- INSTRUCTIONS FOR AUTHORS -

The journal publishes general reviews, studies and clinical, epidemiological, experimental and laboratory research, clinical case presentations, papers from the history of medicine, reviews, scientific and technical state-of-the-art articles, medical informations and opinions.

Only papers which have not been published or sent for publishing in other journals are accepted. The authors are responsable for the opinions expressed in the papers.

The paper must be edited both in Romanian and in English; the English version will be supervised by our collaborator Dana Brehar-Cioflec, MD, PhD; typed on white A4 paper (fonts - Times New Roman 12, Romanian characters, line spacing 1.5, upper and lower margins 2 cm, left border 3 cm, right border 2 cm) and on CD.

Manuscripts will not exceed:

- general reviews: 6-8 pages

- studies and researches: 5-7 pages

- case presentations: 2-4 pages reviews, scientific and technical state-of-the-art articles, medical informations and opinions: 1-2 pages.

The paper will be edited according to international editing rules for manuscripts. The title will be written in capital characters and it will be followed by the name and surname of the author (authors), followed by their place of work (place where the paper has been elaborated). Studies and researches will be followed by a brief abstract, followed by 3-4 key-words.

The body of the paper will be structured on the following chapters: introduction, aim, objectives, material and method, results and discussions, conclusions.

The references will be presented alphabetically and in conformity to the Vancouver Convention, including:

- for articles: name of the authors and surname initials, title of the article in the original language, title of the journal according to the international abreviation system, year of issue, volume, number, pages;

- for books: name of the authors and surname initials, volume, publisher (editors), city of publishing, year of issue.

Citation of references inside the body of the paper will be put between brackets, Harward style (author, year) or Vancouver style (number in square brackets or superscript).

Cited reference titles will be selected, maximum 6 for studies and case presentations and 12 for general reviews.

Acceptance, rejection or the need of alterations in sent materials, or in inconography, will be comunicated to the authors in due time. For this, the authors will indicate the person and address for corespondence (phone number, e-mail address).

Given the less pleasant experience of the editorial board with some articles being rejected because they did not meet publishing criteria, we decided to support those who intend to publish in this journal by detailing the way such a paper should be elaborated, as well as our requirements.

Except some particular aspects concerning this journal, the following details are general requirements asked or imposed by other journals as well.

1. Conditions to be met in order to propose a paper for publishing

The main author has the responsability to make sure the article has been approved by all the other authors.

The journal will have copyright for papers accepted for publishing. The editorial board reservs the right to change the style and dimensions of an article (major changes will be discussed with the main author) and to decide the date of issue.

2. First publication

The editorial board will not consider a paper already reported in a published general review or described in a paper proposed to or accepted by another journal. This does not exclude papers which have been rejected by other journals. Also, papers which have been presented at a scientific meeting will be accepted for discussion if they have not been entirely or partially published in a similar publication.

"Multiple" publishing of the same study is seldom justified. One of the possible justifications is publishing in a second language but only if the following conditions are met:

Editors of both journals involved are fully informed;

Priority of the initial publication will be respected by a minimum publishing interval of two weeks;

For the second publication, a shortened version will suffice;

The second version strictly reflects data and interpretations in the first;

A footnote may state: "This article is based upon a study initially published in [title of the journal]".

3. PATERNIty

Paternity must reflect the common decision of the coauthors. Each author must have participated enough to take public responsability for the content.

A paper with collective paternity must have a key person responsable for the article.

4. COPYRIGHT

In order to reproduce materials from other sources, written agreement from the copyright owner must be obtained:

- photographer -for unpublished photographs;

- hospital where the photographer (physician) is employed - for unpublished photographs performed during the employment period;

- initial publisher - for a table, picture or text which have previously been published elsewhere.

5. EThICal aspects

Do not use name of patients, initials or hospital observation charts numbers. If a photograph of a body part which could allow direct or deductive recognition of the patient needs publishing, then the paper must be accompanied by the written consent of the patient and clinician, as well.

6. Presenting the manuscript

For the journal "Medicina în evoluţie", the manuscript must be typed double spaced, on white A4 paper - 210x297 mm, on one side (2.5 cm upper and lower borders, 3 cm left and 2 cm right border, respectively), in clear characters, no further corrections or addings. It is advisable that articles are presented on magnetic support - floppy disk or CD, in Word format, 12 Times New Roman fonts - using Romanian characters – respecting the same page order, accompanied by a printed version. Graphs – black and white or coloured - may be generated in MS Excel or MS Graph, inserted in the body of the paper or presented in a different file.

Floppy disks or CDs must be checked with an up-to-date antivirus programme. Infected materials will not be used.

