SCOPE OF THE JOURNAL
The Central European Journal of Urology (abbreviation to cite: Cent European J Urol), formerly the Polish Journal of Urology, is an open access quarterly-issued journal, which provides a forum for the presentation of original clinical, experimental and other research studies in the field of urology and related sciences, as well as opinions and commentaries written by experienced scientists.
CATEGORIES OF SUBMISSION
The Journal accepts submissions in the following categories:
- Original basic and clinical articles
- Review articles
- Short communications (preliminary results and mini-reviews)
- Commentaries on medical innovations, new technologies, and clinical trials
- Letters to the Editor
- Case reports
- Editorial comments
- Video presentations on surgical skills
Submission and publication in CEJU is free of charge.
SUBMISSION
The submission procedure is carried out through an Online Submission System available here. Please be prepared to upload the following documents: covering letter, Transfer of Copyright Agreement, Title page, manuscript (including main text, references, legends), tables and figures.
Authors submitting a paper or other material for publication are deemed to warrant the originality and proprietorship of the material, and to express consent to its publication. Therefore, submitted work should be accompanied by a Covering Letter and Transfer of Copyright Agreement.
Covering Letter
By selecting the appropriate tab of the Online Submission System, a message, introducing your submission, should be sent to the editor. Sources of financial support for the study and other matters related to the content and legal aspects of the submission should be mentioned here.
Transfer of Copyright Agreement
This document confirms the authorship and copyright transfer will. A template document is available under the Author's statements tab in the Online Submission System. It must be signed by all authors and uploaded to the Online Submission System. Authors from different institutions may send their agreements on separate forms combined in one PDF document.
MANUSCRIPT FORMATTING
Language
Submitted papers should be written in correct and simple English (American or British usage is accepted, but not a mixture of these). The editors reserve the right to reject an article containing numerous language errors. Authors, who have reasons to doubt their proficiency, may choose to have their article professionally edited at their own expense.
Style
Manuscripts should be formatted using Times New Roman, size 12 font, with double interline. They should follow the style of the Vancouver agreement detailed in the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals as presented in J Pharmacol Pharmacother. 2010 Jan;1(1):42-58 [http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3142758/]. Measurements must be given in the International System of Units (SI). The preferred format for the text is Microsoft Word with the style tags removed.
All abbreviations, except those obvious to non-specialists, must be defined when first used (e.g. transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP)). Papers should avoid excessive use of abbreviations, especially of terms rarely used in the manuscript. Abbreviations used in the main text, abstract, figures and tables should be defined independently. Abbreviations used in tables and figures should be explained in the legends.
Latin terms and species names (e.g. Escherichia coli) should be italicized.
To blind the process of reviewing, information on authors and their institutions must not be mentioned anywhere in the manuscript.
Title page
This must be submitted as a separate file from the main document to allow for double-blind peer review. It must contain the complete title of the paper, the names, the titles, and affiliations of all authors; the name, address, email address, and telephone number of the corresponding author. It must also indicate the word count for the text only (excluding abstract, acknowledgments, figure legends, and references) and the number of references.
Title
The title should not exceed 100 characters including spaces. It should be understandable to specialists in other fields. For indexing purposes, it should be specific and reflect the content of the article. The experimental design (e.g. case study or randomized controlled trial) may be mentioned, if relevant. Information given in the title does not need to be repeated in the abstract. A title does not normally include numbers, acronyms, abbreviations or punctuation.
Abstract
The abstract must reflect the content of the article. All key words must be used within the abstract. For the original report, the abstract should be informative, including actual results. For review papers, the abstract should list the major topics discussed without giving outcomes. References to tables or figures, and to the literature, are not allowed. All information given in the abstract must also appear in the main body of the article. Abbreviations should be avoided and, if used, must be explained.
Key Words
For indexing purposes, 3 - 10 key words should be supplied. We advocate using terminology found in the MeSH Browser.
Tables and Figures
Tables and figures must supplement, not duplicate, the text. They should be numbered with Arabic numerals in the order they appear in the text. They should be sent as separate files through the Online Submission System. Tables must be submitted in Microsoft Word or an equivalent text editor file. Both figures and tables should be easily understandable without reference to the main body of the article (e.g. all abbreviations used in the tables and figures should be explained in the legends). Please remember to use decimal points (not decimal commas) and provide axis labels and units wherever needed.
Table and figure legends should be listed one after the other at the end of the main document, after the References. Please do not write a legend below each figure.
