Health Physics
Online Submission and Review System
Author Guidelines (this page)
Copyright Transfer (PDF)
Submission Form (PDF)
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ePrints
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Author Guidelines

Health Physics welcomes original, unpublished manuscripts (English language only) in the theoretical or applied fields of radiation safety, including ionizing and nonionizing radiation. Topics not dealing with some aspect of radiation safety are unsuitable for publication in Health Physics. Authors submitting to Health Physics (HP) and Operational Radiation Safety (ORS) are encouraged to submit manuscripts online through the journal’s Web site at http://hpj.editorialmanager.com.

Author Responsibility and Acknowledgment

Authors are responsible for the entire content of their manuscript, including text, tables, figures, and references. While every effort is made by the publishers and Editorial Board to ensure that no inaccurate or misleading data, opinions, or statements appear in Health Physics, they wish to make it clear that the data and opinions appearing in the articles and advertisements herein are the sole responsibility of the contributor or advertiser concerned. Accordingly, the publisher, editors, and their respective employers, officers, and agents accept no responsibility or liability for the consequences of any such inaccurate or misleading data, opinions, or statements.

Ethical/Legal Considerations

A submitted manuscript must be an original contribution not previously published (except as an abstract or a preliminary report), must not be under consideration for publication elsewhere, and, if accepted, must not be published elsewhere in similar form, in any language, without the consent of Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.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.

Copyright: All authors must sign a copy of the Journal’s "Authorship Responsibility, Financial Disclosure, and Copyright Transfer" form and submit it at the time of manuscript submission. The form can be printed from the PDF, signed, and either scanned back in and submitted or mailed to the Editorial Office.

Compliance with NIH and Other Research Funding Agency Accessibility Requirements
A number of research funding agencies now require or request authors to submit the post-print (the article after peer review and acceptance but not the final published article) to a repository that is accessible online by all without charge. As a service to our authors, LWW will identify to the National Library of Medicine (NLM) articles that require deposit and will transmit the post-print of an article based on research funded in whole or in part by the National Institutes of Health, Wellcome Trust, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, or other funding agencies to PubMed Central. The revised Copyright Transfer Agreement provides the mechanism.

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. Any permissions fees that might be required by the copyright owner are the responsibility of the authors requesting use of the borrowed material, not the responsibility of Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

Patient anonymity and informed consent: 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 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 from the patients and submit written consent with the manuscript.

Preparation of Manuscript

Manuscripts that do not adhere to the following instructions will be returned to the corresponding author for technical revision before undergoing peer review.

Manuscript submission: Authors are strongly encouraged to submit their manuscripts through the Web-based tracking system at http://hpj.editorialmanager.com. The site contains guidelines for electronic submission of manuscripts, instructions and advice on how to use the system, guidance on the creation/scanning and saving of electronic art, and supporting documentation. In addition to allowing authors to submit manuscripts on the Web, the site allows authors to follow the progression of their manuscript through the peer-review process. Editorial manager supports the following programs for Health Physics and Operational Radiation Safety: Word, WordPerfect, RTF, TXT, LaTeX2e, AMSTex, PICT, TIFF, EPS, and PowerPoint. We prefer that the manuscript text file and any table files be submitted using Word. Figures should be submitted as TIFF (tagged image file format), EPS (encapsulated PostScript), or PPT (PowerPoint) files. Authors who do submit their manuscripts through the Web-!
based tracking system are asked not to send hard copies of the manuscript to the editorial office. They may, however, send to the editorial office any artwork, letters, or files that cannot be submitted electronically. Authors who do not have Internet access may mail their manuscripts to the appropriate address:

Address HP submissions to:
Michael T. Ryan
Editor, Health Physics Journal
Editorial Office
402 Corey Blvd.
Summerville SC 29483
843-875-4604 (phone)
843-832-5643 (fax)

Address ORS submissions to:
Craig Little
896 Overview Rd.
Grand Junction, CO 81506
Business Phone: (970) 260-2810
Fax: (309) 214-5624

Authors who mail their manuscripts should provide electronic copies of all files on diskette or CD-ROM with their original submission.

