Toxicologic Pathology

All manuscripts to Toxicologic Pathology should be submitted via the SAGE Journals Submission site at https://sage.atyponrex.com/journal/tpx.

Toxicologic Pathology is a member of the Committee on Publication Ethics.

This Journal recommends that authors follow the Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals formulated by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE).

Please read the guidelines below then visit Toxicologic Pathology’s submission site (https://sage.atyponrex.com/journal/tpx) to upload your manuscript. Please note that manuscripts not conforming to these guidelines may be returned. Remember you can log in to the submission site at any time to check on the progress of your paper through the peer review process.

Sage Publishing disseminates high-quality research and engaged scholarship globally, and we are committed to diversity and inclusion in publishing. We encourage submissions from a diverse range of authors from across all countries and backgrounds.

Only manuscripts of sufficient quality that meet the aims and scope of Toxicologic Pathology will be reviewed.

Associated Costs for Authors

Manuscript Fees.  In order to offset increasing publication costs, the Society has established a standard charge of $250.00 for each accepted manuscript. Payment should be made to Sage Publications by major credit card at the time of manuscript acceptance through the Sage Journals Submission site.

Color Figure Charges.  Authors who wish to include color reproduction are encouraged to do so. There is no charge to authors for color images produced in the journal; however, we ask that authors only provide color artwork that is necessary and appropriate.   Our referees will be asked to ensure that only those figures deemed absolutely necessary for the clarity of the manuscript will be allowed and any surplus to requirements will be removed.

As part of the submission process you will be required to warrant that you are submitting your original work, that you have the rights in the work, and that you have obtained and can supply all necessary permissions for the reproduction of any copyright works not owned by you, that you are submitting the work for first publication in Toxicologic Pathology and that it is not being considered for publication elsewhere and has not already been published elsewhere. Please see our guidelines on prior publication and note that Toxicologic Pathology will consider submissions of papers that have been posted on preprint servers; please alert the Editorial Office when submitting (contact details are at the end of these guidelines) and include the DOI for the preprint in the designated field in the manuscript submission system. Authors should not post an updated version of their paper on the preprint server while it is being peer reviewed for possible publication in Toxicologic Pathology. If the article is accepted for publication, the author may re-use their work according to Toxicologic Pathology's author archiving policy. If your paper is accepted, you must include a link on your preprint to the final version of your paper.

If you have any questions about publishing with Sage, please visit the Sage Journal Solutions Portal.

1. What do we publish?
1.1 Aims & Scope
1.1.1 General Information
1.2 Article types
1.3 Writing your paper
2. Editorial policies
2.1 Peer review policy
2.2 Authorship
2.3 Acknowledgements
2.4 Funding
2.5 Declaration of conflicting interests
2.6 Research ethics and patient consent
2.7 Research involving animals
2.8 Research involving human subjects
2.9 Clinical trials
2.10 Reporting guidelines
2.11 Research data
3. Publishing policies
3.1 Publication ethics
3.2 Contributor’s publishing agreement
3.3 Open access and author archiving
4. Preparing your manuscript
4.1 Formatting
4.2 Artwork, figures, and other graphics
4.3 Figure Policy
4.4 Supplemental material
4.5 Reference style
4.6 English language editing services
5. Submitting your manuscript
5.1 ORCID
5.2 Information required for completing your submission
5.3 Permissions
6. On acceptance and publication
6.1 Sage Production
6.2 Online First publication
6.3 Access to your published article
6.4 Promoting your article
6.5 Abstracting Service
6.6 Copyright
7. Further information
7.1 Appealing the publication decision

 

1. What do we publish?

1.1 Aims & Scope

Before submitting your manuscript to Toxicologic Pathology, please ensure you have read the Aims & Scope (https://journals.Sagepub.com/aims-scope/TPX).

1.1.1 General Information

Toxicologic Pathology, the official journal of the Society of Toxicologic Pathology, will publish Original Research Articles, Symposium Articles, Review Articles, Meeting Reports, New Techniques, and Position Papers that are relevant to toxicologic pathology. Relevant topics include reports on safety assessment of pharmaceuticals, chemicals, food additives, pesticides, environmentally relevant chemicals, and medical devices; risk characterization of xenobiotics; investigative studies that contribute to refinement of the safety assessment process; mechanistic studies that provide a basis for interpreting and predicting toxicologic outcome; emerging approaches and methods in toxicologic pathology; spontaneous diseases that may influence toxicology studies, and animal and alternative models relevant to toxicologic pathology. Studies of botanicals and their extracts must include appropriate characterization of the components and concentration of active ingredients; crude extracts will not be accepted. Reviews may be contributed or invited.

1.2 Article types

Information provided on details for the various publication categories in Toxicologic Pathology can be found at: Boyle MH, Bennet B, Colman K, et al. Publication Categories in Toxicologic Pathology. Toxicologic Pathology. 2021;49(5):1042-1047. doi:10.1177/0192623321992305

There are no manuscript word counts or limits. Limitations only apply to abstract length.

Scientific Regulatory Policy Committee, Toxicologic Pathology Forum and Special Interest Group Articles

• Manuscripts submitted in these categories may use the same structure as original research articles but must include the proper title and disclaimer as outlined below. 

Toxicologic Pathology Forum (TPF) Opinion Manuscripts

• Short opinion pieces that provide author perspectives on regulatory issues and strategies related to nonclinical toxicology testing and risk assessment.

• May also be full or short topical articles or reviews (including technical reviews), and commentaries on draft and final regulatory guidances, or announcements and events related to regulatory or nonregulatory issues of interest to toxicologic pathologists.

• May originate via request from the TPF Committee, unsolicited through author submission directly to TPF, or direct submission to the journal.

• The title should have the following format: Toxicologic Pathology Forum*: (title inserted here)

• Manuscripts should include the following disclaimer placed immediately following the list of authors and institutions: *This is an opinion article submitted to the Toxicologic Pathology Forum. It represents the views of the authors. It does not constitute an official position of the Society of Toxicologic Pathology, British Society of Toxicological Pathology, or European Society of Toxicologic Pathology, and the views expressed might not reflect the best practices recommended by these Societies. This article should not be construed to represent the policies, positions, or opinions of their respective organizations, employers, or regulatory agencies.

Scientific Regulatory Policy Committee Points to Consider (PTC) Manuscripts

• Papers submitted in this category should be submitted to the STP SPRC Committee for review and approval prior to be submitted to the journal. 

