REQUIREMENTS FOR AUTHORSHIP

Each author should have participated sufficiently in the work to take public responsibility for its content. He or she should have made substantial contributions to all four of the following conditions: (1) a. conception or design of work, or b. acquisitions, or c. analysis and interpretation of data for the work; AND (2) a. drafting or b. revising the manuscript critically for important intellectual content; AND (3) Final approval of the version to be published; AND (4) Agreement to be accountable for all aspect of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity for any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved. General supervision of the research, advising or editing, collection of data, funding acquisition or statistical analysis do not constitute authorship.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST NOTIFICATION

To prevent information on potential conflict of interest for authors from being overlooked or misplaced, it is necessary for that information to be part of the manuscript. Each author is expected to disclose any type of financial or proprietary interest related to the manuscript, including (but not limited to) stock in or ownership of an entity connected to a product described in the paper, consultancy for the company or competing companies, honoraria, travel support or patent rights to a drug, instrument or equipment, or benefits derived from the use thereof. Conflict of Interest also includes “intellectual passion,” (the tendency to favor positions that one has already espoused or perhaps even established); personal relationships (the tendency to judge the works of friends/colleagues or competitors/foes differently because of the relationship); political or religious beliefs (tendency to favor or reject positions because it affirms or challenges one’s political or religious beliefs); and institutional affiliations (tendency to favor or reject results of research because of one’s institutional affiliations). Where no conflict of interest exists, a written statement should be made to that effect.

COPYRIGHT TRANSFER
CREATIVE COMMONS BY-NC-ND 4.0 LICENSE

1. Copyright transfer ensures maximum international protection and facilitates efficient processing of request for reprints. It includes inclusion in document delivery services, electronic journal databases and online journal versions.
   
2. A Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) license is granted, which means that readers are free to share (copy and redistribute) the material in any medium or format under the following terms:
   Attribution – they must give appropriate credit, provide a link to     the license, and indicate if changes were made. That may do so in any reasonable manner, but not in a way that suggests the licensor endorses them to their use.
   NonCommercial – they may not use the material for the commercial purposes.
   NoDerivatives – if they remix, transform or build upon the material, they may not distribute the modified material.
3. Each author retains moral rights to his/her/their article(s), including the right to be identified as the author(s) whenever or wherever the article is cited or published.
   
4. Assigning the copyright does not forfeit author(s)’rights to reprint their article(s) or contribute them elsewhere after obtaining written permission from the editors, or without such permission as long as the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivaties 4.0 (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) license are met, provided that the  PJG is acknowledged as the original source.
   
5. Where in special cases, a contributor’s employer (such as the government) holds the copyright to an article, written non-exclusive permission to deal with reprint requests from third parties should be provided the editors.
   By signing the copyright form, authors certify that the submitted article is their original work, that it has not been previously published nor is it being considered for publication elsewhere; that they have obtained permission for and acknowledged the source(s) of quoted excerpts or paraphrased references in the text, tables, figures and algorithms. Further, authors certify that to the best of their knowledge, their article is free of libellous, unlawful or actionable contents.

OPEN ACCESS STATEMENT

This is an open access journal which means that all content is freely available without charge to the user or his/her institution. Users are allowed to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full text of the articles, or use the for any other lawful purpose, without asking prior permission from the publisher or the author, as long as the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivaties 4.0 (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0) license are met. This is in accordance with the BOAI definition of open access.

HEALTH RESEARCH REGISTRATION

All clinical trials should be registered in public trials registry at or before the time of first patient enrolment as a CONDITION for publication in the Philippine Journal of Gastroenterology. The ICMJE defines a clinical trial as any research project that prospectively assigns people or a group of people to an intervention, with or without concurrent comparison or control groups, to study the cause-and-effect relationship between a health-related intervention and a health outcome. Health-related interventions are those used to modify a biomedical or health-related outcome; examples include drugs, surgical procedures, devices, behavioural treatments, educational programs, dietary interventions, quality improvement interventions, and process-of-care changes. Health outcomes are any biomedical or health-related measures obtained in patients or participants, including pharmacokinetic measures and adverse events.

