ISSN 1415-5273 printed version
ISSN 1678-9865 online version

INSTRUCTIONS TO AUTHORS

• Object and politics
• Categories articles
• Editorial procedures
• Conflict of interest
• Documents

The Brazilian Journal of Nutrition is a specialized periodical that publishes articles that contribute for the study of nutrition in its many sub-areas and interfaces; with a bimonthly periodicity, it is open to contributions of the national and international scientific community.

The journal accepts unpublished articles in Portuguese, Spanish or English, with title, abstract and keywords in the original language and in English in the following categories:

Original: contributions that divulge the results of unpublished researches taking into account the relevance of the theme, the reach and the knowledge generated for the research area (maximum limit of 6000 words).

Special: invited articles on current themes (maximum limit of 7000 words).

Review: (invited): synthesis of available knowledge on a given theme through analysis and interpretation of the pertinent bibliography containing a critical and comparative analysis of the works in the area, discussing the methodological limits and reaches, allowing the indication of perspectives of continued studies in that line of research (maximum limit of 8000 words). Two articles at most will be published by issue.

Communication: report on relevant themes based on recent research whose objective is to subsidize the work of professionals who work in the area, acting as a presentation or update on the theme (maximum limit of 5000 words).

Research Note: unpublished partial data of an ongoing research (maximum limit of 4000 words).

Assay: works that can lead to reflection and discussion of a subject that generates questioning and hypotheses for future researches (maximum limit of 5000 words).

Thematic section (invited): section designated for the publication of 2 to 3 coordinated articles from different authors and based on a theme of current interest (maximum limit of 12000 words).

Research involving living beings

Results of research including living beings should be accompanied by a copy of the opinion of the Research Ethics Committee of the Institution of origin or another certified National Council of Health. Furthermore, the last paragraph of the item Methods should contain a clear affirmation of abiding by the ethical principles contained in the Declaration of Helsinki (2000) and of being in agreement with the specific legislation of the country where the research took place.

Experiments with animals should follow the institutional guides of the National Councils of Research on the use and care of laboratory animals.

Records of Clinical Assays

Articles with results of clinical researches should present a number of identification in one of the Records of Clinical Assays validated by the World Health Organization (WHO) criteria and the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) criteria whose addresses are available at the ICMJE site. The identification number should be located at the end of the abstract.

Authorship

Authorship the number of authors must be coherent with the dimensions of the project. Authorship credit must be based on substantial contributions, such as conception and design, or data analysis and interpretation. Including the names of authors who do not fit within the parameters listed above is not justified. Other contributors may be cited in the Acknowledgement section.

The identification page of the manuscripts should contain explicitly how each one of the authors contributed.

Manuscript assessment

Texts submitted to the journal for review that are in agreement with the editorial policy will only start if they are also in agreement with the "instructions to the authors." If not, they will be returned so that they can be formatted according to the rules or to include a letter or other documents that may become necessary.

It is strongly recommended that the authors seek for professional linguistic advisement (certified reviewers or translators of Portuguese and English) before they submit articles that may contain errors and/or morphological, syntax, idiomatic or stylistic inadequacies. The use of the first person of the singular or plural should be avoided since scientific discourses should be impersonal and not contain judgment of value.

Original articles identified with errors or morphological and syntax inadequacies will be returned even before they are submitted to assessment regarding the merit of the work and the convenience of its publication.

The manuscripts that are approved in this phase will be sent to ad hoc referees (reviewers) selected by the editors. Each manuscript will be sent to two reviewers of known competence in the selected theme. If they are not in agreement, the manuscript will be sent to a third referee.

The peer review assessment is the blind review system where the identity of the authors and the referees are kept secret. Thus, the authors should do everything possible to avoid the identification of the authors of the manuscript.

The opinions of the referees consist of three possibilities: a) full acceptance; b) accepted with reformulations; c) fully refused. They authors will be notified whatever the case.

The final decision regarding the publishing of the article is always from the editors and they are allowed to make any adjustments they find necessary. If there are essay problems, the text will be returned to the authors so that corrections are made within the maximum stipulated period.

Accepted manuscripts: accepted manuscripts can be returned to the authors for approval of changes that were made in the editing and formatting processes, according to the style of the journal.

Copies: typographical copies will be sent to the others for correction of printing errors. The copies should return to the Núcleo a Editoração on the stipulated deadline. Other changes in the original manuscript will not be accepted during this phase.

Presentation of the manuscript

Submission of works

Works must be accompanied by a letter signed by all authors describing the type of work and thematic area, declaring that the manuscript is being presented only to the Brazilian Journal of Nutrition and agreeing to transfer the copyright to the journal.

If figures and tables published elsewhere are used, the authorization for their use must also be attached to the manuscript.

Please send four copies of the manuscript to the Núcleo de Editoração of the Journal formatted with 1,5 line spacing between the lines and font Arial 11. The material should also be sent in floppy disc or CD-ROM. The file should be saved in a text editor similar or above version 97-2003 of MSWord (Windows). The names of the authors or file should be printed on the label of the floppy disc or CD-ROM.

