Requirements for Manuscripts

UNIFORM REQUIREMENTS FOR MANUSCRIPTS SUBMITTED

TO «HUMAN ECOLOGY»

These requirements are based on the «Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals» (www.icmje.org) taking into account the experience of using the «Uniform Requirements...» in Russian journals: «Siberian Medical Journal» and «Problems of Endocrinology». Issues of authorship, conflicts of interests, reviewing and measures against suspected bad practice of scientific publications are available at www.icmje.org. The English version presented below is a short version of the Russian guidelines. International authors are kindly asked to consult the latest version of the ICMJE guidelines at the above mentioned web-site.

The Russian version of the Requirements takes into account main drawbacks of Russian studies described both in Russian and international literature. Special attention is drawn to the description of research methodology, statistical methods, presentation of results and their interpretation. The Editorial Board hopes that adherence to these Requirements by our authors will further improve the quality of the journal.

Manuscripts which do not conform to these Requirements will not be considered.

All articles submitted to the Editorial Body undergo careful peer-review. Manuscripts containing statistical data are also sent to our statistical reviewers besides The Editorial Board has the right to request databases used for calculations in cases, when questions about quality of statistical processing arise.

The Editorial Body reserves the right to do minor editorial changes.

Submission of manuscripts

Manuscripts should be submitted to the journal in either a paper form with a cover letter signed by all authors or in an electronic form. The latter can be sent to the journal by e-mail to rio@nsmu.ru . A cover letter should be addressed to the Editor-in-Chief and contain the following sections:

1. Recommendation of the institution where the research was carried out (signed by the Vice-Rector for Science or the Institution Head).

2. Surname, name, patronymic, scientific degree, title and position of the corresponding author

3. Affiliations of all authors

4. Postal address with a postcode for correspondence

5. Telephone, fax, e-mail of the corresponding author

6. Surnames and initials of all co-authors

7. Full title of the manuscript submitted to the journal

8. Number of text pages, number of tables and figures

9. Indicate the section of the journal to which the article is submitted

10. Date of submission

11. Signatures of all authors

12. The authors must confirm that the information presented in the manuscript has not been published or is not under consideration in other journals.

Authors must declare financial or any other interests that might influence the results presented in the manuscript. For example, if a clinical trial is carried out, it is obligatory to specify relationships of a researcher and a pharmaceutical company producing a studied medicine.

The cover letter may contain other information, which could be useful for the Editorial Board.

The electronic variant of the article is prepared in the format MS Word 7.0 or newer versions (97, 2000, XP).

The article text should printed on one side of sheets А4 with font Times New Roman, size 12 points with line spacing 1.5, portrait orientation with all margins of 2.5 сm. All pages should be numbered. Tables and figures (illustrations, graphs, photographs) as well as legends to them are placed on separate pages at the end of the manuscript. Approximate arrangement of illustrations in the text is specified on the margins to the right.

Literature reviews should not exceed 4000 words (excluding tables, illustrations and references). Original articles should not exceed 3000 words (excluding tables, illustrations and references). Conference reports, short communications and book reviews should not exceed 1000 words. Reviews, short communications, conference reports and new book reviews can be unstructured. Original articles must contain the following sections: Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion and References.

Titles of articles should be brief (not more than 120 symbols) and reflect the content. Titles with ambiguous meaning should be avoided. Do not use abbreviations in the titles.

A title page should contain the following information:

1. Article title

2. Surname and initials of all authors

3. All affiliations of all authors. If the authors work in different institutions, afiliations of each author should be identified as presented below:

ACCUMULATION OF RADIONUCLIDES IN TREE VEGETATION

OFKOLAPENINSULAINDUSTRIALREGIONS

^*А. N. Kizeev, ^**А. N. Nikanov

^*Polar-Alpine Botanic Garden-Institute of Kola Research Center Russian Academy of

Sciences, Apatity

^**Research Laboratory of North-West Center of Hygiene, Kirovsk

4. Abstract in Russian

5. Key words

Abstract (Summary)

Abstracts should provide brief but informative summary of the article. Abstracts should not contain more than 160 words or 1200 symbols including spaces. Abstracts should contain aims of the study, information on a type of research, data acquisition and analysis, main results with levels of statistical significance and main conclusions. Novel and important aspects of the study should also be specified in abstracts. As an abstract is the only part of an article that is accessible in electronic format for all readers, authors should make sure that their abstract reflects the content of the article. Abstracts of literature reviews, descriptions of new methods of research or data processing, descriptions of separate clinical cases or observations can be unstructured, but should motivate readers to address article full texts. Abstracts of original studies should be structured as follows: Aims, Methods, Results and Conclusions.