Health Physics manuscripts include Papers, Review Articles, Notes, Operational Topics, Forum articles, and Letters. All manuscripts must be submitted in accordance with the following rules:

Manuscripts must be double-spaced and typewritten (no dot matrix) on one side of 216 × 279 mm (81/2 × 11 in.) paper with pages numbered consecutively. Margins along all edges should be at least 2.5 cm (1 in.) wide. Please do not submit work in LaTeX or other such math/text programs, as these are subject to symbol-translation errors occurring in the production process. Please do not embed tables and figures in the text, even if you are submitting hard copy. These can be in the same file, but they should come after the text. During the production process, they will be inserted in your proofs at the points in the text where they are discussed.

Title page: Include on the title page (a) complete manuscript title, (b) authors’ full names and affiliations (each affiliation should be designated as a footnote, see the section on footnotes below), (c) name and address for correspondence, including fax number, telephone number, and email address, and (d) all sources of support that require acknowledgment. Email addresses are included at the end of the corresponding author’s address. If you are the corresponding author and would prefer not to publish your email, please notify the Editorial Office.

The title page must also include disclosure of funding received for this work from any of the following organizations: National Institutes of Health (NIH); Wellcome Trust; Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI); and other(s).

Abstract and keywords: An abstract is one concise paragraph depicting the most important information of the manuscript. The abstract should contain a short statement of the purpose or objectives of the study, a brief description of the methods, and major conclusions. Abstracts must be included with Papers, Review Articles, Notes, Operational Topics, and Forum articles. Limit the abstract to 250 words. Do not cite references in the abstract. Do not use abbreviations and acronyms. Avoid first person whenever possible. List four keywords. List four words. A list of key words is available by clicking here.

PLEASE NOTE: Before your PDF file is built, you should upload your tables and figures as separate files from the manuscript--they should not appear as part of the manuscript text. You will see a pull down menu bar for the file description. You can select "Table" and then upload the table files one at a time (i.e. if you have 5 tables this would be done 5 times--once for each table). You should also do this for your figures--upload all figures as separate files and just change the description of the file to "Figure." This is done for production reasons. When we used paper we asked that each table or figure be submitted on a separate sheet of paper (one item per page) and it is the same principle here. Tables should be submitted as .doc files and figures should be submitted as TIFF (tagged image file format), EPS (encapsulated PostScript) , or PPT (PowerPoint) files.

MANUSCRIPT CLASSIFICATION

When submitting your manuscript to Health Physics, please be sure to classify it according to the following definitions:

• Paper: A full treatment of new and original research or a thorough examination of an applied problem. A Paper must be the first publication of original research results and in a form whereby readers can repeat the experiments and test the conclusions. A Paper will define a problem, describe the methods to study the problem, present new results, put the results into perspective with existing literature, and extend our knowledge of the subject.

• Review Article: A summary, analysis, or synthesis of information that has already been published. While most Review Articles will deal with a scientific topic, some will review an operational health physics problem. A Review Article will normally have only one or two authors who are experts on the subject.

• Note: A preliminary or short communication that adds to our knowledge of the problem or describes a technique or approach to a problem. A scientific Note may contain original data often accompanied by interesting speculation but may not necessarily tie down all loose ends or make conclusions about the overall aspects of the research problem. Final conclusions about an overall research problem are often reserved for the full Paper. The overall length of a Note should not exceed four Journal pages (12 typed, double-spaced pages).

• Operational Topics article: An Operational Topics manuscript may describe an applied problem or investigation along with methodology and discussion of results, or it may provide a complete description and evaluation of an operational program that has proven successful and may be useful to others. Shorter manuscripts in this section may be a brief but complete description of one aspect of an applied program, such as a new approach to personnel monitoring, a unique instrument calibration facility, or some other element of a program. Results of measurements should be included to demonstrate improvements in programs, validate models, show trends, or otherwise strengthen papers.

• Forum article: A Forum article offers an opinion from an expert in the subject described, sets direction for the profession, or reviews a current professional problem. Committee reports and Health Physics Society position papers are published as Forum articles.

• Letter: A Letter presents a single piece of new information, comments on editorial policy or content of Health Physics, or responds to criticism or comments in another Letter.

REVISION OF MANUSCRIPTS

• Revised manuscripts returned within one month will receive priority handling status by the Editorial Office staff and associate editors.

• Revised manuscripts must be submitted within six months to remain in active status. Manuscripts returned after six months will be treated as new submissions and will require further peer review.

• Either incorporate the reviewers' and associate editor's comments into the text and art, or rebut them on a point-by-point basis in the cover letter.

