The Journal of Upper Limb Surgery is a scientific medical journal that is dedicated to the All authors interested in publishing their research work in Journal of Upper Limb Surgery (JULS) will need to submit their manuscripts for publication through a web-based manuscript tracking system. The authors can submit new manuscript; revise their existing manuscripts, upload required documents and as well track the status of their manuscripts through this platform. This system helps the editorial office to communicate with the associate editors, reviewers and thus manage the peer review process. Please go to JULS https://julsurgery.com and register yourself (if first time user) to submit the manuscripts.
Authors should note:
Review Process
All manuscripts undergo a double blinded review process, in which the identities of authors, institutes where the research is conducted and reviewers are masked. After submission of manuscript, an initial check is conducted to ensure that all author instructions are complied with and the guidelines for submission are followed. The manuscript may be returned to the author for corrections, if required to conform to the journal instructions.
The manuscript is then checked for suitability for the core readers of Journal of Upper Limb Surgery by the Editor-in-Chief assisted by managing editor. Once found suitable, it is assigned to one of the Associate Editors on the editorial board. If the language and the grammar are incorrect, it will be sent first to the Scientific Language editor, who may suggest changes. If this happens, the manuscript will be sent back to the author for corrections and resubmission. Manuscripts not found suitable will not be sent out for review and will be immediately rejected, and authors informed. For articles describing original research in humans and animals, a letter of approval from the Institutional Ethics Committee must accompany these manuscripts or a letter stating that the Institutional Review Board or the national or regional equivalent in your geographic area had waived the need for informed consent. For prospective interventional trials, registration with trial registries such as Clinicaltrials.gov is highly desirable.
Standards for research submitted to journal of upper limb surgery
All research shall be conducted as per the World Medical Association Declaration of Helsinki Ethical Principles for Medical Research Involving Human Subjects. (modified in 1983 - see https://www.wma.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/DoH-Oct2013-JAMA.pdf). The research must adhere to the 5 principles of ethics of research: informed consent, voluntary participation, privacy and confidentiality, justice, and beneficence, and right to review.
Plagiarism
Plagiarism is the unethical practice of using words or ideas (either planned or accidental) of another author/researcher or your own previous works without proper acknowledgment. The journal checks for plagiarism using professionally available software. Strict action, including retraction of the article and blacklisting authors indulging in this from publishing in the journal will be taken. Further action may be taken as deemed appropriate by the Editorial board.
Copyright
The journal holds the copyright of all the editorial content published in this journal. All accepted manuscripts and their accompanying illustrations become a permanent property of the journal and may not be published anywhere in part or full, in print or electronically without written permission from the journal. It is mandatory for authors to submit the manuscript along with Declaration form.
Types of Articles
The Journal of Upper Limb Surgery accepts manuscripts on shoulder girdle, arm, elbow, forearm, wrist and hand in adult and paediatric patients.
The type of articles accepted by the journal are as follows:
Editorials are by invitation only and will undergo rigorous peer review process before publication.
Preparation of manuscripts
Manuscripts must conform to journals Instructions for Authors and the “Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals,” (http://icmje.org/recommendations/).
The manuscripts should be written in grammatically correct English (UK) and typed single spaced, left justified, using word processors such as Microsoft Word or Notes (for Mac users), in Times new font size 12. The paragraphs should be separated by left indent. Please include continuous line numbering and page number.
The journal prefers to restrict the number of authors to six, however this is not binding, and this number may be exceeded in certain types of articles such as original research, guidelines, and position statements of the society. For case reports/technical note/brief communications the number of authors should not exceed three.
The manuscript should be prepared in separate parts as follows:
1. Cover Letter
A cover letter is a letter addressed to the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Upper Limb Surgery stating why the article should be considered for publication in the journal.
2. Title page
Choose a concise and informative title which uses terms which can be readily indexed; it should not be longer than 10-15 words. Avoid choosing a title in the form of a question.
The title page should have the following:
The JULS recommends that authorship be based on the following 4 criteria: (see www.icmje.org)
The title page should be uploaded with the addition Not for review in the file name, for example name the title page as “Title page (not for review)”.
Important Note for Authors Name:
Submission: Please ensure that you mention the author names, affiliations and city and country correctly. No change will be permitted after the article has been accepted for publication.
