Guidelines for authors are intended for all future authors who wish to submit their manuscript to Biochemia Medica. You can download your copy and refer to it while preparing your manuscript.
Manuscript submission
The corresponding author is responsible for manuscript submission and represents the whole group of authors in the submitted manuscript during the editorial and production process. During the process of manuscript submission, the corresponding author is asked to fill a questionnaire regarding important aspects of manuscript processing such as: authorship statement and CRediT contributions, statement of originality (author(s) declaration that the manuscript has not been previously published elsewhere in any language and is not under consideration by any other journal), conflict of interest disclosure, protection of research participants, data availability statement, copyright transfer and publication license.
Instructions for authors comply with the "Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly work in Medical Journals". Editors hold the right to make all the necessary changes to the language and style of the original manuscript in order to adhere to the uniform standards of the Journal.
Reporting guidelines
When reporting on specific study design, authors should prepare the manuscript according to relevant guidelines. Reporting guidelines were created to help the authors, editors, reviewers and readers to obtain enough detail to comprehend and evaluate the conducted study. All relevant data and updates on such guidelines are given by the EQUATOR Network and the National Library of Medicine Research Reporting Guidelines and Initiatives. Articles with specific study design should be submitted together with appropriate checklist also available at http://www.equator-network.org/.
Types of submission
Contributions to the Journal are classified into the categories listed in the table below. The maximum word count does NOT include the title, authors and affiliations, abstract, keywords, subheadings, table and figure legends, and references. However, it does include the text in the tables, if any.
|
Submission type |
Maximum word count |
Maximum tables and figures |
Maximum number of references |
|
Letter to the Editor / Reply |
1000 |
1 |
5 |
|
Editorial |
1500 |
0 |
10 |
|
Opinion paper |
2000 |
2 |
10 |
|
Position paper |
2000 |
2 |
10 |
|
Review |
5000 |
8 |
100 |
|
Lessons in biostatistics |
3000 |
8 |
30 |
|
Research integrity corner |
3000 |
8 |
30 |
|
Original article |
5000 |
8 |
30 |
|
Short communication |
1500 |
3 |
10 |
|
Case report |
3000 |
3 |
30 |
|
Preanalytical mysteries |
3000 |
3 |
30 |
For Letters to the Editor, authors are kindly asked to contact the Editor-in-Chief prior to submission. In general, Letters to the Editor report observations and discuss previously published original articles in the Journal. The authors of already published articles in the Biochemia Medica will be given the opportunity to Reply to Letters commenting their papers, and both contributions will be published together. Letters to the editor should include an unstructured abstract.
Editorial papers are usually invited contributions. Editorials comprise expert opinions and observations on a specific topic of laboratory medicine or content published in the Journal. They should include an unstructured abstract.
Opinion papers reflect the author(s) original and personal view on a specific subject pertaining to laboratory medicine. The author(s) view should be original, innovative and supported by valid arguments based of already published data. Unlike Editorials and Letters to the Editor, Opinion papers should not refer to or comment specific content published in the Journal.
Position papers are contributions which focus on a specific topic in laboratory medicine calling for discussion or reassessment of a neglected subject matter. They should contain a clear position on the topic discussed and propose clear solutions or actions. An unstructured abstract should be included.
Reviews are submitted directly by the authors or are invited submissions. Reviews are intended to encompass a comprehensive overview of a topic, including clinical and analytical information, current relevance and future directions. Reviews should include an unstructured abstract.
Original articles are submitted directly from authors. The subject investigated should be original and in the scope of the Journal. The novelties brought in an original article should be substantiated with detailed information to enable the reader to understand the subject and allow replication of the work presented. Original articles should be structured as follows: Abstract, Keywords, Introduction, Materials and methods, Results, Discussion, Acknowledgments (if applicable), References, and Tables and Figures. If further content organization is needed, subheadings within these main sections might be introduced. The abstract should be structured, as described in the formatting section below. Supplementary data/materials for this type of articles are allowed.
