Instructions to Authors for Molecular Endocrinology

Expectation of Ethical Conduct
Purpose and Scope
General Information
Manuscript Categories
Manuscript Submission Procedures
Manuscript Preparation
     General Format
     Title Page
     Abstract
     Introduction
     Results and Discussion
     Materials and Methods
     Acknowledgments
     References
     Tables
     Figures and Legends
     Supplemental Data
     Units of Measure
     Standard Abbreviations
Editorial Policies and Guidelines
     Prior Publication
     Authorship Criteria
     Guidelines for considering authors of non-research articles who have a potential COI
     Obligations of Reviewers
     Experimental Subjects
     Experimental Animals
     Manuscripts Reporting New Amino Acid or Nucleotide Sequence
     Manuscripts Reporting Novel Compounds
     Genomic and Proteomic Papers
     Validation of Data and Statistical Analysis
     Digital Image Integrity
Publication and Production Guidelines
     Proofs and Reprints
     Page and Color Charges
     Rapid Electronic Publication (REP)
     Editorial Office Archiving Procedures
     NIH Deposits and Institutional Repositories
Journal Facts

Expectation of Ethical Conduct

The Endocrine Society's mission is to advance excellence in endocrinology and be an integrative force in scientific research and medical practice. Such progress depends on integrity in the conduct of scientific research and truthful representation of findings. Specific guidelines regarding the Society's expectations for ethical conduct can be found in the Code of Ethics of The Endocrine Society and the Ethical Guidelines for Publications of Research. The journal editors and publication oversight committees of The Endocrine Society are dedicated to upholding high ethical standards in its publications and expect authors and reviewers to do the same.

Purpose and Scope

Molecular Endocrinology publishes papers that use a molecular approach to study the mechanism of action of hormones and related substances and their regulation.

Molecular Endocrinology is a journal devoted to rapid publication of papers pertaining to the molecular mechanisms by which hormones and related compounds regulate function. The journal will promote the interaction of disciplines by accepting papers in fields studying processes with overlapping mechanisms, including hormones, growth factors, oncogenes and their products, growth inhibitory factors, ions, lymphokines, etc.

General Information

Authors should submit their full manuscript directly through the Rapid Review system, at which time it will undergo an initial prescreening. Every effort will be made to provide prompt review and rapid return of manuscripts to authors. Manuscripts are published on The Endocrine Society's Journals Online web site as Rapid Electronic Publications (REP) at http://mend.endojournals.org/rep.shtml about two (2) weeks after final acceptance, and in print about three (3) months after final acceptance.

Manuscript Categories

The following three types of articles will be considered for publication:

(1) The bulk of the journal will be comprised of regular research papers based on new data, previously unpublished in reviewed journals or unreviewed publications. These papers may be of any length; however, brevity is no contraindication for submission.

(2) Second, minireviews and overviews may be published from time to time. If an author wishes to suggest a topic for a minireview, he or she first should contact the editorial office of Molecular Endocrinology to ascertain its appropriateness.

(3) Third, research resource articles are meant to present the most current and important work done with microarrays, proteomics, genomics, metabolomics, structural biology, computational biology, and computer programs, as well as other relevant research data sets. These manuscripts are subject to the same stringent peer review as our original research articles and minireviews. In structure, they will differ from original research articles in that they: 1) will not be required to contain the same mechanistic focus, and 2) generally will not exceed a total of four pages in length. Acceptance of manuscripts will be contingent on scientific content, broad appeal, and usefulness to studies in the area of molecular endocrinology. Authors are encouraged to make use of our online Supplemental Data feature to present further work that supports the content of the Research Resource submissions. All manuscripts are treated as confidential material during the review process.

Manuscript Submission Procedures

Please submit your manuscript to Molecular Endocrinology through the Rapid Review system at the following site: http://mend.endojournals.org/.

Note that your author account will be the same for Endocrinology, Molecular Endocrinology, The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, and Endocrine Reviews. Authors submitting manuscripts for publication in Molecular Endocrinology are submitting their manuscript to The Endocrine Society Central Journals Office whose database is accessible to the Editors-in-Chief of all Endocrine Society journals.

