Types of articles
Guidelines for writing
References
Images and Tables
Nomenclature and Units
Declaration of authorization
Defining the author
Conflict of Interest
Submission and Evaluation process
Types of articles
The following types of articles are published in the journal:
Editorial articles: brief articles commenting on or assessing contemporary issues, published upon invitation by the Editorial Board. Their length should not exceed 1,000 words and 10 references.
Letters to the Editors: contain opinions or comments on published studies, etc. Their length should be no more than 500 words, including up to 5 references.
Original articles: contain the results of prospective or retrospective laboratory, epidemiological or clinical studies which are published for the first time.The length of the text -excluding literature- should not exceed 5,000 words, four to five tables or figures and 35 bibliographical references.
Review articles: modern medical issues are analyzed, where the latest developments are presented or the conclusions of series of research studies by the authors are listed. Review articles are written by one or more authors, according to their theme. The main text should not exceed 10,000 words, including up to 100 references.
Short-form papers: generally share the same structure as Original articles, but their length is smaller and does not exceed 1,800 words, two tables or figures and 15 bibliographical references. They relate to studies that do not justify the scope of a full research paper. The Editorial Board reserves the right to ask the authors to convert a research paper into a short-form paper, upon a relevant proposal by the respective referees, when they consider that the topic does not justify the original length. The authors may submit their work in the form of short papers from the outset.
Interesting cases – Case reports: include new or very rare cases of diseases, rare occurrences and the implementation of new diagnostics criteria or new therapeutic methods. The length of the text should not exceed 1,500 words two tables or figures and 15 bibliographical references.
Guidelines for writing
Regarding the writing of articles, the journal complies with the guidelines of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) [http://www.icmje.org/urm_main.html]. Failure of the authors to comply with these guidelines can lead to the article being returned for adjustments and resubmission, prior to its evaluation. With the use of a computer and word processing software, the manuscript is typed on A4 page format (212 x 297 mm) with margins on both sides of at least 2,5 cm, double-spaced and with continuous line numbering in the left margin (Menu: Page Layout > Line Numbers > Continuous).
Original articles, Short-form papers and Interesting Casesshould have a common structure andinclude the following sections in a single text file(word, text or other): title page, Greek abstract with key words (for manuscripts in Greek), English abstract with key words, main body of the text, acknowledgements,declaration of competing interests, declaration of authorization by the competent Bioethics Committee and/ or the National Organization for Medicines (for Greek authors EOF) (when required, in accordance with current legislation, inthe case of interventionist research papers), references,tables and image captions. Images have to be submitted in separate files, in accordance withthe instructions that follow. The title page is the first page of the article andincludes: (a) the title of the article, where no abbreviations can be used, (b) the names of the authors (full name and surname), (c) the laboratory or clinic and hospital or institution where the study was carried out, (d) the full address of the author in charge of correspondence, including a telephone and fax number and an active e-mail address, and (e) a brief title no longer than 40 characters including spaces.
The abstract has to be between 250 and 400 words (except for interesting cases where the abstract should not exceed 250 words) in the Greek and English language (for a Greek speaking article) or solely in English/French (for an English/French speaking article) and it should be divided into four paragraphs (Aim of the study, Materials and Methodology, Results, Conclusions). Three to six key words are listed below the abstract both in Greek and/or English (as mentioned above), which must correspond to the international terms of Index Medicusand be attributable to Greek according to ΙΑΤRΟΤΕΚ (MeSH-Hellas- Biomedical Terminology).
The main body of the text, for the Original articles and the Short-form papers, must be dividedinto sections: Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion. For the Interesting Cases format it should be divided into the following sections: Introduction, Case Description, Comments or Discussion. In the Materials and Methods section, the way in which the material or patients were selected is described in detail, as well as the methods implemented, in order for other researchers to be able toreproduce the research. In case that the research involves
people, compliance with the Declaration of Helsinki (1975) has to be stated, whereas it should also be defined whether the study has been approved by the respective Bioethics and Ethics Committee and the respective decision No has to be quoted (please see below). In the Results section, the results have to be mentioned analytically in the form of either text or tables (as concisely as possible, without repetitions). The results can then be compared with the results of other studies in the Discussion section, where the conclusions stemming from these results will also be mentioned. According to the length of the article, the Results and Discussionsections can be merged into a single section (Results- Discussion).
The Acknowledgements section has to be addressed to individuals with substantial contribution to the realization of the research, as mentioned above. The declaration of competing interests should be analytical for all authors involved.
Review articles
Reviews follow the same general guidelines except for their structure, which should be analogous to the subject (i.e. the “introduction, materials and methodology, results, discussion” structure is not applicable).
Editorial articles and Letters to the Editor conform to the general guidelines laid out above, apart from the fact that they have no abstract and no individual sections (instead, they are submitted in a single paragraph).