Abstract in English is presented after tables, illustrations and references. The Editorial office reserves the right to correct translations.

Keywords

Key words should be presented under the abstract and contain 3-6 key words reflecting the area of research. The authors are encouraged to use MeSH terms (Medical Subject Headings) as key words (www.pubmed.com).

Introduction

In this section, authors provide background information for their research. All definitions should be clearly formulated; the essence of the problem and its significance should be specified. The authors should introduce the studied problem to the readers, describe in brief what is known in this field, cite previous research on this topic, and specify drawbacks of previous studies if there are any, in other words, provide the reason for this study. One shouldn’t list all published research on the topic, it is enough to mention the most significant papers directly related to the topic. It is recommended to cite not only Russian, but also international publications on the studied topic.

At the end of this section, state aims of the study or a hypothesis to be tested. The aim should be clearly formulated.

Methods

The section should be very detailed, so that readers could replicate the study based on the information presented in this section. It should be remembered that a published original study is not only a source of information, but also educational material for young researchers. Detailed descriptions of the methods will allow readers to assess advantages and limitations of the study as well as reliability and generalizability of its results.

In this section, it is recommended to present clear descriptions of the following aspects (it is not necessary to separate them into subsections): type of study; sampling procedure and sample size; measurements; data presentation; statistical analysis; ethical principles.

Results

In this section, present only the results directly related to your research question. Do not discuss your results in this section and do not compare your results with the results from other studies. This should be done in the Discussion section.

The results should be presented in the text, tables and figures in natural sequence on the basis of priority of the study aims. It is not recommended to present the same results both in the text and in tables or figures and vice versa. General characteristics of samples should be presented in a table with indication of main studied symptoms. Specify not only measures of central tendency, but also measures of variability or confidence intervals for means and proportions.

Units of measurement should correspond to the International System of Units SI.

Tables is an efficient way to present data. Presentation of results in the form of tables allows reducing text size and improves readability of the paper. Tables should be numbered with Arabic numbers successively in order of their first reference in the text. Each table should be self-explanatory allowing readers to understand what data the table presents without referring to the main text. If abbreviations are used, they are explained under the table. All explanations are given in the same place. For footnotes, it is recommended to use uppercase asterisks (^*).It is not recommended to present more than 5 small tables in one article.

Illustrations. All diagrams, illustrations and photographs should be presented in electronic form with a view to black-and-white print. Photographs should be sharp and in JPEG format. Diagrams, schemes and figures can be in Ехсеl or JPEG formats. If photographs of humans are used, those persons should not be recognizable, or a written permission for publication of the photographs should be enclosed. All illustrations should have headings and be understandable without reference to the article text. In figure legends, all legend keys are described. All illustrations are numbered with Arabic figures successively in order of their first reference in the text. In use of illustrations from other sources, it is necessary to mention information sources. It is not recommended to present more than 5 illustrations in one article.

Discussion

In original articles, Discussion begins with a brief (not more than 2–3 sentences) presentation of the main results. The main results are those corresponding to the study aims. There is no point in drawing attention to side results, only because statistically significant differences have been detected during statistical analysis.

Information presented in the sections «Introduction» and «Methods» should not to be repeated in this section. Point at important aspects of the study and try to explain these results were obtained. Describe strength and limitations of the study. Discuss potential random and systematic errors which might threaten the validity of the study. It is always better to draw attention of readers to potential shortcomings of the study (there is no such thing as the perfect study), than reviewers or readers will point at them. It is also advised to relate the findings obtained in this study to the results of other studies. Try to explain why the obtained results differ or do not differ from the results of other authors. Potential implementation or practical significance of the results can be discussed in this section. The authors can suggest directions for further studies logically stemming from the study results.

Conclusions should be in line with the aims of the study. Avoid overstepping the data, i.e. drawing conclusions which cannot be directly supported by the results. For example, there is no point in making conclusions about economic expediency of application of a new method of treatment of patients with disease Х, if in the article, comparative economic effectiveness is not analyzed.

