Rehabilitation Practice and Science
Contents
- Information For Authors
- Guide for Authors
- Types of article
- Manuscript Submission
- Online Submission
- Important Information
- Ethical Approval of Studies and Informed Consent
- Declaration of interest
- Submission declaration and verification
- Reporting sex- and gender-based analyses
- Authorship
- Changes to Authorship
- Reporting Clinical Trials
- Identification of Patients in Descriptions, Photographs and Pedigrees
- Copyright
- Role of the funding source
- Language
- Supporting Documents
- Title Page
- Abstract and Keywords
- Main Text
- Abbreviations
- Numbers
- Units
- Names of drugs, devices and other products
- Gene nomenclature
- Statistical requirements
- Personal communications and unpublished data
- Funding/Support Statement
- Acknowledgments
- Figures
- Tables
- References
- Data references
- Preprint references
- Reference management software
- Supplementary material
- Research data
- Data linking
- The Editorial and Peer Review Process
- Preparation for Publication
- Open access options
- Article Publishing Charge
- Author rights
Forms for Downloading
RPS Journal Publishing Agreement
Information For Authors
Guide for authors
Research related to clinical practice and research in physical medicine and rehabilitation and related disciplines is considered for publication. Article types considered include original studies, reviews, case reports, clinical multimedia, and letters to the editor. The Editorial Board requires authors to comply with the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals (URMs), which are compiled by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). Please refer to the current URMs at http://www.icmje.org.
Types of article
Below are the categories of articles published in the journal, along with their descriptions. Please select the category that most accurately fits your paper. If your paper does not fit into any of these categories, please get in touch with the Editorial Office for assistance.
#Original Articles
The Journal publishes articles that make significant contributions to the field and fall under categories such as randomized trials, intervention studies, observational studies, screening and diagnostic tests, laboratory and animal studies, cohort studies, cost-effectiveness analyses, case-control studies, and surveys with high response rates.
The paper should be organized into sections with headings such as Abstract, Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, Acknowledgments (if any), and References. The Introduction should provide background information, explain the importance of the study, and state the study question or purpose. Hypothesis-based studies are encouraged.
The Methods section should describe the study design and methods, including the study setting and dates, inclusion and exclusion criteria for patients/participants, patient samples or animal specimens used, essential features of any interventions, main outcome measures, laboratory methods, or data sources and selection procedures. Additionally, the section should state the statistical procedures used in the research.
The Results section should present study results in a logical sequence and include tables and/or figures where appropriate. The text should not repeat data that are already presented in tables and/or figures. Only essential features of the main outcome measures and results should be emphasized and summarized.
The Discussion section should emphasize the new and important aspects of the study, contextualize results with published literature, discuss implications of findings, address limitations, and state conclusions that follow from the study results.
Format guide
Word limit: 5000 words
Abstract : structured, up to 250 words
References: 50 or less
Tables/Figures: 6/6 maximum
#Review Articles
When writing review articles, it's important to aim for a balanced overview of a topical and important issue in research or clinical practice. This means covering both aspects of the topic where scientific consensus exists as well as those that remain controversial and subject to ongoing scientific research.
It's essential to include information about the specific type of study or analysis, population, intervention, exposure, and tests or outcomes for all articles and data sources reviewed. Additionally, all articles or data sources should be systematically selected for inclusion in the review and evaluated critically.
Format guide
Word limit: 5000 words
Abstract : unstructured, up to 250 words
References: 100 or less
Tables/Figures: 6/6 maximum
#Case Report
These are concise discussions of a case or a series of cases that exhibit unique features not previously described, offering an essential teaching point or scientific observation. The topics may cover novel techniques or equipment usage, new information on diseases of importance, including their recognition and treatments.
The paper should be organized into sections with headings such as Abstract, Introduction, Case Report, Discussion, Acknowledgments (if any), and References. In the Introduction, the purpose of the report should be stated, along with the significance of the disease and its specificity, while briefly reviewing relevant literature.
The Case Report should include statements on the problem, patient history, diagnosis, treatment, outcome, and any other relevant information about the case(s). The Discussion should compare, analyze and discuss similarities and differences between the reported case and similar cases found in other published articles. It should restate the importance or specificity of the case when discussing differential diagnoses, and suggest the prognosis of the disease and the possibility of prevention.