All submissions MUST INCLUDE:
1. Cover letter. Submitted manuscripts must be accompanied by a cover letter that describes the study's unique contribution to the field and explains why it is appropriate for publication in Molecular Endocrinology. Specifically, the editors would like to know what unique mechanistic contributions and insights are offered by the paper, as well as their physiological relevance. Authors should also provide a list of possible reviewers, and they may request that specific reviewers not be used. Authors must also indicate that they are submitting supplemental data when appropriate.
2. Completed Copyright Assignment & Affirmation of Originality form, which is available at http://mend.endojournals.org/misc/origcopy.pdf
3. Completed Disclosure of Potential Conflict of Interest form. IMPORTANT: The corresponding author is expected to gather EACH AUTHOR'S completed disclosure form and fax them, together, to the editorial office along with the Author Disclosure Summary. Do not fax them individually. Revised manuscripts WILL NOT be processed until all signatures and the summary are received.

Manuscript Preparation

General Format

The Journal requires that all manuscripts be submitted in a 2-column format that follows these guidelines:

Format text from the Introduction through the Acknowledgements in two single-spaced columns.

All text should be single spaced with 1-inch margins on both sides using 11-point type in Times Roman font.

The abstract, references and legends should be set in 1 column.

Authors are encouraged to cite primary literature rather than review articles in order to give credit to those who have done the original studies.

All tables and figures must be placed after the text and must be labeled. Submitted papers must be complete, including the title page, abstract, figures, and tables. Papers submitted without all of these components will be placed on hold until the manuscript is complete.

Title Page

The title page must include the following:

Full title (a concise statement of the article's major contents)

Abbreviated title of not more than 40 characters for page headings

Authors' names and institutions. At least one person must be listed as an author; no group authorship without a responsible party is allowed. A group can be listed in the authorship line, but only on behalf of a person or persons. All group members not listed in the authorship line must be listed in the Acknowledgments section.

All papers produced with NIH support must include the paragraph indicated in the The Endocrine Society NIH statement.

Corresponding author's address, telephone and fax numbers, and e-mail address

Name and address of person to whom reprint requests should be addressed

Key words to support indexing and information retrieval

Any grants or fellowships supporting the writing of the paper

Disclosure summary (see Disclosure of Potential Conflict of Interest form)

Abstract

Do not exceed 250 words

Briefly describe in complete sentences the purpose of the investigation, the methods used, the results obtained, and the principal conclusions

Do not refer to the text or references

Write the abstract with a general audience in mind

Introduction

The article should begin with a brief introductory statement that places the work to follow in historical perspective and explains its intent and significance.

Results and Discussion

The Results section should briefly present the experimental data in text, tables, and/or figures. For details on preparation of tables and figures, see below. The Discussion should focus on the interpretation and significance of the findings with concise objective comments that describe their relation to other work in that area. The Discussion should not reiterate the Results.

Materials and Methods

These should be described and referenced in sufficient detail for other investigators to repeat the work. The source of hormones, unusual chemicals and reagents, and special pieces of apparatus should be stated. For modified methods, only the modifications need be described.

Acknowledgments

The Acknowledgments section should include the names of those people who contributed to a study but did not meet the requirements for authorship. The corresponding author is responsible for informing each person listed in the Acknowledgments section that they have been included and providing them with a description of their contribution so they know the activity for which they are considered responsible.

References

References to the literature should be cited in numerical order (in parentheses) in the text and listed in the same numerical order at the end of the manuscript on a separate sheet or sheets. There must be only one reference to a number. The number of references cited should be kept to a reasonable minimum; to this end, appropriate recent reviews should be cited whenever possible.

Examples of the reference style that should be used are given below. Further examples will be found in the articles describing the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals (Ann Intern Med. 1988; 208:258-265, Br Med J. 1988; 296:401-405). The titles of journals should be abbreviated according to the style used in the Index Medicus.

If the citation formats described here do not match the formats provided in your reference manager program, please visit the software producer's web site for updates.

Journal articles and abstracts: List all authors. The citation of unpublished observations, of personal communications, and of manuscripts in preparation or submitted for publication is not permitted in the bibliography. Such citations should be inserted at appropriate places in the text, in parentheses and without serial number, or be presented in the footnotes. The citation of manuscripts in press (i.e., accepted for publication) is permitted in the bibliography; the name of the journal in which they appear must be supplied. If references to personal communications are made, authors are encouraged to keep written proof of the exchange. If it is necessary to cite an abstract because it contains substantive data not published elsewhere, it must be designated at the end of the reference [e.g., 68:313 (Abstract)]. The author is responsible for the accuracy of references.

