GUIDE FOR AUTHORS

[Revised May, 2023]

Moldovan Journal of Health Sciences is an open access, double blind peer reviewed medical journal, published quarterly. The journal accepts for publication original research papers, review articles, case reports, letters to the editor, In memoriam and book reviews.

The Moldovan Journal of Health Sciences follows the Recommendations for the conduct, reporting, editing, and publication of scholarly work in medical journals set out by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) and publication ethics practices suggested by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

GENERAL GUIDELINES

• The manuscripts should be written in English;

• Each manuscript must be accompanied by Authors statement for publication form signed by all authors;

• The manuscript, including the title page, abstract and keywords, main text, references, figure captions, and tables should be typed in Times New Roman 12-point size font and 1,5 line spacing, with 2 cm margins all around and saved as one file;

• Each figure should be submitted also as separate file in one of the following formats: “.jpeg”, “.tiff”, “.eps“, “.ppt”, “.pptx”. Scanning resolution should be at least 300 dpi;

• Written permission from the copyright owners must be obtained to reproduce the figure or other material published before, and the original source should be cited in the figure caption or table footnote;

• Use only standard abbreviations and be sure to explain all of them the first time they are used in the text;

• Use System International (SI) measurements;

• Use generic names for drugs, devices and equipment. When brand-names are mentioned in the manuscript, the complete name and location of the manufacturer must be supplied;

• References should be numbered in the order in which they appear in the text. At the end of the article the full list of references should follow the Vancouver style.

MANUSCRIPT SUBMISSION

Manuscripts must be submitted in electronic version to the e-mail: editor.mjhs@usmf.md. 

A submitted manuscript should be accompanied by Authors statement for publication form signed by all authors (a template is provided by editor).

The corresponding author must ensure that all authors have disclosed all relationships/activities/interests that are related to the content of the manuscript by completing the ICMJE Disclosure Form. The summarized statement regarding Conflict of interest must be provided in Authors statement for publication form and in the Title page.

The corresponding author holds full responsibility for the submission and correspondence with the editor during the peer-review and publication process. All correspondence, including notification of the Editor's decision and requests for revisions, will be made by e-mail.

MANUSCRIPT ORGANIZATION

Manuscripts should be organized as follows. Instructions for each element appear below the list.

TITLE PAGE. Moldovan Journal of Health Sciences adheres to a double-blinded peer-review policy. The title page must be separated from the main text of the article. The main text of the article must not include information about the authors. 

Article title

 should be concise, relevant to the content of the manuscript, and reflect the study design (up to 25 words). Abbreviations are not allowed. Short title (to be used as a running title) can be a maximum of 8 words.

Author information. 

Authors should be listed in order of their contribution to the paper. Members of the research group who do not meet the formal criteria of the authorship, but have had some contribution to the paper, may be mentioned in the “Acknowledgements and funding” section.

Each author's full name, academic titles, the ORCID iD and the affiliation (the full name of department, institution, city and country) should be provided.

Example:

Lilian Șaptefrați, MD, PhD, Professor, https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2779-718X, Department of Histology, Cytology And Embryology, Nicolae Testemitanu State University of Medicine and Pharmacy, Chisinau, Moldova. 

˃ Corresponding author’s contact details. 

Mark the corresponding author with an asterisk and provide in a separate paragraph full contact information, including full name, academic degrees, address (institutional affiliation, city, and country), e-mail address and telephone number. 

˃ Authors’ contributions. 

The contributions of all authors must be described, please follow the suggested format: “HW conceived the study and participated in study design and helped drafting the manuscript. MG performed the processing of specimens and tissue culture methods and drafted the manuscript. TK performed immunofluorescence tests. PN participated in staining and flow-cytometry. AR participated in the study design and performed the statistical analysis. All the authors reviewed the work critically and approved the final version of the manuscript”.

˃ Acknowledgements and funding. 

People who contributed to the study design, data collection, analysis and interpretation, manuscript preparation and editing, offered general or technical support, contributed with essential materials to the study, but do not meet ICMJE authorship criteria will not be considered as authors, but their contribution will be mentioned in section “Acknowledgements and funding”. Also in this section must be specified the sources of work funding. Mention of persons or institutions who have contributed to the work and manuscript can be made only after obtaining permission from each of them.