• The title should have the following format: Scientific and Regulatory Policy Committee Points to Consider*: (title inserted here)   

• Manuscripts should include the following disclaimer placed immediately following the list of authors and institutions: *This Points to Consider article is a product of a Society of Toxicologic Pathology (STP) Working Group commissioned by the Scientific and Regulatory Policy Committee (SRPC) of the STP. It has been reviewed and approved by the SRPC and Executive Committee of the STP but it does not represent a formal Best Practice recommendation of the Society; rather, it is intended to provide key “points to consider” for the toxicologic pathology community. The points expressed in this document are those of the authors and do not reflect views or policies of the employing institutions. Readers of Toxicologic Pathology are encouraged to send their thoughts on these articles or ideas for new topics to the Editor.

Scientific Regulatory Policy Committee Best Practices (BP) Papers

• Papers submitted in this category should be submitted to the STP SPRC Committee for review and approval prior to be submitted to the journal. 

• The title should have the following format: Scientific and Regulatory Policy Committee Best Practices*: (title inserted here)   

• Manuscripts should include the following disclaimer placed immediately following the list of authors and institutions: *This recommended Best Practice paper is the product of a (indicate STP, BSTP or ESTP) Working Group commissioned by the Scientific and Regulatory Policy Committee (SRPC) of the STP.  It has been reviewed and approved by the entire (indicate STP, BSTP or ESTP) membership, including the SRPC, and Executive Committee of the STP as well as the entire STP membership. These recommendations were also reviewed and endorsed by multiple other societies of toxicologic pathology (indicate STP, ESTP, BSTP, LASTP, JSTP, etc.) representing nations in Asia, Europe, and Latin America.

Special Interest Group (SIG) Manuscripts

• Draft opinion pieces are submitted to the TPF committee, which will review the article and solicit expert external reviews, as needed.

• For BP or PTC papers, the SIG members collaborate with the SRPC, which will facilitate the formation of a charter describing the rationale and scope of the publication, and the proposed list of authors.

• For other articles that do not require committee review or society endorsement, the SIG may submit directly to the journal.

• The title should follow the format: Society of Toxicologic Pathology (name of the group) Special Interest Group Article*: (title inserted here).

• Manuscripts should include the following disclaimer placed immediately following the list of authors and institutions: *This article is a product of a Special Interest Group of the Society of Toxicologic Pathology (STP). The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the policies, positions, or opinions of the STP.

European Society of Toxicological Pathology Expert Workshop Manuscripts

• Summarizing manuscripts of ESTP international expert workshops may be published in Toxicologic Pathology.

• ESTP international expert workshop publications generally have the article type incorporated into the title and include the following disclaimer: This ESTP expert workshop article is the product of an ESTP Expert Workshop commissioned by the ESTP. It has been reviewed and approved by the ESTP EC, but it does not represent a formal Best Practice recommendation of the Society; rather, it is intended to highlight expert perspective on emerging toxicologic pathology issues that may be relevant to the development of appropriate industry practices and good regulatory policies. The points expressed in this document are those of the authors and do not reflect views or policies of the employing institutions.

Brief Communications

These succinct manuscripts should have the same structure as full-length Original Research Articles but in much shorter form.  Such brief reports will be prepared using the same formatting instructions as Original Research Articles, except that section headings will be used only for the Abstract, Acknowledgements, and References. 

Brief Communications may describe any topic relevant to the practice of toxicologic pathology that does not warrant a full-length paper.  In general, acceptable subjects will be suitable for presentation as Diagnostic Reports, or Special Reports.  Diagnostic Reports will present a clinical, gross, and/or histopathologic abnormality followed by expository text defining the morphologic and etiologic diagnoses.  Special Reports will describe scientific activities of STP or affiliated societies.

Brief Communications generally do not exceed three printed pages (usually six manuscript pages), including illustrations, tables, and references.  Abstracts for Brief Communications should not exceed 150 words and the number of citations should be limited to 15. 

Mini Reviews

These succinct manuscripts should have the same structure as full-length Original Research Articles but in much shorter form.  Mini reviews should be prepared using the same formatting instructions as Original Research Articles, except that section headings will be used only for the Abstract, Acknowledgements, and References. 

Mini Reviews may describe any topic relevant to the practice of toxicologic pathology that does not warrant a full-length paper.  Mini reviews are summaries of recent insights or advances in areas within the scope of the journal and are usually commissioned from experts in a particular specialty area.  Authors should provide a balance overview of the field and not focus on their own work or the work of close colleagues. 

Mini Reviews generally do not exceed seven double-spaced, typed pages. In addition to the text, there may be 1-2 figures and 1-2 tables.  Abstracts should not exceed 150 words and the number of citations should be limited to 15.

Letters to the Editor/Book Reviews/Other Manuscript Types

Sample copies of Letters to the Editor and Books Reviews can be found on the Instructions and Forms Page of Manuscript Central.

Authors may submit one Letter to the Editor in response to a recent published manuscript.  The author of the published article will be given an opportunity to prepare a rebuttal in the form of a Letter to Editor.  Authors may to submit only one Letter to the Editor relating to a specific published paper. 

Information on preparing other manuscript types should be directed to the Editor-in-Chief or the Managing Editor at the Editorial Office.

Original Research Articles, Review Articles and Invited Review Articles submitted should contain: 

A Cover letter saved in Microsoft Word format (.doc) or rich text format (.rtf) maybe uploaded to the Sage Journals Submission site.

Manuscripts should be double-spaced throughout (including references, footnotes, tables, and figure legends). Original research articles should be organized into sections as follows:

The Title Page should contain the title of the paper, the full names (first name, middle initial, last name) of all authors and the institution(s) where they reside. Changes of address since completion of the work can be included as footnotes.

The Keywords Page facilitates indexing and retrieval services. The system will require you to enter a minimum of 3 and a maximum of 7 keywords.

The Abstract should be one paragraph consisting of a 150 to 200 word concise description of the objectives, methods, findings, and significance of the research.

The Introduction should contain brief background information and a clear statement of purpose and significance of the research being reported.

The Materials and Methods should provide a brief description of the methods and experiments and experimental design used. Methods and techniques that are well established should be referenced only. The description of the methods followed should allow reproducibility by other investigators. In reports covering in vivo experimentation, a description of the anesthesia or other procedures to avoid unnecessary pain or suffering should be included. Authors must state their compliance regarding rights of subjects in human experimentation or humane treatment and care of animals in research. This means that a statement specifically stating that the study was approved by an Institutional Care and Use Committee (IACUC) or equivalent ethical review committee.

Footnotes should be used sparingly, indicated by Arabic numerals superscripted to the authors, text, or titles. Footnotes should be typed sequentially on a separate page and can include disclaimers, the source of grant support, and address for offprint requests.

Please visit our Sage Author Gateway for guidance on producing visual and/or video abstracts.

1.3 Writing your paper

The Sage Author Gateway has some general advice on how to get published, plus links to further resources.

1.3.1 Make your article discoverable

For information and guidance on how to make your article more discoverable, visit our Gateway page on How to Help Readers Find Your Article Online.

