The Journal of Biomolecular Screening (http://jbsonline.sagepub.com) is a peer-reviewed journal of the Society for Biomolecular Sciences (http://sbsonline.org) that publishes articles and editorial commentary that emphasize scientific and technical applications and advances in the field of screening, drug discovery, and biomolecular sciences. Readers are encouraged to submit material in any relevant topic area, including: target identification/validation, assay design and development, assay technologies (novel applications, comparisons), automation/ robotics, lead generation and/or lead optimization, high-content screening/imaging platforms, virtual screening and chemoinformatics, data/image analysis, statistics and information technologies/ methods, sample management (e.g., library design, compound logistics, chemical diversity), biological reagent production, characterization and management for drug discovery (cell lines, stem cells, surrogate tissues/species [e.g., xenopus, zebrafish, yeast]), genomic and proteomic screening biomarkers, high-throughput approaches to ADME/PK and predictive toxicology, and legal/ licensing issues insofar as they impact the field of screening and/or drug discovery. The Journal will also publish reviews, mini-reviews, and perspectives in these topic areas. Other features include: upcoming conferences and training seminars, product applications, employment opportunities, society and member news, and book reviews.
The Journal of Biomolecular Screening (JBS) will provide information that enables screening practitioners to evaluate current technologies and incorporate those applications to enhance their performance and objectives. The Journal is an independent publication of the Society for Biomolecular Sciences and does not intend to promote any one product, service, or technology over another. In addition to offering juried articles, papers, and editorials, the Journal will serve as a source for information about Society events, employment opportunities, and business updates.
Manuscript Preparation and Submission
JBS receives manuscript submissions through Rapid Review (http://www.RapidReview.com), a Web-based system. Authors should register with Rapid Review and will be issued a login ID and password to access the system (including future manuscript submissions). Manuscripts can then be uploaded through an easy, step-by-step process. The Rapid Review system also serves as the center for editorial staff to communicate with authors, editors, and reviewers electronically throughout the review process. Guidelines for assay development, validation, and data analysis may be found at http:// www.ncgc.nih.gov/guidance/manual_toc.html (Assay Guidance Manual©, Eli Lilly and Company and the National Institutes
of Health Chemical Genomics Center). Prior to submitting a manuscript for review, authors who want to refine the use of English in their manuscripts might consider utilizing the services of SPi, a non-affiliated company that offers Professional Editing Services to authors of journal articles in the areas of science, technology, medicine or the social sciences. SPi specializes in editing and correcting English-language manuscripts written by authors with a primary language other than English. Visit http://www.prof-editing.com for more information about SPi’s Professional Editing Services, pricing, and turn-around times, or to obtain a free quote or submit a manuscript for language polishing.
Please be aware that neither SBS nor SAGE has an affiliation with SPi and makes no endorsement of the company. An author’s use of SPi’s services in no way guarantees that his or her submission will ultimately be accepted. Any arrangement an author enters into will be exclusively between the author and SPi, and any costs incurred are the sole responsibility of the author.
Original Research Articles and Review Articles
JBS aspires to publish as many high-quality papers as possible on a wide range of topics in each issue. It is preferred that submissions are in Microsoft Word™format and use 12-point standard fonts (e.g., Times, Times New Roman, Arial, Symbol). To accomplish this goal, manuscripts intended as Original Research Articles as a rule should not exceed 6000 words in length and contain no more than 8 figures and tables combined. Authors are encouraged to restrict figures and tables to essential data that cannot be described in the text. The number of references, except in the case of review articles, should not exceed 30. The word count—which includes the abstract, references, and notes—should appear on the title page. The title page must include the following: all authors’ names, academic degrees, affiliations, and a short title of up to 45 characters. Indicate the name, complete street mailing address, telephone and fax numbers, and e-mail address of the author to whom correspondence should be addressed. It is preferable for contact information to be provided for all coauthors, especially telephone numbers and e-mail addresses. An abstract of approximately 200 words should accompany every original article. The abstract should be followed by 4 to 5 key words, a brief introduction, materials and methods, results, discussion (including conclusions reached), acknowledgments, references, tables and/or figures, and table/figure legends. Tables and figures should not be embedded in the manuscript text but placed at the end of the document (in order described above). All pages should be numbered.
The materials and methods must be adequately described such that they may be duplicated by an independent laboratory by a practitioner skilled in the art. Although it is recognized that confidentiality regarding certain targets or compounds may need to be maintained, lack of disclosure of either will result in low impact ratings and potential rejection. In the case where authors are working on a target of a confidential nature, it is considered reasonable that they publish full details of the results of their assay/screening system using an analogous target protein. Manuscripts that do not disclose both target and compounds tested will not be accepted (with exceptions being virtual screening or statistical modeling).
Abbreviations and acronyms should be spelled out when first used. Generic names for drugs and devices are preferred over brand names. Include manufacturers’ locations in parentheses immediately after citing the manufacturer.
All manuscripts, including tables and figures, must be original, not previously published (in print or Internet electronic copy) except in abstract or poster form, and not submitted simultaneously to another publication. Published manuscripts become the sole property of the Journal of Biomolecular Screening and may be published elsewhere only with the written permission of the SBS. Transfer of copyright to SBS is a condition of publication (authors will receive a copyright form upon acceptance of a manuscript for publication). Forms should be returned promptly to the Editor-in-Chief. Authors whose research was funded by an NIH grant may submit the final, accepted version of the manuscript for deposit in PubMedCentral; SBS requires such authors to specify a release date of 11 months following the date of print publication of the article.
