JPEN Author Guidelines

General Information

Manuscript Categories

Original Communication

Case_Report/Case_Series

Book_Review

Manuscript Submission

Manuscript Preparation

Figures_and_Illustrations

Acknowledgements_and_Permissions

General Information

The Journal of Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (JPEN) is the premier scientific journal of clinical nutrition and metabolic support. It publishes original peer-reviewed studies that define the cutting edge of basic and clinical research in the field. It explores the science of optimizing the care of patients receiving enteral or IV therapies. JPEN is an official journal of the American Society for Parenteral and Enteral Nutrition (A.S.P.E.N.).

JPEN accepts contributions on a wide range of issues within the field of clinical nutrition and covers topics such as:

High quality evidence supporting best clinical practices in human populations
Translational research investigating novel strategies optimizing nutrition support therapy
Basic research enhancing understanding of cellular and molecular nutrient utilization, metabolism and pathophysiology
Critical reviews of current knowledge in nutrition and metabolism
Educational and training strategies establishing best learning outcomes and fostering a robust community of nutrition support practitioners
Innovative techniques, materials and devices demonstrating improved outcomes
Case reports/series informing novel hypothesis generation and clinical insight.

Manuscript Categories

Manuscripts may be submitted in any of the following categories: Original Communication, Brief Communication,Case Report/Series, Letter to the Editor, Tutorial, Review, Clinical Guidelines *, Book Review.

Please note: Submission of Clinical Guidelines is restricted to A.S.P.E.N.’s Clinical Guidelines Editorial Board. To submit suggestions for future topics, please email the Clinical guidelines Editor-in-Chief, Dr. Charlene Compher at compherc@nursing.upenn.edu

Original Communication

Original Communications are comprehensive, fully-documented reports of original research. They should present complete results with a detailed Materials and Methods section. They should also include a structured abstract (200-250 words) and a Clinical Relevancy Statement, which is a brief statement allowing the reader to quickly identify the clinical applicability of the research presented in the article. Please see an example here. Original Communications usually contain between 6,500 and 8,000 words of text. They may also include tables, figures, and other supplemental information.

Brief Communication

Brief Communications are preliminary reports of original, significant research results. Communications are typically no longer than 4,500 words, inclusive of all literature citations. Formulas, figures, and tables may also be added. Brief communications should include a Clinical Relevancy Statement, which is a brief statement allowing the reader to quickly identify the clinical applicability of the research presented in the article. Please see an example here.

Review

Reviews are complete, critical evaluations of the current state of knowledge in a particular subject area. In addition to presenting and discussing research accomplishments, reviews also highlight remaining challenges and possible future research developments in a particular field. Although reviews are generally commissioned by the Journal, unsolicited submissions are also welcome. Reviews should consist of a maximum of 20,000 words, including text, footnotes, literature citations, table, and legends. An unstructured abstract of 200-250 words is required.

Letter to the Editor

Letters to the Editor provide substantive comments on papers published in the Journal, or on topics of broad interest to the clinical nutrition and metabolic support community. Letters should be submitted no later than six weeks after publication of the paper discussed in the Letter. Letters to the Editor are generally no more than 500 words. All letters accepted for publication are edited, and the edited versions are reviewed by authors for approval prior to publication.

Tutorial

Tutorials are aimed at providing background knowledge to an audience unfamiliar with the topic covered in the article. Tutorials foster the cross-fertilization of knowledge among interdisciplinary teams of professionals involved in nutrition support; they may be used as educational tools for dietitians and clinical nutritionists working in collaboration with physicians and other medical practitioners.

Tutorials usually contain between 6,500 and 8,500 words; they may contain historical or biographical information, supplementary data including videos. Tutorials contain an unstructured abstract.

Authors of tutorial articles are required to provide:

a glossary of technical words or concepts specific to the subject matter covered in the tutorial
a Further Reading list (e.g., books, online courses)
a short bio of the author (about 200 words) that includes research interests (for single-author tutorials only)
a minimum of 2 color images to be used for the online version of the article (b/w versions will appear in the print version).

Commentary

Commentaries are short, narrowly focused articles usually commissioned by the journal. They provide critical or alternative viewpoints on key issues and generally consist of a discussion of an article recently published in the journal. Although commentaries are generally commissioned by the journal (invited commentaries), unsolicited submissions are also welcome.

Case Report/Case Series

Case Reports (either a single case or a case series) focus on nutrition management with a detailed description of diagnosis, nutrition intervention, findings, and outcome. They should offer new insight into the diagnosis or treatment of a disease. All case reports will be evaluated based on clinical interest and educational value.

Case Reports generally contain a maximum of 2,000 words. They include a concise review of literature, with a number of references generally ranging from 6 to 10. An unstructured abstract is welcome but not required.

Book Review

Book reviews are generally commissioned. Nevertheless, suggestions for books to review are welcome. Additionally, if you wish to review a book, please contact the JPEN Editorial Office at jpen@aspen.nutr.org .

