Scope

Spinal Cord the international voice of the spinal cord. Spinal Cord is a multi-disciplinary forum for basic science, clinical and applied studies, psychology and epidemiology of spinal disorders (injury and disease), and is committed to the rapid publication of high quality original papers, topical reviews, editorial correspondence and occasional commentaries on controversial or ethical issues.

Editorial Policy

Editor-in-Chief:

Professor J-J Wyndaele
Antwerp University Hospital, Wilrijkstraat 10, 2650 Edegem, Belgium, Tel.:+32 3 821 3047, Fax:+32 3 821 4479, E-mail: Spinalcord@uza.be

Originality
Manuscripts are considered with the understanding that they have not been published previously in print or electronic format and are not under consideration by another publication or electronic medium. Each person listed as an author is expected to have participated in the study to a significant extent. Although the Editor and referees make every effort to ensure the validity of published manuscripts, the final responsibility rests with the authors, not with Spinal Cord, its Editor, the International Spinal Cord Society or Nature Publishing Group.

Patient consent
For all articles that include information or clinical photographs relating to individual patients, where those patients could be identified by readers in any way, written and signed consent to publish must be obtained from each patient and a patient consent form should be mailed or faxed to the editorial office. If identifiable features are not essential to the illustration please indicate where the illustration can be cropped. In cases where consent has not been obtained and recognizable features may appear it will be necessary to retouch the illustration to mask the eyes or otherwise render the individual 'officially unrecognizable’.

Format of Papers

Manuscripts that do not adhere to the following instructions will be returned to the corresponding author for technical revision before undergoing peer review.

Article types
The types of manuscript accepted by Spinal Cord are: 1) Original Articles; 2) Editorials; 3) Letters to the Editor; 4) Reviews; 5) Case Reports; 6) Practice Points

1) Original Articles are reports of current basic or clinical research:
Word limit: 2,500 words maximum excluding abstract, references, figures and tables
Abstract: Structured abstract of 250 words maximum
References: 20 references maximum
Display items: No more than 10 display items (e.g. figures, tables) should accompany the manuscript

2) Editorials (only by invitation of the Editor)
Word limit: 1,000 words
Abstract: No abstract required for this manuscript type
References: 5 references maximum
Proposals for Editorials may be submitted; however, authors should only send an outline of the proposed paper for initial consideration

3) Letters to the Editor
Word limit: 500 words
Abstract: No abstract required for this manuscript type
References: 3 references maximum
Letters to the Editor will be considered for publication, subject to editing. Letters must contain information critical to a certain area or must be referencing data recently published in Spinal Cord. A Letter must reference the original source, and a Response to a Letter must reference the Letter in the first few paragraphs. Letters can use an arbitrary title, but a Response must cite the title of the Letter: e.g. Response to [title of Letter].

4) Reviews (only by invitation of the Editor)
World limit: 4,000 words excluding abstract, references, tables and figures
Abstract: Structured abstract of 250 words maximum
References: 50 references maximum
Reviews are comprehensive analyses of specific topics that are usually solicited by the Editor. Proposals for reviews may be submitted; however, authors should only send an outline of the proposed paper for initial consideration. Both solicited and unsolicited reviews will undergo peer review prior to acceptance.

5) Case Reports describe in a concise way data from one case or a small group, accompanied by a short overview of the relevant literature. The decision to publish a single case report will be based on its clear relevance to advancing spinal cord medicine
Word limit: 750 words
Abstract: Structured abstract of 200 words maximum
References: 5
Display items: No more than 3 display items should accompany the manuscript

6) Practice Points describe in a concise way points of immediate practical use, such as techniques, appliances and so on.
Please follow the guidelines for Case Reports above

7)Editorial notes (only by invitation of the Editor)
Word limit: 300 words
Abstract: No abstract required for this manuscript type
References: 5 references maximum

PREPARATION OF MANUSCRIPTS

General format
Manuscripts must be typed in English and double-spaced on A4-sized paper (210 x 297 mm; 8.3 x 11.7 inches), with a margin of 4 cm. All text including figure legends, tables and references must be on one side of the page only. All manuscript pages must be numbered. It is advisable to also number the lines.

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

Title page
The title page should include the following:

• A brief, informative title of 120 characters or less
• A running title of no more than 50 characters
• All authors’ full names (listed as first name, middle initial, last name) and academic qualifications. Numbers in superscript should be used to indicate the departments and institutions of each author
• The name and address for correspondence, including fax number, telephone number, and e-mail address.

