The Parasitologists United Journal (PUJ) welcomes original scientific research in the field of Parasitology on the condition that the material has not been previously published (except as an abstract or preliminary report) or considered for publication elsewhere. To avoid delay authors are requested to follow the set guidelines. Only papers of good scientific merit will be accepted for publication. The acceptance criteria are the quality and originality of the research and its significance to the readership.
Language
Submission
Confirmation of Receipt of Manuscript
Form of Submission
Layout of Manuscript
Articles
Title page
Abstract
Key Words
Introduction
Material (Subjects) and Methods (Statistical methods; Ethical considerations)
Results (Tables; Figures; Line graphs; Legends; Photomicrographs)
Discussion
Conclusion
Acknowledgements
Author Contributions
Conflicts of Interest
Funding statement
References (Examples)
Other Forms of Publications
Editorials
Reviews
Short Communications
Case Reports
Commentaries
Letters to the Editor
Erratum
Submission Checklist
Language
Manuscripts are written in Oxford English or Webster's New International Dictionary should be consulted for the spelling of English words. Either English or American spelling should be used consistently throughout the manuscript. The Chief Editor and members of Editorial Council reserve the right to make alterations in the style and grammar appropriate for publication in PUJ. Numbers should be written as Arabic numerals, except at the beginning of a sentence where they should be written in words. Latin names of parasites and terms such as et al., in vitro, in vivo, in silco, should be written in italics. Superscript and subscript may be used.
Submission
All materials (manuscripts of original research articles, reviews, editorials, case reports, short communications, letters to the editor and announcements) should be submitted to the Chief Editor at puj.journals.ekb.eg/author. Authors must follow ‘Guide for Authors’ at https://puj.journals.ekb.eg/author and are advised to refer to a recent issue of PUJ for the correct style. A cover letter should be submitted specifying article type; manuscript title with a short paragraph on the relevance of the subject; authors names and affiliations; short-cut title; and name of the corresponding author, telephone, and e-mail. In keeping with ICMJE format, in a multi-authored manuscript, a signed form is submitted to specify authors active participation and that all agree with its contents that have not been published or considered for publication elsewhere (Appendix III: Contributors Form). According to ICMJE, the listed corresponding author name is linked to the personal ‘Open Researcher and Contributor Identification (ORCID)’, which may also be added to the co-authors’ names. Before uploading refer to the Submission Checklist to ensure correct compliance.
Confirmation of Receipt of Manuscripts
This is within 1-2 weeks and information as to acceptability is within 4-8 weeks. Authors are advised to submit any revisions requested within two weeks to avoid delay. Typing errors and corrections, as well as changes in/or additions to the reviewed manuscript requested by the reviewers, are allowed as “Author Reply’ in blue font. In case of significant adjustments, the manuscript may be rejected, and the author asked to resubmit it for peer re-review. PDF proofs of the accepted manuscript will be sent to the corresponding author (as mentioned on the title page) for revision and confirmation of changes.
Form of Submission
Writing is formatted in Times New Roman, font size 14. All pages should be numbered consecutively starting with the title page as number (1). Following the text, tables, figures, and figure legends are saved at the end of the manuscript or separately each in one file. Manuscripts are submitted by e-mail to the journal’s website https://puj.journals.ekb.eg/author?_action=submit
Layout of Publications
Articles.
Original articles (reporting original research) or Research studies are with a word limit up to 12,000 words. According to the IMRAD format the order of appearance of material in all manuscripts should start by the Title Page and follow separately by the subsequent major headings: Abstract (Upper case aligned justified); followed by the Keywords (Lower case aligned left). Subsequent primary headings are Introduction; Material (or Subjects) and Methods (including Study design, Ethical consideration and Statistical analysis; as secondary subheadings); Results (including reference to tables and figures); Discussion (including analysis of results); Acknowledgment (if any); Author Contribution; Conflict of Interest; Funding Statement; References. For the Tables, the formatting of all headings is in Bold. Primary headings are in Upper case and aligned left; Secondary subheadings are in Lower case and aligned left followed by data in a new paragraph; Tertiary subheadings are in Lower case, aligned left and with running data. All headings should be without numerical or alphabetical designation (except in Reviews). Figures, Legends of Figures are saved as separate files or placed at the end of the manuscript.
