Guide for Authors

Welcome to the electronic manuscript submission website for Modern Pathology. The instructions below are structured so you can quickly and easily answer the following questions:

1. Is my manuscript suitable for Modern Pathology? (Scope + Editorial Policy)
2. How do I format my manuscript for Modern Pathology? (Format of Papers)
3. How do I submit my manuscript to Modern Pathology? (Submission of Papers)

• Index Medicus/MEDLINE
• Current Contents (Clinical Medicine, Life Sciences, Science Citation Index, SciSearch and Research Alert)
• Excerpta Medica/EMBASE

Scope

Modern Pathology is an official Journal of the United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology and offers a recognized forum for publication of advances in the understanding of pathological processes. This journal serves as the practical complement to Laboratory Investigation, providing authoritative and clinically oriented articles selected to keep clinical pathologists informed regarding the latest developments in human diagnostic pathology. A thorough selection and review process ensures that the journal publishes the best papers from across the spectrum of applied pathology. In addition to original research, Modern Pathology also publishes letters to the Editor and, by specific invitation of the Editor, Editorials, Reviews, Short Courses and Special Topic articles. Authors wishing to submit manuscripts in the latter formats should do so only following approval by the Editor.

Editorial Policy

Editor-in-Chief:
Dr John. N. Eble, Van Nuys Medical, Science Building A128, 635 Barnhill Drive, Indianapolis, Indiana 46202

The Editor will review all material submitted for publication. Manuscripts that are considered to be of insufficient priority for publication will receive a prompt decision without further review. All other manuscripts are sent to two Editorial Board Members, and other expert consultants as needed. Peer reviewer identities are kept confidential. Author identities are not kept confidential.
All accepted manuscripts become the permanent property of the United States and Canadian Academy of Pathology, Inc., and may not be published elsewhere without written permission from the author(s) and the Academy.

Format of Papers

Preparation of manuscripts

Cover letter: Please include the name, institution and e-mail address of all contributing authors in your covering letter

Manuscript: All submissions should include the following:

• Title Page. This should include: the full title of the paper, short, clear specific, and not more than 110 character; authors' names; and institutional affiliation.
• Separate page giving name and address for page proofs, correspondence, and requests for reprints, and a running title of three to four words (no abbreviations, please).
• Abstract. This should be submitted on a separate page and should describe in fewer than 300 words exactly what was done, the results obtained, and the conclusions drawn. Following the abstract, and on the same page, a list of key words (up to seven) for coding and indexing should be supplied.
• Text.This should appear with the following headings: “Introduction,” “Materials and Methods,” “Results,” “Discussion,” “Disclosure/Conflict of Interest,” “Acknowledgments” (optional), and “References.”
• Charts, graphs, tables, and photographs.
• Figure legends.

All text must be double-spaced with ample margins. All pages should be numbered consecutively starting with the title page as page 1. The author's name must appear in the upper right corner of each page. Footnotes are not accepted.

Non-Native Speakers of English: Authors who are not native speakers of English who submit manuscripts to international journals often receive negative comments from referees or editors about the English-language usage in their manuscripts, and these problems can contribute to a decision to reject a paper. To help reduce the possibility of such problems, we strongly encourage such authors to take at least one of the following steps:

• Have your manuscript reviewed for clarity by a colleague whose native language is English.
• Use a service such as one of those listed below. An editor will improve the English to ensure that your meaning is clear and identify problems that require your review. Note that the use of such a service is at the author's own expense and risk and does not guarantee that the article will be accepted. Nature Publishing Group accepts no responsibility for the interaction between the author and the service provider or for the quality of the work performed.

American Journal Experts

Inter-Biotec

Inter-Biotec also provides a free online writing course to help biomedical scientists whose first language is not English to write and publish their papers in English-language journals.

SPI Professional Editing Services

Write Science Right

Disclosure/Conflict of Interest: All authors are responsible for recognizing and disclosing any conflict of interest that could be perceived to bias their work in the acknowledgments, making known all financial support and any other personal connections. This includes, but is not limited to: funding, such as salaries, equipment, supplies, reimbursement for attending symposia, etc, from organizations that may gain or lose financially through the publication of the paper; personal financial interests, such as stocks and shares in companies that may gain or lose financially from publication, consultation fees or forms of remuneration from organizations that may gain or lose financially, or patent and patent applications whose value may be affected; and, employment, whether recent, present or anticipated, by an organization that may gain or lose from publication of the paper. If you have no conflict of interest to declare, please state so in this section.

