INSTRUCTIONS TO AUTHORS
Archiva Zootechnica (ISSN: 1016-4855)
http://www.ibna.ro/arhiva-zootehnica
- MANUSCRIPT PREPARATION (STYLE AND FORM)
When writing your manuscript please use the manuscript template provided on the journal’ webpage (http://www.ibna.ro/arhiva-zootehnica) and follow the Instructions to Authors. Failure to adhere to the style and form will result in postponing or rejection of the manuscript.
Do not use additional formatting (e.g. headers, automatic chapters, text in columns). However, you can use simple effects such as bold, italics, superscript and subscript, bulleted or numbered lists, etc. Please take note that the tables and pictures/charts will have to fit to a maximum printed page width of 13 cm; resizing them during reformatting might cause distortions and errors.
All manuscripts must be written in English (including the references). We strongly recommend that the English of your manuscript is reviewed by a professional translator or native English speaker.
Line spacing: 1 line throughout the document, do not add page numbers
Title (Cambria 15, centered, no spacing/lines before, one empty line after). Have to be concise and informative. Please note that titles are often used in information-retrieval systems. Avoid abbreviations and formulae where possible. Also refer to animal species when applicable.
Author names (Cambria 12, bold, centered, no spacing/lines after). The family names may be written in CAPS; no title, positions, or degrees should be specified. Indicate all affiliations with a lower-case superscript numbers (1, 2, 3, etc.) immediately after the author's name. The corresponding author is indicated by inserting * symbol before its affiliation numbers.
Corresponding author (Cambria 11, centered, one empty line after). Insert a valid e-mail address.
Authors’ affiliations (Cambria 11, italic, aligned to left). Provide the full postal address of each affiliation, including the country name, and, if available, the e-mail address of each author
All chapter titles (Abstract, Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results and Discussions, Conclusions, Acknowledgements, References): should be written with Cambria, 11, using Capitalize Each Word & small caps, with two single lines before and 6 points spacing after.
All subchapter titles should be written with Cambria, 11, without spacing before and after when follows a chapter title. When used in the middle of the body text, a line before should be inserted, without any spacing after.
All body texts have to be written with Cambria, 11, single line spacing, first line indent 0.7 cm, justified alignment.
References to tables and figures should precede them in the text flow and can be inserted with or without brackets, e.g. “(Table 1)” or “in Figure 1”.
Abstract. The abstract consists of no more than 200 words in one paragraph and summarizes the pertinent results (with info on statistical significance; i.e., P-values) in a brief but understandable form, beginning with a clear statement of the objective and ending with the conclusions, with no references cited. Abbreviations in the abstract are not allowed.
Keywords. List up to 5 key words or expressions, e.g. the species, tested variables, the major response criteria. The first letter of each key word is lowercase (unless a proper noun); keywords are separated by commas; no abbreviations should be used.
Introduction. The introduction must not exceed 2,500 keystrokes (characters plus spaces) and briefly justifies the research, specifies the hypotheses to be tested, and gives the objective(s). Extensive discussion of relevant literature must not be included in the Introduction, should be placed in the Discussions section.
Materials and Methods. A clear description or specific original reference is required for all biological, analytical, and statistical procedures. All modifications of procedures must be explained. Diets, dates of experimental activities if appropriate, animals [breed, sex, age, body weight, and weighing conditions (i.e., with or without restriction of feed and water)], surgical techniques, measurements, and statistical models should be described clearly and fully. Statistical methods commonly used in the animal sciences need not be described in detail, but adequate references should be provided. The statistical model, classes, blocks, and experimental unit must be stated. Manufacturer name and location should be provided for any proprietary product appearing in materials and methods. Use italics to designate genus and species (Bos taurus) and botanical varieties (Avena sativa var. aristata). Designations for botanical cultivars should be preceded by “cv.” or enclosed in single quotes (e.g., Festuca rubra cv. Boreal or Festuca rubra ‘Boreal’). Specify the basis (as-fed or dry matter) for dietary ingredient and chemical composition data listed in text or in tables. Similarly, specify the basis for tissue composition data (e.g., wet or dry basis). Avoid jargon unfamiliar to scientists from other disciplines. E.g. do not use the term “head” to refer to an animal or group of animals. Instead, use animals, sows, ewes, steers, heifers, etc. Breed and variety names should be capitalized (Landrace, Hereford). Trademarked or registered names should be capitalized, but no ™ or ® symbols should be used.
