1) Copyright Transfer Agreement Form
2) Acknowledgment release signatures, if applicable. Acknowledgment Release Form

• Text (including title page) and Tables combined into ONE word processor file (.doc or .rtf preferred)-upload as Manuscript file.
• Artwork for on-line review (creation of optimal PDF): .jpg, .ppt, .tif files (specification: Resolution for digital artwork should be 1200 dpi for line art, 600 dpi for halftones and type and 300 dpi for halftone with no type or lettering. Digital artwork should be sized to an 8.4 cm column width for maximum utilization of space. Artwork should be saved as CMYK with fonts embedded. Please confirm that all fonts are easily read). One file per figure- upload as Image files.
• Supplemental files must be uploaded as one pdf file for Text and Figures. Movie Files must be uploaded as .avi, .mpg or .mov. Please limit movie file size to less than 10MB.

3. General Instructions

• Type manuscripts double-spaced including title page, abstracts, text, references, figure legends, and tables, on one side of the page only. Original contributions generally should not exceed 5000 words. There generally should be no more than six figures and tables. Complex or multipanel figures should be counted as more than one figure. Eliminate redundancy, emphasize the central message, and provide only the data necessary to convey that message.
• Leave 1-inch margins on all sides. Do not use justified margins.
• Cite references, figures, and tables in numeric order. If any material has been published previously (figures, tables, etc), provide written permission from the copyright holder to use such material.
• Use SI units of measure. Conventionally used measurement may follow in parentheses. Make all conversions before manuscript submission.
• Consult the American Medical Association Manual of Style, 9th ed, Baltimore, MD, Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 1998, for style.
• Clinical trials should be registered with a publicly accessible clinical trial registry, such as (http://www.clinicaltrials.gov).
Registration number and registry URL should be supplied when submitting the manuscript online. A clinical trial is defined as any research study that prospectively assigns human participants or groups of humans to one or more health-related interventions to evaluate the effects on health outcomes.. Studies that are designed for other purposes, such as to study pharmacokinetics or major toxicity (e.g., phase 1 trials), are exempt.
• Assemble the manuscript in this order: title page, abstract, condensed abstract, text, acknowledgments, references, figure legends, tables, and figures.
• Consult current issues for guidance on format.

4. Title Page
Title page must include:

• Full title, limited to 120 characters. Farther down on the page, the first author's surname and a short title (total characters must not exceed 50, including spaces) to be typeset at the top of the journal page.
• Authors' names, authors' affiliations, name and complete address for correspondence (be sure to include street address, post office box, fax number, telephone number, and email address for corresponding authors), and address for reprints if different than address for correspondence.
• Word count of body, including references, figure legends, and tables; word count of abstract; and total number of figures and tables.
• ATVB recognizes and acknowledges "equal contributions" by the first two authors on a list of multiple authors. Note this equal contribution on the title page.

5. Abstract

• Do not cite references in abstract.
• Limit use of acronyms and abbreviations.
• Be concise - 200 words maximum.
• Use the following headings: Objective (rationale for study), Methods and Results, Conclusions.
• Provide five key words for use as indexing terms. These key words or phrases may repeat words in the title.

5. Condensed Abstract

• Do not cite references in condensed abstract.
• Limit use of acronyms and abbreviations.
• The condensed abstract is a concise paragraph describing the article.
• Please limit to 50 words or less.

