Guidelines for Authors
- ABOUT THE JOURNAL
- MANUSCRIPT CATEGORIES
- MANUSCRIPT SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS
- STYLE OF THE MANUSCRIPT
- COPYRIGHT AND PERMISSIONS
- PEER REVIEW PROCESS
- ARTICLE PROCESSING CHARGES
- PROOFS
- OFFPRINTS AND REPRINTS
- SUBMITTING AND TRACKING MANUSCRIPTS
Thank you for your interest in AME Case Reports (ACR, AME Case Rep, Online ISSN: 2523-1995). ACR adheres to the ICMJE’s Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly work in Medical Journals (1), COPE’s Code of Conduct and Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors (2), and WAME’s policy (3) for generating this author instruction. Please refer to the following guidelines to help you prepare your manuscript. Feel free to contact the editorial office by email (acr@amegroups.com) should you have any questions. To ensure a swift peer review and publication process, manuscripts that do not adhere to the following instructions will be returned to the corresponding author for technical revision at preliminary review. The author instruction is updated on September 02, 2024.
1. ABOUT THE JOURNAL
AME Case Reports (ACR, AME Case Rep, Online ISSN: 2523-1995) is an open access, peer-reviewed online journal publishing original and educationally valuable case reports in all medical disciplines. ACR has been indexed by PubMed/Pubmed Central (PMC) and Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI). ACR received its impact factor of 0.7 for the year 2023. The journal aims to provide clinical information on common and rare cases for healthcare professionals, researchers and others.
For more about our journal, please see: https://acr.amegroups.org/about
2. MANUSCRIPT CATEGORIES
| Manuscript categories | Word limit | Abstract | Key words | Main text | Reference | Tables and Figures | Structure template |
| Case Series | 2,500 max. | Structured with Background, Case Description, and Conclusions; 200–350 words | 3–5 | Structured as Introduction, Case Presentation, Discussion, and Conclusions; Require a highlight box | 35 max. | 8 max. | Download |
| Case Report | 2,500 max. | Structured with Background, Case Description, and Conclusions; 200–350 words | 3–5 | Structured as Introduction, Case Presentation, Discussion, and Conclusions; Require a highlight box | 35 max. | 8 max. | Download |
| Case Report: iMDT Corner | 6,000 max. | Structured with Background, Case Description, and Conclusions; 200–350 words | 3–5 | Structured as Introduction, Case Presentation, Discussion, and Conclusions; Require a highlight box | 35 max. | 8 max. | Download |
| Editorial | 2,500 max. | Not required | 3–5 | Unstructured | No limit | 2 max. | NA |
| Letter to the Editor | 1,000 max. | Not required | Not required | Unstructured | 10 max. | 1 max. | NA |
2.1 Case Series
Case Series is an article reporting observations of diseases, clinical findings, or novel/unique treatment outcomes that are relevant to several participants/patients in related fields. Of note, when the number of patients in the article is ≤3, the article will be classified as a Case Report. When the number of patients in the article is between 4 and 9, the article will be classified as a Case Series. When the number of patients in the article is ≥10 and the article contains statistical analysis, the article will be classified as an Original Article (please note that ACR does not publish articles other than case reports, case series, editorials, and letters).
Abstract: 200–350 words max. Structured with:
- Background: state what is known and unknown; why the case report is unique and what it adds to existing literature.
- Case Description: describe the patient’s demographic details and main history, the main diagnosis, interventions, outcomes, and follow-ups.
- Conclusions: summarize the main take-away lesson, clinical impact, and potential implications.
Keywords: 3–5.
Main text: The text should be arranged as Introduction, Case Presentation, Discussion, and Conclusions. In addition, case reports and case series are required to contain a box that highlights the key findings and potential impacts. See the “Main Text” section for details.
References: 35 max.
Figures/Tables: 8 max. (combined)
Contributions: The case series should include a section describing the contribution made by each author to the manuscript. See the “Author Contributions” section for details.
Ethical Statement: The case series should include an ethical statement indicating whether written consent has been obtained from the subject (or their parent/guardian). See the “Ethical Statement” section for details.
