WHY PUBLISHING IN IJCS?

• The International Journal of Cardiovascular Sciences (IJCS) is part of Brazilian Society of Cardiology portfolio of journals connected with ABC Cardiol publishing national and international scientific production in the field of cardiovascular sciences. Publication in IJCS is freely accessible to readers and no publication fees are charged to authors;
• Mission: Publishing manuscripts about cardiovascular issues, emphasizing original manuscripts, covering epidemiology aspects, multidisciplinary studies, evaluations of health care quality, clinical study designs and single-center and multicenter studies, contributing to disseminating scientific production about cardiovascular sciences.
• It is indexed in the LILACS and SciELO databases;
• Published in the English version for FREE OF CHARGE (open access), on the website of the Brazilian Society of Cardiology (http://www.onlineijcs.org) and SciELO (www.scielo.br), to be viewed by the whole international community;
• The authors are not required to pay any submission or review fees;
• IJCS is advocates of Open Science;
• IJCS accepts Preprint manuscripts.

Open Science

The term open science refers to a scientific practice model that is in line with the digital evolution that proposes the availability of information in web environments, as opposed to laboratory-confined research.¹ The practice of open science involves the publication of research data, speedy editorial and communication processes through continuous publication of manuscripts and preprints, greater transparency in review processes and communication flows, and the pursuit of more comprehensive systems of review of manuscripts and journals.^2,3

Preprint

A preprint is a complete scientific manuscript that the authors place in a public server. Preprints contain complete data and methodologies. They are published on the web within one day approximately, without peer review, and can be viewed for free by anyone in the world, on platforms currently developed for this purpose, allowing scientists to directly control the promotion of their work for the scientific community around the world. In most cases, the same work published as preprint is also submitted for peer review in a journal. Therefore, preprints (not validated by peer review) and the publication of journals (validated by peer review) work in parallel as a communication system for scientific research.^4,5
Submitting a manuscript to a preprint platform, such as Peerage of Science, arXiv, PLoS and Nature Precedings, is not considered double publishing. IJCS will also accept manuscripts that have been published on an author’s personal or institutional website. Academic theses in the public domain, according to the guidelines of the author’s academic institution, will also be considered by IJCS.

The journal IJCS seeks to keep its platform and rules constantly updated, in keeping with the practices of modern scientific publication. Today, we accept preprints and open science platforms to encourage communication among authors.

Sources:
^1. https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Ci%C3%AAncia_aberta
^2. https://www.cienciaaberta.net/
^3. http://www.ciencia-aberta.pt/sobre-ciencia-aberta
^4. http://blog.scielo.org/blog/ 2017/02/22/scielo-preprints-a-caminho/#.Wt3U2IjwY2w
^5. http://asapbio.org/preprint-info

Data Sharing

IJCS requires authors to provide all data related to the findings reported in their manuscripts, on an unrestricted basis, upon publication. Where any specific legal or ethical requirements prohibit public sharing of any dataset, authors must inform how researchers can have access to the data.
When submitting a manuscript, authors must provide a Data Availability Statement describing compliance with the journal’s policy. If the article is accepted for publication, the statement will be published as part of the article accepted.
According to this policy, refusal to share data, metadata, and related methods will cause the article to be rejected. The journal’s editors encourage researchers to contact them if they cannot find any data from any articles published in the journal. If restrictions on access to data arise after publication, we reserve the right to post a correction, contact the authors’ institutions and funding entities or, in extreme cases, withdraw the publication.
Acceptable data sharing methods are listed below, with guidelines on what the authors should inform in their data availability statement and how to follow the best reporting practices. If the authors have failed to collect any data but have used a different source instead, the source must be credited as appropriate.
Authors who have any questions or concerns with this policy or readers with trouble finding the data are encouraged to contact the journal’s office by sending an e-mail to revistaijcs@cardiol.br.
This data policy was implemented on December 16, 2019. Any article submitted before this date will not have a data availability statement. However, for all manuscripts submitted or published before this date, data must be available upon reasonable request.

ACCEPTABLE DATA SHARING METHODS

Data repository (strongly recommended)

Every data and metadata underlying the findings reported in a submitted manuscript must be deposited in an appropriate public repository unless it has already been provided as part of the submission. Repositories can be subject-specific (if any) and accept specific types of structured data or generalist repositories that accept various data types, such as Dryad and Figshare. Guidelines on acceptable repositories are included below.
The Data Availability Statement must specify that data is publicly deposited and list repository names, along with digital object identifiers (DOI) or access numbers for the relevant datasets.

