INSTRUCTIONS TO AUTHORS

Bangladesh Journal of Biochemistry
General Policy:
The Bangladesh Journal of Biochemistry is the official publication of the Bangladesh Biochemical Society and is intended to reflect the biochemical research activities in Bangladesh and elsewhere in the world. Although the Bangladesh Biochemical Society will be solely responsible for the publication of the journal, the principal policies under which it will publish materials in the journal will remain universal in nature, i.e. it will publish all papers related to biochemistry, biotechnology, molecular biology, immunology, clinical chemistry, nutritional biochemistry and all other relevant disciplines, provided the material that is submitted for publication is scientifically sound and original in nature.
General Guidelines:
The Bangladesh Journal of Biochemistry has adopted the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals (commonly referred to as the Vancouver Style) as modified and published in 1997 by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). (JAMA, 1997;277:927-34). Relevant sections of the Uniform Requirements as adopted for this Journal is reproduced below.
Preparation of Manuscripts:

The text of observational and experimental articles is usually (but not necessarily) divided into sections with the heading Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion. Long articles may need subheadings within some sections to clarify their content.
Type or print out the manuscript on white bond letter size paper, 216 mm x 279 mm (8½” x 11”), or, on A4 size, 212 mm x 297 mm, with margins of at least 25 mm (1”). Type or print only on one side of the paper. Use double-spacing throughout, including for the title page, abstract, text, acknowledgements, references, individual tables, and legends. Begin each section on a new page. Number pages consecutively, beginning with the title page. Put the page number in the upper or lower right-hand corner of each page.
Title Page
The title page should carry (1) the title of the article, which should be concise but informative; (2) the name by which each author is known, with his or her highest academic degree and institutional affiliation; (3) the name of the department and the institution to which the work should be attributed; (4) disclaimers, if any; (5) the name and address of the author responsible for correspondence concerning the manuscript; (6) the name and address of the author to whom requests for reprints should be addressed; (7) sources of support in the form of grants, equipment, or drugs; and (8) a short running head- or foot-line of no more than 40 characters (count letters and spaces) at the foot of the title page.
Authorship
All persons designated as authors should qualify for authorship, and all those who qualify should be listed. Each author should have participated sufficiently in the work to take public responsibility for appropriate portions of the content. One or more authors should take responsibility for the integrity of the work as a whole, from inception to published article. Authorship credit should be based only on 1) substantial contributions to conception and design, or acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data; 2) drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content; and, 3) final approval of the version to be published. Conditions 1, 2, and 3 must all be met. Acquisition of funding, the collection of data, or general supervision of the research group, by themselves, do not justify authorship. All others who contributed to the work and are not authors should be named in the Acknowledgements, and what they did should be described. The order of authorship on the byline should be a joint decision of the coauthors.
Abstract and Key Words
The second page should carry an abstract of no more than 150 words. The abstract should state the purposes of the study or investigation, basic procedures, main findings (giving specific data and their statistical significance, if possible), and the principal conclusions. It should emphasize new and important aspects of the study or observations. Below the abstract, authors should provide, and identify as such, 3 to 10 key words or short phrases that will assist indexers in cross-indexing the article and that may be published with the abstract.

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Introduction
State the purpose of the article and summarize the rationale for the study or observation. Give only strictly pertinent references and do not include data or conclusions from the work being reported.
Methods

Describe your selection of the observational or experimental subjects (patients or laboratory animals, including controls) clearly. Identify the age, sex, and other important characteristics of the subjects. Identify the methods, apparatus (give the manufacturer’s name and address in parentheses), and procedures in sufficient detail to allow other workers to reproduce the result. Give references to established methods including statistical methods (see below), provide references and brief descriptions for methods that have been published but are not well known; describe new or substantially modified methods, give reasons for using them, and evaluate their limitations. Precisely identify all drugs and chemicals used, including generic name, dose and route of administration.
Describe statistical method with enough detail to enable a knowledgeable reader with access to the original data to verify the reported results. When possible, quantify findings and present them with appropriate indicators of measurement error or uncertainty (such as confidence intervals). Give a general description of the statistical methods used in the Methods section. References for the design of the study and the statistical methods should be to standard works when possible. Specify any general-use computer programmes used.
Results
Present your results in a logical sequence in the text, tables and illustrations. Do not repeat in the text all the data in the tables or illustrations; emphasize or summarize only important observations. When data are summarized in the Results section, specify the statistical methods used to analyse them. Restrict tables and figures to those needed to explain the argument of the paper and to assess its support. Use graphs as an alternative to tables with many entries; do not duplicate data in graphs and tables. Avoid non-technical uses of technical terms in statistics, such as “random”, “normal”, “significant”, “correlations,” and “sample”. Define statistical terms, abbreviations and most symbols.
Discussion
Emphasize the new and important aspects of the study and the conclusions that follow from them. Do not repeat in detail data or other material given in the Introduction or the Results section. Include in the Discussion section the implications of the findings and their limitations, including implications for future research. Relate the observations to other relevant studies. Link the conclusions with the goals of the study, but avoid making statements and conclusions not completely supported by the data. Avoid claiming priority and alluding to work that has not been completed. State new hypotheses when warranted, but clearly label them as such. Recommendations, when appropriate, may be included.

