Guide for Authors

Online Manuscript Submission: 

  • The PAJN uses an Electronic Submission System where the authors can submit their articles by simply registering, logging in, and uploading their manuscripts through the Journal Website (https://pajn.journals.ekb.eg/).
  • On the Home Page, the authors should click on the "Register" link to input their information and set up the account, and then click on save. After the registration is completed, an email will be sent to the email address containing the username and password.
  • The authors should use this information to log in to the system and submit their manuscripts. The authors should follow the steps to complete the submission according to PAJN Guidelines listed below.
  • If there are any problems or inquiries, the authors are welcome to contact the PAJN Editorial Office through the “contact us” link. 

General Manuscript Formatting

The following components of the manuscript are essential for submission:  

Cover Letter 

  • Manuscripts should be accompanied by a Cover Letter where the authors have the opportunity to speak about the originality of the presented work, as well as any other information the authors wish to convey to the Editorial Office.
  • If the manuscript has been previously rejected by another journal, the authors should accurately describe how the manuscript has been improved since being rejected. 

Title Page:

  • The Title Page should be submitted in a separate file (other than the manuscript file) as the Title Page will not be sent for reviewers.
  • The Title Page should include article title, the full names of all authors and their academic affiliations in addition to the full contact information.
  • The Title Page should include 3-6 keywords, abstract word count, text word count, and number of references, tables and figures. These counts should be updated when if the revision of the manuscript is required.

Main Manuscript

  • The Main Manuscript should be blinded not including the names of the authors, institute, or country.
  • The Main Manuscript should include the article title, abstract, keywords or phrases, manuscript body text, list of abbreviations, acknowledgements and declarations, references and figure legends.

Manuscript Limits

  • Original Article/ Basic Research Article: 375 words for abstract, 4000 words for the text, 4 tables, 4 figures, and 45 references.
  • Literature Review: 300 words for abstract, 4000 words for the text, 4 tables, 4 figures, and 75 references.
  • Case Report/ Technical Note: 200 words for abstract, 2000 words for the text, 1 table, 4 figures, and 45 references.
  • Letter to the Editor: no abstract, 1000 words for the text, 1 table, 1 figure, and 10 references.
  • Commentary: no abstract, 500 words for the text, 1 table, 1 figure, and 10 references.

Style

  • Manuscripts must be submitted as Microsoft Word files. The entire manuscript from the abstract to the figure legends should be uploaded as a single file. Do not embed tables or figures within the main manuscript file.
  • The body of the manuscripts should be supplied blind (with no author names, headers, acknowledgments, embedded comments).
  • All text should be flush left, with font face Times New Roman size 12, with one-inch (moderate) margins. The authors should not indent paragraphs with double hard returns between paragraphs and between list items. Tabs should not be used, except in Tables, where they should be used to align columns.
  • American English spelling should be used e.g. “tumor” rather than “tumor”.
  • Authors should not attempt to design the visual presentation of the article or use any special formatting. Word processor’s hyphenation capabilities should not be used.  

NB: The total number of words for Text includes words from the Introduction through the conclusions of the manuscript. The Abstract, Acknowledgements and References are not included in the text total.

Abstract: 

A structured abstract must be included with the submitted articles.

The abstract of Original Articles and Basic Research Articles should include the following subheadings: 

  • Background 
  • Purpose/Aim 
  • Patients and Methods including the Study Design, Patient Sample and Outcome Measures
  • Results 
  • Conclusion

The abstract of Case Reports and Technical Notes should include the following subheadings:

  • Background
  • Case Presentation/Technical Note
  • Conclusion

The abstract of Literature Reviews should include the following subheadings:

  • Background 
  • Purpose/Aim 
  • Methods including the search strategy.
  • Results 
  • Conclusion

The Letter to the Editor and Commentary do not require an abstract.

Main Body of Manuscript

For Original Articles and Basic Research Articles, the following sections should be present.

