AJVR Instructions for Authors

August 30, 2019

he American Journal of Veterinary Research is a were involved in drafting or revising the manuscript criti- monthly, peer-reviewed, veterinary medical journal cally for important intellectual content; and (3) approved T owned by the American Veterinary Medical Asso- the submitted version of the manuscript and will have an ciation that publishes reports of original research and re- opportunity to approve subsequent revisions of the man- view articles in the general area of veterinary medical uscript, including the version to be published. All 3 condi- research. tions must be met. Each individual listed as an author must have participated sufficiently to take public responsibility MISSION for the work. Acquisition of funding, collection of data, or The mission of the American Journal of Veterinary Re- general supervision of the research team does not, alone, search is to publish, in a timely manner, peer-reviewed re- justify authorship. Requests to list a working group or ports of the highest quality research that has the clear po- study group in the byline will be handled on a case-by-case tential to enhance the health, welfare, and performance of basis. All authors must complete and submit the Copy- animals and humans. The journal will maintain the highest right Assignment Agreement and Authorship Form ethical standards of scientific journalism and promote (jav.ma/CAA-AF), confirming that they meet the criteria such standards among its contributors. In addition, the for authorship. journal will foster global interdisciplinary cooperation in Conflicts of interest and financial disclosures veterinary medical research. A conflict of interest exists whenever an individual has financial interests or personal relationships that might SCOPE consciously or unconsciously influence his or her deci- The American Journal of Veterinary Research supports sions. Conflicts of interest are ubiquitous and cannot be the collaborative exchange of information between re- completely eliminated; they do not, by themselves, searchers and clinicians by publishing novel research find- indicate improper behavior, wrongdoing, or scientific ings that bridge the gulf between basic research and clini- misconduct. cal practice or that help to translate laboratory research Financial relationships are the most easily identifiable and preclinical studies to the development of clinical trials conflicts of interest and include, among other things, own- and clinical practice. The journal welcomes submission of ership, employment, consultancies, honoraria, paid expert high-quality original studies and review articles in a wide testimony, grants, patents, stock ownership or options, range of scientific fields, including anatomy, anesthesiol- and service as an officer or board member. Other types ogy, animal welfare, behavior, clinical pathology, epidemi- of conflicts of interest include personal relationships, aca- ology, genetics, infectious disease, microbiology, molecu- demic competition, and intellectual beliefs. lar biology, oncology, pharmacology, pathogenic mecha- All authors must disclose in the Acknowledgments nisms, physiology, surgery, theriogenology, toxicology, section of the manuscript any financial or personal rela- and vaccinology. Species of interest include production tionships that could be perceived to influence or could animals, companion animals, equids, exotic animals, birds, give the appearance of influencing information in the sub- reptiles, and wild and marine animals. Reports of labora- mitted manuscript. This includes detailed information tory animal studies and studies involving the use of animals about all relevant financial interests, activities, relation- as experimental models of human diseases are considered ships, and affiliations (other than affiliations listed on the only when the study results are of demonstrable benefit title page of the manuscript) occurring at the present time to the species used in the research or to another species or within the 3 years prior to manuscript submission. In of veterinary interest. Other fields of interest or animal this context, relevant financial interests, activities, relation- species are not necessarily excluded from consideration, ships, and affiliations should be interpreted broadly. For ex- but such reports must focus on novel research findings. ample, authors should disclose relationships they have not Submitted papers must make an original and substantial only with companies that manufacture products that are contribution to the veterinary medicine knowledge base; the subject of research described in the manuscript but preliminary or pilot studies are not appropriate. also with companies that manufacture competing products. If no such conflicts of interest existed, the following EDITORIAL POLICIES statement or an equivalent should be included: The au- Authorship thors declare that there were no conflicts of interest. Individuals should be listed as authors only if they (1) The editors reserve the right to reject any manu- made a substantial contribution to the conception and de- script because of conflicts of interest. Failure to fully dis- sign of the study, the acquisition of the data used in the close conflicts of interest may be grounds for rejection or study, or the analysis and interpretation of that data; (2) retraction of the manuscript. AJVR • Instructions for Authors 1

