Peritoneal Dialysis International

Authorship

Only those persons who contributed directly to the intellectual content of the paper should be listed as authors. Authors should meet all of the following criteria:

Holding positions of administrative leadership, contributing patients, and collection and assembling data, are not, by themselves, criteria for authorship. Other persons who have made substantial, direct contributions to the work but cannot be considered authors should be acknowledged with their permission.

In a cover letter, authors must disclose any financial interests, direct or indirect that might affect the conduct or reporting of the work they have submitted.

Statement of Financial Support

Authors are asked to divulge any relationships with pharmaceutical companies or other entities such as employment contracts, consultancy, advisory boards, speaker bureaus, membership of Board of Directors, stock ownership that could be perceived to represent a financial conflict of interest, or to declare that no financial conflict of interest exists. Financial conflict of interest statements will be published at the end of the text of the article under Disclosures.

Project

Sources of outside support for research, including funding, equipment, and drugs, must be named in the cover letter. The role(s) of the funding organization, if any, in the collection of data, its analysis and interpretation, and in the right to approve or disapprove publication of the finished manuscript must be described in the Methods section of the text.

Previous or Duplicate Publication

In the cover letter, give full details on any possible previous or duplicate publication of any content of the paper. Previous publication of a small fraction of the content of a paper does not necessarily preclude its being published, but the Editors need information about previous publication when deciding how to use space in the Journal efficiently; they regard failure of full disclosure by authors of possible prior publication as a breach of scientific ethics. Please send a copy of any document that might be considered a previous publication.

Informed Consent

When appropriate, authors should state in the Methods section the procedure used to ensure adherence to ethical guidelines on informed consent and should affirm that such consent was obtained. The statement should confirm review of the study by the appropriate institutional review board or affirmation that the protocol is consistent with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki as amended in Tokyo (1975), Venice (1983), and Hong Kong (1989) (1).

Statement of Authorship

All authors of papers accepted for publication are required to sign a form affirming that they have met the criteria for authorship, have agreed to be authors, and are aware of the terms of publication.

Full-length papers should be typed, double-spaced, in English, with an Abstract summarizing briefly the essential contents (see below). Manuscripts should be accompanied by:

Letters to the Editor: Letters dealing with published articles or matters of interest to researchers are invited. They should be short (no more than two pages, key references included), typed double-spaced, and include references where appropriate. Where a published article is involved, the original author(s) will be invited to submit a response.

Book Reviews: Authors are invited to submit suggestions for book review to the Editorial Office.

Announcements and Calendar: The Editors welcome notices of meetings, conferences, and other events of interest to the peritoneal dialysis community. All such items will be listed (at no charge) in each issue of the Journal and be continually updated.

Nomenclature and Abbreviations: Where possible, nomenclature and abbreviations should be in accordance with internationally agreed rules.

Manuscript Preparation: The top margin on the title page should be 5 cm deep, all other margins should be 2.5 cm. Use double spacing throughout, including the references and figure legends. Organize the manuscript in the order indicated below, with each component beginning on a separate page. Type a running title and page number in the upper right hand corner of each page.

Title Page: Page 1 should include:

Abstracts and Key Words: Page 2 should include the title of the article followed by an Abstract in a structured form according to the format proposed by Haynes and colleagues (Ann Intern Med 1990; 113:69–76). Following the Abstract, list up to eight key words or phrases for indexing.

Text: All manuscripts should be typed on one side of the paper, double-spaced (see above).

Abbreviations and Symbols: Do not use abbreviations unless absolutely necessary; do not abbreviate the names of symptoms or diseases (myocardial infarction, not MI) or anatomical and histological characteristics (left ventricular, not LV); do not explain abbreviations for units of measurement [3 mL, not 3 milliliters (mL)] or standard scientific symbols [Na, not sodium (Na)]. Do abbreviate long names of chemical substances and terms for therapeutic combinations, such as MOPP. Abbreviate names of tests and procedures that are better known by their abbreviations than by the full name (VDRL test, SMA-12). Abbreviate units of measurement when they appear with numerals (measured in milliliters, but 10 mL). Use abbreviations in figures and tables to save space. Explain all abbreviations used in the figure legend or table footnote.

Units of Measurement: Use SI units throughout. When units other than SI units are widely used, they can be indicated in parentheses after the SI unit. The Editorial Office will provide conversion information with the article when appropriate.

