Guidelines for Preparing Papers

The implemented guidelines are in accordance with the Uniform Requirements for Manuscript Submitted to Biomedical Journals (http://www.icmje.org). The editorial office reserves the right to edit the submitted manuscripts in order to comply with the journal's style. In any case, the authors are responsible for the published material. The research that involves human beings must adhere to the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki (http://www.wma.net/e/policy/b3.htm). For reports of randomized controlled trials, authors should refer to the CONSORT statement shown in the following figure (http://www.consort-statement.org/).

Organization of the Manuscript

The length of original articles, excluding References, should not normally exceed 2500 words. Briefs and case reports are inevitably shorter. Manuscripts should contain the following sections in the order listed:

I. Title Page

Title page should carry the following information:

1. Title of the article. Concise titles are easier to read than long, convoluted ones. Titles that are too short may, however, lack important information, such as study design, which is particularly important in identifying randomized controlled trials. Authors should include all information in the title that will make electronic retrieval of the article both sensitive and specific. Title of the article should not exceed 45 letters with spaces.

2. Authors names and institutional affiliations.

3. Name of the department(s) and institution(s) to which the work should be attributed.

4. Corresponding author. Name, mailing address, telephone and fax numbers, and e-mail address of one author responsible for correspondence about the manuscript.

II. Abstract

The abstract should provide:

1. Background/objective for the study;

2. Materials and Methods used (selection of study subjects or laboratory animals, observational and analytical methods);

3. Results (main findings giving specific effect sizes and their statistical significance, if possible); and

4. Conclusion (it should emphasize new and important aspects of the study or observations).

Altogether, segments of the abstract should not exceed 250 words in length. Do not use reference citations in the abstract.

III. Keywords

The authors should provide 3 to 5 keywords to be used for indexing purposes. These words have to be selected from the terms recommended in the latest version of the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/meshhome.html).

IV. Introduction

The introduction should provide a context or background for the study (i.e., the nature of the problem and its significance). State the specific purpose or research objective of, or hypothesis tested by, the study or observation; the research objective is often more sharply focused when stated as a question. Both the main and secondary objectives should be made clear, and any pre-specified subgroup analyses should be described. Give only strictly pertinent references and do not include data or conclusions from the work being reported.

V. Materials and Methods

The methods section should include only information that was available at the time the plan or protocol for the study was written; all information obtained during the conduct of the study belongs in the Results section. It should include:

1. Selection and Description of Participants (patients or laboratory animals, including controls). Clearly describe your selection of the observational or experimental participants (patients or laboratory animals, including controls), including eligibility and exclusion criteria and a description of variables such as age and gender.

2. Identify the methods and procedures in sufficient detail to allow other workers to reproduce the results. Give references and brief descriptions for methods that have been published but are not well known; describe new or substantially modified methods, give reasons for using them, and evaluate their limitations. Identify precisely all drugs and chemicals used, including generic name(s), dose(s), and route(s) of administration.

3. Describe statistical methods with enough details to enable a knowledgeable reader with access to the original data to verify the reported results. When possible, quantify findings and present them with appropriate indicators of measurement error or uncertainty (such as confidence intervals). Avoid relying solely on statistical hypothesis testing, such as the use of p values, which fails to convey important information about effect size. Define statistical terms, abbreviations, and most symbols. Specify the computer software used.

VI. Results

Present your results in logical sequence in the text, tables, and illustrations, giving the main or most important findings first. Do not repeat all the data in the tables or illustrations throughout the text; emphasize or summarize only important observations. When data is summarized in the Results section, give numeric results not only as derivatives (e.g. percentages) but also as the absolute numbers from which the derivatives were calculated, and specify the statistical methods used to analyze them. Restrict tables and figures to those needed to explain the argument of the paper and to assess its support. Use graphs as an alternative to tables with many entries; do not duplicate data in graphs and tables.

VII. Discussion

Emphasize the new and important aspects of the study and the conclusions that follow from them. Do not repeat in detail data or any material given in the Introduction or the Results section. For experimental studies it is useful to begin the discussion by summarizing briefly the main findings, then explore possible mechanisms or explanations for these findings, compare and contrast the results with other relevant studies, state the limitations of the study, and explore the implications of the findings for future research and for clinical practice.

VIII. Acknowledgements

Acknowledgements, if any, should appear before References.

IX. References

References should be listed consecutively as they appear in the text. Bibliographies cited in tables and figures should be numbered according to the site where the corresponding table or figure first appeared. Periodicals should be abbreviated according to the Index Medicus (http://www.bioscience.org/atlases/jourabbr/list.htm).

Include the names of all authors, if there are four or less authors. When there are more than four authors, write the names of the first three authors followed by "et al.".  Listed below, are sample references to a journal article, a chapter in a book, and a book, respectively, in the correct format:

1. Raftopoulos, H., Ward, M., Leboulch, P., Bank, A. (1997) Long-term transfer and expression of human beta-globin gene in a mouse transplant model. Blood. 90: 3414-22.

2. Bank, A., Ward, M., Leboulch, P., et al. (2005) Transfer of beta-globin gene in a mouse transplant model. Am. J. Hem. 90: 3414-22.

3.  Javan S, Tabesh M. (2010) Action of carbon dioxide on pulmonary vasoconstriction. J. Appl. Physiol. In press.

Complete book:

4. Guyton AC. (1996) Textbook of Medical Physiology. 8th ed. Philadelphia, PA, Saunders.

Chapter in book:

5. Young VR. (1970) The role of skeletal muscle in the regulation of protein metabolism. In Munro HN, editor: Mammalian protein metabolism. San Diego; Academic. vol. 4, p. 585-674.

 

Page numbers should be given for all references. Articles in press should appear in the reference list; however, unpublished material and personal communications cannot be cited in the reference list, though they should be mentioned in parenthesis, in the text. The quantity of references should not exceed 40 for original articles, and 20 for briefs and case reports.

 

X. Tables and Figures

All Tables and Figures used should be referred in the text in a similar order. Indicate the appropriate location of each Table and Figure in the manuscript and they should be numbered. All Figures must be sharp with high contrast. The author can provide the color images and graphs with no payment for their publication expenses. Figure files (graphs and pictures) should have the JPG, EMF or TIFF format and those scanned should have a resolution of at least 300 dpi and incorporate figures in manuscript. Letters, numbers, and symbols on Figures should therefore be clear, and of sufficient size that when reduced for publication each item will still be legible. Figures should be made as self-explanatory as possible. Explain the internal scale and identify the method of staining in photomicrographs. Markers should be clear with a high-contrast and an appropriate explanation provided in the corresponding legend. Be sure that each table and figure is cited in the text.

Abbreviations and Symbols

Use only standard abbreviations; the use of non-standard abbreviations can be extremely confusing to readers. Avoid abbreviations in the title. The full term for which an abbreviation stands should precede its first use in the text unless it is a standard unit of measurement.