AJMAHS

ADVANCED JOURNAL OF MEDICAL AND ALLIED HEALTH SCIENCES

ISSN No: 3006-5151 (Print)
ISSN No: 3006-516X (Online)

   

GUIDELINES FOR ADVANCED JOURNAL OF MEDICAL AND HEALTH ALLIED SCIENCES (AJMAHS)

AIMS AND SCOPE

Advanced Journal of Medical and Health Allied Sciences (AJMAHS) is a medical, dental, basic, and allied health sciences; being published since 2023. It is an open-access journal, which was initially quaternary. Each issue of the journal is focused on publishing various categories of research papers and articles focused on latest advances in the field of medical, dental, and allied health sciences with an aim to provide most recent information to the medical health professionals. In addition to original research the journal also publishes systematic reviews, case series, case reports, short-communication, commentary, letter to editor and editorials. The manuscripts are received from the researchers all over the world creating a diverse range of topics.

All papers undergo a double-blind peer review system of national and international peer reviewers according to the international standards. The journal also aims to provide a platform for the publication of standard quality research articles on recent advances. Manuscripts on the burning topics in the fields of medicine, dentistry, basic, and allied health sciences including nursing, physiotherapy, pharmacy, and other relevant health professional fields are invited. Authors are encouraged to submit all the manuscripts in accordance with the guidelines of the journals and International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). The journal promotes authors to focus on the health and medical issues of developing and underdeveloped countries to highlight the issues.

ADVERTIS POLICY

The Advanced Journal of Medical and Health Allied Sciences (AJMAHS) receives any advertisements. Advertisements are subject to review by the Editor-in-Chief and members of the editorial board. If an advertisement is accepted, it is related to relevant fields. There are no online advertisements. Only advertisements that are available are in the hardcopy of the journal. Only FDA-approved drugs are printed as advertisements. Full generic name of the ingredient is present. We try that our advertising policy is consistent with that of World Association of Medical Editors (WAME). (http://www.wame.org/recommendations-on-publication-ethics-policie).

ANIMAL BASED STUDIES

Animal-based studies, or research articles conducted on animals, will be considered for processing or publication in the Advanced Journal of Medical and Health Allied Sciences (AJMAHS) effective immediately.

AUTHORSHIP

The Advanced Journal of Medical and Health Allied Sciences (AJMAHSA) has agreed to receive and publish manuscripts in accordance with the instructions of International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) and the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Details of ICMJE and COPE are available at  www.icmje.org and http://publicationethics.org/.

The ICMJE recommends that authorship should be based on the following four criteria:

1. Substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work; AND

2. Drafting the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content; AND

3. Final approval of the version to be published; AND

4. Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

All those designated as authors should meet all four criteria for authorship.

Acknowledgement Criteria:

Contributors who do not meet all the four criteria for authorship, but helped in the study, may be listed in the acknowledgement section. Examples of those who may be listed can include, but is not limited by, the following:

  • Individuals who helped in acquisition of funding
  • Individuals who generally supervised the research group.
  • Individuals who provided general administrative support .
  • Colleagues who helped in designing the study
  • Individuals who helped in reviewing the manuscript, including writing assistance, technical and language editing, and proofreading
  • Physicians who referred cases
  • Individuals who provided laboratory assistance
  • Statisticians for statistical tests and analysis
  • Secretarial help
  • Parents who responded to the questionnaire
  • Pharmaceutical companies
  • Organizations which may have helped
  • Concerned colleagues who provided micrographs, x-rays, or slides

Alterations in the List of Authors:

Advanced Journal of Medical and Health Allied Sciences (AJMAHS) does not prescribe to change in the authors list with respect to additions and deletions after the initial submission.

Contributions Statement:

Statements describing detailed contributions made by each author are required at the time of submission of the manuscript. This must be outlined in the submission statement form. Incomplete form can lead to processing delays in the manuscript.

Corresponding Author:

The corresponding author is the individual who takes primary responsibility for communication with the journal. The corresponding author should be available throughout the submission and peer review process to respond to editorial queries in a timely way and should be available after publication to respond to critiques of the work and cooperate with any requests from the journal for data or additional information should questions about the paper arise after publication.

Deceased Authors:

Deceased authors should be included with a death dagger (†) next to the author's name, and a footnote stating that the author is deceased and giving the date of their death e.g., †Deceased 1 January 2020.

CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION

The publication of results of all randomized control trials will only be considered if the ICMJE recommendations are followed. A registration number will have to be provided with the manuscript and should be noted after the end of the abstract.The ICMJE defines a clinical trial as “any research project that prospectively assigns people or a group of people to an intervention, with or without concurrent comparison or control groups, to study the cause-and-effect relationship between a health-related intervention and a health outcome. Health-related interventions are those used to modify a biomedical or health-related outcome; examples include drugs, surgical procedures, devices, behavioral treatments, educational programs, dietary interventions, quality improvement interventions, and process-of-care changes. Health outcomes are any biomedical or health-related measures obtained in patients or participants, including pharmacokinetic measures and adverse events.The ICMJE endorses the following:

1. Any registry that is a primary register of the WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (ICTRP) (www.who.int/ictrp/network/primary/en/index.html)

2. ClinicalTrials.gov The Drug Regulatory Authority of Pakistan (DRAP) also provides approval and trial numbers for clinical trials involving drugs or appliances http://www.dra.gov.pk/

Several other clinical trial registries and their details can be found on the internet.

Reference: http://www.icmje.org/icmje-recommendations.pdf

CONFLICT OF INTEREST

A sample definition by WAME states that conflict of interest “exists when a participant in the publication process (author, peer reviewer, or editor) has a competing interest that could unduly influence (or be reasonably seen to do so) his or her responsibilities in the publication process."

Any conflict of interest should be declared by all authors. This may include grants or honorarium, credits and promotions, memberships or any personal or professional relationships which may appear to influence the manuscript. Such competing interests are not unethical but should be declared.

Authors should state the conflict of interest clearly in the submission statement form. This statement should also appear at the end of the text before the references. If there are no conflicts of interests, the authors should state, “none to declare.”

CONFLICT OF INTEREST

The views and opinions expressed by the Advanced Journal of Medical and Health Allied Sciences (AJMAHS) contributing authors are not necessarily those of the AJMAHS editorial staff. Readers are invited to interact regarding AJMAHS authors' ideas through the author's email. AJMAHS is not responsible if the author does not or chooses not to respond to the query.

All material published in the AJMAHS undergoes strict peer review to ensure fair balance, objectivity, independence, and relevance to academic, educational, and clinical needs. All reasonable precautions have been taken by the editors and the publisher to verify the material published i.e., drug names and doses, the results of experimental/field work and the clinical findings published in AJMAHS. The opinions expressed are exclusively those of the authors. The ultimate responsibility for the use and dosage of drugs mentioned in AJMAHS, and in the analysis and the interpretation of published material, lies with the medical practitioner/scientist/researcher (author). The editors and publisher can accept no liability whatsoever in respect of any claim for damages arising there from. However, AJMAHS welcomes any errors identified and brought to the attention of editors.

Neither the editors of the AJMAHS, nor its publishers, nor any other party involved in the preparation of material contained in the AJMAHS represent or warrants that the information contained herein is in every respect accurate or complete, and they are not responsible for any errors or omissions or for the results obtained from the use of such material. Patients and consumers of medical drugs etc. described in published manuscripts posted on the website of the AJMAHS should review the information carefully with their professional healthcare provider. The information is not intended to replace medical advice offered by the physicians.

The AJMAHS and its publishers make no representations or warranties with respect to any treatment, action, or application of medication or preparation by any person following the information offered or provided within or through the AJMAHS. The AJMAHS and its publishers will not be liable for any direct, indirect, consequential, special, exemplary, or other damages arising there from.

AJMAHS may contain links to websites operated by other parties. These links are provided purely for educational and learning purposes. Such links do not imply AJMAHS's endorsement of material on any other site and AJMAHS disclaims all liability regarding anyone's access of such linked websites.

The commercial parties e.g., drug and medical equipment manufacturers who purchase advertisements/supplements in the AJMAHS have no influence whatsoever on the editorial content of AJMAHS. The publishing of advertisements in AJMAHS does not imply endorsement of the product(s) or the company selling them by the AJMAHS or its editors.

Due to the above facts, authors must accept full responsibility for the content of their articles. The members of the editorial board and the AJMAHS are not responsible for the statements and opinions expressed by the authors in their articles/communications/letters published in the AJMAHS. To the fullest extent permitted by law, AJMAHS and its editors are not responsible for any losses, injury, or damage, intellectual or psychological or physical or otherwise, caused to any person or property (including under contract, by negligence, products liability or otherwise) whether they be direct or indirect, special, incidental, or consequential, resulting from the application of the information published in AJMAHS.

ETHICAL APPROVAL OF RESEARCH

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 and with the latest version of Helsinki Declaration. Do not use patients' names, initials, or hospital numbers, in text and illustrative material.

When reporting experiments on animals, authors should indicate whether institutional and national standards for the care and use of laboratory animals were followed. Further guidance on animal research ethics is available from the International Association of Veterinary Editors’ Consensus Author Guidelines on Animal Ethics and Welfare (http://veteditors.org/ethicsconsensusguidelines.html).

