Submissions

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Submission Preparation Checklist

As part of the submission process, authors are required to check off their submission's compliance with all of the following items, and submissions may be returned to authors that do not adhere to these guidelines.
  • The submission has not been previously published, nor is it before another journal for consideration (or an explanation has been provided in Comments to the Editor).
  • The manuscript is to be submitted electronically at ucmsjournal@gmail.com
  • Authorship: All submitted manuscripts should be accompanied by a signed statement by all authors regarding authorship. There should not be any discrepancy in names and sequence of authors, and the corresponding author details, as submitted in the title page and other documents.
  • Double-space throughout, including title page, abstract with key words, main text, and references. Start each of these sections (in same order) on a new page, numbered consecutively in the lower right hand corner.
  • Use 10-point font size (Times New Roman) and leave margins of 2.5 cm (1 inch) on all sides. The whole manuscript should be formatted in ‘portrait’ layout.
  • Units of measure: Conventional units are preferred. The metric system is preferred for the expression of length, area, mass and volume.
  • References should be cited in the text wherever necessary in superscript. Superscript letters should be numerical and should be cited after full-stop
  • The text adheres to the stylistic and bibliographic requirements outlined in the Author Guidelines, which is found in About the Journal.

Author Guidelines

JUCMS, the official journal of Universal College of Medical Sciences, is a peer-reviewed journal published as 3 issues per year (Jan-April, May-Aug, Sept-Dec). The journal is indexed in NepJOL, Google Scholar, The Grove library, Journal TOCs, JOL, DRJI, Asia Journals online, Universia, Libtoc, UniSA, NTHRYS, ULRICHSWEB, University of Saskatchewan, and HINARI. The journal gives priority to reports of outstanding clinical work, as well as important contributions related to common and important problems related in developing nations. The Journal is available online at www.ucms.com.np/index.php/jucms and www.nepjol.info/index.php/JUCMS

Manuscript submission: All manuscripts should be emailed to ucmsjournal@gmail.com. Please attach your manuscript as per authors’ instructions. Submissions sent as hard copies to the journal office will not be entertained. All manuscript related queries should be through email only.

Criteria for acceptance: All manuscripts should meet the following criteria: the material is original, study methods are appropriate, data are sound, conclusions are reasonable and supported by the data, and the information is important; and the article is written in reasonably good English. Articles not written as per JUCMS format will be sent back to authors without initiating the peer-review process. Manuscripts once accepted will be edited to conform to the journal’s style and may be sent to author for approval.

Unauthorized use: The copyright of all accepted and published manuscripts lies with JUCMS; these cannot be reproduced elsewhere or distributed in any form, in whole or part, without the written permission from the Editor-in-Chief. For permission to use copyrighted material, the Editor-in-Chief may be contacted at ucmsjournal@gmail.com.

Review process: Majority of the submitted manuscripts may be rejected after an initial Editorial board review. The reasons for rejection may be due to insufficient originality, serious scientific flaws, major ethical issues, not submitted in desired format, not of interest to majority of readers, or not in accordance with the current priorities of the journal. Decision on such papers is communicated to authors within two weeks. Remaining articles are sent to reviewers having sufficient experience on the subject, in a ‘masked fashion’. Manuscripts are reviewed with due respect for authors’ confidentiality. Authors should take care not to disclose their and their institution’s identity in the text of the ‘blinded manuscript.’ The peer reviewer identity is also kept confidential. Period of submission to first decision varies from 2 weeks to 6 weeks depending on availability of reviewers, and timely response from them. The total time duration from initial submission to final publication varies and may take up to maximum of two years.

Duplicate submission and plagiarism: Manuscripts are considered with the understanding that they have not been published previously in print or electronic format and are not under consideration by another publication or electronic medium. If plagiarism or duplicate publication is detected, authors should expect prompt rejection/retraction, Editorial board’s action such as barring the author from submitting articles in future, notification in the journal/website, and informing the authors’ institute or other medical editors. A previously rejected article should not be resubmitted again under the original or modified title, especially if the content remains substantially same. Authors should provide full information regarding previous submission, if any.

