Author Guidelines

MANUSCRIPT SUBMISSION

As a general rule, a manuscript should not have been published previously in any journal or other citable format, though prior posting on a preprint server is acceptable. Authors are responsible for confirming that no part of their submission infringes on existing copyrights or the rights of any third party. Manuscripts should be submitted online by one of the authors, preferably the corresponding author, through the journal's manuscript submission and peer-review system. Every manuscript received is acknowledged with a manuscript ID, and all subsequent correspondence takes place by email - please quote this ID in any future enquiry. If you experience difficulty with the online system, manuscripts may instead be sent to editor.jtpst@gmail.com, preferably from the corresponding author.

EDITORIAL PROCEDURE AND PEER REVIEW

Initial Checks

  • Every submitted manuscript is reviewed by an editor to confirm it has been properly prepared, follows the journal's ethical policies, and includes all required disclosures.
  • References are checked for completeness and accuracy; incomplete, vague, or improperly formatted references can lead to desk rejection.
  • Manuscripts are checked for language quality at this stage, and authors may be asked to have the text edited by a native or professional English-language editor.
  • All submissions are screened for plagiarism using dedicated plagiarism-detection software. See the journal's plagiarism policies for details.
  • Manuscripts that are not properly prepared are returned to the authors for revision and resubmission.
  • Manuscripts lacking sufficient originality, containing serious scientific or technical flaws, lacking a significant message, or not prepared according to journal instructions are rejected without formal peer review.

Peer Review

Manuscripts that clear the initial/desk check proceed to double-blind peer review by at least two qualified experts in the relevant subject area, whose identities remain anonymous to the authors. See the journal's peer-review policies for further detail.

Editorial Decision and Revision

All reviewer reports are considered in reaching a decision on a submission. The Editor-in-Chief makes the final call based on these reports, consulting other editors or experts as needed. Authors must respond point-by-point to reviewer and editor comments and clearly justify any point of disagreement in their rebuttal.

Appeals

Authors may appeal a negative decision if they believe there has been a significant misunderstanding of a technical point or a failure to recognize the scientific contribution of the manuscript. Appeals lacking sufficient justification, or seeking only a second opinion, will not be considered. Appeals must be submitted by email and will only be accepted from the original submitting author.

Galley Proofs and Publication

Accepted manuscripts are copyedited for grammar, punctuation, print style, and formatting. Page proofs are then sent to the corresponding author, who is expected to return corrections within three days. The entire process - from submission through decision to proof exchange - takes place through the online system. To speed dissemination, accepted articles are published online as "Online First" as soon as they are ready.

PREPRINTS

Authors are encouraged to post preprints of their primary research manuscripts on preprint servers or their institutional/personal websites, at any stage of the review process. Doing so is not considered prior publication and does not affect the manuscript's consideration by this journal. See the journal's preprint policies for details.

ARTICLE TYPES

The journal considers the following article types:

Research Articles: Present the results of an original research study, describing how the work was conducted and providing a thorough analysis of the results. Should include, in order:

  • Abstract
  • Keywords
  • Introduction
  • Materials and Methods
  • Results including Tables and/or Figures
  • Discussion
  • Conclusion
  • Acknowledgments
  • References
  • Appendices (if needed)
  • Abbreviations used (if needed)

Systematic reviews may be submitted as research articles.

Reviews and Mini-Reviews: Provide an overview of published literature in a subject area. Should include an abstract, keywords, introduction, methods (data sources, study selection, data extraction), results and conclusion, acknowledgments, and references.

Short Communications: Brief reports of original, significant findings that merit rapid publication, typically addressing a timely topic or a new result expected to have notable impact.

Case Reports: New, unusual, or instructive cases, ideally describing a genuine diagnostic or therapeutic challenge with a clear learning point for readers.

Letters to the Editor: Brief, focused observations, ideally responding to material previously published in the journal, rather than preliminary findings awaiting a full paper.

MANUSCRIPT PREPARATION

Manuscripts should be typed double-spaced on standard A4 paper (8.5" x 11") with 1-inch margins on all sides, using 12-point Times New Roman throughout the text and any graphics; restrict fonts used to Times New Roman, Symbol, and Zapf Dingbats.

Title Page

Include a clear, concise, informative title, followed by the names and affiliations of all authors. Affiliations (department, institution, city, and state/country) should appear as a footnote to each author's name. The corresponding author must provide a complete mailing address, phone number, and email address at the bottom left of the title page.