6. Text

• Follow the guidelines in "General Instructions."
• Page numbers need to be included.
• The following headings should be used for Brief Reports and Original Contributions: Methods, Results, and Discussion. There are no separate headings for introduction and summaries.
• Abbreviations must be defined at first mention in the text.
• Methods section.Please note that the print version of the Methods and Results should be able to stand alone and should provide sufficient information for the reader to understand the basic methods of the study and to review the fundamental findings in a mechanistic way. A brief Methods section (one to two pages) is recommended, with supplementary information to be published online only. For animals used in experiments, state the species, strain, number used, and other pertinent descriptive characteristics. When describing surgical procedures on animals, identify the preanesthetic and anesthetic agents used and state the amount or concentration and the route and frequency of administration for each. The use of paralytic agents, such as curare or succinylcholine, is not an acceptable substitute for anesthetics. For other invasive procedures on animals, report the analgesic or tranquilizing drugs used. If none were used, provide justification for such exclusion. Generic names of drugs must be given. Manuscripts that describe studies on humans must indicate that the study was approved by an institutional review committee and that the subjects gave informed consent. Please provide sex-specific and/or racial/ethnic-specific data, when appropriate, in describing outcomes of epidemiologic analyses or clinical trials; or specifically state that no sex-based or racial/ethnic-based differences were present. Reports of studies on both animals and humans must indicate that the procedures followed were in accordance with institutional guidelines.
  • Guidelines for Deposition of Protein and Nucleic Acid Data
  • Preparation of Data: Submitted data should follow the MIAME checklist (for more information see http://www.mged.org/Workgroups/MIAME/miame_checklist.html).
  • Accessibility of Data: Authors of papers that include genomic, proteomic, or other high-throughput data are required to make their data easily accessible for the reviewers and the editors during the review process. You may submit your data to the NCBI gene expression and hybridization array data repository (GEO, http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/geo) and provide the GEO accession number; or, you may provide a link to a secure or publicly accessible website which hosts the data. Prior to publication, the data must be submitted and an accession number obtained. Access to the information in the database must be available at the time of publication. GEO has a web-based submission route, suitable for a small number of samples, or a batch submission tool (called SOFT). GEO is accessible from http://ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.geo/. Submission FAQ is at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/projects/geo/info/faq.html.
  • Newly reported nucleotide or protein sequences must be deposited in GenBank (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/Genbank/index.html), EMBL (http://www.ebi.ac.uk), or DNA Data Bank of Japan (http://www.ddbj.nig.ac.jp) databases, and an accession number must be obtained. Access to the information in the database must be available at the time of publication. Authors are responsible for arranging release of data at the time of publication. The authors must also provide a statement in the manuscript that this sequence has been scanned against the database and all sequences with significant relatedness to the new sequence identified (and their accession numbers included in the text of the manuscript).
• Please provide sex-specific and/or racial/ethnic-specific data, when appropriate, in describing outcomes of epidemiologic analyses or clinical trials; or specifically state that no sex-based or racial/ethnic-based differences were present.See the Uniform Requirements for more details.
• Acknowledgments. The Acknowledgments section will be sectioned into three parts: a)Sources of Funding _ which recognizes all sources of support for research b)Acknowledgements _ which highlights substantive contributions of individuals. When expressing appreciation to another scientist for assistance with research or manuscript, enclose written permission since such an acknowledgment may imply endorsement of data and conclusions. All persons acknowledged must have seen and approved mention of their names in the article, as readers may infer their endorsement of data and conclusions. Use this form to capture signature of persons mentioned in Acknowledgments AND c)Disclosure - Authors must disclose any and all relationships that could be perceived as real or apparent conflict(s) of interest.Conflict of Interest Disclosure Questionnaire Form

7. References

• Accuracy of references is the author's responsibility. Verify all entries against original sources, especially journal titles, inclusive page numbers, publication dates, accents, diacritical marks, and spelling in languages other than English.
• All authors must be listed in references. Shortened lists of author names followed by "et al" must be replaced with complete information.
• Cite references in numerical order according to first mention in text.
• Ensure accuracy in spelling and details of publication.
• Personal communications, unpublished observations, and submitted manuscripts are not legitimate references. They must be cited in the text as "(unpublished data, 200X)."
• Abstracts may be cited only if they are the sole source and must be identified in the reference as "Abstract."
• "In press" citations must have been accepted for publication and the name of the journal or book publisher included.
• Full page numbers should be listed: Authors. Article title. Journal. Year;volume:full page number--full page number.

