Aim and Scope

 The Saudi Journal of Kidney Diseases and Trans-plantation, hereafter referred to as The Journal, is the official publication of The Saudi Center for Organ Transplantation, Riyadh, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and is published every three months. The Journal will consider papers of interest about diseases of kidney and urinary tract and related subjects. The Journal will publish original articles, review articles, short communications, case studies, letters to the editors, an annotated bibliography and a column on news and views, all of which are referred to as papers in this "Information for Authors/Contributors." Papers must not have been submitted for publication to any other journal or bulletin. All original articles, review articles, short communications and case studies will be peer reviewed. The procedure followed and decisions made by the editors will be final. The overall objective would be to get diverse perspectives in all matters relating to the kidney and urinary tract in the healthy and the diseased.
 

Authors

All authors must give signed consent for publication of the paper in a letter of submission which should accompany the manuscript. Any paper with joint authorship must be read and approved by all the authors. The authors are responsible for the accuracy of data and all matters contained in the papers including accuracy of references. Approval of the ethics committee of the relevant hospital should have been obtained, when appropriate. The editors or the management of The Journal will not be responsible for any opinion or contents of the papers.

Preparation of Manuscripts

 All manuscripts should be typed in double space on A4 sized paper (210x297 mm) with at least a 25 mm margin on all sides. Each major heading like Abstract, Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion, Acknowledgments and Literature cited should begin on a separate page. Figures, individual tables and legends should also be in separate pages. Indicate 3 to 6 relevant key words below the abstract. In general, the "Uniform Requirements for Manuscript" formulated by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors in Vancouver, B.C., Canada in 1979 {published in the British Medical Journal 1988;296:401-5 and reprinted in the Saudi Journal of Kidney Diseases and Transplantation 1994;5(2):147-53} should be followed.

Standard Writing Style

Editorial prerogative requires that the manuscripts should be consistent in style, spelling and use of abbreviations. Abbreviations should first be identified (spelled-out) before its continued use throughout the manuscript. Obscure abbreviations should be avoided. Likewise, slang and medical jargon should be left out unless these are now considered medically accepted terms in scientific research writing. The use of numbers at the start of a sentence should be avoided but when this becomes necessary, such numbers should be spelled-out. The numbers one to ten when used in the narrative should be spelled-out while the numbers beyond this could be written as numericals. However, numbers used to denote measurements and those used in a parenthesis to explain situations or locations or bibliographic notations should be written as only numericals. All manuscripts are subject to copy editing.

Units of Measurement

All scientific measurements must be given in Systeme Internationale d'unites (SI units). As parts of the SI system are controversial or unfamiliar e.g. concentration of substances, gas tensions, blood pressure and radiological units, suitable conversion factors should be provided. Blood pressure should be given as mm mercury and hemoglobin as gm/dl.

References

The abbreviations used for journal titles should be the same as in Index Medicus or the format used by the U.S. National Library of Medicine in Bethesda, Maryland. References cited in the paper should appear at the end of the paper with the exception of the News and Views Section where the reference can be given in the parenthesis immediately following the citation. The references should be listed in the numerical sequence, in the order they appear in the manuscript and not alphabetically. List all authors when six or less; when seven or more, list only first three and add et al. The references must be verified by the author(s) against the original documents.

Examples of Reference Citations

1. Reference to a journal article.
   1. Wu Z, Liao L, Sui Y, Tao F, Bai Y. Urokinase in combination with immunosuppressants in the treatment of lupus nephritis. Saudi Kidney Dis Transplant Bull 1992;3(3): 184-8.
   2. Wardle EN. Salt excretion and hypertension in experimental animals. Saudi J Kidney Dis Transplant 1997;8(4):410-13. Reference to a book (monograph).
      Bissada NK, Finkbeiner AE. Lower urinary tract function and dysfunction: Diagnosis and management; New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts. 1978:106-7.
2. Reference to a chapter in a book.
   Hesse A, Bach D. Stone analysis by infrared spectroscopy. In: Rose GA (ed). Urinary stones. Lancaster. MTP Press Ltd., 1982,87-105.
3. Reference to a chapter where the author(s) is/are editor(s) or compiler(s).
   Rose GA (ed). Hot climate or chronic dehydration stone disease. In: Urinary stones: Clinical and laboratory aspects. Lancaster. MTP Press Ltd., 1982;233-5.
4. Proceedings (published paper).
   Kootstra G, Ruers TJM. The need for procurement of kidneys and other organs for transplantation. Organ transplantation: Proceedings of the Second International Middle East Symposium, held at the Armed Forces Hospital, Riyadh. Saudi Arabia. Dec. 1984. Oxford, Medical Education Service Limited 1984;17-20.
5. Organization/Agency Publications.
   Whittier FC. A nephrologist examines substance abuse. Rockville, MD: American Kidney Fund, 1988; Newsletter for Health Professionals; Vol. V; Issue III:p.4-5.
6. Magazine Article.
   Powell D. Doctors bid to halt transplant mafia! (News Feature) Middle East Health. 1989 May-June:9.
   Drug proves 100 times more effective than Cyclosporine in preventing rejection (news). Contemporary Dialysis and Nephrology 1989;10(2):8.
7. No author given.
   Anonymous. Coffee drinking and cancer of the pancreas (Editorial). Br Med J 1981;283:628.
8. Corporate author.
   The American Heart Association. Research needs in nephrology. Summary of the statement presented to the National Kidney and Urological Disease Advisory Board Public Hearing. Council on the Kidney and Cardiovascular Disease Newsletter. Fall 1988;9-10.

Illustrations

• All illustrations (in three copies) should be professionally done and in case of photographs, should be on high contrast black and white or color glossy positive prints. Positive color slides are also accepted. Photocopies are not accepted. On the back of each figure, the figure number should be written and an arrow drawn to indicate the top edge. Photomicrographs or other photos requiring scales should have internally marked scales in the illustration. Photographs of persons should either not be identifiable as to the person or have a legally valid consent of the person concerned or of the legal guardian. For the reproduction of any figure or illustration where copyright clearance is necessary, required proof thereof should be submitted.
   

Galley Proofs

Galley proofs will be sent to the author for final proof reading which will be the responsibility of the corresponding author who should return the galley proof materials appropriately corrected within the stipulated time. Disagreement with changes made by the editors, if any, should be specifically mentioned at this time. No major changes such as deleting sentences or shortening or expanding them in the text will be accepted at this time. The principal or the corresponding author is required to sign on each page of the galley proof indicating his approval. Papers will be published only when the finally accepted manuscript signed by the principal author or the designated corresponding author is received in the publication office.

Off prints

Twenty-five reprints will be given free for each paper published and will be sent to the principal author or the corresponding author. Additional reprints can be ordered along with the galley proof or at any time before that, at a rate fixed by the editors of the Journal from time to time.

Copyright

The Journal holds the exclusive copyright of all papers published. All its publications will become the property of the Saudi Journal of Kidney Diseases and Transplantation. By submitting a paper, the authors give their consent for transferring exclusive copyright to The Journal for the papers published in The Journal. No part of this publication may be translated, reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any other infor-mation storage and retrieval system without permission from the publisher.