Submit manuscript in Microsoft word file as e-mail attachment to the Editor-in-Chief at rev.biomed@bio.unibuc.ro
An e-mail will be sent to the corresponding author confirming receipt of the manuscript.
Manuscript Submission Form Suggested Reviewers Form Manuscript template
Instruction for Authors
Review articles are intended to reach a broad audience of readers from investigators in the field to new graduate students learning the material for the first time. The review should be accessible to a wide variety of scientists by avoiding the use of jargon and concepts not familiar to non-specialists.
I. Manuscript submission
Submission of a manuscript to Reviews in Biological and Biomedical Sciences implies that:
The content is original and has not been published before (except in the form of an abstract, conference presentations or academic thesis).
It is not under consideration for publication elsewhere.
Its publication is approved by all authors and tacitly or explicitly by the responsible authorities where the work was carried out.
It will not be published elsewhere in the same form, in English or in any other language, without the written consent of the copyright-holder.
Manuscript submission must include the following:
Complete manuscript (title page, author information, abstract, main text, figures and tables) as one Microsoft Word document.
A Manuscript Submission Form including:
A statement which confirms that the article has not been submitted for publication or review elsewhere.
A conflict-of-interest statement, disclosing any financial interests or support from institutions or companies mentioned in the manuscript.
Funding information.
Open access publishing agreement.
A Suggested Reviewers Form including the names and contact information for at least three potential reviewers with appropriate expertise who can adequately review the manuscript.
II. Plagiarism policy
Authors should strictly avoid plagiarism, including self-plagiarism. Every manuscript has to be checked by plagiarism checker software (https://www.sistemantiplagiat.ro). Editor-in-Chief will make the final decision according to the plagiarism reports. All the responsibility of the manuscripts regarding to ethical issues belong to authors.
For more information about ethical writing, authors are advised to read NIH Office of Research Integrity publication “Avoiding Plagiarism, Self-Plagiarism, and Other Questionable Writing Practices: a Guide to Ethical Writing” (http://ori.dhhs.gov/education/products/plagiarism).
III. Manuscript file formats
Authors are encouraged to use Manuscript template for preparation of article.
File type: Microsoft Word (doc, docx).
Page setup:
Paper size: A4 (21 x 27.9 cm)
Paper orientation: Portrait
Margins: Top 2 cm; Bottom 2 cm; Right 2 cm; Left 2 cm; Gutter 0 cm; Header 1 cm; Footer 1 cm; Page numbers in the lower right corner and no header/footer.
Font: use Times New Roman and follow the sizes specified below:
14 pt (bold), small caps, left alignment, for the title of the paper
12 pt (normal), small caps, left alignment for author(s) name(s)
10 pt (normal), small caps, left alignment for author(s) affiliations
11 pt (normal), small caps, justified alignment for main text
11 pt (bold) small caps, left alignment, for the main headings (Abstract, Introduction, Conclusions, References) and primary headings
11 pt (italic, bold) small caps, left alignment, for the subheadings
10 pt Table(s) and figure(s) captions, Acknowledgments
Language: Manuscripts must be written in English, and should be checked by a native speaker for spelling and grammar if possible.
IV. Manuscript structure
The submitted manuscript must include the following sections: Title page, Abstract, Keywords, Introduction, main body of the text, Conclusions, Acknowledgments (optional), References, Figures and Figure legends (if applicable), Tables (if applicable).
Title: A clear, concise and informative title. Avoid the use of abbreviations, numbers or chemical symbols.
Author(s) name(s): The names of all authors (first name, middle initial, last name). Indicate all affiliations with a lower-case superscript number after the author’s name.
Author(s) affiliations: Authors institutional affiliation including their departmental and institutional addresses. Below the names. Indicate all affiliations with a lower-case superscript number in front of the appropriate address.
Corresponding author(s) full name: Corresponding author(s) institutional affiliation including address, e-mail address, phone and fax numbers.
Abstract: Must be a single unstructured paragraph of no more than 300 words. It should be a concise summary of the contents of the article. The abstract should not contain any undefined abbreviations or unspecified references.
Keywords: After the Abstract insert up to 6 keywords that reflect the content of your manuscript.
Introduction should succinctly provide the importance and significance of the topic, background information, existing gaps in the knowledge or conflicting data associated with the manuscript topic. The introduction should not contain subheadings.
Main body of the text can be organized into different sections with appropriate headings. Primary headings may be further categorized under subheadings. Primary headings and subheadings should be concise, informative and provide clear links between sections.
Primary headings should be bold, small caps, left alignment, and in a regular sentence case. All subordinate subheadings should be on a separate line. Distinguish primary headings and subheadings from the main body text with spacing above and below.
