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open access eISSN 2093-3673

Journal
Impact Factor

1.4

Guide for Authors

Manuscripts for submission to Anatomy & Cell Biology (Anat Cell Biol, ACB) should be prepared according to the following instructions. For issues not addressed in these instructions, the author is referred to the "Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly work in Medical Journals" (http://www.icmje.org/recommendations/); International Committee of Medical Journal Editors [ICMJE]).
The journal adheres to the ethical guidelines for research and publication described in Guidelines on Good Publication (http://publicationethics.org/resources/guidelines), the ICMJE Guidelines (http://www.icmje.org), and Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing (joint statement by COPE, DOAJ, WAME, and OASPA, https://publicationethics.org/news/principles-transparency-and-bestpractice-scholarly-publishing-revised-and-updated). ACB follows the international standards for editors and authors press release, https://publicationethics.org/guidance/Guidelines and the COPE flowcharts, https://publicationethics.org/guidance/Flowcharts.
1. Authorship and Contributorship

To be listed as an author one should have contributed substantially to all four categories established by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE): 1) substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work; 2) drafting the work or reviewing it critically for important intellectual content; 3) final approval of the version to be published; 4) agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved. Authors should meet conditions of 1, 2, 3, and 4. The ICMJE further states that acquisition of funding, the collection of data, or general supervision of the research group, by themselves, do not justify authorship. Individuals who have contributed substantially to some but not all of the four categories, or in other areas, should be listed in the Acknowledgements. The ACB recommends that authors submit a short description of all contributions to their manuscript. Each author's contribution should be described in brief, to appear immediately before the references.
Generative artificial intelligence (AI) including language models, chatbots, image creators, machine learning, or similar technologies do not qualify for authorship. The technologies listed above may be used in enhancing readability and language accuracy in scientific writing. The responsibility for the manuscript's integrity ultimately rests with the human authors, and the authors employing generative AI tools in manuscript preparation are required to disclose their use in the Acknowledgements section. Such disclosure should detail the specific tools used, including the model name, version, and manufacturer, and explain the capacity in which they were employed. Should the use of AI extend beyond language enhancement, the methods and tools used must be detailed in the Materials and methods section as a formal part of the research design.

2. Conflict of Interest

A conflict of interest may exist when an author (the author's institution or employer) has financial or personal relationships or affiliations that could bias the author's decisions of the manuscript. Authors are expected to provide detailed information about all relevant financial interests and relationships or financial conflicts, particularly those present at the time the research was conducted and through publication, as well as other financial interests (such as patent applications in preparation), that represent potential future financial gain. All disclosures of any potential conflicts of interest, including specific financial interests and relationships and affiliations (other than those affiliations listed in the title page of the manuscript) relevant to the subject of their manuscript will be disclosed by the corresponding author on behalf of each co-author, if any, as part of the submission process. Likewise, authors without conflicts of interest will be requested to state so as part of the submission process. If authors are uncertain about what constitutes relevant financial interests or relationships, they should contact the editorial office.

3. Animal and Human Subjects

Clinical research should be done in accordance with the Ethical Principles for Medical Research Involving Human Enacted March 2010 Revised September 2023 Subjects, as outlined in the Helsinki Declaration of 1975 (revised 2013; https://www.wma.net/policies-post/wma-declaration-of-helsinki-ethical-principles-for-medical-research-involving-human-subjects/). Clinical studies that do not comply with it will not be considered for publication. For human subjects, personal information such as patients' names, individual registration numbers, dates of birth, or other private matters should not be disclosed. In cases of animal experiments, it should be stated clearly that the processes complied with regulations of the authors' institution(s) or national research committee related to breeding and using laboratory animals or the NIH Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals. Copies of the protocol approved by Institutional Review board (IRB) or Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) should be available for review if necessary.
ACB condemns unethical treatment of subjects in laboratory research, both human and animal. The report of any research involving human beings or experimental subjects must be conducted in accordance with the local or national requirements approved by their Institutional Review Board or Animal Research Committee. Manuscripts that do not comply with acceptable standards for the humane treatment of vertebrate animals will not be considered for publication.