2.1.1 Reporting Checklist
Apart from following the general format as indicated above, authors should prepare the case series according to the AME Case Series checklist (adapted from CARE and PROCESS checklist) and their submission should include a reporting checklist (a reformatted version has been made for the journal) as a supplementary material. The relevant page/line and section/paragraph number in the manuscript should be stated for each item in the checklist. A statement like “We present this case series in accordance with the AME Case Series reporting checklist” should be included at the end of the “Introduction”. The manuscript should also include a Reporting Checklist statement in the footnote (see the “Footnote” section). Failure to do so will result in the manuscript being returned to the authors for their amendment. Please note that the application of a checklist is aimed at transparent and clear reporting to allow a better critical appraisal of the manuscript. The final format of the manuscript should follow the author instruction requirements.
Of note, for case series in surgery, authors are recommended to prepare the manuscript according to the PROCESS Checklist.
The AME Case Series and PROCESS checklists can be downloaded here: AME Case Series, PROCESS.
2.2 Case Report
A case report is an article reporting observations of diseases, clinical findings, or novel/unique treatment outcomes that are relevant to one or several participants/patients in related fields. Only cases of exceptional interest and novelty are considered. Of note, when the number of patients in the article is ≤3, the article will be classified as a Case Report. When the number of patients in the article is between 4 and 9, the article will be classified as a Case Series. When the number of patients in the article is ≥10 and the article contains statistical analysis, the article will be classified as an Original Article (please note that ACR does not publish articles other than case reports, case series, editorials, and letters).
Abstract: 200~350 words max. Structured with:
- Background: state what is known and unknown; why the case report is unique and what it adds to existing literature.
- Case Description: describe the patient’s demographic details and main history, the main diagnosis, interventions, outcomes and follow-ups.
- Conclusions: summarize the main take-away lesson, clinical impact and potential implications.
Keywords: 3–5.
Main text: The text should be arranged as Introduction, Case Presentation, Discussion, and Conclusions. In addition, case reports are required to contain a box that highlights the key findings and potential impacts. See the “Main Text” section for details.
References: 35 max.
Figures/Tables: 8 max. (combined)
Contribution: The case report should include a section describing the contribution made by each author to the manuscript. See the “Author Contributions” section for details.
Ethical Statement: Case reports and case series should include an ethical statement indicating whether written consent has been obtained from the subject (or their parent/guardian). See the “Ethical Statement” section for details.
Reporting Checklist: Apart from following the general format as indicated above, authors should prepare the case reports according to the CARE Guidelines (4) and their submission should include a reporting checklist (a reformatted version has been made for the journal) as a supplementary material. The relevant page/line and section/paragraph number in the manuscript should be stated for each item in the checklist. A statement like “We present the following case in accordance with the CARE reporting checklist” should be included at the end of the “Introduction”. The manuscript should also include a Reporting Checklist statement in the footnote (see the “Footnote” section). Failure to do so will result in the manuscript being returned to the authors for their amendment. Please note that the application of a checklist is aimed at transparent and clear reporting to allow a critical appraisal of the manuscript. The final format of the manuscript should follow the author instruction requirements.
The reformatted CARE checklist can be downloaded here: CARE.
A template of the structure of case reports can be downloaded here.
2.2.1 Case Report: iMDT Corner
A multidisciplinary team approach (MDT) is considered best practice in the treatment planning and care for patients in challenging clinical situation. It is an integrated team approach to health care in which medical and allied health care professionals consider all relevant treatment options and collaboratively develop an individual treatment and care plan for each patient.
The “iMDT” with “i’ meaning “international”, is an upgraded version by integrating the international perspectives. Different from the traditional MDT which is mainly conducted by physicians within a single hospital, the “iMDT” aims to involve all relevant international health professionals discussing options and making joint decisions about treatment and supportive care plans for the maximum benefit of patients. Embodying the core value “patient come first”, the “Case Report: iMDT Corner” column is designed as an educational window for healthcare providers.
The column is only open to selected cases with high educational value. For submission to the “Case Report: iMDT Corner”, please write to the editorial office first with your proposal for an evaluation on the educational value.
Apart from following the format of a case report as indicated above, articles submitted for “Case Report: iMDT Corner” should feature a section of International Multidisciplinary Team (iMDT) discussion. The iMDT Discussion should include two parts of expert opinions: 1. opinions from physicians from the hospital receiving the patient; 2. opinions from the international experts on questions related to diagnosis and treatment of this patient.
2.3 Editorial
An Editorial is defined as a comment on an article or articles published in the current journal or written in-house by the journal’s editors to discuss a paper, report, policy, event or topic from within the past few months, or in the near future. Editorials are generally solicited by the editorial office and written by recognized leader(s) in the field.
