Instructions to Authors :
Manuscripts submitted for publication in this journal should not have been published /accepted for publication elsewhere and should be accompanied by a covering letter by the Corresponding author.
The Editorial Board reserves the rights of the articles published in this Journal and articles should not be published or reproduced in full or in part without permission. The Editorial Board reserves the right of minor suitable alteration in the text as and when desired. However, for any major alteration, the opinion of the corresponding author shall be obtained.
Submission of Manuscripts:
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Manuscripts can be submitted in English in a computer disk/s. Disks will not be returned to Authors. Submission by e-mail is compulsory.
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Two good quality copies of manuscript on white bond paper of size 22 cm × 28 cm (A4 size) are required. The version of disc and written manuscript should be the same.
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The manuscript must not contain any mention of the authors’ names or initials or the institution at which the study was done or acknowledgements. Page headers/running title can include the title but not the authors’ names.
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Letter signed by all authors defi ning the order of authors and designation and contribution of each author to the study is to be sent.
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Pages are to be numbered serially.
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The title page should contain:
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Short and index able title
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Name and designation of authors
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Name and mailing address of corresponding author.
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There should be a brief abstract of the article within 200-300 words. The structured abstract must include a brief introduction to the study, methodology and statistical method, main results and conclusion.
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Below the abstract 3–5 key words should be mentioned. Use of MESH terms is recommended.
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Text should include Introduction, Material and Methods, Results and Discussion. The subheadings however are not mandatory. Actual methods and procedures are to be detailed and supported by References. Standard abbreviations are accepted, actual units of measurement should be in metric or SI units and the text should either be in American or British style with a uniform pattern followed throughout the manuscript.
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All manuscripts are to be sent in Times New Roman. Font size 14 point bold to be used title and headings, 12 point bold for subheadings and 12 point for text.
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Letter of approval from the Institutional Ethics Committee is to be available on request for same.
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The manuscripts not complying with the journal’s editorial policy will not be accepted for the review.
Types of Manuscripts:
Original Articles:
These include randomized controlled trials, intervention studies, studies of screening and diagnostic test, outcome studies, cost effectiveness analyses, case-control series, and surveys with high response rate.
Introduction :
State the purpose and summarize the rationale for the study or observation.
Materials and Methods :
It should include and describe the following aspects:
Ethics :
When reporting studies on human beings, indicate whether the procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional or regional) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000 (available at http://www.wma.net/e/ policy/17-c_e.html). The journal will not consider any paper which is ethically unacceptable. A statement on ethics committee permission and ethical practices must be included in all research articles under the ‘Materials and Methods’ section. Also mention if the study is sponsored.
Conflict of Interest :
Declare or deny any confl ict of interest of any author.
Study design :
Selection and Description of Participants: Describe your selection of the observational or experimental participants (patients or laboratory animals, including controls) clearly, including eligibility and exclusion criteria and a description of the source population.
Technical information :
Give references to established methods, including statistical methods (see below); provide references and brief descriptions for methods that have been published but are not well known; describe new or substantially modifi ed methods, give reasons for using them, and evaluate their limitations. If raw data is available in any repository give details.
Statistics :
Avoid non-technical uses of technical terms in statistics, such as ‘random’ (which implies a randomizing device), ‘normal’, ‘signifi cant’, ‘correlations’, and ‘sample’. Defi ne statistical terms, abbreviations, and most symbols. For all P values include the exact value and not less than 0.05 or 0.001.
Results :
Present your results in a logical sequence in the text, tables, and illustrations, giving the main or most important fi ndings fi rst. Do not repeat in the text all the data in the tables or illustrations; emphasize or summarize only important observations.
When data are summarized in the Results section, give numeric results not only as derivatives (for example, 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 fi gures 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. Where scientifi cally appropriate, analyses of the data by variables such as age and sex should be included.
