Articles requirements

ARTICLE FORMATTING

The article text must be submitted as two separate files: the article and the extended abstract (see structure below).

The text must be typed with 1.5 line spacing, no hyphenation, font Times New Roman, 14 pt, in MS Word, saved in .doc or .docx format. Paragraph indent – 1.25 cm via the Paragraph menu. Margins of 25 mm on all sides, no headers, footers, or page numbers.

Punctuation and Typography

• Within a sentence, use an en dash "–" with spaces on both sides.
• Between numbers, use an en dash without spaces: 2019–2020.
• A hyphen "-" is used between compound words: physician-dentist, research-based.
• An em dash "—" is not used in scientific articles.
• Separate a number from a percent sign using a non-breaking space Ctrl + Shift + Space: 37 %
• In English-language text, separate the integer part from the decimal using a period: 3.14

Quotation marks: in Ukrainian text use «Word», in English text use "Word".

References are cited as numbers in square brackets in ascending order, separated by a comma and a space: [3, 6].

Abbreviations and acronyms must be introduced for the first time in the Introduction or Materials and Methods with their full name. No new abbreviations are introduced in the Results section.

TABLES AND ILLUSTRATIONS

Tables and figures must complement, not duplicate, the text.

• Tables and illustrations must be placed in the manuscript immediately after their first mention.
• Data are discussed after the table/figure, not before; each object is referenced only once — repeat references during data comparison are unnecessary.
• A figure caption must not be part of the figure itself; it must appear below the figure and be formatted accordingly.
• Tables must be submitted in portrait orientation only, 14 pt font.
• A single table must not exceed one printed page.

ARTICLE STRUCTURE

The following mandatory elements are required for publication:

1. UDC Index
2. List of authors
3. List of affiliations
4. Article title
5. Corresponding author's e-mail
6. Short abstract in English, keywords
7. Short abstract in Ukrainian, keywords
8. Research grant or project number and title
9. Introduction
10. Aim
11. Materials and Methods (M&M)
12. Results and Discussion
    1. Results
    2. Discussion
13. Conclusions
14. References
15. Contacts
16. Extended abstract in Ukrainian

17. UDC INDEX

Determined using Ukrainian-language UDC classification tables.

18. AUTHORS

No more than 7 persons, listed in the following order:

• initials (first name and patronymic) + surname, without academic degrees or titles;
• a superscript after each author's surname indicating their institutional affiliation.

3. LIST OF AFFILIATIONS

Each institution is listed on a new line with its official name and city; the affiliation superscript is placed before the institution name.

4. ARTICLE TITLE

IN CAPITAL LETTERS, no more than 14 words. Must clearly reflect the content of the article and be specific; must not contain commercial names of drugs or medical equipment, and must not include generic words or expressions.

5. CORRESPONDING AUTHOR'S E-MAIL

For communication with the editorial office and potential readers of the article.

6. SHORT ABSTRACT IN ENGLISH, KEYWORDS

The abstract of 100–150 words is submitted in unstructured form, without subdivision into introduction, M&M, and results. Regardless of word count, the text is presented as a single paragraph. The abstract must not contain abbreviations or acronyms and must be understandable to the reader without reference to the full text of the article.

Approximate abstract structure:

1. Research problem (10%) — briefly outline the research problem in 1–2 sentences.
2. Materials and Methods (20%) — state the most important methodological details without describing individual techniques.
3. Results (70%) — describe the research findings, justifying their novelty, relevance, and significance for global science.

Keywords: 5–7 words or phrases. Phrases must not exceed 3–4 words in length to avoid overcomplicating the reader's perception. Keywords must fully correspond to the subject of the article but must not repeat its title verbatim. English keywords must correspond to the descriptors of MeSH (Medical Subject Headings, Index Medicus catalogs).

7. ABSTRACT IN UKRAINIAN, KEYWORDS

List of authors without institutional affiliations, article title, then according to item 6 "Short abstract in English, keywords".

8. RESEARCH GRANT OR PROJECT NUMBER AND TITLE

Without mentioning the department or institution name. The project must be active at the time of publication.

