Author Guidelines

Dear authors, welcome!

In the following text, you will find the instructions on how to prepare your text for it to be taken into consideration for publishing in the journal Medical Youth. If you have any questions, you can contact us, through our email address podmladak.med.bg@gmail.com.

Medical Youth is an international, peer-reviewed open-access journal, which is publishing scientific research papers by students of all levels of studies and by researchers in the biomedical field (medicine, stomatology, pharmacy, molecular biology, biochemistry…). Journal has continuously made publications since the year of 1949, making us one of the oldest student scientific journals in Europe. Our goal today is to connect young researchers from across the world and be the first step on their road to success in the world of science.

Medical Youth is publishing one volume with six issues yearly. Papers published in Medical Youth can be in a form of:

       ·        Original articles

       ·        Mini review articles

       ·        Review articles

Instructions for writing original articles

Original articles are research papers whose first authors are regular students of bachelors, integrated or postgraduate (excluding doctoral studies) studies in biomedical science field. They represent an original contribution to the science field and they are conceptualized as texts describing the research that was carried out. Original articles are written in Serbian or in English. Authors of the original articles can be regular students and their mentors, also one paper can have multiple authors, as well as multiple mentors.

It consists of:

1. Cover page

Cover page is the first page of the paper which needs to have exclusively the title of the paper in Serbian and in English. The title of the paper should be clear and informative; precisely, it should clearly indicate the topic of the paper. Title must not be longer than fifteen words and it must not have any abbreviations.

2. Abstract in English and in Serbian language

Abstract in Serbian, as well as the abstract in English language, ought to contain following six parts:

·         Introduction (Uvod)

   ·        Aim (Cilj)

   ·        Material and methods (Materijal i metode)

   ·        Results (Rezultati)

   ·        Conclusion (Zaključak)

   ·        Keywords (Ključne reči)

Each of the abstracts must not be longer than 300 words, not including the headings of the parts, or the terms written in the part Keywords. All the abstract parts, beside keywords, should represent a shorter form of the same chapters from the text of the article (look at the next part of the instructions 3. Text of the article with figures and tables).

The abstract must not contain attachments or references.

Keywords is the last part of the abstract and it includes 3 to 5 most important and most used terms from the abstract. It is not necessary for terms to be represented with just one word (for example “hepatomegaly”, “oxidative stress”, “hypersensitivity type one”, “diabetes mellitus type 2”, will all count as one term).

3. Text of the article with figures and tables

The text of the paper, written In Serbian or English language, should include following 5 chapters:

• Introduction (Uvod)
• Material and methods (Materijal i metode)
• Results (Rezultati)
• Discussion (Diskusija)
• Conclusion (Zaključak)

Authors are free to implement subheadings within above mentioned chapters, to make the paper more transparent to readers and reviewers. Length of the text, as a whole, including all of the chapters is limited to 2500 words, not including chapter’s headings, subheadings, text within figures and tables, nor the text within figures and tables captions.

Each of the mentioned chapters, besides conclusion, can contain figures and tables. The minimum number of figures and/or tables per paper is 1, and the maximum number is 8.

Introduction represents the chapter, which should clearly and informatively lead readers into the topic of the paper. It should also contain a summary of reasons why the research was conducted. In the end of this chapter, it is necessary to have clearly defined aims of the research. The aim of the paper is an indispensable part of the article’s text, and as mentioned above, it must be stated within the Introduction of the paper, in its end.

Material and methods is a chapter in which sample groups are described and methods applied in research are presented in detail. It is mandatory to mention statistical methods applied as well.

Results represents a chapter in which you must present the results you obtained through your research in a clear and detailed manner. It is necessary that the results of your research transparently lead from performed methods.

Even though figures and tables can be present in every other chapter of the paper (except conclusion), we advise authors to show the results of their research through figures and tables (graphs, tables, illustrations or photographs) in order to present the results of their research as comprehensible as possible.

Discussion is the chapter in which you should include the results of other researchers who examined topics similar to yours, in precise, you should evaluate the results of your research in context of those other studies. If present, in discussion you should state lacks and limitations of your study.

Conclusion should lead from the results as well as point to the importance they have when it comes to the problematic the paper is about. If you consider it to be necessary, in conclusion you can mention suggestions for future research.

4. Literature

Detailed instructions on how to properly cite literature can be found in Formatting guidelines.

Instructions for writing mini review articles

Who and when can write mini review article?