A Conflict of interest 

statement should summarize all aspects of any conflicts of interest included on the ICMJE form. If there is no conflict of interest, this should also be explicitly stated as „none declared”.

Article highlights 

states the main ideas of the paper: What is not yet known on the issue addressed in the submitted manuscript (described in 1-3 sentences); The research hypothesis (described in 1-2 sentences); The novelty added by manuscript to the already published scientific literature (limited to 1-3 sentences).

˃ Word count 

for Main body text and Abstract should be provided. The volume of the manuscript text should not exceed 6000 words, and Abstract – 350 words.

ABSTRACT AND KEYWORDS

The Abstract should provide the context or background for the study and should state the study's purpose, basic procedures, significant results, main findings, and principal conclusions. The summary text should not exceed 350 words organized according to the following headings: Introduction, Materials and methods, Results, Conclusions. These headings may be adapted in the case of theoretical papers and reviews. The abstract should not contain any undefined abbreviations or citations.

Keywords. Immediately after the abstract, provide 4-6 keywords that are representative for the contents of the article. For the selection of keywords, refer to Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) in PubMed (https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/).

If the article reported the results of a clinical trial, please indicate at the end of the abstract the Name of trial database where registered, unique clinical trial registration number and date registered. 

MAIN TEXT AND REFERENCES

Original research articles are usually organized according to the IMRAD format: Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, and Conclusions. Other types of articles, such as meta-analyses, case reports, narrative reviews, and editorials may have less structured or unstructured formats.

Introduction

The Introduction section should: provide a context or background for the study that would allow readers outside the field to understand the purpose and significance of the study; define the problem addressed and explain why it is important; include a brief review of recent literature in the field; mention any relevant controversies or disagreements existing in the field; formulate research hypothesis and present the main and secondary assessed outcomes; conclude with the research’ propose and a short comment whether the purpose has been achieved. The Introduction should not contain either results or conclusions.

Materials and methods

The Materials and methods section should present in sufficient details all carried out procedures. Here should be described protocols and supporting information on the used methods. It will include study design, subjects’ recruitment procedure, clear description of all interventions and comparisons and applied statistics (Selection and Description of Participants, Technical Information, Statistics). The Methods section should be sufficiently detailed such that others with access to the data would be able to reproduce the results. For studies on humans or animals a statement about ethical approval and informed consent of study subjects should be include. Please specify date and number of Ethics Committee (EC) decision, chair of the EC as well as institution within EC is organized.

Results

Authors must present results logically using text, tables, and figures, giving the main or most important findings first. Results should be explained (not justified or compared in this section) and include fundamental statements related to hypothesis behind the study. 

Discussion

The data should be interpreted concisely without repeating materials already presented in the Results section. Describe the impact, relevance and significance of the obtained results for the field. The results are compared with those from previous publications and draw potential future research directions. Discussions should include important interpretations of the findings and results compared with previous studies. In addition, study limitations and potential bias should be mentioned.

Conclusions 

This section should conclude laconically entire study, and highlight the added-value brought on the studied issue. The conclusions should not provide new information or double (repeat) those presented in the Results section.

References

Moldovan Journal of Health Sciences uses the reference style outlined by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (www.icmje.org), also known as “Vancouver style”. Example formats are listed below. 

In-text reference citations should be numbered consecutively, identified by Arabic numerals in square brackets [ ]. References should be listed at the end of the manuscript and numbered in the order in which they are first mentioned in the text. Every reference cited in the text is also present in the reference list (and vice versa). Journals titles should be abbreviated according to the Index Medicus. 

It may be cited only articles or abstracts that have been published and are available through public servers. Personal communications, manuscripts in preparation, and other unpublished data should  not be included in the reference list, but may be mentioned in parentheses in the text as "unpublished data" or "unpublished observations", indicating the involved researchers. It is of manuscript authors’ responsibility to obtain the permission to refer to unpublished data. 

The references in the Cyrillic, Greek, Arabic scripts should be transliterated into Latin script using the ALA-LC Romanization Tables. Non-English titles must be followed by the English translation in square brackets.

All electronic references should include active and available URLs and the access date.

