PREPARATION OF MANUSCRIPT:

Type the manuscript on word file, with margins of at least 25 mm (1 inch). Use double spacing throughout the manuscript. Number pages consecutively, beginning with the title page. Put the page number in the lower right-hand corner of each page.

Contents of Manuscript for submission:

Submission items include checklist, covering letter, letter of undertaking duly signed by all authors, Ethical Review Committee (ERC) Letter, author’s declaration on JBUMDC template stating authors contribution. Original manuscript should be of 2500 words excluding abstract and references and the references should be at least 20-25 for original study.

Title page:  

Title page should have complete title of the manuscript, along with the short running title, the names of all authors with qualifications, their department, affiliation, telephone number, e-mail, corresponding author, address for correspondence, source of funding (grant/equipment/drugs), number of figures and tables, total word count, total number of pages.

Abstract

It should have no more than 150 words for unstructured abstracts or 250 words for structured abstracts. The structured abstract should include:

i. Objective, ii Study design and setting, iii Methodology, iv Results, v Conclusion.

Below the abstract provide, 3-10 keywords. The keywords should be in alphabetical order.

Introduction

International and national literature review indicating the significance of study in our context. State the purpose of the study and summarize the rationale for the study. Give only strictly pertinent references and do not include data or conclusions from the work being reported. At least 10 to 12 references should be included in the introduction.

Methodology:

This section should include a statement indicating that the research was approved by independent local or regional or national review body( eg. Ethics committee, institutional review board) with ERC number. Clearly describe the study design, setting, duration of study, sampling technique, inclusion and exclusion criteria and a description of source population. Identify the age, gender and other characteristics of subjects. Mention the sample size and how it is calculated. Identify the methods, apparatus (give the manufacturer's name and address in parentheses), and procedures in sufficient detail to allow other workers to reproduce the results. Identify precisely all drugs and chemicals used, including generic name(s), dose(s), and route(s) of administration. For randomized clinical trials provide information on all major study elements, including the protocol (study population, interventions or exposures, outcomes, and the rationale for statistical analysis), assignment of interventions (methods of randomization, concealment of allocation to treatment groups), and the method of masking (blinding). Authors submitting review manuscripts should include a section describing the methods used for locating, selecting, extracting, and synthesizing data. These methods should also be summarized in the abstract. Describe statistical methods with enough detail to enable a knowledgeable person with access to the original data to judge its appropriateness for the study and to verify the reported results. When possible, quantify findings and present them with appropriate indicators of measurement error or uncertainty (such as confidence intervals). Define statistical terms, abbreviations, and most symbols. Specify the statistical software package(s) and versions used. Distinguish prespecified from exploratory analyses, including subgroup analyses.

Results

Present your results in logical sequence in the text, tables, and illustrations according to the objective of the study. Do not repeat in the text all the data in the tables or illustrations; emphasize or summarize only important observations. Describe appropriate indicators of measurement error or uncertainty such as confidence intervals, P values. Report complications of treatment and dropouts from a clinical trial. Specify any general-use computer programs employed for analysis.

Discussion and Conclusion

Emphasize the new and important aspects of the study and the conclusions that follow from them. Do not repeat in detail data or other material given in the Introduction or the Results section. Include in the Discussion section the implications of the findings and their limitations, including implications for future research. Relate the observations to other relevant studies. Link the conclusions with the goals of the study.

Acknowledgment

List all contributors who do not meet the criteria for authorship, such as a person who provided purely technical help, writing assistance, or a department chair who provided only general support. Financial and material support should also be acknowledged.

Authorship

Authorship credit is based only on the criteria laid down by International committee of Medical Journal Editors (http://www.icmje.org/recommendations/browse/roles-and-responsibilibies/defining-the-role-of-authore-and-contributors. html).

1) Substantial contributions to conception and design, or acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data;

2) Drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content;

3) Final approval of the version to be published.

4) Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved. All Conditions must be met. Authors should provide a description of contribution of each author in authors contribution template of JBUMDC.

Conflict of interest

All authors have to disclose and submit any financial /personnel relationship that might bias and inappropriately influence their work.

