – replace with Europids, whites or people of European extraction (see Ethnicity; raise an author query)
• Different to – change to different from
• Compared to – change to compared with when similarities or differences are being considered. (Compared to is used in a figurative sense, mainly in poetry)

Spellings

• Use Concise Oxford Dictionary, -ise endings.
• Use ph spelling in:
  sulphur, sulphate, sulphated
  but f in sulf(o) prefix: sulfatide, sulfotransferase, sulfonylurea
• Note dys- (prefix meaning bad) vs dis e.g. dysregulation, dyslipidaemia
• Note -penia (suffix meaning lack of) not -poenia, or -paenia
• Note the following, which are spelled 'e' not 'ae':
• postrema
• gastrocnemius muscle
• Hematocrit (if referring to the Hematocrit machine, otherwise use packed cell volume)
• hemangioma
• erythema
• Analyzer (not Analyser) should be written when it is part of a trade name, e.g. 'Technicon AutoAnalyzer' but not when it is not written as part of the trade name, e.g. 'autoanalyser (Technicon)' or 'a Technicon autoanalyser'
• 'Hyperlacticacidaemia' is commonly misspelled as 'hyperlacticaemia'

Preferred spellings and usage

UK vs US spelling

Singular/plural

• With units of measurement always use the singular verb form:
  Five millilitres was injected
  In our opinion, 100 km is far enough
• The verb in either/or and neither/nor constructions should always agree with the noun nearest to it:
  Either nausea or headache is ...
  Neither glucose nor HDL-cholesterol was increased by exercise
  Neither the mouth nor the feet were affected
• This also applies to 'and/or'
  
• A 'with' phrase that is part of a nominative phrase does not determine verb number, which must agree with the grammatical subject:
  Isoprenaline given together with propranolol is effective in ...
• The number is singular and a number of is plural:
  The number that responded was surprising.
  A number of respondents were verbose in their answers

Adjectives

• Ensure that adjectives qualify an appropriate noun, e.g.
  'Cardiac diet' should be rewritten: 'a diet for patients with cardiac disease' (a diet cannot be 'of the heart')
  'Cardiac patient' should be rewritten – a patient may be weak or depressed, but not cardiac
• Intravenous or oral cannot be used to modify a drug name; they should be used to modify a word such as administration, or changed to adverbs

Troublesome words

Units and spacing

• The typesetters will insert spacing between units and symbols automatically so there is no need to format them. There will be a space between the number and unit symbol except in the case of degrees, % and ‰, e.g.
  3 mg
  but 37ºC, 9%
• House style is for no space around mathematical symbols (±, ×, =, >, :, etc). Again, this will be done automatically by the typesetters. For example:
  8×9 [use multiplication symbol × not letter x]
  1:4 ratio
  ATP:ADP
  >10 mm
  p<0.005
  n=20
• Multiple units are formatted as number/unit or number unit⁻¹ unit⁻¹ (house style is to separate units from each other by spaces, not centred dots), e.g. 15 m/s, 25 mg kg⁻¹ day⁻¹
• Units of measure are not abbreviated when they are not preceded by a numeral:
  ... is measured in milligrams per litre
• House style is to use SI units throughout.
• Check especially for the following in the text, tables and figures:
  serum insulin (should be pmol/l, but doses of insulin may be in U)
  serum glucose (should be mmol/l)
  radioactivity (should be Bq not Ci)
  energy (should be kJ not kcal). For dietary energy, the non-SI units (kcal) may be placed in parentheses after the SI units (note also: low-energy diet, not low-calorie diet)
• Values in ppm or ppb should also be given in SI units
• Values for NEFA can be given in mmol/l or mEq/l (analysed fatty acids are a mixture of undetermined molecular masses so mmol/l is not strictly correct
• Values in deciliters (dl) are generally not acceptable:
  amino acids (should be µmol/l not mg/dl)
  glucose, lipoproteins, LDL-/HDL-cholesterol (should be mmol/l not mg/dl)
  C-peptide (should be nmol/l not ng/dl)
  cortisol (should be nmol/l not µg/dl)
  glucagon (should be ng/l not pg/ml)
  with some exceptions:
  lipoprotein a [Lp(a)] is generally given in mg/dl
  blood flow across the arm is generally given as dl or ml per unit of time
• JAMA's website includes SI units for standard biochemical components (raise the conversion as an author query)
• When the authors denote mol/l as 'M' (or 'N') in concentrations it should be changed as follows (N values do not always stay the same – check with the author):
  M → mol/l
  mM → mmol/l
  µM → µmol/l
  nM → nmol/l
  
