The “Journal of Contemporary Brachytherapy” - Informacje dla autorów

Information for Authors
EDITORIAL POLICY AND GENERAL INFORMATION
Journal of the Polish Brachytherapy Society

Aims and Scope:
The “Journal of Contemporary Brachytherapy” (JCB) will be an international and multidisciplinary magazine that will publish papers of original research as well as reviews of articles. Main subjects of the journal include: clinical brachytherapy, combined modality treatment, advances in radiobiology, hyperthermia and tumor biology, as well as physical aspects relevant to brachytherapy, particularly in the field of imaging, dosimetry and radiation therapy planning. Original contributions will involve experimental studies of combined modality treatment, tumor sensitization and normal tissue protection, molecular radiation biology and clinical investigations of cancer treatment in brachytherapy. Another field of interest will be the educational corner.

The “Journal of Contemporary Brachytherapy” will publish original peer-reviewed papers, technical advances, reviews of articles, and point/counterpoint of opinions on controversial issues. Original articles regarding any aspect of brachytherapy are always welcome. Educational papers will be prepared and presented by invited authors. Letters to the Editor-in-Chief are highly encouraged.

The journal will have 4 issues per year in traditional and in electronic form. For full-text online access visit the Journal's website at www.jocb.eu starting from the year of 2009.

JCB editors endorse the principles embodied in the Declaration of Helsinki and expect that all investigations involving humans will be performed according to these regulations. For animal experimentation reported in the journal, it is expected that investigators will obey the Interdisciplinary Principles and Guidelines for the Use of Animals in Research, Testing, and Education issued by the New York Academy of Sciences Ad hoc Committee on Animal Research. All human and animal studies must be approved by the investigator's Institutional review board. The JCB abides by the "Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals," 5th ed. (N Engl J Med 1997; 336: 309-315).

Submission of Manuscripts.
Manuscripts must be written in English. All new manuscripts have to be submitted through the JCB online submission and reviewed web site (www.jocb.eu.) However, in years 2008 and 2009 we’ll still accept submission through the standard paper way. All authors are requested to submit the text, tables and artwork in electronic form (except a PDF format) through the web site. Authors should also state that the manuscript or parts of it was not and will not be submitted elsewhere for publish, while in the review process of the JCB.

Submitted items must include cover letter, manuscript (including title page, abstract, manuscript text, references and table/figure legends), tables and figures.

Review process.
Manuscripts are being evaluated on the basis of presenting new insights to the investigated topic and are more likely to contribute to the research they propose, it’s progress or change in clinical practice or in the way of thinking about a disease. It is understood that all authors listed on a manuscript have agreed to its submission. The signature of the corresponding author on the letter of submission confirms these conditions.
The manuscripts are firstly studied by the JCB editors. Papers with insufficient priority for publication are rejected immediately. Incomplete packages or manuscripts not prepared in the advised style will be sending back to authors without scientific review. The authors are notified with the reference number upon manuscript registration at the Editorial Office. The registered manuscripts are sending to two independent experts for scientific evaluation. The evaluation process usually takes 2-4 weeks. Submitted papers are accepted for publication after positive opinion from the independent reviewers.

Conflict of Interest Guidelines.
Sources of funding have to be acknowledged and all authors must disclose any commercial association or other arrangement (financial compensation, potential to profit consultancy, stock ownership, honor, patent -licensing arrangements, etc) that might pose or imply conflict of interest with connection to the submitted paper. All such information will be available to the reviewers and at the discretion of the Editor will be published on a footnote to the article.
JCB policy requires all reviewers, co-editors and editorial board members to reveal in a written statement any relationships that could be construed and cause a conflict of interest with regard to a manuscript under review. The letter addressed to the Editor-in-Chief should include a statement of any financial relationship with commercial companies that might be involved with a product under study.

Permissions.
Materials obtained from other sources must be accompanied by a written statement from both author and publisher, giving permission to the JCB for reproduction. The JCB requires written permission from at least one author of papers still in press, unpublished data and personal communications.

Patient’s confidentiality.
Changing the details of patients in order to disguise them is a form of data alteration. Therefore, authors of clinical papers are obliged to ensure patients privacy rights. Only clinically or scientifically important data are permitted for publishing. So, in order to identify a patient’s data from a case report, illustration or paper, Editors of JCB ask for a written consent of the patient or his/her guardian to publish their data (including photograms) prior to publication.

