INSTRUCTIONS TO AUTHORS

Submitting a manuscript

Manuscript and figures should be sent in quadruplicate (original and three copies) to the Secretary, Memórias do Instituto Oswaldo Cruz, Av. Brasil 4365, 21045-900 Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil. Manuscripts must be offered exclusively to the Memórias and should be typed double-spaced throughout the text, figure captions, references and notes, with margin of at least 3 cm. Manuscripts will be refereed critically by at least two reviewers; acceptance will be based on scientific content and presentation of the material.

Illustrations (photographs, line drawings, graphs and tables) should be kept to the minimum commensurate with the need to illustrate particular structures or conditions, to summarize data or to record quantitative results. Details of results presented in this way should not be repeated in the text. The author should indicate on the margins of the manuscript his preference as to the approximate placement of the illustrations in the text.

Figures should be mounted on a manuscript-size sheet. Photographs must be sharply focused, well contrasted, black and white glossy prints. Photographs and line drawings must be marked on the back with the author's name, the figure number and an arrow pointing to the top. If mounted onto a plate, the figures should be numbered consecutively with Arabic numbers. All half-tone plates should be mounted to the exact width of one or two columns. They will be printed without increase or decrease in size. Magnification must be indicated by a line or bar in the figure, and referenced, if necessary in the caption (e.g., bar = 1 mm, etc.). Plates and line figures must fit either 1 column (7 cm) or the full width (14.5 cm) of the page, and should be shorter than the page length to allow inclusion of the legend. Legends must be provided on a separate sheet; they should contain enough information to make them understandable without reference to the text. Letters and numbers on figures should be of a legible size upon reduction or printing. All lettering, numerals, etc., for figures and plates should be in Letraset or an equivalent. Type written material or computer graphics even of good quality are not acceptable.

Tables should supplement, not duplicate, the text. They must be prepared to fit in one or two columns, and should be numbered with Roman numerals. If a table cannot be typed completely on a single page, typing must be continued on separate, individual pages. Do not tape paper together, or use oversized paper. Tables and graphs must be understandable without reference to the text.

Symbols, acronyms and abbreviations (other than standard ones for units of weight, measure, etc.) may be used only sparingly in the text. They must not be used in the titles. They should be explained in full when first mentioned. Metric units must be used consistently.

Order:The manuscript should be arranged in the following order: running title, title, authors' names, department or laboratory where the work was done, name and address of the institution, summary, key words, introduction, materials and methods, results, discussion, acknowledgements (if any), and references. Sponsorships should be mentioned as a footnote on the first page.

The Summary, up to 200 words, must outline the objective of the study, the methodology, state the conclusion, and indicate their significance. The Key words (indexing terms), normal 3-6 items must be provided. The Introduction should set out the purpose of the study, give a brief summary (not a review) of previous relevant work, and state what new advance has been made in the investigation. Materials and Methods should briefly give clear and sufficient information to permit the study to be repeated by others. Standard techniques need only be referenced. Results should be a concise account of the new information discovered, with the least personal judgement. Tables and other illustrations should be used as appropriate, reduced to a minimum and duly cited in the text. Discussion should be limited to the significance of the new information and relate the new findings to existing knowledge. Only unavoidable citations should be included.

References must be accurate. In the text use authors' surname and date, e.g., Lutz (1910) or (Lutz 1910). With two authors it is (Lutz & Neiva 1912), or Lutz and Neiva (1912). When there are more than two authors, only the first is mentioned: Lutz et al. (1910) or (Lutz et al. 1910). The references at the end of the paper should be arranged in alphabetic order according to the surname of the first author. Only citations that appear in the text should be referenced. Unpublished papers, unless accepted for publication, should not be cited. Each reference should include: last names and initials of all authors, year, complete title of paper, abbreviated name of the journal, volume number, and first and last pages. Abbreviations of periodical names must follow the rules of Index Medicus and/ or Biological Abstracts. Work accepted for publication should be referred to as "in press". Unpublished data should only be cited in the text as "unpublished observations", "manuscript in preparation" or "personal communication" within parentheses. This type of citation must be verified by the author against the original document and must be approved by the persons concerned. The Editor may ask for written authorization.

Examples of references

• Journal article:

  Chagas C 1909. Nova tripanosomiaze humana. Estudos sobre a morfolojia e o ciclo evolutivo do Schizotrypanum cruzi n.g., n. sp., ajente etiolojico de nova entidade morbida do homem. Mem Inst Oswaldo Cruz 1: 159-218.

  Chagas C, Villela E 1922. Forma cardiaca da tripanosomiase americana. Mem Inst Oswaldo Cruz 14: 15-61.

• Book or Thesis:

  Morel CM 1983. Genes and antigens of parasites. A laboratory manual. 2nd ed. Fundacao Oswaldo Cruz, Rio de Janeiro, xxii + 580 pp.

• Chapter in book:

  Cruz OG 1911. The prophylaxis of malaria in central and southern Brasil, p. 390-398. In R Ross, The prevention of malaria. John Murray, London.

Short Communications should be brief and direct. Their objective is to communicate rapidly single results or techniques and will usually be published more quickly than longer papers. They should occupy no more than two printed pages including figures and/or tables. They should not contain excessive references. References should be cited in the text, in parentheses ... studied by O Mangabeira F (1942 Mem Inst Oswaldo Cruz 37: 190-201) or ... as formerly described (G Faria 1910 Mem Inst Oswaldo Cruz 2: 286-292) always presenting author's initials and complete date unless cited for the second time (Faria loc. cit.). The running title and key words must be provided.

In taxonomic papers, Results may be replaced by Description, Redescription, Revision of Taxon, etc., and Discussion by Remarks.

Each manuscript should be accompanied by a covering letter from the author who will be responsible for correspondence regarding the manuscript.

An affidavit must be provided, containing the title of the manuscript, and affirming that (i) all data contained are accurate; (ii) all authors have participated in the work in a substantive way and are prepared to take public responsibility for the work; (iii) the manuscript being submitted to this journal has not been published in total or in part, and it is not being submitted for publication elsewhere. For studies involving human subjects, the authors must assure that their work was conducted in conformance with the principles embodied in the Declaration of Helsinki, and they must include a statement that the experiments were performed with the knowledge and consent of each subject or of the parent or guardian when the subject was a child. These affidavits must be followed by the names in print of the authors, their signatures, and the dates in which each of them signed this document. Authors from different countries or institutions may sign in different sheets containing the same basic statement.

Authors should follow these instructions carefully. Manuscripts that do not conform to these guidelines will not be reviewed and will be returned to the author for modifications. If a paper requiring revision is not returned to the Secretary of the Memórias within 60 days, the revised paper will be treated as a new article.

Diskette submission: once a paper is accepted for publication, the authors should send a MS-DOS compatible disk along with the revised manuscript, indicating computer types, software, version, and disk format. The version on the disk must be identical to that of the manuscript that must be sent in two copies. Manuscripts received with diskettes will receive priority in publication.

Proofs will be sent to authors for correction of printer's errors. Other changes will not be accepted. Proofs must be returned, signed, to the Secretary by the stipulated date.

Reprints: Authors will received 30 reprints free. Additional copies can be supplied at cost.

For other details of style the authors should consult and follow the most recent number of the Memórias.