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JGP Instructions to Authors

Editorial Policies

These instructions, together with the Editorial Policies of The Journal of General Physiology should be read by all authors who plan to submit a manuscript to The Journal of General Physiology.

Submission to a Public Access database. The complete content of the JGP will be posted on PubMed Central and UK PubMed Central, where it will be available to the public 6 months after the publication date. There is no need for authors to submit their papers independently to these repositories. This service is free of charge.

Scope of Articles

The Journal of General Physiology publishes original articles that elucidate basic biological, chemical, or physical mechanisms of broad physiological significance. Apart from solicited articles, four types of articles will be considered: Regular Articles that should be as concise as possible, but with no lower or upper page limit; Tutorial Research Articles, articles that address problems about which the Journal often has published experimental studies, using methods that are likely to be new or unfamiliar to the Journal’s readers, presented in a more pedagogical (lengthy) manner; Communications, short articles that are no longer than six printed pages (and cannot include online supplemental material); and brief Letters to the Editor that comment upon, criticize, or interpret findings published in the Journal. The Journal publishes articles that strive to understand integrative function through innovative model simulations; conventional theoretical articles will be published only if they deal with subjects about which the Journal often has published experimental studies or if they are submitted as a companion to an experimental article that depends upon the theoretical article in some significant way. Methodological articles will be published only if they provide a significant advance in areas where the Journal regularly publishes experimental studies. No substantial part of an article may have been, or may be, published elsewhere.

Manuscript Submission

Manuscripts may be submitted online via our website (www.jgp.org). Clicking on the button labeled "Online Submission" will open a window with specific instructions for submitting via our web-based system.  The website is set up to receive all necessary files for manuscript review, resubmission and production of accepted manuscripts including text, digital figures, videos and other online supplemental material.  The system will generate a PDF from the submitted manuscript files, or you may upload your own PDF.  For the initial submission, an author-generated PDF and cover letter are sufficient for review purposes. Alternatively, you may submit electronically by sending a cover letter and a PDF (no larger than 5 MB) of the complete manuscript via email (jgp@rockefeller.edu). The Manuscript Submission Form  [download PDF version] and the Copyright Assignment [download PDF version] can be scanned and sent as PDF's, or faxed to (212) 327-8996.    The receipt of the manuscript will be acknowledged via email. Please note that should a revised version of the manuscript be invited, we would need a formatted text file in either Microsoft Word or Word Perfect, and digital figure files (see Manuscripts Invited for Revision). These files will be forwarded to the copyeditor if the manuscript is accepted.

Prior Publication. When submitting a manuscript, the authors should confirm on the Manuscript Submission Form and the Copyright Assignment that the material has neither been published nor submitted for publication elsewhere-other than as an abstract that is less than 400 words in length and contains no figures. If any other form of publication has occurred or is contemplated a PDF version should accompany the submission.  The authors should explain in the cover letter how this publication relates to the submitted manuscript. This material will be sent with the manuscript to the reviewers, who will be asked to advise the editors whether there is overlap between the submitted articles and the other material. Authors aslo should include copies of all "In press" publications that are cited in the manuscript, whether the citation is their own work or the work of others.

Authors should note that provisional copyright to the article is transferred to The Rockefeller University Press at the time of submission (see Publication Agreement). The work therefore cannot be made available in an electronic format that is accessible via the Internet or a campus server. The data presented in a submitted manuscript should not be made available prior to publication in any article listed in a public citation database or in a book identified with an ISBN. If submitted data are posted on a personal website they must not be associated in any way with the Journal (e.g., listed as "submitted", "accepted" or "in press" with the Journal, or posted with a Journal identification number). Any such posting will be considered a prior publication and a violation of the copyright. Doctoral theses or dissertations are not regarded as prior publications, whether they are made available in electronic form or not, unless they have been actually "published" in a widely distributable form.

Animal Protocols. Articles describing the results of experiments on vertebrates can be accepted for publication only if the experiments were conducted in accordance with the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (1996. National Academy of Sciences, Washington D.C.), which is available at www.nap.edu/books/0309053773/html/index.html. The authors should confirm on the Manuscript Submission Form that these principles were followed.

Conflict of Interest. All authors are required to disclose in the cover letter any commercial affiliations or other financial interests (consultant income, equity interests, or patent-licensing arrangements) that could create the appearance of a conflict of interest regarding the submitted manuscript. The specifics of such disclosures will remain confidential, but the Editor may recommend that a general statement be made in the Acknowledgments section. All funding sources, whether institutional, public, private, or corporate, should be listed in the acknowledgments.

