Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to “Sovremennye Tehnologii v Medicine” [“Modern Technologies in Medicine”]
(In accordance with requirements of “Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly work in Medical Journals” established by International Committee of Medical Journal Editors)
The authors preparing and submitting their articles to our Journal should follow the regulations developed by the Editorial Board of the Journal based on modern recommendations of “Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals” established by International Committee of Medical Journal Editors.
The Editorial Board will require the authors to follow the requirements closely, otherwise the publication is rejected.
General Principles
A manuscript is to be printed in 14 font size, with double-spacing. Articles are submitted by e-mail: stm.journal@gmail.com
Title page should include: 1) article title, which should be informative and concise; 2) authors’ names and initials; 3) authors’ academic degrees; 4) authors‘ main positions and contact information (telephone numbers and e-mail); 5) full name of institution and department (department, laboratory) where the investigation was carried out; 6) name, patronymic name and surname, contact information and postal address of the author responsible for correspondence about the manuscript; 7) sources of support in the form of grants, equipment, drugs, or all of these; 8) notification of possible conflict of interests; 9) a running head (a shortened title) consisting of 5–8 words.
Abstract is printed on a separate sheet of paper. It should represent the headings of an article: a) the study’s purpose; b) materials and methods; c) results; d) conclusion. An abstract should consist of about 150 words — for non-structured abstracts, and not less than 250 words — for structured abstracts. Key words (3 to 8 words) are given on the same page; they will assist indexers in cross-indexing the article. An abstract should emphasize new and important aspects of the study or observations.
Text. An article should be thoroughly peer reviewed and checked by the authors. The material should be clearly presented, avoid long introduction and repetitions. Information should be reported using International System of Units (SI). If the research was carried out using devices with indices in other units of measurements, the latter should be transformed to SI, the conversion factor or computer program for converting being specified in “Materials and Methods”.
Avoid contracted words except standard ones. The spelled-out abbreviation followed by the abbreviation in parenthesis should be used on first mention, e.g.: ischemic heart disease (IHD). In abbreviations capital letters are used.
Chemical formulas and doses are signed by the author on the margins. Formulas are preferably developed in specialized program or using equation editor such as “Equation”.
The articles with original investigations should have the following sections: 1. “The research objective”; 2. “Materials and Methods”; 3. “Results”; 4. “Discussion”; 5. “Conclusion”; “References”. The 3rd and the 4th sections can be united into one part: “Results and Discussion”.
Provide a context or background for the study with pertinent references to most significant publications, and the necessity of carrying out researches is specified.
Aim of the study. Contains 2–3 sentences. State the specific purpose or research objective of, or hypothesis tested by, the study.
Materials and Methods. The section contains detailed presentation of research methods and apparatus used in the study. Identify selection criteria of animals and patients, the number and the characteristic of patients including their sex and age, if it is necessary for the study. The principle of patients’ grouping is certainly identified, as well as the design of the research design. Identify precisely all drugs and chemicals used including their generic name(s), dose(s), and route(s) of administration. The section should contain maximum information, it is necessary for further possible reproduction of the findings by other authors, the comparison of the findings of similar studies and possible inclusion of the article data into meta-analysis.
At the end of the section “Materials and Methods”, in the subsection “Data Processing”, state the manner by which studies were evaluated. If the study was randomized, the principle of randomization is specified. Average values are given in the form of М±m (М — arithmetic average, m — standart error of the mean). In the text of the article and tables, when indicating data reliability, p value is given (р=..., not р<...). Correlation coefficients are given specifying their statistical significance, i.e. indicating p value, e.g.: r=0.435; р=0.006.
Results. When data are summarized in the text of an article or in a table, give numeric results not only as derivatives (for example, percentages) but also as the absolute numbers from which the derivatives were calculated (give the absolute value taken for 100%, e.g., 25% of 120 patients). Another variant: specify the absolute number and the percentage simultaneously, e.g.: 25% (30/120), or 30 of 120 patients (25%).
In case of sequential conversion of percentage, i.e. percent of percent is calculated (the percentage of the number of research objects in the subgroup previously described in percentage), it is necessary to describe clearly the procedure and present the numbers of objects of research taken successively for 100%.