Results and Discussions. In Archiva Zootechnica, authors have the option of combining the results and discussion into one section. However, authors are requested to pay attention to both of the sections, especially the discussions.
The results are presented in the form of tables or figures when feasible. If data are discussed in the text but not presented in the tables or figures, specify “data not shown” in the text. The text should explain or elaborate on the tabular data, but numbers should not be extensively repeated within the text. Volume of the used primary data, all with some index of variation attached, statistical significance should be presented to allow the reader to interpret the results of the experiment.
The discussions should interpret the results clearly and concisely in terms of biological mechanisms and significance and also should integrate the research findings with the body of previously published literature to provide the reader with a broad base on which to accept or reject the hypotheses tested. Avoid presenting results and references to tables and figures already described in the Results section. The possible differences from other authors or data inconsistencies must be mentioned and explained.
Conclusions. You should underline, in few phrases, the most important findings of the article, the ones that are supported by your own results. Please avoid general statements, on well-known facts. If applicable, try to highlight practical implications.
Tables. The titles should be written with Cambria, 10, aligned to left. Only the codification of the tables (Table 1, Table 2) should be formatted with bold. The content of the table have to be written with Cambria, 10. The notes below the tables (if needed) are to be written with Cambria, 9, aligned to the left.
The tables should be inserted in the corresponding parts of the text (not at the end of the manuscript). Number the tables in the order of appearance in the text. Please make sure that the table rows’ width doesn’t exceed 13 cm. The abbreviations must be spelled out in numbered footnotes placed below the table, so the tables should be self-explanatory. For differences among means within a row or column, superscript letters should be used (e.g., a, ab, b, c, cd).
Figures. Please note that although the pdf version of the articles is in colors, the printed content is in black & white. Please adapt your illustrative materials accordingly. Number them in the order of appearance in the text. Figures width should not exceed 13 cm and they should be inserted in the corresponding parts of the text (not at the end of the manuscript). Author-defined abbreviations should be defined in figures’ titles so the illustrative materials should be self-explanatory. The titles of the figures should be written with Cambria, 10, aligned to left. Only codification of the figures (Figure 1, Figure 2) should be formatted with bold.
Abbreviations. Abbreviations that are not standard must be defined at first use in the text. Once defined, abbreviations should always be used, except to begin a sentence. Author-identified abbreviations need to be redefined in each table and figure.
Acknowledgements (optional): same as the body text (Cambria, 11, justified), but italic. They may include info on the financing source, reference to persons that are not listed among the co-authors, etc.
References
- Citation in text
Please ensure that every reference cited in the text is also present in the reference list (and vice versa). No more than 3 references should be given for the same statement. Unpublished results and personal communications are not recommended in the reference list, but may be mentioned in the text. However, if these references are included in the reference list they should follow the standard reference style of the journal and should include a substitution of the publication date with either "Unpublished results" or "Personal communication" Citation of a reference as "in press" implies that the item has been accepted for publication. Web references are not recommended but accepted when no other references are available. As a minimum, the full URL should be given. Any further information, if known (DOI, author names, dates, reference to a source publication, etc.), should also be given.
- Reference style
All citations in the text should have the following format:
- For single author: the author's name (without initials, unless there is ambiguity) and the year of publication;
- For two authors: both authors' names and the year of publication;
- For three or more authors: first author's name followed by "et al." and the year of publication.
Citations may be made directly or in parenthesis. Groups of references should be listed first alphabetically, then chronologically.
Examples: "as demonstrated (Smith, 1996a, 1996b, 1999; Smith and Jones, 1995). Ridley et al. (2000) have recently shown ...."
- Reference list:
References should be arranged first alphabetically and then further sorted chronologically if necessary. More than one reference from the same author(s) in the same year must be identified by the letters "a", "b", "c", etc., placed after the year of publication.
