Guide for Authors

All manuscripts must be submitted as a Microsoft Word document using a provided template.
Articles should be submitted via the Submissions page.
If you see anything that is incorrect, outdated or could be improved in the guidance below, please notify chris.herold@msacl.org.

Table of Contents

Article Types and Templates

Word counts are estimates and do not include either the abstract, non-specialist summary, references, or table/figure legends.

Figure and Table counts are estimates and even with No limit are expected to be within reasonable limits. Tables and Figures are expected to be well-thought out and concise and not "data dumps".

You are REQUIRED to use the relevant Word document template (see below under each Article Type description) for structuring your manuscript.

Research Article
Short Report
Review
Mini-Review
Case Report
Guideline
Technical Report
Commentary
Opinion
Editorial
Perspective

Research Article

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Intended for presentation of original research. The information presented must be sufficiently detailed as to enable readers to both understand the material and permit replication of the work.

Research Article Specifications

Non-Specialist Summary: Yes

Abstract: Yes (structured); < 251 words

Length: ~2,000-5,000 words recommended

References: No limit

Authors: No limit

Tables &or Figures: up to 10

Supplementary Material: Permitted.

Short Report

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Intended for brief or short communications. A shorter format for presenting original research, such as single findings with no more than four (total) figures and/or tables.

Short Report Specifications

Non-Specialist Summary: Yes

Abstract: Yes (structured for original research, or unstructured for other); < 251 words

Length: <2,000 words

References: No limit

Authors: No limit

Tables &or Figures: 4

Supplementary Material: Permitted.

Review

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Reviews are intended to provide comprehensive coverage of a topic, including potential future directions.

Invited Only

Review Specifications

Non-Specialist Summary: Yes

Abstract: Yes (unstructured); < 251 words

Length: ~ 2,500 - 6,000 words.

References: No limit

Authors: No limit

Tables &or Figures: No limit

Supplementary Material: Permitted.

Mini-Review

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Mini-Reviews are intended to provide a high-level overview of a topic, including potential future directions.

Mini-Review Specifications

Non-Specialist Summary: Yes

Abstract: Yes (unstructured); < 251 words

Length: ~ 1,500 - 4,000 words.

References: No limit

Authors: No limit

Tables &or Figures: 10

Supplementary Material: Permitted.

Mini-Review Examples

The importance of clinical tissue imaging

A brief update on mass spectrometry applications to routine clinical endocrinology

Tandem mass spectrometry in the clinical laboratory: A tutorial overview

Case Report

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Case Reports present an instructive or unusual clinical or technical scenario with the goal of educating readers. Manuscripts should include a concise case description, followed by discussion and resolution. Authors are encouraged to conclude with up to five key learning points that highlight the case's relevance and implications.

Case Report Specifications

Non-Specialist Summary: No

Abstract: No

Length: 1500 - 2500 words.

References: No limit

Authors: No limit

Tables &or Figures: up to 6

Supplementary Material: Permitted.

Guideline

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Guidelines present consensus-driven, evidence-based recommendations that standardize best practices in clinical mass spectrometry, aiming to enhance reproducibility, quality, and patient impact across laboratories and institutions.

Invited Only

Guideline Specifications

Non-Specialist Summary: No

Abstract: Yes (unstructured); <251 words

Length: 1500 - 3000 words.

References: No limit

Authors: No limit

Tables &or Figures: up to 4

Supplementary Material: Permitted.

Technical Report

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Technical Reports introduce or refine a specific analytical method, instrument configuration, or workflow in clinical mass spectrometry, emphasizing practical implementation and reproducibility over exhaustive validation.

Technical Report Specifications

Non-Specialist Summary: Yes

Abstract: Yes (unstructured); <251 words

Length: 1500 - 3000 words.

References: No limit

Authors: No limit

Tables &or Figures: No limit

Supplementary Material: Permitted.

Commentary

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Commentaries are focused, expert-driven reflections that contextualize recent findings, trends, or controversies in clinical mass spectrometry, offering critical insight, constructive feedback on journal articles, and guidance to stimulate scholarly dialogue and future inquiry.

Commentary Specifications

Non-Specialist Summary: No

Abstract: No

Length: 1500 - 3000 words.

References: No limit

Authors: <5

Tables &or Figures: 1-2

Supplementary Material: No

Opinion

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Opinions provide a concise, evidence-informed commentary that presents a personal or expert perspective on emerging issues, methodologies, or policies in clinical mass spectrometry, aiming to provoke thoughtful discussion and advance the field.

Opinion Specifications

Non-Specialist Summary: No

Abstract: No

Length: < 1500 words.

References: No limit

Authors: <5

Tables &or Figures: 0

Supplementary Material: No

Editorial

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Editorials provide opinions and observations by an expert in the field about: (1) the subject matter or content of a scientific paper published in any journal, (2) an observation of the field, or (3) an expression by an expert of their judgment, guidance or advice.

Editorial Specifications

Non-Specialist Summary: No

Abstract: No

Length: < 1500 words.

References: No limit

Authors: <5

Tables &or Figures: 0

Supplementary Material: No

Perspective

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Perspectives are contributions that illuminate the human side of scientific work. Authored by individuals whose experiences span disciplines, career stages, and lived realities, these essays offer candid reflections on the values, challenges, and turning points that shape clinical science.

Pre-Approval Recommended

Perspective Specifications

Non-Specialist Summary: No

Abstract: Yes (unstructured); < 251 words

Length: No limit

References: No limit

Authors: No limit

Tables&or Figures: No limit

Supplemental Data: Permitted.

Purpose:

To offer personal insight, reflection, or commentary on scientific practice, career development, or community values.
To highlight lived experience in a way that complements empirical research—especially around mentorship, resilience, innovation, or ethical dilemmas.
To stimulate dialogue across disciplines by showcasing diverse viewpoints, challenges, and aspirations.

Tone: Perspectives are meant to illuminate the human side of scientific work. We welcome writing that is candid, thoughtful, and clear -- whether you're reflecting on a pivotal moment, a systemic challenge, or a quiet insight that changed your approach. The tone should be personal but not self-indulgent, critical but not combative, and always in service of deeper understanding.

Examples:

Author Type	Why They're Valuable	Sample Themes
Established researchers	Can reflect on paradigm shifts, career arcs, or institutional change	“What I wish I knew at 35”; “How metabolomics changed my view of biology”
Early-career scientists	Offer fresh insight into training, identity, and navigating academia	“Learning to say no”; “Imposter syndrome in the lab”
Underrepresented voices	Bring critical perspective on equity, access, and systemic barriers	“Publishing while Black”; “Disability and fieldwork”
Educators and mentors	Can speak to pedagogy, mentorship, and shaping scientific culture	“Teaching reproducibility”; “Mentoring across generations”
Editors, reviewers, and policy leaders	Offer meta-perspectives on publishing, peer review, and ethics	“Why I stopped reviewing anonymously”; “The future of open access”
Interdisciplinary collaborators	Enrich the journal's scope with cross-sector insight	“What engineers taught me about metabolomics”; “Working with clinicians”

Preparing to Submit

Submission Checklist

Review the Submission Prepration Checklist to verify you are not missing any key components or formatting requirements.

You will need to follow all of the specifications listed below, but the Submission Checklist is a good touch point to make sure you aren't missing any critical elements.

Submission Declaration

When authors submit an article to JMSACL it is implied that:

the work described has not been published previously except in the form of a preprint, an abstract, a published lecture, academic thesis or registered report.
the article is not under consideration for publication elsewhere.
the article's publication is approved by all authors and tacitly or explicitly by the responsible authorities where the work was carried out.
if accepted, the article will not be published elsewhere in the same form, in English or in any other language, including electronically without the written consent of the copyright-holder.