We accept registration in the Philippine Health Research Registry (PHRR) http://registry.healthresearch.ph, a publicly-available database of newly-approved health researches from 2012 onwards, or in any registry that is a primary register to WHO International Clinical Trials Registry Platform (ICTRP) (http://www.who.int/ictrp/network/en/), or in ClinicalTrials.gov, which is a data provider to the WHO ICTRP. Registration should be made immediately after Institutional Review Board or Ethics Review Board approval is obtained.

 

PARTS OF THE MANUSCRIPT AND FORMAT

A PDF file is available here for the manuscript format.

TITLE PAGE
The title page should include:

1. The title of the article, which should be informative and concise, usually limited to 150 characters. The title should fully reflect the contents of the article and include keywords that will make electronic retrieval both sensitive and specific.
   
2. Full name of each author (given, middle initial, last) with highest academic degree(s) and the name and the address of the department(s)/institution(s) with which each author is affiliated or to which the work should be attributed.
3. Corresponding author’s name and contact details (mailing address, phone/fax numbers and email address, including a statement whether the email address may be published). The corresponding author (who does not need to be the first author on the manuscript, and preferably occupies a more permanent position in the institution) will be responsible for all inquiries about the manuscript.
   
4. Disclosure, including financial or funding support (including grants, equipment, drugs). Provide the agency or company name and location, fellowship name and grant number.
   
5. The number of tables and figures. It is difficult for editorial staff and reviewers to tell if the tables and figures that should accompanied a manuscript were actually included unless the number of figures and tables that belong to the manuscript are noted on the title page.
   
6. List of meeting(s) where the material has been previously presented or is under consideration for presentation. Indicate name, place, date, of meeting and any prizes or awards (if presented in a contest).

ABSTRACT AND KEYWORDS

A structured abstract should provide the context or background for the study and state the study’s purposes, basic procedures (selection of study participants or laboratory animals, settings, measurements, observational and analytical methods), main findings (giving specific effect-sizes and their statistical and clinical significance, if possible), and principal conclusions. It should emphasize new and important aspects of the study or observations, note important limitations without over interpreting findings, and reflect the content of the article. Generally it should have the following format:

For case reports or case series:

SECTION	DESCRIPTION
Significance	Explain the uniqueness of the case or its importance. Literature search, both local and abroad, on similar case/s.
Clinical Presentation	Summarize major points in the demographic data and clinical history. Describe the pertinent physical examination findings.
Management
·Laboratory Work- up/ Imaging Studies	Present and interpret relevant laboratory test and/or imaging studies.
·Diagnosis	State the diagnosis or describe how it evolved during the course.
·Treatment	Describe how the patient was managed (pharmacologic, non- pharmacologic, surgical or new technique/modality).
Recommendation	Point out important aspects of the case/s for future research or management of similar case/s.

For meta-analysis:

SECTION	DESCRIPTION
Significance	Explain the importance of the research. Introduce the conflicting evidences that warranted the meta-analysis. On the last statement, clearly state the objective/s.
Methodology	Should contain the following Inclusion/Exclusion - Describe the basis for the inclusion or exclusion of a study. Search Strategy - Indicate the key terms used during literature search and what were the databases or engines looked into. Assessment of Articles - Describe the manner of quality assessment of the included articles. Why the other studies excluded and how was the disagreement resolved. Statistical Analysis - State the software used and statistical treatment of the data gathered.
Results	Indicate how many studies were found, total number of included and excluded studies. Summarize the important findings, indicating the point estimates, confidence intervals and p values. Note for presence of heterogeneity and how it was addressed.
Conclusion	State the pertinent findings in relation to the objective. Highlight the study limitations, if any. State the impact of the results on current clinical practice or future research.

