Neural Regeneration Research (NRR) Instructions for Authors (2015)

Areas of Interest

Neural Regeneration Research (NRR; ISSN 1673-5374) is an open-access, peer-reviewed, SCI-, PUBMED- and PubMed Central (PMC)-indexed unique international journal focusing exclusively on the exciting field of neural regeneration. In 2015, NRR is committed to publishing articles on repair and protection after various nerve injuries (including brain, spinal cord, peripheral nerve and cranial nerve injuries, as well as neurodegenerative diseases), articles regarding changes to nerves during the repair, protection and regeneration processesafter interventional treatments (including with stem cells, growth factors, genes, drugs, surgery, rehabilitation therapy, electrical stimulation, magnetic stimulation, physical therapy, replacement therapy, acupuncture and moxibustion), and articles that objectively and quantitatively evaluate the results of repair, protection and regeneration after nerve injury, as well as articles in this feld of research that involve large animals (such as primates) and are of translational medical signifcance.

Innovative methods and novel results demonstrated by young scientists in the field of neural regeneration in first-of-their kind publications are of great interest to NRR. Clinical trials with clinical trial registry numbers and basic science research papers that include original data with DOI register numbers are recommended for submission to NRR. Perspectives, highlights, commentaries and invited reviews published by NRR from excellent international scholars provide younger scholars with additional insights into developments and research in the field of neural regeneration, contributing to communication between basic research and clinical studies.

ing and Indexing

Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-E)

PubMed

PubMed Central (PMC)

BIOSIS Previews (BP)

Chemical Abstracts (CA)

Excerpta Medica (EM)

Index of Copernicus (IC)

OvidSP

Chinese Science Citation Database (CSCD)

Chinese Science and Technology Paper

SCOPUS

Editorial Board

Editor-in-Chief

Kwok-fai So, Director, GHM Institute of Neural Regeneration, Jinan University; Chair Professor and Head, Jessie Ho Professor in Neuroscience, Department of Anatomy, The University of Hong Kong

Xiao-Ming Xu, Professor and Mari Hulman George Chair of Neurological Surgery, Scientifc Director of Spinal Cord and Brain Injury Research Group, Indiana University School of Medicine

Editorial Board Members

The editorial board, led by Professors Kwok-fai So and Xiao-Ming Xu, comprises over one hundred members, who are dedicated to developing a journal that presents outstanding peer-reviewed, evidence-based scholarly research in neural regeneration.

Initial Submission

Cover letter

Authors are strongly encouraged to provide as much information as possible to the reviewers, including by:

-Declaring that the manuscript is original, has not been submitted to and is not currently under consideration by another publication and has not been previously published in any language in any form, including electronically. -Indicating that all authors approve the final version of the paper and its submission to NRR. -Recommending as potential peer reviewers for your paper 2 or 3 scientists who work in the same feld, but at different scientifc institutions, and who have not previously co-published academic articles with your group.

Once submitted to NRR, the paper should not be submitted to other journals during the one month that it is undergoing or awaiting the paper review process.

Transfer of Copyright Agreement

Once your paper is successfully submitted, NRR must receive your signed Copyright Transfer Agreement Form.

Peer Review after Submission

NRR uses the online manuscript submission and peer review system Editorial Manager. Each submitted manuscript will be subjected to a strict double-blind peer review by 3-5 international peer reviewers in the same research field. Authors will receive the peer review comments within 4 weeks of submission. The review time will be shortened to within 7 days for papers with comments made recently by peer reviewers from excellent international journals. Based on these comments, the section editors will decide whether to accept, reject, or request a revision of the manuscript, or submit it to another round of peer review.

Acceptance and Publication

After acceptance, authors will be able to inquire at any time about the progress of their manuscript submitted online using the account number assigned to the corresponding author. Generally, accepted manuscripts will be published within 3-6 months of the final revisions being made; however, authors can apply for rapid publication within 2-3 months of revision if their publications meet the following conditions:

-Provincial (or higher level) grant-funded innovative publications;

-Include comments made recently by peer reviewers from excellent international journals; -Basic research papers including original data with a DOI registration number;

-Clinical trials with Clinicaltrials.gov registration numbers;

-First-of-their-kind innovative publications.

Dissemination after Publication

Once a paper is published, it will be disseminated in Chinese and English via EurekAlert!. EurekAlert! is an online science news service, sponsored by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the scientifc society that publishes Science. Thus, the published paper will be quickly exposed to approximately 8,000 reporters worldwide representing the international mainstream media, including the New York Times, the Washington Post, Reuters, China Daily, Xinhua News Agency, and Renmin Ribao (People’s Daily). We will provide the click-through rate of your paper on EurekAlert! and the media exposure within 6-9 months of publication. We estimate that a paper’s citations will be increased by about 70% after science news dissemination via EurekAlert! compared with papers published without dissemination.

