Journal of Mind and Medical Sciences

 

Instructions for Authors

 

Journal of Mind and Medical Sciences takes into consideration a wider range of articles such as: Editorials, Reviews, Research Articles, Case Presentations and Letters to the Editor. All published articles must comply with the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals (ICMJE), and the Internationally Accepted Ethical Standards for Publication (COPE). For details on the structure and content of the paper, please read the Journal Policies and Instructions for Authors presented below.

 

Submission

 

Submit your contribution through the online submission system (`Submit Article` button from the left menu) after reading the Instructions for Authors. During submission process, authors will be asked to indicate the corresponding category of the article. Regardless of the article category, all submitted papers must include the following files/ sections: Cover letter (it is mandatory to suggest three potential reviewers), Main document and Conflict of Interest Disclosure Form (which will be uploaded after submitting the Main document, as an additional file). Authors who are unable to submit their manuscript due to technical problems should contact the Editorial Office.

Since time is limited for many scientists, you can also choose to submit the manuscript as a single word document (download Template), but only after thorough documentation of the topic (About This Journal, Aims & Scope), Journal Policies (Policies) and requirements (Instructions for Authors) of the journal.

We intend to give quick and reasoned answers to all submitted papers. All manuscripts will be reviewed by the Editor(s), by members of the Scientific Council and other external reviewers. The final decision will rests to one of the two editors, based on preliminary editorial evaluation (journal profile, compliance with the previous mentioned requirements), on peer-review recommendations, originality of the manuscript, the quality and clarity of the presentation, and editorial priorities (the priority depending on the topic, the category of the article, similar papers that have been previously published, or competing submissions that are already being considered at the time). Counterarguments to rejected manuscripts and resubmission of rejected manuscripts are generally omitted.

After receiving the necessary files and accepting the article, a PDF copy (Proof) of the article will be sent to the corresponding author for a final revision. Only minor corrections to the manuscript are acceptable at this stage, no significant changes being allowed. The Proof must be checked carefully and sent back (incorporating corrections, if the case) to the journal within three working days from reception. Order in which each accepted article is published in the journal depends by the category of article, date of acceptance, compliance with journal profile, peer-review recommendations and editorial priorities.

 

Required Files/ Sections

 

1. Cover letter (download Template)

 

The Cover letter must include the following statements:

• The manuscript does not contain texts from previously published materials (is not the subject of plagiarism) and it is not offered simultaneously for consideration/ publication entirely or in part elsewhere, regardless language.
• The manuscript is in accordance with Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals (ICMJE), and the paper has been conducted according to Internationally Accepted Ethical Standards for Publication (COPE).
• All authors understood that full responsibility for presented data in the article belongs to authors, who are responsible for any conflict of interest (related to subjects included in their study, financial, consulting, institutional and other legal aspects).
• All authors have read and approved the final version of the paper.

The authors must provide in the Cover letter the names, institutions and e-mail addresses of the three potential reviewers. If applicable, you can include the names of undesired reviewers in the evaluation process. The decision regarding the selection process of the reviewers belongs to Editor(s). Our reviewers have the opportunity to be recognized for their evaluation, as the Journal of Mind and Medical Sciences is member of Publons (part of Clarivate Analytics).

 

2. Main document

 

Submit your manuscript as a single word document, including tables, figures, appendices, etc. Single space your text, using font Times New Roman 12 pt. or the closest comparable font available.

• Title page

  Title page is the first page of the paper, and must include: a full title of the article (limited to a maximum 250 characters, including spaces), a short/ running title (limited to a maximum 100 characters, including spaces), the full authors names (first/given name, middle name, last/family name) in the order they are listed as authors, academic degrees, affiliations (institution, department), and e-mails. The corresponding author must be underlined, including in addition telephone and fax numbers, complete postal address and zip code.

• Abstract

  Abstract must be placed after the Title page, presenting a summary that should be limited to a maximum 1000 characters (including spaces). For Original Research Articles, the abstract should be structured on objectives, materials and methods, results and conclusions. For the other category of articles (review, case presentation, letter to the editor), the abstract should be written as a standard summary, in a single paragraph. Note that the abstract should not contain abbreviations or reference citations.

  Place the following data below the Abstract: up to six Keywords, 2-3 Highlights (which provide readers a general overview of the main findings/ perspectives of the article), the type of article (review, original research article, case presentation, etc.), and the word count of the main text (excluding abstract and references).

• Introduction

  The introductions is a brief background related to the current state of knowledge, the aims, expectations and reasons for accomplishing the work.