6.1. First page (title page)

Together with the title and names of the authors, the first page must include the affiliation, professional and university degree (if applicable), marked by asterisc for every author; it is advisable to give at least a phone and/or fax number or e-mail address of the first author who may be contacted by the editors for additional recommendations or explanations.

6.2. Abstarct of the paper

6.2.1 Recommendations for original studies

Original studies must include a structured abstarct of maximum 150 words, containing the following titles and informations:

Aim and objectives

Material and methods

Results

Conclusions

Key words: give 3-5 key words

The abstract will be translated into an international circulation language

6.3 Content of the paper

6.3.1 For original articles

The text will usually be divided into sections:

Introduction - presentation of general aspects, in the context of the approached theme

Aim and objectives – Define the aim of the article. Briefly expose the rationale of the presented study or observation. Make strictly pertinent referals and do not exhaustively review the subject. Do not include data or conclusions from the paper.

Material and methods - Describe the selection of observations or subjects for the experiment (including controls). Identify methods, equipments (with the name and address of the manufacturer in brackets) and give sufficient details on procedures. Give references for the selected methods, including statistical methods; offer details and brief descriptions for previously published methods which are not well known; describe new or substantially modified methods, justify their use and assess their limitations. Precisely identify all used drugs and chemicals, including generic names, dosage and administration ways.

Describe statistical methods with sufficient details for reported results to be verified. Whenever possible, quantify discovered aspects and present them with appropriate measurement indicators for the uncertainty or error of measurement (such as confidence intervals).

Results - Present results in a logical succession as text, tables and illustrations. Emphasize or briefly describe only important observations.

Discussions - Underline new, important aspects of the study. Do not repeat in detail data which have been presented in previous sections. Include implications of revealed aspects and their limitations, including implications for future studies. Connect your observations to other relevant studies. Relate the results to the aim proposed for the study.

Conclusions - organize conclusions which emerge from the study. In the end state: a) contributions to be acknowledged but which do not justify paternity right; b) thanks for technical support; c) thanks for financial or material support.

6.3.2 Indications for case reports

Themes may be selected from all medical fields. Manuscripts which offer a special gain for daily activity will have priority.

The title must be clearly,  precisely stated. It may be completed by a subtitle.

It is advisable to include in the key words of the title the main message, the special element which may be observed from the case evolution.

The content of a case report must be divided into three parts:

Introduction - It must include a maximum of 15 typed rows (half page).

Here, the main medical problem is summarized in order to place the case in a specific domain.

Case report - It contains essential specific information on the case.

In order to make a logical, chronological and didactical case report the following 5 chapters are needed:

I. Anamnesis;

II. Clinical examination data;

III. Laboratory data;

IV. Additional paraclinical investigations;

V. Treatment and evolution.

Discussions - The reason for the case report must be stated. The report must be patient-centered. Occasional deviations from typical (characteristic) evolutions, nosologically important facts must be presented in such a manner to expose the clinical picture as completely as possible.

The case report must not appear as an appendix of a general review.

Dimensions of a case report: maximum 6-8 typed pages, 30 rows of 60 characters/page.

6.4. Measurement units, symbols, abreviations. All measurements must be expressed in International System (IS) units. Abreviations must be fully explained when first used.

6.5. Tables. Tables are noted with Roman figures and they will have a brief and concise title, concordant with their content.

6.6. Illustrations. Number all illustrations in Arabic figures in a single succession.  Apply a label on the back side of every illustration, containing its number and  an arrow indicating the upper side. Coloured illustrations may be accepted but it is the choice of the editors, according to particular technical abilities of each journal issue, or it may involve a fee in special cases.

6.7. Explanations for drawings and graphs must be clear and in readable dimensions, considering the necessary publishing shrinkage.

6.8. Photographs. Offer glossy, good quality photographs. Any annotation, inscription, etc. must contrast with the ground. Microphotographs must include a scale marker. 

6.9. Illustration legends. Inclu­de explanations for each used symbol, etc. Identify the printing method for microphotographs.

6.10. References. Precision of references is the responsability of the author. Number reference titles in the order of first occurence in the text, or in alphabetical order, based on the  name of the first author. Identify citations in the text, tables and legends by numbers between brackets.

Reference citation is mandatory. For printing space reasons, we recommend that in cases of over 15 reference titles an alternative selected reference list should be offered.

7. copies for publishing

In order to accelerate publishing, the main author will send a set of printed sheets presenting the final version of the paper, as it will appear in the journal. It is really helpful that texts to be also sent on electronic support (floppy disk), diacritic characters mandatory.

8. rejection of papers

If a paper does not meet publishing conditions, whatever these may be, the editors will notify the first author on this fact, without the obligation of returning the material.

Original photographs or the whole material will be returned only if the author comes to the editor and takes them.

 Papers submitted for publishing will be addressed to: see Contact