Audience

NRR has a strong international focus on neural regeneration and draws attention from neuroscientists who work in many neuroscience subfields, including neuroanatomy, neuropathology, neurosurgery, neurology, neurobiology, neuroimaging, neuroradiology and neurorehabilitation.

Manuscript type

(1) Invited articles

Invited Reviews

-Submit an outline for your manuscript before writing the article, and then submit the manuscript within 2 months of receiving permission from the NRR editorial committee.

-Word limit: 6,000 words maximum including the abstract, but excluding references, tables and fgures, 8-10 published pages.

-Manuscript structure

Title: 90 characters (20 words) maximum.

Abstract: 250 words maximum, unstructured. Introduction:

Body text:

Conclusion:

Author contributions:

Conficts of interest:

use the reference style of The Journal of Neuroscience.

Perspectives/Highlights/Commentaries

-Describe an issue in the feld of neural regeneration, provide your own viewpoints, make comments and propose directions for future work.

-Submit an outline for your manuscript before writing the article, and then submit the manuscript within 2 months of receiving permission from the NRR editorial committee.

-Word limit: 1,500-2,000 words, including references. No tables or abstract, 1 fgure permitted, 2 published pages.

-Manuscript structure

Title: 90 characters (20 words) maximum.

Authors and affliations: 2 authors maximum, 2 affliations maximum.

Body text: 1 fgure is permitted, no tables.

References: 10 maximum; use the reference style of The Journal of Neuroscience.

Letters to the Editor

-A letter sent to NRR that raises issues of concern for its readers.

-Word limit: 500-1,000 words maximum, excluding references. No abstract, tables or fgures, 1 published page.

-Manuscript structure

Title: 90 characters (20 words) maximum.

Body text:

Conficts of interest:

References: 5 maximum; use the reference style of The Journal of Neuroscience.

(2) Submitted papers

Original Articles

-Word limit: 4,000-6,000 words maximum, 8-10 published pages.

-Manuscript structure

Title: 90 characters (20 words) maximum.

Abstract: 250 words maximum, unstructured. Introduction: 500 words maximum.

Materials/Subjects and Methods:

Results:

Discussion: 1,000 words maximum.

Acknowledgments:

Funding:

Author contributions:

Conficts of interest:

References: 60 minimum; 30% of the cited references should have been published within the preceding 3 years; use the reference style of The Journal of Neuroscience.

Imaging in Neural Regeneration

-Word limit: 1,000-2,000 words, 2 published pages.

-No abstract, 2-3 images depicting the relationship between histological injury and nerve regeneration and function that would beneft other researchers in the feld.

-Manuscript structure

Title: 90 characters (20 words) maximum.

Body text:

Conficts of interest:

References: 10 maximum; use the reference style of The Journal of Neuroscience.

Manuscript preparation

Manuscripts must be submitted in Word format. All components of the manuscript should be typed and double-spaced, in Arial or Times New Roman font (11 pt). All pages should be numbered consecutively beginning with the title page, followed by the abstract, introduction, materials/subjects and methods, results, discussion, references, individual tables/fgures and fgure legends.

Title page

Complete title

-Should be brief (less than 20 words, 90 characters maximum), novel and informative.

-Should attract the attention of readers.

Running title

-Should accurately refect the main points of the paper.

-40 characters maximum.

-Should facilitate retrieval.

Authors

-Full name of the frst author and their affliations (including department, institution, city with postal code and state/country, telephone number and fax number).

-For the corresponding author, please list their name, highest academic degree earned, professional titles, detailed correspondence address, telephone number, fax number, and e-mail address.

-Indicate author contributions, grants that funded the work, any acknowledgements, and all conficts of interest.

Abstract page

Abstract: 250 words maximum, unstructured. -Briefy present the background for the study and any existing controversies; explain the objective, hypothesis and innovation of the study; state the problem being investigated; list the main experimental data that support your hypothesis; and conclude by stating the relevance of the fndings to the feld of neural regeneration.

Provide at least 10 key words, not present in the title, to facilitate the indexing of your paper.

Introduction

-Present the nature and scope of the problem under investigation.

-Review briefy the pertinent literature.

-Provide an innovative rationale and context for the study in relation to previous work.

-State the hypothesis and the objectives of the paper.

-500 words maximum.

Materials/Subjects and Methods

Materials/Subjects:

Provide general information regarding the experimental animals or subjects involved in the study. Indicate that the work was approved by the appropriate ethical committees related to the institution(s) and that the experimental animals used were cared for in accordance with institution guidelines.