  • Introduction: In this section, the authors should briefly state the already known background data and the purpose of the article.
  • Methods: In this section, the authors should describe the methods used including statistical methods used. The authors should also include the ethical approval from the local institutional review board (IRB) regarding human subjects.
  • Results: In this section, the authors should summarize the findings of their study.
  • Discussion: In this section, the authors should emphasize the results and the significance of their study.
  • Conclusions: In this section the authors should briefly mention their major findings and address their potential implications or applications.

For Case Reports and Technical Notes, the following sections should be present.

  • Introduction: In this section, the authors should briefly state the already known background data.
  • Case Presentation/Technical Note: In this section, the authors should describe their Case/Technical Note. The authors should also mention the patient's permission or consent, in addition to the ethical approval from the local institutional review board (IRB) for technical notes where applicable.
  • Discussion: In this section, the authors should emphasize the importance of their Case/technical Note.
  • Conclusions: In this section the authors should briefly mention their major findings and address their significance.

For Review Articles, the following sections should be present.

  • Introduction: In this section the authors should briefly state the already known background data and the purpose of the article.
  • Methods: In this section, the authors should describe the methods used in their search.
  • Results: In this section, the authors should summarize the findings of their review.
  • Discussion: In this section, the authors should emphasize the findings and the significance of their review.
  • Conclusions: In this section the authors should briefly mention their major findings.

For Letter to the Editor and Commentary, no particular sections are required.

Any reference in the text to manufacturers or commercial products or equipment must include the manufacturer’s name and location in brackets. 

Abbreviations:

  • Restrict the use of abbreviations to those commonly used and understood.
  • Abbreviations should be first defined at their first use and then remain consistent throughout the manuscript.

Acknowledgements & Declaration

Acknowledgments

Authors would thank the individuals who contributed to the study or manuscript preparation but did not fulfill all the criteria of authorship.

Declarations

Authors should cite the Sources of Support or Funding (if applicable) and describe any perceived Conflict(s) of Interest.

References

Authors are responsible for the accuracy and completeness of References.

The reference style accepted for the manuscripts submitted for the PAJN is the JAMA reference style,

  • References are indicated inside the text by the use of a superscripted Arabic number in the order of appearance in the article. Use commas to separate multiple citation numbers in the text. Superscript numbers are placed outside periods and commas and inside colons and semicolons.
  • Unpublished works and personal communications should be cited parenthetically (and not on the reference list).
  • The reference list should include the full details of all references cited in-text.
  • References are listed in consecutive order, and in the same order in which they are cited in text (not in alphabetical order).
  • All author and/or editor names are listed if there are less than 6; if more than 6, list the first 3 authors followed by “et al.” Use of only the initials of the authors' given names. No full stop and space between the initials. The last name comes first.
  • Journal names are abbreviated according to the journal list in PubMed, and the issue number appears in parentheses after the volume number.

Additional examples and information regarding references, see the AMA Manual, 11th Edition, 2020, published by Oxford University Press, Inc, 198 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10016 or visit online: https://pajn.journals.ekb.eg/

Figure Legends

  • The Legends must appear within the main manuscript immediately following the References.
  • Legends should be numbered corresponding to the Figures.
  • A brief description of each figure including any figure parts should be mentioned.
  • Please use uppercase letters to label multipart figures. When letters, numbers, symbols, or arrows are used for identification, each should be explained clearly in the Legend.

Tables

  • Tables must be submitted as a separate Word file (with all tables in one file).
  • Tables should be created using the table functionality tools in Microsoft Word and submitted separately from the manuscript file.
  • Each table should appear on its own page, with all of the tables in one Microsoft Word file.
  • Tables must be cited consecutively in the text.
  • Each table should have a title.
  • Data should be presented in a cell-based format, with the appropriate number of columns and rows.
  • Abbreviations used in each table should be defined in the table footnotes.
  • Footnotes should be ordered as they appear in the Table with superscript Arabic numerals. 
  • Tables that include references should be formatted as follows.
    • The author name (last name only, no first initial) and year should be combined into one cell. Do not put the year in a separate column.
    • For 2 authors, both author names should be included. For 3 or more authors, “et al.” should be used after the first author’s name.
    • Citation numbers must be included in superscript, to correspond with the reference included in your manuscript.
    • All references in the tables must also be included in the reference list.

