All contributions for the series are commissioned and no unsolicited material is accepted. The Editor-in-Chief will, however, consider suggestions of topics and Guest Editors for forthcoming issues.

Submission of articles proceeds totally online at http://ees.elsevier.com/ybeog

If you have questions concerning the editorial policy of the journal or queries about submission, please contact the manager of the editorial office, Beverly Burns, at ybeog@elsevier.com

IMPORTANT: Please read these guidelines carefully and observe all the directions given, paying particular attention to the instructions on REFERENCING STYLE and the requirements for ABSTRACT, KEY WORDS, PRACTICE POINTS, RESEARCH AGENDA and MCQ (Multiple Choice Questionnaire). Failure to do so may result in unnecessary delays to the publication of your and other authors' chapters.

Manuscript preparation

Manuscripts must be submitted in English and should be typed on one side of A4 paper only. All sections should be typed double-spaced (i.e. a full line of space after every typed line). Margins of at least 25 mm should be left on all sides.

The presentation of chapters will be standardized to make the information easily accessible and of practical value. Please follow these guidelines carefully.

Chapters should focus on practical problems and issues.

Management should be described in practical terms, so that it can be translated to the individual patient. Use appropriate examples to illustrate management problems, so that the reader actually knows what to do, when to do it, how to do it and why.
Recommendations should be evidence-based. The quality of the information available and what remains unknown should be highlighted. Meta-analysis data and systematic reviews should be used where available. Emphasis should be given to randomized controlled trials, translating data from such trials to clinical practice wherever possible. If recommendations are not evidence-based, this should be clearly stated.

Make clear what we know, what we think we know and what we do not know. Use Practice Points and Research Agenda to emphasise these.

As one of the primary functions of this publication is educational, please ensure that your chapter is well structured and clearly laid out, with level of headings clearly indicated and figures, diagrams, tables and flow-charts used to explain points and reduce explanatory text.

The abstract should include the key issues which will be addressed in your chapter, emphasising what we know, what we think we know and what we do not know.

The summary should focus on the conclusions reached in the chapter, indicating unanswered and unanswerable questions.

Practice Points.
Where appropriate, present the most important points to note in current clinical practice; these should be brief and set out as a bullet point list at the end of the main text.

Research Agenda.
Please indicate points which you feel would repay further research, again presented as a bullet point list at the end of the text.

Digital Object Identifier

Elsevier assigns a unique digital object identifier (DOI) to every article it publishes. The DOI appears on the title page of the article. It is assigned after the article has been accepted for publication and persists throughout the lifetime of the article. Due to its persistence, it can be used to query Elsevier for information on the article during the production process, to find the article on the Internet through various Web sites, including ScienceDirect, and to cite the article in academic references. When using an Elsevier article in a reference section, it is important to include the article?s DOI in the reference as volume and page information is not always available for articles published online. The References section shows samples of DOI included in references.

Title

This should include the full name and address of each author, together with their email address, telephone and fax numbers. The degrees and affiliations of each author should also be provided. Proofs will be sent to the first author unless otherwise specified.

Abstracts

The second page should contain the abstract (which should not exceed 150 words) and the key words. The abstract should be comprehensible to readers before they have read the paper. References or illustrations should not be mentioned and abbreviations should be avoided. Ensure that the abstract focuses the reader on the key issues that will be addressed.

Length

Length should be 7,000 words maximum, unless otherwise stated in your contract letter (check). Please include a total of words used. The length given is inclusive of references and equivalent illustrative or tabular space. As a guide for conversion, a half-page illustration or table is equivalent to 250 words of text.

Reference Format

These should represent the most recent and pertinent literature available. It is essential that references are thoroughly checked as inaccuracies cannot be detected by the Publisher. A maximum of 100 references should be included. Reference style

PLEASE PRESENT REFERENCES ONLY IN THE STYLE DESCRIBED BELOW.

References should be provided in the Vancouver system.

1. Indicate reference(s) in the text with a number in square brackets [1] to [100]. 2. At the end of the chapter, provide a corresponding numbered reference list. This should not be alphabetised, but should appear in the same sequence as the numbers in the text.

All journal titles should be given in full.

Examples:
Books: Zucherman AJ, Smith O, Clark J et al. Infectious mononucleosis. In Top FH & Wehrle PF (eds) Communicable and Infectious Diseases. 2nd edn, St Louis: CV Mosby, 1990, pp 558-9. Journals: Taylor PE, Almedia JD, Zuckerman AJ & Leach JM. Relationship of Milan antigen to abnormal serum lipoprotein. American Journal of Diseases of Children 1991;123: 329-331.

Papers that have been accepted but not yet published should be included in the reference list followed by '(in press)'. Those in preparation including those already submitted for publication, personal communications and unpublished observations should be referred to in the text only.

Please indicate up to a maximum of 10 of the most important references clearly (e.g. by an asterisk).
When citing a Bailliere Tindall journal, include the digital object identifier (DOI), if noted, from the article?s title page. Please note the following examples.

1. Tharmaratnam S. Fetal distress. Bailliere's Best Practice and Research Clinical Obstetrics and Gynaecology 2000; 14: 155-172, doi:10.1053/beog.1999.0069.
2. Sivanesaratnam V. The acute abdomen and the obstetrician. Bailliere's Best Practice and Research Clinical Obstetrics and Gynaecology, doi:10.1053/beog.1999.0065.

