JOURNAL OF MEDICAL RESEARCH AND PRACTICE

INFORMATION FOR AUTHORS

GENERAL INFORMATION
Journal of Medical Research and Practice, a peer-reviewed medical journal, publishes original articles of general interest in clinical and laboratory medicine, clinical research, clinical epidemiology, and basic science research. Journal of Medical Research and Practice is published twice in a year by the Centre for Care of the Sick Child as part of its commitment to the medical education of physicians.

All articles must undergo the same Editorial Board oversight and peer review before final publication. Priority will be given to manuscripts having time-sensitive materials or widespread implications for healthcare delivery or policy. Official publication date will be the date of electronic publication. These articles will be print published in a subsequent issue of the Journal.

MANUSCRIPT SUBMISSION
Only electronic form of Manuscripts submitted online at jmedres.pract@gmail.com. Each manuscript submission should designate one corresponding author and all contributing authors. Authorship must be limited to those who have contributed substantially to the design of the study, analysis of the data, and writing of the article. Authors must disclose any potential financial or ethical conflicts of interest regarding the contents of the submission.
Journal of Medical Research and Practice accepts no responsibility for manuscripts that are lost or destroyed through electronic or computer problems. Authors are encouraged to keep copies of submitted manuscripts, including figures. If an author does not receive confirmation of submission within 48 hours, he or she should contact the Editorial Office at jmedres.pract@gmail.com. If notice has not been received, the manuscript has not been completely submitted.

All manuscripts will be reviewed by Editorial Board members. Initial editorial reviews usually are completed within 1 to 2 weeks of manuscript submission. Once the Editorial Board review is complete, manuscripts will be either forwarded on to peer review or rejected. Before a manuscript is sent for peer review, it is processed through CrossCheck (http://www.crossref.org/crosscheck.html), a plagiarism screening service.

The time required for review of revised manuscripts varies. Decisions on acceptance or rejection will be communicated only by e-mail to the corresponding author. The assigned manuscript number will allow authors to view the status of their manuscripts through each step of the process.

Copyright. On acceptance of a manuscript, all authors must sign and return the Copyright Disclosure Form. Complete, sign, and fax the form to the Editorial Office at jmedres.pract@gmail.com. Failure to submit completed signature forms will delay publication.

Financial Disclosure. Any author who has a financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or in financial competition with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript should disclose that affiliation. All authors should prepare a statement revealing any such financial affiliations and include it with the manuscript submission. The manuscript should also clearly identify the financial support of the research described in the currently submitted manuscript.

Human Research. All human studies must contain a statement within the Patients and Methods section indicating that the study has been approved by an institutional review board and that participants have signed written informed consent or that the institutional review board has waived the need for informed consent.

Registration of Clinical Trials. Journal of Medical Research and Practice requires registration for all clinical trials submitted for publication. Trials that start enrollment after July 1, 2008, should be registered before starting patient enrollment. Clinical trials will need to be registered in 1 of the 5 registries accepted by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICJME) or in any of the primary registries that participate in the WHO International Clinical Trial Registry Platform. For additional information, please see http://www.icmje.org/faq.html.
MANUSCRIPT PREPARATION
Authors should prepare manuscripts in accordance with the “Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals,” developed by the ICJME (Ann Intern Med. 1997;126:36-47 or www.icmje.org). Reports of randomized controlled trials should include the CONSORT flow diagram (Ann Intern Med. 2001;134:657-662). Specific requirements for Journal of Medical Research and Practice follow.

The manuscript, which should be typed in 12-point type and double-spaced throughout, should be arranged as follows: (1) title page, (2) abstract, (3) alphabetical list of abbreviations used at least 3 times in the body of the manuscript (exclusive of abstract, figures, and tables) and their expansions, (4) text with appropriate headings and conclusion, (5) acknowledgments, (6) references, (7) legends, (8) tables (with alphabetical list of all abbreviations and their expansions as a footnote), and (9) illustrations (with separate alphabetical list of abbreviations and their expansion in legend). Manuscript pages should be numbered consecutively and labeled with the last name of the first author. The text portion of the manuscript should be saved using a word-processing program, such as a .doc or .rtf file format.

Tables should be created using your word processor’s table function. Tables can be placed at the end of your manuscript document or saved as separate files.

Line art, including graphs and algorithms (flow charts), should be created and submitted in PowerPoint or Adobe Illustrator (.eps format). Halftone and color images should be saved in Photoshop in .jpg, .gif, or .tiff format at 300 dpi. Figures should not be inserted or embedded into the manuscript document; rather, they should be saved and uploaded as separate files.

Title Page
Title: Formulate a title that reflects the content of the article. Avoid declarative statements, questions, and titles that tantalize but do not inform readers.

