For Authors

INSTRUCTIONS FOR AUTHORS

Updated November 11, 2021

Anti-Aging Eastern Europe (Anti Aging East Eur [AAEE] is an international, platinum open access, peer-reviewed journal in general medicine and aging. Founded in 2021, this Journal online and print issues are scheduled to be published quarterly in March, June, September and December. It is funded and published by the Department of Research and Innovations of the Edem Resort Medical & Spa.

This Journal is a platform for increasing visibility of innovative anti-aging research, clinical, and methodology works. The AAEE offers its publishing services to all researchers, clinicians, and educators with interest in pathophysiology, diagnostics, treatment, and prevention of aging diseases. Special emphasis is placed on innovative research in rehabilitation, rejuvenation, and regenerative medicine. Contributions of Ukrainian and other Eastern European scholars are prioritized.

Submissions in either standard British or American English are welcome. The authors struggling with writing in English will be supported by the Journal editorial staff skilled in language editing.

The following article categories will be accepted: evidence-based narrative reviews, scientific hypotheses, systematic reviews, original research, case-based reviews, practice guidelines, letters.

This Journal is a member of the Ukrainian Council of Science Editors (UCSE), and it is compliant with updated recommendations of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), The Council of Science Editors (CSE), and Open Access Scholarly Publishers Association (OASPA). The Journal Editors will adhere to and enforce all points of the Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing.

The Journal section editors will meticulously evaluate statistical data presentation, ethics statements, validity and relevance of references in submitted manuscripts. All relevant, reputable, and widely visible digital libraries, bibliographic databases, information aggregators will be approached to cover all published contents. Potentially influential articles will be selected for post-publication promotion on Twitter and other globally popular social media platforms to increase readers’ attention and attract relevant and ethical citations. 

Aims and Scope

Anti-Aging Eastern Europe (AAEE) aims to publish evidence-based research, reviews, and other articles of interest to medical and healthcare professionals in Ukraine and other Eastern European countries. All rational points presented by contributing authors will be taken into account and actively discussed through the prism of holistic and personalized anti-aging and rejuvenation strategies. In line with the Global Goals for Sustainable Development, psychosocial, physical, and environmental components of health will be considered as pillars of all discussed therapeutic and preventive anti-aging measures. In view of the current pathophysiological concepts of aging, the following scientific directions will be prioritized: inflammation, regeneration, and oncogenesis. Specific scope of interests will include topics related to ethical research by Ukrainian and Eastern European fellows with special interest in anti-aging. Research works with clearly formulated working hypotheses, correct study designs, meaningful statistics, and pertinent references will be accepted and widely publicized by the Journal editors.

The following is the list of some priority research topics for this Journal:    

  • Innovations in pathophysiology, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of aging diseases
  • Psychological, social, and environmental determinants of healthy aging
  • Fertility, sexuality, reproductive health and aging
  • Personalized medicine and aging
  • Cell therapies and aging processes
  • Rejuvenation therapies
  • Physical medicine and rehabilitation in aging diseases
  • Nutrition and anti-aging strategies
  • Inflammaging
  • Cancer and aging
  • COVID-19 pandemic and aging
  • Integrative medicine and aging
  • Art and aging

Article categories and reporting recommendations

This Journal will publish the following types of articles:  narrative reviews, systematic reviews, original research, case-based reviews, practice guidelines, letters, video articles.

The authors of narrative reviews are advised to consult recommendations on comprehensive and systematic searches and provide details of using keywords and datelines of document retrieval in their search strategies.

Keywords can be searched through the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) vocabulary.          

The authors of systematic reviews are advised to prospectively register protocols of their reviews, plan comprehensive and systematic searches through MEDLINE/PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials (CENTRAL) and relevant specialist databases. Analysis of retrieved sources using PICO (Population, Intervention, Comparator, Outcome) framework and reporting in line with the PRISMA standard are advisable.

