AJA publishes Original Articles, Reviews, Opinions, Invited Commentaries, Research Highlights, Clinician's Workshop, and Letters to the Editor.
Original Article
Studies that are of high scientific quality and that are of interest to the diverse readership of the journal. Manuscripts should include abstract and appropriate experimental details to support the conclusions. Original Articles should be no more than 5000 words and should not normally include more than six display items (tables and/or figures). Manuscripts should consist of the following sections: title, abstract and keywords, text (introduction, materials and methods, results, and discussion), author contributions, competing interests, acknowledgments, supplementary information, references, tables and/or figures with captions.
Review
Reviews survey recent developments in a topical area of andrology. Most Review articles are solicited by the editors; however, we also welcome timely unsolicited Reviews. Authors should present the proposed content to the editors prior to submission. Reviews have a word limit of 6000 words excluding references, and a maximum of 100 references.
Letter to the Editor
Letters report clinical case studies, preliminary experimental studies of novel findings but limited by small sample size or duration, and personal perspectives on the field of andrology. Letters do not contain an abstract and keywords, and there is no obligation to divide the text into sections. Experimental details are not required, but brief experimental methods and results should be included. In all other aspects, the directions for full papers should be followed. The text, not including references, tables, figures or legends, must not exceed 1000 words. No more than 10 references and either 1 table or 1 figure are allowed.
Opinion
These may be submitted or invited by the editors. To submit a pre-submission inquiry, please send an email to the editorial office to obtain quick editorial feedback on the unsolicited work. Opinions are stand-alone and discuss an important and contemporary element of andrology. They do not contain primary research data, but they may present funding trends, demographics, bibliographic data, scientific and social development, etc. Opinions have a word limit of 1500 words excluding references, no more than 2 figures or tables, and 10 references.
Commentary
This is a commission-only section. Commentaries which briefly highlight the findings and the merits of the work, focus on the AJA articles, and explain the significances to a broad readership. The word limit is 1000 and a maximum of 10 references are allowed. The authors from the original articles may present a brief reply (less than 500 words) to the Commentaries.
Research Highlight
This is a commission-only section. Research Highlights provide a 'digest' of the best and most interesting publications in the field of andrology. They should contain no more than 1000 words and a maximum of 10 references.
Clinician's Workshop
This section represents innovative clinical experiences of the application of new technology or techniques in andrology, particularly to a specific question relevant to clinical diagnosis or treatment. This feature covers cutting-edge technology, modified and improved techniques or procedures, and outcome data. Experimental details are not required, but experimental methods and results should be outlined. They should contain no more than 1500 words with a summary of 100 words, a maximum of 3 tables or figures, and 20 references. No more than 5 authors are allowed.
Formatting Requirements
Please take care to follow the requirements when preparing your article before submission. The main text and tables should be submitted as editable files (Word doc or docx), not PDFs. Use 12-point font size, double-space text, and leave right margins of at least 2.5 cm. Continuous line numbering should be used on the submitted manuscript. Figures should be uploaded as separate files where possible. Please make spelling consistent with current editions of either Webster's Dictionary or Oxford English Dictionary. Submissions should include the following sections.
Cover letter
The cover letter must state that the material has not been submitted for publication elsewhere while under consideration for AJA. Identify the name, full postal address, and Email address of the corresponding author.
Title page
The title should be concise but informative, and keywords in the title will help the articles be searched online. The title page should have full names and affiliations for each author. Full contact details should be provided for the corresponding author. There should be fewer than 10 co-authors.
Authorship must meet all the following 4 criteria, based on International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) guidelines.
- Substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work; AND
- Drafting the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content; AND
- Final approval of the version to be published; AND
- Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.