Word limit: 2,500 words max., excluding references, tables, and figures.
Abstract: Not required.
Keywords: 3–5.
Main text: Unstructured.
References: No limit.
Figures and Tables: 2 max. in total.
Ethical Statement: See the “Ethical Statement” section for details.
2.4 Letter to the Editor
We welcome the submission of letters regarding the content of the journal or other topics of interest to our readers. The journal may invite replies from the authors of the original publication, or forward letters to these authors. Correspondence is also referred to as a ‘Letter to the Editor’.
Word limit: 1,000 words max., excluding references, tables, and figures.
Abstract: Not required.
Keywords: Not required.
Main text: Unstructured.
References: 10 max.
Figures and Tables: 1 max.
Ethical Statement: See the “Ethical Statement” section for details.
2.5 Others
In general, ACR does not accept articles that fall outside the above-mentioned categories. If you have any questions regarding the article category for submission to ACR, please contact the Editorial Office at: acr@amegroups.com.
3. MANUSCRIPT SUBMISSION REQUIREMENTS
The length of manuscripts must adhere to the specifications under the section “MANUSCRIPT CATEGORIES”.
Manuscripts should be presented in the following order: (i) Title page; (ii) abstract and keywords; (iii) the main text; (iv) Acknowledgments; (v) Footnote; (vi) References; (vii) Tables; (viii) Figures; (ix) Videos; (x) Figure Legends; (xi)Supplementary material.
3.1 Title Page
The title page should include: a) the title of the article; b) the authors’ full names and institutional affiliations; c) the degree information, address, [full address for the corresponding author(s)], telephone and fax numbers, and effective e-mail address of the corresponding author(s) (extremely important for subsequent timely communication); d) if available, the 16-digit ORCID of the author(s); e) a running title of no more than 60 characters (including spaces); f) disclaimers (if applicable); g) word count; h) number of figures and tables; i) author contributions (required for certain article types; see below detailed description).
3.2 Authorship and Author contributions
3.2.1 Authorship
Authors should meet all four of the ICMJE’s authorship criteria listed below for authorship (1):
- 1) Substantial contributions to the conception and design of the study; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of the data for the work; AND
- 2) Drafting the article or reviewing 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.
Contributors who meet fewer than all 4 of the above criteria for authorship should not be listed as authors, but they should be acknowledged. Examples of activities that alone (without other contributions) do not qualify a contributor for authorship are acquisition of funding; general supervision of a research group or general administrative support; writing assistance, technical editing, language editing, and proofreading. Additionally, AI tools cannot be listed as an author of a paper as they cannot meet the requirements for authorship and cannot take responsibility for the submitted work (1-3).
Authors must disclose in the Cover letter and the Acknowledgment for applying any AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT, Bing) in the writing of a manuscript, production of images or graphical elements of the paper, or in the collection and analysis of data. Disclosure should include - but is not limited to - all prompts used to generate new text, or to convert text or text prompts into tables or illustrations; the full prompt used to generate the research results; the time and date of a query; and the AI tool used and its version. Authors are fully responsible for the content of their manuscript, even those parts produced by an AI tool, and are thus liable for any breach of publication ethics. For more recommendations, please refer to the WAME Recommendations on Chatbots and Generative Artificial Intelligence in Relation to Scholarly Publications: https://wame.org/page3.php?id=106 (5).
Please carefully check the authorship of your manuscript before submission. Except for grammatical corrections, any other changes of authorship after submission require a sound scientific justification.
3.2.2 Author Contribution
Of note, the “Contributions” section is required for case reports and case series.
Author contribution describes the contribution each author made to the manuscript. The ‘Contributions’ section should be presented as follows:
(I) Conception and design:
(II) Administrative support:
(III) Provision of study materials or patients:
(IV) Collection and assembly of data:
(V) Data analysis and interpretation:
(VI) Manuscript writing: All authors
(VII) Final approval of manuscript: All authors
Note: With VI and VII, “All authors/Both authors (when there are only two authors)” is obligatory, while the other credits are case-based; The ‘Contributions’ section is not required when there is only one author.
See more details of authorship and contributorship: https://acr.amegroups.org/page/about/authorship-and-contributorship.