References

References should be presented according to the Russian State Standard (GOST) 7.1–2003 in an alphabetical order. Please, check some of the papers in the journal if in doubt or contact the Editorial office.

Examples:

1. Boiko Е. R. Some regularities in human metabolic alteration in Far North / Е. R. Boiko // Human Physiology. – 1996. – № 4. – P. 122–129.

2. Gratsianskaya L. N. Health of arc welders in shipbuilding industry / L. N. Gratsianskaya, I. М. Suvorov, М. L. Khaimovitch etc. / Issues of Occupational Pathology in Engineering Industry. – М., 1977. – P. 4–8.

3.Human individual susceptibility to heliogeophysical factors / N. P. Verko, P. Е. Grigoriev, М. А. Kokareva, I. I. Dobreva // Proceedings of Tavrichesky National University named after V. I. Vernadsky. Series «Biology, Chemistry». – 2006. – V. 19(58), № 4. – P. 41–46.

4. International recommendations (Ethical code) for medical-biological research with animals. [Electronic resource] : Worked out and published in 1985 by Council of International Research Organizations : http://www.bio.msu.ru/l12/ad080012.htm

5. Specially protected natural areas : Federal Law of 14.03.1995 № 33-ФЗ: adopted by State Duma on 15 February 1995.

6. Features of functioning of winterers’ organisms in adaptation to Antarctic conditions / Yu. P. Gorgo, V. N. Ilyin, G. P. Milinevsky, V. Е. Shevchenko // Proceedings of International Symposium «Heliogeophysical Factors and Human Health». – Novosibirsk : Co. ltd. «RITS». – 2005. – P. 54–55.

7. Spivak Е. M. Clinical-pathogenetic variants and basis for formation of vegetative dysfunction at early and preschool age: Thesis Author’s Abstract … Doctor of Medical Sciences / Spivak Evgeny Markovitch. – N. Novgorod, 1993. – 45 p.

8. Epidemiology of 21-hydroxylase deficit in Russia / М. А. Kareva, E. S. Kuznetsova,

О. V. Dukhareva and others // Proceedings of III All-Russian Research and Practice

Conference «Research Achievements – into Pediatric Endocrinologist Practice», M.,

2005. – P. 146.

9. BernerJ. Impacts of a Warming Arctic / J. Berner, C. Furgal // Arctic Climate

Impact Assessment Scientific Report. Chapter 15. – Cambridge University Press,

2005. – Р. 863–906.

10. Dara S. I. Fresh frozen plasma transfusion in critically ill medical patients with coagulopathy / S. I. Dara, R. Rana, B. Afessa et al. // Crit. Care Med. – 2005. – Vol. 33, N 11. – P. 2667–2671.

11. Green G. E. Carrier rates in the midwestern United States for GJB2 mutations causing inherited deafness / G. E. Green, D. A. Scott, G. G. McDonald et al. // JAMA. – 1999. – Vol. 281. – P. 2211–2216.

12. Stressfull life events: Their nature and effects / B. S. Dohrenwend & B.P. Dohrenwend (еds.). – N. Y. : Wiley, 1974.

Bibliographical references in the text should be given in square brackets and marked by Arabic numerals according to the order of appearance in the list References, which is alphabetical. Russian language papers are presented before the international ones. Surnames of international authors should be given in original spelling. It is desirable to refer to newer publications (not older than 10 years). For original articles, a number of sources should not exceed 30, for reviews - 60.

We do not recommend citing abstracts, newspaper publications, unpublished observations and personal communications.

In order to avoid omitting of important information in some specific types of studies, authors are recommended to check the instructions using the links below:

The Journal publishes advertisements in the sphere of human ecology in the form of separate advertising modules on the inside back cover (full-color printing), as well as articles containing commercial information in the sphere of human ecology with specification «published for publicity purposes». Advertising in the Journal is to be paid for. Contact the Editorial office for details.

Address of the Editorial office: Northern State Medical University, «Human Ecology», Troitsky Ave. 51, 163000 Arkhangelsk, Russia, Tel.: +7 8182 206563; fax: +7 8182 263226; E-mail: rio@nsmu.ru.