Text Sections

9. INTRODUCTION

Recommended length: 1.5–2 pages of printed text (350–500 words). Statement of the problem in general terms, analysis of recent research and publications that initiated the solution of this problem and upon which the author relies, identification of previously unresolved aspects of the general problem. Must contain at least 7 references to literature from the past 6–8 years; using more than 3 references to a single source is not permitted.

The section must contain essential information about the subject of the study and a concise justification of the material's relevance. All key concepts, abbreviations, and acronyms must be explained and defined in the Introduction. References are cited in square brackets in ascending order, separated by a comma and a space. Information in the Introduction must correlate with the research results described in the Discussion.

10. AIM

Contains a single sentence that concisely states what problem or hypothesis the author addresses and for what purpose. The aim must not duplicate the article title and must not contain abbreviations.

11. MATERIALS AND METHODS

Recommended length: 1.5–2 pages of printed text (250–500 words). The section may contain no more than 5 references, as well as tables/graphs describing the distribution of the study material.

Includes a detailed description of the research methodology (indicating the author of the method and a reference to the relevant source in square brackets), the equipment used, the criteria for selecting animals or patients (age, sex, weight, baseline health status), the number and characteristics of patients with breakdown by sex and age where required by the study. The principle of patient group allocation and the study design must be stated.

All drugs and chemical substances used in the course of the study must be named, including their international non-proprietary (generic) names. The trade name is given only once — in M&M when describing the treatment regimen; in all other sections the active substance or international non-proprietary name is used. Doses, routes of administration, and reagents (indicating the manufacturer and country of origin in parentheses) must also be described.

This section must contain maximum information — this is necessary for the potential reproducibility of the results by other researchers, comparison with analogous studies, and possible inclusion of the article's data in a meta-analysis.

At the end of the Materials and Methods section, a subsection "Data Processing" must be included, specifying the data analysis methods used by the author (parametric, non-parametric) and the confidence interval/error. Software packages (year, version) must be listed separately. If the study was randomised, the randomisation principle must be stated.

Mean values are presented as M ± m, where M is the arithmetic mean and m is the standard error of the mean. In the article text and in tables, it is preferable to report the full p-value (p = ..., rather than p <...). Correlation coefficients must be presented together with their statistical significance, i.e. with the p-value, for example r = 0.435; p = 0.006.

Units of physical quantities and haematological, biochemical, and other measurement values used in medicine must be expressed in metric system units (International System of Units [SI]).

12. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

12.1 Results

Section length: 5–7 pages of printed text (1,250–1,750 words); references are not permitted in this section. Statistical results must be reported in both absolute and relative numbers. The section must include visualisation of the obtained data: tables, graphs, charts, figures, etc. The total number of visual and graphic elements must not exceed 4.

Data are presented very clearly in the form of brief descriptions accompanied by graphs, tables, and figures (do not duplicate information — use only one method of presentation). Graphs must have clearly labelled axis scales. When multiple curves are shown, their sequential numbers must be indicated directly on the figure. Figures other than charts should preferably be submitted in PCX format; photographs (no more than 4) — in JPEG.

Percentages must be presented in the article text or table together with the absolute value of the quantity taken as 100 %, for example 25 % of 120 patients. An alternative format is to state both the percentage and the absolute value simultaneously, for example: 25 % (30/120) or 30 of 120 patients (25 %).

When performing sequential percentage recalculations — i.e. calculating a percentage of a percentage (a percentage of the number of study objects in a subgroup previously described by percentage) — this procedure must be clearly described, and the numbers of study objects successively taken as 100 % must be presented.

The required precision of reported percentage values depends on the sample size:

• so-called small samples (fewer than 20 study objects) are generally not described using percentages. In these cases, absolute frequency values for each characteristic are reported.
• if the sample size is between 20 and 100 study objects, percentages are presented as whole numbers.
• if the sample size exceeds 100 study objects, the percentage is reported to no more than one decimal place.

