GUIDELINES FOR CONTRIBUT ORS

Hand Surgery aims to develop and maintain interest in Hand Surgeryand related fields insofar as they affect the hand.

Original contributions are encouraged and welcomed wherever theauthor may live, so long as the contribution is written in English.Contributions are accepted on the understanding that they have notbeen submitted simultaneously to another journal in the Englishlanguage and will be the property of the journal unless agreedotherwise before publication.

SUBMISSION PROCESSSubmit your papers online at Hand Surgery guidelines website(http://www.worldscinet.com/hs/mkt/guidelines.shtml)

STEP 1Provide basic information such as main author’s name, affiliationand contact information, and then click the confirm button to go tonext step.

STEP 2Please enter items; Main Author, Co-Author(s), Af filiation(s),Category, Paper Title, Paper.

NUMBER OF AUTHORS: There should not normally be morethan five authors for a paper; the work of other contributors can berecorded in the acknowledgements. For case reports, there shouldnot be more than three authors.

CATEGORY: Please select the most suitable category for yourmanuscript from ‘Original Articles’, ‘Case Reports’ and ‘SurgicalTechniques’.

PAPER TITLE: Up to 20 words.

PAPER FILE: Please prepare your manuscript in accordance withthe instruction below and upload it in the form of MS Word:

* Papers should be set out as follows with each sectionbeginning on a separate sheet: Abstract, Text, Keywords,Acknowledgements, References, Tables, Illustrations withcaptions.* The text must be typed in double spacing, with a margin of atleast 3 cm all round. And each sheet should be consecutivelynumbered.* The author should keep an additional copy of both manuscriptand illustrations.* Case reports should be limited to 500 words, 4 or fewerillustrations, and 5 or fewer pertinent references.

- Abstract -This should not be more than 150 words, and summarizing thecontents of the article.

- Text -i) HeadingsHeadings should be appropriate to the nature of the paper.Normally only two categories of headings should be used; major

ones should be typed in capital letter in the centre of the page andunderlined; minor ones should be typed in lower case (with aninitial capital letter) at the left hand margin and underlined.

ii) Personal identificationDo not use ‘he, his’, etc. where the sex of the person is unknown;say ‘the patient’ etc. Avoid inelegant alternatives such as ‘he/she’.Patients should not be automatically designated ‘she’, and doctorsas ‘he’.

iii) Abbr eviations and unitsAvoid abbreviations in the title and abstract. All unusualabbreviations should be fully explained at the first occurrence inthe text. All measurements should be expressed in SI units. Formore detailed recommendations, authors may consult the RoyalSociety of Medicine publication entitled Units, Symbols andAbbreviations: A Guide for Biological and Medical Editors andAuthors.

iv) NumeralsOne to ten should be spelled out except when used for units ofmeasurement or in decimals: for numbers over ten, numeralsshould be used.

v) Statistical methodsNumerical data should be analyzed by appropriate statisticalmethods. The statistical tests used should be stated clearly in the‘Methods’ section of the paper.

vi) Proprietar y namesProprietary names of drugs, instruments, etc. should be indicatedby the use of initial capital letters.

- Keywords -A list of about 3 to 5 important words.

- References -References must be submitted in the correct style for this journal.Within the text, the references will appear as superscript numeralsin order of appearance. The references will be listed according tothe designated numbers at the end of the text, beginning on a separatesheet.

Journal Article

Rogers WD, Watson HK, Radial styloid impingement aftertriscaphe arthrodesis, J Hand Surg 14A:297–301, 1989.

Books

Taleisnik J, The Wrist, Churchill Livingstone, New York, pp.15–20, 1985.

Chapters in Edited Book

Beckenbough RD, Linscheid RL, Arthroplasty in the hand andwrist, in Green DP (ed.), Operative Hand Surgery, 2nd ed.,Churchill Livingstone, New York, pp. 167–214, 1988.

Papers submitted with the references in the wrong style will bereturned for correction and resubmission.

Guidelines for Contributors.pmd 7/19/2010, 5:22 PM1

Authors must pay particular attention to the accuracy of referenceswhich should be checked before final submission of the finishedmanuscript.

- Tables -Tables should be double spaced and contain only horizontal rules.An identification number and short description should appear aboveeach table and any footnotes identified below. Care must be takento ensure that all units are included. Ensure that each table is citedin the next.