Copyright editors maintain a strong commitment against with- The AJVR is covered by copyright. All authors will be holding scientific or other information unless there are required to transfer copyright to the AVMA prior to pub- compelling reasons to do so. lication of any manuscript or letter by completing and sub- • The scientific editors reserve the right to seek special mitting the Copyright Assignment Agreement and Au- external review of these manuscripts from individuals thorship Form (jav.ma/CAA-AF). Requests to copy, re- with technical and biosecurity expertise to assist their print, or use portions of published material (including in- decision. formation in figures, appendices, and tables) should be ad- • Authors and reviewers are expected to alert the dressed to the editor-in-chief. AVMA scientific editors when submitting or reviewing Authors must obtain and submit a statement of per- manuscripts with dual-use potential. mission from the copyright holder (most often, the author • The final decision for publication as well as the means or publisher) if they wish to include an exact duplicate or of communicating manuscripts with dual-use potential a slightly modified version of items such as figures, appen- will be made by the editor-in-chief. An accompanying dices, or tables that appeared or will have appeared in editorial may be published. other published reports prior to publication of the manuscript, regardless of the originating source. Editorial independence Original artwork (eg, drawings or photographs) that The AVMA has adopted the following policy on edi- was created specifically for use in the manuscript must be torial independence of the AJVR: accompanied by a letter explaining the conditions under which the work was created. The letter must be signed The AVMA recognizes and fully accepts the need by the artist and specify the rights given to the authors for for editorial independence of the AVMA journals use of the artwork and the rights retained by the artist (if and grants the editor-in-chief full authority over any). If rights are retained by the artist, the letter must the editorial content of the journals, including include a statement that allows the journal to use the ma- the selection of content for publication and the terial for publication in print and online. timing of publication of that content. For these purposes, editorial content is understood to in- Dual-use research of concern clude research articles, other types of scientific Openness is recognized as a priority when making de- reports, opinion articles, news, and advertising. cisions regarding scientific publishing. Advances in molec- Opinions and statements expressed in the ular and cellular biology, genetics, microbiology, and other AVMA journals are those of the contributors and life sciences have made it increasingly possible to manipu- do not represent the official policy of the AVMA, late aspects of biological systems to better understand unless so stated. AVMA management does not healthy states and mechanisms of disease. However, these interfere in the evaluation, selection, or editing advances have also increased the potential that infor- of individual articles published in the AVMA jour- mation, products, or technologies resulting from life sci- nals, either directly or by creating an environ- ences research may be misused for harmful purposes. The ment that strongly influences decisions of the US National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity editor-in-chief. (jav.ma/NSABB) has proposed the following definition for dual-use research: Funding and support Dual-use research of concern is research that, All funding, other financial support (eg, grant sup- based on current understanding, can be reasona- port), and material support (eg, provision of equipment or bly anticipated to provide knowledge, products, supplies) received directly or indirectly (via an author’s or technologies that could be directly misapplied institution) from any third party (eg, any government by others to pose a threat to public health, safety, agency, foundation, or commercial enterprise) in connec- agricultural crops and other plants, animals, the tion with the study or writing of the manuscript must be environment, or material. clearly and completely described in the Acknowledgments section of the manuscript. If no third-party funding or sup- Accordingly, the AJVR has adopted the following pol- port was received, the following statement or an equiva- icy regarding assessment of submitted manuscripts with lent should be included: No third-party funding or support potential dual-use content: was received in connection with this study or the writing or publication of the manuscript. • Any manuscript submitted for publication that raises The authors must also include a relevant statement concerns regarding dual-use potential will be subject in the Acknowledgments section if any funding organiza- to editorial review to determine the risks and benefits tion or sponsor had any role in the design or conduct of to the scientific community and to the public at large the study; collection, analysis, or interpretation of the that may result from publication. The AVMA scientific data; writing or approval of the manuscript; or decision to

AJVR • Instructions for Authors 2

submit the manuscript for publication. Alternatively, the (jav.ma/NIHPAP) and with the open access policies of following statement or an equivalent should be included: other research funders. To assist authors of manuscripts Funding sources did not have any involvement in the study subject to the NIH Public Access Policy (jav.ma/PAPA), design, data analysis and interpretation, or writing and the AVMA has arranged to submit articles to PubMed publication of the manuscript. Central on behalf of the authors at the time of publication. Failure to fully disclose sources of financial and other Authors should not submit the accepted or any other ver- support may be grounds for rejection or retraction of the sion of their manuscript to PubMed Central, as this will manuscript. preclude submission of the published version.

Humane animal care and use Patient confidentiality and the right to privacy To be considered for publication in the AJVR, all re- Authors have an obligation to protect the personal search studies involving animals must have been per- privacy of patients and clients and to maintain the confi- formed in compliance with guidelines outlined in the US dentiality of patient-client information. For any manu- Animal Welfare Act (jav.ma/AWA), US Public Health Ser- script containing patient information (eg, patient descrip- vice Policy on the Humane Care and Use of Laboratory tions, photographs, or pedigrees) that would allow spe- Animals (jav.ma/HCULA), National Research Council’s cific animals or their owners to be identified, the authors Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals must obtain a signed statement of informed consent to (jav.ma/GCULA), or Guide for the Care and Use of Agri- publish the information (in print and online) from the cultural Animals in Research and Teaching (jav.ma/GCU- owners. Generally, such consent should include an oppor- AART) or in compliance with equivalent guidelines. If ani- tunity for the owner to read the manuscript to be submit- mals were euthanized, the method of euthanasia must be ted for publication. If necessary, nonessential identifying indicated in the manuscript. Methods of euthanasia must data can be removed, unless clinically or epidemiologically comply with AVMA Guidelines for the Euthanasia of Ani- important. However, identifying data may not be altered mals (jav.ma/GEA). If a method not recommended by the or falsified. Cropping or altering photographs to remove AVMA Guidelines on Euthanasia was used, a justification nonessential identifying information is acceptable, so long for use of this method must be provided. as the photographs are not otherwise altered. Patient A manuscript containing information that suggests identifiers may not appear in photographs. Authors must animals were subjected to adverse, stressful, or harsh also obtain informed consent to publish from any identifi- conditions or treatments will not be considered for pub- able person appearing in photographs. Importantly, these lication unless the authors demonstrate convincingly that guidelines also apply to any materials (eg, text, photo- the knowledge gained was of sufficient value to justify graphs, or videos) submitted for posting as supplementary these conditions or treatments. materials.