Books: List all authors or editors.

Sample References

Binoux M, Hossenlopp P 1986 Insulin-like growth factor (IGF) and IGF-binding proteins: comparison of human serum and lymph. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 67:509-514
MacLaughlin DT, Cigarros F, Donahoe PK 1988 Mechanism of action of Mullerian inhibiting substance. Program of the 70th Annual Meeting of The Endocrine Society, New Orleans, LA, 1988, p 19 (Abstract P1-21)
Bonneville F, Cattin F, Dietemann J-L 1986 Computed tomography of the pituitary gland. Heidelberg: Springer-Verlag; 15-16
Burrow GN 1987 The Thyroid: nodules and neoplasia. In: Felig P, Baxter JD, Broadus AE, Frohman LA, eds. Endocrinology and metabolism. 2nd ed. New York: McGraw-Hill; 473-507

For general aid in the preparation of manuscripts, authors should consult: CBE Style Manual: A Guide for Authors, Editors and Publishers. 5th ed. Bethesda, MD: Council of Biology Editors; 1983

Tables

Tables must be constructed as simply as possible and be intelligible without reference to the text. Each table must have a concise heading. A description of experimental conditions may appear together with footnotes at the foot of the table. Tables must not simply duplicate the text or figures. The width of the table must be designed to occupy one or two journal columns, with no more than four table columns or 8-10 table columns, respectively.

Figures and Legends

Please review the detailed instructions for preparing digital art at http://art.cadmus.com/da/index.jsp. E-mail queries can be sent to digitalart{at}cadmus.com. All figures must display the figure number.

Sizing the figure: The author is responsible for providing digital art that has been properly sized, cropped, and has adequate space between images. Plan the size of the figure to fill 1, 1.5, or 2 columns in the printed journal (see chart below for dimensions). In most cases, figures should be prepared for 1-column width. Produce original art at the size it should appear in the printed journal. (Note for PowerPoint users: The sizing instructions do not apply if you are submitting PowerPoint files for print production in E-Review. On the submission page, check boxes to indicate that the figures are the correct size and resolution.)

1 column = 18 picas, 7.5 cm, 3.0 in

1.5. columns = 30 picas, 12.5 cm, 5.0 in

2 columns = 38 picas, 16.0 cm, 6.5 in

Lettering: At 100% size, no lettering should be smaller than 8 point (0.3 cm high) or larger than 12 point (0.4 cm high). Use bold and solid lettering. Lines should be thick, solid, and no less than 1-point rule. Avoid the use of reverse type (white lettering on a darker background). Avoid lettering on top of shaded or textured areas. Titles should be clear and informative. Keep wording on figures to a minimum, and confine any explanation of figures to their separate page legends. Label only one vertical and one horizontal side of a figure. Freehand lettering or drawing is unacceptable.

Special requirements for 4-color art: Save files in CMYK mode (cyan-magenta-yellow-black). Color saturation of the shadow portion cannot exceed 280% (%cyan + %magenta + %yellow + %black cannot exceed 280%).

Shading: Avoid the use of shading, but if unavoidable, use a coarse rather than a fine screen setting (80-100 line screen is preferred). Avoid 1-20% and 70-99% shading; make differing shades vary by at least 20%, i.e., 25%, 45%, 65%. Instead of shading, denote variations in graphs or drawings by cross-hatching; solid black; or vertical, horizontal, or diagonal striping. Avoid the use of dots.

Grouped figures: For grouped figures, indicate the layout in a diagram. Place grouped figures so that they can be printed in 1-column width with uniform margins. Indicate magnification in the legends and by internal reference markers in the photographs. Their length should represent the fraction or multiple of a micrometer, appropriate to the magnification.

Graphs: Graphs with axis measures containing very large or small numbers should convert to easily readable notations. Example: For an ordinate range of "counts per minute" values from 1,000 to 20,000, the true value may be multiplied by 10^-3 (scale would read from 1 to 20) and the ordinate axis display "cpm (x10^-3)." Similarly, for a Scatchard plot with values ranging from 0.1 to 2 femtomolar (10^-15 m), the scale may run from 0.1 to 2 with the abscissa labeled "m (x10^-15)." Three-dimensional bar graphs will not be published if the information they refer to is only two-dimensional.

