Authors Guidelines

«SARCOIDOSIS VASCULITIS AND DIFFUSE LUNG DISEASE» publishes original papers, reviews, short notes and letters on subjects of occupational medicine and industrial hygiene. The contributions should not have been published or submitted to other journals.

The manuscripts, written in English, should be submitted using the journal's website http://www.mattioli1885.com/onlinejournals/index.php/sarcoidosis or www.sarcoidosis.it (to contact the Journal please, email to valeriaceci@mattiolihealth.com).

The publication in the Journal is free of charge.

Manuscripts are submitted to reviewers and the editorial board reserves the right to suggest alterations or reject any article. Authors will be informed of the reasons for any suggestions or rejections. Opinions expressed by authors are not in any way binding for the Journal.

Please, download and use the two sample files for your online submission: SVDLD title page sample and SVDLD manuscript sample . Then, upload both files in your submission.

MANUSCRIPTS - Manuscripts should be written using Microsoft Word for Windows, 12 font character, double spacing and wide margins. All pages, including references, must be numbered consecutively. The running title should appear at the top of all pages, including references and tables.

FIRST PAGE -The first page of the manuscript should contain the title of the article, the initial and surname of the author or authors, the name in full and surname for female authors, affiliation of each author, indication of any financial support for the research, and complete address of the author responsible for correspondence. On the same page a running title must be provided and at least 3 keywords; the running title must also be repeated at the top of each page of the manuscript.
If the article has already been the subject of a personal communication, a footnote should be added giving the date and place.

TABLES - Tables should be included at the end of the text and should be numbered consecutively with arabic numerals. Each table must be accompanied by a legend. Legends must contain sufficient information to render the table self-explanatory without reference to the text. In the text “tables” must be written in full (e.g. table 1). Tables should be prepared using Microsoft Word for Windows. They should be incorporated in the same file as the text along with legends.

FIGURES – Figures should be numbered consecutively with arabic numerals. Each figure must be accompanied by a legend. In the text, the figure must be cited in full (e.g. Figure 1). The figures can be embedded in the manuscript and should be placed in the right place and not at the end of the article, along with their legends. If Figures are prepared in jpeg or tiff (or high resolution pdf) format, they should be loaded separately as supplementary files. Photographs, drawings, graphs, diagrams must have a minimum size of 10x15 cm. A minimum resolution of 300 dpi is required. Figures will be printed in black and white or on greyscale. Colour figures will be printed in colour only if the authors agree to pay printing costs, but will be visible in the original colour format in the electronic version of the printed article that will be available on the website of the journal. It is the author’s responsibility to ensure that colours printed in greyscale allow a clear reading of the image. If figures or graphs taken from other journals or books are intended to be published, the contributor must obtain prior written authorization to do so from the author and the publisher of such material. A copy of this authorization should be sent to the editorial board of the Journal and the source of the material used should be quoted in the article.

ARRANGEMENT OF MANUSCRIPT - Articles should be divided into Abstract, Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, References. Methods should be described in detail only when they are original or substantially modified compared to previous methods. For methods already known and reported in the literature, quotation of the original articles is sufficient. Repetition in the text under Results of data already given in tables and figures should be avoided.

ACCOMPANYING LETTER – In an accompanying letter, the author responsible for correspondence should declare that all the authors have read and agreed with the content and interpretation of the submitted article. The accompanying letter should also contain a declaration signed by the corresponding author also on behalf of all the other authors concerning the existence of any financial agreements that may constitute a potential conflict of interest with the subject matter dealt with in the article.
TITLE: The title must be typed in the space provided in the web site (TITLE).
ABSTRACT: The abstract should describe the study concisely but clearly, highlighting only significant details; it should be divided into: background, objectives, methods, results, conclusions, and should not exceed 250 words. It must be typed in the web site in the space provided (ABSTRACT).
KEY WORDS: In the space provided, at least 3 key words should be inserted using capital letters only for the first letter of each key word and for proper names.

REFERENCES.

