EDITORIAL PROCESS

All manuscripts submitted to the journal “Sapere Aude” and considered suitable for processing are subject to peer- review process. Authors need to certify in the covering letter that this manuscript has not been submit​ed to any other journal simultaneously.

All manuscripts received are duly acknowledged. On submission, editors will review all submitted manuscripts initially for suitability for formal review. Manuscripts with insufficient originality, serious scientific or technical flaws, or lack of a significant message are rejected before proceeding for formal peer-review. Manuscripts that are unlikely to be of interest to the “Sapere Aude” readers are also liable to be rejected at this stage itself.

Manuscripts that are found suitable for publication are sent to two or more expert reviewers. The journal follows the double-blind peer review process, wherein the reviewers and authors are unaware of each other’s identity. The comments and suggestions (acceptance/ rejection/ amendments in manuscript) received from reviewers are conveyed to the corresponding author. If required, the author is requested to provide a point-by-point response to reviewers’ comments and submit a revised version of the manuscript. This process is repeated till reviewers and editors are satisfied with the manuscript.

Manuscripts accepted for publication are copy edited for grammar, punctuation, print style, and format. Page proofs are sent to the corresponding author. The corresponding author is expected to return the corrected proofs within three days. It may not be possible to incorporate corrections received after that period. The processes of submission of manuscript, peer review, communication of final decision and sending proofs are done through online system.

AUTHORSHIP CRITERIA

All authors should be alumni of NIH only. They should meet the criteria of authorship recommended by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors(ICMJE). Authorship credit should be based only on substantial contributions to each of the three components mentioned below:

• Concept and design of study or acquisition of data or analysis and interpretation of data;
• Drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content; and
• Final approval of the version to be published.

Participation solely in the acquisition of funding or the collection of data does not justify authorship. General supervision of the research group is not sufficient for authorship. Each contributor should have participated sufficiently in the work to take public responsibility for appropriate portions of the content of the manuscript. The order of naming the contributors should be based on the relative contribution of the contributor towards the study and writing the manuscript. Once submitted, the order cannot be changed without written consent of all the contributors.

Authors should provide a description of contributions made by each of them towards the manuscript. Description should be divided in following categories, as applicable: concept, design, definition of intellectual content, literature search, clinical studies, experimental studies, data acquisition, data analysis, statistical analysis, manuscript preparation, manuscript editing and manuscript review.

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST/ COMPETING INTERESTS

All authors must disclose any and all conflicts of interest they may have with publication of the manuscript or an institution or product that is mentioned in the manuscript and/or is important to the outcome of the study presented. Authors should also disclose conflict of interest with products that compete with those mentioned in their manuscripts.

CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRY

Sapere Aude will publish clinical trials that have been prospectively registered with a primary clinical trial registry that allows free online access to public. Registration in the following trial registers is acceptable: http://www.ctri.nic.in/; https://www.anzctr.org.au/; http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/; http://isrctn.org/; http://www.trialregister.nl/trialreg/index.asp and http://www.umin.ac.jp/ctr. This is applicable to clinical trials that have begun enrollment of subjects in or after June 2008. Clinical trials that have commenced enrollment of subjects prior to June 2008 would be considered for publication in Sapere Aude only if they have been registered retrospectively with a primary clinical trial registry that allows unhindered online access to public without charging any fees.

SUBMISSION OF MANUSCRIPTS

All manuscripts must be submitted to the Editorial Office by e-mail at _____________________________.

The submitted manuscripts that are not as per the “Instructions to Authors” would be returned to the authors for technical corrections before they undergo editorial review/ peer-review.

All manuscripts submitted for publication to the ‘Sapere Aude’ should include the following: (1) Cover letter; (2) Title page file; (3) Article file; (4) Tables & Figures; (5) A scanned copy of ethical clearance certificate; (6) Undertaking by authors & copyright transfer agreement. Details are given below.

