Author Guidelines

Authorship

Authors should meet all four criteria for authorship in the ICMJE Recommendations. Journal articles will not be published unless signatures of all authors are received. Author statement form should be uploaded. Written consent of any cited individual(s) noted in acknowledgements or personal communications should be included.

Each author should have participated sufficiently in the work to take public responsibility for the content. This participation must include:

1. Conception or design, or analysis and interpretation of data, or both.

2. Drafting the article or revising it.

3. Providing intellectual content of critical importance to the work described.

4. Final approval of the version to be published.

Conflict of interests

All submissions must include disclosure of all relationships that could be viewed as presenting a potential or actual conflict of interest. All authors must declare the interest and complete and upload the ICMJE Form for Disclosure of Potential Conflicts of Interest.

The Editor may use such declaration as a basis for editorial decisions and will publish such disclosures if they are believed to be important to readers in judging the manuscript.

Forms must be submitted even if there is no conflict of interest. It is the responsibility of the corresponding author to ensure that all authors adhere to this policy prior to submission.

Permissions to reproduce previously published material
Authors should include with their submission, copies of written permission to reproduce material published elsewhere (such as illustrations) from the copyright holder. Authors are responsible for paying any fees to reproduce the material.

MANUSCRIPT PREPARATION

Language

All articles submitted must be written in British English language. The Editorial Office does not offer major copyediting services; therefore, it is the author's responsibility to ensure that the English language is thoroughly revised before submitting the work for publication. It is the responsibility of the authors to send their articles for grammar and editing services. Editorial Office reserves the right to reject a manuscript at initial phase if the use of language is deemed too poor.

Organisation

The following documents are required for each submission, in this order:

1. Covering Letter

2. Title Page with authors’ names and affiliations

3. Manuscript

4. Tables (if any)

5. Figures (or illustrations) (if any)

6. Copyright Assignment Form (signed by all the authors)

7. Conflict of Interest Form

1. Covering Letter

The covering letter should be uploaded at the stage of the online submission process. Explain in the covering letter, why your paper should be published in JCTN.

2. Title Page

The title page should be an individual document, uploaded separately, that provides:

• Title of manuscript

• Full name of all authors; underline the family/last name, e.g. Christopher Thiam Seong Lim, Bak Leong Goh

• Full postal address of all authors’ institutions

• Details of the corresponding author

• Designation and Name of the corresponding author of Contact details: email, telephone and fax number

3. Manuscript

        Abstract and Keywords

• The Abstract should be an informative synopsis/summary of your manuscript.

• No author’s details should be included

• All abstracts for original articles should follow the structured format; with the heading of Introduction, Methods, Results and Conclusion. The word count should not exceed 250 words.

• Abstract for Short Communications, Review article, Commentary and Case report should follow the unstructured format. No need to divide the abstract to different sections. The word count should not exceed 150 words.

        Keywords

• Below the abstract, provide a maximum of 5 keywords that will assist in the cross-indexing of the article.

• Check and confirm that the keywords are the most relevant terms found in the title or the Abstract, should be listed in the medical subject headings (MeSH) list of Index Medicus found in http://www.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/meshhome.html

        Main Text

• Times New Roman font, size 12 with double-line spacing. Margins for left, right, top and bottom should be 2.54 cm (1 inch).

• Do not use boldface for emphasis within text

• Numbers one to ten are written out in words unless they are used as a unit of measurement, except in figures and tables

• Do not use the automated features of your software, such as hyphenation, headers, or footers (especially for references). You can use page numbering

        Figures

• Abbreviate "Figure" as "Fig.", e.g. Fig. 1, Fig. 2.

• Number the figures consecutively in Arabic numerals (e.g. Fig. 1, Fig. 2) in the order of their first citation in the text.

• Each Figure should be submitted separately without figure legend and title. (Authors are advised to keep backup files of all images).

• Figure legends should be provided in the main text after references.

• Line Figures – freehand and type-written lettering are not acceptable.

• Symbols, arrows or letters used in photomicrographs should contrast with the background.

        Clinical Pictures

• The ideal Clinical Picture provides visual information that will be useful to other clinicians.

• Clinical Pictures should be interesting, educational, and respectful of the patient.

• Authors must obtain signed informed consent for publication.

• Use no more than 450 words, with no references. The text should include brief patient history and must put the image in context, explaining what the image shows and why it is of interest to the general reader.

4. Tables

• Submit all tables in Microsoft word format only.

• Each table should be submitted separately.

