1.     ABOUT THE JOURNAL

Diabetes Care is a journal for the health care practitioner that is intended to increase knowledge, stimulate research, and promote better management of people with diabetes. To achieve these goals, the journal publishes Original Articles on human studies in the following five categories:

1) Clinical Care/Education/Nutrition/Psychosocial Research
2) Epidemiology/Health Services
3) Emerging Treatments and Technologies
4) Pathophysiology/Complications
5) Cardiovascular and Metabolic Risk

The journal also publishes clinically relevant Review Articles, Letters to the Editor, Brief Reports, and health/medical news or points of view. Topics covered are of interest to clinically oriented physicians, researchers, epidemiologists, psychologists, diabetes educators, and other health professionals. The journal does not publish descriptions of study designs without data, papers on in vitro studies, or studies involving animals.

The editor-in-chief of Diabetes Care, Vivian Fonseca, MD, FRCP, began his term with the January 2007 issue. Dr. Fonseca's editorial team began reviewing first submissions on July 1, 2006.

Editorial Note: Due to an increasing number of submissions and limited editorial space, manuscripts will initially be reviewed by an editorial committee and/or the editor. Manuscripts that exceed the word limit will be automatically declined, and only those that meet a priority score above the 50th percentile will be reviewed.

2.     POLICIES

2.1.     All human investigation must be conducted according to the principles expressed in the Declaration of Helsinki. Diabetes Care publishes only material that has not been published previously (either in print or electronically) and is not under consideration for publication elsewhere, with the exception of an abstract that is less than 400 words in length. Prior presentation of data (e.g., at a scientific meeting or via webcast) does not preclude publication in Diabetes Care, but should be disclosed in the Acknowledgments of the paper and in the author's comments to the editor upon manuscript submission.

All contributions, including solicited articles and symposia, are critically reviewed by the editors and/or invited referees. Reviewers' comments are usually provided to the authors. The decision of the editors is final.

2.2.      Prepublication (of Accepted Articles). To make new research readily available to our subscribers, Diabetes Care prepublishes all peer-accepted manuscripts in unedited form as soon as possible after acceptance. These papers have undergone full peer review, but they have yet to undergo copyediting, typesetting, and proofreading. The final versions of these papers will appear in a future print and online issue of Diabetes Care.

When citing the prepublished version of your article, please use the DOI (digital object identifier) in place of volume, page range, and year (see below for an example). The DOI of your article will begin with 10.2337, followed by the article number assigned when you submitted your article via the online manuscript submission system (e.g., 10.2337/dc06-9999).

2.3.      Embargo dates. If you are interested in reporting on a Diabetes Care publish-ahead-of-print (PAP) article, please visit http://care.diabetesjournals.org/misc/embargoinfo.pdf for specific instructions and conditions.

2.4.      PubMed Central. Beginning with the July 2008 issue, the American Diabetes Association will deposit all articles accepted for publication in Diabetes Care in PubMed Central, a repository of peer-reviewed research maintained by the National Institutes of Health. ADA is providing this service at no cost to authors. Articles will be accessible on PubMed Central 12 months after the date of final print/online publication in Diabetes Care.

3.     EDITORIAL OFFICE CONTACT INFORMATION:

Diabetes Care Editorial Office
6925 E. Tenth St.
Indianapolis, IN 46219
phone: (317) 354-1508, ext 1782    fax: (317) 354-8379
e-mail: diabetescare{at}diabetes.org
Lyn Reynolds, Editorial Office Manager
Shannon Potts and Jane Lucas, Editorial Assistants

4.     FORMS AND REQUIREMENTS

4.1.      Each author, including authors of letters, must read all three sections, check the appropriate boxes, sign, and print their names on the Manuscript Submission Form and denote individual author contributions below each signature (attach additional pages if necessary). The manuscript submission form addresses ADA’s policies on 1) originality and authorship, 2) copyright assignment, and 3) potential conflict of interest and addresses permission policies related to reuse and post prints (Section 2 of the form).

It is recommended that manuscript submission forms be scanned and uploaded with the article files. If this is not possible, the corresponding author may fax (317-354-8379) or mail the completed form for all authors to the Editorial Office immediately after the manuscript is submitted. Your submission will not be considered complete until the form has been received. Please write your manuscript number, which is assigned once you have finished the online submission process, where indicated on the manuscript submission form.