Every manuscript submitted to AJMAHS should have the ethical approval by the ethical review board of the institution. If an official approval was not required, a statement as to why it was not needed should be given along with a letter of approval from the head of the department. If an institution does not have an ethical review committee, the institution’s approval from the concerned department may be submitted.

All case reports require an approval on the institutional letterhead from the head of the department. A statement should be included that participants gave informed consent before being included in the study or for publication of a case report.

FUNDING

All sources of grants received, and its spending should be disclosed. Such statements should be declared on the submission statement form and at the end of the manuscript before the references. If there are no funding sources, the authors should state “none to declare”.

FUNDING DISCLOSURE

All sources of grants received, and its spending should be disclosed. Such statements should be declared on the submission statement form and at the end of the manuscript before the references. If there are no funding sources, the authors should state “none to declare”.

INFORMATION FOR AUTHORS

Interested in submitting to this journal? We recommend that you review the About the Journal page for the journal's section policies, as well as the Author Guidelines. Authors need to register with the journal prior to submitting or, if already registered, can simply log in and begin the five-step process.

INFORMATION FOR LIBRARIANS

We encourage research librarians to list this journal among their library's electronic journal holdings. As well, it may be worth noting that this journal's open-source publishing system is suitable for libraries to host for their faculty members to use with journals they are involved in editing.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR AUTHORS

Overview

The Editor of the Advanced Journal of Medical and Health Allied Sciences (AJMAHS), welcomes scientific contributions in the field of Medicine for publication in the journal. All submissions are peer reviewed by subject specialists. The peer reviewers included are both from within and outside Pakistan. The peer review is double blind i.e., the author does not know who will peer review the manuscript and the reviewer does not know whose article it is. The Advanced Journal of Medical and Health Allied Sciences (AJMAHS) publishes original articles, special reports, review articles, rapid communications, case reports, letters to the editor and commentaries on all aspects of the field of Medicine. The journal follows the ICMJE (International Committee of Medical Journal Editors uniform requirement for manuscripts submitted to Biomedical Journals (URM).

Ethical and legal consideration

Articles submitted for publication must be original and not have been submitted elsewhere for publication or in the process of publication in another journal. The article should also not have been published already in another journal (except as an abstract). The author’s transmittal letter must accompany the manuscript and contain these statements: The manuscript has been seen and approved by all authors involved and is neither being published nor being considered for publication elsewhere. The authors transfer the copyright to the Journal of Indus of Indus Medical College. Accepted manuscripts may not be published elsewhere without Journal’s permission.

If accepted for publication, no part of the article can be published elsewhere without the consent of the Advanced Journal of Medical and Health Allied Sciences (AJMAHS) in any language. The Editors and reviewers try their level best to check that the manuscripts published are credible; however, the final and complete responsibility lies with the authors and not with the Journal, its Editors, or the Publisher. A certificate from the Institutional Review Board or the Ethics Committee should be submitted. The certificate should mention the authors involved in the study. For those authors/investigators that do not have access to formal Ethics Review Committees, the principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki should be followed. If the study is judged exempt from review, a statement from the committee should be provided.

Correspondence will only be done with the corresponding author, as identified initially at the time of submission of the manuscript by the authors of the manuscript. The sequence of authors will not be changed, nor any other author added, other than the list of authors submitted at the time of first submission of the manuscript. If parents or guardians cannot be located despite all efforts the Chairperson of the department must sign the statement that the parents or guardian of the child could not be located for consent of publication of the case report.

Patient anonymity and Informed Consent

All manuscripts reporting the result of experimental investigation involving human subjects should include a written statement confirming that informed consent was obtained from each subject or subject’s guardian after approval of the experimental protocol by a local human ethics committee.

All manuscripts reporting the result of experimental investigation involving human subjects should include a written statement confirming that informed consent was obtained from each subject or subject’s guardian after approval of the experimental protocol by a local human ethics committee.

The author is responsible for patients’ anonymity. The authors should remove patients’ names and other information from all figures. In case such details are present in figures, tables, photographs or text, author must provide proof of informed consent from the patient (i.e., signed permission form from the guardians/parents of the child). Photographs with bars if used in publication require permission from the parents of the child patient

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Copyright and Submission form

Each author must sign and complete the submission form and transfer the copyrights of the manuscript if accepted for publication to the Advanced Journal of Medical and Health Allied Sciences (AJMAHS). All pre-requisites in the form must be completed (date of submission, title of manuscript, site of conducting research, name of laboratory if investigations were done, sign of lab in-charge with stamp, sign and stamp of ethical review committee if present in institute or submit approval letter of ethical review committee of another institute, source of funding (if applicable), name of institution, sign and stamp of head of department/institution, two photostat copies of manuscript in standard format, two photostat copies of questionnaire in English and Urdu or another local language administered during the study (if applicable), copy of manuscript on CD and a copy sent by email, bank deposit slip of manuscript processing fees of Rs10,000/=PKR, principal investigator and co-investigator certification and contribution of each author according to ICMJE guidelines must be completed.

