Please address all non-Internet correspondence to:
Lawrence H. Cohn, MD, Editor The Journal
of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery
General Information
The Editors of The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular
Surgery aim to promote excellence in the discipline and educate those practicing and interested in our specialty. To this end, the Journal accepts submissions in the form of original articles, brief communications, clinical-pathological conferences, and letters
to the Editor on topics pertaining to the most recent developments in cardiothoracic transplantation, general thoracic surgery, surgery
for acquired and congenital cardiovascular disease, and technical and physiologic issues as they relate to the specialty. The Journal
commits to rigorous peer review, freedom from commercial influence, and promotion of the highest ethical and scientific standards in
our specialty.
Editorial Policies
Review: Three or more referees are assigned to review each full length original
article. Acceptance is based on significance, originality, and validity of the material presented. If the article is accepted for publication,
editorial revisions may be made to aid clarity and understanding without altering the meaning. Authors are given the opportunity to name
a reviewer whom they believe is expert and impartial in their area of interest.
Guidelines for Reviewers: Because more papers
are submitted to the Journal than can be published, only the very best papers should be recommended for publication. Accordingly, a manuscript
should be evaluated not only with respect to its scientific competence and accuracy, but also its relative importance in the field of
thoracic and cardiovascular surgery and for its probable interest to our readership. Among the issues to consider are:
What
is the importance of the research question or subject field study?
Are the methods and experimental techniques adequate?
Do the results seem to be reliable and presented clearly?
Is the discussion relevant?
Are the conclusions
reasonable?
Are the illustrations and references appropriate and necessary?
Is the abstract informative and written
in a style that will make it intelligible to readers who do not work in the specific area addressed by the abstract?
Is the
writing clear and the organization of the paper sound?
What is the originality of the work?
If you recommend that
a paper be shortened, you should indicate on the form "Comments to Authors" in which places it could be abbreviated and which figures
or tables could be omitted. Please remember that it is the job of the copy editor to identify typographical and syntactic errors. Please
focus your "Comments to Authors" on queries and constructive criticism. Do not put statements in the "Comments to Authors" form regarding
the acceptability of the paper. If the editorial office or the other reviewers decide to reject the paper, such statements could be problematic.
Scientific Responsibility: Only those individuals who made direct contributions to the intellectual content of the paper may be
listed as authors. Persons designated as authors should meet all of the following criteria:
Made substantial contributions
to conception and design, and/or acquisition of data, and/or analysis and interpretation of data
Participated in drafting
the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content.
Gave final approval of the version to be submitted
and any revised version to be published
The authors should describe the role of the study's sponsors in the following areas:
Designing of the study
Collecting, analyzing, and interpreting the data
Writing the report
Making
the decision to submit for publication
The JTCVS editorial staff will not consider for publication a report in which
the researcher did not have full access to the data, the ability to analyze them independently from the sponsor, and sole authority to
make the final decision regarding publication. The Editor may, if he deems it necessary, require a copy of the agreement for verification
of its content.
After a manuscript is accepted for publication, no author can be removed from the author list nor can the order of
the authors be changed without the written permission of the author(s) involved.
Conflict of Interest: Each author of an original
manuscript or brief communication sent back for revision must submit a signed "JTCVS
Disclosure Statement." All positive disclosures related to an article accepted for publication will be reviewed by an ethics
panel. When the ethics panel believes a conflict exists, the journal will publish the disclosures of the authors.
Authors who violate
our disclosure policy will be denied the privilege of publishing their work in our Journal for one to two years, depending upon the severity
of the offense.
Informed Consent: The Journal adheres to the principles set forth in the Helsinki Declaration (http://www.wma.net/e/policy/b3.htm
) and holds that all reported research conducted with human participants should be conducted in accordance with such principles. Reports
describing data obtained from research conducted in human participants must contain a statement in the Methods section indicating approval
by the institutional review board and affirmation that informed consent was obtained from each participant. If patients are identifiable
from illustrations, photographs, case reports, or other study data, release forms (or copies of the figures with the appropriate release
statement) giving permission for publication must be submitted with the manuscript.