The corresponding author designated on the title page will be the only person notified when proofs become available. (For further information see Submitting a Manuscript Section 7.1.1)

4.2.      Statement of Originality and Authorship: Diabetes Care subscribes to the requirements stated in the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals that authorship implies substantial contributions to conception and design or analysis and interpretation of data and drafting of the article or critical revision for important intellectual content. The editor reserves the right to query authorship contribution. Diabetes Care limits the number of authors to 8 from the same institution and 12 from multiple institutions.

4.3.      Copyright Assignment: The American Diabetes Association (ADA) holds the copyright on all material appearing in Diabetes Care. All authors must check the appropriate boxes and sign the manuscript submission form, which transfers copyright to the ADA in accordance with the Copyright Revision Act of 1976. Please see the revised policy below for the statement of provenance and other conditions.

4.3.1.     Reuse. Authors are permitted to reuse portions of their ADA-copyrighted work in their own work, including tables and figures, and to reuse portions or all of their ADA-copyrighted work for lecture or classroom purposes, provided that the proper citation and copyright information is given.

4.3.2.     Post-prints: Authors are permitted to submit the final, accepted version of their manuscript to their funding body, such as NIH, or institution for inclusion in that funding body or institution’s database, archive, or repository, or to post the final, accepted version on their personal Web site.

The accepted manuscript may be made freely accessible to the public upon acceptance, provided that the following conditions are observed:

Post-prints must include the following statement of provenance: "This is an author-created, uncopyedited electronic version of an article accepted for publication in Diabetes Care. The American Diabetes Association (ADA), publisher of Diabetes Care, is not responsible for any errors or omissions in this version of the manuscript or any version derived from it by third parties. The definitive publisher-authenticated version will be available in a future issue of Diabetes Care in print and online at http://care.diabetesjournals.org."

Once the final version has been published in the journal, a link to the final published version of the paper on the journal's Web site must be posted.

The version of the manuscript deposited or posted must be identical to the final accepted version, with the exception of the addition of the above statement and any changes necessary to correct errors. Authors may make changes to the posted version to correct mistakes or may issue an erratum at any time. However, the final published version of the manuscript may not be deposited, posted, or later substituted for the post-print.

4.4.      Duality of Interest: All authors must read the ADA Policy Statement on Duality of Interest and check the appropriate box on the manuscript submission form, which can be found in each issue of Diabetes Care. Any author who has duality of interest to disclose must attach an additional statement that explains the nature of the duality or conflict of interest. Relevant duality or conflict of interest (or lack thereof) should also be disclosed in the authors'comments to the editor during the submission process.

In addition to the signed form, all submitted papers must include a mandatory Disclosure Statement for all authors following the main text or Acknowledgement section if one is included. If there are no dualities to declare, that should be noted as well.

4.5.      Color Figure Approval: If your manuscript contains color figures and is accepted for publication, the corresponding author must sign and return a color approval form. Forms are available online or may be requested from the Editorial Office. The cost of printing in color, to be borne by the author, is $630 U.S. per color figure. Color fees are based on individual figures as a whole, not by the part, i.e., A, B, C, etc. Authors will receive a pro forma invoice for publication fees when page proofs become available.

5.      MANUSCRIPT CATEGORIES

(Also see Manuscript Format and Style Section 6 for detailed instructions on creating documents.)

5.1.      Original Articles: Original Articles should be arranged in the following order: title page, structured abstract, introduction (no heading), “Research Design and Methods,” Results,” “Conclusions,” “Acknowledgments,” “References,” tables, and figure legends.

A structured abstract is required for all Original Articles and Brief Reports.

An abstract for an original article should not exceed 250 words. (This is not to be confused with abstracts submitted to the Annual Scientific Meeting, for which the word limit is higher.) The abstract must be self-contained and clear without reference to the text and should be written for a general journal readership. The abstract format should include four sections: “Objective,” the purpose or hypothesis of study; “Research Design and Methods,” the basic design, setting, number of participants and selection criteria, treatment or intervention, and methods of assessment; “Results,” significant data found; and “Conclusions,” validity and clinical applicability.

