Health Sciences Investigations Journal
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ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE (FULL-LENGTH PAPERS) 

Maximum: 3500 words excluding abstracts, declarations, references, table, and figure  legends 

You may create your full-length paper manuscript with the HSI Journal manuscript  processing template 

Page 1: TITLE PAGE  

∙ A concise and informative title (not to exceed 300 characters including spaces) ∙ Running title (not to exceed 90 characters including spaces) 

∙ The name(s) of the author(s): First, middle, surnames 

∙ Designated corresponding author 

∙ The current e-mail address of authors 

∙ The affiliation(s) and address(es) of the author(s) [in the following order (i)  Department; (ii) Institution/School; (iii) College where applicable; (iv)University; (v)  City; and (vi) Country] 

A study group, surveillance team, working group, consortium, or the like (e.g., the Group  Team) may be listed as a coauthor in the byline if its contributing members fulfil the criteria  of substantial contribution and responsibility for authorship. Otherwise, names and  institutional affiliations may be given as contributing members in the acknowledgements  section of the manuscript. 

Provide a structured abstract of maximum 300 words with background and objectives,  methods, results and conclusions. Avoid abbreviations, references, and diagrams. Include a  maximum of 4 keywords for subject indexing. The keywords should be listed on the last line  on the abstract page. 

INTRODUCTION 

The introduction should supply sufficient background information to allow the reader to  understand and evaluate the results of the present study without an exhaustive review of  the literature. It should include the purpose of the study and its relationship to earlier work  in the field. 

∙ For Case Reports, the case description must be placed after the ‘Introduction’ and  before ‘Materials and Methods’, to give relevant clinical information about one or  more patients. 

MATERIALS & METHODS 

The Materials and Methods section should include sufficient technical information to allow  the experiments to be repeated. When centrifugation conditions are critical, give enough  information to enable another investigator to repeat the procedure: make of centrifuge, the  model of the rotor, temperature, time at maximum speed, and centrifugal force. For  commonly used materials and methods (e.g., media and protein concentration  determinations), a simple reference is sufficient. If several alternative methods are  commonly used, it is helpful to identify the method briefly and also cite the reference.  Describe new methods completely and give sources of unusual chemicals, equipment, or  microbial strains. 

RESULT 

The Results section should include the results of the experiments. Reserve extensive  interpretation of the results for the Discussion section. Present the results as concisely as  possible in one of the following: text, Tables, or Figures. Avoid extensive use of graphs to  present data that might be more concisely presented in the text or Tables. Limit photographs  (particularly photomicrographs and electron micrographs) to those that are necessary to  show the experimental findings. Number the Tables and Figures in the order in which they  are cited in the text and be sure to cite all Tables and Figures. 

∙ Each paper is limited to not more than 7 Tables and/or Figures.

∙ Additional displays should be included as Supplementary Table or Figure. Each paper  is limited to not more than 2 Supplementary Tables and/or Figures 

Note: Please refer to Tables and Figure legend section for notes on Tables, Figures and Figure  legends. 

DISCUSSION 

The Discussion should provide an interpretation of the results concerning previously  published work and to the experimental system at hand. It should not contain extensive  repetition of the Results section or reiteration of the introduction. Include a sub-section  ‘conclusion’ in the discussion. In short papers, the Results and Discussion sections may be  combined. 

DECLARATIONS 

∙ Ethics. Manuscripts must contain a statement (where applicable) that all human  studies have been reviewed by an appropriate ethics committee and the research  performed under the ethical standards of the appropriate institution. Where  applicable, the informed consent process should be stated. The HSI Journal requires  that all manuscripts about studies on human participants should state the  body/organization that provided ethical clearance permission. Authors must also cite  the ethical clearance identity number. Reports on animal studies must state that the  principles of laboratory animal care (NIH publication number 85-23, revised 1985)  that were followed. The Editor-in-Chief reserves the right to reject manuscripts that  do not comply with the above guidelines. 

∙ Acknowledgement. The source of any financial support received for the work being  published must be indicated in the Acknowledgments section. (It is assumed that the  absence of acknowledgement is a statement by authors that no support was  received.). This could be cited as “This study was supported by the AIDS Commission  Research grant AC 0-2524 from the Global Fund.” 

