Instructions for Authors

TheChineseJournalofMultipleOrganDiseasesintheElderly(ZhonghuaLaonianDuoqiguanJibingZazhi) (ISSN 1671-5403) is launched in 2002 and published monthly by the Institute of Geriatric Cardiology(IGC), Chinese PLA General Hospital in Beijing, China.

1 About the Journal

ChineseJournalofMultipleOrganDiseasesintheElderly(theJournal) is a peer-reviewed medical journal for all physicians, researchers, and health-care workers from geriatric specialties. The journal contributes to the scientific advancement of geriatrics by disseminating high quality research with potential to advance knowledge for geriatrics. The journal welcomes manuscripts that are relevant to the care of older persons with cardiovascular diseases, especially those with concomitant diseases of other major organs orsystems, such as the lungs, kidneys, liver, central nervous system, gastrointestinal tract or endocrinology,etc. The submissions related to the geriatrics, including basic, clinical and preventive medicine, are all acceptable.

Manuscriptsfromthecountriesalong“theBeltandRoad”arealsowelcome.ForEnglishmanuscripts,itisnecessarytoattachaChineseabstractaswell.Iftheauthorscann’tprovide,wewillofferafreetranslationservice.

2 Publication Process

2.1 Manuscript submission

Manuscripts are submitted online at http://www.mode301.cn. Upon the receipt of the manuscript, the authors will receive a confirmation of the submission. When inquiring about a manuscript, please refer to the assigned manuscript number.

2.2 Review

All submitted manuscripts, either commissioned or unsolicited, are reviewed initially by an editor. If judged suitable for consideration, they are sent to two external referees for peer review (single-blind review). Authors are encouraged to indicate the names of 2-3 potential referees (providing their full postal and electronic addresses and contact numbers) they believe are qualified to review the paper. Authors may also request disqualification of up to two referees with potential conflict of interest. But the editor will make the final choice.

If reviewers express widely different opinions or disagree on the decision to accept, the article may be sent to a third reviewer. All manuscripts are discussed at a meeting of the editor-in-chief and standing members of the editorial board. This committee makes the final decision to accept or reject the manuscript.

Any study containing quantitative data and statistical inference should be reviewed by a consultant with formal statistical training and experience.

2.3 Revision

Manuscripts are accepted for publication on the basis of scientific merit, significance, and suitability for publication devoted to clinical and laboratory studies of geriatrics. Authors should revise their manuscript to comply with the requirement on the reviewers’ comments and the style oftheJournal. If a revision of an original article is not received within 2 months from the last decision letter of an editor,theJournalwill assume that the authors have withdrawn the manuscript from further consideration. If the revision is not satisfactory to the editors and referees, the author may be asked to make a second revision. On publication, each report indicates the date that the original manuscript was received at the editorial office and the date that the manuscript was finally accepted. If a manuscript is not accepted, the author will receive a decision letter with the reviewers’ comments.

2.4 Proofreading

Manuscripts accepted for publication are copyedited and returned to the author for approval. Authors are responsible for all statements published in their work, including any changes made by the copy editor. The publisher is not responsible for any errors not marked by the author on the proof. Authors are required to proofread all edited manuscripts carefully. The proof must be returned to the Editorial Office within 7 days of receipt.

2.5 Copyright assignment

Copyright ownership of published manuscript is to be transferred to the publisher, IGC of Chinese PLA General Hospital, in a written statement, which must accompany all manuscript submissions and must be signed by all authors.

3 Manuscript Preparation

Manuscripts must conform totheJournal“Instructions for Authors” and/or “Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals” by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors(ICMJE) (www.icmje.org). Recent issues of the Journal should be consulted for example.

3.1 Title page

The title page should contain: 1) a concise and descriptive title of the paper; 2) the full names and institutional affiliations of all authors; and 3) the name, address, telephone number, fax number, and E-mail address of the corresponding author.

3.2 Authorship

Each author should have participated sufficiently in the preparation of the manuscript, and have reviewed and approved the manuscript as submitted to take public responsibility for it. This would include substantial participation in some or all of the following aspects of the work relating to the manuscript: 1) involvement in the conception, hypothesis delineation, and design of the study; 2) acquisition of the data or the analysis and interpretation of such information; and 3) writing the article or substantial involvement in its revision prior to submission.

3.3 Abstract

Abstract of original research articles should consist of about 250 words and be structured in 4 parts: 1) Objective; 2) Methods; 3) Results; and 4) Conclusion. Full papers submitted to other sections (e.g., Editorials, Reviews, Clinicopathological Conference, Education and Training,etc.) require a simple narrative abstract of 250 words or less summarizing the content of the paper. An abstract is not required for the type of case report. The abstract should be self-explanatory, without reference to the text. Abbreviations may be included, provided they are defined in the abstracts as well as the main text.