Original research papers and their abstracts should include Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, and Conclusion (IMRAD structure).

The following global editorial recommendations are essential for authors who plan to submit their works to this Journal:

Reporting original research in line with relevant EQUATOR Network standards is also advisable

Language editing, referencing, and formatting

The AAEE publishes articles in English with English and Ukrainian abstracts. Submissions in either American or British English are welcome. Standard American and British English styles, but not mixture in a single manuscript, is welcome. The authors struggling with English writing may contact the Journal editors with request to rectify language in their submissions.

The Journal Language Editors will check and edit readability of submissions in English. Substantive language editing services will be offered by this Journal. The authors are reminded that all manuscripts are checked for similarities and copying of texts, graphics, and ideas. To have their manuscripts published, they have to avoid copying any sentences or larger passages of text and graphics from published works. The editors may request Disclaimers stating that no part of submitted manuscripts is copied or published elsewhere in whole or in part.

The authors are also reminded that each published scientific fact should be linked to highly relevant references, preferably from widely visible bibliographic databases such as Scopus and Web of Science and with Digital Object Identifiers (DOI). Referring to each scientific fact requires at least one reference. Multiple examples of similar references (more than 3) are not advisable.

The authors have to retrieve and cite primary, rather than secondary references. They should read all cited references to be familiar with all cited points and to justify the referencing. In this regard, the Journal Editors adhere to the principles of the San Francisco Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA) that can also be useful for the authors, too. The following Recommendations of the Integrity of Citations and References can be consulted to cite highly relevant and ethical sources.

The AAEE requires citing and referencing in line with the Vancouver style and the guidance of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). References are cited in the text numerically in square brackets (e.g., [1, 2, 3]) and presented at the end of the manuscript in chronological order – those cited first are listed at top of the Reference list. The reference lists should include only items discussed in the text. The authors should be familiar with contents of all cited items and ensure that all these items can be found in the Reference lists.

Full bibliographic information on a reference should include author name(s), article title, source title as in the National Library of Medicine (NLM) of the US Catalog. Bibliographic information on a journal article includes an author’s surname followed by no more than 2 initials. If there is more than 1 author, all authors’ names should be separated by commas and spaces. For manuscripts with up to 6 authors, all authors should be listed. In a case of more than 3 authors, the first 3 authors are listed and then et al. is added. Only the first word of the article title and words that normally begin with a capital letter are capitalized.

Examples of reference formatting:

  1. Journal article

Malysheva KV, Spasyuk IM, Pavlenko OK, Stoika RS, Gorchynskyi OG. Generation of optimized preparations of bone morphogenetic proteins for bone regeneration. Ukr Biochem J 2016;88(6):87–97.

  1. Book

Hong GD, Kim C, Park J. JKMS Reference Style: a Guide for Authors. 5th ed. Seoul, Korea:

Daehakro Press; 2017.

  1. Web source

Read  the  Budapest  Open  Access  initiative.  [Updated  2002]. [Accessed  April  16,  2019].

http://www.budapestopenaccessinitiative.org/read.

Tables should be sent in a separate file, in Word format. These should be numbered according to the order they appear in the text. Table numbers and titles must be placed above the table, with any explanatory notes below it. Providing concise information, with clearly mentioned units of laboratory and demographic parameters, and accurately noted abbreviations ensure self-explanatory origin of tables. Authors should avoid duplicating information in the text and tables. Additional tips on table formatting are presented at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19296024/

Figures should be presented at high resolution (at least 300 dpi), each one in a separate PowerPoint file. Tips on figure formatting are presented at:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19352565/

Photographs, images, and video clips should be presented in high resolution (at least 300 dpi) in TIFF and/or JPG formats for photographs and MP4 or AVI format for videos. Patients’ identities should be properly masked by blinding eyes and omitting patient names. Tips on preparing quality illustrations are presented at:

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19421674/

Authors should avoid using abbreviations in titles and subtitles. In-text abbreviations should be explained when mentioned first. Confusing abbreviations should be avoided (e.g., Open Access [OA], Osteoarthritis [OA]).

