June 2005
Acta Biochimica et Biophysica Sinica is a scientific journal
publishing monthly research papers, short communications and
minireviews in biochemistry, molecular biology and biophysics.
Research papers and short communications should report original
work not published or considered for publication elsewhere.
Minireviews should provide a concise introduction to the subject
matter to inform the readers of the latest developments in a
certain area.
Editorial review and acceptance
The acceptance criteria for a manuscript are the quality and
originality of the research and its significance to our readership.
Except where otherwise stated, manuscripts are single-blind
peer reviewed by at least two anonymous reviewers and the editor.
Final acceptance or rejection rests with the Editorial Board,
who reserves the right to refuse any material for publication.
Submission of manuscripts
Manuscripts should be written in English and submitted to the
following address or by e-mail:
Editorial Office of Acta Biochimica et Biophysica Sinica
The Institute of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, SIBS, CAS
320 Yueyang Road, Shanghai 200031, China
Tel: 86-21-54920956/54920955/54922862; Fax: 86-21-54921011/54920954
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: https://www.abbs.info;
http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/abbs
Initial submission Initial submission should include: (i) one
original manuscript and two copies, (ii) a declaration on submitting
the manuscript with the signatures of all authors, (iii) an
electronic copy on a floppy disk and an e-mail with the original
manuscript as an attachment, (iv) a cover letter stating that
the content has not been published or submitted for publication
elsewhere. The covering letter must also contain an acknowledgment
that all authors have contributed significantly, and that all
authors are in agreement with the content of the manuscript.
Authors must declare any financial support or relationships
that may pose conflict of interest. If tables or figures have
been reproduced from another source, a letter from the copyright
holder (usually the Publisher), stating authorization to reproduce
the material, must be attached to the covering letter.
Submission of revised manuscript The submission should include:
(i) one revised manuscript and one copy, (ii) the manuscript
sent back by the editorial office, (iii) a letter to answer
reviewers’s questions, (iv) an agreement on transferring the
copyright to the Editorial Office with corresponding author’s
signature, (v) an electronic copy on a floppy disk or an e-mail
with the revised manuscript as an attachment, (vi) a cover letter.
Copyright
The copyright of papers accepted for publication belong to
the sponsor of Acta Biochimica et Biophysica Sinica, Institute
of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, SIBS, CAS, and authors will
be asked to sign a transfer of copyright form. In signing the
transfer of copyright it is assumed that authors have obtained
permission to use any copyrighted or previously published material.
All authors must read and agree to the contents outlined in
the Copyright Assignment Form, and must sign the Form or agree
that the corresponding author can sign on their behalf. Articles
cannot be published until a signed Copyright Assignment Form
has been received. Authors can download the form from https://www.abbs.info/instr/Copyright.pdf.
Style of the manuscript
Manuscripts should follow the style of the Vancouver agreement
detailed in the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors’
revised “Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted
to Biomedical Journals: Writing and Editing for Biomedical Publication”,
as presented at http://www.ICMJE.org/.
Spelling The Journal uses US spelling and authors should therefore
follow the latest edition of the Merriam-Websters Collegiate
Dictionary.
Units All measurements must be given in SI or SI-derived units.
Please go to the Bureau International des Poids et Mesures (BIPM)
website at http://www.bipm.fr
for more information about SI units.
Abbreviations Abbreviations should be used sparingly-only where
they ease the reader’s task by reducing repetition of long,
technical terms. Initially use the word in full, followed by
the abbreviation in parentheses. Thereafter use the abbreviation
only.
Genetic nomenclature Standard genetic nomenclature should be
used. For further information, including relevant websites,
authors should refer to the genetic nomenclature guide in Trends
in Genetics (Elsevier Science, 1998).
Nucleotide sequence data can be submitted in electronic form
to any of the three major collaborative databases: DDBJ, EMBL
or GenBank. It is only necessary to submit to one database as
data are exchanged between DDBJ, EMBL and GenBank on a daily
basis. The suggested wording for referring to accession-number
information is: “These sequence data have been submitted
to the DDBJ/EMBL/GenBank databases under accession number U12345.”
Addresses are as follows:
DNA Data Bank of Japan (DDBJ) http://www.ddbj.nig.ac.jp
EMBL Nucleotide Sequence Submissions http://www.ebi.ac.uk
GenBank http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
Format of manuscript (illustration;
example article)
An example of the correct format for submitted papers is available
on our website. Research papers should be arranged in the following
order: (i) title, author(s) and affiliation(s); (ii) running
title; (iii) abstract and keywords; (iv) introduction; (v) experimental
procedures; (vi) results; (vii) discussion; (viii) references;
(ix) footnote; (x) figure legends; (xi) tables; (xii) figures.
Short communications should be arranged in the following order:
(i) title, author(s) and affiliation (s); (ii) running title;
(iii) abstract and keywords; (iv) introduction; (v) experimental
procedures; (vi) results and discussion; (vii) references; (viii)
footnote; (ix) figure legends; (x) tables; (xi) figures. The
locations of figures and tables in the text should be indicated.
Footnotes to the text are not allowed and any such material
should be incorporated into the text as parenthetical matter.