Acronyms and abbreviations should be defined at first mention, followed by the acronym or abbreviation in parentheses. Thereafter use only the abbreviation/acronym. Use an abbreviation/acronym only if the term occurs 4 or more times in the manuscript. Do not begin a sentence, heading, or title with an abbreviation.
Nomenclature
Taxonomic nomenclature: All scientific names, from the level of genus downward, should be made italics (e.g., Danio rerio). After first mention, the first letter of the genus name followed by the full species name may be used (e.g., D. rerio).
Genes, mutations, genotypes, and alleles should be indicated in italics. It is sometimes advisable to indicate the synonyms for the gene the first time it appears in the text. Use the recommended name by consulting the appropriate genetic nomenclature database. Genes of animals should be presented in italics with capital letter initials (e.g., Foxc1). Human genes should be written in uppercase letters and italicized (e.g., FOXC1).
Protein designations are the same as the gene symbol, but are not italicized.
Symbols for specific genes and proteins can be obtained by querying the gene database of PubMed (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/guide/). Further information on gene and protein nomenclature rules can be found as indicated in the list below:
Arabidopsis: The Arabidopsis Information Resource (TAIR)
Yeast: Saccharomyces Genome Database (SGD)
Dictyostelium: dictyBase
Nematodes: WormBase
Drosophila: FlyBase
Zebrafish: ZFIN
Xenopus: Xenbase
Chicken: Chicken Gene Nomenclature Consortium (CGNC)
Mouse: Mouse Genome Informatics (MGI)
Rat: Rat Genome Database (RGD)
Bovine: Bovine Genome Database (BGD)
Human: Human Gene Nomenclature Committee (HUGO)
Units of measurement should be given in SI system (http://physics.nist.gov/cuu/Units/rules.html), g. ml s-1rather than ml/s. Type a space between a digit and a unit, e.g. 1 mm (except 1%, 1oC).
Inorganic, organic, and biochemical nomenclature: authors should use systematic nomenclature as recommended by IUPAC (http://www.chem.qmul.ac.uk/iupac/) and IUBMB (http://www.chem.qmul.ac.uk/iubmb/) for chemical compounds and biomolecules.
Conclusions should summarize the topics discussed and describe future directions for research.
Acknowledgments (optional) of people, sources of funding and support etc should be brief. Acknowledgments to people should precede those of financial support.
References
Citations in Text
All references cited in the text must be included in the reference list and vice versa. References should include only articles that are published or in press. Citations in the text should be written with author name(s) and year of publication in parentheses (Harvard style). Use the following style:
One author: cite as (Anderson 2017) or Anderson (2017)
Two authors: (Anderson and Kim 2014) or Anderson and Kim (2014)
Three authors or more: (Anderson et al., 2012) or Anderson et al., (2012)
To cite multiple sources in the same parenthetical reference, separate the citations by a semi-colon: (Anderson et al., 2012; Anderson and Kim 2014; Kim 2016)
Cite references chronologically: (Smith 2010; Anderson and Kim 2014; Kim 2016)
If two or more papers by the same author(s) are cited together, the author(s) is/are listed just once, with the dates of the papers following, separated by commas: (Anderson 2011, 2013, 2016).
To distinguish two or more papers by the same author(s) published in the same year, add lower-case letters (a, b, c, etc.,) after the year: (Anderson et al., 2004a; 2004b); the corresponding letter should also appear with the date in the reference list.
Reference list
References are listed in alphabetical order according to surname and initials of first author. Use Times New Roman 11 pt (normal), small caps, justified alignment, hanging indent 0.5 cm, no blank line between each reference
Within a group of papers with the same first author, list single author papers first, then papers with two authors, then et al. papers. If more than one reference exists for each type, arrange in date order. Use a and b for papers published in the same year.
”In press” citations must have been accepted for publication and the name of the journal or publisher included.
Article in a print journal: Author details (surname and initial(s)). Year. Article title. Abbreviated form of the Journal name (in italics) followed by the volume number, page numbers.
Bouquet J.M., Spriet E., Troedsson C., Ottera H., Churrout D., Thompson E.M. 2009. Culture optimization for the emergent zooplanktonic model organism Oikopleura dioica. J. Plankton. Res. 31, 359–370.
Article in an online journal: Muñoz N., Liu A., Kan L., Li M.W., Lam H.M. 2017. Potential uses of wild germplasms of grain legumes for crop improvement. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 18, 328. doi:10.3390/ijms18020328
Book: Authors details (surname and initial(s)): Year, Title of the Book. Details of Edition (if any), place of publication, name of the publisher.
Majno G., Joris I. 2004. Cells, Tissues, and Disease. Principles of General Pathology (ed 2.) New York: Oxford University Press.