To verify compliance with our journal publishing policies, we may check your manuscript with our screening tools that include Large Language Models (LLMs) under subscription -- your data will not be used by the model for training.

Additional Documents and Forms

These additional documents will need to be completed separately and/or and included with your submission.

Ethics and IRB Protocol Assessment form

Obtain Permission for Copyrighted Works

If excerpts from other copyrighted works are included in your article, you must obtain written permission from the copyright owners and credit the source(s) within your article using JMSACL’s permission request and license form (Word).

Cover Letter

A cover letter is NOT required for NEW submissions.

For REVISED submissions, a cover letter should summarize any changes made to the manuscript based on the authors' own initiative or in response to reviewer comments.

Suggesting Reviewers

You are required to suggest from 3-6 reviewers as part of the submission process.

Editorial Policies

Open Access

The Journal of Mass Spectrometry and Advances in the Clinical Lab (JMSACL) is a fully open access journal. All articles immediately and permanently free for everyone to read and download, copy and distribute.

Licensing

We offer authors one user license, which defines the permitted reuse of articles.

Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY)
- Allows users to: distribute and copy the article; create extracts, abstracts, and other revised versions, adaptations or derivative works of or from an article (such as a translation); include in a collective work (such as an anthology); and text or data mine the article. These uses are permitted even for commercial purposes, provided the user: gives appropriate credit to the author(s) (with a link to the formal publication through the relevant DOI); includes a link to the license; indicates if changes were made; and does not represent the author(s) as endorsing the adaptation of the article or modify the article in such a way as to damage the authors' honor or reputation.

Peer Review

JMSACL is peer-reviewed. We follow a single anonymized review process. Your submission will initially be assessed by our editors to determine suitability for publication in this journal. If your submission is deemed suitable, it will be sent to a minimum of two reviewers for an independent expert assessment of the scientific quality. The decision as to whether your article is accepted or rejected will be taken by our editors. The editorial decision is final.

Reviewers are encouraged to be familiar with the document Ethical Guidelines for Peer Reviewers published by COPE.

When reviewers agree to assess a paper, we consider this a commitment to review subsequent revisions. However, editors will not send a resubmitted paper back to the reviewers if it seems that the authors have not made a serious attempt to address the criticisms.

Our editors are NOT involved in making decisions about papers which:

they have written themselves.
have been written by family members or colleagues.
relate to products or services in which they have an interest.

Any such submissions will be subject to the journal's usual procedures and peer review will be handled independently of the editor involved and their research group.

Special Issues and Article Collections

The peer review process for special issues and article collections follows the same process as outlined above for regular submissions, except, a GUEST editor will send the submissions out to the reviewers and may recommend a decision to the journal editor. The journal editor oversees the peer review process of all special issues and article collections to ensure the standards of publishing ethics and responsiveness are respected and is responsible for the final decision regarding acceptance or rejection of articles.

Authorship

Authors are expected to fulfil the criteria presented in Transparency in authors’ contributions and responsibilities to promote integrity in scientific publication.

Each author is expected to have:

made substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data; or the creation of new software used in the work; or have drafted the work or substantively revised it
approved the submitted version (and any substantially modified version that involves the author's contribution to the study);
agreed both to be personally accountable for the author's own contributions and to ensure that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work, even ones in which the author was not personally involved, are appropriately investigated, resolved, and the resolution documented in the literature.

JMSACL reserves the right not to consider non-primary research manuscripts that have been authored by medical writers. Writing assistance should be acknowledged in all article types.

At submission, the corresponding author must include written permission from the authors for mention of any unpublished material cited in the manuscript (e.g., others' data, in press manuscripts, personal communications or work in preparation). The corresponding author also must clearly identify at submission any material within the manuscript (such as figures) that has been published previously elsewhere and provide written permission from authors of the prior work and/or publishers, as appropriate, for the re-use of such material.

After acceptance, the corresponding author is responsible for the accuracy of all content in the proof, including the names of co-authors, addresses and affiliations.

After publication, the corresponding author is the point of contact for queries about the published paper. It is their responsibility to inform all co-authors of any matters arising in relation to the published paper and to ensure such matters are dealt with promptly. Authors of published material have a responsibility to inform the journal immediately if they become aware of any aspects that requires correction.

Any changes to the author list after submission, such as a change in the order of the authors or the deletion or addition of authors, must be approved by every author. Changes of authorship by adding or deleting authors, and/or changes in Corresponding Author, and/or changes in the sequence of authors are not permitted after acceptance of a manuscript.

To improve transparency and unambiguous attribution of scholarly contributions, corresponding authors of published papers must provide their Open Researcher and Contributor Identifier (ORCID); co-authors are encouraged to provide their ORCiD.

For transparency, JMSACL requires corresponding authors to provide co-author contributions to the manuscript using the relevant CRediT roles. The CRediT taxonomy includes 14 different roles describing each contributor's specific contribution to the scholarly output.

All authors agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work to ensure that the questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

Changes to Authorship

The editors of this journal generally will not consider changes to authorship once a manuscript has been submitted. It is important that authors carefully consider the authorship list and order of authors and provide a definitive author list at original submission.

The policy of this journal around authorship changes:

All authors must be listed in the manuscript and their details entered into the submission system.
Any addition, deletion or rearrangement of author names in the authorship list should only be made prior to acceptance, and only if approved by the journal editor.
Requests to change authorship should be made by the corresponding author, who must provide the reason for the request to the journal editor with written confirmation from all authors, including any authors being added or removed, that they agree with the addition, removal or rearrangement.
Only in exceptional circumstances will the journal editor consider the addition, deletion or rearrangement of authors post acceptance.
Publication of the manuscript may be paused while a change in authorship request is being considered.
Any authorship change requests approved by the journal editor will result in a corrigendum if the manuscript has already been published.

Competing Interests

Application to Authors

We require that all submissions declare any Competing Interests (CI) with information for all authors on any related interests, including financial interests that might be perceived as relevant. The authors are required to include these within the submitted manuscript towards the end of the document in a section entitled "Competing Interests".

Application to Reviewers

We require that all peer-reviewers inform the editors of any related interests, including financial interests that might be perceived as relevant. Editors will consider these statements when weighing reviewers' recommendations.

Application to Editors

All journal editorial staff are required to declare to any competing interests — financial or otherwise — that might influence, or be perceived to influence, their editorial practices.

Application to Publishing Policy

JMSACL's strict policy is that editorial independence, decisions and content should not be compromised by commercial or financial interests, or by any specific arrangements with advertising clients or sponsors. Our policy is to disclose such arrangements if there is any risk of a perception of compromise.

Image Manipulation

Digital images submitted with a manuscript for review should be minimally processed. A certain degree of image processing is acceptable for publication, but the final image must correctly represent the original data and conform to community standards. Any manipulation of images for the purpose of deception or fraud will be seen as scientific ethical abuse. Editors may use software to screen images for manipulation.

Authors must adhere to this journal’s policy for graphical images:

No specific feature within an image may be enhanced, obscured, moved, removed or introduced.
Adjustments of brightness, contrast, or color balance are acceptable if, and only as long as, they do not obscure or eliminate any information present in the original image.
Nonlinear adjustments such as changes to gamma settings MUST be disclosed in the figure legend.
We do not permit the use of generative AI or AI-assisted tools to create or alter images in submitted manuscripts.

To verify compliance with the above, this journal may send your images to a third-party service who screen for image irregularities. Our editors may ask you to provide original data or images if any questions arise as a result of the screening. The final decision as to whether images are acceptable will be taken by our editors.

Authors are encouraged to carefully check all images before submission and to connect all the data in any figures to the original, unprocessed data.