Cover Letter.  A cover letter from the corresponding author must accompany any original submission.  This letter should include the contact information of the corresponding author; a statement affirming that all authors concur with the submission and that the material submitted for publication has not been previously reported and is not under consideration for publication elsewhere; and a statement regarding any potential conflicts of interest.  To expedite the review of manuscripts, the editors would appreciate the name, institutional affiliation and email address of potential reviewers. These individuals should not be recent (within the last three years) collaborators or co-authors, nor should they have provided substantial advice to the author(s) in the conduct of the work or the preparation of the manuscript. The editors will seriously consider these suggestions, as well as reasoned requests to exempt possible candidates, when selecting reviewers.

Manuscript Organization and Preparation

Format. Although we can accept most word processing formats, we prefer Microsoft Word files. Please note that typesetting programs such as LaTeX are not compatible with our system, and cannot be used. When preparing your files, please be aware of the following guidelines:  Do not try to achieve a "typeset" look as most of your formatting will be removed during the production process, and may interfere with file conversion; use your software's built-in superscript and subscript attributes rather than changing a character's font size/position; manuscripts must be paginated and double-spaced throughout; use symbol font for all Greek characters.

All material, including abstract, text, footnotes, references, tables, and legends must be double-spaced. All pages should be numbered in sequence starting with the title page. Each section should begin on a new page, and the sections should be organized in the following order: Title Page; Abstract (with key words listed beneath); Introduction; Materials and Methods; Results; Discussion; Appendices, if any; Acknowledgments; Footnotes; References; Figure Legends; Tables with Table Legends; and Figures (all figures should be numbered). Schemes should not be included in the text, but attached separately with the figures. Schemes will be numbered, using Roman numerals, in the order in which they appear.  Footnotes to the text should be numbered consecutively.

Conventions. Authors should follow the conventions set forth in the Council of Biology Editors Manual for Authors, Editors, and Publishers, Scientific Style and Format (1994. 6th edition. Published for the Council of Biology Editors, Inc., by the Press Syndicate for the University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK).  List chemicals and scientific instruments used and their manufacturer. Capitalize trade names. For chemical compounds, after the first use of the trivial name give the formal name, as established by international convention (e.g., by IUB, IUPAB, IUPAC, or IUPS). Identify statistical software used.

Abbreviations and Units. Standard abbreviations may be used without definition. List all other definitions used in the manuscript in a footnote, which should be numbered consecutively (except for the footnote identifying the corresponding author).  Terms used fewer than three times in the manuscript should not be abbreviated. Abbreviate units of measure only when used with numbers. Numbers and units must be separated by a space, e.g., 5 pA, not 5pA. The use of abbreviations in text, figures, and tables must be consistent. Use the metric system and Systemes International d'Unites (SI) units.

Title Page. List the title of the article, which should be less that 100 characters (not including spaces).  Provide the complete names of the institutions where the work was done, and the name, mailing address, telephone number, fax number, and email address of the author to whom correspondence and proofs are to be sent. If you wish to have two corresponding authors listed for the paper, you must designate one of them to communicate with the editorial and production offices.  If a change of address is imminent, indicate the change and the date effective. Designate footnotes to authors' affiliations using superscript numbers. Any change in authorship or the title during or after the course of review will have to be approved by all authors, and a new copyright assignment form signed by all authors must be submitted. Furnish a condensed title of <62 characters (including the authors' names) for incorporation in the running head, and five key words (use MeSH-MEDLINE major subject headings).  Letters to the Editor should have a title and a running title. The authors' names and affiliations should appear between the end of the text and the bibliography, not on the title page.

Abstract. The abstract serves as a summary of the article and will be sent to abstracting journals.; it cannot exceed 300 words. It should be meaningful to a wide range of readers, and should state the rationale, objectives, new findings, and conclusions of the study. Nonstandard abbreviations should not be used in the abstract.; references must be cited in full.

Acknowledgments State the source(s) of support in the form of grants, equipment, or materials on a separate acknowledgments page. Other appropriate acknowledgments, such as the contributions and advice of other scientists, should also be listed here. It is the responsibility of the author(s) to ensure that those acknowledged agree to the form of the acknowledgment.

References. References should be cited parenthetically by author and year of publication; a paper with two authors is cited by both names; papers with more than two authors are cited by the first author with "et al." added.  In case of ambiguity or duplication, publication year should be distinguished with lower case letters (e.g., 1998a, 1998b).

