The recommendations of associate editors, editorial review board members, and reviewers concerning the status of manuscripts under review are advisory to the Editor-in-Chief. The final decision concerning the publication of a manuscript is solely the responsibility of the Editor-in-Chief. Manuscripts are treated as works in progress and are viewed as new manuscripts each time a revision is submitted; each time a manuscript is reviewed, new issues may be raised for the authors to address. Authors should expect to make multiple revisions of their manuscript before formal acceptance of the manuscript for publication.
Manuscripts submitted for review are a form of privileged communication between the authors and the Journal and the authors and the reviewers. Reviewers may share the paper with other professionals if the disclosure is intended to enhance the review. Authors are not permitted to make changes during the proof stage of publication except to correct inaccuracies. The Editor-in-Chief may refuse to publish a manuscript if the author requests substantial revisions of the manuscript content after the paper have been through the review process and accepted for publication.
The Editor-in-Chief may solicit additional reviews to supplement the opinion of the assigned associate editors and reviewers.
Authorship
According to the International Committee on Medical Journal Ethics (ICMJE), an author is defined as one who has made substantial contributions to the conception and development of a manuscript. MAJMAAH JOURNAL OF HEALTH SCIENCES adheres to the ICMJE guidelines (http://www.icmje.org/#author), which state that “authorship credit should be based on all of the following: 1) substantial contributions to conception and design, acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data; 2) drafting the article or advising it critically for important intellectual content; and 3) final approval of the version to be published. All submissions are expected to comply with the above definition. Changes to the authorship list after submission will result in a query from the publisher requesting written explanation.
Submission
The Journal considers all manuscripts on the strict condition that they have been submitted only to us, that they have not been published already, nor are they under consideration for publication or in press elsewhere. The journal adheres to the Code of Conduct and Best Practice Guidelines set forth by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).
Peer Review
All manuscripts will be subjected to confidential peer review by experts in the field and, on the basis of reviewers’ feedback; papers will be accepted unconditionally, accepted subject to revision or rejected.
Ethics and Consent
Do not use patients' names, initials, or hospital numbers, especially in illustrative material. Identifying information should not be published in written descriptions, photographs, and pedigrees unless the information is essential for scientific purposes and the patient (or parent or guardian) gives written informed consent for publication. Informed consent for this purpose requires that the patient be shown the manuscript to be published.
Copyright and Permissions
It is a condition of publication that authors assign copyright or license the publication rights in their articles, including abstracts, to us. This enables us to ensure full copyright protection and to disseminate the article, and the Journal, to the widest possible readership in print and electronic formats as appropriate. Authors may, of course, use the article elsewhere after publication without prior permission from the journal, provided that acknowledgement is given to the Journal as the original source of publication, and it is notified so that our records show that its use is properly authorised.
Authors are required to sign an agreement for the transfer of copyright to the publisher. All accepted manuscripts, artwork, and photographs become the property of the publisher. A copyright agreement form can be downloaded by corresponding authors of accepted manuscripts with proofs. This should be signed and returned to Majmaah Journal of Health Sciences. Authors are themselves responsible for obtaining permission to reproduce copyright material from other sources.
Declaration of Interest
It is the policy of Majmaah Journal of Health Sciences, to adhere in principle to the Conflict of Interest policy recommended by the ICMJE. All authors must disclose any financial and personal relationships with other people or organizations that could inappropriately influence (bias) their work. It is the sole responsibility of authors to disclose any affiliation with any organization with a financial interest, direct or indirect, in the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript that may affect the conduct or reporting of the work submitted. All sources of funding for research are to be explicitly stated. If uncertain as to what might be considered a potential conflict of interest, authors should err on the side of full disclosure. If there are no declarations, authors should explicitly state that there are none. This must be stated at the point of submission. Manuscript submission cannot be completed unless a declaration of interest statement (either stating the disclosures or reporting that there are none) is included. This will be made available to reviewers and will appear in the published article. If any potential conflicts of interest are found to have been withheld following publication, the journal will proceed according to COPE guidance. The intent of this policy is not to prevent authors with any particular relationships or interest from publishing their work, but rather to adopt transparency such that reviewers, editors, the publisher, and most importantly, readers can make objective judgements concerning the work product.