Original Image Requests and Retention

Editors may request the unprocessed data files to help in manuscript evaluation during the peer review process; if these data are unavailable upon request, we may need to halt the peer review process until the issues are satisfactorily resolved. We may also request unprocessed data when responding to post-publication issues that may arise with published papers. We recommend retaining unprocessed data and metadata files after publication, ideally archiving data in perpetuity.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

Scientific Writing

Where authors use generative artificial intelligence (AI) and AI-assisted technologies in the writing process, application of the technology should be done with human oversight and control, and authors should carefully review and edit the result, as AI can generate authoritative-sounding output that can be incorrect, incomplete or biased. AI and AI-assisted technologies should not be listed as an author or co-author, or be cited as an author. Authorship implies responsibilities and tasks that can only be attributed to and performed by humans.

Language Editing

Use of language editing services, AI or human, is recommended to improve the quality of your submission. AI models are effective at improving grammar and identifying errors for those who do not have a strong mastery of the English language.

Image Creation or Manipulation

The use of Generative AI or AI-assisted tools to create or alter images in submitted manuscripts is NOT permitted.

The only exception is if the use of AI or AI-assisted tools is part of the research design or methods (for example, in the field of biomedical imaging). If this is the case, such use must be described in a reproducible manner in the methods section, including the name of the model or tool, version and extension numbers, and manufacturer.

The use of generative AI in the production of cover art may in some cases be allowed, if the author obtains prior permission from the journal editor and publisher, can demonstrate that all necessary rights have been cleared for the use of the relevant material, and ensures that there is correct content attribution.

The use of generative AI or AI-assisted tools in the production of artwork such as for graphical abstracts is not permitted.

Overlapping Submissions to Other Journals

When you submit a manuscript to JMSACL its content must not significantly overlap with any other papers from you or your co-authors’ groups that are published, under consideration or in press at other journals, not including conference abstracts or preprints.

Preprints

JMSACL encourages posting of preprints of original research manuscripts on preprint servers of the authors’ choice, authors’ or institutional websites, and open communications between researchers whether on community preprint servers or preprint commenting platforms.

Preprints are defined as an author’s version of a research manuscript prior to formal peer review at a journal, which is deposited on a public server (as described in Preprints for the life sciences. Science 352, 899–901; 2016); preprints may be posted at any time during the peer review process. Posting of preprints is not considered prior publication and will not jeopardize consideration at JMSACL.

Authors should disclose details of preprint posting, including DOI and licensing terms, upon submission of the manuscript or at any other point during consideration at JMSACL. Once the preprint is published, it is the author’s responsibility to ensure that the preprint record is updated with a publication reference, including the DOI and a URL link to the published version of the article on the journal website.

Authors may choose any license of their choice for the preprint including Creative Commons licenses. The type of CC-license chosen will affect how the preprint may be shared and reused.

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

A Digital Object Identifier (DOI) is allocated to each publication making it fully citable and searchable by title, author name(s) and the full text.

Digital Archiving

All published manuscripts are digitally archived through PubMed Central and the CLOCKSS program.

CrossMark

CrossMark is a multi-publisher initiative to provide a standard way for readers to locate the current version of a piece of content. By applying the CrossMark logo JMSACL is committed to maintaining the content it publishes and to alerting readers to changes if and when they occur. Clicking on the CrossMark logo will tell you the current status of a document and may also give you additional publication record information about the document.

Ethics

Ethics and Institutional Review Board Worksheet

Corresponding authors must complete and submit the Ethics and IRB Protocol Assessment form.

Use of Inclusive Language

Inclusive language acknowledges diversity, conveys respect to all people, is sensitive to differences, and promotes equal opportunities. Authors should ensure that their work uses inclusive language throughout and contains nothing which might imply one individual is superior to another on the grounds of:

age
gender
race
ethnicity
culture
sexual orientation
disability or health condition

We recommend avoiding the use of descriptors about personal attributes unless they are relevant and valid. Write for gender neutrality with the use of plural nouns ("clinicians, patients/clients") as default. Wherever possible, avoid using "he, she," or "he/she."

No assumptions should be made about the beliefs of readers and writing should be free from bias, stereotypes, slang, reference to dominant culture and/or cultural assumptions.

These guidelines are meant as a point of reference to help you identify appropriate language but are by no means exhaustive or definitive.

Studies in Humans and Animals

If the work involves the use of human subjects, the author should ensure that the work described has been carried out in accordance with The Code of Ethics of the World Medical Association (Declaration of Helsinki) for experiments involving humans. The manuscript should be in line with the Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals and aim for the inclusion of representative human populations (sex, age and ethnicity) as per those recommendations. The terms sex and gender should be used correctly.

The author should ensure that the manuscript contains a statement that all procedures were performed in compliance with relevant laws and institutional guidelines and have been approved by the appropriate institutional committee(s). This statement should contain the date and reference number of the ethical approval(s) obtained. Authors should also include a statement in the manuscript that informed consent was obtained for experimentation with human subjects. The privacy rights of human subjects must always be observed.

The journal will not accept manuscripts that contain data derived from unethically sourced organs or tissue, including from executed prisoners or prisoners of conscience, consistent with recommendations by Global Rights Compliance on Mitigating Human Rights Risks in Transplantation Medicine. For all studies that use human organs or tissues authors must provide sufficient evidence that they were procured in line with WHO Guiding Principles on Human Cell, Tissue and Organ Transplantation. The source of the organs or tissues used in clinical research must be transparent and traceable. Authors of manuscripts describing organ transplantation must additionally declare within the manuscript:

that autonomous consent free from coercion was obtained from the donor(s) or their next of kin; and
that organs/tissues were not sourced from executed prisoners or prisoners of conscience.

All animal experiments should comply with the ARRIVE guidelines and should be carried out in accordance with the U.K. Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act, 1986 and associated guidelines, EU Directive 2010/63/EU for animal experiments, or the National Research Council's Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals and the authors should clearly indicate in the manuscript that such guidelines have been followed. The sex of animals must be indicated, and where appropriate, the influence (or association) of sex on the results of the study.

Informed Consent and Patient Details

Studies on patients or volunteers (including organ/tissue donors) require informed consent, which should be documented in the paper. Appropriate consents, permissions and releases must be obtained where an author wishes to include case details or other personal information or images of patients and any other individuals in an Elsevier publication. Written consents must be retained by the author, but copies should not be provided to the journal.

Only if specifically requested by the journal in exceptional circumstances (for example if a legal issue arises) the author must provide copies of the consents or evidence that such consents have been obtained.

Unless the author has written permission from the patient (or, where applicable, the next of kin), the personal details of any patient included in any part of the article and in any supplementary materials (including all illustrations and videos) must be removed before submission.

Race, Ethnicity and Racism

Race and ethnicity are sociopolitical constructs. Humans do not have biological races, at least based on modern biological criteria for the identification of geographical races or subspecies.

Studies that use the constructs of race and/or ethnicity should explicitly motivate their use. Race/ethnicity should not be used as proxies for other variables – for example, socioeconomic status or income. For studies involving data collected from human participants, researchers should explain:

who provided the classification terms (the participants, the researchers or third parties);
what the classification terms are;
how racial/ethnic identity was determined (by the participants, the researchers or third parties).

This information should be provided in the Materials and Methods section of your manuscript.

Biomedical studies should not conflate genetic ancestry (a biological construct) and race/ethnicity (sociopolitical constructs): although race/ethnicity are important constructs for the study of disparities in health outcomes and health care, empirically established genetic ancestry is the appropriate construct for the study of the biological aetiology of diseases or differences in treatment response. If race/ethnicity are used in the context of disease etiology due to the unavailability of genetic ancestry data, this should be done with caution and clarification.

