Text Box: Instructions for Authors   1.  Introduction and Editorial policies   The Veterinary Research Forum (VRF) publishes worldwide contributions on all aspects of veterinary science and medicine, including anatomy and histology, physiology and pharmacology, anatomic and clinical pathology, parasitology, microbiology, immunology and epidemiology, food hygiene, poultry science, fish and aquaculture, anesthesia and surgery, large and small animal internal medicine, large and small animal reproduction, biotechnology and diagnostic imaging of domestic, companion and farm animals. Authors who submit manuscripts to the journal should carefully read this Instructions for Authors when preparing their manuscripts, because compliance with these instructions will help reduce delays in manuscript processing. A manuscript is received with the understanding that it and all revisions have been approved by all authors and that neither the manuscript nor any of its parts has been published or is under concurrent consideration by any other publication. The corresponding author must provide a signed statement to this effect. A manuscript containing information published in any compiled printed (eg, journals, symposia, proceedings, newsletters, books) or electronic (eg, Web sites, CD-ROMs, DVDs) format will be rejected on the grounds of prior publication. All authors of VRF will be required to sign a written statement transferring copyright to the VRF prior to publication of any manuscript or letter. Requests to copy, reprint, or use portions of published material (including information in figures and tables) should be addressed to the editor-in-chief.     2. Editor-in-Chief F. Sarrafzadeh-Rezaei DVM, DVSc Associate Professor of Veterinary Surgery, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Urmia University, Urmia 57153-1177, Iran e-mail: f.sarrafzadeh@mail.urmia.ac.ir           fsrezaei@gmail.com Mobile: +98 914 141 1418     3. Submission of Manuscripts Manuscripts should be submitted as attached files to the following e-mail address: vrf@urmia.ac.ir Manuscripts must be in English and Microsoft Word format (.doc). The manuscript (including footnotes, references, figure legends, and tables) must be double space typed, using 12-point Times New Roman font, 3.5 cm margins, and left justification. Manuscripts should be arranged as follows: title page, abstract, text, acknowledgement, footnotes, references, figure legends, and tables. The title page must include the title and the first name, middle initial, and last name of each author, along professional affiliations of the authors at the time of the study should be indicated. If an author's affiliation has changed since the study was performed, the author's new affiliation should be identified. The name of the corresponding author should also be included on the title page. Software programs that automatically create endnotes, footnotes, and references should not be used. Each line and page of the manuscript must be numbered, beginning from the title page. Tables should be included at the end of the manuscript in the same electronic file; however, if necessary, they can be saved as separate files. All figures should be saved as separate electronic files; figures should not be embedded in the manuscript. Simple figures such as line drawings, bar graphs, and line graphs prepared in Excel should be saved as Excel files (.xls). Line drawings and graphs that were not prepared in Excel should be scanned on a flatbed scanner. Files should be saved as .JPG or .GIF files. Figures created with software programs that use proprietary graphic formats (eg, SigmaPlot, Statistix) cannot be used; most such software programs have the capability to save figures in one of the aforementioned formats. Minimum resolution for line drawings and charts is 1,000 dots per inch. Figures that consist of images (eg, photographs, photomicrographs, and radiographs) should be scanned on a flatbed scanner at a resolution of at least 300 dots per inch. Files should be saved as .JPG or .GIF. If images were obtained with a digital camera, please submit the electronic file, rather than printing out the image and scanning it. Color figures should be submitted in CMYK, rather than RGB, format to prevent color shift during production.                 4. Authorship Individuals should be listed as authors only if they 1- made a substantial contribution to the conception and design of the study, the acquisition of the data used in the study, or the analysis and interpretation of that data; 2- were involved in drafting or revising the manuscript critically for important intellectual content; and 3- will have an opportunity to approve subsequent revisions of the manuscript, including the version to be published. Each individual listed as an author must have participated sufficiently to take public responsibility for the work. Acquisition of funding, collection of data, or general supervision of the research team does not, alone, justify authorship.     