Manuscript Submission 

For manuscript submission, one of the authors should submit the manuscript through the online Submit Paper and follow the instructions given on the screen. Only online submissions are accepted for peer review and publication. The author who submits the manuscript is responsible for the paper during all processes. The submitted manuscript must not publish before; and it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere. The author who submits the paper has to ensure all co-authors and the institute or organization that are involved have been approved the publication. All manuscripts in accordance with the journal standards are subject to peer review by peer reviewers whose name will remain anonymous to the authors.

 

Types of Papers 

Original articles: 

Every article must contain: Title page, Abstract, Keywords, Body of the article (This should include the following sections: Introduction; Materials and Methods; Results {Tables, figure, and Legends}; Discussion; Conclusions), Conflicts of interest, Acknowledgments, References.

Review articles: 

Every article must contain: Title page, Abstract, Keywords, Body of the article (This should include the following sections: Introduction; Body {Body of the review paper covering the subject under review, Tables, Figures, and Legends}; Conclusion), Conflicts of interest, Acknowledgments, References.

Case Report: 

The word limit for Special Reports is 1500-3000 words (not including the abstract, figures, tables, and references). Every article must contain: Title page, Abstract, Keywords, Body of the article (This should include the following sections: Introduction; Case presentation {Body of the special report paper covering the subject under review, Tables, Figures, and Legends}; Discussion; Conclusion), Conflicts of interest, Acknowledgments, References.

Short Communication: 

The word limit for Short Communications is 2000 words (not including the abstract, figures, tables, and references). Every article must contain: Title page, Abstract, Keywords, Body of the article (This should include the following sections: Introduction; Materials and Methods; Results {Tables, figure, and Legends}; Discussion; Conclusions) Conflicts of interest, Acknowledgments, References.

Letters to the editor: The letter must be a maximum of 1500 words (excluding references). Every article must contain: Title page, Letter, Conflicts of interest, Acknowledgements, References. Please do not include any figures or tables in the letter.

 Editorial: The word limit for editorial articles is 1000-1500 words. Every article must contain: Title page, Keywords, Body of the article {Body of the review paper covering the subject under review, one Table, one figure, and Legends}, Conflicts of interest, Acknowledgments, References.

 

Title Page

The title page should include:

1. Manuscript full title
2. The name(s) of the author(s)
3. The affiliation(s) of the author(s)
4. The e-mail address, telephone, and fax numbers of the corresponding author

 

Abstract

Please provide an abstract that should not exceed 250 words. The abstract should not contain any references. For an original research article, the abstract must have the following structure:

1. Background/objectives are the aims of the study and the examined hypothesis.
2. Methods are the design of the study, inclusion and exclusion criteria for patients’ selection, the most important variables, and the statistical approach used to evaluate the hypothesis.
3. Results are the main results that confirm or reject the primary hypothesis, not just p-values or interpretations.
4. Conclusions are what the findings might convey, suggestions for future research, and a brief interpretation of findings and primary hypothesis. 

 

Keywords

4–6 keywords, listed in alphabetical order, are required to assist indexers in cross-referencing. The keywords will encompass the therapeutic area, mechanism(s) of action, key compounds, and so on.

 

Text Formatting

1. Manuscripts should be submitted as a ".doc" or ".docx" MS Word file.
2. Use a normal, ordinary font (e.g., 12-point Times New Roman font) for text.
3. Use the automatic page numbering function to number the pages.
4. Use the equation symbols for equations.

 

Abbreviations

Abbreviations should be fully defined for the first time and used consistently thereafter.

 

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments of people, grants, funds, etc. should be placed in a separate section at the end of the manuscript before the references. The grant number should be written.

 

References

It is better that the authors use the Vancouver EndNote style for preparing references.

 

Reference list

The list of references should only include works that are cited in the text and that have been published or accepted for publication. Personal communications and unpublished works should only be mentioned in the text, not in the references. Do not use footnotes or endnotes of word software as a substitute for a reference list. The entries in the list should be numbered consecutively.

Reference list: Provide the names of the first six authors followed by et al. Furthermore, the journal names should be written in abbreviated type.

Reference citations in the text should be identified by numbers in parentheses. Some examples:

1. Epigenetic settings are different in various conditions (3).

2. Epigenetics is commonly defined as stable and heritable changes in gene expression without alterations in DNA sequence (5, 6).

