Submissions

Author Guidelines

Types of papers

1. Original Article: Randomized trials, case control studies, cohort studies, clinical or laboratory / experimental investigations, etc. IMRAD format should generally be followed. Words 3000, References 30, Tables & Illustrations 5. Use the following protocols, if applicable: Randomized trials (CONSORT), Study protocols (SPIRIT), and Observational studies (STROBE).
2. Review articles and Meta-analysis: Generally, follow PRISMA guidelines, Words 4000, References 60, Tables & Illustrations 5. Use the following protocols, if applicable: Systematic reviews and meta-analyses (PRISMA)and protocols (Prisma-P).
3. Technical Reports: Description and illustration of surgical or investigative technique, modification or innovation of existing technique. Innovation in surgical instrumentation and diagnostics with illustration. Up to 6 Authors, Words 1000, References 15, Tables & Illustrations 5.
4. Case Reports and Case Series: Single or multiple cases. Rare in occurrence or presentation, unique management, unusual outcome, an alarming or warning sign. Having academic, teaching, archiving, novelty or extreme rarity and generating a discussion value. No Abstract. Background, case presentation, and short Discussion. Up to 6 Authors, Words 2000, References 15, Tables & Illustrations 5. Use Case reports protocol (CARE).
5. Short Communications are condensed original topics focusing on clinical or basic science. A Short communication will include important, but brief and straightforward, results. Should not exceed 1000 words. No Abstracts. Up to 6 authors. Up to four figures may be included. References 8.
6. Clinical Images and Videos: Surgical Anatomy, Pathology, Radiology, etc. No Abstract. Image Description should include an introduction and discussion. Up to 6 authors, Words 500, References 8, Tables & Illustrations 4.
7. Letter to Editor: Addressed to Dear Editor in Chief, Caption required. Abstract not required. Words 500, References 8, Tables & Illustrations 2.

Writing Tips and Suggestions:

The manuscript should be written in past indefinite tens and double-spaced, left justified type setting. A thorough check for English language, grammar, and syntax. Do not start a sentence with a number/numeral.

Use only one method of highlighting for example either italics or bold letters or capitals or underline or other methods. Do not combine bold and underline. Do not underline.

All abbreviations including abbreviations in the abstract section should first be written in extended format and abbreviations explained in brackets. Avoid using abbreviations and use full forms only in the Abstract and Conclusion sections.

A careful check of the style of References for JAPAJ before submission.

Do not use comma (,) like 37,04. Use decimal (.) like 37.04

Tables & Figures: Each table and figure should be understood as stand-alone without referring to the text. Avoid or illustrate the abbreviations in tables and figures. Avoid shading in tables. Legends to the table and figure should be clear and in bold letters. Figures should be clear, cropped, without borders, mask clinical pictures, usually arrow marked, in scripted contrast color labeling

If the manuscript is sent for revision then, suggestions by reviewers should be replied point-wise, and corrections in the manuscript should be done using red ink or another color. Do not send us track changes

Manuscript Submission

Submission of a manuscript implies: that the work described has not been published before; that it is not under consideration for publication anywhere else; that its publication has been approved by all co-authors, if any, as well as by the responsible authorities – tacitly or explicitly – at the institute where the work has been carried out. The publisher will not be held legally responsible should there be any claims for compensation.

Permissions

Authors wishing to include figures, tables, or text passages that have already been published elsewhere are required to obtain permission from the copyright owner(s) for both the print and online format and to include evidence that such permission has been granted when submitting their papers. Any material received without such evidence will be assumed to originate from the authors.

Manuscript Preparation

• Title Page

Please make sure your title page contains the following information.

• Title: The title should be concise and informative.
• Author information
• The name(s) of the author(s)
• Address, phone number, and email address of the corresponding author
• Disclosure of any conflict of interest or funding.
• This should be submitted as separate from the main manuscript file.
• The authors’ contributions should be stated here.
• Add Word count excluding the abstract and references.

- Main Manuscript file

Start with the title of the manuscript followed by

• Abstract

Please provide an abstract up to 400s words. Structured abstract required for submission of Original Articles and Review Articles only. The abstract should not contain any undefined abbreviations or unspecified references.

• Keywords

Please provide 4 to 6 keywords that can be used for indexing purposes.

• Text Formatting

Manuscripts should be submitted in Word.