2. Editorial policies

Manuscripts are to be submitted to Toxicologic Pathology via the Toxicologic Pathology Sage Journals Submission site (https://sage.atyponrex.com/journal/tpx). 

Submission of an article to Toxicologic Pathology assumes that 1) All authors have made a significant contribution to the article and share the responsibility of the manuscript content and findings.  2) All authors have read and approved the original and any revised version of the article that is submitted.  3) The manuscript has not been previously published and is not under consideration elsewhere.  4) Potential conflict of interest has been disclosed to the Editor (see conflict of interest guidelines). 

2.1 Peer review policy

Single anonymised review statements:

1. Toxicologic Pathology operates a conventional single-anonymised reviewing policy in which the reviewer’s name is always concealed from the submitting author.

The journal’s policy is to have manuscripts reviewed by three expert reviewers. Reviewers leave comments to the author and submit recommendations to the Editors who then make the final decisions.

Reviewers should be experts in their fields and should be able to provide an objective assessment of the manuscript. Our policy is that reviewers should not be assigned to a paper if:

• The reviewer is based at the same institution as any of the co-authors.

• The reviewer is based at the funding body of the paper.

• The author has recommended the reviewer.

• The reviewer has provided a personal (e.g. Gmail/Yahoo/Hotmail) email account and an institutional email account cannot be found after performing a basic Google search (name, department and institution).

Toxicologic Pathology is committed to delivering high quality, fast peer-review for your paper, and as such has partnered with Web of Science (formerly Publons). Web of Science (WoS) is a third-party service that seeks to track, verify and give credit for peer review. Reviewers for Toxicologic Pathology can opt in to WoS in order to claim their reviews or have them automatically verified and added to their reviewer profile. Reviewers claiming credit for their review will be associated with the relevant journal, but the article name, reviewer’s decision and the content of their review is not published on the site. For more information visit the WoS website.

The Editor or members of the Editorial Board may occasionally submit their own manuscripts for possible publication in Toxicologic Pathology. In these cases, the peer review process will be managed by alternative members of the Board and the submitting Editor/Board member will have no involvement in the decision-making process.

2.2 Authorship

Papers should only be submitted for consideration once consent is given by all contributing authors. Those submitting papers should carefully check that all those whose work contributed to the paper are acknowledged as contributing authors.

The list of authors should include all those who can legitimately claim authorship. This is all those who:

1. Made a substantial contribution to the concept or design of the work; or acquisition, analysis or interpretation of data,

2. Drafted the article or revised it critically for important intellectual content,

3. Approved the version to be published,

4. Each author should have participated sufficiently in the work to take public responsibility for appropriate portions of the content.

Authors should meet the conditions of all of the points above. When a large, multicenter group has conducted the work, the group should identify the individuals who accept direct responsibility for the manuscript. These individuals should fully meet the criteria for authorship.

Acquisition of funding, collection of data, or general supervision of the research group alone does not constitute authorship, although all contributors who do not meet the criteria for authorship should be listed in the Acknowledgments section. Please refer to the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) authorship guidelines for more information on authorship.

2.3 Acknowledgements

All contributors who do not meet the criteria for authorship should be listed in an Acknowledgements section. Examples of those who might be acknowledged include a person who provided purely technical help, or a department chair who provided only general support.

Any acknowledgements should appear first at the end of your article prior to your Declaration of Conflicting Interests (if applicable), any notes and your References.

Per ICMJE recommendations, it is best practice to obtain consent from non-author contributors who you are acknowledging in your paper.             

2.3.1 Third party submissions

Where an individual who is not listed as an author submits a manuscript on behalf of the author(s), a statement must be included in the Acknowledgements section of the manuscript and in the accompanying cover letter. The statements must:

• Disclose this type of editorial assistance – including the individual’s name, company and level of input

• Identify any entities that paid for this assistance

• Confirm that the listed authors have authorized the submission of their manuscript via third party and approved any statements or declarations, e.g. conflicting interests, funding, etc.

Where appropriate, Sage reserves the right to deny consideration to manuscripts submitted by a third party rather than by the authors themselves.

2.3.2 Writing assistance

Individuals who provided writing assistance, e.g. from a specialist communications company, do not qualify as authors and so should be included in the Acknowledgements section. Authors must disclose any writing assistance – including the individual’s name, company and level of input – and identify the entity that paid for this assistance. It is not necessary to disclose use of language polishing services.

2.4 Funding

Toxicologic Pathology requires all authors to acknowledge their funding in a consistent fashion under a separate heading.  Please visit the Funding Acknowledgements page on the Sage Journal Author Gateway to confirm the format of the acknowledgment text in the event of funding, or state that: This research received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. 

2.5 Declaration of conflicting interests

It is the policy of Toxicologic Pathology to require a declaration of conflicting interests from all authors enabling a statement to be carried within the paginated pages of all published articles.

Please ensure that a ‘Declaration of Conflicting Interests’ statement is included at the end of your manuscript, after any acknowledgements and prior to the references. If no conflict exists, please state that ‘The Author(s) declare(s) that there is no conflict of interest’. For guidance on conflict of interest statements, please see the ICMJE recommendations here. Transparency and objectivity are essential in scientific research and the peer review process.

The guidelines for Toxicologic Pathology include: All authors of original research manuscripts, review articles and other articles submitted for publication in Toxicologic Pathology must indicate the source(s) of support for the submitted work along with any potential financial or other interests that may be perceived to bias the publication. All sponsors must be identified, even if the financial support is indirect. The monetary value of the financial interests need not be disclosed.

In addition to financial considerations, other potential conflicts including professional collaboration and/or competition may form a conflict of interest. All disclosures will be held confidential during the manuscript review process. The information on source of support for the article should be added as an acknowledgement in the final published form.

In addition to authors, reviewers must also disclose any conflicts to the Associate Editor. The associate editor may deem the conflict serious enough to exclude the reviewer from participation in the review of the article.

According to the U.S. Office of Research Integrity, having a conflict of interest is not in itself unethical, and there are some that are unavoidable. Full transparency is always the best course of action, and, if in doubt, disclose.

The journal’s conflict of interest policy is to maintain integrity and protect the author’s and journal's interests. Our journal strives to maintain the highest standards of integrity. Transparency is essential for a reader’s trust in the scientific process and for the credibility of published articles.

Declaration of Conflicting Interests Statement should appear at the end of your manuscript after any Acknowledgements. Transparency and objectivity are essential in scientific research and the peer review process. Authors should provide detailed information about all relevant financial interests, activities, relationships, and affiliations, including but not limited to employment, affiliation, funding and grants received or pending, consultancies, honoraria or payment, speakers’ bureaus, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, royalties, donation of medical equipment, or patents planned, pending, or issued.