COVER LETTER

The cover letter should explain why the paper should be published in the journal. One of the authors should be identified as the corresponding author of the paper, who would be responsible for the contents of the paper and for communication with the Editorial Office. Author(s) should declare that the article was not published or under consideration, in part or whole, simultaneously in any other journal. A statement that the manuscript has been read and approved by all the authors and that the requirements for authorship (as per the ICMJE guidelines) have been met should also be included.

TITLE PAGE/FIRST PAGE FILE

This file should provide

1. Type of manuscript (original article/ review article/ letter to the editor/case report case series/view point/ clinical image etc.)
2. Title of the article
3. Short title of not more than 45 characters
4. Names of all authors/ contributors (with their highest academic degrees, designation and affiliation) and name(s) of department(s) and/ or institution(s) to which the work should be credited
5. Name, address, e-mail, and telephone number of the corresponding author, who is responsible for communicating with other authors/editorial team about revisions and final approval of the proofs
6. Number of Tables and Figures
7. Word counts separately for abstract and for the text (excluding the references, tables and abstract)
8. Source of financial support in the form of grants, if any. If no financial support was received, it should be mentioned as ‘Nil’ under this heading
9. Trial Registration number in case of Clinical trials
10. Specific author’s contribution
11. Acknowledgement, if any. One or more statements should specify 1) contributions that need acknowledging but do not justify authorship, such as general support by a departmental chair; 2) acknowledgments of technical help; and 3) acknowledgments of logistical and material support, which should specify the nature of the support. This should be included in the title page of the manuscript and not in the main article file.
12. Conflict(s) of Interest of each author/ contributor. A statement of financial or other relationships that might lead to a conflict of interest should be included.

All information which can reveal the identity of the author(s) should be here. Use text/rtf/doc files. Do not zip the files.

TYPE OF MANUSCRIPTS

Original articles: These include randomized controlled trials, intervention studies, studies of screening and diagnostic test, outcome studies, cost effectiveness analyses, case-control studies, cross-sectional surveys and case series. The text of original articles amounting to up to 3500 words (excluding Abstract, references and Tables) should be divided into sections with the headings Abstract, Keywords, Introduction, Material and Methods, Results, Discussion, References, Tables and Figure legends.

Introduction: State the purpose and summarize the rationale for the study or observation.

Materials & Methods: It should include and describe the following aspects:

• Ethics: When reporting studies on human beings, indicate whether the procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional or regional) such as the ICMR’s Ethical guidelines for biomedical and health research on human participants (2017) (https://main.icmr.nic.in/sites/default/files/guidelines/ICMR_Ethical_Guidelines_2017.pdf) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000 (available at https://www.wma.net/policies-post/wma-declaration-of-helsinki-ethical-principles-for-medical-research-involving-human-subjects/). For prospective studies involving human participants, authors are expected to mention about approval of regional/ national/ institutional or independent Ethics Committee or Review Board, obtaining informed consent from adult research participants and obtaining assent for children aged over 7 years participating in the trial. The age beyond which assent would be required could vary as per regional and/ or national guidelines. Ensure confidentiality of subjects by desisting from mentioning participants’ names, initials or hospital numbers, especially in illustrative material. When reporting experiments on animals, the guidelines of the Committee for the Purpose of Control and Supervision of Experiments on Animals (CPCSEA) should be followed. The ethical standards of experiments must be in accordance with the guidelines provided by the CPCSEA and World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki on Ethical Principles for Medical Research Involving Humans for studies involving experimental animals and human beings, respectively). The journal will not consider any paper which is ethically unacceptable. A statement on ethics committee permission and ethical practices must be included in all research articles under the ‘Materials and Methods’ section.
• Study design: Selection of the observational or experimental participants (patients or laboratory animals, including controls, whether randomly or consecutively) and basis of sample size calculation should be mentioned clearly, including eligibility and exclusion criteria and a description of the source population. Identify the methods, apparatus (give the manufacturer’s name and address in parentheses), and procedures in sufficient detail. Give references to established methods, including statistical methods (see below); provide references and brief descriptions for methods that have been published but are not well known; describe new or substantially modified methods, give reasons for using them, and evaluate their limitations. Identify precisely all drugs used, potency, dose(s), manufacturer and route(s) of administration.  All clinical trials should be registered in a Primary Clinical Trial Registry and the Registration number be given under Material & Methods section. Reports of randomized clinical trials should present information on all major study elements, including the protocol, assignment of interventions (methods of randomization, concealment of allocation to treatment groups), and the method of masking (blinding), based on the CONSORT Statement (http://www.consort-statement.org).