Abstract and keywords (if applicable)The abstract should be non-structured and no more than 250 words. Abbreviations and reference citations should be avoided. It should outline the purpose of the study, the basic procedures, and the most important conclusions. Please provide a running title of no more than 50 characters, including spaces.Three to eight keywords separated by a semicolon (;) should be given in alphabetical order below the abstract. Whenever possible, please choose the terms from the Medical Subject Headings list of Index Medicus. Introduction This should give a short, precise account of the background and reasons for undertaking the study. It should not be a review of the literature. Materials and methods This section should contain sufficient details so that all experimental procedures can be repeated by others in conjunction with cited references. This section may be divided into subheadings to assist the reader. Names of products and manufacturers should be included only if alternative sources are deemed unsatisfactory, giving both the company name and city. Generic names of drugs should be used. If necessary, the brand, trade, or commercial name of a drug can be included in parentheses on the first mention. Scientific species nomenclature should be used at all times, providing the genus, species (in italics), and authority for all microorganisms, plants, and animals. Novel experimental procedures should be described in detail, but published procedures should be referred to by literature citation of the original article and published modifications. Use of standard abbreviations and SI units of measurement (according to the Systeme International d'Unites) is encouraged. Measurements that are not currently converted to SI units in biomedical applications are blood and oxygen pressures, enzyme activity, H+ concentration, temperature, and volume. Abbreviations, if used, should be defined on their first appearance in the text. Identify the drug administration schedule, for example, dose (base or salt) and route of administration. The routes of administration may be abbreviated: intraarterial (ia), intracerebroventricular (icv), intragastric gavage (ig), intramuscular (im), intraperitoneal (ip), intravenous (iv), per os (po), subcutaneous (sc). Statistical methods should be described when they are used to verify the results. Choose suitable techniques for the statistical treatments; for example, t-test (group or paired comparisons), chi-squared test, Ridit, probit, logit, regression (linear, curvilinear, or stepwise), correlation, analysis of variance (ANOVA), analysis of covariance, etc. Only homogeneous data can be averaged. Standard deviations are preferred to standard errors. Give the number of observations and subjects (n). Losses in observations, such as drop-outs from the study should be reported. Values such as ED50, LD50, IC50 should have their 95% confidence limits calculated and compared by weighted probit analysis (Bliss and Finney). The word 'significantly' should be replaced by its synonyms (if it indicates extent) or the P-value (if it indicates statistical significance). Dosage is expressed as per kg (even in mice). Concentration in solution is expressed as per l, not per ml. Values for rpm should be converted into gravity (g). Absorbance (A) values are preferred to optical density (OD) values. Symbols are not pluralized (e.g., 9 kg, not kgs) and are not followed by a period (e.g., min, not min.). Use 12.4 mm (not 0.0124 m), 5 µmol (not 5×10-6 mol), 3-8 g, 3%-8%, 3 m×8 m×2 m, 8±3 g, (8±3) nmol l-1 g-1 (protein). Do not include more digits than are justified by the accuracy of the determinations. For example, a dog weighs 9 kg (not 9000 g, which implies an accuracy of 1 g). In a sample, the effective digits are determined by the variation within the sample, that is, one-third of the standard deviation. For example, 8.6±2.9 kg (not 8619±2930 g, or 9±3 kg). For isotopically labelled compounds, use a square bracket directly attached to the front of the name (word) or formula. Examples: [14C]urea, [α-32P]ATP (not AT32P), sodium [14C]formate, [1-14C,2-13C]acetaldehyde, [carboxy-14C]leucine, and [1-3H]ethanol. However, both [131I]iodoalbumin and 131I-albumin are correct. The SI unit for radioactivity is becquerel (Bq): 1 Ci=37×109 disintegrations per second=37 GBq. The disintegrations per minute (dpm), not counts per minute (cpm), should be converted to Bq for presentation. ResultsThe description of results should not simply reiterate data that appear in tables and figures, and, likewise, the same data should not be displayed in both tables and figures. The results section should be concise and follow a logical sequence. If the paper describes a complex series of experiments, it is permissible to explain the protocol/experimental design before presenting the results. Do not discuss the results or draw any conclusions in this section. This section may be divided into subheadings to assist the reader. Large datasets or other cumbersome data pertinent to the manuscript may be submitted as supplementary information. Discussion Do not recapitulate the results but discuss their significance against the background of existing knowledge and identify novel aspects. The final paragraph should