• Authors should provide detailed information about all relevant financial interests, activities, relationships, and affiliations, including but not limited to employment, affiliation, funding and grants received or pending, consultancies, honoraria or payment, speakers’ bureaus, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, royalties, donation of medical equipment, or patents planned, pending, or issued that may have, or be perceived to have, a direct influence on the submitted manuscript.

• A journal’s conflict of interest policies should apply to all manuscript submissions and types of articles, including reports of research, reviews, opinion pieces, educational articles, reviews of books and other media, letters to the editor, and online-only comments.

 Example Conflict of Interest Statements:

• The author(s) declared no real, perceived or potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

• Dr Jones reported serving as a paid consultant to Wyler Laboratories.

• Dr Jones owns stock in Wyler Laboratories. Drs. Smith and Brown reported no financial interests.

• Funding/Support: This study was funded in part by Wyler Laboratories

• Authors without conflicts of interest should indicate no COI.  Example: Conflict of Interest Disclosures: None reported.]

Please refer to the journal’s Conflict of Interest Guidelines for more information. If authors are uncertain about what constitutes a relevant COI, they should contact the Editorial Office.

2.6 Research ethics and patient consent

Medical research involving human subjects must be conducted according to the World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki.

Submitted manuscripts should conform to the ICMJE Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals, and all papers reporting animal and/or human studies must state in the methods section that the relevant ethics committee or institutional review board provided (or waived) approval. Please ensure that you have provided the full name and institution of the review committee, in addition to the approval number.

For research articles, authors are also required to state in the methods section whether participants provided informed consent and whether the consent was written or verbal.

Information on informed consent to report individual cases or case series should be included in the manuscript text. A statement is required regarding whether written informed consent for patient information and images to be published was provided by the patient(s) or a legally authorized representative. Please do not submit the patient’s actual written informed consent with your article, as this in itself breaches the patient’s confidentiality. Toxicologic Pathology requests that you confirm to us, in writing, that you have obtained written informed consent but the written consent itself should be held by the authors/investigators themselves, for example in a patient’s hospital record. The confirmatory letter may be uploaded with your submission as a separate file.

Please also refer to the ICMJE Recommendations for the Protection of Research Participants.

2.7 Research involving animals:

All research involving animals submitted for publication must be approved by an ethics committee with oversight of the facility in which the studies were conducted. Toxicologic Pathology has adopted the ARRIVE guidelines.

When studies involve the use of experimental animals, manuscripts should briefly describe the procedures employed for animal care and handling.  Experiments that involve the use of animals must be conducted in accordance with institutional and governmental guiding principles in the use of animals. Authors are encouraged to review the Institute of Laboratory Animal Research (ILAR) guidance for Description of Animal Research in Scientific Publications (https://www.nap.edu/catalog/13241/guidance-for-the-description-of-animal-research-in-scientific-publications) or the ARRIVE Guidelines (https://journals.plos.org/plosbiology/article?id=10.1371/journal.pbio.1000412). In all instances proper genetic nomenclature must be utilized for animal descriptions with strain or stock and source properly specified. Authors can refer to the following sources for review. The Mouse Genome Informatics website should be consulted for mice (http://www.informatics.jax.org/mgihome/nomen/) and the Rat Genome Database (https://rgd.mcw.edu/nomen/nomen.shtml) for nomenclature issues in rats.

2.8 Research involving human subjects:

Studies involving research on human subjects must be approved by an appropriate Institutional Review Board (IRB) and comply with all relevant federal, state and local regulations.  For research conducted outside federal regulations, authors must provide documentation that the research was conducted according to the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki (WMA Declaration of Helsinki) A statement describing IRB approval, consent procedures and that all human participants gave written informed consent must appear at the beginning of the Methods section; the Editor-in-Chief may request to see such documentation. 

2.9 Clinical trials

Toxicologic Pathology conforms to the ICMJE requirement that clinical trials are registered in a WHO-approved public trials registry at or before the time of first patient enrolment as a condition of consideration for publication. The trial registry name and URL, and registration number must be included at the end of the abstract.

2.10 Reporting guidelines

The relevant EQUATOR Network reporting guidelines should be followed depending on the type of study. For example, all randomized controlled trials submitted for publication should include a completed CONSORT flow chart as a cited figure and the completed CONSORT checklist should be uploaded with your submission as a supplementary file. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses should include the completed PRISMA flow chart as a cited figure and the completed PRISMA checklist should be uploaded with your submission as a supplementary file. The EQUATOR wizard can help you identify the appropriate guideline. If your research involves animals, you will be asked to confirm that you have carefully read and adhered to the ARRIVE guidelines.

Other resources can be found at NLM’s Research Reporting Guidelines and Initiatives.

2.11 Research data

Toxicologic Pathology is committed to facilitating openness, transparency and reproducibility of research, and has the following research data sharing policy. For more information, including FAQs please visit the Sage Research Data policy pages.

Subject to appropriate ethical and legal considerations, authors are encouraged to:

• Share your research data in a relevant public data repository

• Include a data availability statement linking to your data. If it is not possible to share your data, use the statement to confirm why it cannot be shared.

• Cite this data in your research

Peer reviewers may be asked to peer review the research data prior to publication.

• Peer reviewers may be asked to assess compliance with the research data policy

• Peer reviewers may be asked to assess research data files

If you need to anonymize your research data for peer review, please refer to our Research Data Sharing FAQs for guidance.

3. Publishing policies

3.1 Publication ethics

Sage is committed to upholding the integrity of the academic record. We encourage authors to refer to the Committee on Publication Ethics’ International Standards for Authors and view the Publication Ethics page on the Sage Author Gateway.

3.1.1 Plagiarism

Toxicologic Pathology and Sage take issues of copyright infringement, plagiarism or other breaches of best practice in publication very seriously. We seek to protect the rights of our authors and we always investigate claims of plagiarism or misuse of published articles. Equally, we seek to protect the reputation of Toxicologic Pathology against malpractice. Submitted articles may be checked with duplication-checking software. Where an article, for example, is found to have plagiarized other work or included third-party copyright material without permission or with insufficient acknowledgement, or where the authorship of the article is contested, we reserve the right to take action including, but not limited to: publishing an erratum or corrigendum (correction); retracting the article; taking up the matter with the head of department or dean of the author's institution and/or relevant academic bodies or societies; or taking appropriate legal action.

3.1.2 Prior publication

If material has been previously published it is not generally acceptable for publication in a Sage journal. However, there are certain circumstances where previously published material can be considered for publication. Please refer to the guidance on the Sage Author Gateway or if in doubt, contact the Editor at the address given below.