• Use a normal, plain font (e.g., 12-point Times Roman) for text.
• Use italics for emphasis.
• Use the automatic page numbering function to number the pages.
• Do not use field functions.
• Use tab stops or other commands for indents, not the space bar.
• Use the table function, not spreadsheets, to make tables.
• Save your file in docx format (Word 2007 or higher) or doc format (older Word versions).

• Abbreviations

Abbreviations should be defined at first mention and used consistently thereafter.

• Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments of people, grants, funds, etc. should be placed in a separate section on the title page. The names of funding organizations should be written in full.

• Scientific style

• Please always use internationally accepted signs and symbols for units (SI units).
• Generic names of drugs and pesticides are preferred; if trade names are used, the generic name should be given at first mention.

• References
• Citation (Vancouver citation style)

Reference citations in the text should be identified by numbers in square brackets. Some examples:

1. Negotiation research spans many disciplines [3].
2. This result was later contradicted by Becker and Seligman [5].
3. This effect has been widely studied [1-3, 7].

-     Reference list

The list of references should only include works that are cited in the text and that have been published or accepted for publication. Personal communications and unpublished works should only be mentioned in the text. The entries in the list should be numbered consecutively.

• Journal article

Gamelin FX, Baquet G, Berthoin S, Thevenet D, Nourry C, Nottin S, Bosquet L (2009) Effect of high intensity intermittent training on heart rate variability in prepubescent children. Eur J Appl Physiol 105:731-738. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00421-008-0955-8

Ideally, the names of all authors should be provided, but the usage of “et al” in long author lists will also be accepted:

Smith J, Jones M Jr, Houghton L et al (1999) Future of health insurance. N Engl J Med 965:325–329

• Article by DOI

Slifka MK, Whitton JL (2000) Clinical implications of dysregulated cytokine production. J Mol Med. https://doi.org/10.1007/s001090000086

• Book

South J, Blass B (2001) The future of modern genomics. Blackwell, London

• Book chapter

Brown B, Aaron M (2001) The politics of nature. In: Smith J (ed) The rise of modern genomics, 3rd edn. Wiley, New York, pp 230-257

• Online document

Cartwright J (2007) Big stars have weather too. IOP Publishing PhysicsWeb. http://physicsweb.org/articles/news/11/6/16/1. Accessed 26 June 2007

• Dissertation

Trent JW (1975) Experimental acute renal failure. Dissertation, University of California

Always use the standard abbreviation of a journal’s name according to the ISSN List of Title Word Abbreviations, see

• Tables
• All tables are to be numbered using Arabic numerals.
• Tables should always be cited in text in consecutive numerical order.
• For each table, please supply a table caption (title) explaining the components of the table.
• Identify any previously published material by giving the original source in the form of a reference at the end of the table caption.
• Footnotes to tables should be indicated by superscript lower-case letters (or asterisks for significance values and other statistical data) and included beneath the table body.

• Artwork and Illustrations Guidelines

• Electronic Figure Submission

• Supply all figures electronically.
• Name your figure files with "Fig" and the figure number, e.g., Fig1.eps.
• Color art is free of charge for online publication.
• All figures are to be numbered using Arabic numerals.
• Figures should always be cited in text in consecutive numerical order.
• Figure parts should be denoted by lowercase letters (a, b, c, etc.).
• Figures should be submitted as separate files, not impeded in the text.

• Figure Captions

• Each figure should have a concise caption describing accurately what the figure depicts. Include the captions in the text file of the manuscript, not in the figure file.
• Figure captions begin with the term Fig. in bold type, followed by the figure number, also in bold type.
• No punctuation is to be included after the number, nor is any punctuation to be placed at the end of the caption.
• Identify all elements found in the figure in the figure caption; and use boxes, circles, etc., as coordinate points in graphs.
• Identify previously published material by giving the original source in the form of a reference citation at the end of the figure caption.