• Molecular mass is given in kDa. Relative molecular mass (M_r) has no units. Molecular weight is often used incorrectly to mean molecular mass. Raise an author query
• Relative units are defined against a specific variable (e.g. relative to a standard or control values). Arbitrary units are typically not defined
• The format for weight/volume is wt/vol. (upright, not italic). (Also vol./vol., wt/wt)
• The units for the area under the curve are the y-axis units multiplied by the x-axis units, e.g. the units glucose AUC are mmol/l × min
• The HOMA index has no units. We cannot accept the equation written out with non-SI units. If the author provides the equation in non-SI units, raise an author query asking the author to provide the equation with SI units, bearing in mind that the constant will also be altered (a fixed constant for all papers cannot be provided as insulin assays vary in their standardisation and in their cross-reactivity with proinsulin species). Note that the value of the index does not change and there is no re-calculation required. Alternatively, the author can omit the equation and simply provide a reference. If they used the computer-generated index, the website can be referred to directly (www.dtu.ox.ac.uk) (see Levy et al. 1998)
• The units for insulin sensitivity index (glucose infusion rate/plasma insulin per unit body surface area per time) are µmol m⁻² min⁻¹ (pmol/l)⁻¹. It may also be expressed on a body weight basis: µmol kg⁻¹ min⁻¹ (pmol/l)⁻¹. This can also be written as µmol kg⁻¹ min⁻¹ pmol⁻¹ × l.

  The MINMOD program generates the insulin sensitivity index in non-SI units (× 10⁻⁴ min⁻¹ [µU/ml] ⁻¹). To enable comparison with other papers, we can allow these units, but add a conversion factor to the text (or a table footnote):

  To convert values to SI units multiply by 0.167

Under the same circumstances, the disposition index (D_I) can be given without units, but add a statement that D_I is calculated as the S_I generated by the MINMOD program (× 10⁻⁴ min⁻¹[µU/ml] ⁻¹) multiplied by AIR_g (pmol/l × min)

• M value (marker of insulin sensitivity): M in italics, no hyphen. Units are µmol kg⁻¹ min⁻¹ or µmol m⁻² min⁻¹ or µmol/min)
• Insulin secretion rate (ISR) units are l/min

Numbers

• In running text with non-unit quantities, use words and numerals for numbers as described here: one to ten, 11, 12, 13, ... , n
  first to tenth, then 11th, 12th, 13th, ... , nth
  twofold to tenfold, then 11-fold, 12-fold, 13-fold, ... , n-fold (4.5-fold)
  one million, 1.3 million
• Use a numeral if the context of the number is mathematical or followed by a unit: a factor of 3, a multiple of 5, a ratio of 1:4 (but four times as much), 5 mm, 5 days
• House style is to use a comma to separate groups of three digits to the left of the decimal point (if any) for numbers (e.g. 64,000 and 9,999). This will be formatted automatically by the typesetters so there is no need to add commas to numbers when copy-editing, except on figures, in figure legends and in table headers and footnotes, as these are not formatted by the typesetters. Proofreaders should not ask for commas to be replaced by thin spaces
• Make sure there is a value before a decimal point (i.e. 0.37, not .37)
• Numbers should always be expressed as words at the beginning of a sentence. Rewording may be easier (e.g. 'Thirty of 68 patients...' or 'Of 68 patients, 30 ...'). Chemical names are an exception to this rule ('5-Methylsulfadiazine was added ...')
• Repeat all digits in a series or range (e.g. 1960–1975 and 29,143–145,147)

Times

• If a unit is preceded by a numeral make the following changes:
  Hours/hrs change to h
  minutes to min
  seconds to s
• Days, months, weeks, years are always written in full
• 24 hour clock: use format 15:00 hours (with colon)

Dates

• Express dates as: day month year (e.g. 9 September 1979)

Statistics and confidence intervals

df	degrees of freedom
N	sample size of population
n	sample size of subgroup
p	statistical probability
r	bivariate correlation coefficient
R	multivariate correlation coefficient
r2	bivariate coefficient of determination
R2	multivariate coefficient of determination
t	Student's t statistic (determined using Student's t test)
U	Mann–Whitney U (Wilcoxon) statistic (determined using Mann–Whitney U (Wilcoxon) test