 

For retrospective and prospective studies:

SECTION	DESCRIPTION
Significance	Explain the importance of the research. Introduce the conflicting evidences that warranted the meta-analysis. On the last statement, clearly state the objective/s.
Methodology	Should contain the following: Study Design - Indicate the study design (e.g. RCT, cohort, case-control, cross sectional survey, validation) indicating whether it is retrospective or prospective. Further describe the randomization method, blinding, concealment, etc. Study Population - Describe the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Manner of recruitment. Intervention or Exposure – In treatment trials, describe the treatments compared. In validation studies, describe the test being evaluated. In prognostic studies, describe the risk factors being evaluated. This part may be excluded for descriptive studies. Outcome Measures - Explain the methods used to measure the study outcomes.(i.e. treatment effect for a clinical trial, gold standard in a validation study, disease outcome in a prognosis study or a population trait in a descriptive study). Statistical Analysis – State the software used and statistical treatment of the data gathered. Describe the computation of sample size, statistical test/s used.
Results	Indicate how many subjects were recruited studies. How many completed the study. State the drop-outs, if any. Summarize the important findings, indicating the point estimates, confidence intervals, p values, odds ratio.
Conclusion	State the pertinent findings in relation to the objective. Highlight the study limitations, if any. State the impact of the results on current clinical practice or future research.

Clinical Trial Registration Number: List the clinical trial registration (if applicable).

Keywords: Provide 3 to 10 key words or short phrases that capture the main topics of the article to assist in cross-indexing. First keyword must be type of research.Terms from the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) list of Index Medicus should be used; except when suitable MeSH terms are not yet available for recently introduced terms.

Laymanized Abstract: Provide a brief laymanized write-up of your abstract for non-medical readers, that can be linked to your article on social media. A short title that can be tweeted should accompany this version of the abstract.

TEXT

The following sections should generally be included:

1. Introduction: without a heading, provide a context and brief background for the study, giving only pertinent references in the literature review. State the gap or nature of the research problem and its significance, major hypothesis or rationale, and objectives or purpose of the study or observation.
   
2. Methods: should only include information available at the time the study plan or protocol was written; all information obtained during the course of the study belongs in the Results section. Provide sufficient detail to permit replication by others. Generally, It should contain the following:

• Study Design: use phrases such as randomized or nonrandomized clinical trial, case-control or cross-sectional study, cohort study, case series or report, systematic review, meta-analysis, review, experimental study, historical manuscript. Additional modifiers maybe used (e.g. retrospective, prospective, double-blinded). Where applicable, reporting guidelines should be followed, and may be accessed as follows:
  
  

  Initiative	Type of study	Source
  CONSORT	Randomized controlled trials	http://www.consort-statement.org
  PRISMA	Systematic reviews and meta-analyses	http://www.prisma-statement.org
  STROBE	Observational studies in epidemiology	http://www.strobe-statement.org
  STARD	Studies of diagnostic accuracy	http://www.stard-statement.org
  CARE	Case reports	http://www.care-statement.org

• Setting: Multicenter, Primary, Secondary, Tertiary, Public or Private, Hospital, University Hospital or Clinical Practice (e.g. Tertiary Public University Hospital)
• Subjects or Participants: Number of patients, selection procedures, eligibility and exclusion criteria, randomization procedure, masking. Do not use patients’ names, initials, or hospital numbers.
  
  For studies involving humans subjects, indicate whether Institutional Review Board (IRB) / Ethics Committee approval was granted (indicating the approval number), if procedures were in accord with the Helsinki Declaration revised in 2013 (http://www.wma.net/policies-post/wma-declation-of-helsinki-ethical-principles-for-medicalresearch-involving-human-subjects/), and whether informed consent was obtained. In addition to informed consent from parents or legal guardians, state whether assent was obtained from pediatric participants.
  For animal subjects, indicate whether the institution’s or National Research Council’s guide for the care and use of laboratory animals were allowed.

• Intervention or observation procedure(s) should be identified in sufficient detail to allow reproducibility of results. Identify methods, instruments and equipment with the manufactures name and address in parenthesis, e.g. (Zeiss Corporation, San Leandro, CA, USA). Identify all drugs and chemicals including generic name(s), dosage(s) and route(s) of administration. Use milligram per kilogram dosages for pediatric patients. For metaanalyses or systematic reviews, cite methods used for locating, selecting, extracting and synthesizing data.
• Data and Statistical analysis: Describe statistical methods with enough detail to enable a knowledgeable reader with access to the original data to verify reported results. When possible, quantify findings and represent them with appropriate indicators of measurement error or certainty (such as confidence intervals). Avoid relying solely on statistical hypothesis testing, such as the use p values, which fail to convey important information about effect size. References for the study design and statistical methods should be to standard works when possible (with pages stated). Define statistical terms, abbreviations, and most symbols. Specify computer software and statistical packages used, eg MS Excel (Microsoft Corporation, Redmond, WA, USA) or Statistical Analysis System (SAS) version 6.12 (SAS Institute, Cary, NC, USA).

