Submissions

Author Guidelines

INTRODUCTION

Angiologia e Cirugia Vascular is a scientific journal aimed at the publication of original research articles, review articles, case reports or images on vascular disease. The objective is to improve the care of patients with vascular disease by the diffusion of knowledge on prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of arterial, venous and lymphatic disorders. All manuscripts are peer-reviewed. Contributions may also take the form of editorials, correspondence or edited videos. The contents of each issue are the responsibility of the editors. Any articles published shall be the exclusive property of the journal Angiologia e Cirugia Vascular and may not be copied either wholly or in part without the prior consent of the editorial staff. Responsibility for the opinions expressed and integrity of contents lies exclusively with the authors.

Angiologia e Cirugia Vascular adheres to the Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals (commonly referred to as the Vancouver Convention), created by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors. Authors are encouraged to read them carefully at http://www.icmje.org. Articles must be submitted in accordance with the instructions for authors listed below.

BEFORE YOU BEGIN

Ethics in publishing

Authors are strictly obliged to follow current recommendations on publication ethics. For information on ethics in publishing and ethical guidelines for journal publication please refer to COPE. Manuscripts must include a statement on research ethics including necessary approval by local ethical committees whenever appropriate.

Human and animal rights

If the work involves the use of animal or human subjects, the author should ensure that the work described has been carried out in accordance with the Code of Ethics of the World Medical Association (Declaration of Helsinki) for experiments involving humans or animals. Information on the requirements for manuscripts submitted to biomedical journals may be found here: http://www.icmje.org. Manuscripts must include a statement that informed consent was obtained for experimentation with human subjects. The privacy rights of human subjects must always be observed, according to current legislation. Approval by competent ethical authorities such as local or national ethical committees is mandatory whenever appropriate, and this approval must be explicitly stated in the manuscript.

Conflicts of interest

All authors must disclose any financial and personal relationships with other people or organizations that could inappropriately influence their work. Examples of potential conflicts of interest include employment, consultancies, proctoring, stock ownership, honoraria, paid expert testimony, patent applications/registrations, and grants or other funding. If there are no conflicts of interest, please state: "Conflicts of interest: none".

Submission declaration and verification

Submission of an article implies the following conditions:

1. the work described has not been published previously (except in the form of an abstract, as part of a published lecture or academic thesis or as an electronic preprint);

2. it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere;

3. submission and eventual publication is approved by all authors and tacitly or explicitly by the responsible authorities where the work was carried out

4. if accepted, it will not be published elsewhere in the same form, in English or in any other language, including electronically without the written consent of the copyright-holder.

To verify originality, articles may be checked by a plagiarism detection software.

Authorship

All authors should have made substantial contributions to all of the following:

1. conception and design of the study, acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data;

2. drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content;

3. final approval of the version to be submitted.

The maximum number of authors is 8 for original research articles and review articles, 5 for case reports and videos and 2 for editorials and correspondence.

Permission for authorship exceeding these limits must be requested in writing, accordingly justified, and the final decision to accept any additional authors is left to the editors. Please ensure that authorship (authors list and their relative positions) is correct at the point of submission as this may not be altered later. A written statement that all authors have approved the final submitted version must be provided.

Clinical trials

Submission of a CONSORT flow chart is required for randomized controlled trials. Prior registration in a public trials registry is also mandatory and the clinical trial registration number (ISRCTN) must be included at the end of the abstract. Purely observational studies (those in which the assignment of the medical intervention is not at the discretion of the investigator) will not require registration. Please refer to the following for more information: http://www.consort-statement.org; http://www.icmje.org.

Reporting Guidelines

It is strongly recommended that authors follow contemporary guidelines on reporting scientific work. For randomized trials, we recommend following the CONSORT statement. Review articles should preferably be structured in the form of a systematic review, scoping review, or meta-analysis. For reviews, we recommend following the PRISMA statement. For observational studies we recommend following the STROBE guidelines. For studies involving animal subjects we recommend following the ARRIVE guidelines.

Role of the funding source

Authors are requested to disclose any financial support for the research and/or preparation of the article and to briefly describe the role of the sponsor(s). If the funding source(s) had no such involvement, then this should be stated.

Copyright and author rights

The acceptance for a manuscript for publication by Angiology and Vascular Surgery implies the acceptance of copyright transfer from all the authors to the journal. However, authors (or their employer or affiliated institution) may reuse your work, such as depositing on an institutional repository. Please refer to the publisher for any queries regarding copyright.