5. Acknowledgments Acknowledgments can be used to identify important specific contributions from individuals who do not qualify for authorship. In particular, individuals who have contributed intellectually to the study or report but whose contributions do not justify authorship may be named and their function or contribution described. In general, this includes individuals who provided technical assistance (eg, individuals who performed special tests or research) and individuals who provided assistance with statistical analyses. Acknowledgments should not include individuals whose only contribution to the study or report involved the routine performance of their normal job duties and who did not offer any unusual intellectual contribution or technical expertise. The acknowledgments should not be used simply as a method of expressing gratitude to individuals who had a minor role in the study. Acknowledgments of nonspecific groups and unidentifiable groups are not allowed. Individuals named in the acknowledgments must have given their permission to the authors to be listed, because readers may infer their endorsement of the data and conclusions.     6. Funding Authors are expected to acknowledge all sources of funding or financial support and to disclose to the editor any financial interests (including ownership, employment, consultancy arrangements, and service as an officer or board member) they have with companies that manufacture products that are the subject of their research or with companies that manufacture competing products.     7. Humane animal care and use All research studies involving animals must have been performed with great respect to the animal welfare. Any unnecessary manipulation or stress should be strictly avoided. A manuscript containing information that suggests that animals were subjected to adverse, stressful, or harsh conditions or treatments will not be considered for publication unless the authors demonstrate convincingly that the knowledge gained was of sufficient value to justify these conditions or treatments. If animals were euthanatized, the method of euthanasia must be indicated.     8. Style For questions of style, refer to the latest edition of the Veterinary Research Forum. For anatomic terms, use anglicized versions of official terms listed in the Nomina Anatomica Veterinaria. Refer to the latest editions of the American Drug Index and USP Dictionary of USAN and International Drug Names for proper spelling of chemical and drug names and to the latest edition of Dorland's Illustrated Medical Dictionary for proper spelling and use of medical terms. Refer to Bergey's Manual of Determinative Microbiology for spelling and correct taxonomic classifications of microorganisms. Use of abbreviations should be kept to a minimum. Except for standard abbreviations and units of measure, all abbreviations used 3 or more times in the text, figures, and tables of a manuscript should be listed at the beginning of the manuscript, along with their definitions. These abbreviations should then be used without expansion. Abbreviations that appear only in the figures or tables should be defined in the table or figure legend. Abbreviations should not be used to begin a sentence. In addition, abbreviations in the abstract must be expanded at first mention, with the abbreviation given in parentheses after first mention of the expanded term. Products, equipment, and drugs should be identified by chemical or generic names or descriptions. A trade name may be included in a lettered footnote if that specific product, equipment, or drug was essential for the outcome. Body weights and temperatures must be reported in metric units. All dosages must include route of administration and interval (eg, 10 mg/kg, IV, q 12 h).     9. Categories of manuscripts Authors may submit manuscripts for publication in the original research (including original studies, retrospective studies, and descriptive studies), review article, short communications and clinical report. A manuscript based on original research in which animals had a naturally developing or experimentally induced disease or condition will be considered for publication as an Original Study. A manuscript based on evaluation of case records accumulated during a specific period will be considered as a Retrospective Study. A manuscript in which a new technique, treatment, or diagnostic method is described will be considered as a Descriptive Study. A review article is usually written by scholars and experts in the field who have published at least five research papers on the subject in the native and/or international journals. In review articles, the results of published researches are closely evaluated, the strong and weak points are stated, and suggestions for further improvement may be made. A short communication is for a concise, but independent report representing a significant contribution to veterinary science and medicine and must report completed work, not preliminary findings: they are an alternative format for describing smaller pieces of work.  A manuscript dealing with any number of clinical cases will be considered as a Clinical Report.     