Humane Animal Care: All papers reporting
experiments using animals must include a statement in the Methods section giving assurance that all animals have received humane care
in compliance with the "Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals" (www.nap.edu/catalog/5140.html).
Papers submitted from outside the United States must be in compliance with the guidelines established by their country's government or
those of the National Institutes of Health and must include a statement to that effect in the Methods section.
CONSORT Statement:
All authors engaged in studies based on randomized trials are asked to adhere to the principles outlined in the CONSORT statement (http://www.consort-statement.org/
), an important research tool that takes an evidence-based approach to improve the quality of reports of randomized trials. CONSORT comprises
a checklist and flow diagram to help improve the quality of reports of randomized controlled trials.
Consultant Statistician
and Statistical Methods: All manuscripts with statistical analysis are required to undergo biostatistical review to ensure adequate
and appropriate study design, analysis, interpretation, and reporting. The Journal requires that a biostatistician review these
manuscripts prior to submission. The most appropriate way to involve a biostatistician is as a consultant or coauthor from the investigators'
home institution or collaborative group. The individual must complete and sign the Statistical Collaboration/Review Release Statement,
available online (www.ctsnet.org/journals/jtcsstatisticalmethods.pdf)
and published twice yearly (January and July issues) in the Journal. Manuscripts may undergo further biostatistical review by
the Journal after submission. Additional information on statistical methods can be found in "Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts
Submitted to Biomedical Journals "(www.icmje.org/index.html
).
Copyright Statement: According to the Copyright Act of 1976, all manuscripts must be accompanied by the Copyright Transfer
and Author Declaration Statement form that is available online at www.ctsnet.org/journals/jtcscopyrightform.pdf and in each issue of the Journal following the Information for Authors section. All authors must sign this statement.
Dates
of Receipt and Acceptance: The "received for publication" date is the date when the editorial office receives the complete manuscript
via Editorial Manager. The "accepted for publication" date is the date when the manuscript has met all of the requirements of the editorial
office regarding provision of the final revised manuscript, illustrations meeting requirements for print reproduction, and signed copyright
transfer and disclosure forms from all authors.
Article Preparation
Manuscripts must be written so that a reasonably well-informed
member of the thoracic surgical community can understand them. The primary goal of the Journal is the dissemination of information
and education. Arcane content must be explained and considered understandable by the editorial staff. Articles are chosen based on their
probability of achieving this goal. Authors are encouraged to follow the principles of clear scientific writing, such as those described
by Gopen and Swan (1).
All manuscripts must adhere to the length requirements outlined below.
Note: To allow
all manuscripts to be judged fairly, manuscripts exceeding length limitations are returned for shortening prior to review.
Original Research Article: The Journal publishes original research in surgery and translational physiology as it
relates to acquired and congenital cardiovascular disease, cardiothoracic transplantation, and general thoracic surgery. Meritorious
work from closely related specialties, such as anesthesiology, molecular biology, pathology, pulmonary medicine, cardiology, and perfusion,
will receive appropriate consideration if the linkage to our specialty is clear.
Original research articles are grouped in the Journal
according to one of the following categories: Surgery for Acquired Cardiovascular Disease; Surgery for Congenital Heart Disease; General
Thoracic Surgery; Cardiopulmonary Support and Physiology; Evolving Technology; Cardiothoracic Transplantation. Authors are asked to
self-categorize their articles during the submission process.
Length Requirements: Original research articles
may not exceed 6 printed pages, including title and abstract. Additional content may be designated as online only, for example, appendices,
tables, figures, video clips. The following approximations between printed pages and typed pages are offered to help you calculate the
number of printed pages your typed manuscript will translate to:
• 0.5 printed page = article title and 250-word structured
abstract
• 1 printed page = 3.7 typed 8.5 × 11 pages, double-spaced (approximately 250 typed words per page)
• 1 printed page = 3 tables or figures
with legends
Clinical-Pathological Conference: This can be an important educational tool. Acceptance is based
upon the learning opportunities presented by careful exposition of the case material, scholarly use of the literature to present treatment
options, and discussion of patient outcome in the context of evidence-based medicine as the determinant for management and diagnosis-based
issues. Unusual or rare entities are better treated as brief communications. Content should include appropriate illustrative material
and may be supplemented by additional illustrative content that will appear in electronic form and may include digitized videos and illustrations.