It is important to note that due to the high volume of case reports submitted, the rejection rate is higher than other article categories. As needed, RPS Editors may request short case reports to be formatted as Letters to the Editor or Clinical Multimedia.
Format guide
Word limit: 1500 words
Abstract : unstructured, up to 250 words
References: 35 or less
Tables/Figures: 3/3 maximum
#Clinical Multimedia
These reports should be brief presentations with the combination of text and video or figures for topics of interest in physical medicine and rehabilitation. The topics should clearly demonstrate distinct examples of either rare or uniquely pathognomic observations, techniques, or findings for educational or clinical interest. The multimedia may include any of the following:
- X-rays
- CT scans
- MRI scans
- Graphs or diagrams
- Sonography
- Electrodiagnostic printouts (NCS or needle exam)
- Photo of a patient or medical device
- Demonstrations of techniques
- Other similar images
Format guide
Word limit: 600 words
References: 6 or less
Tables/Figures: 0/5 maximum
Video length: 90 seconds maximum
No abstract and headings
#Letters to the Editor
These letters may provide critical commentary on published material or observations on significant topics, and must maintain objectivity, offer constructive feedback, and be educational in nature. Letters should begin with "Dear Editor", and end with the author's full name, title, location (city, state, and country), and email address. Abstracts, headings, and supplementary materials should not be included.
Format guide
Word limit: 600 words
References: 6 or less
Tables/Figures: 1/1 maximum
No abstract and headings
Invited Articles
The format for invited articles is jointly decided by RPS Editors and the contributing author.
Manuscript Submission
Online Submission
Manuscripts (meaning all submission items, including all text, tables, artwork, cover letter, conflicts of interest disclosures, and any other required documents/material) must be submitted online to the RPS through Editorial Manager. This system can be accessed at https://www.editorialmanager.com/RPS/default.aspx. This site will guide authors stepwise through the submission process. If assistance is required, please refer to the tutorials and/or customer support that are available on the Editorial Manager website; you may also contact the Editorial Office.
Please do not post, fax or e-mail your manuscripts to the Editorial Office.
Editorial Office
Rehabilitation Practice and Science
Taiwan Academy of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation
No.1, Chang-Te Street, Taipei, Taiwan
Taipei 100, Taiwan
Tel: (+886) (0)2 2381-6108
Fax: (+886) (0)2 2381-6109
E-mail:
Important Information
Articles should be in Microsoft Word document format and prepared in the simplest form possible. We will add in the correct font, font size, margins and so on according to the journal's style.
You may use automatic page numbering, but do NOT use other kinds of automatic formatting such as footnotes, headers and footers.
The corresponding author is required to provide the email address of all co-authors. Notifications of the following status, "Send Back to Author", "Manuscript number notification" & "Decision letters", will automatically be communicated to all authors.
Put text, references, table headings and tables, and figure legends in one file.
Figures must be submitted as separate picture files, at the correct resolution and named according to the figure number, e.g., "Fig1.tif", "Fig2.jpg". Please see section Figures for more information.
Ethical Approval of Studies and Informed Consent
For human or animal experimental investigations, appropriate institutional review board or ethics committee approval is required, and such approval, including the official approval code, should be stated in the methods section of the manuscript. For those investigators who do not have formal ethics review committees, the principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki should be followed (World Medical Association. Declaration of Helsinki: ethical principles for medical research involving human subjects. Available at: http://www.wma.net/en/30publications/10policies/b3/17c.pdf).
For investigations in humans, state explicitly in the methods section of the manuscript that informed consent was obtained from all participating adults and from parents or legal guardians for minors or incapacitated adults, together with the manner in which informed consent was obtained (ex. oral or written).
For work involving animals, the guidelines for their care and use that were followed should be stated in the methods section of the manuscript. For those investigators who do not have formal institutional guidelines relating to animal experiments, the European Commission Directive 86/609/EEC for animal experiments (available at http://ec.europa.eu/environment/chemicals/lab_animals/legislation_en.htm) should be followed and the same should be stated in the methods section of the manuscript.