Formatting Guidelines
I. Types of Manuscripts
a. Original Manuscripts
Manuscripts submitted in this category are expected to be concise, well organized, and clearly written. The maximum length is 5000 words, including the abstract, references, tables, and figure legends.
· The structured abstract must not exceed 250 words.
· The title must not exceed 130 characters.
· A maximum of 4 tables and 4 figures is allowed.
· References should not exceed a maximum of 100.
· The abstract must be organized as follows:
o Background & Aims
o Methods
o Results
o Conclusions
Do not use abbreviations, footnotes or references in the abstract. An electronic word count of the abstract must be included. Three to ten key words at the end of the abstract must be provided.
Acceptance of original manuscripts will be based upon originality and importance of the investigation. These manuscripts are reviewed by the Editors and, in the majority of cases, by two experts in the field. Manuscripts requiring extensive revision will be at a disadvantage for publication and will be rejected. Authors shall be responsible for the quality of language and style and are strongly advised against submitting a manuscript which is not written in grammatically correct English. The Editors reserve the right to reject poorly written manuscripts even if their scientific content is qualitatively suitable for publication. Manuscripts are submitted with the understanding that they are original contributions and do not contain data that have been published elsewhere or are under consideration by another journal.
b. Review Articles
Review articles on selected clinical and basic topics of interest for the readers of the Majmaah Journal of Health Science will be solicited by the Editors. Review articles are expected to be clear, concise and updated.
· The maximum length is 5000 words, excluding the summary, references, tables, and figures.
· References should not exceed a maximum of 150.
· The inclusion of a maximum of 4 high-quality tables and 4 colored figures to summarize critical points is highly desirable.
· Review articles must be accompanied by a title page and a summary.
· Reviews should include at least one Key Point Box, with a maximum of 5 bullet points, that briefly summarizes the content of the review.
Review articles are reviewed by the Editors and may be sent to outside expert reviewers before a final decision for publication is made. Revisions may be required.
c. Editorials
This section consists of invited brief editorial comments on articles published in the Majmaah Journal of Health Science
The length of an editorial should not exceed 1500 words, excluding references.
· A maximum of 1 table or 1 figure is allowed.
· References should not exceed a maximum of 20.
· A title page must be provided.
d. Case Reports
Case reports are not encouraged and will only be accepted if they represent an outstanding contribution to the etiology, pathogenesis or treatment of a specific condition.
· The maximum length is 3000 words, including the summary and references.
· A maximum of 2 tables and 2 figures is allowed.
· References should not exceed a maximum of 15.
· A title page must be provided.
e. Letters to the Editor
Letters to the Editor will be considered for publication if they are related to articles published in recent issues of Majmaah Journal of Health Science. Occasionally, Letters to the Editor that refer to articles not published in Majmaah Journal of Health Science will be considered.
· The length of a Letter to the Editor should not exceed 800 words.
· A maximum of 1 table or 1 figure is allowed.
· References should not exceed a maximum of 10.
· No more than 4 Authors may appear in the author list.
f. Commentaries
International commentaries will be solicited by the Editors only.
· Commentary articles should not exceed a maximum of 800 words, excluding tables or figures.
· A maximum of 1 table or 1 figure is allowed.
· References should not exceed a maximum of 10.
· A title page must be provided.
·
II. MANUSCRIPT SUBMISSION
Organization of the Manuscript
· The submitted manuscript must be typed double-spaced throughout and numbered (including references, tables and figure legends). Preferably using a "standard" font (we prefer Times/Arial 12).
· For mathematical symbols, Greek letters, and other special characters, use normal text. The references must be in accordance with the Vancouver reference style (see References).
· Approved nomenclature for gene and protein names and symbols should be used, including appropriate use of italics (all gene symbols and loci, should be in italics) and capitalization as it applies for each organism's standard nomenclature format, in text, tables, and figures.