highlight the main conclusion(s) and indicate the direction future research should take. This section may be divided into subheadings to assist the reader. Author contributionsAll multi-authored papers should include an 'Author contributions' section at the end of the paper to accurately reflect the contributions of each co-author. We suggest the following kind of format (please use initials to refer to each author's contribution): JDE carried out the genetic studies, participated in the proteomic analysis, and drafted the manuscript. JSR carried out the immunoassays and performed the statistical analysis. JMP conceived the study, participated in its design and coordination, and helped draft the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.Competing interestsDefine if there is any competing interest. If there is no competing interest, we suggest the following format: All authors declare no competing interests.Acknowledgments These should be brief and made only for those who have made a significant contribution to the study. Please state the financial support if applicable.References Authors are responsible for the accuracy of the references. Published articles as well as those in press (please state the name of the journal and enclose a copy of the manuscript) may be included. All references to the literature cited will be given in the order of their appearance in the text in a consecutively numbered list at the end of the article. All authors should be quoted for papers with up to five authors; for papers with more than five authors, only the first five authors should be quoted, followed by et al. An EndNote style file is available to download here.Example of journal citations: 1) Wang Y, Xiang MF, Zheng N, Cao YX, Zhu FX. Genetic pathogenesis of acephalic spermatozoa syndrome: past, present, and future. Asian J Androl 2022; 24: 231-7.
2) Oyama Y, Miyata H, Shimada K, Fujihara Y, Tokuhiro K, et al. CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome editing reveals 12 testis-enriched genes dispensable for male fertility in mice. Asian J Androl 2022; 24: 266-72.
3) Xiong Y, Zhang FX, Zhang YC, Wu CJ, Qin F, et al. Genetically predicted insomnia causally increases the risk of erectile dysfunction. Asian J Androl 2022. Doi: 10.4103/aja202261. [Online ahead of print].
Example of a book citation:
4) Armitage P. Statistical Methods in Medical Research. Oxford: Blackwell Scientific Publishers; 1971. p239.
Example of an article in a book:
5) Morley JE, Kaiser FE, Jonson LE. Male sexual function. In: Cassel CK, Riesenberg DE, Sorensen LB, Walsh JR, editors. Geriatric Medicine. New York: Springer-Verlag; 1990. p25670.
The names of journals cited should be abbreviated according to the style used for PubMed (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/).
Citations of 'unpublished data' and 'S. A. Waksman, personal communication' should be written in the text parenthetically. Abstracts may be cited only if they are the sole sources and must be identified in the reference list as '(Abstract)'. Manuscripts that have been accepted for publication but are not yet published must be identified in the reference list as 'in press'. Written proof for 'personal communication' and preprint for 'in press' may be requested for review.
Tables
These should be labeled sequentially as Table 1, Table 2, etc. Multiple sub-tables (Table 1a, Table 1b) are not allowed. Tables should be cited in the text consecutively. Reference to table footnotes should be made by means of Arabic numerals. Tables should not duplicate the content of the text. They should consist of at least two columns; columns should always have headings. Tables should have a brief footnote that identifies all abbreviations used. Authors should ensure that the data in the tables are consistent with those cited in the text, particularly the totals and percentages are calculated correctly.
Figures
All figures should be numbered and referred to in the text by their number. Figure captions should be provided at the end of the manuscript and should be brief and informative. Please include any relevant copyright information if taken from a published source. If a table or figure has been published before, the authors must obtain written permission to reproduce the material in both print and electronic formats from the copyright owner and submit it with the manuscript. Illustrations must clearly convey their message and be of high quality and sufficient size and clarity (especially lettering, arrows, and data points) to be interpretable when reduced for publication.
Scale bars should be provided on photographs. Colour figures are welcomed, and will be published in colour both online and in print. Please note that there will be a cost for colour figure printing.
Supplementary information
Supplementary information is peer-reviewed material directly relevant to the article that cannot be included in the printed version owing to the space limit. It is posted on the journal's website and linked to the article when the article is published and may consist of data files, graphics, movies, tables, figures and any other supporting material. If there are multiple tables and figures, please combine them all in a single editable Word document with figures embedded.