Declaration of interest
To prevent potential biases from influencing their work, all authors must disclose any financial and personal relationships with individuals or organizations. These could include employment, consultancies, stock ownership, honoraria, paid expert testimony, patent applications/registrations, and grants or other funding.
Authors must disclose any interests in two distinct locations. Firstly, they should include a summary declaration of interest statement in the title page file. If no interests exist, authors should state: "Declarations of interest: none." Secondly, authors should provide detailed disclosures through the online submission system, which will form a part of the journal's official records. It is critical that authors declare their potential interests in both locations, and that the information provided is consistent between them.
A conflict of interest can arise when an individual's impartiality may be influenced by a desire for financial gain, professional recognition, or a favorable outcome. RPS strives to publish content that is objective, balanced, and evidence-based. To help ensure this, we require authors to disclose any and all potential conflicts of interest, as it can be challenging to distinguish between actual and perceived conflicts.
Conflicts of interest can be either financial or non-financial in nature. Examples of financial conflicts may include receiving honoraria, educational grants, or equity interests, as well as involvement in consultancies, employment, or membership in speakers' bureaus. Patent-licensing arrangements or providing expert testimony may also pose financial conflicts. Non-financial conflicts can arise from personal or professional relationships, affiliations, academic competition, intellectual passions, knowledge, or beliefs that might impact objectivity.
Submission declaration and verification
By submitting an article, the authors attest that the work described therein has not been previously published (except in the form of an abstract, a published lecture or academic thesis), is not currently under consideration for publication elsewhere, has been approved by all authors, and has been approved tacitly or explicitly by the responsible authorities at the institution where the work was carried out. If accepted, the article will not be published elsewhere in the same form, in English or any other language, including electronically, without the written consent of the copyright holder. To ensure compliance with these requirements, submitted articles may be checked by Crossref Similarity Check or other originality/duplicate checking software.
Reporting sex- and gender-based analyses
When conducting research involving humans, animals, or eukaryotic cells, it is crucial for investigators to include sex and gender-based analyses (SGBA) in their study design, in accordance with funder/sponsor requirements and best practices within their field. Authors must also acknowledge the sex and/or gender dimensions of their research in their articles. If they are unable to do so, they should acknowledge this limitation in the generalizability of their research. It is vital for authors to clearly state the definitions of sex and/or gender they are utilizing to enhance the accuracy, rigor, and reproducibility of their research and avoid confusion or merging of terms and concepts. The Sex and Gender Equity in Research (SAGER) guidelines and SAGER checklist provide a systematic approach to incorporating and editorially reviewing sex and gender information in study design, data analysis, outcome reporting, and research interpretation. However, it is essential to note that there is no universally agreed-upon set of guidelines for defining sex and gender.
Sex generally refers to a collection of biological characteristics that are associated with physical and physiological traits, such as chromosomal genotype, hormonal levels, and internal and external anatomy. At birth, a binary sex categorization (male/female) is typically assigned based primarily on a newborn's visible external anatomy ("sex assigned at birth"). Gender, on the other hand, generally refers to socially constructed roles, behaviors, and identities of women, men, and gender-diverse individuals, which occur within a historical and cultural context and may differ across societies and over time. Gender influences how individuals view themselves and others, how they behave and interact, and how power is distributed in society.
Sex and gender are often incorrectly portrayed as binary (female/male or woman/man) and unchangeable, despite existing along a spectrum and including other sex categorizations and gender identities, such as those who are intersex/have differences of sex development (DSD) or identify as non-binary. As such, it is important for authors to clearly define how they are using the terms "sex" and "gender," as these concepts can be ambiguous. In addition to the definition guidance provided, the SAGER guidelines and the resources available on this page can provide further insight into incorporating sex and gender into research studies.
All authors should have made substantial contributions to all of the following: (1) the conception and design of the study, or acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data, (2) drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content, (3) final approval of the version to be submitted.