Reporting Guidelines for Specific Study Designs

The reporting guidelines for other types of studies can be found at https://www.equator-network.org/reporting-guidelines/

• Statistics: The statistical analysis done and statistical significance of the findings when appropriate, should be mentioned. Unless absolutely necessary for clear understanding of the article, detailed description of statistical treatment may be avoided. Articles based heavily on statistical considerations, however, need to include details particularly when new or uncommon methods are employed. For standard and routine statistical methods employed, authors need to give only authentic references.

Results: Results should be presented in logical order in the text, tables and illustrations, stating the most important findings first. All the data given in the text shouldn’t be repeated in the tables or illustrations. The same data shouldn’t be given both in tables and graphs. The important observations only are to be emphasized/summarized. Additional materials can be placed in an appendix form. While summarizing the data in Results section, give numeric results as derivatives (e.g., percentages) as well as absolute numbers from which the derivatives were calculated. The statistical methods used to analyze them should be mentioned.

Discussion: Do not repeat the information already presented in Result section, but restrict to interpretation of result. Compare your findings with those of other researchers of the past, mentioning if your findings agree/ disagree with those findings. Finally, include any limitations/shortcomings/lacunae of your study.

Conclusion: This section should be linked with the objectives of the study. Be careful not to include any facts not supported by data. The implications/applications of your study should be mentioned. Lastly, you can give recommendations for future research studies.

Review articles: Narrative review articles written by NIH alumni who have experience of publishing quality original research, will be considered. A short summary of the work done by the contributor(s) in the field of review should accompany the manuscript. The prescribed word limit is up to 3000 words excluding tables, references and abstract. The manuscript may have about 90 references. It should have an unstructured Abstract (not exceeding 250 words) representing an accurate summary of the article. Tables and Figures could be included as per requirement. Copyright permission should be obtained from the copyright holder in advance, if a published Table/Figure is reproduced in part or whole.

Systematic reviews (including Meta analyses): The manuscripts under this section should be critical appraisal of different studies on important topics of clinical/public health significance to obtain an unbiased quantitative estimate of the overall effect of an intervention or variable for a defined outcome. The focus may be on cause, diagnosis, prognosis, therapy, prevention, etc. These would be thoroughly researched articles giving comprehensive and balanced perspective. There should be a structured abstract. Systematic reviews could be about 3500 words with a minimum number of Tables/Figures. These will be published subject to peer review.

Case reports: New, interesting and rare cases will be published under this category. They should be unique, describing a great diagnostic or therapeutic challenge and providing a learning point for the readers. Cases with clinical significance or implications will be given priority. These communications could be of up to 1000 words (excluding abstract and references) and should have the following headings: Abstract (unstructured), Key-words, Introduction, Case profile, Discussion, References, Tables and Legends in that order. The manuscript could be of up to 1500 words (excluding references and abstract), supported with up to 10 references.

Letters to the Editor: These should be short and decisive observations. They should preferably be related to articles and views previously published in the journal. They should not be preliminary observations that need a later paper for validation. The letter could have up to 500 words and 5 references. 