4. Registration of the Clinical Research and Data Sharing Policy

Any research that deals with clinical trial should be registered to the primary national clinical trial registration site such as http://cris.nih.go.kr/cris/index.jsp, or other sites accredited by World Health Organization or ICMJE (http://www.icmje.org/recommendations/browse/publishing-and-editorial-issues/clinical-trial-registration.html).
This journal follows the data sharing policy described in “Data Sharing Statements for Clinical Trials: A Requirement of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors”. The ICMJE’s policy regarding trial registration is explained at http://www.icmje.org/recommendations/browse/publishing-and-editorial-issues/clinical-trial-registration.html. If the data sharing plan changes after registration this should be reflected in the statement submitted and published with the manuscript, and updated in the registry record.

5. Originality and Duplicate Publication

All submitted manuscripts should be original and should not be considered by other scientific journals for publication at the same time. Any part of the accepted manuscript should not be duplicated in any other scientific journal without the permission of the Editorial Board. If duplicate publication related to the papers of this journal is detected, the authors will be announced in the journal and their institutes will be informed, and there also will be penalties for the authors.

6. Plagiarism

Authors must obtain permission to reproduce any copyright material, and include an acknowledgement of the source in their articles. Authors should be aware that the unreferenced use of the published and unpublished ideas, writing, or illustrations of others, from whatever source (including research grant applications), or submission of a complete paper under 'new' authorship in the same or a different language, constitutes plagiarism.

1. Review Articles

Review articles shall be limited to invited review articles, selected by the Editorial Board as addressing a significant theme from areas relevant to cell biology based on anatomy and whose authors were selected and referred on the basis of articles published in this or other journals. The submitted manuscripts will be decided for publication after peer review with the supervision of the journal’s Editorial Board. The length of the manuscript should not exceed 3,500 words excluding cover letter, tables, figures, and references. The reference list should not exceed 100. However, if necessary, the length of the manuscript, number of figures, tables, and references can be added in accordance with the decision of the editorial committee.

2. Original Articles

The sections of the manuscript for original articles should be organized in the following order: 1) title page, 2) abstract and keywords, 3) introduction, 4) materials and methods, 5) results, 6) discussion, 7) ORCID 8) author contributions 9) conflicts of Interest, 10) funding 11) acknowledgements (if necessary), 12) references, 13) tables, 14) figures, and 15) figure legends.
The manuscript, in English, must be in double-spaced typing on pages of A4 size (21×29 cm; leaving margins of 2 cm on the left, right, top, and bottom). Use 12 point Times New Roman style font. All manuscript pages are to be numbered consecutively, beginning with the abstract as page 1.

Title Page
The title page should be the first page of the manuscript and should include:

  • - "Title of paper:"
  • - "Full name of author(s):"
  • - "Running title:" not to exceed 45 letters including spaces
  • - "Institutional affiliation:" The name of the department should be included for each author. If there are several authors with different affiliations, the author’s institute should be expressed as superscripts (like 1, 2, 3, etc.) next to the name of the relevant author and then the name of the affiliation in order.
  • - Correspondence to: The corresponding author's name, ORCID (Open Researcher and Contributor ID), position, and institutional affiliation including the name of the department, complete postal address, and e-mail address should be included.

Abstract and Keywords
The abstract should be a brief description of the manuscript, not exceeding 250 words. Abbreviations and reference citations should be avoided. A list of keywords, with a maximum of five terms in English, should be included at the end of the abstract. The selection of keywords should be based on those of the Medical Subject Heading MeSH (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/MBrowser.html) of Index Medicus, and each keyword should begin with a capital letter.

Introduction
The introduction should address the purpose of the study briefly and concisely, and should report only on background information related to the purpose of the study.

Materials and Method
The design, subjects, and methods should be described in order. Authors should provide the name of the source for specified chemicals, equipment, and non-generic drugs. Explanation of the experimental methods should be sufficient for replication by other researchers, though methods that have been reported in detail elsewhere may be described briefly by citation of references. However, new methods or modifications of previously published methods should be described sufficiently for other researchers to understand. The methods of statistical verification on the results should be clarified.
Ensure correct use of the terms sex (when reporting biological factors) and gender (identity, psychosocial or cultural factors), and, unless inappropriate, report the sex and/or gender of study participants, the sex of animals or cells, and describe the methods used to determine sex and gender. If the study was done involving an exclusive population, for example in only one sex, authors should justify why, except in obvious cases (e.g., prostate cancer). Authors should define how they determined race or ethnicity and justify their relevance.