Changes to Authorship
This policy pertains to any modifications in the authorship of accepted manuscripts, including the addition, deletion, or rearrangement of author names. Any such requests must be made by the corresponding author of the accepted manuscript to the Journal Manager before the manuscript is published online. The request must include: (i) the reason for the addition, deletion, or rearrangement of author names, and (ii) a revised Authorship & Conflicts of Interest Statement that is signed by all authors and confirms their agreement with the modification. In cases where author names are being added or removed, confirmation from the author(s) concerned must be included. If requests are not sent by the corresponding author, the Journal Manager will forward them to the corresponding author, who must follow the aforementioned procedures.
Please note: Journal Managers will notify the Journal Editors of any such requests and online publication of the accepted manuscript will be suspended until authorship is agreed upon. Once the manuscript is published online, requests to modify authorship will NOT be considered.
Reporting Clinical Trials
The RPS has adopted the ICMJE proposal from the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) that require, as a condition of consideration for publication of clinical trials, registration in a public trials registry. Purely observational studies (those in which the assignment of the medical intervention is not at the discretion of the investigator) do not require registration. Further information can be found at http://www.icmje.org.
Identification of Patients in Descriptions, Photographs and Pedigrees
Prior to publication (both in print and online), a signed informed consent should be obtained from all individuals (including minors, and those identified in patient descriptions, photographs or pedigrees) who can be identified in the manuscript. The manuscript should be shown to these individuals before submission. While it is acceptable to omit data or make data less specific to de-identify patients, changing such data is not permitted. In the methods section of the manuscript, explicitly state that informed consent was obtained from all adult participants, or from parents or legal guardians for minors or incapacitated adults, and include details on how the informed consent was obtained (i.e., oral or written).
Copyright
Upon acceptance of an article, authors will be asked to complete a Journal Publishing Agreement An e-mail will be sent to the corresponding author confirming receipt of the manuscript together with a 'Journal Publishing Agreement' form or a link to the online version of this agreement.
Role of the funding source
Please provide information on any financial support that was received for the research or preparation of the article, and briefly describe the role of the sponsor(s) if any in study design, data collection, analysis and interpretation, report writing, and decision to submit the article for publication. If the funding source(s) did not have any involvement in these aspects, please indicate this as well.
Language
Please write your text in proper English, adhering to American usage. Authors who feel their English language manuscript should seek professional English editing to eliminate possible grammatical or spelling errors and to conform to correct scientific English.
Supporting Documents
The following documents must be included in your submission and uploaded to Editorial Manager. Items (1) and (2) are mandatory. Items (3) and (4) are required only if they are applicable to your manuscript.
(1) Cover Letter.
The following details are required in the cover letter: the title of the manuscript, a statement affirming that the content of the manuscript has not been published previously and is not currently under consideration elsewhere, disclosure of individuals who do not meet the criteria for authorship but still provided contributions to the manuscript (e.g. writing assistance), and a signature from the corresponding author.
Optional: if you have a list of reviewers who you wish to review or not to review your manuscript, you may include this list in the cover letter.
(2) Authorship & Conflicts of Interest Statement. Each author’s contribution to the manuscript should be listed. Any and all potential and actual conflicts of interest should also be listed (see Section Conflict of interest for more information). Please provide the information through the online submission system and ensure the accuracy of the information provided.
(3) Signed Statement of Informed Consent. Articles where human subjects can be identified in descriptions, photographs or pedigrees must be accompanied by a signed statement of informed consent to publish (in print and online) the descriptions, photographs and pedigrees from each subject who can be identified.
(4) Copyright Permission. If you have reproduced or adapted material from other copyrighted sources, the letter(s) of permission from the copyright holder(s) to reproduce or adapt the copyrighted sources must be supplied. Otherwise, such material must be removed from your manuscript.
Title Page
The title page should contain the following information (in order, from the top to bottom of the page):
Article category
Article title
Running title not exceeding 50 characters
Names (spelled out in full*) of all authors, and the institutions with which they are affiliated; indicate all affiliations with a superscripted number after the author's name and in front of the matching affiliation
Declaration of any potential financial and nonfinancial conflicts of interest
Corresponding author details (name, e-mail, mailing address and telephone)
Please upload an additional “Title Page” document and include the author and affiliation information from the Manuscript into the Title Page. (The “Manuscript” document should not include the authors and all the affiliation information.)
