Comptes Rendus

Instruction for Authors

As of January 1, 2020, Comptes Rendus Biologies no longer accepts unsolicited submissions. Only articles requested by the Editorial Board will be published.

 

Preparation of the manuscript

Submission Formats

Manuscripts must be submitted to the submission platform simultaneously in two formats, with line numbering: Word or LaTeX and PDF.

If you have missed files in your initial submission:

  • If the missing files are numerous and/or significantly change the content of the submission, please abandon the initial submission and make a new submission;
  • Otherwise, please open a discussion in OJS with the editor, attaching the file(s) and asking the editor to add them.

 

General information for Word and LaTeX formats

Word Formats

  • Please provide your text file in the native format of the software used to create it (.docx for recent versions of Word, .doc for older versions);

  • The text must be presented in a single column;

  • Make sure that the layout of the text is as simple as possible;

  • Please number the lines of your document before exporting it in PDF1;

  • Note that most formatting codes will be removed and replaced when the article is processed. In particular, do not use the word processing options to justify the text or to separate words with dashes. However, do use bold, italics, subscripts, superscripts, etc.;

  • Note that source files for illustrations and tables will be required whether or not you incorporate them into the text.

 

LaTeX Formats

Authors are invited to prepare their article with PDFLaTeX, the bibliographic references stored in a bibtex file. Authors are strongly encouraged to use the journal's LaTeX class file and bibtex style, but amsart or smfart classes, as well as amsplain and smfplain styles are accepted.

 

Composition recommendations

Language

Articles will be published in a fully bilingual format, with the English version immediately followed by the French version in each article.

The submitted article may, as desired:

  • Include both English and French versions, both written by the authors (preferred, feel free to use automatic proofreaders like DeepL if necessary);
  • Include only one of the two versions, English or French, in which case the translated version will be written by the journal's secretariat using automatic translation software.

In both cases, please provide a title, an abstract and keywords in French and in English (translation from English to French can be done by the journal's secretariat upon request).

 

Mandatory information

Manuscripts should include, in the following order:

1) the title: it should be short (20 words max.), but explicit;

2) names of all authors: please include full first names, and include an asterisk after the name of the author to whom correspondence and proofs should be sent;

3) the complete professional addresses of all authors (including email address): to be entered during step 3 "Enter metadata" of the online submission procedure;

4) an abstract (max. 100-150 words): please avoid including references as much as possible, so that the abstract can be used independently (in databases for example). If the inclusion of references is essential, please quote only the author(s) and the year(s). Please also avoid non-standard or uncommon abbreviations, but if they are essential, define them at the first mention in the abstract;

5) keywords (max. 7), used for indexing purposes: please use American spelling and avoid general and plural terms and multiple concepts ("and" or "of", for example, should be avoided);

6) the text of the article: it must be typed, double-spaced, and each page must be numbered. Organize your article into clearly defined and numbered sections. Subsections should be numbered 1.1 (then 1.1.1, 1.1.2, ...), 1.2, etc. (the abstract is not included in the section numbering) and have a brief title. Also use this numbering for internal references: do not just refer to the "text";

7) references, captions, tables and illustrations.

 

Optional information

  • Acknowledgements:

    • List here those who provided assistance during the research (e.g., language assistance, help with writing or proofreading the article, etc.).

    • Please do not include these acknowledgements on the title page, as a footnote to the title or otherwise, but collect them in a separate section at the end of the article, before the references.

  • Dedication: a one-sentence dedication of the article can be a separate paragraph after the "Acknowledgements" section.

  • Funding sources:

    • Please list your funding sources on this template, which conforms to the requirements of major funders:
      Funding: This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health [grant numbers xxxx, yyyy]; the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Seattle, WA [grant number zzzz]; and the United States Institutes of Peace [grant number aaa].

    • It is not necessary to include a detailed description of the program or type of grant or award. When funding is from a block grant or other resources provided to a university, college, or other research institution, please indicate the name of the institute or organization that provided the funding.

