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AYURVEDA SAMEEKSHA 2018/2019

Instructions to Authors

About the Journal

The Ayurveda Sameeksha is a peer-reviewed Journal of Ayurveda published annually by the

Department of Ayurveda, Ministry of Health, Nutrition and Indigenous Medicine, Sri Lanka. The

Ayurveda Sameeksha was first published in 1985 with an objective to encourage publishing

articles including research work and propagate Ayurveda at a national level.

The Ayurveda Sameeksha 2018/2019 publishes articles under four sections; namely, Shastriya

Khanda (section containing classical articles in medical fields), Sahitya Khanda(section

containing literary articles pertaining to medicine), Paryeshana Khanda (section containing

research articles) and Vishesha Khanda (section containing articles on special theme of the

public health issue.)

The Ayurveda Sameeksha accepts research and conceptual works related to the fields of

Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani and Indigenous Traditional Systems of Medicine (Deshiyachikitsa) for

publication.

Shastriya Khanda that focuses on classical articles in medical fields publishes articles with

academic values related to Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani and Indigenous Traditional Medicine.

Sahitya Khanda that specializes on literary articles pertaining to medicine publishes details on

historical information regarding literature, writings, prose, poetry, folklore, nonfiction, Veda

Geta (cryptic medical formulae) etc., related to Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani and Indigenous

traditional medicine.

Paryeshana Khanda is focusing on research articles and publishes research papers. Reviews

(literary reviews, systematic reviews), clinical research, case studies, series of case studies,

experimental research, microbiological research, parasitological research, surveys and other

researches related to Ayurveda, Siddha, Unani and Indigenous traditional medicine are

accepted for publication.

Vishesha Khanda is focusing on the special theme of the current issue of the Ayurveda

Sameeksha. The special theme of the Ayurveda Sameeksha 2018/2019 is “ Saukhya Abhiyoga

Jayagenima Sandaha Ayurveda Praja Saukhya “ (Ayurveda community health care for health

challenges). Praja Saukhya (Ayurveda community health care) deals with preventive measures

on communicable diseases (caused by microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses, parasites and

fungi that can be spread, directly or indirectly, from one person to another, eg: tuberculosis,

influenza, etc.) and non-communicable diseases (chronic diseases, tend to be of long duration

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and are the result of a combination of genetic, physiological, environmental and behavioral

factors, eg: diabetes mellitus, hypertension, CVD, etc.), nutritional disorders among vulnerable

groups (children, pregnant mothers, lactating mothers, young adults and elderly people etc.)

Submission of Manuscripts

All manuscripts must be submitted by e-mail to ayusameeksha@gmail.com . Additionally, the

authors should submit a copy on a compact disc (CD) along with three hard copies of the

manuscript and other required documents by post or by hand to the literary research section of

the BMARI.

Postal address: Ayurveda Sameeksha 2018/2019, Head of the literary research section

Bandaranaike Memorial Ayurvedic Research Institute, Navinna, Maharagama, Sri Lanka.

Editorial & Peer Review Process

All received manuscripts will be duly acknowledged. All the submitted articles will undergo an

editorial review for compliance to the instructions and assessment of standard of the article.

The manuscripts that fulfill the criteria will be sent to two independent reviewers for a double

blind peer review. Based on the reviewers’ comments and suggestions, the Editorial Board will

decide whether the manuscript should be accepted as it is, resubmitted with proposed

revisions, or be rejected. After receiving a revised version of the manuscript, the Editorial Board

will again examine the revised version and convey the publication status of the article.

Authorship

All the authors are totally responsible for the content of the article. They are required to sign a

declaration form for the originality and ownership of the content. Each author should

sufficiently be involved in the study so that he/she is in a position to take responsibility for

appropriate portions of the content of the manuscript. The order of names of the authors

should be based on the relative contribution they have made towards the study and in

preparing the manuscript. All author(s) are required to submit an undertaking as prescribed in

the given format, stating that the paper has not been previously published or submitted for

publication elsewhere.

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Conflicts of Interest

All authors must disclose any conflicts of interest they may have with regard to publication of

the manuscript or, with an institution or product that is mentioned in the manuscript. Authors

should also disclose any conflicts of interest with products that compete with those mentioned

in their manuscript.

Copies of any permission(s) Authors of the manuscript are responsible for obtaining

permissions to reproduce any copyrighted material. A copy of the permission obtained must

accompany the manuscript.