Proprietary and Generic Names: Generic names must be used for all drugs. Include the proprietary name if it is more commonly known than the generic name; to differentiate among drug forms; or if a specific trade preparation was used in a study or involved in an adverse effect. Instruments may be referred to by proprietary name; the name and location of the manufacturers must be given in parentheses in the text.

Short communications should be organized in the following format: Introduction, Materials and Methods (or Experimental Procedures), Results, Discussion, Acknowledgments, Abbreviation list, References. Authors may insert a short summary/conclusion section following the discussion section if they wish. In some cases, results and discussion sections may more appropriately be combined than separated (at the author's discretion).

Short communications should be no longer than six double-spaced typewritten pages, including figures, tables, and key references. Short communications do not require an Abstract.

Other descriptive headings and subheadings may be used if appropriate. Every effort should be made to avoid jargon, to spell out all nonstandard abbreviations the first time they are mentioned, and to present the contents of the study as clearly and concisely as possible.

Review articles should be organized in the following form: Outline (using main and second-order section headings), Introduction, Text, Conclusions or Summary, Acknowledgments (optional), Appendices (optional), Abbreviations list, References.

References: To assist in article submissions to Peritoneal Dialysis International, authors can download PDI's Endnote style. When used with the Endnote program, this style will format your manuscript's in-text citations and reference lists to suit PDI's referencing requirements. If you are unable to access this program, the formats of the references are described below.

Do

Do not use ibid. or op cit.

The sample references below are based on the style specified by the Uniform Requirements agreement (2).

Journals: List all authors when six or fewer; when seven or more, list only the first six and add et al.

Books: List all authors or editors when six or fewer; when seven or more, list only the first six and add et al.

Other Citations in Reference List:

In-Text Citations of Unpublished Material (to be placed within parentheses):

Tables: Authors are asked to keep each table to a reasonable size; very large tables packed with data simply confuse the reader. Each table and every column should be provided with an explanatory heading, with units of measure clearly indicated. The same data should not be reproduced in both tables and figures. Footnotes to a table should be indicated by superscript, lowercase letters. Tables and illustrations (along with their footnotes or captions) should be completely intelligible without reference to the text. Original (not photographed) copies should be submitted.

Figures: Illustrations for reproduction should normally be about twice the size required. Figures should be professionally drawn and photographed. Photographs of tissues, cells, or sub-cellular components should be included only when they are essential.

Figure Legends: Legends should be typed double-spaced and numbered with Arabic numerals corresponding to the illustrations and submitted on a separate page. When symbols, arrows, numbers, or letters are used to identify part of the illustrations, each should be explained clearly in the legend. The legends should permit the figures to be understood without reference to the text. If the figure has been previously published, a credit line should be included and a permission letter supplied by the author.

Review and Production Process: All manuscripts are peer reviewed. All material accepted for publication is subject to copyediting. Authors will receive galley proofs of their article before publication and should answer all queries. Any corrections to proofs must be restricted to printer's errors; no rewriting can be allowed. Reprints may be purchased using the reprint order form that is sent with the page proofs.

Page Charges: There is no page charge for papers of 3 or fewer printed pages, including tables, illustrations, and references (one page for Letters to the Editor. Each additional complete or partial page is charged to the author at US$200.00. The allotted size of paper is equal to approximately 10 manuscript pages, including tables, illustrations, and references (two pages for Letters to the Editor).

Documents Cited:

Formatting and Submitting On-Line

Text: To facilitate the review process, manuscripts must be in Microsoft Word format (.doc) or Rich Text Format (.rtf). This applies to both Windows and Macintosh platforms. If you are using any other word processing program, you must save the file as .rtf. Double space all text; allow adequate margins; text should not be right justified. Use basic fonts such as Arial, Courier, Helvetica, Times, or Times New Roman no smaller than 12 points. Special or mathematical characters and Greek letters that are not on a standard keyboard must be created by using the Symbol font.

Illustrations : For the review process, illustrations, whether embedded in the document or submitted individually, may be of smaller size and in additional formats than those required for final acceptance. Acceptable formats are JPG, GIF, or TIFF with at least 1,000 pixels in the greatest dimension for images and at least 2,500 pixels in the greatest dimension for line art.

If you are scanning illustrations, scan on a flatbed scanner at 300 dpi for images and 1,000 dpi for line art. The original should be at least 3 inches and no more than 7 inches in the greatest dimension. If necessary, convert to TIFF using Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Photoshop Elements, Jasc Paint Shop Pro, or a similar utility.