3. Result: Provide demographic data of the study population. Describe outcomes and measurements in a logical sequence with minimum discussion. Do not repeat in the text what can be summarized in tables and figures. When data are summarized in the Result section, give numeric results not only as derivatives (for example, percentage) but also as the absolute numbers (for example, fractions) from which the derivatives were calculated, and specify the statistical methods used to analyze them. Unless absolutely necessary, limit numeric result to a maximum of two (2) decimal places, but avoid using decimal places or fractions that are not meaningful (such as age of 56.33 years). Restrict tables and figures to those needed to explain the argument of the paper and to assess its support. Use graphs as an alternative to tables with many entries; do not duplicate data in graphs and tables. Avoid nontechnical uses of technical terms in statistic, such as “random” (which implies a randomizing device), “normal”, “significant”, “correlation”, and “sample”. Where scientifically appropriate, analyses of the data by variables such as age and sex should be included.
4. Discussion: Restrict to what the significant findings presented mean, emphasizing new and important aspects of the study. Compare and contrast these findings with those of previous studies. Offer plausible explanation from basic science mechanism or pathophysiology. Avoid excessive generalization, undue speculation, digressions and theorizing. Elucidate but do not repeat data in the results section discuss implications and limitations and relate these to other and contradictory literature. 
5. Conclusion: Conclusions should be supported by the data. State new hypothesis when warranted, but clearly label them as such. Avoid making statements on economic benefits and cost unless the study includes economic data and analysis. Avoid claiming priority of content unless you provide the literature search protocol used. Include recommendations when appropriate.
6. Acknowledgement: All contributors who do not meet the criteria for authorship should be listed in the acknowledgements section. Examples of those who might be acknowledged include a person who provided purely technical help, statistical analysis, writing assistance, or a department chair who provided only general support. Authors should disclose whether they had writing assistance and identify the entity that paid for this assistance. Financial and material support should also be acknowledged. Groups of persons who have contributed materially to the paper but whose contributions do not justify authorship may be listed under a heading such as “clinical investigators” or “participating investigators”, and their function or contribution should be described – for example, “served as scientific advisors”, “critically reviewed the study proposal, “ “collected data”, or “provided and cared for study patients”. Because readers may infer their endorsement of the data and conclusions, all persons so named must be give written permission to be acknowledge.
7. References: Provide direct references to original research sources whenever possible but avoid extensive list of references to original work on a topic. Small numbers of references to key original papers will serve as well as more exhaustive lists, since electronic literature searching allows readers to retrieve published literature efficiently. Where available, Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) or URLs for the references should be provided.  Avoid using abstracts as references. References to papers accepted but not yet published should be designated as “in press” or “forthcoming”; authors should obtain written permission to cite such papers as well as verification that they have been accepted for publication. Information from manuscripts submitted but not accepted should be cited in the text as “unpublished observation” with written permission from the source. Avoid citing a “personal communication” Unless it provides essential information not available from a public source, in which case the name of the person and date of communication should be cited in parentheses in the text. For scientific articles, authors should obtain written permission and confirmation of accuracy from the source of a personal communication. To minimize the citation errors, authors should verify references against original documents. Authors are responsible for checking that none of the references cite retracted articles except in the context of referring to the retraction. For articles published in MEDLINE-indexed journals, the ICMJE considers PubMed (http://www.pubmed.gov) the authoritative source for information about retractions.

References should be cited as follows:

1. In the text, tables and legends references should be indicated using Arabic numerical subscripts, numbered consecutively beginning with 1, and corresponding to their listing at the end of the manuscript.
   
   

   For instance:
   Airway problems often manifest with audible symptoms like stertor and stridor1.
   
