Instructions for authors

The manuscript should include:

1. Title page with the title in Croatian and in English, and the names and surnames of the author(s). Below should follow the name of the author’s/authors’ affiliation(s), and the name of the institution(s) where the work was performed. The name and surname of each author should be repeated, with his/her academic degree, and the name of the institution where he/she works. It is required to include the address of the corresponding author whom the editorial board can contact. A short title of the article, that will be printed as current title, should be suggested at the bottom of the page.

2. Abstract and Keywords

The second page should include a structured summary in Croatian and in English (up to 300 words), with the aim of the study/ research, the material (participants) and methods, results and conclusions. New and important aspects of the study or observation should be emphasized in the abstract. Below should be given four to six keywords or short terms in Croatian and in English, to assist in indexing the article and to be published with the abstract. Terms from the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) list of Index Medicus should be used for keywords. General, plural and multi-word concepts (e.g. use of “and”, “or”) should be avoided. The abstract should not include references. The abstract must be written in accordance with the ICMJE Recommendations.

3. Introduction

The introduction provides the purpose and rationale for conducting the study or the research. It is recommended to cite only relevant references, without any data or conclusions.

4. Procedures (methods)

The selection and all the important characteristics of the participants or laboratory animals studied or observed should be listed. Generic names should be used for drugs and chemicals. All measurements should be given in SI units. In Croatian language texts, a decimal comma should be used. Procedures familiar from the literature should be described in general outline, providing full reference details. Devices should be identified, including the manufacturer’s name and address in parentheses. Statistical procedures should be described in detail to enable the reader to calculate the stated probabilities from the original results. In the case of computer data processing, the statistical software used should be specified. Papers dealing with research involving human subjects should state that the research was conducted following the ethical standards as given in the Declaration of Helsinki of 2000, as amended in 2002 and 2004. The name of any ethical committee that has approved the conduct of the research should also be stated. Participants’ names, initials or ID numbers should not be included.

5. Results

Relevance of data should be statistically corroborated. SI units should be used. Statistical methods should be described in detail, to enable a knowledgeable reader with access to the original data to verify the reported results. Where possible, findings should be quantified and presented with appropriate indicators of measurement error or uncertainty Results should be presented in a logical sequence in the text, tables, and illustrations. All the data in the tables or illustrations should not be repeated in the text, but rather only the most important observations should be emphasized or summarized.

6. Discussion

New and important aspects of the study, and its results, should be emphasized. It is not recommended to repeat in detail data or any other material given in the Introduction or in the Results section. It is important to explain the significance of the results obtained, their limitations, and implications for future research, avoiding, however, making statements and drawing conclusions not completely confirmed by the obtained data. Observations from the study should be compared with other relevant studies. When necessary, new hypotheses may be given, but clearly labelled as such.

7. Conclusions

The main conclusions are drawn based on the author’s or authors’ own results, separately after the discussion.

8. Statistics

Statistical methods should be described in detail in the Methods section, to enable a knowledgeable reader with access to the original data to verify the reported results. Where possible, findings should be quantified and presented with appropriate indicators of measurement error or uncertainty. The statistical software used should be specified.

9. Ethics and ethical standards

Papers dealing with experiments involving human subjects should clearly state that the procedures were conducted following the ethical standards of an institutional or national committee responsible for experiments involving human subjects, and in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki of 1975, as revised in 1983. Participants’ names and/or surnames should not be published, particularly in illustrative materials. Papers dealing with experiments on animals should state that an institutional or national standard for the care and use of laboratory animals was followed. If in doubt about plagiarism, and having assessed the problem, the editorial board will refer the material to a responsible ethics committee or to an academic integrity committee.

10. Abbreviations

Only standard abbreviations should be used. The spelled-out abbreviation followed by the abbreviation in parentheses should be used at the first mention unless the abbreviation is a standard unit of measurement. Abbreviations should be avoided in the manuscript title.

11. Symbols

Symbols used in the text should be explained. A detailed list of symbols may be given in an appendix.

12. Tables

Table titles and text in tables should be bilingual, in Croatian and in English. Tables should be presented on a separate page. They should not be submitted as photographs. Each table should have a title and be numbered consecutively in the order it appears in the text. Tables should be self-explanatory and simple. Table legends should be given below the table, and may include a reference to data in the table indicated by a superscript figure or letter. Results presented elsewhere in the article (e.g. in an illustration), should not be repeated in the table. If a table originating from other sources is used, permission for such publication should be obtained from the respective publisher/author.

• It is desirable that tables are not submitted as images, but integrated in the text. It is recommended to design tables as simply as possible.

