AUTHORSHIP

All persons designated as authors should qualify for authorship. The order of authorship should be a joint decision of the co-authors. Each author should have participated sufficiently in the work to take public responsibility for the content. Authorship credit should be based on substantial contribution to conception and design, execution, or analysis and interpretation of data. All authors should be involved in drafting the article or revising it critically, and must have read and approved the final version. All authors will be required to submit a statement confirming that they meet these authorship criteria.

ORIGINALITY

An article is reviewed for publication on the understanding that the work it represents has not be submitted for publication elsewhere. If the work or an abstract of it has been previously published, for instance, in another language, then this fact should be made clear in the covering letter. Authors must declare, and submit copies of, any manuscripts in preparation or submitted elsewhere that are closely related to the manuscript to be considered. Duplicate or redundant publication is considered a serious form of misconduct and may be reported to employing institutions and funding bodies, or lead to a public notice in the Journal, and rejection of new manuscripts from the author.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST

All papers when submitted should contain a disclosure statement indicating any potential conflict of interest that might constitute an embarrassment to any of the authors if it were not to be declared and were to emerge after publication. Such conflicts might include, but are not limited to, shareholding in or receipt of a grant or consultancy fee from a company whose product features in the submitted manuscript or which manufactures a competing product. If no conflict of interest is declared then this should be stated in the article. The disclosure statement is not designed to discourage authors from involvement in outside activities or from receiving financial support for their scientific work from commercial sources. Rather, it is designed to maintain the scientific and professional integrity of the journal.

ETHICS

All manuscripts in which experiments on patients or healthy volunteers, patients' case histories or use of genetic material are reported should (1) contain a statement that the subjects' written consent was obtained according to the Declaration of Helsinki (Br Med J 1996;31:1448-9), and (2) the design of the work has been approved by local ethical committees or that it conforms to standards currently applied in the country of origin; the name of the authorizing body should be stated in the paper. The Editorial Board reserves the right to reject papers where the ethical aspects are, in the Board's opinion, open to doubt.

ON-LINE SUBMISSION

All submissions must be made online through the Manuscript Central website. For further instructions on the online submissions process please click here or visit the website.
In the event that this causes difficulty please contact the editorial office: editorial@rheumatology.org.uk

MANUSCRIPT PREPARATION

Each of the following sections should begin on a new page and all pages should be numbered serially.

1. Title page containing the title of the article, the authors' names and affiliations, the name, address, telephone and fax numbers and e-mail address of the author responsible for correspondence, a short title of not more than 45 characters for each page (running head).
   
2. A Structured Abstract of not more than 150-250 words, using the headings Objectives, Methods, Results and Conclusions. Up to 10 key words that reflect the content of the article and will facilitate it being found through Internet searches.
   
3. Main text.
   
4. Acknowledgements.
   
5. References.
   
6. Tables, each table should be typed on a separate sheet with an appropriate legend and footnotes explaining any abbreviations.
   
7. Legends for illustrations.
   
8. A Conflict of Interest statement, as described above, to be published in the Journal. If no Conflict of Interest is declared the following statement will be published in the journal 'No Conflict of Interest has been declared by the author(s)'.
   
9. Two or three Key Messages that readers should take from the paper, describing, for example, the significance or relevance of the paper's conclusions. The Key Messages should not be more than 30 words in total (i.e. 10-15 words each). For Case Reports only one Key Message (not more than 10 words) should be provided.

Common queries that hold up the publication of a paper:

• To provide definitions of abbreviations that are not on the accepted abbreviation list and so need to be defined at first mention.
• To provide the name, town and country of suppliers.
• To provide affiliations in English.
• To provide the significance of bold/asterisked values in tables.
• To clarify unclear sentences.
• To provide missing units.

REFERENCES

References in the text should be given as numbers in brackets, placed in line with the text and in order of appearance. They should be listed in numerical order at the end of the paper. All authors should be included in a reference when there are six or less but only the first three followed by et al. when there are seven or more. Authors' names should be followed by the title of article, abbreviated name of the Journal (as per PubMed abbreviations), year, volume and first and last page numbers. References to books should state the author, followed by chapter title, editors' names, book title, place of publication, publisher, year, and appropriate page numbers.

Examples:

1. Hirayama T, Danks L, Sabokbar A, Athanasou N A. Osteoclast formation and activity in the pathogenesis of osteoporosis in rheumatoid arthritis. Rheumatology 2002; 41:1232-9.
   
2. Mitchell SC, Waring RH. S-Oxygenase III human harmacogenetics. In: Damani LA, ed. Sulphur-containing drugs and related organic compounds, Vol. 2B. New York: Ellis Horwood, 1989:101-19.

Unpublished communications should be cited in the text in parentheses.
An Original Article should not have more than 50 references.
A Concise Report should not have more than 20 references.
A Letter should not have more than 10 references.