• Video, and Animations

• Aspect ratio: 16:9 or 4:3
• Maximum file size: 25 GB for high-resolution files; 5 GB for low resolution files
• Supported file formats: avi, wmv, mp4, mov, m2p, mp2, mpg, mpeg, flv, mxf, mts, m4v, 3gp

Ethical Responsibilities of Authors

Authors should refrain from misrepresenting research results which could damage the trust in the journal, the professionalism of scientific authorship, and ultimately the entire scientific endeavor. Maintaining the integrity of the research and its presentation is helped by following the rules of good scientific practice, which include*:

• The manuscript should not be submitted to more than one journal for simultaneous consideration.
• The submitted work should be original and should not have been published elsewhere in any form or language (partially or in full), unless the new work concerns an expansion of previous work. (Please provide transparency on the re-use of material to avoid the concerns about text-recycling (‘self-plagiarism’).
• A single study should not be split up into several parts to increase the quantity of submissions and submitted to various journals or to one journal over time (i.e. ‘salami-slicing/publishing’).
• Concurrent or secondary publication is sometimes justifiable, provided certain conditions are met. Examples include translations or a manuscript that is intended for a different group of readers.
• Results should be presented clearly, honestly, and without fabrication, falsification or inappropriate data manipulation (including image-based manipulation). Authors should adhere to discipline-specific rules for acquiring, selecting, and processing data.
• No data, text, or theories by others are presented as if they were the author’s own (‘plagiarism’). Proper acknowledgments to other works must be given (this includes material that is closely copied (near verbatim), summarized and/or paraphrased), quotation marks (to indicate words taken from another source) are used for verbatim copying of material, and permissions secured for material that is copyrighted.
• Authors should make sure they have permission for the use of software, questionnaires/(web) surveys, and scales in their studies (if appropriate).
• Research articles and non-research articles (e.g. Opinion, Review, and Commentary articles) must cite appropriate and relevant literature in support of the claims made. Excessive and inappropriate self-citation or coordinated efforts among several authors to collectively self-cite is strongly discouraged.
• Authors should avoid untrue statements about an entity (who can be an individual person or a company) or descriptions of their behavior or actions that could potentially be seen as personal attacks or allegations about that person.
• Research that may be misapplied to pose a threat to public health or national security should be clearly identified in the manuscript (e.g. dual use of research). Examples include the creation of harmful consequences of biological agents or toxins, disruption of immunity of vaccines, unusual hazards in the use of chemicals, and weaponization of research/technology (amongst others).
• Authors are strongly advised to ensure the author group, the Corresponding Author, and the order of authors are all correct at submission. Adding and/or deleting authors during the revision stages is generally not permitted, but in some cases may be warranted. Reasons for changes in authorship should be explained in detail. Please note that changes to authorship cannot be made after the acceptance of a manuscript.

Fundamental errors

Authors have an obligation to correct mistakes once they discover a significant error or inaccuracy in their published article. The author(s) is/are requested to contact the journal and explain in what sense the error is impacting the article. A decision on how to correct the literature will depend on the nature of the error. This may be a correction or retraction. The retraction note should provide transparency which parts of the article are impacted by the error.

Authorship clarified

The Journal and Publisher assume all authors agreed with the content and that all gave explicit consent to submit and that they obtained consent from the responsible authorities at the institute/organization where the work has been carried out before the work is submitted.

The Publisher does not prescribe the kinds of contributions that warrant authorship. It is recommended that authors adhere to the guidelines for authorship that are applicable in their specific research field. In absence of specific guidelines it is recommended to adhere to the following guidelines*:

All authors whose names appear on the submission

1) made substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data; or the creation of new software used in the work;

2) drafted the work or revised it critically for important intellectual content;

3) approved the version to be published; and

4) agree 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.

Disclosures and declarations

All authors are requested to include information regarding sources of funding, financial or non-financial interests, study-specific approval by the appropriate ethics committee for research involving humans and/or animals, informed consent if the research involved human participants, and a statement on welfare of animals if the research involved animals (as appropriate).

The decision whether such information should be included is not only dependent on the scope of the journal, but also the scope of the article. Work submitted for publication may have implications for public health or general welfare and in those cases, it is the responsibility of all authors to include the appropriate disclosures and declarations.

Data transparency

All authors are requested to make sure that all data and materials as well as software application or custom code support their published claims and comply with field standards. Please note that journals may have individual policies on (sharing) research data in concordance with disciplinary norms and expectations.

Role of the Corresponding Author

One author is assigned as Corresponding Author and acts on behalf of all co-authors and ensures that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately addressed.

The Corresponding Author is responsible for the following requirements:

• ensuring that all listed authors have approved the manuscript before submission, including the names and order of authors;
• managing all communication between the Journal and all co-authors, before and after publication;*
• providing transparency on the re-use of material and mentioning any unpublished material (for example manuscripts in press) included in the manuscript in a cover letter to the Editor;
• Make sure disclosures, declarations, and transparency on data statements from all authors are included in the manuscript as appropriate (see above).