Manuscript parts

  • Title page

This page includes:

  • The manuscript title. It should be concise, sufficiently informative, and reflective of the main keywords.
  • Name, middle name initial (optional), and last name of each author
  • Affiliations of each author (Department/unit, Organisation/university, City, Country) and each author's email address
  • Full name, address, e-mail address, and Twitter handle of corresponding author(s)
  • ORCID IDs of all listed authors

 

  • Abstract

Abstracts of original research and narrative and systematic review articles should be structured (Introduction, Methods, Results, Conclusion) and limited to 300 words. For other types of articles, non-structured abstracts with up to 200 words are acceptable. Editorials, letters, and information items should not include abstracts.

Abstracts of original research should briefly describe background, aim, subject characteristics, inclusion and exclusion criteria, employed methods, important results (reporting essential statistical data, means or medians, absolute numbers with percentages, P values with 95% Confidence Intervals, avoiding unnecessary precision in digits after decimal points), and conclusions based on the obtained results. Abstracts of systematic reviews can be structured similarly. Abstracts of narrative reviews should describe search strategies (databases, keywords, datelines). Copying different parts of the manuscript in the abstract and providing references in the abstract is unacceptable. Abstracts should disclose keywords of the manuscript. It is required to properly edit language and present sentences understandable for non-experts.

  • Author keywords (relevant 4-6 keywords from the Medical Subject Headings [MeSH]).

The structured keywords can be retrieved from MeSH in PubMed.

  • ORCID
  • Abbreviations
  • Main text
  • Author contributions
  • Acknowledgements
  • Conflicts of interest
  • Funding
  • Ethics approval (for original research)
  • References
  • Tables
  • Figure legends

The Journal processes manuscripts submitted online at:

https://antiagingeeu.com/index.php/journal

All submissions are checked by the Editor-in-Chief, Scientific Consultant, and Research Integrity Editor and evaluated by at least two external peer reviewers prior to a publication decision. Peer reviewers are invited by the Editor-in-Chief based on their academic credentials, previous author and reviewer contributions, and other characteristics listed at: https://bit.ly/2Xo1OJC.

The reviewers should consider the following ethical guidelines.

The Journal operates double-blind peer review model (reviewer and author identities are blinded). The 1st round of peer review lasts approximately 3 weeks.

Research ethics

Authors are required to report in the Methods section of their original research papers ethics

approval protocol number, date, and name of the approving institution. Statement about written informed consent should accompany any study involving humans. The ethics approval of a longitudinal and archival study should be dated prior to the start of the research.  Studies involving human subjects should meet the requirements of the WMA Declaration of Helsinki. Privacy of human subjects involved in research studies should be observed. Case studies of patients should not disclose their identity. Animal experimentation requires adherence to globally recognized guidelines and the EU directives.

Author contributions

The AAEE editors endorse principles of integrity and visibility of pre and  post-publication communications presented by the Sarajevo Declaration on Integrity and Visibility of Scholarly Publications. In line with the Declaration, authors are advised to provide ORCID iDs with publicly available information. ORCID iDs of all co-authors with full and open information about correct first, middle, and last names, biographical notes, publication records, reviewer, and other scholarly accomplishments. The registration with ORCID platform is free at: https://orcid.org/.

The following authorship criteria endorsed by the ICMJE are acceptable:

  1. Substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work; AND
  2. Drafting the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content; AND
  3. Final approval of the version to be published; AND
  4. Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

Acknowledgments

Non-author contributions, particularly external language editing and statistical analyses, require acknowledgements. Official acknowledgment notes should be addressed to all individuals who contributed to research and writing but do not meet the ICMJE authorship four criteria. External writing and language editing support should also be acknowledged in line with the AMWA‒EMWA‒ISMPP Joint Position Statement on the Role of Professional Medical Writers.