• Materials and Methods (for Original Research Articles)

  This section is specific for the Original Research Articles, containing essential data to facilitate understanding of methodology (the recruitment criteria of patients, administered treatment, the pursued clinical data, or describing information of the animal lot for experimental studies). The previously published procedures are only cited; essential changes to the previously published procedures are just briefly described, while the new procedure must be disclosed in detail. Statistic methods and laboratory measurements used must also be specified.

• Results (for Original Research Articles)

  The Results section must be presented with clarity and precision, just describing for Original Research Articles the findings of the study. The results can be presented both in the form of text and in the form of tables and illustrated figures. Interpretation of the results will not be included in this section, as it must be placed in the Discussion section.

• Case Report (for Case Presentation Articles)

  The Case Report section is specific for the Case Presentation Articles. It usually describes rare and unusual diseases and/or unexpected evolutions. Such articles are a valuable source of information, especially for physicians in comparable situations on how to treat a similar patient. In addition, a case report could contribute to scientific research and clinical development, by stimulating discussions about personalized treatment methods for certain patients.

• Discussions

  It is a section that debates and interprets the results obtained and presented by Original Research Articles (considering the current literature data), continues the Introduction section for Review Articles (by expanding and/or focusing on specific aspects), or continues the Case Report section for Case Presentation Articles. New perspectives/ approaches should be highlighted, while unsubstantiated assertions must be restricted. The study limitations for Original Research Articles must also be presented. The Discussion section can be structured on subsections, in order to facilitate understanding.

• Conclusions

  It should usually present the meaning and possible implications of the data presented in the previous sections, being placed after the Discussions section with concluding remarks.

• Acknowledgements

  If the case, this refers to those persons who contributed or assisted to the study or manuscript, but who do not met the authorship criteria.

• References

  It is the author's obligation to provide at the end of the paper complete information related to citations used within the text. Within the text, all citations must be numbered consecutively in order they appear, and indicated through Arabic numerals inside of square brackets, e.g. [1,2]. Each source cited in the text must be found in the Reference list, and vice versa. Reference list must be placed at the end of the paper (after Acknowledgements). Please insert a line break—not a page break—and begin your Reference list on the same page, if possible. References should have margins that are both left and right- justified. You may choose not to right-justify the margin of one or more references if the spacing looks too awkward. In the Reference list citations must be presented as below:

  1. Articles in traditional journals:

     Required: Author's (authors') name(s), title of article, name of journal (in italics, and abbreviated according to international style- Index Medicus), year of publication, volume number, issue number, page numbers, DOI or a hyperlink to the article.
     Example: John LS, Antony AH, Burden D. Current medical procedures in digestive surgery. J Mind Med Sci. 2014;34(2):45-51. DOI: 10.25083/2559.5555/26.21

  2. Books

     Required: Author's (authors') name(s), title of book, publisher, publisher's address, edition/ year of publication. For forthcoming (in press) books, put expected year of publication and add "forthcoming."

  3. Chapters in collections or anthologies

     Required: Name(s) of author(s) of chapter, name(s) of editor(s) of book, title of chapter, title of book, publisher, publisher's address, and edition/ year of publication. For forthcoming (in press) books, put expected year of publication and add "forthcoming."

  4. Working papers:

     Required: Author's (authors') name(s), title of working paper, year, location (e.g., "Department of Economics Working Paper, University of California, Berkeley" or "Author's web site: http://www.someurl.edu/author." If the working paper is part of series, then the series name and the number of the working paper within the series must also be given.

  5. Other works:

     Required: Author's (authors') name(s), title of work, year (or "n.d." if no date), and information about how the reader could obtain a copy.

3. Conflict of Interest Disclosure Form (download Template)

 

 

Additional Recommendations

Tables and Figures

To the extent possible, tables and figures should appear in the document near where they are referenced in the text, being described by legends. Large tables or figures should be put on pages by themselves. Avoid the use of overly small type in tables. In no case should tables or figures be in a separate document or file. All tables and figures must fit within 1.5" margins on all sides (top, bottom, left and right) in both portrait and landscape view.

Text Formatting Requirements

Please see below details on typesetting and layout requirements pertaining to final manuscript submission to Journal of Mind and Medical Sciences.

• Write your article in English.
• Page size should be 8.5 x 11-inches. All margins (left, right, top and bottom) should be 1.5 inches (3.8 cm), including your tables and figures.
• Use a single column layout with both left and right margins justified.
• Font: Main Body—12 pt. Times or the closest comparable font available. Footnotes—10 pt. Times or the closest comparable font available.
• If figures are included, use high-resolution figures, preferably encoded as encapsulated PostScript (eps).
• Copyedit your manuscript.
• When possible, there should be no pages where more than a quarter of the page is empty space.