Examples of references

Journal article

Belîi A, Cobâleţchi S, Casian V, Belîi N, Severin G, Chesov I, Bubulici E. Les aspects pharmacoéconomiques dans la gestion de la douleur périopératoire [Pharmaco-economic aspects of perioperative pain management]. Ann Fr Anesth Reanim. 2012;31(1):60-6. French. doi: 10.1016/j.annfar.2011.09.008.

Book

Razin MP, Minaev SV, Turabov IA. Detskaia khirurgiia [Pediatric surgery]. 2nd ed. Moscow: Geotar-Media; 2020. 696 p. Russian. 

Chapter in a book

Steiber AL, Chazot C, Kopple JD. Vitamin and trace element needs in chronic kidney disease. In: Burrowes J, Kovesdy C, Byham-Gray L, editors. Nutrition in kidney disease. 3rd ed. Cham: Humana Press; 2020. p. 607-623.

Conference paper

Ojovan V. Medical rehabilitation of children with type 1 diabetes: medical bioethical and psychosocial aspects. In: MedEspera: 9th International Medical Congress for Students and Young Doctors, 12-14 May 2022, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova: Abstract book. Chișinău; 2022. p. 77.

Website reference

World Health Organization (WHO). Therapeutics for Ebola virus disease [Internet]. Geneva: WHO; 2022 [cited 2022 Sep 5]. Available from: https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240055742

TABLES AND FIGURES

Tables should be numbered consecutively with Arabic numerals, and be cited in text. Tables can be placed either next to the relevant text in the article, or on separate page(s) at the end. Tables must be submited as editable text and not as images. Each table should be completely informative in itself, and the data presented in it do not duplicate the results described elsewhere in the article. 

The label "Table 1" and a short descriptive title should be provided above the table. Legends, notes, and any abbreviations used in the table should be explained below the table in a footnote. Applied statistical tests and the type of presented data should be  also mentioned. Please follow the example:

Table 1. Intra-anesthetic and immediately post-extubation adverse events

Note: *Unusually slow awaking, after that cerebral concentration of the anesthetic reach the under hypnotic level.

Used statistical analysis: Fisher’s exact test.

Figures (photographs or radiographs, drawings, graphs, bar charts, flow charts, and pathways) should be submitted in a suitable format for print publication. Figures should be either professionally drawn and photographed, or submitted as photographic-quality digital prints. Figures’ quality should assure the visibility of details. The following file formats are accepted: “.jpeg”, “.tiff”, “.eps“ (preferred format for diagrams), “.ppt”, “.pptx” (figures should be of the size of a single slide), with a resolution of at least 300 dpi. 

Figures will be included in the main manuscript, and also submitted as separate files. The file title should include the figure number and an identifiable short title.

Figures should be numbered consecutively according to the order in which they have been cited in the text. Write the label Fig. 1 and a short descriptive title under the figure. Figure’s legend should describe briefly the data shown. Figure’s description should not repeat the description in the text of the manuscript. When used symbols, arrows, numbers or letters to describe parts of the figure, explain clearly each one of them in the legend. Explain the internal scale and identify the staining method of the photomicrographs.

If a table or figure has been published before, the authors must obtain written permission to reproduce the material in both print and electronic formats from the copyright owner and submit it with the manuscript. The original source should be cited in the figure caption or table footnote. For example, “Reprinted with permission from Calfee DR, Wispelwey B. Brain abscess. Semin Neurol. 2000;20:357.” (“Data from . . .” or “Adapted from . . .” may also be used, as appropriate).

ETHICAL ISSUES & RESEARCH REPORTING GUIDELINES 

Definition of Authorship

As stated in the guidelines of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICJME), all persons listed as authors in the manuscript must meet ALL of the following criteria for authorship: 

1. substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work; AND

2. drafting the work or reviewing it critically for important intellectual content; AND

3. final approval of the version to be published; AND

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.

Acknowledgements and funding

All contributors, members of the research group who do not meet the criteria for authorship as defined above should be listed in an acknowledgments section. All financial and material support for the conduct of the research and/or preparation of the article from internal or external agencies, including commercial companies, should be clearly and completely identified.