Conflicts of interest disclosures

Authors are responsible for full disclosures of any financial and non-financial conflicts of interest that may compromise the trustworthiness of their manuscripts. Related disclosures should appear before manuscript References. Authors should familiarize themselves with the updated ICMJE statement on conflict of interest and submit the Disclosure of Interest form; updated February 2021) filled by all co-authors. Recommendations on what constitutes conflict of interest are presented at: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24382859/

Funding

Authors should provide full information about any related sponsorship or funding of their research and reviews (sponsoring organization name, grant number, dates).

Plagiarism and related preventive procedures

The Research Integrity Editor will check all submissions for text and graphics similarities using the following free online platforms: Grammarly, Google Images. Additional checks of textual similarities will be performed by iThenticate plagiarism detection software.  

Authors are required to ensure that all parts of their manuscripts are free of any unethically copied texts, ideas, graphics, and violation of copyrights. They may be asked to provide Disclaimer stating that no part of the manuscript is copied or published elsewhere in whole or in part.    

Duplicate and secondary publications and retractions

Submission of articles already published in any languages in whole or in part elsewhere is absolutely unacceptable. Authors should be aware that it is unethical and may constitute copyright violations if they republish without an official permission from primary publisher Ukrainian or other articles translated in English (translation plagiarism).

Corrections will be published if minor mistakes are detected in published articles. Major errors, lack of ethics approval for original research, substantive plagiarism, research misconduct, inappropriate authorship, non-disclosure of major conflicts of interest, and other violations of research and publication ethics will require retractions in line with COPE retraction guidelines.

Copyright and distribution license

The AAEE authors retain unrestricted copyrights and publishing rights and allow the Publisher to publish their manuscript as a primary article. All published articles are licensed under the Creative Commons attribution license which permits freely copying and redistributing materials in any medium or format, remix, transform, and build upon the material for commercial and non-commercial purposes. The AAEE authors may share and distribute their works provided a proper reference is given to the primary publication.

Open access publication and charges

The AAEE Editors adhere to the latest editorial recommendations on transparency and best practice open access publishing. The following document is consulted on a regular basis for updating the Journal website and editorial policies:

Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing (written by COPE, DOAJ, OASPA, WAME; updated January 15, 2018).

The AAEE employs the Platinum Open Access model. There are no processing or publication charges for the AAEE authors. All expenses are covered by the Publisher. The AAEE readers can access published articles freely. All contents are available freely, fully, and immediately upon publication.

The following Open Access Declarations are enforced by the AML Editors:

Archiving

This Journal’s digital archive is permanently preserved by LOCKSS.

Post-publication promotion through social media

The AAEE authors are encouraged to reposit their articles on ResearchGate and disseminate information about their publications through Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. The AAEE Social Media Editor will pick potentially influential articles for commenting and sharing with the Journal followers on the official Twitter account.

Complaints and appeals

All complaints by authors, reviewers, and editors and their disagreements with the AAEE handling editors’ decisions, delays in the peer review, and editorial mismanagement, will be processed by the Scientific Consultant (research@edem.com.ua), involving the Research Integrity Editor, if necessary. The AAEE Editors declare their adherence to the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) statements on complaints and appeals and ethical oversight.

Journal funding and editorial independence

The AAEE is funded and published by the Edem Resort Medical & Spa. The Publisher maintains this Journal Editorial Office at the following address: Department of Research and Innovations, Edem Resort Medical & Spa, Edem Medical Center LLC,  Strilky, Peremyshlyany district, Lviv region, Ukraine, 81220; Email: research@edem.com.ua (https://edemresort.com/en/#contacts).

The AAEE handling editors offer equal opportunities for publication of submissions from other Ukrainian and non-Ukrainian research and academic institutions.

This Journal Editors’ independent editorial policy is in line with The Relationship Between Journal Editors-in-Chief and Owners (formerly titled Editorial Independence) by the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME).