Author Guidelines

Summary of requirements

A manuscript should normally be divided into the followings parts:

Title page

Abstract

Introduction

Materials (or Subjects) and Methods

Results

Discussion

Acknowledgments (optional)

References

Legends for figures

Tables

Figures

Types of manuscripts

Original research

Narrative reviews

Systematic review articles and Meta-analyses

Short communications

Editorials

Letter to editor

Commentaries

Specific Reporting Guidelines

Manuscript preparations

Font

The manuscript should be in Word document format (not as a PDF file). A manuscript including title page should be prepared with double-line spacing, wide margins 2.5 cm and the 12-fontTimes New Romans size. The abstract and text pages should have consecutive line numbers in the left margin beginning in the abstract and ending before the reference section. Number pages consecutively in the lower right-hand corner of each page, beginning with the title page.    If your manuscript is or will be in .docx format and contains equations, you must follow the instructions below to make sure that your equations are editable when the file enters production.

If you have not yet composed your article, you can ensure that the equations in your .docx file remain editable in .doc by enabling "Compatibility Mode" before you begin. To do this, open a new document and save as Word 97-2003 (*.doc). Several features of Word 2007/10 will now be inactive, including the built-in equation editing tool.

The term diabetic should not be used as a noun. Do not use level when referring to a concentration. Use metric units of measure.

Title Page

Every manuscript, regardless of article type, must have an accompanying title page (authors and title). The full title must be 250 characters or fewer. Do not use abbreviations if possible. In the title only first letter of the first word should be capitalized.

Example:

- Shab-Bidar S, Neyestani TR, Djazayery A, Eshraghian MR, Houshiarrad A, Kalayi A, et al. Regular consumption of vitamin D-fortified yogurt drink (Doogh) improved endothelial biomarkers in subjects with type 2 diabetes: a randomized double-blind clinical trial

In addition to the title, the title page should include a short running title (less than 45 letters and spaces in length); the first name, middle initial, and last name of each author; affiliation of each author during the time the study was conducted; name, current address, telephone number, fax number, and e-mail address of the corresponding author; the word count, and number of tables and figures. The title page should also include a statement reporting any conflicts of interest, all sources of funding, the contribution of each author to the manuscript, a list of abbreviations and their definitions, registration number of clinical trials from clinical trials.gov and any ethical information as detailed above Table. The title page should be submitted as a separate page.

Abstract

Each original paper must have a structured and informative abstract not more than 250 words, with six paragraphs: Background, Objective, Methods, Results, and Conclusions. Abstracts should not include citations and abbreviations, if possible.

Trial registration

If your research article reports the results of a controlled clinical intervention, please list your trial registry, along with the unique identifying number (e.g. Trial registration: ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT01236846). Please note that there should be no space between the letters and numbers of your trial registration number. We recommend manuscripts that report randomized controlled trials following the CONSORT extension for abstracts. (http://www.consort-statement.org/index.aspx?o=1190)

Keywords

It is recommended to use up to six keywords; chosen from MEDLINE MeSH, for representing the main content of the article.

Introduction

A short introduction, not more than one page, is necessary. The Introduction should be concise and state the main research question and the purpose and importance of the study, with relevant references.

Materials/Subjects and Methods

Use materials for non-human and subjects for human studies (Materials/Methods or Subjects/Methods). This section should provide enough details to allow suitably skilled investigators to fully replicate your study. Specific information and/or protocols for new methods should be included in detail. If materials, methods (including statistical methods), and protocols are well established, authors may cite articles where those protocols are described in detail, but the submission should include sufficient information to be understood independent of these references. The methods section should include the design of the study, the setting, the type of participants or materials involved, a clear description of all interventions and comparisons, and the type of analysis used, including a power calculation if appropriate. Generic drug names should generally be used. When proprietary brands are used in research, include the brand names in parentheses.

For studies involving human participants a statement detailing ethical approval and consent should be included in the methods section.  In papers reporting results of research using cell lines the origin of the cell lines should be mentioned.

Ethics

When reporting experiments on human subjects, indicate that the procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible institutional or regional committee on human experimentation or in accordance with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975 as revised in 1983. Do not use patients’ names, initials, or hospital identification numbers. When reporting experiments on animals, indicate approval by the institution’s animal welfare committee and state whether the National Research Council’s guide for the care and use of laboratory animals was followed.