Methods

-Describe the main experimental procedures and methods in such a way as to allow readers to replicate your work; cite previously described methods appropriately; and provide the location (city, state (for US suppliers), and country) of the manufacturers or suppliers of the materials and equipment used.

Results

-Objectively and accurately describe the major fndings from each experiment, and try to minimize the shortcomings of the study that will draw attention from the peer reviewers.

-Describe the fndings in order from major to minor.

-Use illustrations (e.g., graphs, drawings, or images) where appropriate. Graphs and drawings should be self-explanatory.

Discussion

-Word limit: 1,000 words maximum.

-Discuss the major novel fndings of the study and describe the characteristics of the study that are different from other, previously published studies.

-Explain and extrapolate the major fndings of the study; state whether the fndings support a certain viewpoint or not; and propose new problems or concerns.

-Discuss the signifcance of the major fndings and how they advance knowledge of the feld of neural regeneration.

-Provide a conclusion that clearly indicates how the results met the objectives. Do not offer a conclusion that is not supported by suffcient data.

-Disclose the limitations and bias in the study to embody the authenticity of the contents.

-Suggest future research directions that build on your fndings.

-Indicate the theoretical significance and practical application of the presented results and make a strong conclusion.

References

-Original Articles should cite a minimum of 60 references and more than 30% of the cited references should have been published within the preceding 3 years.

NRR uses the reference style of The Journal of Neuroscience. Please download it from End-Note (http://endnote.com/downloads/style/ journal-neuroscience).

-References should be cited in the text as follows: “The procedure used has been described elsewhere (Green, 1978)” or “Our observations are in agreement with those of Brown and Black (1979) and of White et al. (1980)”. For multiple references, cite in chronological order:“Earlier reports (Brown and Black, 1979, 1981; White et al., 1980; Smith, 1982, 1984)...”.

-In the list of references (EndNote required to view download), the titles of journals should be abbreviated according to the style used in the Index Medicus, and the papers should be arranged in alphabetical order by the surname of the frst author. In two-author papers with the same first author, the order is alphabetical by the second author’s name. In threeor-more-author papers with the same first author, the order is chronological. If there are more than 20 authors, the frst 20 should be listed, followed by et al.

-The following formats are to be used:

Journal papers

Hamill OP, Marty A, Neher E, Sakmann B, Sigworth F (1981) Improved patch-clamp techniques for high-resolution current recordings from cells and cell free membrane patches. Pfugers Arch 391:85-100.

Hodgkin AL, Huxley AF (1952a) The compo-nents of membrane conductance in the giant axon of Loligo. J Physiol (Lond) 116:473-496. Hodgkin AL, Huxley AF (1952b) The dual effect of membrane potential on sodium conductance in the giant axon of Loligo. J Physiol (Lond) 116:497-506.

In-press paper

Furuya R, Takahashi R, Furuya S (2009) Is urethritis accompanied by seminal vesiculitis? Int J Urol doi: 10.1111/j.1442-2042.2009.02314.x

Book

Hille B (1984) Ionic channels of excitable membranes. Sunderland, MA: Sinauer.

Chapter in a book

Stent GS (1981) Strength and weakness of the genetic approach to the development of the nervous system. In: Studies in developmental neurobiology: essays in honor of Viktor Hamburger (Cowan WM, ed), pp288-321. New York: Oxford UP.

Figures and tables

All illustrations (e.g., graphs, drawings and images) are considered to be figures. Each fgure should be provided with a fully descriptive title and legend. The area(s) of interest must be clearly indicated with arrows or other symbols. Figure legends must be self-explanatory and should provide suffcient detail to be intelligible without reference to the main text. All micrographs should contain a magnifcation scale bar. Please position the scale bar in the lower right corner of a single micrograph or of the last panel (for fgures with multiple panels). The length of the scale bar should be indicated on the images or in the figure legend. The images contained in a fgure should be arranged in sequence from the top left to the bottom right. The tags (A, B, C…) should be positioned in the upper left corner of each image. All abbreviations and labels appearing on the image should be explained in the fgure legend. If the figures have been reproduced from another source, written permission for reproducing the material must be attached to the cover letter. The figures should be cited consecutively in the text and numbered in that order. Each fgure should be placed on a separate page following the reference list and including the fgure title and legend. The fgure title should not be written on the fgure itself. All measurements in the fgure should be in SI (metric) units. A comma should be used to separate thousands. Labels, including *, **, ***, #, ##, and ### (in that order) should be used to identify statistically signifcant differences between datasets on histograms or line drawings.

-Color figure: resolution: ＞ 300 dpi; file format EPS, TIFF or PDF; CMYK mode should be used rather than RGB; use high contrasting colors for color discrimination.

