Author Guidelines
About the Journal: African Journal of Paediatric Nephrology is the official Journal of the African Paediatric Nephrology Association (AFPNA). It is a biannual, peer-reviewed closed assess journal. The Journal publishes original clinical, laboratory and population- based research articles on renal diseases in children as well as fluid and electrolyte metabolism. Special features include a clinical quiz on paediatric nephrology, letters to the editor highlighting important issues in paediatric nephrology and book reviews.
All Manuscripts submitted to the African Journal of Paediatric Nephrology must be original and should not have been published in any form in any other publication. Manuscripts that do not adhere to the instructions will be returned to the corresponding author for technical revision before undergoing peer review.
Preparation of Manuscripts
Manuscript Types
The types of manuscript accepted by the journal are Original Scientific Communications, Review articles, Case reports, Letters to the editor, Clinical quiz and Book reviews. The journal also publishes abstracts of papers presented at AFPNA congresses.
General Format for Preparing Manuscript
Manuscripts must be typed in English or French, double-spaced using a 12-point font including references, figure legends, figures and tables. All manuscript pages including the title page must be numbered. All tables and figures must be cited in the text in numerical order.
Content of Manuscripts
Manuscript Type
- Original Communications These are regular scientific contributions. Manuscripts should not exceed 4000 words including abstract, acknowledgments, sources of funding, disclosures, references, legends, tables, and figures and should not exceed more than 12 authors and not more than five tables and figures and 50 references.
Original Communications must be assembled
in this order: Title page, Abstract, Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion and Conclusion, Acknowledgements, Sources of Funding, Conflict of Interest, References, Tables and Figures.
The title page should include the title of the manuscript (not exceeding 50 words and should not contain abbreviations), type of Manuscript, a short running title not more than 50 characters, names, affiliations and address of all the authors and complete contact information of the corresponding author including telephone number and e-mail address.
The abstract must not exceed 200 words. It should be structured into the following categories: Background, Materials and Methods, Results and Conclusion.
Reviews. Reviews are generally invited by the Editors on areas relevant to paediatric nephrology and fluid and electrolyte metabolism. Reviews should be brief and should not exceed 6000 words and 50 references.
- Case Reports: Case Reports should focus on interesting or very rare cases relevant to paediatric nephrology and fluid and electrolyte metabolism and should not exceed 1500 words, not more than 6 authors, not more than one table or figure and 15 references. Case reports should be assembled in this order: Title page, Abstract, Introduction, Material and Methods, Results, Discussion and Conclusion. The abstract must not exceed 200 words. It should be divided into the following categories: Background, Case-Diagnosis and Treatment, Results and Conclusion.
- Letters to the editors: Letters to the editors must be brief not exceeding 250 words with no more than two authors 4 references. Letters should refer to a manuscript previously published by the African Journal of Paediatric Nephrology within the preceding six months and should begin with the reason for writing. There should be no abstract, figure or table.
- Clinical Quiz: A Clinical Quiz consisting of not more than 10 multiple choice questions on paediatric nephrology and fluid and electrolyte metabolism. Answers to the quiz shall be provided separately.
- Book Review: Book Reviews should not exceed 1000 words and not more than 3 references. The book to be reviewed should be relevant to paediatric nephrology. Book Reviews should follow this outline: (a) exact title of book, full name(s) of author(s), publisher's name, publication date,number of pages and price, (b) summary of the content (general discussion of what the book covers and its major topics; NOT a chapter by chapter summary), (c) discussion of author(s) (for example, background, experience, why they are qualified to write the book and whether they present a certain view), (d) strong points of the book, (e) weak points of the book, (f) identification of the audience of this book and the background needed for the reader to understand its contents, (g) discussion of why one should or should not buy the book, and if yes, for what purpose (as a text, a reference, etc.) and (h) comparison to other books in the field.
Keywords: The abstract must be accompanied by four to five keywords preferably terms not used in the title.
Abbreviations: All abbreviations must be defined at first mention in the text and in each Table and Figure. Abbreviations should not be used in the Title or abstract. Generic names as well as the trade names and the names of the manufacturers of all drugs should be used. For a list of standard abbreviations, consult the Council of Biology Editors Style Guide (available from the Council of Science Editors, 9650 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, MD 20814) or other standard sources.
Measurements: The journal uses the international system of units (SI units) for all measurements and laboratory parameters.