References
The referencesfollow the international Vancouver system (Vancouver reference style). Due to the fact that the referencing of articles from their websites of origin does not fully transfer all typefaces used (e.g. special lettering), the authors should refer to the relevant printed text in order to ensure proper referencing, either in printed or in electronic format (.pdf files). The authors of an article are all heldequally responsible for the proper reproduction of references, whereas the Editorial Board of the journaldoes not check references for their typographical accuracy. In case of any request by a third party to correct a reference error after the final print of the respective issue of the journal, the financial cost is entirely borne by the authors. The numbering of references follows the sequence in which they appear in the text, using Arabic numerals, in the form of superscripts and following punctuation (e.g.: this was originally observed by Jones et al.4and has been confirmed by other studies as
well.5,7,8-12).
Published journal articles: The surnames of the authorsare written first along with the initials of their names without dots, followed by the title of the journal in its abbreviated form in italics, then by the year, volume number (without the issue number in parentheses) and pages (e.g. Klotz SA, Penn CC,Negvesky GJ, Butrus SI. Fungal and parasitic infections of the eye. ClinMicrobiol Rev 2000; 13:662- 685). When the authors are more than six, the first six names are listed and followed by the phrase “et
al.” in italics (e.g. Garcia HH, Herrera G, Gilman RH, Tsang VC, Pilcher JB, Diaz 5 JF et al. Discrepancies between cerebral computed tomography and western blot in the diagnosis of neurocysticercosis. Am J Trop Med Ηyg 1994; 50:152-157). When mentioningthe name of an author within the text, onlytheir surname is given. If the authors are two, theword “and” should be placed between their surnames.
When an article is unsigned, instead of the names of the authors the word “Anonymous” is used. For electronic journals with no page numbers, or whenever this is possible, the DOI (Digital Object Identifier) code should follow the abbreviated title of the journal (e.g. Kalil AC. Is cefepime safe for clinicaluse? A Bayesian viewpoint. J AntimicrobChemother2011; doi: 10.1093 /jac/ dkr 138).
Journal articles under publication: these are articles which have been approved and pending final publication. The previous instructions should be followed, whereas the abbreviated journal title is followed by the phrase “in press” or “under publication”.
When an article is published during the evaluation process, the authors are responsible for renewing the reference by mentioning the relevant journal details (issue, page numbers or DOI). PhD thesis, book chapters or equivalent: the reference includes the name of the author, title, publication edition (in case of more than one editions), publisher, city of publication, year and page numbers.
For book chapters: the title of the book must also be mentioned after the name of the publisher (e.g. Griffiths WD. Old world cutaneous leishmaniasis. In: Peters W, Killick-Kendrick R (eds). The leishmaniases in biology and medicine. Vol. II. London, Academic Press, 1987:617-636).
Works in the form of notices at conferences (either oral or posted) are not included in literature, but they can be set out in the text in parentheses, as long as no more than two years have passed since their presentation, indicating the name of the first author, the conference and specific page(s) in the volume of the minutes of the conference (e.g. Juncosa B et al, XVII Lancefield International Symposium on Streptococci & Streptococcal Diseases, Porto Heli, Greece, 2008, pp63). References to websites should be listed in a similar manner, further indicating the date of the authors’ last access to the website (e.g. http://www.mednet.gr/whonet, cited
1 September 2015).
Images and Tables
Photographs, figures, diagrams, etc. are defined as images (in case of photos) or graphs (in case of drawings) and they are listed in the corresponding points of the text and numbered in Arabic numerals (Figure 1, Figure 2, etc.). They are submitted in electronic format as individual image files (JPEG, TIFF, EPS, etc.) in the highest possible resolution (at least 300 dpi for black and white or color photos and 600 dpi for graphs containing drawings and letters) and not as attachments to the text file of the article. Their final admission requires approval after technical control. When images do not meet the specifications, the authors will be requested to resubmit them. Image captions should be written together on a separate page in the text.
Tablesare listed in the corresponding points of the text and numbered in continuous Arabic numerals (Table 1, Table 2, etc.). The tables must be typed using double-spacing, at the end of the manuscript, after the references, in the same file. Each table should fit in one page. All tables must be accompanied by captions, which are written in the upper part of the corresponding page. Any clarifications are listed as references at the end of the table.
Nomenclature and Units
As far as nomenclature and units of measurementare concerned, pharmaceutical substances arementioned by their chemical rather than by theirbrand name. The various units of measurement arereferred to according to the internationally acceptablestandards. The nomenclature of bacteria can befound in: Approved lists of Bacterial names (SkermanVBD, McGowan V, Sneath PHA, ed. American Societyfor Microbiology (1989) and in the International Journal of Systematic and Evolutionary Microbiology. The nomenclature of viruses has to be approved by the International Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV), as referred to in Virus Taxonomy: Classification and nomenclature of viruses, Seventh report of theInternational Committee on Taxonomy of Viruses (van Regenmortel et al, ed. Academic Press, San Diego, Calif, 2000).