Institutional oversight and owner consent Prior publication With the exception of reports of retrospective stud- A manuscript is received with the understanding that ies based solely on reviews of medical records, manu- the information has not been published or submitted for scripts describing studies that involved the use of animals, publication in any compiled printed (eg, journals, symposia, including studies that involved the use of privately owned proceedings, newsletters, or books) or electronic (eg, pre- animals (eg, animals owned by clients, staff members, stu- print servers, conference or university websites, blogs, or dents, or private entities), must include a statement that social media posts) format in English or any other language the study protocol was reviewed and approved by an ap- and will not be published or submitted for publication propriate oversight entity (eg, an animal care and use elsewhere while the manuscript is under consideration by committee or institutional review board) or was per- the AJVR. formed in compliance with institutional or other (eg, gov- A manuscript containing previously published infor- ernmental or international) guidelines for research on mation may be rejected on the grounds of prior publica- animals. tion. Publication of abstracts containing 250 words or Manuscripts describing prospective studies that in- fewer will not be considered to constitute prior publica- volved privately owned animals must also include a state- tion, but publication of longer abstracts in any compiled ment indicating that informed owner consent was ob- printed or electronic format may be (note that this in- tained. Manuscripts describing research involving human cludes posting of poster presentations to conference or subjects, including surveys of human subjects, must in- university websites). Authors are encouraged to consult clude a statement that the research was performed under the guidelines for preparation of scientific abstracts appropriate institutional review board oversight. (jav.ma/GPSA) when preparing scientific abstracts for publication or presentation at meetings. In general, figures, ta- NIH Public Access Policy bles, footnotes, and references should not be included in The AVMA journals are in compliance with the Na- abstracts. tional Institutes of Health Public Access Policy At the time of manuscript submission, the cor- AJVR • Instructions for Authors 3

responding author must include copies of any abstracts of misconduct. the manuscript that have been published or submitted for The AJVR is ethically obliged to investigate all suspi- publication or that are expected to be submitted for pub- cions or allegations of scientific misconduct, including pla- lication, along with copies of any closely related manu- giarism. Therefore, authors are expected to know and un- scripts or manuscripts with substantially similar content. derstand the definition of plagiarism as well as the conse- quences. The AJVR considers plagiarism to be the inten- Publication fees and open access tional or unintentional use of another’s ideas or words as All manuscripts accepted for publication in the AJVR one’s own, without attribution to the original source. Such are subject to an article publication charge of $1,000. use can range from copying of brief passages from previ- All articles published in the AJVR are posted to the ous publications (with or without changing a few words) AVMA journals website (jav.ma/AJVR) at no charge to the to copying of entire portions of text, data, or both. authors. However, access to the full text of these articles Detection of plagiarism and other instances of scien- is restricted to subscribers or available on a pay-per-view tific misconduct will result in notification of the primary basis. Authors can elect to have their manuscripts made author, the coauthors, and possibly the author’s institution, freely available online for all to read, download, and share. depending on the extent of misconduct and nature of the The fee for this open access is an additional $1,000 per deception (eg, intentional, reckless, or negligent). Further manuscript. sanctions for misconduct detected prior to publication will depend on the author’s response to the allegations Reporting guidelines and may range from admonition by the editor to rejection To ensure thoroughness of reporting, authors are of the manuscript, barring of the author(s) and their insti- strongly encouraged to make use of the following guide- tution from future considerations, referral to the author’s lines, if applicable, when preparing manuscripts: institution for further disciplinary action, and informing of other editors and the indexing authorities. For miscon- • CONSORT (Consolidated Standards of Reporting Tri- duct detected after publication, these sanctions can ex- als)—for clinical trials tend to retraction of the report, with full explanation of • REFLECT (Reporting Guidelines for Randomized Con- the reason, and reporting to other authorities. trolled Trials for Livestock and Food Safety)—for clini- Special consideration is given to the practice of text cal trials in livestock and food safety recycling, also known as self-plagiarism, which refers to an • STARD (Standards for the Reporting of Diagnostic Ac- author’s use of his or her own previously published text. curacy Studies)—for diagnostic test evaluation Although text recycling may be acceptable in select in- • STROBE (Strengthening the Reporting of Observa- stances (eg, in the Materials and Methods section of a sci- tional Studies in Epidemiology)—for cross-sectional, entific report), it generally will not be considered accepta- case-control, and cohort studies ble. The AJVR supports the text recycling guidelines devel- • PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items of Systematic Re- oped by BioMed Central in collaboration with the COPE views and Meta-analyses)—for systematic reviews and (jav.ma/COPE-TR). meta-analyses • ARRIVE (Animal Research: Reporting of In Vivo Exper- MANUSCRIPT CATEGORIES iments)—for all studies involving laboratory animals Reports of original research, review articles, and let- • SRQR (Standards for Reporting Qualitative Re- ters to the editor will be considered for publication in the search)—for all studies involving qualitative research AJVR; clinical reports that describe features of 1 or more clinical cases will generally not be considered. For reports These guidelines and more are available through the of original research, preference is accorded to those that EQUATOR (Enhancing the Quality and Transparency of provide novel findings that could be expected to have clin- Health Research) Network (www.equator-network.org). ical or practical value within the next several years. Re- view articles should focus on subject areas in which im- Scientific misconduct portant advances have been made during the past 5 years. The AJVR strongly supports and upholds the code of Readers who submit letters to the editor must limit conduct espoused by the international Committee on them to 500 words (longer letters will be condensed as Publication Ethics (COPE) to promote integrity in the needed) and 6 references. Letters must be original and conduct and reporting of research. The journal views cannot have been published or submitted for publication gravely instances of scientific misconduct, which COPE de- elsewhere. Not all letters are published; all letters ac- fines as “the intention to cause others to regard as true cepted for publication are subject to editing. Those per- that which is not.” Such misconduct includes but is not taining to anything published in the AJVR should be re- limited to data fabrication or falsification, deceptive image ceived within 1 month after the date of publication of the manipulation, and plagiarism. In signing the Copyright As- material to which they refer. Submission via email signment Agreement and Authorship Form, authors attest ([email protected]) is encouraged; authors should that their works are original and free of scientific give their full contact information, including address, AJVR • Instructions for Authors 4

