Author's Guidelines

General Requirements:



• Manuscripts submitted to the MMSJ are initially reviewed by the Editorial Board who determines whether the manuscript meets the requirements of the journal. After approval the manuscript is then assigned to two reviewers who may include experts in relevant fields, as selected by the Editors for review in a double blind process. Reviewers are asked to assess submissions based on accuracy, depth of original research, appropriate documentation, and readability.


• Manuscript must be written in English.


• The recommended length for a full-length article is 3,000 to 5,000 words, excluding references, tables, or figures. Number of figures should not exceed six, and maximum number of Tables allowed is four.


• All submitted manuscripts must adhere to the “Submission Requirements”.


• All submitted manuscripts should contain original research that has not been previously published partly or in full in print or electronic format and is currently not under consideration for publication elsewhere.

Details of Submission Requirements:



• Cover letter
  A cover letter from the corresponding author must accompany the manuscript and should provide a brief description of what was known in the field, the conceptual advances provided by and the significance of the reported findings. Cover letter should state that the submitted material is original research, has not been previously published, and has not been submitted elsewhere while under review by MMSJ. The cover letter is confidential and will not be sent to the reviewers. The cover letter should contain names of all authors and their complete mailing addresses and identifies the correspondence author.


• Manuscript components
  Manuscript should be arranged in the following order: (a) Title section, including Title, Running Title, Authors, Author Affiliations, and Correspondence. (b) Abstract followed by Keywords. (c) Introduction. (d) Materials and Methods. (e) Results. (f) Discussion. (g) Footnotes, including acknowledgement and abbreviations. (h) References. (i) Figure legends. (j) Tables. (k) Figures. (l) Supplemental data. Results and Discussion section can be merged together.
  Text components of the manuscripts (a-i) should be prepared with Microsoft Word in Times New Roman 12-point size with double line-space on one side of A4 (297 x 210 mm) sheets with all pages numbered. Tables (j) should be prepared in Microsoft Word with single space. Figures (k) should be submitted as high resolution image file. Manuscripts can be submitted through email: (mmj@misuratau.edu.ly).


• Research article format:
  Title:The title should be informative and concise, and reflect the content of the article in terms understandable to a broad readership. It should be no longer than 150 characters (including spaces) and contain no non-standard acronyms or abbreviations.
  
  Authorship:Author names should be spelled out in full, with the given name first and the family name last. Affiliations (including department/subunit, institution, city, province/state/region, postal code and country) should be provided for each author. If the authors are affiliated to different units, the affiliation sequence should follow the order of the author list, marked at the right upper corner of the author names using a, b, and c, etc.
  Corresponding author's name, full postal address, telephone and fax numbers and e-mail address should be provided. Any change in authorship after submission must be approved in writing by all authors.
  Abstract: An unstructured abstract consists of a single paragraph of no more than 250 words. A structured abstract consists of four paragraphs, labeled Objective, Methods, Results, and Conclusions, and is limited to 250 words. The abstract should clearly state the main objective of the study, the key methods, major results and their significance. References should not be included in the abstract.
  
  Keywords: Up to six key words, separated by commas, are allowed. They should be taken from those recommended by the Index Medicus Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) browser list at http://www.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/meshhome.html
  
  Introduction:It mainly includes the background of the research through literature citation, the questions to be addressed, the objectives of the research, and the main methods used.
  
  Materials and Methods:Methods should be described in sufficient details so that other laboratories can replicate the results and verify the claims. Generally, standard procedures should be referenced, though significant variations should be described. Appropriate experimental design and statistical methods should be applied and described wherever necessary for proper interpretation of data and verification of claims. All novel materials and procedures should be described in sufficient detail to allow their reproduction (e.g., DNA constructs, genetic stocks, enzyme preparations, and analytical software).
  
  Results:Results can be described using text, tables and figures. The text should complement the materials given in the Tables and/or Figures but should not be simple, direct repetition of the information in the Tables and/or Figures. Please provide full details of statistical analysis either in the text or in the Tables and/or Figure legends. Please include the type of test, the precise data to which it was applied, the value of the relevant statistics, the sample size and/or degrees of freedom, and the probability level.
  