Note: It is imperative that the authors ensure that the file is the most recent version of the manuscript.

GENERAL STYLE REQUIREMENTS

  1. The full name of elements should be spelled out (strontium, iodine) except when nuclide mass numbers are used (90Sr, 131I)
  2. Abbreviate when preceded by a numeral and when part of the following type of construction: 10 mL kg-1
  3. Use negative exponents instead of slashes, e.g., 1 Gy y-1 rather than 1 Gy/y. For text, avoid slash constructions, e.g., change "he/she" to "he or she." Use a colon to separate numerals (1:4).
  4. Do not use "E-notation." Use power of 10 in text, tables, and figures, e.g., 2.58 x
    10-4
  5. Do not use the historic names RaA, RaB, RaC, ThA, ThB, etc. 218Po, 214Pb, 214Bi, etc., should be used instead.
  6. Use numerals for numbers ≥ 10, e.g., 2.5 billion; numbers in a series (in a sentence) when one of them is ≥ 10; numbers used

• For general science writing questions, see the Council of Science Editors (formerly Council of Biology Editors, CBE) Scientific Style and Format, Sixth Edition. Use Merriam Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary, Tenth Edition, for specific word usage and spelling preferences.

• Use third-person voice when writing the manuscript; avoid using first-person voice.

• Be sure to include the following section headings with a Paper or Note, and other manuscripts as they apply: Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion, and Conclusions. Operational Topics manuscripts, Forum articles, and Review Articles may have some variation of these section headings.

• Indent all paragraphs but the first.

• Center, but do not underline, main headings.

• Capitalization: In titles and first order headings (Introduction, Materials and Methods, etc.) use uppercase. In secondary headings, table titles, and figure legends, capitalize only the first word and proper nouns. Do not capitalize designative terms except as follows: Fig. 1, Table 1, Axis I, Appendix A. Do not capitalize case 1, group 2, type 3, cluster A, criterion A, etc. Capitalize and spell out "Table" in the text. Abbreviate "Figure" as "Fig." in all cases.

• The full name of elements should be spelled out (strontium, iodine) except when nuclide mass numbers are used (90Sr, 131I).

• Spell out acronyms (initialisms) at their first use in the text, then give the acronym in parentheses. In most cases, once an acronym has been introduced, it should be used throughout. Expand if used fewer than three times. In tables and figures, expand abbreviations only if not used in text. Abbreviations are used for most units of measure. Abbreviate when preceded by a numeral and when part of the following type of construction: 10 mL kg-1.

• Use American English versions for spelling, e.g., stomas, not stomata (obvious exceptions: data, bacteria, criteria, etc.). Drop the -ue endings in such words as catalog, analog, dialog (Exception: use technique, not technic).

• -ogic vs. -ogical: retain -al (e.g., radiological, biological, etc.).

• List the day before the month and year when referring to specific dates (1 January 2004, not January 1, 2004).

• Spell out numbers one through nine unless they precede a unit; spell out the words gamma, alpha, and beta unless used as a variable in an equation.

• Use negative exponents instead of slashes, e.g., 1 Gy y-1 rather than 1 Gy/y. For text, avoid slash constructions, e.g., change "he/she" to "he or she." Use a colon to separate numerals (1:4).

• Do not use "E-notation." Use power of 10 in text, tables, and figures, e.g., 2.58 × 10-4 rather than 2.58 E-4.

• Do not use the historic names RaA, RaB, RaC, ThA, ThB, etc. 218Po, 214Pb, 214Bi, etc., should be used instead.

• Abbreviations of units and the symbol for percentage (%) must be used only when preceded by a numeral, e.g., 30% or 1 Bq.

• Use zero before decimals, i.e., 0.1, not .1.

• Avoid end-of-line hyphenations to prevent typesetting confusion. It is acceptable to justify the margins.

• In the text, where trademarked items and other equipment are first mentioned, include the complete product designation and manufacturer's full name and address in parentheses. Capitalize trade names. Registered symbol or trademark not required.

• Use serial commas throughout. Use commas in numerals with 4+ digits (e.g., 4,000; 58,000). For short lists, use bullets or numbered-list style. For run-in lists and items, use numbers in parentheses: (1), (2), etc.