• Number the tables consecutively in Roman numerals (e.g. Table I, Table II, Table III) in the order of their first citation in the text

• Provide a brief title, which should be shown at the top of each table

• Main table heading should be in10 point Times New Roman font BOLD

• Legends should be in 10 points, single-spaced

• Tables should be in 8 point Times New Roman font, single-spaced

• Headings within tables should be in 8 points BOLD

• Place table explanations in the footnotes of the table

• Explain all non-standard abbreviations in the footnotes to the tables

• Obtain permission for publication before submission of the manuscript and acknowledge fully if data from another published source is used

5. Abbreviations and Symbols

• The full term for which an abbreviation or acronym stands should precede its first use unless it is a standard unit of measurement

• Symbols and abbreviations should be those used by British Chemical and Physiological Abstracts

• Weights, volumes, etc. should be denoted in metric units

6. Data

• International System of Units (S.I.) is required

• Numbers in text and tables should always be provided if % is shown

• Means should be accompanied by Standard Deviation and Medians by Inter-Quartile Range

• Exact p values should be provided, unless p<0•0001

7. Drug names

• Recommended international non-proprietary name (rINN) is required

8. References

• Use the form of references adopted by the US National Library of Medicine and used in the Index Medicus. Use the style of the examples cited at the end of this section.

• The citation and bibliographical style of all reference sources (book, chapter in a book, journal articles and internet) should adhere to the Vancouver citation style.

• References in text, table and legends should be numbered in parenthesis [e.g. (1), (1, 4), (1-3), (1, 3-5)] and cited consecutively in the order of appearance in the manuscript.

• Personal communications and unpublished observation may not be used as a reference.

• References in tables, figures and panels should be in numerical order according to where the item is cited in the text

• Give any subpart to the title of the article. Journal names are abbreviated in their standard form as in Index Medicus

• If there are three authors or fewer, give all three in the form: surname space initials comma

• If there three or more, cite the first three names followed by et al

• For a book, give any editors and the publisher, the city of publication, and year of publication

• For a chapter or section of a book, cite the editors, authors and title of the section, and the page numbers (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK7271/#A34171)

• For online material, please cite the URL, together with the date you accessed the website

• Online journal articles can be cited using the DOI number

• Do not include references in the Abstract.

Examples of reference style are given below:

i. Standard Format for Journal Articles:

   Author Surname Initials. Title of article. Title of journal, abbreviated. Year of Publication: Volume Number (Issue Number): Page Numbers.

Vancouver Citation Style

• Journal article 1-3 authors

      Fuah KW, Lim CT. Renal-limited AL amyloidosis–a diagnostic and management dilemma. BMC nephrology. 2018 Dec;19(1):307

• Journal article with more than 3 authors

      Lim CT, Nordin NZ, Fadhlina NZ, et al. Rapid decline of renal function in patients with type 2 diabetes with heavy proteinuria: a report of three cases. BMC nephrology. 2019 Dec;20(1):22

ii. Standard Format for Books:

     Jason A, Dylan L, Annie L. Kidney and pharmacology. 7th ed. Philadelphia: Elsevier Saunders; 2018.

iii. Chapter in a book

    Johnson S, Sunita B, Halim AG. Renal physiology: Disease and renal injury. BL Goh, editor. Malaysia: Springer; 2017.

iv. Corporate/Organization as Author

  Malaysia Society of Nephrology. Hypertension: definition and management. Kuala Lumpur.2018.

v. E-book
    Yap YC. Immunology and Evolution of Infectious Diseas in Children [Internet]. Singapore: University Press; 2015 [cited 2015 December 15]. Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/YYC2394/pdf/TOC.pdf

vi. Journal article in press
     Lim, Christopher Thiam Seong, and Fuah Kar Wah. "Pregnancy and Peritoneal Dialysis: An Updated Review." NEPHROLOGY (2018).Epub 2018/12/11.

It is the authors’ responsibility to check all references very carefully for accuracy and completeness. Authors should avoid using abstracts as references. “Unpublished observations” and “personal communications” may not be used as references; if cited, a letter (from the person quoted) granting permission must be submitted. Subject to editorial approval, the person quoted will be cited in parentheses in the text and not in the reference section.

9. Acknowledgements

State contributions that need to be acknowledged, but do not justify authorship.

ARTICLE CATEGORIES

The format for the text varies depending on the type of article. JCTN accepts the following articles:

1. Original Article

An original article is a report on the research objectives and analytical process, as well as a discussion of the implications of the results of a study

The manuscript should be organised according to the following headings:

• Title of the manuscript

• Abstract (Structured & 250 words) and Keywords

• Introduction

• Materials and Methods

• Results

• Discussion

• Conclusions

• Acknowledgements

• References

• Figure Legends

The original article should not exceed 6000-word count, 4-7 figures/table and 50 references.

2. Short Communications

Short Communication is a brief report that presents original and significant research data. It is not meant for publishing preliminary or incomplete results but to provide a platform for rapid dissemination of exceptionally interesting and valuable data.

The manuscript should be organised according to the of following headings:

• Title of the manuscript

• Abstract (Structured & 150 words) and Keywords

• Introduction

• Materials and Methods

• Results and Discussion (Combined)

• Conclusions

• Acknowledgements

• References

• Figure Legends

The short communications should not exceed 1000-word count, 3-5 figures/tables and 10 references.

3. Review Article

Review article is usually a solicited/invited article written by an expert, providing critical analysis and recent information on a given speciality.

