Instruction for authors

Medical Journal
of
Tabriz University of Medical Sciences and Health Services
Instruction for authors
Aims and scope: The "Medical Journal of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences and Health
Services" is a peer–review quarterly publication. It is the official scientific journal of the Tabriz
University of Medical Sciences and accepts original research papers, review articles, short
communications, case reports and letters to the editor in the field of medical sciences including basic
and clinical sciences. The journal is in Persian but abstracts are published both in Persian and English.
Submission: Manuscript or the essence of its content must be previously unpublished and should
not be under consideration by another journal, and author should declare if the manuscript had
previously been rejected by another journal. By virtue of submission the corresponding author
acknowledges that all co-authors have approved the manuscript.
Three copies of manuscript with two sets of photographs and illustration must be submitted to the
journal's office. Submission should be accompanied by a cover letter to the editor in chief.
Manuscripts should be typed in double space, on one side of A-4 size paper with clear margins.
Illustrates should be typed and drawn on separate papers. Electronic submission: Manuscripts can
be submitted electronically via journals' website (http://majalleh.tbzmed.ac.ir). Text should be
submitted in Microsoft word and figures in JPG or GIF format.
Original research articles should include: Title page, abstract, introduction, materials &
methods, results, discussion, acknowledgment and references.
Title page: The title page must contain the complete title of manuscript, the name and surname of
all authors and their affiliations in both English and Persian. Mail address, phone number, mobile
number and fax number of corresponding author are needed.
Abstracts: Original article must include an abstract up to 250 words; it should be structured as
background and objective, methods, results and conclusion, followed by three to five key words.
Use terms from the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) list of index medicus
(http://www.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/MBrowser.html). English abstract should be the exact English
translation of the Persian abstract.
Introduction: Introduction should summarize the purpose and the rationale for the study. It should
neither review the subject extensively nor should it have data or conclusions of the study.
Materials & methods: Materials & methods should include exact method or observation or
experiment. If an apparatus is used, its manufacturer’s name and address should be given in
parenthesis. If the method is established, give reference but if the method is new, give enough
information so that another researcher is able to perform it. If a drug is used, its generic name, dose
and route of administration must be given. For patients, age, sex with mean age ± standard
deviation must be given. Statistical method must be mentioned and specify any general computer
programme used. The Info system used should be clearly mentioned.
Results: It must be presented in the form of text, tables and illustrations. The contents of the tables
should not be all repeated in the text. Instead, a reference to the table number may be given. Long
articles may need sub-headings within some sections (especially the Results) to clarify their
contents.
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Discussion: Discussion must emphasize the present findings and the variations or similarities with
other work done in the field by other workers. The detailed data should not be repeated in the
discussion again. Emphasize the new and important aspects of the study and the conclusions that
follow from them. It must be mentioned whether the hypothesis mentioned in the article is true,
false or no conclusions can be derived. The final conclusion of the study should be appeared as a
paragraph at the end of discussion.
Acknowledgement: All contributors who do not meet the criteria for authorship should be covered
in the acknowledgement section. It should include persons who provided technical help, writing
assistance and departmental head who only provided general support. Financial and material
support should also be acknowledged.
Tables: All tables come at the end of the manuscript with references in the text. Do not submit
tables as photograph. Place explanatory matters on footnotes, not in the heading. Tables’ data
should not be repeated in the text.
Figures: All figures, diagrams and charts should be in limited numbers and come at the end of the
manuscript with references in the article. Figures legends should be appeared at the below.
References: References should be numbered in parenthesis and listed in order of appearance in the
text. Cite the number of all authors when there are six or fewer, when seven or more, list the six,
followed by et al. use the Vancouver style as described in the uniform requirements for manuscripts
submitted to biomedical journals (www.icmje.org). Listed below are examples of reference citation.
1. Standard journal article
Malekzadeh R, Varshosaz J, Merat S, Hadidchi S, Mirmajlesi SH, Vahedi H, et al. Crohn’s Disease:
A review of 140 cases from Iran. Irn J Med Sci 2000; 25 (3 & 4): 138-143.
2. Organization as author
The Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand. Clinical exercise stress testing. Safety and
performance guidlines. Med J Aust 1996: 164: 282-4.
3. No author given
Cancer in South Africa [editorial]. S Afr Med J 1994; 84: 15.
4. Article in a foreign language:
Nori M, Afrasiabi Rad A, Zabhrai M, Pezeshkian M, Mahbob S, Baghdadchi A, et al. [Effects of A low
caloric, low cholesterol, high fiber dietary regimen and aerobic exercise on plasma levels of vitamins C
and E on patients with involved vessels]. Med J Tab Uni Med Sc 2000; 34(46): 55-62. (Persian)
Lahdes–Vasama TT,Lamminen AE, Merikanto EOJ, Peltonen JI. Le cartilage de croissance dans
l’ostéochondrite primitive de hanche: Etude prospective en IRM. Rev Chir Orthop 1995; 81 (5):
395-403 (French).
5. Volume with supplement:
Shen HM, Zhang QF. Risk Assessment of nickel carcinogenicity and occupational lung cancer.
Environ Health Perspect 1994; 102 (Suppl 1): 275-82.
6. Book:
Blunth EI, Arger PH, Benson CB, Ralls PW and Siegel MJ. Ultrasound: A Practical Approach to
Clinical Problems. 1st ed. New York, Thieme, 2000; PP: 257-69.