∙ Conflict of interest. The manuscript should include a statement on conflict of  interest in this section. The HSI Journal subscribes that conflicts of interest towards  publications could be academic, commercial, personal, political or even financial.  Financial conflicts of interests could include work, payment for conferences, lectures  or travel, funding for research work, patents, the share of ownership, or even an  interest in a company. If authors declare no conflicts of interest, the HSI Journal will  publish the manuscripts as such. When in doubt, authors must disclose the situation  so that the HSI Journal editors can evaluate the circumstances for any implication. 

∙ Author Contributions Statement. Authors are expected to provide a short  description of the contributions made by each listed author. This will also be  published in a separate section after the Conflict of Interest statement in the article. 

∙ Data availability. The HSI Journal requires all authors to include a data availability  statement in their article. The statement should state where data supporting the  results reported in the article may be found. Such statements can also be about  whether data are available upon reasonable request to other researchers. Authors  may select any or use a combination of the following statements: 

1. The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during this study may be  available in the [NAME] repository. The datasets generated during and/or  analyzed during the current study are not publicly available [REASON WHY  DATA ARE NOT PUBLIC] but are available from the corresponding author on  reasonable request.
2. The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are  available from the corresponding author on reasonable request. 
3. Data sharing not applicable to this article as no datasets were generated or  analyzed during the current study. 
4. All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this published  article [and its supplementary information files]. 

REFERENCES 

Authors are advised to limit references to what is essential; we recommend up to 50  references for original and review articles and 20 for case reports. The HSI Journal  encourages authors to cite the primary literature rather than review articles throughout  their manuscripts. The HSI Journal references are cited in the text by numbers in square only.  The citation-sequence system lists the references consecutively with numbers in the order  of appearance in the text (Vancouver style). List of authors in the references section should  not be abbreviated with “et al.” Journal names are abbreviated according to Index Medicus  and without periods after abbreviated words. Authors are responsible for the accuracy of  the references. Do not italicize titles of academic journals, books etc. When there are several  citations within a single set of brackets, they should be separated by commas without spaces  between the comma and the next number. If there are more than2 sequential citations, the  numbers should be given as a range (e.g., 6-8). 

∙ Citing references in the reference section. References should include all journal  articles (both print and online), patents, theses and dissertations, books and book  chapters (both print and online), published conference proceedings, meeting  abstracts from published abstract books or journal supplements, letters (to the  editor), and company publications, as well as in-press journal articles, book chapters,  and books. 

∙ The HSI Journal advocates the use of referencing software such as Mendeley or  Zotero, both of which are free for download. The citation style language (csl) for  HSI Journal can be downloaded at hsijournal references style. Using any reference  software (e.g., Mendeley, Zotero, Endnote, Reference Manager etc.), search for  ‘’Springer - Basic (numeric, brackets, no "et al.")’’ from the citation style language  repository. Note: The ‘’Springer - Basic (numeric, brackets, no "et al.")’’ is not unique  to HSI Journal. 

Reference format examples: 

∙ Published articles 

Manu TG, Deldard H, Minu C (2018) Rehydration for diabetes diseases in children. Trans R  Soc Trop Med Hyg 75: 231-237. 

∙ In Press Papers 

Krsto PA and Kwesi PJ Clinical aspects of exhaled nitric oxide. Adv Clin Path. In press. 

∙ Article within a journal supplement 

Kwame GT, John MN, UJ P, Mona PY, Kuy OL, Kicj YH (2019) Mechanisms of infection in the  elderly. Clin Microbiol Infect 4 Suppl 2: 19-26. 

∙ Electronic Journal Articles 

Joker LO (2018) Effect of culture on global discipline. Mic E Jour. Available:  http://www.library.arizona.edu/ej/jpe/volume_3/ascii-lokeriso.txt. Accessed 11 August 

2006 

∙ Whole Book 

Milo JK and KO TK (2020) Coursebook on epidemiology, 4th edition. Cape Town: KJoth Press  781p. 

∙ Book Chapters 

Tyoyu TY and Rooney MN (2019) Male occupation therapy. In Mo HY, Tach JG, Quinson M,  Allak Y, Monarch TB, Kyth JK, Mok TY, editors. Male Therapy in Africa. Accra: University of  Ghana Press. 2019-312. 

