Scope
The Journal of Gastrointestinal and Liver Diseases (formerly Romanian Journal of Gastroenterology) publishes papers reporting original clinical and scientifi c research, which are of a high standard and which contribute to the advancement of knowledge in the field of gastroenterology and hepatology. The field comprises prevention, diagnosis and management of gastrointestinal and hepatobiliary disorders, as well as related molecular genetics, pathophysiology, and epidemiology. The journal also publishes reviews and editorials on those specific topics. Case reports will be accepted if of great interest and well investigated. Technical Reports and Clinical Imaging chapters should include new or improved techniques and devices used in clinical research or in the practice of gastroenterology, and hepatology. Letters to the Editor, especially those mentioning an opinion on an article previously published, or expressing a new finding are welcome. Letters are selected for their importance and not all letters submitted can be publised. Notes will also be accepted if on topics of professional interest.
The website address of the Journal of Gastrointestinal and Liver Diseases is http://www.jgld.ro.
The journal is published quarterly and papers are accepted for publication in English language. Papers from contributors living abroad and from Romanian authors should be addressed to the editorial office:
Prof. Monica Acalovschi, Editor
Journal of Gastrointestinal and Liver Diseases
3rd Medical Clinic, Str.Croitorilor no.19-23
400162 Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
Tel./Fax: +40-264-433335.
E-mail: editorjgld@gmail.com
Please consider before submission
A covering letter should accompany your submission.
*These instructions comply with those formulated by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors. The Journal of Gastrointestinal and Liver Diseases is on the list of journals that follow the ICMJE’s Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals. The list as well as the complete document can be found at: http://www.icmje.org.
You can use your own wording, but please consider the following points and make the appropriate declarations.
Redundant or duplicate publication
We ask you to confirm that your paper has not been published in its current form or a substantially similar form (in print or electronically, including on a website), that it has not been accepted for publication by another journal, and that it is not under consideration by another publication. The International Committee of Medical Journal Editors has provided details regarding duplicate or redundant publications (http://www.icmje.org). In your covering letter to the editors, please mention any published work that concerns the same patients or subjects as the present paper.
Conflicts of interest
Authors are asked to state all possible conflicts of interest, including financial and other relationships. If you are sure that there is no conflict of interest, please state this also. The sources of funding should be acknowledged in your paper.
Permissions to reproduce previously published material
Please send us copies of permission to reproduce material (such as illustrations) from the copyright holder.
Patient‘s consent forms
The protection of a patient’s right to privacy is essential. Please send copies of patient’s consent forms on which patients or other subjects of your experiments clearly grant permission for the publication of photographs or other material that might identify them. If the consent form for your research does not specifically include this, please obtain it or remove the identifying material.
Even if patient-identifying material is not included in your paper, all studies dealing with patients or normal volunteers (including case reports) need their written informed consent. A statement must be included in the ‘Methods’ section of your paper.
Ethics Committee approval
You must state clearly in your submission in the Methods section that you conducted studies on human participants with the approval of the Hospital, or University Ethics Committee etc. Similarly, you must confirm that experiments involving animals adhered to ethical standards.
Authorship
We ask that all authors sign the submission letter. It has happened that someone named as an author has not been aware of the submission of a paper and, on occasion, has not supported the findings published or the manuscript form. We therefore ask all authors to confirm that they have read and approved the paper. We also ask all authors to confirm that they have met the criteria for authorship as established by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors, believe that the paper represents honest work, and are able to verify the validity of the results reported.
Copyright assignment
Papers are accepted for publication on the understanding that exclusive copyright in the paper is assigned to the Publisher. Authors are asked to sign a copyright assignment form after acceptance of their papers. They may use material from their paper in other works published by themselves.