The manuscript file should be organised according to the following headings:

• Title of the manuscript

• Abstract (Structured & 150 words) and Keywords

• Introduction

• Relevant section headings of the author’s choice

• Conclusions

• References

The review article should not exceed 3500-word count, 0-4 figures/tables and there should be an adequate number of references to support the review.

4. Case Report

Case reports submitted should make a contribution to medical knowledge and must have educational value or highlight the need for a change in clinical practice or diagnostic/prognostic approaches.

The manuscript file should be organised according to the following headings:

• Title of the manuscript

• Abstract (Structured & 150 words) and Keywords

• Introduction

• Case Report

• Discussion

• Conclusions

• Acknowledgements

• Reference

The length manuscript should not exceed 1500 words, inclusive of 1-3 figures/tables and 5 references.

5. Letter to the Editor

Letters to the Editor should either offer objective and constructive criticism of published articles or discuss matters of general scientific or medical interest to readers of JCTN.

• This is also a forum for authors to publish concise articles such as reports of novel cases.

• No abstract is required.

• 500 words (main text only)

• 1 small table or figure (optional)

• Up to 5 references

• no key words are needed

6. Clinical image

Interesting images related to the kidney diseases will be published at the discretion of the editor. Follow the instructions described in the “Figures” section for the preparation of images. No more than three authors can be included. The title should contain no more than ten words. The legend for an image should concisely present relevant clinical information and should not exceed 150 words.

PLAGIARISM

Please be advised that all manuscripts submitted will be screened for plagiarism/duplication.

Authors are required to paraphrase all references citations in their own words. This is to prevent any misunderstandings regarding plagiarism. A similarity index of 20 percent and below is acceptable in JCTN.

JCTN adopts a zero-tolerance towards plagiarism. Failure to comply with these instructions will result in the outright rejection of manuscripts without peer review, and appropriate action will be taken.

POLICY ON DUAL SUBMISSION

Submissions that are identical (or substantially similar) to previously published, or accepted for publication, or that have been submitted in parallel to other conferences are NOT acceptable.

Submissions with an excessive amount of overlap in their text or technical content are NOT acceptable. The Editors reserve the right to reject immediately all submissions which they deem to be excessively similar and by the same authors.

ETHICS

Subjects have a right to privacy that should not be infringed without informed consent. Identifying details (written or photographic) should be omitted if they are not essential, but subject data should never be altered or falsified in an attempt to attain anonymity. Complete anonymity is difficult to achieve, and a consent form should be obtained if there is any doubt. For example, masking the eye region in photographs of subjects is the inadequate protection of anonymity. When informed consent has been obtained, it should be indicated in the published article.

Ethics committee approval

Corresponding author must declare on behalf on authors that the research was conducted within the guidelines below and under the terms of all relevant local legislation. Please also look at the latest version of the Declaration of Helsinki. The Editors reserve the right to judge the appropriateness of the use and treatment of humans or animals in experiments for publication in the journal.

Human experiments: All work must be conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki. Papers describing experimental work on human participants which carries a risk of harm must include (1) a statement that the experiments were conducted with the understanding and the consent of each participant, and (2) a statement that the responsible, ethical committee has approved the experiments.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST

The corresponding author will need to declare whether there is any conflict of interest with the authors and to declare them when there is conflict of interest.

COPYRIGHT TRANSFER

Copyright on any open access article in a journal published by JCTN is retained by journal. Authors grant JCTN a license to publish the article and identify itself as the original publisher.

Authors also grant any third party the right to use the article freely as long as its integrity is maintained and its original authors, citation details and publisher are identified.

The Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 formalizes these and other terms and conditions of publishing articles.

REGISTRATION OF CLINICAL TRIAL

Clinical registration of the trial in a public registry is required. Registration of a trial must be at or before the enrollment of participants. This policy, in concert with that of the ICMJE, applies to clinical trials starting enrollment after 1 July 2005

AUTHORSHIP SEQUENCING IN MULTI-AUTHOR PAPER

It is the duty of the corresponding author to discuss with the co-authors to come out with the sequencing of the authors. Do note that sequence of the authors in the cover page has to be similar with the sequence as entered in the meta-data page.

DATA FROM SUBSET OF A BIGGER RESEARCH

We strongly discourage the unnecessary division of related work into separate manuscripts, and we will not consider manuscripts that are divided into parts.

DISCLAIMER

Drug Disclaimer

The mention of trade names, commercial products or organizations, and the inclusion of advertisements in JCTN do not imply endorsement by the Society, the editors, the editorial board or the organization to which the authors are affiliated. The ultimate responsibility for the use and dosage of drugs mentioned in JCTN and in the interpretation of published material lies with the medical practitioner, and the editors and publishers cannot accept liability for damages arising from any errors or omissions in JCTN.

Material Disclaimer

The opinions expressed in JCTN those of the authors and contributors, and do not necessarily reflect those of the Society the editors, the editorial board, or the organization to which the authors are affiliated.