Proofs: A galley proof will be sent to the corresponding author by e-mail, prior to publication. Corrections on the proof should be restricted to printing errors or errors in figures or data only, and should be submitted within 48 hours of receipt of the proofs. The authors should inform even if no corrections are needed.

No addition, deletion, alteration in the sequence of authors or change of corresponding authorship is permissible at this stage.

TYPES OF ARTICLES
Articles can be submitted as Original articles, Case reports, Review articles, Medical education and letter to editor. 

Original article: The submission should report research including descriptive studies, case records/series, pilot interventional studies randomized clinical trials, studies of screening and diagnostic tests, analytical cohort and case control studies, systematic reviews and cost-effectiveness analyses.

Each manuscript should be written in New Times Roman format with font size of 10. Abstract should not exceed more than 250 words and should include introduction, material and methods, results and conclusion. Key words up to 3-5 should follow after the abstract. The manuscript text should be arranged in sections on Introduction, Material and Methods, Results, Discussion and Conclusion. Number of tables and figures should be limited to a maximum of 5 and 3, respectively. The typical text length for such contributions is 1500-2000 words (excluding title page, abstract, tables, figures, acknowledgments, key words and references). Number of references should be limited to 25.

Review Article: State-of-the-art review articles or systematic, critical assessments of literature are also published. The authors may consult the Editor-in-Chief before submitting such articles, as similar reviews may already be in submission. Normally, a review article on a subject already published in JUCMS in last 3 years is not accepted. The typical length for review articles is 2500-3000 words (excluding tables, figures, and references). Authors submitting review articles should include an abstract of around 200 words with key words (3-5 in number) describing the need and purpose of review, methods used for locating, selecting, extracting and synthesizing data, and main conclusions. The number of references should be limited to 50. The number of authors should usually be limited to four.

Case Reports: Clinical cases highlighting some unusual or new but “clinically relevant” aspects of a condition are published as Case Reports. Case reports should highlight some new or unusual aspect regarding etiopathogenesis, diagnosis or management of a condition that adds to the existing body of knowledge. Rarity of the reported condition alone will not be a criterion for acceptance. The text should not exceed 1000 words and should have following sections: abstract (not more than 150 words) with key words, Manuscript with following sections- Introduction, Case report and Discussion and Conclusion. Only two very relevant figures are allowed. References should not exceed more than 10. Only color photographs should be submitted; black-and-white images will not be entertained. Color images will be published only in the web-version of the journal; for print version, these will be converted to black and white. The patient’s written consent (or that of the next of kin) to publication must be obtained, and the same must be affirmed/stated. Pictures identity should not be disclosed.

Medical Education: Articles on medical education should not exceed 2500-3000 words. Abstract should not exceed more than 200 words and key words should be around 3-5. References should not exceed more than 50.

Letter to the Editor: Letters commenting upon recent articles in JUCMS are welcome. Such letters should be received within 12 months of the article’s publication. Letters commenting on ‘Case Reports’ and ‘Correspondence’, are generally not preferred. At the Editorial board’s discretion, the letter may be sent to the authors for reply and the letter alone or letter and reply together may be published after appropriate review.

Letters should not have more than 400 words, and 5 most recent references. The text need not be divided into sections. The number of authors should not exceed two.

PREPARING THE MANUSCRIPT

  1. The manuscript is to be submitted electronically at ucmsjournal@gmail.com.
  2. Use American (US) English throughout.
  3. Double-space throughout, including title page, abstract with key words, main text, and references. Start each of these sections (in same order) on a new page, numbered consecutively in the lower right hand corner.
  4. Use 10-point font size (Times New Roman) and leave margins of 2.5 cm (1 inch) on all sides. The whole manuscript should be formatted in ‘portrait’ layout.
  5. Units of measure: Conventional units are preferred. The metric system is preferred for the expression of length, area, mass and volume.
  6. There should not be any discrepancy in names and sequence of authors, and the corresponding author details, as submitted in the title page and other documents.
  7. References should be cited in the text wherever necessary in superscript. Superscript letters should be numerical and should be cited after full-stop.
  8. Authorship: All submitted manuscripts should be accompanied by a signed statement by all authors regarding authorship. All submitted manuscripts should be accompanied by a signed statement by all authors regarding authorship.