The printed article must be complete and self-explanatory without supplementary information. Supplementary information must be supplied to the editorial office in its final form for peer review. On acceptance, the final version of the peer reviewed supplementary information should be submitted along with the accepted paper. Please note that supplementary information is created by the authors and will not be edited by the Editors, so please proof-read it thoroughly before submission.
Please supply the supplementary information via our online submission system with ScholarOne Manuscript Central (http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/aja), in an acceptable file format (see below).
- Quick Time files (.mov)
- MPEG movie files (.mpg)
- Sound files (.wav)
- MS Word documents (.docx)
File sizes must be as small as possible so that they can be downloaded quickly. We would recommend a frame rate of 15 frames per second. If applicable to the presentation of the supplementary information, use a 256-colour palette. Please consider the use of lower specifications for all of these points if the supplementary information can still be represented clearly. Our recommended maximum data rate is 150 kB/s.
The number of files should be limited to eight, and the total file size should not exceed 8 MB. Individual files should not exceed 1 MB. Please seek advice from the editorial office before sending files larger than our maximum size to avoid delays in publication.
Cover image
We welcome authors to submit a potential cover image for use in the journal to promote of their articles. Please make sure you are the copyright owner or you have obtained all relevant copyright permissions before submitting an image to us. You can upload any potential image as a “Cover Image" when submitting the revised files. There will be no additional cost of cover images during publication.
Non-native speakers of English
Editorial decisions are made solely on the quality of the scientific content of the manuscript. However, poor and unclear language can obscure the scientific content of articles. Non-native English authors are encouraged to use language editing services if needed, but AJA does not take responsibility for these services. Using editing services can address these problems but does not guarantee acceptance.
If your manuscript has been professionally edited by a language editing service, please also provide us the proof issued by the editing service.
Submit Your Article
All papers should be written in concise English but should contain sufficient detail to illustrate how the results were obtained. Our online submission system is at ScholarOne Manuscript Central (http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/aja). Please consult the User Guide to enable you to complete the submission. Our system will immediately assign an ID number to a submitted manuscript, which we request authors to refer to in all subsequent correspondence.
Processing Your Manuscript
All submitted manuscripts are reviewed initially by the AJA Editors to decide for external peer review. Manuscripts are internally evaluated according to the following criteria: material is original and timely, writing is clear, study methods are appropriate, data are valid, conclusions are reasonable and supported by the data, information is important, and the topic is of general interest for andrologists. Manuscripts that do not follow the above criteria will be rejected immediately.
Each manuscript is sent to at least two peer reviewers. When necessary, a biostatistician will also aid the review. AJA operates a single-blind peer-review process, where reviewers are aware of the author(s), but the reviewer is withheld. External reviewers are provided with guidance to peer review for AJA. Once the external review is completed, Editors will evaluate the review comments for the final decision.
Publication after Acceptance
Editing
Accepted manuscripts are edited in accordance with the Journal in-house style. Authors are expected to be responsible for all statements made in their work, including changes made during editing and production that are authorized by the corresponding author.
Proof
Once the manuscript has been typeset, the corresponding author will receive PDF proofs and are responsible for proofreading and checking the entire article. Authors should correct only typesetting errors; no major alteration of the text will be accepted. Page proofs must be returned within 48 hours to avoid delays in the publication along with the reprint order if required.
License to publish
The entire contents of the AJA are protected under China and international copyrights. Authors grant the Journal an exclusive license to publish, in return for which they can re-use their papers in their future printed work. AJA provides details of the policy and a sample form here. Articles are published under the Creative Commons Attribution‐NonCommercial‐Share Alike 4.0 license. This allows others to remix, tweak, and build upon the work non-commercially, as long as appropriate credit is given and the new creations are licensed under identical terms. The work must be attributed back to the original author, and commercial use is not permitted. Ownership of copyright remains with the authors, and when reproducing the contribution or extracts from it, they acknowledge first and reference publication in the Journal.
The corresponding author must complete and sign the License to Publish form upon acceptance of the manuscript and return it to the editorial office. Failure to do so will delay the publication of your paper.