Submissions
All manuscripts submitted to the Journal of Gastrointestinal and Liver Diseases are made available for online review. The journal introduced the electronic submission of manuscripts in Word format (see Online manuscript submission), but also accepts manuscripts submitted as attachments to electronic mail (text, fi gures and tables). Do not send them in PDF format. The word count for electronic submissions is up to 3,500 words for original articles, 1,500 words for case reports, 2,000 for Clinical Imaging papers, 500 words for Letters, and 4,500 words for review articles.
Authors should NOT in addition post a hard copy submission to the editorial office, unless they are supplying artwork, letters or files that cannot be submitted electronically, or have been instructed to do so by the editorial office. Include the following where appropriate: subject consent forms; transfer of copyright form; permission to reproduce previously published material; checklist.
For those authors who have no option but to submit by mail please send one copy of the article, plus an electronic version on disk or CD-ROM to the Editorial Office, Journal of Gastrointestinal and Liver Diseases, 3rd Medical Clinic, Str. Croitorilor no.19-23, 400162 Cluj-Napoca, Romania.
Double spacing should be used throughout the manuscript, which should include the following sections, each starting on a separate page: title page, abstract and key words, text, acknowledgements, references, individual tables and legend for figures. Pages should be numbered consecutively, beginning with the title page, and the Arabic numbers should be placed in the top right hand corner of each page.
Presentation of papers
Title page
The title page should carry the full title of the paper and a short title to be used as a short ‘running head’ (and which should be so identified and should comprise up to 45 characters). The first name, middle initial and last name of each author should appear. If the work is to be attributed to a department or institution, its full name should be included. Any disclaimers should appear on the title page, as should the name and address of the author responsible for correspondence concerning the manuscript and the name, address and e-mail address of the author to whom requests for reprints should be made (the author should mention if he does not want his e-mail address to be published). A word count for the text only (excluding abstract, acknowledgement, figure legends, and references) allows editors and reviewers to assess whether the information contained in the paper warrants the amount of space devoted to it, and whether the submitted manuscript fits within the journal’s word limits. A separate word count for the Abstract is also useful for the same reason.
Finally, the title page should include the sources of any support for the work in the form of grants, equipment, drugs, or any combination of these.
Abstracts
The second page should carry a structured abstract of no more than 250 words. Do not use abbreviations, footnotes, or references.
Background & Aims. Describe the importance of the study and the precise research objective(s) or study question(s).
Methods. Methods should include information on the following aspects of study design when applicable:
Design - describe the basic study design, e.g. randomized controlled trial, cross sectional study, cohort study, case series, survey etc;
Setting - specify whether the study was conducted in a primary or tertiary care setting, in an ambulatory care clinic or hospital, in the general community etc;
Participants - indicate the number of study subjects and how they were selected, recruited, and assigned to the intervention;
Intervention - report the method of administration and duration of the intervention.
Results. Provide the main outcomes of the study, including confidence intervals or p values.
Conclusion. State only conclusions that are directly supported by the evidence and the implications of the findings.
Review articles and case reports should include an unstructured summary.
Key words
The abstract should be followed by a list of 3–10 key-words or short phrases which will assist the cross-indexing of the article and which may be published. When possible, the terms used should be from the Medical Subject Headings list of Index Medicus (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/meshhome.html).
Text
Full papers of an original study may be divided into sections headed Introduction, Methods (including ethical and statistical information), Results and Discussion (including a conclusion). This so-called “IMRAD” structure is not simply an arbitrary publication format, but rather a direct reflection of the process of scientific discovery. Long articles may require subheadings within some sections (especially the Results and Discussion sections) to clarify their content.
Other types of articles, such as case reports, reviews, and editorials, are likely to require other formats.
Excessive use of abbreviations is not recommended. Outline statistical methods used. Identify drugs and chemicals used by generic name (if trade-marks are mentioned, manufactured name and city should be given).
Acknowledgements
Acknowledgements should be made only to those who have made a substantial contribution to the study. Authors are responsible for obtaining written permission from people acknowledged by name in case readers infer their endorsement of data and conclusions.
