Submissions

Author Guidelines

The ABTPé JOURNAL (ISSN 1981 772X) is the official body of scientific publishing of the Brazilian Association of Medicine and Surgery of the Ankle and Foot, which is published every semester in July and December, with the purpose of disseminating papers on themes of Foot and Ankle Medicine and Surgery and related areas.

All papers that are sent to the Journal undergo a peer review by at least two reviewers.  Acceptance will be based on originality, relevance, and contribution to science.  The reviewers will make general comments on the paper and will decide if it will be published, if corrections are to be incorporated, or if it is rejected. In cases of differences of opinion among the reviewers, a new opinion may be requested. When modifications are suggested, they will be forwarded to the main author, who must then resubmit the corrected manuscript in up to 60 days. Subsequently, it will be returned to the same reviewers so that they can check if their demands have been met.  In exceptional cases, when the subject of the manuscript so requires, the Editor-in-Chief may request that the review be conducted by a professional who is not listed among the Editors and the Editorial Council.  Following this process of peer review, the Editor-in-Chief will forward the approved papers for publication. As far as possible, the decision as to the acceptance of a paper will occur within 120 days of its receipt.

Once a paper has been accepted for publication, an edited Paper (in PDF format) will be sent to the corresponding author to be proofread, and for a final assessment and approval.

It is up to the Editorial Body to classify papers according to the categories accepted by the Journal. The Body may also suggest modifications to the papers, provided they do not alter the scientific content, and with due assent of the author.

Any claims, information or opinions expressed in the papers that are published in the Journal are the sole responsibility of the authors and their collaborators.  

The norms for publication in the journal are in accordance with the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals (February 2006), developed by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), available at: http://www.icmje.org/.

The Journal accepts the following for publication: editorials, original papers, reviewed papers, opinion pieces, case studies, brief pieces, letters to the editor, images, science & technology, and special papers.

Editorial

Editorials refer to topics which are selected for each issue of the ABTPé JOURNAL due to their importance for the scientific community. They are generally written by the Editor-in-Chief or by outstanding specialists in areas of interest who are commissioned by the Journal.

Original Paper

Controlled and randomized studies, observational studies, records, basic research with animals and experiments are included here. Original papers must contain the following sections: Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusions, References, and Abstract. The number of references must not exceed forty.

Review papers (by invitation or at the Editor’s discretion)

These are critical or ordered evaluations of existing literature on themes of clinical importance. A renowned specialist will be requested to write one by request of the Editorial Body about a subject of interest for readers. The ABTPé JOURNAL also accepts review papers sent in by the scientific community. Specifically, the references for these papers should be up-to-date, published preferably in the last ten years, with a maximum of 40 references.

A reflection paper

This is the presentation of a relevant paper that has been published in the field. Specialists are invited by the Editor to comment on the paper, including its positives and negatives, its methodological and conceptual points, and its clinical applicability and relevance. These papers must have a maximum of ten references.

Case studies

These include descriptions of cases involving patients, or particular situations, rare diseases, or those that have never been described, as well as innovative forms of diagnosis or treatment. The case study in question should focus on relevant themes that should be compared to those available in existing literature, and must not exceed ten references.

Brief pieces

These are short experiences with elements of originality.

Letter to the editor – Scientific dialogue and comments

These must comment, discuss or criticize papers that have been published in the Journal itself, or tackle other themes of general interest. A response from the authors of the paper in question may be published together with the letter.

Special paper (by invitation of the editor)

These are articles that do not belong in any of the aforementioned categories, but that are deemed relevant to the field by the Editorial Council.

The ABTPé JOURNAL will give priority to the publication of papers classified as original. The papers may be written in Portuguese, English, or Spanish, and will be published in the printed version of the journal, in the language in which the original manuscript was submitted. They may also be made available online through the ABTPé site. Should any other means of electronic publication arise in the future, previous consent of the authors for the papers to be published in this way will be assumed.  

Technical requirements

Research with human beings and animals

In the Methodology section, the authors must state whether the study has been approved by the Research Ethics Commission of their Institution, in accordance with the Helsinki Declaration. In experimental works involving animals, the norms established in the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (Institute of Laboratory Animal Resources,  National Academy of Sciences, Washington, D.C., 1996) and the ethical principles for animal testing from the Brazilian College of Animal Testing (COBEA- Colégio  Brasileiro de Experimentação Animal) must be respected. Research studies involving human beings must be forwarded together with signed copies of patients’ Free, Prior and Informed Consent.