Authors: Include first names and middle initials, academic degrees, departmental affiliations and institutions, and current departmental and institutional affiliations for authors who have relocated since completion of the study.

Financial support and disclosure: List all financial and material support for the research and work described in the manuscript (eg, grant number and funding agency for the project, an individual author, or both). List each author’s affiliations or financial involvement (defined above) with any organization or entity with a financial interest in the subject matter discussed in the manuscript.
Reprints and correspondence: Include name, address, and e-mail address of author to whom postpublication correspondence and reprint requests should be addressed.

Abstract
Abstracts should be no more than 250 words.

For Original Articles:
• Organize abstract in a structured format, with the following headings: Objective, Patients and Methods, Results, and Conclusion.
• Ensure that information in each section of the abstract is in the corresponding section of the text.
• Begin the “Objective” section of the Abstract with the word “To” and then state why you performed the study. Objective should not exceed one sentence.
• In the Patients and Methods section of the Abstract and of the text, please provide the complete dates of the study, eg, June 20, 2011 through July 31, 2012.
• Please provide the Clinical Trials registration number at the end of the Abstract, if applicable.
For other contributions, abstracts should not be structured.

Text
• Express measurements in conventional units, giving conversion factor to SI units on first mention.
• Give exact P values, even if they are nonsignificant. Round P values to 2 digits; if the first 2 numbers after the decimal point are zeroes, then round to 3 digits. The lowest P value we report is P<.001 and the highest is P>.99.
• Avoid specialized jargon and abbreviations; abbreviate a term only if it is used at least 3 times in text (exclusive of abstract, tables, and figures) and define at first mention.
Use generic names for drugs and equipment. If you think it important to use a brand name, provide name of manufacturer and city and state of manufacture in parenthesis.
• Do not use footnotes within the text. For genetic nomenclature, please follow the recommendations of the Human Genome Organisation. Approved gene symbols, descriptions, and older aliases can be searched at www.genenames.org.
• For gene mutations, please see the HGVS Web site (at www.hgvs.org [use the Recommendations Including Nomenclature Guidelines link] or http://www.hgvs.org/rec.html).
Acknowledgments
• The corresponding author must provide assurance in writing that permission has been obtained from those acknowledged.
References
• Authors are responsible for the accuracy and completeness of their references and for their complete and accurate citation in the text.
• Cite references, figures, and tables consecutively as they appear in the text; use superscript numerals for text citations. Tables and Figures (including eTables and eFigures) are considered part of text and so citations are numbered consecutively with those in text. Example: If Table 1 contains references, and the reference number in the text before citation of Table 1 is 5, a reference in Table 1 would become reference 6; the next reference cited in manuscript after table call-out would be cited as reference 7.
• Cite personal communications (specify oral or written) and unpublished data parenthetically in the text and include date (do not list in references). Include assurance that those named or quoted have provided permission to be identified and cited in the context of the article.
• In the reference list, include names and initials of all authors (if more than 6, list 3 followed by “et al”), the title, source (journal abbreviations should conform to those in Index Medicus), year, volume, issue, and expanded page ranges. For appropriate reference style, see examples below.

Journals (Print)
• Rainier S, Thomas D, Tokarz D, et al. Myofibrillogenesis regulator 1 gene mutations cause paroxysmal dystonic choreoathetosis. Arch Neurol. 2004;61(7):1025-1029.

Journals (Online)
• Duchin JS. Can preparedness for biologic terrorism save us from pertussis? Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2004;158(2):106-107. Available at http://archpedi.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/158/2/106. Accessed June 1, 2004.
• Kitajima TS, Kawashima SA, Watanabe Y. The conserved kinetochore protein shugoshin protects centromeric cohesion during meiosis. Nature. 2004;427(6974):510-517. doi:10,1038/nature02312.
Chapter
• Bithell TC. Hereditary coagulation disorders. In: Lee GR, Bithell TC, Foerster J, Athens JW, Lukens JN, eds. Wintrobe’s Clinical Hematology. Vol 2. 9th ed. Philadelphia, PA: Lea & Febiger; 1993:1422-1472.
Book
• Guyton AC. Textbook of Medical hysiology. 8th ed. Philadelphia, PA: WB Saunders Co; 1991:255-262.

Webs
• International Society for Infectious Diseases. ProMED-mail Web site. www.promedmail.org. Accessed April 29, 2004.

Tables
• Number tables consecutively (with Arabic numerals) in the order of their citation in the text. Type all tabular material double-spaced; each table should be on a separate page.
• Provide a title for each table; define all abbreviations used in each table in a footnote.
• Superscripted lowercase letters (a-z) should be used for table footnotes.
• Do not submit tables as images.