Plagirism

All articles submitted will be checked for plagiarism. In case of plagiarism on an already published article, the editor would be obliged to withdraw the article from the journal website and other research engines. If significant Plagiarism is detected and proved, will result in rejection of the manuscript from publication, along with possible debarment of the author(s) from publishing in the journal. The period of debarment will depend upon the extent of the offence and final decision would be taken by the editorial board of the journal.

Drugs

All drugs should be mentioned only in generic name. Any equipment or device etc. if mentioned in the text should include an authentic published reference of the manufacturer.

Responsibilities of authors

The authors are entirely responsible for accuracy of all statements and data (including drug dosages) contained in the manuscript, accuracy of all reference information, and for obtaining and submitting permission from the author and publisher of any previously published material included in the submitted manuscript. If the manuscript is accepted for publication in the journal the corresponding author will receive an edited manuscript for “Final author approve”. The author should review this carefully as he is responsible for all changes in his work including changes made by the copy editor.

Manuscript Submission

Manuscript Preparation

The format of the Advanced Journal of Medical and Health Allied Sciences (AJMAHS) complies with “Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals published by the International Committee of Journal Editors in Vancouver British Columbia, in 1979 ( the widely accepted “Vancouver style”),as described in the Annals of Internal Medicine(1982:96) [pt. 1]:766-71)”with the exception of blood pressure, all units of measurements and laboratory values must be expressed in SI units; conventional units may be included parenthetically. Authors are referred to Annals of Internal Medicine (1987:1061[1]; 114-29) for guidelines in the use of SI units.

Manuscripts including tables, references and figure legends must be type-written, 1.5 lines spaced on 8 ½ x 11 inch or size A4 paper, with margins of at least 1 inch. The text itself should have a font of 12 and 1.5 line spaced. The Theme font is Times New Roman. Pages should be numbered consecutively on right side, beginning with the title page, and continuing through the last page of typewritten material. One original and one photocopy (and email of the entire manuscript) should be sent, along with the two sets of photographs, to the Journal’s office.

Original articles should be approximately 20 pages, line spacing 1.5, the pages must be numbered, including the title page, references, figures, and tables. Approximately, the following length targets are suggested for original articles; Structured abstract: 250 words, Introduction: one page, Methods: 2 to 3 pages, Results: 2 to 3 pages, Discussion: 3 to 5 pages, References include only those essential to the manuscript and should not exceed 30 in number, tables, and figures 3 in total.

Cover Letter

In the cover letter, provide a statement as to whether the paper was previously published in any language, including the abstract, and whether the paper is currently under consideration elsewhere for publication.

Title Page

The title page must contain: 1) Complete manuscript title 2) Full name of authors, in order, first name (given name) then the last name (family name), highest academic degree for each. 3) Each author’s email address, phone number (at which he/she can be easily contacted), official academic and/or clinical title and affiliation. 4) Name and address of the institution of all authors. 5) Name and address, email, including telephone and fax numbers of author to whom correspondence should be sent, if it differs from the first author, and 6) and disclaimers, for case reports, it is recommended that the number of authors be limited to four 7) all sources of support including pharmaceutical support that require acknowledgement 8) conflict of interest and disclosure of funding, if any 9) the word count of the manuscript body (excluding abstract, keywords, references and figure legends), number of figures and number of tables.

Structured Abstract

All original articles must contain an abstract of not more than 250 words. The abstract should not contain references. Abbreviations should not be used. Strictly, the following subheads are allowed in an original article: Objective, Methods, Results and Conclusion and Keywords. The Keywords, three to five, should be according to MeSH (website).