Author contributions

In absence of specific instructions and in research fields where it is possible to describe discrete efforts, the Publisher recommends authors to include contribution statements in the work that specifies the contribution of every author in order to promote transparency. These contributions should be listed at the separate title page.

Examples of such statement(s) are shown below:

All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by [full name], [full name] and [full name]. The first draft of the manuscript was written by [full name] and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Changes to authorship

Authors are strongly advised to ensure the correct author group, the Corresponding Author, and the order of authors at submission. Changes of authorship by adding or deleting authors, and/or changes in Corresponding Author, and/or changes in the sequence of authors are not accepted after acceptance of a manuscript. Adding and/or deleting authors at revision stage are generally not permitted, but in some cases, it may be warranted. Reasons for these changes in authorship should be explained. Approval of the change during revision is at the discretion of the Editor-in-Chief. Please note that journals may have individual policies on adding and/or deleting authors during the revision stage.

Authorship issues or disputes

In the case of an authorship dispute during peer review or after acceptance and publication, the Journal will not be in a position to investigate or adjudicate. Authors will be asked to resolve the dispute themselves. If they are unable the Journal reserves the right to withdraw a manuscript from the editorial process or in the case of a published paper raise the issue with the authors’ institution(s) and abide by its guidelines.

Confidentiality

Authors should treat all communication with the Journal as confidential which includes correspondence with direct representatives from the Journal such as Editors-in-Chief and/or Handling Editors and reviewers’ reports unless explicit consent has been received to share information.

Editorial Board Members and Editors are required to declare any competing interests and may be excluded from the peer review process if a competing interest exists. In addition, they should exclude themselves from handling manuscripts in cases where there is a competing interest. This may include – but is not limited to – having previously published with one or more of the authors, and sharing the same institution as one or more of the authors. Where an Editor or Editorial Board Member is on the author list they must declare this in the competing interests section on the submitted manuscript. If they are an author or have any other competing interest regarding a specific manuscript, another Editor or member of the Editorial Board will be assigned to assume responsibility for overseeing peer review. These submissions are subject to the exact same review process as any other manuscript. Editorial Board Members are welcome to submit papers to the journal. These submissions are not given any priority over other manuscripts, and Editorial Board Member status has no bearing on editorial consideration.

Interests that should be considered and disclosed but are not limited to the following:

Funding: Research grants from funding agencies (please give the research funder and the grant number) and/or research support (including salaries, equipment, supplies, reimbursement for attending symposia, and other expenses) by organizations that may gain or lose financially through publication of this manuscript.

Employment: Recent (while engaged in the research project), present or anticipated employment by any organization that may gain or lose financially through the publication of this manuscript. This includes multiple affiliations (if applicable).

Financial interests: Stocks or shares in companies (including holdings of spouse and/or children) that may gain or lose financially through publication of this manuscript; consultation fees or other forms of remuneration from organizations that may gain or lose financially; patents or patent applications whose value may be affected by publication of this manuscript.

Non-financial interests: In addition, authors are requested to disclose interests that go beyond financial interests that could impart bias on the work submitted for publication such as professional interests, personal relationships, or personal beliefs (amongst others). Examples include, but are not limited to: position on editorial board, advisory board or board of directors or other types of management relationships; writing and/or consulting for educational purposes; expert witness; mentoring relations; and so forth.

Please note that, in addition to the above requirements, funding information (given that funding).

Informed consent

All individuals have individual rights that are not to be infringed. Individual participants in studies have, for example, the right to decide what happens to the (identifiable) personal data gathered, to what they have said during a study or an interview, as well as to any photograph that was taken. This is especially true concerning images of vulnerable people (e.g. minors, patients, refugees, etc) or the use of images in sensitive contexts. In many instances, authors will need to secure written consent before including images.

Identifying details (names, dates of birth, identity numbers, biometrical characteristics (such as facial features, fingerprint, writing style, voice pattern, DNA, or another distinguishing characteristic), and other information) of the participants that were studied should not be published in written descriptions, photographs, and genetic profiles unless the information is essential for scholarly purposes and the participant (or parent/guardian if the participant is a minor or incapable or legal representative) gave written informed consent for publication. Complete anonymity is difficult to achieve in some cases. Detailed descriptions of individual participants, whether of their whole bodies or of body sections, may lead to the disclosure of their identity. Under certain circumstances, consent is not required as long as the information is anonymized and the submission does not include images that may identify the person.