Guide for Authors

 

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Content:

 

 

Types of articles and journals scope

DYSONA - Life Science journal publishes in two types of articles:

  • Original research articles
  • Review papers (only invited reviews are currently considered for publishing)

Regarding journals scopes and areas of interests during the current phase, visit aims and scopes page.

 

 

General information regarding manuscript preparation

 

Manuscripts should introduce original information with visible impact on community. Manuscripts must NOT have been published before in another publication media OR submitted currently for review in another journal.The author should declare that both the previously mentioned statements are true during submission process.

Language: All manuscripts should be submitted in English. Articles should be easy to understand and free of grammatical mistakes. Furthermore, The usage of proper scientific terminologies is crucial therefore, authors whose English is not their native language are advised to use a native language editing service.

File format: Manuscripts should be submitted in DOC or DOCX all submitted files should be editable with no protection or lock.

  • Please note that another manuscript file without any reference to the authors (names, affiliations, countries, e-mails ...etc.) is required to serve in the double-blind peer review procedure. This file should also be in DOC or DOCX format.

Font type: Authors should use a simple Latin font type with regular font size. Symbols and special characters can be added when needed. Mathematical equations can be added using word function.

Manuscript length and paragraph setup: There are no restrictions regarding article length or number of pages. There are preferable limits of word count for each section; however, these limits are not mandatory.

Citation: citing inside the article should be carried out using number of the used reference (e.g.: the study [1] showed that) when more than one continuous references are used, the references can by hyphenated (i.e.:  previous studies [5-9] showed that). However, non-hyphenated references can also be used whether the references are continuous or not (e.g.: the results of [5][6][8]and[9] showed that)

Tables and Illustrations: number of tables and figures in each submission should not exceed eight combined together.

Abbreviating: Defining abbreviations should be provided separately after abstract. There is no need to define abbreviations throughout manuscript; however, long treatments names should be abbreviated in Materials and Methods section. Abbreviating is used for phrases that appear more than twice in the article.

Terminologies:

  • Units: All units, signs and symbols of measurement should be provided according to The International System of Units (SI)
  • Scientific names: species name are written in italic. Genus name should be written in full for the title and first mention throughout the manuscript; however, it can be abbreviated after the first mention. When specie has two names (old and new) both names should be provided in the first mention and the new name is used for the rest of the manuscript.
  • Genes: gene names should be written in capital italic letters. Accession numbers should be provided separately in supplementary data section.
  • Chemical nomenclature: Chemical nomenclature and terminology is to be made by following the recommendations of the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC)
  • Commercial names of drugs, pesticides or other products can be used throughout the manuscript; however, the generic name should be written in front of the commercial name in the first mention.

IMPORTANT: Please make sure to add the next features to the submitted manuscript:

  • Double spacing (in word, from the tap Home - Line and Paragraph Spacing)
  • Page number (in word, from the tap Insert - Page Number)
  • Continuous line number (in word, from the tap Page Layouts - Line Numbers)

 

 

Manuscript sections instructions

Please read the following instructions carefully and consider them when writing the manuscript. Extreme divergence from manuscript preparation instructions can cause in manuscript resubmitting request before sending to reviewers which will be time consuming for both authors and journal personals.

 

Title:

  • Manuscript titles should be concise and precise.
  • It is preferable that the number of title characters does not exceed 250. However, exceptions can be considered.
  • No abbreviations are allowed in the title.
  • Only capitalize the first letter in the title in addition to names and other proper nouns.
  • Scientific names rules should be considered.

 

Authors names and Affiliations:

  • All participated authors should be mentioned.
  • Capitalization of author’s first name and family name is required.
  • Referring to the authors affiliations by numbers following their names
  • Separate affiliation numbers by comma and separate authors names by semicolons
  • Affiliations are to be written under authors names with the locations
  • Corresponding author should be distinguished by a star (*) next to his/her affiliation numbers.
  • Only corresponding author is required to be mentioned under the affiliations.

Example:

  • First Author1,2;Second Author2*;Third Author1,3
  1. First affiliation center name, First affiliation center address
  2. Second affiliation center name, Second affiliation center address
  3. Third affiliation center name, Third affiliation center address

 

Contributorship:

This section is to be written after affiliations. First, author’s name should be written then his/her role. These roles should be consisted of one or more assignment of the following:

  • Methodology
  • Supervising
  • Designing and experiment preparing
  • Laboratory or field efforts
  • Data handling and analyzing
  • Result and outcome reasoning
  • Manuscript writing and editing

However, other roles can be specified and mentioned by the authors

Example:

  • First Author: Methodology and Data handling
  • Second Author: Supervising
  • Third Author: Results reasoning and Manuscript writing

In some cases where two or more authors share an assignment further clarification might be requested during publishing procedure. Any other roles that do not qualify its doer to be among authors should only be mentioned in the acknowledgment section.

 

Abstract and Key words:

  • It is preferable that the number of abstract words does not exceed 250. However, exceptions can be considered.
  • Abbreviations are allowed in abstract if they are defined later in abbreviation section following the abstract. However, it is preferable to state the full names of the used treatments without abbreviating.
  • Three or more key words are required after the manuscript. Key words should be separated by semicolons
  • It is preferable to use key word other than those presented in the title.
  • Referencing is NOT allowed in the abstract.