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Acknowledgements
List all contributors who do not meet the criteria for authorship, such as a person who provided purely technical help, writing assistance, or a department head or chair who provided only general support. Financial and material support should also be acknowledged.
References

References should be numbered consecutively in the order in which they are first mentioned in the text. Identify references in text, tables, and legends by Arabic numerals in superscript. References cited only in tables or in legends to figures should be numbered in accordance with the sequence established by the first identification in the text of the particular table or figure. A number must be used even if the author(s) is named in the sentence/text. The original number assigned to the reference is used each time the reference is cited in the text, regardless of its subsequent position in the text. When multiple references are cited at a given place in the text, use a hyphen to join the first and last numbers that are inclusive. Use commas (without spaces) to separate non-inclusive numbers in a multiple citation e.g. [2-5,7,10] = 2,3,4,5,7,10. The placement of citation numbers within text should be carefully considered, for example, a particular reference may be relevant only to part of a sentence. Reference numbers should be placed outside full-stops and commas, inside colons and semicolons. 

Citing a Journal Article: Format: Author(s) (full stop) (1 space) Title of article (full stop) (1 space) Title of Journal (in italics, no punctuation within title, 1 space) Publication Year/Month*/Day* (semi-colon, no space) Volume/Issue Number* (colon, no space) Page numbers (full stop).
*required for journal issues with non-continuous page numbers.
Author names: Where there are six authors or less authors, list all authors. Where there are 7 or more authors, only the first 6 are listed and add “et al.”
Format: surname (1 space) initial(s) (no spaces or punctuation between initials) (full-stop OR if further names comma, 1 space)
Title of article: Do not use italics or underlining. Only the first word of Journal articles or book titles (and words that normally begin a capital letter) is capitalized.
Format: title (full-stop, 1 space)
Title of Journal: Abbreviate title according to the style used in Medline. (See any January issue of Index Medicus). Use italics type-face. No punctuation is used in the abbreviated journal name.
Format: journal title abbreviation (1 space).
Year (and month/day if necessary) of publication: Abbreviate the month to the first 3 letters. If the journal has continuous page numbering through volume, the month/day and issue information can be omitted.
Format: year (1 space) month (1 space) day (semi-colon, no space) OR year (semi-colon, no space)
Volume number (and issue/part if necessary): If the journal has continuous page numbering through volume, the month/day and issue information can be omitted.
Format: volume number (no space) issue number in brackets (colon, no space) OR volume number (colon, no space)
Page numbers: Give both beginning page and ending page. Do not repeat digits unnecessarily.
Format: beginning page number (dash, no space) ending page number (full-stop).

Examples:
For journal issues with non-continuous page numbers:
Russell FD, Coppell AL, Davenport AP. In vitro enzymatic processing of radiolabelled big ET-1 in human kidney as a food ingredient. Biochem Pharmacol 1998 Mar 1;55(5):697-701. 
For journal issues with continuous page numbers, omit month/day and issue part:
Vega KJ, Pina I, Krevsky B. Heart transplantation is associated with an increased risk for pancreatobiliary disease. Ann Intern Med 1996;124:980-3.
Citing a Book: Format: Author(s) (full stop) (1 space) (Title of article or chapter in book† (full-stop) In (colon, 1 space) Editor name(s) (comma, editors (full stop, 1 space)) Title of Book (full-stop, 1 space) Edition statement* (full-stop) (1 space) Place of Publication (colon, 1 space) Publisher (semi-colon, 1 space) Year of Publication (full-stop, add 1 space if page numbers follow) p (full-stop), 1 space) page numbers (full stop). (Series title† (semi-colon, 1 space) vol (1  space) volume number) full-stop outside brackets.
*if other than first edition. †if applicable. 
For author names and title of publication: Follow the same format as for journal articles.
For editor names (if any): Follow the same format as for author names but use the word “editor” or “editors” in full after the name/s. The word editor or editors must be in lower case. (Do not confuse with “ed.” used for edition.)
Edition: Abbreviate the word to “ed.” (Do not confuse with editor.)
Place of publication: Write the name of the place of publication in full.
Publisher: If the publishers are located in more than one city, cite the name of the city that is printed first. If the place name is not well known, add a comma, 1 space and add the state or the country for clarification. The publisher’s name should be spelt in full.
Page numbers: Abbreviate the word page to “p.”. Do not repeat digits unnecessarily.
Series title: Write the series title in full, followed by volume number. Abbreviate the word volume to “vol” and add the volume number.

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Examples of citing books:
For an authored book:
Getzen TE. Health economics: fundamentals of funds. New York: John Wiley & Sons; 1997.