Abstract and Keywords
An abstract and 3-5 relevant keywords (in alphabetical order) are required for the following article categories: Review Articles, Original Articles, Case Reports, and Clinical Multimedia
Abstracts for Review Articles and Case Reports should be unstructured (in one single paragraph with no section headings), be no more than 250 words long and include information on the background/purpose of the report, methods, results (or case report), and conclusions.
Abstracts for Original Articles should be structured into the sections listed below and be no more than 250 words long.
Background/Purpose: briefly explain the importance of the study topic and state a precise study question or purpose.
Methods: briefly introduce the methods used to perform the study; include information on the study design, setting, subjects, interventions, outcome measures and statistical analyses as appropriate.
Results: briefly present the significant results, with data and statistical details such as p values where appropriate; be sure that information in the abstract matches that in the main text.
Conclusion: state the meaning of your findings in one or two sentences; address the study question directly. Both positive and negative findings should be given equal emphasis.
Keywords should be taken from the Medical Subject Headings (MeSH) list of Index Medicus (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/mesh/meshhome.html).
No abstract or keywords are required for Clinical Multimedia and Letters to the Editor.
Main Text
The text for Original Articles should be organized into the following sections: Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, and References. Subheadings in long papers are acceptable if needed for clarification and ease of reading. Sections for Case Reports are: Introduction, Case Report, Discussion, and References. Each section should begin on a new page.
Abbreviations
Where a term/definition will be continually referred to, it must be written in full when it first appears in the text, followed by the subsequent abbreviation in parentheses. Thereafter, the abbreviation may be used. An abbreviation should not be first defined in any section heading; if an abbreviation has previously been defined in the text, then the abbreviation may be used in a subsequent section heading. Restrict the number of abbreviations to those that are absolutely necessary.
Numbers
Numbers that begin a sentence or those that are less than 10 should be spelled out using letters. Centuries and decades should be spelled out, e.g. the Eighties or nineteenth century. Laboratory parameters, time, temperature, length, area, mass, and volume should be expressed using digits.
Units
Système International (SI) units must be used, with the exception of blood pressure values which are to be reported in mmHg. Please use the metric system for the expression of length, area, mass, and volume. Temperatures are to be given in degrees Celsius.
Names of drugs, devices and other products
Use the Recommended International Nonproprietary Name (rINN) for medicinal substances, unless the specific trade name of a drug is directly relevant to the discussion. Generic drug names should appear in lowercase letters in the text. If a specific proprietary drug needs to be identified, the brand name may appear only once in the manuscript in parentheses following the generic name the first time the drug is mentioned in the text.
For devices and other products, the specific brand or trade name, the manufacturer and their location (city, state, country) should be provided the first time the device or product is mentioned in the text, for example, "…SPSS version 11 was used (SPSS Inc., Chicago, IL, USA)". Thereafter, the generic term (if appropriate) should be used.
Gene nomenclature
Current standard international nomenclature for genes should be adhered to. For human genes, use genetic notation and symbols approved by the HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (http://www.genenames.org). You may also refer to the resources available on PubMed at http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/guide/genes-expression. The Human Genome Variation Society has a useful site that provides guidance in naming mutations at http://www.hgvs.org/mutnomen/index.html. In your manuscript, genes should be typed in italic font and include the accession number.
Statistical requirements
Statistical analysis is essential for all research papers except Case Reports. Use correct nomenclature of statistical methods (e.g., two sample t test, not unpaired t test). Descriptive statistics should follow the scales used in data description. Inferential statistics are important for interpreting results and should be described in detail. All p values should be presented to the third decimal place for accuracy. The smallest p value that should be expressed is p < 0.001, since additional zeros do not convey useful information; the largest p value that should be expressed is p > 0.99.
Personal communications and unpublished data
These sources cannot be included in the references list but may be described in the text. The author(s) must give the full name and highest academic degree of the person, the date of the communication, and indicate whether it was in oral or written (letter, fax, e-mail) form. A signed statement of permission should be included from each person identified as a source of information in a personal communication or as a source for unpublished data.