10. Manuscript preparation With the exception of review articles, all manuscripts submitted to the Original Research section must include an Abstract of 250 or fewer words. The text for an Original Study is organized under the following headings: Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, and Discussion. The Introduction should supply sufficient pertinent background information to allow readers to understand and interpret results. It must include the rationale for the study, the investigators' hypothesis, and a clear statement of the purpose of the study. The Materials and Methods section should describe the experimental design in sufficient detail to allow others to reproduce the study. A subsection detailing statistical methods used to summarize data and test hypotheses and the level of significance used for hypothesis testing should be provided. When citing software products, use a footnote to cite software (eg, PROC GLM, SAS Institute, Cary, NC) and a reference to cite a User's Guide (eg, SAS user's guide: statistics, version 5 edition. Cary, NC: SAS Institute Inc, 1985;page number). The Results section should provide data that are clearly and simply stated without discussion or conclusion. Tables and figures should be cited parenthetically. Authors of manuscripts reporting gene sequences should submit those sequences to an appropriate data bank. The Discussion section should focus on findings in the manuscript and should be brief, containing only discussion that is necessary for interpretation of findings.   11. Footnotes Cite footnotes by superscript, lowercase letters in the order in which they appear in the text. List footnotes alphabetically just before the references. For products and equipment, provide complete information in the footnote, including manufacturer's name and location (ie, city, state, and country). Abstracts, personal communications, and theses should be cited as footnotes.   12. References Authors bear primary responsibility for accuracy of all references. References must be limited to those that are necessary and must be cited in the text by superscript numbers in order of citation. Journal titles in the Reference section should be abbreviated in accordance with the National Library of Medicine and Index Medicus. The following is the style used for common types of references: Article in journal: 1. Lamont LA, Bulmer BJ, Sisson DD, Grimm KA, Tranquilli WJ . Doppler echocardiographic effects of medetomidine on dynamic left ventricular outflow tract obstruction in cats. J Am Vet Med Assoc 2002;221:1276-1281. Book chapter 2. Muir P, Johnson KA, Manley PA. Fractures of the pelvis. In: Birchard SJ, Sherding RG, eds. Saunders manual of small animal practice. 2nd ed. Philadelphia: WB Saunders Co, 2000;1126-1132. Proceedings 3. Moore MP, Bagley RS, Harrington ML, et al. Intracranial tumors, in Proceedings. 14th Annu Meet Vet Med Forum 1996;331-334. Electronic material 4. Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service Web site. Bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE). Available at: www.aphis.usda.gov/lpa/issues/bse/bse.html. Accessed Feb 18, 2003.   13. Figures Limit figures to those that reduce or clarify the text. Text and symbols should be large enough that they will still be legible when the figure is reduced to one column width during publication. To ensure high-quality reproduction, symbols used in graphs should be limited to open and closed circles, triangles, and squares; axes should be labeled in Helvetica or Arial font. Keys to symbols may be placed in a small box inserted into the unused portion of graphs. For figures that consist of multiple parts, individual parts of the figure should be identified by capital letters embedded in the figure, rather than by describing the location of the part in the legend (eg, top right). Original radiographs and transparencies will not be accepted for review or publication. Figure legends must be given at the end of the manuscript. Sufficient information should be included to allow the figure to be understood without reference to the text. When applicable, stains used for histologic sections should be indicated along with the original magnification in the legend. Authors wishing to use any previously published figures must submit written permission from the copyright holder.   14. Tables Submission of excessive tabular data is discouraged, and tables should be limited to those containing data important to understanding and interpreting results of the study. Authors will be asked to delete tables containing data that could be given more succinctly in the text. Do not use tables that focus on findings in individual animals. Authors wishing to use any previously published tables must submit written permission from the copyright holder.   15. Review process The VRF reserves the right to reject any manuscript. All the manuscripts submitted to the journal are subject to review. Manuscripts are reviewed initially by a VRF scientific editor. Those with insufficient priority for publication are rejected promptly. Manuscripts considered for publication are sent to a minimum of 2 experts for external review. Identity of reviewers and authors are kept confidential. Authors are expected to respond to reviewer comments and make appropriate revisions within 30 days. Revised manuscripts may be rereviewed. Manuscripts that pass review are accepted for publication provided that authors respond meaningfully to questions and concerns raised by a VRF scientific editor.   16. Sequence of publication The VRF is published four issues a year. Manuscripts are processed for publication in the order that they pass review. Adherence to these instructions and expedient revision and return of manuscripts will minimize time from submission to publication.   Adapted from the Iranian Journal of Veterinary Surgery