Length Requirements: Same as for original manuscripts.
Brief Communication: The Editors
are interested in brief clinical contributions containing substantive information concerning clinical studies or a pertinent observation.
These submissions will be chosen on their discussion and educational value and on their scholarly use of the literature. Authors are
given the choice of (1) rapid publication via on-line-only publishing or (2) normal publication schedule via print and online.
Length
Requirements: Brief communications should contain no more than 750 words and 2 tables or figures and no more than 5 references.
They do not need a structured abstract or an ultramini-abstract.
Letters to the Editor: Readers are encouraged
to submit commentary on articles published in the Journal. Letters should be of broad interest to readers and not designed to
"split hairs." Conflicting opinions on broad issues are particularly welcome when documentation is possible. Letters may be published
together with a reply from the original author. If the original author does not respond, a notation indicating "Response declined" will
be published. Substantive Letters to the Editor are indexed in Index Medicus.
Length Requirements:
Letters to the Editor should not exceed 500 words, 1 figure or table, 3 authors, and 5 references.
Manuscript Preparation
Title Page: Provide a concise, informative title, with no unnecessary words (eg, Studies in...). List all authors' academic
degrees and affiliations. Include all sources of funding for the work and complete name, address, business and home telephone and fax
numbers, and E-mail address of the corresponding author. Article word count on title page is required.
Abstract: The
structured abstract (required for original manuscripts only) should be limited to 250 words, should not include acronyms or abbreviations,
and should contain the following sections:
Objective(s): describe the hypothesis or the purpose of the study
Methods:
identify the study design and statistical methods used
Results: describe the outcome of the study and the statistical significance,
if appropriate
Conclusions: state the significance of the results
Please provide a word count.
Ultramini-Abstract
(required for original manuscripts only): Provide 1 to 3 sentences of no more than 50 words total, containing the essence of the
manuscript, to include immediately beneath the title of the paper in the table of contents.
Units of Measurement: Report measurements
of length, height, weight, and volume in metric units (meter, kilogram, or liter) or their decimal multiples. Give temperatures in degrees
Celsius and blood pressures in millimeters of mercury. All hematologic and clinical chemistry measurements should be reported in the
metric system in terms of the International System of Units (SI). The authors should also add alternate or non-SI units before publication.
See www.acponline.org/journals/resource/unifreqr.htm
for more details.
Abbreviations: Except for units of measurements, abbreviations are discouraged. Abbreviations that are used
should be defined at first mention. Internationally accepted abbreviations such as AIDS, DNA, SD, and TNM need not be defined. For commonly
accepted abbreviations, word usage, symbols, and so forth, please consult Scientific Style and Format (2) and the American
Medical Association Manual of Style (3).
References: Limit references to directly pertinent published works or papers
that have been accepted for publication. Unpublished data and personal communications should be cited only in the text, not as a numbered
reference. Authors wishing to cite unpublished material must have a letter of permission from the originator of the communication to
do so. This letter should be submitted with the manuscript. Number references serially in the text and list them, on a separate page,
double-spaced, at the end of the paper in numerical order. Reference format should conform to that set forth in "Uniform Requirements
for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals" (www.icmje.org/index.html)
and journal abbreviations should conform to the style used in the Cumulated Index Medicus. The style of citation should be as
follows:
Journals: authors' last names and initials; title of article; journal name; date; volume number, and inclusive pages
(list all authors when six or fewer; when seven or more, list six and add et al):
Graeber GM, Gupta NC, Murray GF. Positron
emission tomographic imaging with fluorodeoxyglucose is efficacious in evaluating malignant pulmonary disease. J Thorac Cardiovasc
Surg. 1999;117:719-27.
Lytle BW, Blackstone EH, Loop FD, Houghtaling PL, Arnold JH, Akhrass R, et al. Two internal thoracic
artery grafts are better than one. J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg. 1999;117:855-72.
