Final Manuscripts must be accompanied by a copyright transfer and conflict of interest statement signed by each author. "The signed Transfer of Copyright documents and Conflict of Interest statement forms must be received in the Editorial Office before an accepted manuscript can be sent to the publisher.

Publication ethics: Authors must ensure that the manuscript has not been issued elsewhere. Submitting a paper simultaneously to more than one publication at a time is a breach of publications ethics.

To download the Copyright Transfer form: Click here

Conflict of interest. The vested interests of authors (such as company affiliations or funding relevant to the study) must be declared.

The Journal requires all authors to acknowledge all funding sources that supported their work. When obtained, an informed consent should be indicated in the published article.

To download the Conflict of Interest Statement form: Click here

Originality and plagiarism. The authors should ensure that they have written entirely original works, and if the authors have used the work and/or words of others, that these have been appropriately cited or quoted. Plagiarism takes many forms, from 'passing off' another's paper as the author's own paper, to copying or paraphrasing substantial parts of another's paper (without attribution), to claiming results from research conducted by others. Plagiarism in all its forms constitutes unethical publishing behavior and is unacceptable.

Experiments on human subjects: When reporting experiments on human subjects, authors should indicate whether the procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible committee on human experimentation (institutional and national) and with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975, as revised in 2000.

Experiments on animals: In case of articles entailing experiments on animals, authors should indicate whether the institutional and national guide for the care and use of laboratory animals was followed.

 Liability: Although articles are subject to review and editing, statements and opinions expressed in the articles and communications herein are those of the author(s); the Editor(s) and publisher disclaim any responsibility or liability for such material. Neither the Editor(s) nor the publisher guarantee, warrant, or endorse any product or service advertised in this publication, nor do they guarantee any claim made by the manufacturer of such product or service.

It is expected that all studies will have received appropriate Ethics committee approval. The vested interests of authors (such as company affiliations or funding relevant to the study) must be declared.

Manuscript Preparation

Manuscripts should be submitted in IBM or compatible format, on A-4 sized paper printed on one side only, double-spaced, with margins of at least 2.5 cm, written in correct scientific English suitable for publication. One original and two photocopies of the manuscripts are required. A copy, exactly matching the manuscript, must also be submitted on a diskette 3.4-inch with tables and figures in separate files. Label the diskette with, author name, manuscript title and file names. Authors are advised to retain copies of all material submitted.

 1- Original communications: The manuscript should be organized in the order set forth below.

- Title page: The title page should contain the following information in the order given: (1) full title of manuscript;  (2) authors' full names; (3) authors' highest academic degree, and institutional affiliations including city and country; (4) a running title, not exceeding 40 letters and spaces; (5) the name, address, fax no. (if available) and e-mail address of the author responsible for correspondence.

- Abstract page: The abstract must be no longer than 350 words. Tabular data and references should not be included. Abstracts of papers describing clinical studies should be structured as follows:

• Background: What is the major problem that prompted the study?
• Objective: What is the purpose of the study?
• Methods: How was the study done?
• Results: What are the most important findings?
• Conclusion: What is the single most important conclusion?
• Key words: A list of up to 10 key words should follow the abstract.
• Abbreviations and acronyms: Only standard abbreviations are to be used. A word or term must be spelled out at first mention, with the acronym or abbreviation following in parentheses. A List of all such abbreviations and acronyms is required.

- Text: The text should be organized in sections as follows: Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion. The generic term for all drugs and chemicals should be used.

- Acknowledgment for consultations, statistical analyses, and the like should be listed at the end of the text.

-References: The references must be identified in the text by Arabic numerals in parentheses and numbered in consecutive order as they are first mentioned in the text. The reference list should be typed double-spaced at the end of the article in numeric sequence. The format should conform to that set forth in "Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals" (Ann Intern Med 1997;126:36-47). Examples of correct forms of references are given below:

• [Journals: Han Z, Boyle DL, Shi Yan, Green DR, Firestein GS. Dominant-negative p53 mutations in rheumatoid arthritis. Arthritis Rheum 1999: 42: 1088-92.]
• [Books and monographs: Stiehm ER, Fulginiti VA. Immunologic disorders in infants and children. Philadelphia: WB Saunders, 1973.]
• [Chapter in book: Needlman RD. Growth and development. In: Behrman RE, Kliegman RM, Jenson HB, editors. Nelson textbook of pediatrics. 16^th ed. Philadelphia: WB Saunders, 2000:23-65.]

 - Tables: Tables should supplement, not duplicate, the text. Tables should be cited in the text and numbered consecutively with Arabic numerals. Each table should be typed on a separate sheet. The layout must allow the tables to be read in the same direction as the text. Provide a brief title for each table and define any abbreviations in footnote form at the bottom of the table.

 - Illustrations: All graphs, drawings and photographs should be cited in the text and numbered in order of mention with Arabic numerals and abbreviated Fig(s). Each must be submitted on a separate sheet.

Two original copies of photographs must be supplied and numbered lightly on the back with the author's last name and an arrow marking the top edge. Legends for photographs must be typed on a separate sheet. 

2- Case reports: Case reports or short scientific reports of less than 1000 words (around 4 double-space printed A-4 pages), having no more than 5 references, 2 figures or tables, and a short title will be considered for this section. No abstract is necessary.

3- Letters to the Editor: These are reserved for comments on articles recently published in the journal and are not edited except for necessary language correction. They should not exceed 500 words (around 2 double-space printed A-4 pages), have no more than three references, start with the phrase "To the Editor," and have a short title. 

4- Rostrum articles: These are opinion articles about subjects of debate or emerging problems. They should follow the above cited guidelines for original communications, and must also be abstracted at no more than 350 words.