Illustrations
• Cite all illustrations in the text and number them (with Arabic numerals) in the order of their appearance.
• Provide a legend for each figure as part of the manuscript document.
• Include definitions of any abbreviations that appear on the figure, along with any permissions noted, and an appropriate citation.
• For photomicrographs, specify stain and original magnification.
• For any illustration with a recognizable patient, submit a release form signed by the patient.
• Do not trim illustrations or assemble component parts.
• Line art, including graphs and algorithms (flow charts), should be created in PowerPoint or Adobe Illustrator (.eps format).
• Halftone and color images should be saved in Photoshop in .jpg, .gif, or .tiff format at 300 dpi.
• Illustrations borrowed from a source not copyrighted by Mayo Foundation require permission and credit line information from the publisher. See “Permissions” below.

Permissions
Use of previously published graphic and tabular material is strongly discouraged.
Authors are responsible for obtaining permission for reuse of material (illustrations, tables, or lengthy quotes) from other sources. The preferred and quickest method for obtaining permission is via the Copyright Clearance Center. Alternatively, you may utilize our Permission Request Form.
Permission letters from the copyright holder of the original source (along with complete bibliographic information) must be submitted with the manuscript. Failure to provide all appropriate permissions will delay publication or may necessitate the manuscript being rejected.

Authors are responsible for ensuring the following:
Data (including percentages) are accurate and consistent with those cited in the manuscript.
Permission from the original publisher is obtained and sent to the journal office for any borrowed material. The works from which figures or tables are borrowed should be cited in the reference list. A credit line should be added to the figure legend or after the table footnotes in the following format: “From Title of Journal,1 with permission.”

All figures should be submitted in a format (ideally in the native program) that allows them to be resized or otherwise manipulated if necessary for legibility. Each table or figure should be on a separate page and tables should be double-spaced.

Supplemental figures and tables meet the same formatting specification as those for the print journal. For example, three-dimensional figures are not acceptable, hatching should be avoided on bar graphs, and pie charts are not acceptable. Do not submit tables as images.
A title for each table and a legend for each figure are provided and all abbreviations are expanded in the table footnote or figure legend.

Journal of Medical Research and Practice: Call for Papers

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Journal of Medical Research and Practice: Call for Papers
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Journal of Medical Research and Practice [JMRP] is a multidisciplinary periodical dedicated to the publishing of Research Manuscripts in all fields of Medicine. JMRP publishes editorials, original articles, reviews, brief reports, letters to editor, and case reports focusing on research, innovations, epidemiology, and therapeutics.

The Journal dedicates to advance Research in Medical and Clinical Sciences, with the goal of becoming a leading journal publishing cut edge and the state-of-the-art research and promoting continuous medical education that will positively impact on practice. To ensure short time needed before publication, Journal of Medical Research and Practice offers a quick, high quality peer-review system, highly-professional copyediting.

JMRP is an Open Access Journal

JRMP is fully committed to the Open Access Policy; thus articles published in the Journal are freely accessible as soon as they are published, making your publication to be unrestrictedly available worldwide.
Please make all correspondence to this email address: jahr.journal@gmail.com
Now we sincerely invite you to submit your research manuscript to Journal of Medical Research and Practice. JMRP only accepts manuscripts submitted electronically. We therefore invite you submit your manuscript as an email attachment at: jmedres.pract@gmail.com

Notes: Submitted papers should not have been previously published, or be currently under consideration for publication elsewhere. All papers are refereed through a peer preview process. For more information, please visit the website: http://www.ccscafrica.org/

We thank you for your kind attention.

Sincerely yours,

Francis A. Uba
Editor-in-Chief,
Journal of Medical Research and Practice
GSM: +234 803 715 4469
Email: jmedres.pract@gmail.com
Web: ccscafrica.org

Workshop / Conference Workshop for Scholarly Editors in Nigeria: 5-6/08//2011

The training workshop organized by Science Editors Consult between 5th & 6th August 2011 for Nigerian Scholalry editors has taken place in Abuja, Nigeria. The workshop was a huge success as 57 editors of journals from all rank and file of sciences enthusiastically gathered in Abuja under the tutorlage of 9 seasoned editors! The success was so much that a 7-man committee has been set up with the mandate to initiate the formation of a national association of Nigerian Scholarly Editors. The visioner and pioneer of this project, Professeor Francis Aba Uba has expressed his satisfaction for the success recorded for the hosting of this history-creating event, and thank all participants whose contributions led to the success.
Mean, operating under the auspices of his NGO [Science Editors Consult (SEC)], Prof Uba has promised to make the workshop an annual event in order to satisfy the yearnings of Nigerian editors who unequivocally alluded to the fact that the workshop was most rewarding.