Abbreviations, Nomenclature, and Symbols: These should conform as nearly as possible to those found in Scientific Style and Format: The CBE Manual for Author, Editors, and Publishers, 6th edition, Cambridge University Press, 1994. Please do not introduce an abbreviation in the title. Please do not introduce abbreviations in the abstract. Spell everything out completely. Modern Pathology discourages the use of ad hoc abbreviations. Modern Pathology does not include issue numbers in citations in reference lists. Modern Pathology does not italicize the abbreviations of journal titles in reference lists.

Gene Nomenclature Authors should use approved nomenclature for gene symbols and symbols rather than italicized full names (Ttn, not titin). Please consult the appropriate nomenclature databases for correct gene names and symbols. Approved human gene symbols are provided by HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC), e-mail: nome@galton.ucl.ac.uk; see also http://www.gene.ucl.ac.uk/nomenclature. Approved mouse symbols are provided by The Jackson Laboratory, e-mail: nomen@informatics.jax.org; see also http://www.informatics.jax.org/mgihome/nomen.
For proposed gene names that are not already approved, please submit the gene symbols to the appropriate nomenclature committees as soon as possible, as these must be deposited and approved before publication of an article.
Avoid listing multiple names of genes (or proteins) separated by a slash, as in 'Oct4/Pou5f' as this is ambiguous (it could mean a ratio, a complex, alternative names or different subunits). Use one name throughout and include the other at first mention: 'Oct4! (also known as Pou5f1)'

Types of Papers
Articles: Full Length Manuscripts should not exceed 20 standard letter-size pages including references. Manuscript length may influence decision to publish or not.

Letters to the Editor: The Editor welcomes brief letters commenting on articles appearing in recent issues. Those letters selected for publication will first be refereed to the senior author of the paper in question, whose response may also be published. The Editor reserves the right to reject any letter or to make any editorial changes he feels appropriate.

Invited Manuscripts: Editorial, Reviews, Short courses, and Special Topics are by invitation of the Editor. Authors who desire to submit such manuscripts should first receive approval by the Editor.

References
References are to be numbered in the order of citation within the article. Citations in the main text should appear as Arabic numerals in parentheses. References with less than six authors should list all names; for more than six authors, list the first three names followed by et al. Periodical abbreviations should follow those used by Index Medicus. Individual references should be formatted in Vancouver style as follows:

Article

Smith AB, Jones CB. Alcoholic cirrhosis [abstract]. Lab Invest 1970;75:542-3.

Book

Smith JB, editor. Pathology of the lung. Vol 18. 3rd ed. John Green Co: Montreal; 1970. 179 pp.

Chapter

Brown AB, Green XY. Jejunal pathology, In: Black CD, White EF, (eds). Gastrointestinal pathology: an introduction. 2nd edn. Raven: New York; 1995. pp 465-469

Conference proceedings

Vivian VL, (ed). Pediatric pathology. Proceedings of the First International Conference on Pediatric Pathology; 15–19 Oct 1972; Chicago, USA. American Medical Association: Chicago; 1973.

References to articles in press must state name of journal and if possible, volume and year. References to unpublished material should be in parenthetical statements in the text. Authors must check references against original sources for accuracy; they must check every reference again in page proof.

The reference style of this journal is supported by EndNote Styles. To download the Modern Pathology style file, please visit EndNote and search for Modern Pathology.

Figures

Figures and images should be labeled sequentially, numbered and cited in the text. Figure legends should be printed and double-spaced on a separate sheet titled ‘Titles and legends to figures' Figures should be referred to specifically in the text of the paper but should not be embedded within the text. The use of three-dimensional histograms is strongly discouraged when the addition of the third dimension gives no extra information. If a table or figure has been published before, the authors must obtain written permission to reproduce the material in both print and electronic formats from the copyright owner and submit it with the manuscript. This follows for quotes, illustrations and other materials taken from previously published works not in the public domain. The original source should be cited in the figure caption or table footnote. Up to 3 pages with color figures will be published at no charge to the author. Authors must contribute to the cost of publication of pages with color figures in excess of three pages. A quote will be supplied upon acceptance of the paper.

Legends must be submitted for all figures. They should be brief and specific, and should appear on a separate manuscript page after the Reference section. Use scale markers in the image for electron micrographs and indicate the type of stain used.