For all illustrations, use simple file-naming conventions.

User Account Information : Log on to Peritoneal Dialysis International Manuscript Central at

Here you will be able to either create an account or enter an existing account. If you believe you may have an account, click on “check for existing account” and enter your email address. If the address you entered is found in the account records, an email will be sent to you at that address containing the associated login information.

If you do not have an account on the system, click on “create a new account.” Please fill in all fields accurately. All bolded fields are required. If a required field does not apply to you, enter “none” or “N/A” in the space provided. When you are finished, click on “Submit Information” to create your account.

Corresponding Author Center: After you have logged in, go to the Corresponding Author Center and click on “Submit First Draft of a New Manuscript.” As you progress through the submission process, note that the information in the “Manuscript Data Summary” box updates upon completion of each screen.

Screen 1 – Manuscript Details. Select a Manuscript Type from the pull-down menu. Add your summary statement and provide the page number from the text where this sentence appears. (You can cut-and-paste the statement from your manuscript text file.) In the boxes provided, fill in the total number of tables, figure components, and whether or not any figures are color. Click on “save and continue” when you have finished this screen.

If for any reason you exit the system before completing the process, you can continue where you left off by logging in, going to the Corresponding Author Center, and clicking on the “Partially Submitted Manuscripts” button and following instructions.

Screen 2 – Institutions. Enter information about each institution with which the authors of the manuscript are affiliated. Entries may exceed the size of each field on the screen — the data will not be truncated. Your own affiliated institution will appear automatically. Click on “save and continue” when you are finished with this screen, or “previous” to return to the previous screen.

Screen 3 – Authors. Enter the authors of this manuscript (up to 10). Indicate the corresponding author and indicate primary, secondary, or tertiary affiliation. Click on “save and continue” when you are finished with this screen, or “previous” to return to the previous screen. Once a manuscript has been received by PDI, any changes in authorship will necessitate additional information.

Screen 4 – Title. Enter the title of your manuscript into the box. You may either copy-and-paste your title from your manuscript text file into the box or type it directly into the box. Use the “Character Palette” for special characters such as Greek letters and mathematical symbols or for formatting, such as italics, bolding, and superscript. For example, when you click on the lowercase alpha, the appropriate code for the character appears above. Highlight the code, go up to “Edit” to copy the code, then paste it into the appropriate spot in your title. Click on “save and continue” when you are finished with this screen, or “previous” to return to the previous screen.

Screen 5 – Abstract. You can either copy-and-paste your Abstract or type it directly into the box provided. Use the “Character Palette” for special characters such as Greek letters and mathematical symbols, or for formatting, such as italics, bolding, or superscript. Proofread your Abstract carefully; you can also check it on the next screen by clicking on the “View Abstract” link. Click on “save and continue” when you are finished with this screen, or “previous” to return to the previous screen. If you are submitting a manuscript that does not require an Abstract, please type N/A in the Abstract box.

Screen 6 – Key Words. Click on select “Keywords” and follow instructions. Click on “save and continue” when you are finished with this screen, or “previous” to return to the previous screen. Please note: It is mandatory that you select “Keywords.” If you do not provide Key words or do not do so by using the drop-down list, your manuscript cannot be processed (please note: Key words are not required for Letters to the Editor, Editorials, etc.). If you have a question regarding whether or not Key words are required for your submission, please contact the Peritoneal Dialysis International Editorial Office at peter.blake@lhsc.on.ca.

Screen 7 – Requested Reviewers. Enter the First Name, Last Name, Institution, Telephone, and Email for each reviewer that you would like to review your article. Please note, the more information we have about the reviewer the more likely we can match an existing account to this person. When you are finished, click on “save and continue,” or “previous” to return to the previous screen.

Screen 8 – Cover Letter. Enter any comments to the Editor in the box. When you are finished, click on “save and continue,” or “previous” to return to the previous screen. Note: You may also upload a cover letter file later by using the File Manager.

Screen 9 – File Upload Center. Click on “Use File Manager” to begin uploading your files.

Screen 10 – File Manager. When you upload your single document [Microsoft Word format (.doc) or Rich Text Format (.rtf)], the file will automatically be converted to a smaller file — a Portable Document Format (.pdf) that cannot be altered. The smaller file will be saved as Files for Review, download faster, and allow the Editorial Office and reviewers to access it more easily. The original file will be saved as File for Production.

