General Policy

Manuscripts, or the essence of their content, must be previously unpublished and should not be under simultaneous consideration by another journal. The authors should also declare if any similar work has been submitted to or published by another Journal. By virtue of the submitted manuscript, the corresponding author acknowledges that all the co-authors have approved the final version of the manuscript. The corresponding author should provide all co-authors with information regarding the manuscript and obtain their approval before submitting any revisions. Manuscripts are only accepted for publication on the understanding that the authors will permit editorial amendments, though proofs will always be submitted to the corresponding author before being sent finally to press.

Manuscripts will be considered for publication in the form of original articles, case reports, short communications, letters to editor and review articles. The work should be original or a thorough by an authoritative person in a pertinent field.

Crescent Journal of Medical and Biological Sciences (CJMB) follows AMA style (American Medical Association Manual of Style,10th Edition) from January 2015.

Manuscript Preparation

Manuscripts should be prepared in accordance with the “Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submission to Biomedical Journals” proclaimed by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (http://www.icmje.org/).

Research Reporting Guidelines

Authors are encouraged to use the relevant research reporting guidelines for the study type provided by the EQUATOR Network

The main reporting guidelines are:
Randomized controlled trials (RCTs): CONSORT guidelines
Systematic reviews and meta-analyses: PRISMA guidelines and MOOSE guidelines
Observational studies in epidemiology: STROBE guidelines and MOOSE guidelines
Diagnostic accuracy studies: STARD guidelines
Quality improvement studies: SQUIRE guidelines
Case reports  guidelines: CARE guidelines

Cover Letter

a - A statement that the manuscript has been read and approved by all the authors;
b - The requirements for authorship have been met for all the authors, based on the criteria stated by ICMJE.
c - Approval of all the authors regarding the order of authorship.
d - Each author confirms that the manuscript represents honest work.
e - The name, address, and telephone number of the corresponding author who is responsible for communicating with other authors about revisions and final approval.
f - The letter should give any additional information that may be helpful to the editor, such as the type or format of the article. If the manuscript has been submitted previously to another journal or in another language, it is helpful to include the previous editor’s and reviewers’ comments with the submitted manuscript, along with the authors’ responses to those comments.
g - For accepted manuscripts, the authors are requested to fill and sign the journal’s cover letter to express their consent for its publication.

Ethics Committee Approval

Authors should provide an approval letter from the relevant Ethics Committee or Institution’s Review Board regarding the research protocol and the rights of the subjects (if applicable to the study).

Consent Form

Attach a copy of the consent form to the letter, if applicable. Consent forms would be evaluated by the Ethics Committee and then signed by the participant.

Manuscript Submission

Submission to this journal occurs online. Manuscripts submitted via email are not processed. International CJMB only considers the materials submitted in electronic form via the journal's online submission portal. The editorial office reserves the rights to return manuscripts that are not in accordance with the CJMB instructions for authors. Once you arranged your manuscript according to the following instructions, you can then submit your paper via our online submission system.

1. Manuscripts submitted in English, must be typewritten, double-spaced, on good quality A4 paper, or paper of similar format. Original drawings of photos, tables and figures should be furnished together with the manuscripts.
2. Manuscripts should be kept to a minimum length and should be subdivided into labeled sections (Title page, Abstract, Keywords, Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusion, Acknowledgement, and References).
3. A title page is to be provided and should include the title of the article, authors’ names with full name (with degrees), authors’ affiliations, and corresponding author. The affiliation should comprise the department, institution (usually university or company), city and state (or nation). For office purposes, the title page should include the name and complete mailing address, telephone and fax number, and email of the one author designated to review proofs.
4. An abstract (up to 250 words) is required for every manuscript. Abstract should be structured as objective(s) (including purpose setting), Materials and Methods, Results, and Conclusion.
5. A list of 3-8 keywords, chosen from the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) list http://www.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/MBrowser.html, is required directly below the abstract. Keywords should express the precise content of the manuscript, as they are used for indexing purposes.
6. Key Messages: This section should tell the reader why the report or study is important and highlights its implications. This should contain 2-3 key messages and no more. Each key message should contain at most 20 words.
7. Tables: Tables should be self- explanatory, clearly arranged, and supplemental to the text. Tables should be created left to right and cell-based (i.e., prepared in Word with the Tables tool). Table number and caption always appear above the table. Tables should be prepared with real rows and columns and not aligned with tabs, returns, or spaces. We don’t accept tables including text boxes or tables within tables. It should be noted that tables must be cited in numerical order upon their first mention.
8. Figures: All figures must be cited within the main text in numerical order. Figure number and caption always appear below the figure. All images must be of high quality (resolutions of at least 300 dpi for color figures, 600 dpi for greyscales and 1200 dpi for line arts). Histograms should be prepared in a simple, two-dimensional format, with no background grid. Any specific patient/hospital details used in figures should be blacked out. Photographs of patients in case reports should not be identifiable. Graphics downloaded from web pages is not acceptable.
9. The similar data should not be presented in tables, figures and text, simultaneously.
10. References: References must be cited in the text, tables, or figures in consecutively numerical order (number in parentheses). Check journal abbreviations using PubMed database via the following link: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=journals. Other points regarding references are listed as follows:
11. Arrange references as a simple list at the end of your manuscript based on our EndNote which is downloadable through IJWHR EndNote Style.
12. Only one publication can be listed for each number.
13. In reference list: List the surnames and initials of first names of all authors if there are 6 or fewer; otherwise list the first 3 and add ‘et al.’ Use one space only between words up to the year and then no spaces.