Data in supplemental information files

In the online version of the published article, readers access supplementary information files through hyperlinks. Authors are encouraged to deposit data directly into appropriate repositories as specified below, and must make sure they have maximized data accessibility and reuse by selecting a file format from which data can be efficiently extracted (for example, PDF sheets are preferable for providing tabbed data).

Confidential data, human research participants data, and third-party data

If it is not ethical or lawful to deposit or provide data on supporting information (for example, if the data has any privacy concerns), the two methods below may be acceptable alternatives, subject to case-by-case evaluations:

Data provided to all interested researchers upon request

The Data Availability Statement must specify “Data available upon request” and identify the group to which requests should be submitted (for example, a data access committee or an ethics committee). The reasons for restrictions on the public data repository must also be specified. Please note that it is not acceptable for an author to be the only named individual responsible for ensuring access to the data.

Third-party data available

Authors must share any specific lawfully distributable data from their analyses. For any other data that the authors cannot lawfully distribute, authors must include in the Data Availability Statement all relevant contact information which an interested researcher would need in order to gain access to the data.
If permission is required to use a third-party dataset, authors must include the third-party source and the permission check in the Data Availability Statement.
They must also acknowledge the manuscript.

RESTRICTIONS ON ACCESS TO UNACCEPTABLE DATA

IJCS does not consider manuscripts for which the following factors influence the ability to share data:
• Authors shall not share data due to personal interests, such as patents or potential future publications.
• Conclusions depend solely on the analysis of proprietary data, whether owned by the authors, their funding entities or institutions, or other parties. We consider proprietary data any data related to commercial interests or copyrighted data that data owners will not share, for example, data from a pharmaceutical company that will share data with regulatory agencies only for drug approval purposes, but not with researchers. If proprietary data is used and cannot be accessed by third parties (in the same way the authors have accessed it), the manuscript should include a public data analysis validating the conclusions so that others can reproduce the analysis and rely on the findings.

We hope the data will be publicly available to all researchers interested, but we understand that ethical and legal restrictions may prevent this. The policy is not intended to override local regulations, legislation or ethical arrangements. Where such arrangements prevent or limit data disclosure, authors must make these limitations clear in the Data Availability Statement upon submission.

We hope that the institutions will recognize the importance of preserving and making data available, especially due to concerns about data preservation and reproducibility, and that they will support their researchers in making data available. We encourage researchers and their institutions to consider whether a Data Access Committee can be convened to store data and respond to data requests. As many institutions do not have any committees to assist in this process, we will collaborate with the authors to try to identify a solution. Please contact the journal’s office (revistaijcs@cardiol.br) to discuss: (i) if you are unable to share data for any other reasons not specified above, or (ii) if you have concerns about the ethics or lawfulness of sharing your data.

Definition of data to be shared

IJCS defines “minimum dataset” a dataset used to arrive at conclusions drawn from related metadata and methods, as well as any additional data needed to replicate the study findings reported in their entirety. Authors do not need to submit the entire dataset if only some of the data has been used in the study reported.
Please note that IJCS does not allow references to “data not shown.” Authors must provide relevant data in the manuscript, either in the supporting information files or in a public repository. If data is not an essential part of the study, the authors are requested to remove any references to such data.

Guidelines on sharing datasets from clinical studies or other work involving human participants

For studies involving human participants, data must be adjusted to protect the privacy of study participants. IJCS recommends that researchers follow the established guidelines and the local laws applicable to ensure that they do not compromise the privacy of participants.
The actions required to protect privacy may include non-identification, locking parts of the database, or license agreements specifically addressing privacy concerns. Authors must inform, in the ethics statement, the ways in which the privacy of study participants was preserved. If any license agreements apply, the authors must follow the process required for other researchers to obtain a license.