Artwork Guidelines

Detailed guidelines for submitting artwork can be found by downloading the guidelines PDF. Using the guidelines, please submit production quality artwork with your initial online submission. If you have followed the guidelines, we will not require the artwork to be resubmitted following the peer-review process, if your paper is accepted for publication.

Figures in Print

Authors are requested to follow our instructions on how to prepare their figures for more information see http://www.nature.com/aj/artworkguidelines.pdf. We request that at submission, ALL figures are of a high enough quality to be assessed in the peer review process.

Halftone images	300 dpi (dots per inch)
Color images	300 dpi saved as CMYK
Images containing text	400 dpi
width=100>Line art	1000 dpi

Sizes:

Figure Width – single image	86 mm (Should be able to fit into a single column of the printed journal)
Figure Width – multi-part image	178 mm (Should be able to fit into a double column of the printed journal)
Text Size	8 point (Should be readable after reduction – avoid large type or thick lines)
Line Width	Between 0.5 and 1 point

Authors will be required to pay the cost of color illustrations published in print.

Color on the web

Authors who wish their articles to have FREE color figures on the web (only available in the HTML (full text) version of manuscripts) must supply separate files in the following format. These files should be submitted as supplementary information and authors are asked to mention that they would like color figures on the web in their submission letter.

For Single Images:

Width	500 pixels (authors should select "constrain proportions," or equivalent instructions, to allow the application to set the correct height automatically.)
Resolution	125 dpi (dots per inch)
Format	JPEG for photographs GIF for line drawings or charts
Filenaming	Please save image with .jpg or .gif extension to ensure it can be read by all platforms and graphics packages.

For Multi-part Images:

Width	900 pixels (authors should select "constrain proportions," or equivalent instructions, to allow the application to set the correct height automatically.)
Resolution	125 dpi (dots per inch)
Format	JPEG for photographs GIF for line drawings or charts
Filenaming	Please save image with .jpg or .gif extension to ensure it can be read by all platforms and graphics packages.

Authors may be asked to pay the full color fee for figures that are not submitted in the format described above.

These should be labeled sequentially as Table 1, Table 2, etc. Each table should be typed on a separate page, numbered and titled, and cited in the text. Reference to table footnotes should be made by means of Arabic numerals. Tables should not duplicate the content of the text. They should consist of at least two columns; columns should always have headings. Authors should ensure that the data in the tables are consistent with those cited in the relevant places in the text, totals add up correctly, and percentages have been calculated correctly. Unlike figures or images, tables may be embedded into the word processing software if necessary, or supplied as separate electronic files.

House Style

As the electronic submission will provide the basic material for typesetting, it is important that papers are prepared in the general editorial style of the journal.

1. See the artwork guidelines for information on labeling of figures
2. Do not make rules thinner than 1pt (0.36mm)
3. Use a coarse hatching pattern rather than shading for tints in graphs
4. Color should be distinct when being used as an identifying tool
5. Use Si units throughout
6. Spaces, not commas should be used to separate thousands
7. Abbreviations should be preceded by the words for which they stand in the first instance of use
8. Text should be double spacing with a wide margin
9. At first mention of a manufacturer, the town (state if USA) and country should be provided

File Formats:

File formats for manuscript files, figures and tables that are acceptable for our electronic manuscript submission process are given on the online forms. Further advice on file types is also available from the Tips webpage. Please follow our artwork guidelines for submitting figures, and use a common word-processing package (such as Microsoft Word*) for the text. Either embed tables converted into images at the end of your Word document, or as separate files in whichever program you used to generate them. If you submit raw data, this can be done in Excel or tab/comma delimited format.

*Saving files with Microsoft Office 2007

Microsoft Office 2007 saves files in an XML format by default (file extensions .docx, .pptx and xlsx). Files saved in this format cannot be accepted for publication.

Save Word documents using the file extension .doc

• Select the Office Button in the upper left corner of the Word 2007 Window and choose "Save As"
• Select "Word 97-2003 Document"
• Enter a file name and select "Save"

These instructions also apply for the new versions of Excel and PowerPoint.

Equations in Word must be created using Equation Editor 3.0

Equations created using the new equation editor in Word 2007 and saved as a "Word 97-2003 Document" (.doc) are converted to graphics and can no longer be edited. To insert or change an equation with the previous equation editor:

• Select "Object" on the "Text" section of the "Insert" tab
• In the drop-down menu - select "Equation Editor 3.0"

Do not use the "Equation" button in the "Symbols" section of the "Insert" tab.