Books: authors' last names and initials;
chapter title, editor's name, book title, edition, city, publisher, date, and pages:
Mollnes TE. Analysis of in vivo complement activation:
In: Herzenberg LA, Weir DM, Herzenberg LA, Blackwell C, editors. Weir's Handbook of experimental immunology. Volume 78, 5th ed. Boston:
Blackwell Science; 1997, p. 78.1-78.8.
Figures: For help with preparing electronic artwork for both on-screen review and
eventual publication, see the information page created by Elsevier Inc. (http://www.elsevier.com/artwork ).
Figures must
be of professional quality. When possible, please use first-generation artwork. Number figures in the order of their appearance in the
text.
The Journal will reproduce free of cost to the author a reasonable number of black and white illustrations and a
limited number of color illustrations if appropriate.
Graph Creation: For graphs with a series of bars, use
the suggested combination of fillers (small dots/white/slanted "brick" pattern /black/dotted horizontal lines) in the following manner:
• Series of single bars (Sample 1): white
• Two bars: white/black
• Three bars: small dots/white/black
• Four bars: small dots/white/slanted "brick" pattern /black
• Five bars (Sample 2): small dots/white/slanted
"brick" pattern/black/dotted horizontal lines
Note: Fillers other than the patterns suggested are acceptable as long
as they do not create a moire effect, that is, as long as they do not create visual distortion.
• Data that occupy the most amount of space should simply be outlined (i.e., left white); • Data that
occupy the second largest amount of space should be designated by small dots, followed by white, followed by slanted "brick" pattern,
followed by black, followed dotted horizontal lines
Efficient Use of Space:
Eliminate blank spaces that contain no information (eg, delete
points on the x and y axes that do not contain data)
Do not border a figure or a key with a box
If they fit, place
keys that apply to the figure within the figure itself (without a box); if the key does not fit in the figure, place it at the end of
the legend
Create figures in scale with each other to the extent possible
Effective Formatting:
Do not use background horizontal lines
Avoid 3-dimensional art
Make sure both axes are labeled
Most figures will be one column wide. Ensure that all data and type within a figure are sized according to these guidelines to the
extent possible
Use uppercase and lowercase type: It is much easier to read than all capital letters
Use a consistent
type-face and size (Helvetica or Universe, 11 or 12 points) throughout (avoid sans serif types, such as Courier)
Use a bold
typeface for emphasis; it is much more readable that italics or underlining
Avoid gray shading; it does not reproduce well
Make lines thick enough to ensure adequate reproduction (extremely thin lines do not reproduce well).
General
Instructions:
For figures submitted in electronic format, all images should be at least 5 inches wide. Images should
be provided in EPS or TIF format (for those mailed to the Editorial Office, on Zip Disk, CD, floppy, Jaz, or 3.5 Magneto Optical)
Graphics software such as Photoshop and Illustrator, not presentation software such as PowerPoint, CorelDraw, or Harvard Graphics,
should be used to create art.
Color images need to be CMYK, at least 300 dpi, with a digital color proof, not a color laser
print or color photocopy.
Gray scale images should be at least 300 dpi accompanied by a proof.
Line art (black
and white or color) and combinations of gray scale and line art should be at least 1200 dpi and accompanied by a proof
For
best reproduction, avoid screening, shading, and lettering on a dark background.
Tables: Tables should be self-explanatory
and should supplement, not duplicate, the text. Each table should be on a separate page. Provide a brief title for each. Abbreviations
used in the table should be defined at the bottom of the table.
Cover Letter: Include with the manuscript a cover letter that
provides a statement that the material has not been previously published or submitted elsewhere for publication.
Manuscript Submission
Electronic Submission:
All manuscripts must be submitted via Editorial Manager (http://jtcvs.editorialmanager.com
) and should include the following items (as appropriate):
Cover letter
Abstract and mini-abstract (original
manuscripts only)
Title page with word count
Manuscript (using word processor file)
Tables (either
included in the manuscript file or attached as separate files)
Note: Please include abstract, mini-abstract,
title page, manuscript, tables, and figure legends in one file
Figures (attach as separate files)
You may also submit the
name of one reviewer of your choice. You should include that individual's e-mail address. Assigning suggested reviewers is done at the
discretion of the editor handling your manuscript. If the reviewer you suggest is asked to review the manuscript, his or her identity
will be kept confidential.