TITLE PAGE: At the beginning mention the category (Original article, review article, case report, medical education) for which the article is being submitted. The page should contain (i) the title of the article: which should be concise but informative; the type of study may be added in title after a colon. The title should be written in bold capital letters using Times new Roman format with font size of 14. Total number of tables and figures should be mentioned along with word counts for abstract and the text separately. If the work has been presented previously in a conference, please mention the place, date and conference presented. Sources of support, if any has to be mentioned. Conflict of interests, if any has to be mentioned.

ABSTRACT PAGE:

  • Title of the study: This page should contain the title of the article (in capital letter, bold, Times new Roman)
    Biomedical Waste Management in Nepal: a Review
  • Author information:
    (Please consult our previous issues). For. e.g.
    Nagendra Chaudhary1, Shyam Kumar Mahato1, Shatdal Chaudhary2, Bal Dev Bhatia1
    1. Department of Pediatrics, Universal College of Medical Sciences, Bhairahawa, Nepal
    2. Department of Medicine, Universal College of Medical Sciences, Bhairahawa, Nepal
    For more detail please go through our published article. Please make sure you use superscript and position of comma according to JUCMS format.
  • For Correspondence:
    Name, Affiliation, Address, Email: Phone:
    (N.B.: Do not provide academic degree and positions, just affiliation).
    e.g.
    For Correspondence
    Dr. Shatdal Chaudhary
    Department of Medicine
    Universal College of Medical Sciences
    Bhairahawa, Nepal
    Email: shxxxyyy@yahoo.com
    Phone: 98570xxxxx.
  • ABSTRACT
    It should contain 4 headings
    INTRODUCTION
    MATERIAL AND METHODS
    RESULTS
    CONCLUSION
    Abstract for original article should not exceed more than 250 words, Review article- 200 words, Medical education- 200 words and case reports- 150 words.
  • KEY WORDS
    Key words should be 3-5 separated by comma without full-stop at the end. Each word should be in capital letters at the initials.

MAIN TEXT PAGE

  • This section contains
    For original articles: INTRODUCTION, MATERIAL AND METHODS, RESULTS, CONCLUSION, ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS (if any), CONFLICT OF INTERESTS (if any), and REFERENCES
    For case reports: INTRODUCTION, CASE REPORT, DISCUSSION, CONCLUSION, ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS (if any), CONFLICT OF INTERESTS (if any), and REFERENCES
    Review articles and medical education has to be written taken into consideration of its word limit.
  • INTRODUCTION: The introduction must clearly justify and state the question that the author(s) tried to answer in the It may be necessary to briefly review the relevant literature.
  • MATERIAL AND METHODS: Provide the detail in the order of study design, place and duration of study, ethical approval and patient consent, inclusion and exclusion criteria, sample size and sampling, statistical analysis and software used.
  • RESULTS: Present the key finding first and then move towards less important findings. Use table and figures appropriately in the text at appropriate place and do not explain table and figures in the text, instead provide main finding of the table or figures and then use table and figure no at the end of the sentence. Table heading should be in top of the table while figure heading should be below the figure. Numbering of tables and figures should be in numbers in bold letters followed by full-stop (.). Tables should be created by using MS Word tables. Tables created by snapshots or power point are not acceptable. 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. Abbreviations used in the table should be expanded in the footnote to the table. Supply all figures electronically in the text only. Indicate what graphics program was used to create the artwork.
  • DISCUSSION: Ordinarily it should not be more than one-fourth of the total length of the manuscript. Do not attempt a detailed review of literature. Do not extensively describe someone else work. Compare and contrast, support and refute your findings with existing literature Provide limitation of your study at the end in the discussion section only.
  • CONCLUSION: Do not explain the finding instead key message with recommendations, if applicable.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS:
Acknowledgments, if any should be placed soon after the conclusion and before the references. Person who have helped in the study but do not qualify the authorship should be placed in this section.
Just name the individual or organization but do not use literary word to praise them. Corresponding author should take the responsibility of obtaining the permission to include his/her name in this section.