Supplementary information

Supplementary information is peer-reviewed material directly relevant to the conclusion of an article that cannot be included in the printed version owing to space or format constraints. It is posted on the journal's web site and linked to the article when the article is published and may consist of data files, graphics, movies or extensive tables.

The printed article must be complete and self-explanatory without the supplementary information. Supplementary information enhances a reader’s understanding of the paper but is not essential to that understanding.

Supplementary information must be supplied to the editorial office in its final form for peer review. On acceptance the final version of the peer reviewed supplementary information should be submitted with the accepted paper.

To ensure that the contents of the supplementary information files can be viewed by the editor(s), referees and readers, please also submit a ‘read-me’ file containing brief instructions on how to use the file.

Supplying supplementary information files

Authors should ensure that the supplementary information is supplied in its FINAL format because it is not copy edited and will appear online exactly as originally submitted. Supplementary information cannot be altered, nor new supplementary information added, after the paper has been accepted for publication.

Please supply the supplementary information via the electronic manuscript submission and tracking system in an acceptable file format (see below). Authors should: include a text summary (no more than 50 words) to describe the contents of each file; identify the types of files (file formats) submitted and include the text ‘Supplementary information is available at Modern Pathology’s website’ at the end of the article and before the references.

Accepted file formats

• Quick Time files (.mov)
• Graphical image files (.gif)
• HTML files (.html)
• MPEG movie files (.mpg)
• JPEG image files (.jpg)
• Sound files (.wav)
• Plain ASCII text (.txt)
• Acrobat files (.pdf)
• MS Word documents (.doc)
• Postscript files (.ps)
• MS Excel spreadsheet documents (.xls)
• PowerPoint files (.ppt)

File sizes must be as small as possible so that they can be downloaded quickly. Images should not exceed 640 x 480 pixels (9 x 6.8 inches at 72 pixels per inch) but we would recommend 480 x 360 pixels as the maximum frame size for movies. We would also recommend a frame rate of 15 frames per second. If applicable to the presentation of the supplementary information, use a 256 color palette. Please consider the use of lower specification for all of these points if the supplementary information can still be represented clearly. Our recommended maximum data rate is 150 KB/s.

The number of files should be limited to eight, and the total file size should not exceed 8 MB. Individual files should not exceed 1 MB. Please seek advice from the editorial office before sending files larger than our maximum size to avoid delays in publication.

Further questions about the submission or preparation of supplementary information should be directed to the editorial office.

Submission of papers

The first thing you need to do, if you have not done so already, is register for an account. After this, please consult the instructions below to enable you to submit your article through our secure server.

Please be sure that your browser is set to accept cookies. Our tracking system requires cookies for proper operation. (If you have Windows XP the defaults will need changing. For more details on this, please refer to the 'Tips' function on this site.)

Navigating the System

When you first access our tracking system, you will be taken to your Home page, where different categories of tasks are listed. If you are required to perform a pending action item or task, there will be a red arrow next to a "Manuscript" link. Throughout the system, red arrows reflect pending action items which you should address. If there are no red arrows visible on your Home page, then you are finished and have no outstanding tasks to complete.

At any time please press HOME to go to the submission home page.

Process for Manuscript Submission

Please make sure you have gathered all the required manuscript information listed above BEFORE starting the submission process. DO NOT upload a partially completed manuscript; you will be unable to modify it once it is submitted. The manuscript submission process starts by pressing the "Submit Manuscript" link on your Home page. The manuscript submission process is broken down into a series of 4 primary tasks that gather detailed information about your manuscript and allow you to upload the pertinent text and figure/image files. The sequence of screens is as follows:

1. The ‘Files’ primary task allows you to select the actual file locations (via an open file dialogue). You will be able to 'Browse' for the relevant files on your computer. Please include the figure number in the title line for each figure. On the completion screen, you will be asked to specify the order in which you want the individual files to appear in the merged document. Editors and/or reviewers will also be able to look at the individual PDF files if necessary.
2. The ‘Manuscript Information’ primary task which asks for author details, the manuscript title, abstract, other associated manuscript information and types/number of files to be submitted. Please note, if you are the corresponding author please submit your details in the corresponding author fields; DO NOT re-enter the same details in the contributing author fields.
3. The ‘Validate’ primary task gives you the opportunity to check and verify the manuscript files and manuscript information uploaded. If you are submitting manuscript files separately, we create a merged PDF containing your manuscript text, figures and tables to simplify the handling of your paper. You will need to approve the merged PDF file, and a PDF or any other file not included in the merge, to submit your manuscript. You may also update and/or change manuscript files and manuscript information by clicking on the ‘Change’ or ‘Fix’ links respectively.
4. The ‘Submit’ primary task is the last step in the manuscript submission process. At this stage the Manuscript Tracking System will perform a final check to ensure that all mandatory fields have been completed. Any incomplete fields will be flagged by a red arrow and highlighted by a red box. Click on the ‘Fix’ link to return to relevant section for completion. Once your manuscript has been finalised, click on the ‘Approve Submission’ button to submit your manuscript for consideration. A ‘Manuscript Approved’ message will display on your author desktop to confirm the submission.