The required accuracy of percentage value depends on sample volume:
- the so called small samples (less than 20 objects of research) are usually not given in percentage (as in such cases the percentage value appears to be considerably larger than the absolute value of frequency for a particular characteristic value). In this case there are given absolute values of frequencies for a particular characteristic value;
- if the sample volume is from 20 to 100 objects of research, the percentages are specified as whole numbers;
- if the sample volume is over 100 objects, the percentage specified has no more than one decimal place.
Discussion. Emphasize the new and important aspects of the study, explore possible mechanisms or explanations for these findings, and if possible, compare and contrast the results with those obtained by other researchers. Do not repeat in detail data or other information given in the Introduction or the Results section. Explore the implications of the findings for future research and for clinical practice.
Conclusion. Represent as conclusions the results of problem solution indicated in the title and the objective of the article. Avoid claiming priority or alluding to work that has not been completed.
Figures. Figures should be clear, and photographs — sharp. In legends for photomicrographs magnification rate is specified. Type or print out legends for illustrations on a separate page indicating the author’s surname and the title of the article. Identify and explain each curve, letter, number, and other symbols clearly in the legend. In the text of the article, at the left, draw in pencil a square indicating where the figure should be placed. Inside the square the number of the figure is marked.
Each figure should be submitted in electronic file in TIFF format, resolution being not less than 300 dpi. Charts are submitted in EXCEL or WORD format.
Electronic files of figures should enable to produce high-quality images in the Web version of the journal. If a figure has been published previously, acknowledge the original source.
Faces on photographs should not be recognizable; otherwise the author should submit written permission to use the photographs.
Tables. Tables capture information concisely and display it efficiently. Tables should be numbered consecutively. Supply a brief title for each table. The titles should be in accordance with the content of the columns. Authors should place explanatory matter in footnotes. Explain all abbreviations in footnotes. Identify statistical measures of variations, such as standard deviation and standard error of the mean. The data given in tables should not duplicate information already given in figures, and vice versa.
References
References should be numbered consecutively in the order in which they are first mentioned in the text, not in alphabetic order. Identify references in the text by Arabic numerals in parentheses.
Bibliographic information should be up-to-date, authoritative and comprehensive. References should cite only primary sources. Avoid citation (as often happens) of one review the references were mentioned in.
The list of references is designed in accordance with the requirements of Vancouver style.
The titles of journals should be abbreviated according to the style used in MEDLINE (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nlmcatalog/journals).
References Style
Articles in Journals
Sirotkina M.A., Buyanova N.L., Kalganova T.I., Karabut M.M., Elagin V.V., Kuznetsov S.S., Snopova L.B., Gelikonov G.V., Zaitsev V.Yu., Matveev L.А., Zagaynova E.V., Vitkin A., Gladkova N.D. The development of the methodology of monitoring experimental tumors using multimodal optical coherence tomography: the choice of an optimal tumor model. Sovremennye tehnologii v medicine 2015; 7(2): 6–15, https://doi.org/10.17691/stm2015.7.2.01.
Dissertation
Kaplan S.Y. Post-hospital home health care: the elderly’s acces and utilization [dissertation]. St. Louis (MO): Washington Univ.; 1995.
Patent, Author’s Certificate
Larsen C.E., Trip R., inventors; No-voste Corparation, assigne. Methods for procedures related to the electrophysiology of the heart. US patent 5,529,067. 1995.
Ethical Considerations
Authorship. All persons designed as “authors” should meet the criteria of the concept. Each author should have participated sufficiently in the work to take responsibility for its content. Authorship credit should be based on the following facts:
1) substantial contribution to conception and design, acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data;
2) drafting the article or reviewing and introducing fundamental changes in it;
3) final approval of the version to be published.
Acquisition of funding or collection of data, as well as general supervision of the research group alone does not constitute authorship.
Editors have the right to request and publish information about the contributions of each person in writing the article.
All contributors who do not meet the criteria for authorship should be listed in the section “Acknowledgements”. The group of authors/contributors should jointly make the decision about the order in which their names are given.
Copyright. By sending a manuscript to the journal, authors approve that the submitted material is original, previously unpublished. The authors transfer their article copyright to the journal, and all the changes introduced in the manuscript are agreed with the authors. Authors reserve their intellectual copyright. By transferring copyright, authors agree to publish their articles on open access, as well as in databases and other information sources the journal is included in.