  • Appendices:

    • If there is more than one appendix, please identify them by letter (A, B, etc.).

    • Formulas and equations in the appendices should be numbered separately: (A.1), Eq. (A.2), etc.; in a subsequent appendix, Eq. (B.1) and so on. The same applies to tables and figures: Table A.1; Fig. A.1, etc.

  • Footnotes:

    • Footnotes should be used sparingly. Number them consecutively throughout the article.

    • Many word processors can embed footnotes in the text, and this feature can be used. If not, please indicate the position of the footnotes in the text and list the notes themselves separately at the end of the article.

    • Do not include footnotes in the reference list.

 

References

Please ensure that your bibliographic references:

  • Are numbered in square brackets in the text as well as in the final bibliography, and listed sequentially as they appear in the text (autotexts, fields, bookmarks, captions, cross-references, etc.);
  • Are identical in the calls to the text and in the final bibliography;
  • Cite journal titles in the abbreviated form recognized by international rules2 ;
  • Do not include any bold or italic characters (formatting will be done at the time of the actual editing).

Examples of the layout to be used in the reference list.

  • Article (all authors must be mentioned):
  • [1] W.J. Graigen, C.T. Caskey, International frame-shifting: where will it stop?, Cell 50 (1987) 1-2.
  • Book:
    [2] M.B. Brown, Cotton: history, species, varieties, morphology, breeding, culture, diseases, marketing and uses, McGraw-Hill, New York, 1938.
  • Chapter in a book:
    [3] S. Kubin, Measurement of radiant energy, in : Z. Sestak, J. Catsky, P.G. Jarvis (Eds.), Plant Photosynthetic Production. Manual of Methods, Junk, La Haye, 1971, pp. 702–765.

 

Mathematical or chemical equations and formulas

Please:

  • Submit mathematical equations as editable text, not images;
  • Submit simple formulas, in-line, with normal text whenever possible;
  • Use solidus (/) instead of a horizontal line for small fractional terms, e.g., X/Y ;
  • Present variables in italics;
  • Indicate the powers of e by exp.;
  • Number consecutively all equations that are to be displayed separately from the text (if explicitly mentioned in the text);
  • Place exponents and subscripts carefully (so write x1 and not x1);
  • Avoid ambiguous expressions such as 1/2x : write either 1/(2 x) or (1/2) x ;
  • Always designate a given quantity by the same symbol in the same font;
  • Respect common typographical practices: for example, mathematical or physical quantities, such as the x-axis or a mass m, are in italics. For example, x + 1 can be distinguished from x + l, and the logarithm ln from the product of l and n.

 

Illustrations

General points

Please:

  • Label all your illustrations as figures and/or diagrams;
  • Number your illustrations in Arabic numerals, in the order they appear in the article;
  • Use consistent units and symbols between all illustrations and with the text;
  • Use consistent lettering and dimensions for all original illustrations;
  • Use Helvetica as the preferred font (if not available, use Arial, Courier, Times New Roman, Symbol or similar fonts) for text appearing in figures;
  • Provide as much as possible your illustrations resized according to their final size (ideally 75 mm wide, 160 mm as an exception);
  • Make sure that none of your illustrations exceed A4 size (210 x 297 mm);
  • If you also provide illustrations as separate files, please send them in the best possible resolution and choose image formats (JPEG, PNG, EPS, ChemDraw, Adobe Illustrator... - note that EPS format is not suitable for images containing text). When enlarged to 400%, your illustrations should not become blurred or pixelated;
  • Ensure that photographs and halftones have good contrast;
  • Make sure that the characters integrated in your illustrations remain legible even after reducing the size of the illustrations by 70%;
  • Integrate the fonts used directly into your illustrations if the design software you use allows it;
  • Provide captions for your illustrations separately;
  • Check that your illustrations are all cited in the body of the text.

Please use only royalty-free illustrations in your manuscript. If you use a copyrighted illustration, please obtain permission from the copyright holders to reuse it under a Creative Commons CC BY 4.0 license (see below).