Number references, using Arabic numerals in parentheses, in the order in which they first appear in the text. References cited in a table/figure should appear in numeric order relative to the first citation of the table/figure in the text. For example, if the last reference cited before the table/figure in question is mentioned as reference 14, and that table/figure contains 5 references that have not been cited, the references in the table/figure would be numbered 15 through 19. Reference citations in the text would then recommence with number 20.
Appendix material should not have separate reference sections. References that appear in both the text and the appendix should be numbered as they appear in the text. Any references that appear only in the appendix should be added consecutively to the end of the text reference list.
Use the reference style of the National Library of Medicine, including the abbreviations of journal titles.
List all authors when there are 6 or fewer; when there are 7 or more authors, list only the first 3 and add “et al.”.
Do not use ibid. or op cit.
Include an “available from” note for documents that may not be readily accessible.
Cite symposium papers only from published proceedings.
When citing an article or book accepted for publication butnot yet published, include the title of the journal (or name of the publisher) and the year of expected publication.
Include references to unpublished material in the text, not in the references (for example, papers presented orally at a meeting; unpublished work [personal communications, papers in preparation]), and submit a letter of permission from the cited persons to cite such communications (in general, avoid citations to unpublished scientific results).
Ensure that URLs used as references are active and available (the references should include the date on which the author accessed the URL).

FOOTNOTES - Use footnotes only on the title page and in tables. Do not use footnotes in the text. Footnote symbols, in the order in which they should be used, are *, †, ‡, §, ||, ¶, **, ††, ‡‡, and so on. Do not use numbers or letters.

Manuscript categories and requirements for submission

Manuscripts should be typed in 12-point type and double spacing using Times New Roman style.

Original Articles: Main text: 5000 words limit, including the main body of text and abstract, and excluding references, figures and tables. It should carry an abstract of not more than 250-300 words.

Editorials: Editorials should not exceed 2000 words. An abstract is not required, no more than 10 references and 1 figure or table are allowed.

Review articles: Main text: 6000 words max, including an abstract (max. 250-300 words). References: No limit. Figures/Tables: max 10 tables/figures are deemed sufficient.

Case reports: The Case Report article is a detailed description or documentation of an emerging disease, unusual or rare disease, or the unusual manifestation of some common diseases. These contributions could be of up to 2000 words (excluding abstract and references). Abstract (unstructured), Figures/tables (maximum four). Details that might disclose the identity of the subjects under the study should be omitted. In any case, a document enclosing the patient’s agreement to publish all the necessary information must be obtained.

Letters to the Editor: These should be short and concise reports and should be of general interest to the field of medical scientific disciplines and sub-specialities. The letter should not exceed 1200 words, one figure and one table and up to 6 references. Abstract is not required. Key words are not required.

Images in Sarcoidosis: Manuscripts for this section should follow these guidelines: A title of submission that makes it clear what is being reported. Since the submission will be listed on PubMed without an abstract, this will be a key feature to allow others to find these images. Maximum of two figures which demonstrate a characteristic feature (unique or not) of pulmonary or extra-pulmonary sarcoidosis. A text of no more than 750 words. No more than 10 references. For those figures with identifying features, a release from patient for publication.

CLINICAL TRIALS REGISTRATION - All clinical trials must be registered in a public registry prior to submission or the journal won’t consider them.We follow the trials registration policy of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (www.ICMJE.org) and consider only trials that have been appropriately registered before submission, regardless of when the trial closed to enrollment. Acceptable registries must meet the following ICMJE requirements: be publicly available, searchable and open to all prospective registrants; have a validation mechanism for registration data; and be managed by a not-for-profit organization.

As defined by the ICMJE, a clinical trial is any research project that prospectively assigns human subjects to intervention and comparison groups to study the cause-and-effect relationship between a medical intervention and a health outcome. A medical intervention is any intervention used to modify a health outcome, and includes but is not limited to drugs, surgical procedures, devices, behavioral treatments, and process-of-care changes. A trial must have at least one prospectively assigned concurrent control or comparison group in order to trigger the requirement for registration. Non-randomized trials are not exempt from the registration requirement if they meet the above criteria.

AUTHORSHIP ISSUES - Authorship implies accountability. Listed authors must have contributed directly to the intellectual content of the paper, and the corresponding author should list the specific contributions of all authors in the appropriate section of the Authors’ Form. Authors should meet all of the following criteria, thereby allowing persons named as authors to accept public responsibility for the content of the paper.

Conceived and planned the work that led to the article or played an important role in interpreting the results, or both.
Wrote the paper and/or made substantive suggestions for revision.
Approved the final version.

Holding positions of administrative leadership, contributing patients to a study, and collecting and preparing the data for analysis, however important to the research, are not, by themselves, criteria for authorship. The manuscript should note people who made substantial, direct contributions to the work but did not meet the criteria for authorship in the Acknowledgments section, and should provide a brief description of their contributions.
Medical writers and industry employees can be legitimate contributors, and their roles, affiliations, and potential conflicts of interest should be described when submitting manuscripts. These writers should receive acknowledgment on the byline or in the Acknowledgments section in accord with the degree to which they contributed to the work reported in the manuscript. The Editors consider failure to acknowledge these contributors ghostwriting, and ghostwriting is unacceptable.