Racism is scientifically unfounded and ethically untenable. Editors reserve the right to request modifications to (or correct or otherwise amend post-publication), and in severe cases refuse publication of (or retract post-publication), racist content. Editors use the guiding criteria I-IV set out in the section Research on human populations (see above) to identify content that potentially undermines the equal dignity and rights of humans of all races/ethnicities.

Sex, Gender (identity/presentation), and Sexual Orientation

Researchers are encouraged to follow the ‘Sex and Gender Equity in Research – SAGER – guidelines’ and to include sex and gender considerations where relevant (overview can be found here). We recommend consulting the full guidelines when designing research studies and before submission. These guidelines apply to studies involving humans, vertebrate animals and cell lines.

Authors should use the terms sex (biological attribute) and gender (shaped by social and cultural circumstances) carefully in order to avoid confusing both terms.

Sex generally refers to a set of biological attributes that are associated with physical and physiological features such as chromosomal genotype, hormonal levels, internal and external anatomy. A binary sex categorization (male/female) is usually designated at birth ("sex assigned at birth") and is in most cases based solely on the visible external anatomy of a newborn. In reality, sex categorizations include people who are intersex/have differences of sex development (DSD).

Gender generally refers to socially constructed roles, behaviors and identities of women, men and gender-diverse people that occur in a historical and cultural context and may vary across societies and over time. Gender influences how people view themselves and each other, how they behave and interact and how power is distributed in society.

The following recommendations and requirements (adapted from the SAGER guidelines) apply to studies under consideration at JMSACL involving human participants and vertebrate animals, where relevant to the topic of study. We also urge responsible communication of research findings on sex and gender differences so as to avoid inadvertent perpetuation of harmful gender stereotypes.

Title and/or abstract should indicate when the findings apply to only one sex or gender
describe whether sex and gender were considered in the study design, whether sex and/or gender of participants was determined based on self-report or assigned (and methodology used).
data should be reported disaggregated for sex and gender where this information has been collected and consent has been obtained for reporting and sharing individual-level data; disaggregated numbers for individual experiments must be provided in the source data as appropriate.
if sex- and gender-based analyses have been performed a priori, results should be reported regardless of positive or negative outcome. Authors should refrain from conducting post-hoc sex- and gender-based analysis if the study design is insufficient (for example, low sample size) to enable meaningful conclusions.
If no sex- and gender-based analyses have been performed, authors should justify reasons for lack of analysis.
Sex and gender-based analyses (SGBA) should be integrated into research design when research involves or pertains to humans, animals or eukaryotic cells. This should be done in accordance with any requirements set by funders or sponsors and best practices within a field.
Sex and/or gender dimensions of the research should be addressed within the article or declared as a limitation to the generalizability of the research.
Definitions of sex and/or gender applied should be explicitly stated to enhance the precision, rigor and reproducibility of the research and to avoid ambiguity or conflation of terms and the constructs to which they refer.

Studies Involving Vulnerable Groups

For manuscripts reporting studies involving vulnerable groups where there is the potential for coercion or where consent may not have been fully informed, extra care will be taken by the editor. The manuscript may be referred to an internal editorial oversight group for further scrutiny. Consent must be obtained for all forms of personally identifiable data including biomedical, clinical, and biometric data. Documentary evidence of consent must be supplied if requested.

Human Biospecimens

For describing human biospecimens, we recommend referring to the BRISQ reporting guidelines (Biospecimen Reporting for Improved Study Quality) and ensuring at least Tier 1 characteristics are provided (doi: 10.1002/cncy.20147).

Human Transplantation Studies

Authors must also include a statement in their manuscript attesting that no organs/tissues were procured from prisoners and providing details of the institution(s)/clinic(s)/department(s) via which organs/tissues were procured while taking care to not violate privacy of donors. For retrospective transplantation studies, authors must include a testament confirming that informed consent was obtained from all participants or that the need for informed consent was waived by the ethics committee/institutional review board.

Reporting Standards and Availability of Data, Materials, Code and Protocols

An inherent principle of publication is that others should be able to replicate and build upon the authors' published claims. A condition of publication in JMSACL is that authors are required to make materials, data, code, and associated protocols promptly available to readers without undue qualifications. Any restrictions on the availability of materials or information must be disclosed to the editors at the time of submission. Any restrictions must also be disclosed in the submitted manuscript.

After publication, readers who encounter refusal by the authors to comply with these policies should contact the chief editor of the journal. In cases where editors are unable to resolve a complaint, the journal may refer the matter to the authors' funding institution and/or publish a formal statement of correction, attached online to the publication, stating that readers have been unable to obtain necessary materials to replicate the findings.

Document Format

Please format your submission documents according to the guidance below.

All submissions should be format as a WORD document (.doc or .docx).
Do NOT format as LaTeX or PDF. It makes it difficult to copyedit.
Number all pages continuously.
Number all lines continuously (do not restart on new page).
Font: Arial (Preferred), Calibri, or Times New Roman
Font Size: 11 or 12 pt
Line Spacing: 1.5
Single-column

Content Format

Article Sections

Divide your article into clearly defined and numbered sections. Number subsections 1.1 (then 1.1.1, 1.1.2, ... up to 5 levels), then 1.2, etc.
Use the numbering format when cross-referencing within your article. Do not just refer to "the text."
You may give subsections a brief heading. Headings should appear on a separate line.
Do not include the article abstract within section numbering.

Footnotes

Footnotes are not permitted.

Nomenclature and Units

Units of time should be abbreviated only when used with numerals (e.g., “6 h,” “48 h”), but spelled out in general prose (e.g., “after several hours”). Use “h” for hours, “min” for minutes, and “s” for seconds.

All measurements should follow internationally accepted conventions and be expressed in SI units. If non‑SI quantities are used, their SI equivalents must also be given.

Italicize gene symbols and use the approved gene nomenclature where it is available. For human genes, please refer to the HUGO Gene Nomenclature Committee (HGNC). Protein products are not italicized.

Citing the Supplier for an Item in Materials & Methods

When listing materials in the Materials and Methods section it is also necessary to include the supplier's name. You can either: (i) describe where the item was obtained and then include the location in parentheses, or (ii) list the supplier and location in parentheses after the item's name.

For example (i):

Formic acid was obtained from Sigma-Aldrich (St. Louis, MO).

For example (ii):

Formic acid (Sigma-Aldrich, St. Louis, MO) was used.

Figures

Please observe the following guidelines for figures and graphs. Standardize the format for multiple graphs used in a document.

Within the Document

Do not abbreviate the term "Figure(s)".
Capitalize the term "Figure(s)".
Parenthetically embrace Figure with round brackets ... (Figure 1). Do NOT use square brackets [ ].
Embed Figures in the manuscript file.
- Although figures larger than 5 MB should be provided in separate source files.
Include captions with your Figure(s).
Captions must be editable (not embedded as images).