Of the four copies mentioned above, three should come without any identification of the authors so that the assessment can be done secretly; however they should be complete and identical to the original manuscript, omitting only the authorship. It is essential that the scope of the article does not contain any form of identification of the authors, which includes, for example, references to previous works of one or more of the authors or the institution where the work was done.

The text should contain from 15 to 20 pages. The pages must have personalized numbering starting with the cover page which should be number 1. The paper must be size A4 with at least 2.5cm of upper and lower margins and 3cm of left and right margins.

The articles should have approximately 30 references, except for review articles which can have around 50.

All pages should be numbered starting from the identification page. This document contains information that should clarify doubts regarding the formatting.

Reformulated version: the reformulated version must be sent in three complete copies, in paper and in a floppy disc or CD-ROM with a label indicating the number of the protocol, the version number, the name of the authors and the name of the file. It is absolutely forbidden to return the previous version.

The text of the article must use a colored font (blue) for all changes, together with a letter to the editor confirming the interest in publishing in this journal and informing what changes were made in the manuscript. If there is disagreement regarding the recommendations of the referees, the authors should present the arguments that justify their stance. The manuscript title and code should be specified.

The title page: should contain:

a) full title - must be concise, avoiding excess words such as "assessment of...", "considerations on...", "exploratory study…";

b) short title with up to 40 characters in Portuguese (or Spanish) and English;

c) full name of all the authors indicating where each one works. Each author is allowed one employee and one title. The authors should therefore choose among their titles and employees those that they judge to be most important.

d) All data regarding titles and employees should be presented in full, without abbreviations.

e) List the full addresses of all the universities with which the authors have affiliations;

f) Indicate an address to exchange correspondence, including the manuscript, with the authors, including facsimile, telephone and e-mail address;

Observation: this should be the only part of the text with identification of the authors.

Abstract: all articles submitted in Portuguese or Spanish should have an abstract in the original language and English, with at least 150 words and at most 250 words.

The articles submitted in English should contain the abstract in Portuguese or Spanish and in English.

For original articles, the abstracts must be structured highlighting objectives, basic methods adopted, information on the location, population and sample of the research, most relevant results and conclusions, considering the objectives of the work and indicating ways to continue the study.

For the remaining categories, the format of the abstract must be narrative but with the same information.

The text should not contain citations and abbreviations. Highlight at least three and at most six keywords using the descriptors of Health Science - DeCS - of Bireme.

Text: except for manuscripts presented as Review, Research Note and Assay, the works should follow the formal structure for scientific works:

Introduction: must contain current literature review and pertinent to the theme, adequate to the presentation of the problem and that highlights its relevance. It should not be extensive unless it is a manuscript submitted as Review.

Methods: must contain a clear and brief description of the method employed along with the correspondent bibliography, including: adopted procedures, universe and sample; measurement instruments and if applicable, validation method; statistical treatment.

In relation the statistical analyses, the authors must demonstratethat the procedures employed were not only appropriate to test the hypotheses of the study but have also been correctlyinterpreted. Do not forget to mention the level of significance adopted (e.g. p<0.05; p<0.01; p<0.001).

Inform that the research was approved by an Ethics Committee certified by the National Council of Health and inform the number of the procedure.

If experiments with animals are reported, indicate if the directives of the institutional or national research councils - or any law regarding the care and use of laboratory animals - were followed.

Results: whenever possible, the results should be presented in tables and figures and constructed in a way as to be self-explanatory and contain statistical analysis. Avoid repeating the data within the text.

Tables, charts and figures together should be limited to five and numbered consecutively and independently with Arabic characters according to the order in which data is mentioned and must come in individual and separate sheets. Their locations should be indicated in the text. Information on the location and year of the study is absolutely necessary. Each element should have a brief title. Tables and charts must have open side borders.

The author is responsible for the quality of the figures (drawings, illustrations, tables, charts and graphs). It must be possible to reduce their size to one or two columns (7 and 15 cm respectively) without loss of sharpness. Landscape format is not allowed. Digital figures should have the jpeg extension and a minimum resolution of 300 DPI.

Printing of colored images when this printing is possible is paid by the authors. If the authors are interested, the Brazilian Journal of Nutrition will inform them of the costs which will vary according to the number of images, their distribution in different pages and the concomitant publication of colored material by other authors.

Once the costs are presented to the authors, these are asked to deposit the amount in a bank account. The information regarding the account will be disclosed when necessary.

Discussion: should explore adequately and objectively the results and discuss them in light of other observations already registered in the literature.

Conclusion: present the relevant conclusions taking into account the objectives of the work and indicate ways that the study can be continued. Bibliographical citations in this section are absolutely forbidden.

Acknowledgements: acknowledgments are accepted in a paragraph with no more than three lines and may contain the names of institutions or individuals who actually collaborated with the research.

Attachments: include attachments only when they are absolutely essential for the understanding of the text. The editors will determine if their publication is necessary.

Abbreviations: these must be used in the standard manner and restricted to the usual or sanctioned ones. They should be followed by their full meaning when first cited in a text. They should not be used in the title and abstract.

References according to the Vancouver Style

References: must be numbered consecutively according to the order in which they were first mentioned in the text, according to the Vancouver Style.