  Discussion:The main purpose of the Discussion is to comment on the significance of the results and set them in the context of previous work. Hypothesis should be rational and evidence-based. Please avoid repeating information in the Results section.
  
  Acknowledgements:A list of contributions, credits, potential conflicts of interests, and previous presentation of the information reported in the manuscript.
  
  Abbreviations:Abbreviations used in the text should be defined. However, some common names, such as ATP, RNA, PBS, and PCR, may not be defined. All nomenclature, including gene names and symbols, should be used in a scientifically accurate manner following the nomenclature conventions adopted by the scientific community.
  
  References:References should be more than 30 for original research. Authors are responsible for the accuracy and completeness of their references and correct citation in the text. Please pay particular attention to the content, year, volume, page and so on. Journal titles should be abbreviated in accordance with the Index Medicus. References published within the past five years are preferred. Do not cite uncompleted work or work that has not yet been accepted for publication as references. All references should be presented using the following format:


• Journal articles:[1] Su DH, Chang YC, Chang CC. Post-traumatic anterior and posterior pituitary dysfunction. J Formos Med Assoc 2005; 104:463-7.
  [2] Kaplan NM. Coronary heart disease risk factors and antihypertensive drug selection. J Cardiovasc Pharmacol 1982; 4(Suppl 2):S187-9.
  [3] World Health Organization. Immunoglobulin E: a new class of human immunoglobulin. Bull WHO 1968; 38:151-2.


• Books:[1] Plum F, Posner JB. The Diagnosis of Stupor and Coma, 3rd edition. Philadelphia: FA Davis, 1980:123-33.
  [2] Levinsky NG. Fluid and electrolytes. In: Thorn GW, Adams RD, Braunwald E, et al, eds. Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine, 8th edition. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1977:364-75.


• Figure legends:The legends should be typed below the reference of manuscript and limited limit to 60 words or less. Every figure should contain a title, and the figure legend should follow the title closely and provide enough information to make the figures understandable without frequently referring to the text. Do not describe methods in figure legends unless they are necessary to interpret the results conveyed by the figure. All symbols and abbreviations that are used in the figure should be defined in the legends.
  
  Tables:Tables should be a three-line graph and cited consecutively in the text. All numbers should be written in the same decimal point. Tables also should be practically self-contained and self-explanatory. All tables should be cited in the text and numbered consecutively with Arabic numerals. Ensure all symbols or abbreviations are explained. Label each table at the top with an Arabic numeral followed by the table title. Insert explanatory material and footnotes below the table. Designate footnotes using lowercase superscript letters (a, b, c) reading horizontally across the table. Abbreviations that are used in a table should be defined in the footnotes. Please prepare the tables in MS Word with a single-space format. Do not embed tables as graphic files, document objects, or pictures.
  
  Figures:Figures (graphs, charts, photographs, and illustrations) should be practically self-explanatory and labeled professionally. Dimensional drawings and diagrams should include only the essential details with as little lettering as possible. The magnification for micrograph should be indicated by scale bars, inscriptions should be legible, and the symbols and letters should be consistent among the panels. Figures should be cited in the text, and should be sequenced in the order cited. Each table/figure should occupy a single page. Please label the figure number on the top left-hand corner of each page. Please make sure that the letters, labels and symbols are in proportion to the figure and are easily readable after the figures are reduced to printable size. For example, the final text should be at least 2 mm in size and the graph lines should be at least 0.5 pt in weight. We recommend that all graphs be submitted in the intended publication size.
  
  Drug Names:Use the Recommended International Non-proprietary Name (RINN) for medicinal substances, unless the specific trade name of a drug is directly relevant to the discussion.
  
  Units:Please use the metric system for the expression of length, height, weight, mass, area and volume. Temperatures are to be given in degrees Celsius. Use of International System of Units (SI) is preferred for all hematological and clinical chemistry measurements.
  
  Supplemental Materials:Supplemental materials that are directly related to the conclusion are welcome. However, unrelated data may be removed by editors. Depending on the nature of supplemental data, they can be in plain text, MS Word, MS Excel, JPEG, TIFF, and video. We encourage authors to submit supplemental documents in PDF format if applicable.
  