Short communications are concise formats submitted from authors and intended to briefly report original contributions and observations. Like original articles, they should be structured in the following sections: Abstract, Keywords, Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion, Acknowledgments (if applicable), References, Tables and Figures. The abstract should be structured, as described in the formatting section below. Supplementary data/materials for this type of contributions are allowed.
Case reports are intended to be educational and briefly describe unusual or rare occurrences or observations in the field of laboratory medicine, especially in cases where the laboratory helped in diagnosis, follow-up and treatment of an individual patient or condition. Case reports should include an abstract (structured or unstructured).
Biochemia Medica has introduced a specific section called Preanalytical mysteries intended to describe common or unusual preanalytical issues and the solutions on how to approach them. Preanalytical mysteries are essentially short case reports dedicated to educating laboratory professionals to better understand and resolve the various preanalytical challenges. Preanalytical mysteries should include an abstract (structured or unstructured). The text should be structured into the following sections: Introduction, Laboratory analyses, Considered diagnoses/Interventions/Further investigation (whatever applicable), What happened?/Solution, Discussion, What YOU should/can do in your laboratory to prevent such errors, Acknowledgments (if applicable), References, Tables and Figures. For Preanalytical mysteries, authors are referred to the template available in the article: Simundic AM, Cadamuro J, Cornes M. Biochemia Medica introduces new section: Pre-analytical mysteries. Biochem Med (Zagreb). 2017;27:418-20.
Lessons in biostatistics and Research integrity corner are specific invited contributions or submitted directly by authors, dedicated to educating authors and readers on different topics in applied biostatistics and research integrity issues. An unstructured abstract should be included. Supplementary data/materials for this type of contributions are allowed.
Manuscript formatting
Authors should refer to this section in order to ensure that the submitted manuscript is prepared, formatted and written in accordance with the Journal requirements and policies. Please note that contributions prepared according to the following requirements significantly reduce delays in the editorial process.
The manuscript should be written in English and uploaded via the online submission system available on the Journal website (https://bm.manuscriptmanager.net/).
The following files should be submitted:
Please note that a Manuscript file should not contain any information on the authors and their affiliation. Also, the Manuscript file name should not contain any reference to the author’s name. This is important because all manuscripts are sent for double-blind peer review.
During the on-line manuscript submission, corresponding author should provide accurate e-mail addresses of all authors.
Cover letter
The cover letter is not shared with reviewers and should contain the following:
Title page
The title page presents general information on the article and its authors and should be submitted on separate page (not attached to the Manuscript file). The title page text should be double-spaced and should include:
1. full title of the manuscript;
2. short title (up to 50 characters);
3. authors’ names and affiliations in English (in the following order: department, institution, city, country);
4. conflict of interest statement;
5. corresponding author’s e-mail address and full mailing address (institution, department, street, street number, zip code, city, country). Please note that the e-mail address of the corresponding author will be published in the final version of the article if a manuscript is accepted. The corresponding author should be marked with an asterisk (*). The affiliations should be noted with a superscript number.
For example:
Giuseppe Lippi*1, Emmanuel J Favaloro2
1Institute of Clinical Chemistry, Department of Morphological and Biomedical Science, University of Verona, Verona, Italy
2Department of Hematology, Institute of Clinical Pathology and Medical Research (ICPMR), Westmead Hospital, Westmead, Australia
*Corresponding author: glippi@ao.pr.it
Highlights
All manuscripts should include Highlights. Highlights are prepared as 3 to 5 bullet points (maximum 85 characters, including spaces, per bullet point) describing the main findings of the research presented in the manuscript. No jargon, acronyms, or abbreviations should be used; however, the use of keywords is encouraged. Highlights are submitted as a separate file (.doc or .docx) in the online submission system. Highlights will be placed before the abstract in the PDF file and will be visible as online content in order to help increase the visibility of the article.