3.3 Abstract and Keywords
The abstract must adhere to the specifications under the section ‘“MANUSCRIPT CATEGORIES”’. The abstract should not contain any citations, figures, tables, or undefined abbreviations or acronyms. General statements (e.g., “the significance of the results is discussed’’) should be avoided. After the Abstract, 3-5 keywords should be provided.
Where relevant, the study project registration number (e.g., registration number for a clinical trial, a clinical guideline, a systematic review and meta-analysis, or an animal study) should be included at the end of the abstract. For studies that have a registration number, this number should be included initially when a trial acronym is used to refer to the trial in the report or to other trials discussed in the paper. For data that have been deposited in a public repository and/or are the subject of analysis elsewhere, the distinctive, persistent data set identifier, the repository name, and the number should be included at the end of the abstract.
3.4 Main Text
The structure of the main text must adhere to the specifications under the section “MANUSCRIPT CATEGORIES”. There are differences and modifications for different types of articles regarding the above sections. Of note, a highlight box is required for some article types.
3.4.1 Highlight Box
A highlight box is used to highly summarize the key findings/recommendations, innovation and potential implications of the study.
Manuscript categories that require a highlight box: Case Report and Case Series.
Word limit: The box should be concise with no more than 250 words.
Template 1: Highlight Box for Case Report and Case Series.
Key findings
|
3.4.2 Introduction
The introduction should give a brief description of what we already know and what we don't know, with a clear rationale defense based on the above. The introduction needs to very clearly specify the question the study proposes to answer, and what the purpose of the study is.
For the Case Report and Case Series, we recommend that authors use a structured introduction to increase the readability:
- a) Background
- b) Rationale and knowledge gap
- c) Objective
3.4.3 Discussion
The discussion should be evidence-based, comprehensive, in-depth, and cutting-edge.
For the Case Report and Case Series, a separate Discussion section is required. And, we recommend that authors use a structured discussion to increase the readability:
- a) Key findings
- b) Strengths and limitations
- c) Comparison with similar research
- d) Explanations of findings
- e) Implications and actions needed
3.4.4 Conclusions
Conclusions are summaries of the entire article. Conclusions need to be concise, usually using only one paragraph. Conclusions need to be scientifically deducible from the results available and the information presented, not exaggerated, out of scope, or even wrong.
Manuscript categories that require a separate conclusions section: Case Report and Case Series.
3.5 Acknowledgments
All contributors who do not meet the criteria for authorship should be listed in the ‘Acknowledgments’ section. Examples of those who might be acknowledged include an individual who provided purely technical help, writing or language editing assistance, or a department chairperson who provided only general support. If a part of the manuscript has been presented elsewhere (e.g., meeting presentation/poster history), a corresponding statement should be provided in the acknowledgment section. Financial and material support should also be acknowledged.
The ‘Acknowledgments’ section should also detail all funding sources for the work in question. There must be a section “Funding” within the “Acknowledgments” section. If the research was carried out without funding, "None" should be stated in this section.
In providing details of funding, authors should adhere to the following guidance:
- The sentence should begin: ‘This work was supported by …’
- The full official funding agency name should be given, (i.e., ‘National Institute of Health’, not ‘NIH’). Grant numbers should be given in brackets [e.g., (grant number xxxx)].
- Multiple grant numbers should be separated by a comma [e.g. (grant numbers xxxx, yyyy)].
- Agencies should be separated by a semi-colon (with ‘and’ before the last funding agency)
- Where certain sources of funding were received by a specific author, the following text should be added after the relevant agency or grant number: ‘to [author initials]’.
Example: ‘This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health (AA123456 to C.S., BB765432 to M.H.); and the Alcohol & Education Research Council (hfygr667789).’
3.6 Footnote
3.6.1 Reporting Checklist
For articles written in accordance with specific reporting guidelines, the author must include the “Reporting Checklist” section in the footnote and indicate, “The authors have completed the XXXX reporting checklist.”
If the manuscript is accepted for publication, the author’s completed checklist will be published online alongside the manuscript.
3.6.2 Peer Review File
With a commitment to openness and accountability, and to increase the level of transparency throughout our peer review process, our editorial office has decided to fully implement the transparent peer review (TPR) process for all new submissions from March 15, 2023.
For more details, please refer to: https://acr.amegroups.org/announcement/view/169.
