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Journal of the American College of Nutrition Instructions for Authors

The Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of the American College of Nutrition welcomes manuscripts of high scientific quality that are relevant to human nutrition. Submissions will be considered in the following categories:
      1. Original articles pertaining to innovative research of nutritional importance with useful application for physicians and health care specialists.
      2. Critical reviews and updates that summarize the current status of research developments or present new concepts to unify relationships among nutrition, health maintenance and pathogenesis and treatment of disease. Key teaching points and nutritional relevance must be highlighted.
      3. Letters to the editor about topics presented in the journal. Authors will be given the opportunity to respond to letters that address their published work.
      4. Book reviews.
      5. Supplements representing symposia and workshops will be considered on an individual basis. Topic proposals should be presented first to the Editor-in-Chief. Individual papers will be peer-reviewed.

MANUSCRIPT PREPARATION
      Manuscripts should be prepared in accordance with the following instructions:
      Submit one copy via email attachment of all manuscript elements including: title page, key words, abstract, key teaching points (in the case of review papers), text, acknowledgments, references, appendices, tables, figure legends and figures.
      The preferred format is IBM compatible in either WordPerfect or MS-Word. Proprietary graphic formats should be converted to one commonly used.
      Double-space all manuscript elements on 8.5 x 11 inch paper using 1 inch margins. Do not hyphenate words at the end of a line.

Title Page
      Provide the first name, middle initial and last name of all authors, followed by terminal academic degrees. Fellows of the American College of Nutrition should include the FACN designation after academic degrees.
      List the institutional affiliation of each author at the time of the study. Place an asterisk (*) following an author’s name and provide a key for the present address if it differs.
      Provide a complete address, phone, fax number and e-mail for the corresponding author (who will also review page proofs). Also indicate the author to whom reprint requests should be sent.
      If the manuscript was presented at a meeting, provide the name of the organization, place and date it was presented.
      Provide a running title of not more than 45 characters.
      Any personal financial interest in the work or with a commercial sponsor should be disclosed here.

Abstract
      For original research. Use a structured abstract that includes subheadings for Objective (1-2 sentences), Methods (3-4 sentences) - this may be divided into Design, Setting, Subjects, Interventions or Measures of Outcome, as appropriate - Results (3-4 sentences) and Conclusions (1-2 sentences).
      For review papers, abstracts should be in summary style. Review paper abstracts must be followed by 4-6 teaching points in a bulleted list.

Text
      Articles should be as concise as the subject matter allows. They must be written in a manner to permit readers to understand clearly what was done, the reasons for doing it and conclusions drawn from the work.
      Begin the text on a new page.
      Arrange elements of original research papers in the following order: Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusion. Review papers should include Introduction (with significance and nutritional relevance), Background (with historical perspective and controversy or conflicting information), Description of Subject (with appropriate subheadings), and Conclusion. Type these Level 1 subheads in all capital letters.
      Type Level 2 subheads in upper and lower case and set them on lines of their own. In rare cases when a third level of subheading is needed, include these in the line of text that begins the paragraph.
      Define abbreviations at their first mention. Abbreviate units of measure (cm, mL, g) according to the Scientific Style and Format: The CBE Manual for Authors, Editors and Publishers, 6th edition. Measurements must be in metric units. Lower case italicized p should be used to indicate significance.
      Any study on humans or animals must contain a statement that the appropriate ethics committee approved the research.
      All figures and tables must be cited in the text in sequential order.

Acknowledgments
      Any grant or corporate sponsorship should be noted here. Authors may also acknowledge any contributions to the work by non-authors.

Abbreviations
      An alphabetized key of all uncommon abbreviations used in the paper should be included. Use the style GNS=German Nutrition Society, PIR=poverty index ratio, TPP=thiamin pyrophosphate. The complete form should precede first use of an abbreviation in the text.