Graphical abstract
All manuscripts submitted should include a graphical abstract. The graphical abstract should summarize the research described in the manuscript in a concise and visual form designed to capture the attention of the readership. Graphical abstracts are submitted as a separate file in the online submission system. Acceptable formats for graphical abstract are *.jpg, *.tiff, *.png or MS Office files. Images should be provided with a minimum resolution of 300 dpi (h x w: 531 x 1328 pixels). For ease of browsing, the graphical abstract should have a clear start and end, preferably “reading” from top to bottom or left to right. The font used should be Arial with a size large enough. Graphical abstracts are submitted with no additional text, outline or synopsis. Any text or label must be part of the image file. Please do not use unnecessary white space or a heading “graphical abstract” within the image file. For reference, a basic graphical abstract template is available at: https://www.biochemia-medica.com/assets/images/upload/Graphical_abstract/26102023_BM_templat_graphical_abstract_final.pptx. Please note that size of the boxes can be modified according to the content presented.
Abstract
All types of manuscripts should contain an abstract.
All abstracts (unstructured and structured) are limited to 250 words and should be provided on a separate page in the Manuscript file (abstract only, without authors and affiliations). Structured abstracts (e.g. in original articles or short communications) should be structured into four headings: Introduction, Materials and methods, Results, and Conclusions.
Keywords
Please provide 3-5 keywords, whenever possible from MeSH database.
Manuscript
A manuscript should be formatted as follows:
Please note that the Cover letter and Title page are not included into the manuscript file.
All pages of the manuscript (except for the cover letter and title page, which are attached separately) should be within a single document.
Introduction
In the Introduction section, the authors should point out new information in the manuscript, the hypothesis, and the aim of their work. The Introduction section should not contain results and conclusions.
Materials and methods
The Materials and methods section should only include information that was available at the time the study was planned. All information obtained during the study should be provided in the Results section. The Materials and methods section should be structured in the following subheadings:
In the Subjects/Materials section it is recommended to include the following:
In the Methods section, methods, instruments (give the manufacturer’s name, town and country in parentheses), and procedures should be described in sufficient detail to allow other researchers to reproduce the results. For well-established methods, only references should be provided.
Example: All tests were run on Roche Cobas C501 chemistry analyzer (Roche Diagnostics GmbH, Mannheim, Germany).
In the Statistical analysis section, authors should list all statistical methods used in the study and preselected level of significance (P). If possible, findings should be quantified and presented using appropriate indicators of measurement error or uncertainty (e.g., confidence intervals). For more details, please read: Simundic AM. Practical recommendations for statistical analysis and data presentation in Biochemia Medica journal. Biochem Med (Zagreb) 2012;22(1):15-23.
At the end of this section, authors should specify the name and version of the statistical software used (with the manufacturer’s name, town and country in parentheses).
Results
State the main or most important finding first. The data presented in the tables or figures should not be repeated in the text. Graphs should be used as an alternative to tables with many entries; do not present the same data in duplicate (e.g., in both graphs and tables). Exact P values should be provided for all tested differences (e.g., write P = 0.048 instead of P < 0.05) rounded to three decimal places. Where appropriate, 95% confidence intervals should be provided.
For more on graphical presentation authors are referred to: Sperandei S. The pits and falls of graphical presentation. Biochem Med (Zagreb) 2014:24(3):311–20.
Units of measurement
Units of measurement should be reported according to the Journal style. Complete list of acceptable units is available at the link Abbreviations and measurement units. Biochemia Medica accepts the International System of Units (SI) except for temperature (degrees Celsius), blood pressure (millimeters of mercury) and enzyme activity (U/L).
Abbreviations and symbols
Use only standard abbreviations. Avoid abbreviations in the title of the manuscript. Always spell out abbreviations on first mention and include the abbreviation in parenthesis unless the abbreviation is a standard unit of measurement. For additional information, see the list of Abbreviations and measurement units.
Discussion
Emphasize the new and important conclusion based on the study results in the context of the best available evidence. Do not repeat the data presented in the Introduction or Results section. Clearly state the limitations of the study.
Acknowledgments
All contributors who do not meet the authorship criteria (e.g. funding; general supervision of a research group or general administrative support; writing assistance, technical editing, language editing, and proofreading) should be listed in the Acknowledgments section. These persons must give verbal permission to be acknowledged. Authors should provide that statement during the manuscript submission process. Financial and material support should also be acknowledged and reported in the conflict of interest disclosure during the manuscript submission process.