Chapter in a book: Author details (surname and initial(s)). Year. Chapter Title. Book title. Details of Edition (if any), Book editor(s), Place of publication, and the name of the publisher, chapter page numbers.
Christ B., Scaal M. 2007. Embryogenesis and development. In: Reproductive Biology and Phylogeny of Birds, Part B, Jamieson B.G.M. (Ed.), Enfield, New Hampshire, Science Publishers Inc, 401-478.
Patent: Author details (surname and initial(s)). Year. Patent title. Country of Patent. Patent Number (italic)
Khandhar A.P., Krishnan K.M., Ferguson R.M., Kemp S. 2017. Coated magnetic nanoparticles. U.S. Patent No 9259492.
PhD theses: Author details (surname and initial). Year. Title of thesis, specification (PhD Thesis, in italics), institution, place.
Cristescu S. 2016. Title of thesis. PhD thesis, University of Bucharest, Bucharest, Romania.
Web Reference: Author details (surname and initial(s)): Year. Title. Name of the website Available at: [URL]
Tables
Should be numbered consecutively in Arabic numerals by order of citation in the text. Single tables should not be numbered.
All tables should be created in a Microsoft Word document using the table tools. Do not format tables as columns or tabs. Do not use picture tools to create tables. Tables must be editable and not embedded as an image.
Each column in a table must have a heading.
For each table, please supply a table caption (title) explaining the components of the table. Table titles (max 15 words) should be included above the table, and legends (max 300 words) should be included underneath the table.
If a table or any data therein have been previously published, a footnote must give full credit to the original source.
Units should be given in parentheses at the top of each column (do not repeat in the table). Abbreviations, when necessary, should be defined in the legend.
For the review process, tables must be embedded in the manuscript with the legends directly below the table.
Line art (graphs, flowcharts, diagrams, scatter plots, and other text-based figures that are not tables). If a figure includes both line art and images, follow the line art guidelines.
Graphs: The axes should be clearly labeled with appropriately sized type, and units of measurement must be given. Use standard symbols found in Microsoft Word. Define all symbols and curves in the figure or the legend. Equations used to plot lines and curves should be given in the legend or the text. Scales for plotting the data should be marked by short index lines, but every index line need not be numbered.
The font size of the x-/y-axes labels (usually numbers) and the legend should be 10-point. The font size of the text on figures should be 12-point. The background of the figures must be white.
Resolution: 500-1000 dpi
Figures and Illustrations
All figures are cited in the text in sequential order. For the review process, figures should be embedded in the manuscript with the legends directly below the figure. Upon acceptance of the manuscript, Rev. Biol. Biomed. Sci. will require the figures to be uploaded as separate files for preparation. The figures quality is the author’s responsibility.
Images must not be manipulated in any way that misrepresents the original data. No specific feature within an image may be enhanced, obscured, moved, removed, or introduced.
Figure File Requirements
File format: JPEG or TIFF (save with LZW compression)
File size: Each file must be no larger than 10 MB
Dimensions: Submitted figures should not exceed the print area of 174 X 234 mm (approx. 7 X 9.4 inches). Images must be final size, preferably one column width (8.7 cm). Figures wider than one column should be sized to 11.4 cm or 17.8 cm wide. Figures may not span more than one journal page.
Resolution: Halftone (color or black & white): 300 dpi; Grayscale and color combination images: 300-500 dpi
Color mode: RGB (8 bit/channel) or grayscale only.
Text within figures: All text should be in a sans-serif typeface, preferably Arial, not smaller than 10-point. Make sure that the visual information is readable at column width (8.7 cm).
Multi-panel figures should be submitted as a single file that contains all parts of the figure. For example, if Fig.1. contains four parts (A, B, C, D), then all parts should be combined in a single file for Fig. 1 A-D. Minimize white space within and between panels.
Figure label: Figure label begin with the term Fig. in bold type, followed by the figure number, also in bold type (e.g., Fig. 1.). Figure panels should be labelled with uppercase letters (A, B, C, D, etc.) on the lower left hand corner of each multi-panel figure. Each panel should be described in the legend.
Figure title: The title should be concise and descriptive (max 15 words). This sentence should be in boldfaced font.
Figure legend: Place the legend (max 300 words) directly after the title of the figure to which it belongs. For figures with 2 or more panels, describe each panel in the legend, beginning with the panel letter. Place any figure credits in the last sentence of the legend.
Use of Previously Published Illustrations: Previously published illustrations may be included in Review articles if scientifically appropriate and permission is obtained from both the original author and publisher. Authors are responsible for:
Obtaining and including permission letters with their accepted manuscript in advance of publication.
Providing publication-quality electronic files of the previously published illustrations.
Previously published images downloaded from the Internet are not acceptable for publication.