Authors of mini review articles can be PhD students and their mentors. The aim of this type of article is to give short review on the latest scientific literature which is relevant to the topic of the candidate’s doctoral dissertation. Having this in mind, these papers are written during PhD studies, when candidates are in detailed and systematic search of the literature in order to understand open questions and unexplained hypotheses in literature and conceptualize their own research. Since publishing this type of article is mandatory for submitting finished doctoral dissertation for grading, it is highly advisable for candidates to prepare and submit these manuscripts on time, in precise before finishing the dissertation itself. In accordance to that, our editorial office suggests candidates to start preparing their papers not long after defining the topic of the dissertation. That way, they would be enabled to submit the papers in the begging years of their PhD studies, which would be the most optimal timing.

Purpose of the mini review article

Text of the paper should present current state of scientific research on given topic (up-to date research questions and methodological access), sum up most important results obtained from previous studies, but also point out to present controversies, unclarities or voids in previous studies.

Structure and content of mini review article

Mini review articles are written in Serbian or English language.

Maximum number of words allowed for writing mini review article is 3000, not including titles, abstracts, references, or headings and subheadings in the text of the paper.

Different from the original article, which has strict structure and precisely defined chapter headings, structure of the mini review article is flexible. Nevertheless, mini review article must include:

     ·    cover page with the title in Serbian and English language. All of the instructions given about cover page in the part related to original articles are applied to mini review articles as well,

    ·  abstract in Serbian and English language followed by keywords. Length of each abstract must not exceed 300 words. Abstract of the mini review article should not contain singled-out parts (besides keywords), and ought to have a heading, one or more paragraphs with 1 cm indent and the part named Keywords (Ključne reči),

        ·        an introduction giving general information on the topic of the mini review article,

        ·        clearly defined aim of the mini review article,

        ·      main part of the paper which can have parts and subheadings in order to make the paper as distinctly presented as possible,

        ·        conclusion,

        ·        and references.

In order to fulfil its essence, mini review article should in large part be focused on newest research, especially papers published in the last 4 years. Every mini review article must contain one or more exclusively original figures and/or tables (pictures, tables, and/or graphs) which additionally illustrate most important aspects of the paper and contribute to easier reading and understanding, as well as better visual appearance of the paper itself.

We are drawing attention to authors that writing style must dominantly be qualified as scientific, not professional. In detail, different from the high quality professional text, which is systematically showing basic information about a certain disease or diagnostical, or therapeutic procedure, but has no focus on presenting research questions of the latest studies and their results, but on systematization of certain material in a clear manner suitable for learning, mini review article should present research context, describe latest and up to date research, sum up their main results, point out the controversies, voids and vague in literature, and critically analyze available literature.

Some of the examples of how this type of article needs to look like in our journal:

https://scindeks-clanci.ceon.rs/data/pdf/0369-1527/2023/0369-15272302030S.pdf

https://scindeks-clanci.ceon.rs/data/pdf/0369-1527/2023/0369-15272302018M.pdf

https://scindeks-clanci.ceon.rs/data/pdf/0369-1527/2020/0369-15272003027J.pdf

https://scindeks-clanci.ceon.rs/data/pdf/0369-1527/2023/0369-15272302012M.pdf

https://scindeks-clanci.ceon.rs/data/pdf/0369-1527/2023/0369-15272301031T.pdf

https://scindeks-clanci.ceon.rs/data/pdf/0369-1527/2023/0369-15272302024S.pdf

Formatting guidelines (for all paper types)

Papers can be written in Serbian or in English language. Whichever language you choose, all papers must be written in Latin script. We encourage and advise all authors to write their papers in English language, since papers written in English are much more visible in the world of science.

The paper you submit when you register to Aseestant platform should be in Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx) format.

Paper must be written in A4 format, with double spacing (Line Spacing > Double), with all four margins at 2,5 cm (Margins > Normal). For the font of the letters choose Times New Roman, size 12pt. Every paper must be paged and have numerated lines of the text. Paging should be set like this: Insert > Page Number > Bottom of Page, then choose option Header and Footer > Different First Page. Keeping in mind that counting should start with number one on second page (page after your cover one) choose Page Number > Format Page Number and option Start at set to 0. Numerating lines set by choosing Layout > Line numbers. Instructions written in this paragraph are applied to your whole paper.