Results
The authors should describe clearly and logically their significant findings of observations or results corresponding to the purpose of the study, following the order in the methods. The authors should avoid overlapping descriptions between the figures or tables and the main text, describing important results only.

Discussion
Important or new findings from the results of the study should be emphasized and the consequent conclusions described, while repetition of the contents in the introduction and the results should be avoided. The significance and limitations of the study, and comparisons with the results of the other related studies should be addressed. Conclusions should be also be drawn in the discussion section. The conclusions should include a comprehensive description of the authors’ rationale and supporting evidence from the results and discussion sections and should correspond to the purpose of the study mentioned in the introduction. A simple summary or list of the results should be avoided.

Conflicts of Interest
All potential conflicts of interest and financial support for all authors must be disclosed.

Funding
Financial support, including foundations, institutions, pharmaceutical and device manufacturers, private companies, or intramural departmental sources, or any other support, should be described.

Acknowledgements
When necessary, acknowledgements shall be provided for those who contributed to the study in some way that would be insufficient to be considered authors. The acknowledgements should express appreciation for the concrete roles of the contributors in the study (e.g., data collection, statistical processing, and experimental analysis) and the authors should notify these indviduals that their names will be included in the acknowledgements for their consent in advance.
AI tools in manuscript preparation are required to disclose their use in the Acknowledgments section. Such disclosure should detail the specific tools used, including the model name, version, and manufacturer, and explain the capacity in which they were employed. Should the use of AI extend beyond language enhancement, the methods and tools used must be detailed in the Materials and methods section as a formal part of the research design.

References
Abbreviations for the literature shall be based on the NLM Catalog: Journals Referenced in the NCBI Database (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nlmcatalog/journals). The reference works are provided within [ ] according to the order of the citations in the text.
Journal references should follow the examples below. For more examples, "Citing Medicine: the NLM Style Guide for Authors, Editors, and Publishers" (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/citingmedicine) should be consulted.

Journal article
Cho JM, Shin YJ, Park JM, Kim J, Lee MY. Characterization of nestin expression in astrocytes in the rat hippocampal CA1 region following transient forebrain ischemia. Anat Cell Biol 2013;46:131-40.
Sawamoto K, Wichterle H, Gonzalez-Perez O, Cholfin JA, Yamada M, Spassky N, Murcia NS, Garcia-Verdugo JM, Marin O, Rubenstein JL, Tessier-Lavigne M, Okano H, Alvarez-Buylla A. New neurons follow the flow of cerebrospinal fluid in the adult brain. Science 2006;311:629-32.
Lipke E, Ramirez MJ, Michalik P. Ultrastructure of spermatozoa of orsolobidae (Haplogynae, Araneae) with implications on the evolution of sperm transfer forms in Dysderoidea. J Morphol 2014 Jun 3 [Epub]. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/jmor.20298

Book
Alberts B, Bray D, Hopkin K, Johnson A, Lewis J, Raff M, Roberts K, Walter P. Essential cell biology. 3rd ed. Garland Science; 2009.

Book chapter
Swaim WD. Overview of confocal microscopy. In: Oliver C, Jamur MC, editors. Immunocytochemical Methods and Protocols. 3rd ed. Humana Press; 2010. p.187-201.

Website
Hirsutism and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) [Internet]. American Society for Reproductive Medicine; 2016 [cited 2018 Sep 10]. Available from: https://www.reproductivefacts.org/globalassets/rf/news-and-publications/bookletsfact-sheets/english-factsheets-and-info-booklets/booklet_hirsutism_and_pcos.pdf

Tables
Tables should be double-spaced on separate pages and included at the end of the text document, with the table number and title indicated. Tables should be created in MS Word using the "Insert Table" command; tabs and/or spaces should not be used to create tables, columns, or rows. Tables with internal divisions (Table 1A and B) should be submitted as individual tables, i.e., Tables 1 and 2. Symbols for units should be confined to column headings. Abbreviations should be kept to a minimum and defined in the table legend. Symbols should be marked with lowercase alphabet letters in the order of their usage (a), b), c), etc.).
If tables are taken from other sources, this should be noted in the legend, and the author must be able to provide written permission for reproduction obtained from the original publisher and author.