Copyright transfer.
Upon acceptance, authors transfer copyrights to the JCB. Once an article is accepted for publication, the information therein is prohibited from reporting by media until the mail date of the issue in which the article appears. Upon acceptance all published manuscripts become the permanent property of the Publisher of JCB, and can not be published elsewhere without written permission.

Publishing model.
JCB is published by using an open access model. All original scientific content [research articles, review articles, case reports, educational papers] are available free of charge without restrictions from the journal's website at: www.jocb.eu. Submission, review and publication of manuscripts are free of charge.

Criteria for manuscripts.
Editorial Board of the JCB consider an original articles with the understanding that neither the manuscript nor any part of its essential substance, tables or figures was published previously in print or electronic format and are not under consideration by any other publication or electronic medium. Each submission packet should include written statement signed by the first author of publication that was not been published previously or submitted elsewhere for review, as well as copyright transfer.

Categories of articles.
The accepted papers are published in the following journal sections:
1. original articles (not more than 10 pages)
2. review articles (not more than 14 pages)
3. preliminary reports (not more than 4 pages)
4. educational articles (invited authors)
5. biology contributions (not more than 10 pages)
6. physics contributions (not more than 10 pages)
7. case reports (not more than 8 pages)
8. letters to the Editor for comments on recent articles (not more than 1 page)
9. supplements.


Preparation of manuscripts.
Guidelines for submission in the JCB are in accordance with: Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals (N Eng J Med, 1997; 336: 309-15).
Manuscript should be typewritten on a white paper ISO A4 (210x297 mm) size. The text should be printed by laser or inkjet printer preferably. Typewriter texts are accepted, however, the authors are requested to be concerned about the quality of printing tape. Text should be one and half cm spaced with 12-point typeface. Margins: 2.5 cm (1 inch) at top, bottom, right, and left.
Illustrations are very helpful and for case reports are mandatory. In reviews an explanation is needed about retrieval sources used in an article and specifications of the criteria in selecting the referred papers.
The Editorial Board reserves the privilege to adjust the format of the article.

Necessary inclusions of manuscripts.
In case of all original articles, the following materials must be submitted. The manuscript should be arranged as Title Page, Structured Abstract with Key Words, Purpose, Methods and Materials, Results, Discussion with Conclusions, Acknowledgments, References, Figure Legends, Tables and Figures. Pages must be numbered consecutively, starting with the Title Page as number 1. All authors listed on the title page are required to write their full first name and degrees.

Title Page. The Title page must include a concise title: names and affiliations of all authors; department and institution address where the research was conducted; number of text pages and tables and figures; name, address, telephone number, fax number and email address of corresponding author.

Structured Abstract: The structured abstract should be no more than 250 words and must be placed on a separate sheet. It have to be divided into sections as: Purpose, Methods and Materials, Results and Conclusions.
Each summary section should begin from new line and briefly describe the purpose of the study, how the investigation was performed, most important results and the principal conclusions of the results.

Key words (3 to 6) or short phrases should be written at the bottom of the page including summary. The use of the items from Index Medicus (Medical Subject Headings) is advised.

Text. The text of the article should be divided into eight paragraphs labeled as: Background, Aim, Material and Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusions, Acknowledgements, References.

Purpose should contain scientific rationale and general introduction to the article. Aim of the study should clearly be described (in case of a review) as well as the purpose of article.

 

Material and methods should describe clearly the selection of observational or experimental subjects (patients or laboratory animals) involving factors such as age, gender, inclusion and exclusion criteria, (the circumstances for rejection from the study should be defined), randomization and masking (blinding) method.
The protocol of data acquisition, procedures, investigated parameters, methods of measurements and apparatus should be explained in sufficient details to allow other scientists to reproduce the results. Name and references to the established methods should be given. References and brief description need to provide for methods that were published but are not well known, whereas brand new or substantially modified methods should be described in particular. The reasons for using the methods should be provided along with the evaluation of their limitations. Drugs and other chemicals are obliged to be precisely identified with generic name, dose and route of administration.

The statistical methods should be described in detail to enable verification of the reported results.

Results concisely and reasonably summarize the findings. Restrict tables and figures to the number results need to explain the argument of the paper and assess its support. Data in graphs and tables must not be duplicated. Numbers of observations and report exclusions or losses to observations such as dropouts from a clinical trial should be given. The results of treatment have to be presented in a logical sequence in the text, tables and illustrations. All data’s from the tables or graphs are not to be repeated in the text and only the important observations should be emphasized.