3.6.3 Conflicts of Interest
All authors will be asked to fill in the ICMJE’s unified disclosure form (the latest version). The form can be downloaded at: https://cdn.amegroups.cn/static/public/coi_disclosure.docx. Each author should submit a separate form and is responsible for the accuracy and completeness of the submitted information. The corresponding author should use the information in the form completed by each author to create the COI statement for the manuscript. The statement (but not the forms) must be included along with the submission. The statement should include the initials of the author along with the conflicts of interest. The following examples show the format in which the Conflicts of Interest statement should appear in the manuscript:
“Conflicts of Interest: All authors have completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form. The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.”
“Conflicts of Interest: All authors have completed the ICMJE uniform disclosure form. KSS and VS are former employees of Scanco Medical AG. NV is a current employee of Scanco Medical AG. The other authors have no conflicts of interest to declare.”
If the paper is accepted, the completed ICMJE’s unified disclosure forms will be required and will be published alongside the article.
See the journal’s policy on conflicts of interest: https://acr.amegroups.org/page/about/conflicts-of-interest.
3.6.4 Ethical Statement
Statement #A is a must for every article, followed by statement #B.
Statement #B should be described ①based on whether the specific content of the article requires an additional ethical statement; ②both in the Methods section and the “Ethical Statement” section of Footnote.
Statement #C should be noted as it is related to informed consent.
#A. (a Must) Statement for every article
Please note that all articles submitted to our journal must include an Ethical Statement in the Footnote, containing the following wording: “The authors are 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.”
#B. The Case Report and Case Series require an additional ethical statement
Whenever possible, signed consent should be obtained from the patient (or their parent/guardian) to write and publish a Case Report or Case Series. This is particularly important where the unique nature of the incident being reported makes it possible for the subject to be identified (such as when the patient is over 100 years old; the manuscript has photographs or images or has a rare disease). Beyond that, please keep patient details anonymous whenever possible, for example, occupations unrelated to the disease/condition. If informed consent cannot be obtained, for example, if the patient has passed away and the author is unable to obtain signed consent from the guardian or family of the deceased patient, the authors need to state that they have made the best efforts to contact the relative and that the article has been sufficiently anonymized to cause no harm to the patient or his or her family.
Authors should also state that the study conformed to the provisions of the Declaration of Helsinki (as revised in 2013), available at: https://www.wma.net/policies-post/wma-declaration-of-helsinki-ethical-principles-for-medical-research-involving-human-subjects (6). Please describe this information in both the “Case Presentation” section and the “Ethical Statement” section on Footnote. For example:
(For manuscripts that have patient consent) Ethical Statement: The authors are 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 procedures performed in this study were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee(s) and with the Helsinki Declaration (as revised in 2013). Written informed consent was obtained from the patient for the publication of this case report and accompanying images. A copy of the written consent is available for review by the editorial office of this journal.
(For manuscripts that do not have patient consent) Ethical Statement: The authors are 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 procedures performed in this study were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee(s) and with the Helsinki Declaration (as revised in 2013). Written informed consent for publication of this case report and accompanying images was not obtained from the patient or the relatives after all possible attempts were made.
(For manuscripts that are waived from patient consent) Ethical Statement: The authors are 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 procedures performed in this study were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee(s) and with the Helsinki Declaration (as revised in 2013). Publication of this case report and accompanying images was waived from patient consent according to the xxx ethics committee/institutional review board.
#C. Informed Consent
Written informed consent for the publication of details relating to a person must be obtained from that person (or their parent or legal guardian in the case of children under 18) for all manuscripts that include images, details, or videos. The consent must be for publication of their details under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) (such that they will be freely available on the internet). If the person has deceased, consent for publication must be acquired from their next of kin. A statement that written informed consent for publication was obtained must be included in the manuscript.
To get consent for publication, authors can use the consent form (download the form for the patient or the form for the participant) or a consent form from their own institution or region, if suitable. The consent form must specify that the details/images/videos will be freely available on the internet and that the general public will be able to view them. Authors do not need to provide a copy of the consent form to the editorial office; however, if the Editor requests it, the consent form must be provided and will be kept confidential.
Consent for image publication may not be necessary the in circumstances where photographs are completely unidentified and there are no details on persons mentioned within the text. The Editor has the final say on whether or not consent to publish is required.
The Editorial Office may request copies of the informed consent documentation at any time. While the Editorial Board recognizes that it might not always be possible or appropriate to seek such consent, the onus will be on the authors to demonstrate that this exception applies in their case.