RECOMMENDED REPOSITORIES

IJCS requires authors to adhere to specific standards for data preparation and recording and to select repositories that are appropriate to their field. Authors are also encouraged to choose repositories that meet the criteria for them to be accepted as trusted digital repositories.
Below, the journal recommends, through SciELO, a few repositories that are trusted and recognized in their communities:

Image Data Resource (IDR)
Data repository type: *Restricted
Type of data access: Open
http://idr.openmicroscopy.org/about

Immunology Database and Analysis Portal (ImmPort)
Data repository type: *Restricted
Type of data access: Open/*Closed/*Restricted
http://www.immport.org/immport-open/public/home/home

Influenza Research Database (IRD)
Data repository type: *Restricted
Type of data access: Open
http://www.fludb.org/brc/home.spg?decorator=influenza

Sicas Medical Image Repository (SMIR)
Data repository type: *Restricted
Type of data access: Open/*Restricted
http://www.smir.ch

SimTK
Data repository type: *Restricted
Type of data access: Open/*Closed/*Restricted
http://simtk.org

The Cancer Imaging Archive (TCIA)
Data repository type: *Restricted
Type of data access: Open/*Restricted/* Embargo
http://www.cancerimagingarchive.net

*When the existence of any restricted access and data repository is mentioned, this can vary from simple registration, being an affiliated member of the institution, to payment of a fee. Please check the restrictions, embargo time and data access requirements informed by each repository.

Authors are encouraged to choose the most appropriate repository for their research studies. IJCS does not determine that a repository must be chosen for the policy on data access. If authors use repositories with stated licensing policies, they should not be more restrictive than the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license.
If there is no specialized community-approved public repository, institutional repositories that use open licenses, allowing free and unrestricted use or public domain, complying with the best practices related to responsible data sharing, sustainable digital preservation, appropriate citation, and openness are also suitable for data deposition.

MAKING A STATEMENT

The statement must be made at the time of submission, as in the examples below:

CITATION OF RESEARCH DATA ⁶

Essential elements for citation of research data:
- Authorship;
• personal
• institutional
- Research data deposition date;
- Repository name;
- Electronic identifier;
• DOI (Digital Object Identifier) link or URL of the research data.
- Qualifier [dataset];
- Title of research data;
- Other identifiers.

Full citation of research data:
ANDRADE, Márcio. Estudo de genes em ratos albinos na américa latina [dataset]. 20 jan. 2018. Open Science Framework (OSF). NR_109833.1. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/0123-45620187214

Citation of research data with versioning date:
ANDRADE, Márcio. Estudo de genes em ratos albinos na américa latina [dataset]. Versão 23 jan. 2018. Open Science Framework (OSF). NR_109833.1. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/0123-45620187214

Citation of research data with Institutional Authorship:
BEILSTEIN INSTITUT. Estudo de genes em ratos albinos na américa latina [dataset]. 20 jan. 2018. Open Science Framework (OSF). NR_109833.1. http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/0123-45620187214

Sources:
^6. https://wp.scielo.org/wp-content/uploads/guia-de-citacao-de-dados_pt.pdf

CONTENTS OF MANUSCRIPTS

TYPES OF MANUSCRIPTS

Original Article: The journal IJCS accepts all types of original cardiovascular research, including research in humans and experimental research. Clinical trials should follow specific recommendations (click here to learn more). Note: Systematic analyses and meta-analyses are considered original manuscripts, not reviews.

Review Article: The editors send out invitations for most reviews. However, high-level studies conducted by authors or groups with previous publications on the subject will be welcome. In this section, any manuscripts whose main author does not have a comprehensive academic or publication background verified by Lattes (CNPQ), PubMed or SciELO will not be accepted. Note: Systematic analyses and meta-analyses are considered original manuscripts, not reviews.

Viewpoint: It presents the authors’ stance or opinion on a specific scientific theme. This stance or opinion must be sufficiently corroborated by the literature or their personal experience. These aspects will be the basis of the opinion being issued.

Case Report: Any cases including original descriptions of clinical observations or representing the originality of a given diagnosis or treatment or illustrating situations that do not occur very often in the clinical practice, which deserve a deeper understanding and more attention from cardiologists.

Brief Communication: Original experiences whose relevance to the knowledge of a subject justifies the presentation of initial data of small series, or partial data of clinical trials.

Editorial: Subjects or manuscripts critically addressed by a subject-matter specialist. All IJCS editorials are published upon invitation. We will not accept editorials submitted spontaneously.

Letter to the Editor: Correspondence of scientific content related to manuscripts published in IJCS and evaluated for publication two months before. The authors of the original manuscript will be invited to respond.

