Instructions for Authors

1. Introduction: Aalborg Academy Journal of Medical Sciences (AAJMS), ISSN 2522 – 7386, is a peer-reviewed, 3 issues published annually. Authors are invited to submit for publication articles with a wide spectrum of coverage reporting original work, in the fields of medicine, nursery, dentistry, and pharmacy sciences. Review articles are usually by invitation only. However, Review articles of current interest and high tandard will be considered. Prospective work should not be backdated. There are also sections for Case Reports, Brief Communication, correspondence, and medical news items. Authors should read the editorial policy and publication ethics before submitting their manuscripts. Authors should also use the appropriate reporting guidelines in preparing their manuscripts.
2. Research Ethics Studies involving human subjects should be conducted according to the World Medical Association (WMA) Declaration of Helsinki – Ethical Principles for Medical Research Involving Human Subjects. Studies involving non-human animals should follow appropriate ethical guidelines such as the Animal Welfare Act, The Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act (Amendment) Order 1993, The EU parliament directive on the protection of animals used for scientific purposes, ARRP policies, and guidelines, etc…
3. Reporting guideline Responsible reporting of research studies, which includes a complete, transparent, accurate and timely account of what was done and what was found during a research study, is an integral part of good research and publication practice and not an optional extra. Guidelines for Reporting Health Research Authors submitting manuscripts on health research are encouraged to follow the appropriate reporting guidelines as stated by the Equator- Network in preparing their manuscripts. CONSORT Randomized controlled trials Checklist Flow Diagram STROBE Observational studies in epidemiology Checklist PRISMA Systematic reviews and meta-analyses Checklist Flow Diagram STARD Studies of diagnostic accuracy Checklist Flow Diagram COREQ Qualitative research ENTREQ Synthesis of qualitative research SQUIRE Quality improvement in health care Checklist CHEERS Economic evaluations of health interventions Checklist CARE Case reports Checklist SAMPL Basic statistical reporting Authors should endeavor to address all items recommended by the guidelines (as a minimum). Adherence to recommended reporting guidelines will increase the probability of manuscripts to be accepted for publication. The EQUATOR website provides a central repository of up to date reporting guidelines and other resources that assist authors to prepare a good research manuscript.
4. Submission of Manuscripts: 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 seen and 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. Participation solely in the acquisition of funding or the collection of data does not justify authorship. 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. The authors should be able to provide upon request the raw material of any study or the quality assurance assessment of any study under publication. To avoid any delay in processing manuscripts, prior to submission, all authors should refer to the STARD checklist for reporting of diagnostic accuracy studies, and comply with the guidelines. Prior to the initial submission of a new manuscript, please carefully consider that all authors’ names are included as no change to author’s details will be permitted after the initial submission.
5. Electronic submission of Manuscripts: Manuscripts can now be submitted electronically via email (ms@aaosjournal.com) Electronic submission saves time and postage costs and allows the manuscript to be handled in electronic form throughout the review process. However, Figures and Illustrations should be provided in jpeg format or authors may be asked to submit the illustrations on glossy paper whenever necessary. Upon acceptance of the manuscript for publication, authors are required to provide the original copy of the assignment of copyright dully signed by all authors.
6. Manuscript Preparation: The type of article should determine the manuscript structure. However, the general structure for articles should follow the IMRAD structure. Manuscripts including tables, references and figure legends, must be typewritten (double-spaced) on 8 1/2 x11 inch (21.5 x 28 cm) or size A4 paper, with margins of at least 1 inch (2.5 cm). Pages should be numbered consecutively, beginning with the title page and continuing through the last page of typewritten material. One original and three photocopies of the entire manuscript should be submitted along with four sets of photographs. Manuscripts and figures for review will not be returned to authors whether the editorial decision is to accept, revise, or reject. The only exception will occur when the Editor returns a manuscript with handwritten editorial suggestions to authors to aid them in making revisions. Manuscripts must be accompanied by a covering letter signed by the author and all co-authors. All Case Reports must include at least one figure.
7. Title Page: The title phrase should be brief. The title page must contain (1) title of the article in English, (2) correct first name, middle initial and family name of each author plus highest degrees, not more than 2, in that specific order (3) any disclaimers, and (4) a short running title of no more than 40 characters (count letters and spaces). The second page should include IN ENGLISH (1) name and address of the department(s) and institution(s) from where the research was carried out for each author; affiliation address should be a record of where an author is currently working. If the study was previously carried out at another institute this should appears as “formerly of ….” (2) Current position and affiliation address for the corresponding author and (3) name, address, telephone number, fax number and E-mail address of author to whom correspondence should be sent if it differs from the first author. Review articles should consist of one or 2 authors, only Clinical Review or Meta-analysis may include multiple authors. Case Reports should preferably not exceed 4 authors.
8. Abstracts: Abstracts in English for Review articles and Case reports should be unstructured of not more than 150 words. All original articles must contain a structured abstract of not more than 250 words. The following are typical headings: Objectives (background), Methods (settings, design), including where and when the study took place, Results, Conclusion.
