AFMN TEST

Peer Review

The Journal adheres to a rigorous peer-review process to ensure the validity, quality, and scientific integrity of published work. All submissions first undergo an editorial assessment to determine their suitability for the Journal’s scope, standards, and ethical requirements. Manuscripts deemed appropriate are typically sent to at least two independent reviewers with relevant subject-matter or methodological expertise to evaluate their scientific merit. The final decision to accept or reject a manuscript rests with the editorial team.

The Journal uses a double-blind peer-review system, meaning that both authors and reviewers remain anonymous throughout the process. Decisions regarding publication are based on the originality, novelty, scientific rigor, clarity, and methodological soundness of the work. Editors have broad discretion in determining whether a submission is appropriate for external review or for publication. Manuscripts may be rejected at the editorial stage without external peer review, accompanied by a general explanation. Such decisions are final and not subject to formal appeal.

To ensure fairness and transparency, editors do not take part in decisions on manuscripts they have authored; manuscripts submitted by family members, close colleagues, or collaborators; or papers involving products or services in which they hold a financial or professional interest.

Submission Categories

Below is the list of article types published in AFMN Biomedicine. Please note that for certain article types, word limits apply to the main text and any in-text tables, but do not include the abstract, keywords, or references.

Research Article

Research Articles are full-length manuscripts that present high-quality, original investigations offering novel and significant scientific contributions of broad relevance to the health sciences community. All studies involving human participants or laboratory animals require prior approval from an Ethics Review Committee, with the corresponding approval number and date clearly stated. For clinical trial reports, authors are required to submit a completed CONSORT or STROBE checklist, along with the corresponding flowchart, whichever is most appropriate for the study design. Submissions without this documentation may be returned as incomplete. If research involves animals, it must adhere to the ARRIVE guidelines:(https://arriveguidelines.org/publications). Research Articles must follow the standard full-length structure with the appropriate subheadings: Abstract, Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, and References. Recommended length of Research Article is 6000 words maximum (including main text, tables, and figure legends).

Review Article

Review Articles should provide a comprehensive and critical overview of the existing literature on specialized topics, synthesizing all high-quality research evidence and presenting conceptual frameworks that address questions of broad interest in biomedicine. Systematic Reviews must include a detailed description of the literature search strategy, data extraction methods, and, where applicable, the analytical approach used. Submission of a completed PRISMA checklist is mandatory (https://www.prisma-statement.org). Manuscripts submitted without this documentation will be considered incomplete and returned to the authors. Recommended length of Review Article is 6000 words maximum with no more than 100 references.

Brief Report

Brief Reports are concise articles that present original preclinical or clinical research findings of significant interest to the readership. They should follow the same structure as full-length papers, including appropriate subheadings. Recommended length of Brief Report is 2500 words maximum (including the main text and any table or figure legend), with allowance for one display item (either a figure or a table) and no more than 25 references.

Case Report

Case Reports are concise articles that highlight noteworthy clinical observations involving a single patient or a small group of patients. They should describe rare or unusual conditions, novel therapeutic approaches, previously unrecognized adverse effects, or other findings of particular significance to a specific clinical specialty. Submissions will be considered only if they present cases that have not been well documented in the literature. Authors are required to obtain written informed consent for publication from the patient or, when applicable, their legal guardian prior to manuscript submission. Documentation of consent must be available upon request. Manuscripts should be structured under the following sections: Abstract, Introduction, Case Presentation, and Discussion. The total word count should not exceed 1,500 words, inclusive of the main text and any table or figure legends. Only one display item (either a figure or a table) is permitted, and the reference list should be limited to no more than 15 citations.

Letter to the Editor

A Letter to the Editor provides commentary on a recently published AFMN Biomedicine article and should offer insights of significant relevance and interest to the Journal’s readership. Submissions must be received within one month of the publication of the original article. The authors of the referenced paper will be invited to submit a formal response. Letters should be written in an unstructured format (without standard section headings) and should not exceed 850 words, including the main text and any table or figure legend. A maximum of one display item (either a figure or a table) and up to 5 references are permitted.

Manuscript preparation 

Manuscripts must adhere to standard scientific English, including proper grammar, style, and clarity. Authors who believe their manuscript could benefit from additional language support are encouraged to utilize resources available at their institutions, and/or consider professional English language editing services. Clear and well-crafted manuscripts significantly improve the likelihood of acceptance.

All abbreviations must be defined upon their first appearance in the text. Those not recognized by international standards should be avoided. Abbreviations must not appear in the title.

The main manuscript file (except for the Letters to the Editor) must be organized into the following sections, presented in the order specified below:

• Title page
• Abstract with keywords
• Main text
• Acknowledgements
• Authors' contributions
• Statement of Ethics
• Statement of Competing Interest
• Statement of Data Availability
• Statement of Generative AI Technologies Use
• References
• Tables
• Figures with figure legends

Title page

The title page must include the full title of the manuscript, the full names of all authors, and their institutional affiliations. The corresponding author must be clearly identified and must provide a full postal address, phone number, and institutional email address. Personal or private email addresses are not accepted for correspondence.

The title should be concise, descriptive, and unambiguous, accurately reflecting the main focus and content of the manuscript. A well-written title that clearly indicates the subject matter enhances the visibility and discoverability of the article in major indexing databases.

Abstract with keywords

All articles (except for the Letters to the Editor) must include a concise and factual abstract of no more than 250 words. It should be prepared as a single, standalone paragraph summarizing the study’s purpose, key findings, and main conclusions. Non-standard abbreviations are not allowed. Abstract should be followed by 3 to 5 keywords, as specific as possible to the research topic, for indexing and abstracting purposes.

Please note that the title, keywords, and abstract of your article all influence how it appears in search engine results, directly impacting its visibility and readership.

Main Text

The main text should follow the standard section structure: Introduction, Methods, Results, and Discussion. The Methods section must include enough detail to allow full reproducibility of the study, including the full manufacturer name for every proprietary item used. Near the end of this section, authors should add a separate paragraph clearly describing the statistical approaches employed for data analysis. The Results section should summarize the key findings succinctly and provide complete statistical reporting, not just p-values. Review articles may follow an alternative structure appropriate to their content.

Disclaimer

AFMN Biomedicine is published by the University of Niš Faculty of Medicine. Neither the Journal nor the Publisher, including their officers and employees, shall be liable for any special, incidental, indirect, or consequential damages, or for any damages whatsoever resulting from loss of use, data, or profits, whether or not advised of the possibility of such damages and under any theory of liability, arising out of or in connection with the use of, or reliance upon, the information provided in this publication.

This publication is made available “as is,” without warranty of any kind, either express or implied, including but not limited to implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement. The Journal’s policies and publication details are subject to change at any time without notice. References to specific products, services, or publications do not imply endorsement, recommendation, or approval by AFMN Biomedicine or the University of Niš Faculty of Medicine.