ORGANIZATION OF MANUSCRIPTS AND TECHNICAL STANDARDS

• Language:
IJCS is an English publication. Articles must be submitted in English.
Manuscripts in Portuguese, indicated by the journal Arquivos Brasileiros de Cardiologia for publication in the IJCS, may be translated by SBC or be the responsibility of the author.
Information for the translation (click here to learn more).

• Composition:
Note: The texts must be edited in a word processor (example: Microsoft® Word, Google Docs®, Writer®).

Summary table of the structuring of articles:

Click here to see the Summary Table

Required documents for approved manuscripts:

ORIGINAL ARTICLE, REVIEW ARTICLE, VIEWPOINT, CASE REPORT, BRIEF COMMUNICATION:

1- Author’s online registration in the submission system: Registration details, ORCiD number, pre-print usage information (if used). (click here to find out more about Open Science and Preprint);

ORCiD: The ORCiD (Open Researcher and Contributor ID) is a unique, free and persistent digital identifier that distinguishes one scholar/researcher from another and solves the problem of the ambiguity and similarity of names of authors and individuals, replacing name variations with a single numeric code. To register your ORCiD ID, go to: https://orcid.org/register.

2- Conflict of interest: Form filled out and signed by the first author, informing when there is any relationship between the authors and any public or private entity that could derive some conflict of interest. This information must be included in the end of the manuscript.

3- Authors' contribution: Form filled out and signed by the first author stating the contributions of all participants. This information must be included in the end of the manuscript.

4- Copyrights: Form filled out and signed by all co-authors authorizing the transfer of copyrights.

5- Ethics: Form filled out and signed by the first author stating whether the research was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of their institution.
• In experiments involving animals, the standards established in the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (Institute of Laboratory Animal Resources, National Academy of Sciences, Washington, D.C., 1996) and the Ethical Principles in Animal Experiments of the Brazilian Council of Animal Experimentation (COBEA) must be respected.
• In experiments involving humans, the authors must state whether the procedures have followed the ethical standards established by the institutional and national human experimentation committee and the Declaration of Helsinki of 1975, revised in 2008. Studies conducted with humans should be in line with the ethical standards and must include the participants’ informed consent, as per Resolution 466/2012 of the National Health Council of the Ministry of Health of Brazil, which deals with the Code of Ethics for Research on Human Beings and, for authors outside Brazil, they must be in keeping with the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Have a look at Specific documentations and definitions for clinical trials for further information.

EDITORIAL, LETTER TO THE EDITOR:

1- Author’s online registration in the submission system: Registration details, ORCiD number, pre-print usage information (if used). (click here to find out more about Open Science and Preprint);

ORCiD: The ORCiD (Open Researcher and Contributor ID) is a unique, free and persistent digital identifier that distinguishes one scholar/researcher from another and solves the problem of the ambiguity and similarity of names of authors and individuals, replacing name variations with a single numeric code. To register your ORCiD ID, go to: https://orcid.org/register.

2- Copyrights: Form filled out and signed by all co-authors authorizing the transfer of copyrights.

Types of study – Conformation for approval

CLINICAL TRIAL/EXPERIMENTAL STUDY (CONSORT COMPLIANT)
Reports of randomized trials must conform to the revised CONSORT guidelines and should be submitted with their protocols and a completed CONSORT checklist. All reports of clinical trials must include a summary of previous research findings and explain how the submittedtrial affects this summaryof previous findings. Cluster randomized trials should be reported according to extended CONSORT guidelines. Randomized trials reporting harms must be described according to extended CONSORT guidelines. All reports of randomized trials should include a section entitled “Randomization and masking” within the methods section. For information regarding CONSORT guidelines, please visit http://www.consort-statement.org.

OBSERVATIONAL STUDY (STROBE COMPLIANT)*
Observational research comprises several study designs and many topic areas. The STROBE statement should be used when reporting such research. The STROBE recommendations apply to the three main analytical designs usedin observational research: cohort, case-control, and cross-sectional studies. The STROBE statement consists of a 22-item checklist. For information regarding STROBE guidelines, please visit http://www.strobe-statement.org.

*Please note that IJCS uses a customized version of the STROBE checklist, available only at http://www.editorialmanager.com/mdin the “Files & Resources” section of the home page.

SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS (PRISMA COMPLIANT)
Systematic reviews and meta-analyses must be reported according to PRISMA guidelines, an evidence-based minimum set of items createdto help authors improve the reporting of systematic reviews and meta-analyses. The PRISMA Statement consists of a 27-item checklist and a four-phase flow diagram. For information regarding PRISMA guidelines, please visit http://www.prisma-statement.org.

META-ANALYSIS OF OBSERVATIONAL STUDIES IN EPIDEMIOLOGY (MOOSE COMPLIANT)
Systematic reviews and meta-analyses of observational studies in epidemiology should be reported according to MOOSE guidelines. For more information regarding MOOSE guidelines, please visit http://www.equator-network.org/reporting-guidelines/meta-analysis-of-observational-studies-in-epidemiology-a-proposal-for-reporting-meta-analysis-of-observational-studies-in-epidemiology-moose-group/.

DIAGNOSTIC ACCURACY STUDY (STARD COMPLIANT)
Investigators reporting studies of diagnostic accuracy should adhere to the STARD statement, partof the STARD initiative to improve the accuracy and completeness of reporting of studies of diagnostic accuracy, to allow readers to assess the potential for bias in astudy (internal validity) and to evaluate a study’sgeneralizability (external validity). The STARD statement consists of a 25-item checklist and recommends the use of a flow diagram to describe the design of the study and the flow of patients. For information regarding STARD guidelines, please visit http://www.stard-statement.org.

QUALITY IMPROVEMENT STUDY (SQUIRE COMPLIANT)*
The SQUIRE statement helpsauthors write excellent, usable articles about quality improvement in healthcare so that findings may be easily discovered and widely disseminated.The SQUIRE statement consists of a 19-itemchecklist. The SQUIRE guidelines are not exclusive of other guidelines. For example, an improvement project or effectiveness study that used a randomized controlled trial design should consider using both the CONSORT and the SQUIRE guidelines.In these cases, both checklists should be uploaded as a single document.For more information regarding SQUIRE guidelines, please visit http://squire-statement.org/.

*Please note that IJCS uses a customized version of the SQUIRE checklist, available only at http://www.editorialmanager.com/mdin the “Files &Resources” section of the home page.

ECONOMIC EVALUATION STUDY (CHEERS COMPLIANT)
Developed by the ISPOR Quality Improvement in Cost-Effectiveness Research Task Force, the CHEERS statement supports the quality, consistency, and transparency of health economic and outcomes research reporting in the biomedical literature. The CHEERS statement includes a 24-item checklist. For more information regarding CHEERSguidelines, please visit http://www.ispor.org/taskforces/EconomicPubGuidelines.asp.

CLINICAL CASE REPORT (CARE COMPLIANT)
The CARE guidelines provide a framework to support the need for completeness, transparency and data analysis in case reports and data from the point of care. The main tools of CARE are the CARE Statement, CARE checklist, and a Case Report Writing Template. These products offer a rationale and a standardized format for authors to prepare more complete and transparent case reports. For more information regarding CARE guidelines, please visit http://www.care-statement.org/.

ETHICS: HUMAN STUDIES
Studies on patients or volunteers must be receive ethics committee approval and informed consent, which should be documented in the paper, including the approval number. Patients have a right to privacy. Authors should remove information from photographs and manuscripts that might identify a patient. Where this is impossible, submissions must be accompanied by a written release from the patient. It is the author's responsibility to ensure that patients' privacy is protected. Authors should pay close attention to images that contain identifiable individual patient characteristics or data such as eyes, date of birth, case number, initials, birthmarks, etc. Informed consent should be obtained in writing from the patient if there is concern that a patient's anonymity cannot be maintained in written text or with use of photographs or video.

Written consents must be provided to the editorial office on request. Even where consent has been given, identifying details should be omitted if they are not essential. If identifying characteristics are altered to protect anonymity, such as in genetic pedigrees, authors should provide assurance that alterations do not distort scientific meaning and editors should so note. If such consent has not been obtained, personal details of patients included in any part of the paper and in any supplementary materials (including all illustrations and videos) must be removed before submission.

ANIMAL RESEARCH AND STUDIES
In experiments involving animals, the standards established in the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (Institute of Laboratory Animal Resources, National Academy of Sciences, Washington, D.C., 1996) and the Ethical Principles in Animal Experiments of the Brazilian Council of Animal Experimentation (COBEA) must be respected. Research must conform the following items: 1) animal care and use by qualified individuals, supervised by veterinarians, and all facilities and transportation must comply with current legal requirements and guidelines; 2) research involving animals should be done only when alternative methods to yield needed information are not possible; 3) anesthesia must be used in all surgical interventions, all unnecessary suffering should be avoided and research must be terminated if unnecessary pain or fear results; and 4) animal facilities must meet the international standards.