Preparation of Manuscripts

1.General guidelines for all manuscripts

Manuscripts must be prepared in accordance with guidelines of Ayurveda Sameeksha given

here.

Authors are required to prepare manuscripts in simple and concise language using MS word

format (Word 97-2003 Document format or higher version) while adhering to all requirements

of the guidelines. Manuscripts should be written in Times New Roman (English), FMBindumathi

(Sinhala) or Bamini (Tamil), font size 12 and double spaced. All the pages should be numbered

consecutively, using Arabic numerals at the bottom, beginning from the first page. Manuscripts

not complying with the “Instructions to Authors” will be returned to the authors for technical

correction.

1.1. Title Page

The Title page should contain the following information

(a) The type of manuscript (research article, case report, review article, academic article, etc.).

Title should short enough to be readable and long enough to describe the study.

(b) The name(s) of the author(s) with their academic qualifications, designation and affiliations.

(c) The total number of pages, total number of photographs/figures/tables.

(d) Name, postal address and e-mail address of the corresponding author, who is responsible

for all communications with the Editor and the other authors.

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1.2. Language:

Articles can be written in Sinhala, Tamil and English. The language of the article must be clear

and free from grammatical errors. If an article is in English, all non-English (Sinhala, Tamil,

Ayurveda, Sanskrit, Urdu etc.,) terms should be written in capitalizing each word and at their

first appearance, the approximate English meaning of the terms should be given within

brackets. Binomial scientific names should be written in scientific format using italics. Authors

should take special care to avoid grammatical errors. Articles with grammatical errors will be

returned to authors for correction. If authors are unable to resubmit the manuscript with

recommended corrections, then the manuscript will be rejected. Non English articles should

include an summary written in English language (word count will be 250-350).

2. Specific guidelines for manuscripts

2.1Articles in Shastriya Khanda (section containing classical articles) and Sahitya Khanda

(section containing literature pertaining to medicine)

The articles under these sections should not be partitioned as Abstract, Introduction, Material

and methods, Results and Conclusion as done in research papers. They should contain an

Introduction, Main text and if possible, a Conclusion. Referencing style, fonts, font sizes etc.,

should be in accordance with the general guidelines for manuscripts of Ayurveda Sameeksha.

Manuscripts should be 4000 to 5000 words in length excluding the list of references.

2.2. Articles in Paryeshana Khanda (Section containing research articles) Full Research Articles

The research articles should be arranged into the following sections with the headings viz

Abstract, Key words, Introduction, Material and Methods, and Results, Discussion, Conclusion,

References, and Tables and Figure legends. The length of “Short communications” should be

less than 1500 words in length. The length of “Research articles” should be 2500 to 4000 words

in length.

2.2.1 Abstract:

Abstract should be restricted to a maximum of 250 words, in a single paragraph form. It should

contain a brief summary of each main section of the article i.e. background, aims and objectives

of the study, methods, results and discussion. It should also conclude implications of the study.

No abbreviations are to be used in the abstract. The abbreviations used in the manuscript

should be given in their full form in the abstract. No reference should be cited in the abstract.

References, tables or figures should not be included in the abstract.

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2.2.2 Key words: Two to six relevant keywords should be given immediately after the abstract.

2.2.3 Introduction: A concise account of the background to the subject, the scope of the

problem and its significance should be given. It should also include objectives of the study and

hypothesis.

2.2.4 Materials and Methods: These should be written with sufficient clarity and details about

the study design, the samples, and type of participants or materials involved. Type of analysis,

survey and statistical methods should be explained concisely and clearly. Common analytical

methods need not be elaborated. When the study involves human and animal subjects it should

indicate whether the ethical clearance obtained from the recognized Ethics Review Committee

(ERC).

2.2.5 Results: Results should state original and important findings with sufficient detail. Use

figures or tables to represent large volume of data wherever necessary.

2.2.6 Discussion: Discuss the relevance of your findings. The principal conclusions drawn from

the results and their important implications should be discussed. The interventions, possible

adversities and observed drug reactions may also be discussed. Results and Discussion sections

can be combined.

2.2.7 Conclusion: Conclusions should be written clearly in few sentences and be based only on

findings described in the manuscript.

2.2.8 Acknowledgement: This section may be used to state the acknowledgements for funding

agencies or any other relevant parties who have contributed information or assistance; but not

sufficiently to earn an authorship.