ILLUSTRATIONS

High-resolution figures are required for publication, but low-resolution figures are preferred for online review. (Please see http://dx.sheridan.com/guidelines/digital_art.html for acceptable formats.) Therefore it is advisable to generate figures at a high resolution initially and save a second, low-resolution, version for the submission/review process. HARD COPY SHOULD ALSO BE AVAILABLE, ACCORDING TO THE FOLLOWING INSTRUCTIONS:

Figures will be sized to fit the width of a single or a double column of text, i.e. 85 or 172 mm wide.

Any lettering should be in proportion with the overall dimensions of the drawing. Parts of figures should be labelled, preferably with upper case A, B, C etc.

Photographs. These should be of sufficiently high quality with respect to detail, contrast and fineness of grain to withstand the inevitable loss of contrast and detail inherent in the printing process. Please indicate the original magnification by a bar (e.g. 1 cm) on the photograph. When several prints of the same figure are provided, please indicate which print should be used for reproduction in the Journal.

Colour plates. Colour illustrations are accepted, but the authors will be required to pay the cost of the reproduction (£100/USD 200 per figure). Alternatively, if the colour is not critical for the image's scientific understanding, colour can be published online only, with a black and white version being published in the print version of the journal.

Line drawings. No additional artwork, redrawing or typesetting will be done. Faint or fine-grained stippling or shading or continuous-tone shading will be lost or may appear black on reproduction. Please use a coarse stippling or hatching.

Figure legends. Define all symbols and abbreviations used in the figure. Common abbreviations or those which have been defined in the text should not be redefined in the figure legend.

Any previously published material should be accompanied by the permission of the author and copyright holder for its reproduction.

MEASUREMENTS

Measurements of length, height, weight and volume should be reported in metric units (metre, kilogram, litre) or their decimal multiples. Temperatures should be given in degrees Celsius and blood pressure in mmHg. All other measurements including laboratory measurements should be reported in the metric system in terms of the International System of Units (SI).

Abbreviations for SI units and statistical terms are those in Baron DN (ed.): Units Symbols and Abbreviations: A Guide for Biological and Medical Editors and Authors, 4th ed. London: Royal Society of Medicine.

MATERIALS

When quoting specific materials or proprietary drugs, authors must state in parentheses the name and address of the manufacturer. Generic names should be used if possible.

STATISTICS

Statistical methods must be detailed and should conform with the statistical guidelines published in Br J Rheumatol 1992;31:2.

ABBREVIATIONS

Abbreviations should be unambiguous; if they do not appear in the list given below, their meaning should be clearly explained when they are first introduced.

• AIDS: acquired immune deficiency syndrome
• ANA: antinuclear antibodies
• ANCA: antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies
• ACR: American College of Rheumatology
• ARA: American Rheumatism Association
• AS: ankylosing spondylitis
• BMD: bone mineral density
• BMI: body mass index
• CI: confidence interval
• CPPD: calcium pyrophosphate dihydrate
• CRP: C-reactive protein
• CT: computed tomograph
• DIP: distal interphalangeal joint
• DISH: diffuse idiopathic skeletal hypeostosis
• DMARD: disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drug
• ECG: electrocardiogram
• ELISA: enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay
• ESR: erythrocyte sedimentation rate
• HIV: human immunodeficiency virus
• IL: interleukin
• JCA: juvenile chronic arthritis
• MCP: metacarpophalangeal
• MHC: major histocompatibility complex
• MRI: magnetic resonance imaging
• NSAID: non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug
• OA: osteoarthritis
• PI: proximal interphalangeal
• PsA: psoriatic arthritis
• RA: rheumatoid arthritis
• RF: rheumatoid factor
• S.D.: standard deviation
• S.E.M.: standard error of the mean
• SF: synovial fluid
• SM: synovial membrane
• SLE: systemic lupus erythematosus
• SS: Sjögren's syndrome
• TNF: tumour necrosis factor

SUPPLEMENTARY DATA

Supporting material that is not essential for inclusion in the full text of the manuscript, but would nevertheless benefit the reader, can be made available by the publisher as online-only content, linked to the online manuscript. The material should not be essential to understanding the conclusions of the paper, but should contain data that are additional or complementary and directly relevant to the article content. Such information might include more detailed methods, extended data sets/data analysis, or additional figures (including colour, which is published online-only at no charge to the authors). All text and figures must be provided in suitable electronic formats (instructions for the preparation of Supplementary Data are available here. All material to be considered as Supplementary Data must be submitted at the same time as the main manuscript for peer review. It cannot be altered or replaced after the paper has been accepted for publication. Ple

PAGE CHARGES

There is a page limit of 7 printed pages per article. For all pages over this limit the authors will be charged £95 (~US$180) per additional page.

PROOFS

Authors are sent PDF page proofs by e-mail. To avoid delays in publication, proofs should be checked immediately for typographical errors and returned by fax to Oxford University Press [+44 (0)1865 355863] or by email to Rheumatology. The Publisher reserves the right to charge authors for the cost of changes made to the text or the figures at proof stage when such changes are extensive. No charge will be made for corrections of errors made during the editorial process or by the printer.