The Journal retains the right to reject any manuscript based on unethical conduct in either human or animal studies.
3.7 References
Sources should be referenced according to the Vancouver reference style. Referencing AI-generated material as the primary source is not acceptable. For guidance on references, please refer to: https://www.icmje.org/recommendations/ (1).
In the text, references should be identified using numbers in round brackets. Where more than one number is required, they should appear consecutively [e.g., "cancer-related mortality (19)”; “adenocarcinoma (29,30)”; “raised significantly (15, 20, 31-33)”]. References (including in the text, tables and figure legends) should be numbered consecutively and consistently according to the order in which they first appear in the text.
In the reference list, the titles of journals should be abbreviated according to the style used in Index Medicus. For reports with up to three authors, all the author names should be listed. However, if a report has more than three authors, the first three authors should be listed followed by “et al.”
- McLeer-Florin A, Lantuéjoul S. Why technical aspects rather than biology explain cellular heterogeneity in ALK-positive nonsmall cell lung cancer. J Thorac Dis 2012;4:240-1.
- Lin X, Li W, Lai J, et al. Five-year update on the mouse model of orthotopic lung transplantation: Scientific uses, tricks of the trade, and tips for success. J Thorac Dis 2012;4:247-58.
Below are two examples for management of the reference:
a. If you manage references manually or in other way, you could refer to the reference example below:
Lin X, Li W, Lai J, et al. Five-year update on the mouse model of orthotopic lung transplantation: Scientific uses, tricks of the trade, and tips for success. J Thorac Dis 2012;4:247-58.
b. If you use “Endnote” (a commercial reference management software package produced by Clarivate Analytics, used to manage bibliographies and references when writing essays and articles), the reference style file for AME journals can be directly downloaded here: https://cdn.amegroups.cn/static/public/reference-style.ens.
3.8 Tables
Tables are recommended to be provided in separate files. Tables should be self-contained and complement, but not duplicate, the information contained in the text. All tables should be numbered consecutively in the order in which they are mentioned in the text. Each table should be on a separate page; tables must be typed and editable in a tabular format that is convenient for copyediting and typesetting; they should not be inserted as images. Please refer to the examples for different cases.
Each column must have an appropriate heading and, if measurements are given, the units should be provided in the column heading. Column headings should be brief, with units of measurement in parentheses; all abbreviations must be defined in footnotes. Footnote symbols: †, ‡, §, ¶, should be used (in this order), and *, **, *** should be reserved for P-values. Statistical measures such as SD or SEM should be identified in the headings.
If the tables have been reproduced from another source, a letter or permission from the copyright holder (usually the publisher) authorizing the reproduction of the material must be submitted as supplemental material along with the manuscript.
3.9 Figures
Figures should be provided in separate files. All illustrations (line drawings and photographs) are classified as figures. Figures should be cited in the order in which they appear in the text. Magnifications should be indicated using a scale bar on the illustration.
- File types, resolution, size: Please refer to the specification (file types, resolution, image size, file size etc.) for more detailed requirements.
For photographs, clinical images, photomicrographs, gel electrophoresis, and other types that include labels, arrows, or other markers, please submit 2 versions: one version with the markers and one without. An explanation for all labels, arrows, or other markers should be included in the figure legend. - Figure legends: Legends should be provided for figures, including the figure title, the full name of any abbreviation in the figure, a detailed description of any symbol in the figure (e.g., some color notation or arrows), and a separate description of each figure if it is a combination of several figures, etc.
- Copyright: If the figures have been reproduced from another source, a letter from the copyright holder (usually the publisher) authorizing the reproduction of the material must be attached to the covering letter (see “ the COPYRIGHT AND PERMISSION” section).
- Patient Privacy: Where illustrations include recognizable individuals, living or deceased, great care must be taken to ensure that consent for publication has been given (see the “Ethical Statement” section). A statement like “This image is published with the patient/participant’s consent.” should be included at the end of the figure legend. Patient anonymity should be preserved. Nonessential identifying details should be omitted. For example, photographs need to be cropped sufficiently to prevent human subjects from being recognized and the eyes and eyebrows (at a minimum) must be masked using Coarse Pixilation to make the individual unrecognizable. However, masking the eye region in photographs of patients is inadequate protection of anonymity. If identifying characteristics are deidentified, authors should ensure that such changes do not distort scientific meaning.