2.3. Case studies

A case study is a "published report about a person, group, or situation that has been studied

over time”. It should contain Abstract, Key words, Introduction, Case presentation,

Management and Outcome, Discussion, Conclusion and References. Referencing style, fonts,

font sizes etc., should be in accordance with the general guidelines for manuscripts of Ayurveda

Sameeksha.

Referencing Guidelines for all manuscripts:

These should be numbered consecutively in order in which they are first mentioned in the text

(not in alphabetic order) and placed as endnote. In the text they should be indicated above the

line (superscripted). Use the style of the examples mentioned below, which are based on the

formats used by the NLM in Index Medicus. The titles of journals should be abbreviated

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according to the style used in Index Medicus. Use complete name of the journal for non-

indexed journals. Avoid using abstracts as references. Information from manuscripts submitted

but not accepted should be cited in the text as "unpublished observations" 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.

The commonly cited types of references are shown here, for other types of references such as

newspaper items please refer to ICMJE Guidelines (http://www.icmje.org or

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/bsd/uniform_requirements.html ).

Articles in Journals

1. Standard journal article (for up to six authors): Deole YS, Ashok BK, Shukla VJ, Ravishankar B, Chandola HM. Psychopharmacological Study on Antidepressant effect of BrahmiGhrita. AYU Int Res J Ayurveda 2008;29(2):77-83.

2. Standard journal article (for more than six authors): List the first six contributors followed by et al. Nozari Y, Hashemlu A, Hatmi ZN, Sheikhvatan M, Iravani A, Bazdar A, et al. Outcome of coronary artery bypass grafting in patients without major risk factors and patients with at least one major risk factor for coronary artery disease. Indian J Med Sci 2007;61:547-54.

3. Volume with supplement: Shen HM, Zhang QF. Risk assessment of nickel carcinogenicity and occupational lung cancer. Environ Health Perspect 1994;102Suppl 1:275-82.

4. Issue with supplement: Payne DK, Sullivan MD, Massie MJ. Women's psychological reactions to breast cancer.SeminOncol 1996; 23(1, Suppl 2):89-97.

Books and Other Monographs

1. Personal author(s):Ringsven MK, Bond D. Gerontology and leadership skills for nurses. 2nd ed. Albany (NY):Delmar Publishers; 1996.

2. Editor(s), compiler(s) as author: Norman IJ, Redfern SJ, editors. Mental health care for elderly people. New York: Churchill Livingstone; 1996.

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3. Chapter in a book:Phillips SJ, Whisnant JP. Hypertension and stroke. In: Laragh JH, Brenner BM, editors. Hypertension: pathophysiology, diagnosis, and management. 2nd ed. New York: Raven Press; 1995. pp. 465-78.

Electronic Sources as reference

Journal article on the Internet

Abood S. Quality improvement initiative in nursing homes: the ANA acts in an advisory role. Am J Nurs [serial on the Internet]. 2002 Jun [cited 2002 Aug 12]; 102(6): [about 3 p.]. Available from: http://www.nursingworld.org/AJN/2002/june/Wawatch.htm

Monograph on the Internet

Foley KM, Gelband H, editors. Improving palliative care for cancer [monograph on the Internet]. Washington: National Academy Press; 2001 [cited 2002 Jul 9]. Available from: http://www.nap.edu/books/0309074029/html/.

Homepage/Web site

Cancer-Pain.org [homepage on the Internet]. New York: Association of Cancer Online Resources, Inc.; c2000-01 [updated 2002 May 16; cited 2002 Jul 9]. Available from: http://www.cancer-pain.org/.

Part of a homepage/Web site

American Medical Association [homepage on the Internet]. Chicago: The Association; c1995-2002 [updated 2001 Aug 23; cited 2002 Aug 12]. AMA Office of Group Practice Liaison; [about 2 screens]. Available from: http://www.ama-assn.org/ama/pub/category/1736.html

References from Ayurvedic Classical Texts and Samhitas:

The references from AyurvedicSamhita should be given in the following order:

Name of the original writer(s) of Samhita, Name of the Samhita, name of the Sthana (part or section), Adhyaya (chapter), serial number of chapter/Shloka (verse) number, then editor, edition number, name of the publisher, then year of publication; Page number (if specified only).