Tables 

∙ Tables should be on separate sheets, have brief titles, and numbered in the order in  which they appear in the text. The preferred format for regular tables is in Microsoft  Word (.doc) and should be formatted with horizontal borders only and a horizontal  line to separate the heading space from the content. 

∙ Lead-ins within the heading space should be delineated with horizontal lines. Arrange  the data so that columns of like material read down, not across. 

∙ All tables are numbered using Arabic numerals. 

∙ Tables must be cited in text in consecutive numerical order. 

∙ For each table, a table caption (title) explaining the components of the table must be  stated on top of the table. 

∙ Footnotes should be cited with lowercase letters. Table legends are not acceptable.  Tables with fewer than six pieces of data must be incorporated into the text. ∙ Table footnotes must be indicated using superscript lower-case letters (or asterisks  for significance values and other statistical data) and placed beneath the table body. Footnotes. Authors may use footnotes to give additional information to the table and may  include the citation of a reference included in the reference list. Footnotes must not be solely  for a reference citation. Footnotes must not contain any figures or tables. Footnotes must not  include details of a reference. Footnotes to the text must be numbered consecutively.  Footnotes to tables should be indicated by superscript lower-case letters (or asterisks for  significance values and other statistical data). Always use footnotes instead of endnotes. 

Important checklist for submitting Tables to the HSI Journal 

∙ All tables (including number, title and footnotes) should be placed at end of the article  text in the manuscript after referencing. 

∙ The tables must be on separate sheets, one table per page. 

∙ Each table must include the number (corresponding to the Arabic number in the text),  title and footnotes for each table). 

∙ The manuscript with the tables will be uploaded as one document during submission. 

A Figure legend is a text that accompanies each Figure in the manuscript. Its purpose is to  explain the Figure thoroughly. The legend includes the title and explanation of features that  in the Figure. 

∙ Number the Figure legend according to their sequence in the text. 

∙ All Figure legends are to be numbered using Arabic numerals, such as Figure 1, 2, 3  etc. without abbreviation. 

∙ Ensure that each Figure legend has a caption (title of the Figure), and a short explicit  explanation of features of the Figure (< 100 words). 

Figures appropriate for HSI Journal

∙ If a Figure is created with Microsoft Office application (e.g., Word, PowerPoint, Excel),  then the Figure should be submitted to HSI Journal 'as is' in the native format  document. 

∙ If the figure is not a Microsoft Office document, then 'Save as' and convert the images  to one of the following formats: 

- TIFF (or JPEG): Color or grayscale photographs (halftones), keep to a minimum of 300 dpi. - TIFF (or JPEG): Bitmapped (pure black & white pixels) line drawings, keep to a minimum  of 1000 dpi. 

- TIFF (or JPEG): Combinations bitmapped line/half-tone (colour or grayscale), keep to a  minimum of 500 dpi. 

- EPS (or PDF): Vector drawings, embed all used fonts. 

Please do not supply files such as GIF, BMP, PICT, WPG. These typically have a low number  of pixels and a limited set of colours. Image files should not be manipulated or adjusted in  any way that could lead to misinterpretation of the information present in the original image. 

∙ Multipanel figures (figures with parts labelled a, b, c, d, etc.) must have consistent  labelling and should be assembled into a composite file. Figure parts should be  denoted by lowercase letters (a, b, c, etc.). No specific feature within an image should  be enhanced, obscured, moved, removed, or introduced. 

∙ The “Times New Roman” should be used for labelling all Figures 

∙ Keep text embedded in Figures themselves to a minimum but explain all symbols and  abbreviations used in the Figure. Such explanations should be part of the legend. ∙ If you include figures that have already been published elsewhere, you must obtain  permission from the copyright owner(s) for both the print and online format. Please  be aware that some publishers do not grant electronic rights for free. HSI Journal will  not refund any costs to authors 

∙ Ensure that colour images are accessible to all, including those with impaired color  vision. 

∙ Label photographs as plates. The photograph uploaded should be 100% of its print  dimensions so that no reduction or enlargement is necessary. Space must be cropped  from the image to include only the significant portion of the Figure. 