• Use numerals for numbers ≥ 10, e.g., 2.5 billion; numbers in a series (in a sentence) when one of them is ≥10; numbers used with terms of measure; time; ages; numbers indicating serial position (case 3, experiment 2, grade 1); and everything possible in tables. Spell out numbers <10.

• Do not omit digits in ranges (1975-1980, not 1975-80; pages 234-239, not 234-9).

With percentages: 40-50% (don’t duplicate % sign). Use en dashes for ranges in text and in tables.

• Double parentheses (one set within another) are okay with chemical compounds; otherwise, use brackets first: [()]. For triple parentheses, from the inside out, use parentheses, then brackets, then braces: {[()]}.

• Italicize variables and names of movies, books, journals, plays, and newspapers in

text. Use italics sparingly for emphasis in text and for variables. Punctuation after italicized words is also italic.

• Do not italicize common Latin words: et al., i.e., e.g., etc., vs., a priori, in situ, in vivo, in utero, and in vitro (retain hyphen for adjective forms).

• Use the International System of Units (SI) in all submissions, including Letters to the Editor (see below).

EQUATIONS

• Italicize variables, but not R, X, M, A, B, etc. when they represent chemical elements or groups.

• Include punctuation after displayed formulas.

• Use x instead of * or · for the multiplication sign.

FOOTNOTES

• Footnotes in the text should be listed: *, †, ‡, §, **, ††, ‡‡, §§, etc. Footnotes in tables should be listed: a, b, c, etc.

• Submit all footnotes together on a separate page at the end of the article.

• Author affiliations should be listed as footnotes. The first author’s affiliation will be designated as *; any subsequent author locations also receive their own footnote. A footnote should be listed after each author’s name, unless all authors’ affiliations are the same, in which case the footnote * is placed after the last author’s name.

• The following should all be included as footnotes: author’s affiliations; personal communication references, including emails and list servers (such as RadSafe); and side notes.

TABLES

All tables are typeset directly from what the author submits; therefore, be sure all data are correct before submitting to Health Physics.

List the appropriate caption above each table. Each table must be uploaded separately. For hard-copy submissions, each table should be started on a separate page. Never imbed tables in text.

Tables are numbered (Arabic numbers) in order of appearance in text. Do not use "see" in table citations in text.

To assure clarity and uniformity, follow these rules in constructing tables:

• Use only horizontal lines to separate components of tables.

• Do not enclose tables in boxes.

• Identify each column and row.

• Give units in parentheses using negative exponents, not slashes.

• Use superscript notation for powers of 10 (i.e., 103) rather than E-notation (i.e., E3).

• Data should be single spaced and aligned on the decimal point. Do not leave open decimal points, i.e., write 0.23, not .23.

• Use normal capitalization in captions and footnotes. That is, only capitalize the first word and proper nouns.

• Use superscripted roman lowercase letters, not numbers or symbols, as table footnote indicators. That is, use a, b, c rather than 1, 2, 3 or *, †, ‡. Use in order of appearance in table.

• Acknowledge data from other sources with citations to references. Citations may be placed in the caption, the main body of the table, or in footnotes as appropriate.

• Use superscript notation for powers of 10 (i.e., 103)

FIGURES

Figures: Digital art should be created/scanned and saved and submitted as either a TIFF (tagged image file format), an EPS (encapsulated postscript) file. PPT (Power Point) files will also be accepted. Electronic photographs—radiographs, CT scans, and so on—and scanned images must have a resolution of at least 300 dpi. Line art must have a resolution of at least 1200 dpi (dots per inch). If fonts are used in the artwork, they must be converted to paths or outlines or they must be embedded in the files. Color images must be created/scanned and saved and submitted as CMYK files. If you do not have the capability to create CMYK files, please disregard this step. Indicate in your cover letter that you are unable to produce CMYK files. Cite figures consecutively in the text, and number them in the order in which they are discussed.

Digital Art Checklist:

Detailed Figure Instructions: For a step by step guide for submitting Digital Art to please visit www.LWWonline.com. Click “For Authors” then click “Artwork” in the menu to the right. Visit the “5 Steps for Creating Digital Artwork” for specific guidelines.

Color

Figures in manuscripts will appear in black and white unless color charges are paid for by the author. Below are the current estimates for including color figures; these prices are subject to change without notice.

1 figure: $500; plus $150 for each additional figure.

Citation in Text

Do not use "see" in figure citations in text.