Exclusive submission/Publication policy

Manuscripts are considered for review only under the conditions that they are not under consideration elsewhere and that the data presented have not appeared on the Internet or have not been previously published (including symposia, proceedings, transactions, books, articles published by invitation, and preliminary publications of any kind, excepting abstracts that do not exceed 500 words). On acceptance, transfer of copyright to the International Journal of Cardiovascular Sciences must be provided.

Relationship with industry policy – Conflict of interest

All authors are required to disclose any relationship with industry and other relevant entities—financial or otherwise—within the past 2 years that might pose a conflict of interest in connection with the submitted article. All relevant relationships with industry, disclosures, and sources of funding for the work should be acknowledged on the title page, as should all institutional affiliations of the authors (including corporate appointments). This includes associations such as consultancies, stock ownership, or other equity interests or patent-licensing arrangements. If no relationship with industry exists, please state this on the title page.

All forms are now signed and submitted electronically. Once a manuscript is accepted, form will be filled out and signed by the first author, informing when there is any relationship between the authors and any public or private entity that could derive some conflict of interest. This information must be included in the end of the manuscript. Click: http://publicacoes.cardiol.br/portal/ijcs/ingles/formularios.asp

Statistic guidelines

Proper use of statistical methods as well as their correct description is of paramount importance for manuscripts published in ABC Cardiol. Therefore, some general guidelines apply to the information to be provided regarding statistical analysis (for further details, we suggest reading the European Heart Journal’s statistical guidelines).

1) About the sample: Details of both the population of interest and the procedures used to define the study sample.
2) Under Methods, there must be a subtopic exclusively addressed to the description of the statistical analysis used in the study, containing:

• Presentation of continuous and/or categorical variables: continuous variables with normal distribution should be presented as mean and standard deviation and continuous variables with non-normal distribution should be presented as median and interquartile range. Categorical variables should be presented by absolute numbers and percentages, with the relevant confidence intervals.
• Description of statistical methods used. If more complex statistical methods are used, some reference literature should be provided for them;
• As a general rule, statistical tests should always be bilateral rather than unilateral;
• The significance level adopted; and
• Specifications of the software used in the statistical analyses, including its version.

3) As for the presentation of the results from statistical analyses:

• The main results should always be described with their relevant confidence intervals;
• Do not repeat in the body of the manuscript the data found in tables and figures;
• Instead of presenting excessively long tables, use charts as an alternative to make it easier for the readers to understand the contents;
• In tables, even if the p-value is not significant, state its value instead of “NS” (e.g., p = 0.29 instead of NS).

Plagiarism

PLAGIARISM POLICY FOR INTERNATIONATIONAL JOURNAL OF CARDIOVASCULAR SCIENCES:
Plagiarism is not accepted in IJCS. It compromises the true meaning of Science. Plagiarism is defined when an author attempts to use someone else work as his or her own. Another form of plagiarism is self-plagiarism, ou duplication: it occurs when an author reuses significant parts of his or her own published work without appropriate references. Plagiarism is a scientific misconduct and will be addressed as such. When plagiarism is detected at any time before publication, the editorial office will take appropriate action as directed by the standards set forth by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). For additional information, please visit http://www.publicationethics.org.

IJCS uses the iThenticate software to verifiy the originality of content submitted before publication. iThenticate checks submissions against millions of published research papers, and billions of web content. Authors, researchers and freelancers can also use iThenticate to screen their work before submission by visiting http://www.ithenticate.com.

PLAGIARISM DETECT BEFORE PUBLISHING:
IJCS editors will evaluate any case of plagiarism on its limits. If plagiarism is detected before publishing then we will inform the author(s) and will ask them to rewrite the content or use appropriate references from where the content has been taken. If more than 25% of the paper is plagiarized, then the article will be rejected and authors notified.

HOW PLAGIARISM IS CHECKED?
All the submitted manuscripts for publication are checked for plagiarism with online tools after submission and before starting review.

