How to avoid a desk-rejection

1. Cover letters for manuscript submission to Editor-in - Chief

Acta Biomed requires four templates for online submission: 1)ABM title page sample, 2) ABM manuscript sample, 3) ABM cover letter sample and 4) Conflict of interest statement.

A blank cover letter can be downloaded by clicking here.

2. Language

Manuscripts must be written in English.
For researchers for whom English is not the primary language, a revision by an English mother tongue translator is recommended before manuscript submission, adding his/her name in acknowledgments. If he/she is not available, the Authors are requested to add an official certificate issued by the qualified Language Editing Service. As an alternative, ActaBiomed may offers a Language Editing Service that can assist the authors of manuscript. The cost of language editing depends on the length and characteristics of manuscript. For additional information please contact [email protected].

3. Manuscript structure

Please note that the manuscript must include:

- a running title of no more than 40 characters;

- abstract (not more than 250 words);

- key words (5-7 key words that will assist indexers in cross-indexing the article);

- the text count of words, not including didascalies, tables and references;

- the corresponding author is also invited to check the article content for grammar mistakes and unintentional plagiarism using a checking software prior the submission of manuscript.

- a running title of no more than 40 characters;
- total text word count and abstract word count:

4. Ethics Committee

Research involving human subjects, human material, or human data, must have been performed in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and must have been approved by an Ethics Committee, sometimes referred to as an Institutional Review Board (IRB). A statement detailing this, including the name of Ethics Committee, reference number, date and duration of study approval must be added to the manuscript.

If a retrospective (“non-interventional”) study has been granted an exemption from requiring ethics approval, this should also be detailed in the manuscript. The decision on whether to proceed to peer review in such cases is at the Editor's discretion.

5. Case report

Informed consent must be obtained from participant(s) (or their parent or guardian in the case of children/adolescents under 18 years) and a statement should be reported in the text of manuscript.

Details that might disclose the identity of the subjects must be omitted. The patient’s agreement for the publication must be reported.

If the participant has died, then consent for publication must be sought from the next of kin of the participant. This documentation must be made available to Editors on request, and will be treated confidentially.

6. Images of patients

Images of patients or research subjects should not be used unless the information is essential for scientific purposes. The most widely used technique is to print a black bar over the eyes or, more recently, to blur or pixelate the eye area. Written informed consent for publication must be obtained from the patient. This documentation must be made available to Editors on request, and will be treated confidentially.

Formal consents are not required for the use of entirely anonymized images from which the individual cannot be identified- for example, X-rays, ultrasound images, pathology slides, or laparoscopic images, provided that these do not contain any identifying marks and are not accompanied by text that might identify the individual concerned.

7. Third-party permission

Image files must not be manipulated or adjusted in any way that could lead to misinterpretation of the information provided by the original image.  Please report fully the Authors' names and Journal reference in the didascaly of figure(s), diagram(s), etc., with  their permission. Once obtained, documents certifying the permission to use third-party content should be sent to: [email protected]  for archiving purposes.

8. Format for references

The recommended style for references should based on reference citations reported in PubMed.
- If there are more than 6 authors, list the first 3 authors, followed by et al.

Examples for the preparation of manuscript:

Standard journal articles

- Soliman AT, De Sanctis V, Yassin M, Wagdy M, Soliman N. Chronic anemia and thyroid function. Acta Biomed. 2017;88 (1):119-27. doi: 10.23750/abm.v88i1.6048.

Electronic journal

- Vanelli M. Tips to avoid weak scientific English. Acta Biomed. 2021; 92(3): e2021235. doi: 10.23750/ abm.v92i3.11810.

Chapter in a book

- Meltzer PS, Kallioniemi A, Trent JM. Chromosome alterations in human solid tumors. In: Vogelstein B, Kinzler KW, editors. The genetic basis of human cancer. New York: McGraw-Hill; 2002. pp. 93-113.

9. Conflict of interest statement

If no conflict of interest exists the corresponding Author should type: "Each author declares that he or she has no commercial associations (e.g. consultancies, stock ownership, equity interest, patent/licensing arrangement etc.) that might pose a conflict of interest in connection with the submitted article".

10. Author  contributions: Defining their roles

To qualify for authorship, all contributors must meet the following 4 criteria based on ICMJE recommendations:

1.     Have made a substantial contribution to the concept or design of the article; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the article; AND

2.     Drafted the article or revised it critically for important intellectual content; AND

3.     Approved the version to be published; AND

4.     Agreed 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.

NB: Registered authors should meet the conditions of all of the points above. All contributors who do not meet the criteria for authorship should instead be listed in an `Acknowledgements’ section.

Contributions should be reported in the manuscript after the Statement of Conflict of Interest and before References.

The corresponding author is responsible for completing this information at manuscript submission, and we expect that all authors will have reviewed, discussed, and agreed with the final version of manuscript.

Please note that manuscripts not conforming to the  ActaBiomed guidelines are returned to the Author(s):

Dear Researcher,

the submitted manuscript has not fully followed the ActaBiomed guidelines. This does not preclude a new resubmission, within 15 days, of a corrected version of manuscript. To submit the new resubmission, login at http://www.actabiomedica.it .