Fig. 1

Figs. 6-8

Parts

• When illustration copy consists of a figure containing more than one part, the parts may be lettered if necessary. Use lowercase letters. When referring to parts of figure in the text, close up the letter (roman) with the figure number. Ex: Fig. 2a, (Fig. 3a-d), Figs. 2a and 3b.

• A separate, double-spaced list of figure captions must be provided, or figure captions can be included in the manuscript itself. Do not include captions on actual figures.

• Do not imbed figures in the text.

• Figure legends, which describe data points, must appear in the upper right or left corner of the figure or in the caption.

• Do not plot two-dimensional data as three dimensional graphs.

Electronic Submission of Figures

Electronic art should be created/scanned and saved and submitted as either a TIFF (tagged image file format), an EPS (encapsulated PostScript) file, or a PPT (PowerPoint) file. All figures must be uploaded separately. Mailed files can be submitted on a 3½-inch high-density disk, a CD-ROM, or an Iomega Zip disk. All electronic art submitted hard copy must be accompanied by high-resolution laser prints of the images. Please note: Excel, Corel Draw, Quattro Pro, MS Word, and files downloaded from the Internet (JPEG or GIF) cannot be used.

• Electronic line art: Scan images at a resolution of at least 1,200 dpi (dots per inch).
Electronic photography: Save electronic photography (radiographs, CT scans, etc.) at a resolution of at least 300 dpi. Files should be set to the size you want to see the images in the journal.

• Saving files: For both line art and photographs, each illustration must be contained in an individual file on the floppy disk and must contain any labels, arrows, and symbols that are to appear in the printed figure.

• Hard copy: Electronic art must be accompanied by high-resolution laser prints of the images. In order for the production department to verify that the images are printing correctly, they need a model for comparison.

• Color images: Color images must be saved and submitted as CMYK (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black) files. The journal accepts for publication color figures that will enhance an article. Authors who submit color figures will receive an estimate of the cost for color reproduction. If they decide not to pay for color reproduction, they can request that the figures be converted to black and white at no charge.

Some common mistakes in submitting electronic artwork:

• Saving TIFF files at a resolution below 300 dpi. The dpi of a TIFF image is determined by the digital camera. Be sure to shoot images at the proper resolution. If images have been photographed by normal methods, printed into glossies, and then scanned, the scanner determines the dpi of the electronic file and must be set properly.

• Incorrect adjustment of shading. The process of setting images into a journal is different from printing them on a laser printer. One result of this discrepancy is that the shading settings commonly used for printing to a printer (shading at 100% black and 100% white) are mistakenly used on images to be printed in a journal. The result is that images look stark and detail-obliterated. The shading settings on images to be printed in a journal are 93% black and 93% white.

• Submitting color images as Red, Blue, Green (RGB) rather than Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black (CMYK) files. Again, this problem is created by a discrepancy between desktop procedures and journal-printing procedures. At your computer you view images in RGB format because the computer screen is set to show images via that color spectrum; in printing, however, color is created with cyan, magenta, yellow, and black (CMYK), and files must be set accordingly. Almost all images downloaded from the Internet are in RGB and unacceptable.
More information on submitting electronic art, including what new formats may be acceptable, is available at http://dx.sheridan.com/tech/main.html.

REFERENCES

• The accuracy of the reference list and information from other sources cited in the text is the responsibility of the author, not the copy editor. If the references are in the incorrect format, the manuscript will be sent back to the author for revision before proceeding. Changes made to incorrect or incomplete references in the stages after acceptance of the manuscript will be charged to the author. Be sure to recheck your reference list before submittal, and that all references are cited in the text, and all cited references are listed in the reference section.

• Use the author's last name and year of publication when citing references in the text (e.g., Smith 1988; Todd and Warren 1990; Brown et al. 1991). All author names are to be included in each full reference citation (i.e., not "et al."). The use of superscripts, subscripts, italics, and special characters in names and titles should be changed to plain text (e.g., "García" will be "Garcia"). Greek letters will be spelled out (e.g., "ß-radiation" becomes "beta-radiation"). Always use page numbers when citing an article in proceedings and similar references.