Others: Editorial will be written by the Chief Editor or any member of the Editorial Board (as decided by the Board).  Guest Editorial may be written by some eminent person chosen by the Editorial Board.

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 parentheses. 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. Use the style of the examples below, which are based on the formats used by the NLM in Index Medicus. The titles of journals should be abbreviated according to the style used in Index Medicus. Use full name of the journal if it is non-indexed. No references should be given in Abstracts. Authors should consult NLM’s Citing Medicine for information on its recommended formats for various reference types.

The commonly cited types of references are shown here. For other types of references, please refer to ICMJE Guidelines (http://www.icmje.org or http://www.nlm.nih.gov/bsd/uniform_requirements.html).

1. Articles in Journals

• Standard journal article (for up to six authors): Vega KJ, Pina I, Krevsky B. Heart transplantation is associated with an increased risk for pancreatobiliary disease. Ann Intern Med 1996 Jun 1;124(11):980-3.
• Standard journal article (for more than six authors):Parkin DM, Claton 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.

2. Books

• Personal author(s): Ringsven MK, Bond D. Gerontology and leadership skills for nurses. 2^nd ed. Albany(NY):Delmar Publishers; 1996.
• Editor(s), compiler(s) as author: Norman IJ, Redfern SJ, editors. Mental health care for elderly people. New York: Churchill Livingstone;1996.
• Chapter in a book: Hegde BM. What Students Do Not Learn in Medical Schools. In: Shekar KS, Srinivas DK, editors. What is not taught in Medical Colleges. Bangalore: Rajiv Gandhi University of Health Sciences; 2012.

3. Journal article on the Internet: Parija SC, Khairnar K. Detection of excretory Entamoeba histolytica DNA in the urine, and detection of E. histolytica DNA and lectin antigen in the liver abscess pus for the diagnosis of amoebic liver abscess .BMC Microbiology 2007, 7:41.doi:10.1186/1471-2180-7-41. Available from: http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2180/7/41

TABLES AND FIGURES

• Tables should be self-explanatory and should not repeat material given in the text.
• Tables should be numbered in Arabic numerals, consecutively in the order of their first citation in the text and a brief title for each to be given.
• Explanatory matters should be placed in footnotes, not in heading.
• Tables with their legends should be given at the end of the text after references. Tables along with their numbers should be cited at the relevant places in the text.

Figures should be submitted in JPEG or TIFF format (size not more than 1 MB), numbered consecutively in Arabic numerals with appropriate Title and explanation of symbols in the legends for illustrations. If digital images are the only source of images, ensure that the image has minimum resolution of 300 dpi or 1800 x 1600 pixels in TIFF format. Within a multi-panel figure, different parts should be labelled as A, B, C, etc. in the top left corner.

•          If photographs of individuals are used, their written permission must be obtained to use the photographs.
•           If a figure has been published elsewhere, the original source should be acknowledged; written permission from the copyright holder is to be obtained to reproduce the material.

All published material should be acknowledged, and copyright material should be submitted along with the written permission of the copyright holder. The journal reserves the right to crop, rotate, reduce, or enlarge the photographs to an acceptable size.

PROTECTION OF PATIENTS’ RIGHTS TO PRIVACY

Identifying information should not be published in written descriptions, photographs, sonograms, CT scans, etc., unless the information is essential for scientific purposes and the patient (or parent or guardian, wherever applicable) gives informed consent for publication. Authors should remove patients’ names from figures unless they have obtained informed consent from them. The journal will abide by the following ICMJE guidelines:

• Authors, not the journals nor the publisher, need to obtain patient’s consent in the prescribed form before the publication.
• If the manuscript contains patient’s images that preclude anonymity, or a description that has obvious indication to the identity of the patient, a statement about obtaining informed patient consent should be indicated in the manuscript.