·        Cover page

Cover page represents the first page of your paper on which should exclusively be the title in English and Serbian language. It is necessary to write the title in both languages no matter the language in which the paper is written. Titles should be one above the other, with one line between, first the title in English then in Serbian, they should be centered horizontally (Alignment > Centered), as well as vertically centered (Layout > Page Setup > Layout > Vertical alignment > Center). For the titles use all capital, bolded letters.

·        Abstract

Your paper, doesn’t matter if it is written in Serbian or English language, must posses an abstract in both languages. Abstract in English starts on the second page of the word document (numbered as first). It is necessary to name it as “Abstract”, with bolded letters and aligned to the left. Headings in the abstract are written with bolded letters with two dots after the heading. Text should follow the heading, in the same line, and each of the following parts should be written in the new line. Keywords are written in small letters and separated with comas. Text of the abstract, as well as its heading should be aligned to the left and written in one column. In the abstract text you must not use bolded, colored, or underlined letters.

Abstract in Serbian language follows the abstract in English and it is necessary to start writing it on the first next completely blank page. So even if the page where your abstract in English is on still has empty space left, start your abstract in Serbian on the next page and not that one. All of the rules mentioned for the abstract in English, apply to the abstract written in Serbian as well, except for the fact that the heading of the abstract in Serbian should be named “Sažetak”.

·        Text of the paper

Text of the paper starts right after the abstract, on the first completely blank page. Headings of the chapters in the text mark the same as the title of the abstract, for example: “Introduction”, bolded and aligned to the left. Text of the chapter starts in the first next line after the chapter’s heading, aligned to the left and written in one column. It is necessary for the first line of every paragraph to have 1 cm indent (Paragraph > Special > First Line > By > 1 cm). In the text you must not use bolded, colored or underlined letters.

Subheadings should be indented 1 cm (same way as the first line of the paragraph), not bolded, with the first capital letter in the beginning of subheading.

Words in foreign language, besides abbreviations, write in cursive. Abbreviations should be implemented to text in a way where you first write the full term, and then in the brackets write the abbreviation. If the same abbreviation shows up in both the abstract and the text of the paper, it is necessary to implement it three times in total – once in each of the abstracts and once in the text of the paper. If the abbreviation comes from a foreign language, full term should be written in the language in which the paper is written, and then in brackets state abbreviation of the foreign language, then full term of the abbreviation in the foreign language written in cursive, line and then after the line, the abbreviation. Line, brackets, abbreviations of the foreign language, as well as the abbreviation itself should not be written in cursive.

Example: “…trigliceridima bogatih lipoproteina (engl. TG-rich lipoproteins – TRLs)…”

When it comes to names of the genes, it is mandatory to cite them in cursive, while the names of the proteins don’t have to be written in cursive, but in regular style. As a help source when using correct and accurate gene names, our editorial office advises using HUGO nomenclature.

·        Figures and tables

Every paper, no matter the type, must have a minimum of one and maximum eight figures and/or tables.

Figures (graphs, pictures or illustrations) and tables should be in the text of the paper, placed in the spot where readers and reviewers are enabled to have the most suitable insight into the paper.

It is mandatory to refer to a certain figure or table in the text, in a way where you will in a certain place in the text, in brackets, or out of them, if the caption of the figure or table is a part of the sentence, enter the caption and its ordinary number of showing in the text with bolded letters. Use following captions: for tables “table” (“tabela”), if it is an illustration or a picture “figure” (“slika”), and for the graphs “figure” (“grafikon”). Figures and tables must be numbered in the order they are showing in the text in a manner where every type has its own number.

Example: “…while average age for male participants was 34 ± 5 years (table 1).”

Example: “Demographic data of participants included in our study are shown in figure 1.”

All figures and tables must be properly marked. Pay attention to labeling x and y axis on the graphs and make an appropriate legend.

The letter font in the figures and tables should be Times New Roman, size 11pt, besides footnotes which should be size 10pt. For better organization, authors are free to use smaller size of the letters. The letter font in the caption should also be Times New Roman, font size for table captions 12pt, and for figures 11pt. Table’s caption should be directly above the table, while captions of figures should be underneath them. State captions in a way that you first write bolded title with its ordinary number of showing in the text, with the first capital letter and a dot in the end. After that you should write the caption itself, which also ends with a dot.

·        Literature

Medical Youth is following Vancouver’s system of citing references.

The maximum number of references per paper is 50. If the author considers it to be necessary, the number of references can be expanded to the extent approved by the editorial office.

References must be numbered in the order in which they have been first mentioned in the text. State the order of references in round brackets after citing.