The word count limit for Original Articles is 5,000 words, allowing 500 words for each table or figure in the article. For example, an article with two figures and one table should contain no more than 3,500 words [5,000 - (3 x 500)]. Word count includes the abstract, and entire text. Do not count words in tables, table legends, figure legends, the title page, acknowledgments or references. References are limited to 25 references double-spaced. Exceptions to the 5,000-word limit and reference limitations are rare.

A mandatory Disclosure Statement for all authors must be included in the main document following the text or the Acknowledgement section if one is included. If there are no dualities to declare, that should be noted as well.

In the case of multicenter studies, authors should provide a list of participating investigators as an appendix to the paper. Papers will not be reviewed if this information is not included.

Where appropriate, clinical and epidemiological studies should be analyzed to see if there is an effect of sex or ethnicity. If there is no effect, it should be stated as such in the "Results" section.

Authors of reports of randomized controlled trials are required to use the instructions and checklist in the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) Statement. The instructions and checklist are designed to ensure that information pertinent to the trial is included in the study report.

5.2     Clinical Trials: As of January 2006, all clinical trials submitted to Diabetes Care for consideration of publication must be registered (no matter when conducted) with a clinical trial registry approved by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). Currently, ICMJE defines a clinical trial as “any research project that prospectively assigns human subjects to intervention or comparison groups to study the cause-and-effect relationship between a medical intervention and a health outcome. Studies designed for other purposes, such as to study pharmacokinetics or major toxicity (e.g., phase 1 trials), are exempt."

In June 2007, ICMJE recently updated their policy related to and definition of clinical trials. These updates will also apply to clinical trials that are considered for publication in Diabetes Care:

The ICMJE will begin to implement the World Health Organization (WHO) definition of clinical trials for all trials that begin enrollment on or after July 1, 2008. Diabetes Care will adopt this definition for all trials that begin enrollment on or after January 1, 2008. The definition states that a clinical trial is “any research study that prospectively assigns human participants or groups of humans to one or more health-related interventions to evaluate the effects on health outcomes.”

In addition to accepting registration in any of ICMJE’s five existing registries (ClinicalTrials.gov, www.ISRCTN.org, www.actr.org.au, www.umin.ac.jp, and www.trialregister.nl ), Diabetes Care will also accept registration of clinical trials in any of the primary registers that participate in the WHO International Clinical Trial Registry Platform http://www.who.int/ictrp/about/details/en/index.html.

As of June 2007, posting of clinical trial results that exceed more than 500 words in the same clinical trials registry in which the primary registration resides will be considered prior publication. Posting the results in the form of a brief structured abstract (less than 500 words) or table will not be considered prior publication.

For definitions and further information, please see ICMJE’s updated clinical trials registration policy found in ICMJE's Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals http://www.icmje.org/clin_trial07.htm. Please note, however, that unlike ICMJE, ADA does not require trials to be registered before enrollment begins, although Diabetes Care does encourage this practice. When submitting your manuscript, please include the unique trial number and the name of the registry (e.g., NCTXXXXXXXX—ClinicalTrials.gov or ISRCTNXXXXXXXX—www.ISRCTN.org) at the end of the abstract and in your cover letter.

5.3.      Brief Reports: Brief Reports must include a structured abstract and may contain either one table or one figure, but not both.

The format of title page, margins, text, table, figure, and font size for a brief report is the same as an original article. It must be created using a word processing program, Arial or Times 12 pt font, be double-spaced, and saved as a .doc, .txt, or .rtf. The figure or table must follow guidelines provided in Manuscript Format and Style, Section 6, paragraph 6.2 and 6.3.

Brief Reports are allowed 10-15 references double-spaced, 12 pt Arial or Times font.

A structured abstract for a Brief Report should not exceed 150 words. Word limit for the main text is 1000 words. Together, the abstract and main text should not exceed 1150 words. Do not count words in the table or figure and its legend, the title page, acknowledgments, or references.

The abstract must be self-contained and clear without reference to the text and should be written for a general journal readership. The abstract format should include four sections that coincide with the section headings in either type of brief report. For clinical observation/research style the sections will be "Research Design and Methods," "Results," "Conclusions," and "References." For a case report style the sections will be "History and Examination", "Investigation", "Results", and "Conclusions," summarizing the importance of the findings/results in one or two paragraphs; and "References."