Within the Figure

Use a sans-serif font (Arial, Helvetica, Calibri are preferred).
A 10 pt font size is recommended but can range from 8 pt to 12 pt.
Avoid using colored type.
Simple solid or open symbols reduce well.
Label graphs on the ordinate and abscissa with the parameter or variable being measured, the units of measure in parentheses, and the scale. Scales with large or small numbers should be presented as powers of 10.
Avoid the use of light lines. Instead, use black-and-white, hatched, and cross-hatched designs for emphasis.
Capitalize only the first letter in a label, not every word (however, proper nouns should always be capitalized).
Units should be included in parentheses. Use SI notation. If there is room, write out variables – e.g., Pressure (MPa), Temperature (K). Seconds should be abbreviated as “s”, not “sec”; minutes should be abbreviated as “min”; and hours should be abbreviated as "h".
Variables are always set in italics or as plain Greek letters (e.g., P, T, µ). The rest of the text in the figure should be plain or bold text.
In a color figure, type atop a color region should be in bold face.
When figures are assembled from multiple gels or micrographs, a line or space should indicate the border between two original images.
Use leading zeros on all decimals – e.g., 0.3, 0.55 – and report only significant digits.
Use capital letters for part labels in multipart figures – A, B, C, etc. These should be 10 pt and bold in the final figure. When possible, place part labels in the upper left corner of each figure part; if a part is an image, set labels inside the perimeter so as not to waste space.
Avoid subpart labels within a figure part. Instead, maintain the established sequence of part labels [e.g., use A, B, C, D, E instead of A, B, C(a), C(b), C(c)]. If use of subpart labels is unavoidable, use lowercase letters (a, b, c), prime symbols, or lowercase Roman numerals (i, ii, iii). Use numbers (1, 2, 3) only to represent a time sequence of images.
When reproducing images that include labels with illegible computer-generated type (e.g., units for scale bars), omit such labels and present the information in the caption instead.
Sequences may be reduced considerably, so the typeface in the original should be clear. There should be about 130 characters and spaces per line for a sequence occupying the full width of the printed page and about 84 characters and spaces per line for a sequence occupying two columns.

Tables

Within the Document

Tables should be embedded inside the main DOCX file. Tables must be editable, cell-based objects.
Do not abbreviate the term "Table(s)".
Capitalize the term "Table(s)".
Embed Tables in the manuscript file (if they are too large then upload them to a file sharing service and reference with a DOI)
Include Captions with your Table(s).
Captions must be editable (no images).

Within the Table

If your table has a complicated structure, the best option may be to submit your table as a figure instead.
Use only separate cells, ordered lists, or unordered lists, or to separate content within the same cell into individual lines - do NOT use spaces, tabs, html tags, or line breaks inside a table.
Symbols indicating statistical significance should appear in the same cell as the value and should not have their own column.
To highlight individual values in tables, you may use boldface type, italic type, or a single color of shading. Do not use multiple colors of shading, underline, or font size to highlight values in tables. Do not use color to indicate meaning.
Images or figures cannot be placed inside of tables—they must be formatted separately.
Each table must have an accompanying title that is descriptive (for example, “Table 1. The effect of age on income” rather than “Table 1”).
Tables should be numbered consecutively as they appear using Arabic numbers. Tables should not be numbered 1A, 1B, etc.
Tables with multiple sections must have the same number of columns across all sections. If that isn’t possible, you can divide the table into multiple tables. Do not insert tables within tables or cells within cells if you want the table formatted as tabular data - otherwise, export the table as a figure.
All text should be normally readable (not sideways).

Images

Acceptable file types include EPS, PDF, TIFF or JPG (not optimized for web).

Please DO NOT supply files that are optimized for screen or web use (e.g., GIF, BMP, PICT, WPG); the resolution is too low.

Use a minimum of 300 dpi. For color or grayscale photographs (halftones): always use a minimum of 300 dpi. For bitmapped line drawings use a minimum of 1000 dpi. For combinations of bitmapped line/half-tone (color or grayscale) a minimum of 500 dpi is required.

Please embed your artwork, in context, within the body of your manuscript and also include a separate file for each image.

Within EPS files please be sure to outline the text.

Within PDFs, if the text was not previously outlined in an AI or EPS file, please be sure to embed the fonts used.

Color Artwork Accessibility

Please ensure that color images are accessible to all, including those with impaired color vision.

Learn more about color and web accessibility

Math Formulae

Submit math equations as editable text and not as images.
Present simple formulae in line with normal text where possible and use the solidus (/) instead of a horizontal line for small fractional terms, e.g., X/Y.
In principle, variables are to be presented in italics.
Powers of e are often more conveniently denoted by exp.
Number consecutively any equations that have to be displayed separately from the text (if referred to explicitly in the text)

Content Detail

Capitalization Rules
Header Type	Title → Title Case Lone Header → Title Case Level 1 Header → Title Case Level 2–5 Headers → Sentence case
Title Case Rules	Capitalize all major words in the title/heading Capitalize both parts of a hyphenated major word (e.g., Self-Report, High-Quality) Do not capitalize articles, prepositions, or conjunctions after a hyphen (e.g., Step-by-Step Guide) If a word starts with a prefix (e.g., Mid-, Anti-, Hyper-), only the first part is capitalized (e.g., Mid-month, Anti-war) Do not capitalize articles, prepositions (regardless of length), and coordinating conjunctions The word "to" in an infinitive remains lowercase (e.g., How to Write a Paper)
Sentence Case Rules	Capitalize the first word of a sentence or heading This is an example of sentence case. Capitalize proper nouns (names, places, organizations) The study was conducted at Harvard University Dr. Smith led the research team Lowercase all other words, including articles, conjunctions, and prepositions Exploring trends in science and technology Capitalize the first word after punctuation in headings (e.g., colons, em dashes) Research findings: A new approach to data analysis Key considerations – Understanding the impact of AI

Title Page

Please include the following details on the title page:

Article Title. Should be concise and informative and, where possible, a statement of the conclusion presented in the manuscript. Avoid abbreviations and formulae unless they are established and widely understood (see Standard Abbreviations).

For Corrigenda and Editorials, the title of your manuscript should have the following format:
- 'Corrigendum: Title of Original Article'
- 'Editorial: Title of Research Topic'

Any running title should be a maximum of five (5) words in length.

Author Names. Provide the given (first) name and family (last) name of each author. The order should match the order in the submission system.

Equally Contributing Authors should be marked with a ^‡ (double dagger, superscript). Please use the appropriate statement(s) to indicate equal contribution:
- For Equal Contribution USE 'These authors contributed equally to this work.'
- For Shared First Authorship USE 'These authors share first authorship.'
- For Shared Senior Authorship USE 'These authors share senior authorship.'
- For Shared Last Authorship USE 'These authors share last authorship.'
- For Equal Contribution and First Authorship USE 'These authors contributed equally to this work and share first authorship.'
- For Equal Contribution and Senior Authorship USE 'These authors contributed equally to this work and share senior authorship.'
- For Equal Contribution and Last Authorship USE 'These authors contributed equally to this work and share last authorship.'

Consortium/Group Authorship should be listed in the manuscript with the other author(s). In cases where authorship is retained by the consortium/group, the consortium/group should be listed as an author separated by a comma or 'and'. The consortium/group name will appear in the author list, in the citation, and in the copyright. If provided, the consortium/group members will be listed in a separate section at the end of the article. For the collaborators of the consortium/group to be indexed in PubMed, they do not have to be inserted in the JMSACL submission system individually. However, in the manuscript itself, provide a section with the name of the consortium/group as the heading followed by the list of collaborators, so they can be tagged accordingly and indexed properly. Example: John Smith, Barbara Smith and The Collaborative Working Group. In cases where work is presented by the author(s) on behalf of a consortium/group, it should be included in the author list separated with the wording 'for' or 'on behalf of.' The consortium/group will not retain authorship and will only appear in the author list.

Affiliations. Add affiliation addresses, referring to WHERE the work was carried out (not the current affiliation or location), below the author names. Indicate affiliations using a superscript lower-case letter immediately after the author's name and in front of the appropriate address. Provide the full postal address of each affiliation, including the country name and, if available, the email address of each author.

Corresponding Author. The corresponding author(s) should be marked with an asterisk (*) in the author list and their name, contact email, physical work address and contact phone number (optional) placed below the Affiliations list.

Example:

*Corresponding Author: Denise Maximus (dmax@iupscience.edu) 2402 Framingham Court, North Carolina, 84211 USA +1-934-614-1521

The corresponding author is responsible for handling correspondence for the article at all stages of the review and publication process, as well as post-publication.