CONFLICT OF INTERESTS:
The authors declare that there is no conflict of interests. If yes, please specify.

REFERENCES:
References should be in Vancouver manoeuvre. One should not exceed more than 25 references in original articles, 10 in case reports and 50 in review articles/medical education. All the references should be cited in the text. Failure to do it may lead to automatic rejection of the manuscript even before a peer review process.

LEGENDS
Tables
We use Table then one space then number followed by full-stop, then title (first letter being Caps rest small). Table number should be above the table. Title should be in bold letters. Table should be sent on editable word file. Screen-shot tables are not accepted.  

Figures: Figure should be sent in JPG or TIFF format. We use Figure then one space, then number, followed by full-stop then title (first letter being Caps rest small).

Figure number should be given below the figure. Title should be in bold letters.

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CHECKLIST BEFORE SUBMISSION

(Please read the author instructions carefully before uploading the article).

  1. Cover letter: Authors should include a separate cover letter (pdf file) explaining why his study should be taken into consideration for publication.
  2. Authorship and declaration letter: Corresponding should upload an authorship and declaration letter with the title of the study and names and signatures of all the authors. It should include that this study has not been published anywhere previously or in consideration for publication to other journals.
  3. Manuscript file: Manuscript following the JUCMS format (Please go to the author instruction section for more details). Please prepare the manuscript following the manuscript template provided
  4. Ethical approval letter: Ethical approval letter in cases of original article is must for consideration for further processing of the article. Failure to provide will lead to automatic rejection of the manuscript.

 

Privacy Statement

Nepal Journals Online (NepJOL) is a member of the Ubiquity Partner Network coordinated by Ubiquity Press. According to the EU definitions, NepJOL is the data controller, and Ubiquity Press are the service providers and data processors. Ubiquity Press provide the technical platform and some publishing services to NepJOL and operate under the principle of data minimisation where only the minimal amount of personal data that is required to carry out a task is obtained.

More information on the type of data that is required can be found in Ubiquity Press’ privacy policy below.

Ubiquity Press Privacy Policy

We take seriously our duty to process your personal data in a fair and transparent way. We collect and manage user data according to the following Privacy Policy. This document is part of our Terms of Service, and by using the press portal, affiliated journals, book, conference and repository websites (the “Websites”), you agree to the terms of this Privacy Policy and the Terms of Service. Please read the Terms of Service in their entirety, and refer to those for definitions and contacts.

What type of personal data do we handle?

There are four main categories of personal data stored by our journal platform, our press platform, and our book management system; Website User data, Author data, Reviewer data and Editor data.

The minimum personal data that are stored are:

  • full name
  • email address
  • affiliation (department, and institution)
  • country of residence

Optionally, the user can provide:

  • salutation
  • gender
  • associated URL
  • phone number
  • fax number
  • reviewing interests
  • mailing address
  • ORCiD
  • a short biography
  • interests
  • Twitter profile
  • LinkedIn profile
  • ImpactStory profile
  • profile picture

The data subjects have complete control of this data through their profile, and can request for it to be removed by contacting info@ubiquitypress.com

What do we do to keep that data secure?

We regularly backup our databases, and we use reliable cloud service providers (Amazon, Google Cloud, Linode) to ensure they are kept securely. Backups are regularly rotated and the old data is permanently deleted. We have a clear internal data handling policy, restricting access to the data and backups to key employees only. In case of a data breach, we will report the breach to the affected users, and to the press/journal contacts within 72 hours.

How do we use the data?

Personal information is only used to deliver the services provided by the publisher. Personal data is not shared externally except for author names, affiliations, emails, and links to ORCiD and social media accounts (if provided) in published articles and books which are displayed as part of the article/book and shared externally to indexes and databases. If a journal operates under open peer review then the reviewer details are published alongside the reviewer details.