Advance Online Publication (AOP)
All articles will be published ahead of print through Advance Online Publication. Once the articles are published online, they cannot be made any changes.
Offprints
Offprints of the published manuscripts are available to authors. Please contact the editorial office.
Charge
All the following fees are quoted in CNY (China Yuan). Authors from outside Mainland China should pay USD converted according to the exchange rate on the day that the print-ready PDF proofs are sent to the authors.
Article process charge (APC)
4900 CNY 1-3 print-ready pages
9800 CNY 4-8 print-ready pages
1000 CNY Per extra page for more than 8 print-ready pages
Colour page charge
The author's institution or funding agency must defray the cost of colour printing. The cost for each colour page is 2500 CNY.
Supplementary information charge
2000 CNY
Editorial Policy
Manuscripts are considered with the understanding that they have not been published previously in print or electronic format and are not under consideration by another publication or electronic medium. A manuscript will be considered for publication on the understanding that all named authors have agreed to its submission and that if accepted, it will not be later published in the same or similar form in any language without the consent of AJA.
To avoid unnecessary delays in the review process, please consider the following policies carefully before you submit your manuscript.
Duplicate publication
Materials submitted to AJA must be original and not published or submitted for publication elsewhere in any language. Authors should notify the Editor(s) if part of their contribution (e.g., Meeting Abstract) has appeared or will appear elsewhere, or if any related material is under consideration or in press elsewhere.
If an AJA submission re-uses a figure that is published elsewhere or that is copyrighted, the author must provide documentation that the previous publisher or copyright holder has given permission for the figure reproduction. The AJA Editors consider all materials in good faith and assume that the journal has full permission to publish every part of the submitted materials, including illustrations.
Conflicts of interest
In the interests of transparency and to help reviewers assess any potential bias, AJA requires authors of original research papers to declare any conflicts or competing interests concerning the submitted article. Referees are also asked to indicate any potential conflicts they might have when reviewing a particular paper.
Misconduct
Misconduct includes fabrication, falsification, or plagiarism. As a member of the Committee of Publication Ethics (COPE), AJA will act according to the COPE guidelines if misconduct is suspected.
Ethics and animal welfare
Manuscripts should contain a statement to the effect that all human studies have been reviewed by the appropriate ethics committee and it should be stated clearly in the text that all persons gave their informed consent prior to their inclusion in the study. Details that might disclose the identity of the subjects under study should be omitted. Authors should also draw attention to the Code of Ethics of the World Medical Association (Declaration of Helsinki, revised in 2013).
Experiments on animals should comply with relevant guidelines and regulations. The manuscript must indicate the experiments and procedures have been approved by the appropriate regulatory. Indicate the grade of the animals and give the certificate number of the animal breeder. Rats and mice of at least Grade II can be reported. The sex, age, and measured body weights of tested animals or humans should be expressed as mean, standard deviation, and total range.
ICMJE adopted WHO's definition of a clinical trial: any research study that prospectively assigns human participants or groups of humans to one or more health-related interventions to evaluate the effects on health outcomes. According to ICMJE guidelines, AJA requires public, prospective registration (registration occurred before the first patient was enrolled) of clinical trials of all interventions, including devices. See the ICMJE guidelines on clinical trials.
Electronic manipulation of images
Digital image enhancement is an acceptable practice, although it can result in the presentation of unrepresentative data and the loss of meaningful signals. During the manipulation of images, a positive relationship between the original data and the resulting electronic image must be maintained. If a figure has been subjected to significant electronic manipulation, the specific nature of the enhancements must be noted in the figure legend or the 'Materials and methods' section. The editors reserve the right to request original versions of figures from the authors of a paper under consideration.
Supplementary information for the editors and the reviewers
Any manuscripts under review or accepted for publication elsewhere should accompany the submission if they are relevant to its scientific assessment. Authors should also provide upon submission any supplementary material that will aid the review process.
To find out who to contact for business correspondence and enquiries such as advertising, subscriptions, commercial reprints, permissions, papers in production, or publishing a supplement, please contact the editorial office.