 

Abbreviation:

This section should follow abstract and key words section. All abbreviations except for treatments abbreviations should be defined. New abbreviations can be created; however, it is preferable to use the universally known abbreviations which will make it easier for the readers to reach the article.

 

Introduction:

  • It is preferable that the number of introduction words does not exceed 700. However, exceptions can be considered.
  • The introduction should contain research background and history discussion in addition to presenting the scientific problems, research aims and goals.

 

Materials and Methods:

This section must include the following points

  • Full information regarding experiment site.
  • Full statement regarding test material sources and providers in addition to a detailed description regarding permissions and rights to use these materials in scientific research (if needed. Such permits must be provided in case of studies with human participants, human tissue samples, test animals, samples or full creature of rare or protected species or genotypes collections). Further inspections might be carried out during publishing procedures.
  • Methods presented for the first time should be described in detail. However, methods based on previous studies can be only mentioned in addition to any carried out adjustments followed by the reference of the original method article.
  • All the specs of used chemicals, drugs, pesticides and kits should be mentioned along with the provider or the producing company
  • Full description of the used software (data collection, data mining, design, statistical analysis, graphing …etc.)
  • Full description for the used statistical analysis.

 

Results, Discussion and Conclusions:

These sections can be written as one section or separately.

All the produced Results should be described fully. However, avoid repeating data in figures and tables except for key data or to point significant findings.

Discussion should contain arguments and evidences regarding the rationality of the introduced results. Deductions and reasoning based on previous studies are an important part of the discussion.

Finally, the authors should pinpoint the major Conclusions and how it serves the goals of the research and the specific field of study.

DYSONA aims to keep preparation instruction minimal for these three sections especially in regards of length and partitioning. However, it is preferable that word count for these three section does not exceed 4000 words.

 

Acknowledgments:

This section is optional. All funds and grants can be mentioned in this section along with the funding institutes. Furthermore, participants who cannot be

 

References:

The last section of the manuscript. References should be written in “Vancouver” style and according to the guidelines of The International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). Please visit the page Samples of Formatted References for Authors of Journal Articles which was created by U.S. National Library of Medicine for examples regarding all cases of referencing.

DOIs must be included at the end of each reference when possible

There are no restrictions regarding the number of used references for each manuscript

 

Tables:

  • Tables are inserted after their first mention in the manuscript and mentioned throughout manuscript text in order (example of mentioning a table in text: as seen in Table 1)
  • All tables should be editable. Please DO NOT use un-editable formats such as images.
  • Full caption with clear explanatory should be written beneath each table starting by table name (example: Table 1: Caption and explanation is written here).
  • All vertical borders of the tables should be deleted.

 

Figures and Graphs:

  • Figures and Graphs are inserted after their first mention in the manuscript and mentioned throughout manuscript text (only as figures) and in order (example of mentioning a figure in text: as seen in Fig. 1)
  • All Figures should be provided with the highest quality possible.
  • Accepted formats are .png, .jpeg, .jpg.
  • Graphs can be provided in the text as images. However, the original editable files for graphs might be required through publishing procedures.

Additional points regarding figures and tables preparation:

  • Captions should be written bellow the tables and figures.
  • Make sure to include all the required information to gain a good understanding for the table or the figure without returning to the manuscript.
  • Please make sure that the captions contain a clarification for any abbreviation in the table or figure.

Please remember that the number of tables and figures combined should not exceed eight except for special cases to be determined by the editors.

Supplementary material is provided in separate files and referred to in the text as "S" followed by the number (e.g. S1 to refer to supplementary material 1). Please make sure to name the supplementary material files according to their names in the text and to provide an adequate caption when possible.

 

 

Highlights for non-specialized readers

 

As a part of E-NAMTILA, DYSONA journals aim to achieve a connection between modern science and community. Therefore, all new submissions must include a separate file that contains an abstract written in a simplistic manner. This abstract should contain the key points of the manuscript. Additionally, the abstract for non-specialized community might contain the applications of the research in the life of the readers or the direct impact on community. More points can be added or discussed with the author after manuscript acceptance.

Please remember to provide Highlights in a separate editable file form (DOC, DOCX)

 

 

Cover letter

Cover letter is not mandatory for initial submission. However, it can include additional information and shed more light on the importance of the manuscript which might facilitate publication of the manuscript.

Cover letters (if provided) should be uploaded separately in DOC, DOCX or PDF format.

 

 

Conflict of interests (COIs) declaration

 

In addition to the original manuscript, the submitting author should upload Form for Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest. Provided by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), this form contains a full definition for COIs and provides a step by step guidance to declare COIs properly

How to fill the form properly?