Funding/Support Statement
All financial and material support for the research, work, writing and editorial assistance from internal or external agencies, including commercial companies, should be clearly and completely identified in a Funding/Support Statement.
Acknowledgments
General acknowledgments for consultations and statistical analyses should be listed concisely, including the names of the individuals who were directly involved. Consent should be obtained from those individuals before their names are listed in this section. Those acknowledged should not include secretarial, clerical or technical staff whose participation was limited to the performance of their normal duties.
Figures
General guidelines
To avoid unnecessary repetition, figures should be used only when essential to support the textual material. Figures should be numbered consecutively and have a clear and informative legend in the order of their citation in the text. All abbreviations and symbols used should be defined alphabetically in the figure legend, and items requiring explanatory footnotes should follow the same style as tables, as described in the "Tables" section. To protect patient confidentiality, identification must be obscured. Professional lettering of appropriate size and proportions should be used in graphs, drawings, or photographs. Photomicrographs should include an internal scale marker, and the legend should indicate the type of specimen, original magnification, and stain used. Figures should be submitted as separate picture files with the correct resolution (see next paragraph), and each file should be named according to the corresponding figure number (e.g., "Fig1.tif", "Fig2.jpg").
Regardless of the application used, when your electronic artwork is finalized, please "save as" or convert the images to one of the following formats (note the resolution requirements for line drawings, halftones, and line/halftone combinations given below):
EPS: Vector drawings. Embed the font or save the text as "graphics".
TIFF: Color or grayscale photographs (halftones) —a minimum of 300 dpi.
TIFF: Bitmapped line drawings - a minimum of 1000 dpi.
TIFF: Combination of bitmapped line/half-tone (color or grayscale) - a minimum of 600 dpi.
DOC, XLS or PPT: If your electronic artwork is created in any of these Microsoft Office applications, please supply “as is”.
Please refrain from submitting files that do not meet the resolution requirements specified above, or that are optimized for screen use (such as GIF, BMP, PICT, WPG), as their resolution is often too low. Additionally, please avoid submitting graphics that are excessively large compared to their content.
Tables
Tables should serve as a supplement to the text and avoid redundancy. They must have a clear and concise heading, be self-explanatory, and numbered in a consecutive order corresponding to their citation in the text. Footnotes should be indicated using superscript lowercase letters (a, b, c, etc.) for items that require explanation and arranged alphabetically under the table. The use of asterisks (*, **) is limited to indicating the probability level of significance tests. Abbreviations used in the table must be defined and placed in alphabetical order after the footnotes. If you include a table or block of data from another source, whether published or unpublished, you must provide proper acknowledgment to the original source.
References
Authors are responsible for the accuracy and completeness of their references, including correct in-text citations.
.In the main text, tables and figure legends
References should be indicated by superscripted numbers according to order of appearance in the text, and placed after punctuation.
References cited in tables or figure legends should be included in sequence at the point where the table or figure is first mentioned in the main text.
The following citations are not accepted: abstracts without full manuscripts, unpublished observation and personal communication.
Data references
If you cite underlying or relevant datasets in your manuscript, please cite them in your text and include a data reference in your Reference List. Data references should include the following elements: author name(s), dataset title, data repository, version (where available), year, and global persistent identifier. Add [dataset] immediately before the reference to identify it as a data reference. The [dataset] identifier will not appear in your published article.
Preprint references
You may reference preprints that are central to your work or cover crucial developments in the topic. Its reference should be changed when a peer-reviewed publication become available. Preprints should be clearly marked as such, for example by including the word preprint, or the name of the preprint server, as part of the reference. The preprint DOI should also be provided.
Reference management software
Please follow the format of the sample references and citations as shown in this Guide. If you use reference management software, please ensure that you remove all field codes before submitting the electronic manuscript.
.In the references list
References should be limited to those cited in the text and listed in numerical order, NOT alphabetical order.
References should include, in order, authors’ surnames and initials, article title, abbreviated journal name, year, volume and inclusive page numbers.
The surnames and initials of all the authors up to 6 should be included. If there are more thand 6 authors, list the first 6 authors, followed by “et al”.