The style of a Brief Report should be in one of two ways:

A clinical observation/research report style consists of a structured abstract stating the study's objectives, followed by a short introduction (2-3 sentences) and four concise sections: "Research Design and Methods," "Results," "Conclusions," and "References."

A case report/case study style consists of a structured abstract, followed by a short introduction (2-3 sentences) and four sections: "History and Examination," describing the patient and giving a brief history; "Investigation," discussing the treatment findings and results; "Conclusions," summarizing the importance of the findings/results in one or two paragraphs; and "References."

Neither format should exceed the allowed word count limit. (See Manuscript Format and Style Section 6. for further information or formatting.)

A mandatory Disclosure Statement for all authors must be included in the main document following the text or the Acknowledgement section if one is included. If there are no dualities to declare, that should be noted as well.

5.4.      Letters to the Editor: All Letters to the Editor are published only in the online version of Diabetes Care. Online-only letters are still listed in the table of contents of the print version and will be assigned an "E" page number, but they should be cited by use of their DOI (digital object identifier) rather than a page number (e.g., 10.2337/dc07-XXXX).

Letters do not have abstracts and should not exceed 500 words (excluding references- maximum of 5 allowed), and do not have tables or figures. As with all submissions, letters should be double-spaced and include a title page.

A Comment letter is a letter that comments on a recently published article and should include the cited paper as reference 1 in the reference list. It should be submitted within 3 months of publication of the cited article.

A Response letter is an invited letter from the cited author that replies to the comment letter and must include the comment letter as reference 1 in the reference list.

All letters require a signed manuscript submission form from the authors. This must be faxed at time of submission, without exception. A mandatory Disclosure Statement for all authors must be included in the document following the text or the Acknowledgement section if one is included. If there are no dualities to declare, that should be noted as well.

5.5.      Commentaries: Diabetes Care publishes Commentaries by invitation on an occasional basis. Commentaries are brief articles presenting views on a topic of current clinical interest. Commentaries are invited by the editors. They should include a title page as with any submission, use 12pt Arial or Times font, and be double-spaced. Word limit is 2500 words. Signed manuscript submission forms are required, including a mandatory Disclosure Statement for all authors in the main document. This should be placed at the end of the text or the Acknowledgement section if one is included. If there are no dualities to declare, that should be noted as well.

5.6.      Review Articles: Review Articles are by invitation or pre-approved submission. If you would like to submit an uninvited review, you must first submit a proposal to the editors.

The proposal should include: 1) a detailed outline of the content of the proposed review; 2) a general idea of the amount of original literature to be summarized; and 3) the background of the author(s) supporting his/her expertise in the area to be discussed in the review (or commentary). It is anticipated that the author(s) will have worked and published in the area of the review or commentary. The author should also state why he/she feels this particular review is suited for Diabetes Care and why the review article would appeal to the readership.

In addition, the authors must disclose whether they propose to write the entire article themselves, whether they received any form of sponsorship or honorarium for the material, and whether a pharmaceutical company, or its representative, was involved in the funding or authorship. In addition, the authors must point out any potential conflict of interest with a company whose products will be discussed in the review.

A short introduction letter will contain: complete contact information for Corresponding Author and a paragraph disclosing expertise in the area and why authors are suited to write the article.

A complete outline will contain:

A.) BACKGROUND / INTRODUCTION / ABSTRACT:

1. Why is it important to review this topic?

2. Focus
B.) OVERVIEW/ OBJECTIVE:

1. Major issues to be addressed
C.) LITERATURE REVIEW:

1. Sources

2. From ? year to ? year inclusive
D.) TOPICS REVIEW / DESIGN / PARTICIPANTS / OUTCOME
E.) RESULTS
F.) CONCLUSIONS
G.) REFERENCES

All proposals should be submitted by email (with Word document attachments) to Lyn Reynolds in the Editorial Office (lreynolds{at}diabetes.org). Proposals must be received by the first Wednesday of the month in order for it to be scheduled for discussion at the next editorial meeting (2nd Monday of each month) by the Editor and Associate Editors. An invitation to submit does not guarantee publication. As with original articles submitted to the journal, review articles (whether invited or by query) are subject to peer review.