Discussion must deal only with new and/or important aspects of the study. Data or other materials from the Background or the Results section are not to be repeated in detail. Discussion should include the implications of the findings and their limitations as well as suggestions for future research. The discussion need to confront the results of other investigations, especially quoted in the text.

Conclusions have to meet the goals of the study. New hypotheses can be stated, however only when warranted. Recommendations might be included whenever appropriate. Unqualified statements and conclusions not completely supported by the obtained data might be included only whenever can be stated.

Acknowledgements. All contributors who do not meet the criteria for authorship need to be listed, such as technical assistants, writing assistants or head of department who provided only general support. Financial and other material support should be disclosed and acknowledged.

References must be numbered consecutively as they are cited. References selected for publication should be chosen for their importance, accessibility, and for the "further reading" opportunities they provide. References first cited in tables or figure legends must be numbered so that they could be in sequence with references quoted in the text. The style of references provides Index Medicus. In any article with more than three authors, the use of "et al." would prevail.

The following is a sample reference:
Standard journal article
Journal Article Reference:
1. Skowronek J, Zwierzchowski G, Piotrowski T. Pulsed Dose Rate Brachytherapy – describing a method and a review of clinical applications. Rep Pract Oncol Radiother 2001; 6: 197–202.
Journal Article Reference With More Than 3 Authors:
1. Wust P, Hildebrandt B, Sreenivasa G et al. Hyperthermia in combined treatment of cancer.
Lancet Oncol 2002; 3: 487–97.
Article in Press: This is to be used only for papers accepted for publication. These articles should be cited as for other journal articles (in press) in place of volume and page numbers.
Book Reference:
1. Leibel SA, Phillips TL. Textbook of radiation oncology. Philadelphia, PA: WB Saunders Co; 1998. pp. 1-24.
Conference proceedings:
Kimura J, Shibasaki H, editors. Recent advances in clinical neurophysiology. Proceedings of the 10th International Congress of EMG and Clinical Neurophysiology; 1995 Oct 15-19; Kyoto, Japan. Amsterdam: Elsevier; 1996.
Conference paper:
Bengtsson S, Solheim BG. Enforcement of data protection, privacy and security in medical informatics. In: Lun KC, Degoulet P, Piemme TE, Rienhoff O, editors. MEDINFO 92. Proceedings of the 7th World Congress on Medical Informatics; 1992 Sep 6-10; Geneva, Switzerland.
The use of abstracts or review papers as references should be avoided. Unpublished observations and personal communications can not be used as references. Such material may be incorporated in an appropriate place in the text if necessery.

Figures: Figures should be consecutively numbered (Arabic numerals) as they appear in the text and accompanied by legends. The top of the figure should be indicated. High-quality black and white halftones, four-color photographs or laser printer generated figures are required. Figures should be professionally drawn and photographed; freehand or typewritten lettering are unacceptable. Instead of original drawings, x-ray films, and other material the editor requires sharp, glossy, black-and-white photographic prints, usually 127 x 173 mm (5 x 7 in) but no larger than 203 x 254 mm (8 x 10 in). Letters, numbers, and symbols should be clear and even end of sufficient size, so whenever that when reduced for publication, each item will still be legible. Titles and detailed explanations need to be placed in the legends for illustrations, not within the illustrations themselves.

Figure Legends. Legends should be typed, double-spaced and numbered, corresponding to the figures and submitted on a separate page. Whenever symbols, arrows, numbers or letters are used to identify parts of the figure, each of them should be explained clearly in the legend. Please use lowercase letters to label multipart figures. For photomicrographs, the internal scale marks should be defined and the method of staining should be given. The legend need to permit the figures to be understood without reference to the text. If the figure was previously published, a credit line should be included and a permission letter supplied by the author.

Color Figures. Color figures supplied with the article will appear in color on the web at no extra charge. There is no charge for a figure submitted in color to be reproduced in black and white print. However, there is a charge for reproduction of color figures in print (300 Euro for the first color figure and 100 Euro for each additional color figure in the same article).

Each figure should have a label pasted on its back indicating the number of the figure, authors name, and top of the figure. Do not write on the back of figures or scratch or mar them by using paper clips. Do not bend figures or mount them on a cardboard.

Figures should be numbered consecutively according to the order in which they were first cited in the text. If a figure was already published, please acknowledge the original source and submit written permission from the copyright holder to reproduce the material. Permission is required irrespective of authorship or publisher, except for documents in the public domain.