In references with two or up to the limit of six authors, all authors are cited; references with more than six authors, the first six should be mentioned and the remaining referred to as et al.

The abbreviations of the titles of mentioned journals should be in agreement with the Index Medicus.

Citations/references of senior research papers, works of congresses, symposiums, workshops, meetings, among others and unpublished texts will (examples, classes among others) not be accepted.

If an unpublished work of one of the authors of the study is mentioned (that is, an article in press) it is necessary to include the letter of acceptance of the journal who accepted the article for publication.

If unpublished data obtained by other researchers are cited in the manuscript, it is necessary to include a letter authorizing the disclosure of the data by their authors.

Bibliographical citations in the text: they should be placed in numerical order, in Arabic characters, half a line above and after the citation and must be included in the list of references. If there are only two authors, both are mentioned and separated by a "&"; if more than two, only the first one is mentioned followed by the expression "et al."

The exactness and adequateness of the references to works that have been consulted and mentioned in the text of the article are of responsibility of the authors. All authors whose works are cited in the text should be listed in the "References" section.

Examples

Article with more than six authors

Nascimento E, Leandro CVG, Amorim MAF, Palmeiras A, Ferro TC, Castro CMMB, et al. Efeitos do estresse agudo de contenção, do estresse crônico de natação e da administração de glutamina sobre a liberação de superóxido por macrófagos alveolares de ratos. Rev Nutr. 2007; 20(4): 387-96.

Article with one author

Traverso-Yépez MA. Dilemas na promoção da saúde no Brasil: reflexões em torno da política nacional. Interface: Comunic, Saúde, Educ. 2007; 11(22):223-38.

Electronic article

Mendonça MHM, Giovanella L. Formação em política pública de saúde e domínio da informação para o desenvol-vimento profissional. Ciênc Saúde Coletiva  [periódico na Internet]. 2007  Jun [citado 2009  Jan  28]; 12(3):601-610. Disponível em: <http://www.scielo.br>..doi:.10.1590/S1413-812320070003000 10.

Book

Rouquayrol MZ, Almeida Filho N. Epidemiologia & saúde. 6a. ed. Rio de Janeiro: Medsi; 2005.

Electronic book

World Health Organization. The world health report 2007: a safer future: global public health security in the 21st century [monograph online]. Geneva: WHO; 2007. [cited 2009 Jan 30]. Available from: <http://www.who.int/whr/2007/en/index.html>.

Book chapters

Monteiro CA. Ther underweight/overweight double burden for the poorest in low-income countries. In: Dube L, Bechara A, Dagher A, Drewnowski V, LeBel, James P, et al., editors. Obesity prevention: the role of society and brain on individual behavior. New York: Elsevier; 2007. v.1.

Electronic book chapters

New health threats in the 21st Century. In:  World Health Organization. The world health report 2007: a safer future: global public health security in the 21st century [monograph online]. Geneva: WHO; 2007. [cited 2009 Jan 30]. Available from: <http://www.who.int/whr/2007/chapter3/en/index.html>.

Dissertations and theses

Franco AC. Educação nutricional na formação do nutri-cionista: bases teóricas e relação teoria-prática [mestrado]. Campinas: Universidade Estadual de Campinas; 2006.

Electronic text

World Health Organization. Malaria elimination: a field manual for low and moderate endemic countries. Geneva, 2007.  [cited 2007 Dec 21]. Available from: <http://www. who.int/malaria/docs/elimination/MalariaElimination_ BD.pdf>.

Computer software

Dean AG, Dean JA, Coulombier D, Brendel KA, SmithDC, Burton AH,  et al.  Epi Info, Version 6: a word processing, database, and statistics program for public health on IBM-compatible microcomputers. Atlanta (Georgia):  Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; 1996.

For other examples please check the norms of the Committee of Medical Journals Editors (Vancouver Group) at <http://www.icmje.org>.

If there is a conflict of interest on the part of the referees, the Editorial Committee will send the manuscript to another ad hoc referee.

Declaration of responsibility and copyright transfer

 Each author must read and sign the documents (1) Declaration of Responsibility and (2) Copyright Transfer.

- Title of the manuscript:

- Name of the authors must be consecutively according to the orders in which they were mentioned in the text.

- Author responsible for the negotiations:

1. Declaration of responsibility: all the persons mentioned as authors must sign the declarations of responsibility in the terms mentioned below:

– I certify that I have participated in the creation of this work and render public my responsibility for its content; I have not omitted any affiliations or financial agreements between the authors and companies that may be interested in the publication of this article;

– I certify that the manuscript is original and the work, in part or in full, or any other work with a substantially similar content of my authorship was not sent to another journal and will not be sent to another journal while its publication is being considered by the Brazilian Journal of Nutrition, whether in the printed or electronic format.

2. Copyright transfer: "I declare that, if this article is accepted, the Brazilian Journal of Nutrition will have its copyright and exclusive ownership and any reproduction, in part or in full, printed or electronic, is forbidden without the previous and necessary consent of this journal. If the consent is granted, I will include my thanks for this journal."

Signature of the author(s)               Date          /        /