The following items that accompany the manuscript may be scanned and submitted electronically or
submitted by mail if scanning is not an option:
Copyright Transfer/Author Declaration Statement
JTCVS Disclosure
Statement
Permission to reproduce published material (if applicable)
Note: It is the author's responsibility to ensure that each submitted
version of the manuscript is the correct version and that each version.
Format all text elements as double spaced for easier
reading
Insert page breaks between the title page, abstract, ultramini-abstract, and first page of text.
Begin
text, acknowledgements, references, and figure legends, respectively, on separate pages.
Begin each table on a separate page.
Write text in clear and concise language, using accepted standards of English style and usage. Define unfamiliar or new terms
when first used and avoid use of jargon, clichés, and laboratory slang.
On the title page, include the title of the
article and the author(s) name(s), degree(s), and institutional affiliation(s) as well as the name, telephone number, fax number, and
E-mail address of the corresponding author. Where necessary, identify each author's affiliation by superscript numbers matched to the
appropriate institutions. Also include word count of manuscript (required).
Note: To view your manuscript in PDF
format on Editorial Manager, you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader 7.0 installed on your computer.
Manuscript Revision
• Revised manuscripts must be submitted in three parts as word-processing files (pdf files are not acceptable): (1) cover letter
with responses to reviewers' comments; (2) revised, marked manuscript showing additions and deletions; (3) revised, unmarked manuscript • The organization of a revised manuscript is very important in the review process. Most manuscripts submitted to the Journal
are revised at least once. Please structure your response as follows:
The reviewer's comment to which you are responding
Your response
How that response is manifest in the revised manuscript
A response to each and every reviewer
comment
Manuscript Processing
Acknowledgment of Receipt: Each submission is assigned a unique number
and acknowledged by E-mail. The editorial office considers the manuscript number a confidential communication, which should be given
only to other authors of the paper. The editorial office staff releases information about manuscripts only to authors who provide the
manuscript number. Information about a specific manuscript can be obtained via Editorial Manager only by the corresponding author or
his designated representative who has access to his personal username and password.
NIH Initiative
The National Institutes
of Health "requests and strongly encourages" NIH-funded investigators to submit an electronic version of their final manuscript resulting
from research supported in whole or in part with direct costs from NIH, on acceptance for publication, to PubMed Central (PMC) (http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov
). The final manuscript is the version containing all modifications from the publishing peer review process. Our Journal supports those
authors who wish to participate in this initiative but does not participate in the submission process.
Print References
1. Gopen GD, Swan JA. The science of scientific writing. Am Sci.1990;78:550-8.
2. Scientific Style and Format: The CBE Manual
for Authors, Editors, and Publishers, 6th ed. New York: Cambridge University Press; 1994.
3. Iverson, Cheryl, et al, editors, American
Medical Association Manual of Style, 9th ed, Baltimore: Williams and Wilkins, 1998.
Checklist
____Cover letter, including
single-journal submission affirmation
____Manuscript category designation
____JTCVS Disclosure Statement (required only upon
revision or acceptance), signed, one from each author
____Copyright Transfer/Author Declaration Statement, signed by each author
____Permission to reproduce published material in all forms and media or to cite unpublished data
____Informed consent
statement (in Methods)
____Humane animal care statement (in Methods)
____Funding agency's role in data interpretation (in Methods)
____ Signed Statistical Collaboration/Review Release Statement
____Original manuscript submitted via jtcvs.editorialmanager.com (abstract, mini-abstract, title page, manuscript, references, tables, and figure legends in one file)
____Title page
____Title of article
____Full name(s), academic degrees, and affiliation(s) of authors
____Corresponding author
____Telephone
(business and home), fax, and E-mail address for corresponding author
____Word count (required)
____Abstract (250 words;
double-spaced; for original manuscripts only)
____Ultramini-abstract (50 words; double-spaced; for original manuscripts only)
____Text (double-spaced)
____References (double-spaced; separate pages)
____Tables (double-spaced; separate pages)
____Figure
legends (double-spaced; separate pages)
____Figures (separate files; no paperclips on hardcopy; properly identified)