Tables. All tables should be numbered consecutively and have descriptive titles (no legends). Tables should be typed, double-spaced at the end of the manuscript. Tables must be self-explanatory and authors must insure that the data is not duplicated in the text. Written permission from the publisher must accompany the articles whenever the table is reproduced from previously published data. Acknowledgment of previously published material need to be given in a footnote to the table, and the source should be included in the reference list. All abbreviations used in the table must be defined in footnotes at the bottom of the table. Footnotes need to be ordered as they first appear in the table with superscript Arabic numerals.
In case of using data from another published or unpublished source, a written permission must be obtained and full acknowledgment of the datas.

Photographs might be color or black & white glossy prints with numbers and descriptions on the back, following the pattern: title, authors, number of the photograph, its description.
Photomicrographs need to have internal scale markers. Symbols, arrows, or letters used in photomicrographs should contrast with the background. If photographs of people are used, either the subjects must not be identifiable or their pictures must be accompanied by written permission to use the photograph.

Legends for Illustrations. Type or print out legends for illustrations using double-spacing, starting on a separate page, with Arabic numerals corresponding to the illustrations. In case of symbols, arrows, numbers, or letters used to identify parts of the illustrations, each one must be indentify and explain clearly in the legend. Explanation of the internal scale and identification the method of staining in photographs are needed.

Units of Measurement. Measurements of length, height, weight, and volume should be reported in metric units (meter, kilogram or liter) or their decimal multiples. Temperatures need to be given in degrees Celsius. Blood pressures should be given in millimeters of mercury.
All hematological and clinical chemistry measurements should be reported in the metric system in terms of the International System of Units (SI). Alternative or non-SI units need to be added in parenthesis.

Abbreviations and Symbols. Use only standard abbreviations. Avoid abbreviations 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.

Sending of the manuscript to JCB
Guidelines for Submission of Electronic Manuscripts:
You may: bold, underline, italic, subscript, superscript and strikeout, but do not justify text. For long dashes, please use two hyphens. In tables, use only tabs, not spaces to align columns. If you use Microsoft Word, do not use the 'fast save' feature when saving your document.

The JCB will use a Web-based online manuscript submission and review system. Please visit http://www.jocb.eu to submit your manuscript electronically (from 2009). The website guides authors stepwise through the creation and uploading of the various files. Note that original sources files, not PDF files, are required. A cover letter is generally required; please save this as a separate file for upload. Authors may send queries concerning the submission process, manuscript status or journal procedures to the Editorial Office. Once the submission files are uploaded the system automatically generates electronic (PDF) proof which is then used for reviewing. All correspondence, including the Editor's decision and request for revisions, will be send by e-mail.

As of January 1, 2010, only online submission will be accepted. This schedule has no impact on previously accepted articles that are currently being prepared for publication (from 2008 to 2009).

Text on a diskette. The text may be processed with the use of any standard text editor. Standard fonts are advised, 12-point typeface. Tables, figures, drawings and photographs may be processed using any mode and software (*.txt, *.doc, *.wpd, *.xls, *.cdr, *.bmp, *.eps, *.tif preferably). Use 3.5" diskettes, CD-R or ZIP disks.
When submitting disks, authors should: (1) be certain to include a print-out of the version of the article that is on the disk; (2) put only the latest version of the manuscript on the disk; (3) name the file(s) clearly; (4) label the disk with the format of the file and the file name; (5) provide information of the hardware and software used. Indicate the format: IBM PC or Apple and the name (+version) of software use.

The authors are requested to send 3 (three) copies of the manuscript along with a corresponding number of tables, pictures and photo duplicates and a computer diskette (see below conditions).
Send the required number of copies of the manuscript in a heavy paper envelope, enclosing the copies and figures in cardboard, if necessary, to prevent photographs from being bent. Place photographs and transparencies in a separate heavy paper envelope.

Manuscripts must be accompanied by a covering letter signed by the first author. This must include:
1. information on prior or duplicate publication or submission elsewhere any part of the work as defined earlier in this document;
2. a statement of financial or other relationships that might lead to a conflict of interest (see below);
3. a statement saying that the manuscript was read and approved by all authors, that the requirements for authorship was met as stated earlier in this document, and that each author believes the manuscript represents honest work;
4. the name, address, and telephone number of the corresponding author who is responsible for communicating with the other authors about revisions and final approval of the proofs.
The covering letter with above specifications should provide any additional information that may be helpful to the Editor, such as the type of article in the particular journal that the manuscript represents and whether the author would be willing to meet the cost of reproducing color illustrations.

The manuscript must be accompanied by copies of permissions to reproduce published material, to use illustrations or report information about identifiable people, or to name people for their contributions.