Submissions

Author Guidelines

TYPES OF MANUSCRIPTS
JPSN publishes the following types of articles:

1. Original Research: Original research are reports of research activities on a particular topic through observation, surveys or experiments.
2. Case Report: Case reports are detailed report of the symptoms, signs, diagnosis, treatment, and follow-up of an individual patient, usually that of new/interesting/very rare cases with some clinical significance or implications. When three or more cases are included in a single report, it is known as a case series.
3. Review: Systematic critical assessments of literature and data sources. Review articles in JPSN are only accepted as invited articles and from authors who have major contribution to the field of physiology.
4. Letter to the Editor: Letters to editors are usually open reviews of a published paper, often critical of some aspect of the original paper. They should be brief and evidence-based and provide new insight, make corrections, offer alternate theories, or request clarification about issues of concern.
5. Short communication: Short Communications are short papers that present original and significant material for rapid dissemination that do not warrant a full-length paper.

WORD LIMITS
Original Research: Up to 2500 words excluding references; up to 30 references; and abstract of maximum 250 words including 3-5 keywords.

Case Report: Up to 1000 words excluding references; up to 10 references; abstract of maximum 100 words including 3-5 keywords; and up to three photographs.

Review: Up to 3500 words excluding references and abstract of maximum 350 words including 3-5 keywords.

Letters to the Editor: Up to 500 words excluding references and up to five references.

Short communication: Up to 1500 words excluding references and up to 10 references.

GENERAL STRUCTURE OUTLINE OF MANUSCRIPTS
A. JPSN format for Original Research article
1. Information page
2. Manuscript (JPSN follows IMRaD format for Original Research articles)

• Title
• Authors
• Author affiliation
• Corresponding author
• Corresponding author affiliation and contact details
• Abstract
  • Introduction
  • Methods
  • Results
  • Conclusion
  • Keywords
• Introduction
• Methods
• Results
• Discussion
• Conclusion
• Conflict of interest
• Acknowledgements
• References

B. JPSN format for Case Report
1. Information page
2. Manuscript

• Title
• Authors
• Author affiliation
• Corresponding author
• Corresponding author affiliation and contact details
• Abstract
  • Abstract text
  • Keywords
• Introduction
• Case presentation
• Result
• Discussion
• Conclusion
• Conflict of interest
• Acknowledgements
• Consent
• References

C. JPSN format for Review article
1. Information page
2. Manuscript page

• Title
• Authors
• Author affiliation
• Corresponding author
• Corresponding author affiliation and contact details
• Abstract
  • Introduction
  • Methods
  • Results
  • Conclusion
  • Keywords
• Introduction
• Methods
• Results
• Discussion
• Conclusion
• Conflict of interest
• Acknowledgements
• References

FORMAT FOR INFORMATION PAGE
The information page of the submitted manuscripts should contain the following details.

1. Type of manuscript : Original research/Case report/Review/Letter to Editor/Short Communication
2. Title of the article : Title of maximum 15 words; should be 'simple, brief, clear and attractive'; that accurately describes the contents of your manuscript, and makes readers want to read further
3. Running head of the article : Short title of maximum 10 words, indicating major features of the article
4. Authors details
   • Full name(s) of the author(s): First name(s), middle name(s) and family name(s)
   • Full qualification of authors
   • Designation of authors
   • Affiliation of authors: The affiliations should comprise the department, institution, city and nation from which the work originated.
   • Contact number and email addresses of authors
5. Corresponding author details: Full name, full mailing address including mobile and e-mail address.
6. Manuscript details
   • Number of pages
   • Word count for abstract
   • Word count for article text
   • Number of images
   • Number of tables
   • Number of references
7. Sources of financial support in the form of grants, equipment, drugs, etc. if any
8. Conflict of interest
9. Acknowledgements

DESCRIPTION OF FORMAT FOR ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLES
Abstract
The abstract should provide the context or background for the study and presented in a structured format under the headings introduction, methods, results and conclusion. The abstract should state the a) study purpose b) basic procedures (selection of study subjects or laboratory animals, observational and analytical methods) c) main findings including figures i.e. numbers (giving specific effect sizes and their statistical significance, if possible), and d) conclusions. It should emphasize new and important aspects of the study or observations.

Three to five keywords or short phrases that capture the main topics of the article should be provided for cross-indexing. The keywords should be arranged in the alphabetical order being separated by commas and a space with the first keyword initially capitalized.

This should be not more than 250 words including keywords.

Introduction
The introduction should provide a background for the study i.e., the nature of the problem and its significance. State the specific purpose or research objective of, or hypothesis tested by, the study or observation. The research objective should be sharply focused when stated as a question. Both the main and secondary objectives should be made clear, and any pre-specified subgroup analyses should be described.

Methods
The method section should contain: a) Study design b) Time and duration of study c) Place of study d) Ethical approval e) Patient consent e) Inclusion and exclusion criteria f) Sampling technique g) Statistical analyses and h) Software used.

Describe the methods, apparatus (give the manufacturer’s name and address in parentheses), and procedures in sufficient detail to allow other workers to reproduce the results. Give references to established methods, including statistical methods (see below); provide references and brief descriptions for methods that have been published but are not well known; describe new or substantially modified methods, give reasons for using them, and evaluate their limitations. When reporting research on humans, the authors must include an assurance that the work was approved by a medical ethics committee and that the subjects had given their informed consent to participate in the research. When reporting experiments on animals, indicate whether the institutions or a national research council’s guide for, or any national law on the care and use of laboratory animals were followed. Statistical methods should be described with enough detail to enable a knowledgeable reader with access to the original data to verify the reported results. When possible, quantify findings and present them with appropriate indicators of measurement error or uncertainty (such as confidence interval). Define statistical terms, abbreviations, and symbols. Specify the computer software used.