Review articles submitted without prior approval or invitation will be returned.

For complete instructions, please contact the Editorial Office. Review Articles submitted without prior approval will be returned to the author.

An invitation or approval to submit does not guarantee publication. Like Original Articles, Review Articles are subject to peer review.

5.7      Editorials: Editorials in general are solicited by the Editorial Committee. As with all submissions, an editorial must include a title page and authors need to provide a signed manuscript submission form. Word limit is 1500 words not including references. Editorials normally do not contain figures or tables. A signed manuscript submission form is required as with all submissions and the main document should include a mandatory Disclosure Statement for all authors. This should be placed at the end of the text or the Acknowledgement section if one is included. If there are no dualities to declare, that should be noted as well.

5.8.      Supplements: Supplements must be approved prior to submission. A proposal for a supplement should first be submitted to the publications department of the ADA and must specify the following:

The name of the pharmaceutical firm sponsoring the supplement (not merely the name of the public relations agency handling its publication).

If the supplement is based on a symposium, where and when the symposium was held and how the speakers and papers were selected.

Whether authors will be paid and, if so, how much.

If the proposal is approved, it will be forwarded to the Editor of Diabetes Care. Initial approval by the ADA does not commit the Editor to accept a proposal in whole or part. All manuscripts are subject to the same peer review as other manuscripts in the journal.

For complete instructions on submitting a supplement please contact the Editorial Office.

6.     MANUSCRIPT FORMAT and STYLE

6.1.      Setting up the Main Document

6.1.1       Text Composition. Articles should be written in clear, concise English following the recommendations for scientific writing found in Scientific Style and Format, the Council of Biology Editors (CBE) style manual (6th ed., 1994, Bethesda, MD, Council of Biology Editors). All accepted manuscripts will be edited according to the CBE style manual and The Chicago Manual of Style (15th ed., 2003, Chicago, IL, The University of Chicago Press) by ADA professional publications staff. The authors are responsible for all statements made in their articles or editorials, including any editing changes made by staff.

The designations type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes should be used when referring to the two major forms of diabetes. Abbreviations for diabetes, such as T2D for type 2 diabetes, should not be used. The term diabetic should not be used as a noun.

The manuscript should be prepared using a word processing program, Arial or Times 12 pt font, double-spaced, and saved as a .doc, .txt, or .rtf. If you use Word Perfect to prepare your text, you must save your file as .doc or .rtf. Please note the following regarding text files:

Please do not "lock" or "page protect" documents.

Do not use the footnote/endnote functions found in some word processing software. (In addition, see References Section 6.1.11.) Failure to follow instructions may result in publication delays if your manuscript is accepted.

6.1.2.      Abbreviations and Units: Abbreviations should be used only when necessary, e.g., for long chemical names (HEPES), procedures (ELISA), or terms used throughout the article. See the list of abbreviations that need not be defined; all others must be defined at first use. Abbreviate units of measure only when used with numbers. Abbreviations may be used in tables and figures. The CBE style manual contains lists of standard scientific abbreviations.

Units: Clinical laboratory values should be in Système International (SI) form (see SI table in each issue). Kilocalories should be used rather than kilojoules. Glycated hemoglobin should be expressed as percentage of total and as standard deviation from mean control levels.

6.1.3.      Materials: Authors should provide the name and location (city and state/country) of the source for specified chemicals and other materials only if alternate sources are considered unsatisfactory.

6.1.4.      Title page: Every manuscript, including Letters and Brief Reports, must have an accompanying title page. The title page should include the title; a short running title (less than 47 characters and spaces combined); the first name, middle initial, last name, and highest academic degree of each author; affiliation (in English) of each author during the study being reported; name, current address, telephone number, fax number, and e-mail address of the corresponding author; and the word count and number of tables and figures.

All text and tables should be saved in Word document format (not as a PDF). Doing so will allow our Editorial Office to verify the word count and our production staff to turn your paper (if accepted) into an article.

Please do not use headers, footers, or endnotes in your paper.

6.1.5.     Font: Text, including title and author names, should be in 12pt font, Arial or Times New Roman (and no bolding please). (Text in tables should be no smaller than 10pt font.)

6.1.6.     Margins: Margins should be 1" at top and bottom and 1" on the left and right side.

(Please do not decrease margins or font size.