∙ If Figures are included that have already been published elsewhere, you must obtain  permission from the copyright owner(s) for both the print and online format. Please  be aware that some publishers do not grant electronic rights for free. The HSI Journal  will not be complicit in such matters. 

Note: Color graphics may be submitted, but the cost of printing in colour would be borne by  the author. Please indicate your preference for colour in print. You will receive information  regarding the costs from HSI Journal before the production of the article is complete. A detailed guide on types of Figures that are suitable for the HSI Journal can be assed from  here: https://www.elsevier.com/authors/author-schemas/artwork-and-media-instructions 

Important checklist for submitting Figures to the HSI Journal 

∙ Figures should be submitted as separate files. 

∙ The uploaded Figures should not contain any labelling, just indicate in the submission  portal Figure 1,2,3, etc. 

∙ The Figures should be uploaded as individual files (in their appropriate format, e.g.,  TIFF or EPS). Upload Figure 1 as one file. Then Figure 2 as another, then Figure 3, and  so on. 

∙ For all submitted Figures, legends should be provided in the manuscript, at the Figure  legend section. Each Figure legend should correspond to an uploaded Figure. Allowable supplementary data. Tables or Figures submitted here should conform to  guidelines provided in the Tables section as well as Figures and Figure legend sections. All  manuscripts submitted to HSI Journal should be complete and self-contained. Supplemental 

information must be limited to such things as videos, 3-D structures/images, extended  chemical syntheses, extensive NMR data, molecular dynamics, kinetic modelling data, and  other large data sets such as those obtained with microarray analyses or mass spectrometry  studies. Supplementary data should be indicated as such during submission. 

REVIEW ARTICLES 

The reviews may be systematic or regular. There is no length limit for this format but authors  are advised to use precise language. These generally aim to give an overview of a field  suitable for a wide audience, and they should include an abstract (250 words maximum) and  subsequent subheadings at the author’s discretion. Reviews are biographical profiles,  historical perspectives, or summaries of developments in fast-moving areas within the scope  of HSI Journal. They must be based on published articles; they are not outlets for unpublished  data. Reviews may be either solicited or proffered by authors responding to a recognized  need. Irrespective of origin, reviews are subject to peer review. The cover letter should state  whether the article was solicited and by whom. 

Brief reports or short papers should have the same format as Original articles, but should  have no more than two figures or illustrations, abstract of no more than 75 words, a  maximum of 20 references and should not exceed 1500 words of text. Do not use section  headings in the body of the paper; combine methods, results, and discussion in a single  section. You may use paragraph lead-ins. Present acknowledgements as in full-length papers.  The Reference section is identical to that of full-length papers. 

CASE REPORTS 

The HSI Journal publishes Case reports that are of adequate quality and potential  importance. Reports should have no more than three figures or illustrations, abstract of no  more than 150 words, the main text of 1500 words and a maximum of 20 references. All  photographs should be labelled as Plates. It should comprise an Abstract, Introduction, Case  presentations, Consent, Discussions, Acknowledgements, Funding, Transparency  declarations and References. Illustrations submitted for case reports must comply with the  Journals policy on uploaded Figures. Please refer to guidelines on Figures and Figure legends 

COMMENTARIES 

Commentaries are invited communications concerning topics relevant to the readership of  HSI Journal and are intended to engender discussion. Commentaries are subject to review.  The length may not exceed 1500 words, and the format is like that of a review but without  an abstract. 

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR 

Two forms of letters to the Editor are accepted. A Comment Letter is intended for comments  on published articles in the journal. A Comment Letter should cite published references to  support the writer's argument. The second type (New-Data Letter) reports new, concise  findings that are not appropriate for publication as full-length papers or Short-Form papers.  Letters to the Editor do not have abstracts. Both types of Letter must have a title, which must  appear in the manuscript. Figures and tables for New-Data Letter should be kept to a  minimum. A Comment Letter will be sent to the Editor who handled the article in question.  If the editor believes that publication is warranted, he/she will solicit a reply from the  corresponding author of the article and approve publication. New-Data Letters are assigned  to editors according to the subject matter for review. Correspondence on topics of concern  or interest in the field of biomedical sciences, public health or allied health especially arising  from papers or letters already published in the Journal. These must not exceed 800 words,  one table or illustration, and 10 references, and must be addressed to the Editor-in-Chief.