Text
The manuscript should be organized under the following main headings:

• Abstract and keywords
• Introduction
• Materials and Methods (including Statement of Ethics were applicable)
• Results
• Discussion
• Acknowledgements
• Conflict of Interest Statement
• References

Abstract and keywords. Articles must be prepared with a STRUCTURED abstract designed to summarize the essential features of the paper in a logical and concise sequence under the following headings, which are mandatory: Study Design; Objectives; Setting (i.e. country and/or county or state); Methods; Results; Conclusion; Sponsorship (where applicable); Keywords (up to six short words or phrases, which best describe your paper. These will be used for indexing your paper).

Introduction. The introduction should be succinct and provide only the necessary background information, rather than a comprehensive review of the specific field. It should not contain subheadings.

Materials and Methods. This section should contain sufficient detail so that all experimental procedures can be repeated by others, in conjunction with cited references. Authors should provide the name of the manufacturer and their location for any specifically named medical equipment and instruments, and all drugs should be identified by their pharmaceutical names, and not by the trade name. Authors are strongly recommended to utilize the ASIA/IMSOP Scales of International Standards that were published in Spinal Cord in 1997; 35: 266-274.

Statement of Ethics. Where a manuscript concerns animal experimentation or the use of human volunteers, the authors should include a statement at the end of the Materials and Methods stating: "I/we certify that all applicable institutional and governmental regulations concerning the ethical use of human volunteers/animals were followed during the course of this research" (delete inappropriate words).

Results and Discussion. The Results section should briefly present the experimental data in text, tables or figures. The data in tables and figures should not also be described extensively in the text. The Discussion should focus on the interpretation and significance of the findings with concise objective comments that describe their relation to other work in the area. It should not repeat information in the Results.

Acknowledgements. A note of acknowledgement is appropriate recognition for contributors who may not be listed as authors, as well as for noting financial or research funding streams.

Conflict of Interest Statement. A conflict of interest statement must be included for each contributing author. Please see the Conflict of Interest guidelines at the end of the “Format of Papers” section for more information and for guidelines on what constitutes a conflict of interest.

References. References should be listed in order of appearance (Vancouver style). In the text, number references in order of appearance using superscript Arabic numerals for citations. The reference list (starting on a separate page) should contain the references in the order in which they are cited in the text. Only published works (as well as manuscripts that are already accepted for publication) which are referred to in the text should be listed in the reference list. The reference list must not contain any unpublished observations, personal communications, etc. Kindly cite such sources solely within the text (in parentheses), not in the reference list. For each reference quote name and initials of author(s), title of paper, abbreviated title of journal, year of publication, volume number and first and last page numbers. If a book is quoted, the publisher, place and year of publication should be included. References with fewer than six authors should list all names; for more than six authors, list the first six names followed by et al. The following examples demonstrate correct reference style:

Journal articles:
Fawcett JW. Factors influencing the regeneration of axons in the central nervous system. Paraplegia 1991;29: 287-293.

Articles in books:
Hughes JT. Pathology of the spinal cord. In: Smith A (ed). Surgery for Pathologists. 2nd edn. Churchill Livingstone: Edinburgh 1978, pp 315-316.

Abbreviations. Abbreviations should be defined in brackets after their first mention in the text, and in each table and figure. Write out the full term for each abbreviation at its first use unless it is a standard unit of measure. Authors are strongly recommended to utilise the ASIA/IMSOP scales of international standards which were published in Spinal Cord 1997; 35: 266-274.

Figures. Figures and images should be labelled 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. Figures should be trimmed to display the desired features only and the salient features should be indicated by a black or white arrow. 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.

Tables. These should be labelled 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, and 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.

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.

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.

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 proceded 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 a separate file 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 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.

The supplementary information may not be altered, nor new supplementary information added, after the paper has been accepted for publication.

Supplying supplementary information files: Please supply the supplementary information via eJP, 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 European Journal of Clinical Nutrition'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 PowerPoint files (.ppt), and MS Excel spreadsheet documents (.xls). We cannot accept TeX and LaTeX. File sizes must be as small as possible, so that they can be downloaded quickly. Images should not exceed 640 x 480 pixels 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 colour 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.

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.

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. 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 (including conflict of interest statement)
• 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 colour, not in RGB
• Tables in Excel (preferred) as separate files or embedded at the end of the manuscript file