Article Structure

Abstract: Up to 200 words, covering study objectives, materials and methods, results, and conclusions, written as a single unstructured paragraph (no subheadings), followed by four to six keywords.

Introduction: Brief statement of the study's aim and essential background, clearly framing the hypothesis or purpose and why it matters.

Materials and Methods: Concise but complete description of materials and analytical, statistical, and experimental procedures, sufficient for others to reproduce the work. Subheadings are encouraged: primary headings in BOLD CAPITALS, secondary headings in Bold Sentence case, and tertiary headings in Italicized sentence case. Studies involving animal/human subjects or clinical trials must state the relevant ethical approval.

Results and Discussion: Present data with appropriate statistical analysis as described in the Methods. The same data should not be duplicated across a table and a figure. Tables and figures should be self-explanatory; avoid repeating table/figure values at length in the text. The discussion should connect findings to the current understanding of the field.

Conclusion: Clearly state the main conclusions and their significance.

REFERENCES

JTPST follows the Vancouver referencing style. References should be numbered consecutively in the order in which they are first cited in the text, using superscript Arabic numerals, such as ¹, ², or ¹⁻³. The reference list should be arranged in the same numerical order at the end of the manuscript. DOI numbers & Links should be included wherever available. For other reference formats, authors are advised to refer to the Samples of Formatted References for Authors of Journal Articles provided by the National Library of Medicine (NLM).

Journal references

One author: Abada EA. Isolation and characterization of antimicrobial compound from Bacillus coagulans. Anim Cells Syst 2008; 12:41-6.

Two authors: Vu-Duc T, Vernay A. Simultaneous detection and quantitation of O6-monoacetylmorphine, morphine and codeine in urine by gas chromatography with nitrogen specific and/or flame ionization detection. Biomed Chromatogr 1990; 4(2): 65–9.

Three or more authors: Moran GJ et al. Methicillinresistant Staphylococcus aureus in community-acquired skin infections. Emerg Infect Dis 2005; 11: 928-30.

Article in press: Ladines CA et al. Impaired renal D1-like and D2-like dopamine receptor interaction in the spontaneously hypertensive rat. Am J Physiol Regul Integr Comp Physiol 2008 (in press).  

Electronic publication ahead of print: Teeuwen PHE. Doppler-guided intra-operative fluid management during major abdominal surgery: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Int J Clin Pract (accessed 21 November 2007, epub ahead of print).  

Corporate author: The Cardiac Society of Australia and New Zealand. Clinical exercise stress testing. Safety and performance guidelines. Med J Aust 1996; 164: 282-4.

Article not in English: Sokolov S et al. [Studies of neurotropic activity of new compounds isolated from Rhodiola rosea L. Khim Farm Zh 1985; 19: 1367–1371 [in Russian] 

Book references

Book by a single author: Crabtree RH. The Organometallic Chemistry of the Transition Metals, 3rd ed.; Wiley & Sons: New York, 2001.

An edited book: Ford HL, Sclafani RA, Degregori J. Cell Cycle Regulatory Casacade. In: Cell Cycle and Growth Control: Bimolecular Regulation and Cancer, 2nd ed, Stein GS, Pardee AB, Eds; Wiley- Liss: Hoboken, NJ, 2004; pp. 42-67.

An article in an edited book: Sanders PA. Aerosol packaging of pharmaceuticals. In: Banker GS, Rhodes CT, eds. Modern Pharmaceutics. New York: Marcel Dekker, 1979: 591–626.  

Conference Proceedings

Jakeman DL, Withers SGE. In: Carbohydrate Bioengineering: Interdisciplinary Approaches, Proceedings of the 4th Carbohydrate Bioengineering Meeting, Stockholm, Sweden, June 10-13, 2001; Teeri TT, Svensson B, Gilbert HJ, Feizi T, Eds; Royal Society of Chemistry: Cambridge, UK, 2002; pp. 3-8.

Patents

Hoch JA, Huang S. Screening methods for the identification of novel antibiotics. U.S. Patent 6,043,045, March 28, 2000.

Websites

National Library of Medicine. Specialized Information Services: Toxicology and Environmental Health. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK45469/ (Accessed May 23, 2004).

Thesis

Mackel H. Capturing the Spectra of Silicon Solar Cells. PhD Thesis, The Australian National University: Canberra, December 2004.