Example: “… represents global health problem (1).”

When multiple references are used in the text at the same time, use a hyphen to mark the series of consecutive numbers, and a coma when numbers are not consecutive.

Example: “Multiple studies (5-8) show…”

Example: “Multiple studies (5, 6, 10) show…”

Example: “Multiple studies (5-8, 10) show…”

a) When citing articles from scientific journals, standard format is:

Last names and beginning letters of the authors names. Title of the article. Journal name (abbreviated). Year of publishing; volume(issue):page numbers.

Example: Tomic D, Shaw JE, Magliano DJ. The burden and risks of emerging complications of diabetes mellitus. Nat Rev Endocrinol. 2022; 18(9):525-39.

If the article has more than 6 authors, after the sixth one add “et al”.

Example: Peng L, Peng Y, Chen Z, Wang C, Long Z, Peng H, et al. The progression rate of spinocerebellar ataxia type 3 varies with disease stage. J Transl Med. 2022; 20(1):226.

b) When citing books, standard format is:

Last names and beginning letters of the authors/book editors’ names, editors. Title: subtitle. Publication (if not first). Place of publication: Publisher; year.

Example: Swaiman KF, Ashwal S, Ferriero DM, Schor NF, Finkel RS, Gropman AL, et al., editors. Swaiman’s Pediatric Neurology: Principles and Practice. 6th ed. Philadelphia: Elsevier; 2017.

If it is a book chapter:

Last names and beginning letters of the chapter’s authors names. Title of the chapter. In: Last names and beginning letters of the authors/book editors’ names, editors. Title: subtitle. Publication (if not first). Place of publication: Publisher; year. Numbers of the chapter’s pages.

Example: Davies TF, Laurberg P, Bahn RS. Hyperthyroid Disorders. In: Melmed S, Polonsky KS, Larsen PR, Kronenberg HM, editors. Williams Textbook of Endocrinology. 13th ed. Philadelphia: Elsevier; 2016. p.369-415.

Instructions for submitting papers trough Aseestant platform (applies to all scientific paper types)

Registration and login are mandatory if you want to offer the paper for publishing this way and to check its current status in the process of reviewing and editing. The submission process of the paper, as well as its publication are free of charge.

Submitting your paper takes four steps.

For the first step it is necessary to choose the language in which your paper is written.

Besides that, you will pick the section (type of article) to which your paper belongs to.

In the end of the first step, we need you to accept the submission requirements, leave a comment for the editorial office, if you have one, acknowledge the copyright statement and agree with the privacy statement. We kindly ask you to state that you submit the paper as the author.

When it comes to the second step, there you will submit the document in Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx) format. As the article component choose “Article Text”.

In the second step it is also necessary to submit a cover letter. The letter must be adequately filled in and stamped. If the author has facsimile, it should be submitted with signature, and on the last page there should be the stamp of the institution. For the cover letter, as the article component choose “Cover Letter”. Without adequately filled in and stamped cover letter your paper cannot be taken into consideration for publishing and it will not proceed into editing process.

Cover letters for the original and mini review article can be downloaded from the following link.

When you prepare your paper and submit the documents from the second step, third step is waiting for you – entering metadata. Here it is necessary to enter in separate columns, the title and the subtitle of the paper (if it exists), abstract, keywords and references of your paper. The title, the abstract and keywords should be written in both Serbian and English language, in separate columns. You must also mention your institutional support and the project within which you were financed. UDK number may not be written if you don’t have one.

Besides that, it is mandatory for you to type in the information about all the authors of the paper. To enter information about other authors, select the option “Add contributor” and that way you will get a new group of spaces in which you will enter the data about other authors. Sequence of stating the authors should be in a way where the first stated person is the first author, followed by other student authors (if it is an original article), and then mentors/co-mentors (if it is an original article or mini review article).

In the end, what is left for you to do in step four is to confirm and that way send us your paper.

Editorial office of Medical Youth thanks you for your trust and we wish you a successful cooperation and all the best!

Editorial screening and reviewing process

To all remarks or comments from the Editorial Board in the process of editorial screening of the paper, or reviewers during the paper’s review, authors respond through letters/replies to the Editorial Board, or reviewers, sequentially, in the same order as the order the remarks were given, stating the page and line number in the corrected version of the paper’s text, where the correction is present. Corrected paper should contain marks where corrected spots are in the text, marked with a different color. For that purpose, you can use the option “Track changes”.