Submissions

Author Guidelines

GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR ARTICLE TYPES AND FORMATTING 

The article types shall have different formats as follows:

Research article

Papers including original empirical data that have not been published or in consideration for publication in another journal (except as an abstract). This type of article normally should not go beyond 25 double-spaced pages of text (including references). Tables and figures should not exceed 20 and the length of 2500-6000 words (inclusive of everything). The article should follow for the general guidelines for biomedical journals as outlined below:

• Title
• Abstract
• Introduction
• Methods
• Results
• Discussion
• Conclusion (s)
• Recommendation (s)
• Acknowledgement
• Declaration of conflict of interest
• Author contribution
• References

Systematic & meta-analysis reviews

We recommend that authors adhere to the PRISMA guidelines for reporting in Systematic Reviews. Systematic Reviews are often based on medical interventions or animal model experiments. The question addressed in the systematic review should be stated clearly and elaborate methods should be applied to identify, select, and critically evaluate the relevant research. We recommend a length of 5000-10000 words with references between 50-200 with 4-8 figures or tables (if applicable). The article should include the sections outlined below:

• Title
• Abstract
• Introduction
• Methods

1. Inclusion and exclusion criteria
2. Identification of studies
3. Study selection
4. Data extraction
5. Quality assessment
6. Data analysis

• Results
• Discussion
• Conclusion (s)
• Conflict of interest
• Author contribution (s)
• Acknowledgement
• References

Short research articles

Short Research Articles entails single-finding papers (or output from a short research studies) that can be summarized in one or two illustrations (figures/tables) and lab procedures. The articles should have detailed information especially in the methods and description of the results, discussion and conclusion (s) to enable the readers understand to work and the context. We recommend a length of 2000-4000 words with 2-4 figures and/or tables and 10-20 important references. Posters from conferences or in-house meetings may be summarized as Short Research Articles (or Research Notes).

Short Communication

Short Communications are important communications of critical preliminary original results of high interest and are likely to have a substantial impact on the subject area of the journal. A Short Communication is required to only show a ‘proof of principle’. We encourage authors to submit an Original Research Paper to the journal subsequent to their Short Communication. There is no page restriction for a Short Communication; though, we recommend a length of 2000-3500 words, including 2-5 figures and/or tables, with 10-15 important references.

Narrative review papers

Narrative review articles include a critical discussion of papers published and data acquired in a specific area. These papers usually do not have empirical data acquired by the authors. We recommend a length of 3500-8000 words, (including 50-200 references with 2-5 figures and/or tables (if applicable).

Mini-reviews

Mini reviews are essentially brief articles that may include historical perspectives or short summaries of advances or new developments in rapidly changing subjects of interest within the scope of the journal. Mini reviews must be founded and written based on published articles. The articles shall not include any unpublished data. The primary objective of the Mini-reviews is to provide a succinct summary of a certain area in a manner that is understandable to all readers. We recommend a length of 2500-5000 words, (including 25-80 references with 2-4 figures and/or tables (if applicable).

 Policy articles

Policy papers include articles that present a specific policy recommendation to a particular target audience for decision-making and call to action. The paper should have a clear persuasive description of the context and the basis for the recommendation. Summaries/appraisal of existing policies in a certain field of interest to the journal will also be considered. We recommend a length of 2500-4000 words, including 3-5 figures and/or tables, and 10-20 key references.

Opinion Articles

Opinion or commentary articles include papers that present an opinion from experts in a particular area of interest within the scope of the journal. The goal of these articles is to stir up relevant discussion. These articles may be solicited or unsolicited. We recommend a length of 2000-3000 words, including 2-4 figures and/or tables, and 10-20 key references.

New method articles

Method articles entail description new experimental procedures in a particular area. The methods should have already been tested adequately for the specific purpose and shown to yield the appropriate outcome. This may include substantial modifications to existing methods or new applications of existing methods to address certain  scientific questions. New technical tools that enable the performance of experiments and data analysis including laboratory devices and software or new technologies that facilitate medical treatment such as drug delivery systems are also considered. We recommend a length of 2000-3500 words, with 2-4 figures and/or tables, and 10-20 key references.

Case reports and Case studies

Case reports entail description of a patient case of particular concern that may influence clinical practice or management of similar cases. This can include cases with emerging infectious diseases or unique clinical cases deserving urgent attention. The articles should be original and adhere to sound principles for documenting case reports. Case studies are an invaluable record of the clinical practices of a profession. Case studies consist of an account of clinical interactions which can form a basis for further inquiry and well-designed clinical studies. Case studies also are also valuable teaching and training material, representing both conventional and unusual clinical scenarios/presentations which may be encountered by clinicians or other practitioners. Both Case reports and Case study articles should generally include the following: Abstract (not more than 300 words), Aims, presentation of the case, discussion and conclusion. There are not word limits but generally papers should not exceed 2500 words, 30 references and 4 figures (If applicable).

Abstracts & proceedings of scientific meetings

Abstracts of oral presentations as well as posters within the subject areas of the journal can be published in consultation with the journal. The abstracts will undergo peer-review before publication. A collection of the abstracts (minimum 8 abstracts) will be published in a special issue of the journal. Abstracts will not be considered for regular issues of the journal. The abstracts will be reviewed by a special committee on whose recommendations a decision will be made and communicated to the respective authors. The list of the concerned editorial committee will be published in the special issue along with the abstracts.

Letter to the Editor

A letter to the editor facilitates a continuous interaction and flow of communication between readers of articles published in the journal and the authors. A letter may open new insights, make corrections, present alternate thoughts or theories, or seek clarification regarding the content published in the journal. Letters to the Editor will be published by the journal provided they contain original information and have not been published previously. Letters pertaining to a Journal article must not exceed 800 words (including references. Letters that are not connected to a Journal article must not exceed 800 words (including references). The references should be at the minimum but not exceeding ten (10) with only figure. Authors should not three and any potential conflict of interest must be declared.  The letter will undergo peer review similar to other article types. However, article processing charges will not be applicable.

Note: All tables and figures should be embedded within the article at the point where they are supposed to appear. Authors should prepare good quality images for their paper.