3.2 Contributor’s publishing agreement        

Before publication, Sage requires the author as the rights holder to sign a Journal Contributor’s Publishing Agreement. Sage’s Journal Contributor’s Publishing Agreement is an exclusive license agreement which means that the author retains copyright in the work but grants Sage the sole and exclusive right and license to publish for the full legal term of copyright. Exceptions may exist where an assignment of copyright is required or preferred by a proprietor other than Sage. In this case copyright in the work will be assigned from the author to the society. For more information, please visit the Sage Author Gateway.

3.3 Open access and author archiving

Toxicologic Pathology offers optional open access publishing via the Sage Choice programme and Open Access agreements, where authors can publish open access either discounted or free of charge depending on the agreement with Sage. Find out if your institution is participating by visiting Open Access Agreements at Sage. For more information on Open Access publishing options at Sage please visit Sage Open Access. For information on funding body compliance, and depositing your article in repositories, please visit Sage’s Author Archiving and Re-Use Guidelines and Publishing Policies.

4. Preparing your manuscript for submission

4.1 Formatting

The preferred format for your manuscript is Word.

Results should be concerned exclusively with the experimental design described in Methods and be presented as concisely as possible. Tables and figures should illustrate important points.

Discussion should concentrate on the discussion of the findings presented and, in context with other relevant published work, include the major points that add to the significance of the work. Extensive literature reviews or highly speculative discussion are discouraged.

Acknowledgments should be confined to those who contributed to the final presentation not in the role of author. Acknowledgment of technical contributions should be specific for participation, avoiding lengthy recognition that could have been made by other means.

Declaration of Conflicting Interests Statement should appear at the end of your manuscript after any Acknowledgements. Transparency and objectivity are essential in scientific research and the peer review process. Authors should provide detailed information about all relevant financial interests, activities, relationships, and affiliations, including but not limited to employment, affiliation, funding and grants received or pending, consultancies, honoraria or payment, speakers’ bureaus, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, royalties, donation of medical equipment, or patents planned, pending, or issued.

4.2 Artwork, figures and other graphics

For guidance on the preparation of illustrations, pictures and graphs in electronic format, please visit Sage’s Manuscript Submission Guidelines.

Preparing Figures

Please do not submit figures in PowerPoint, PDF or Word format.  Each figure must be submitted as a separate file in the appropriate format specified below.

• TIF for photomicrographs, and TIF or EPS for graphs and line drawings.

• Photomicrographs must be submitted at resolution of 300 dpi.

• Graphs and line drawings must be submitted at a resolution of 800 dpi.

• All images must be unflattened:

  • Explanations for how to “layer” and “flatten” will vary depending on which image graphics program you are using (e.g., Photoshop).

  • Layers are created each time you add text, annotations, etc. to an image within an imaging graphics program such as Photoshop.

  • The image by itself should be on one layer.  Any text, arrows, special characters and figure identifiers should be on separate layers from the image. 

  • To be sure your figure/s meet the requirement when annotations and/or text is added, click on the “eye” beside the layer and if your image and text disappears all at once, then you have everything on one layer.  Text and annotations must be on a separate layer before submitting figures.

  • Flattening an image within a graphics program is when you permanently condense all the image layers into a single layer image so that no additional edits can be made.

  • When saving a file, the program will most likely ask you whether or not you want to flatten/retain the layers your image.  Do not choose to flatten your image. Do choose to retain the layers of your image.

    • Figures must be either 3.5 or 7.125 inches wide.

    • Figures must be between 2.0 and 8.125 inches high.

    • Numbers and labeling must be in Arial or Helvetica font.

    • Figures must be border free.

    • Figures must be submitted in RGB format (do not convert figures to CMYK).

    • Each figure must be uploaded as a separate file.

• Composite Figures:

  • Do not submit your figures in composite format.  Submit each figure as a separate file. 

  • The Illustrations Editor will prepare the final composite figure including adding the symbols (arrows, asterisks, etc.), numbers and letters for you once your manuscript has been accepted for publication.

  • For figures that you would like to be arranged in composites (2, 3, 4 or 6 figures) please label as figures 1a, 1b, 1c, etc. For figures that you would like to present individually, label as figure 1, figure 2, etc. without the letter designation.  Figures should be labeled with the authors name and the figure number.  For example, “author name fig 1”, “author name fig 6a”, etc.)

  • The maximum number of images that can be included in one composite figure is 6. 

  • Please note that the individual files you submit must be prepared in accordance with the Instructions for Figures and be accepted by the Illustrations Editor in order for the Editor to create your composite figure.  This means your images must be submitted at the correct size, resolution and be unflatten in order for the Illustrations Editor to work with them.

Specific directions for photomicrographs, scans, or gray-scale images:

• Images are required in TIF file format.

• Figure resolution must be 300 dpi and should not be submitted as composites.

Specific directions for line art, illustrations or graphs:

• Images are required in either TIF or EPS file format. 

• Figure resolution should be 800 dpi and should not be submitted as composites.

• Arial or Helvetica font must be used.

• Some graphic programs allow saving a file as a TIF or EPS file at appropriate resolution.  For Excel and other programs without this capability, create a blank page in Photoshop at 800 dpi and 3.5 inches wide.  Copy the Excel graph and paste into the Photoshop image and save as a TIF file.

Specific directions for scanned images:

• Avoid extreme rectangular images and images of various sizes for publication. It’s best to capture images at a consistent size for composites.

• Various image sizes will make composite uneven, with extra white space between some images. This creates an irregular look to the layout.

• How to take a screenshot of a digital (scanned) image:

  • https://www.take-a-screenshot.org

  • To assure high resolution, capture the image on a large screen monitor, as large as the screen will allow.  Do not use laptops for capturing your images as they will not result in a 300dpi resolution when sized at 3.5 inches.

• How to size screenshot images so they will be a consistent size for publication:

  • The capture point can be the same from image to image using capture placement points on your screen, resulting in same size images; or,

  • Open the screenshot in imaging software (examples are Photoshop, GIMP, PicMonkey, etc.).

  • Crop images so they are all the same dimensions.

  • The images need to be no less than 3.5 inches at the resolution of 300 dpi.

Figure File Limits

No more than 20 individual figure files may be uploaded into the Sage Journals Submission site (this includes supplemental figure files).  If you have more than 20 individual figure files, please contact the Editorial Office at tpx@jjeditorial.com to receive instructions on how to submit your figures for review. 

Figure Legends

Figure legends may be uploaded to the Sage Journals Submission site when the figures are uploaded, but they should always be included at the end of the manuscript. Figure legends should be complete and allow the reader to understand the figure without reading the text. Stains used or special techniques should be indicated. Scale bars and magnifications are not required and not preferred due to common inaccuracies.