Results
Present your results in logical sequence in the text, tables, and illustrations, giving the main or most important findings first. When data are summarized in the Results section, give numeric results not only as derivatives (for example, percent) but also as the absolute numbers from which the derivatives were calculated, and specify the statistical methods used to analyze them. Restrict tables and figures to those needed to explain the argument of the paper and to assess its support. Use graphs as an alternative to tables with many entries; do not duplicate data in graphs and tables.

Discussion
Emphasize the new and important aspects of the study and the conclusions that follow from them. Do not repeat in detail data or other materials given in the Introduction or the Results section. For experimental studies, it is useful to begin the discussion by summarizing briefly the main findings, then explore possible mechanisms or explanations for these findings, comparing and contrasting the results with other relevant studies. State the limitations of the study, and explore the implications of the findings for future research and for clinical practice.

Conclusion
Link the conclusions with the goals of the study, but avoid unqualified statements and conclusions not adequately supported by the data. It should be short and to the point rather than a summary of the article. Avoid claiming priority and alluding to work that has not been completed.

References
References should be numbered consecutively in the order in which they are cited in the text. In-text citations should be done by the appropriate Arabic numbers in superscript. The format for references have been described in detail later.

LANGUAGE, SCRIPT, FONT and STYLE
The manuscripts should be written in English language and Modern Latin script. The language should be simple, clear and correct without grammatical errors. The manuscript should be typed in Times New Roman or Arial or Calibri font with 12 font size and British/American English system of spelling should be used.

USE OF ABBREVIATIONS AND SYMBOLS
The full forms of the abbreviations should precede its first use in the text unless it is a standard unit of measurement. Use only standard abbreviations. Do not start any sentence with an abbreviation. Abbreviation are acceptable at the start only if they are words in their own right (such as laser and radar) or represent names of organizations. Avoid use of abbreviations in the title. Do not use abbreviations like @ and & in the text.

USE OF NUMBERS
Follow the undermentioned rules in use of numbers in your write-up.

• Do not start any sentence with a number. In such cases, either spell out the numbers, as in “Thirty per cent of the participants . . .” or rephrase the sentence, as in “Among the participants, 30% . . .”
• Spell out numbers from one to nine for cardinal numbers (1, 3, 10, etc.), unless they are followed by a unit or percentage or when they represent date or time
• Spell out numbers from one to nine for ordinals (first, third, tenth, etc.)
• Spell out indefinite numbers and amounts, including large approximations. E.g. more than a million
• Spell out fractions that are less than one e.g. one-fifth, two-thirds, etc., except when the wording becomes awkward
• Use a combination of figures and words for numbers when needed, to keep your writing clear. E.g. three 10-min cycles
• In lists that include numbers, be consistent, rather than following individual rules. E.g. 5 out of 20 patients

NUMBER OF IMAGES AND TABLES
The total number of images and tables allowed is one per 500 words for original and review articles. Case reports are allowed up to three images.

TABLES
Tables should be self-explanatory and include a brief, descriptive title at the top. Tables should be numbered with Arabic numerals. Footnotes to tables, indicated by lower case letters are accepted, but they should not include extensive detail. Make sure that each table is cited in the text. If you use data from another published or unpublished source, obtain permission and acknowledge them fully.

FIGURES
Figures used should be of the highest possible quality, free of defects, and not significantly altered. Figures should be numbered with Arabic numerals and include a brief, descriptive title at the bottom. Apply letters and arrows directly to the figure. Electron micrographs must contain measurement bars to indicate their magnification. Photomicrographs must have internal scale markers and be accompanied by their original magnification and type of staining method used. Symbols, arrows, or letters used in photomicrographs should contrast with the background. Make sure that each figure is cited in the text. If an already published figure has been used, acknowledge the original source and submit written permission from the copyright holder to reproduce the material. If photographs of people are used, either the subjects must not be identifiable or their pictures must be accompanied by written permission to use the photograph. Photomicrographs should have internal scale markers.

FORMAT FOR USE OF p-VALUES
The authors are requested to heed the following rules white reporting p-values:

• The ‘p’ is always lowercase and italicized.
• Use 0 before the decimal point for p-value. E.g. use p<0.001 and not p<.001
• The actual p-values should be written (p=0.04) rather than just expressing the statement of inequality (p<0.05), unless p<0.001.
• The p-values should not be reported only as significant or not significant without providing the exact p-values
• If p>0.01 then the p-value should always be expressed to 2 decimal digits by rounding whether or not it is significant. E.g. p=0.08 and not p=0.084
• A 3 decimal digit for p-value>0.01 is acceptable only if rounding would change the significance of a value. E.g. p=0.049 instead of 0.05.
• If p<0.01, it should be expressed to 3 digits. E.g. p=0.003
• If p<0.001, it should be reported as p<0.001, instead of the actual exact p-value.
• The p-value=0.000 which is produced in result/output by various statistical software is not used in publication and should be written as p<0.001.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST
Any conflict of interest should be declared by the authors. JPSN reserves the right to send information on conflict of interest to reviewers. Manuscripts that discuss a specific instrument, equipment, device, drugs or methodology must contain a statement indicating whether the authors have a financial interest in the subject under discussion. Any sources of financial support should be listed along with the name(s) of the grantor(s).

REFERENCE & CITATION
The reference format for JPSN is based on Vancouver reference style, the latest version of which is Citing Medicine: The NLM Style Guide for Authors, Editors, and Publishers (2018) with some modifications made to suit the journal. The references should be numbered and listed in the sequence in which they appear in the text.

In-text citations should be done by Arabic numerals in superscript. The citations should be numbered consecutively in the chronological order in which they appear in the text.

Copyright

Copyright is transferred to the Journal of Physiological Society of Nepal.