Special Considerations for Technical Notes andApplication Notes
Short communications are subjected to the same rigorous peer review process as original research articles. A Technical Note is the recommended format of submission for original research in the following cases: early disclosure of novel methods; comparison of performance of competing instruments or software packages; or description of experimental results of interest for the scientific community when economic or other constraints preclude full research on the underlying causes of the observations.
An Application Note is devoted to presentation of data on new instruments or software packages (excluding commercial information), or disclosure of new applications of established technologies (e.g., new assay for a target where the format described has been published for another target previously, unless this extension is not obvious).
Manuscripts submitted as short communications (e.g., Technical Notes or Application Notes [extensions of previous work or applications of known technologies]) should be limited to 3500 words, with no more than 4 figures and tables, and not to exceed 15 references. Results and discussion should be combined into one section.
Published manuscripts become the sole property of the Journal of Biomolecular Screening and may be published elsewhere only with the written permission of the SBS. Transfer of copyright to SBS is a condition of publication (all authors’ signatures must be obtained on the Transfer of Copyright form that can be obtained from the submission page of the Rapid Review Web site). Forms should be returned promptly to the Editor-in-Chief.
Tables and Illustrations
Type each table with its title. Use Arabic numerals to number tables. Each table must be understandable independent of the text. Figures should be in TIF, JPG, EPS, or Microsoft PowerPoint™format. The Journal will publish color photographs, but the author must subsidize the cost of the color printing. For further details, contact the publisher (see below). Figures should be generated at sufficient pixel density so as to support their publication. A minimum of 300 dpi should be the standard output of any graphics package delivered to the publishers.
Figures should be presented as simply and clearly as possible, with the minimum symbology necessary to convey the information contained. Color should be used in graphical figures only if it adds information that cannot be included in a monochrome figure. Each variable in a figure should be represented in only one way— for example, either by a different symbol or by a different line pattern, but not both. To the extent possible, labels and annotations should be placed directly on the figure rather than in the caption below the figure. Recommended approaches for improving the clarity and style of figures can be found in The Visual Display of Quantitative Information by Edward Tufte (http://www.edwardtufte.com).
Mathematical Equations
Mathematical equations should be numbered sequentially using Arabic numbers in parentheses, for example, Eq. (1). In the text, equations should be referred to as Eq. (1), Eqs. (2)-(6). All equations should be legible so that every character is easily recognized. All symbols used should be defined in the text. If a special font (other than Symbol) is required for symbols, this should be indicated in a note to the editor.
Acknowledgments
Collaborations, sources of research funds, and other acknowledgments should be listed in a separate section at the end of the text and before the reference section.
References
References must be cited in the text and included as a section at the end of each paper. Suggested readings or other source material may also be provided at the end of the manuscript. References should be presented in the following style:
Journal citation: Moore KJ, Turconi S, Ashman S, Ruediger M, Haupts U, Emerick V, Pope AJ: Single molecule detection technologies in miniaturized high throughput screening: fluorescence correlation spectroscopy. J Biomol Screen 1999;4: 335-353.
Moore KJ, Turconi S, Ashman S, Ruediger M, Haupts U, Emerick V, Pope AJ: Single molecule detection technologies in miniaturized high throughput screening: fluorescence correlation spectroscopy. 1999;4: 335-353. Book chapter citation: Bartlett SJ: Design of biologically active molecules. In Lawrence JR, Williams GB, Walker R (eds): High Throughput Screening. New York: JRL Press, 1995:34-47.
Bartlett SJ: Design of biologically active molecules. In Lawrence JR, Williams GB, Walker R (eds): . New York: JRL Press, 1995:34-47. Book citation: Lawrence JR, Williams GB, Walker R: High Throughput Screening. New York: JRL Press, 1995.
Lawrence JR, Williams GB, Walker R: . New York: JRL Press, 1995. Paper presented at a meeting: Chu KL, McDonald HA, Cassar S, Witte D, Masters J, Vos M, et al: Pharmacological comparison of recombinant human and rat VR1 receptors [Poster 910.1]. Paper presented at the 31st annual meeting of the Society for Neurosciences, San Diego, November 2001.
Chu KL, McDonald HA, Cassar S, Witte D, Masters J, Vos M, et al: Pharmacological comparison of recombinant human and rat VR1 receptors [Poster 910.1]. Paper presented at the 31st annual meeting of the Society for Neurosciences, San Diego, November 2001. Online article: Mendes P: Biochemical kinetics simulator [Online]. Retrieved from http://gepasi.dbs.aber.ac.uk/sofw/gepasi.html
Mendes P: Biochemical kinetics simulator [Online]. Retrieved from http://gepasi.dbs.aber.ac.uk/sofw/gepasi.html Article in press: Heltweg B, Jung M: Eosin Y as an internal standard for a plate reader based quantitation of a histone deacetylase substrate. Arch Pharm Pharm Med Chem; in press.
Heltweg B, Jung M: Eosin Y as an internal standard for a plate reader based quantitation of a histone deacetylase substrate. ; in press. Dissertation: Heltweg B: A micro plate reader based non-isotopic histone deacetylase activity assay. PhD diss., University of Chicago, 2000.
Heltweg B: A micro plate reader based non-isotopic histone deacetylase activity assay. PhD diss., University of Chicago, 2000. Permissions Guidelines
Any text, tables, or figures reproduced from previously published work can only be reprinted with written permission from the copyright holder. Permissions must be submitted with the manuscript, and must include print and online publication. Acquiring permission is the sole responsibility of the author. The publication from which the material is taken must be listed in the references. For more detailed information regarding permissions, please visit the Sage Publications Web site at http://www.sagepub.com/repository/binaries/guidelines/ PermissionsGuidelines.pdf
Reprints
Reprints may be ordered by using the special reprint order form that will accompany the proofs. Reprints ordered after publication will be charged at a substantially higher rate.