   Previous studies2,3 have alerted physicians to special issues associated with airway problems in children of hearing-impaired parents or caregivers.

   All non-original material should acknowledge the source reference: direct quotations should be enclosed in quotation marks and cited. Paraphrasing does not render material original, and should be avoided.
   
   
2. At the end of the manuscript, references should be numbered consecutively in the order in which they are first mentioned in the text.
3. References cited only in the tables or figure legends should be numbered in accordance with the sequence established by the first identification in the text of the particular table or figure.

REFERENCE STYLE AND FORMAT
(Taken from http://www.nlm.nih.gov/bsd/uniform_requirements.html)

1. Standard journal article
   Halpem SD, Ubel PA, Caplan AL. Solid-organ transplantation in HIV-infected patients. N Engl J Med. 2002 Jul 25;347(4):284-7.
   
   More than six authors:
   List the first six authors followed by et al, (Note: NLM now lists all authors.)
   Rose ME, Huerbin MB, Melick J. Marion DW, Palmer AM, Schiding JK, et al. Regulation of interstitial excitatory amino acid concentrations after cortical contusion injury. Brain Res. 2002-935(1-2):40-6
   
   Database unique identifier (PMID, DOI, PII) for the citation:
   Halpem SD, Ubel PA, Caplan AL. Solid-organ transplantation in HIV-infected patients. N Engl J Med. 2002 Jul 25;347(4):284-7. PubMed PMID: 12140307.
   Forooghian F, Yeh S, Faia LJ, Nussenblatt RB, Uveitic foveal atrophy: clinical features and associations. Arch Ophthalmol. 2009 Feb;127920:179-86. PubMed PMID: 19204236; PubMed PMID: 19129307:PubMed Central PMCID: PMC2615549.
   
   Zhang M, Holman CD, Prince SD, Sanfilippo FM, Preen DB, Bulsara MK. Comorbidity and repeat admission to hospital for adverse drug reactions in older adults: retrospective cohort study. BMJ. 2009 Jan 7;338:a2752. Doi: 10.1136/bmj.a2752. PubMed PMID: 19129307; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC2615549.
   
   Tegnell A. Dillner J, Andrae B. Introduction of human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination in Sweden. Euro Surveill. 2009 Feb 12;14(6). Pii: 19119. PubMed PMID: 19215721.
   
   
2. Organization as author
   Diabetes Prevention Program Research Group. Hypertension, Insulin, and proinsulin in participants with impaired glucose tolerance.
   Hypertension. 2002;40(5):679-86.
   
   
3. Both personal authors and an organization as author.
   Vallancien G, Emberton M, Harving N, van Moorselaar RJ; Alf-One Study Group. Sexual dysfunction in 1,274 European men suffering from lower urinary tract symptoms. J Urol. 2003:169(6):2257-61.
   
   
4. No author given
   21st century heart solution may have a sting in the tail. MNJ.     2002;325 (7357):184.
   
   
5. Article not in English (Note: author must have original article in hand) Ellingsen AE, Wilhelmsen I. Sykdomsangstblantmedisin-   ogjusstudenter. Tidsskr Nor
   Laegeforen. 2002;122(8):785-7. (Norwegian)
   
   
6. Volume with supplement
   Geraud G, Spierings EL, Keywood C. Tolerability and safety of     frovatriptan with short – and long-term use for treatment of     migraine and in comparison with sumatriptan. Headache. 2002;42 Suppl 2:S93-9.
   
   
7. Issue with supplement
   Glauser TA. Integrating clinical trial data into clinical practice.     Neurology. 2002;58 (12 Suppl 7):S6-12.
   
   
8. Volume with part
   Abend SM, Kulish N. The psychoanalyrtic method from an epistemological viewpoint. Int J Psychoanal. 2002;83 (Pt 2):491-5.
   
   
9. Issue with part
   Ahrar K, Madoff DC, Gupta S, Wallace MJ, Price RE, Wright KC. Development of a large animal model for lung tumors. J Vasc      IntervRadiol. 2002;13(9 Pt 1):923-8.
   
