About the Brazilian Journal of Medical and Biological Research

The Brazilian Journal of Medical and Biological Research is an open-access journal published by the Associação Brasileira de Divulgação Científica and can be found at www.scielo.br/bjmbr. The journal features articles of exceptional significance, originality, and relevance in all areas of biological science. Our audience is the Brazilian and international scientific community.

Criteria for Publication

The Brazilian Journal of Medical and Biological Research is highly selective in the manuscripts that it publishes; rejection rates are high. To be considered for publication in the Brazilian Journal of Medical and Biological Research, any given manuscript must be outstanding in the following ways: Originality, Importance to researchers in its field , Interest to scientists outside the field, Rigorous methodology and substantial evidence for its conclusions.

Submission of a manuscript to the Brazilian Journal implies that the data have not been published previously and will not be submitted for publication elsewhere while the manuscript is under review.

The following represent "prior publication": any printed material in excess of 500 words describing results or methods of a submitted/in press manuscript; published tables or illustrations that duplicate the content of a manuscript; electronic manuscripts or posters available via the Internet. When part of the material in a manuscript has been presented as a preliminary communication or in an unrefereed symposium, this should be cited as a footnote on the title page and a copy should accompany the submitted manuscript.

Overview of the Editorial Process

Our aim is to provide all authors with an efficient, courteous, constructive and just editorial process. To ensure the fairest and most objective decision-making, the editorial process is run as a partnership between the Brazilian Journal of Medical and Biological Research editors and the editorial board, which is comprised of leaders in all fields of medicine and biology.

In situations in which authors are unsure whether their paper is within the scope of the journal and satisfies the basic requirements for publication in the Brazilian Journal of Medical and Biological Research, we are happy to consider presubmission enquiries. Responses to these enquiries will normally be provided within a few days. The papers of authors who receive an invitation to submit their manuscripts will then enter the regular editorial process.

Submitted manuscripts will be assigned to one of the Brazilian Journal of Medical and Biological Research Section Editors, who will promptly evaluate the paper and decide if it is likely to meet the requirement of providing a major advance in its relevant field and describing a sufficient body of work to support the main claims, and, if so, it will be sent out for peer review. A Section Editor works with the Editor throughout the review process.

Expert reviewers will be asked to assess the technical and scientific merits of the work. Once all reviews have been received and considered by the Editor and Section Editor, a decision letter to the author will be drafted.

There are several types of decisions possible:

• accept the paper as submitted;
• accept it with revision;
• invite the authors to revise the manuscript prior to the final decision;
• reject the paper, but with encouragement to resubmit it after extensive revision. If the authors submit revised version, it must be done as a new submission (http://bjmbr.msubmit.net/);
• or reject the manuscript outright, typically because it does not meet the criteria outlined above of originality, importance to the field, cross-discipline interest, or sound methodology.

Upon acceptance, the manuscript enters our production system. Articles are typically published online within 9 weeks of formal acceptance, and usually before they are assembled into a complete issue. Publication may be further expedited when justified. For complete explanation see Editorial Review Polices.

Competing Interest

Authors are asked at submission to state whether they have any financial, personal, or professional interests that could be construed to have influenced their paper. Reviewers are also asked to declare any interests that might interfere with their objective assessment of a manuscript. Any relevant competing interests of authors must be available to editors and reviewers during the review process and will be stated in published articles.