Present/permanent Address. If an author has moved since the work described in the article was carried out, or the author was visiting during that time, a "present address" (or "permanent address") can be indicated by a footnote to the author's name. The address where the author carried out the work must be retained as their main affiliation address. Use superscript Arabic numerals (e.g., 1,2,3) for such footnotes.

Keywords. Provide 5 to 7 keywords for indexing purposes. Keywords should be written in English. Avoid keywords consisting of multiple words (using "and" or "of"). Only use abbreviations in keywords if they are firmly established in the field.

Abbreviations. Include a list of non-standard abbreviations after the keywords and before the abstract. List in column format, bold abbreviation. See example below.

Example:
AHSG: Alpha-2-HS-glycoprotein
ALB: Albumin
APOA1: Apolipoprotein A-I
B2M: Beta-2-Microglobulin
CKMB: Creatine Kinase-MB Isoenzyme
CRP: C-Reactive Protein
CYP3A4: Cytochrome P450 3A4
HbA1c: Hemoglobin A1c
IL6: Interleukin-6
LC-MS/MS: Liquid Chromatography–Tandem Mass Spectrometry
TTR: Transthyretin

Abbreviations should be avoided unless the word they represents appears multiple times. They must be defined upon first use in the abstract and then again in the main text.

Non-Specialist Summary

As part of most manuscript submissions, you will be required to summarize your work in 750 characters (including spaces) that should be written avoiding any technical language or non-standard acronyms. The aim should be to convey the meaning and importance of this research to a non-expert.

The Non-Specialist Summary should be placed immediately prior to the Abstract (if required).

Abstract

Depending on the Article Type you are submitting, you may be required to provide an abstract. Your abstract should be concise and not exceed 250 words.

Structured Abstracts are required for Research Articles and Short Reports that involve original research (not Technical Reports, unstructured abstract required).

Structured Abstracts should include the following sub-sections:

Introduction
Objectives (optional)
Methods
Results
Discussion or Conclusion

Other article types do not require a structured abstract, unless the author thinks it appropriate.

Some guidelines:

Abstracts must be able to stand alone, as abstracts are often presented separately from the article.
References are not permitted.
Avoid non-standard abbreviations (see Standard Abbreviations). If any are essential to include, ensure they are defined within your abstract at first mention.

Numbered Sections

The following sections should be numbered.

Please use the appropriate template for your submission type.

The manuscript should be organized by headings and subheadings. You may insert up to 5 heading levels into your manuscript (i.e.,: 3.2.2.1.2 Heading title example for fifth level).

For Original Research articles, or Short Reports presenting original research, please organize your manuscript in the following sections.

1. Introduction

Succinct, no subheadings.

2. Materials and Methods

This section may be divided by subheadings and should contain sufficient detail so that when read in conjunction with cited references, all procedures can be repeated. For experiments reporting results on animal or human subject research, an ethics/IRB approval statement should be included in this section (for further information, see the Ethics and IRB Worksheet).

3. Results

This section may be divided by subheadings. Results should provide details on the outcome of your experiments.

4. Discussion

This section may be divided by subheadings. This section should:

cover the key findings of the study,
discuss any prior research related to the subject to place the novelty of the discovery in the appropriate context,
discuss the potential shortcomings and limitations on their interpretations,
discuss their integration into the current understanding of the problem and how this advances the current views,
speculate on the future direction of the research, and
freely postulate theories that could be tested in the future.

5. Conclusion

This section is OPTIONAL.

Supplementary Material

This section is not required if you do not have supplementary material. If it is included, it should NOT be numbered and it should immediately follow the numbered sections.

Supplementary Material should ONLY be used for information or work that is: (i) supportive, but is ALSO peripheral and detracts from the flow of the manuscript, or (ii) too lengthy to fit in a standard article format.

Supplementary Material should NOT be used as a reference document for information that should be in the manuscript, including materials and methods, and relevant figures and tables.

Declarations and Disclosures

Do NOT apply the heading of Declarations and Disclosures to this section, just list the sections in the order shown below (alphabetical).

They should NOT be numbered. They should be placed after either: (i) the Supplementary Materials section (if you created one), or (ii) the last numbered section (i.e., either Discussion or Conclusion) and prior to the References.

Acknowledgments

OPTIONAL

Acknowledgments should be placed in a section entitled Acknowledgments that should appear immediately following the Discussion or Conclusion of the manuscript and prior to the References.

Acknowledgments should be brief, and should not include thanks to anonymous referees or editors, inessential words, or effusive comments.

Acknowledgments can be used to thank specific colleagues, institutions, or agencies that aided the efforts of the authors publishing the work, but do not qualify for authorship . It should NOT be used to list contributors who meet the criteria for authorship. We urge authors to carefully consider researcher contributions and authorship criteria when involved in multi-region collaborations involving local researchers so as to promote greater equity in research collaborations.

Should the content of the manuscript have previously appeared online, such as in a thesis or preprint, this should be mentioned here, in addition to listing the source within the reference list.

Acknowledgments should not be used to declare competing interests or funding support. These should be declared separately in the Competing Interests and Funding Support sections, respectively.

Competing Interests

REQUIRED

All financial, commercial or other relationships that might be perceived by the academic community as representing a potential competing interest must be disclosed as part of this statement.

If NO such relationship exists, authors should include the following statement:

"The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any financial, commercial, or other relationships that could be construed as a potential competing interest."

Competing Interests are defined as financial and non-financial interests that could directly undermine, or be perceived to undermine the objectivity, integrity and value of a publication, through a potential influence on the judgements and actions of authors with regard to objective data presentation, analysis and interpretation.

Competing interests include any of the following:

Funding: Research support (including salaries, equipment, supplies, and other expenses) by organizations that may gain or lose financially through this publication. A specific role for the funder in the conceptualization, design, data collection, analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript, should be disclosed.
Employment: Recent (while engaged in the research project), present or anticipated employment by any organization that may gain or lose financially through this publication.
Personal Financial Interests: Stocks or shares in companies (not including mutual funds or investment trusts) that may gain or lose financially through publication; consultation fees or other forms of remuneration (including reimbursements for attending symposia) from organizations that may gain or lose financially; patents or patent applications (awarded or pending) filed by the authors or their institutions whose value may be affected by publication. For patents and patent applications, disclosure of the following information is requested: patent applicant (whether author or institution), name of inventor(s), application number, status of application, specific aspect of manuscript covered in patent application.
Non-Financial Competing Interests: Non-financial competing interests include personal or professional relations with organizations and individuals. We encourage authors and referees to declare any unpaid roles or relationships that might have a bearing on the publication process. Examples of non-financial competing interests include (but are not limited to):
- Unpaid membership in a government or non-governmental organization
- Unpaid membership in an advocacy or lobbying organization
- Unpaid advisory position in a commercial organization
- Writing or consulting for an educational company
- Acting as an expert witness
- Personal Relationships: Close personal relationships (e.g., family, romantic, or long-standing friendships) with individuals involved in the research, publication, or peer review process. These should be disclosed if they could reasonably be perceived to influence the objectivity or integrity of the work.

Editorial roles should be disclosed if they could reasonably be perceived to influence the objectivity or integrity of the publication process.

You should disclose editorial roles when:

The journal is in the same field or closely related to the manuscript topic.
The role involves influence over peer review, publication decisions, or policy setting.
The journal is published by the same publisher or affiliated organization.

Competing Interests Example

Requirement: Use full author names.
Use semi-colons ";" to separate competing interest types.
Use periods "." to separate authors.

Robert J. Lee: Declares no financial, commercial, or personal relationships that could be construed as a potential competing interest.

