AUTHOR GUIDELINES
The Editors invite contributions to the following sections of the Journal:
1. Original Research articles
2. Review articles
3. Short Communications
4. Letter to editor
5. Clinical Case Reports
6. Announcements of conferences, meetings, courses, awards
The journal to which you are submitting your manuscript utilizes a plagiarism detection system. By submitting your manuscript to this
journal you admit that your manuscript may be screened for plagiarism against previously published works.
Original articles
These scientific reports give results of original research. These should have a structured abstract and should follow the IMRAD
(Introduction, Methods, Results and Discussion) format (upto 2500 words). Randomised controlled trials, intervention studies, studies
of screening and diagnostic test, outcome studies, case-control series, and surveys with high response rate.
Review articles
These provide a review of a specific topic by systemic critical assessments of literature and data sources. Where relevant, key
messages and salient features may be provided up to 4000 words excluding references and abstract.
Short Communications or Correspondence
These are concise reports on original research (approx. 1200 to 1500 words). A short report may include up to 3 tables or figures and
15 to 20 refrences.
Clinical case Reports
Previously undocumented disease process, a unique unreported manifestation or treatment of a known disease condition. (approx. 700 to 1200 words) will be given priority.
Announcements
Announcements of conferences, meetings, courses, awards and other items likely to be of interest to the readers should be submitted
with the name and address of the person from whom additional information can be obtained. Up to 100 words.
Covering Letter
The covering letter should outline the importance of the paper and its appropriateness for publication in the Journal. It should specify
the section of the Journal for which the submitted article is to be considered. If the work has been previously published in part or whole
Author Guidelines Home Author Guidelines (e.g. as an abstract or proceedings of a conference), this must be stated. Any conflicts of interest, or their absence, must be stated in writing.
Title Page
This should contain the title, short title, names of all the authors (without degrees or diplomas), names and full location of the
departments and institutions where the work was performed, name of the corresponding author, acknowledgement of financial
support and abbreviations used. The title should be brief but complete and should represent the major theme of the manuscript.
Abbreviations should not be used. The short title should not exceed 60 characters (including inter-word spaces). It will be used as a
running head. The name, telephone and fax numbers, and complete e-mail and postal addresses of the author to whom
communications and requests for off prints are to be sent should be mentioned in the title page. In general, the use of abbreviations is
discouraged unless they help in improving the readability of the text.
Structured Abstract
The abstract (250 words) should be structured and divided into four sections: Background, Methods, Results and Conclusion(s). The
background should explain why the study was done, the methods provide how the study was done, the results provide the salient
results along with important data and the conclusions briefly highlight the message of the study.
Introduction
The introduction should state why the study was carried out and what the specific aims of the study were. It should describe the
background for the study (the available knowledge), its importance and its goals. It should be brief but complete enough for the reader
to understand the reasons for the study without having to read previous publications on the subject.
Methods
The validity of a study is judged by the methods used. These should be described in sufficient detail to permit evaluation and
duplication of the work by others. The following should be described in this section:
1. Study design
2. Setting
3. Selection of participants
4. Interventions
5. Methods of measurement
6. Data collection and processing
7. Loss of data such as dropouts or patients lost to follow up
8. Statistical methods used
9. Ethical guidelines followed by the investigators
Results
These should be concise and include only the tables and figures necessary to enhance understanding of the text. Results should be
presented in a logical, sequential order that parallels the organization of the methods section. The text should be used to highlight the
most important aspects of the figures and tables, and to convey unique information. Data presented in tables and figures should not be
duplicated in the text. Drug names, wherever used, should be generic. If the use of proprietary names is deemed a must for the study,
generic names should be mentioned in parentheses. Units of Measurement SI units should be used. When reporting values for
commonly studied components such as cholesterol, blood glucose, blood urea and creatinine, report the value in SI units with
traditional units given in parentheses. Temperature should be expressed in degrees Celsius and blood pressure in mmHg.
Discussion
The discussion should summarize how the study findings add to the current knowledge, provide explanations for the findings, compare
the study findings with available studies, discuss the limitations of the study and the implications for future research. Only those
published articles directly relevant to interpreting the results and placing them in context should be referenced. This section should
conclude with a brief summary statement. The conclusion should be based on and justified by the results of the study. The particular
relevance of the results to healthcare in India should be stressed. Conclusions regarding cost-benefit should be drawn only if a specific
economic analysis formed a part of the study design.
References
These should conform to the ICMJE style (www.nlm.nih.gov/bsd/uniform_requirements.html, www.icmje.org). References should be
numbered in the order in which they appear in the text and these numbers should be inserted above the lines (superscripted) on each
occasion the reference is cited (e.g. Sinha12 confirmed other reports13,14...). References included at the end of a sentence or part of a sentence should be placed after the punctuation mark. References cited only in tables or in legends to figures should be numbered in accordance with the sequence established by the first identification in the text of the particular table or figure. Avoid using abstracts as references. For papers accepted but not yet published mention the name of the journal, the year of publication and add in press in
parentheses. Information from papers submitted for publication but not accepted should be cited in the text as unpublished
observations with written permission from the source. Avoid citing a personal communication unless it is essential; such citations must
list in parentheses in the text the name of the person and date of communication. Written permission, obtained from the author of
such communications for their use in the manuscript, must be submitted to the Journal. Do not include personal communications in the
list of references. At the end of the article, the full list of references should include the names of authors, the full title of the journal
article or book chapters; the title of journals abbreviated according to the Index Medicus style
(www.nlm.nih.gov/bsd/uniform_requirements.html) the year of publication, the volume number and the first and final page numbers of
the article or chapter. If there are six or fewer authors in the study being cited, the names of all the authors should be given. If there are
more than six authors, the names of the first six authors should be given followed by et al. The authors should check that the
references are accurate; lack of accuracy may result in the rejection of an otherwise adequate manuscript.