Acronyms and abbreviations

When used in the Main text, they should be limited as much as possible and explained/ expanded after Conclusions. Measurement units should be in accordance with International System of Units (SI).

Indenting, Line Spacing, and Justification

Indent all paragraphs except those following a section heading. An indent should be at least 2 em-spaces. Do not insert extra space between paragraphs of text with the exception of long quotations, theorems, propositions, special remarks, etc. These should be set off from the surrounding text by additional space above and below. Don't "widow" or "orphan" text (i.e., ending a page with the first line of a paragraph or beginning a page with the last line of a paragraph). All text should be left-justified (i.e., flush with the left margin—except where indented). Where possible, it should also be right-justified (i.e., flush with the right margin). "Where possible" refers to the quality of the justification. For example, LaTeX and TeX do an excellent job of justifying text. Word does a reasonable job. But some word processors do a lousy job (e.g., they achieve right justification by inserting too much white space within and between words). We prefer flush right margins. However, it is better to have jagged right margins than to have flush right margins with awkward intra- and inter-word spacing. Make your decision on whichever looks best.

Language & Grammar

All submissions must be in English. Except for common foreign words and phrases, the use of foreign words and phrases should be avoided. Authors should use proper, standard English grammar. The Elements of Style by William Strunk, Jr. and E. B. White (now in its fourth edition) is the "standard" guide, but other excellent guides (e.g., The Chicago Manual of Style, University of Chicago Press) exist as well.

Article Length

Because this journal publishes electronically, page limits are not as relevant as they are in the world of print publications. We are happy, therefore, to let authors take advantage of this greater "bandwidth" to include material that they might otherwise have to cut to get into a print journal. This said, authors should exercise some discretion with respect to length.

Colored text

Set the font color to black for the majority of the text. We encourage authors to take advantage of the ability to use color in the production of figures, maps, etc., however, you need to appreciate that this will cause some of your readers problems when they print the document on a black & white printer. For this reason, you are advised to avoid the use of colors in situations where their translation to black and white would render the material illegible or incomprehensible. Please ensure that there are no colored mark-ups or comments in the final version, unless they are meant to be part of the final text. (You may need to "accept all changes" in track changes or set your document to "normal" in final markup.)

Emphasized text

Whenever possible use italics to indicate text you wish to emphasize rather than underlining it. The use of color to emphasize text is discouraged.

Font faces

Except, possibly, where special symbols are needed, use Times or the closest comparable font available. If you desire a second font, for instance for headings, use a sans serif font (e.g., Arial or Computer Modern Sans Serif).

Font size

The main body of text should be set in 12pt. Avoid the use of fonts smaller than 6pt.

Foreign terms

Whenever possible, foreign terms should be set in italics rather than underlined.

Headings

Headings (e.g., start of sections) should be distinguished from the main body text by their fonts or by using small caps. Use the same font face for all headings and indicate the hierarchy by reducing the font size. There should be space above and below headings.

Main text

The font for the main body of text must be black and, if at all possible, in Times or closest comparable font available.

Titles

Whenever possible, titles of books, movies, etc., should be set in italics rather than underlined.

Footnotes

Footnotes should appear at the bottom of the page on which they are referenced rather than at the end of the paper. Footnotes should be in 10 pt. Times or closest comparable font available, they should be single spaced, and there should be a footnote separator rule (line). Footnote numbers or symbols in the text must follow, rather than precede, punctuation. Excessively long footnotes are probably better handled in an appendix. All footnotes should be left and right-justified (i.e., flush with the right margin), unless this creates awkward spacing.

Mathematics

Roman letters used in mathematical expressions as variables should be italicized. Roman letters used as part of multi-letter function names should not be italicized. Whenever possible, subscripts and superscripts should be a smaller font size than the main text. Short mathematical expressions should be typed inline. Longer expressions should appear as display math. Also expressions using many different levels (e.g., such as the fractions) should be set as display math. Important definitions or concepts can also be set off as display math. Equations should be numbered sequentially. Whether equation numbers are on the right or left is the choice of the author(s). However, you are expected to be consistent in this. Symbols and notation in unusual fonts should be avoided. This will not only enhance the clarity of the manuscript, but it will also help insure that it displays correctly on the reader's screen and prints correctly on her printer. When proofing your document under PDF pay particular attention to the rendering of the mathematics, especially symbols and notation drawn from other than standard fonts.