2. AUTHORS: ROLES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

Each author should have participated sufficiently in the work to take public responsibility for the content. This participation must include:

1. Conception or design, or analysis and interpretation of data, or both.
2. Drafting the article or revising it.
3. Providing intellectual content of critical importance to the work described.
4. Final approval of the version to be published. (See Br Med J 1985; 291: 722-723.)

Manuscripts should bear the full name and address, with telephone, fax, and email of the author to whom the proofs and correspondence should be sent (corresponding author). For all authors, first name and surname should be written in full.

In a covering letter, the individual contribution of each co-author must be detailed. This letter must contain the statement: 'the results presented in this paper have not been published previously in whole or part, except in abstract form'. Should your manuscript be accepted for publication, you will be required to give signed consent for publication (see copyright section).

On acceptance, the corresponding author will be advised of the approximate date of receipt of proofs. Proofs must be returned by the author within 48 hours of receipt.

To accelerate publication, only one set of PDF proofs is sent to the corresponding author by email. This shows the layout of the paper as it will appear in the Journal. It is, therefore, essential that manuscripts are submitted in their final form, ready for the printer. Proof-reading must be limited to the correction of typographical errors. Any other changes involve time-consuming and expensive work and may not be permitted at this stage. If additions are necessary, these may be made at the end of the paper in a Note in Proof. Major changes may be subject to editorial approval.

Authors are referred to the statement on uniform requirements for manuscripts submitted to biomedical journals prepared by an international committee of medical journal editors. (Br Med J 1982; 284: 1766-1770, Ann Intern Med 1982; 96: 766-771.)

Protection of Human Subjects and Animals in Research

When reporting experiments on human subjects, authors should indicate whether the procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional and national) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000 (5). If doubt exists whether the research was conducted in accordance with the Helsinki Declaration, the authors must explain the rationale for their approach and demonstrate that the institutional review body explicitly approved the doubtful aspects of the study. When reporting experiments on animals, authors should indicate whether the institutional and national guide for the care and use of laboratory animals was followed.

3. TABLES

All tables must be numbered consecutively and each must have a brief heading describing its contents. Any footnotes to tables should be indicated by superscript characters. Tables must be referred to in the main text in running order. All tables must be simple and not duplicate information given in the text.

5. ABBREVIATIONS

Authors should not use abbreviations in headings and figure legends should be comprehensive without extensive repetition of the Subjects and Methods section. Authors are advised to refrain from excessive use of uncommon abbreviations, particularly to describe groups of patients or experimental animals.

6. TRADE NAMES

Non-proprietary (generic) names of products should be used. If a brand name for a drug is used, the British or International non-proprietary (approved) name should be given. The source of any new or experimental preparation should also be given.

7. REFERENCES

The references should be numbered in the order in which they appear in the text. References to published abstracts should be mentioned in the text but not in the reference list.

At the end of the article the full list of references should give the name and initials of all authors unless there are more than six, when only the first three should be given followed by et al. The authors' names should be followed by the title of the article, the title of the Journal abbreviated according to the style of Index Medicus, the year of publication, the volume number and the first and last page numbers. References to books should give the title of the book, which should be followed by the place of publication, the publisher, the year and the relevant pages.

EXAMPLES
1. Madaio MP. Renal biopsy. Kidney Int 1990; 38: 529-543

Books:
2. Roberts NK. The cardiac conducting system and the His bundle electrogram. Appleton-Century-Crofts, New York, NY: 1981; 49-56

Chapters:
3. Rycroft RJG, Calnan CD. Facial rashes among visual display unit (VDU) operators. In: Pearce BG, ed. Health hazards of VDUs. Wiley, London, UK: 1984; 13-15

Note: In the online version of NDT, there are automatic links from the reference section of each article to Medline. This is a useful feature for readers, but is only possible if the references are accurate. It is the responsibility of the author to ensure the accuracy of the references in the submitted article. Downloading references direct from Medline is highly recommended.