Examples of our Endnote style:

Journal article (1-6 authors)

1. Algar WR, Krull UJ. Toward a multiplexed solid-phase nucleic acid hybridization assay using quantum dots as donors in fluorescence resonance energy transfer. Anal Chem. 2009;81:4113-4120. doi:10.1021/ac900421p

Journal article (more than 6 authors)

       2. Bagalkot V, Zhang L, Levy-Nissenbaum E, et al. Quantum dot-aptamer conjugates for synchronous cancer imaging, therapy, and sensing of drug delivery based on bi-fluorescence resonance energy transfer. Nano Lett. 2007;7(10):3065-70. doi:10.1021/nl071546n

Book

Homans GC. Social Behavior: Its Elementary Forms. New York: Routledge & Kegan Paul; 1961.

Book Section

Logan K. ‘Casi Como Doctor’: pharmacists and their clients in a Mexican urban context. In: van der Geest S, Whyte SR, eds. The Context of Medicines in Developing Countries: Studies in Pharmaceutical Anthropology. Dordrecht: Springer; 1988:107-129.

Categories of Articles Editorial

Editorials (up to ~700 words) are short pieces reflecting the view of the editor or the policies of the journal, which may be written by the editor, a member of editorial board or an invited author. Editorial should not include an abstract or keywords.

Letters to the Editor

Letters referring to a recent article in this journal must be received within three months of its publication. Letters submitted after the allowed time will not be considered. he text, not including references, must not exceed 700 words. A maximum of three authors and 10 references are allowed. Neither tables nor figures are allowed. Original research that is of interest but does not fulfill all the requirements needed for publication as a full-length manuscript can be submitted as a letter to the editor. The letter must have a title and a maximum of three authors. The text, not including references, tables, figures or legends must not exceed 700 words. No more than 10 references and either one table or one figure are allowed. Word Count Limit: Letters should contain 500-700 words, maximum number of references is 10, maximum number of illustrations/tables is 1.

Original Articles

The content of the paper must justify its length. For reports of original investigative work, traditional division into sections is required: Title, Keywords, Addresses and which author address for correspondence, Structured abstract, Background, Objectives, Materials/Patients and Methods, Results, Discussion, References and Acknowledgements, Legends for display items (Figures and Tables).

Maximum number of references is 55, maximum number of illustrations/tables is 5.

Review Articles
Maximum number of illustrations/tables is 5. In a review article both abstract and text of the manuscript, include following items:
1) Context: Include 1 or 2 sentences describing the clinical question or issue and its importance in clinical practice or public health.
2) Evidence Acquisition: Describe the data sources used, including the search strategies, years searched, and other sources of material, such as subsequent reference searches of retrieved articles. Explain the methods used for quality assessment and the inclusion of identified articles.
3) Results: Address the major findings of the review of the clinical issue or topic in an evidence-based, objective, and balanced fashion, emphasizing the highest-quality evidence available.
4) Conclusions: Clearly state the conclusions to answer the questions posed if applicable, basing the conclusions on available evidence, and emphasize how clinicians should apply current knowledge.

Case Reports

A case report is a case study, case report, or other description of a case that should contain 1500-2000 words with a structured abstract of 200 words maximum. Case reports should comprise sections of Introduction, Case Presentation, and Conclusions in Abstract and Introduction, Case Presentation, and Discussion in full text with not more than 2 tables or figures and up to 20 references.

Brief Reports

Brief reports are preliminary studies and contain 1000-2000 words with a structured abstract of 200 words maximum. Short reports should comprise sections of Background, Objectives, Materials & Methods, Results and Discussion with not more than 2 tables or figures and up to 20 references.

Short Communications

Short communications are small papers focusing on a particular aspect of a subject, which describe significant materials for disseminating new messages to our readers.  They follow the instructions for original articles, except that the total word number of the main text (excluding references, tables and figure legends) is limited to 2000 with no more than 2 figures and/or tables and no more than 25 references. An abstract, not exceeding 150 words, should be presented at the beginning of the article.

Multimedia and Supplemental files

Authors may submit video and other files to enhance their case reports (video files should be supplied as .avi, .wmv, .mp4). You may also submit supplementary material to support the submission and review of your article, e.g., papers in press elsewhere, published articles, raw data. When submitting video files, ensure you upload them using the File Designation “Video Files”. Please record Voice and Words of your Video in English presentation only. The submitted file should has high quality for presentation.

General Considerations

1. Conflicts of interest: Authors should disclose, at the time of submission, information on financial conflicts of interest or other interests that may influence the manuscript. Authors should declare sources of funding for the work undertaken.
2. The Journal’s Policy on Plagiarism: All submitted articles will be evaluated by iThenticate software, which is a plagiarism detector software powered by Crossref. Any practice of plagiarism will not be tolerated by the journal regarding submitted manuscripts. If plagiarism is reported, we will follow COPE guidelines.
3. Ethical approval: All submitted articles involving human experiments should be performed only in accordance with the ethical standards provided by the responsible committee of the institution and in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki (as revised in Edinburgh 2000), available at https://www.wma.net/policies-post/wma-declaration-of-helsinki-ethical-principles-for-medical-research-involving-human-subjects/.  Papers describing animal experiments can be accepted for publication only if the experiment conforms the National Institute of Health Guide (Guide for the care and use of laboratory animals, 8th edition, 2011) and/or (International Guiding Principles for Biomedical Research Involving Animals, 2012) is required for all experimental and clinical and drug trial studies. Authors must provide a full description of their anesthetics and surgical procedures. All manuscripts reporting the results of experimental investigations involving human subjects should include a statement confirming the informed consent was obtained from each subject or subject’s guardian. All animal or human studies should be used after approval of the experimental protocol by a local ethics committee.
4. Author agreement form: http://www.cjmb.org/submit/copyrightform.pdf
5. This journal is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License.