Scope

The “Annals of Microscopy” provides an international forum for researchers in biological, physical and materials sciences to present and discuss new research on microscopy.

Fields of interest include: all forms of microscopy. Image acquisition and improvement techniques, along with computer-aided microscopy and analysis are included.

The journal publishes short communications, technical or scientific articles and reviews.

Regular articles feature reports of new instrumentation, new theoretical methods and their applications to microstructural analysis in a broad range of fields in biological, physical and material sciences.

The journal also publishes selected news and commentaries of interest to members of microscopy societies and others working in the field of microscopy and microanalysis.

 Editor-in-chief

Samuel Sam-Wah Tay

Associate Editors (Life Sciences)

Boon-Huat Bay

S. Thameem Dheen

Goplakrishnakone P

Eng-Ang Ling

Mah-Lee Ng

Yee-Kong Ng

Sek-Mun Wong

Associate Editors (Physical Sciences)

Thomas Osipowicz

Frank Watt

International Advisory Board

Sadakazu Aiso, Japan

Geoffrey Burnstock, UK

Hiang Lian Hing, Malaysia

Kuo-Shyan Lu, Taiwan

John F Morris, UK

Tetsuji Nagata, Japan

Harumichi Seguchi, Japan

Terence Heaton Williams, USA

Annals of Microscopy is the Official Journal of the Microscopy Society (Singapore). Submission of a manuscript implies: (1) that the work described has not been published before (except in the form of an abstract or as part of a published lecture, review, or thesis); (2) that it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere; and (3) that its publication has been approved by all the authors as well as by the responsible authorities at the institute where the work has been carried out. Copyright: when any paper is accepted for publication, the authors agree to automatic transfer of the copyright to the publisher, and that the manuscript will not be published elsewhere in any language without the consent of the copyright holder.

The journal publishes review articles, original research papers, short technical notes, letters to the Editors and short communications on the applications of microscopical techniques and specimen preparation procedures using all forms of microscopes and microanalyses.

Papers must be written in English and should be submitted in triplicate to the Editor- in-Chief:

Samuel SW Tay,
Department of Anatomy,
National University of Singapore,
Blk MD10, 4 Medical Drive, Singapore 117597,
Telephone (65) 6516 3210
Fax (65) 67787643,
E-mail: anttaysw@nus.edu.sg

When an article is accepted for publication, the copyright on it passes immediately into the possession of the printer. The copyright covers the exclusive and unlimited rights to reproduce and distribute the article in any form of reproduction (printing, electronic media or any other form); it also covers translation rights for all languages and countries.

 No manuscript processing fees, page charges or charges for halftone illustrations will be levied.

Authors must prepare manuscripts in accordance with the journal’s accepted practice.

Authors submitting diskettes are requested to follow the technical instructions printed in each issue of the journal.

Manuscripts should be divided into the following sections: title page; Abstract; Materials and Methods; Results; Discussion; Acknowledgements; References, figure legends and tables.

The original manuscript must be typed double spaced with wide margins and on one side of the paper only; duplicate copies must be photocopied on both sides of the paper to save on postage.

In order to reduce mailing costs, when a manuscript is rejected only the original illustrations will be returned.

Genus and species names should be marked with a single straight underline for italics.

Words the author wishes to emphasize in the body of the text may also be set in italics and should be marked in the same way.

The approximate desired positions of figures and tables should be marked in the margin of the manuscript. For literature citations in the text the name/year system should be used. Brief accounts of particularly interesting results will be printed out of turn as “Short communications”. These should not exceed two or at the most three printed pages.

Organization of Manuscript

1. The title page must give: first name(s) and surname(s) of author(s); title of the paper; initials(s) of given name(s) and last name(s) of author(s) with full addressees) of institute(s)- any footnotes referring to the title- address to 1.which proofs should be sent and telephone and FAX numbers and e-mail address of the corresponding author.

2. Abstract. Each paper should be preceded by a summary not exceeding 200 words.

3. The list of References should include only works citied in the text. “Unpublished works” and “personal communications” may be referred to in the text but should not be included in the reference list. References should be listed at the end of the text as follows:

a) Single author - list alphabetically and then chronologically.

b) Author and one co-author - list alphabetically by first author and then by co-author and then chronologically.

c) First author and more than one co-author - list alphabetically by first author and then chronologically, because only the first author’s name and “et al.” followed by the year of publication will be used in the text.

d) In the event that more than one paper by the same author or team of authors published in the same year is cited, the letters a, b, c, etc., should follow the year - e.g., Williamson (1990a) - in both the text and the reference list.

Entries in the reference list should be set out as follows:

Journals: name(s) of author(s) followed by initials (do not use “and”)- year of publication; complete title; journal as abbreviated in Index Medicus; volume number, first and last page numbers.

Examples:

Andersson H, Bacchi T, Hoechl M, Richtel C (1998) Autofluorescence of living cells. J. Microsc. 119:1-7

Books: name(s) of author(s) followed by initials; year of publication; complete title (in English); edition and volume if appropriate; publisher; place of publication.

Examples for Books:

Klir G.J, Yuan B (1995) Fuzzy sets and fuzzy logic: Theory and application. Prentice Hall Englewood, New Jersey.

Examples for Books chapters:

Bach L, Mayer E (1987) Physics of water and ice: implications for cryofixation. In: Steinbrecht RA, Zierold K (eds). Cryotechniques in biological electron microscopy - Springer-Verlag, Berlin, pp 1-34.

4. Figures. The illustrations must be submitted in triplicate. Figures should be restricted in number to the minimum needed to clarify the text. Information given in the legends must not be repeated in the text, nor should the same data be presented in both graph and table form. Illustrations that have already been published elsewhere are not usually accepted. All figures, whether photographs, graphs or diagrams, must be numbered in a single continuous sequence in the order in which they are cited in the text. Each figure must be mounted on a separate sheet. The author’s name, the number of the figure and the top of the illustration should be indicated on the back or on the sheet it is mounted on. Figures can be grouped into a plate with spaces of not more than I mm between the individual illustrations. All figures must he mounted on regular bond paper and not on cardboard. Layouts or single figures should either match the width of a single column (8.6cm) or the printing area (17.6 x 23.6cm). The publisher reserves the right to reduce or enlarge illustrations.

a) Line drawings: Good-quality prints are needed. The inscriptions must be clearly legible. Letters 2mm high are recommended. Computer drawings are acceptable provided they are of comparable quality to line drawings.

b) Halftone illustrations: Well-contrasted photographic prints, trimmed at right angles and in the desired final size must be submitted. Inscriptions should be about 3 mm high.

c) Colour illustrations: There is a page charge if a manuscript contains colour illustrations.

5. Legends. Each figure should have a short title followed by a concise description. Magnification of micrographs should be given either in the legend of by a scale bar on the micrograph. Such remarks as: “For explanation, see text” should be avoided. Legends are part of the text and should be appended to it in a list starting on a separate page.

 6. Tables. All tables must be numbered consecutively with arabic numerals. Each table must be typed on a separate sheet. The title of each table should provide a brief, self-sufficient explanation of its content.

 7. Proofs. To accelerate publication only one set of proofs will be sent to authors. This will show the final form in which the paper will appear in the journal. Changes made in proof should be limited to the correction of typographical errors. Any others involve time-consuming and expensive work, and the costs will be charged to the author. If necessary, additions may be made at the end of the paper in a “Note added in proof’.