Follow steps 1 through 4:

Screen 11 – Submit for Review. Please verify that all files you require to be reviewed are present in the reviewer's proof window. Click on “View your proof as it will be seen by Reviewers” to verify. When you are finished, click on “Submit Your Manuscript.” Confirmation of your submission will be noted. Print your manuscript ID number. Add this number to any form you fax or mail to the Editorial Office.

Finalizing Original On-Line Submission

Immediately after electronically submitting a new manuscript, fax the Author Contribution Form and Transfer of Copyright and Certifications Agreement form to the Peritoneal Dialysis International Editorial Office at 519-685-8395. Copies of these forms can be found under “Instructions and Forms” at mc.manuscript central.com/peritdialint. If you wish to submit the Author Contribution Form electronically, you may prepare a form yourself, listing the author contributions, and upload it through mc.manuscriptcentral.com/peritdialint. However, the Transfer of Copyright and Certification Agreement must be faxed.

Checking the Status of Your Manuscript

You can return to your Corresponding Author Center at any time to check the status of your manuscript. The status “Awaiting Preliminary/Final Decision” means that your manuscript is being reviewed by the reviewers or Editor).

Instructions for Submission of Revised Manuscripts

Contact the Peritoneal Dialysis International Editorial Office if you are able to submit your revised manuscript only as hard copy. When you prepare a revised version of your manuscript, it is essential that you carefully follow the instructions given in the Editor's letter regarding preparation of the same, in particular preparation of the annotated copy. Failure to do so will cause a delay in the review of your revision and may result in return of the revision to you, without review, for proper preparation.

Revisions received more than three months after requested may be sent for another review cycle, at the Editor's discretion. If a revision is not received within six months after being requested, your file may be closed.

Refer to the information below, as well as the on-line form “Revision Checklist” under “Instructions and Forms” for submission of revised manuscripts.

Text file: Since you are not able to access the original submission once you have sent it to us, prepare a “clean” version of your manuscript using the copy of the manuscript you have saved. Submit it in Microsoft Word format (.doc) or Rich Text Format (.rtf). If you are using any other word processing program, you must save the file as .rtf.

Do not embed illustrations. Keep the text file as free from formatting codes as possible: Do not use bold-face, italic, underlining, strange fonts, codes for centering, unnecessary line spacing, etc. Double-space all text. Use the default settings of the word processing program; especially, do not use right-justified margins. Use tabs to indent at the beginnings of paragraphs, and insert only one space after end punctuation marks. Use hard returns only at the ends of paragraphs or between sections of the manuscript; do not insert them midparagraph. Do not insert tabs in references; use only one hard return at the end of each reference. Use basic fonts such as Arial, Courier, Helvetica, Times, or Times New Roman no smaller than 12 points. Special or mathematical characters and Greek letters that are not on a standard keyboard must be created using the Symbol font.

Electronic illustrations: Prepare any revised illustrations that have been requested. Upload all illustrations even if you were not asked to revise any of them. Images should be TIFF or Photoshop (PSD) files with at least 1,500 pixels in the greatest dimension. Monochrome images should be saved in grayscale mode; color images should be CYMK. Line art should be TIFF or Photoshop (PSD) files with at least 5,000 pixels in the greatest dimension. For black-and-white art, files should be saved in bitmap mode. When submitting PSD files, position labels on layers; do not merge the layers.

If you are scanning illustrations, scan on a flatbed scanner at 300 dpi for images and 1,000 dpi for line art. The original should be at least 3 inches and no more than 7 inches in the greatest dimension. If necessary, convert to TIFF using Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Photoshop Elements, Jasc Paint Shop Pro, or similar utility.

Submit your revision by logging on to mc.manuscript central.com/peritdialint, enter the Author Center, and click on the title of the paper being revised. This action will take you into the Draft Center where your manuscript is identified by manuscript number, and where you should submit your revision, following each step as if you were submitting the original version.

Click on the “View Comments and Respond” button to address the reviewers’ points. Please enter your comments to the Editor in the “Response to Editor” box, and enter your detailed responses to each of the reviewer points, as circled by the Editor, in the “Response to Reviewers” box.

Copyediting: After final acceptance of your manuscript, it will be copyedited prior to publication to conform to PDI style and usage. This editing may be substantive. It is the responsibility of the corresponding author to read the copyedited manuscript he or she will receive and to answer all queries fully.