E.g. Agnivesha, Charaka, Dridhabala, Charakasamhita, ChikitsaSthana, GrahaniChikitsaAdhyaya, 15/20, edited by Vaidya Jadavaji Trikamji Aacharya,2nd edition, Chaukhamba Sanskrit Sansthan, Varanasi, 1990;225.

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If the same Samhita or book is refereed two or more times then after quoting the full reference first time, on the second time write the word “Ibidem” followed by reference number (1) followed by name of the Samhita ‘Charaka Samhita’ and name of the Sthana, name of Adhyaya Number/ shloka number and at last page number if specific.

E.g. Ibidem Charaka Samhita(1), Grahani Chikitsa Adhyaya, 15/25;226.

If the reference is taken from the edited version or view of the editor on the original text, then the reference can include: Name of the editor, followed by designation like ‘editor’, and the reference from the Samhita as described above,

E.g. Jadavji T., editor. Charaka Samhita, Chikitsa Sthana, Grahani Chikitsa Adhyaya, 15/20, 2nd edition, Chaukhamba Sanskrit Sansthan, Varanasi, 1990; 225.

If the reference is quoted from a commentary of original text, then the reference can include: Name of the commentator, followed by designation ‘commentator’, and the reference from the Samhita as described above.

E.g. Chakrapanidutta, Commnetator. Charaka Samhita, Chikitsa Sthana, Grahani Chikitsa Adhyaya, 15/20, 2nd edition, Chaukhamba Sanskrit Sansthan, Varanasi, 1990; 225.

Tables

1.Tables should be self-explanatory and should not duplicate textual material.

2. Tables with more than 10 columns and 25 rows will not be accepted

3. Number tables, in Arabic numerals, consecutively in the order of their first citation in the text

and supply a brief title for each.

4. Explain in footnotes all non-standard abbreviations that are used in each table.

5. Obtain permission for all fully borrowed, adapted, and modified tables and provide a credit

line in the footnote.

6. For footnotes use the following symbols, in this sequence: *, †, ‡, §, ||,.¶ , **, ††, ‡‡

7. Tables with their legends should be provided at the end of the text after the references. The

table number should be mentioned at the relevant place in the text.

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Illustrations

1. The images should be in JPEG format (4 MB in size).

2. Figures should be numbered consecutively in the order in which they first appear in the text.

3. Labels, numbers, and symbols should be clear and uniform in size. The lettering for figures

should be large enough to be legible after reduction to fit the width of a printed column.

4. When graphs, scatter-grams or histograms are submitted the numerical data from which

they are drawn should also be supplied.

5. The photographs and figures should be trimmed to remove all the unwanted areas.

6. If photographs of individuals are used, their pictures must be accompanied by written permission to use the photograph.

7. If a figure has been published elsewhere, acknowledge the original source and submit

written permission from the copyright holder to reproduce the material. A credit line should

appear in the legend for such figures.

8. Legends for illustrations: Type or print out legends (maximum 40 words, excluding the

credit line) for illustrations using double spacing, 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 in the legend. Explain the internal scale

(magnification) and identify the method of staining in photomicrographs.

9. Final figures for print production: If uploaded images are not printable quality, publisher office may request for higher resolution images which can be sent at the time of acceptance of the manuscript. Send sharp, glossy, un-mounted, color photographic prints, with height of 4 inches and width of 6 inches at the time of submitting the revised manuscript. Print outs of digital photographs are not acceptable. If digital images are the only source of images, ensure that the image has minimum resolution of 300 dpi or 1800 x 1600 pixels in TIFF format. Send the images on a CD. Each figure should have a label pasted (avoid use of liquid gum for pasting) on its back indicating the number of the figure, the running title, top of the figure and the legends of the figure. Do not write the contributor/s' name/s. Do not write on the back of figures, scratch, or mark them by using paper clips.

10. The Journal reserves the right to crop, rotate, reduce, or enlarge the photographs to an

acceptable size

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Covering letter

Signed by all contributors

Previous publication / presentations should be mentioned

Source of funding should be mentioned

Conflicts of interest should be disclosed

Authors

Last name and given name provided along with Middle name initials (where applicable)

Author for correspondence, with e-mail address provided

Number of contributors restricted as per the instructions

Identity not revealed in paper except title page (e.g. name of the institute in Methods, citing previous study as 'our study', names on figure labels, name of institute in photographs, etc.)

