Instructions to Authors

MANUSCRIPT PREPARATION

Manuscripts must be in English. Both American and British spellings are acceptable. Authors whose native language is not English are encouraged to have their contribution checked for grammar and styling before submission. Although poor English should not in general affect the scientific judgement of the paper, it might delay its acceptance, if it requires a rewriting/restyling by a native English speaker before it can be published.

Manuscripts should be typed throughout with double spacing (on one side only) of numbered pages. The title page should contain the author(s) name and affiliation and the text of the abstract. The name of the author will be listed according to this pattern; given name (or names), which will be always initialized, followed by the family name. Please be sure of using this convention in the submitted paper. An abstract must always be included, even for papers selected for the "Letters to Editor" session. At the end of the abstract, key words (not more than four) must be included to be used for indexing and bibliography searching. The paper should be subdivided into sections; typically: Introduction; Theoretical Background (if applicable); Material and Methods; Results; Discussion; Conclusions; Acknowledgments (if applicable); References; Appendix (if applicable). Manuscripts will not be returned. The good set of quality figure material will be returned only upon request.

Sections, subsections and sub-subsections are numbered in Arabic. Major headings should be typed in bold face; sub-headings in italic; sub-subheadings in uppercase letters and underlined. Use double spacing after headings and subheadings. No paragraph after sub-headings. List of items may be laid with each item marked by a dot, or numbered with lowercase Roman numerals or listed with lowercase Roman letters as in example below:

· item one
· item two

or

i) item one
ii) item two

or

a) item one
b) item two

Displayed equations should be numbered consecutively in Arabic, with the number set flush right and enclosed in parentheses.

References to be referred to in the text with progressive arabic numerals in brackets, and listed at the end of the text in order of mention. Examples are given below:

[1] Purcell EM, Torrey HC, Pound RV. Resonance absorption by nuclear magnetic moments in a solid. Phys Rev 1946: 69; 37-9.

[2] Budinger TF, Gullberg GT. Transverse section reconstruction of gamma ray emitting radionuclides in patients. In: Reconstruction Tomography in Diagnostic Radiology in Nuclear Medicine. Ter Pogossian M. Ed. Baltimore. University Park Press 1977; 315-42.

[3] Rice-Evans P. Spark, Streamer, Proportional and Drift Chambers. London. Richelier Press 1974.

Tables to be typed on separate sheets and numbered in order of mention with Roman numerals. All tables should be referred to in the text. A caption should be included.

Illustrations to be numbered serially with arabic numbers. All figures should be referred to in the text. Captions should be typed on a separate sheet. Name of the first author should be indicated on the back of each figure of the good quality set. The top of the figure should also be labeled.

MANUSCRIPT SUBMISSION

Contributions to Physica Medica should be sent to the Editor in Chief

A formal letter of submission giving the corresponding author's full address, fax number, and Electronic mail address (if available) must be sent with each manuscript. In the submission letter, the author should indicate the selected session (review papers / original papers / technical notes / letters to the editor). The Editor in Chief retains the right to modify the author's original choice based on the referees' recommendations. Submission of a manuscript indicates that it has not been published previously nor concurrently submitted for publication elsewhere, and this should be stated explicitely in the submission letter.

Manuscripts and copies of figures should be submitted in quadruplicate together with one set of reproduction quality figure material (original ink drawing or glossy prints). All figures will normally be printed in black and white. Colour photographic reproduction must be explicitely requested in the submission letter. The cost will be charged to the author (see Printing charge section).

To reduce the printing time and improve the proofs quality, the author should also send a floppy disk/diskette which will be directly used by the publisher. We accept any IBM/PC and Macintosh disk format. Please provide careful packaging for your floppy disk so as to minimize the risk of possible damage. Be sure to inform us of the type of computer and the type of word processor (including version number) you have used. Any of following word processors can be used:

Microsoft Word, Multimate, Wordstar 2000, ASCII, Xy Write, Word Perfect (all versions), Wordstar (all versions).

Submission of the manuscript via electronic mail is also possible. In this case the submission must be sent via computer network to the Editor in Chief electronic mail address. One complete copy of the manuscript together with one set of reproduction quality figure material and the submission letter should follow immediately by express mail. Manuscript forwarded by means of electronic mail should be sent as attachment.

MANUSCRIPT REFEREEING

Manuscripts are normally reviewed by a member of the Editorial Board and by two independent referees. Revised versions are subjected to the same referee procedure. Final review is undertaken by the Editor in Chief, whose decision is final. A fast turn around of three months average will be maintaned. Once the paper has been accepted, a fast publication time is kept (3 to 4 months). Hence, good papers can be published within 6 months after their submission.

PRINTING CHARGE

A maximum of 6 pages (12 pages for review articles) will be printed free of charge: extra pages will be charged at Lit. 155.000 per printed page (2001 rate). Pages with colour photographic reproduction will be charged Lit. 380.000 each (2001 rate).

Estimate of paper length, when printed in PHYSICA MEDICA format:

Calculate 900 words per printed page (double column)

Total length of the paper: 4800 equivalent words (at 900 words / printed page)= 6 printed pages.

Reprints can be ordered on the Reprint Order Form sent with the proofs. No free reprints are provided. Only the corresponding author will receive this form from the Publisher. The reprint order form must be returned together with the corrected proofs to qualify for prepublication rates.