Image Magnifications

In the figure legend, there is no requirement to indicate image size. But if an image size is used, only state "original objective 2X", "original objective 4X", "original objective 10X", etc. There should be no calculations for camera adapter lens, camera eyepiece lens, alteration of a photomicrograph with computer software, etc. If cell or object size needs to be accurate, then a black bar may be used in the lower right-hand corner with an indication of micron size in the legend. If scanned images are used, please use “original scan 2X”, etc.

Supplemental Figures and Tables

Supplemental figures and tables can be included in the online version of published manuscripts.  Please choose the file type “Supplementary Material for Review and Publication” when uploading your figure and table files.

Preparing Supplemental Figures

• TIF for photomicrographs, and TIF or EPS for graphs and line drawings.

• You may submit composite figures for supplemental figures only, however, they should contain no more than 6 images.  Each image with in the composite should be sized at 3.5 x 2.0 with .125 inches in between. The composite figure cannot exceed 7.125 x 8.125.  A composite consisting of 6 images should therefore be sized at 7.125 x 8.125. 

• Figures must be either 3.5 or 7.125 inches wide.

• Figures must be between 2.0 and 8.125 inches high.

• Figures should be submitted at a resolution of no less than 150 dpi.

Please note that supplemental files, including figures will not be reviewed or edited by the illustrations editor or the copyeditor.  Authors are responsible for ensuring all information submitted is accurate and correct and are responsible for any errors or formatting problems.  These files will also not be professionally typeset so it is important that you submit them in the final format as they will be published online exactly how they are submitted. 

Tables may be submitted in Word or Excel (for large data tables) file format. 

Legends for supplemental figures and tables should be uploaded as a separate Word document and marked as “supplemental” file.  Do not include the legends for supplemental tables and figures in the main text of your manuscript. 

Figure Policy

Manuscript figures that are not submitted in accordance with the journal’s Instructions for Figures will be returned to the author.  Manuscripts will not be sent out for peer review until the figures are prepared correctly. The journal does not offer figure preparation services for authors.  Authors may contact the Editorial Office with questions or requests for additional information on how to prepare their figures, however, authors should not contact the journal with requests to prepare their figures for them before submission.  It is up to the author to prepare their own figures for submission.  There will be no exceptions to this policy.

Once a manuscript has been accepted to the journal and the figures have been approved by the Illustrations Editor, the final figures will then be prepared for publication purposes.  This may include minor adjustments to the images such as white balancing, formatting of labeling and special characters, and creating the composite figures from the individual (approved) files provided by the author. 

For questions or additional information on figure preparation, please contact: Beth Mahler, Illustrations Editor, Experimental Pathology Laboratories (mahler1@nih.gov).

Figures Reproduced or Adapted from Other Sources

It is preferable to use original figures rather than those already published. When use of a previously published illustration, photograph, or other figure is determined necessary, written permission to reproduce it must be obtained from the copyright holder (usually the publisher). The original source should be acknowledged in the legend. If the original source in which the illustration has been published is included in the reference list, the reference may be cited in the legend, with the citation number for the reference corresponding to its first appearance in the text, tables, or figures.

Example: Reprinted with permission from the American Academy of Pediatrics.5

Figures supplied in color will appear in color online and in the print issue. There is no charge for reproducing figures in color in the printed version.

4.4 Supplemental material

This Journal is able to host additional materials online (e.g. datasets, podcasts, videos, images etc.) alongside the full-text of the article. For more information please refer to our guidelines on submitting supplemental files.

Toxicologic Pathology accepts the following supplemental files:

• Files to aid the reviewer and not for publication.

• Files for publication in the online version of the manuscript.

Appropriate items for publication as supplemental material include; multimedia (e.g., movie files, audio files, 3D rendering files), illustrations, data tables, and text (e.g., appendices) that are too lengthy or of too limited interest for inclusion in the article. Links (URLs) in the online (printed) journal article allow users to navigate directly to the associated files.

All supplemental material must be approved by the Journal Editor as part of a manuscript's normal review cycle, and must be listed in the reference section as follows: Supplemental tables and figures can be found at http://www.sagepub.com/supplemental. Supplemental figures and tables, and figure legends, should be uploaded into the Sage Journals Submission site with the file tag “Supplementary Material for Review and Publication”.

If including references in your article that correspond with supplemental material, please note which reference numbers pertain to supplemental material. These should be cited as:  Online Supplemental Material1,5,7,19,24,25

Note: Supplemental materials are not copyedited or typeset by the publisher. The author is responsible for ensuring that supplemental materials are submitted in the proper format and is responsible for any typographical errors.

Supplemental figures can be included in the online version of published manuscripts.  Figures will be held to the same standards used to judge the main manuscript figures, and so should be submitted in accordance with the Instructions for Figures. The size and resolution of supplement figures may be reduced by the publisher for easier online access for readers.

Multimedia files can be included in the online version of published papers. Please adhere to the following guidelines when preparing multimedia files for submission:

• When incorporating multimedia, note that the paper should be written so that the print version can be understood on its own.

• Submit all multimedia files initially with the manuscript.

• Treat all multimedia files as figures, numbered in sequence as they are referred to in text. (Multimedia files will not have a numbering scheme separate from the figures.)

• All multimedia files must be cited in the text, referred to by their figure number.

• For each multimedia file, provide a figure, which is a static representation of the multimedia file. Also provide an accompanying caption. At the end of the caption, include the phrase, "(enhanced online)."

Microarray Data

Toxicologic Pathology supports the efforts of databases that aggregate published data for the use of the scientific community.  Therefore, before publication, large data sets (including microarray data, protein or DNA sequences, and atomic coordinates or electron microscopy maps for macromolecular structures) must be deposited in an approved database and an accession number provided for inclusion in the published paper.  Data should be presented in MIAME-compliant standard format.  Approved databases are Gene Expression Omnibus and ArrayExpress. 

Large data sets with no appropriate approved repository must be housed as supporting online material at Toxicologic Pathology (Sage publishing) or when this is not possible on the author’s website, provided a copy of the data is held in escrow at Toxicologic Pathology to ensure availability to readers.  For answers to questions regarding allowable supporting online material, please see our guidelines: further questions can be directed to the Managing Editor, Stephanie Dickinson at the Editorial Office.

4.5 Reference style

Toxicologic Pathology adheres to the AMA Manual of Style. View the guide here to ensure your manuscript conforms to this style. Authors using EndNote may obtain the style file at JAMA 11th edition. There is no limit to the amount of references author can include.

IMPORTANT NOTE:  If using Endnote, EndNote provides a number of terms list to make sure that the journal names in your bibliography abbreviated (our journal does not use full names). More information on how to make sure your Endnote software will generated abbreviated journal titles can be found at the following link: https://support.clarivate.com/Endnote/s/article/EndNote-Generate-full-or-abbreviated-journal-names?language=en_US

Cited works are numbered in order of initial appearance in the text, and appear in the Reference List in numerical order. 