References
References should be numbered consecutively in the order in which they first appear in the text. They should be assigned Arabic numerals, which should be given in brackets,
e.g. [12]. References should include the names of all authors when six or fewer; when seven or more, list only the first three names and add et al. References should also include full title and source information. Journal names should be abbreviated as in Index Medicus
(http://www.nlm.nih.gov/tsd/serials/terms_cond.html).
No more than 90-100 references will be accepted for reviews. For Letters to the Editor, 5-6 references. References should be typed double-spaced on separate sheet. Abbreviations of journals conform to those used in Index Medicus. Examples:
Articles
Nomura H, Sou S, Tanimoto H et al. Short-term interferon αtherapy for acute hepatitis C: a randomized controlled trial. Hepatology 2004; 39: 1213-1219.
Gould JC, Melvin WS. Telerobotic foregut and esophageal surgery. Surg Clin North Am 2003; 83: 1421– 1427.
Book
Whitehead WE, Schuster MM, Gastrointestinal Disorders. Behavioral and Physiological Basis for Treatment. Orlando: Academic Press, 1985.
Chapter in books
Kahrilas PJ, Pandolfino JE. Gastroesophageal reflux disease and its complications, including Barrett’s metaplasia. In: Sleisenger and Fordtran’s Gastrointestinal and Liver Diseases. 7th Edn, Philadelphia: Saunders, 2002, 599-622.
Avoid or keep as low as possible the use of abstracts as references. Personal communications and unpublished work should not feature in the reference list but should appear in parentheses in the text. Unpublished work accepted for publication but not yet released should be included in the reference list with the words ‘in press’ in parentheses beside the name of the journal concerned. References must be verified by the author(s) against the original documents, although JGLD also checks the accuracy of the references.
Tables
Each table should be typed on a separate sheet in double spacing. Tables should not be submitted as photographs. Each table should be assigned a Roman numeral (e.g. Table III) and a brief title. Explanatory matter should be placed in footnotes. Explain in footnotes all non-standard abbreviations that are used in each table. Identify statistical measures of variations, such as standard deviation and standard error of the mean.
Each table should be cited in the text.
Illustrations
All graphs, photographs (on glossy paper), diagrams will be referred to as figures and should be numbered consecutively in the text in Arabic numerals. They will be submitted in copy actual-size and on diskettes or CD-rom and electronically as a separate electronic file, preferably named as “fi gure 1.tiff”, figure 2.jpeg” etc., whenever possible. Do not prepare too small images, as there is no effective way to increase the resolution of an image beyond its original size. Figures must be at least 150 dpi to ensure quality. If scanned, line art should be at a resolution of 800 dpi, and halftones and colour at 300 dpi. For vector images (graphs, carts), eps is the best format to be used.
If a figure has been published before, the original source must be acknowledged and written permission from the copyright holder for both print and electronic formats should be submitted with the material. Permission is required regardless of authorship or publisher.
Figures may be reduced, cropped or deleted at the discretion of the Editor.
Figures that are submitted in color must be published for color reproduction costs. Send fax written agreement for color reproduction costs to (+40-264-433335), email to editorjgld@gmail.com or includ with submission.
Legends for illustrations
Captions should be typed in double spacing, beginning on a separate page. Each one should have an Arabic numeral corresponding to the illustration to which it refers with a title above and explanatory notes below it. Do not embed image files or other objects in your Word document. Internal scales should be explained and staining methods for photomicrographs should be identified.
Units of measurement
Measurements of length, height, weight, and volume should be reported in metric units (meter, kilogram, or litre) or their decimal multiples. Temperatures should be given in degrees Celsius. Blood pressures should be given in mmHg.
All hematological and clinical chemistry measurements should be reported in the metric system in terms of the International System of Units (SI). Editors may request that alternative or non-SI units be added by the authors before publication.
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.