7. Chapter of a book:
Kastner DL. Intermittent and Periodic Arthritic Syndromes. In: Koopman W J, ed. Arthritis and
Allied Conditions: A Textbook of Rheumatology. 13th ed. Baltimore; Williams & Wilkins, 1997;
PP: 1279-1306.
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8. Electronic reference:
Moynagh J. The evaluations of tests for the diagnosis of transmissible spongiform encephalopathy
in bovines. European Commissin, 2004, Available from: http://europa.eu.int/comm/food/fs/bse/
bse12_en.html(Accessed May 2008).
9. Electronic reference (an organization as author):
Food and Drug Administratin. Revised preventive measures for blood products, 2001. Available
from: http://www.fda.gov/ohrms/dockets/ac/01/ briefing/3817b1.html (AccessedMay 2007).
Review article: Reviews are written at the invitation of editorial board, but authors could also
send the suggestion to the editor –in-chief. Review articles must be up to date and review an area or
sub area in the field or clinical medicine or basic science. The length of review should not be
greater than 3000 word and should be structured as: introduction, main body, conclusion and
references.
Case reports: Case reports should be arranged as following: Title page, abstract (non-structured
and not exceeding 150 words), Introduction, Case presentation, Discussion and up to 13 references.
Brief communication: Original research paper can be published in a brief format. An
unstructured abstract should not longer than 150 words, with the body of the manuscript not
exceeds 1500 words. It should comprise: introduction, material and methods, results and discussion
with no more than two table or figures and up to 15 references.
Letter to editor: Letter to the editor will be considered if they contain significant comments or
contains criticism on previously published articles in the “Medical Journal of Tabriz University of
Medical Sciences”. Reports of limited researches or clinical experiences can be submitted in the
form of a letter. Letters need no abstract and should have no more than 400 words and no more than
five references.
Proof Reading: The editorial office will send proofs of the manuscript to the corresponding
author for proof reading, corrections and return within the stipulated time. After the corresponding
author has signed the galley proof, they will bear the burden of responsibility for any publication
errors.
Ethical consents: All manuscript reporting experimental investigation involving human subjects
should include a statement confirming the informed consent and that the study was approved by the
local ethical committee. For those investigators who do not have formal ethics review committee,
the principles outlined in the declaration of Helsinki should be followed. Was obtained from each
participant or from the parents or legal guardians of minors. If the work involves experimentation
on living animals, the author(s) must provide evidences that the study was performed in accordance
with local ethical committee guidelines or National Institutes of Health guidelines for the humane
use of laboratory animals.
Conflicts of interest: Authors must acknowledge and declare any sources of funding and
potential conflicting interest, such as receiving funds or fees by, or holding stocks and shares in, an
organization that may profit or lose through publication of your paper. Declaring a competing
interest will not lead to automatic rejection of the paper, but we would like to be made aware of it.
Copyright: The Medical Journal of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences & Health Services is
the owner of the published material and are protected under international copyrights. However, all
published works are open access and are available at the journal’s website. No part of this
publication should be translated, transmitted or reproduced without permission from the publisher.
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Abbreviations and symbols: Use only standard abbreviations. Avoid using them 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.
Guidelines for font:
Persian Sections: title: Yagut 15(bold); name and address of author(s): Yagut 10, title of sections
(abstract, introduction, methods and material, results, discussion, conclusion, acknowledgement and
references): Yagut 14(bold); abstract: Lotus 11, titles in abstract (background and objective, methods
and materials, results, conclusion and key words): Yagut 11(bold), text of the paper: Lotus 12.
English abstract: title: Times new roman 14(bold), name and address of author(s): Times new
roman 10 (bold Italic), subtitles (background and objects, methods and materials, conclusion and
key words): Time new roman 11(bold), abstracts text: Times new roman 11.
Peer review process: All manuscripts are first internally peer reviewed by the editorial board to
decided whether the manuscript is the type of article to be appeared in the journal and if so it has an
adequate standard to be sent for external review. Approved papers will be sent to two or three
external peer-reviewers. If the comments from two reviewers differ markedly the editor may ask for
comments from an arbiter reviewer. Authors are notified as soon as possible about the editors’
decision to accept, reject or revision. Authors could follow the final status of their manuscript on the
journals website.
Page charges: There are no charges for publication in this Journal.
Disposal of material: Once the manuscript was published, all hard copies of the manuscript,
correspondences and artwork will be held for 6 months before disposal.
The Final Checklist:
To make sure that your manuscript meets all the requirements, please use the following
checklist.
1. Title page should contain title, name of the author/co-authors, their affiliations, E-mail address,
phone, mobile & fax numbers.
2. Abstract in structured format up to 250 words.
3. References, as stated in reference section.
4. Tables should be appeared on separate pages.
5. Make sure for headings of tables and illustrations, their numbers and captions. Don’t repeat the
tables information again in the text.
6. Photographs / illustrations along with their captions.
7. Cover letter form signed by all the authors.
8. Disclosure regarding source of funding and conflict of interest, ethical considerations described
very clearly.
The Editor-in-Chief,
Medical Journal of Tabriz University of Medical Sciences and Health Services
No. 14, Panahi Street, Imam Khomeini Avenue, Post Code: 51656-87386 Tabriz, Iran
Tel: +98 411 3363870, Fax: + 98 411 3366579
E-mail: tbzmedmag@yahoo.com
http://majalleh.tbzmed.ac.ir
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