daytime telephone number, fax number, and email ad- Structured abstract dress. Letters containing defamatory, libelous, or mali- With the exception of review articles, all manuscripts cious statements will not be published, nor will letters must include a structured abstract of 250 or fewer words, representing attacks on or attempts to demean veterinary organized under the following headings: societies or their committees or agencies. • Objective MANUSCRIPT PREPARATION • Animals (or Sample) Authors should pay close attention to the following • Procedures guidelines for manuscript preparation and format. Manu- • Results scripts that are not prepared in accordance with these • Conclusions and Clinical Relevance guidelines will be returned to the authors for amendment and resubmission. Abbreviations list All abbreviations except for standard abbreviations Format (see jav.ma/StdAbbr for full list) and units of measure Manuscripts (including footnotes, references, figure should be listed in alphabetical order at the beginning of legends, appendices, and tables) should be prepared with the manuscript text (after the Structured Abstract and be- the following attributes: fore the introductory section), along with their defini-

tions. These abbreviations should then be used without • 8.5 X 11-inch (or A4) page size expansion in the text, figures, appendices, and tables, ex- • Double-space typed cept at the start of a sentence, in which case the expanded • 12-point font term should be used. • 1-inch (2.5-cm) margins • Left justification Text • Sequential line numbering The text should begin with an introduction (which does not have a heading) and then be organized under the Organization and contents following headings: Manuscripts should be organized as follows: • Materials and Methods • Title page • Results • Structured abstract (when applicable; letters to the ed- • Discussion itor and review articles do not have a structured ab-

stract) The introduction should supply sufficient pertinent

• Abbreviations list (when applicable) background information to allow readers to understand • Text why the study was performed. It must include the ra- • Acknowledgments tionale for the study, a clear statement of the purpose of • Footnotes the study, and the investigators’ hypothesis or hypothe- • References ses. The introduction is not intended to be a thorough • Figure legends review of the published literature on a subject. Rather, it • Appendices should be brief (often, 2 or 3 paragraphs will suffice) and • Tables should focus on identifying the specific problem the study is meant to address; describing how the study addresses Title page the problem, differs from previous studies, or improves The title page must include the manuscript title and our understanding; and explaining what the present study the first name, middle initial, and last name of each author, was meant to do and what hypotheses it was meant to along with each author’s professional degree and highest test. earned academic degree (eg, MS or PhD, MPVM). Do not The Materials and Methods section should describe list academic degrees lower than the bachelor’s degree the study design in sufficient detail to allow others to re- (eg, associate degrees), specialty board certifications, fel- produce the study. A subsection detailing statistical meth- lowship designations, and honorary degrees; a bachelor’s ods used to summarize data, evaluate data distributions, degree should be listed only if it is the author’s only de- and test hypotheses, along with a statement regarding the gree. Professional affiliations (full mailing addresses) of the cutoff for significance used for hypothesis testing, should authors at the time of the study should be indicated. If an be provided. Appendices and methods-related figures author’s affiliation has changed since the study was per- should be cited parenthetically. Products (including soft- formed, the author’s new affiliation must be identified as ware), equipment, and drugs should be identified in the well. Finally, the name and email address of the corre- text by chemical or generic names or descriptions. For all sponding author must also be included on the title page. statistical tests, authors are required to indicate whether