Acknowledgements
The inclusion of individuals in the Acknowledgements section must have been approved by the former beforehand. In case of material which has been published in any other manner and is subject to copyrightprovisions, the way in which this material and the permission to publish it were acquired has to be indicated in detail. Any relevant funding, either from public or private sources, must be explicitly stated.
Declaration of authorization
The declaration of authorization by the competent Bioethics Committee or the National Organization for Medicines (for Greek authors-EOF)(when required in accordance with current legislation,e.g. for interventionist research papers, researchinvolving patients, studies of patients-witnesses, etc.) must include the protocol number and date of authorization. It is made clear that no research can be published for which the authors requested retroactive authorization for work that had alreadybeen carried out. Epidemiological studies, antimicrobial resistance control reports, comparisons between laboratory methodologies and cases reports constitute types of research that require no such authorization.
Defining the author
The author of an article is defined as the person who has assisted in designing and/ or carrying out a specific research presented in the article, according to the guidelines of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE)[http://www.icmje.org/ethical_1author.html].
The journal considers all authors, irrespective of the order of appearance, as equally bearing full responsibility of an article, including its title and order of appearance of other authors. Any individuals who offered specific equipment or facilities, clinical or reference strains, consumables or reagents, financial assistance through public or private financing, or who completed questionnaires, do not meet the criteria of an author and cannot be defined as such. Moreover, individuals who commented, edited or advised during the writing process of the article cannot be included as authors.
Rather, these individuals can be mentioned in the Acknowledgements section. Working groups can be included as authors, provided that all group members fulfill the criteria mentioned above. Finally, it is explicitly stated that no individual can be included as an author honoriscausa, because of a position that he/she holds. Any disputes that arise with regard to the inclusion of an individual as an author or to the authors’ order of appearance in an article, will automatically trigger the suspension of the evaluation process until these disputes are resolved, either by all authors or by the competent bioethics and ethics committee of the institution of origin of the article.
Conflict of interest
All authors must state any conflict of interest in the article, regarding the study under publication, according to the guidelines of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE): [http://www.icmje.org/ethical_4conflicts.html].
Any source of funding with direct or indirect implications of biased conclusions has to be mentioned, along with any financial activity that could be associated with the study (for instance –and not exclusively– previous shareholding or participation in
Boards of Directors, financing of lectures by specific companies whose products are examined in the study, etc.). Nonexistence of conflicting interests should also be mentioned. At this point, it should be noted that all details regarding conflicting interests are not published together with the article; instead, the Editorial Board shall retain them under strict confidentiality. In the latter case, the article will be accompanied by a generic phrase, e.g. “Author XX received support from the company YY for research purposes, or for lectures at conferences, etc.” Failure to comply with this guideline will result in the article being returned to its authors for completion, before its scientific evaluation. Should an undeclared conflict of interest emerge ex post, the Editorial Board reserves the right to report it in the next issue, in the form of “Author XX did not state a potential conflict of interest concerning article ZZ and company YY”.
Submission and Evaluation process
Submit your manuscript through our online system www.hms.org.gr (Journal/Submission). Manuscripts received by post, regardless of whether complemented with an electronic file or not, will not be taken into consideration.
Submitted manuscripts must be accompanied by a relevant personal statement of the author confirming that all authors involved have read the manuscript and agree with its submission, and that neither the article nor a substantial part of it havebeen published or submitted for publication elsewhere. In addition, any conflict of interest among all authors has to be mentioned. Upon its receipt, the manuscript will be checked for its integrity; a reply e-mail will then be sent to the author in charge of the correspondence.
All submitted manuscripts are evaluated by at least one external reviewer, as well as by the Editorial Board. The reviewers may be members of the Editorial Board or other scientists who are experts on the respective subject. Every effort is made so as to complete the evaluation process within a reasonable time (three to four weeks) from the date of its submission, regardless of whether the paper is accepted or rejected, or has to be modified. All correspondence takes place via the e-mail of the author in charge and therefore an active e-mail account is necessary. In case that the reviewers request corrections or suggest modifications, the final amended version will be resubmitted by the author in charge, within three weeks from its return and accompanied by a relevant letter stating all modifications made in the text point by point, as well as the reasoned acceptance or rejection of the reviewers’ proposals. Following its final acceptance, the manuscript is sent for printing. If they wish, the authors may receive printing proofs for checking. The proofs have to be resent to the printing office by e-mail within three days at the most. If the authors wish to receive reprints, they should send a letter stating the number of desired copies. The relevant expense is borne entirely by the authors. Extensive changes cannot be performed while in the process of proof reading without prior permission by the Editorial Board.
Declaration of publication permission
After the final acceptance of the article for publication, the author in charge must fill in and sign the letter of publication and printing permission, which can be found on the Hellenic Society for Microbiology website (www.hms.org.gr). The completed form should be mailed (preferably by registered mail or courier) to the address: “Editorial Board, Journal of Hellenic Society for Microbiology, Ascent Ltd., 29 Michalakopoulou11528, Athens, Greece”. It should be noted here that the article will be sent to the printer’s only after the letter of permission has been received.