3. Systemic sclerosis (SSc) is an autoimmune fibrotic disorder (1-3, 7).

There are several examples of references:

Journal article

Petitti DB, Crooks VC, Buckwalter JG, Chiu V. Blood pressure levels before dementia. Arch Neurol. 2005;62(1):112-6

The names of all authors should be provided, by the usage of “et al” in articles with more than 6 authors.

Hallal AH, Amortegui JD, Jeroukhimov IM, Casillas J, Schulman CI, Manning RJ, et al. Magnetic resonance cholangiopancreatography accurately detects common bile ductstones in resolving gallstone pancreatitis. J Am Coll Surg. 2005 Jun;200(6):869-75.

Book

Carlson BM. Human embryology and developmental biology. 4th ed. St. Louis: Mosby; 2009. 541 p

Book chapter

Blaxter PS, Farnsworth TP. Social health and class inequalities. In: Carter C, Peel JR, editors. Equalities and inequalities in health. 2nd ed. London: Academic Press;1976. p. 165-78.

Tables

Prepare each table on a separate page, double-spaced, and submit the tables separately from the main manuscript. All tables are to be numbered using Arabic numerals. Tables should always be cited in the text in consecutive numerical orders. For each table, please supply a table caption (title) explaining the components of the table above on each table. Identify any previously published material by giving the original source in the form of a reference at the end of the table caption. Footnotes to tables should be indicated by superscript lower-case letters (or asterisks for significance values and other statistical data) and included beneath the table body. The legend to each table should be inserted in your manuscript following the references section.

 

Artwork and Illustration Guideline 

General requirements for preparation of an artwork

Figure and figure labeling should be prepared for sizing to a single or a double column of text without loss of information. Figure labeling should be sized in proportion to the rest of the figure. For publication, figures are printed in black and white unless the color is necessary for proper interpretation.

Charts and Diagrams

Diagrams or charts created using conventional software that are readable on a computer screen may be inadequate or deficient when processed for publication. Supply diagrams or charts for the printed journal in a form that retains editing features of the source program, (e.g., a chart or graph created in MS Excel or PowerPoint) so that elements such as shading or labeling can be adjusted for publication. If black and white will be shown in the print version, make sure that the main information will still be visible. Many colors are not distinguishable from one another when converted to black and white. A simple way to check this is to print them out in black and white on a good quality laser printer to see if the necessary distinctions between the different colors are still apparent.

Half-tone figures and photographs

Supply 2 sets of images. The first set must be low resolution for online peer review. Upon acceptance of your manuscript, supply a second set of good quality figures at high resolution (300 dots per inch) and at the same size or larger than you want them to appear in their published form. Submit photographic figures in a standard graphic file format such as "jpeg" or "tiff" on separate pages. To add a legend, it is best to use "Times New Roman" fonts. Figure legend begins with the term Figure. in bold type, followed by the figure number, also in bold type.

 The legend to each figure should be inserted in your manuscript following the references section.

Figure and Table Numbering

All figures and tables are to be numbered using Arabic numerals. Figures and tables should always be cited in text in consecutive numerical order. Figure parts should be denoted by lowercase letters (a, b, c, etc.). If a supplementary appears in your article and it contains one or more figures and tables, continue the consecutive numbering of the main text. Do not number the supplementary figures and tables, "S1, S2, S3, etc." Figures and tables in online supplementary should, however, be numbered separately.

Ethical Responsibilities of Authors

The manuscript has not been submitted to more than one journal for simultaneous consideration. The manuscript has not been published previously (partly or in full), unless the new work concerns an expansion of previous work (please provide transparency on the re-use of material to avoid the hint of text-recycling ("self-plagiarism")).

A single study is not split up into several parts to increase the quantity of submissions and submitted to various journals or to one journal over time (e.g. "salami-publishing").

No data have been fabricated or manipulated (including images) to support your conclusions. No data, text, or theories by others are presented as if they were the author’s own ("plagiarism"). Proper acknowledgements to other works must be given (this includes material that is closely copied (near verbatim), summarized and/or paraphrased), quotation marks are used for verbatim copying of material, and permissions are secured for material that is copyrighted.

Important note: The journal uses iThenticate software to screen for plagiarism.