Open access

All articles published will be immediately and permanently available free of charge to consult and/or download. Permitted reuse is defined by your choice of the following Creative Commons user license: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/: for non-commercial purposes, lets others distribute and copy the article, and to include in a collective work (such as an anthology), as long as they credit the author(s) and provided they do not alter or modify the article. Your publication choice will have no effect on the peer review process or acceptance of submitted articles. By default, the CC-BY-NC licence is applied.

Language

Angiologia e Cirurgia Vascular accepts publications in English and Portuguese languages. Publication in English is recommended for all original research articles, revision articles, case reports and vascular image. For these categories, submission of title, abstract and/or full text in Portuguese, in addition to the English version, is optional. If the authors opt for a full text in Portuguese, a request should be made in the title page and accepted by the editors. For other forms of publication (editorials, correspondence, or others), submission in English or Portuguese is possible.

Submission

All submissions must be made via http://acvjournal.com.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR AUTHORS

Elements for submission (mandatory files in red)

When submitting manuscripts to the journal Angiologia e Cirurgia Vascular, the following elements must be uploaded on the platform, in individual files:

1. Title Page

The Title Page should include the following elements:

a) Title in English (a title in Portuguese may be added, but it is optional);

b) Short Title in English, maximum 50 characters (a short title in Portuguese may be added, but it is optional);

c) Type of article (one of the following: original research, review article, case report, vascular image, letter to the editor, invited commentary, editorial)

d) First name, middle initial (if any), and surname of the first author and co-authors in the correct order;

e) Author affiliations;

f) Name, professional postal address, professional phone number and email address of the corresponding author;

g) Conflicts of interest

h) Funding (reference to all funds received or research contracts)

i) Work count including references, tables, table and figure legends (excluding the abstract)

j) Names and dates of all meetings where the work has been presented or submitted as well as any prizes received.

A template for the Title Page may be downloaded here.

2. Abstract Page

The Abstract Page should include the following elements:

a) Title in English (a title in Portuguese may be added, but it is optional);

b) Abstract (in English, maximum 300 words);

c) Key works (in English, preferably using MeSH terms, minimum 3 and maximum 6 are allowed);

d) Abstract in Portuguese (optional);

e) Key words in Portuguese (optional).

A template for the Abstract Page may be downloaded here.

3. Full Text

The Full Text of the manuscript should contain the following elements in their respective order:

a) Title in English (a title in Portuguese may be added, but it is optional);

b) Full text including tables, table legends and figure legends;

c) Acknowledgements.

d) References

A template for the Full Text may be downloaded here.

4. Figures

Submit each figure as a separate file, numbered according to the number attributed in the Full Text. Please refer to the electronic artwork section for details. Figure title and legends should be included in the Full Text document.

5. Graphical abstract (optional)

Submission of a graphical abstract is optional, but it is a very effective way of sharing research work. Authors are invited to submit a graphical abstract that may be published in the print version of the article but also shared on social media, thereby increasing the visibility of the publication. Graphical abstracts should summarize the contents of the manuscript in a simple and concise way. You may find more information here and here. You may also download a template here. Please refer to the electronic artwork section for formatting details.

Use of word processing software

It is important that the files be saved in the native format of the word processor used. The text should be submitted in Calibri font or similar, size 12, double-spaced and in single-column format. Use continuous line numbers throughout to facilitate the review process (this can usually be added to the word file in: File/Page configuration/Microsoft Word/margins/line numbers/continuous numbering). Keep the layout of the text as simple as possible. Do not use the word processor’s options to justify text or to hyphenate words. However, do use bold face, italics, subscripts, superscripts etc. When preparing tables, if you are using a table grid, use only one grid for each individual table and not a grid for each row. If no grid is used, use tabs, not spaces, to align columns. Do not use formatting for tables, these should be kept as basic as possible. The electronic text should be prepared in a way very similar to that of conventional manuscripts. Note that source files of figures, tables and text graphics will be required. See also the section on electronic artwork. To avoid unnecessary errors, you are strongly advised to use the ‘spell-check’ and ‘grammar-check’ functions of your word processor. Templates for each section are available above.

Word limits

Articles should be as brief as possible. Maximum word limits are:

a. Original research and review article: 4000 words including references

b. Case-report: 1500 words including references (maximum 10 references)

c. Correspondence: 500 words including references (maximum 5 references)

d. Vascular image/video: a small caption accompanying the image/video is allowed, with a maximum of 150 words, without references.

e. Videos must not exceed 10 minutes in duration.