AJVR • Instructions for Authors 5

applicable test assumptions were met. When citing soft- includes individuals who contributed intellectually to the ware products, a footnote should be used to cite the soft- study or report but whose contributions do not justify ware (eg, PROC GLM, SAS, version 9.2, SAS Institute Inc, authorship, individuals who provided technical assistance Cary, NC) and a reference should be used to cite a user’s (eg, individuals who performed special tests or research), guide (eg, SAS/STAT 9.2 user’s guide. Cary, NC: SAS Insti- and individuals who assisted with the statistical analyses. tute Inc, 2008;page number). The Acknowledgments section should not be used The Results section should provide data that are simply as a method of expressing gratitude to individuals clearly and simply stated without discussion or conclu- who had a minor role in the study. The acknowledgments sions. Tables and figures should be cited parenthetically. should not include individuals whose only contribution to Authors should refrain from repeating within the text data the study or report involved the routine performance of that are also presented in tables and figures and are en- their normal job duties and who did not provide any unu- couraged to report the number of subjects included in any sual or extraordinary intellectual contribution or technical statistical calculations (eg, means, medians, and results of expertise to the study. Acknowledgments of nonspecific statistical tests), particularly if that number differs among groups (eg, the intensive care unit technicians) and uni- described variables. For each percentage, the numerator dentifiable groups (eg, the anonymous contributors or and denominator used in the calculation should also be study participants) are not allowed. Individuals named in reported. Authors of manuscripts reporting gene se- the acknowledgments must have given their permission to quences should submit those sequences to an appropriate the authors to be listed, because readers may infer their data bank. endorsement of the data and conclusions. The Discussion section should focus on findings in the manuscript and should be brief (generally no more than Footnotes 2,000 words), containing only discussion that is necessary Footnotes are to be used when referencing each of for the interpretation of findings. The major findings, in- the following types of information: cluding whether hypotheses stated in the introduction were supported, should be given in the first paragraph. • Abstracts Strengths and weaknesses of the study should be acknowl- • Conference presentations edged, and the discussion should end with the principal • Online databases points that readers should take away. The Discussion sec- • Personal communications tion should concentrate mainly on what is known in non- • Products, drugs, equipment, and other materials human animals, with less emphasis on what is known in • Statistical and computer software humans. It should not contain any subheadings. • In general, the main text should be brief and focus on Theses and dissertations the main issues. Although there are no word limits for • Other unpublished materials (eg, preliminary reports) reports in the AJVR, the main text (ie, all text other than the acknowledgments, footnotes, references, figure leg- Specific products, equipment, or drugs should be in- ends, appendices, and tables) for most manuscripts should cluded in the footnotes only if they were essential to the consist of no more than 3,000 to 4,000 words. Manu- outcome of the report or study. Products, equipment, and scripts that are excessively long may be returned for re- drugs that are commonly used materials in veterinary moval of nonessential information. medicine need not be footnoted. Footnotes should be cited in the text as superscript Acknowledgments letters and listed alphabetically after the Acknowledg- The Acknowledgments section is where information ments section and before the references. If more than 26 on sources of funding and support and conflicts of interest footnotes are required, continue the sequence with dou- must be listed, along with any disclaimers, any acknowl- ble letters (eg, aa, bb, and cc). For products and equip- edgments of individuals who made important contribu- ment, provide complete information in the footnote, in- tions to the study but did not meet the criteria for au- cluding manufacturer’s name and location (ie, city, state, thorship, and any previous presentations of the findings at and country [if other than the United States]). scientific meetings. In addition, for studies involving multiple institutions, a statement indicating where the work References was done may be included, if applicable. For information Authors bear primary responsibility for accuracy of on listing sources of funding and support and conflicts of all references. References must be limited to those that interest, see the editorial policies on Funding and support are necessary and must be cited in the text by superscript and Conflicts of interest and financial disclosures. numbers in order of citation. Journal titles in the Refer- The Acknowledgments section should be used to ence section should be abbreviated in accordance with identify specific individuals who had an important role in the National Library of Medicine and Index Medicus or made important contributions to the study but who do (jav.ma/NLM-JA). For references with more than 3 au- not meet the criteria for authorship. In general, this thors, only the first 3 authors should be listed, followed by AJVR • Instructions for Authors 6