8. Figures and Legends

• The total number of figures and/or tables is limited to six (4 or 5 complex figures count as more than six). Additional figures may be submitted for publication online.
• Digital art submission:
1. Artwork should be submitted in final size and should be cropped as needed.
2. Files should be saved as and submitted in TIFF, EPS, or PowerPoint format.
3. Color files should be submitted as CMYK (not RGB).
4. Files downloaded from the Web or Internet (JPEG or GIF) will NOT reproduce well in print. Therefore we cannot accept JPEG or GIF files or files downloaded from the Internet for publication
5. Line art should be saved at a resolution of at least 1200 dpi; photographs, CT scans, radiographs, etc. should be saved at a resolution of at least 600 dpi. Images saved at 72 dpi are not acceptable for printed publications.
6. All vertical and horizontal white space needs to be completely eliminated.
7. Save each figure in a separate file.
8. Please use information on submitting digital art to Cadmus Journal Services at http://cjs.cadmus.com/da/.
• The use of digital media for image acquisition and processing introduces the potential for inadvertent distortion of data. To prevent such distortion, the following guiding principles should be followed:
1. Data should neither be added to, nor removed from, an image by digital manipulation.
2. Figures assembled from multiple images must indicate the separation of the parts by lines.
3. Linear adjustment of contrast, brightness or color must be applied equally to all parts of an entire image.
4. Deviations from the above, including nonlinear adjustments, must be indicated in the figure legend along with a description of the processing software used.
5. If questions arise, the authors must be prepared to submit the original, unaltered files from which the submitted figures were derived.
• Figures are either black and white line drawings, graphs, color, or halftones (photographs). Authors are responsible for the cost of printing color illustrations. Authors' costs for color illustrations can be reduced by publication of the color figures as an online data supplement. Figures published as online data supplements, however, will not be included in reprints.
• Artwork must be prepared using professional standards, and photographed as camera-ready, unmounted, glossy prints if line drawings, photomicrographs, color, or halftones.
• Please identify on the figure any lanes, bars, panels, etc. Do not, as an alternative, designate those lanes, bars, or panels by an alphanumeric code. In addition, letters and locants must be uniform in size and color.
• Supply a scale bar with photomicrographs.
• Provide double-spaced copy for figure legends on a separate page in the manuscript. Limit figure legends to fewer than 50 words each.
• If there are any abbreviations that are not defined in the main text, they must be defined in the figure legend.
• Artwork Guidelines (PDF)

9. Cover Figures

• Authors are encouraged to submit a color figure for consideration as a potential cover illustration. The figure should illustrate a major finding or concept.
• The figure may consist of a figure or a portion of a figure in the manuscript or may be entirely different. A photograph or diagram is appropriate.
• A very brief caption (generally less than 10 words) should be included.

10. Tables

• Each table must begin on a separate page, double-spaced. The table number should be Arabic followed by a period and a brief informative title.
• Use same size type as in text.
• Supply a brief heading for each column.
• Indicate footnotes in tables by symbols in this order: *,† , ‡, §, ||, ¶, #, **.
• Do not use vertical lines in the tables. Use horizontal lines above and below the column headings and at the bottom of the table only. Use extra space to delineate sections within the table.
• If there are abbreviations or symbols in the tables that are not defined in the main text, they must be defined in the table legend.

11. Online Publication Information

• Online publication provides an opportunity for authors to present additional information and/or information not geared to text. Material to be published as an online- only data supplement must be supplied as a separate file with a .pdf file extension. At the top of the data supplement PDF, the following text should be added: "Supplemental Material." This will differentiate it from the article. Please number items to be published in print using the Arabic system (1 to 5) and items to be published online only using the Roman system (I to V). When referring to online-only material in the print version of the manuscript, use the phrase "please see http://atvb.ahajournals.org." If citations are made in a data supplement, the data supplement must contain its own independent reference section.
• The editorial office is not responsible for converting files to a suitable format or for extracting data supplement material from the print manuscript files. Data supplements appear only online and will not appear in reprints of the article.
• Color reprints are not available for articles that appear online only.

12. Permissions

• Requests for permission to reproduce figures, tables, or portions of articles originally published in ATVB can be obtained via Rightslink (a service of the Copyright Clearance Center), not the Editorial Office. All permission requests are now processed via the Rightslink online system. Steps for obtaining permission include:
1. On ATVB's home page, either search for the article using the Search feature or locate a copy of the article in the online archives for which you are requesting permission.
2. Next, select the Full Text or PDF version of the article.
3. Then, locate the "Request Permissions" link in the menu on the right side of the Web page (under "Services"). A new Web browser will open, which is Rightslink.
4. Follow the step-by-step instructions in Rightslink for requesting permission by:

• selecting the way the content will be used.
• creating an account, if one does not exist already.

  accepting the terms and conditions for reuse.

  determining method of payment.