• The reference list should be ordered alphabetically by name and chronologically as follows. If an author has more than one publication, those with only one author should be listed first, in chronological order. Those with two authors should be listed second, alphabetically first, then in chronological order. References with three or more authors should be last, listed chronologically. If two authors with the same name publish in the same year, use a letter designator after the year (i.e., 2001a, 2001b, etc.), e.g., Smith 2000, 2001a, 2001b; Smith and Boyer 1998; Smith and Miller 1996; Smith et al. 1993, 1999, 2004. References cited in the text should be listed in chronological order (e.g., Smith 1988, 1990; Jones et al. 1992).

• Acceptable publications for the reference list include journal articles, books, technical reports, cataloged theses and dissertations, proceedings, letters to the editor, Web sites, patents, maps, recordings, etc. Articles accepted for publication, but not yet published, may be included in the reference list as "in press."

• Footnote unpublished materials, which include personal letters and internal memoranda, private tape recordings, user's manuals, data to be published, etc.

• Use List of Journals Indexed in Index Medicus or List of Serials Indexed for Online Users for journal abbreviations. MEDLINE’s Journal Browser feature is also a helpful resource.

• Abbreviations such as op.cit. and ibid. may not be used in the reference list.

• The following are examples of Health Physics reference list items:

Standard journal articles

Inkret WC, Efurd DW, Miller G, Rokop DJ, Benjamin TM. Applications of thermal ionization mass spectrometry to the detection of 239Pu and 240Pu intakes. Int J Mass Spectros 178:113-120; 1998.

Kralick SC, Watson JE Jr, Croslin SW. Neutron dosimetry in the containment of a pressurized water reactor using a neutron-sensitive dosimetry system. Health Phys 50:761-768; 1986.

Books

Council of Biology Editors. Scientific style and format: The CBE manual for authors, editors, and publishers. 6th ed. New York: Cambridge University Press; 1994.

Turner JE. Atoms, radiation and radiation protection, 2nd ed. New York: Wiley & Sons; 1995.

Chapters in books/proceedings with editors (name all editors/authors; do not use et al.)

Dritschilo A. Cancer and carcinogenesis. In: Mossman KL, Mills WA, eds. The biological basis of radiation protection practices. Baltimore, MD: Williams & Wilkins; 1992: 77-88.

Regulations

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission. Standards for protection against radiation. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office; 10 CFR Part 20; 1992.

Proceedings

Miller CW, Hoffman FO. An analysis of reported values of the environmental half-time for radionuclides deposited on the surfaces of vegetation. In: Environmental migration of long-lived radionuclides. Proceedings of an International Atomic Energy Agency conference. Vienna: International Atomic Energy Agency; IAEA-SM-257/63; 1982: 97-111.

Technical reports

International Commission on Radiological Protection. Limits for intakes of radionuclides by workers. Oxford: Pergamon Press; ICRP Publication 23, Part 1; Ann ICRP 2(3/4); 1979.

Web sites

LaPorte RE, Marler E, Akazawa S. The death of biomedical journals. BMJ [serial online]. 310:1387-1390; 1995. Available at: http://www.bmj.com/bmj/archive/6991ed2.htm. Accessed 26 June 1997.

Health on the Net Foundation. Health on the Net Foundation code of conduct (HONcode) for medical and health web sites [online]. Available at: http://www.hom.ch/Conduct.html. Accessed 26 June 1997.

Databases

CANCERNET-PDQ [database online]. Bethesda, MD: National Cancer Institute; 1996. Updated 29 March 1996.

INTERNATIONAL SYSTEM OF UNITS

The International System of Units (SI) should be used in all manuscripts. It is also acceptable to give SI units first, followed by traditional units in parentheses.

Conversion between conventional radiation units and SI units.

Conventional unit SI unit
1 Ci 3.7 × 1010 Bq = 37 GBq
27 µCi 1 × 106 Bq = 1 MBq
1 rad 0.01 Gy = 10 mGy
1 rem 0.01 Sv = 10 mSv

Other information regarding Sl units may be found in NCRP Report No. 82, SI Units in Radiation Protection and Measurements.

LETTERS

• Letters must be submitted in accordance with the rules for manuscript preparation.

• Letters should express a personal point of view. Authors should try to confine comments to three double-spaced pages or less.

• A title must be supplied by the author and placed before the salutation "Dear Editors."

• Name and address of author(s) must appear at the end of the letter. Anonymous letters will not be published.

• Letters commenting on another author's work will be sent to the author in question for possible reply. Both the comment and reply letters will be published together.