Discussion :
Include summary of key fi ndings (primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, results as they relate to a prior hypothesis); Strengths and limitations of the study (study question, study design, data collection, analysis and interpretation); Interpretation and implications in the context of the totality of evidence, what this study adds to the available evidence, effects on patient care and health policy. Controversies raised by this study; and Future research directions.
Conclusion:
Summarise the main fi ndings of the study and its possible applications.
Acknowledgements: are to be mentioned at this point.
Case Reports:
New, interesting and rare cases can be reported. They should be unique, describing a great diagnostic or therapeutic challenge and providing a learning point for the readers. Cases with clinical signifi cance or implications will be given priority. These communications could be of up to 1000 words (excluding Abstract and references) and should have the following headings: Abstract(unstructured), Key-words, Introduction, Case report, Discussion, Reference, Tables and Legends in that order.
The manuscript could be of up to 1000 words (excluding references and abstract) and could be supported with up to 10 references.
Tables :
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Tables should be self-explanatory and should not duplicate textual material.
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Number tables, in Arabic numerals, consecutively in the order of their fi rst citation in the text and supply a brief title for each. Place explanatory matter in footnotes, not in the heading.
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Explain in footnotes all non-standard abbreviations that are used in each table.
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Tables with their legends should be provided at the end of the text after the references.
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The tables along with their number should be cited at the relevant place in the text.
Illustrations (Figures) :
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Upload the images in JPEG format. The fi le size should be within 1024 kb in size while uploading.
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Figures should be numbered consecutively according to the order in which they have been fi rst cited in the text.
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Labels, numbers, and symbols should be clear and of uniform size. The lettering for fi gures should be large enough to be legible after reduction to fi t the width of a printed column.
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Symbols, arrows, or letters used in photomicrographs should contrast with the background and should be marked neatly with transfer type or by tissue overlay and not by pen.
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Titles and detailed explanations belong in the legends for illustrations not on the illustrations themselves.
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When graphs, scatter-grams or histograms are submitted the numerical data on which they are based should also be supplied.
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The photographs and fi gures should be trimmed to remove all the unwanted areas.
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The Journal reserves the right to crop, rotate, reduce, or enlarge the photographs to an acceptable size.
References :
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References are to be completed at the end of the article and to be numbered according to the citation in the text.
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Vancouver system is to be followed in preparing the references. The abbreviation of the titles of the journals should conform to those used in Index Medicus and Excerpta medica.
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Number of references should be reasonable & verified by the authors.
Examples of correct form of references :
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Journal Article, single author – Anthony V.A. The emergency management of ketoacidosis : Monitoring in the ICU. JAPI 1989 ; 24 : 110–22.
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Journal Article, more than 6 authors – Mention et. al after 3 authors name.
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Monographs - Chatterjee SK. Anorectal malformations. A surgeon’s experience. Delhi Oxford Univ. Press. 1991; 125–40.
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Books - Tooley WH. Bronchiolitis. In : Rudolph AM, Rudolph CF (eds.) Rodolph’s Pediatrics, 19th Edn. : Appleton and Lange, California. 1991; pp. 1520–21.
Editorial Policy :
Manuscripts for publication will be considered on their individual merits. All accepted papers are subject to editorial changes. All manuscripts will follow the under mentioned course:
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Editorial review
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Peer Review
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Revision by Author if required
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Provisional acceptance on successful revision
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Final Acceptance
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Publication
Hence your article may take an average time of 2-3 months before it is published. You are welcome to ask/know status of your article at any point of time by emailing the editor.
Presentation and Format :
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Double spacing
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Margins 2.5 cm from all four sides
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Page numbers included at bottom
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Title page contains all the desired information
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Running title provided (not more than 50 characters)
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Abstract page contains the full title of the manuscript
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Abstract provided (structured abstract of 200-300 words for original articles, unstructured abstracts of about 150 words for all other manuscripts)
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Key words provided (three or more)
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Introduction of 100-200 words
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Headings in title case (ALL CAPITALS)
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The references cited in the text should be after punctuation marks, in superscript without bracket.
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References according to the journal’s instructions, punctuation marks checked.