• Further information can be found in the Permissions and Rights Instructions.
• Note: For AHA Scientific Statements and Guidelines, permission to reprint, modify, alter, enhance, copy, or distribute this content must be obtained from the American Heart Association. Instructions are located at http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4431. A link to the "Permission Request Form" appears on the right side of the Web page, in the "Related Items" box.

13. Costs to Authors

• $70 per printed page of an article to defray costs of publication (information is sent with author's proof) or $70 per page in the case of copyedited online-only material.
• Expense for replacing poor-quality art
• Expense for reprints (price lists are sent with author's proof), $50 per printed page for excessive author alterations
• $100 per page for printing a correction (erratum) after publication of the article that results from an author's error

14. Abstracts and Webcasts

If some or all of the work in the manuscript has been published or submitted in abstract form, and/or overlapping data exists, the following rules apply:
• The published or submitted abstract must accompany the submitted manuscript.
• The abstract cannot itself have been referenced in MEDLINE or PubMed.
• The potentially overlapping work and a separate explanation of the nature of any possible overlap with the submitted manuscript must accompany the submitted manuscript.
• These restrictions generally do not apply to presentations or press reports published in connection with scientific meetings, or to poster presentations at scientific meetings that are videotaped, provided that the material has not been widely circulated, copyrighted or sold. Posting an audio recording, video recording, or short summary of a presentation made at a professional meeting on the Internet would be considered as a meeting presentation by the American Heart Association and would not compromise consideration of a submission. Direct release of information through press releases or media briefings may preclude publication.

15. Criteria for SNP/Genome- Wide Association Studies

• Phenotypes
• There must be a clearly defined phenotype or trait. Cases must be defined using standardized criteria. The criteria for control status must be defined, e.g. age and sex individuals with normal invasive or noninvasive investigations, or alternatively, older controls free of symptomatic disease.
• Population
• Cases and controls must be of the same ethnic group. Authors should indicate measures taken to test for population stratification.
• Study Population Size
• The study population must be large enough to detect effect sizes appropriate for the trait. Power calculation should be provided indicating the sample size required to detect variants of a given minor allele frequency (MAF) and effect size (odds ratio per risk allele). Genome wide association studies for common complex traits generally require more than 2000 cases and controls for initial genotyping and replication in other cohorts.
• Multiple Testing
• Genetic association studies generally involve the testing of multiple genetic variants and vaious asociated phenotypes in a number of subgroups. Statistical analysis of data must provide evidence of correction for multiple testing.
• Replication
• Replication in independent population(s) is generally required. Exceptions may include very large studies where genome wide significance (p = 5 X 10-8) is achieved in the initial study or when a nonsynonymous coding variant in a gene of high biological plausibility is tested in a large well characterized population with a clearly defined phenotype.
• Replication requires testing the same or closely linked variant and phenotype using the same study design in a population of the same ethnic origin as the screening population. Several large genome wide assocation studies have made their case/control data publically available to bona fide investigators. Thus, where appropriate, authors are encouraged to use these resources to meta-analyze these datasets with their own. Since individual SNPs vary by the genotyping platform used, imputed data (r2>0.8 based on HapMap data) may be used provided that the authors indicate that a proxy was used and provide its rs number.
• Data Presentation
• Provide rs number and chromosomal position numbers for all variants reported.
• Provide criteria that have been used in the selection of tag SNPs.
• Describe linkage disequilibrium (LD) relationships between typed and imputed variants.
• Provide details on the measures that have been taken to ensure genotyping accuracy including % successful genotype calls and information on departure from Hardy- Weinberg equilibrium.
• Provide raw genotype frequencies; allele frequencies are not adequate.
• Provide HUGO gene names in the appropriate annotation and use standard format.
• Indicate the boundaries used when studying a gene of interest (for example, exons, intron/exon boundaries, 10 kb 5' and 5 kb 3').
• Positive and Negative Findings
• Negative findings can and should be reported if above criteria are followed.
• Functional Studies
• All genetic studies will be greatly enhanced by the provision of functional data where possible. The effects of nonsynonymous coding SNPs in genes of biological significance are often readily addressed using cell based assays and genetically modified animal models. However many significant and replicated SNPs will lie in intergenic regions and may or may not be causally linked to the disease phenotype. Fine mapping and attention to recombination hotspots may define an interval within which the causative variant is likely to reside. Biology of noncoding variants can be furthered explored using routine molecular biology techniques including luciferase assays, effects on transcription factor binding sites and gene expression data including pathway analysis. Finally, deep resequencing of the region of interest may identify novel coding variants associated with the disease phenotype.
• Data must be made publicly available (e.g., http://view.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/dbgap)
• For further reading on these guidelines, please see: http://atvb.ahajournals.org/cgi/content/full/22/7/1058