In the reference list, authors should be listed alphabetically by the first author's last name.  If automatic referencing systems are used, the references must be finalized and reduced to text before submission. Include all authors' names (do not use "et al."), year, complete article title, and inclusive page numbers. See examples below. The authors must be cited in the order in which they first appeared in publication and as they subsequently appear in Medline, even in cases where more than one author contributed equally to the work. Abbreviate the names of journals according to PubMed; spell out the names of unlisted journals.

Unpublished material should not appear in the reference list. Citations such as "manuscript in preparation," "manuscript submitted," "unpublished results," "unpublished observation," and "data not shown," must appear parenthetically in the text as "unpublished data." As an alternative to "unpublished data," additional images, videos, data sets, or methods not shown in the article may be included as Online Supplemental Material. When a person(s) who is not an author of the article is the source of unpublished data, those data must be cited as a "personal communication."  If any kind of personal communication is cited, the author must submit to the Journal signed permission from the person whose work is cited. The permission must state that the person whose work is cited has seen and approved the actual wording of the citation. Citation of abstracts in the reference list is not permitted; these should be incorporated parenthetically into the text, giving the authors' names, meeting name and year, and abstract number.

Please adhere to the reference formats provided by the following examples:

Journal Articles:

Two authors: Accardi, A., and M. Pusch. 2003. Conformational Changes in the Pore of CLC-0.  J. Gen. Physiol. 122:277-294.

More than two authors: Takeuchi, H., Y. Imanaka, J. Hirono, and T. Kurahashi. 2003. Cross-adaptation between olfactory responses induced by two-subgroups of odorant molecules. J. Gen. Physiol. 122:255Ð264.

In press: Chen, D.P., L. Xu, R.S. Eisenberg, and G. Meissner. 2003. Calcium ion permeation through the calcium release channel (ryanodine receptor) of cardiac muscle. J. Chem. Physiol. In press. 

Online Peer-Reviewed Articles:

Published article with only DOI: Tang, C., and J.P. Klinman. The catalytic function of bovine lysyl oxidase in the absence of copper. J. Biol. Chem. doi:10.1074/jbc.C100138200.

Published article with both DOI and pagination: Prowse, C.N., and J. Lew. 2001. Mechanism of activation of ERK2 by dual phophorylation. J. Biol. Chem. 276:99-103. doi:10.1074/jbc.M008137200.

Complete Books:

Hille, B. 1992. Ionic Channels in Excitable Membranes. 2nd ed. Sinauer Associates, Inc. Sunderland, MA. 607 pp. (Note the complete pagination.) 

Articles in Books:

Keating, M.T. 1995. Molecular genetics of the Long QT syndrome. In Ion Channels and Genetic Diseases. D.C. Dawson and R.A. Frizzell, editors. The Rockefeller University Press, New York. 53-60.

Figure Legends. Use the number corresponding to each figure (e.g., Figure 3). Provide a short title and brief explanation in sufficient detail to make the figure intelligible without reference to the text. Avoid duplication of explanations in text. Please provide a key to the symbols, and curves, in the figure. Do not provide any legend on the actual figure.

Tables. Tables should always use rows and columns to correlate two variables. Double space tables on pages separate from the text and make them self-contained and self-explanatory. Do not divide into sub tables and do not use vertical rules. Label each table at the top with a Roman numeral followed by the table title. Insert explanatory material and footnotes below the table. Designate footnotes using lowercase superscript letters (^{a, b, c}) reading horizontally across the table. Supply units of measure at the heads of the columns. Abbreviations that are used only in a table should be defined in the footnotes to that table.

Equations. Word 2007 users please note: With Word 2007 Microsoft has introduced a new proprietary math editor as the default editor for equations, but there are incompatibilities which prevent us from using equations created with this new editor.  Please use the Design Science Equation Editor (formerly the default Word editor) or MathType rather than the new default math editor featured in the Insert ribbon.  To use either Equation Editor or MathType, in the Insert ribbon, click “Object” and choose object type “Microsoft Equation 3.0” or “MathType Equation.”   The Equation Editor toolbar or MathType window will appear and will work as in previous versions of Word.

Figure Preparation.  Figures are cited in numerical order in the text using Arabic numerals. Figures should be prepared at publication size; whenever possible, figures will be reduced to a single-column width (85 mm).  Multiple parts of a figure should be identified by the capital letters A, B, etc.; they must combine on a single print or drawing (except when the figure is comprised of a photographic image and a line drawing, which can be separate).  Figures should be consistent in overall format, size, and style. Do not use two different sizes or styles of lettering in one figure. Sans serif fonts should be used for labeling.  Figures should not have titles. Figures divided into parts A and B should be labeled with letters of approximately the same size as the capital letters in the figure.

