General article format/layout

Submitted manuscripts that are not in the correct format specified in these guidelines will be returned to the author(s) for correction prior to being sent for review, which will delay publication.

General:

• Manuscripts must be written in UK English (this includes spelling).
• The manuscript must be in Microsoft Word document format. Text must be 1.5 line spaced, in 12-point Times New Roman font, and contain no unnecessary formatting (such as text in boxes). Pages and lines should be numbered consecutively.
• Please make your article concise, even if it is below the word limit.
• Qualifications, full affiliation (department, school/faculty, institution, city, country) and contact details of ALL authors must be provided in the manuscript and in the online submission process.
• Abbreviations should be spelt out when first used and thereafter used consistently, e.g. 'intravenous (IV)' or 'Department of Health (DoH)'.
• Quotes should be placed in single quotation marks: i.e. The respondent stated: '...'

If you wish material to be in a box, simply indicate this in the text. You may use the table format –this is the only exception. Please DO NOT use fill, format lines and so on.

Each paper should have a clear rationale, logical study aims, sufficiently detailed methods, and well supported conclusions. It is advisable to clearly state the hypothesis or aim of the work in the introduction section. The discussion and abstract conclusions should be clearly stated and should be backed up by the data presented in the manuscript. The study outcomes or metrics used to inform the conclusions should be clearly stated and outlined.

Study synopsis: All studies submitted with an abstract should, in addition, have a study synopsis sub-section, with a maximum word count including sub-headings of 120 words. 

The purpose is to crystalise the findings of the study and thus improve understanding and retention.  The study synopsis should have 2 sub-headings: ‘What the study adds’ and ‘Implications of the findings'.

The first sub-heading should tersely outline what new knowledge or additional information the study brings to the field.  The second sub-heading should provide the implication of the findings to researchers, clinicians, policy makers, and other stakeholders and could allude to the broader implications of the work.  

The study synopsis should not repeat verbatim what is already in the abstract but provides an additional opportunity to emphasise key findings of the study and the implications of the work.

 

Preparing an article for anonymous review

To ensure a fair and unbiased review process, all submissions are to include an anonymised version of the manuscript. The exceptions to this requirement are Correspondence, Book reviews and Obituary submissions.

Submitting a manuscript that needs additional blinding can slow down your review process, so please be sure to follow these simple guidelines as much as possible:

• An anonymous version should not contain any author, affiliation or particular institutional details that will enable identification.
• Please remove title page, acknowledgements, contact details, funding grants to a named person, and any running headers of author names.
• Mask self-citations by referring to your own work in third person.

 

Tables

• Tables should be constructed carefully and simply for intelligible data representation. Unnecessarily complicated tables are strongly discouraged.
• Large tables will generally not be accepted for publication in their entirety. Please consider shortening and using the text to highlight specific important sections, or offer a large table as an addendum to the publication, but available in full on request from the author.
• Embed/include each table in the manuscript Word file - do not provide separately as supplementary files.
• Number each table in Arabic numerals (Table 1, Table 2, etc.) consecutively as they are referred to in the text.
• Tables must be cell-based (i.e. not constructed with text boxes or tabs) and editable.
• Ensure each table has a concise title and column headings, and include units where necessary.
• Footnotes must be indicated with consecutive use of the following symbols: * † ‡ § ¶ || then ** †† ‡‡ etc.

 

Do not: Use [Enter] within a row to make ‘new rows’:

 

Rather:

Each row of data must have its own proper row:

 

Do not: use separate columns for n and %:

 

Rather:

Combine into one column, n (%):

 

Do not: have overlapping categories, e.g.:

 

Rather:

Use <> symbols or numbers that don’t overlap:

Figures/illustrations/photos/scans

• If illustrations submitted have been published elsewhere, the author(s) should provide evidence of consent to republication obtained from the copyright holder.
• Figures must be numbered in Arabic numerals and referred to in the text e.g. '(Fig. 1)'.
• Each figure must have a caption/legend: Fig. 1. Description (any abbreviations in full).
• All images must be of high enough resolution/quality for print.
• All graphs, diagrams, charts, etc. must be in PDF form. Scans should be in jpeg. 
• Ensure all graph axes are labelled appropriately, with a heading/description and units (as necessary) indicated. Do not include decimal places if not necessary e.g. 0; 1.0; 2.0; 3.0; 4.0 etc.
• Scans/photos showing a specific feature e.g. Intermediate magnification micrograph of a low malignant potential (LMP) mucinous ovarian tumour. (H&E stain). –include an arrow to show the tumour.
• Each image must be attached individually as a 'supplementary file' upon submission (not solely embedded in the accompanying manuscript) and named Fig. 1, Fig. 2, etc.

IMAGES/PHOTOGRAPHS

Acceptable file types

The image file should be submitted as a high resolution jpeg or tiff Important: Images embedded in a Word document are not acceptable.

Resolution

Images must have a minimum resolution of 300 dpi (dots per inch).

Screenshots and images from the internet

Screenshots and images from the internet are usually only 72 dpi – this is the average resolution that computer screens use – therefore images downloaded from the internet are almost always too small to use for print even though they might look fine on screen.