Statistics

Describe statistical methods with enough details. Use appropriate indicators (e.g., CIs, SDs, or SEs) to present your data even for differences that were not significant. Numbers of observations should be reported. Include general descriptions of statistical methods in the Subjects (or Materials) and Methods section and specific descriptions in each table and figure legend. Include testing for normality distribution and explain what you did for non-normally distributed data. Indicate the level of significance used in tests if different from the conventional 2-sided 5% alpha error and whether or what type of adjustment was made for multiple comparisons. Describe all computer software used for analyzing data including the version number and the manufacturer’s name and address.

Results

Results should be presented as concisely as possible, in a logical sequence with subheadings for subjects, measurements (for example, anthropometric measurements, laboratory investigations,..), text, figures or tables as appropriate. Avoid duplication of data from tables and figures in the text. 

Discussion

Discussion should be started with the main findings of the study. The new and significant aspects of the study should be emphasized concisely and compared with previously published reports. There should be accordance between objectives and conclusions of your study. Please include strengths and limitations of the study. Make recommendations and potential future directions for research when warranted by the results. The Discussion should not exceed 4 typewritten pages. Do not repeat in detail data or other material given in the Introduction or Results. A clear conclusion should be drawn at the end of the discussion.

Acknowledgments

Acknowledgments should contain the author contributions paragraph??, brief statements of assistance, the guarantor's name (person[s] taking responsibility for the contents of the article), funding/financial support, and reference to prior publication of the study in abstract form, where applicable.

References

Cite references in the Vancouver style. References should be numbered sequentially in the order in which they first appear in the text in square brackets. All references cited in the text should be listed at the end of the manuscript on a separate page.

The names of all authors should be listed for papers with up to six authors; for papers with more than six authors, the first six only should be listed, followed by et al. Abbreviations for titles of medical periodicals should conform to those used in the latest edition of Index Medicus. The first and last page numbers for each reference should be provided. Papers in press may be included in the list of references.

References to periodicals should be as follows: names and initials of authors, title of paper, abbreviated journal title (conforming to those used in Index Medicus), year, and first and last pages of the article.

Book references should be as follows: author, initials, title of book, title of series and volume number (if applicable), publisher and city, and year.

Examples

Article (up to six authors)

Shab-Bidar S, Neyestani TR, Djazayery A, Eshraghian MR, Houshiarrad A, Kalayi A, et al. Improvement of vitamin D status resulted in amelioration of biomarkers of systemic inflammation in the subjects with type 2 diabetes. Diabetes Metab Res Rev. 2012:28(5):424-30.

Journal article, e-pub ahead of print

Shab-Bidar S, Neyestani TR, Djazayery A, Eshraghian MR, Houshiarrad A, Kalayi A, Shariatzadeh N, Khalaji N, Gharavi A. Improvement of vitamin D status resulted in amelioration of biomarkers of systemic inflammation in the subjects with type 2 diabetes. Diabetes Metab Res Rev. 2012 Feb 17. doi: 10.1002/dmrr.2290.

Journal article, in press

Shab-Bidar S, Bours S, Geusens P, Kessels A, van den Bergh J. Serum 25(OH)D response to vitamin D3 supplementation: A meta-regression analysis. Nutrition (in press).

Corporate author

National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) Expert Panel on Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Cholesterol in Adults (Adult Treatment Panel III). Third Report of the National Cholesterol Education Program (NCEP) Expert Panel on Detection, Evaluation, and Treatment of High Blood Cholesterol in Adults (Adult treatment Panel III) final report. Circulation 2002;106:3143–421.

Chapter in book

Johnson RK. Energy. In: Mahan LK, Escott-Stump S, editors. Krause's food, nutrition & diet therapy. 10th ed. Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders; 2000, p. 19-30.

Book
Kline P. The handbook of psychological testing. London: Routeledge; 1993.

Website

National Center for Health Statistics. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Version current 1 October 2003. Internet: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nhanes.htm (accessed 13 October 2003).

Online journal article

Sinha A, Madden J, Ross-Degnan D, Soumerai S, Platt R. Reduced risk of neonatal respiratory infections among breastfed girls but not boys. Pediatrics [serial online] 2003;112:e303. Internet: http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/cgi/content/full/112/4/e303 (accessed 14 October 2003).

Figure Legends

Legends for all figures should be brief and specific and appear on a separate page after the References section. Legends should be in 10-point and single spaced (Times New Roman). Details for statistics and non-standard abbreviations for study groups used in a figure should be defined in alphabetic order. Identify any symbols, numbers or letters used in the figures.