 

Formats

Each illustration (figure, scheme, diagram...) must be provided:

  • Separately;
  • in its own file not exceeding 50 Mb (contact us in case of problem);
  • in image format (TIFF, JPEG, PNG, EPS, ChemDraw, Adobe Illustrator...) - note that EPS format is not suitable for files containing text;
  • in high resolution (minimum 400 dpi).

Figures in text format (Word, PowerPoint...) cannot be used and will not be considered in the submission.

 

Tables

Please:

  • Use only one grid for each individual table, not one grid for each row;
  • Align columns using tabs (not spaces) if your table does not have a grid;
  • Number your tables in Arab numerals, in the order they appear in the article;
  • Avoid vertical lines within tables;
  • Accompany each table with a caption.

 

Conventions and abbreviations

They should be defined in brackets after their first mention in the text. Internationally accepted units and nomenclature must be used (ISO 31 and ISO 1000). Standard units of measurement and chemical symbols for elements may be used without definition in the manuscript.
 

Open data policy

Source files

Authors wishing to publish in Comptes Rendus Biologies are requested to provide all the files necessary for the formatting of their article in the most interoperable formats possible, in order to facilitate the work of the editors.

In order to encourage the free circulation of scientific knowledge, authors are strongly encouraged to accept the publication by Comptes Rendus Biologies of these source files, together with the editorialized files. The dissemination of figures, in particular, especially when made available in an interoperable format and in high quality resolution, is a strong commitment to more open and robust science.

 

Underlying Data

Research data includes all "materials in digital form, other than scientific publications, that are collected or produced in the course of scientific research activities and used as evidence in the research process, or that are commonly accepted by the scientific community as necessary to validate research findings and results" (source: EU Directive 2019/1024).

 

Authors wishing to publish in the Comptes Rendus Biologies are encouraged to make all data related to the research work they describe in their manuscripts, and in particular the data directly underlying the submitted articles, freely available.

To do so, Comptes Rendus Biologies strongly recommends that authors deposit their data in warehouses, i.e. databases specifically dedicated to the permanent preservation, enrichment and valorization of the materials they host. Datasets deposited in repositories are scientific productions that can be cited (in particular when they have a permanent identifier such as DOI), in the same way as a traditional publication.

It is recommended that authors release their data without embargo or after the shortest possible delay, in a way that allows their reuse, with an explicit link between the data and the underlying publication (reciprocal mention of the DOI). The journal encourages the provision of data under open licenses that allow their free reuse. Authors must use the licenses recommended by the repository where the data were deposited.

Reviewers of submitted articles may at any time request from authors the data underlying the results described. Failure to provide this data will result in the rejection of the submission.

NB: Research data should be as open as possible, but as closed as necessary. The Academy of Sciences and the editorial team of Comptes Rendus Biologies cannot be held responsible for any failure to respect the rights associated with the exploitation or dissemination of the data underlying the articles published by the journal. Authors are invited to inquire about any intellectual or industrial property issues that may arise with their data.

 

Data Repositories

To select a trusted repository appropriate for your data type or disciplinary area, consult the re3data directory. Check that the chosen repository meets quality criteria.

These include:

  • Dryad, a life sciences data repository, supported by the California Digital Library. Data deposit is moderated (quality control of metadata). For any help in using the repository, contact us.
  • Zenodo, a multidisciplinary data warehouse, supported by CERN and the European Commission. The data deposit is not moderated.

 

Supplementary material

Authors who wish to publish in the Comptes Rendus Biologies may attach to the full text of their submission additional files or material, independent of the body of the article but essential to its understanding. As this material is subject to the peer review process, it must be included and clearly marked as "Supporting Information for Electronic Publication" when the article is submitted. To ensure that your material is directly usable, please make sure that each file does not exceed 50 MB.

However, for reasons of technical constraints, valuation, preservation and reuse, authors are strongly advised to deposit this additional material in dedicated repositories, rather than publishing it as an appendix to the articles.