12. PREPARATION OF THE DIFFERENT MANUSCRIPTS TO BE PUBLISHED IN NDT

Original articles

Word count: maximum 3500 words, including abstract but excluding references, tables and figures.
Keywords: maximum 6
References: maximum 60

The order of original articles should be as follows:

1. Title page including the title (please bear in mind that we prefer a title to be concise yet eye-catching) and details of all authors, including first or given name, and affiliation;
2. On a separate page an abstract of ~250 words. It should consist of four paragraphs labelled, `Background', `Methods', `Results' and `Conclusions'. They should briefly describe, respectively, the problems being addressed in this study, how the study was performed, the salient results and what the authors conclude from the results.
3. Keywords: not more than 6, in alphabetical order, characterizing the scope of the paper, the principal materials, and main subject of work.
4. Provide a short summary of max 3-4 sentences pointing out the main message of the paper.
5. On a new page: Introduction, Subjects and Methods, Results, Discussion, Acknowledgements, References, Tables, Legends to figures and Figures. All pages should be numbered consecutively commencing with the title page. Headings (Introduction; Subjects and Methods, etc) should be placed on separate lines. It is important that authors number their pages prior to submission as reviewers will refer to particular pages when providing their comments on the manuscript.

Any statistical method must be detailed in the Subjects and Methods section, and any not in common use should be described fully or supported by references.

Uninvited and invited editorial comments

Word count: maximum 1500 – no abstract; Authors may include 1 figure or table
Keywords 3-4
References: max 30

These editorials are usually solicited by the editors but may also be submitted without invitation on topics published in NDT or other journals; they should be topical and highly focused.

Editorial reviews

Word count: maximum 4000- no abstract; authors may include 3-4 figures or tables
Keywords: 3-4 and subheadings are required
References: max 80

These reviews are usually solicited by the editors and are comprehensive analyses of specific topics in nephrology. Potential authors may suggest topics for editorial reviews for consideration by the Editors.

Translational nephrology

These articles are usually solicited by the editors and are intended to highlight a recent basic science article, discussing the potential clinical relevance of the research developments.
Word count: maximum 1000 words, max 1-2 figures or tables
Keywords: 3-4 and subheadings are required
References: max 20

1. Title page giving details of all authors, including first or given name, and affiliation. Please bear in mind that we prefer a title to be concise yet eye-catching)
2. Full reference of the „basic science article“ that this editorial is based on
3. A 100-200 word summary of the key findings in the article to be discussed
4. A brief (400-600 word) review of the field and in particular the question of what the key novel information is in the highlighted article. Of course the article should be discussed from a somewhat broader perspective, and contain a brief discussion on related topics
5. A 200-300 word discussion of “what is in it for the practising nephrologist?“ or ”how could / will this affect my clinical work?“. In writing your comment, please bear in mind that it should be targeted at the practising clinician. The editorial should give the practising nephrologist an idea of what is in it for them, and how this particular article or development might affect future clinical practise.
6. A one sentence summarizing the “Take-home-message.”

Exceptional Case

Word count: maximum 1000 words,
max 1-2 figures or tables
Keywords: maximum 4
References: max 10

The order of case reports should be as follows:

1. Title page giving details of all authors, including first or given name, and affiliation
2. On a separate page an abstract of 100 words summarising the case and its importance
3. Keywords not more than 4, in alphabetical order, characterizing the case.
4. On a new page: Background, Case Report(s), Discussion, Acknowledgements, References, Tables, Legends to figures and Figures. All pages should be numbered consecutively commencing with the title page. Headings (Introduction; Case report(s), etc) should be placed on separate lines. It is important that authors number their pages prior to submission as reviewers will refer to particular pages when providing their comments on the manuscript.

Exceptional cases should provide unique insight into the pathophysiology of disease or describe novel clinical observations. Descriptions of rare diseases will only be considered if they provide new information about the condition. All other case reports should be submitted to NDT Plus.

Letters to the editor

Word count: maximum 450 words
References: maximum 5, including the reference to the original source

Letters to the editor will only be considered for publication in NDT when they relate to papers recently published in NDT. They will be sent to the authors of the original source for reply.