  Plagiarism:Plagiarism is the copying of ideas, text, data and other creative work (e.g. tables, figures and graphs) and presenting it as original research without proper citation. Plagiarism is a serious violation. We define plagiarism as a case in which a paper reproduces another work with at least 20% similarity and without citation.
  If evidence of plagiarism is found before or after acceptance or after publication of the paper, the author will be offered a chance to defense his\her paper. If the arguments are not found to be satisfactory, the manuscript will be retracted and Authors found to have been guilty of plagiarism will no longer have papers accepted for publication in Journal.

• Original article:

  Maximum length: 3000 words (excluding the title, abstract, figures, tables and references).
  Title: The title should be explicit, descriptive, clear and brief. 
  The title should be followed by a list all authors’ full names, affiliations, and name and address of the corresponding author, including, telephone number, and e-mail address.
  Abstract: should be structured, clear, concise and precise summary of the study. Not more than 250 words to include a background, methods, results and conclusion. The abstract should be followed by five significant and relevant keywords.
  Introduction: This section should provide a comprehensive overview of the topic, elucidates the rationale behind conducting the study, and highlights the gap in existing knowledge. It should also identifies the research question, hypothesis, and objective. References must be cited in sequential order.
  Materials and methods: This section should provide information on the place and population of the study. It should also clearly explain the sample size calculation, inclusion and exclusion criteria as well as the techniques and statistical methods used.
  Results: This section should be presented in a clear and concise format, avoiding repetition of tables and illustrations. Patient privacy must be maintained, thus personal information such as names or identification numbers should not be included.
  Tables and figures: Up to three tables and three figures are acceptable and may be expanded upon request. The tables must include legends and footnotes. Tables and figures size should not exceed half of the page. This is applied for each subtitle.
  Discussion: This section involves comparing the obtained results to other studies and relevant literature, highlighting unique aspects of the study and placing findings in the context of existing evidence. Repetition of statistics or material from other sections of the study must be avoided. 
  Conclusion: this section provides a brief summary of the overall findings of the study.
Acknowlegment
References: all references should be enlisted in consecutive numerical order according to their appearance in the manuscript. In-text reference numbers should be enclosed by brackets, as indicated at the end of this sentence (1). 
The number of references allowed for citation in original articles is limited to 70.
The citation format to be used is the Vanocur style:
“https://guides.library.uq.edu.au/referencing/vancouver/introduction”.
Journal titles must be abbreviated in compliance with the Index Medicus style guide.
The author is responsible for ensuring the accuracy, completeness and the proper citation of the reference.
Manuscripts containing improperly formatted citations will be sent back to the author for correction.



• Review Articles:

  Review articles are generally invited manuscripts from academic researchers with significant expertise in their respective subject fields in addition to individual researchers. 
  A review article is a comprehensive and impartial analysis of current trends in a particular subject, based on a thorough literature review. It is not an original article.
  A review article comprises of a succinct abstract and a comprehensive main body supplied with appropriate illustrations and a conclusion. The abstract should be limited to 500 words, whereas the main body can extend up to 5000 words, with a maximum number of 100 references, 20 figures, and 5 tables.



• Short Communication:

  The aim of Short Communications is to expeditiously disseminate concise findings obtained from one's original work. The abstract should be limited to 100 words, while the main body can be up to 1500 words, with a maximum number of 20 references, 2 figures, and 2 tables.



• Case report:

  Cases that are novel, unique and challenging with clinical significance or implications can be reported. Such cases should provide valuable learning opportunity for the readers. Priority will be given to cases with significant diagnostic or therapeutic challenges. The title should be followed by the words “case report”. The abstract should be limited to 100 words, while the communication could have be up to 1000 words, with a maximum number of 10 references, 2 figures, and 2 tables.



• A letter to the editor:

  A letter to the editor should be concise and provide conclusive remarks and criticism regarding an article published recently in the MMSJ. The letters are not subject to peer review. Publication or rejection of the letter is at the discretion of the Editor-in-Chief. No abstract, up to 500 words for text, a limit of 2 figures and 2 references, and two authors maximum.