· Full gene names are generally not in italics and Greek symbols are not used. Proteins should not be italicized.
· Improperly prepared manuscripts will not be entered into the peer review process and will be sent back to the author for correction.
TITLE PAGE must contain:
§ A title of no more than 130 characters.
§ Running title (not to exceed 60 characters)
§ Names of the Authors as it should be published (first name, middle initial, last name)
§ Affiliations of all authors and their institutions, departments, or organizations (use the following symbols in this order to designate authors' affiliations: *, †, ‡, §, ¶, ||, #, **, ††, ‡‡, §§, ¶¶, || ||, ##).
§ Name, address, telephone and fax numbers, and electronic mail address of the corresponding Author.
§ Electronic word count.
§ Number of figures and tables.
§ List of abbreviations in the order of appearance.
§ Conflict of interest.
§ Financial support.
Animal trials. Manuscripts reporting experiments using animals must include a statement giving assurance that all animals received human care and that study protocols comply with the institution's guidelines. Statistical methods used should be outlined.
Human trials. Manuscripts reporting data from research conducted on humans must include a statement of assurance in the methods section of the manuscript reading that:
(1) Informed consent was obtained from each patient included in the study and
(2) The study protocol conforms to the ethical guidelines of the 1975 declaration of helsinki as reflected in a priori approval by the institution's human research committee.
Randomized controlled trials. Any paper that is a randomized control trial should adhere to the guidelines that can be found at the following web-site: www.consort-statement.org. The checklist should be printed out and faxed to the Editorial office at the time of submission. The trial registration number must be included on the title page of the manuscript reporting a registered clinical trial. Failure to do so will prevent entry to the peer review process.
Drugs and chemicals. Drugs and chemicals should be used by generic name. If trademarks are mentioned, the manufacturer's name and city should be given. All funding sources supporting the work, either public or private, especially those from pharmaceutical companies, must be provided.
Genetic Sequence data. In papers reporting a novel DNA or amino sequence, verification that the data have been or will be submitted either to Gen-Bank or EMBL is required. Please provide this verification and the accession number in the covering letter.
REFERENCES:
§ References must be in accordance with the Journal of Hepatology reference style. References are ordered as they appear in the text and citation numbers for references are placed between "brackets" ("[ ]") in the text as well as in the reference list.
§ Authors should be listed surname first, followed by the initials of given names (e.g. Bolognesi M). If there are more than six authors, the names of the first six authors followed by et al. should appear.
§ Titles of all cited articles are required. Titles of articles cited in reference list should be in upright, not italic text; the first word of the title is capitalized, the title written exactly as it appears in the work cited, ending with a full stop. Journal titles are abbreviated according to common usage, followed by Journal years, semicolon (;) before volume and colon (:) before full page range (see examples below).
§ All articles in the list of references should be cited in the text and, conversely, all references cited in the text must be included in the list.
§ Personal communications and unpublished data should be cited directly in the text by the first Author, without being numbered. Please make sure you have the latest, updated version of your reference management software to make sure you have the correct reference format for Majmaah Journal of Health Science.
An example of how references should look within the text:
"HVPG was measured by hepatic vein catheterization using a balloon catheter according to a procedure described elsewhere [14, 15] and used as an index of portal hypertension [16]."
An example of how the reference list should look:
[14] Merkel C, Bolognesi M, Bellon S, Zuin R, Noventa F, Finucci G, et al. Prognostic usefulness of hepatic vein catheterization in patients with cirrhosis and esophageal varices. Gastroenterology 1992;102:973-979.
[15] Groszmann RJ, Wongcharatrawee S. The hepatic venous pressure gradient: anything worth doing should be done right. Hepatology 2004;39:280-282.
FIGURES:
A maximum of 4 figures is allowed.
· Figures will be often, but not always, re-designed by graphic designers. By signing and transferring the Copyright Agreement to MJHS, the author gives permission to the graphic designers to alter the visual aspect of any figures, tables, or graphs. The scientific content of figures will not be altered. Please provide this information with your covering letter.
