AOS 2012 Poster Abstract Submission Guidelines

• Authors are permitted to submit more than one abstract.
• Abstracts should be proofread for accuracy before submission.
• All abstracts will be refereed and one of the criterions of rejection will be lack of originality.
• A condition of submission is that, if accepted, the poster will be presented at the summit by one of the authors.
• The closing date for submission is Tuesday, 31st January 2012.

How to use the online abstract submission system

1. Important information
1. An abstract template was attached to your registration email. This is a Microsoft Word file which is designed to ensure that your abstract is prepared in the right way for publication. Please save this template file to your PC’s hard drive and use it when you prepare your abstract.
2. If you are submitting more than one abstract you can use the same email address and password for each abstract.
3. Abstracts MUST be submitted using the template form provided.
4. Each abstract must fit within the abstract template and use the Arial font in size 10.
5. Abstracts should be written in English and no longer than 300 words (excluding title, authors & institutions, keywords, references and funding).
6. Abstracts should be structured around the subheadings: Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussions and Funding.
7. Each abstract should also include a brief title. Abbreviations should be kept to a minimum and defined after first use. Tables, figures, and references are not allowed.


2. Preparation of your abstract
1. The title should be as brief as possible but long enough to indicate clearly the nature of the study. Please do not capitalise the first letter of every word in your title. No full stop at the end.
2. Full name, institution(s) and complete mailing address of all authors should be provided. The name of the corresponding author should be marked with the asterisk symbol (*). For author names, please list according to the format of [first name][.] [last name] (e.g. John Doe should be written as J. Doe or Wang Li-Yu should be written as L. Wang).
3. All authors should disclose any financial or personal relationships with individuals or organisations that could be perceived to bias their work. All sources of funding should also be declared.
4. Abstracts should state briefly and clearly the purpose, methods, results and conclusions of the work.
   Introduction: Clearly state the purpose of the abstract
   Methods: Describe your selection of observations or experimental subjects clearly
   Results: Present your results in a logical sequence in text, tables and illustrations
   Discussion: Emphasize new and important aspects of the study and conclusions that are drawn from them
   Funding: Clearly state the funding(s) of your study
5. Open the template file and enter your abstract into it following the instructions above. Save it and make a note of its saved location.


3. The submission process
1. To make an abstract submission, please click here.
2. Log in to the submission system when your abstract is completed and ready to send. To log in, enter your email address and the password you chose when you registered with the system.
3. When you click the “log in” button you will be taken to a screen from which the submission process starts. Please read the instructions on this screen carefully. If you have not yet submitted an abstract to the system you should click the link that says “Click here to submit a new abstract”.
4. Submitting an abstract is a step-by-step process. Each step asks several questions.
   • Abstract title: You can copy the title from your Word document and paste it into the Title field on the submission form. Please note that because of web browser limitations some scientific symbols may not paste correctly into the form – you may have to correct this by writing the name of the symbol in full, for example “beta” instead of ß. Your Word document will not be affected. Please do not capitalise the first letter of every word in your title. No full stop at the end.
   • Abstract Word document: Click the “Browse” button and locate your abstract file on your PC’s hard disk. Fill in answers to any other questions on this screen and then click the “Next” button. Your abstract file will be sent to our system – this can take a few seconds if you have a fast internet connection, but may take longer if your connection is slow.
   • Mandatory questions: Some questions are marked “Required”. We cannot accept your abstract until these questions have been answered.
   • Completing your submission: Once you have completed the questions on the final step click the “Finish” button. Your abstract will be assigned a reference number and you will receive email confirmation. If you have not answered all the mandatory questions your abstract will be held in temporary storage until you return later and complete all the questions.
   • Summary: When you have completed your submission you will see a summary of all the answers you gave to the questions on the form. You can return to the submission form at any time to see the summary again.

1. Log in to the submission system.
2. You will see a list of the abstracts that you have submitted. Click on the abstract that you wish to change.
3. The process of amending an abstract is the same as the original submission process, except that the submission form will be automatically filled in with the answers that you gave previously – you don’t have to change an answer if you don’t want to.
4. If you want to change your abstract file you can click the “Browse” button to locate the revised file on your PC’s hard disk, then click “Next” to send it to the abstract system. If you do not want to change the file, just press “Next” to bypass this step.
5. When you reach the final step and press “Finish” you will be sent an email confirming that your abstract has been amended – provided you have answered all the mandatory questions.

• The AOS scientific committee will review submitted abstracts and revert with a decision by Friday, 10 February 2012.
• Authors of selected abstracts will be notified by email no later than Friday, 17 February 2012. Each author will only be allowed to present a maximum of two (2) posters at AOS.
• Presentation of posters at AOS and inclusion in the abstract book must be accompanied by confirmation and paid registration from any of the authors. Abstracts received after the closing date of Tuesday, 31 January 2011 will not be considered for the Editor’s Choice poster awards.