Presentation and format

• Double spacing • Margins 2.5 cm from all four sides • Page numbers included at bottom • Title page contains all the desired information • Running title provided (not more than 50 characters) • Abstract page contains the full title of the manuscript • Abstract provided (structured abstract of 250 words for original articles, unstructured

abstracts for all other manuscripts excluding letters to the Editor) • Key words provided (two or more up to six) • Introduction as concise background of the topic • Headings in title case (not ALL CAPITALS)

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• The references cited in the text should be after punctuation marks, in superscript with square bracket.

• References according to the journal's instructions, punctuation marks checked • Send the article file without ‘Track Changes’

Language and grammar

Uniformly American English

Write the full term for each abbreviation at its first use in the title, abstract, keywords and text separately unless it is a standard unit of measure. Numerals from 1 to 10 spelt out

Numerals at the beginning of the sentence spelt out

Check the manuscript for spelling, grammar and punctuation errors

If a brand name is cited, supply the manufacturer's name and address (city and state/country).

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UNDERTAKING BY AUTHOR(S)

I/ We undersigned, give an undertaking to the following effect with regard to our article

entitled ____________________________________________________________________

Submitted for publication in the Ayurveda Sameeksha journal:

1. The article mentioned above has not been published or submitted to or accepted for

publication in any form, in any other journal.

2. We also vouchsafe that the authorship of this article will not be contested by anyone whose

name(s) is/are not listed by us here.

3. I/We declare that I/We contributed significantly towards the research study i.e., (a)

conception, design and /or analysis and interpretation of data and to (b) drafting of the article

or revising it critically for important intellectual content and on (c) final approval of the version

to be published.

4. I/We hereby acknowledge Ayurveda Sameeksha’s conflict of interest policy requirement to

scrupulously avoid direct and indirect conflicts of interest and, accordingly hereby agree to

promptly inform the editor or editor’s designee of any business, commercial, or other

proprietary support, relationships, or interests that I/ We may have which relate directly or

indirectly to the subject of the work.

5. I/We also agree to the authorship of the article in the following sequence:

Author’s Names (in sequence) Signature of Authors

1. _______________________ __________________

2. _______________________ __________________

3. _______________________ __________________

4. _______________________ __________________

5. _______________________ __________________

6. _______________________ __________________

7. _______________________ __________________

8. _______________________ __________________

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Important Note:

1. All the authors are required to sign independently in this form in the sequence given above.

In case an author has left the institution/country and whose whereabouts are not known, the

senior author may sign on his/her behalf taking the responsibility.

2. No addition/deletion/or any change in the sequence of the authorship will be permissible at

a later stage, without valid reasons and permission of the Executive Editor.

3. If the authorship is contested at any stage, the article will not be processed for publication till

the issue is solved.

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COPYRIGHT TRANSFER AGREEMENT FORM

This document must be signed by all authors and submitted with the manuscript.

The Ayurveda Sameeksha peer-reviewed journal is published annually by the Department of Ayurveda, Ministry of Health and Indigenous Medicine, Sri Lanka. The Ayurveda Sameeksha and authors hereby agree as follows: In consideration of Ayurveda Sameeksha reviewing and editing the following described work for first publication on an exclusive basis: Title of the manuscript:

__________________________________________________________________________

___________________________________________________________________________

The undersigned author(s) hereby assigns, conveys, and otherwise transfers all rights, title,

interest, and copyright ownership of said work for publication. Work includes the material

submitted for publication and any other related material submitted to Ayurveda Sameeksha. In

the event that Ayurveda Sameeksha does not publish said work, the author(s) will be so notified

and all rights assigned hereunder will revert to the author(s).

The assignments of rights to Ayurveda Sameeksha includes but is not expressly limited to rights

to edit, publish, reproduce, distribute copies, include in indexes or search databases in print,

electronic, or other media, whether or not in use at the time of execution of this agreement,

and claim copyright in said work throughout the world for the full duration of the copyright and

any renewals or extensions thereof.

All accepted works become the property of Ayurveda Sameeksha and may not be published

else where without prior written permission from Ayurveda Sameeksha. The author(s) hereby

represents and warrents that they are sole author(s) of the work, that all authors have

participated in and agree with the content and conclusions of the work, that the work is

original, and does not infringe upon any copyright, property or personal right of any third party,

and that no part of it nor any work based on substantially similar data has been submitted to

another publication.

Author’s Names (in sequence) Signature of Author’s

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