Journal Articles
Singh HP, Shetty DC.A quantitative and qualitative comparative analysis of collagen fibers to determine the role of connective tissue
stroma on biological behavior of odontogenic cysts: A histochemical study. Nat J Maxillofac Surg 2012;3(1):15-20.
Books
Stansfeld AG. Lymph node biopsy interpretation. New York:Churchill Livingstone; 1985.
Chapters in Books
Arezoo T. Probiotics and the reduction of dental caries risk. In: Li MY, editor. Contemporary Approach to Dental Caries, 1st ed. China:
Intech; 2012. p. 271-88.
Articles available on the internet
Health Sciences Library, University of Buffalo, NY. Available at http://ublib.buffalo.edu/libraries/units/hsl/infores/biomed.htm (accessed
on 12 Nov 2012).
List of databases in medicine and related areas. Karolinska Institute, University Library. Available at
http://kib.ki.se/tools/base/index_en.asp (accessed on 12 Nov 2012).
Tables
These should be typed in double space, each table on a separate page with the table number and title above the table, and explanatory notes below the table. Tables should be so arranged that comparisons of interest are horizontal (across columns) and from left-toright.
The numbers of observations for each column or row (n) and marginal totals should be provided where appropriate. All
abbreviations and symbols in the table must be explained in the footnote(s) to the table, even if the expanded forms have already been
mentioned in the text. The units of measure must be mentioned.
Figures
All images need to have at least 300 DPI resolution, 1800*1600 pixel or 12 cm*10 cm image size and should be in maximum quality
Jpeg format. Figures in WORD or presentation software such as PowerPoint, Corel Draw or Harvard Graphics do not contain sufficient
resolution for publication and will not be accepted.Do not zip the files.
Figures
These should be typed in double space on a separate sheet and figure numbers (in Arabic numerals), should correspond with the order in which the figures are presented in the text. The legend must include enough information to permit interpretation of the figure
without reference to the text. Any labels or abbreviations within the figure must be explained in the legend.
Authorship
An author is someone who has made substantive intellectual contributions to a study. In accordance with ICMJE guidelines
(www.icmje.org), authorship credit requires all the following conditions to be met.
1. Substantial contributions to conception and design, or acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data.
2. Drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content.
3. Final approval of the version to be published.
All authors should have participated sufficiently in the work to take public responsibility for the content. All authors must sign an
undertaking accepting responsibility for the submitted manuscript. Authors are required to state their exact contribution to the study;
the Journal may print this information.The order of authorship should be decided by all the authors. The journal strongly discourages
alterations in the sequence or deletion/addition of authors at any time after submission of the manuscript.
Acknowledgements
All contributors who do not meet the criteria for authorship should be listed in an Acknowledgements section. Examples of those who
might be acknowledged include a person who provided purely technical help, or statistical or writing assistance. Financial and material
support should also be acknowledged. Conflict of interest: A conflict of interest exists when a financial or personal relationship of the
author may inappropriately influence his or her actions. Conflicts may be personal, commercial, political, academic, or financial. Some
examples of financial conflicts of interest include employment, research funding (received or pending), stock or share ownership,
payment for lectures or travel, consultancies and non-monetary support. Conflicts, or their absence, must be stated in writing by all
authors at the time of submission of the article. The Journal may use information disclosed in conflict of interest and financial interest
statements as a basis for editorial decisions. Sources of full or partial funding or other support for the research must be declared. For
more information please see www.icmje.org
Protection of human subjects and animals in research
All studies conducted on human subjects or animals should be approved by the ethics committee or the institutional review board of
the institution where the study was performed. When reporting experiments on human subjects, authors should indicate whether the
procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation
(institutional and national). When reporting experiments on animals, authors should indicate whether the institutional and national
guidelines for the care and use of laboratory animals were followed (see ICMR guidelines: icmr.nic.in/ethics_SOP.pdf
andicmr.nic.in/animal_ethics.htm). Patients have a right to privacy that should not be infringed without informed consent. Identifying
information, including patients names, initials or hospital numbers, should not be revealed in written descriptions and photographs. If it
is not possible to ensure anonymity, written, informed consent should be obtained from the patient and submitted to the Journal.
Identifying details should be omitted if these are not essential but patient data should not be altered to attain anonymity.
Copyright
Authors must agree in writing to transfer to the Journal the copyright for all material submitted, in case of its publication by the Journal.
The published manuscript may not be reproduced elsewhere, wholly or in part, without the prior written permission of the Journal.
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is the use of others published and unpublished ideas or words (or other intellectual property) without attribution or
permission, and presenting them as new and original rather than derived from an existing source. This applies to all forms of
documents, published (print or electronic) or unpublished. Authors should make sure that their manuscripts are free from plagiarized
material. Providing a reference to the material quoted verbatim from previously published material does not absolve the user of
plagiarism. Detection of plagiarism would lead to rejection of the manuscript and debar the publication of any material from the
concerned authors for at least three years. The Journal may also send this information to the head of the institution where the authors
work with a request for an inquiry in the matter. The Journal may also publish such correspondence in its pages to inform its readers of
scientific misconduct.