Figures

  • Do not embed figures in the manuscript file. However, figure legends, captions, borders, or footnotes in the figure should be included in the legends in the manuscript text file.
  • Figures must be cited consecutively in the text.
  • File size should not exceed 2 MB.
  • The format should be high-resolution TIFF or JPEG.
  • The resolution should be as follows:
    • 300 dpi for line graphs and line charts that do not have any color or gray shading.
    • 300 dpi for color figures and grayscale with text.
    • 300 dpi for grayscale images, e.g., radiographs.

Size should be as follows:

  • The height of any figure should not exceed 9 inches (22.9 cm).
  • Width of at 3.3 inches (8.4 cm) for one-column figures.
  • Width of 5–7 inches (12.7–17.8 cm) for two-column figures.
  • Any text in a figure should be sharp and clearly legible with black or white lettering in the following accepted fonts: Arial, Helvetica, Times, or Times New Roman.
  • For 2-panel figures, identify the panels in the legend as either “upper” and “lower” or “left” and “right.” For figures of 3 or more panels, please include the letter of each figure component (upper case) in either the upper or lower-left corner of each panel.
  • The Editor in Chief reserves the right to withdraw a previously accepted manuscript if the author cannot produce high-quality figures in a timely manner. Figures that have been previously published must be submitted with a letter of permission to reprint from the original publisher. 

Manuscripts not adhering to the PAJN guidelines will be sent back to the author for correction before sending them for peer-review.

Authorship Change

Authors are expected to consider carefully the list and order of authors before submitting their manuscript and provide the definitive list of authors at the time of the original submission.

Any addition, deletion, or rearrangement of author names in the authorship list after submitting the paper is inappropriate and prohibited. Authors should withdraw their paper if there is a need for authorship change.

Ethics, patient anonymity, and informed consent

It is the author’s responsibility to ensure that a patient’s anonymity is carefully protected and to verify that any experimental investigation with human subjects reported in the manuscript was performed with informed consent and followed all the guidelines for experimental studies with human subjects required by the institution(s) with which all the authors are affiliated. Authors should mask patients’ eyes, private parts and remove patients’ names from all figures.

Authorship should be limited to those who have made a significant contribution to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the reported study. 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 this has been appropriately cited or quoted. All submissions must include disclosure of all relationships that could be viewed as presenting a potential conflict of interest. All authors must disclose any financial and personal relationships with other people or organizations that could inappropriately influence (bias) their work. Examples of potential competing interests include employment, consultancies, stock ownership, honoraria, paid expert testimony, patent applications/registrations, and grants or other funding. Authors must disclose any interests in the disclosure and conflicts of interest section of the main document.

Revision Notes

If a revision is requested, please make your revision using the “Track Changes” tool. This feature is available in Word 97 and later versions. To activate tracking, go to the review menu on the Word toolbar, then Toolbars, and select the Reviewing toolbar. Please set the tracking changes to Bold for inserted Text and Strikethrough for Deleted Text and be sure that the “Use Balloons” options is unchecked.

A separate Cover Letter is required for revised manuscripts where the authors must respond to all the comments made by the reviewers and editors. Please be sure to include a point-to-point response to each reviewer, indicating the changes made to address each of their concerns

In case it is not needed to modify a part of the manuscript in response to a particular comment, a response should be included for such comment. If we do not receive the revision within the time frame of 30 days, the manuscript will be considered inactive.

AFTER ACCEPTANCE

Online proof correction

Corresponding authors will receive an e-mail including final PDF version of their manuscript. Authors are obligated to proofreading their manuscript in 48 hours.

Corrections should be done I the PDF file using the annotation method. The program is freely available for a whole series of platforms that include PC, MAC, and UNIX and can be downloaded from https://pajn.journals.ekb.eg/. The exact system requirements are given at the Adobe site: https://pajn.journals.ekb.eg/.

Corrections should be limited to mistakes that occur during the production process, any changes concerning the content of the text, will require re-evaluation and approval  by the editorial office and will make in the publication process.