6.1.7.     Section Headers: Sections should follow each other consecutively (except for the Abstract) and not begin on a new page.

6.1.8.     Abstract: Please see Manuscript Categories Section 5.1.1.

6.1.9.     Word Count Limit: Please see instructions for the individual type of article being submitted under Manuscript Categories Section 5.1.2.

6.1.10.       Acknowledgments: The acknowledgments should go after the main text and before the reference list. Acknowledgments should contain brief statements of assistance, financial support, and prior publication of the study in abstract form, where applicable.

6.1.11.       References: The reference list should go at the end of the document, after the main text and acknowledgments (if applicable) and before the tables. Original Articles are allowed 25 references double-spaced. Brief Reports are allowed 10-15 references double-spaced. Letters are limited to no more than 5 references. Review Articles and Meta-analyses are allowed a maximum of 40 references double-spaced.

Reference numbers in the text should appear in chronological order in normal type and in parentheses [e.g., "In the study by Norton et al. (23)..."]. Please do not use the footnote/endnote functions found in some word processing programs. A reference manager must have the ability to customize the display of references. To clarify: The reference application should have the option to list the references at the end of the paper, as opposed to listing the references as endnotes or footnotes at the bottom of each page, and should not embed the list in the text as a series of endnotes/footnotes. Use of a reference manager is allowed (i.e., Thomson's EndNote Reference Program). When using a reference manager don't forget to generate the list as a bibliography in a style suitable to Diabetes Care and then save and submit as the final generation step to creating the references. Otherwise, references should be manually typed.

All authors must be listed by name in place of “et al.” and inclusive page numbers provided. Journal titles should be abbreviated as in the National Library of Medicine’sList of Journals Indexed for Medline; for unlisted journals, complete journal titles should be provided. Material that is in press may be cited, but copies of such material may be requested. Authors are responsible for the accuracy of the references.

For examples of listing and reference style, see examples.

6.1.12.      Appendices: Files for online-only publishing must be uploaded separately and clearly labeled as Online-Only Appendix.

Appendices for print and the Web are subject to review. Content of files submitted for online use only will not be copyedited. As such, please review the information carefully before submitting. In addition, an online appendix must be referenced in the text at least once, e.g., “(Online Appendix Table A1), generally where it is first mentioned.” A URL will be added to the manuscript to link to online supplemental data by our production staff. Lists that include names of principal investigators or writing groups may be included in print as an Acknowledgement or Appendix if no more than 100 words but should not be counted in the word count. Any other supplemental data may be included as an Online-Only Appendix.

6.2.      Tables: Tables should be double-spaced on separate pages and included at the end of the text document after the references, with the table number and table title and legend indicated. Table legends and footnotes should be above or below the table and not be included inside the table. Tables should be created using Word and the "Insert Table" command; please do not use tabs, the return key, and/or spaces to create tables, columns, or rows and do not "merge" cells within rows or columns (except in the top header row). Use Arial or Times New Roman font, no smaller than 10pt. Tables with internal divisions are not allowed (Tables 1A and B) and should be submitted as individual tables, i.e., Tables 1 and 2. Symbols for units should be confined to column headings. Each row should contain only 1 line of information.

Abbreviations should be kept to a minimum and defined in the table legend. For footnotes, use the following symbols consecutively, left to right, top to bottom of table: *, †, ‡, §, ||, ¶, #, **, ††, etc.

Although "landscape" tables are allowed (if necessary), for print purposes we request that "portrait" tables be used when possible. However, if a landscape table cannot be arranged as a portrait, you should 1) save and upload it as a separate file to ensure that it is readable for the editors and reviewers, and 2) include it at the end of your main text file.

Tables that belong in an online-only appendix, should not be included in the main document. Instead, an online-appendix should be uploaded as a separate document.

6.3.      Figures: Diabetes Care uses digital publishing methods throughout the journal production process. If accepted, your article will be published both in the printed journal and online. The following sections provide formatting information to ensure the best possible reproduction of your images.

6.3.1     Figure Size: Figures [photos, images, graphs, etc] should be produced at the size they are to appear in the printed journal (one, two, or three columns in width). Multi-paneled figures should be assembled in a layout that leaves the least amount of blank space.