9. Introduction: The introductory section of Case Reports should always include the objective and reason why the author is presenting this case.
10. Methods: In studies of diagnostic accuracy, the methods section should include the inclusion and exclusion criteria of patients involved in the study together with information on patient recruitment.
11. Tables: Tables should be double spaced on a separate sheet of paper. Do not submit tables as photographs. Number tables consecutively in the order of their first citation in the text and supply a brief title for each. Give each column a short or abbreviated heading. Place explanatory matter in footnotes, not in the heading. Explain in footnotes all non-standard abbreviations that are used in each table. For footnotes use the following symbols, in this sequence *, †, ‡, §, **,††, ‡‡, §§ etc. Bar graphs and pie charts should only be used where absolutely indicated and should be provided in color; where possible the information should be presented in table format.
12. Acknowledgment: Acknowledgment should conform to the Uniform Requirements for Biomedical Journals which states: List all contributors who do not meet the criteria for authorship, such as a person who provided purely technical help, writing assistance, or a department chair who provided only general support. Financial and material support should also be acknowledged. Groups of persons who have contributed materially to the paper but whose contributions do not justify authorship may be listed under a heading such as “clinical investigators” or “participating investigators,” and their function or contribution should be described, for example, “served as scientific advisors,” “critically reviewed the study proposal,” “collected data,” or “provided and cared for study patients.” Because readers may infer their endorsement of the data and conclusions, all persons must have given written permission to be acknowledged.
13. References: References should be numbered consecutively in the order in which they are first mentioned in the text, not alphabetically. References must be highlighted in bold throughout the text of the manuscript. List all authors when there are six or fewer; when there are seven or more, list only the first six and add “et al”. All references must be cited in the text or tables. Where references are cited in tables only, the first reference number used in the table should follow on numerically from the last reference number used in the main text of the article. Where previous Studies are mentioned in a table the author’s names should appear in Vancouver style, with the names and reference numbers appearing in one column, and any other necessary information appearing in a separate column. Unpublished data and personal communications will not be accepted as references. Please try to avoid using conference papers or abstracts as references, these can only be allowed if published by journals included in Index Medicus or a well-known publishing company and are within one year from the submission date of the manuscript. Only 1-2 up to date references should be used for each particular point in the text. References to journal articles should include, in this order: (1) authors, (2) title, (3) journal name (as abbreviated in Index Medicus, if not included in Index Medicus journal title should be given in full), (4) year, (5) volume, (6) page numbers. Volume and edition numbers and specific page numbers should be included when appropriate. Secondary references are not acceptable. The author is responsible for the accuracy and completeness of the references and for their correct textual citation. When a citation is referred to in the text by name, the accompanying reference must be from the original source. Upon acceptance of a paper all authors must be able to provide the full paper for each reference cited upon request at any time up to publication. Failure to do so may result in the paper being withdrawn from the journal. References must be formatted in Vancouver style as follows Journal:
    Al Obaidi AH, Alsamarai AGM. Effect of acetaminophen and N-acetylcystine on biochemical markers in asthma. MEJFM 2007;5: 8
14. Book Chapter: Jarvis D, Burney P. Epidemiology of asthma. In: Busse WW, Holgate ST, editors. Asthma and rhinitis. London: Blackwell Science Ltd; 2000. p. 17-33. Review Articles should include an extended bibliography. Original Articles and Case Reports should include up to date references, preferably not exceeding 15 for Case Reports. Brief communication should include a maximum of 5 references. A small number of older landmark references can be included where appropriate.
15. Illustrations: Four copies of all figures or photographs should be included with the submitted manuscript, together with an electronic version of the figure saved in Adobe Photoshop on CD-ROM. Photographs must be high contrast, glossy, black and white prints, unmounted and untrimmed, with preferred size between 4 x 5 inches and 5 x 7 inches (10 x 13 cm and 13 x 18 cm). Photographs will also be accepted at the discretion of the Editorial Board. Figure number, name of corresponding author, and an arrow indicating “top” should be typed on a gummed label and affixed to the back of each illustration. All lettering, arrows, or other artwork must be done by an artist or draftsman. If arrows are used please ensure they appear in a different color to the background color. If arrows distinguish different items on the figure then different arrow styles should be used i.e. long, short, fat, slim. Graphs and charts must also be prepared professionally by an artist or draftsman and submitted on glossy paper. Do not write on the back of figures or scratch or mark them by using paper clips. Do not bend figures or mount them on cardboard. Written permission must accompany any photograph in which the subject can be identified or any illustration that has been previously published. All illustrations (“figures”) must be numbered as cited in the text in consecutive numeric order. With color illustrations, the author must bear part of the expense for color reproduction. Titles and detailed explanations belong in the legends for illustrations (on a separate sheet), not on the illustrations themselves. The Journal will assume that informed consent for publication has been obtained from all identifiable subjects. Abbreviations and symbols. Use only accepted international abbreviations. If during the editing process. Avoid abbreviations in the title and abstract. The full term for which an abbreviation stands should precede its first use in the text unless it is a standard unit of measurement. The following is a list of abbreviations which may be used without expansion. CD; CD-ROM; DDT; DNA; DOS; EDTA; F; HLA; ISSN; Nd:YAG; OD; OS; OU; PaCO2; PaO2; PAO2; PCO2; pH; PO2; RAM; RNA; ROM; SD; SE; SEM; SSC; SSPE; TNM; ul; UV; UV-A; UV-B; UV-C; VDRL.
