Comparative Exercise Physiology

Notes for Authors

Aims and Scope

Comparative Exercise Physiology provides a forum for presenting the results of research related to understanding and improving animal exercise and performance. Research into all animals, including humans, will be welcome. The key areas the Journal concentrates on include:

Exercise physiology

Biomechanics and gait (including the effect of riders)

Nutrition and biochemistry

Rehabilitation

Psychology and behaviour

Breeding and genetics

Other areas for consideration include pharmaceuticals and doping, ageing, environment, transport and any other research relevant to exercise and athletic performance.

Styles of Paper

Comparative Exercise Physiology publishes four types of paper:

Full research papers

A full account of a complete project with experimental details.

Short communications

A preliminary account of exciting new results for which work is ongoing but the author wants to report early findings. Indicative experimental summaries should be included.

Research notes

Short accounts of small projects that might not merit a full paper but which nonetheless would be of interest to the community (e.g. undergraduate research projects or minor aspects of a Ph.D. thesis). These might include technical notes. The full thesis should be referenced.

Reviews

Literature overviews of recent research in a larger subtopic or comparative reviews of related work in different species. Reviews will normally be specially commissioned but we would welcome any suggestions from authors for reviews they wish to write. Reviews can be comparative across species or be confined to a single species.

If the referees and editors judge a paper to be particularly significant then it will be fast tracked for publication.

We also welcome ‘Letters to the Editor’ with comments on recently published papers to encourage a dialogue between readers and researchers.

Manuscript Submission

Peer review

All contributions will be reviewed by at least two referees to ensure both accuracy and relevance. The referees’ reports will provide a basis on whether we accept a paper. Revision may be required before final acceptance. Authors are invited to suggest the names and contact details (including e-mail addresses) of at least two, and up to four, potential referees for your paper when submitting your manuscript, either in your covering letter or in the ‘comments’ box online.

Technical and Nomenclature Standards

All work should use SI units as standard.

Anatomical terms can be a mixture of the English vernacular and Latin, depending on current usage. When a Latin term is selected for use, it should correspond with the Nomina Anatomica Veterinaria. Where doubts could arise, then the first time a vernacular term is used, the Latin should be provided in parentheses; thereafter the vernacular can be used alone.

Arrangement of Papers

Manuscripts should be prepared according to the following structure:

The text, divided under appropriate headings. Clearly differentiate between primary (bold, large font size), secondary (bold, text font size) and tertiary (italics) headings

Acknowledgements (if any)

References (for further information about presenting references please see below)

Tables, either on a separate sheet at the end of the manuscript or in separate file. Tables should be numbered consecutively with Arabic numerals and every table should be mentioned at least once in the text.

Illustrations as separate files containing no text. Captions to illustrations should be supplied on a separate sheet at the end of the main manuscript.

References

Referencing should be by the Vancouver system, i.e. by sequential numbering in the text and corresponding reference list. References numbers should be raised superscripts.

You should use the following conventions when providing the full citations in the reference list.

1 Shibata I, Mori M and Uruno K (1997). Experimental infection of maternally immune pigs with porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome (PRRS) virus. Journal of Veterinary and Medical Science 60: 1-13.

2 Sanderson CJ (1999). Cytokines active on eosinophils. In: Makino S and Fukuda T (eds.) Eosinophils: Biological and Clinical Aspects. Boca Raton: CRC Press, pp. 274-287.

3 Dalton JP (1999). Fasciolosis., p. 57. Wallingford: CABI Publishing.

Tables

Tables should be in a simple form. They should not be used if text or illustrations give the same information. They should be submitted on separate sheets at the end of the article, or as separate files. Each table must be accompanied by a clear and concise caption.

Please:

ensure text figures, line drawings, computer-generated figures and graphs are of sufficient size and quality to allow for reduction

avoid the use of grey tints or complex hatching

use halftone photographs where they make a real contribution to the text

type figure captions and numbers on a separate sheet

inform the Editor at the earliest opportunity if you wish to use colour figures (we will ask authors to pay in advance for the use of colour, but we can advise on how this can be kept to a minimum if we know your plans)

Ethics

The authors must demonstrate that experimental procedures conform to the accepted principles of animal welfare in experimental science. These principles are defined and explained in the European Convention for the Protection of Vertebrate Animals used for Experimental and Other Scientific Purposes and its appendix (www.coe.fr/eng/legaltxt/123e.htm) or in the National Research Council Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (www.nap.edu/readingroom/books/labrats/index.html). If experimental methodology raises particular ethical or welfare concerns then the Editor will take additional guidance from [Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986, www.homeoffice.gov.uk/animact/aspag5.htm] when making decisions. The Editor’s decision regarding ethics will be final.

Manuscript Preparation

We kindly ask that you follow the instructions below for the final manuscript. This will minimize the risk of errors being introduced during the publishing process.

Use double line spacing and ample margins (at least 2.5 cm) on each side

Separate each paragraph by a blank line. Do not indent the start of each paragraph

Do not underline anything

Number every page

Use italics for taxonomic nomenclature and bold for headings

Use standard abbreviations (e.g. Fig. and Figs) and SI units

Specify the software used for word processing and illustrations

Identify the operating system used (PC, Mac, Unix etc)

Online submission

Manuscripts should be submitted online via our manuscript submission and tracking site, www.edmgr.com/ecep. Full instructions for electronic submission are available directly from this site. If you are unsure of the suitability of your manuscript for ECEP, please e-mail the abstract to the Journal Office before submitting online.

To facilitate rapid reviewing, communications for peer review will be electronic and authors will need to supply a current e-mail address when registering to use the system.

When submitting manuscripts authors will need to supply:

Manuscript file, to include title, authors, correspondence details, abstract (ca 200 words), main text, references and captions for tables and figures. Tables and figures should be provided as separate files and numbered as they appear in the text. Further guidelines for suitable electronic file formats can be found here.

Covering letter, stating that the manuscript is an original contribution that has not been published elsewhere in substantially the same form, that it is not currently under consideration elsewhere, and that permission has been obtained for any copyrighted material used.

Authority to publish form; please send a hard copy of the signed copyright form to the Cambridge University Press Comparative Exercise Physiology, Journals, The Edinburgh Building, Shaftesbury Road, Cambridge, CB2 2RU.

Copyright

Cambridge University Press accepts papers on the understanding that the work has been submitted exclusively to the journal and has not been previously published. Note that it is the authors’ responsibility to ensure that permission has been obtained from the copyright owner if you wish to reuse any figures or illustrations from previously published work.

Proofs

Once typeset, authors will receive page proofs by email as a PDF file. You will be asked to print the PDF proof and mark any corrections to the printout before mailing back to Cambridge University Press, or alternatively, detailing your corrections in an email to the Production Editor. You should avoid substantial changes to the text. We reserve the right to charge you for any alterations, other than typesetter corrections, of more than 10% of original text.

Offprints

Cambridge University Press will send the corresponding author a PDF file of the final published article for use. There will also be an option to purchase offprints.

(Version: 8/1/08)