CONFLICT ON INTEREST: DEFINITION AND POLICY - The potential for conflict of interest exists when an author (or the author’s institution or employer) has personal or financial relationships that could influence (bias) his or her actions. These relationships vary from those with negligible potential to influence judgment to those with great potential to influence judgment.Not all relationships represent true conflict of interest. Conflict of interest can exist whether or not an individual believes that the relationship affects his or her scientific judgment.

Authors must state explicitly whether potential conflicts do or do not exist. Financial relationships (such as employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, paid expert testimony, grants or patents received or pending, and royalties) are the most easily identifiable conflicts of interest and the most likely to undermine the credibility of the journal, the authors, and science itself. Authors must disclose all financial relationships (both personal and institutional) that could be viewed as presenting a potential conflict of interest. These include, but are not limited to, any financial relationship that involves conditions or tests or treatments discussed in the manuscript and alternatives to the tests or treatments for those conditions. If authors are uncertain, they should err on the side of full disclosure. Disclosure of these relationships is essential not only for original research articles but also for editorials, letters, commentary, and review articles. Sarcoidosis Vasculitis and Diffuse Lung Diseases will publish conflict of interest disclosures.

AUTHORSHIP: ASSIGNING COPYRIGHT AND DECLARATION PROCESSES - All authors of papers accepted for publication must sign a form transferring copyright of the manuscript to the journal and also affirming that they have met the criteria for authorship, have agreed to be authors, and are aware of the terms of publication. We request that authors complete these forms when we suggest revisions to manuscripts. We do not require them when manuscripts are initially submitted.We also request that authors provide written permission from the individuals that they wish to list in the Acknowledgments section when we suggest revisions to manuscripts.

The corresponding author will serve as the first contact for all communication about manuscripts submitted to Sarcoidosis Vasculitis and Diffuse Lung Diseases, and it is this person’s responsibility to share all Sarcoidosis Vasculitis and Diffuse Lung Diseases communication with all of the authors. In addition, it is the corresponding author’s responsibility to respond to any questions regarding the integrity of the work, including but not limited to requests for study protocols or trial registry information, study data, and documentation of institutional review board approval. If the list of authors changes between submission and final acceptance of an article, it is the corresponding author’s responsibility to explain the changes to the Editors in writing and to obtain written documentation that all of the authors (including deleted authors) approve of the author changes.
All authors, except government employees whose work was done as part of their official duties, must transfer copyright toSarcoidosis Vasculitis and Diffuse Lung Diseases.

COPYRIGHT

© Sarcoidosis Vasculitis and Diffuse Lung Diseases. All rights reserved. Accepted papers become the permanent property of Sarcoidosis Vasculitis and Diffuse Lung Diseases. Transfer of copyright signifies transfer of rights for print publication; electronic publication; production of reprints, facsimiles, microfilm, or microfiche; or publication in a language other than English and no part may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior permission of both the author and the publisher.
We usually grant permission on request and without charge when authors ask to use portions of their work published in Sarcoidosis Vasculitis and Diffuse Lung Diseases for limited educational purposes and in other scholarly publications.

GALLEY PROOF

Unless indicated otherwise, galley proofs are sent to the first author and should be returned without delay. Alterations to galley proofs, other than those due to printer’s error, are charged to the author. Accepted and rejected manuscripts are retained for six months after publication or rejection, then destroyed.

ADVERTISEMENTS, BACK ISSUES AND REPRINTS - Advertisers and persons interested in back issues and reprints should contact: Mattioli 1885 - Casa Editrice, Strada di Lodesana 649/sx, Loc. Vaio 43036 Fidenza (Parma), Tel. 0524/530383, Fax 0524/82537, e-mail: redazione@mattioli1885.com
«Sarcoidosis Vasculitis and Diffuse Lung Disease» is protected by international copyright law.

USE OF ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE (AI) IN MANUSCRIPTS

The use of AI-assisted tools (e.g., ChatGPT, GPT-4, Bard) is permitted only for language and grammar improvements. AI must not generate original scientific content, conduct analyses, or interpret data. Authors must disclose AI use in the Methods or Acknowledgments section. AI cannot be listed as an author, as it does not meet authorship criteria. Authors remain fully responsible for the integrity, accuracy, and originality of their work. Editors and reviewers must not use AI for peer review. Manuscripts will undergo plagiarism and ethical checks, and undisclosed or improper AI use may lead to rejection or retraction.