TOWARDS CHILD SURVIVAL [MDG Goal 4: Reduce Child Mortality Rate]

“I ask you to think about orphan children not as a burden but as a great opportunity.
Their education and wellbeing is an investment in our future.”
– Angelina Jolie, Honorary Chairperson of GAC

Does child’s survival matter to you?

Today, almost 25,205 children under age five will die mostly from preventable or treatable causes. This is a loss of over nine million children each year. A majority of these child deaths are from everyday conditions. For instance, pneumonia, treatable with less than one dollar worth of antibiotics, accounts for almost one of every five deaths among children under age five each year. Diarrhea, treatable with far less than a Dollar (about 6 cents’) worth of oral rehydration salts, causes 17% of young children’s deaths. And more than one third of child deaths result from complications related to birth, a cluster of causes that includes tetanus, which is preventable with a $1.20 tetanus vaccine for the mother during pregnancy.

Africa, particularly Nigeria, is one among other places where the greatest number of under five child deaths [where between 257 and 270 children die for every 1,000 live births] occurs in the world! Children who have been raised in physically and emotionally nurturing environments will be more likely to survive and less likely to succumb to illness and disease. They will be more likely to develop intellectually and socially, allowing them to better contribute to society in the future.

The need to focus attention on child survival funding and programming in developing countries now cannot be overemphasized. A recent report stressed that child survival resource needs are disproportional to the level of funding that these programs receive. In fact, if both rich and poor children received the full grouping of essential health care programs, 6.1 million children’s lives would be saved yearly.

What is the current situation?

Every year, more than 200 million children under five do not receive basic health care and, as a result, over nine million children die annually, mostly from preventable and/or treatable diseases. More than 25,000 children die every day, and every minute, a woman dies in childbirth. Contrary to popular belief, the biggest killers of children worldwide are newborn complications, pneumonia, diarrhea, and malaria.

In many parts of Nigeria like in some other countries, especially where child marriage is prevalent, the lack of primary education and lack of access to healthcare contribute significantly to child and maternal mortality statistics. Very often, girls are taken out of school in order to perform household duties and are often considered to be a financial burden upon their parents. Some families choose to marry off their young girls in order to receive the largest possible bridal dowry, as younger girls receive a higher bride price.

In the 2006 report, Pathfinder International noted that "women who have completed their secondary education are more likely to delay pregnancy, receive prenatal and postnatal care, and have their births attended by qualified medical practitioners. Children born to these women are more likely to receive all the necessary childhood vaccinations, stay healthier than children born to women without formal education and be taken to health care facilities when they are sick." UNICEF also notes that discrimination and exclusion of access to health and nutrition services due to poverty, geographic and political marginalization is a factor in mortality rates as well.

........to be continued

Centre for Care for the Sick Child (CCSC)

CENTRE FOR CARE OF THE SICK CHILD [CCSC] is an NGO that was started in response to management challenges and poor treatment outcome of childhood diseases/conditions [including cancers] as a result of late presentation, noted over the years at a tertiary (teaching/referral) hospital in middle belt of Nigeria.

MISSION AND VISION

To be a self-sustaining organization dedicated to improving health for children, through community mobilization, awareness and funds raising, contributing to a society that is children friendly with good health, and education for all. Read more @ http://www.ccscafrica.org/  Read More

About Us

About US

CENTRE FOR CARE OF THE SICK CHILD [CCSC] started in response to management challenges and poor treatment outcome of childhood diseases/conditions [including cancers] as a result of late presentation, noted over the years at a tertiary (teaching/referral) hospital in middle belt of Nigeria.

Vision

To be a self-sustaining organization dedicated to improving health for children, through community mobilization, awareness and funds raising, contributing to a society that is children friendly with good health, and education for all.

Mision

CCSC will achieve its vision through training, research, advocacy, consultancy, undertaking and supporting initiatives that will result in increased survival and well being of children.

Objectives

•  To create awareness on children’s diseases including congenital anomalies, childhood cancers, medical and surgical conditions.
• To raise public awareness on HIV/AIDS and participate in the treatment and support of children living with HIV/AIDS.
• To promote maternal and child health
• To provide free and/or subsidized medical / surgical management to needy children.
• To mobilize individuals and groups for identification and participation in the management of diseases including congenital anomalies, disabilities, surgical conditions, medical conditions and other conditions including bodily, emotional, social, and spiritual afflictions requiring intervention and referral.
• To promote networking and partnership between government and nongovernmental organizations for the provision of quality health care for children.
• To organize trainings, workshops, seminars and conferences, plan and implement programmes in Nigeria and abroad for quality health care for children.
• To promote child rights and advocate against all forms of child abuse
• To mobilize funds for the purposes of carrying out these objectives.