Karen M. Tan: Employment – Horizon Molecular Diagnostics; Editorial – Associate Editor, Journal of Clinical Proteomics; Leadership – Chair, Global Standards Consortium for Translational Medicine; Consulting – BioNova, GenPath, Lumisense, Quantexa; Grant/Research Support – Helixion, PathCore, BioNova; Advisory Board – GenPath, Lumisense, Quantexa; Personal – Immediate family member employed by Roche.

Feng Yu Ning: Employment – Vertex Analytical Systems (Chief Innovation Officer and Director of Regulatory Affairs); Personal – Active member of a patient advocacy group related to rare genetic disorders.

Anita V. Quill: Employment – Former employee, SpectraCore Labs; Consulting – Mediscan; Honoraria – Mediscan, Helixion; Travel Support – Mediscan, ISPT.

William E. Smith: Research Support – GlycoTech, ProteoSys, Synaptica; Royalties – Intellectual property titled “Quantifying Rare Biomarkers via High-Resolution Mass Spectrometry”; Honoraria – ISPT 2025 Annual Scientific Meeting; Leadership – Division Chair, Rare Disease and Immunogenomics, ISPT; Editorial – Associate Editor, Translational Chemistry; Editorial – Advisory Editorial Board Member, Journal of Translational Medicine.

Helen D. Brown: Employment – NovaPath Reference Laboratories; Editorial – Associate Editor, Journal of Systems Biology and Archives of Molecular Medicine; Leadership – Chair, ISPT Board of Directors; Advisory Board – SpectraCore Diagnostics, BioQuant Systems; Travel Support and Lecture Fees – SpectraCore Diagnostics, BioQuant Systems, ISPT, MSAPT; Patents – “Methods for Detecting Circulating RNA Biomarkers” and “Multiplexed Assay for Neuroimmune Disorders”; Personal – Holds equity in a startup developing AI tools for clinical diagnostics.

James L. Moore: Editorial – Honorary Editorial Board Member, Journal of Molecular Diagnostics.

CRediT Author Statement

REQUIRED

This statement must describe the contributions of individual authors using CRediT (Contributor Roles Taxonomy) roles and, in doing so, all authors agree to be accountable for the content of the work. Each author's full name should be listed alongside their specific roles. Please use role‑grouped format (roles followed by contributing authors). Every author must be assigned at least one role, and only official CRediT roles may be used

Not all CRediT roles will apply to every manuscript and some authors may contribute through multiple roles.

Use the roles defined below to craft your CRediT Author Statement.

Please list the roles in your manuscript in the same order as shown below.

CRediT Author Roles

1. Conceptualization: Ideas; formulation of overarching research goals and aims.

2. Funding Acquisition: Securing financial support for the project.

3. Resources: Provision of study materials, reagents, materials, patients, laboratory samples, animals, instrumentation, computing resources, or other analysis tools.

4. Methodology: Development or design of methodology; creation of models.

5. Software: Programming, software development; designing computer programs; implementation of computer code and supporting algorithms; testing of existing code components.

6. Investigation: Conducting a research and investigation process, specifically performing the experiments, or data/evidence collection.

7. Data Curation: Management activities to annotate (produce metadata), scrub data, and maintain research data (including software code, where it is necessary for interpreting the data itself) for initial use and later re-use.

8. Formal Analysis: Application of statistical, mathematical, computational, or other formal techniques to analyze or synthesize study data.

9. Validation: Verification, whether as a part of the activity or separate, of the overall replication/reproducibility of results/experiments and other research outputs.

10. Visualization: Preparation, creation and/or presentation of the published work, specifically visualization/data presentation.

11. Project Administration: Management and coordination responsibility for the research activity planning and execution.

12. Supervision: Oversight and leadership responsibility for the research activity planning and execution, including mentorship external to the core team.

13. Writing – Original Draft: Preparation, creation and/or presentation of the published work, specifically writing the initial draft (including substantive translation).

14. Writing – Review and Editing: Preparation, creation and/or presentation of the published work by those from the original research group, specifically critical review, commentary, or revision – including pre or post-publication stages.

CRediT Author Statement Example

Requirement: Use full author names (not initials) for indexing and metadata compliance.

Format: Roles are listed first, followed by contributing authors separated by semi-colons.

Format: Please order your list the in the same order as shown in the defined CRediT roles above this example, and as is demonstrated below.

Conceptualization: Zhang Tian-Sheng; Priya R. Singh
Methodology: Zhang Tian-Sheng; Priya R. Singh; Wei Wei Tang
Software: Zhang Tian-Sheng; Anil K. Sharma
Investigation: Wei Wei Tang
Data Curation: Priya R. Singh
Validation: Anil K. Sharma
Visualization: Wei Wei Tang
Supervision: John J. O’Connor
Writing – Original Draft: Priya R. Singh
Writing – Review & Editing: Sarah Q. Wang

Data and/or Code Availability Statement

REQUIRED, subject to study type.

If you have data that can be generally readable by other researchers, then you should deposit it in a repository and provide open access avenues for researchers to access it. For any –omics study, novel data analysis approaches or analytical papers, this statement is REQUIRED. Other studies are case-by-case. Both code and data are required for Machine Learning studies or any case in which the authors present results that have involved the use of code. There must be enough information provided for other researchers to recapitulate your study.

The Data Availability statement must make the conditions of access to the “minimum dataset” (necessary to interpret, verify and extend the research in the article) transparent to readers. This minimum dataset may be provided through deposition in public community/discipline-specific repositories, custom proprietary repositories for certain types of datasets, or general repositories like Figshare, Zenodo and Dryad. Scientific Data maintains a list of approved and recommended data repositories to support researchers seeking suitable repositories for their data. Authors are responsible for obtaining all necessary permissions and ensuring compliance with local regulatory requirements for data sharing.

Ensuring that data is available may be a requirement of your funding body or institution. If your data is unavailable to access or unsuitable to post, you can state the reason why (e.g., your research data includes sensitive or confidential information such as patient data) as part of the Data Availability statement. This statement will appear with your published article.

Data availability statements should include information where relevant on the following aspects:

Information about access to primary datasets (generated during the study) and referenced datasets (datasets analyzed in the study) must be provided. Where data are publicly available, accession codes or other unique identifiers if relevant must be provided.
Clinical trial data: data availability statements for manuscripts reporting clinical trial data should follow the standards set out in the ICMJE recommendations on clinical trial data sharing and provide the following information:
- whether individual de-identified participant data (including data dictionaries) will be shared (“undecided” is not an acceptable answer);
- what data in particular will be shared;
- whether additional, related documents will be available (e.g., study protocol, statistical analysis plan, etc.);
- when the data will become available and for how long;
- by what access criteria data will be shared (including with whom, for what types of analyses, and by what mechanism).

Data Availability Subject to Controlled Access

In such cases, the Data Availability statement should include the following information:

reasons for controlled access (eg., privacy, ethical/legal issues),
conditions of access must be described precisely including contact details for access requests,
timeframe for response to requests,
restrictions imposed on data use via data use agreements.

A copy or link to the data use agreement should be provided if requested by editors. Restrictions on controlled access datasets including restrictions on downstream data reuse or authorship requirements must be clearly described in manuscript and to editors at the time of submission. Editors may decline further consideration of the manuscript after evaluation if restrictions are found to be unduly prohibitive.

Third Party Data

When data obtained from third parties cannot be made available, the restrictions should be clearly stated in the Data Availability statement. Authors must make data available for purposes of peer review, if requested by reviewers, within the terms of a data use agreement and if compliant with ethical and legal requirements.

Researchers should provide information in the manuscript on their data collection methods sufficient to support peer review. If data processing steps were performed by the third-party, out of the control of the authors, this should be clearly stated in the Methods. Editors reserve the right to decline consideration if a manuscript fails to provide sufficient information regarding data collection approach.

