Instructions for Authors

THE EDITORIAL PROCESS

The manuscripts will be reviewed for possible publication with the understanding that they are being submitted only to the JMAS and have not been published, simultaneously submitted, or already accepted for publication elsewhere. The Editors review all submitted manuscripts initially and reject outright manuscripts that do not carry a clear message for the intended readership or are of insufficient originality. Other manuscripts are uploaded to the online manuscript management system and forwarded to at least two reviewers without revealing the identity of the contributors. Within a period of around twelve weeks, the contributors will be informed about the reviewers’ comments and acceptance / rejection of the manuscript. Revisions, if any, suggested by the Editors or reviewers are communicated to the authors online requesting submission of the revised manuscript. The JMAS reserves the right to copy-edit the accepted articles for grammar, punctuation, print style and format.

ONLINE SUBMISSION OF ARTICLES

Articles can also be submitted online from http://www.journalonweb.com/jmas. New authors will have to register; the registration is a two step process. Once registered, same login area can be utilised for more than one submission.

For online submission articles should be prepared in two files (first page file and article file). Images should be submitted separately.

First Page File:
Prepare the title page, covering letter, acknowledgement, etc. using a word processor program. All information which can reveal your identity should be here. Use text/rtf/doc/PDF files. Do not zip the files.

Article file: The main text of the article, beginning from Abstract till References (including tables) should be in this file. Do not include any information (such as acknowledgement, your names in page headers, etc.) in this file. Use text/rtf/doc/PDF files. Do not zip the files. Limit the file size to 400 kb. Do not incorporate images in the file. If file size is large, graphs can be submitted as images separately without incorporating them in the article file to reduce the size of the file.

Images:
Submit good quality colour images. Each image should be less than 100 kb in size. Size of the image can be reduced by decreasing the actual height and width of the images (keep up to 400 pixels or 3 inches). All image formats (JPEG, TIFF, GIF, BMP, PNG, EPS, etc.) are acceptable; JPEG is the most suitable. Do not zip the files.

Legends: Legends for the figures/images should be kept ready for copy-paste during the submission process.

Once a manuscript is submitted online, please send hard copies of the images and copyright form to the publishers’ address within four week.

SUBMITTING THE MANUSCRIPT

Send three copies of the manuscript, three sets of figures along with a covering letter, contributors’ form signed by all the contributors, checklist and a compact disk (Do not submit floppy disks) . Place the figures in a separate envelope. The covering letter must include information on prior or duplicate publication or submission elsewhere of any part of the work/study; and a statement of financial or other relationships that might lead to a conflict of interest. Copies of any permission(s) to reproduce published material, and to use illustrations or report information about identifiable people must accompany the manuscript.

Send all the material to:

Prof. Tehemton E. Udwadia
Editor in Chief, Journal of Minimal Access Surgery
Department of Minimal Access Surgery,
P. D. Hinduja National Hospital,
Veer Savarkar Marg, Mahim,
Mumbai 400016, India.

It is essential that you provide complete contact details, including full institutional address, telephone number and e-mail address for the corresponding author.

TYPES OF MANUSCRIPTS AND WORD LIMITS

Leading articles
The Editors commission leading articles that are 700-1000 words in length and address topics of current interest. They should be accompanied by no more than ten references. Submissions are subjected to editorial review before acceptance. The Editors retain the right to alter style and shorten material for publication.

Reviews
The Editorial Board of the JMAS encourages submission of review articles on topics of current interest. The manuscript should be restricted to 4000 words and up to fifty references. An abstract of no more than 250 words and up to six key words should be provided.

Original Articles
These should be in the format of a) introduction, b) patients and methods, c) results and d) discussion. The manuscript should be restricted to 3000 words, up to 30 references and carry no more than four tables or figures. Please provide a 250-word structured abstract and upto six key words.

Unusual cases
This section presents reports on rare cases. The manuscript should be in the format
Introduction,
Case report and
Discussion
Submissions to this section should carry no more than 700 words, two figures and five references. An unstructured abstract of upto 150 words and six key words should be provided.

How I do It?
Submissions to this section should provide a description of a well-established MAS procedure focussing on its technical aspects. The manuscript should be in the format

Introduction,
Preoperative preparation,
Positioning of patient and ports,
Operative steps and
Postoperative care.
The operative steps should be illustrated with high-quality figures. The manuscript should be restricted to 1500 words, a 150-word abstract, six key words and may carry up to 10 figures and 10 references.

How I do It Differently?
Submissions to this section highlight a technical variation of a well-established MAS procedure adopted by the authors. The manuscript should be in the format a) introduction that briefly outlines the standard b) our modification detailing the modification to the standard technique (supported by high quality figures) and c) benefits. The manuscript should be restricted to 1000 words and may carry upto five figures. The number of references should be restricted to 5.

Troubleshooting in Minimal Access Surgery
Submissions to this section should be a pictorial carrying up to five figures along with descriptive legends illustrating a novel approach to the management of an intra- or postoperative problem. No references are required.