For a chapter in an edited book:
Phillips SJ, Whisnant JP. Hypertension and stroke. In: Laragh JH, Brenner BM, editors. Hypertension: pathophysiology, diagnosis and management. 2nd ed. New York: Raven Press; 1995. p. 465-78.
For a chapter in an edited book which is part of a series:
Bennett GL, Horuk R. Iodination of chemokines for use in receptor binding analysis. In: Horuk R, editor. Chemokine receptors. New York: Academic Press; 1997. p. 134-48. (Methods in enzymology, vol 288)

 Tables
Type or print out each table with double-spacing on a separate sheet of paper. Do not submit tables as photographs. Number tables consecutively in the order of their first citation in the text, and give a brief title to each. Give each column a short or abbreviated heading. Place explanatory matter in footnotes, not in the heading. Explain in footnotes all nonstandard abbreviations that are used in each table. For footnotes, use the following symbols, in this sequence: *‚†‚‡‚§‚||‚¶‚**‚††‚‡‡‚ etc. Identify statistical measures of variations such as standard deviation and standard error of the mean. Do not use internal horizontal and vertical rules. Be sure that each table is cited in the text. If you use data from another published source, obtain permission and acknowledge them fully.
Illustrations (Figures)

Submit three complete sets of figures. Figures should be professionally drawn and photographed; freehand or type-written lettering is unacceptable. Instead of original drawings, send sharp, glossy, black-and-white photographic prints, usually 127 mm x 173 mm (5 in x 7 in). Letters, numbers, and symbols should be clear and even throughout and of sufficient size that when reduced for publication each item will still be legible. Titles and detailed explanations belong in the legends for illustrations, not on the illustrations themselves. Each figure should have a label pasted on its back indicating the number of the figure, author’s name and top of the figure. Do not write on the back of the figures or scratch them by using paper clips. Do not bend figures or mount them. Figures should be numbered consecutively according to the order in which they have been first cited in the text. If a figure has been published, acknowledge the original source and submit written permission from the copyright holder to reproduce the material. Type or print out legends for illustrations using double-spacing, starting on a separate page, with Arabic numerals corresponding to illustrations. When symbols, arrows, numbers, or letters are used to identify parts for illustrations, identify and explain each one clearly in the legend.
Colour figures are accepted when, in the opinion of the Editor, they are essential to illustrate a particular scientific point. Authors will normally be required to pay the cost of colour separation and printing. Submit formulae for organic compounds as separate figures.

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Units of Measurement
Length, height, weight and volume should be reported in metric units (meter, kilogram, or liter) or their decimal multiples. Temperatures should be in degrees Celsius. Blood pressure is measured in mm of mercury. All haematological and biochemistry measurements should be reported in the metric system in terms of the International System of Units (SI). Follow the SI Unit Rules and Style Conventions (downloadable from the NIST website: http://physics.nist.gov/cuu).
Abbreviations and symbols
Some abbreviations are accepted; hence may be used without definition and may be used in the title or the page-heading title. (See Instructions to Authors, Biochemical Journal for a list). Other abbreviations, the use of which should be kept to a minimum compatible with clarity and conciseness, should not be used in the title or page-heading title and should be defined. In devising such abbreviations and symbols, the recommendations of the Nomenclature Committee of IUBMB and the IUPAC-IUBMB Joint Commission on Biochemical Nomenclature should be followed as far as practicable.
Animals, Plants, and Microorganisms

The full binomial Latin names should be included for all experimental animals other than common laboratory animals. The strain, and if possible the source, of laboratory animals should be stated. The source, and if possible the composition, of the diet of laboratory animals should be specified; this is particularly important in papers reporting the effects of dietary manipulation.
The full binomial Latin names should be included for all plant species. Where appropriate, the variety and the source should be specified.
In the title, in the abstract and at the first mention in the text, microorganisms must be given their full binomial Latin name, which will be printed in italics. A strain number or name should be quoted; this should not be italicized. Names of ranks higher than genus (e.g. ‘Lactobacilleae’), generic names used adjectivally (e.g. ‘staphylococcal’) and names of microorganisms used colloquially (e.g. as in ‘most lactobacilli behave thus’) are not italicized. The generic name should be spelt with a capital letter. Elsewhere in the text, single-letter abbreviations may be given for the generic name. If two genera with the same initial letter are mentioned, abbreviations such as Strep. and Staph. should be used.
Submission of Manuscript:
Manuscripts should be submitted in triplicate accompanied by a covering letter signed by all coauthors. The covering letter must include (1) a statement that the manuscript has been read and approved by all the authors, that the requirements for authorship as stated earlier in this document have been met, and that each author believes the manuscript represents honest work; (2) the name, address, and telephone number of the corresponding author, who is responsible for communicating with the other authors about revisions and final approval of the proof, and (3) a statement providing assurance that the paper, in whole or in part, is not under consideration by any other journal or publication source, and will not be submitted elsewhere until it is declared unacceptable for publication in this journal. Each figure or illustration should be on a separate sheet and packed flat. Its approximate position should be indicated in the margin of the typescript.
All manuscripts should be submitted to the following official address:

The Editor
Bangladesh Journal of Biochemistry
Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology
University of Dhaka
Dhaka 1000
Bangladesh
Telephone: 880-(0)2-9661900 ext 6105
Fax: 880-(0)2-8615583

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