Consent to submit has been received explicitly from all co-authors, as well as from the responsible authorities - tacitly or explicitly - at the institute/organization where the work has been carried out, after the work is accepted.

Authors whose names appear on the submission have contributed sufficiently to the scientific work and therefore share collective responsibility and accountability for the results.

Changes in authorship, or in the order of authors, are not accepted after the acceptance for publication of a manuscript.

Requesting to add or delete authors at revision stage, proof stage, or after publication is a serious matter and may be considered when justifiably warranted. Justification for changes in authorship must be compelling and may be considered only after receipt of written approval from all authors and a convincing, detailed explanation about the role/deletion of the new/deleted author. In case of changes at revision stage, a letter must accompany the revised manuscript. In case of changes after acceptance for publication, the request and documentation must be sent via the Publisher to the Editor-in-Chief. In all cases, further documentation may be required to support your request. The decision on accepting the change rests with the Editor-in-Chief of the journal and may be turned down. Therefore, authors are strongly advised to ensure the correct author group, corresponding author, and order of authors at submission.

Upon request authors should be prepared to send relevant documentation or data in order to verify the validity of the results. This could be in the form of raw data, samples, records, etc.

If there is a suspicion of misconduct, the journal will carry out an investigation following the COPE guidelines. If, after investigation, the allegation seems to raise valid concerns, the accused author will be contacted and given an opportunity to address the issue. If misconduct has been established beyond reasonable doubt, this may result in the Editor-in-Chief’s implementation of the following measures, including, but not limited to:

If the article is still under consideration, it may be rejected and returned to the author.

If the article has already been published online, depending on the nature and severity of the infraction, either an erratum will be placed with the article or in severe cases complete retraction of the article will occur. The reason must be given in the published erratum or retraction note. Furthermore, the author’s institution may be informed.

 

Conflict of interest

The Journal asks authors of research articles, editorials, and reviews to disclose at the time of submission any relationships that could be viewed as potential conflicts of interest. For example, Author A has received research grants from Company A. Author B has received a speaker honorarium from Company X and owns stock in Company Y. Author C is a member of committee Z.

If no conflict exists, the authors should state:

Conflict of Interest: Author A, Author B, and Author C declare that they have no conflict of interest.

 

Research involving human participants and/or animals

When reporting studies that involve human participants, authors should include a statement that the studies have been approved by the appropriate institutional and/or national research ethics committee and have been performed in accordance with the ethical standards as laid down in the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

The welfare of animals used for research must be respected. When reporting experiments on animals, authors should indicate whether the international, national, and/or institutional guidelines for the care and use of animals have been followed, and that the studies have been approved by a research ethics committee at the institution or practice at which the studies were conducted (where such a committee exists).

 

Informed consent

All individuals have individual rights that are not to be infringed. Individual participants in studies have, for example, the right to decide what happens to the (identifiable) personal data gathered, to what they have said during a study or an interview, as well as to any photograph that was taken. Hence it is important that all participants gave their informed consent in writing prior to inclusion in the study. Identifying details (names, dates of birth, identity numbers and other information) of the participants that were studied should not be published in written descriptions, photographs, and genetic profiles unless the information is essential for scientific purposes and the participant (or parent or guardian if the participant is incapable) gave written informed consent for publication. Complete anonymity is difficult to achieve in some cases, and informed consent should be obtained if there is any doubt. For example, masking the eye region in photographs of participants is inadequate protection of anonymity. If identifying characteristics are altered to protect anonymity, such as in genetic profiles, authors should provide assurance that alterations do not distort scientific meaning.

After Acceptance

Upon acceptance of your article you will receive a link to the special Author Query Application at Avicenna’s web page where you can sign the Copyright Transfer Statement online. Once the Author Query Application has been completed, your article will be processed and you will receive the proofs.

 

Copyright transfer

Authors will be asked to transfer copyright of the article to the Publisher (or grant the Publisher exclusive publication and dissemination rights). This will ensure the widest possible protection and dissemination of information under copyright laws.

 

Proofreading 

Contributors are provided with page proofs and are asked to proofread them for typesetting errors. Substantial changes in content, e.g., new results, corrected values, title and authorship, are not allowed without the approval of the Editor. Proofs must be returned within 48 hours