12.2 DISCUSSION

Subsection length: 0.5–1 page, 6–8 references, placed after the Results. References to works by co-authors of the manuscript are permitted but must not exceed 2.

The subsection must contain a brief analysis of the statistical data obtained in the Results, as well as the conclusions drawn by the author based on processing these data — including the main mechanisms of structural and functional, physiological, and pathophysiological changes, features of therapeutic outcomes, the informative value of diagnostic methods, and a correlation of the obtained data with findings of researchers cited in the Introduction.

New and important aspects of the study findings must be highlighted; possible mechanisms or interpretations of the data must be analysed and, where possible, compared with data from other researchers. Information already stated in the Introduction and detailed data from the Results section must not be repeated. The Discussion may include evidence-based recommendations for clinical practice and possible applications of the findings in future research.

13. CONCLUSIONS

Section length: 0.5–1 page; conclusions should preferably be numbered. Conclusions must contain mandatory substantiation of statements using (numerical) data obtained in the course of the study. In a few sentences, summarise the work completed: what was obtained, what it may indicate or mean, what purpose it serves and what possibilities it reveals. Reflect the prospects for applying the results. Avoid claiming priority and referring to completed work.

REFERENCES

The reference list must be compiled without abbreviations. Sources in the reference list are arranged in alphabetical order in accordance with the Vancouver style requirements.

Order of Arrangement

Sources are arranged in alphabetical order: first, transliterated Ukrainian-language sources in Ukrainian alphabetical order (from А to Я), followed by English-, French-, and other-language sources according to English alphabetical rules (from A to Z). For automatic transliteration, the use of Google Translate with the source language specified is recommended for accurate transliteration.

Mandatory Components of a Reference

1. List of authors
2. Title of the manuscript.
3. Name of the publication.
4. Year, issue, and volume of the publication.
5. DOI index, if available.
6. After the reference, in square brackets, the language is indicated: [in Ukrainian] — except for sources in English.

Surnames are written first, followed by initials; alphabetical order is determined by the first letter of the surname. The notation et al. is permitted when more than 6 consecutive authors are listed; otherwise all authors must be named. Remove periods, commas, and spaces after initials. Forward slashes (//), dashes, and apostrophes are not permitted. All elements of a reference are separated by periods.

15. CONTACTS

At the end of the article, the corresponding author's full name, telephone number for contact with the editorial office, and the Nova Poshta delivery address for sending a complimentary copy of the journal must be provided.

16. EXTENDED ABSTRACT (SUMMARY)

Recommended length: 350–500 words or 1.5–2 pages. The extended abstract is compiled exclusively in Ukrainian.

The abstract must include:

• list of authors without institutional affiliations;
• title (in capital letters);
• abstract text without structural section headings;
• list of keywords.

Review Articles

The journal publishes review articles on current problems in medicine, based on a thorough analysis of literature from the past 5 years. A review article and its abstracts do not require division into aim, materials and methods, results, and conclusions, which are mandatory for original articles. The article is presented in a free-form style and must reveal the essence of the problem, its resolved and unresolved aspects. The use of colour diagrams, figures, and graphs is important. Summaries and prospective solutions to the problem are mandatory elements.

The reference list must cite more than 30 sources, published within the past 5 (five) years in journals indexed in Scopus/Web of Science. Reference formatting requirements are identical to those for clinical and experimental articles, see link.

Review articles must include information on the literature search methods used across databases such as Scopus, Web of Science, MEDLINE, The Cochrane Library, EMBASE, Global Health, etc. The recommended length of a review article is 20–30 pages.

Case Report

This section contains articles on the latest international consensus statements on diagnosis and treatment, new international disease classifications, and clinical observations of rare diseases. Case report articles are intended to familiarise practising specialists with rare diseases, their clinical course, diagnosis, and treatment. The structure of this article type is similar to an original study but differs in several ways.

• The Introduction presents statistical data on the frequency of rare pathologies, as well as features of their presentation, diagnosis, and treatment as described by other authors.
• The Results section presents the authors' personal observations of rare pathologies and their clinical-laboratory or pathomorphological features, and includes the main illustrative material (CT scans, ultrasound images, macroscopic microphotographs, etc.). The main differential-diagnostic features of the described rare pathology or the features of its treatment are discussed.