Supplemental Data

Supplemental Data allows authors to enhance papers in Molecular Endocrinology by making additional substantive material available to readers. Supplemental Data may take the form of figures, tables, datasets, derivations, or videos, and is published only in Molecular Endocrinology online; it does not appear in the printed version of the journal. Authors who wish to include Supplemental Data should state so in the cover letter when the manuscript is submitted.

Supplemental Data files should be submitted through Rapid Review at the time of manuscript submission and will be reviewed along with the manuscript. The files should be uploaded in the field marked "Upload Supplemental Data Files", and should NOT be attached with the manuscript and figure files. Authors should refer to the Supplemental Data in the manuscript at an appropriate point in the text or figure/table legend.

The file formats listed below may be used for Supplemental Data. Provide a brief description of each item in a separate HTML or Word file (i.e., figure or table legends, captions for movie or sound clips, etc.). Do not save figure numbers, legends, or author names as part of an image. File sizes should not exceed 5 MB. Images should not exceed 500 pixels in width or height. Do not use tabs or spaces for Word or WordPefect tables; please use the table functions available within these word processing programs to prepare tables. For web pages, provide a complete list of files and instructions for creating directories.

.htm, HTML*
.jpg, JPEG image*
.gif, Graphical image
.pdf, Adobe Portable Document Format
.xls, MS Excel Spreadsheet
.mov, Quick Time
.wav, Sound
.doc, MS Word 6 documents**
.txt, Plain ASCII*

*These files can be viewed directly on standard web browsers.
**MS Word may be used for text only.

Units of Measure

Results should be expressed in metric units. Système Internationale (SI units) must be added in parentheses. Temperature should be expressed in degrees Celsius (e.g., 28 C) and time of day using the 24-hour clock (e.g., 0800 h, 1500 h). Do not express molecular weight in daltons. Molecular weight is considered to be the relative molecular mass of a substance, i.e., the ratio of the mass of one molecule of the substance to 1/12 of the mass of one atom of carbon 12. Therefore, molecular weight is dimensionless. The dalton is a unit of mass equivalent to 1/12 of the mass of one atom of p1 carbon 12.

Standard Abbreviations

All nonstandard abbreviations in the text must be defined immediately after the first use of the abbreviation. The list of Standard Abbreviations is given in the link.

Editorial Policies and Guidelines

Prior Publication

Failure to notify the editor that some results in the manuscript are being or have been previously published will result in placement of a notice in the journal that the authors have violated the Ethical Guidelines for Publication of Research in The Endocrine Society Journals. The journal publishes original research and review material. Material previously published in whole or in part shall not be considered for publication. This includes materials published in any form of mass communication. At the time of submission, authors must divulge in their cover letter all prior publications or postings of the material in any form of media. Abstracts or posters displayed for colleagues at scientific meetings need not be reported. Other postings of any part of the submitted material on web pages, as well as those essential for participation in required registries will be evaluated by the Editor-In-Chief, who shall determine if those postings are material enough to constitute prior publication.

Authorship Criteria

An author should have participated in either the conception or planning of the work, the interpretation of the results and the writing of the paper. An acknowledgment accompanying the paper is appropriate recognition for others who have contributed to a lesser extent, e.g., provision of clones, antisera or cell lines, or reading and reviewing manuscripts in draft. The signature of each author on the Affirmation of Originality and Copyright Release form that must be submitted with the manuscript indicates that all authors have had a part in the writing and final editing of the report, all have been given a copy of the manuscript, all have approved the final version of the manuscript, and all are prepared to take public responsibility for the work, sharing responsibility and accountability for the results.

Guidelines for considering authors of non-research articles who have a potential COI

The editors of The Endocrine Society's journals appreciate the importance of assuring unbiased authorship of editorials, reviews, and other non-research features involving selection of evidence to be discussed and perspectives to be presented. Consequently, special care is taken in choosing authors for such articles to assure their views are balanced and unencumbered, and that the Society's policies on disclosure of conflicts of interest are implemented.