Instruments and Equipments
Modifications to existing instruments / equipment or descriptions of new ones should be presented in no more than 500 words, upto three references and 2 figures.

Personal Viewpoint
The section carries opinions expressed on an area of MAS as free-standing text of upto 700 words. No figures and upto 5 references are permitted.

Letter to the Editor
Comments on papers recently published in the Journal. The letters should be restricted to up to 500 words and three references and should not carry any figures.

Announcements of conferences & meetings
These should be submitted with the name and address of the person from whom additional information can be obtained and are to be restricted to 100 words.

PREPARATION OF THE MANUSCRIPT

Send laser printout on white thick paper of A4 size (212 × 297 mm), with margins of 1 inch on all sides. Type or print on only one side of the paper. Use double spacing throughout. Number the pages consecutively, beginning with the title page. The language should be American English.

TITLE PAGE
Should carry the following information

Title of the article
Running title or short title of no more than 50 characters
Name of each contributor (Last name, first name and initial of middle name)
The name of the department(s) and institution(s) to which the work should be attributed
The name, address, phone numbers, facsimile numbers and e-mail address of the contributor responsible for correspondence
Type of manuscript (Original/ Review/ Unusual cases etc)
Word counts separately for abstract and for the text (excluding the references and abstract).
Acknowledgement: Specify contributions that need acknowledging but do not justify authorship, such as general support by a departmental head and acknowledgments of technical, financial and material support, and
If the manuscript was presented as part at a meeting, the organisation, place, and exact date on which it was read.

ABSTRACT PAGE
The second page should carry the full title of the manuscript and an abstract (see above for word limits). For original articles the abstract should be structured and arranged in the format Background, patients and Methods, Results and Conclusions. Below the abstract should provide 3 to 6 key words.

TEXT OF THE ARTICLE
State the purpose of the article and summarize the rationale for the study or observation in Introduction. For case reports give incidence of similar cases in past. Describe the selection of the observational or experimental subjects clearly in Patients and Methods section. Identify the age, sex, and other important characteristics of the subjects. Identify the methods, apparatus (give the manufacturer's name and address in parentheses), and procedures in sufficient detail. Give references to established methods, describe new or substantially modified methods, give reasons for using them, and evaluate their limitations. Identify precisely all drugs and chemicals used, including generic name(s), dose(s), and route(s) of administration. Reports of randomised clinical trials should be based on the CONSORT statement (http://www.consort-statement.org).

When reporting experiments on human subjects, procedures followed should be in accordance with the standards ethical committee on human experimentation and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000 ( http://www.wma.net/e/policy/17-c_e.html ). Do not use patients' names, initials, or hospital numbers, especially in illustrative material.

Present the results in logical sequence in the text, tables, and illustrations. Do not repeat in the text all the data in the tables or illustrations; emphasise or summarise only important observations. Use standard guidelines for statistics (See Ann Intern Med 1988;108:266-73).

Emphasize the new and important aspects of the study and the conclusions that follow from them along with implications of the findings and their limitations in the Discussion section.

REFERENCES
References should be numbered consecutively in the order in which they are first mentioned in the text. Identify references in text, tables, and legends by Arabic numerals in superscript. References cited only in tables or figure legends should be numbered in accordance with the sequence established by the first identification in the text of the particular table or figure. The titles of journals should be abbreviated according to the style used in Index Medicus. Avoid using abstracts, unpublished observations, and personal communication as references. Please refer http://www.nlm.nih.gov/bsd/uniform_requirements.html for other types of references such as electronic media, newspaper items, etc.

Standard journal article:
Seshadri L, George SS, Vasudevan B, Krishna S. Cervical intraepithelial neoplasia and human papilloma virus infection in renal transplant recipients. Indian J Cancer 2001;38:92-5.
List the first six contributors followed by et al.

Personal author(s):
Ringsven MK, Bond D. Gerontology and leadership skills for nurses. 2nd ed. Albany (NY): Delmar Publishers; 1996.

Chapter in a book:
Phillips SJ, Whisnant JP. Hypertension and stroke. In: Laragh JH, Brenner BM, editors. Hypertension: pathophysiology, diagnosis, and management. 2nd ed. New York: Raven Press; 1995. pp465-78.

TABLES
Tables should be self-explanatory and should not duplicate textual material. Tables with more than 10 columns and 25 rows are not acceptable. Limit the number to minimum required.

Number tables, in Arabic numerals, consecutively in the order of their first citation in the text and supply a brief title for each.

Place explanatory matter in footnotes, not in the heading. Explain in footnotes all non-standard abbreviations that are used in each table. For footnotes use the following symbols, in this sequence: *, †, ‡, §, ¦, , **, ††, ‡‡
Obtain permission for all fully borrowed, adapted, and modified tables and provide a credit line in the footnote.

ILLUSTRATIONS (FIGURES)
Submit three sets of sharp, glossy, un-mounted, colour photographic prints, with height of 4 inches and width of 6 inches. Computerised colour printouts are not acceptable.