 

Copyright

Respect of the copyright of third parties

Authors who wish to reuse in their articles (in particular review articles and history of science and ideas) elements protected by the copyright of third parties (texts, figures, photographs...) are requested to do so in compliance with the French Intellectual Property Code (art. L.122-5 in particular):

  • For textual documents: please respect the exception of "short quote" and clearly indicate the names of the authors and the initial source;
  • For graphic elements: please verify that these are free of rights, and if this is not the case, obtain written authorization from the rights holders (authors or commercial publisher) to redistribute these elements in the Biological Reports under a Creative Commons CC BY license;
  • If you use intellectual works of which you are the author, please take into account the rights that you may have assigned on an exclusive basis.

The Académie des sciences cannot be held responsible for any copyright infringement associated with any of the contents of the Comptes Rendus Biologie. The team of the Publications Department of the Académie is at your disposal to help you on these questions.

 

Rights policy

By publishing in Comptes Rendus Biologies, authors grant the journal the right of first publication and distribution of the final published version (version of records or version of reference). This right is materialized by the signature of a contract of transfer of rights.

All articles in Comptes Rendus Biologies (including content published prior to 2020) are licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), which permits the journal to use and reproduce the articles and to create derivative works in any medium and format, including for commercial purposes.

Authors retain full intellectual property rights, and are free to enter into additional, separate contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive dissemination of the journal's version of their article (e.g., deposit in an open archive or publication in a book), subject to acknowledging the original publication of the article in Comptes Rendus Biologies.

 

Reuse of articles in their submitted and accepted versions

Submitted version (author's manuscript or preprint): any author who wishes to publish in Comptes Rendus Biologies is authorized to pre-publish his manuscript on a pre-publication server such as bioRxiv, in an open archive such as HAL, or on any other website such as a laboratory website. The manuscript must be clearly identified as not yet peer-reviewed or accepted for publication, and not containing any modifications requested later.

If the author's manuscript is subsequently accepted for publication and then published by Comptes Rendus Biologies, the authors must indicate these changes in editorial status, provide a link to the journal and include in the manuscript record the DOI assigned to the final published version.

 

Accepted version (accepted author manuscript or postprint): any author whose manuscript has been accepted for publication in Comptes Rendus Chimie may publish the final version of his or her unedited text on a pre-publication server such as bioRxiv, in an open archive such as HAL, or on any other website such as a laboratory website. The manuscript must be clearly identified as having been peer-reviewed, corrected following their requests and accepted in principle by the journal, with a link to the journal's website.

After publication by the Comptes Rendus Biologies, the article description should be modified to include the final DOI assigned to the final published version.

 

Published version (PDF editor or version of records): the CC BY 4.0 license under which the articles of Comptes Rendus Biologiesare distributed authorizes its authors to deposit the published version of their work in an open archive such as HAL, or on any other website such as a laboratory website, provided that the DOI of the published article is included in the article's descriptive notice.

NB : for a deposit in HAL, you can select the option "I have checked that this publisher belongs to those which authorize the submission of the “file editors” on an open archive".

 

Choose a platform of self-archiving

To choose the preprint server, open archive or portal best suited to disseminate your author manuscripts, feel free to consult the Open Directory of Open Access Repositories (OpenDOAR), a service of JISC.

If you have any questions about the dissemination of your work, please do not hesitate to contact us.

 

Ethical Code

By submitting an article to Comptes Rendus Biologies, authors agree to abide by the journal's Code of Ethics and Good Practices.

 

Print on demand

If you would like to order hard copies of annual volumes or thematic issues of the Comptes Rendus Biologies, click here to get more information.

 

1. In the Word layout tab, click on the Line numbers button, then select the Continuous option. For more information, please refer to the software publisher's instructions.

2. Please refer to the List of Serial Title Word Abbreviations (conforming to ISO 4, International ISSN Center) or to Chemical Abstracts. Words for which no abbreviation is given should be written in full).