SENDING A REVISED MANUSCRIPT

The revised version of the manuscript should be submitted by email in a manner similar to that used for submission of the manuscript for the first time. However, there is no need to submit the “First Page” or “Covering Letter” file while submitting a revised version. When submitting a revised manuscript, contributors should include the reviewers’ remarks along with point-to-point clarification. Besides, they are expected to mark the changes as underlined or colored text in the article.

PROOFREADING

Authors of accepted articles will receive email alerts when proofs are available. Corrections on the page proofs should be restricted to printer’s errors only and no substantial additions/deletions should be made at this stage. No change in the names of the authors (by way of additions and deletions) is permissible at the proof stage. If there are valid reasons for such change(s), after acceptance of a paper, permission of the Editor-In-Chief must be obtained.

MANUSCRIPT SUBMISSION, PROCESSING AND PUBLICATION CHARGES

Journal does not charge the authors or authors’ institutions for the submission, processing and/or publications of manuscripts.

COPYRIGHTS

The entire contents of the journal ‘Sapere Aude’ are protected under Indian and international copyrights. The journal, however, grants to all users a free, irrevocable, worldwide, perpetual right of access to, and a license to copy, use, distribute, perform and display the work publicly and to make and distribute derivative works in any digital medium for any reasonable non-commercial purpose, subject to proper attribution of authorship and ownership of the rights. The journal also grants the right to make small numbers of printed copies for their personal non-commercial use under Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0).

CHECKLIST

Covering letter

• Signed by all contributors
• Source of funding mentioned
• Conflicts of interest disclosed

Authors

• Last name and given name provided along with Middle name initials (where applicable)
• Name of corresponding author with e-mail address provided
• Identity not revealed in paper except title page Presentation and format
• Double spacing
• Margins 2.5 cm from all four sides
• Page numbers included at bottom
• Title page contains all the desired information
• Running title provided (not more than 45 characters)
• Abstract page contains the full title of the manuscript
• Abstract provided (structured abstract of 250 words for original articles, unstructured abstracts of about 150 words for all other manuscripts excluding letters to the Editor)
• Keywords provided (up to six keywords)
• Headings in title case (not ALL CAPITALS)
• The references cited in the text should be after punctuation marks, in parentheses.
• References according to the journal’s instructions, punctuation marks checked
• Send the article file without ‘Track Changes’

Language and grammar

• Uniformly American English
• Write the full term for each abbreviation at its first use in the title, abstract, keywords and text separately unless it is a standard unit of measure.
• Numerals from 1 to 10 spelt out
• Numerals at the beginning of the sentence spelt out
• Check the manuscript for spelling, grammar and punctuation errors
• If a brand name is cited, supply the manufacturer’s name and address (city and state/country).
• Names of species should be in italics

Tables and figures

• No repetition of data in tables and graphs and in text
• Actual numbers from which graphs drawn, provided
• Figures necessary and of good quality (color)
• Table and figure numbers in Arabic letters (not Roman)
• Figure legends provided (not more than 40 words)
• Patients’ privacy maintained (if not permission taken)
• Credit note for borrowed figures/tables provided
• Write the full term for each abbreviation used in the table as a footnote

UNDERTAKING BY AUTHORS

I/We, the undersigned, give an undertaking to the following effect with regard to our manuscript titled “______________________________________” submitted for publication in ‘Sapere Aude’.

The manuscript mentioned above has not been published or submitted to or accepted for publication in any form, in any other journal. I/We also vouch that the authorship of this manuscript will not be contested by anyone whose name(s) is/are not listed by us here.

I/We declare that I/We contributed significantly towards the research study i.e., (a) conception, design and/or analysis and interpretation of data and to (b) drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content and on (c) final approval of the version to be published.

I/We hereby acknowledge Sapere Aude’s conflict of interest policy requirement to scrupulously avoid direct and indirect conflicts of interest and, accordingly, hereby agree to promptly inform the editor or editor’s designee of any business, commercial, or other proprietary support, relationships, or interests that I/We may have which relate directly or indirectly to the subject of the work.