HOW IS PLAGIARISM HANDLED?
The manuscripts in which the plagiarism is detected are handled based on the extent of the plagiarism.

10-25% Plagiarism: The manuscript is sent back to the author for content revision without entering the review process. > 25% Plagiarism: The manuscript will be rejected without the entering the review process. The authors are advised to revise the manuscript and resubmit the manuscript.

PLAGIARISM DETECTION AFTER PUBLICATION
If a case of plagiarism is detected after IJCS had published the article we will contact the author's institute and funding agencies.

A determination of misconduct will lead the IJCS to publish a statement, linked online to and from the original paper, to note the plagiarism and to provide a reference to the plagiarised material. In severe cases (> 50% of plagiarism) the paper will be formally retracted.

Word count limits

The electronic word count should include the title, the cover page, abstract, text, references and figures/tables legends.

Translation

* Authors’ translation
1- The author must submit the manuscript in English.
2- We advise everyone to have a professional review of English before sending, in case of necessary adjustments.

**Translation organized by SBC
1- The papers submitted first to the Arquivos Brasileiros de Cardiologia in Portuguese and that were nominated for the IJCS may, with the author's acceptance, be translated into the IJCS:

1.1- The authors must send an e-mail, to revistaijcs@cardiol.br , in up to 5 calendar days, informing whether it should be arranged by the journal or if they will provide the translation.
1.2- Translation prices: Visit the jornal website .
1.3- The authors have 7 calendar days to make payment through the SBC e-commerce website (click here).
1.4- Once the translation is formatted, it will be sent to the author, who will have 5 days to undertake a few adjustments. If the author does not get back to us, that will be considered the final version.

Failure to receive the payment within 7 days will result in cancellation.

The Review Process

Submission

To submit your manuscript, please visit https://mc04.manuscriptcentral.com/ijcs-scielo and register as an author. If you already have a reviewer login, you can use the same login. To submit your manuscript, please follow the steps below.

Click here and follow the steps for submission

Analysis

IJCS uses a double-blind peer-review system, meaning that the reviewers of the paper will be blind to the identity of the author(s), and the author(s) will be blind to the identity of the reviewer. At initial submission, a manuscript is reviewed by editorial staff for compliance with journal style and to make sure the submission is clear and legible for reviewers and editors. Once the editorial staff have checked in the paper, it is assigned to the Editor-in-Chief, who will assign it to an Associate Editor. The Associate Editor then determines if it should be sent for peer review or if it is not of sufficient priority for JACC. All reviewers and editors are asked to report any potential conflicts of interest, and when those exist the manuscript is reassigned to a different editor or reviewer. The manuscripts are submitted to statistical review, whenever necessary. Once at least to 2 reviews have been completed, the submission is reviewed by all associate editors in a weekly meeting. The group then comes to one of the four decisions below:

• Accept: The manuscript is acceptable for publication in its current form. However, minor edits may be made by the medical editors, illustrators, or the publisher, and authors will need to work with the appropriate contacts to ensure these changes are incorporated post-acceptance.

• Minor Revision: It is important to note that this decision does not guarantee acceptance. However, less significant edits are required than a Revision Required decision. Authors have 15 days to make the changes requested.

• Major Revision: In this case, more significant edits are required. Authors have 40 days to make the changes requested. It is important to note that this decision does not guarantee acceptance.

• Reject & Resubmit: The manuscript is unacceptable for publication in its current form. However, the editors are willing to reconsider a thoroughly revised manuscript. The authors must respond to all reviewer and editor comments and the submission will be re-reviewed and treated as a new submission.

• Reject: The manuscript is unacceptable for publication and/or is not an appropriate fit for IJCS.

Approval

1- Once approved, the manuscript must be submitted in the second language.
Click here to view information and deadlines for submitting it in the second language.
The deadlines to submit the translation must be strictly observed. Failure to meet the deadline will result in cancellation.
Acceptance will be based on originality, significance and scientific contribution to the body of knowledge in the area.

2- The final formatted version (in Portuguese and English) will be sent to the author, who must return it within 5 days with minimal spelling adjustments. If the author does not respond in 5 days, these will be considered the final versions for publication.

Publication

After the author’s approval, the versions are sent to indexation, when the DOI and the XML versions for the main indexers are generated. The manuscript will be allocated to a volume and an issue, and published online on the journal website (PDF and Desktop version), and for Smartphone and Tablet versions.