Technical requirements for illustrative material
Figures must be submitted in one of the following formats: cdr, tiff, jpg, ai, bmp or eps. Photographs must be of good quality, at a minimum resolution of 300 dpi and must be submitted in tiff or jpg format. For guidance, the journal's standard figure sizes are 84 mm (single column) and 174 mm (double column), and the full depth of the page is 226 mm. Figures and photographs will NOT be accepted if embedded into MS Office files. Each figure should include a magnification scale bar when appropriate; do NOT use magnification factors in the figure legends.
Acknowledgments
In this section, mention all people who contributed substantially to the study but cannot be regarded as co-authors, and acknowledge all sources of funding. Information should be brief, and should not include thanks to anonymous referees and editors, inessential words, or effusive comments. Authors should obtain written permission to include the names of these individuals in the Acknowledgments section.
Please do not put acknowledgments into the body of the manuscript because it may unblind the authors. Paste it in a specific tag of the Submission System.
Conflicts of Interest
A conflict of interest exists when an author has financial or personal relationships or affiliations that could influence the author's decisions, work, or manuscript. All authors must disclose their conflicts of interest that might possibly interfere with the submission. Otherwise the statement "The authors declare no conflicts of interest." should be included. The corresponding author is responsible for sending this information on behalf of all authors through a specific tag of the Submission System.
References
The list of references cited in the text of the paper must be prepared according to the Vancouver system. Each reference should be numbered in the order of their appearance in the text, marked with Arabic numerals in square brackets i.e. [1, 2, 3]. The names of all authors should be listed if their number does not exceed six; for citations having seven or more authors, the names of the first three should be cited, followed by et al. Abbreviated titles of the journals cited should be consistent with their forms in Index Medicus (see also: International Committee of Medical Journal Editors: Uniform requirements for manuscripts submitted to biomedical journals. N Engl J Med. 1997; 336: 309-315).
Titles of sources published in a language other than English, should be cited in the original language unless the source has been indexed under an English translation. Titles and sources published in non-Latin script should be transliterated into the English alphabet. The English translation should be used if the reference has been indexed under a translated title. Literature unavailable to readers from other countries should be avoided if possible.
Examples:
- Papers published in printed journals: Craggs B, Michielsen D. Conservative treatment of an intraperitoneal bladder perforation. Cent European J Urol. 2011; 64: 47-49.
- Papers published in online-only journals: Drewa T, Czerwiński M, Olkowska J. Stem cells within established cancer cell lines: an impact on in vitro experiments. Stem Cell Studies. 2011; 1: e7.
- Papers in press: Kierstan A, Sosnowski M, Minia R, Jabłonowski Z. Rare renal tumors - Bellini duct carcinoma. Cent European J Urol 2010 doi:v 10.5173/ceju.2010.04.art5
- Book chapters: Richie JP, Steele GS. Neoplasms of the testis. In Walsh PC, Retik AB, Vaughan ED Jr, Wein AJ eds, Campbell`s Urology, 8th edn, Philadelphia: Saunders, 2002; Vol. IV, Chapt 81, pp. 2876-2919.
CATEGORY-SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS
Original Basic Research And Clinical Articles
The original paper must be accompanied by a structured abstract, containing an Introduction, Material and Methods, Results and Conclusions, which must not exceed 250 words. The body of an original paper should be divided into the following parts: Introduction, Material and Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusions, References and Legends for Tables and Figures. These should not exceed 3,000 words and 40 references (excluding an abstract, tables, figures, references and acknowledgments).
Review Articles
The abstract of a review article should be prepared according to the rules for Original articles. The main text should contain Introduction and Conclusions. Other parts of an article may be organized at the discretion of the authors. It should not exceed 3,000 words and 40 references (excluding abstract, tables, figures, references and acknowledgments).
Short Communications (Preliminary Results And Mini-Reviews)
The structure of the abstract and main text should be consistent with the rules for full-length papers. These should not exceed 1,500 words and 20 references and include no more than one table or figure.
Commentaries On Medical Innovations, New Technologies, and Clinical Trials
These papers will be published in the section entitled "From lab to the clinic" . They are not accompanied by an abstract. Manuscripts should not exceed 1,000 words and 10 references.
Case Reports
We invite authors to present cases of exceptional clinical or scientific value. The submission should include an unstructured abstract (100 words), an illustrated case presentation with a discussion restricted to relevant clinical matters without an extended literature overview, not exceeding 1,000 words and 10 references. The main text should be divided into two sections only: Case Report and Discussion.
Editorial Comments
Editorial comments are solicited by the editor and should not be submitted without prior invitation.
Editorial comments should not exceed 500 words and 10 references. More concise forms (e.g. 400 words and 7 references) are preferred.
Letters to the Editor
Letters referring to papers recently published in the Central European Journal of Urology can be sent directly to the editorial office. If relevant, they will be published in the following issue of the Journal. They must not exceed 400 words. A maximum of three authors and five references are allowed. Neither tables nor figures are allowed. The author of the paper commented upon will be invited to respond to the letter comments.