• Ratios: House style is for a closed-up colon for ratios, e.g. total cholesterol:HDL-cholesterol. Any spaces around the colon will be removed automatically by the typesetters
• Chi-squared should always be referred to as χ² written with a Greek letter χ and superscript 2, as it refers to a variable
• Student's t test – published under the pseudonym Student so always capital S, apostrophe between t and s and t in italics with no hyphen
• Do not use an equals sign for OR, HR, RR or CI (for example, OR 4.3 [95% CI 4.0–4.6])
• The format for confidence intervals is: CI 95.4–98.7. If the interval includes a negative number, use a comma instead of an en dash, e.g. CI 6.8, –7.3

Italics

• Latin and foreign words should be written in roman script rather than italics, and used sparingly

Mathematical symbols and equations

We can accept equations written in Word or in Equation Editor, but you may need to adjust the formatting. If you have Equation Editor, you can access it by selecting Insert/Object, then under the Create New tab, choose Microsoft Equation. If you don't have it, or are uncertain how to use it, ask us to format the equation as necessary. Variables should be in italics (check that the values in the equations match those in the text) and constants in roman. Lowercase Greek symbols are in italics, uppercase in upright. There is no punctuation around the equation

• Mathematical symbols should generally be retained in prose and e.g. ' ×3', not 'multiplied by 3', 'Δ' not 'delta'
• Italicise the abbreviation for acceleration due to gravity, g, to distinguish it from g for gram. It should not be preceded by ×
• Maximum oxygen consumption is styled as VO_2max with overdot on the V (copy and paste the terms from Equation Editor)

Chemical nomenclature

• Nomenclature is standardised by the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry and the International Union of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. See also the ASC Style Guide (J. S. Dodd, ed.), American Chemical Society, Washington, DC.

Element symbols and names

• Names and symbols (e.g., iron, Fe) may both be used in running text; symbols do not need defining
• When many elements or compounds are mentioned or discussed together, it is often clearer and saves space to use the symbols
• When ions are being discussed, the symbol is sometimes more precise and usually shorter (e.g., Fe²⁺, Fe³⁺, not iron ions)
• When elements or compounds are mentioned relatively infrequently, use of symbols interferes with the flow of the writing and the spelled out name is preferable
• If chemical bonds are used in running text, use en dashes. e.g. CH₃–COOH
• Note: In protein structures featuring the three-letter amino acid abbreviations, hyphens are used, not en rules

Locants

• Symbols for elements that occur as locants (i.e., the portion of a chemical name that designates the position of an atom or group in a molecule) in chemical names are set in italics. This rule covers any single capital letter except the small caps d or l (these refer to configurations). For example:
  O-methyltyrosine
  S-benzyl-N-phthalocysteine
  hexahydro-2H-azophin-2-one
• However, when a chemical name is not used, the element symbol remains roman. For example:
  N-linked glycan
  glycosylation
  N-terminal, N-terminus or N terminus

Rotation/configuration

• Symbols for configuration or rotation precede the name of the compound and are joined to it by a hyphen. The symbols are d, l, and dl (italics) or (+), (–), and (±) for optical rotation; d, l, or dl (small capitals) for configuration in carbohydrates and amino acids; and R and S (italics) for absolute configuration. For example:
  d-6-hydroxytryptophan
  emodin-l-rhamnoside
  (+)-6-hydroxytryptophan
  d-(+)-alanine
  (1R,3R,5S)-[(1S-sec-butoxyl)]-3-chloro-5-nitrocyclohexane

Prefixes

• Symbols (numbers, Greek letters, etc.) are separated with hyphens, even in fairly simple structures such as α-amino acids
• Other prefixes indicating configuration that should be marked for italics include:
  allo-
  cis-
  trans-
  ortho-
  para-
  meta-
• These prefixes may also be used alone in the text without being attached to a specific chemical name and should also be marked for italics. For example:
  ... encoding a trans-acting product
  ... ortho coupling
  ... via the meta pathway
• Latin and Greek prefixes are set in Roman type and closed up to the word
  Latin: di, tri, tetra, penta, hexa, hepta, octa, nona, deca
  Greek: bis, tris, tetrakis, pentakis, hexakis, heptakis, octakis, nonakis, decakis
• The first letter of the chemical name should be capitalised at the beginning of a sentence. When a prefix is at the beginning of a name that starts a sentence, capitalise the first letter of the chemical name itself. For example:
  S-Benzyl-N-phthalocysteine was added

Ions, nuclides and other species

• Ionic charges are indicated by superscript numbers and plus and minus signs. For example:
  Na⁺
  Cl^–
  Zn²⁺ (not Zn⁺⁺ or Zn⁺²)
  PO₄^2– (note that the superscript should be placed outside the subscript, not aligned with it)