• Email Addresses
• First and Last Names
• Institution
• (Full Postal Address)
• (Work Telephone Numbers)
• Fax Numbers

• Covering letter
• Title and Running Title (you can copy and paste this from your manuscript)
• Abstract (you can copy and paste this from your manuscript)
• Manuscript files in Word, WordPerfect, text or any RTF format
• Figures/Images in external files in TIFF or JPG, in either grayscale or CMYK color, not in RGB
• Tables in Excel (preferred) as separate files or embedded at the end of the manuscript file

Adobe Acrobat

For best results, we recommend accessing the PDF files with Adobe Acrobat Reader (4.0 or above). Should you require installation of this FREE program, please download it from the link here and follow the on-screen instructions. (We recommend that on completion of installation, you amend one of the default settings. Select: File - Preferences - General, and UNCHECK Web Browser Integration. This will open PDF files in Acrobat Reader itself rather than in your browser. The amendment will not affect any functionality of either Acrobat Reader or your browser software.)br> Please refrain from submitting your manuscript by e-mail attachment. If the site replicates your details on screen, then your paper has been successfully submitted.

Once you have submitted your files and the conversion is in progress, you may log off the Internet and come back later to check and approve the conversion. This process can take up to 2 hours before the PDF, created in the conversion process, is ready for approval. Please remember that your manuscript will not be submitted until you have approved the converted files.

Getting Help

If you need additional help, you can click on the help signs spread throughout the system. A help dialogue will pop up with context sensitive help. Should further assistance be required, please contact Marsha Cline by email (modpath@iupui.edu) or phone (+1 317 274 2476) between the hours of 9am and 5pm US Central Time.

Manuscript Status

After you approve your manuscript it is submitted and you will receive an acknowledgement email. You can check the status of your manuscript at any time in the review process by:

1. Accessing the system with your password or the link sent to you in the acknowledgement email
2. Clicking on the link represented by your manuscript tracking number and abbreviated title.
3. Clicking on the "Check Status" link at the bottom of the displayed page.

License to Publish

The corresponding author must complete and sign the License to Publish form upon acceptance of the manuscript and return it to the editorial office. Failure to do so will result in delays to the publication of your paper. A copy of the License to Publish form can be found at http://mts-mpa.nature.com/letters/mpa_copyright.pdf

USCAP does not require authors of original research papers to assign copyright of their published contributions. Authors grant NPG an exclusive license to publish, in return for which they can re-use their papers in their future printed work. NPG's author license page provides details of the policy and a sample form. Authors are encouraged to submit their version of the accepted, peer-reviewed manuscript to their funding body's archive for public release six months after publication. In addition, authors are encouraged to archive their version of the manuscript in their institution's repositories (as well as on their personal web sites), also six months after the original publication. Authors should cite the publication reference and doi number on any deposited version, and provide a link from it to the published article on the NPG website. This policy complements the policies of the US National Institutes of Health, the Wellcome Trust and other research funding bodies around the world. NPG recognizes the efforts of funding bodies to increase access to the research they fund, and strongly encourages authors to participate in such efforts.

Advance Online Publication

All original articles are published ahead of print on Advance Online Publication. This will be the final version of the manuscript and will subsequently appear, unchanged, in print.

Proofs

An e-mail will be sent to the corresponding author with a URL link from where proofs can be collected. Proofs must be returned by fax within 48 hours of receipt. Failure to do so may result in a delay to publication. Extensive corrections cannot be made at this stage.

Offprints

Offprints may be ordered using the order form accompanying the proofs.

Business Matters

For contact information regarding business correspondence and inquiries such as advertising, subscriptions, permissions, papers in production or publishing a supplement, please visit our publisher’s contacts page.

Alternatively, you can write to: Modern Pathology, Academic Journals Division, Nature Publishing Group, 25 First St. Suite 104, Cambridge, MA 02141, USA.