Manuscript Submission

Manuscripts must be submitted online at http://mc.manuscriptcentral.com/jpen. There is no submission fee. Author instructions and forms are available at this site. Please note that your author account will be the same for JPEN as well as Nutrition in Clinical Practice (NCP), since authors submitting manuscripts for publication in JPEN are submitting their manuscript to the A.S.P.E.N. journals’ office database, accessible to the Editors of both A.S.P.E.N. journals.

Manuscripts are considered with the understanding that they have not been published previously, except in abstract form or as preliminary observations, and are not under consideration by another publication. Each submission is given unbiased consideration and evaluated without regard to the race, gender, ethnic origin or citizenship of the author(s). We treat all articles as confidential until they are published in the journal.

How to Prepare Your Manuscript

Format

Please use double-spacing throughout. Standard 10- or 12-pitch type and spacing are preferred to proportional spacing. Use generic names of drugs, unless the specific trade name of a drug is directly relevant to the discussion; when using the trade name, please provide the manufacturer and location. Limit the use of abbreviations in the title or abstract, and in the text, citing the term in full at its first use. When reporting experiments on human subjects, indicate that the procedures followed were in accordance with the ethical standards of the responsible institutional committee on human experimentation (see below). Protect the identities of all patients. When reporting experiments on animals, indicate approval by the institution’s animal care and use committee.

Title Page

On the title page, list each author’s full name, licensures, highest academic degrees, and affiliation. If an author’s affiliation has changed since the work was done, list the new affiliation as well. Also state the name and affiliation of any statistical reviewer consulted.

Abstract

Include an abstract of no more than 250 words. Abstracts for research submissions (original communications) should be structured, consisting of the following sections: (1) Background, state the problem or purpose of the study; (2) Materials and Methods, briefly describe the study design and variables; (3) Results, describe the main findings; and (4) Conclusion, emphasize new or important aspects of the study or observations. Abstracts for review articles do not need to be explicitly structured, but should address the relevance of the subject matter, methods of the review, major findings, and conclusions.

References

Please number references in the order they are mentioned in the text; do not alphabetize. In text, tables, and legends, identify references with superscript Arabic numerals. In listing references, follow AMA style, abbreviating names of journals according to Index Medicus. Please list all authors up to 6 names; if there are more than 6 authors, use “et al.” following the third author.

Examples:

1. Davis JT, Allen HD, Powers JD, Cohen DM. Population requirements for capitation planning in pediatric cardiac surgery. Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 1996;150:257–259.

2. Cole BR. Cystinosis and cystinuria. In: Jacobson HR, Striker GE, Klahr S, eds. The Principles and Practice of Nephrology. Philadelphia, PA: BC Decker Inc; 1991:396–403.

Tables

Double-space on separate sheets. Title all tables and number them in order of their citation in text. If a table must be continued, repeat the title on a second sheet, followed by ‘‘(cont.).’’

Figures and Illustrations

Images should be submitted in high resolution (file size 500K to 1M). Please number illustrations in order of their citation in text. Note that there will be restrictions and a charge to the authors for printing color illustrations. Legends for Illustrations: Double-space legends and be brief (maximum 40 words). Indicate magnification and stain used for photomicrographs.

Acknowledgements and Permissions

Acknowledge all illustrations and tables taken from other publications and submit the original publishers’ written permission to reprint in JPEN.

English Language

Appropriate use of the English language is a requirement for publication in the Journal. Authors who have difficulty writing in English may seek assistance with grammar and style to improve the clarity of their manuscript. Many companies provide substantive editing via the Web, including ScienceDocs, American Journal Experts, Bioscience Editing Solutions, BioScience Writers, Boston BioEdit, Editage, International Science Editing, SPi Professional Editing, and Write Science Right. Please note that neither A.S.P.E.N. nor JPEN takes responsibility for, or endorses, these services. Their use does not guarantee acceptance of a manuscript for publication.

Informed Consent

If the manuscript reports the results of an experimental investigation of human subjects, state formally that an appropriate institutional review board approved the project and/or that informed consent was obtained from subjects after the nature of the procedure(s) had been explained. Include a signed statement of consent from the patient (or, if the patient is a minor, from both parents or the legal guardian) with all identifiable photographs. Consent forms must contain a statement that photographs and information about a case may be published separately or together and that the patient’s name will not be disclosed.

Editing

Accepted manuscripts will be copy-edited according to JPEN style; authors may consult the 10th edition American Medical Association Manual of Style (2007) for general style guidelines. Galley proofs are sent to the corresponding author for approval. Authors are responsible for all statements made in their work, including changes made by the copy-editor and authorized by the corresponding author.

All accepted manuscripts become the property of A.S.P.E.N. and may not be published elsewhere without written permission from A.S.P.E.N.

Manuscript Checklist

Current and valid email address for each author listed on the manuscript.
Cover letter with postal and email addresses, telephone, and fax numbers for the corresponding author.
Title page with keywords and short title.
Structured abstract with the following headings: Background, Materials and Methods (for original communications), Results, and Conclusion
Clinical Relevancy Statement (for original and brief communications)
Glossary and Further Reading list (for tutorials)
References in proper JPEN format and in numerical order, with each cited in the text.
Consent forms for patient photographs.
Copies of permission letters granting the authors to reproduce previously published material (e.g. figures, tables) in their article