  1. Download the form from the link here
  2. Open the form using a proper PDF reader
  3. Read and understand the definitions in full
  4. Follow the instructions to fill the form and generate a disclosure statement
  5. Save the form

 

 

Publication ethics and special guidelines

DYSONA journals work according to E-NAMTILA Publication Ethics policy. Furthermore, in accordance to COPE recommendations, we will always work to introduce good publication procedures and workflows to our authors and readers

These workflows, charts and special cases are introduced by COPE. Each one is used to achieve and understand one or more practice of COPE core practices. For further information please consider reading the practices in the following table using the DOI adjacent to each practice.

 

COPE flowcharts in relation to COPE's core practices (DOI for each flowchart is provided)

 

DYSONA journals policy for ethical roles and duties of publishing parties is inspired by COPE recommendations which are detailed in the following files provided by COPE:

CODE OF CONDUCT AND BEST PRACTICE GUIDELINES FOR JOURNAL EDITORS

CODE OF CONDUCT FOR JOURNAL PUBLISHERS

COPE Ethical Guidelines for Peer Reviewers

Responsible research publication: international standards for authors

 

Furthermore, DYSONA - Life Science publication policy operates in correspondence with the Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly work in Medical Journals provided by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). Therefore, we highly recommend our authors to become acquainted with these guidelines.

 

DYSONA adopted guidelines in relation to specific fields of study

Animal experiments

In relation to animal based experiments and the usage of laboratory animals, DYSONA journals adopts workflows and recommendations of (Animal Research: Reporting of In Vivo Experiments) (ARRIVE) guidelines provided by the national centre for the replacement refinement and reduction of animals in research (NC3Rs)

 

Medical studies and human medical case report

All researches that involve human subjects should be carried out in accordance with the regulations and recommendations of World Medical Association’s Declaration of Helsinki - ethical principles for medical research involving human subjects.

To ensure proper handling and publishing procedures for medical case report, DYSONA journals is adopting the Journals’ Best Practices for ensuring consent for publishing medical case reports: guidance from COPE

Please visit the following DOI link for full details:

https://doi.org/10.24318/cope.2019.1.6

Furthermore, DYSONA adopts the Good Clinical Research Practice (GCP) guidelines introduced by World Health Organization (WHO) as the road map to achieve ethical clinical scientific researches.

(WHO) also provided the workbook for investigators in the field of tropical diseases as a part of UNDP/World Bank/WHO Special Programme for Research and Training in Tropical Diseases (TDR). Therefore, practices and guidelines introduced in this workbook should be taken into consideration.

 

Quantitative polymerase chain reaction experiments (qPCR)

All submitted qPCR manuscripts should confirm the usage MIQE: Minimum Information for Publication of Quantitative Real-Time PCR Experiments

Please visit the Real-time PCR Data Markup Language (RDML) for full details. The provided link contains full MIQE manuscript in addition to step by step check list to report your qPCR experiment properly

Please take into consideration that in genetic and molecular experiments, all related data (e.g. Gel blots photos, Nano drop output files, Primer optimization and efficiency standard curves …etc.) might be required through review procedure. Therefore, it is recommended to keep all these data reachable for any future inquires.

 

Stem cell researches

DYSONA adopts the Guidelines for Stem Cell Research and Clinical Translation provided by The International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR )

 

 

Publication fees

 

Publishing in DYSONA - Applied Science journal is currently free of charge.

No submission or processing charges are required.

 

 

Open Access licensing and copyright

 

Creative Commons License
All published articles in DYSONA - Life Science journal are Open Access distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. This means that all the provided materials can be copied, distributed, displayed and remixed by giving the authors and the journal the proper citation credits.
The submitting author should declare the agreement of all authors for their manuscript to be distributed in accordance to (CC-BY) conditions upon first submission. Authors hold and retain ownership of the copyright for their content; however, the authors allow the download, reuse, print, reprint, modify, distribute and/or copy of the published material as long as the authors and original material are properly cited

 

Submission checklist

Before submitting your manuscript make sure to have all of the following documents and information in reach:

  1. The original manuscript file (in accordance with DYSONA guidelines).
  2. The original manuscript file without the names of the authors, their affiliation, contact information and contribution to the manuscript (in other words, delete anything and everything that might refer to the authors in this copy).
  3. The separate file that contains the abstract for non-specialized readers.
  4. Conflict of interests form (Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest).
  5. Cover letter (if available).
  6. Supplementary material files (if available)
  7. Any other document that you think might be needed to facilitate publication.
  8. Prepare the names, affiliations and e-mails of three suggested reviewers (this is a mandatory step during initial submission. Please take into consideration that only one of these reviewers can be from the author/s institutes and no more than two of the suggested reviewers can be from the author/s country/countries. However, the journal’s editor will have to decide whether to invite a suggested reviewer or not).

We suggest to keep all the requested documents in one folder and to keep the original manuscript file open on your computer during submission which will make it easier to fill authors’ information, abstract, key words and other requested data.

All authors are advised to have an ORCID account so they can provide their ORCID id upon manuscript acceptance. ORCID id can be provided during member registration, during manuscript submission or later by editing your account information from your member panel. for more information regarding ORCID registration click here. You can also learn more about ORCID's mission by clicking here.

Please remember that all the authors e-mail are needed during submission procedure.

If you have any question regarding manuscript preparation and submission procedure, do not hesitate to contact us or e-mail us at [email protected]