Manuscript / Text Format

Organize the manuscript into 4 main headings: Introduction (the question the paper intends to answer): Methods (the study design, sample technique, sample size along with justification definitions such as for diagnostic criteria, laboratory and statistical methods and ethical approval): Results (the pertinent findings in logical sequences of the data analysis, the specific methods used, their rationale, their assumptions, whether the data met these assumptions, how missing data was handled and statistical methods used). Tables and figures, as necessary, may be included. If more than a total of three, whether figures or tables are included, extra cost per figure or table will be charged by the journal if paper is accepted for publication) and: Discussion (conclusions based on findings, evidence from the literature that supports the conclusions, conflicting evidence, applicability of the conclusions, and the implication for future research or clinical applications), Acknowledgement (persons who have helped in the manuscript, however, not sufficient work has been done by them according to ICMJE guidelines to warrant authorship). Maximum number of words for the different article types: Review article: maximum 4000 words excluding title page and unstructured abstract of 150 words. Original article: 3000 words excluding title page and abstract, short report/short communication: maximum 1300 words excluding title page and unstructured abstract: of 150 words. Letter to editor: maximum 400 words. Editorial: Maximum 800 words. Case Report: maximum 1500 words excluding title page and unstructured abstract of 150 words.

Abbreviations

For a list of standard abbreviations consult standard sources. Write out the full term for each abbreviation at its first use, and in each table and figure, unless it is a standard unit of measure.

References

Key the references (double spaced) at the end of the manuscript. Please adhere to the reference limits noted for each article type, original article; 20 to 25, review article; 40, case report; 10, short communication; 25 to 30, invited commentary; 10and letter to editor; 3 to 5. List the references, double-spaced, in consecutive numerical order (order of citation in the manuscript is not alphabetical). Once a reference is cited, all subsequent citations should be to the original number. All reference must be in the text or tables. Unpublished data and personal communications will not be accepted references. References to journal articles should be according to Vancouver style and included in the order (1) Authors (2) Title (3) Journal Name (as abbreviated in Index Medicine), (4) Year (5) Volume (6) Publisher (7) Year volume and edition numbers and specific page numbers should be included, when appropriate. If there are more than 6 authors, use et al. after the 6th author. Refer to the list of Journals Indexed in Index Medicus for abbreviations of journal names or access the list at http://www.nlm.nih.gov/tsd/serials/lji.html. The author is responsible for the accuracy and completeness of the reference and for their correct textual citation.

Figure legends

Each figure must have a legend. Legend should be brief and should be typed on a separate manuscript page, directly following the manuscript list. Captions for the figures must be typed double-spaced and must not appear on the figures. For photomicrographs, the legends should include the original magnification and stain used. Remember to cite the figures consecutively in your manuscript. Number the figures in the figure legend in the order in which they are discussed. Upload the figures consecutively to the journal website and number the figures consecutively in the description box upload.

Tables

The tables should be cited consecutively in the text and numbered in that order. Each table should be submitted as a separate word document in text format. Each table must have a title. Use foot notes to define abbreviations and for other explanatory detail in a legend below the tables. The tables should be self-explanatory and must supplement, rather than duplicate the material in the text. Each table should be typed double-spaced including all headings. Verify tabular statistics to make sure the tally and match data cited in the text.

Electronic Manuscript

The Advanced Journal of Medical and Health Allied Sciences (AJMAHS) accepts manuscripts on personal disks; 1) Submit electronic copy of manuscript on CD and e-mail 2) the file should be in Microsoft Word 2007 3) Label the disk with type of software used and version number and the disk format. Include the manuscript title and author name(s) on the manuscript that exactly match the disk file(s). Prepare art as Camera-ready copy; Laser prints are accepted.

EDITORS OF THE ADVANCED JOURNAL OF MEDICAL AND HEALTH ALLIED SCIENCES (AJMAHS)

The manuscript submitted by members of the editorial board, editorial staff and student editors are subject to peer review and all the policies described above.

STUDENTS EDITORS

The journal allows 2 student editors every two years. These students are chosen from various medical colleges. Generally, these are 3rd year or early 4th year students. Keenly interested students of third- or fourth-year students are chosen keeping in mind that the clinical studies of the students are not affected when they reach final year MBBS/BDS/BSN/DPT or other relevant fields. It is the motto of our journal to give an exposure of the editorial office, to teach the youngsters at early age an understanding of the importance of manuscript writing, submission and interaction with senior editors and faculty submitting manuscripts. The work is voluntary.

PRE-SUBMISSION CHECK LIST

  1. Submission form completed, duly signed with IRB, copyright transfer agreement by every author and processing fees. Without the IRB manuscripts will not be entertained.
  2. Title page, on a separate page from the remaining manuscript. Title should be brief and to the point. No abbreviations should be present in it.
  3. Authors details, with primary author, followed by co-authors. Given name and family name mentioned. Make sure that the current institute where they are working has been specified and their qualifications and designations are correct.
  4. Abstract structured, page numbers on the manuscript starting from title page, formatting according to the journal requirement. Keywords according to MeSH. No additional headings other than those specified.
  5. The manuscript should have the length and format as per type of article submitted and word count is checked and written on title page.
  6. The figures should have a legend and each figure should be on a separate page and not in the text itself. Cite the figures in the text of the manuscript. The tables should also not be embedded in the text. Check that Table legends are present. Total of 4 tables and figures should be present.
  7. Authors are advised to follow Equator guidelines www.equator-network.org/including CONSORT (reporting RCT), PRISMA (reporting systematic review) and STROBE (reporting epidemiological studies). The website provided gives additional information and is self-explanatory. In case of revised manuscripts, each point of the reviewer should be answered separately point wise. Also, the journal requires that all changes made in the manuscript should be highlighted or made bold. Also, a grid is required to answer each query which is forwarded to authors for revised manuscripts only.

AFTER ACCEPTANCE

Once the manuscript is accepted for publication, the corresponding author will receive electronic page proofs, portable document format (PDF). It is the author’s responsibility to ensure that there are no errors in the proofs. Only most critical changes will be made. The authors must read the proof very carefully and must submit within a period of 24 hours. The authors will receive an acceptance letter, along with information of the cost for the publication.

ARTICLE PROCESSING CHARGES

Research/Original Article: -
Research/Original Article (Fast Tracking): -
Research/Original Article (for foreigners): -
Case Report/Short Communication: -
Review Article/Editorial: -

POLICY

The Advanced Journal of Medical and Health Allied Sciences (AJMAHS) publishes original research work carried out by clinicians, population scientists and medical students in all fields of healthcare sciences.

The articles describing or analyzing significant health problems are considered for publication in our journal. Moreover, it is specified that fundamental research like computational design models of drugs etc. do not meet the gateway of the journal.

The types of publishable material include original articles, case reports, short communication, student articles and letter to editor. Every issue relays an editorial on to some burning topic in relation to local or global health problems. Review articles can be sent by the experts in the field or may be invited from time to time by the editor.

All articles published represent the opinion of the author and do not reflect editor's or editorial staff's endorsement. All rights reserved to the Editor-in-Chief of the journal. No part of the Journal may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any other means, electronic, mechanical photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of the editor Advanced Journal of Medical and Health Allied Sciences (AJMAHS) Manuscripts, including illustrations and tables must be original and not under consideration by another publication.

The plagiarism policy is strict and takes decisions for any form of plagiarism in accordance with WAME.

The Advanced Journal of Medical and Health Allied Sciences (AJMAHS) has agreed to receive manuscripts in accordance with the "Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals".

Animal rights Policy 

It is encouraged that animal related research be sent to the specific sub-specialty related journal and is not published in the journal. However, when an article related to animal research is submitted, it is expected that the authors have adhered to the following: 1. Local Institutional review board has approved the research study. 2. Approval of the local animal research committee in the institute or the university research ethics committee, where the research was carried out is attached along with the submitted manuscript. Hopefully the local animal research committee is taking into consideration that alternative research with animals is not possible and animals are essential for their research, justification on the number of animals used is mentioned, animal welfare must be a priority in terms of living space, nutrition, cleanliness, day to day care and above all minimal pain is caused to animals with appropriate analgesia and anesthesia, researchers must respect the animals and they have a legal, ethical and personal responsibility when getting involved in animal research. Researcher should be properly trained and competent in all procedures related to the animals including euthanasia. In Pakistan we are following the Helsinki's Declaration regarding animal house and animal handlings as indicated in the following website: https://www.wma.net/policies-post/wma-statement-on-animal-use-in-biomedical-research/ https://www.wma.net/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/DoH-Jun1964.pdf

PRIVACY STATEMENT

The names and email addresses entered in this journal site will be used exclusively for the stated purposes of this journal and will not be made available for any other purpose or to any other party.

PROCESS OF HANDLING CASES

Process of Handling Cases Requiring Corrections, Retractions and Editorial Expressions of Concern

All articles submitted, if requiring correction after publication requires a written consent of the corresponding author. If the article involves any change in authors list, written consent of all authors is required. Generally, the order of authors is not changed once the manuscript has been submitted at the first instance and the authors remain same till the article is published. Hence, any change is strongly discouraged by the journal.

In case of retraction of any article, once accepted, requires a written consent and statement of all authors and reason for withdrawal. If, however, the manuscript is withdrawn at the very early stages, for example at the initial submission, the submission fee is not returned and again, written consent and statement of all authors is required.

In case of retraction, a statement is also published in the hardcopy and online copy of the journal. The editor withdraws an article if there is sufficient evidence that the article is plagiarized, data is fabricated, or the article has already been published in another journal.