The reference section should be written as the body text (Cambria 11, justified), except that the first line has to be 1.27 cm indented, “hanging” option.
Examples:
Reference to a journal publication:
Dänicke, S., Swiech, E., Buraczewska, L., Ueberschär, K.H., 2005. Kinetics and metabolism of zearalenone in young female pigs. J Anim Physiol Anim Nutr (Berl). 89, 268-276.
Reference to a book:
Delves, P.J., Martin, S.J., Burton, D.B., Roitt, I.M., 2006. Roitt’s Essential Immunology. Eleventh ed., Blackwell Publishing, Massachusetts.
Reference to a chapter in an edited book:
Mettam, G.R., Adams, L.B., 1999. How to prepare an electronic version of your article, in: Jones, B.S., Smith , R.Z. (Eds.), Introduction to the Electronic Age. E-Publishing Inc., New York, pp. 281-304.
- PROCEDURES AND POLICIES OF Archiva Zootechnica
Submission of manuscripts
Manuscripts should be submitted on-line at https://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/archivazootechnica
Copyright Agreement
Authors shall complete the License to Publish form for each new manuscript submission. The Licence to Publish refer to copyright, conflict of interests, ethical and animal care issues, etc. and must be completed by all authors before publication can proceed. The corresponding author is responsible for obtaining the signatures of coauthors. The form is available online at www.ibna.ro, Archiva Zootechnica section.
Likewise, authors who include material (e.g. tables or figures) taken from other copyrighted sources must secure permission from the copyright holders and be able to provide evidence of this permission at the time the manuscript is submitted to Archiva Zootechnica for review. Tables or figures reproduced from the work of others must include an acknowledgment of the original source in a footnote or legend.
Review of manuscripts
General Procedures. The suitability of all manuscripts for publication in Archiva Zootechnica is judged by the reviewers and the editorial board. All communications regarding a submitted manuscript will remain confidential. The editorial board is the final arbiter regarding acceptance or rejection of manuscripts submitted for publication. After acceptance, the manuscript is forwarded to the technical team for on-line and printed publication.
Rejection. There are 3 main grounds for rejection of manuscripts.
- The manuscript doesn’t fit in the Archiva Zootechnica research topics and is suitable for publication elsewhere.
- The manuscript does not meet Archiva Zootechnica standards: the text is unclear, not concise, incoherent, poor English. Other reasons are: the work is incomplete (lack of discussions, conclusions, etc.), conclusions are not supported by the results, the experimental approach is poorly conceived, the work repeats established facts or represents no advance to the existing knowledge.
- Failure to respond to reviewers’ observations.
Revisions. Most of the manuscripts that are eventually published are returned to the author(s) for revision. The authors must reply punctually to all observations/comments from reviewers (by mentioning the line specified by the reviewer – e.g. Line 183: text changed into “...”, as requested); if they don’t agree with the observations/comments from reviewers they must appropriately argument why.
Authors should highlight the corrections made following the comments of the reviewers (different background color or use of Track changes), so these can be easily noticed/verified. Normally, the revised manuscript must be returned to the associate editor, as attachment, by e-mail, within 3 wks from the date of receipt by the author. Potentially delaying circumstances should be communicated to the journal’ team (via This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.) in order to obtain an extended deadline.
Care and use of animals. Only investigations that have followed high standards for the care and the use of animals for scientific research will be published in Archiva Zootechnica. As mentioned before, all manuscripts submitted to Archiva Zootechnica must be accompanied by the License to Publish form, certifying that any research that involves animals observed the specific established standards / regulations.
Commercial Products. The articles describing studies on commercial products are accepted for publication provided they meet the scientific standards and observe the following rules:
- no trademark in the title, but identification of the nature of product, active substance, vegetal species (case of plant extracts), source, etc.
- no trademark in the tables with results
- introduction of the trademark is to be done in Materials and Methods, together with the manufacturer name and location or a website address
- the company name appear with the affiliation of the authors (e.g. if they work for the company), as for any other institution
- no ™ or ® symbols should be used