Tables

Each table should be inserted on a separate page at the end of the manuscript with the table number, title, and legend indicated. The title should clearly and concisely describe the treatments and experimental animals or human subjects (participants). Information regarding methods or explanatory material should be given  as Table legend. Table legends should be inserted below the table and should not be included inside the table. Use "insert Table" in Word software for creating tables. Please use Times New Roman font, no smaller than 10-point. Units of measure should be clearly indicated after the variable in rows, above the first value in each column, or centered over all columns to which the unit applies. Statistics of variability (e.g., SD, pooled SEM) and the significance of differences among the data should be shown. Apply the following sequence of symbols, from top to bottom, left to right: *, †, ‡, §, ||, ¶, #, **, ††, ‡‡ for more explanation of data of tables in Table legend.

Figures

Figures should be prepared in the following formats: PDF, TIFF, GIF, JPG, or BMP with a high resolution. Apply clearly labels and units of measure (where appropriate) for axes. Use letters and symbols to show significant differences. If figures have 2 or more panels, explain each panel in the legend, beginning with the panel letter. Panels should be the same height and/or width and so line up with one another vertically and/or horizontally, and should be submitted on a single page. Separate panels should be labeled A, B, C, D, etc. in the upper-left corner, near the graph. Text font size should be consistent both within each figure and among all figures in the document. Do not use unnecessary color for histograms, line drawings, etc.

Cover letter

Prepare a cover letter containing complete contact details (postal address, , email address, telephone and fax numbers) of the corresponding author. Please state that the manuscript  has not been previously published and has not been submitted for publication elsewhere while under consideration by JNSD. Add a note about conflict of interest.

Nomination of reviewers

Suggest the names of up to five reviewers with their email addresses.

Language

Manuscripts must be prepared in clear, standard and understandable English. Non-native English authors may wish to get help from the assistance of an English-proficient colleague. For English translation of manuscripts it is recommended to use a communications agency, such as American Journal Experts (AJE currently provides translations for the following languages: Chinese, Portuguese and Spanish). The following link also is recommended for editing: Web shop (http://webshop.elsevier.com/languageservices) to provide an English translation of their manuscript for submission and to help improve the clarity and readability of a paper before it is submitted to the journal. Review the tips for technical writing here: http://www.nature.com/authors/author_resources/how_write.html.

Proofs

Authors are sent page-proofs by email. These should be checked immediately and corrections, as well as answers to any queries, returned to the publishers as an annotated PDF via email or fax within 2 working days (further details are supplied with the proof). It is the corresponding author's responsibility to check proofs thoroughly.

Submission process

All material to be considered for publication in the Journal of Nutritional Sciences and Dietetics (JNSD) should be submitted in electronic form via http://journals.tums.ac.ir.  Instructions on how to submit your manuscript online can be found in the web site.

Plagiarism

We use iThenticate to screen papers for similarity to previously published papers. Papers will be rejected outright or returned to authors for rewriting if there are disproportionate similarities to published papers. References and title page material are excluded in this check.

The following are examples of plagiarism:

1. Copying the published words of other authors or modifying only slightly, with or without citation of the original work.
2. Reusing the author's own previously published words, with or without citation (self-plagiarism).
3. Failure to quote and/or acknowledge by citation substantially similar ideas, content, tables, or illustrations that have been published or copyrighted by others.

Copyright form

The entire contents of the NFSR are protected under international copyrights. This Journal is for your personal noncommercial use. You may not modify copy, distribute, transmit, display, or publish any materials contained in the Journal without prior written permission of the journal or the appropriate copyright owner.

Review process

All submitted manuscripts are considered to peer review and editorial approval What do you exactly mean?. Manuscripts will be sent to at least three anonymous reviewers. Authors are usually notified within 1-2 months about the acceptability of their manuscript. Reviewers are selected based on their expertise within the topic area of the submission, and the purpose is to assist the authors and the journal by providing a critical review of the manuscript. On receiving reviewer's comments, the corresponding author is notified as soon as possible of the editor decision to accept, reject, or require modifications.  For those manuscripts that require revision, the corresponding author is requested to send the revised version.  If accepted, the manuscript will be scheduled for publication in the next available issue.

List of check lists, diagrams and flowcharts for authors and reviewers

Submission Preparation Checklist

Before sending your manuscript to the journal's Editor, please make sure that you have taken care of all the necessary details:

1)      Double-spaced manuscript MS Word-compatible format; with structured abstract (up to 250 words), pages numbered, running head, key words, author(s)' full names and affiliations.

2)      Photos, legends, tables, and/or figures numbered sequentially.

3)      Cover letter containing statement regarding declaration of authorship, of scientific integrity, and of any potential conflict of interest (See Competing Interest Form).

4)       Address, e-mail, phone number and FAX number of corresponding author.