   
10. Issue with no volume
    Banit DM, Kaufer H, Hartford JM. Intraoperative frozen section   analysis in revision total joint arthroplasty. Clin Orthop.2002;(401): 230-8.
    
    
11. No volume or issue
    Outreach: bringing HIV-positive individuals into care. HRSAcareaction. 2002 Jun: 1-6.
    
    
12. Pagination in roman numerals
    Chadwickk R, Schuklenk U. The politics of ethical consensus finding. Bioethics. 2002; 16(2):iii-v.
    
    
13. Type of article indicated as needed
    Tor M, Turker H. International approaches to the prescription of long-term oxygen therapy (letter). Eur Respir J. 2002;20(1):242.
    Lofwall MR., Starin EC, Brooner RK, Kindbom KA, Bigelow GE. Characteristics of older methadone maintenance (MM) patients  (abstact). Drug Alcohol Depend. 2002;66 Suppl 1:S105.
    
    
14. Article containing retraction
    Feifel D, Moutier CY, Perry W. Safety and tolerability of a rapidly escalating dose-loading regimen for risperidon. J Clin Psychiatry.2002;63(2):169. Retraction in: Feifel D, Moutier CY, Perry W. JClin Psychiatry. 2000;61 (12):909-11.
    
    
15. Article retracted
    Feifel D, Moutier CY, Perry W. Safety and tolerability of a rapidly escalating dose-loading regimen for risperidon. J Clin Psychiatry.2000;61(2):909-11. Retraction in: Feifel D, Moutier CY, Perry W. J Clin Psychiatry. 2002;63 (2):169.
    
    
16. Article republished with corrections
    
17. Article with corrections
    
18. Article with published electronically ahead of the print version.
    Book and Other Monograph
    
    
19. Personal Author(s)
    
20. Editor(s), compiler(s) as author
    
21. Author(s) and editor(s)
    
22. Organization(s) as author
    
23. Chapter in a book
    
24. Conference proceedings
    
25. Conference paper
    
26. Scientific or technical report issued by funding/sponsoring agency: Issued by performing agency:
    
27. Dissertation
    
28. Patent
    Other Published Material
    
    
29. Newspaper article
    
30. Audiovisual material
    
31. Legal Material
    Public law
    Unenacted bill
    
    
32. Map
    
33. Dictionary and similar references
    Unpublished Material
    
    
34. In press
    Electronic Material
    
35. CD-ROM
    
36. Journal article on the Internet
    
37. Monograph on the Internet
    
38. Homepage/Web site
    
39. Part of a homepage/ Web site
    
40. Database on the Internet
    Open database
    Closed database
    
    
41. Part of a database on the Internet
    
42. Blogs
    Contribution to a blog
    
    
43. Datasets
    Dataset description article
    Dataset deposit record
    Dataset reository

TABLES AND FIGURES

1. Tables should be self-contained and complement textual information without duplicating it. Raw data should not be presented. Construct each table with double spacing on a separate page from the main text. Do not embed tables in the text. Number tables consecutively with Arabic numerals in the order of their first citation in the text, followed by a brief title. Column headings should be brief, with units of measurement in parenthesis. Abbreviations and explanatory matter should be defined in footnotes (not in the heading) using symbols *,+, §, ¶, ** in that order. Identify statistical measures of variations such as standard deviation and standard error of the mean. Be sure each table is cited in the text.
   If the table is taken or adapted from published source, acknowledge the original source and submit written permission from the copyright holder to reproduce or adapt the material. Permission is required irrespective of authorship or publisher except for documents in the public domain.
2. Figures legends should be typed starting o a separate page, double spaced, with Arabic numerals corresponding to the illustrations. When symbols, arrows, numbers, or letters are used to identify parts of the illustrations, identify and explain each one clearly in the legend, without indicating color (e.g. green arrow).
   