et al. The following is the style used for common types of • Two double daggers (‡‡) references: Photomicrographs and electron micrographs must in- • Article in a journal clude an internal scale marker. For figures that include 1. Lamont LA, Bulmer BJ, Sisson DD, et al. Doppler echo- multiple panels, each panel should be sequentially labeled cardiographic effects of medetomidine on dynamic left with a capital letter in the same corner of each panel. If a ventricular outflow tract obstruction in cats. J Am Vet Med figure contains 2 or more rows of panels, the letter labels Assoc 2002;221:1276–1281. should be applied sequentially from left to right in the first row, then from left to right in the second row, and so on. • Book chapter Figure legends must be provided at the end of the 2. Muir P, Johnson KA, Manley PA. Fractures of the pelvis. manuscript, after the references and before any appen- In: Birchard SJ, Sherding RG, eds. Saunders manual of small dices and tables. Sufficient information should be included animal practice. 2nd ed. Philadelphia: WB Saunders Co, to allow the figure to be understood without reference to 2000;1126–1132. the text. Abbreviations defined in the abbreviations list at the beginning of the text do not need to be expanded; • Proceedings however, newly introduced abbreviations in figures 3. Moore MP, Bagley RS, Harrington ML, et al. Intracranial should be defined in the figure legend, in alphabetical or- tumors, in Proceedings. 14th Annu Meet Vet Med Forum der. When applicable, stains used for microscopic exami- 1996;331–334. nation of specimens must be indicated in the legend as well as the scale of the marker bar (eg, H&E stain; bar = • Electronic material 100 µm). Figure legends for ECG traces must include the 4. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service. Bovine paper speed and scale (eg, Paper speed = 50 mm/s; 1 cm spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). Available at: www. = 1 mV). Authors wishing to use any previously published aphis.usda.gov/lpa/issues/bse/bse.html. Accessed Feb 18, figures must submit written permission from the copy- 2016. right holder.

Figures Appendices Figures should be limited to those that reduce or Appendices may be provided when information per- clarify the text. Images of clinically normal animals are not taining to the Materials and Methods could be more suc- usually required, nor are images of equipment unless the cinctly and clearly summarized in tabular rather than nar- equipment has been set up in a special way and the setup rative format. Examples of information that might lend it- is integral to the study. Text and symbols should be large self to an appendix include scoring and classification ru- enough that they will still be legible when the figure is re- brics; lists of nucleotide sequences; tabular summaries of duced to 1 column in width during publication (in general, complex treatment protocols; and compositions of diets this means that all text and symbols must be at least 1.5 or feedstuffs. Copies of questionnaires and surveys also mm tall when the figure is reduced to 8 cm in width). For qualify as appendix materials but should instead be sub- text labels, the first word of each label should start with a mitted in pdf format for publication as online supplemen- capital letter, with any remaining words other than proper tary material. nouns in lowercase letters (eg, Cranial vena cava). To ensure high-quality reproduction, symbols used to Tables represent data in graphs should be limited to white and Tables are reserved for reporting of findings and not black circles, triangles, and squares; axes should be labeled for describing the materials and methods. Submission of in Helvetica or Arial font. Keys to data symbols may be excessive tabular data is discouraged, and tables should be placed in a small box inserted into the unused portion of limited to those containing data important to understand- graphs. Symbols used in figures and tables should be as- ing and interpreting results of the study. All tables should signed in the following order: be placed at the end of the manuscript, after the figure legends. Authors will be asked to delete tables containing • Asterisk (*) data that could be reported more succinctly in the text. • Dagger (†) Tables that focus solely on findings in individual animals • Double dagger (‡) rather than summary data from groups of animals are to • Section indicator (§) be avoided. Authors wishing to use any previously pub- • Double vertical bar (||) lished tables must submit written permission from the copyright holder. • Paragraph indicator (¶) For the order of symbol use in tables, please refer to • Pound sign (#) the instructions for figures. To indicate significant differ- • Two asterisks (**) ences between or among values in a row or column, sym- • Two daggers (††) bols or superscript lowercase letters assigned in alpha- AJVR • Instructions for Authors 7