3.4 Keywords

Three to six words or short phrases should be provided as keywords. We recommend terms from the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) in PubMed. If suitable MeSH terms are not yet available for recently introduced terms, present terms may be used.

3.5 Sources of Funding

All sources of funding must be disclosed under English Abstract as “This work was supported by ……”, with grant number also given in brackets.

3.6 Main Text

The text for original research articles should be organized into the following sections: Introduction, Materials and Methods (including material or subject/population, statistical analysis,etc.), Results, and Discussion.

Introduction

Include both a brief review of literatures data that are strictly related to the object of the paper, and a short statement on the aims of the study. Give only strictly pertinent references and do not include data or conclusions from the work being reported.

Methods

Describe your selection of the observational or experimental subjects (patients or laboratory animals, including controls) clearly. Identify the age, sex, and other important characteristics of the subjects. Describe in sufficient detail to allow workers to duplicate the study. Previously reported procedures may be cited, but newly adopted modifications should be specified in detail. Statistical methods must be described and the program used for data analysis should be stated.

Results

Describe the major findings of the study clearly and concisely with the help of appropriate illustrative material. Do not repeat in the text all the data in the tables or illustrations.

Discussion

Summarize the major findings. Compare the reported findings with previous work. Propose their interpretation, and indicate their implications and limitations. Suggest future work. Produce a succinct conclusion. Conclusions should be linked to the goals of the study. Statements which are not completely supported by the data should be avoided.

3.7 Tables

Number all tables with Arabic numbers consecutively in order of appearance. Each table must have a concise heading and should be completely informative in itself without reference to the text. Symbols for units should be used only in column headings. Every column must have a description or heading. Do not use internal horizontal or vertical lines. Statistical measures of variations should be identified. All abbreviations must be defined in footnotes. For footnotes, use the following symbols in this sequence: *,#,△,▲,☆,★,**,##,△△,etc.

3.8 Figures

Figures must be referenced sequentially in the text. Multipart figures should be organized as single composites, with each panel labeled (e.g., A, B, C,etc.). We recommend saving figures as Joint Photographic Experts Group (JPEG) files, or Tagged Image Format (TIFF) files with a resolution of 600 dots per inch (dpi) or better. Figures should be in black and white. Color photographs will occasionally be published intheJournalif use of color is vital to making the point. Figure legends should contain enough information for the reader to understand the illustration without referring to the text, but should be concise and should not repeat information already stated in the text.

Indicate the internal scale and identify the method of staining and magnification of photomicrographs. Do not publish any identifying information showing the likeness to the patient unless the information is essential for scientific purposes and the patient gives written informed consent for publication. The photograph or image of the patient must not be recognizable by the patient’s friends or family if it is to be acceptable. If a figure has been published, acknowledge the original source and provide written permission from the copyright holder to reproduce the material.

3.9 References

Number all references in the sequence in which they first appear in the text and use the style indicated in the “Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals.” Check the accuracy of all reference citations. Abbreviate the title of the journal according to the style used in the Index Medicus/Pubmed/MEDLINE. Cite only the names of the first three authors followed by “etal.” Include both the first and last pages of all references. Include only references that are accessible to all readers. Cite Chinese-language references in English-Chinese bilingual expression.

3.10 Acknowledgments

The correspondence author must affirm that he or she has listed everyone who contributed significantly to the work and has obtained written consent from all contributors who are not authors and are named in the Acknowledgment section. The Acknowledgment section may briefly include assistance from:1)contributors that do not warrant authorship; 2)technical help; 3) material support; and 4) financial support as a grant.

4 Conflict-of-Interest Statement

Before a manuscript can be reviewed, all authors must sign a ICMJE Conflict of Interest form (http://www.icmje.org/conflicts-of-interest) declaring any possible financial, professional, or personal conflicts of interest that could conceivably bias the conduct, reporting, or interpretation of the research.

5 Statement of Informed Consent

For reports concerning experiments on humans, authors must include at the beginning of the methods section a statement that all patients (or parents or guardians of those not able to provide informed consent) provided written, informed consent before the beginning of the study. All patients have a right to privacy that should not be violated. Identifying information, including but not limited to patients’ names, initials, hospital numbers, or images showing the likeness to the patient, should not be published in written descriptions, photographs, and pedigrees unless the information is essential for scientific purposes and the patient gives written informed consent for publication.

6 Statement of Human and Animal Rights

Human experiments should be performed only in accordance with the ethical standards provided by the responsible committee of the institution and in accordance with the World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki (revised in 2013, http://www.wma.net/e/policy/b3.htm). Laboratory research involving animals must comply with guidelines for animal care and use. The experimental protocol must be approved by the institutional animal care and use committee.

Address: Editorial Office,ChineseJournalofMultipleOrganDiseasesintheElderly, 28 Fuxing Road, Haidian District, Beijing 100853, China

Tel/Fax: 86-10-66936756

E-mail: zhlndgq@mode301.cn

http://www.mode301.cn