Obligations of Reviewers

The critical and confidential review of manuscripts is an essential element of research publications. Every scientist has an obligation to contribute to the peer review process by serving as a reviewer. Among the obligations of reviewers is the commitment to providing an expert, critical, and constructive scientific and literary appraisal of research reports in their fields of knowledge, skills, and experience in a fair and unbiased manner. In order to facilitate the prompt sharing of scientific results, it is also the obligation of each reviewer to complete their assignments promptly, within the editor's deadline. Should a delay in their review occur, the reviewer has the obligation to notify the editor at once.

Reviewers should not review a manuscript if: 1) they do not think that they are competent to assess the research described, 2) they believe there is a conflict of interest or personal or professional relationship with the author(s) that might bias their assessment of the manuscript, or (3) there is any other situation that could bias their review. Employment at the same institution as one of the authors does not automatically represent a conflict. Having previously reviewed the article for another journal does not disqualify a reviewer, although the editor should be informed so the reviewer's perspective can be considered. In circumstances when reviewers need to recuse themselves, they should notify the editor promptly, preferably with an explanation. If reviewers are uncertain whether they should recuse themselves, they should consult with the editor.

The reviewer should strive to provide accurate, detailed, and constructive criticisms, and the review should be supported by appropriate references, especially if unfavorable. The reviewer should also note whether the work of others is properly cited. If the reviewer notes any substantial resemblance of the manuscript being reviewed to a published paper or to a manuscript submitted at the same time to another journal, they should promptly report this to the editor.

No part of the manuscript under review should ordinarily be revealed to another individual without the permission of the editor. If a reviewer consults a colleague on a particular point, this fact, and the name of the collaborator or consultant, should be reported to the editor, preferably in advance. With these exceptions, a reviewer must obtain through the editor written permission from the authors to use or disclose any of the unpublished content of a manuscript under review.

Experimental Subjects

To be considered, all clinical investigations described in submitted manuscripts must have been conducted in accordance with the guidelines in The Declaration of Helsinki and must have been formally approved by the appropriate institutional review committees or its equivalent. All manuscripts must indicate that such approval was obtained and that informed consent was obtained from subjects in all experiments involving humans. The study populations should be described in detail. In many studies details of age, race, and sex are important. However, subjects must be identified only by number or letter, not by initials or names. Photographs of patients' faces should be included only if scientifically relevant. Authors must obtain written consent from the patient for use of such photographs. For further details, see the Ethical Guidelines.

Experimental Animals

A statement confirming that all animal experimentation described in the submitted manuscript was conducted in accord with accepted standards of humane animal care, as outlined in the Ethical Guidelines, should be included in the manuscript.

Manuscripts Reporting New Amino Acid or Nucleotide Sequence

Manuscripts reporting amino acid or nucleotide sequences of proteins with sequences already known from other tissues or species will be considered only if they provide new biological insight. Manuscripts dealing with partial sequence data are not likely to be considered. The Endocrine Society has established policy that deals with submission of new protein or nucleic acid sequences. When a manuscript is accepted that contains novel sequences, such sequences must be deposited in the appropriate database (such as GenBank) and an accession number obtained before the manuscript is sent to the printer. It is recommended that the following statement containing the assigned accession number be inserted as a footnote: "These sequence data have been submitted to the DDBJ/EMBL/GenBank databases under accession number Ul2345."

Manuscripts Reporting Novel Compounds

Manuscripts describing experiments with new compounds must provide their chemical structures. For known compounds, the source and/or literature reference to the chemical structure and characterization must be provided.

Genomic and Proteomic Papers

We consider papers that use genomic or proteomic approaches to study problems relevant to molecular endocrinology. We recognize that many of these will not be hypothesis driven. Nevertheless, manuscripts that utilize these approaches should go beyond cataloging and provide unique insights into regulatory networks, mechanisms, or demonstrations of biological function.