BOOK REVIEWS

• All Book Reviews must be submitted in an electronic file, unless exemptions are made with the Book Editor. Reviewers without computer resources will be accommodated on request. Microsoft Word is preferable, but other current word processor formats are acceptable as well as ASCII or plain text files. Submit file by email whenever possible or on diskette to the address shown below.

• Book reviews must contain a heading with the following information: book title; author or editor; year of publication; number of pages; hard/soft cover; price; publisher's name and full address; ISBN number.

• Any person interested in reviewing books should contact Stephen V. Musolino, Book Editor, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Building 197C, P.O. Box 5000, Upton, NY 11973-5000, phone: 631-344-4211, fax: 631-344-7091, email: musolino@bnl.gov.

NEWS AND NOTICES

News items and meeting notices should be sent at least three months in advance of the issue date to Mr. Richard V. Griffith, 756 Cypress Run, Woodbridge, CA 95258, fax: 209-334-4301, email: griffith@softcom.net.

PAGE PROOFS, PUBLICATION CHARGES, REPRINTS

• Authors will receive typeset page proofs from Cadmus Journal Services prior to publication. Authors must proofread the pages, especially tables and equations, and return the proofs to the Editorial Office within 48 hours of receipt.

• The author or author's institution is expected to pay $60 per published page, entitling the author to 50 free reprints. Billing will follow publication.

• The decision to accept or reject a manuscript is that of the Editor-in-Chief and is based on recommendations of the Associate Editors following peer review.

MISCELLANEOUS

Common Abbreviations

d = day; min = minute; mo = month; s = second; wk = week; y = year.

cf.: compare

C kg-1: coulombs per kilogram; exposure; SI unit

cm: centimeter

d: day

e.g.: roman, set off with commas

      et al.: roman, do not set off with commas; use "and others" or "and colleagues" in running text

eqn (1): (in running text)

eqns (1) and (2): (in running text)

foot: spell out (use cm or m where possible)

g: gram

Gy: gray; absorbed dose; SI unit

h: hour

i.e.: roman, set off with commas

IU: international unit

Jr.: Junior

kcal: kilocalorie

kg: kilogram

km: kilometer

KT: kiloton

L: liter

LCD: liquid crystal display (abbreviate; never LCD display)

LED: light-emitting diode (abbreviate)

LNT: linear no-threshold

m: meter

MDA: minimum detectable activity

mean: spell out (not X or M)

mg: milligram

min: minute

mL: milliliter

mm Hg: millimeters of mercury

MW: molecular weight

mo: month

nm: nanometer

No.: number (not no.)

%: percent

p: probability (lowercase, italics)

ppm: parts per million

ppb: parts per billion

R: roentgen; exposure in air; traditional (historical) unit

rad: absorbed dose; traditional (historical) unit

rem: dose equivalent; traditional (historical) unit

s: second

SD: standard deviation

SE: standard error

      sem (lowercase): standard error of the mean; spell out at first use in text; OK as abbreviation in tables

      state names: use two-letter postal abbreviations without periods for all state names (except in running text).

      Sv: sievert; dose equivalent; SI unit

UV: ultraviolet

U.S.: use as adjective; expand if a noun

V: volt

vs.: versus (in tables and text—do not expand)

wk: week

W: watt

y: year

yard: spell out

Use apostrophes for possessives, not for plural forms of abbreviations or years (1990s, ECGs).

Hyphenation

Eliminate hyphens with most prefixes: non, pre, post, multi, mid, etc.

Hyphenate unit modifiers

4 times as large (use number)

2-way ANOVA (use number)

three-dimensional

alpha-emitting radionuclides

a priori

beta-gamma radiation

beta radiation

bylaws

database

delete hyphen from "-fold" with twofold (but 10-fold)

email

fiber optics: two words as noun

freeze-dry system

groupware: software that allows people to share

gamma radiation

gamma spectroscopy

half-life

home page

linear no-threshold

log linear; log-linear analysis

Mann-Whitney U test

man-made

minimum detectable activity (MDA)

online

over (prefix; eliminate hyphen)

post (eliminate hyphen)

pre (eliminate hyphen)

quasi-experimental

rulemaking

school-age children

Student t-test

Web site

Web address

Webmaster

x rays

x-ray machine (retain dash)