References: References should be numbered consecutively in the order of appearance in the text. The reference list should include only papers published in journals. References cited should be written in the Vancouver system of references. All references in the text Tables, Figures and legends should be in Arabic numerals, superscripted and should appear on top of the line after the punctuation. Journal title should be abbreviated according to the style of Index Medicus. The full list of references at the end of the paper should contain the references in the order in which they are cited in the text and should include : names and initials of all authors (unless more than 6, when only the first 6 authors are given followed by et al); the title of the paper; the journal title abbreviation; year of publication; volume number; first and last page numbers. References of books should include the Surname and initials of the author(s), Title of the chapter, Surname and initials of the editor(s), Title of the book, Edition of the book, Place of publication, Publisher, Year of publication and First and last pages of the chapter. Style of Index Medicus. The full list of references at the end of the paper should contain the references in the order in which they are cited in the text and should include : names and initials of all authors (unless more than 6, when only the first 6 authors are given followed by et al); the title of the paper; the journal title abbreviation; year of publication; volume number; first and last page numbers. References of books should include the Surname and initials of the author(s), Title of the chapter, Surname and initials of the editor(s), Title of the book, Edition of the book, Place of publication, Publisher, Year of publication and First and last pages of the chapter. Examples of correct reference style:
Journals
Orejas G, Santos F, Malaga S, Rey C, Cobo A, Simarro M. Nutritional status of children with moderate chronic renal failure. Pediatr Nephrol 1995;9:526-531.
A paper published online but not (yet) in print can be cited using the Digital Object Identifier (DOI). Example: Chernin G, Heerings SF, Gbadagesin R, et al. Low prevalence of NPHS2 mutations in African-American children with steroid resistant nephrotic syndrome. Pediatr Nephrol DOI 10.1007/s00467-008-0861
Books
Feld LG. Diabetic Nephropathy. In: Barret MT, Aver ED, Harmon WE, eds. Paediatric Nephrology, 4th ed. Lippincolt Williams and Wilkins, Maryland; 1999: 633640.
Tables and Figures: Tables and Figures should have clear titles and should be numbered in Arabic numerals consecutively in the order they appeared on the text. The tables should not contain vertical lines. Footnotes should be used to explain any abbreviations in the Table or Figure. If a table or figure has been published before, written permission must be obtained to reproduce the material in both print and electronic formats from the copyright owner. The permission must be submitted with the manuscript.
Figure Legends: Figure legends must accompany all Illustrations, images or graphs; should be written on a separate page and should not be included in the figure file. Figure Legends should be brief, define all abbreviations used in the figure and should not repeat information in the text.
Coloured illustrations: Coloured Illustrations are acceptable. The cost of production however shall be borne by the author(s).
Ethical Considerations: Manuscripts reporting experiments on human subjects should be accompanied by a statement in the materials and methods section that the authors have complied with procedures in accordance with the ethical standards of the Ethics Committee of the Institution where the research was conducted or with the Helsinki Declaration of 1975 (and as revised in 1983) and in the case of renal transplant the Declaration of Istanbul (as published in KI Vol. 74 No. 7 [2008]).
Publication Fees: The Journal charges ten thousand naira (NGN10,000) or USD 65 as processing fees and thirty thousand naira (NGN30,000) or USD 190 for publication once the manuscript is accepted. All fees should be paid into United Bank for Africa (UBA) Plc.
Account Details
Naira account name: African Journal of Paediatric Nephrology
Naira account number: 2074847844
Branch: Port Harcourt, Nigeria
Manuscript Submission Checklist
1. Electronic copy of manuscript.
2. Covering letter signed by all authors, including statement of originality
3. Letter of Disclosure/Conflict(s) of interest
Submission of Manuscript: Manuscript should be sent as an attachment via electronic mail to the on copy.
Editor-in-Chief, African Journal of Paediatric Nephrology. Address for submission of articles is africanjpaedneph@yahoo.com and anochieify@yahoo.com on copy.
A manuscript Identification (ID) number shall be sent to the corresponding author upon receipt of the manuscript.
Submitted manuscript must be an original contribution not previously published (except as an abstract in a conference), must not be under consideration for publication elsewhere, and, if accepted for publication in the African Journal of Paediatric Nephrology must not be published elsewhere in a similar form, in any language unless with the written permission of the Editor-in-Chief and Publishers of African Journal of Paediatric Nephrology. Each person listed as an author is expected to have participated in the study to a significant extent and should indicate clearly his/her role in the manuscript and agrees with submission of the paper for publication.
Copyright Notice
Copyright for accepted manuscript is transferred to the Editor-in-Chief and the Publisher and is retained by the journal.
Privacy Statement
The names and email addresses entered in this journal site will be used exclusively for the stated purposes of this journal and will not be made available for any other purpose or to any other party.
Correspondence to
Prof Ifeoma .C. Anochie
Editor-in-Chief
African Journal of Paediatric Nephrology
Dept of Paediatrics
University of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital
PMB 6173
Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria
Telephone: +234 8055420544