EDITORIAL PROCESS
Peer Review
Submitted papers and videos are proceeded by the editors and section editors. Each submission is assessed by at least two invited specialists in the field. The authors' and reviewers' identities are kept confidential. Based on the reviewers' comments, the editors make a decision regarding the submission. A notification of the decision and reviewers' comments are sent to the corresponding author within four weeks in most cases.
Revisions
Once the request for the revision of the manuscript has been received, the authors should revise their submission according to the accompanying comments. All changes made in the manuscript must be marked in red. In the 'Comment for Reviewer' tag, the authors are invited to detail their response to the reviewers' suggestions. Please note that in the submission form previous version is stored until you change it. Therefore, carefully check, modify if necessary, and accept all steps of the submission process in the Online Submission System. Recheck the word counts of the abstract and main text. Upload the revised versions of the files.
Proofs
After having been accepted, the authors receive proofs of their paper in PDF format. Adobe Acrobat must be used for proofreading. Corrections should be limited to a minimum. Changes should be described in detail (page, line, required change, desired change) and sent back to the editorial office within 48 hours. Substantial modifications at this stage will only be possible at the authors' expense.
Offprints
The authors may order reprints of their paper at an additional charge. The order, stating the number of copies required, should be enclosed with the corrected proofs sent back to the editorial office.
VIDEO SUBMISSSION
Central European Journal of Urology invites video submissions of research articles, descriptions of surgical techniques and case reports of exceptional clinical value. A link to the video with narration in English (up to 10 minutes) should be provided together with a description of the video content up to 500 words, with no abstract, references, discussion nor pictures through Online Submission System.
Video File Requirements
Preferred Settings:
- Audio codec: AAC
- Sample audio bit rate: 128 kbit/s
- Video codec: H.264
- Video resolution: 480 vertical lines or better
- Format: MPEG-4 (mp4) container
- Accepted formats: (mov, avi, mpg, mpeg, mp4, mkv, flv, wmv).
- Video files larger than 1GB should be split into several episodes, each less than 1GB.
LEGAL ASPECTS
In sending the manuscript or video, the authors confirm that it has not been submitted simultaneously to another journal (except for abstracts published as congress material) or published elsewhere. Any potential conflict of interest will be dealt with by the local court specific to the publisher. Legal relations between the publisher and the authors are in accordance with Polish law and with international conventions incumbent on Poland. The authors also agree, if and when the manuscript is accepted for publication, to automatic and free transfer of copyright to the publisher allowing for the publication and distribution of the material submitted in all available forms and fields of exploitation. The authors accept that the manuscript will not be published elsewhere in any language without the written consent of the copyright holder, i.e. the publisher. By submitting their manuscript to this Journal, the authors accept that their manuscripts may be screened for plagiarism.
Ethical Considerations
Papers describing experiments on human subjects must include a statement that the experiments were performed with the understanding and consent of each subject, with the approval of the appropriate local ethics committee. Papers describing animal experiments can be accepted for publication only if the experiment conforms to the European Communities Council Directive of November 24, 1986 or the National Institute of Health Guide (National Institute of Health Publications No. 80-23, Revised 1978) for the care and use of laboratory animals for experimental procedure. Authors must provide a full description of their anesthetics and surgical procedures. These details must be mentioned in the Material and Methods section of the relevant manuscripts.
Permissions
Materials previously published should be accompanied by written consent to reprint from the relevant publishers.
In case of photographs of identifiable persons, their written consent should also be provided.
Copyright
Copyright for articles or other material submitted and qualified for publication becomes the sole property of the Polish Urological Association (PUA) Editorial Office and may not be published in whole or part in other journals or digital media without obtaining the prior written consent of PUA.
SUBMISSION CHECKLIST
- The identities of authors or their affiliations are mentioned neither on the first page nor anywhere in the manuscript.
- Structure of the abstract and main text is appropriate for the type of submission.
- References are in the correct format for the journal.
- All references mentioned in the reference list are cited in the text, and vice versa.
- Legends for figures and tables are included in the main text.
- Manuscript has been 'spell checked'.
- The following materials have been prepared for submission: 1) Abstract 2) Manuscript 3) Key words 4) Tables 5) Figures 6) Transfer of Copyright Agreement signed by all authors 7) Covering letter 8) Information on conflicts of interest 9) Acknowledgments (optional) 10) Permission to reprint materials published elsewhere.
- Average time for initial manuscript evaluation: 3 days
- Average review time: 64 days
- Average time of publication from the date of article submission: 81 days