Figures
ACB uses digital publishing methods throughout the journal production process. If your article is accepted, it will be published both in the printed journal and online. The following sections provide information on how to format your figures to ensure the best possible reproduction of your images. Please note that file formats other than JPEG or TIFF will be automatically rejected by the online submission website.
Digital specifications for authors that are able and prefer to convert digital figures themselves: please use applications capable of creating high-resolution TIFF files. All images should be at least 600 dpi. Color images should be created in RGB color format.
It is strongly recommended that authors converting their own digital files also send the original source files to the ACB Editorial office electronically (sunpark@inha.ac.kr) in the event that the converted files are not acceptable for publication for any reason. Unacceptable files include those of poor quality due to improper conversion and/or incorrect resolution (dpi) and/or the use of too many software applications in the creation of the file.
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. If the original data cannot be produced, the acceptance of the manuscript may be revoked. Cases of deliberate misrepresentation of data will result in revocation of acceptance, and will be reported to the corresponding author's home institution or funding agency.
Using AI technologies in creating or altering figures, images, and artwork are discouraged unless such use is part of the research design or methods. If authors deem it necessary to use AI tools for these purposes, they must provide a clear description of the content generated, including the name of the tool, version, and manufacturer. This information should accompany the submission. In line with our commitment to maintain the highest ethical standards, we discourage the submission or publication of materials solely created by AI technologies without the necessary human oversight. We hold authors accountable for the integrity of the content generated by these AI models and tools, reiterating that authorship brings with it responsibility for the accuracy, integrity, and originality of the work.
Uploading digital images and figures: Figures are to be uploaded individually as separate files and should be included at the end of the main text document.
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 ensuring that they will be readily distinguishable after reduction: ○ ● □ ■ △ ▲. Bars should be black or white only, unless more than two datasets are being presented; additional bars should be drawn with clear bold hatch marks or stripes, not shades of gray.
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.

Legends
Table and figure legends should be included within the text file and contain sufficient information to be understood without reference to the text. Each should begin with a short title for the figure. All abbreviations and symbols should be explained within the legend.

Abbreviations and Symbols
Symbols, units, and abbreviations should be expressed using the International System of Units (SI), as given in: Baron DN. Units and abbreviations: a guide for medical authors and editors. 6th ed. New York: Oxford University Press; 2008. Abbreviations should be used only when necessary, e.g., for long chemical names, procedures, or terms used throughout the article. When used, they are to be defined where first used, followed by the acronym or abbreviation in parentheses. Abbreviations are not allowed in the title, but may be used in tables and figures. Abbreviations should be defined at the end of the table or figure legend for every table or figure where they appear.

Nomenclature
Gene names and loci should be in italics; proteins should be in a Roman font such as Times New Roman.
Chemical nomenclature should follow the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) definitive rules for nomenclature.

Statistics
Calculations and the validity of deductions made from them should be checked and validated by a statistician.

3. Case Reports

Case reports shall address states of disease that have not been reported before or have rarely been seen, and those that have already been reported on but are distinctively different from cases in previous reports may be submitted to this journal. The manuscript should not exceed 1,500 words excluding cover letter, tables, figures, and references. A maximum of 15 references is permitted; all references should pertain to the featured case. The abstract, unlike those for original articles, should have only one paragraph, no more than 150 words, and be written in English. The cover letter should include the phrase "Case Report," and the report's title should not include "... case" or "A case of." The case report should be organized in the following order: 1) title page, 2) abstract and keywords, 3) introduction (without an 'introduction' heading), 4) case report(s) (case I, case II...), 5) discussion, 6) acknowledgements (if necessary), 7) references, 8) tables, 9) figures, and 10) figure legends. The page numbers in the manuscript should be counted from the title page and appear in the center of the bottom of each page.
The keywords should be in accordance with those for original articles. The introduction shall briefly describe the general background and significant findings related to the relevant case. The discussion shall focus on what the case report emphasizes, and end with a conclusion summarizing the main points that does not have a separate 'conclusion' heading.