Title page. Numbered as page one of the manuscript, should contain only the following: 1) Title of article should be short and informative preferably not exceeding two printed lines. Only the first word of the title, a genus of parasites, and names of countries are written in capital. 2) Author(s) name(s) with first name written in full followed by initials for a middle name and then the family name, and with superscript Arabic numerals (without brackets) that are added to their respective institutions to relate them to each other; and without titles or degrees. 3) Institutional affiliations are written in a separate paragraph with regular spacing including city, state, and country. 4) A running headline (short-cut title) of no more than five words. 5) Corresponding author name is provided with ORCID iD, phone number and e-mail address.
Abstract. Numbered as page two of the manuscript is in Upper case and aligned justified. It should not exceed 30 lines (or 300-350 words) and be informative of the contents for brief reviewing. The structure is concise and formatted to include the following tertiary subtitles: Background (relative study rational); Objective (should be informative and self-explanatory); Material (or Subjects) and Methods (stating study plan, type of study, and scope of experiments, and evaluating parameters); Results (stating significant data and major findings); Conclusions (briefly correlating achievements; recommendation may be added). The abstract should not contain references.
Keywords or short phrases. About 5-7 are typed in small letters in alphabetical order.
Introduction. Presents a summary of the purpose of the study and its importance. Only pertinent references of earlier work having a direct bearing on the study are mentioned without a detailed presentation or discussion. At the end, authors should precisely state the study objective. In the text,the authors may write the first name of the referred-to author, followed by a superscript citation of the reference number to avoid mistakes or repetition. When the article is in its final form, the authors’ names are removed leaving superscript numbers of references. The authors are asked not to start any sentence with an abbreviation or pathogen name such as H. pylori. The authors can use several phrases such as “Notably, In addition, Besides, etc.; e.g., write “No doubt, DM is …. instead of Diabetes mellitus (DM) is …. etc.” Abbreviations are written when names of parasites or diseases or drugs are first mentioned, and be repeated later when used in the text.
Material (Subjects) and Methods. Starts by stating study type and declaration of dates of study, duration, and location of study. This is followed by the Study design subtitle describing the plan of work. Sources of materials including address (city and country) should be mentioned and gifted material is acknowledged. Known methods having readily available reference need not be described in detail. Original methods or modifications of established procedures should be described in detail. Trade names or abbreviations of chemical names may be used only if initially preceded by their chemical or scientific names, followed by the abbreviation in parenthesis. Generic names of drugs should be used. Brand names used in research should be included in parenthesis. Measurements of time as minutes, days, hours, weeks may be abbreviated (min, d, h, w). According to the International System of Units (ISUs), length, height, weight, and volume are reported in metric units (mm, cm, m, kg, l). The temperature should be in degrees Celsius. Blood pressure should be in millimetres of mercury. Two additional tertiary subtitles should be included: Statistical analysis and Ethical considerations.
Statistical analysis (tertiary subtitle) should be organized, tabulated, and statistically evaluated for quantitative and qualitative data and comparison of variables between sample groups. Such data as means is verified by an index of variation (± SD). The number of values upon which each mean is based, and the statistical significance (P values) of differences from control values and method of calculation (e.g., Student's t-test) should be indicated. Where appropriate lethality data should be presented as LD50 values. Statistical expressions are expressed in italics e.g., t-test as t, F-test as F, and Chi-square test as χ2, related coefficient as r, and probability as P.
Ethical considerations (tertiary subtitle) in which research involving human subjects must include a statement of assurance specifying that informed consent was obtained from the patients and that the study protocol was approved by the institution's research review committee. Patients diagnosed with parasitic infections should be informed, and treatment should be prescribed for them. Likewise, research involving experimentation on animals must include a similar statement indicating that all animals receive humane care and that the study protocol complies with the institution's guidelines. All manuscripts are checked for plagiarism so the author(s) should always avoid copying sentences or paragraphs from other publications which would expose them to rejection. The authors can use “quoted from” in case of articles with a language other than English. See ‘Publication Ethics’ (https://puj.journals.ekb.eg/journal/process?ethics).