· All graphics submitted to Majmaah Journal of Health Science should be sent at their actual size, which is 100% of their print dimension and in portrait orientation.
· Two standard widths are used and figures should fit in one (8.5 x 23.5 cm) or two (17.5 x 23.5 cm) columns
· Figures should be supplied in the following preferred file formats: PDF (*.pdf), Power Point (*.ppt), Adobe Illustrator (*.ai, *.eps), Photoshop (*.psd) files in grayscales or in RGB color mode. It is highly recommended that figures not be sent in JPG (*.jpg) format.
· Photographs (scans, immunofluorescences, EM, and histology images) should be submitted as: 1. TIFF (*.tif) with a resolution of at least 300 pixels per inch, or
· Illustrator compatible EPS files with RGB color management (*.eps),
· Photoshop (*.psd) or PDF (*.pdf) files (grayscales or RGB) at the appropriate resolution, which is:
· 300 dpi for color figures
· 600 dpi for black and white figures
· 1200 dpi for line-art figures
· For all photomicrographs, where possible, a scale should appear on the photograph. Photographs of identifiable patients should be accompanied by written permission to publish from patient(s).
· Furthermore, panel lettering should be in Arial bold 14 pt, capitalized and no full stop (A, B) while lettering in figures (axes, conditions), should be in Arial 8 pt, lower case type with the first letter capitalized and no full stop. No type should be smaller than 6 pt.
TABLES
A maximum of 4 tables is allowed.
· Tables should be provided as Word files (*.doc) or Illustrator/InDesign (*.ai, *.eps, *.indd) compatible files. No TIFF and JPG files are acceptable for table submission.
· When submitting tables in Microsoft Word table function, no tab, space or colors should be used. Tables should contain a maximum of 10 columns.
· Tables submitted in landscape orientation will not be accepted. Tables should include a title, table legend, and if necessary footnotes.
· Include tables in the submitted manuscript as a separate section.
FIGURE LEGENDS
Figure legends should be listed one after the other, as part of the text document, separate from the figure files.
Please do not write a legend below each figure. Each figure legend should have a brief title that describes the entire figure without citing specific panels, followed by a description of each panel, and the symbols used.
Enough information should be provided in the figure legend text to permit interpretation of figures without reference to the text; but should not contain any details of methods, or exceed 100 words.
The abbreviated word for figure "Fig." should be typed and bolded, followed by the figure number and a period (i.e. "Fig. 1."). Every figure legend should have a Title written in bold.
If a figure contains multiple sections (i.e. A, B, C, D) the letter for these subsections should be in capital letters. Within the figure legend text the capital letters should be surrounded by parenthesis [i.e. (A)(B)(C)(D)].
Figures should be numbered according to the order of citation.
Supplementary material. Supplementary material, not for review, is acceptable. Supplementary material can be submitted as (*.mov), (*.avi), (*.mpeg), or (*.gif) files. Please note that the size limit for these items is 10 MB per file.
ENGLISH
Authors may be asked to contact professionals regarding the correction of the English content of manuscripts either before or after acceptance. This expense will be the responsibility of the Authors.
C. REVIEW PROCESS
Authors should be aware that manuscripts will be screened upon submission. Only the manuscripts which fully comply with the submission requirements outlined and in which the level of English is of an acceptable standard will enter the peer review process.
First submission. Once successful submission of a manuscript has taken place, an acknowledgement will be sent by e-mail to the Corresponding Author on the manuscript. All subsequent correspondence will be with the designated Corresponding Author. The number of the manuscript should be used by the Authors in all communications with the Editorial Office. All the manuscripts will be reviewed by the Editors and, and in some cases, by other expert reviewers. After review, the corresponding Author will be notified by letter of the decision taken by the Editor(s). This letter will be accompanied in most, but not all, cases by the comments of the reviewers. This letter will be sent via e-mail.