Structure of original research and review articles

Original research work and review articles should be structured as follows:

a. Introduction

The introduction should contextualize the problem and provide an adequate background, avoiding a detailed literature survey or a summary of prior results. A clear objective (research question) should be stated.

b. Methods

Methods should be sufficiently detailed to allow reproducibility. Depending on the nature of the study, these usually include an ethical statement, description of the setting, definitions used, study endpoint(s), detailed technical aspects when applicable, detailed statistical methodology, among other elements.

c. Results

Results should be presented in a clear and concise manner. The use of tables and figures is encouraged.

d. Discussion

This should explore the significance of the results, not repeat them. Comparisons with similar research and findings of others should be discussed. Extensive citations and discussion of published literature should be avoided, but all relevant aspects of the findings should be included. Study limitations should also be clearly presented.

e. Conclusions

The main conclusions of the study may be presented in a short Conclusions section.

Original research articles and review articles must be accompanied by a structured abstract, with a maximum of 300 words, and with the following sections: Introduction, Methods, Results, Conclusion.

Structure of case report articles

Case report articles should be structured as follows:

a. Background

The introduction should contextualize the case or small case series and provide an adequate background. The relevance of the case or small case series should be highlighted.

b. Report

A detailed description of the prior history, relevant clinical details, imaging and other elements that may apply should be provided. Whenever possible, figures should be used to illustrate the case.

c. Discussion

Presentation of the main findings and their significance, as well as description and comparison with similar publications should be presented. A short conclusion sentence or paragraph should be added at the end of the discussion.

Case report articles must be accompanied by a structured abstract, with a maximum of 300 words, and with the following sections: Background, Report, Conclusion.

Structure of other forms of publication

Other forms of publications do not require a specific structure nor require an abstract.

Data protection

The authors should declare that they have followed the protocols of their work centre on the publication of patient data and that all the patients included in the study have received sufficient information and have given their informed consent in writing to participate in that study. The authors should also declare that no patient data is provided.

Keywords

Immediately after the abstract, authors are requested to provide 3 to 6 keywords, using UK English spelling and avoiding general and plural terms and multiple concepts (avoid, for example, "and", "of"). Be sparing with abbreviations: only abbreviations firmly established in the field may be eligible. MeSH terms should be used preferentially. These keywords will be used for indexing purposes.

Acknowledgements

Collate acknowledgements in a separate section at the end of the article before the references and do not, therefore, include them on the title page, as a footnote to the title or otherwise. List here those individuals who provided help during the research (e.g., providing language help, writing assistance or proofreading the article, etc.).

Units

Follow internationally accepted rules and conventions: use the international system of units (SI). If other units are mentioned, please give their equivalent in SI.

Electronic artwork

General points

- Make sure you use uniform lettering and sizing of your original artwork.

- Embed the used fonts if the application provides that option.

- Aim to use the following fonts in your illustrations: Arial, Courier, Times New Roman, Symbol, or use fonts that look similar.

- Number the illustrations according to their sequence in the text.

- Use a logical naming convention for your artwork files.

- Provide legends (captions) to illustrations separately, in the Full Text document, immediately after the paragraph where the figure is first referenced in the text.

- Size the illustrations close to the desired dimensions of the published version.

- Submit each illustration as a separate file.

Formats

If your electronic artwork is created in a Microsoft Office application (Word, PowerPoint, Excel) then please supply "as is" in the native document format. Regardless of the application used other than Microsoft Office, when your electronic artwork is finalized, please "Save as" or convert the images to one of the following formats (note the resolution requirements for line drawings, halftones, and line/halftone combinations given below):

EPS (or PDF): Vector drawings, embed all used fonts.

TIFF (or JPEG): Colour or grayscale photographs (halftones), keep to a minimum of 300 dpi.

TIFF (or JPEG): Bitmapped (pure black & white pixels) line drawings, keep to a minimum of 1000 dpi.

TIFF (or JPEG): Combinations bitmapped line/half-tone (colour or grayscale), keep to a minimum of 500 dpi.

Graphical abstracts should have a minimum of 531 x 1328 pixels. The image should be readable at a size of 5 x 13 cm using a screen resolution of 96 dpi. Files should be sent in one of the following formats: TIFF, PDF or MS Office.