16. Criteria for Endothelial Progenitor Cell Studies

• The phenotype of the cell population must be clearly defined by cell surface markers (minimally CD31+/CD34+/CD45-/CD115-)
• The cells must be shown to lack hematopoietic potential using in vitro assays or in vivo bone marrow transplantation
• The cells must be shown to contribute to de novo blood vessel formation in vivo (formation of three dimensional tube structures with demonstrable lumens in vitro would be considered supportive data but not definitive proof of an EPC)
• Contribution to blood vessel structures in vivo must be assessed using confocal imaging and three dimensional reconstruction
• Differentiation of EPC into endothelial cells must be demonstrated by upregulation of genes/proteins not previously expressed by the experimental cell population but normally expressed by primary endothelial cells and not expressed by other cell lineages
• The putative EPC should demonstrate clonal proliferative potential
• For further reading on these guidelines, please see: http://atvb.ahajournals.org/cgi/content/full/28/9/1584

17. Criteria for Epidemiology and Biomarker Studies

• ATVB welcomes original research in the epidemiology of atherosclerosis and vascular disease and biomarker discovery
• Priority will be given to studies that describe novel findings that add significantly to previously published information and facilitate the translation of molecular mechanisms into clinical applications.
• Authors are encouraged to integrate their findings with previous information on the biology of systems and pathways relevant to arteriosclerosis, thrombosis and vascular biology.
• The correct use of statistical methods is essential for proper interrogation and interpretation of study data.

18. Embargo Policy

• All information regarding the content and publication date of accepted manuscripts is strictly confidential. Any information about or contained in an accepted paper cannot appear in the media (in print or electronic form) before its publication date and, if it does, it may preclude publication.

19. Compliance With NIH and Other Research Funding Agency Accessibility Requirements

• Several research funding agencies now require or request authors to submit the post-print (the article after peer review and acceptance but not the final published article) to a repository that is accessible online by all without charge. Within medical research, 3 funding agencies in particular have announced such policies:
• The US National Institutes of Health (NIH) requires authors to deposit post- prints of articles, which have received NIH funding, in its repository PubMed Central (PMC). This deposit should be done within the 12 months after publication of the final article in the journal.
• The Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI) requires, as a condition of research grants, deposit in PMC, but within 6 months after publication of the final article.
• The Wellcome Trust requires, as a condition of research grants, deposit in UK PMC within 6 months after publication of the final article.
• As a service to authors, the Publisher (Wolters Kluwer Health/Lippincott Williams & Wilkins) of the AHA journals will identify to PMC articles that require depositing. The Copyright Transfer Agreement provides the primary mechanism for identifying such articles. The AHA also requests that, during the submission process in Bench>Press, funding is indicated in the Author Disclosure area of the submission process.
• WKH/LWW will transmit the post-print of an article, which is based on research funded in whole or in part by 1 or more of these 3 agencies, to PMC.
• On NIH request, it remains the legal responsibility of the author(s) to confirm with the NIH the provenance of their manuscript for purposes of deposit.
• Author(s) will not deposit their articles themselves.
• Author(s) will not alter the post-print already transmitted to NIH.
• Author(s) will not authorize the display of the post-print prior to:

1. 12 months after publication of the final article, in the case of NIH,
2. 6 months after publication of the final article, in the case of HHMI and the Wellcome Trust

• For more information about authors' rights and responsibilities, please review the AHA Authorship Responsibility and Copyright Transfer Agreement.
• For more information on PubMedCentral please visit http://nihms.nih.gov.
• A Permissions and Rights Question and Answer is also available (http://www.ahajournals.org/rights/).

AHA Scientific Publishing Ethical Conduct Policy

Conflict of Interest Disclosure Questionnaire Form

Artwork Guidelines (PDF)

Authorship Responsibility and Copyright Transfer Agreement Form

Journal Subject Heads for Article Collections Feature on Journals Web Site