In-text citations
- Cite figures with the format: Figure 1A, Figure 1B, Figure 2, Figure 3, etc. When consecutive subparts of a figure are cited, they should be cited as: Figure 1A-1D, Figure 2B-2L, etc.
- Cite figures in ascending numeric order upon the first appearance in the manuscript file. This includes citations to text boxes and tables. In the published article, figures are inserted according to the placement of their first citation and caption in the article.
- Lettered subparts of whole figures may be cited in any order in the text if the first mention of each whole figure is in numerical order. For example, Figure 1 contains 4 subparts (i.e.: Figure 1A, 1B, 1C, 1D). These subparts should be cited consecutively, unless Figure 1 as a whole is already cited before Figure 1A, 1B, 1C, and 1D.
Videos should be provided in separate files. The journal will accept digital files in mp4, flash video (flv.), MPEG (MPEG video file), DVD video, mov., avi., and mwv. formats or videos on CD / DVD. Contributors are asked to be succinct, and the editorial office reserves the right to request a shorter video if necessary. Video files can be submitted online at: https://acr.amegroups.org/pages/view/submit-multimedia-files
- Duration: Video files should be limited to 20 minutes.
- Quality: Please set the video aspect ratio as 4:3 or 16:9 (widescreen). The original video should be of high quality with the resolution ≥ 1280×720, the frame rate ≥ 24 frames per second and the bit rate ≥ 5 Mbps.
- In-video text and audio: Videos should have text or symbols or audio descriptions. All text notes, explanations, or descriptions, etc. in the video must be provided in English. Any patient information should be erased from the video.
- Video legends: Legends should be provided for the video files. The video files should be numbered consecutively in their order of reference in the text.
- Copyright: If the videos have been reproduced from another source, a letter from the copyright holder (usually the publisher) authorizing the reproduction of the material must be attached to the cover letter. It is especially worth noting that if background music appears in a video, the author should also obtain authorization from the copyright owner of that music if that music is involved in copyright licensing (see “COPYRIGHT AND PERMISSION” section).
- File name: please name the videos as Video 1, Video 2, Video S1, Video S2, etc. upon submission.
In-text citations
- Cite videos with the format: Video 1, Video 2, Video S1, Video S2, etc.
- Cite videos in ascending numeric order upon the first appearance in the manuscript file.
For promotion, all accepted videos will be subsequently included in the AME Surgical Video Database (ASVIDE: https://www.asvide.com) and its YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCA4NnVYmMW2NS5QrnLEVQNg).
3.11 Supplementary Appendix
The Supplementary Appendix should be paginated, with a table of contents, followed by the list of investigators (if there are any), text (such as methods), figures, tables, and then references. The supplementary appendix should not be included in the article’s reference list.
The Appendix must be submitted in a Word file. The Appendix will not be edited for style. It will be presented online as additional information provided by the authors.
The published article will contain a statement that supplementary material exists online and will provide the reader with a URL and/or link. Refer to the following example for how to reference the supplementary appendix in the text of the article: “Many more regressions were run than can be included in the article. The interested reader can find them in a supplementary appendix online.”
4.1 Vancouver Style
Manuscripts must follow the style of the Vancouver agreement detailed in the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors’ revised ‘Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals: Writing and Editing for Biomedical Publication’, as presented at: http://www.ICMJE.org/ (1).
- Author name: Each author’s given name should be followed by their surname. The first letter of the surname should be capitalized. A hyphen can be used in the surname depending on the rule in the author’s region.
Note: Author names will be published exactly as they appear in the manuscript file. Please double-check the information carefully to make sure it is correct. If applicable, an ORCID should be placed after the name of the author. - Abbreviation of an author’s name: The first letter of each capitalized word will be used for the name’s abbreviation, i.e., “Shaoling Li” becomes “SL.” The first letter of the second name SHOULD NOT be capitalized, or else it will be included in the abbreviation. However, if the author wishes to use an abbreviation that includes their second name, they should write their second name using a hyphen to connect it with its anterior word, i.e., “Shao-Ling Li” to become “SLL.”
- Spelling: British or American spelling is acceptable but must be consistent throughout.
- Numbers: for numbers below 10, use the full English spelling, e.g., "nine" instead of "9"; for numbers ≥10, use the Arabic numerals; for numbers ≥1,000, use the thousand separator, i.e., "1,000" instead of "1000".
