Guide for Authors

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

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

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Scope

Cell Death and Differentiation is a journal devoted to the cell biology, molecular biology and biochemistry of cell death and differentiation, both in normal tissue regulation and in disease. To this end, Cell Death and Differentiation provides a unified forum for scientists as well as clinicians. It is committed to the rapid publication of high-quality original papers that relate to these subjects, together with topical, usually solicited, reviews and meeting reports.

Editorial Policy

Gerry Melino, Department of Experimental Medicine, University of Rome.
(CDD has offices in Rome, San Diego and Tokyo.)

Authors whose first language is not English are requested to have their manuscripts checked carefully for linguistic correctness before submission.

Format of Papers

Preparation of manuscripts

Cell Death and Differentiation publishes:

• Full papers
• Reviews
• Meeting Reports

Full papers should be as comprehensive as possible, between 5 and 12 published pages (about 15-40 double spaced A4 pages, excluding tables and figures). The manuscript should be organised as follows:

Cover letter:

Please include:

• The name, institution and e-mail address of all contributing authors
• Suggestions for potential referees, including contact information if known
• Referees to exclude
• Total number of words
• Conflict of Interest Statement

• Title
• Running title of less than 50 characters
• Authors
• Affiliations,
• Address/telephone/fax/e-mail of corresponding author.

One single paragraph of no more than 210 words

Keywords and Abbreviations

Main text:

The main text (excluding abstract, Materials and Methods, references and figure legends) must not exceed 3,500 words

• Introduction
• Results
• Discussion - The discussion may be subdivided by further subheadings or may be combined.

Materials and methods:

• This section should contain sufficient detail so that all procedures can be repeated, in conjunction with cited references.
• Where genetically manipulated (transgenic or knockout) mice are used, the Materials and Methods should state the name and genotype of the founder ES cells or oocytes
• The genotype and breeding of experimental mice and controls should be described

Display items:

Original papers typically contain 6–8 display items (figures and/or tables)

Conflict of interest
In the interests of transparency and to help readers form their own judgments of potential bias authors must declare whether or not there is any competing financial interests in relation to the work described. This information must be included in their cover letter and in the conflict of interest section of their manuscript. In cases where the authors declare a competing financial interest, a statement to that effect is published as part of the article. If no such conflict exists, the statement will simply read that the authors have nothing to disclose.

For the purposes of this statement, competing interests are defined as those of a financial nature that, through their potential influence on behaviour or content, or from perception of such potential influences, could undermine the objectivity, integrity or perceived value of a publication. They can include any of the following:

• Funding: Research support (including salaries, equipment, supplies, reimbursement for attending symposia, and other expenses) by organizations that may gain or lose financially through this publication. The role of the funding body in the design of the study, collection and analysis of data and decision to publish should be stated.
• Employment: Recent (while engaged in the research project), present or anticipated employment by any organization that may gain or lose financially through this publication.
• Personal financial interests: Stocks or shares in companies that may gain or lose financially through publication; consultation fees or other forms of remuneration from organizations that may gain or lose financially; patents or patent applications whose value may be affected by publication.

It is difficult to specify a threshold at which a financial interest becomes significant, but note that many US universities require faculty members to disclose interests exceeding $10,000 or 5% equity in a company. Any such figure is arbitrary, so we offer as one possible practical alternative guideline: \"Declare all interests that could embarrass you were they to become publicly known after your work was published.\" We do not consider diversified mutual funds or investment trusts to constitute a competing financial interest.

The statement must contain an explicit and unambiguous statement describing any potential conflict of interest, or lack thereof, for any of the authors as it relates to the subject of the report. Examples include “Dr. Smith receives compensation as a consultant for XYZ Company,” “Dr. Jones and Dr. Smith have financial holdings in ABC Company,” or “Dr. Jones owns a patent on the diagnostic device described in this report.” These statements acknowledging or denying conflicts of interest must be included in the manuscript under the heading Conflict of Interest. The Conflict of Interest disclosure appears in the cover letter, in the manuscript submission process and before the References section in the manuscript.

Following the Conflict of Interest heading, there must be a listing for each author, detailing the professional services relevant to the submission. Neither the precise amount received from each entity nor the aggregate income from these sources needs to be provided. Professional services include any activities for which the individual is, has been, or will be compensated with cash, royalties, fees, stock or stock options in exchange for work performed, advice or counsel provided, or for other services related to the author’s professional knowledge and skills. This would include, but not necessarily be limited to, the identification of organizations from which the author received contracts or in which he or she holds an equity stake if professional services were provided in conjunction with the transaction.

Examples of declarations are:

Conflict of interest.
The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Conflict of interest.
Dr Caron's work has been funded by the NIH. He has received compensation as a member of the scientific advisory board of Acadia Pharmaceutical and owns stock in the company. He also has consulted for Lundbeck and received compensation. Dr Rothman and Dr Jensen declare no potential conflict of interest.