Copyright

The authors of the approved manuscripts must forward, prior to publication, a written and signed declaration by all co-authors assigning copyright and assuming all responsibility for the dissemination of the publication to the Journal, according to the following terms:

“The undersigned author(s) transfer all copyright of the manuscript (title of the paper) to the APTPé JOURNAL. The signatory(ies) guarantee(s) that the paper is original, that it does not infringe any existing copyright or any other third-party rights, that it has not been sent to any other journal for publication, and that it has not been previously published. The author(s) confirm(s) that the final version of the manuscript has been reviewed and approved by him/her/them.”

All the published manuscripts become the permanent property of the ABTPé JOURNAL and may be published with the written consent of the editor.

Authorship credits

We suggest that authorship credits be adopted as per the ICMJE recommendations. Thus, only those persons that contributed directly to the intellectual content of the paper should be listed as authors of the paper. The authors must meet the following criteria, so as to be publicly responsible for the content of the paper:

• They must have conceived or planned the activities that led to the paper, or they must have interpreted the results achieved, or both;
• They must have written the paper or reviewed the successive versions and participated in the reviewing process;
• They must have approved the final version.

To play an administrative role, to help out with patients, and to collect and consolidate data, albeit important for the research, are NOT criteria for authorship. Other people who have made direct substantial contributions to the paper, but who cannot be considered authors, can be cited in the Acknowledgements section.

Conflict of interest

Whenever some relationship exists between the authors and any public or private entity that may derive some conflict of interest, this possibility must be communicated in a separate letter to the editor, who will guarantee the confidentiality of the declaration;

Reprint

Based on the norms adopted by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) and due to many other reasons, the secondary publication, whether in the same or another language, is justifiable and may be beneficial, especially in other countries, provided the conditions described in the editorial are met. 

Preparation of the Manuscript

First page

IDENTIFICATION. Title of the paper expressed in a concise and descriptive manner, both in Portuguese and English. Complete name, with no abbreviations, of all authors, academic degrees and institution to which they belong in full, complete address, including telephone and fax numbers and email of the main author, date the paper was submitted, and the funding institution for the research, if applicable.

If the paper was presented in a conference or is part of a thesis or dissertation, the conference, including the date and venue of the presentation, or the institution and date of thesis defense must be mentioned.

Second page

ABSTRACT. It must be structured and include: Objectives, Methods, Results, and Conclusions.

An abstract must be coherent and easily understood without one having to resort to the main body of the paper. Verbs must be past tense for the results and present tense for general remarks. Whenever possible, numbers should be used rather than percentages.  The following must not be used: “The authors present…”, The findings are presented…” , or “The treatment is discussed,…” and suchlike. The abstract of an original article must not exceed 250 words. The abstract of a paper review must not exceed 250 words and must introduce the main concepts presented in the text. The abstract of a case study, not exceeding 100 words, must show the originality of the case and its most important clinical, laboratorial, diagnostic, and therapeutic aspects. 

In addition, a minimum of 3 tags or keywords must be included, both in Portuguese and English. These tags may be consulted at: http://decs.bvs.br/, which contains terms in Portuguese, Spanish or English, or http://www.nlm.nih.gov.mesh, for terms only in English.

Third page

TEXT: For original or research papers, the manuscript must include the following: Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusions, and References.

For case studies, the manuscript must include: a brief Introduction, Case Description, Discussion,  and References

The other types of manuscript may follow the thematic structure suggested by the author.

Text citations

In all the Manuscript categories, text citations must be made numerically and sequentially, in the order in which they appear in the text. Should more than two references be mentioned in sequence, only the first and the last should be typed in, separated by a hyphen. For example: (7-11).

In the case of alternating citations, all references must be typed in, separated by commas. For example: (7,11,16).

Acknowledgements

Optional. They must be concise and appear at the end of the text, indicating the names of the persons or institutions that contributed to the intellectual or technical phase of the paper, as well as funding agencies that contributed to the research that resulted in the published paper.

Tables

Tables should only be included to clarify the text, with no redundant information that has already been mentioned in the text, and numbered according to the order in which they appear. Each table should appear on a separate page and should be double-spaced. They must be numbered in Arabic numerals and have a short title. Use the same font as is used in the text. Do not use vertical lines between columns. Use horizontal lines only above and below the caption, at the bottom of the table. Abbreviations used in the table must be set out in full in the footer of the table itself. 

Tables must be sent in such a way as to be edited.

Figures

For manuscript submission, any figures must be in high resolution so that they can be evaluated by the reviewers, preferably in JPEG format. The captions of the figures should explain their content clearly, independently of the text. They must be numbered using Arabic numerals and have a short title. Abbreviations used in the illustrations must be set out in full in the captions.