TABLES AND FIGURES

Tables and figures should be placed in the manuscript wherever applicable, preferably near where they are first mentioned in the text. Tables should be prepared using a word processor and numbered consecutively. Figures should be submitted in TIF/JPG/JPEG format with a minimum resolution of 300 dpi. Figure captions and legends should be placed below the figures in 10-point font.

AUTHORSHIP AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Authorship

All authors share equal responsibility for the technical content communicated to the journal and must read and approve the final manuscript before submission. Each named author must have contributed meaningfully to the work's conception/design and/or data analysis/interpretation and/or drafting, and must have critically reviewed and approved the final version. Involvement limited to securing funding or collecting data does not, on its own, qualify for authorship.

JTPST follows the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) criteria for authorship, requiring that an author:

  1. Made a substantial contribution to the conception or design of the work, or to the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data; and
  2. Drafted the work or revised it critically for important intellectual content; and
  3. Gave final approval of the version to be published; and
  4. Agrees to be accountable for all aspects of the work, ensuring questions about its accuracy or integrity are appropriately investigated and resolved.

Acknowledgments

List all acknowledgments at the end of the manuscript, before the references - including supporting grants, presentations, etc. Contributors who do not meet the authorship criteria should be credited here instead.

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

A conflict of interest may arise when an author or their institution has a financial or other relationship that could inappropriately influence the work. Since such conflicts can be actual or perceived, full disclosure to the journal is required. All submissions must disclose any relationship that could be seen as a potential conflict. The journal may factor such disclosures into its editorial decisions and may publish them where relevant to readers; a manuscript may be declined on this basis.

FUNDING SOURCES

Authors must declare all funding sources relevant to the submitted research, including the name of each granting agency, grant number, and a short description of the funder's role. Only funding directly connected to the submitted work needs to be listed - a comprehensive list of every grant an author holds is not required.

ORIGINALITY AND PLAGIARISM

Authors are responsible for ensuring the originality of their manuscript. Any use of others' work or words must be properly cited or quoted. All submissions are screened for plagiarism using dedicated plagiarism-detection software; manuscripts found to contain plagiarism at any stage of review will be rejected immediately. See the journal's plagiarism policy for details.

REPORTING STANDARDS

Authors must present an accurate account of the work performed, along with a clear discussion of its objectives and the significance of the results. Manuscripts should include sufficient information and references for the work to be reproducible. Fraudulent or knowingly inaccurate reporting is considered unethical and unacceptable.

DATA ACCESS AND RETENTION

Authors may be asked to supply raw or supplementary data while a manuscript is under editorial review, and should be prepared to make such data publicly available where practicable, retaining it for a reasonable period following publication.

ETHICAL APPROVALS

Patient Rights: All studies must be conducted with informed consent, respecting patient privacy. No identifying information - in text, photographs, or pedigrees - should be published unless essential for scientific purposes and accompanied by the patient's (or guardian's) written informed consent; this must be stated in the article. Studies on human subjects must follow the ethical standards of the Declaration of Helsinki (1964, revised 2024), with approval from the relevant institutional ethics committee.

Animal Rights: Animal studies must follow recognized ethical standards for the care and use of laboratory animals, with approval from the appropriate ethics committee, in line with the "Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals" and ARRIVE guidelines.

Clinical Trial Registry:  Clinical trials must follow CONSORT guidelines and should be registered with a publicly accessible clinical trial registry, such as:

ABBREVIATIONS

Use standard abbreviations throughout. Keep nonstandard abbreviations to a minimum and define each at first use in the text.

COPYRIGHT, LICENSE, AND OPEN ACCESS

  • JTPST allows authors to retain copyright of their work; and grant the journal the right of first publication, while allowing others to share and distribute the published work with proper acknowledgment of the authorship and its initial publication in the journal.
  • All published articles are distributed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International (CC BY-NC 4.0).
  • All published articles are freely accessible online immediately upon publication, without subscription or registration barriers.
  • Authors may self-archive the final published version of their article in any OAI-compliant institutional or subject-based repository.

Use of Third-Party Material

Authors must obtain the necessary permissions to reuse any third-party material that is not their own or not marked as open access. Written permission from the copyright holder must be secured before submission, along with appropriate citation and adherence to the applicable license terms. See the journal's Open Access and Copyright policies for further detail.