Figures

All figures must be cited in the text. They must be submitted as good quality glossy black and white prints of original artwork of professional quality, ready for printing. The Author should retain all negatives. Photocopies are not suitable for reproduction but are acceptable as duplicate copies. All figures should be on separate sheets, numbered sequentially, and identified on the back with soft pencil by the first-named Author, and the number. Orientations should also be marked. Figure legends should be typed on a separate sheet, numbered in arabic and all keys, etc. should be included in the legend rather than the figure. Colour prints are not acceptable for reproduction as black and white prints. Photographs should be sharp with strong contrast. All authors wishing to use illustrations already published must first obtain the permission of the author and publisher and/or copyright holder and give the precise reference to the original work. Full instructions can be found at Elsevier ARTWORK Instructions

Tables

Authors are actively encouraged to use tables. The intended position of the Tables should be clearly indicated in the text. Tables should be numbered consecutively using arabic numerals in the order in which they are cited in the text. Each table should be typed in double spacing on a separate sheet of paper and given a brief explanatory caption.

Keywords

Key words should preferably be taken from the MESH index of Index Medicus.

Acknowledgements

Only the help of those who have made substantial contributions to the study and/or preparation of the paper should be mentioned. The source of grant support, equipment and drugs may be included.

Units & Abbreviations

Spelling. The publisher will ensure that this is consistent with the Concise Oxford Dictionary (eg, haemoglobin, oesophagus, organized).

Headings. Information should be carefully organized under headings that allow the reader to find practical information readily. Please indicate the level of headings (A, B, C or D) in your manuscript. Try to avoid using more than four levels of heading.

Units. The International System of Units (SI) should be applied (e.g. mm, kg etc.). For abbreviations, capitals withut full stops are preferred. If uncommon abbreviations are used they should be defined at first mention.

Drugs. Generic names should be used; proprietary names may follow in parentheses (include both English and American names if different). Great care should be taken in describing the use of drugs and details of the regimen should be thoroughly checked.

Footnotes. These should be avoided where possible.

Genetics. All genes should be underlined to indicate italicization. Proteins should be left as Roman.

Text. Underline only the words or letters which are to appear in italics. Clearly identify unusual hand-written symbols and Greek letters. Differentiate between the letter O and zero and the letters I and L and the number 1.

Changes to Authorship
This policy concerns the addition, deletion, or rearrangement of author names in the authorship of accepted manuscripts:
Before the accepted manuscript is published in an online issue: Requests to add or remove an author, or to rearrange the author names, must be sent to the Journal Manager from the corresponding author of the accepted manuscript and must include: (a) the reason the name should be added or removed, or the author names rearranged and (b) written confirmation (e-mail, fax, letter) from all authors that they agree with the addition, removal or rearrangement. In the case of addition or removal of authors, this includes confirmation from the author being added or removed. Requests that are not sent by the corresponding author will be forwarded by the Journal Manager to the corresponding author, who must follow the procedure as described above. Note that: (1) Journal Managers will inform the Journal Editors of any such requests and (2) publication of the accepted manuscript in an online issue is suspended until authorship has been agreed.
After the accepted manuscript is published in an online issue: Any requests to add, delete, or rearrange author names in an article published in an online issue will follow the same policies as noted above and result in a corrigendum.

Copyright Information

Authors contributing a manuscript do so on the understanding that once it is accepted for publication, copyright in the article, including the right to reproduce it in all forms of media shall be assigned exclusively to the Publisher. The Publisher shall not refuse any reasonable request by the author to reproduce any of his or her contribution elsewhere.

Permissions Information

OWING TO PROBLEMS IN OBTAINING PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE AND STORE MATERIAL ELECTRONICALLY, AUTHORS ARE REQUESTED TO AVOID THE USE OF PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED MATERIAL.

Authors who plan to reproduce (unaltered) illustrations, charts, tables or other material from previously published sources must obtain written permission from the copyright holder (usually the Publisher) and send the letter granting this permission to the manager of the editorial office, Beverly Burns, at ybeog@elsevier.com. As a matter of courtesy, permission should also be requested from the author of the original material.

A credit line giving the full source of the material should be included in the manuscript (e.g. in the figure legend or in the footnote).

Necessary Permissions MUST be obtained by the author. Failure to do so will result in delays to the processing of your chapter. When the manuscript is submitted authors should state whether they have obtained or are applying for permissions. If material from the author's own published work is to be used, permission must still be obtained from the Publisher.

WHEN SEEKING PERMISSION PLEASE NOTE THAT WE REQUIRE 'NON-EXCLUSIVE WORLD RIGHTS IN ALL LANGUAGES' AND THAT WE NEED PERMISSION TO STORE AND REPRODUCE THE MATERIAL ELECTRONICALLY.

Conflict of interest
All authors must disclose any financial and personal relationships with other people or organisations that could inappropriately influence (bias) their work. Examples of potential conflicts of interest include employment, consultancies, stock ownership, honoraria, paid expert testimony, patent applications/registrations, and grants or other funding.

Role of the funding source
All sources of funding should be declared as an acknowledgement at the end of the text. Authors should declare the role of study sponsors, if any, in the collection, analysis and interpretation of data and in the writing of the manuscript. If the study sponsors had no such involvement, the authors should so state.

Policy and Ethics
For work described in your article involving human experimental investigations of any kind, must have been carried out in accordance with The Code of Ethics of the Declaration of Helsinki; http://www.wma.net/e/policy/b3.htm

Funding body agreements and policies
Elsevier has established agreements and developed policies to allow authors whose articles appear in journals published by Elsevier, to comply with potential manuscript archiving requirements as specified as conditions of their grant awards. To learn more about existing agreements and policies please visit http://www.elsevier.com/fundingbodies