COPYRIGHT

It is a condition of publication in Rheumatology that authors grant an exclusive licence to the Journal, published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the British Society for Rheumatology. This ensures that requests from third parties to reproduce articles are handled efficiently and consistently and will also allow the article to be as widely disseminated as possible. In assigning the Licence, Authors may use their own material in other publications provided that the journal is acknowledged as the original place of publication, and Oxford University Press is notified in writing and in advance. The Licence form may be signed by each author or the corresponding author may chose to assume the responsibility on behalf of all the authors. The publisher will only send the Licence to Publish form for accepted papers. The publisher will send out the form to the corresponding author when they send the page proofs for the accepted paper.

OFFPRINTS

The Publisher will supply free electronic access to each article. Printed offprints may be ordered at an extra cost at proof stage.

AUTHOR SELF-ARCHIVING/PUBLIC ACCESS POLICY FROM AUGUST 2005

For information about this journal's policy, please visit our Author Self-archiving policy page

OPEN ACCESS OPTION FOR AUTHORS

Rheumatology authors have the option, at an additional charge, to make their paper freely available online immediately upon publication, under the Oxford Open initiative. After your manuscript is accepted, as part of the mandatory licence form required of all corresponding authors, you will be asked to indicate whether or not you wish to pay to have your paper made freely available immediately. If you do not select the Open Access option, your paper will be published with standard subscription-based access and you will not be charged.

For those selecting the Open Access option, the charges for Rheumatology vary depending on the institution at which the Corresponding author is based.
0ptional Oxford Open charges:
For a Corresponding author based at an institution with an online subscription to Rheumatology:
Regular charge - £900 / $1800 / €1350
List B developing country charge** - £450 / $900 / €675
List A developing country charge** - £0 / $0 / €0

For a Corresponding author based at an institution that does not subscribe to the online journal:
Regular charge - £1500 / $3000 / €2250
List B developing country charge** - £750 / $1500 / €1125
List A developing country charge** - £0 /$0 / €0

*Visit http://www.oxfordjournals.org/jnls/devel/ for list of qualifying countries.

Orders from UK will be subject to a 17.5% VAT charge. For orders from the rest of the EU, we will assume that the service is provided for business purposes, please provide a VAT number for yourself or your institution and ensure you account for your own local VAT correctly.

The above Open Access charges are in addition to any page charges and colour charges that might apply.

If you choose the Open Access option you will also be asked to complete an Open Access charge form online. You will be automatically directed to the appropriate version of the form depending on whether you are based at an institution with an online subscription to Rheumatology. Therefore please make sure that you are using an institutional computer when accessing the form. To check whether you are based at a subscribing institution please use the Subscriber Test link for Rheumatology.

MATERIAL DISCLAIMER

The opinions expressed in Rheumatology are those of the authors and contributors, and do not necessarily reflect those of the British Society for Rheumatology, the editors, the editorial board, Oxford University Press or the organization to which the authors are affiliated.

DRUG DISCLAIMER

The mention of trade names, commercial products or organizations, and the inclusion of advertisements in the Journal does not imply endorsement by the British Society for Rheumatology, the editors, the editorial board, Oxford University Press or the organization to which the authors are affiliated. The editors and publishers have taken all reasonable precautions to verify drug names and doses, the results of experimental work and clinical findings published in the Journal. The ultimate responsibility for the use and dosage of drugs mentioned in the Journal and in the interpretation of published material lies with the medical practitioner, and the editors and publishers cannot accept liability for damages arising from any errors or omissions in the Journal. Please inform the editors of any errors.

FUNDING

Details of all funding sources for the work in question should be given in a separate section entitled 'Funding'. This should appear before the 'Acknowledgements' section.

The following rules should be followed:

• The sentence should begin: ‘This work was supported by …’
• The full official funding agency name should be given, i.e. ‘National Institutes of Health’, not ‘NIH’ (full RIN-approved list of UK funding agencies) Grant numbers should be given in brackets as follows: ‘[grant number xxxx]’
• Multiple grant numbers should be separated by a comma as follows: ‘[grant numbers xxxx, yyyy]’
• Agencies should be separated by a semi-colon (plus ‘and’ before the last funding agency)
• Where individuals need to be specified for certain sources of funding the following text should be added after the relevant agency or grant number 'to [author initials]'.

An example is given here: ‘This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health [AA123456 to C.S., BB765432 to M.H.]; and the Alcohol & Education Research Council [hfygr667789].

LANGUAGE EDITING

Particularly if English is not your first language, before submitting your manuscript you may wish to have it edited for language. This is not a mandatory step, but may help to ensure that the academic content of your paper is fully understood by journal editors and reviewers. Language editing does not guarantee that your manuscript will be accepted for publication. If you would like information about one such service please click here. There are other specialist language editing companies that offer similar services and you can also use any of these. Authors are liable for all costs associated with such services