Please do not:

- Supply files that are optimized for screen use (e.g., GIF, BMP, PICT, WPG); these typically have a low number of pixels and limited set of colours;

- Supply files that are too low in resolution.

- Submit graphics that are unproportionate for the content.

Videos can be submitted in one of the following formats: MP4, MOV, WMV or AVI.

Tables

Please submit tables as editable text and not as images. Tables should be placed immediately after the paragraph where it is first referenced in the Full Text document. Number tables consecutively in accordance with their appearance in the text and place any table notes below the table body. Be sparing in the use of tables and ensure that the data presented in them do not duplicate results described elsewhere in the article. Please avoid using vertical rules.

References

References generally follow the Vancouver styling. The format for references is the following:

Please ensure that every reference cited in the text is also present in the reference list (and vice versa). Unpublished results and personal communications are not recommended in the reference list but may be mentioned in the text. If these references are included in the reference list, they should follow the standard reference style of the journal and should include a substitution of the publication date with either "Unpublished results" or "Personal communication". Citation of a reference as "in press" implies that the item has been accepted for publication.

Reference links

Increased discoverability of research and high-quality peer review are ensured by online links to the sources cited. In order to allow us to create links to abstracting and indexing services, such as Scopus, CrossRef and PubMed, please ensure that data provided in the references are correct. Please note that incorrect surnames, journal/book titles, publication year and pagination may prevent link creation. When copying references, please be careful as they may already contain errors. Use of the DOI is encouraged.

Web references

As a minimum, the full URL should be given and the date when the reference was last accessed. Any further information, if known (DOI, author names, dates, reference to a source publication, etc.), should also be given. Web references can be listed separately (e.g., after the reference list) under a different heading if desired, or can be included in the reference list.

Reference style

In the text: Indicate references by number(s) in superscript in line with the text. The actual authors can be referred to, but the reference number(s) must always be given. Superscript reference should follow punctuation (example: … in a recent study.1)

In the bibliography list: Number the references in the list in the order in which they appear in the text.

Examples:

References to journal publications:

1.Forner A, Ayuso C, Isabel Real M, Sastre J, Robles R, Sangro B, et al. Diagnosis and treatment of hepatocellular carcinoma. Med Clin (Barc). 2009;132:272-87.

Reference to a book:

2.Ware JE, Kosinski M, Dewey JE. How to score version 2 of the SF-36 Health Survey (standard & acute forms). Lincoln RI: Quality Metric Incorporated; 2000.

Note shortened form for last page number. e.g., 51-9, and that for more than 6 authors the first 6 should be listed followed by ‘et al.’ For further details you are referred to ‘Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts submitted to Biomedical Journals’ (J Am Med Assoc 1997;277:927-34) (see also http://www.nlm.nih.gov/bsd/uniform_requirements.html).

Do not submit a document with citation software (such as EndNote). If such software is used, the references should be converted to simple word lines without hyperlinks before submission.

Supplementary material

The journal accepts electronic supplementary material to support and enhance your scientific research. Supplementary files offer the author additional possibilities to publish supporting applications, high resolution images, background datasets, video clips and more. Supplementary files supplied will be published online alongside the electronic version of your article. Supplements may be referenced in the Full Text. To ensure that your submitted material is directly usable, please provide the data in one of our recommended file formats. Authors should submit the material in electronic format together with the article and supply a concise and descriptive caption for each file.

RE-SUBMISSIONS AFTER PEER REVIEW

After peer-review, revisions may be suggested by the reviewers. Also, editors may request changes to the original submission or the revised files. Authors are expected to submit reviewed files via the editorial manager platform, with track changes, using the same template files as for the original submissions. A separate word file containing the reviewer/editor comments, presented individually, and followed by an answer from the authors, is mandatory. Every time changes are made to the manuscript, authors should include the changes in the answer, referencing to the page and line numbers in the revised document. A template for the author response form can be downloaded here.

AFTER ACCEPTANCE

After acceptance, the article will be produced in the journal format for publication. Before an article is finalized to be included in a journal issue, proofs must be reviewed by the authors. It is important to ensure that any corrections are sent back in one communication: check carefully before replying, as inclusion of any subsequent corrections cannot be guaranteed. Proofreading is solely the author’s responsibility.

AUTHOR INQUIRIES

You can contact the editors or track your submitted article on the journal platform. You can also track your accepted article using the same platform.