Please read carefully and adhere strictly to these instructions to ensure that the review and publication of your paper is as quick and efficient as possible.

Scope and policy of the African Journal of Science and Technology
The African Journal of Science and Technology is an interdisciplinary journal devoted to all aspects of research in science and technology on the African continent. Papers submitted for review should report original and unpublished work, which is not under consideration for publication elsewhere in any language.

The papers should be written in clear and concise English or French. Copies of the manuscript should be submitted electronically, as a WORD document attachment to the Subject Editor and a copy to the Editor-in-Chief at opiyo-akech@uonbi.ac.ke

The Journal aims to publish papers as soon as possible after submission. For this purpose papers received by as an attachment on e-mail or submitted on diskette with the address, telephone and fax number provided will have the best turn around time. The receipt of the manuscript will be acknowledged by e-mail.

Preparation of manuscripts
On preparation as a WORD document the papers must conform to A4 paper in 12-point type size in single spacing. Margins of 25 mm should be left at the sides.
If the figures are sent separately, the position for inserting a figure should be marked clearly and space for it to be inserted left in the text.

The first text page should contain the title of the paper, the name(s) of the author(s), their institutional address(es), and an abstract not exceeding 200 words. This should outline the aims, scope and conclusions of the paper.

Main body of the paper should be subdivided into first, second and third order headings. Any numeral or letters must not precede headings.

Illustrations
All illustrations are termed ‘Figures’ and referred to as such in the manuscript.
To ensure that the artwork will print to a high standard, we request the following:

•• Size
Figures if submitted separately should be submitted at the final desired printed size of one or two column width.

• Line weights
Use 0.5 point or 0.7 point for ‘ordinary lines’, such as the outlines of boxes, axes of graphs; use 1 point lines for more important lines, such as the curve plotted on a graph and use 1.5 very sparingly for emphasis. These line weights are for the final size of the drawing. Never use hairlines. They may break up when printed.

• Labelling
All lettering should be inside the frame
Use a sans serif medium typeface, such as Helvetica, Univers or Arial, in upper and lower case limited to three sizes 8 or 9 pt and 10pt and 12 pt for labels. Please keep labelling to a minimum to avoid confusion and check it reproduces legibly on a photocopier. These sizes are for the final size of the drawing. (See below Extra).

• Keys
Keys should be drawn within the artwork area as part of the illustration (not as part of the caption). i.e. they should be within the frame

• Computer generated artwork
If the artwork is computer generated, avoid tints. They will not print evenly. Please use different types of cross-hatching and stippling. We shall try to open the artwork on disk here, but it is not always possible, so please use a laser printer of 600 dpi to print out in black and white on good quality paper for the hard copy. The printout must be as clear and black as possible and in the final desired printed size. Dot matrix printers are not suitable.

Graphs
All graphs should have scale bars inside the graph.

Photographs
Sharp glossy black and white prints of the final printed size should be provided. Photographs are regarded as figures, do not use the term plate. A definitive scale should be indicated using an item of stated dimensions, or by adding a calibrated bar.

Unless specifically requested, artwork will not be returned to authors after publication.

Acknowledgements:
These should be included at the end of the text and not in footnotes. Personal acknowledgements should precede those of institutions or agencies.

Handling of manuscripts
A manuscript will be acknowledged by e-mail. It will be passed to two reviewers for refereeing. On receipt of the two reports from referees, the author will be contacted and as soon as possible and asked:

    •  To make minor revisions (and a copyright form for completion enclosed)

    •  or major revisions (which will have to be returned to the original reviewers for checking before the paper can be accepted)

    •  or to rethink and rewrite the paper and resubmit it at a later date

    •  or the paper may be rejected on scientific grounds.
If the author supplies an e-mail number, progress reports can be given as soon as they are received.