Editorial expression of concern includes any ambiguity regarding the misconduct of authors, an ongoing investigation which may take time or author dispute regarding contributor list. Retracted article is followed at its link in all electronic versions of the journal and the title and name of authors should be present in the retraction heading. The journal follows its guidelines of WAME and COPE. www.publicationethics.org

PUBLICATION ETHICS

Advanced Journal of Medical and Health Allied Sciences (AJMAHS) is a biannual journal that is peer reviewed both locally and internationally. The journal is distributed amongst the renowned medical, dental, and allied institutes of Pakistan and abroad.

All rights are reserved. No part of this journal may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, transmitted in any form, or by any other means; electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, except for internal or personal use, without the prior permission, in writing, from the Advanced Journal of Medical and Health Allied Sciences (AJMAHS).

A paper is accepted for publication on the understanding that it has not been submitted simultaneously in another journal, has been read and approved by all the authors, and that the work has not been published before.

The editorial board members and the publisher cannot be held responsible for any errors or repercussions resulting from the use of any information published in the journal.

The articles published represent the exclusive opinion of authors. The editors reserve the right to make editorial and literary corrections and content editing.

Any opinion expressed or policies advocated do not necessarily reflect the opinion and policies of the editors.

Advanced Journal of Medical and Health Allied Sciences (AJMAHS) is published biannually, composed, and downed by Advanced Journal of Medical and Health Allied Sciences (AJMAHS).

INITIAL ASSESSMENT/ PEER REVIEW PROCESS/ MALPRACTICE STATEMENT

1. Initial assessment

Initial assessment is done on a routine basis for each article submitted. The decision regarding further processing, that is external peer review, is confirmed by the editorial board.

2. Peer Review

Our peer review process ensures complete objectivity to our articles. Each manuscript undergoes the following stages:

The author submits the manuscript which has to be approved by relevant Board of Ethics prior to submission and agrees to the terms of submission. The peer reviewer discloses whether the original manuscript has content which can be published. The editor-in-chief reviews these comments on the article and responds to the author regarding acceptance or rejection of the article accordingly. If the article is accepted, a detailed analysis along with the peer review's comments and the editor-in-chief's review is forwarded to the author for correction. The author makes the changes accordingly and returns the manuscript. The revised manuscript is reviewed by the editor-in-chief and if the manuscript requires further revision, the article is returned with additional comments to the author for correction and updates.

3. Malpractice Statement

Plagiarism: All articles submitted will be checked for plagiarism. In case of plagiarism on an already published article, the editor would be obliged to withdraw the article from the journal website and research engines. Plagiarism, if detected and proved, will result in rejection of the manuscript from publication, along with possible debarment of the author(s) from publishing in the journal. The period of debarment will depend upon the extent of the offence and final decision would be taken by the editorial board of the journal.

Confidentiality: Peer reviewers evaluate the article. Anonymity of both the authors as well as the reviewer is maintained to omit any conflict of interest, ensuring complete objectivity and transparency regarding the article.

POLICY FOR CONFLICT OF INTEREST AND ITS DISCLOSURE

The Advanced Journal of Medical and Health Allied Sciences (AJMAHS) includes in its policy regarding conflict of interest that: authors, editors, and peer reviewers of all the manuscripts submitted or all content published in any of its issues or newsletter, would have to abide by the rule that no conflict of interest exists such as a financial or personal gain by publishing the material in the journal. They should be very clear that the purpose of the study is in no way influenced by any personal interests, relationships, or unhealthy educational competition with colleagues in the same department or outside the institute. They should ensure that their objectives will not unduly affect the published material or send the wrong, unjust, or biased message to the readers. This must be complied by all concerned with the journal, including the editorial board and its members, international advisors, authors, and peer reviewers.

The journal also considers it mandatory that every article should include a statement of conflict of interest to this effect at the end. For example, if the research work has been supported by a pharmaceutical agency, this must be declared. A further detailed example is in case a specific food supplement which has been prescribed to the children for a specific disease. This supplement should be provided free of cost, be beneficial to the patient, supported by published research, preferably randomized controlled trials with a clinical trial registration number provided by recognized international organizations. This can be expanded to include all the investigations conducted during the research, should be beneficial and free of cost, for example CT scans, MRIs, etc.

If the conflict of interest has not been declared or is unjust, the final decision rests with the editor-in-chief who will decide whether to accept or reject the manuscript based on the conflict of interest.

REJECTED ARTICLES

Authors whose articles have been rejected have the right to send a letter of appeal giving detailed explanations. This will be reviewed in-house, and a decision will be taken accordingly.

Revised articles will not be considered at this stage.

REPRODUCTION OF PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED ARTICLES

Reproducing Material from Other Sources

It is the author's responsibility to secure all permissions prior to submission of the manuscript. Any part of the article accessed from another source, should be accompanied by a signed letter of consent from the copyright holder, which may be the author, journal, or the publisher.