As a first step for standardizing presentation of gene expression profiling data, we are now requiring that filtered raw data be submitted as a supplement (see section on Supplemental Data) in a tab-delimited format using spreadsheets such as Microsoft Excel. In presenting DNA microarray data it is essential to clearly identify the platform (i.e., Affymetrix Murine Genome U74v2 Set), thoroughly describe the filtering criteria used to evaluate the raw data, and provide complete references for the statistical methods used to analyze the data. The supplemental data must accompany the original submission and can be submitted electronically through E-Review. Specific examples of supplemental data accompanying gene expression profiling manuscripts can be found in the June 2002 issue of Molecular Endocrinology. In addition to submitting supplemental data, we recommend that authors submit the same data to the Gene Expression Omnibus (GEO). The National Institute of Biotechnology Information, under the auspices of the National Library of Medicine and NIH, has launched the GEO database to support the public dissemination of gene expression data. GEO is intended to complement in-house gene expression databases by acting as a tertiary, central data distribution hub. More specific information regarding both the history and submission requirements can be found in the web site cited above.

Proteomic papers that report molecular structures, whether based on x-ray crystallography, NMR, or computational modeling, can be accepted only after the structural coordinates have been deposited in the Protein Data Base.

Validation of Data and Statistical Analysis

Assay validation: Bioassay and radioimmunoassay potency estimates should be accompanied by an appropriate measure of the precision of these estimates. For bioassays, these usually will be the standard deviation, standard error of the mean, coefficient of variation, or 95% confidence limits. For both bioassays and radioimmunoassays, it is necessary to include data relating to within-assay and between-assay variability. If all relevant comparisons are made within the same assay, the latter may be omitted. Authors should be aware that the precision of a measurement depends upon its position on the dose-response curve.

In presenting results for new assays, it is necessary to include data on the following: 1) within-assay variability; 2) between-assay variability; 3) slope of the dose-response curve; 4) mid-range of the assay; 5) least-detectable concentration (concentration resulting in a response two standard deviations away from the zero dose response); 6) data on specificity; 7) data on parallelism of standard and unknown and on recovery; and 8) comparison with an independent method for assay of the compound. When radioimmunoassay kits are utilized or hormone measurements are conducted in other than the authors' laboratories and the assay is central to the study, data regarding performance characteristics should be included.

Pulse analysis: Data from studies of pulsatile hormone secretion should be analyzed using a validated, objective pulse detection algorithm. The algorithm used should require that false-positive rates of pulse detection be defined in relation to the measurement error of the data set being analyzed, and the methods used to determine the measurement error should be described. The author(s) also should describe the methods used: 1) to deal with missing or undetectable values; 2) to determine peak frequency, interpeak interval, and pulse amplitude; and 3) For statistical comparisons of peak parameters.

Data analysis: It is the author's responsibility to document that the results are reproducible and that the differences found are not due to random variation. No absolute rules can be applied, but in general quantitative data should be from no fewer than three replicate experiments. Appropriate statistical methods should be used to test the significance of differences in results. The term "significant" should not be used unless statistical analysis was performed, and the probability value used to identify significance (e.g., P > 0.05) should be specified.

When several t tests are employed, authors should be aware that nominal probability levels no longer apply. Accordingly, the multiple t test, multiple range test, or similar techniques to permit simultaneous comparisons should be employed. Also, in lieu of using several t tests, it is often more appropriate to utilize an analysis of variance (ANOVA) to permit pooling of data, increase the number of degrees of freedom, and improve reliability of results. Authors should use appropriate nonparametric tests when the data depart substantially from a normal distribution.

Analysis of variance tables should not be inserted in manuscripts. F values with the degrees of freedom as subscripts together with the P values are sufficient.

In presenting results of linear regression analyses, it is desirable to show 95% confidence limits.

When data points are fitted with lines (as in Scatchard or Lineweaver-Burk plots), the method used for fitting (graphical, least squares, computer program) should be specified. If differences in slopes and/or axis intercepts are claimed for plotted lines, these should be supported by statistical analysis.

Useful references for statistical methods are McArthur, J. W., and T. Colten (eds.), Statistics in Endocrinology, MIT Press, Cambridge, 1970; and Finney, D. J., Statistical Method in Biologic Assays, ed. 2, Griffin, London, 1967.

Digital Image Integrity

When preparing digital images, authors must adhere to the following guidelines as stated in the CSE's White Paper on Promoting Integrity in Scientific Journal Publications:

No specific feature within an image may be enhanced, obscured, moved, removed, or introduced.

Adjustments of brightness, contrast, or color balance are acceptable if they are applied to the entire image and as long as they do not obscure, eliminate, or misrepresent any information present in the original.