Authors have the right to republish the material only if agreed on by the editorial staff. Authors have the right to reuse figures, tables and selected text up to 250 words from their articles as finally published, with the journal reference required, without notification to the editorial staff.
License Terms. “Sovremennye tehnologii v medicine” is an open access journal. All published materials are freely available for non-commercial purposes. Users are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, or link to the full texts of the articles, or use them for any other lawful purpose citing the source. This is in accordance with the BOAI (Budapest Open Access Initiative) definition of open access.
Conflict of Interests. Conflict of interest concerning a particular manuscript exists when one of the participants of reviewing or publication process — an author, reviewer, or editor — has obligations that can influence his or her action (even if it is not really so). Financial relationships (such as, employment, consultancies, stock ownership, honoraria, and paid expert testimony) are the most easily identifiable conflicts of interest. However, conflicts can occur for other reasons, such as personal relationship, academic competition, and intellectual passion.
All participants in the peer-review and publication process must disclose all conflicts of interests.
When authors submit a manuscript, they are responsible for disclosing all financial and other relationship that might bias their work. Authors should identify all individuals and institutions, who provided financial assistance, as well as other financial and personal support. Authors should describe the role of the study sponsor(s), in study design; collection, analysis, and interpretation of data.
Authors should provide editors with the names of persons they feel should not be asked to review a manuscript because of potential, usually professional, conflicts of interest.
Reviewers must disclose to editors any conflicts of interests that could bias their opinions of the manuscript; they should recuse themselves from reviewing specific manuscripts if the potential for bias exists. In return, the Editorial Staff should have the possibility to judge the objectiveness of the review and decide whether to refuse the reviewer’s service.
Editorial Staff may use information disclosed in conflict of interest and financial interest statements as a basis for editorial decisions.
Editors who make final decisions about manuscripts must have no personal, professional, or financial interest/involvement in any of the issues they might judge. Other members of the Editorial Staff, if they participate in editorial decisions, must provide editors with a current description of their financial interests (as they might relate to editorial judgment) and recuse themselves from any decisions in which a conflict of interest exists.
When handling cases requiring corrections, retractions and editorial expressions of concern, the Editorial Staff are guided by the Law of the Russian Federation dated December 27, 1991 No. 2124-1 (as amended on June 6, 2019) “On Mass Media”.
Informed Consent. Patients have a right to privacy that should not be violated without informed consent. Identifying information, including names, initials, hospital numbers, and case records, should not be published in written descriptions, photographs, and pedigrees unless the information is essential for scientific purposes and the patient (or parent or guardian) gives written informed consent for publication. Authors should disclose to these patients whether any potential identifiable material might be available via Internet as well as in print after publication. Authors should submit written informed consent of the patient to the journal, and it should be indicated in the published article.
Protection of Human Subjects and Animals in Research. 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 experimentations (institutional and national) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as reviewed in 2013. If doubt exists whether the research was conducted in accordance with the Helsinki Declaration, the authors must explain the rationale for their approach and demonstrate that the institutional review body explicitly approved the doubtful aspects of the study. When reporting the experiments on animals, authors should indicate whether the study was carried out in accordance with the European Convention for protection of vertebrate animals used with experimental and other scientific purposes, and the institutional and national guide for the care and use of laboratory animals.
Publication of Negative Findings. Many studies with negative results are actually indecisive. The possibility of indecisive results publication is specially considered by the editorial staff; as such articles are frequently of no biomedical value and require the journal’s resources.
Redundant Publications. The Editorial Staff will not consider manuscripts that are simultaneously being considered by other journals, as well as the papers on work that has already been reported in large part in a published article or is contained in another paper that has been submitted or accepted for publication elsewhere, in print or in electronic media. This policy does not preclude the journal from considering a paper that has been rejected by another journal.
Correspondence. If necessary the readers can send their comments, questions and pointed remarks for the published articles and their comments will be published. The corresponding authors can respond to the remarks if they wish.
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The articles previously published or submitted to another journal are not accepted. The Editorial Staff reserves the right to shorten and review the articles submitted.
The articles written and designed out of accordance with the present requirements will not be considered. The manuscripts rejected are not returned to the authors.
Detailed clauses of “Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly work in Medical Journals” established by International Committee of Medical Journal Editors, ethical principles in particular, are located at site www.ICMJE.org.