How we collect and use your data:

1. When using the website

1.1 what data we collect

  • When you browse our website, we collect anonymised data about your use of the website; for example, we collect information about which pages you view, which files you download, what browser you are using, and when you were using the site.
  • When you comment on an article or book using Disqus, we are not collecting, controlling or processing the data. More details on the DISQUS privacy policy can be found on their website.
  • When you annotate an article or book, this is done via a 3rd party plugin to the website called Hypothes.is. In using this plugin we are not collecting, controlling or processing the data. More details on the Hypothes.is privacy policy can be found on their website.

1.2 why we collect the data

  • We use anonymised website usage data to monitor traffic, help fix bugs, and see overall patterns that inform future redesigns of the website, and provide reports on how frequently the publications on our site have been accessed from within their IP ranges.

1.3 what we do (and don’t do) with the data

  • We do not collect personal information that can be used to identify you when you browse the website.
  • We currently use Google Analytics for publication reports, and to improve the website and services through traffic analysis, but no personal identifying data is shared with Google (for example your computer’s IP is anonymised before transmission).

1.4 what to do if you want to get a copy of your data, or want your data to be removed

  • Please contact info@ubiquitypress.com to request a copy of your data, or for your data to be removed/anonymised.

2. When registering as an author, and submitting an article or book

2.1 what data we collect

  • When registering an account we ask you to log in and provide certain personal information (such as your name and email address), and there is the option to register using an ORCiD which will pre-fill the registration form.
  • As part of submitting an article for publication, you will need to provide personally identifying information which will be used for the peer review process, and will be published. This can include ‘Affiliation’, ‘Competing interests’, ‘Acknowledgements’.

2.2 why we collect the data

  • Registering an account allows you to log in, manage your profile, and participate as an author/reviewer/editor. We use cookies and session information to streamline your use of the website (for example in order for you to remain logged-in when you return to a journal). You can block or delete cookies and still be able to use the websites, although if you do you will then need to enter your username and password to login. In order to take advantage of certain features of the websites, you may also choose to provide us with other personal information, such as your ORCiD, but your decision to utilize these features and provide such data will always be voluntary.
  • Personal data submitted with the article or book is collected to allow follow good publication ethics during the review process, and will form part of the official published record in order for the provenance of the work to be established, and for the work to be correctly attributed.

2.3 what we do (and don’t do) with the data

  • We do not share your personal information with third parties, other than as part of providing the publishing service.
  • As a registered author in the system you may be contacted by the journal editor to submit another article.
  • Any books published on the platform are freely available to download from the publisher website in PDF, EPUB and MOBI formats on the publisher’s site.
  • Any personal data accompanying an article or a book (that will have been added by the submitting author) is published alongside it. The published data includes the names, affiliations and email addresses of all authors.
  • Any articles published on the platform are freely available to download from the publisher website in various formats (e.g. PDF, XML).
  • Ubiquity Press books and articles are typeset by SiliconChips and Diacritech.This process involves them receiving the book and book associated metadata and contacting the authors to finalise the layout. Ubiquity Press work with these suppliers to ensure that personal data is only used for the purposes of typesetting and proofing.
  • For physical purchases of books on the platform Ubiquity Press use print on demand services via Lightning Source who are responsible for printing and distribution via retailers. (For example; Amazon, Book Repository, Waterstones). Lightning Source’s privacy policy and details on data handling can be found on their website.

2.4 why we store the data

  • We store the account data so that you may choose to become a reviewer and be able to perform those tasks, or to become an author and submit an article and then track progress of that article.
  • Published personal data that accompanies an article or a book forms part of the official published record in order for the provenance of the work to be established, and for the work to be correctly attributed.