16. Ethical consent: 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, after approval of the experimental protocol by a local human ethics committee.
17. Conflict of interest: Conflict of interest for a given manuscript exists when a participant in the peer review and publication process author, reviewer, and editor has ties to activities that could inappropriately influence his and her judgment, whether or not judgment is in fact affected. Financial relationships with industry (for example, through employment, consultancies, stock ownership, honoraria, expert testimony), either directly or through immediate family, are usually considered to be the most important conflicts of interest. However, conflicts can occur for other reasons, such as personal relationships, academic competition, and intellectual passion. Public trust in the peer review process and the credibility of published articles depends in part on how well conflict of interest is handled during writing, peer review, and editorial decision making. Bias can often be identified and eliminated by careful attention to the scientific methods and conclusions of the work. Financial relationships and their efforts are less easily detected than other conflicts of interest. Participants in peer review and publication should disclose their conflicting interests, and the information should be made available so that others can judge their effects for themselves. Because readers may be less able to detect bias in review articles and editorials than in reports of original research, some journals do not accept reviews and editorials from authors with a conflict of interest. Authors When they submit a manuscript, whether an article or a letter, authors are responsible for recognizing and disclosing financial and other conflicts of interest that might bias their work. They should acknowledge in the manuscript all financial support for the work and other financial or personal connections to the work. Reviewers External peer reviewers should disclose to editors any conflicts of interest that could bias their opinions of the manuscript, and they should disqualify themselves from reviewing specific manuscripts if they believe it appropriate. The editors must be made aware of reviewers’ conflicts of interest to interpret the reviews and judge for themselves whether the reviewer should be disqualified. Reviewers should not use knowledge of the work, before its publication, to further their own interests. Editors and staff Editors who make final decisions about manuscripts should have no personal financial involvement in any of the issues they might judge. Other members of the editorial staff, if they participate in editorial decisions, should provide editors with a current description of their financial interests (as they might relate to editorial judgments) and disqualify themselves from any decisions where they have a conflict of interest that, in the editors’ judgment, readers should know about. Editorial staff should not use for private gain the information gained through working with manuscripts. Corrections, retractions, and expressions of concern about research findings Editors must assume initially that authors are reporting work based on honest observations.
18. Permission to Reprint: Whenever a manuscript contains material (text, tables dosages, figures, etc.) which is protected by copyright, it is the obligation of the author to secure written permission from the holder of the copyright.
19. Proofs: The research team of any study should assign one of the authors as the corresponding author. The Editorial Office will send proofs of the manuscript to the corresponding author for final proof reading and it will be the responsibility of the corresponding author to return the galley proof materials appropriately corrected within the stipulated time, proofs will not be accepted from any other of the authors without an accompanying authorization letter from the corresponding author. After the corresponding author has signed the galley proof, they will bear the burden of responsibility for any publication errors missed on the galley proof found after publication. No major changes such as deletion, shortening or expansion of sentences in the text will be accepted at this time. During the proofing process, no addition of information is allowed, however, if there new relevant information to be added to the manuscript, this can be included as an addendum to the article. The corresponding author(s) is required to sign on each page of the galley proof indicating their approval of any Editorial amendments and agree that the meaning of their article has not been altered. The author should review this carefully, as he is responsible for all changes in his work, including changes made by the copy editor. It is the duty of the corresponding author to respond promptly to any query from the Editing Department as failure to do so may result not only in delay of the article but also return of the article to the author without publication. Papers will be published only when they finally accepted manuscript signed by the corresponding author or designated corresponding author is received in the Editorial Office. If a manuscript is sent out for proofing and no response is received from the corresponding author, this manuscript will be deferred for one issue only. The proof will then be resent after one month and if there is still no response from the corresponding author at that time the paper may be withdrawn from the Journal. If the Editorial Office is able to proofread the article and answer any outstanding queries, it will be at the Editor’s discretion to proceed with the publishing of the paper including a statement that this has not been proofread by the corresponding author. If there are a substantial number of unresolved queries then the paper may be withdrawn from the Journal.
20. Reprints: Aalborg Academy Journal of Medical Sciences are copyright under the Berne Convention and the International Copyright Convention. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means without prior permission of the Editor.
21. Responsibility: Statements expressed in the Aalborg Academy Journal of Medical Sciences reflect the views of and opinions of the authors and not the policies of the journal. The AAJMS does not accept responsibility for statements made by contributors or advertisers. Advertisements, which are published in AAJMS, are not endorsed by the journal.

Submit manuscripts to Editor-in-Chief, Aalborg Academy Journal of Medical Sciences, Aalborg Academy of Science, International Union of Arab Academics, Denmark.

E-mail: ms@aaosjournal.com