References
      In the text, references should be cited as numerals on line and in square brackets (not parentheses).
      In the final list, references should be typed double-spaced on a separate sheet and numbered in order of appearance in the text. All author names should be listed. The designation et al. should not be used, nor should author lists be truncated. Names of journals not listed in Index Medicus should be spelled out.
      For journal articles, include names of all authors, title of article, abbreviated name of periodical, volume, inclusive pages and year. For example
      1. Kummerow FA, Smith TL, Mahfouz MM, Pikul J: Dietary fat and plasma lipid physical properties in swine. J Am Coll Nutr 10:346-354, 1991.
      Papers in press may be included in the reference list and should follow this format:
      2. Bazzarre TL: Chronic disease risk factors in vitamin/mineral supplement users. J Am Coll Nutr, in press, 1994.
      For book citations, the following should appear in sequence: names of authors; chapter title, if any; names of editors, if any; book title; city of publication; publisher’s name; inclusive page numbers; and year. For example:
      3. Conrad ME: Iron absorption. In Johnson LR (ed): “Physiology of the Gastrointestinal Tract,” 2nd ed. New York: Raven, pp 1437-1453, 1987.
      4. Seelig MS: “Magnesium Deficiency in the Pathogenesis of Disease.” New York: Plenum, 1980.
      Abstracts, editorials and doctoral theses should be specified in parentheses after the article title.

Tables
      Tables should be typed on a separate sheet with a table title provided. Column headings should be kept brief, and units of measure should be indicated in parentheses.
      Define all abbreviations in a key at the bottom of each table.

Figures
      Figures should be submitted in a commonly used electronic format. They should not include titles. Whenever possible, figures will be reproduced to fit one journal column.
      If color is needed to clearly portray a photo, authors will be expected to cover the cost of color reproduction. Contact the managing editor for cost quotations.
      Descriptive figure legends must be included for all figures. They should be typed double-spaced on a separate page at the end of the manuscript. Words should only be abbreviated in legends if they appear repeatedly. In this case, the word should be spelled out at first mention.

MANUSCRIPT SUBMISSION
      A cover letter must contain a statement that all coauthors accept responsibility for content of the manuscript. If there are no conflicts of interest listed on the title page, the letter must state this. Submit all elements of the manuscript as an electronic version. A charge of $30 will be required if an electronic version is not submitted.

EDITORIAL PROCESS
         The Journal of the American College of Nutrition is published bimonthly and mailed at the beginning of February, April, June, August, October and December. All manuscripts are reviewed by a minimum of two referees with expertise in research relevant to the manuscript topic. Result of the review - i.e., acceptance, suggestions for revision or fully justified rejection - will be communicated rapidly to authors. Manuscripts deemed of too low priority may not be accepted for publication even if they are not rejected for flawed design or analysis.

AUTHOR RESPONSIBILITIES
      It is understood that neither the manuscript nor the data it contains have been submitted elsewhere or previously published, except as an abstract not exceeding 500 words. Authors will not disclose results from accepted papers to the news media prior to publication without permission from the Editor-in-Chief, except in relation to presentation at a scientific meeting.
      All authors take responsibility for the intellectual content or participated in the collection or analysis of data.
      Upon acceptance of a paper for publication, authors must sign an agreement transferring copyright to the publisher. No published material may be reproduced elsewhere without the written permission of the publisher.
      If required for clarity, the author agrees to make available data either on the JACN web site or another site.
      All statements in, or omissions from, published manuscripts are the responsibility of the author, who will review proofs before publication. Reprint order forms will be sent with the proofs. If the author does not wish to provide reprints, it must be stated clearly on the title page.

PAGE PROOFS
      Page proofs will be sent to the author for return to the editorial office within 48 hours of receipt. Authors should check page proofs carefully, with any necessary corrections (marked in blue) or printer’s errors (marked in red) clearly indicated in the margins of the proofs. Extensive or unnecessary changes in page proofs will result in delayed publication of the paper and/or alteration charges billed to the author.

EMBARGO
      Details of an accepted manuscript are not to be released via the news media until the day of publication of the JACN.

MISCONDUCT
      Duplicate publication, falsification, plagiarism, or fabrication will be considered actionable misconduct. Misconduct does not include honest error or differences in interpretation or judgment of data. The Editor-in-Chief will investigate allegations of misconduct and inform the accused individual. If charges are not resolved the home institution will be informed.

APPEALS
      If an author disagrees with an editorial decision, a letter to the Editor-in-Chief should detail the reasons for this. Should an agreement not be reached, the author may appeal to the Chair of the Publications Committee of the American College of Nutrition.

      Address correspondence to: Richard R. Caldwell, PhD, Managing Editor, Journal of the American College of Nutrition, Wayne State University, 3009 Science Hall, (Overnight address: 410 W. Warren Ave) Detroit MI 48202-3424. Phone: 313-993-JACN, Fax: 313-577-8616, e-mail: jacn{at}wayne.edu


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