3. Figures include all illustrations, line drawings and photographs. Do not embed figures in text. Figures should be professionally drawn or photographed, submitted in electronic JPEG format with at least 300 dpi. Low resolution images will not be reproduced. High resolution color images may be published if authors agree to shoulder extra cost, otherwise they will be published in grey-scale. All figures should be properly labeled. Diagnostic images should identify the modality (Xray, CT scan, MRI, Ultrasonogram), view (Lateral, Axial, Sagittal), type of study (Soft Tissue, Contrast, Weighted). Histopathogy figures should specify the view (low, high power) stain (H&E, Congo red) and magnification (40x, 100x).
4. Letters, numbers, and symbols on Figures should be clear and even throughout, and of sufficient size that when reduced for publication each item will still be legible. Figures should be made as self-explanatory as possible. Titles and detailed explanations belong in legends, not on the illustrations themselves.
5. Photomicrographs should have internal scale markers. Symbols, arrows, or letters used in photomicrographs should contrast with the background. If photographs of people are used, either the subjects must not be identifiable or their pictures must be accompanied by written permission to use the photograph.
6. Figures should be numbered consecutively according to the order in which they have been first cited in the text, and submitted individually as separate supplemental attachments. If a figure has been published, acknowledge the original source and submit written permission from the copyright holder to reproduce the material. Permission is required irrespective of authorship or publisher except for documents in the public domain.
   
   

Units of Measurement

Measurements of length, height, weight, and volume should be reported in metric units (meter, kilogram, or liter) or their decimal multiples. Temperatures should be in degrees Celsius. Blood pressures should be in millimetres of mercury, unless other units are specifically required by the journal. Report other laboratory values in both local and International System of Units (SI). Drug concentrations may be reported in either SI or mass units, but the alternative should be provided in parentheses where appropriate.

Abbreviations
Use only standard abbreviations. Avoid abbreviations in the title. The Full term for which an abbreviation stands should precede its first use in the text unless it is a stand unit of measurements.

SUBMISSION PREPARATION CHECKLIST

1. As part of the submission process, authors are required to check their submission’s compliance with all of the following items, and submissions that do not adhere to these guidelines will be rejected. In addition, compliance with guidelines for certain types of articles must be checked using the appropriate checklist (CONSORT, PRISMA,etc.)

• Accomplished author statements, signed by ALL authors,with:
• A list of authors names in the correct order of listing.
• A full statement that the manuscript is original material that is not being considered for publication or has not been published or accepted for publication elsewhere, in full or in part, in print or in electronic media;
• A statement that the manuscript has been read and approved by all the authors, that all four criteria for authorship have been met by each author;
•  A disclosure statement of financial or other relationship, intellectual passion, political or religious beliefs, and institutional affiliations that might lead to a conflict interest;
• A copyright agreement form signed by all authors (see downloadable forms) ; and
• Acknowledgement by the corresponding author that IRB or ERB approval and informed consent (and assent) have been obtained, that clinical trial registry has been compiled with, that copies of permission to reproduced published material, to use illustrations or report information about identifiable people, to name people for their contributions have been secured, and that all manuscript data is complete, valid and reliable.

2. Manuscript are neatly prepared in correct U.S English using Microsoft Word, RTF or Word Perfect software on A4 format in Times New Roman font size 12, double spaced, with  A1 inch margin on all sides. If the MS Word “Track Changes” tool has been used in manuscript preparation, all changes in the document have been accepted and the “Track Changes” features has been turned off before submission. Citations and references are typed manually (i.e., do NOT use automatic numbering or tools such as EndNote).
   
3. Manuscripts are correctly ordered as follows (1) title page (2) abstract including keywords and laymanized version (3) text – introduction, methods, results,  discussion  (4) acknowledgements (5) references (6) tables (7) figure legends and (8) individual figure s (each  attached separately in .jpeg format). The pages of the manuscript are numbered consecutively, beginning with the title page as page one.
4. Submission Metadata matches elements from part (1) title, authors and affiliation s, and (2) abstract and keywords - in the Step 2 (Entering the Submission’s Metadata) of the 5-step online submission process. Following this, Parts (1) to (7) have been fully uploaded under Step 3 (Upload Submission) portion. Each figure (8) has been uploadedR separately as a supplementary file. The author statement forms have also been uploaded separately as supplementary files.Instructions to Authors detailed in this section have been fully complied with.

Adapted from  Philippine  Journal of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery(PJOHNs)