References

For Original Article  20-30 references are allowed and for review article 30-40 references are allowed. Do not cite more than 12 references in the introduction. Fifty Percent of references should be last five years and all references listed consecutively as superscript. Mention place /first author/ year of previous studies, mention their statistics while giving reference in the introduction and discussion. The final bibliography should be in the order in which they are quoted in the text and written in Vancouver Style). References appearing in a table or figure should be numbered sequentially with those in text. Mention DOI number of those references where it is available. JBUMDC follows Index Medicus style for references and abbreviated journal names according to the list of Journals indexed in Index Medicus.

Attach all the references manually at the end of the manuscript if the Citation/Reference Manager was used. Cross-check all the references and correct their sequence before submission.

Examples for writing references are:

a) Standard journal article

List the first six authors followed by et al.
I) Less than 6 authors:

Vega KJ, Pina I, Krevsky B. Heart transplantation is associated with an increased risk for pancreato-biliary disease. Ann Intern Med 1996; 1;124 (11):980-3

II) More than six authors:

Parkin DM, Clayton D, Black RJ, Masuyer E, Friedl HP, Ivanov E, et al. Childhood leukaemia in Europe after Chernobyl: 5 year follow-up. Br J Cancer 1996;73:1006- 12

b) Organization as author

The Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand. Clinical exercise stress testing. Safety and performance guidelines. Med J Aust 1996; 164: 282-4

c) No author given

Cancer in South Africa [editorial]. S Afr Med J 1994;84:15

d) 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. p. 465-78

e) Newspaper

Hasan Mansoor. Excessive use of drugs creating resistance to antibiotics. The Dawn   2013, 24 June; sect. Metropolitan (col.1-4)

Tables

Type or print out each table with double spacing on a separate sheet of paper. Number tables consecutively in the order of their first citation in the text and supply a brief title for each. Give each column a short or abbreviated heading. Place explanatory matter in footnotes. Explain in footnotes all nonstandard abbreviations that are used in each table. Identify statistical measures of variations, such as standard deviation and standard error of the mean. Do not use internal horizontal and vertical rules.

Illustrations (Figures)

Figures should be professionally drawn and photographed. Photographic prints 127 × 173 mm (5 × 7 inches). Photomicrographs should have internal scale markers. Symbols, arrows, or letters used in photomicrographs should contrast with the background. If photographs of people are used, either the subjects must not be identifiable or their pictures must be accompanied by written permission to use the photograph.

Figures should be numbered consecutively according to the order in which they have been first cited in the text. If a figure has been published, acknowledge the original source and submit written permission from the copyright holder to reproduce the material.

Legends for Illustrations

Type or print out legends for illustrations using double spacing, starting on a separate page, with Arabic numerals corresponding to the illustrations. When symbols, arrows, numbers, 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.

Units of Measurement

Measurements of length, height, weight, and volume should be reported in metric units. Temperatures in degrees Celsius, Blood pressure in millimeters of mercury and all hematologic and clinical chemistry measurements in the metric system in terms of the International System of Units (SI).

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.

MANUSCRIPT PROCESSING 

Upon the initial submission of the manuscript, the author is acknowledged and allocated a reference member for future correspondence. This process takes place within 2 days. The manuscript is categorized according to the type of article into Original, Review, Short communication, Case Report and so forth. Each type of article has a special format and should comply with the updated JBUMDC Instruction to Authors, which are published in all issues and available on website. Manuscript is then handed to statistician for data analysis and verification of references respectively. Normally a manuscript is reviewed by at least two subject experts and the other member of the editorial committee. If the reviewer has not sent review within stipulated period, first and second reminder letters are sent within 2-3 weeks. If after the 2nd reminder the reviewer fails to reply, the manuscript is referred to the new reviewer. The usual delay is in the reviewing process owing to the reviewer's professional and academic commitments. The reviewer's comments are communicated to the author. The revised version of the article is sent back to the reviewers. A period of 1-4 months is set to finalize the process. The author will be given 2 weeks to incorporate the reviewers’ comments in the revised manuscript. First reminder will be given at three weeks if the author does not comply with the time lines. Second reminder will be given at 4th week. The article will be declined if no response is received (after two reminders) from the corresponding author concerned.
 

GUIDELINES FOR THE WORD COUNT OF MANUSCRIPT SUBMITTED TO JBUMDC