Resubmission of manuscripts. In some cases, Authors will be invited to submit a revised version of the manuscript for further review. This invitation does not imply, in any case, that the revised version will be accepted for publication. In general, revised manuscripts must be received in the Editorial Office within four months of the date of the first decision. Authors should submit the resubmitted manuscript with all changes underlined. The resubmitted manuscript should be accompanied by a cover letter stating that the manuscript has been revised according to the comments made by the Editor and the Reviewers. Figures and tables must be uploaded. Please ensure that a separate point by point response to the reviewers is included with the covering letter. Please do not send revised manuscripts to the Editorial Office via e-mail. Revised manuscripts should mailed to site of Majmaah Journal of Health Sciences at [email protected]
PROOFS
Proofs will be made available to the author(s) to be checked. It is the responsibility of the author(s) to make sure that the quality and accuracy of the manuscript, figures, and tables in the proofs is correct. Authors should return their proofs within 48 hours, by fax or e-mail if the corrections are minor, to expedite publication. Further changes or additions to the edited manuscript after these corrections cannot be accepted.
COVER ILLUSTRATIONS
Cover illustrations will be chosen by the Editors. Authors are highly encouraged to submit high quality color figures and images suitable for publication on the cover at the time of submission of the manuscript.
REPRINTS
Reprints must be ordered in advance. An order form indicating the cost of the reprints is sent from the Publisher with page proofs. Reprint orders, payments, and inquiries must be forwarded to the Publisher, not to the Editorial Office.
ADVERTISEMENTS
Information about advertisements in Majmaah Journal of Health Science can be obtained from the Publisher.
Copyright assignments, financial disclosures, and Institutional Review Board/Animal Care Committee Approval. Upon article acceptance, the corresponding author will be contacted and asked to submit the above forms. It is the author's responsibility to make sure these forms are signed and duly returned to the editorial office via fax. If these forms are not received the manuscript will NOT be published.
Drug Declaration/Conflict of Interest Form
This form should be printed out and the suitable statement chosen among the listed ones (A-G). It should then be signed by the corresponding author and faxed to the Editorial Office at +41 22 510 24 00. If this form is not received the paper will NOT be published.
Methodological & Statistical instructions for Authors submitting manuscripts to the Majmaah Journal of Health Science
The manuscripts should include a complete and detailed description of what was done.
This includes a description of the design, measurement and collection of data, the study objective and major hypotheses, type and source of subjects, inclusion and exclusion criteria and measures of outcome, number of subjects studied and why this number was chosen. Any deviation from the study protocol should be stated. The baseline characteristics of any compared groups should be described in detail and -if necessary -adjusted for in the analysis of the outcome.
For randomized clinical trials the following should also be clearly documented: treatments, sample size estimation, method of random allocation and measures taken for maintaining its concealment including blinding, numbers treated, followed-up, being withdrawn, dropping out, and having side effects (numbers and type). The statistical methods used should be relevant and clearly stated. Special or complex statistical methods should be explained and referenced.
Complex analyses should be performed with the assistance of a qualified statistician. Unqualified use of such analyses is strongly discouraged. The underlying assumptions of the statistical methods used should be tested to ensure that the assumptions are fulfilled.
For small data sets and if variable distributions are non-normal, distribution free (non-parametric) statistical methods should be used. The actual p values - whether significant or not - should always be presented (not NS). Confidence intervals convey more information than p values and should be presented whenever possible. Continuous variables can always be summarized using the median and range which are therefore preferred. Only in the infrequent case of a Normal distribution are the mean and standard deviation (SD) useful. Complex analyses (including Cox and logistic regression analysis) should be presented in sufficient detail: i.e. variable scoring, regression coefficients, standard errors and any constants. Odds-ratios or relative risks are not sufficient documentation of such analyses. The handling of any missing values in the data should be clearly specified. The number of statistical tests performed should be kept at a minimum to reduce spurious positive results. Explorative (hypothesis generating) analyses without confirmation using independent data are discouraged. Figures showing individual observations e.g. scatter plots are encouraged. Histograms may also be useful. Tables should indicate the number of observations on which each result is being based