References
Biochemia Medica endorses the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA) (available at https://sfdora.org/) and promotes the proper usage and interpretation of various citation indexes and fair article referencing. For that reason, the authors are advised to reference only original articles, avoid referencing irrelevant articles, personal communications or conference abstracts. To prevent artificial “citation boost” authors are encouraged to reduce the number of auto-citations. Authors are responsible for verifying the accuracy of the references by using an electronic bibliographic source, such as PubMed, or printed original articles. References must not refer to the retracted article, unless the authors intend to specifically address the retraction.
Biochemia Medica applies Vancouver referencing style. Literature citation should conform to the standards available at NLM’s International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals: Sample References available at http://www.nlm.nih.gov/bsd/uniform_requirements.html. References should be numbered consecutively, using Arabic numerals in parentheses, in the order of appearance in the text and cited at the end of the sentence.
For example:
Prostatic carcinomas with final score <7 were considered low-intermediate grade; and, with final score >7 were considered high-grade (4).
If more than one reference at the time needs to be cited, list each reference number separated by a comma, or by a dash for a sequence of consecutive numbers. There should be no spaces between commas or dashes.
For example:
The specific antibody testing should minimally involve the solid-based assays which include classical ENA antigens (SS-A (Ro60), SS-B (La), Sm, RNP, Scl-70, and Jo-1) and dsDNA (6,28-31).
References cited only in tables or figures should be numbered in accordance with the sequence established by the first appearance in the text of the table or figure. Also, the authors should NOT include DOI numbers at the end of cited reference.
Journal titles should be abbreviated according to the style used in the NLM Catalog: Journals referenced in the NCBI Databases, posted by the NLM and available at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/nlmcatalog/journals.
The most common examples of reference citing are as follows.
Standard journal article:
Name all authors unless there are more than six, in which case list the first six followed by et al. The volume number should be included, omitting the month and issue number.
For example:
Punglia RS, D'Amico AV, Catalona WJ, Roehl KA, Kuntz KM. Impact of age, benign prostatic hyperplasia, and cancer on prostate-specific antigen level. Cancer. 2006;106:1507-13.
Chen L, Wang X, Carter SA, Shen YH, Bartsch HR, Thompson RW, et al. A single nucleotide polymorphism in the matrix metalloproteinase 9 gene (-8202A/G) is associated with thoracic aortic aneurysms and thoracic aortic dissection. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 2006;131:1045-52.
Organization as author:
Diabetes Prevention Program Research Group. Hypertension, insulin, and proinsulin in particpants with impaired glucose tolerance. Hypertension. 2002;40:679-86.
Both personal authors and organization as author:
Vallancien G, Emberton M, Harving N, van Moorselaar RJ; Alf-One Study Group. Sexual dysfunction in 1,274 European men suffering from lower urinary tract symptoms. J Urol. 2003;169:2257-61.
Article published electronically ahead of print
Cals JW, Kotz D. Effective writing and publishing scientific papers, part X: choice of journal. J Clin Epidemiol. 2013 Oct 31 [cited 2013 Nov 7]. [Epub ahead of print].
Forthcoming (formerly in-press) and preprints
Since manuscripts in preprint databases are not peer-reviewed it is not advisable to reference them as source of information in the submitted manuscripts. Exceptions can be made if a specific manuscript in preprint database is the material of investigation for the presented study or if the authors refer to the preprint article as an example of preprints. All other types of referencing preprints as a major source of information cannot be accepted.