betical order (a–z) may be used. If additional differentia- cologic and pharmacokinetic terms, see the AVMA jour- tion is needed (eg, if differences need to be reported in nals style sheet on the subject (jav.ma/pk-terms). both rows and columns) and lowercase letters have al- Authors of manuscripts that are not written in their ready been used, superscript uppercase letters in alpha- first language or that required substantial language trans- betical order (A–Z) may be used. lation in the writing process are encouraged to seek professional language correction or copyediting services prior Supplementary materials to submission. Such services can aid with language, gram- Additional materials that are not in themselves essen- mar, and style in scientific writing and can help ensure the tial to the understanding of the article but provide an im- manuscript content can be understood by editors and po- portant expansion of the article contents may be submit- tential reviewers. ted for publication as supplementary materials. Examples include extended descriptions of experimental methods Abbreviations or statistical analyses, extended bibliographies, additional Overuse of abbreviations can be confusing and frus- supporting data or results (eg, tables and figures), report- trating for readers. In general, use of abbreviations other ing checklists, copies of survey instruments or question- than the journal’s standard abbreviations (see jav.ma/ naires, handouts, forms, and multimedia representations StdAbbr for full list) and units of measure should be kept (eg, video clips) of relevant content. All published supple- to a minimum. mentary materials are subject to copyright. In the Structured Abstract, a term should be abbre- Supplementary materials must be useful to readers viated only if it is used at least 3 times in the Structured and relevant to the article; redundant and extraneous Abstract. The term must be expanded at first mention, content will not be accepted. Whether supplementary with the abbreviation given in parentheses after the ex- materials will be accepted for publication is solely at the panded term. Similarly, in the manuscript text, figures, ap- discretion of the editors. Supplementary materials ac- pendices, and tables, a term should be abbreviated only if cepted for publication will not appear in the printed ver- it is used at least 3 times. Abbreviations used in the Struc- sion of the journal but will be posted on the journal’s web- tured Abstract must be defined again in the abbreviations site. Ideally, supplementary materials will be sent with the list. All abbreviations should be derived directly from the manuscript to external reviewers for peer review. word or words that make up the expanded term. Whether supplementary materials have or have not un- Abbreviations that appear only in the figures or tables dergone peer review will be indicated on the landing page should be defined in the figure or table legend. Except for where the supplementary materials are posted. the abbreviations ELISA, ACTH, EDTA, DNA, and RNA, Supplementary materials should be prepared in com- abbreviations should not be used in titles. pliance with the general guidelines for manuscript style. Although supplementary materials may undergo minor Products, equipment, drugs, and other materials copy editing or formatting, they generally will not undergo All materials used in the study or referred to in the the same substantive editing provided for manuscripts. manuscript should generally be identified by chemical or Therefore, the authors are responsible for ensuring clarity generic names or descriptions. A trade name should be and accuracy of the content as well as consistency with included in a lettered footnote if that specific product, the printed version. equipment, or drug was essential for the outcome. Trade- mark and similar proprietary symbols are not needed. MANUSCRIPT STYLE For questions of style, refer to the latest edition of MANUSCRIPT SUBMISSION the American Medical Association Manual of Style Manuscripts must be submitted online at mc. (www.amamanualofstyle.com; online access requires a manuscriptcentral.com/avma. subscription; individual subscriptions are available on a monthly basis if desired). Manuscripts should be written Electronic file specifications in American English. For spelling of lay terms, refer to the Manuscripts must be submitted in Microsoft Word latest American edition of the Merriam-Webster Diction- format (.doc or .docx) or rich text format (.rtf). Tables ary. For anatomic terms, use anglicized versions of official should be included at the end of the manuscript in the terms listed in the latest edition of the Nomina Anatomica same electronic file; however, if necessary, they can be Veterinaria. Refer to the latest editions of the American saved as separate files. Drug Index and USP Dictionary of US Adopted Names and International Drug Names for proper spelling of Figures chemical and drug names and to the latest edition of All figures should be saved as separate electronic files Dorland's Illustrated Medical Dictionary for proper with the name of the figure used as the file name (eg, Fig- spelling and use of medical terms. Refer to Bergey’s Man- ure 1); figures should not be embedded in the manuscript. ual of Determinative Microbiology for spelling and correct Gray scale or black and white should be used; color taxonomic classifications of microorganisms. For pharma- should be used only when important information would AJVR • Instructions for Authors 8