• Use arabic superscript numerals outside periods and commas, and inside colons and semicolons. 

• Authors’ names are inverted, and use only initials for first and middle names. No periods between initials.

• In article titles only the first word and proper nouns and abbreviations that are ordinarily capitalized are capitalized. 

• Use accepted Index Medicus abbreviations of journal names (see the List of Journals Indexed in Index Medicus).

• For journals use issue numbers in parentheses after the volume number. If there is no issue number specify month before the year.

• Do not use the publisher’s location in references

• In reference lists, the URL will be the last item, following dates posted/updated/accessed. No period follows it.

• When a DOI is included for journal references, no period follows

• When citing data, the data package or data set should be cited in the original publication to link the publication and the data.

• When citing data from a repository associated with research published in a journal article, cite the data used in addition to the original publication.

In-Text Examples:

Diabetes mellitus is associated with a high risk of foot ulcers.1-3
Several interventions have been successful at increasing compliance.11,14-16
The data of Smith et al18 is further evidence of this effect.
As reported previously, 1, 3-6
The results were as follows4: 

Specific page numbers within a source can also be cited. This is often done when referring to the same source more than once. This helps aid the reader in locating the exact location of your reference. To do this, place the page reference in parentheses after the superscript numeral:

Some cells express Fas or TNF receptors that can lead to apoptosis via ligand binding and protein cross-linking. 5(p2)

Journal article (1-6 authors):

Hu P, Reuben DB. Effects of managed care on the length of time that elderly patients spend with physicians during ambulatory visits. Med Care. 2002;40(7):606-613.

Journal article with more than six authors:

Geller AC, Venna S, Prout M, et al. Should the skin cancer examination be taught in medical school? Arch Dermatol. 2002;138(9):1201-1203.

Journal article with no named author or group name: 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Licensure of a meningococcal conjugate vaccine (Menveo) and guidance for use--Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP), 2010. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2010;59(9):273.

Electronic Journal article: 

If you have a doi (preferred); when a DOI is included for journal references, no period follows.

Gage BF, Fihn SD, White RH. Management and dosing of warfarin therapy. The American Journal of Medicine. 2000;109(6):481-488. doi:10.1016/S0002-9343(00)00545-3.

If you do not have a doi: 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Million Hearts: meaningful progress 2012-2016. Published May 2017. Accessed August 9, 2019. https://millionhearts.hhs.gov/files/MH-meaningful-progress.pdf

Entire Book:

McKenzie BC. Medicine and the Internet: Introducing Online Resources and Terminology. 2nd ed. Oxford University Press; 1997. 

Book Chapter:

Guyton JL, Crockarell JR. Fractures of acetabulum and pelvis. In: Canale ST, ed. Campbell's Operative Orthopaedics. 10th ed. Mosby, Inc.; 2003:2939-2984. 

Electronic Book: 

Rudolph CD, Rudolph AM. Rudolph's Pediatrics. 21st ed. McGraw-Hill Companies; 2002. Accessed August 22, 2007. http://online.statref.com/Document/Document.aspx?DocID=1&StartDoc=1&EndD....

Internet Document:

American Cancer Society. Cancer Facts & Figures 2003. http://www.cancer.org/downloads/STT/CAFF2003PWSecured.pdf.

Unpublished Data:

Unpublished data is on track to be published in some form. This would include articles and abstracts presented at a meeting or not yet accepted. These would be cited in the text and in the reference material.

Social media references:

Facebook: JAMA Facebook page. Accessed November 2, 2019. https://www.facebook.com/JAMAJournal/

Twitter: @AMAManual. In the 11th edition: More examples of references in scientific publications, including newer sources such as trial registries, data repositories, preprints, and social media. Posted November 1, 2019. Accessed November 2, 2019. https://twitter.com/AMAManual/status/1190283198544203776

Blog: Orellana J. Resources for references. AMA Style Insider blog. Posted October 25, 2019. Accessed November 2, 2019. https://amastyleinsider.com/2019/10/25/resources-for-references/

Preprints and digital references

Bloss CS, Wineinger NE, Peters M, et al. A prospective randomized trial examining health care utilization in individuals using multiple smartphone-enabled biosensors. Preprint. Posted online October 28, 2015. bioRxiv 029983. doi:10.1101/029983

Tseng V. Effect of noise reduction methods in the ICU on sleep quality. UC Irvine. June 8, 2016. Accessed August 17, 2016. http://escholarship.org/uc/item/190551hq

JN Listen. Version 1.0.15. American Medical Association. Updated March 1, 2019. 4. Bauchner H. Editor’s audio summary. JAMA. October 22, 2019. Accessed October 31, 2019. https://edhub.ama-assn.org/jn-learning/audio-player/17983772

References for data repositories and data

HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC). Human Gene Nomenclature database search engine. Accessed March 14, 2018. http://www.genenames.org

Personal Communication:

This would be pertaining to a conversation with a particular individual and would not be cited in the reference list.

The authors are responsible for the accuracy of the references quoted.

Tables should be submitted in Word format.  Tables should be double-spaced, numbered consecutively with Arabic numerals (1,2,3, etc.) and referred to in the text. Every table should have a title and each column should have a heading. Table footnotes should be in the form of lowercase superscript characters, listed alphabetically below the last table line. Material included in tables should not be duplicated by figures, or vice versa. When referring to the table in the main text, include the references for that table at the end of that sentence (e.g. The compartments of MALT are outlined in Table 6. 143) and also include the reference number in the table or table footnote. All cells should be aligned left and sentence-style capitalization should be used in all elements of tables and figures (axis labels, column headings)

Animal Strain or Stock Designations. Designations for mouse and rat strains and stocks should conform to the Guidelines for Nomenclature of Mouse and Rat Strains (http://www.informatics.jax.org/mgihome/nomen/strains.shtml) from the International Committee on Standardized Genetic Nomenclature for Mice.” You can also contact your animal supplier for this information. Other useful sites are the rat genome database (http://rgd.mcw.edu) and the Jackson Laboratory (http://www.jax.org).

Abbreviations, Chemical Designations. The metric system is the standard for all measurement and variable notations. Abbreviations should be defined between parentheses when first indicated in the text. Italic text should be underlined and Chemical Abstracts or associated indexes should be used for conventional chemical designation. Authors may use, without definition, the following abbreviations:

m	meter	L	Liter	min	minutes	im	intramuscular
cm	centimeter	ml	milliliter	sec	seconds	ip	intraperitoneal
cm2	square centimeter	µl	microliter	hr	hours	iv	intravenous
mm	millimeter	g	Gram	mo	months	po	oral
µm	micrometer	kg	kilogram	yr	years	sc	subcutaneous
nm	nanometer	mg	milligram			ic	intracutaneous
µg	microgram	mM	millimolar
i.e.	that is	vs.	versus	Fig.	Figure
e.g.	for example	et al.	and others

 

4.6 English language editing services

Authors seeking assistance with English language editing, translation, or figure and manuscript formatting to fit Toxicologic Pathology’s specifications should consider using Sage Language Services. Visit Sage Language Services on our Journal Author Gateway for further information.