All authors must submit the manuscript online (http://www.acbjournal.com/submission/Login.html) only. The corresponding author must read all the sections of the "Guide for Authors." The corresponding author should upload the manuscript during the article submission process.
Authors for whom English is a second language may choose to have their manuscript professionally edited before submission to improve the proper usage of language. A list of independent suppliers of editing services can be found at website for English Correction provided by KAMJE (http://www.kamje.or.kr/).
If the corresponding author is new to the system, he or she must create a profile by clicking on the "create a new account" link, which will guide the user through the process of creating a profile. Once this is completed, the new user should return to the main page and log in. The option to submit a manuscript should be available at the top of the screen. ACB Bench>Press will give authors instructions on submitting their paper. Manuscript submission online can be accepted either MS Word file format DOC or DOCX.
Figures for review should be uploaded separately as JPEG or TIFF files. On acceptance, authors will be required to provide high resolution graphics files (only TIFF files are acceptable for publication).
A covering letter or comments to the Editor in Chief should be submitted when prompted online. The covering letter must contain the following: 1) manuscript title; 2) author(s) name(s); 3) type of manuscript; 4) brief statement of the significance of the paper; 5) optional suggested reviewers (names, addresses, and e-mail).
The ACB holds the copyright on all material appearing in this journal. The corresponding author must check the appropriate boxes and sign the Copyright Transfer Agreement Form on behalf of the other authors, which transfers copyright to the ACB.
Any questions during this process should be directed to the Editorial Office.

REVIEW OF MANUSCRIPTS

1. Editorial Board

The Editorial Board deals with acceptance and editing of manuscripts. Articles may be accepted conditionally with minor or major revisions required. The Editorial Board reserves the right to make minor corrections that do not affect the content communicated by the paper. Submission of data can be required from the author(s) by reviewer request according to the decision taken by the Editorial Board.

2. Reviewing and Publication of Manuscripts

All the submitted manuscripts will undergo the peer review process by two or three professionals selected by the Editor in Chief, and publication decisions will solely depend on the Editorial Board including section editors and the Editor in Chief. If reviewers differ in their assessment of a paper, the final decision on the relevant manuscript shall be made after an additional editorial board review.
A selected manuscript's place in the publication queue shall be decided based on its type and the date when its publication was approved by the Publication Committee

3. Conditions of Acceptance

Manuscripts are accepted on the understanding that they will not be published elsewhere in any form without the prior consent of the Editor in Chief of ACB. An author's material will not be passed to the publisher without receipt of: 1) a covering letter documenting any revisions requested by the editor; 2) a signed exclusive license form; 3) 600 dpi TIFF files for all final artwork. Low resolution artwork submitted for review is not suitable for print or online publication.

4. Article Tracking

Author Services enables authors to track their article - once it has been accepted - through the production process to publication online and in print. Authors can check the status of their articles online and choose to receive automated e-mails at key stages of production. The author will receive an e-mail with a unique link that enables them to register and have their article automatically added to the system. Please ensure that a complete e-mail address is provided when submitting the manuscript. Details on online production tracking and for a wealth of resources including FAQs and tips on article preparation, submission and more are available on our website.

5. Revisions

Revised manuscripts must be submitted in their final form, within 5 weeks of the authors being notified of conditional acceptance (pending satisfactory revision). Resubmissions after this time will be considered as new. When submitting a revised manuscript, all changes should be indicated with red font and underlined. Deletions need not be indicated within the article itself but should be noted in the author responses to reviewers.
If the "track changes" function of a word processing program is used to show additions and deletions, all changes must be "accepted" before submitting the clean revised version. Once the changes are accepted, the track changes function should be deactivated before saving and uploading the file.
Two versions - one showing "corrections" and a "clean" final version - should be submitted.

1. Accepted Manuscripts

Accepted manuscripts will be scheduled for publication as quickly as possible.
Correspondence concerning the copy editing, proofreading, and the production of accepted manuscripts should be addressed to the Publisher online (edit@medrang.co.kr).
The designated corresponding author will receive notification of availability of page proofs by e-mail. Corrections should be returned to the Publisher online (edit@medrang.co.kr).

2. Proofs

E-mail notification that an author's work is in proof and ready for publication will be sent from the ACB e-proofing website. Further instructions will be sent in a PDF file with the upload notification e-mail. Acrobat Reader software, which is available for free download, is required in order to read this file. The corresponding author should arrange for a colleague to make corrections to the proofs in the case of his or her absence. Major alterations at the proof stage are discouraged and the costs of developing new proofs will be charged to the author and it may delay publication.

3. Article Processing Charge

There is no article processing charge of author-side.


Editorial office:
Department of Oral Biology, Yonsei University College of Dentistry, 50-1 Yonsei-ro, Seodaemun-gu, Seoul 03722, Korea
Tel: +82-2-2228-3067 / Fax: +82-2-393-8076
E-mail: hjk776@yuhs.ac