The size of symbols should be comparable to that of the lowercase lettering; if the symbols are overly small in relation to the lettering, symbols such as solid squares and solid circles will not easily be distinguished by the reader. Only standard symbols (closed circle, open circle, closed diamond, open diamond, closed square, open square, closed triangle, open triangle, inverted closed triangle, inverted open triangle, x, +) are acceptable. Figures with white lettering on a black background should be avoided.

Digital Images

Image acquisition and manipulation.  No specific feature within an image may be enhanced, obscured, moved, or removed. The grouping of images from different parts of the same gel or from different gels, fields, or exposures must be made explicit by the arrangement of the figure (i.e., using dividing lines) and in the text of the figure legend. If dividing lines are not included, they will be added by our production department, and may result in production delays. Adjustments of brightness, contrast, or color balance are acceptable if they are applied to the whole image and as long as they do not obscure or eliminate any information present in the original, including backgrounds. Without any background information, it is not possible to see exactly how much of the original gel is actually shown. Non-linear adjustments (e.g., gamma settings) must be disclosed in the figure legend. All digital images in manuscripts accepted for publication will be scrutinized by our production department for any indication of improper manipulation. Questions raised by the production department will be referred to the Editors, who will request the original data from the authors for comparison to the prepared figures. Cases of deliberate misrepresentation of data will be reported to the corresponding author's home institution or funding agency.

Numerical data. Error bars on graphic representations of numerical data must be clearly described in the figure legend. The number of independent data points (N) represented in a graph must be indicated in the legend. Numerical axes on graphs should go to zero, except for log axes. Statistical analyses should be done on all available data and not just on data from a "representative experiment". Statistics and error bars should only be shown for independent experiments and not for replicates within a single experiment.

File formats. Acceptable file formats are EPS or TIFF. We cannot accept PowerPoint files. Please note that files saved in TIF format from within the PowerPoint application are NOT at sufficiently high resolution to meet our formatting requirements. File names should be alphanumeric; do not include any spaces or special characters.

Molecular weights / fragment sizes. Protein molecular weights or DNA fragment sizes should be indicated on all figure panels showing gel electrophoresis.

Black & white photographic images. Submitted digital halftones must have an image resolution of at least 300 dpi at publication size. To check the size and resolution of the image in Adobe Photoshop, select "Image Size" in the "Image" menu. Make sure the "Resample Image" box in "Image Size" dialog window is not checked and the "Width", "Height", and "Resolution" boxes are linked by the graphic chain. (It may be necessary to click twice on the "Resample Image" box to establish this link.) This will mean that no resolution (i.e., dots or data) is lost when reducing the dimensions of an image and that the machine does not add dots to an image when increasing its dimensions. Set the print size to the desired size of the image in the printed journal and make sure that the resolution at this size is equal to or above 300 dpi. Please submit in the TIF format by selecting this choice in the format box of the "Save" dialog window. Files should be in grayscale format.

Color photographic images. As above, resolution should be at least 300 dpi. Please submit files in RGB format. For published manuscripts, image files will be posted online in their original RGB format, maintaining the full color of your original files. When saving, always embed any ICC profile you've been working with. All profiles will be accurately converted to Adobe RGB (1998). If possible, we recommend that authors use Adobe RGB (1998) when preparing files. Note that we will still need to convert all RGB files to CMYK for printing on paper and color shifts may occur in conversion. You will not receive a CMYK proof. You can view an approximation of print results by converting to CMYK in Photoshop or Illustrator. The cost of publishing five pages of color is included in the page charges. If authors of an article need more than five pages of color figures, there will be an additional charge of $250 per color page. More than one color photograph may be printed on a page.

Line Art. Vector files should be created in an illustration program such as Adobe Illustrator and should be saved and submitted as EPS (Encapsulated PostScript).  If you must save as TIFF, files should be at least 1,000 dpi at publication size.  As a general rule, later versions of software maintain better image quality when saving in EPS or TIFF; we encourage authors to upgrade to recent versions. Only Times, Helvetica, Arial, or Symbol fonts should be used. Using other fonts may result in lost or improperly converted characters. All color art must be in RGB format.