 

Author Quick check

If the actual size of the file is:

• less than 500 kb - not great for print

• 500kb - 1000 kb (1 mb) - better

• greater than 1000 kb (i mb) - ideal

The image sent has to be the original i.e. the very first image created.

If it was taken on a camera/cell phone, then that image has to be sent directly from the device’s image gallery.

Not a screenshot of the image or via a secondary app (Word, Whatsapp) or uploaded to a website.

Cameras (cell phones) should be set to the highest possible image size.

 

References

NB: Only complete, correctly formatted reference lists in Vancouver style will be accepted. If reference manager software is used, the reference list and citations in text are to be unformatted to plain text before submitting..

• Authors must verify references from original sources.
• Citations should be inserted in the text as superscript numbers between square brackets, e.g. These regulations are endorsed by the World Health Organization,^[2] and others.^[3,4-6]
• All references should be listed at the end of the article in numerical order of appearance in the Vancouver style (not alphabetical order).
• Approved abbreviations of journal titles must be used; see the List of Journals in Index Medicus.
• Names and initials of all authors should be given; if there are more than six authors, the first three names should be given followed by et al.
• Volume and issue numbers should be given.
• First and last page, in full, should be given e.g.: 1215-1217 not 1215-17.
• Wherever possible, references must be accompanied by a digital object identifier (DOI) link). Authors are encouraged to use the DOI lookup service offered by CrossRef:
  • On the Crossref homepage, paste the article title into the ‘Metadata search’ box.
  • Look for the correct, matching article in the list of results.
  • Click Actions > Cite
  • Alongside 'url =' copy the URL between { }.
  • Provide as follows, e.g.: https://doi.org/10.7196/07294.937.98x

 

Some examples:

• Journal references: Price NC, Jacobs NN, Roberts DA, et al. Importance of asking about glaucoma. Stat Med 1998;289(1):350-355. http://dx.doi.org/10.1000/hgjr.182
• Book references: Jeffcoate N. Principles of Gynaecology. 4th ed. London: Butterworth, 1975:96-101.
• Chapter/section in a book: Weinstein L, Swartz MN. Pathogenic Properties of Invading Microorganisms. In: Sodeman WA, Sodeman WA, eds. Pathologic Physiology: Mechanisms of Disease. Philadelphia: WB Saunders, 1974:457-472.
• Internet references: World Health Organization. The World Health Report 2002 - Reducing Risks, Promoting Healthy Life. Geneva: WHO, 2002. http://www.who.int/whr/2002 (accessed 16 January 2010).
• Legal references
• Government Gazettes:

National Department of Health, South Africa. National Policy for Health Act, 1990 (Act No. 116 of 1990). Free primary health care services. Government Gazette No. 17507:1514. 1996.

In this example, 17507 is the Gazette Number. This is followed by :1514 - this is the notice number in this Gazette.

• Provincial Gazettes:

Gauteng Province, South Africa; Department of Agriculture, Conservation, Environment and Land Affairs. Publication of the Gauteng health care waste management draft regulations. Gauteng Provincial Gazette No. 373:3003, 2003.

• Acts:

South Africa. National Health Act No. 61 of 2003.

• Regulations to an Act:

South Africa. National Health Act of 2003. Regulations: Rendering of clinical forensic medicine services. Government Gazette No. 35099, 2012. (Published under Government Notice R176).

• Bills:

South Africa. Traditional Health Practitioners Bill, No. B66B-2003, 2006.

• Green/white papers:

South Africa. Department of Health Green Paper: National Health Insurance in South Africa. 2011.

• Case law:

Rex v Jopp and Another 1949 (4) SA 11 (N)

Rex v Jopp and Another:  Name of the parties concerned

1949: Date of decision (or when the case was heard)

(4): Volume number

SA: SA Law Reports

11: Page or section number

(N): In this case Natal - where the case was heard. Similarly, (C) woud indicate Cape, (G) Gauteng, and so on.

NOTE: no . after the v

• Other references (e.g. reports) should follow the same format: Author(s). Title. Publisher place: Publisher name, year; pages.
• Cited manuscripts that have been accepted but not yet published can be included as references followed by '(in press)'.
• Unpublished observations and personal communications in the text must not appear in the reference list. The full name of the source person must be provided for personal communications e.g. '...(Prof. Michael Jones, personal communication)'.

 

Genetic nomenclature

AJTCCM is a medical journal covering all aspects of respiratory health, therefore for articles involving genetics, it is the responsibility of authors to apply the following:

-               Please ensure that all genes are in italics, and proteins/enzymes/hormones are not.

-               Ensure that all genes are presented in the correct case e.g. TP53 not Tp53.

**           NB: Copyeditors cannot be expected to pick up and correct errors wrt the above, although they will raise queries where concerned.

-               Define all genes, proteins and related shorthand terms at first mention, e.g. ‘188del11’ can be glossed as ‘an 11 bp deletion at nucleotide 188.’

-               Use the latest approved gene or protein symbol as appropriate:

• Human Gene Mapping Workshop (HGMW): genetic notations and symbols
• HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee: approved gene symbols and nomenclature
• OMIM: Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (MIM) nomenclature and instructions
• Bennet et al. Standardized human pedigree nomenclature: Update and assessment of the recommendations of the National Society of Genetic Counselors. J Genet Counsel 2008;17:424-433: standard human pedigree nomenclature.