- Italics: Medical Latin words and gene names need to be italicized, e.g., in vivo, in vitro.
- Units: All measurements must be given in SI or SI-derived units. For more information about SI units, please go to the Bureau International des Poids et Mesures (BIPM) website at: https://www.bipm.org/en/about-us (7).
- Abbreviations: must be used sparingly and only where they ease the reader’s task by reducing the repetition of long, technical terms. Initially, the full term should be given, followed by the abbreviation in parentheses. Thereafter, only the abbreviation should appear.
- Trade names: Drugs should be referred to by their generic names. If proprietary drugs have been used in the study, these should be referred to by their generic name, with the proprietary name and the name and location of the manufacturer mentioned in parentheses.
- Format: Text should be double-spaced throughout. The pages should be numbered.
- Font: A clearly readable font (e.g., Arial, Calibri, Times New Roman, or Verdana) with 10 or 12 pt. font size.
4.2 Language
ACR only publishes articles written in English. British or American spelling is acceptable but must be consistent throughout. We recommend language polish for non-native speaker authors. We recognize AME Editing Service and other platforms for language polishing.
4.3 Data Citation
We are committed to improving the openness, transparency, and reproducibility of research, and believe research data citation through standard reference lists offers an easy way to access data for reproducible research.
To support best practices in data citation, AME has endorsed the FORCE11 Data Citation Principles (https://www.force11.org/datacitationprinciples) (8). According to the FORCE11 Data Citation Principles, data can be cited in the same way as article, book, and web citations, and authors are required to include data citations as part of their reference list.
Data citation is applicable for data held within institutional, subject-focused, or more general data repositories. When citing or making claims based on data, authors should refer to the data at the relevant place in the main text of the manuscript and include a formal citation in the reference list. We recommend the format proposed in the Joint Declaration of Data Citation Principles (8).
Below is an example of an in-text data citation:
[dataset] Authors; Year; Dataset title; Data repository or archive; Version (if any); Persistent identifier (e.g., DOI)
“[dataset]” should be included immediately before the reference so it can be properly identified as a data reference.
4.4 Equations
Equations should be numbered sequentially with Arabic numerals; these should appear right in parentheses. All variables should appear in italics. Use the simplest possible form for all mathematical symbols. For example:
- “a2+b2=c2” equations: normal text format.
- All other equations: a graphic of the entire equation should be produced using MathType and inserted into the main body of the text as an object.
4.5 Abbreviations and Symbols
Use as few abbreviations as possible, as too many abbreviations increase readers' reading load, slow down reading, and make comprehension more difficult. When abbreviations are considered, use only standard abbreviations. All abbreviations should be defined when they are first used in the text unless the abbreviation is a standard unit of measurement and a list of full terms should be provided in the manuscript.
For specifications, please refer to: https://acr.amegroups.org/page/about/copyright-and-permission
For specifications, please refer to: https://acr.amegroups.org/pages/view/peer-review-process
For specifications, please refer to: https://acr.amegroups.org/pages/view/article-processing-charges
8. PROOFS
Page proofs will be sent to the author via e-mail. Page proofs should be returned within three working days, preferably by e-mail. Corrections should be marked on the actual proof and provided in a numbered list. Lengthy additions should be avoided but, when necessary, should be provided in an MS Word file with explicit instructions regarding placement.
9. OFFPRINTS AND REPRINTS
Authors will be sent a free URL link to the published online article for their personal use. Authors who wish to purchase hard-copy offprints should fill in the offprint order form, which will be sent with the author’s proof. Orders should be sent to the Editorial Office. Orders for reprints should be sent to the Publisher’s Office.
10. SUBMITTING AND TRACKING MANUSCRIPTS
All articles are submitted and the entire review process is managed electronically through the OJS system (https://acr.amegroups.org/login), which has been developed to provide authors with a straightforward online submission process.
For any questions, please contact our Editorial Office by e-mail: acr@amegroups.com.
1. https://www.icmje.org/recommendations/
2. https://publicationethics.org/
3. https://wame.org/policies
4. https://www.care-statement.org/
5. https://wame.org/page3.php?id=106
6. https://www.wma.net/policies-post/wma-declaration-of-helsinki-ethical-principles-for-medical-research-involving-human-subjects
7. https://www.bipm.org/en/about-us
8. https://force11.org/info/joint-declaration-of-data-citation-principles-final/