AI in scientific writing

Authors must disclose the use of Artificial Intelligence or (AI)-assisted technologies in the writing process by adding a statement at the end of their manuscript in the core manuscript file, before the References list. The statement should be placed in a new section entitled „Declaration of Generative AI and AI-assisted technologies in the writing process”. For example, „The author(s) used [AI service/tool name] in order to [reason]. After using this tool/service, the author(s) reviewed and edited the content as needed and take(s) full responsibility for the content of the publication”. If there is nothing to disclose, there is no need to add a statement. AI and AI-assisted technologies should not be listed as an author or co-author, or be cited as an author.

Conflict of interest disclosure

All authors must disclose any financial, personal or professional relationships with other people or organizations that could inappropriately influence (bias) their work. Examples of potential conflicts of interest are financial support from, or connections to, pharmaceutical companies, political pressure from interest groups, and academically related issues. If there is no conflict of interest, this should also be explicitly stated as none declared. 

Copyright, open access, and permission to reuse

Duplicate publication

Material submitted to Moldovan Journal of Health Sciences must be original. Submitted manuscript must not have been previously published elsewhere (except as an abstract or a preliminary report), and must not be under consideration by another journal. Related manuscripts under consideration or in press elsewhere must be declared by authors at the time of submission in the cover letter. Dual publication or redundant publication is unethical. For more details please refer to the COPE guidelines on http://www.publicationethics.org.

Plagiarism

Authors should submit only original work that is not plagiarized, and has not been published or being considered elsewhere. Appropriate softwares may be used by the editorial office to check for similarities of submitted manuscripts with existing literature. If the submitted manuscript violates copyright policies; it can be suspended or dismissed, regardless of the stage of the publishing process.

Copyright license

All articles published in the Moldovan Journal of Health Sciences are open access, licensed under Creative Commons NonCommercial license (CC BY-NC). This means that the article is freely accessible over the Internet immediately after publication, and the author, and any non-commercial bodies, may reuse the material for non-commercial uses without obtaining permission from the journal. Any reuse must credit the author(s) and the journal (a full citation of the original source).

Reproduction of previously published contents

If the submitted manuscript used or reproduced information/material previously published or copyrighted is the responsibility of the corresponding author to obtain a written permission from the copyright owner and properly cite the original source. In order to maintain transparency, it is recommended to submit the permission, as a copy, along with the manuscript.

Self-Archiving

Authors are encouraged to submit the final version of the accepted, peer-reviewed manuscript to their funding body's archive for public release immediately upon publication and to deposit the final version on their institution’s repository. Authors should cite the publication reference and DOI number on any deposited version, and provide a link from it to the published article on the journal’s website https://cercetare.usmf.md/ro/revista-mjhs/Arhiva-MJHS.

Research reporting guidelines

Moldovan Journal of Health Sciences adheres to the ethical standards described by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). Authors are expected to adhere to these standards. Manuscripts submitted to the journal should conform to the ICMJE Recommendations and the following guidelines as appropriate:

• STROBE guidelines for observational studies; 

• CONSORT guidelines for clinical trials;

• PRISMA guidelines for systematic reviews and meta-analyses;

• STARD guidelines for diagnostic studies;

• CARE statement for clinical cases;

• SAGER guidelines for reporting of sex and gender information in study design, data analyses, results and interpretation of findings.

Ethical approval and Informed consent

If the research project involves human subjects or animals, authors must state in the manuscript that the study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the institution within which the research work was undertaken (the protocol number and the date of evaluation should be provided). Patients’ identifying information should not be published in written descriptions and photographs, unless the information is essential for scientific purposes and the patient gave written informed consent for publication. The authors must include a statement confirming that informed consent was obtained from all identifiable study participants (or that no informed consent was required).

Clinical trial registration

The Moldovan Journal of Health Sciences follows the trials registration policy of the ICMJE (www.icmje.org) and considers only trials that have been appropriately registered in a public registry prior to submission. Any research that deals with a clinical trial should be registered with a primary national clinical trial registration site, or other primary national registry sites accredited by the World Health Organization (https://www.who.int/ictrp/network/primary/en/). The clinical trial registration number should be provided at the end of the Abstract.

Data access and responsibility

The corresponding author should indicate that he or she had full access to all the data in the study and takes responsibility for the integrity of the data and the accuracy of the data analysis.

FOR MORE DETAILS, PLEASE CONTACT:

Editor-in-chief:  Serghei Popa, PhD, associate professor

tel: +373 60907799

e-mail: editor.mjhs@usmf.md