Resubmission: Please check that you have mentioned the author names, affiliations and city and country correctly. No change will be permitted after the article has been accepted for publication.
Author Name Ordering: Please ensure that you enter the author names in correct order. No change will be permitted after article has been accepted provisionally for publication.
Declare financial support (if any) and conflict of interest (if any) on the title page. If there are none, write none declared. Acknowledgment of individuals who directly helped in the carrying out the study should also be included here. If the authors have used any material such as tables or figures from other published works, the responsibility of obtaining the requisite permissions lies with authors.
3. Abstract
A structured abstract (250 words), should accompany all research articles and review articles. The abstract for research articles should be divided into 4 sections: Background, Patients and Methods, Results, and Conclusions.
For brief communications, commentary / viewpoint, case reports and technical note, a brief (150 words) non-structured abstract should be submitted. It is not necessary to write an abstract for letters to editor.
Avoid using abbreviations in the abstracts. If at all used, they should be expanded there itself.
5. Pointers for writing various types of manuscripts for JULS
For case reports, case series, cross sectional and other observational studies, please follow STROBE guidelines (Strengthening the Reporting of Observational Studies in Epidemiology; http://www.strobe-statement.org). For randomised control trials follow the CONSORT guidelines (Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials; http://www.consort-statement.org). For systematic reviews and meta-analyses follow the PRISMA guidelines (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses; http://www.prisma-statement.org)
a. Original Research Articles
| HEADING | CONTENT |
|---|---|
| Introduction | Background information, What is known? Why study was done – Aim of study |
| Patients and Methods | IEC approval/waiver, Who were the participants i.e. inclusion and exclusion criteria, whether there were vulnerable subjects (such as children, pregnant women, and adults with mental disabilities or diseases that affect decision-making assignment of interventions, if yes how their interests were safeguarded), (randomization methods, concealment of allocation to control or intervention groups), and method of blinding, Primary and Secondary outcomes, pre-hoc subgroups, etc. Statistical details: what tests were carried out (software used) |
| Results | Demography, Benefit or Harm, other incidental findings, use tables or figures to support, Avoid duplication of content |
| Discussion | Salient findings, whether similar / different to previous studies/ Why? Support with literature Avoid duplicating results in toto |
| Conclusion | ONLY include what you found, do not include speculation, future directions |
| Highlights | What does this add new to the field |
| References | Vancouver style, 6 authors, followed by et al |
| Word count | Abstract 250 words, Main text: Max 3000 words (excluding tables and references), References: 30(Max) |
b. Metanalysis/Systematic Reviews
| HEADING | CONTENT |
|---|---|
| Introduction | Background information, What is known? Why MA/Review was done – What question was asked |
| Patients and Methods | How literature search was done, who did it, who analysed it |
| Results | What were the findings Which type of studies were included? Was there heterogeneity in the studies? How was it checked? Quality of studies What were the results? |
| Discussion | What were the findings? Were they significant? How to the compare with the previous studies? What is the clinical significance |
| Conclusion | ONLY include what you found, do not include speculation, future directions |
| Highlights | What does this add new to the field |
| References | Vancouver style, 6 authors followed by et al |
| Word count | Abstract 250 words, Main text: Max 4000 words (excluding tables and references), |
c. Case Report
| Introduction | Background information, What is known? What is new in the case? Why it is important that readers should know about the case? |
| Case Description | Presentation, treatment given, outcome, if multiple similar cases, include a table, if imaging was unusual include maximum 1 or 2 images |
| Conclusion | ONLY include what the teaching point is, do not speculate, future direction if a study will help in deciding future case management |
| Highlights | What is new in the case |
| Word count: | Abstract 150 words, Case & Discussion 1000 words, References: max 10 |
d. Clinical Technique
| Introduction | Background information, What is known? What is new in the technique? |
| Technique | Describe the technique |
| Discussion | How does it compare with previous techniques? What are the advantages and disadvantages? |
| Conclusion | Place of new technique in the current clinical practice, future directions |
| Highlights | What is novel about the technique |
| Word count: | Maximum 1000 words; References: max 10 |
e. Letter to editor
A letter should be short and have specific and interesting findings in a case or an observational study. It can also be an observation or point of view related to articles previously published in the Journal. Word count 500 words, max 5 references, No tables or images or figures unless absolutely vital to convey the message.
f. Narrative review
The review articles are strictly by invitation from the Editor In Chief. It is expected that individuals who have done substantial work on the subject, or are considered experts in the field would write these articles, and the editorial board solicits their contribution.