Abbreviations for journal names should conform to those used in MEDLINE.
If you are citing a website, provide the author information, article title, website address and the date you accessed the information.
Authors are responsible for the accuracy and completeness of their references and correct citation in the text.
Examples are given below.
-Standard journal articles
Martino R, Foley N, Bhogal S, Diamant N, Speechley M, Robert Teasell R. Dysphagia after stroke: incidence, diagnosis, and pulmonary complications. Stroke 2005;36:2756-63.
Roth GA, Huffman MD, Moran AE, Feigin V, Mensah GA, Naghavi M, et al. Global and regional patterns in cardiovascular mortality from 1990 to 2013. Circulation 2015;132:1667-78.
-Journal supplement
Kaplan NM. The endothelium as prognostic factor and therapeutic target: what criteria should we apply? J Cardiovasc Pharmacol 1998;32(Suppl 3):S78-80.
-Journal article not in English but with English abstract
Lin MR, Tsai SL, Chen SY, Tseng SJ. Risk Factors for elderly falls in a rural community of central Taiwan. Taiwan J Public Health 2002;21:73-82. [In Chinese, English abstract]
-Book with edition
Portney L, Watkins M. Foundations of clinical research: Applications to practice. 3rd ed. Philadelphia: Saunders; 2009, p. 72-80.
-Book with editors
Wang TG, Chen WS, editors. Musculoskeletal ultrasound examination, Part 2: Essential pathologies. Taiwan: Leaderbook; 1980.
-Book chapter in book with editor and edition
Greaves M, Culligan DJ. Blood and bone marrow. In: Underwood JCE, editor. General and systematic pathology. 4th ed. London: Churchill Livingstone; 2004, p. 615-72.
-Book series with editors
Wilson JG, Fraser FC, editors. Handbook of teratology, vols. 1-4. New York: Plenum Press; 1977-1978.
-Bulletin
World Health Organization. Clinical management of COVID-19. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization; 2020.
-Electronic publications
Duchin JS. Can preparedness for biological terrorism save us from pertussis? Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med 2004;158(2). Available from: http://archpedi.amaassn. org/cgi/content/full/158/2/106. Accessed June 12, 2004.
Karjalainen TV, Lusa V, Page MJ, O'Connor D, Massy-Westropp N, Peters SE. Splinting for carpal tunnel syndrome. Cochrane Database Syst Rev 2023(2):CD CD010003. https://doi.org//10.1002/14651858.CD010003.pub2.
-Items presented at a meeting but not yet published
Khuri FR, Lee JJ, Lippman SM. Isotretinoin effects on head and neck cancer recurrence and second primary tumors. In: Proceedings from the American Society of Clinical Oncology; May 31-June 3, 2003; Chicago, IL. Abstract 359.
Supplementary material
Supplementary material, such as applications, images and sound clips, can be published with your article. Submitted supplementary items are published exactly as they are received (Excel or PowerPoint files will appear as such online). Please submit your material together with the article and supply a concise, descriptive caption for each supplementary file. If you wish to make changes to supplementary material during any stage of the process, please make sure to provide an updated file. Do not annotate any corrections on a previous version. Please switch off the 'Track Changes' option in Microsoft Office files as these will appear in the published version.
Research data
This journal enables you to share data that supports your research publication where appropriate and interlink the data with your published articles. Research data refers to the results of observations or experimentation that validate research findings. To facilitate reproducibility and data reuse, this journal also encourages you to share your software, code, models, algorithms, protocols, methods and other useful materials related to the project.
You can associate data with your article or make a statement about the availability of your data when submitting your manuscript. You can cite the data in your manuscript and reference list. Please refer to the "References" section for more information about data citation.
Data linking
If your research data is available in a data repository, you can link to relevant data or entities through identifiers within the text of your manuscript, using the following format: Database: xxxx (e.g., TAIR: AT1G01020; CCDC: 734053; PDB: 1XFN).
The Editorial and Peer Review Process
The receipt of a manuscript will be acknowledged within 1 week of submission, and authors will be provided with a manuscript reference number for future correspondence. If such an acknowledgment is not received in a reasonable period of time, the author should contact the Editorial Office.