-Line figures: resolution ＞ 1,200 dpi; line width between 0.5 and 4 point; file format EPS or PDF.

-Grayscale figures: resolution ＞ 600 dpi; file format EPS, TIFF or PDF. Figures should remain sharp at 300-fold magnifcation. Figures should be sized to fit within the column (9 cm) or the full-text width (18 cm). All labels on the figures should be in Arial or Times New Roman font and be clearly legible.

Writing Guidance

The following guidelines should be followed when writing an article.

-CONSORT statement (Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials): The CONSORT statement is recommended for reporting randomized controlled trials, and allows different types of medical studies to be reported using different article types. It is mainly used for randomized controlled clinical trials including parallel group randomized trials, cluster randomized trials, non-inferiority trials, equivalency tests, Chinese herb trials, medicinal herb intervention trials, non-drug treatment trials, acupuncture and adverse events trials. The CONSORT statement comprises a 25-item checklist and a fow diagram. In addition, the registration identifcation number and registry position of the randomized controlled trial is listed in the last line in the Abstract. See http://www. consort-statement.org/ for more information.

-Equator Network (standards for Enhancing the QUAlity and Transparency Of health Research): This organization works to improve the reliability and value of reports on medical research studies by promoting transparent and accurate reporting of research studies. See http://www.equator-network.org/ for more information.

-MOOSE checklist (a Reporting Checklist for Authors, Editors, and Reviewers of Meta-analyses of Observational Studies): This checklist is recommended for meta-analyses of observational studies.

-STARD statement (STAndards for the Reporting of Diagnostic accuracy studies): This checklist is recommended for reporting diagnostic accuracy studies. See http://www. stard-statement.org/ for more information.

-STREGA statement (STrengthening the REporting of Genetic Associations): These guidelines are recommended for the reporting of genetic association studies. See http://www. strega-statement.org/ for more information. -STROBE statement (STrengthening the Reporting of OBservational studies in Epidemiology): These guidelines are recommended for the reporting of observational studies in epidemiology). See http://www.strobe- statement.org/ for more information.

-TREND statement (Transparent Reporting of Evaluations with Nonrandomized Designs): These guidelines are recommended for the reporting of non-randomized evaluations of behavioral and public health interventions.

-PRISMA statement (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses: The PRISMA Statement is recommended for the reporting of systematic evaluation and meta-analysis articles. See http://www.prismastatement.org/ for more information.

Open-Access Publication

Anyone interested in reading your research can get free access to your paper at www. nrronline.org. The publisher maintains the rights to publish or disseminate part or all of the content of your paper. After transfer of copyright, the authors retain the rights.

NRR is co-published by MedKnow, a global open access medical publisher. After publication, the papers will be published online and can be rapidly found and retrieved via Google Scholar on any web-enabled device, including the iPhone, iPad and Android smartphones. Each published paper will be mentioned in science news on EurekAlert! to quickly reach prominent scholars and reporters around the world.

Reprints/Subscriptions

We are committed to providing two journal copies and five high-quality reprints to authors for free with a variety of customizations and delivery options available. Reprints can be purchased as print or electronic reprints and as translated articles, and will be customized to your specifc requirements and shrink-wrapped.

Copyright

Before publication of your manuscript in NRR, NRR must receive your signed Copyright Transfer Agreement Form. All authors should submit signed agreements, or one designated author may sign on behalf of the other authors. The publishers retains all rights concerning assembling, printing, reproducing, translating, disseminating, exhibiting, publishing, retrieving and indexing part or all of the contents of the article. In not-forproft circumstances, when cited appropriately, the use, dissemination and reproduction of part or all of the contents of the article is permitted. For more information, please visit http://www.nrronline.org/contributors.asp.

Reproduction after Publication

Any person or institution that would like to reproduce the published materials for non-proft use should obtain written permission from the copyright holder (the authors and the publisher).

Open Access Service Fees

Authors of invited papers may, at the discretion of the editorial committee, be granted complete waivers for the open access service fee.

When a paper is accepted for publication, the authors will be issued an invoice for payment of the open access service fee. The open access service fee is used to pay for online open access, development and maintenance of the editing and reviewing system, and data processing for exposure on Google Scholar, iPhone, iPad and Android smartphones, as well as for PubMed indexing and CrossRef presentation.

Contact Us

By Mail: Editorial Offce of Neural Regeneration Research, Shenyang

PO Box 10001, Shenyang 110180, Liaoning Province, P. R. China

Author inquiries: szb@nrren.org

Website: www.nrronline.org (English);

www.sjzsyj.org (Chinese)

Telephone: +86-1380-4998-773

, Database (CSTPCD)