Pre-submission checklist
It is hoped that this list will be useful during the final checking of an article prior to sending it to the Journal’s Editor for review:
– one author designated as corresponding author: with e-mail address, full postal address, telephone and fax numbers;
– all necessary files have been uploaded;
– keywords, running head;
– all figures and tables (including title, description, foot-notes);
– references are in the correct format for this Journal;
– all references mentioned in the reference list are cited in the text, and vice versa;
– permission has been obtained for use of copyrighted material from other sources.
Reprints
Ten reprints of the published articles and a copy of the Journal will be supplied free of charge. If required in a greater number, they will be available on payment of the necessary cost.
Online manuscript submission
The process is simple. Go to www.jgld.ro, click on Guidelines for authors and read the guidelines. Then, back on the home page of www.jgld.ro, go to Submit an article and click. The first time you use the system, you will register for an account. You will use your account log-in and password each time you return to the site, whether to make changes in your manuscript (edit) or check on the status of your submitted manuscript (check status).
After you log on, click on Add new article and start to submit the manuscript (Edit article) – title, authors, abstract, text, figures and tables, in the order required. Once you begin the submission process, the red rectangles indicate that you need to take an action on the selected task. Your text and figures will be uploaded in a few minutes and you will first save the manuscript. Then you will see it again and check for corrections. You click on Submit and your manuscript will be submitted. You are once more asked and you should confi rm submission.
Once in our system, the manuscript is assigned a tracking number and you will receive a confi rmation letter.
When the reviewers will approve to evaluate your manuscript, it will appear as under evaluation when you check the status.
As soon as the reviewers’ comments are ready, you will receive a letter from the editor confi rming acceptance, inviting you to revise your manuscript, or informing you that the manuscript can not be accepted for publication.
If you encounter any problem when submitting your manuscript, please contact us at the address:
editorjgld@gmail.com.
By implementing this online system, we ensure greater speed and accuracy in publishing. We thank all of you for your willingness to work with us in making important information even more accessible and timely.
Editorial policy
We welcome all contributions in the field of gastroenterology and hepatology. We invite known personalities with expertise and many published papers in a specific field to write reviews and editorials in our journal. We accept original papers and case reports from all countries, including Eastern Europe, Africa and Asia in order to promote the performances of the authors from emerging countries. We do not accept any more papers related to pediatric pathology. We also do not publish experimental studies.
The Journal of Gastrointestinal and Liver Diseases offers thorough peer review, online submission and immediate publication on acceptance. The journal is advised by an International Editorial Board, and a local Review Board.
The Editor-in-chief or one of the local editors fi rst reads the manuscripts received and in about 1-3 weeks decides upon their priority level: some are immediately sent to the reviewers, some are rejected without being sent for review and some are returned to authors with suggestions for improvement before submitting them to reviewers. In this case, the Editor-in-chief first reads the revised manuscript, and if adequate changes have been made, he sends it to the reviewer. All manuscripts are checked before printing by the English language Editor.
Peer-review procedure
The Journal of Gastrointestinal and Liver Diseases promotes evaluation of all the original papers by two or three independent reviewers, of whom two are international personalities. The peer-review process is essential for ensuring the quality of the scientific information disseminated. Authors are invited to suggest two or three possible reviewers from the respective field of interest and, if they consider necessary, to mention whom they do not want to review their paper. The reviewers are asked to evaluate the manuscript by applying the same standards as for the international journals. The reviewers send their comments to the Editor. The Editor will inform the authors about the suggestions made by the referee and ask them to answer the questions and make the required corrections. This information is provided up to three months from the date they submitted the paper to the journal.
The revised manuscript should be sent in no more than two months to the Editor. Revised manuscripts sent later will not be considered.
When the Editor receives the corrected version with all changes marked, accompanied by a letter with a point-bypoint reply to the reviewers’ comments, he sends those back to the same reviewer, who makes the fi nal recommendation for acceptance or rejection of the manuscript.
Open access
The abstract of the published articles will immediately be placed in PubMed Central. Thanks to the Open Access policy of the Journal of Gastrointestinal and Liver Diseases, all original articles, reviews, editorials and case reports published in the journal are available online for all to read.