Manuscripts are reviewed by the Editorial Office to ensure that the submission contains all required parts. The submission will not be processed if the author has not supplied all parts of the manuscript as outlined in this document. Manuscripts are then forwarded to a section editor for an initial assessment. If the manuscript does not appear to be of sufficient merit or is not appropriate for the journal, then the manuscript will be rejected promptly without review.
Manuscripts that appear meritorious and appropriate for the journal will be reviewed by at least two independent expert reviewers to evaluate the scientific quality of the manuscript. The RPS follows a double-blind peer review process. Authors may submit a list in their cover letter of reviewers who they wish or not to review their manuscript, but the RPS editors hold the responsibility to choose the reviewers. The editors and reviewers will not disclose any information about a manuscript or its review to anyone except the manuscript's corresponding author.
If a manuscript is worthy of consideration for publication but written in poor English, authors are required to seek professional English editing of their manuscript. Otherwise, their manuscript will be rejected.
The final decision on whether to accept or reject an article is made by the section editors and Editor-in-Chief, and their decision is deemed final. The editors will not be involved in the assessment of papers they have written themselves or those written by family members or colleagues, nor those related to products or services they have a conflict of interest in. In such cases, the journal's standard procedures will apply, and peer review will be conducted independently of the relevant editor and their research groups.
The corresponding author will usually be notified once the decision is made: accepted for publication, rejected, or subject to revision before acceptance. The duration for the reviewing is estimated to be within 10 weeks once reviewers agree to review the manuscript. Delays are sometimes unavoidable if we appropriate reviewers are not available. If revisions are required, authors are asked to return a revised manuscript to the Editorial Office within 2 months. Please notify the Editorial Office in advance if additional time is needed or if you choose not to submit a revised manuscript.
Preparation for Publication
Once a manuscript has been accepted for publication, authors should submit the final version of their manuscript in MS Word format, with all tables/figures as applicable. It is a basic requirement that the manuscript be prepared using good English. The Editorial Office reserves the right to edit poor English as suggested by the reviewer(s) and/or Editorial Board before the final version is decided. The editing fee will be charged to the authors. Accepted manuscripts are then presented to the Publisher to be copyedited according to the journal's style.
Online proof correction
To ensure a fast publication process of the article, we kindly ask authors to provide us with their proof corrections within two days. Corresponding authors will receive an e-mail with a link to our online proofing system, allowing annotation and correction of proofs online. The environment is similar to MS Word: in addition to editing text, you can also comment on figures/tables and answer questions from the Copy Editor. Web-based proofing provides a faster and less error-prone process by allowing you to directly type your corrections, eliminating the potential introduction of errors.
If preferred, you can still choose to annotate and upload your edits on the PDF version. All instructions for proofing will be given in the e-mail we send to authors, including alternative methods to the online version and PDF.
We will do everything possible to get your article published quickly and accurately. Please use this proof only for checking the typesetting, editing, completeness and correctness of the text, tables and figures. Significant changes to the article as accepted for publication will only be considered at this stage with permission from the Editor. It is important to ensure that all corrections are sent back to us in one communication. Please check carefully before replying, as inclusion of any subsequent corrections cannot be guaranteed. Proofreading is solely your responsibility.
Open access options
This journal is a peer-reviewed and open-access journal.
Access rights
All articles published open access will be free for everyone to read, download, copy, and distribute.
User rights
Permitted third-party reuse is defined by the following user license:
Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs (CC BY-NC-ND):
Allows users to copy and distribute the article, provided this is not for commercial purposes and further does not permit distribution of the Article if it is changed or edited in any way, and provided the user gives appropriate credit (with a link to the formal publication through the relevant DOI), provides a link to the license, and that the licensor is not represented as endorsing the use made of the work. The full details of the license are available at https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/.
Article Publishing Charge
The journal does not charge authors for publication fees. Nonetheless, the authors will be charged for English editing if the English writing is unsatisfactory.
Author rights
Authors retain copyright and grant the journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of the work’s authorship and initial publication in the RPS. Nonetheless, the TCPMR and the RPS have the right to revise the manuscripts to ensure an appropriate format for publication.
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