5. Submitting your manuscript

Toxicologic Pathology – to submit a new article, please go to our new submission site, Sage Journals Submission: https://sage.atyponrex.com/journal/tpx . From this site you can create submissions and revisions and track the status of your manuscripts. Please note, you will need to create a new CONNECT account on the Sage Journals Submission site the first time you use it, your Sage Track account will not work on this submission system.

IMPORTANT: To submit a revision for a manuscript that was submitted to Toxicologic Pathology via Sage Track prior to 15th November 2023, please submit your revision in Sage Track, not via Sage Journals Submission. All transfers into Toxicologic Pathology will also need to be submitted via Sage Track. Please reference the email you received after approving the transfer or reach out to our Transfer Support Team for assistance.

5.1 ORCID

As part of our commitment to ensuring an ethical, transparent and fair peer review process Sage is a supporting member of ORCID, the Open Researcher and Contributor ID. ORCID provides a unique and persistent digital identifier that distinguishes researchers from every other researcher, even those who share the same name, and, through integration in key research workflows such as manuscript and grant submission, supports automated linkages between researchers and their professional activities, ensuring that their work is recognized.

The collection of ORCID IDs from corresponding authors is now part of the submission process of this Journal. If you already have an ORCID ID you will be asked to associate that to your submission during the online submission process. We also strongly encourage all co-authors to link their ORCID ID to their accounts in our online peer review platforms. It takes seconds to do: click the link when prompted, sign into your ORCID account and our systems are automatically updated. Your ORCID ID will become part of your accepted publication’s metadata, making your work attributable to you and only you. Your ORCID ID is published with your article so that fellow researchers reading your work can link to your ORCID profile and from there link to your other publications.

If you do not already have an ORCID ID please follow this link to create one or visit our ORCID homepage to learn more.

5.2 Information required for completing your submission

You will be asked to provide contact details and academic affiliations for all co-authors via the submission system and identify who is to be the corresponding author. These details must match what appears on your manuscript. The affiliation listed in the manuscript should be the institution where the research was conducted. If an author has moved to a new institution since completing the research, the new affiliation can be included in a manuscript note at the end of the paper. At this stage please ensure you have included all the required statements and declarations and uploaded any additional supplementary files (including reporting guidelines where relevant).

5.3 Permissions

Please also ensure that you have obtained any necessary permission from copyright holders for reproducing any illustrations, tables, figures or lengthy quotations previously published elsewhere. For further information including guidance on fair dealing for criticism and review, please see the Copyright and Permissions page on the Sage Author Gateway.

6. On acceptance and publication

Every article submitted will be independently reviewed by at least two referees. Authors may suggest the names and addresses of up to five experts who could serve as referees. Authors may also suggest names of reviewers who may not be appropriate to review the manuscript.  However, selection of referees is at the discretion of the Editor. Decisions concerning acceptance or rejection of manuscripts are the responsibility of the Editor.

After review and upon acceptance or provisional acceptance, specific details regarding submission of a final version will be provided.

6.1 Sage Production

Your Sage Production Editor will keep you informed as to your article’s progress throughout the production process. Proofs will be made available to the corresponding author via our editing portal Sage Edit or by email, and corrections should be made directly or notified to us promptly. Authors are reminded to check their proofs carefully to confirm that all author information, including names, affiliations, sequence, and contact details are correct, and that Funding and Conflict of Interest statements, if any, are accurate. Please note that if there are any changes to the author list at this stage all authors will be required to complete and sign a form authorizing the change. Proofs should be carefully checked against the original manuscript for typographical errors and returned within the time frame stipulated.  Only essential changes can be made at this stage.  New information germane to the paper and considered essential can be added as Notes Added in Proof.

6.2 Online First publication

Online First allows final articles (completed and approved articles awaiting assignment to a future issue) to be published online prior to their inclusion in a journal issue, which significantly reduces the lead time between submission and publication. Visit the Sage Journals help page for more details, including how to cite Online First articles.

6.3 Access to your published article

Sage provides authors with online access to their final article.

6.4 Promoting your article

Publication is not the end of the process! You can help disseminate your paper and ensure it is as widely read and cited as possible. The Sage Author Gateway has numerous resources to help you promote your work. Visit the Promote Your Article page on the Gateway for tips and advice.

6.5 Abstracting Service

Articles published in Toxicologic Pathology are abstracted into the following search retrieval publications: Chemical Abstracts, Excerpta, Medica, Biological Abstracts, and Referativnyk Zhurnal and listed in Index Medicus, Current Contents, ISI/Biomed, and Science Citation Index.

6.6 Copyright

Upon acceptance of an article, author(s) will be required to assign copyright ownership in writing to the Society of Toxicologic Pathology. The only exception will be for employees of NIH who should only sign the NIH Publishing Agreement which can be found on the Instructions and Forms page of the Manuscript Central website.  For papers with some NIH authors and some non-NIH authors, the authors should submit at least one copy of the NIH publishing agreement coversheet signed by at least one NIH author. Completed forms should be emailed to the Editorial Office at tpx@jjeditorial.com. 

Authors should complete a Permissions form for the use of borrowed material. Verbatim quotations, illustrations, tables, and photographs must be fully credited as to the original author and source. Permission requests for the use of material from Toxicologic Pathology should be made to our publisher Sage Publications.  For more information, please visit https://sagepub.com/journals-permissions

7. Further information

Any correspondence, queries, or additional requests for information on the manuscript submission process should be sent to the Toxicologic Pathology editorial office as follows:

Kevin Keane DVM, PhD, FIATP
Editor-in-Chief
Blueprint Medicine
Cambridge, MA
Email: Kevin.keane@mac.com

Kellyanna Bussell
Managing Editor
J&J Editorial
Email: tpx@jjeditorial.com

Beth Mahler
Illustrations Editor
Experimental Pathology Laboratories
Email: mahler1@nih.gov

7.1 Appealing the publication decision

Editors have very broad discretion in determining whether an article is an appropriate fit for their journal. Many manuscripts are declined with a very general statement of the rejection decision. These decisions are not eligible for formal appeal unless the author believes the decision to reject the manuscript was based on an error in the review of the article, in which case the author may appeal the decision by providing the Editor with a detailed written description of the error they believe occurred.

If an author believes the decision regarding their manuscript was affected by a publication ethics breach, the author may contact the publisher with a detailed written description of their concern, and information supporting the concern, at publication_ethics@Sagepub.com.