Radiolabelling

• For simple molecules the labelling is indicated by writing the chemical formula with the prefixed superscripts attached to the atomic symbol (i.e. ¹⁴CO₂)
• For more complex formulas the symbol for the isotope is placed in square brackets in front of the name (closed up), e.g. [¹⁴C]urea
• In a complex formula the isotope should relate to the appropriate part of the molecule, e.g. deoxycytidine 5'-[³²P]triphosphate not [³²P]deoxycytidine 5'-triphosphate
• If the isotope appears in more than one position, the number of labelled positions is added as a right-hand subscript, e.g. [¹⁴C₂]glycolic acid. If the isotope is uniformly distributed among the positions the symbol ‘U’ is used, e.g. [U^-14C]glucose. If it is generally distributed among the positions, but not necessarily uniformly, then [¹⁴C]glucose is sufficient
• Where the native compound does not contain the atom labelled, the square brackets are not used. Instead it is written as, for example, ¹³¹I-labelled insulin, not [¹³¹I]insulin. Similarly, ¹⁴C-labelled amino acids should not be written as [¹⁴C]amino acids as the amino group does not contain C

Drugs

• Drugs can be referred to by several names, including the non-proprietary name (generic), the proprietary name (brand name, trademark – selected by the manufacturer of the drug), the chemical name, the unofficial name or the code designation
• Except at the beginning of a sentence, non-proprietary (generic) names are in lowercase. Proprietary names have an initial capital. Consult the British National Formulary (BNF)
• Recommended International Non-proprietary Names (rINNs) for drugs should be used instead of British Approved Names (BANs). A list of former BANs and their corresponding rINNs is available
• An exception to this rule: adrenaline and noradrenaline are the official names used by EU members, so adrenaline and noradrenaline should be used throughout, but epinephrine or norepinephrine should be added in parentheses at first mention in the abstract and in the text.

Disease and disease classification

• If the author uses the classification ICD-10 without an explanation, reference or website link, add the website link: www.who.int/classifications/icd/en/
(notify author on query sheet)

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• Gene symbols are referred to in italic text. Human genes are uppercase (e.g. HOX1); rat or mice genes are lowercase, but with an initial capital letter (e.g. Hox1)
• Protein abbreviations are always uppercase non-italics regardless of species (e.g. HOX1). Restriction and modifying enzymes, and transcription factors, are an exception (see below)
• mRNA and cDNA should be referred to in italic text using the correct gene symbol, e.g. Hox1 mRNA
• Gene families, however, are not styled in italics – only the actual gene symbol, e.g. 'Hox genes such as Hox1'.
• We encourage authors to use the up-to-date symbols for genes, but where old names are used, add, for example, '(also known as Xxx)' at first mention in the abstract and in the main text. To check whether the author has used the up-to-date symbol or old symbol:
• For human genes use the HUGO site or the Entrez Gene site
• For mouse and rat genes use the Entrez Gene site
• or the Mouse Genome Informatics site
• Genes are expressed when they are transcribed in the nucleus to make mRNA, whereas proteins are produced when the mRNA is translated by the ribosomes in the cytoplasm into polypeptides, which fold to form proteins. If it is not clear whether an author intended to refer to a gene or a protein (especially where italics are not used correctly and the term 'expression' is misapplied to proteins), this should be raised as an author query
  Note, however, that if a protein is displayed on the outside of the cell, such as a cell surface marker, then that protein is being expressed on that cell
• Do not include gene symbols in the abbreviations list (but do include abbreviated protein names)
• It is preferable, but not essential, to have the gene symbol 'matching' with the protein (e.g. HOX1 and Hox1). If you alter the protein name, alert the author in an author query
• Note also: db/db mice (or ob/ob, fa/fa), etc.
• UCP1–/– mice should be written as Ucp1^–/– mice
• 18S RNA is styled upright as it is the written-out gene name. The gene symbol Rn18s (or RN18S for humans) is styled in italics as usual
• If western blots are mentioned, protein symbols should be used – in a western blot, a mixture of proteins are run on a gel (to separate them), transferred onto a membrane, then the protein of interest is probed for using a tagged antibody specifically against the protein. If northern blots are discussed, gene symbols should be used as these are used to measure gene expression – in a northern blot, a mixture of mRNAs are run on a gel (to separate them), transferred, then probed with a tagged cDNA directed against the mRNA sequence of interest (the cDNA has a sequence complementary to the mRNA and so the two bind together).
• The names of transcription factors are not italicised, e.g. Pdx-1, but first letter is capitalised
• Structural mutations are indicated using a fairly standard code, although this code does vary between organisms. The most common and universal symbol is Δ, which indicates that the gene named has been deleted (e.g. HsdΔ)
• A few examples of commonly used terms:
  