Reproducing material published by AJMAHS

No part of the Journal may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any other means, electronic, mechanical photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior permission, in writing, of the Advanced Journal of Medical and Health Allied Sciences (AJMAHS). This includes material previously published by the requesting author.

RESPONSES TO PUBLISHED WORK

Comments on previously published articles in AJMAHS will be reviewed by the editor-in-chief and forwarded to the authors of the published manuscript for a reply. Appropriate time will be given for the response. Both will be published simultaneously in one of the forthcoming issues. In case the author of the published article does not reply, the comments will be published on their own.

This process will only be undertaken if the comments are appropriate.

SCIENTIFIC MISCONDUCT

AJMAHS follows the guidelines provided by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME), the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) and the Higher Education Commission, Pakistan (HEC) for dealing with scientific misconduct.

The following examples and forms of misconduct have been taken from WAME, originally with minor modification from the ORI publication Analysis of Institutional Policies for Responding to Allegations of Scientific Misconduct:

Falsification of data:

ranges from fabrication to deceptive selective reporting of findings and omission of conflicting data, or willful suppression and/or distortion of data.

Plagiarism:

The appropriation of the language, ideas, or thoughts of another without crediting their true source, and representation of them as one's own original work.

Improprieties of authorship:

Improper assignment of credit, such as excluding others, misrepresentation of the same material as original in more than one publication, inclusion of individuals as authors who have not made a definite contribution to the work published; or submission of multi-authored publications without the concurrence of all authors.

Misappropriation of the ideas of others:

an important aspect of scholarly activity is the exchange of ideas among colleagues. Scholars can acquire novel ideas from others during the process of reviewing grant applications and manuscripts. However, improper use of such information can constitute fraud. Wholesale appropriation of such material constitutes misconduct.

Violation of generally accepted research practices:

Serious deviation from accepted practices in proposing or carrying out research, improper manipulation of experiments to obtain biased results, deceptive statistical or analytical manipulations, or improper reporting of results.

Material failure to comply with legislative and regulatory requirements affecting research:

Including but not limited to serious or substantial, repeated, willful violations of applicable local regulations and law involving the use of funds, care of animals, human subjects, investigational drugs, recombinant products, new devices, or radioactive, biologic, or chemical materials.

Inappropriate behavior in relation to misconduct:

this includes unfounded or knowingly false accusations of misconduct, failure to report known or suspected misconduct, withholding or destruction of information relevant to a claim of misconduct and retaliation against persons involved in the allegation or investigation. [1]

AJMAHS also includes redundant publication and duplicate publication, lack of declaration of competing interests and of funding/sponsorship, and other failures of transparency to be forms of misconduct.

Reponses to possible misconduct:

All allegations of scientific misconduct are taken very seriously at AJMAHS. We follow the guidelines prescribed by the previously mentioned organizations. The manuscript processing will be halted while the fact-finding investigation is being carried out.

[1] WAME. Recommendations on Publication Ethics Policies for Medical Journals [Internet]. 2015 [cited 28 December 2015].

Available from:  http://www.wame.org/about/recommendations-on-publication-ethics-policie

SUBMISSION PREPARATION CHECKLIST

As part of the submission process, authors are required to check off their submission's compliance with all 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 submission file is in OpenOffice, Microsoft Word, or RTF document file format.
  • Where available, URLs for the references have been provided.
  • The text is single-spaced; uses a 12-point font; employs italics, rather than underlining (except with URL addresses); and all illustrations, figures, and tables are placed within the text at the appropriate points, rather than at the end.
  • The text adheres to the stylistic and bibliographic requirements outlined in the Author Guidelines.

SUPLIMENTS

AJMAHS is willing to accept supplement publishing requests made by external organizations based on different topics, abstracts, or meetings.

The cost of publishing the supplement will be paid by the requesting body after discussion with the journal management.

It is vital to note that all the articles published represent the opinions of the authors and do not reflect official policy of the journal.

WITHDRAWL POLICY

According to AJMAHS's copyright policy, the copyright belongs to the Journal upon submission of the manuscript. Moreover, it is considered unethical to submit the same manuscript to more than one journal at the same time.

If the authors want to withdraw the manuscript during its processing, an email must be sent notifying as to their intention, to the effect that the manuscript withdrawal form will be emailed for the signatures of all the authors. This needs to be completed, scanned, and sent back. A final letter from the editorial office for withdrawal of the manuscript will then be dispatched. Electronic signatures will not be accepted.

Please note that without a formal letter of withdrawal, a manuscript is not considered withdrawn and use of such a manuscript elsewhere will be construed as an ethical misconduct.