REFERENCES

In the References section, only papers that were consulted for and actually cited in the text should be included. The references must be numbered sequentially, as they appear in the text. ­­

Up to six authors should be named; if there are more than six authors, cite the first six followed by et al. The abbreviated title of the periodical must conform to the abbreviations of the Medline periodicals. See below examples of the main types of bibliographic references. For other documents, please consult http://www.icmje.org/

Printed Material

A journal article or paper:

Attar F, Selvan D, Machin D, Shariff R, Geary NP. Perioperative changes in the microcirculation in feet after foot and ankle surgery.J Foot Ankle Surg. 2007;46(4):238-41.

Reid KS, Martin BD, Duerksen F, Nicolle LE, Garrett M, Simonsen JN, et al. Diabetic foot complications in a northern Canadian Aboriginal community.Foot Ankle Int. 2006 Dec;27(12):1065-73.

When an institution is an author:

The Foot Society of Australia and New Zealand. Sciatic nerve injury following intramuscular injection: a case report and review of the literature.J Neurosci Nurs. 2006;38(4):238-40.

When the author is not named:

Orthopedics in South Africa. [editorial]. S Afr Med J. 1994; 84(1):15.

A chapter of a book:

Mylek WY. Endothelium and its properties. In: Clark BL Jr, editor. New frontiers in surgery. New York: Mc Graw – HiIl; 1998. p. 55-64.

A book:

Sutton MG St J, Oldershaw PJ, Ketler MN, editors. Textbook foot and ankle. Cambridge (MA): Blackwell Science; 1996.

A thesis:

Takimura CK. Correlação das variáveis geométricas de lesões do tornozelo com achados ultra-sonográficos [tese ]. São Paulo: Universidade de São Paulo;

An event:

Silva HH. Pé torto congênito In: 45º. Congresso Brasileiro de Atualização em Cirurgia Ortopédica; 1995; São Paulo. Anais. São Paulo: Associação Brasileira de Medicina e Cirurgia de Pé e Tornozelo; 1995. p.27-9.
Minna JD. Recent advances for potential clinical importance in the biology of lung cancer. In: Annual Meeting of the American Medical Association for Cancer Research: 1984 Sept 6-10. Proceedings. Toronto: AMA; 1984. v. 25. p. 293-4.

Electronic Material

A journal article or paper

Morse SS. Observations on the fibrous retinacula of the heel pad.
Foot Ankle Int [serial on the Internet]. 2006 [cited 2006 Dez 5];27(8): [about 4 p.]. Available from: http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/EID/eid.htm.

A book:

Tichenor WS. Observations on the fibrous retinacula of the heel pad [monograph on the Internet]. New York: Health On the Net Foundation; 1996. [cited 2005 May 27]. Available from: http://www.sinuses.com

A chapter of a book:

Tichenor WS. Radiographic comparison of standing medial cuneiform arch height in adults with and without acquired flatfoot deformity. In: Tichenor WS. Foot: treatment [monograph on the Internet]. New York: Health On the Net Foundation; 1996. [cited 2005 May 27]. Available from: http://www.sinuses.com/postsurg.htm.

A thesis:

Lourenço LG. Cirurgia do pé torto congênito [tese]. São Paulo: Universidade Federal de São Paulo; 1999. [citado 2006 Jun 10]. Disponível em: http://www.epm.br/cirurgia/gastro/laercio.

An event:

Barata RB. Epidemiologia no século XXI: perspectivas para o Brasil [texto na Internet]. In: 4º Congresso Brasileiro de Epidemiologia; 1998 Ago 1-5; Rio de Janeiro. Anais eletrônicos. Rio de Janeiro: ABRASCO; 1998. [citado 2005 Jan 17]. Disponível em: http://www.abrasco.com.br/epirio98

A homepage/ website

Cancer-Pain org [homepage on the Internet]. New York: Association of Cancer Online Resources, Inc.; c2000 [update 2002 May 16; cited 2002 Jul 9]. Available from: http://www.cancer-pain.org

SUBMITTING MATERIAL

Papers must be submitted exclusively by electronic submission and must contain the following documents:

1. A Submission Letter addressed to the Editor-in-Chief including the title of the paper, the reason why the ABTPé Journal was chosen to publish the paper, the type of paper, the word count for the paper (excluding Tables and Figures), a declaration from the author that all the co-authors agree with the content expressed in the paper, proclaiming any conflicts of interest, and compliance with any relevant ethical considerations.
2. Approval by the local Ethics Committee. For original papers, a “parecer consubstanciado da Plataforma Brasil” is required.
3. The paper or article text in Word format.
4. Figures in JPEG format (high resolution) and tables in separate files from the text.
5. For papers written as the final projects of fellows at Accredited Foot and Ankle Services in Brazil, the fellow himself/herself must submit the paper and enclose a letter of consent from the head of the Accredited Service, authorizing the use of this paper, in compliance with Item III of Article 3 of the General Bylaws and Operating Rules of ABTPé.