- Illustrations -Illustrations should be pasted on Paper File (MS Word).

All line illustrations should present a crisp black image on aneven white background — 127 × 173 mm (5 × 7 in), or no longerthan 203 × 254 mm (8 × 10 in). Any lettering must be large enoughto stand a reduction in size where required.

i) Photographic illustrations and radiographsThese should be submitted as clear, lightly contrasted black-and-white prints (unmounted), sizes as above. Photomicrographsshould have the magnification and details of staining techniquesshown. X-ray films should be submitted as photographic prints,carefully made to bring out the detail to be illustrated, with .anoverlay indicating the areas of importance. Figures should besubmitted appropriately lettered in capitals. The size of lettersshould be appropriate to that of the illustrations, taking intoaccount the necessary size reduction.

Colour illustrations, including transparencies, are unsuitablefor black-and-white reproduction. If only colour originals areavailable the author is requested to obtain good quality black-and-white prints to submit with the article. Illustrations will onlybe printed in colour if this is essential.

ii) Patient confidentialityWhere illustrations must include recognizable individuals, livingor dead and of whatever age, great care must be taken to ensurethat consent for publication as been given.

In cases where consent has not been obtained and recognisablefeature may appear, it will be necessary to retouch the illustrationto mask eyes or otherwise render the individual ‘officiallyunrecognisable’.

iii) Permissions to reproduce borrowed materialsWritten permission to reproduce borrowed materials (illustrations,tables, and identifiable clinical photographs) must be obtainedfrom the original publishers and authors, and submitted with thetypescript. Borrowed material should be acknowledged in thecaptions in this style:‘Reproduced by the kind permission of…(publishers) from…(reference)’

STEP 3Please click the confirm button at the bottom of the page, and moveto the next page.

After your confirmation, please click the button of ‘Proceed toSubmission’.(If you do not click this button, your submission will beincomplete.)

A confirmation e-mail will be sent to you in about 30 minutes, andyou will receive an ID number for your manuscript.

We recommend that you print out the e-mail for record purposes.

NOTE:Typescripts that contain the results of human and/or animal studieswill only be accepted for publication if it is made clear that a highstandard of ethics was applied in carrying out the investigations. Inthe case of invasive studies in humans, typescripts should includea statement that the research protocol was approved by a local ethicalcommittee.

The Editors reserve the right to make editorial and literarycorrections. Any options expressed or policies advocated do notnecessarily reflect the opinions or policies of the Editors. Majorrearrangements or corrections will normally be made only with theauthor’ s approval, and in most cases will be offered asrecommendations to the authors to permit him to bring thecommunication in line with the editorial policy of the journal.

Copyright:In order for us to ensure maximum dissemination and copyrightprotection of material published in the journal, copyright must beexplicitly transferred from author to publisher.

The copyright transfer agreement to be used for the journal isreproduced in the first issue of each year. Extra copies are availablefrom the Publisher or the Editors. Or contributors may photocopythe agreement produced in the Journal. A copy of this agreementmust be signed by he principal author before any paper can bepublished.

We assure you that no limitation will be put on your personalfreedom to use material contained in the paper without requestingpermission, provided acknowledgement is made to the journal asthe original source of publication.

Financial interests:Authors must disclose any commercial affiliations that might createa conflict of interests with respect to the accepted manuscript. Aconflict of interests statement will be forwarded to the author forsignature and returned upon of the manuscript.

Reprints:Principal authors of each article may opt to receive 25 free reprintsor a complimentary PDF of the article. Additional reprints can bepurchased if authors complete the form supplied with their proofs,and return it to the Publisher at the address given on the form.

Letters to the Editor are invited. Type double-spaced and includecomplete references. If related to published articles, a copy will besent to the author(s) before publication. Letters are subject to currenteditorial policy regarding publication in part or in full.

Books will be reviewed depending on their interest and value tothe reader and should be sent to the Editor. No books will bereturned.

If you have any inquiries, please contact the Editorial Office of theJournal of Hand Surgery Asian Volume at:

Professor & Chairman A. MinamiEditor-in-ChiefEditorial Office of Journal of Hand Surgery Asian Volumec/o Congress CorporationKohsai-kaikan Bldg., 5-1 KojimachiChiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-8481, JapanTel: +81-3-5216-5569Fax: +81-3-5216-5552E-mail: handsurgery@congre.co.jp

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