Figures with a combination of photographs and line art. Prepare photographic image files in Photoshop as above at 300 dpi as described above. Prepare line art in Illustrator as above (if you will be importing color images, be sure to create an RGB Illustrator file). Image files should be placed into the file containing the line art. Always embed images, never link. In Illustrator, copying and pasting or dragging directly from Photoshop will embed the image. If you use the "Place" command, be sure to uncheck "Link" in the dialogue box. If you use another illustration program, please refer to the specific documentation for that application (generally there will be a "link", "proxy" or "OPI" option on import which should be unchecked). Save as EPS, always embedding any color profile used. We recommend Adobe RGB (1998).  If you must save as TIFF, files should be at least 600 dpi.

Online Supplemental Material.

An "Online Supplemental Material" section, providing a brief description of any materials submitted for online only publication (such as videos, data sets, or supplemental figures), should appear at the end of MATERIALS AND METHODS. The supplemental material will be linked to the online version. All supplemental material -- whether tables, figures, detailed derivations of equations, or movies that depict the results of experiments or simulations -- will be subject to the same rigorous review as the main manuscript.

Videos. The JGP can post video files online. Videos must be cited both at the relevant place in the text of the Results section, and in the legends of any figures that contain video stills or images related to the video. Each video must also be accompanied by a text legend, which must contain the following information: what the video is showing, the cell line or cell type being viewed, what each color represents, how often frames were collected, the frames/second display rate, and the number of any figure that has related video stills or images. Videos must be peer reviewed with the manuscript.

Videos must be no larger than 10 MB. We recommend Sorenson or Cinepak compression, although other codecs may be used. However, please do not use Intel Indeo because of incompatibilities across platforms. Color depth should be kept to a minimum, using grayscale for black and white videos. Frame size should be limited to 450 x 375 pixels for best viewing within a browser on most monitors. We accept .mov, .mpg, and .avi files. Videos should be named by order of citation appearance (e.g., video1.mov). If a video is directly related to a figure or table, name accordingly (e.g., Fig4video3.mov). Lengthy file names should be avoided.

Manuscripts Invited for Revision

When inviting a revised manuscript, the initial decision letter should state whether or not the manuscript will be sent for review. If the manuscript will be sent to the reviewers, a PDF of the manuscript, along with a cover letter and response to reviewers is sufficient for resubmission; these can be uploaded to the submission system or sent via e-mail. For revised manuscripts that may not receive further outside review, a formatted text file (preferably in Microsoft Word), with a set of digital figures in EPS or high-resolution TIF format should be uploaded to the submission system (not sent via e-mail). Please note: WordPerfect is also an acceptable text format; LaTeX files cannot be accepted. Also, PDF figures are not suitable for production; specific requirements for figures are listed in the Digital Images section.

Manuscripts Accepted for Publication

Manuscripts accepted by the Journal are considered to be the final revision received by editorial office - unless the authors explicitly have informed the editorial office that they wish to submit publication quality color figures only after the manuscript has been accepted. No changes can be made to the manuscript, except for corrections in the galley proof.

Copyediting and Production

All correspondence regarding the copyediting and production of manuscripts that have been accepted for publication should be addressed to:

The Rockefeller University Press
The Journal of General Physiology
1114 First Avenue
New York, NY 10021-5405
USA
tel.: (212) 327-7940
fax: (212) 327-8513
email: jgpcopy{at}rockefeller.edu

ftp Instructions. The ftp server should only be used when specifically requested by the production editor. For Windows users, we recommend using Internet Explorer: direct your browser to ftp://ftprup.rockefeller.edu/JGP/. For Mac users, use an ftp client such as Fetch. The ftp address for the production office is ftprup.rockefeller.edu, and files should be uploaded to the "JGP" directory via anonymous ftp. Please note, all files uploaded are confidential, and the server is protected from unauthorized downloads. Authors will not be able to download any files in the Inbox (including their own). Please alert the  Production Editor via email after all files have been transferred.

Proofs. A rough Galley proof is supplied to the corresponding author as a PDF , along with instructions. Authors will be provided with information on authors' charges for offprints and special services at that time.  Proofs must be returned within 48 hours. Should the corresponding author so request, galley proofs can be sent to one other author if necessary; however, only one set of galley proofs from either the corresponding author or the corresponding author's designate will be accepted by the production office.

Charges to Authors.

A charge of $95.00 will be made for each printed page of type or illustrations, including five pages of color. If authors of an article need more than five pages of color, there will be an additional charge of $250 per color page. The cost of authors' text alterations in proof is $4.00 per change. Figure reshoots at the author's request will be charged at $55.00 per subject. Authors' ability to honor these charges will not affect publication of acceptable articles.

Offprints. Authors may purchase offprints of their articles; an order form will be sent with the galley proof and it must be returned before the article is released.

Copyright Policy. Please see our License to Publish

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