The grouping of images from different parts of the same gel, or from different gels, fields, or exposures must be made explicit by the arrangement of the figure (e.g., dividing lines) and in the figure legend.

Deviations from these guidelines will be considered as potential ethical violations.

Note that this is an evolving issue, but these basic principles apply regardless of changes in the technical environment. Authors should be aware that they must provide original images when requested to do so by the Editor-in-Chief who may wish to clarify an uncertainty or concern.

[Please see paper of Rossner and Yamada (Journal of Cell Biology, 2004, 166:11-15), which was consulted in developing these policy issues, for additional discussion, and the CSE's White Paper on Promoting Integrity in Scientific Journal Publications, published by the Council of Science Editors, 2006.]

Publication and Production Guidelines

Proofs and Reprints

Proofs and a reprint order form are sent to the corresponding author unless the Editorial Office is advised otherwise. The author should designate by footnote on the title page of the manuscript the name and address of the person to whom reprint requests should be directed. Questions about reprints should be referred to Cadmus Professional Communications at 410-819-3912 (direct) or 800-407-9190 (toll-free).

Page and Color Charges

There is no submission fee for The Endocrine Society journals.

There will be a charge of $90 per printed page in the journal. There will be a charge of $225 per color figure for members of The Endocrine Society if they are the first or last author on the paper, and $700 per color figure for non-members. Authors must submit usable digital art that passes Cadmus's Rapid Inspector. Queries on page charges may be directed to Joy Carter at Cadmus Professional Communications (410-691-6439; fax 410-684-2792).

Rapid Electronic Publication (REP)

Accepted manuscripts will be posted online, as submitted, generally within a week of acceptance without copyediting, reformatting, or corrections. These manuscripts are citable by a unique DOI (Digital Object Identifier), which will also appear in the final printed article. Authors will still make corrections for the copyedited manuscript that will appear in print and in the final online version. When the final version of the article is published in print, it will also be published online and will replace the REP version. The REP version will be archived and will remain available for reference.

Editorial Office Archiving Procedures

The editorial office will retain all manuscripts and related documentation (correspondence, reviews, etc.) for 12 months following the date of publication or rejection.

NIH Deposits and Institutional Repositories

The Endocrine Society has signed an agreement with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) that creates a new option to comply with the NIH policy on enhanced access. This program will remove the current burden for authors to submit their manuscripts to PubMed Central. As a result of TES' participation in this program, all authors who published NIH-funded articles have no obligation to submit manuscripts to the NIH archive because TES will do this on their behalf. For more information, see http://www.endo-society.org/journals/AuthorInfo/tes_nih_policy.cfm.

Authors may archive their Rapid Electronic Publication (REP) authors' unedited manuscript PDF in their institutional archive as well as PMC, UKPMC, and other PMCI repositories immediately upon print publication - no delay is required. Authors may not use the PDF of the final, typeset version for this purpose.

To ensure that your article is cited properly, it is important that you download the PDF of the manuscript from the journal's online web site because the title page of the PDF is stamped with the necessary citation information. Otherwise, users will not be able to provide the information needed for citation tracking.

Journal Facts for Molecular Endocrinology

Publisher: The Endocrine Society

Editor-in-Chief: John A. Cidlowski, Ph.D.

Editorial Board: Molecular Endocrinology Editorial Board

Impact Factor 2007: 5.337

Frequency of Publication: Monthly

Print Journal Circulation: 2,001

ISSN (print journal): 0888-8809

Indexing: EMBASE / Excerpta Medica, National Biological Service, Current Contents, BIOSIS, Index Medicus, Elsevier BIOBASE / Current Awareness in Biological Sciences, and Sociedad Iberoamericana de Información Cientifica (SIIC)

Supplements: Contact Editorial Office for more information

Contact:
Editorial Office: The Endocrine Society
Molecular Endocrinology
8401 Connecticut Avenue, Suite 900
Chevy Chase, MD 20815-5817 USA
Phone: 301-951-2603
Fax: 301-951-2617
Email: molendo{at}endo-society.org

Endocrinology	Endocrine Reviews	J. Clin. End. & Metab.
Molecular Endocrinology	Recent Prog. Horm. Res.	All Endocrine Journals