13. Figures

Figure descriptions and text in figures should be bilingual, in Croatian and in English. All figures should be professionally drawn or photographed. Letters, numbers, and symbols on figures should be clear enough to remain legible when the figure is reduced for publication. Each figure should be numbered consecutively according to the order in which it appears in the text, have the author’s name and a clear mark showing which is the upper side of the figure. Each illustration should be numbered consecutively according to the order in which it appears in the text, and a clear mark showing which is the upper side of the illustration. Illustrations should be made in a quality appropriate for print publication. Photocopied images or photographs are not suitable for reproduction. Photographs of individuals will be published only with the written consent of the person photographed (or his/her guardian), or the individual should be rendered unrecognizable (concealing the eyes, face, etc.). If a figure is taken from other sources, permission for such reproduction obtained from the respective editor/ author should be submitted. If submitted in electronic format, figures/illustrations should be in a high resolution TIFF or JPEG file format, a minimum of 1,500 pixels wide. Figures/illustrations submitted in other formats may be accepted only with the prior consent of the editorial board. The editorial board reserves the right not to publish any figures/illustrations that fail to meet the above requirements.

• Figures (photographs, graphs, images…) should be submitted separately, in as high a quality and resolution as possible (.tif,. png). Each figure in the text, in addition to its own title, should have a generic title (Figure 1). The generic title should include

an ordinal number expressed as an Arabic numeral, numbered consecutively according to the order in which it appears in the text. Figure titles and descriptions are considered to be a part of the text, and not part of the figure/illustration. Therefore they should be included in the text, and not in the figure.

14. References

LV strictly follows the Vancouver citation style (International Committee of Medical Journal Editors – Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts submitted to biomedical journals: Sample references at: http://www.nlm.nih.gov/bsd/uniform_requirements.html).

References are cited in ordinal numbers, according to the order in which it appears in the text (the first reference cited is number

1). In manuscripts with six or less authors, all the authors should be listed; if there are seven authors, or more, the first three should be listed, followed by “et al.”. Journals should be cited with abbreviations as used by Index Medicus (http://www.pubmed.gov). Citing references – examples:

Journal article

Golubić D, Rapić D, Breitenfeld V. Neka klinička, dijagnostička i terapijska zapažanja o humanoj trihinelozi [Some clinical, diagnostic and therapeutic observations on human trichinellosis]. Lijec Vjesn. 1985;107:11–4. Croatian.

Journal supplement

Lundstrom I, Nylander C. An electrostatic approach to membrane bound receptors. Period Biol. 1983;85(Suppl 2):53–60.

Books and monographs

Individual author(s)

Eisen HN. Immunology: an introduction to molecular and cellular principles of the immune response. 5th ed. New York: Harper and Row; 1974, str. 406.

Editor

Dausset J, Colombani J, editor. Histocompatibility testing. Copenhagen: Munksgaard; 1973, str. 12–8.

Chapter in a book

Weinstein L, Swartz MN. Pathogenic properties of invading microorganisms. In: Sodeman WA jr, Sodeman WA, editor. Pathogenic

physiology: mechanism of disease. Philadelphia: WB Saunders; 1974, str. 457–72.

Article on the Internet

Abood S. Quality improvement initiative in nursing homes: the ANA acts in an advisory role. Am J Nurs [serial on the Internet]. 2002; 102(6):[about p. 3]. Dostupno na: http://www.nursingworld.org/AJN/2002/june/Wawatch.htm. [Pristupljeno 12. kolovoza 2002.]

15. Letter of submission

The letter of submission should include the name, address and telephone number (landline and mobile) of the corresponding author who will communicate with the LV editorial board, and will be responsible for arranging the necessary amendments with other authors. The type of article should be stated in the letter. The filled-in Checklist for Authors, the Statement of Authorship, and the Conflict of Interest Statement must be enclosed with the letter (https://lijecnicki-vjesnik.hlz.hr). Manuscripts submitted without these enclosures will not be considered.

16. Possible conflict of interest

All sources of funding (including private, public and commercial) of papers submitted for publication, as well as possible authors’ conflict of interest (informal agreements with commercial companies, consultancy work. and sponsored lectures on behalf of manufacturers or dealers of pertaining materials) must be clearly disclosed at the end of manuscript under the heading „Possible conflict of interest“. Financial and material support should also be listed.

17. Acknowledgements

Individuals who helper in study or manuscript preparations and are not listed as coauthors should be listed under the heading “Acknowledgements”.
For more information, please visit: http://www.icmje.org/ethical_4conflicts.html