Title The title should be short and informative, less
than 20 words, and should not include non-standard acronyms
or abbreviations.
Title page The title page should contain (i) the title
of the paper, (ii) the full names of the authors and (iii) the
addresses of the institutions at which the work was carried
out together with (iv) the full postal and email address, plus
facsimile and telephone numbers, of the author to whom correspondence
about the manuscript should be sent. The present address of
any author, if different from that where the work was carried
out, should be supplied in a footnote.
Running title A running title should be provided and should
be less than 60 characters.
Abstract The abstract should describe clearly the aim,
major findings and conclusions of the research. It must not
exceed 250 words.
Key words Five or fewer key words should be listed
below the abstract. Keywords should be taken from those recommended
by the Index Medicus Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) browser
list at http://www.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/meshhome.html
Introduction The basic principles of research, background,
earlier related work and the purpose of the present studies
should be described in the introduction.
Experimental procedures Experimental procedures should
be brief but complete enough to be repeated; procedures published
previously should be cited in references.
Results It is recommended that results be presented
in figures and tables along with a suitable description in the
text.
Discussion The discussion should be concise (no more
than three pages) and focus on the interpretation of the results.
References The Vancouver system of referencing should
be used (examples are given below). In the text, references
should be marked using superscript Arabic numerals in the order
in which they appear.
In the reference list, if a reference has many authors, list
only the first seven authors, followed by “et al.”
Reference to unpublished data and personal communications should
not appear in the list but should be cited in the text only
(e.g. Smith A, 2000, unpublished data). All citations mentioned
in the text, tables or figures must be listed in the reference
list.
Names of journals should be abbreviated according to the style
used in Index Medicus. Authors are responsible for the accuracy
of the references.
1 Neufeld EB, Remaley AT, Demosky SJ, Stonik JA, Cooney AM,
Comly M, Dwyer NK et al. Cellular localization and trafficking
of the human ABCA1 transporter. J Biol Chem 2001, 276: 27584-7590
2 Hanahan D, Jessee J, Bloom FR. Techniques for transformation
of E. coli. In: Glover DM, Hames BD eds. DNA Cloning: A Practical
Approach. 2nd ed. England: Oxford University Press 1998, 122-123
Footnotes A footnote below the key words can include
(1) source of grants, (2) present address of any author(s) if
required, and (3) abbreviations used in the text.
Tables Tables should be self-contained and complement,
but not duplicate, information contained in the text. Tables
should be consecutively numbered in the text in Arabic numerals.
Type tables on a separate sheet with the legend on the top.
Legends should be concise but comprehensive–the table, legend
and footnotes must be understandable without reference to the
text. Vertical grid lines should not be used to separate columns.
Each column in a table must have a heading, with units of measurement
in parentheses; all abbreviations must be defined in footnotes.
Figures Figures should be cited in consecutive order
in the text, if possible. Graphs should be drawn professionally
or with a computer graphics package. Pictures should be supplied
electronically or as sharp, glossy, black and white photographic
prints and should not be mounted onto the manuscript. Individual
photographs forming a composite figure should be of equal contrast.
Magnifications should be indicated using a scale bar on the
illustration.
Each figure should be labeled indicating name of author(s),
figure number and orientation. Hard-copy photographs should
be labeled on the back.
Figure legends Type figure legends on a separate page. Legends
should be concise but comprehensive–the figure and its legend
must be understandable without reference to the text. Include
definitions of any symbols used and define/explain all abbreviations
and units of measurement.
Proofs
It is essential that corresponding authors supply an email
address to which proofs can be emailed. Full instructions on
how to correct and return the file will be attached to the email.
If the proof is not returned by the appointed date, it may be
signed off on by the Editor or held over to the next issue.
Page limits
Minireview should be less than 6 printed pages. Short communication
is limited to 5 printing pages. A surcharge of publication fee
may be required for the over-limit printing pages.
Offprints
A maximum of 30 offprints will be provided free of charge upon
request and additional offprints are available with charge (10RMB
per copy). An Offprint Order Form will be sent to the corresponding
author with the PDF proof.
Publication fees
A publication fee of 200RMB per printed page is required. No
additional charge is required for black-white figures. A surcharged
of 600-1500RMB is required for each color figure reproduced
in the journal. Publication fees are waived for foreign authors.
Publication fees can be paid to Acta Biochimica et Biophysica
Sinica by Telegragh Transfer or through Post Office.
(1) Telegragh transfer
Item Title: Publication fee to Acta Biochimica et Biophysica
Sinica
Payment Terms: T/T
Bank Name: Agricultural Bank of China, Shanghai Branch
Account No.: 033924-00801048006
Account Name: Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese
Academy of Sciences (for Acta Biochimica et Biophysica Sinica)
Address: Building 31B, 319 Yueyang Road, Shanghai 200031, China
(2) Remittance through Post Office
Pay to: Acta Biochimica et Biophysica Sinica
Mailing Address: Building 31B, 319 Yueyang Road, Shanghai 200031,
China
Authors unable to pay
page charges may apply at the time of submission for a waiver
of page charges. Applications must be
endorsed by a senior institutional official.