Life and Science is published in English. Authors are requested to maintain consistency in their use of English, whether they adopt British or American conventions in spelling and grammar. Manuscript must be typed in 1.5 paragraph spacing on A4 paper (21.0 x 29.70 cm) with 2.5 cm margin on both sides. Main title should be in 16 point Calibri font bold, headings in 14 point bold and text in 12 point.
Paragraphs indented and left aligned with bottom central page numbering.
Quantitative Study Format
Abstract, Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusion, References.
Qualitative Study Format
Abstract, Introduction, Literature Review, Methods, Qualitative Approach, Participant Selection strategy, Data Collection Strategy, Themes, Discussion, Conclusion, References.
A. Manuscript Title Page
The title page should provide following information:
- Title (up to 25 words): Identifies the topic/research question, study population, study settings, study design (if applicable) with no abbreviations.
- Full author names: separate each name with a comma.
- Address for each author: separate each address name with comma.
- Corresponding author details: give full address of corresponding author along with email ID and contact number.
- Short running title for header.
- Authors are advised to suggest one national & one international Reviewer.
B. Abstract
The abstract should be citation-free and in a structured paragraph with objective, study design, place and duration of study, materials and methods, results and conclusion briefly explained. A trial registration number should included if applicable. It must not exceed 300 words, but for CONSORT or PRISMA style abstract word count may go up to 450–500 words.
C. Keywords
Three to six keywords (MeSH) in alphabetical order should be provided. All words should start with capital letter and in italic font.
D. Introduction
This section should be succinct, without subheadings including background, rationale followed by a gap statement and objectives of the study.
E. Materials and Methods
This section should contain sufficient details for purpose of reproducibility of methodology/ procedure.
Subsections can be made for description of more than one method. Explanation of sample size, sampling techniques, data collection procedures/techniques/experiments and statistical methods with relevant software program should be given.
F. Results
This section can be subdivided if required. Extra or supplementary materials can be placed in an appendix, which will be available in the electronic version of the journal. Please include following terms in the results section of the article:
- For clinical trials: Event rates among experimental and control groups, relative risk reduction (RRR), number needed to treat (NNT), number needed to harm (NNH) and its 95% confidence interval or if the trial is of public health intervention number helped per 1000 or 100,000.
- For cohort study: Odds ratio (OR) for strength of association between exposure and outcome along with 95% confidence interval.
- For diagnostic test study: Sensitivity and specificity, positive predictive value (PPV) and negative predictive value (NPV).
G. Discussion
The discussion should emphasize the principal findings of the study in relation to other studies; discuss important similarities and differences; strengths & weaknesses of the study; possible explanations/ implications for the researchers and policy makers.
H. Conclusion
The conclusion should be precise and supported by results of the study.
I. Acknowledgements
Acknowledgments should be included at the end of the paper before the references and follow ICMJE recommendations. Funding sources/sponsors should be mentioned separately with grant identification number. At submission, L&S requires authors to disclose whether they used Artificial Intelligence (AI)– assisted technologies in the creation of submitted work. Authors who use AI technology should clearly mention, in both the cover letter and the appropriate section of the manuscript, how they used AI. For example, if AI was used for writing assistance, describe this in the acknowledgment section. Click the following link for details:
https://lifenscience.org/journal-policy/
J. Conflict of Interest
Conflict of interest statements must be provided at the end of the article. If no conflict of interest is mentioned by the authors, the following statement will be used by the publisher by default: "The authors declare no conflict of interest". Click the following link for details:
https://lifenscience.org/journal-policy/
K. Grant Support and Financial Disclosure
Authors are required to disclose any sponsorship or funding received from any institution relating to their research. The editor(s) will determine what disclosures, if any, should be available to the readers.
Click the following link for details:
https://lifenscience.org/journal-policy/
L. References
References must be cited consecutively as superscript numerical. Vancouver style of referencing and in-text references should be in numerical order with superscript after full stop. In bibliography doi numbers should be provided (If available) after each reference. Do not write abbreviation of the journal name, write complete name of the journal. Life and Science complies with COPE guidelines, which advise against self-citation unless absolutely necessary, visit the COPE website for details https://publicationethics.org/files/COPE_DD_A4_Citation_Manipulation_Jul19_SCREEN_AW2.pdf
M. Figures
Computer prepared images must be at minimum of 300 dpi and should be submitted as JPEG or TIFF format file. All figures should be in a consecutive order. Photographs, X-rays, CT scans, MRI and photomicrographs should be sent in digital format with a minimum resolution of 3.2 mega pixels in JPEG compression. Written permission must be sought to use previously published figures. Graphs or scatter plot or histograms should be submitted along with their numerical data. Legends for photomicrographs should indicate the magnification, internal scale and the method of staining. Figure legends should be provided on a separate page of the main manuscript document.
N. Tables
Each table should be given on a separate page, paginated as part of the manuscript. Tables should be provided as editable text constructed in Microsoft Word using Table function with single spaces and without vertical lines. They should be numbered consecutively with Arabic numerals and labeled with a descriptive title. Units of numerical measurement should be written in the column heading and all abbreviations explained in the footnote.
O. Units of Measurement
Units of measurement should be consistent throughout the manuscript. System International (SI) or Imperial system may be used.
P. Appendices
Appendix must have a title and begin on a separate page. It must be labeled with an alphabet (A,B,C). Tables and figures within an appendix should be labeled by Arabic numerals added to the alphabets of the appendix (Table A.1; Fig A.1).
Q. Plagiarism Policy
Life and Science follows the guidelines of ICMJE, PMC and HEC for any kind of plagiarism. These guidelines can be accessed at www.icmje.org, www.pmdc.gov.pk and www.hec.gov.pk. Authors are advised to go through these guidelines before submitting their manuscript with Life and Science. Cases of plagiarism will be dealt according/recommendation of the ICMJE, PMC and HEC. All submitted papers will be checked for plagiarism using the anti-plagiarism software “TURNITIN”. Articles with similarity index more than 19% will not be accepted for processing.
R. Ethical Consideration
Authors are required to provide an approval letter from their respective Institutional Review Board/ Biomedical Ethical Committee/IACUC for all human and animal subject research. As a statement in the manuscript the author must mention that the study obtained ethical approval, include the name of the Ethics Committee or Institutional Review Board, the number/ID of the approval, and also that participants gave written informed consent before taking part in the study. In case of photographs or other identifiable material, the author should report that patients have provided their signed consent for publication of such material.
S. Declaration
The authors are required to sign and submit the following:
- Certificate of Authorship
- Author Declaration form
- Conflict of Interest form
- Article submission Checklist
For technical support, please contact
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