Reference formatting requirements are identical to those for clinical and experimental articles, see link. The recommended length of a case report is 9–12 pages.

Editorial Policy

If questions arise regarding formatting or data presentation, we recommend consulting previous issues of the journal. The editorial office reserves the right to make editorial corrections without altering the substance of the article, as well as the right to reject articles from authors who did not comply with editorial requirements during manuscript preparation. Printed materials are not returned to authors.

If the article was revised by the author during preparation for publication, the date of receipt is considered to be the day the final version was submitted. Articles are edited and reviewed by members of the editorial board — leading specialists in the relevant fields of biology and medicine. The order of article publication is approved by the editorial board in accordance with the journal's publication schedule. The editorial office independently informs the author of all changes in the status of their manuscript's review.

If an author disagrees with the editorial policy, the article may be withdrawn from publication without the right to reprint it in this journal. Authors are hereby informed that, due to the tight deadlines for preparing articles for publication, the author is required to notify the editorial office of receipt of comments within 3 days, and to submit the revised version with all necessary corrections within 7 days of receiving the comments. Failure to meet the revision deadline entitles the editorial office to refuse publication or postpone the article's release to a later date determined by the editors.

Main Reasons for Article Rejection

1. The article does not meet technical requirements

• the article contains elements that may constitute plagiarism or are present in articles currently submitted to other journals (republication of the article or its parts, simultaneous submission to multiple journals, use of texts or illustrations without the rights holder's permission). More detailed information on ethical principles is available on the Elsevier website;
• the manuscript is fragmentary or incomplete — key elements such as the title, authors and their institutional affiliations, article text, keywords, bibliography, tables, formulae, etc. may be missing;
• the level of English in which the article is submitted is insufficient for consideration by the expert panel;
• formulae, diagrams, charts, and other illustrative materials are insufficiently legible and recognisable;
• the article does not comply with the "Instructions for Authors" of the specific journal to which it is submitted;
• references in the article are incomplete or outdated.

2. The article does not correspond to the "Aims and Scope of the Journal"

• for example, for the journal "Carbon", the material studied in the article may contain carbon, but must not itself be carbon;
• the article examines a carbon material, but the research focus is on something else;
• the article does not contain scientific novelty in the field of carbon research.

3. The article is inadequate

• the article presents certain observations that do not constitute a complete study;
• the article takes into account some significant studies while ignoring others of equal significance (incomplete or one-sided coverage of the scientific discourse).

4. Research methods are unsatisfactory

• the article lacks a clearly defined study group and clear parameters for comparison;
• the research methods do not conform to generally accepted scientific methods and procedures (the procedures cannot be reproduced and results obtained by non-standard methods cannot be verified);
• the analysis lacks sufficient statistical justification or is conducted outside the norms and rules generally accepted in the specific scientific field.

5. Conclusions are not substantiated in the article text

• the arguments are illogical, unstructured, or erroneous;
• the data do not support or substantiate the conclusions;
• the conclusions ignore a significant body of scientific literature on the topic of the article.

6. The article text is based on another work by the author

• the article text is an extended version of other works or conference presentations by the author or co-authors, and the research results are secondary and do not contribute to the advancement of the scientific field;
• the work is clearly part of a larger study that has been split into the maximum possible number of individual journal articles.

7. The article is unclear

The language of the article, its structure, illustrations, calculations, formulae, and other elements are so inadequate that they cannot be evaluated by the scientific community. Even native English speakers may require assistance in understanding the text.

8. The article is unengaging

• the article is not topical, is clearly of an "archival" or "statistical" nature, and is marginal in relation to its scientific field;
• the subject matter of the article, as well as the questions it raises and addresses, are of no interest to the specific scientific field or academic community;
• the study is unlikely to generate interest among readers of the scientific journal.

More information on scientific article requirements can be found on the Elsevier article submission page, which contains step-by-step instructions and additional explanations.