Short Communications

Word count: maximum 1000 words, including abstract but excluding references, tables and figures.
Keywords: maximum 6
References: maximum 35

Organisation of these papers is the same as for Original Articles.

13. PREPARATION OF PUBLICATIONS TO BE PUBLISHED IN NDT PLUS

Teaching Points

Word count: maximum 2300 (excluding reference list) – no abstract. Figures, graphs and algorithms should be limited to 6.
Keywords: 3-4
References: maximum 15 and avoid textbook chapters

The NDT Teaching Point Section is aimed at a wide spectrum of readers, from trainees to the most experienced nephrologists. They will be mostly based on a case, or cases, that posed an unusual diagnostic problem owing to their rarity, or to an uncommon, misleading presentation. The goal of this section is to provide practical information on the diagnostic and/or therapeutic approach that will be appropriate, should a similar case come to the reader's attention.

The manuscript should comprise a short introduction, no more than 3 case histories, a discussion focussed on the relevant literature and emphasizing the diagnostic/therapeutic problem that confronted the Authors, a brief conclusion and no fewer than 3 and no more than 4 numbered, concise teaching points.

Case Reports

Word count: maximum 1000 words,
max 1-2 figures or tables
Keywords: maximum 4
References: max 10

The order of case reports should be as follows:

1. Title page giving details of all authors, including first or given name, and affiliation
2. On a separate page an abstract of 100 words summarising the case and its importance
3. Keywords not more than 4, in alphabetical order, characterizing the case.
4. On a new page: Background, Case Report(s), Discussion, Acknowledgements, References, Tables, Legends to figures and Figures. All pages should be numbered consecutively commencing with the title page. Headings (Introduction; Case report(s), etc) should be placed on separate lines. It is important that authors number their pages prior to submission as reviewers will refer to particular pages when providing their comments on the manuscript.

Clinical reviews

Word count: maximum 4000- an abstract of 100 words. Authors may include 3-4 figures or tables
Keywords: 3-4 and subheadings are required
References: max 80

These reviews are usually solicited by the editors and are comprehensive clinical and practice-oriented reviews of specific topics in nephrology. Potential authors may suggest topics for clinical reviews for consideration by the editors.

Images in Nephrology

Word count: 300 words – no abstract
Keywords: 3-4
References: 3-4

Images in Nephrology aims to publish 1 or 2 high resolution pictures of great clinical interest accompanying a minimal amount of text and references.

Nephroquiz

Word count: maximum 500 – no abstract
Keywords:3-4
References: maximum 5

The nephroquiz section should composed as follows:

1. A clear question should be followed by a concise answer.
2. Only one question should be formulated
3. The Nephroquiz should not be written in textbook style
4. Illustrative figures always help and facilitate visual embedding for the reader

Letters to the editor not related to papers previously published in NDT:

Letters to the editor will only be considered for publication in NDT Plus when they do not relate to papers published in NDT.

15. PAGE CHARGES

Authors will be charged £70/$140/€100 for every excess page. Excess page charges will be charged for articles that exceed: 5 pages for an Original Article, 3 pages for a Case Report, Technical Report or Brief Report, and 1 page for a Letter.

Case Reports must be 3 pages or less, and the standard length of a Letter to the Editor is 450 words. A printed page is ~850 words, but pro rata reductions in the length of the text must be made for tables, figures and illustrations.

In the proof email there is a reminder of the excess page charges levied on manuscripts that are over length. It is the authors’ responsibility to check their proof page extent and act accordingly if they are do not wish to be charge for excess pages. Orders from the UK will be subject to a 17.5% VAT charge. For orders from elsewhere in the EU you or your institution should account for VAT by way of a reverse charge.  Please provide us with your or your institution’s VAT number.

16. OFFPRINTS

The authors will receive electronic access to their paper free of charge. Additional printed offprints may be obtained in multiples of 100. Rates are indicated on the order form, which must be returned with the proofs.