Results. Findings are presented clearly and concisely summarizing only important observations, with reference to tables and figures. Avoid discussion of results. Tables headings are written in Bold and are referred to by Arabic numbers, consecutively in their order of appearance in the text. Long tables are preferably replaced by graphs. Restriction to the following information will minimize errors: above the table, its number and a self-explanatory, concise title are aligned left; below the table, descriptive information and footnotes referring to data in the table are placed. To avoid long descriptive subtitles in columns or rows, alphabet letters or symbols (*, @, #, ^) are used explaining all nonstandard abbreviations. For each column, a short heading and units of measurement must be clearly indicated. Whenever possible, all data are presented as mean values with a relevant measure of dispersion (± standard deviation, range). Statistical significance of differences from control values should be presented either in the table or in its footnotes. Standard symbols should be used for online drawings. Negative data should not be placed in the table and instead stated in the text concisely and briefly indicating what was done, results obtained (including a measure of variability), how data were analysed and its significance. Non-significant numbers are to be brought to the nearest two digits (e.g., 5.49± 0.48 instead of 5.4902 ± 0.478). Figures should have consecutive Arabic numbers according to the order in which they are cited in the text. All figures are preferably placed at the end of the manuscript, or if large preferably in a separate file for easy uploading of article files. Related figures may be grouped together to form a plate on one page and given a number with alphabetical subdivisions (e.g. Fig. 1a, Fig. 1b,). Figures and Line drawings such as graphs and maps should be submitted as Vector Graphics (Adobe Illustrator, etc.) or bitmap formats (Photoshop, JPEG) which are clear at all magnifications. For maps, the authors are advised to use ‘Adobe Illustrator’ or standard base-maps of Map Press (used in creating maps suitable for word file), and provide copyright permission for publication, unless personally drawn or modified. In-Line and Bar Graphs, points of observations letters, and numbers should be large enough to be visible after the reduction of the figure and should not be written on a colored background. Both the horizontal and vertical axis must be labelled and should show means and indicate a measure of dispersion (+ SD) by vertical lines if more than two replicates were performed for each point. If a figure has been published previously, the original source should be mentioned, and written permission obtained from the copyright holder for its reproduction. Legends for all figures should have Arabic numerals corresponding to the illustrations; be brief, specific, written either under the figures or listed on a separate page and headed 'Legends of Figures'; and should give sufficient experimental information (e.g., method of staining, magnification). Photomicrographs, (optical or electron) or other photographs should have a bar scale (µ, mm, etc.) directly on the figure rather than terms as x 20,000 since the size when published may be different from that which was submitted. Symbols or Labels (arrows, or letters) used in photomicrographs should contrast with the background and should be inserted in separate photoshop layers. Whether color or black-and-white, photomicrographs should have at least, 300 dpi resolution and be submitted in both PDF and Word formats.
Discussion. Recapitulation of results should be avoided. Data are discussed in detail highlighting its significance, relationship to data obtained by other researchers (mentioning their numbers as cited in the reference list) and possible reasons for /or significance of differences.
Conclusion(s). May be linked at the end of the ‘Discussion’ or added separately as a tertiary subheading. The main outcome or contribution of the study is described concisely, clearly explaining its importance and relevance. Recommendation(s) are mentioned if present.
Acknowledgments. When indicated a brief and simple statement of thanks is written for individual help or advice, and for grants or fellowships.
Authors Contributions. Unless the research/article is by a single author, the individual role of each author in a multi-authored article is mentioned. For example, responsibility should be declared for the proposal of the study topic, study design and plan of work, performance of parasitological, genetic and/or molecular, histopathological and immunohistochemical, electron microscopy studies; as well as analysis of data, writing, and revising the manuscript. Critical appraisal and approval of the final manuscript by all authors should be stated. See ‘Authors Responsibilities’ https://puj.journals.ekb.eg/journal/process?ethics.
Conflict of Interest. Statement pertaining to presence or absence of conflicts of interest between authors should be revealed, indicating that they have no competing interests, no potential disagreement with respect to the authorship and/or publication of this paper, or regarding any organization that could influence this work. In addition the absence of conflict concerning financial, personal, or other relationships with other researchers or organizations is declared. Authors should confirm that the manuscript was revised and approved by all named authors, and that the order of authors listed is certified by all named authors. See ‘Authors Responsibilities’ https://puj.journals.ekb.eg/journal/process?ethics
Funding Statement. It should be clarified that the study did not receive any specific grant that could have influenced its outcome,from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors. Otherwise, the funding agent name and grant number [in square brackets] should be mentioned.
References. The authors are asked not to use endnote program for listing the updated references and those that have been revised and the correctness of the citation verified. Directly or indirectly mentioned references are numbered consecutively in the order in which they are first mentioned in the text and then listed numerically in the reference list. Given numbers are written superscript in parentheses; single if one article e.g.,[1], multiple if more than one article e.g.,[2-4,10,25, etc.]. More than one reference for the same point is cited chronologically oldest first (e.g., 2019, 2021). All references cited in the text should be presented in the list, and conversely all articles in the list of references should be cited in the text. References to unpublished data and personal communications should appear in the text only. In the reference list, all authors are listed when six or less. When seven or more, the first six are listed and then add et al. The first letter of the author’s surname is capital followed by author’s initials with no dots in between and followed by a comma before next author’s surname. There is no ‘and’ before the last author even if they are only two. Title of reference follows in small letters except for the first word and name of parasite genus. Names of journals should be abbreviated in MEDLINE style, with no dots in between; and followed by the year of publication, a semi-colon, volume number (issue in brackets), a colon and then the article page numbers in full. Parasitologists United Journal should be cited as PUJ. Citation of a reference should be written as in the following examples:
Article: Clark IA, Cowen WB. Why is the pathology of falciparum worse than that of vivax malaria? Parasitol Today 1999; 15(11):459-461.