* Highlights for all types of manuscripts (see above)
Should contain a maximum of 50 words or 2 or 3 sentences. These will be placed in a box on the first page of the article in bullet points.
5. Tables
Tables should be prepared with the help of Table Function in the Microsoft Word rather than the usage of columns of tabbed information. Citations of all the tables should be present in the main text maintaining the correct numerical order (ascending order). A legend is to accompany all tables and call outs are to be placed in the body of the text to indicate where the table is to be located in the article.
6. Figures and Legends
Photographs must be in colour, in focus, free of distracting artifacts, and consistent in exposure. Place any required labels or arrows on images prior to uploading. Images must be at least 960 by 640 pixels (proportional height) in size when in landscape orientation with a resolution of at least 640 pixels per inch. Graphs should be approximately 500 pixels wide so that all labelling can be read with data points clearly visible. Substantially, larger images must be avoided to prevent file transmission and electronic manuscript processing errors. Radiographs, drawings, and graphs can be in black and white but colour images are preferred. File names for images must be clearly labelled according to the order in which they appear in the manuscript (Fig. 1, Fig. 2 and Figs 1 and 2 or Figs 1-5 and so on in brackets and in running sentence, it should be spelt out as Figure 1). Only TIFF and JPEG file formats can be used for the submission of Figures and make sure that your legend explains all parts of the figure.
7. References
Bibliography should list references in order of their appearance in the text (not alphabetically) and should follow PubMed Central guidelines along with Vancouver Style. Use the abbreviated journal titles as given in the MEDLINE journals database.
All references must be cited in superscript and use commas to separate multiple reference numbers. For example: "Bond strength of composite resin to dentin is influenced by the presence of a smear layer.4,5,8-15
The examples of the references have been mentioned below:
Journal
Abstract: Hoyme HE, Jones KL, Dixon SD, Jewett T, Hanson JW, Robinson LK, Small ME, Allanson J. Maternal cocain use and fetal vascular disruption [abstract]. Am J Hum Genet 1988;43(3 Suppl):A56.
Authored Book: Ohlsen, Merle M.; Horne, Arthur M.; Lowe, Charles F. Group counseling. New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston; 1988. 416 p.
Article or Chapter in an Edited Book: Anderson, Robert J.; Schrier, Robert W. Acute renal failure. In: Braunswald, Eugene; Isselbacher, Kurt J.; Petersdorf, Robert G., et al., editors. Harrison’s principles of internal medicine. 11th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill; 1987. p. 1149-1155.
Article in an Edited Book with Volume: Merritt, Christopher RB. Breast imaging techniques. In: Putnam, Charles E.; Ravin, Carl E., editors. Textbook of diagnostic imaging. Vol. 3. Philadelphia: Saunders; 1988. p. 2118-2120.
Monograph: Lawrence, Ruth A. A review of the medical benefits and contraindications to breastfeeding in the United States [Internet]. Arlington (VA): National Center for Education in Maternal and Child Health; 1997 Oct [cited 2000 Apr 24]. p. 40. Available from: http://www.ncemch.org/pubs/PDFs/breastfeedingTIB.pdf
If more than one reference is contained in a sentence, then number the reference immediately following the text that refers to the reference. For example: "Bailey2 found that 46% showed signs of metastasis while Varner3 found only 28%."
Instructions for resubmission of revised manuscripts:
Resubmission should be done through our online system, and do not e-mail it to the editor. Your resubmission should be accompanied by a cover letter and a point-by-point response to the reviewer comments. Before you resubmit your paper, please carefully proofread the manuscript to minimize typographical, grammatical, and bibliographical errors. In addition, check to make sure that all abbreviations are defined.
Please mark all changes with use of "track changes"; do not use any other method to highlight changes made to the manuscript. Use of any method other than track changes will delay publication of your article in case of subsequent acceptance of your article. In the File Upload section of the submission template, please designate the marked file as "Main Document." Please also save a "clean" copy of the marked file, with all of your changes accepted. Please upload that clean copy as the second file immediately after the marked copy, and please designate the clean copy "Supplementary File Not for Review."
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