  Gene name	Old gene symbol	Up-to-date gene symbol in humans	Up-to-date gene symbol in mice
  Adiponectin	ACDC	ADIPOQ	Adipoq
  Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor, gamma, coactivator 1, alpha	PPARGC1	PPARGC1A	Ppargc1a
  Solute carrier family 2 (facilitated glucose transporter), member 4	GLUT4	SLC2A4	Slc2a4

  
  

Alleles

• Alleles are alternative forms of a particular gene. Allele symbols consist of the gene symbol plus an asterisk and the allele designation. The symbol is all in capitals and italicised
  HBBS*S
  APOE*E4
• Different alleles of the same gene are indicated using a superscript to the gene symbol. If the allele is dominant, the superscript is uppercase with an initial capital letter; if the allele is recessive, the superscript is lowercase
• Alleles created using recombinant DNA techniques are often named according to how they are created (deletions, insertions, fusions, etc.) rather than their effects. A different naming scheme for proteins is sometimes seen, of the form p29^Ras (especially in vertebrates). In these cases, the number indicates the size of the protein in kDa and the superscript (which must be italic) indicates the name of the gene from which the protein is produced

HLA genes

• The gene symbols are in italics, e.g. HLA-DQB1, HLA-DQA1, HLA-DRB1. HLA is in italics because it is part of the gene symbol
• Full allele symbols are also in italics, e.g. DQB1*0602, DQB1*0301
• Some alleles contain parentheses to denote other possible alleles, e.g. DRB1*1101(04)
• Some alleles contain a hyphen to indicate a range e.g. DRB1*1501-061
• Gene families are always in roman, e.g. HLA genes or HLA gene region
• Serological specificities usually feature a capital letter(s) followed by a number, e.g. A1, DR4, DQ2. They should be in roman. (A useful clue is that the methods may discuss serotyping [i.e. testing for antigens in serum] rather than genotyping)

Modifying and restriction enzymes

Previously the first three letters of modifying and restriction enzymes were italicised, but recent guidelines have recommended that italics are no longer used (see: A nomenclature for restriction enzymes, DNA methyltransferases, homing endonucleases and their genes). It is also recommended that all numerals (Roman and Arabic) are closed up. Capital T is preferred for the designation of the main types of REases as Type I, Type II and Type III. See also REBASE: the Restriction Enzyme Database

Modifying enzymes

These are enzymes that synthesise DNA and RNA (polymerases), cleave DNA (nucleases), join nucleic acid fragments (ligases), methylate nucleotides (methylases), and synthesise DNA from RNA (reverse transcriptases). Those in laboratory use come from living systems, often from the same organisms that furnish restriction enzymes. Because the names may be similar, it is essential to specify the type of enzyme, for example:
AluI methylase
Pfu DNA polymerase
TagI methylase
Taq DNA ligase

Restriction enzymes

For restriction enzymes, the first three letters indicate the genus and species from which the enzyme is derived. For example:
Bme899
Sau3A1
AccI
HpaI
DpnI

Immunoglobulins

• According to WHO recommendations, classes of immunoglobulins should be abbreviated by Ig (not I_g) plus a capital roman letter indicating the class (e.g., immunoglobulin G is abbreviated IgG)
• A subclass is indicated by an Arabic numeral after the class letter (closed up, not hyphenated, e.g., IgG1, IgG3). Potentially new subclasses are designated by an abbreviation in parentheses following the class. IgG(Pr), for instance, indicates a potentially new subclass identified in Prague
• In the WHO system, Greek gamma (γ) is used only to designate heavy polypeptide chains of IgG
• Any of these abbreviations may begin a sentence or entry in a list or table, with no other capitalisation necessary
• In the old system gamma- (or γ-)globulin was used as the broad description of immunoglobulins. Although this is not the preferred system, if an author follows it consistently, retain it; if the author is not consistent, use IgG. In the old system, γ-globulin is preferred to gamma-globulin. If the word begins a sentence or an entry in a table or list, capitalise G in globulin
• Immunoglobulin chains are known as light (L) and heavy (H). They contain regions designated constant (C), variable (V), diversity (D), and joining (J). For example, the variable region of the heavy chain can be abbreviated as V_H. If the gene is referred to, it should be italicised (V_H); if the gene product (i.e., the chain itself) is referred to, it should be written in roman letters. Heavy chains are designated by a lowercase Greek letter corresponding to the roman capital letter of the class. Light chains are divided into two types, kappa (κ) and lambda (λ). Use of the Greek letter is preferred (κ-chain)

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