otherwise be lost (eg, when certain tissue-staining pat- journals website (jav.ma/keywords) and in Manuscript terns are poorly visible in gray scale or when a color-flow Central. Doppler ultrasonogram is provided). For figures that include multiple panels, each panel should be sequentially Online submission labeled with a capital letter in the same corner of each Once electronic files of the manuscript and all of its panel. If a figure contains 2 or more rows of panels, the parts have been prepared, log on to the AVMA Manu- letter labels should be applied sequentially from left to script Central website at mc.manuscriptcentral.com/ right in the first row, then from left to right in the second avma. If you already have an account with the system, log row, and so on. Simple figures such as line drawings, bar in with your user ID and password, click on Author Center, graphs, and line graphs prepared in Excel should be saved and select Click here to submit a new manuscript. Follow the and submitted as .TIF files; however, .JPG, .GIF, .EPS, and instructions for submitting your manuscript. After submit- .BMP files are also acceptable. Figures created with soft- ting your manuscript, please check that your user infor- ware programs that use proprietary graphic formats (eg, mation (including mailing address, telephone and fax num- SigmaPlot or Statistix) cannot be used; most such soft- bers, and email address) is current. If you do not have an ware programs have the capability to save figures in one account with the system, click on Create An Account. Fill in of the aforementioned formats. Minimum resolution for all fields carefully; all fields in bold are required. figures is 300 dots per inch when displayed at the size at A cover letter is not required; however, authors are which they will be reproduced. given the option of including a cover letter when submit- Digital images (eg, photographs, photomicrographs, ting their manuscripts. The cover letter can be used to and radiographs) must be provided at a minimum resolu- explain the importance of the manuscript as well as any tion of 300 dots per inch. Images that are not available in points that the editor should consider when reviewing the a digital format should be scanned on a flatbed scanner, manuscript. Authors who have discussed their manuscript also at a resolution of at least 300 dots per inch when with an editor prior to submission should indicate this in displayed at the size at which they will be reproduced. the cover letter. Files should be saved as .TIF files; however, .JPG, .GIF, During manuscript submission, authors are also given .EPS, and .BMP files are also acceptable. Color figures an opportunity to indicate preferred and nonpreferred should be submitted in CMYK, rather than RGB, format editors and reviewers for their manuscript. Authors’ to prevent color shift during production. choices of nonpreferred editors and reviewers are typically honored. Those of preferred editors and reviewers Additional required materials may or may not be honored, depending on circumstances At the time of manuscript submission, the corre- and availability. In research fields in which few experts are sponding author is responsible for ensuring that each au- available for review or in which experts may not be thor submits a Copyright Assignment Agreement and Au- known by AJVR staff, suggestions of preferred reviewers thorship Form (jav.ma/CAA-AF). Manuscripts will NOT are appreciated. be considered for publication until a completed authorship form has been received from each author. PEER REVIEW PROCESS The corresponding author is also responsible for sub- The AJVR reserves the right to reject any manuscript. mitting copies of any references listed as in press or sub- Manuscripts are reviewed initially by an AVMA scientific mitted, copies of any abstracts containing information editor. Because of the large volume of manuscripts sub- from the manuscript that have been published or that have mitted to the journal, manuscripts are classified by the ed- been submitted or are expected to be submitted for pub- itors on the basis of priority for publication, and those not lication, copies of any closely related manuscripts or man- judged to be of sufficient priority are rejected promptly. uscripts with substantially similar content that have been Manuscripts considered for publication are sent to a min- published by the authors or submitted for publication, and imum of 2 experts for external peer review. Instructions copies of signed permission forms from the copyright provided to the external reviewers are available on the holders if the manuscript contains any tables, illustrations, AVMA website for authors’ perusal (jav.ma/PeerRvw). or appendices that have been published previously. This Identity of peer reviewers is kept confidential; identity of material should be submitted electronically (eg, by scan- authors is not. ning and uploading with the manuscript or by uploading Authors are expected to respond to reviewer com- the electronic file). ments and make appropriate revisions within 14 days (mi- nor revisions) or 21 days (major revisions). Revised man- Keywords uscripts may be reviewed again by the original peer re- During manuscript submission, authors will be viewers or by others when those individuals are unavaila- prompted to supply keywords to describe the topic of the ble. Manuscripts that pass peer review are accepted for manuscript to facilitate indexing and aid in the selection of publication provided that authors respond meaningfully to reviewers. In choosing their keywords, authors must use questions and concerns raised by an AVMA scientific the list of manuscript keywords available on the AVMA editor. AJVR • Instructions for Authors 9

SEQUENCE OF PUBLICATION Once a manuscript has satisfied all reviewer concerns sponding author to ensure that the editorial changes are and passed peer review, a provisional letter of acceptance accurate and acceptable and to address any editor que- will be issued. Final acceptance is contingent on the au- ries. Concerns regarding editorial changes must be ad- thors responding meaningfully to suggestions and ques- dressed at this stage, not at the galley stage. Authors tions raised by the scientific editor at the time of editing. should carefully and thoroughly review the edited manu- Manuscripts are typically processed for publication in the script, make any additional changes that are necessary, order that they pass peer review, except for manuscripts and upload the final version to the journal’s online manu- dealing with emerging or zoonotic diseases, public health, script-tracking system. The returned manuscript will be or biodefense, which are prepared for publication as soon reviewed by the editor, who will ensure all queries have as they pass peer review. Adherence to these author in- been addressed and then issue a letter of final acceptance. structions and expedient revision and return of manu- After final acceptance, manuscripts will be sent to the scripts will minimize time from submission to publication. journal’s production staff for assignment to an issue, The time until a manuscript is edited will vary depending copyediting, and layout. Once a manuscript has been as- on the number of manuscripts already in line for editing signed to an issue and copyedited, the corresponding au- at the time of provisional acceptance. thor will be notified via email regarding when the manu- All manuscripts are subject to editing by a scientific script will be published and when the galley proof will be editor prior to publication. Editorial changes are made to available for review. The galley proof will be sent via email maintain consistency, improve clarity, smooth transitions, to the corresponding author (or designee, if alternate ar- or make the report more understandable for the journal’s rangements have been made) for approval approximately general readership. Other changes are made to comply 4 to 6 weeks after the final acceptance letter is issued. with the journal’s editorial style, such as placement of su- Galley changes must be returned within 48 hours. perscript numbers and letters, use of abbreviations, and Changes should be limited to those that affect the accu- formatting of footnotes and references. During editing, racy of the information presented and should not include questions may emerge about the intended meaning of changes in wording that do not affect overall accuracy of terms or phrases, information that appears to be missing, the report. and other elements that may have been missed during the An invoice for the $1,000 article publication charge, peer review process. due on receipt, will be emailed to the corresponding au- The edited manuscript will be returned to the corre- thor approximately 45 days prior to publication.

AJVR • Instructions for Authors 10