Figures should be numbered consecutively according to the order in which they have been first cited in the text.
Each figure should have a label pasted on its back indicating the number of the figure, the running title, top of the figure and the legends of the figure. Do not write on the back of figures, scratch, or mark them by using paper clips.
Symbols, arrows, or letters used in photomicrographs should contrast with the background and should be marked neatly with transfer type or by tissue overlay and not by pen.

If a figure has been published, acknowledge the original source and submit written permission from the copyright holder to reproduce the material. A credit line should appear in the legend for figures for such figures.
Type or print out legends (maximum 40 words, excluding the credit line) for illustrations with Arabic numerals corresponding to the illustrations. When symbols, arrows or letters are used to identify parts of the illustrations, identify and explain each one clearly in the legend. Explain the internal scale and identify the method of staining in photomicrographs.

ELECTRONIC VERSION
The manuscript must be accompanied by a compact disk containing the manuscript. Floppy disks are unreliable and should be avoided

SUBMITTING A REVISED MANUSCRIPT
While submitting a revised manuscript, contributors are requested to include, along with a single copy of the final revised manuscript, a photocopy of the revised manuscript with the changes underlined in red and with the point to point clarification to each comment. The manuscript number should be written on each of these documents.

REPRINTS
Journal does not provide any free printed reprints. Reprints can be purchased at the time of submitting the proofs.

CHECKLIST
(TO BE TICK MARKED, AS APPLICABLE AND ONE COPY ATTACHED WITH THE MANUSCRIPT)

Covering letter signed by all contributors
Previous publication / presentations mentioned
Source of funding mentioned
Conflicts of interest disclosed
Authors
Middle name initials provided
Author for correspondence, with e-mail address provided
dentity not revealed in paper except title page (e.g. name of the institute in material and methods, citing previous study as ‘our study’, name of institute in photographs, etc.)
Presentation and format
Double spacing, Margins 2.5 cm from all four sides
Title page contains all the desired information (vide supra)
Running title provided (not more than 50 characters)
Abstract page contains the full title of the manuscript
Abstract provided (150 words for case reports and 250 words for original articles)
Structured abstract provided for an original article
Key words provided (three or more)
Headings in title case (not ALL CAPITALS, not underlined)
References cited in superscript in the text without brackets
References according to the journal’s instructions.
Language and grammar
Uniformly American English
Abbreviations spelt out in full for the first time
Tables and figures
No repetition of data in tables/graphs and in text
Actual numbers from which graphs drawn, provided
Figures necessary and of good quality (colour)
Labels pasted on back of the figures (no names written)
Figure legends provided (not more than 40 words)
Patients’ privacy maintained (if not, written permission enclosed)
Table and figure numbers in Arabic letters (not Roman)
Credit note for borrowed figures/tables provided
Manuscript provided on a compact disk

CONTRIBUTORS' FORM
(TO BE MODIFIED AS APPLICABLE AND ONE SIGNED COPY TO BE ATTACHED WITH THE MANUSCRIPT)

Title:____________________________________________________________________
Manuscript number: ________________________________

I/we certify that I/we have participated sufficiently in the intellectual content, conception and design of this work or the analysis and interpretation of the data (when applicable), as well as the writing of the manuscript, to take public responsibility for it and have agreed to have my/our name listed as a contributor. I/we believe the manuscript represents valid work. Neither this manuscript nor one with substantially similar content under my/our authorship has been published or is being considered for publication elsewhere, except as described in the covering letter. I/we certify that all the data collected during the study is presented in this manuscript and no data from the study has been or will be published separately.
I/we attest that, if requested by the editors, I/we will provide the data/information or will cooperate fully in obtaining and providing the data/information on which the manuscript is based, for examination by the editors or their assignees. I/we also certify that we have taken all necessary permissions from our institution and/or department for conducting and publishing the present work. Financial interests, direct or indirect, that exist or may be perceived to exist for individual contributors in connection with the content of this paper have been disclosed in the cover letter. Sources of outside support of the project are named in the cover letter.

I/We hereby transfer(s), assign(s), or otherwise convey(s) all copyright ownership, including any and all rights incidental thereto, exclusively to the Journal, in the event that such work is published by the Journal of Minimal Access Surgery (JMAS). The JMAS shall own the work, including

Copyright;
The right to grant permission to republish the article in whole or in part, with or without fee;
The right to produce preprints or reprints and translate into languages other than English for sale or free distribution; and
The right to republish the work in a collection of articles in any other mechanical or electronic format. We give the rights to the corresponding author to make necessary changes as per the request of the journal, do the rest of the correspondence on our behalf and he/she will act as the guarantor for the manuscript on our behalf. All persons who have made substantial contributions to the work reported in the manuscript, but who are not contributors, are named in the Acknowledgment and have given me/us their written permission to be named. If I/we do not include an Acknowledgment that means I/we have not received substantial contributions from non-contributors and no contributor has been omitted.

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© 2004 Journal of Minimal Access Surgery