For example:
Bar DZ, Atkatsh K, Tavarez U, Erdos MR, Gruenbaum Y, Collins FS. Biotinylation by antibody recognition- A novel method for proximity labeling. BioRxiv 069187 [Preprint]. 2016 [cited 2017 Jan 12]. Available from: https://doi.org/10.1101/069187
Alvarez R. Near optimal neural network estimator for spectral x-ray photon counting data with pileup. arXiv:1702.01006v1 [Preprint]. 2017 [cited 2017 Feb 9]. Available from: https://arxiv.org/abs/1702.01006
Rourke E, Hussain R, Buscombe JR, Hilson AJ. Overlying urostomy bag simulating urinary leak in a postrenal transplant MAG3 study. Clin Nucl Med. Forthcoming 2006 (can include date, volume and issue number if provided)
Tian D, Araki H, Stahl E, Bergelson J, Kreitman M. Signature of balancing selection in Arabidopsis. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. Forthcoming 2002. (can include date, volume and issue number if provided)
Book or handbook:
In English:
Burtis CA, Ashwood ER, Burns DE, eds. Tietz Textbook of Clinical Chemistry and Molecular Diagnostics. 4th ed. St. Louis: Elsevier Saunders; 2006.
In language other than English:
Gamulin S, Marušić M, Kovač Z. et al., eds. [Patofiziologija]. 5th ed. Zagreb: Medicinska naklada; 2002. (in Croatian)
Book chapter:
In English:
Meltzer PS, Kallioniemi A, Trent JM. Chromosome alterations in human solid tumors. In: Vogelstein B, Kinzler KW, eds. The genetic basis of human cancer. New York: McGraw-Hill; 2002. p. 93-113.
In language other than English:
Vrkić N. [Smjernice za laboratorijsku dijagnostiku akutnog koronarnog sindroma]. In: [Dijagnostika hitnih stanja]. Topić E, ed. Zagreb: Medicinska naklada; 2006. (in Croatian)
Internet source:
Dag Stat. Mackinnon A. Available from: https://www.biostats.com.au/DAG_Stat/. Accessed May 5th 2006.
Kanneganti P, Harris JD, Brophy RH, Carey JL, Lattermann C, Flanigan DC. The effect of smoking on ligament and cartilage surgery in the knee: a systematic review. Am J Sports Med [Internet]. 2012 Dec [cited 2019 Feb 19];40(12):2872-8. Available from: http://ajs.sagepub.com/content/40/12/2872
Stockhausen L, Turale S. An explorative study of Australian nursing scholars and contemporary scholarship. J Nurs Scholarsh [Internet]. 2011 Mar [cited 2013 Feb 19];43:89-96. Available from: http://search.proquest.com/docview/858241255
Tables
Tables with brief captions should be provided each on a separate page at the end of the document. Use only horizontal lines of a table grid. Tables should be numbered consecutively using Arabic numerals. Ensure that each table is cited in the text. Each column should have a short heading title and detailed explanation provided in a footnote. All non-standard abbreviations should be explained in table footnotes using the symbols in the following order: *, †, ‡, §, ║, ¶, **, ††, ‡‡, §§, ║║, ¶¶, etc.
Figures
Each figure and its brief caption should be provided on a separate page at the end of the document. Figures should be numbered consecutively according to the order of appearance in the text.
Technical editors will redesign or recreate all graphical elements (pictures, schematic presentations etc.) of the manuscript if they do not conform to the uniform style of the Journal.
All graphical elements and figures should be presented in black and white and/or grayscale. Decision to publish some graphical material in color is with the Journal Editors.
If, for some reason, figures cannot be inserted into the manuscript file, they can be uploaded as separate electronic files. Acceptable image file formats for print publication are: *.jpg, *.bmp or *.tiff; the desired resolution is 300 dpi.
Supplementary material
All files that cannot be included in the manuscript files (broad tables, XML codes etc.) but are important for accurate interpretation of the presented data, can be uploaded and published as a separate electronic file. All such material has to be mentioned and referenced in the manuscript text and supplementary material has to be clearly and unambiguously connected with the respective manuscript.
Language and style
Manuscript should be written in English in understandable style and checked for correct spelling and grammar. Authors whose first language is not English are strongly advised to have their manuscript edited by a language professional or fluent English speaker before submission. Please note that this does not guarantee the acceptance of the article for publication. Biochemia Medica does not provide language editing service and does not have any preferences for the use of any particular service provider.
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