References

Original papers may not exceed 40 references. Only articles that have been published or are in press may be included in the references. References follow the Vancouver format (for using End-Note, please follow the Leukemia journal reference style). References are numbered starting at 1 and listed sequentially at the end of the paper, according to the numbers and order of citations in the text. The first six authors are to be listed, after which, list only the first six authors and ‘et al’. Abbreviations of journal names should conform to the Index Medicus style. The first and last page numbers for each reference should be provided. The following are examples of the reference style:

1. Gottschalk AR, Boise LH, Oltvai ZN, Accavitti MA, Korsmeyer SJ, Quintans et al The ability of Bcl-XL and Bcl-2 to prevent apoptosis can be differentially regulated. Cell Death Differ. 1996; 3: 113-118
   
2. Feramisco JR and Welch WJ, Modulation of cellular activities via microinjection into living cells. In: Celis JE, Graessmann A and Coyter A, (eds).Microinjection and organelle transplantation techniques, (London: Academic Press), 1986 pp.40-58

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

Figures

Figures and images should be labeled sequentially, numbered and cited in the text. Figure legends should be printed, 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. Colour figures can be reproduced if necessary, but the authors will be expected to contribute towards the cost of publication. A quote will be supplied upon acceptance of your paper.

Detailed guidelines for submitting artwork can be found by downloading the guideline s 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.

Colour on the web

Authors who wish their articles to have FREE colour 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 they would like colour 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 colour fee for figures that are not submitted in the format described above.

• Image resolution of at least 300 dpi at publication size
• Images should be scanned at a minimum of 300 dpi
• During software manipulation of images, care should be taken that resolution is maintained
• Images may be rotated or scaled, but this must be the same in the x and y dimensions
• Contrast and brightness can be adjusted, but this must be uniform across the entire image, and must not result in the loss of any feature, band or spot. The background should still be visible
• If lanes are removed, and once separate parts of an image are joined together, a black, white or grey line should indicate clearly where the image was cut
• If black borders are drawn around the image, the lines should correspond to all edges where the image was cut
• Protein molecular weights or DNA fragment sizes should be indicated for all figure panels showing gel electrophoresis

Graphs, Histograms and Statistics

• Error bars must be described in the figure legend
• Axes on graphs should extend to zero, except for log axes
• Statistical analyses (including error bars and p values) should only be shown for independently repeated experiments, and must not be shown for replicates of a single experiment
• The number of times an experiment was repeated (N) must be stated in the legend

Tables

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. Use a common word-processing package (such as Microsoft Word) for the text. Embed tables converted into images at the end of the Word document, or as a separate file in whichever program you used to generate them
10. If you submit raw data, this can be done in Excel, or tab/comma delimited format
11. 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 a separate files in which ever 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. Supplementary information is not subedited, so authors should ensure that it is supplied ready for publication online.

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 supplementary information is supplied in its FINAL format because it is not subedited and will appear online exactly as originally submitted. It cannot be altered, nor new supplementary information added, after the paper has been accepted for publication.

Please supply the supplementary information via eJP, the electronic manuscript submission and tracking system, in an acceptable file format (see below).
Authors should:

Adobe Acrobat

We recommend that for accessing the PDF files, best results are achieved if you have access to Adobe Acrobat Reader (4.0 or above). Should you require installation of this FREE program, please download 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.)
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 5 - 10 minutes 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.

Conflict of interest.
It is essential that you note whether or not there is any conflict of interest in the submission form. This does not act as a substitute for the written statement that must be provided in the manuscript and the cover letter.

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.

If you experience any problems, please contact the NPG Applications Helpdesk.

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 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.

Licence to Publish

The corresponding author must complete and sign the Licence 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 Licence to Publish form can be found at http ://mts-cdd.nature.com/letters/cdd_copyright.pdf

IDI-IRCCS(CFIC) does not require authors of original research papers to assign copyright of their published contributions. Authors grant NPG an exclusive licence to publish, in return for which they can re-use their papers in their future printed work. NPG's author licence 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 of 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 available for download with the proofs. Later orders submitted after the journal is printed are subject to increased reprint prices.

Page Charges

Manuscripts accepted for publication in Cell Death and Differentiation will incur a page charge of £59 (US$118) per printed page for pages 1 to 5. Each additional page over 5 printed pages will incur a page charge of £118 (US$235) per printed page.

Colour Charges

The colour charges for Cell Death and Differentiation (print and PDF online version) are as follows:

Note: Multi-part Figures (1a, 1b, 1c etc.) with a single legend are counted as a single Figure.

Business Matters

To find out who to contact for business correspondence and enquiries such as advertising, subscriptions, permissions, papers in production or publishing a supplement, please visit our publisher’s contacts page.

Alternatively, you can write to: Cell Death and Differentiation, Nature Publishing Group, The Macmillan Building, 4 Crinan Street, London, N1 9XW, UK.

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