2.5 what to do if you want to get a copy of your data, or want your data to be removed

  • You are able to view, change and remove your data associated with your profile. Should you choose to completely delete your account, please contact us at support@ubiquitypress.com and we will follow up with your request as soon as possible.
  • To conform to publication ethics and best practice any personal data that is published alongside an article or book cannot be removed. If you have a query about a publication to which you are attributed please contact info@ubiquitypress.com

3. When registering as a reviewer

3.1 what data we collect

  • To become a reviewer you must first register as a user on the website, and set your preference that you would like to be considered as a reviewer. No new personal data is collected when a registered user elects to become a reviewer.
  • When registering an account we ask you to log in and provide certain personal information (such as your name and email address), and there is the option to register using an ORCiD which will pre-fill the registration form.
  • Reviewers can also be registered by editors who invite them to review a specific article. This requires the editor to provide the reviewer’s First Name, Last Name, and Email address. Normally this will be done as part of the process of inviting you to review the article or book.
  • On submitting a review, the reviewer includes a competing interest statement, they may answer questions about the quality of the article, and they will submit their recommendation.

3.2 why we collect the data

  • The data entered is used to invite the reviewer to peer review the article or book, and to contact the reviewer during and the review process.
  • If you submit a review then the details of your review, including your recommendation, your responses to any review form, your free-form responses, your competing interests statement, and any cover letter are recorded.

3.3 what we do (and don’t do) with the data

  • This data is not shared publicly and is only accessible by the Editor and system administrators of that journal or press.
  • The data will only be used in connection with that journal or press.
  • Data that is retained post final decision is kept to conform to publication ethics and best practice, to provide evidence of peer review, and to resolve any disputes relating to the peer review of the article or book.
  • For journals or presses that publish the peer reviews, you will be asked to give consent to your review being published, and a subset of the data you have submitted will become part of the published record.

3.4 what to do if you want to get a copy of your data, or want your data to be removed

  • If you would no longer like to be registered as a reviewer you can edit your profile and tick the box ‘stop being a reviewer’. This will remove you from the reviewer database, however any existing reviews you may have carried out will remain.
  • If you have been contacted by an editor to peer review an article this means that you have been registered in the system. If you would not like to be contacted for peer review you can reply to the email requesting that your data be deleted.

4. When being registered as a co-author

4.1 what data we collect

  • Co-author data is entered by the submitting author. The submitting author will already have a user account. According to standard publishing practice, the submitting author is responsible for obtaining the consent of their co-authors to be included (including having their personal data included) in the article/book being submitted to the journal/press.
  • The requested personal data for co-authors are at the bare minimum; first name, last name, institution, country, email address. This can also include; ORCID ID, Title, Middle Name, Biographical Statement, Department, Twitter Handle, Linkedin Profile Name or ImpactStory ID.

4.2 why we collect the data

  • Assuming that it is accepted for publication, this data forms part of the official published record in order for the provenance of the work to be established, and for the work to be correctly attributed.
  • Author names, affiliations and emails are required for publication and will become part of the permanent cited record.

4.3 what we do (and don’t do) with the data

  • The co-author’s personal data is stored in the author database. This personal data is only used in relation to the publication of the associated article.
  • Any co-author data collected is added to the author database and is only used in association with the article the user is co-author on.

4.5 what to do if you want to get a copy of your data, or want your data to be removed

  • To receive a copy of your data, please contact info@ubiquitypress.com
  • To conform to publication ethics and best practice any personal data that is published alongside an article or book cannot be removed. If you have a query about a publication to which you are attributed please contact info@ubiquitypress.com

5. When signing-up to receive newsletters

5.1 what data we collect

  • We require you to include your name and email address

5.2 why we collect and store the data, and for how long

  • This data would be collected to keep you updated with any news about the platform or specific journal

5.3 what we do (and don’t do) with the data

  • We use mailchimp to provide our mailing list services. Their privacy policy can be found here

5.4 what to do if you want to get a copy of your data or want your data to be removed

  • All emails sent via our newsletter client will include a link that will allow you to unsubscribe from the mailing list

Notification about change of ownership or of control of data

We may choose to buy or sell assets. In the case that control of data changes to or from Ubiquity Press and a third party, or in the case of change of ownership of Ubiquity Press or of part of the business where the control of personal data is transferred, we will do our best to inform all affected users and present the options.

(Updated: 18 May 2018)