1 column = 13 picas wide, 2.2 in, 5.6 cm

2 columns = 28 picas wide, 4.6 in, 11.7 cm

3 columns = 41 picas, 6.8 in, 17.3 cm

6.3.2.     Figure Font: At 100% size, fonts should be 8-10 points and used consistently throughout all figures.

6.3.3.     Figure Text. Information on the axes should be succinct, using abbreviations where possible, and the label on the y-axis should read vertically, not horizontally. Key information should be placed in any available white space within the figure; if space is not available, the information should be placed in the legend. In general, figures with multiple parts should be marked A, B, C, etc., with a description of each panel included in the legend rather than on the figure.

6.3.4.     Line and bar graphs. Lines in graphs should be bold enough to be easily read after reduction, as should all symbols used in the figure. Data points are best marked with the following symbols, again assuring that they will be readily distinguishable after reduction:

Line or bar graphs or flow charts with text should be created in black and white, not shades of gray, which are difficult to reproduce in even tones.

6.3.5.     Figure legends. Figure legends should be clearly numbered and included at the very end of your main text document and not in the separate figure/image files. The figure legend should use words rather than the symbols (e.g., black circles = group 1; white squares = group 2; black bars = blood glucose; white bars = C-peptide). Bars should be black or white only, unless more than two datasets are being presented; additional bars should be drawn with clear bold hash marks or stripes, not shades of gray. If you submit charts or graphs with gray backgrounds or bars, you will be asked to send new figures and publication may be delayed.

6.3.6.     Figures to be printed in black and white should not be submitted in color. If you submit figures in color but request to have them reproduced in black and white, you will be asked to send new figures and publication may be delayed. The publisher cannot be held responsible for poor print quality of images submitted that do not meet specifications. Also see Forms and Requirements Section 4.5.

6.3.7.     Formatting digital files for print reproduction: Use applications capable of creating high-resolution TIFF, EPS, or JPEG files. Color or grayscale images with no text or arrows (halftone images) should be at least 300 dpi. Color or grayscale images with any text or arrows (combination halftone images) should be at least 600 dpi. Black and white images with no shades of gray (line drawings) should be at least 1000 dpi. Color images should be created as RGB.

Authors may check the specifications of digital images by running the files through Rapid Inspector, a free tool provided at http://rapidinspector.cadmus.com/RapidInspector/z99/index.jsp.

6.3.8.      IF YOU ARE UNABLE to provide the needed digital copy of your figure(s), please submit the figure(s) in the original source file (the program used to create the figure(s), i.e., PowerPoint, Word, Excel, Photoshop, Paint, etc.) and ask the Editorial Office to convert the figure for you. (When doing so, please allow 1-2 days for the figures to be converted and uploaded for you.)

Figures that appear in an online-only appendix do not have to be formatted as above, but can be in Word, Excel, or Powerpoint if necessary.

6.3.9.     Reproductions. If materials (e.g., figures and/or tables) are taken from other sources, the author must provide written permission for reproduction from the original publisher and author at the time of submission. In addition, the source should be cited at the end of the figure legend.

7.     SUBMITTING A MANUSCRIPT

All manuscript submissions to Diabetes Care must be made online through Manuscript Central. The submission site is located at http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/diabetescare.

7.1.      Uploading Your Files Online: After reading the current instructions for authors, log into Manuscript Central and click the Author Center.

7.1.1.     Your manuscript should be submitted under the user account of the designated corresponding author (the contact person listed on the title page of the manuscript). (The system automatically recognizes the user account as the corresponding author, even if another name is designated.) If the corresponding author does not have a user account please follow instructions on the Manuscript Central site. (Please allow 24-48 hours for a usesr account to be created after the request for one is made.)

7.1.2.     Exceptions to entering an Abstract online: A Review Article or Commentary does not have an abstract, instead enter the introductory paragraph in the "Abstract" field when submitting the paper. For a Letter to the Editor type “NONE” in the abstract field. This will allow the submission process to continue.

Complete abstract information is available under Abstracts in Manuscript Categories Section 5.1.1.

7.2.      After entering information about the authors, institutions, title, abstract, keywords, etc., you will proceed to the File Upload Center. It is here that you will upload all files associated with your manuscript submission, including:

The text document (or “Main Document”) saved as a Word .doc or .rtf (rich text format) file.

