Manuscript Submission A submitted manuscript must be an original contribution not previously published (except as an abstract or preliminary report), must not be under consideration for publication elsewhere, and if accepted, must not be published elsewhere in similar form, in any language, without the consent of Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. Each person listed as an author is expected to have participated in the study to a significant extent. Although the editors and referees make every effort to ensure the validity of published manuscripts; the final responsibility rests with the authors, not with the journal, its editors, or the publisher.
	General Format Depending upon the journal, three, four, or five copies of the manuscript should be submitted in English on high quality white paper. One copy must be an original; the remaining copies may be photocopies. Manuscripts should be printed on standard 8 1/2 x 11-inch (21 x 28-cm) paper with at least a 1-inch (2.5 cm) margin on all sides. Total number of words used should be clearly stated on the title page. Double spacing should be used throughout the manuscript including legends, footnotes, tables, and references, and print on one side of the sheet only. Beginning with the title page, number the pages consecutively in the top right hand corner of each page. Abbreviations should be those accepted internationally, and all should be defined where they first appear in the text. Systeme Internationale (SI) units should be used where appropriate. LWW also encourages you to submit all manuscript on disk along with hard copy. Some journal web sites also offer the capability to submit manuscript online. Some also allow authors to e-mail manuscript to the journal. For more information on electronic submission, both before and after manuscript approval, view the guidelines for electronic manuscript submission.
	Title Page At minimum, the title page should carry the full title of not more than 120 characters and a 'running head' of not more than 40 characters including spaces. The title page should also include the first name in full, middle initial and last name of each author, including highest academic degrees and affiliations. If the work is to be attributed to a department or institution, its full name and location should be included. Disclaimers, if any, should appear on the title page, as should the name and address, fax number, telephone number, and e-mail address of the author responsible for correspondence concerning the manuscript, and the name and address of the author to whom requests for reprints should be made. If reprints are not to be made available, a statement to this effect should be included. Individual journal requirements may vary.
	Abstract/Keywords (See specific journal guidelines.)
	Text Define abbreviations at first mention in text and in each table and figure. If a brand name is cited, supply the manufacturer's name and address (city and state/country). Acknowledge all forms of support, including pharmaceutical and industry support, in an Acknowledgments paragraph. Full papers of an experimental or observational nature should be divided into sections headed Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, and Discussion, although Editorial Reviews may require a different format. Introduction: Clearly state the purpose of the article. Summarize the rationale for the study or observation, providing the scientific context for the study being reported. Give only strictly pertinent references, and do not review the subject exhaustively. Methods: Clearly describe your selection of the observational or experimental subjects (human or nonhuman). Identify the methods, apparatus (include manufacturer's name and address in parentheses), and procedures in sufficient detail to allow other workers to reproduce the results. Give the references to established methods, including statistical analyses. Provide references and brief descriptions of 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. Include numbers of observations and the statistical significance of findings, when appropriate. For studies involving living subjects, please see the section on Ethical and Humane Considerations later in these instructions. Results: Present results using text, tables, and illustrations. Use a format that most concisely and clearly presents the information. Data in table or illustration form should be referenced in the text, not repeated (i.e., detailed information should not be given in text and tables). Discussion: Emphasize new and important findings and aspects of the study, and the conclusions to be drawn. Include implications of the findings and the limitations, and relate the observations to other relevant studies. Link your conclusions with the study's goals. Avoid unqualified statements and allusions to work that has not been completed. State new hypotheses when appropriate, but clearly label them as such. Recommendations, when called for, should be included.
	Abbreviations Write out the full term for each abbreviation at its first use unless it is a standard unit of measure. Units of measurement: Measurements of distance/length and weight must be expressed in metric units only. Clinical laboratory and hematologic data must be expressed in SI units with, if desired, present conventional metric units in parentheses. At first mention of terminology in the abstract, text, each figure legend, and each table, spell out in full and follow immediately with the abbreviation (enclosed within parentheses). Continue using abbreviations consistently; do not revert to the spelled-out term. Do not synthesize new or unusual abbreviations.
	Acknowledgements Acknowledgements should be made only to those who have made a substantial contribution to the study. Authors are responsible for obtaining written permission from people acknowledged by name in case readers infer their endorsement of data and conclusions.
	References The authors are responsible for the accuracy of the references. Key the references at the end of the manuscript. Cite the references in text in the order of appearance. Cite unpublished data, such as papers submitted but not yet accepted for publication or personal communications, in parentheses in the text. (See specific journal guidelines.)
	Illustrations (See Illustration Guidelines or specific journal guidelines.)
	Style (See specific journal guidelines.)
	Reprints Authors will receive a reprint order form with the page proofs that includes reprint costs. Reprint requests should be returned with the corrected proofs, if possible. Reprints are normally shipped 6 to 8 weeks after publication of the issue in which the item appears. Contact the Reprint Department with any questions.
	Permissions Authors must submit written permission from the copyright owner (usually the publisher) to use direct quotations, tables, or illustrations that have appeared in copyrighted form elsewhere, along with complete details about the source--even if the document is by the authors of the submitted paper. Permission in writing should also be obtained for citations of unpublished data, personal communications and papers still in press. Copyright of articles published in this journal is the property of Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, to the extent transferable.
	Patient Consent Patient Identification. Do not use patients' names, initials, or hospital numbers. An individual (other than an author) must not be recognizable in photographs unless written consent of the subject has been obtained and is provided at the time of submission. It is the author's responsibility to ensure that a patient's anonymity be carefully protected and to verify that any experimental investigation with human (or animal) subjects reported in the manuscript was performed with informed consent and following all the guidelines for experimental investigation with human subjects required by the institution(s) with which all the authors are affiliated. Authors should mask patients' eyes and remove patients' names from figures unless they obtain written consent (.pdf file) from the patients and submit written consent with the manuscript.
	Copyright Copyright on all articles published will be held by the publisher, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins except with regard to some society journals. In view of the present U.S. copyright law, effective January 1, 1978, it is necessary that each co-author of a submitted manuscript sign a statement expressly transferring copyright in the event the paper is published in the journal. A copyright transfer form will be sent to the corresponding author by the editor's office when receipt of a manuscript is acknowledged. Some copyright transfer forms are also available on individual journal web sites. An outline of author rights is available on the Author Support Center.
	Manuscript Checklist Three or four copies of complete manuscript (one original and the rest copies) Three sets of clearly labeled figures Cover letter Title page Abstract References double-spaced Corresponding author designated (in cover letter and on title page) Permission to reproduce copyrighted materials or signed patient consent forms Acknowledgments listed for grants and technical support Materials packed in extra-strength envelope Manuscript Authorship Responsibility, Financial Disclosure, and Copyright Transfer form signed by each author Disk and high-quality print of electronic art