Book: Roitt I, Brostoff J, Male D. Immunology, 6th ed. 2002; Immunity to protozoa and worms. Edinburgh: Mosby.
Document: Al-Itneen M (Editor). The principles of uncertainty. Geneva, World Health Organization, 1985 (document WHO/DOC/537)
Dissertation: Should cite name of candidate, date, title of theses, Department, Faculty, University, and Country: Shereen A. Genetic variations of Toxoplasma strains. Ph.D. Dissertation, Parasitology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt.
Other Forms of Publications
Editorials
Besides the editor and editorial board members, an editorial maybe written by other research parties, interested in presenting their viewpoints on relevant topics. Generally, it is submitted by a title page that includes topic title, author’s name, affiliation, Tel. number, and email. As a short essay (about 500 words or 2-3 double spaced pages), it is composed of a study objective; and deal with former or recent scientific issues and arguments, suggestions for solving the issue, or endorsing it; as well as the offering of new ideas and providing solutions. It may also present new applications of recent technology in Parasitology research and description of recent diagnostic methods or programs utilized in controlling and/or eradicating of parasitic diseases, etc. One or two photomicrographs, figures or a map may be included. A limited number of references should not exceed ten. Similarly, editorials are peer-reviewed.
Reviews
The review article is likewise presented by a title page. Various examples are narrative literature reviews, and systematic reviews (for the latter refer to PRISMA guidelines). Irrespective of its type, review articles report, discuss and analyze significant existing relevant investigations by other researchers on a specific topic. These articles are long-ranging between 8000-20000 words or up to 16-20 double-spaced pages, and include three major sections: Introduction, Review Core, and Concluding remarks. While the first and the last sections are written under bold titles (INTRODUCTION, and CONCLUDING REMARKS), the review core is written without major titles, and instead, it may include several primary, secondary, tertiary, and more subtitles covering the study design, objectives, sources, methods of selection, compilation, and interpretation of data. A systematic review (especially important in evidence-based medicine) is designed to address a specific topic. It includes: 1) Qualitative review in which summarised data are not statistically related; 2) Quantitative review in which results of studies are statistically related; 3) Meta-analysis review in which several scientific studies within a selected period are statistically analysed.
Short Communications
The quality of short communications is expected to be as good as that of full articles and are likewise refereed. The report should have an ‘Abstract’ (not more than 75 words) and is not divided into ‘Introduction’, ‘Materials (Subjects) and Methods’, ‘Results and Discussion’. The report should not be more than ten double-spaced pages, not including references, tables, and figures. Tables and figures should not be more than two of each.
Case Reports
This also is headed by title of case, authors, and affiliations. The report (usually of a single case) is a declaration on the occurrence of an unusual or novel manifestation. Presentation of the report should briefly record the following facts: a background referring to relevance of the condition; a summary (up to 150 words) of the case history; description of symptoms and signs (stressing on outstanding learning points); investigations and their results; differential diagnosis; treatment; prognosis. Discussion of the case should include a brief review of analogous cases, which are referred to in a Reference list. Illustrating photographs of patients’ conditions should ensure anonymity of patient; and signed informed consent must be obtained from patient (or relatives/guardians).
Commentaries
In a short article of 1000-1500 words, an author submits a comment stating an opinion, explanation, perception, clarification, or criticism of a result or statement in a previously published article or report.
Letters to the Editor
Letters are published if judged by the Editor to be of interest. They should be headed "Letter to the Editor" and followed by the title of the communication. Names of authors and affiliation should be at the end of the letter. Text should not exceed 500 words including references (no more than 5) and figures (one or two). Letters commenting on previous articles in the journal are not exposed to peer-reviewing; those reporting original observations will be.
Erratum
This is a brief correction of a publication error of a given paper; usually related to authors’ names or affiliations. At the Editor’s discretion, the corrected data is published in the following issue of the journal
Submission Checklist
Make sure you have completed the following before submitting your manuscript:
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