Any files separate from the main text document and any other supporting documents (including landscaped tables, figures, copies of referenced material, in-press articles used as references, and supplemental data).

Any supplemental data files to be made available as an online appendix.

7.2.1     Use simple file names when saving your documents before upload, do not use special characters such as [brackets], (parentheses), punctuation marks (?, !, .), and symbols (e.g., @, #, &, $, %) in the file name. In addition, avoid spaces in your file names. For example, instead of "Figure 1.jpg," use "Figure1.jpg."

7.2.2.     The system will automatically convert your document files and image files to .pdf files. Do not upload .pdf, Excel, Powerpoint, or zipped files. You may, however, upload .pdf copies of in press references as supporting data and signed manuscript submission forms (See Forms and Requirements Section 4.)

7.2.3.     In the File Upload Center, you will be able to browse your computer for the files associated with your manuscript. When you upload each file, you will need to choose a designation from a pull-down menu that describes the file content (e.g., "Main Document," "Figure," "Table," etc.). In addition, please make sure each file name clearly describes its content (e.g., "figure1.jpg," "table2.doc," "coverletter.doc," etc.).

7.3.      Tables. Tables should be included in the document after the references. For detailed instructions on creating/formatting tables, please see Manuscript Format and Style Section 6.

7.4.      Figures/images. For review purposes figure files should be uploaded separately from your text file. (Please see Manuscript Format and Style Section 6 for instructions on creating and formatting figures.)

7.5.      Revised Manuscripts: A revised manuscript must meet all formatting requirements and word limits, even if formatting errors in the initial submission were originally allowed. In addition, all signed manuscript forms must be faxed to the Editorial Office by the time the revision is submitted. If complete forms have not been received it is likely that the revision will be unsubmitted automatically. Receipt of forms may be verified by contacting Jane Lucas (ReviewResponse{at}diabetes.org).

When revising your manuscript, it is required that your revised version show corrections made either by track changes or a colored font to show additions to text and strikeout to show deleted text. Please do not "lock" or "page protect" documents. A response to individual reviewer comments is also needed.

If you are submitting a revision, please include only the latest set of files. If you have updated a file, upload only the revised file. Do not include originally submitted files. Figures and tables must be uploaded with each version.

7.6.      Checking Your Files for Review (Proofs) Before Completing Manuscript Submission:

Once your text and image files are uploaded, please view these files to ensure they appear legibly and that all special characters have translated properly. Do not click "Submit Manuscript" until you are satisfied with the quality of the proofs. If you are having trouble uploading files, please click on the Help button in the top right corner of the manuscript submission screen or contact the editorialoffice{at}diabetes.org for instruction.

8.      ACCEPTED MANUSCRIPTS

8.1.      Prepublication. For detailed information see Policies Section 2.2.

8.2.      Accepted manuscripts will be scheduled for publication as soon as possible.

The designated corresponding author will receive notification of availability of page proofs by e-mail. Corrections should be returned to the assistant managing editor by fax within 24 hours of receipt of the proof. Failure to do so may delay the publication of the article to another issue.

Correspondence concerning the copyediting and proofreading of accepted manuscripts should be addressed to Lindsey Pollock, Editorial Manager, Diabetes Care, American Diabetes Association, 1701 North Beauregard St., Alexandria, VA 22311; tel: 703-299-2083; fax: 703-253-4870; e-mail: lpollock{at}diabetes.org.

Correspondence concerning the production of accepted articles and availability of page proofs should be addressed to Vanessa Gabler, Production Manager, American Diabetes Association, 1701 North Beauregard St., Alexandria, VA 22311; tel: 703-299-2033; fax 703-253-4870; e-mail: vgabler{at}diabetes.org.

9.     FINANCIAL OBLIGATIONS

Page charges are assessed for Original Articles and Brief Reports to help defray costs of publication. The charge is $85 per page. As noted under Color Figure Approval (Section 4.5.), each color figure printed will incur a charge of $630. The corresponding author will receive via e-mail a pro forma invoice, as well as a reprint order form, when page proofs become available. Unless otherwise indicated, we will assume that the corresponding author is taking responsibility for payment.