Data Citation

Datasets that have been deposited in repositories should be included as formal citations in the article reference list. This includes datasets generated during the study as well as existing datasets analyzed during the study. Citations of datasets should include the minimum information recommended by DataCite and include: author(s), title, publisher (repository name), and identifier.

Dataset identifiers including DOIs should be expressed as full URLs. For example: Hao, Z., AghaKouchak, A., Nakhjiri, N. & Farahmand, A. Global Integrated Drought Monitoring and Prediction System (GIDMaPS) Data sets. figshare http://dx.doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.853801 (2014)

Data Availability Statement Examples

Data from Study Deposited in a Repository and Available
1. "The data generated and analyzed during this study are available in [Repository Name] at the following link: [URL]."
Used Public Data
1. "This study used public data accessed from [Repository Name] at the following link: [URL]."
Analyzed Data with Code
1. "This study used publicly obtained code from [provider or link] for analytical purposes."
2. "The code we developed for our analytical or machine learning purposes for this study is available at [link]."
Data Can’t Be Shared Because of [Valid Reason]
1. "The data generated during this study cannot be shared due to [reason, e.g., privacy concerns, proprietary restrictions, or ethical considerations]."

Ethics Statement

REQUIRED

Summary of relevant ethics, IRB and/or informed consent statement(s) that were initially made in the Materials and Methods section.

Based on guidance from the Ethics and IRB Worksheet authors must summarize their IRB approval and whether they collected informed consent

The original statement of ethics protocols and IRB details must be included in the Materials and Methods section when introducing what samples were collected and how they were collected. These details should then be summarized here for easy reference by the reader.

If author(s) DID NOT use human patient samples or specimens, this MUST be stated, as:

"This study did not involve the use any human patient samples or specimens."

OR

"No biological materials data that could be traced back to individual persons were used in the study."

Funding Support

REQUIRED

Authors must disclose all financial and in‑kind support received for the conduct of the research and/or preparation of the article.

Support includes grants (including grant numbers, if applicable), fellowships, institutional support, and in kind contributions (e.g., provision of samples, reagents, analytical services, or equipment).

It is not necessary to include detailed descriptions of the program or type of grants, scholarships, or awards. When funding is from a block grant or other resources available to a university, college, or other research institution, include the name of the institute or organization that provided the funding.

If NO funding was provided for the research, include the following sentence:

This research received no financial or in‑kind support from public, commercial, or not‑for‑profit sectors.

Funding Influence

REQUIRED

The role of the funding source(s), if any, should be stated in relation to the study design, data collection, analysis, and interpretation, as well as the writing of the report, the decision to submit the article for publication, and the choice of journal(s) for submission.

If NO influence was imparted, this MUST be stated, as shown below:

“Funding Support had no influence on any aspect of this work or its publication.”

References

JMSACL follows AMA-style guidelines for references and in-text citations. The formatting styles below must be applied to your article. Submissions that do not conform may be returned for revision or rejected.

Reference Metadata Checklist

Use reference management tools (e.g., Zotero, EndNote, Mendeley) with AMA output styles to reduce formatting errors.

To enable linking to abstracting and indexing services such as Scopus, Crossref, and PubMed, please ensure that reference metadata is complete and accurate. Incorrect author names, journal titles, publication years, or page numbers may prevent successful link creation.

We strongly encourage the use of Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) in references. DOIs provide a permanent, reliable link to the cited work and support automated linking and citation tracking.

All references containing DOIs should use the full URL format: https://doi.org/... and follow the same AMA style as other references. Do NOT use doi: or DOI:. The "DOI: style" is being deprecated. CrossRef recommends use of "https-style" formatting for DOIs.

Ensure each reference includes the following elements to support indexing, citation tracking, and metadata normalization:

Author names: Surname followed by initials, no periods, no spaces (e.g., Smith J, Lewis CS)
Journal title: Use NLM-approved abbreviations (e.g., J Biol Chem)
Year, volume, issue, pages: All required; format as Year;Volume(Issue):Pages (e.g., 2024;67(4):123-130)
DOI: Present as a full URL (e.g., https://doi.org/10.1234/abc123); verify DOIs
URL: Include only if no DOI is available; ensure links are active and accessible at time of submission
Reference order: Number references in the order they appear in the text; cite using superscript numerals after punctuation

Formatting Requirements

Apply AMA style to all reference types. Examples follow in section below.
Indicate references in the text using superscript number(s). Author names may appear in-text, but a reference number must always be included.
1. Example: "… as demonstrated,^3,6 although Barnaby and Jones obtained a different result.⁷"
Place reference citations OUTSIDE of punctuation.
The reference list must be ordered numerically to match the sequence of citations in the text.
All references cited in the text must appear in the reference list, and vice versa.
Unpublished results and personal communications should be cited only in the text, not in the reference list.
1. Example: "Recent studies have shown promising results in the field of genomics (J. Smith, personal communication, 2023)."
2. Example: "The findings indicate a significant improvement in treatment outcomes (A. Johnson. Unpublished results, 2023)."
3. Personal communications must be documented by a letter of permission.
Verbatim text must be enclosed in quotation marks and clearly attributed to the original source.
References cited as "in press" must have been formally accepted for publication.
List all authors up to 20 in the reference list.
1. If there are more than 20, include the first 19 followed by ‘et al.’
2. Always include the final author. More info.
3. Abbreviate given names to initials (e.g., Smith J, Lewis CS).

Reference Examples in AMA-style

Journal Publication with No DOI:

Sondheimer N, Lindquist S. Rnq1: An epigenetic modifier of protein function in yeast. Mol Cell. 2000;5:163-72.

Journal Publication with DOI:

van der Geer J, Handgraaf T, Lupton RA. The art of writing a scientific article. J Sci Commun. 2020;163:51-59. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sc.2020.00372

Journal Publication with Article Number:

van der Geer J, Handgraaf T, Lupton RA. The art of writing a scientific article. Heliyon. 2022;19:e00205. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e00205

Article Not Yet Issued an Article Number:

VanDecar JC, Russo RM, James DE, Ambeh WB, Franke M. Aseismic continuation of the Lesser Antilles slab beneath northeastern Venezuela. J Geophys Res. 2003. https://doi.org/10.1029/2001JB000884

Preprint:

Hirsch RM, Premsankar S, Kurnit KC, Chiou LF, Rabjohns EM, Lee HN, Broaddus RR, Vaziri C, Bowser JL. CD73 restrains mutant β-catenin oncogenic activity in endometrial carcinomas. Preprint. bioRxiv. 2024. https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.11.18.624183

Abstract, Published in Conference Proceedings:

Christensen S, Oppacher F. An analysis of Koza's computational effort statistic for genetic programming. In: Foster JA, ed. Genetic Programming. EuroGP 2002: Proceedings of the 5th European Conference on Genetic Programming; 2002 Apr 3-5; Kinsdale, Ireland. Berlin, Germany: Springer; 2002:182-91.

Abstract, Unpublished:

Doe J, Smith J. Innovative approaches to genetic research. Abstract presented at: The Annual Science Conference; 2022 Jan 10-12; New York, NY.

Book:

Strunk W, White EB. The Elements of Style. 4th ed. New York, NY: Longman; 2000.

Chapter in a Book:

Mettam GR, Adams LB. How to prepare an electronic version of your article. In: Jones BS, Smith RZ, eds. Introduction to the Electronic Age. New York, NY: E-Publishing Inc.; 2020:281-304.

Website:

Cancer Research UK. Cancer statistics reports for the UK. 2023. Available from: http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/aboutcancer/statistics/cancerstatsreport/. Accessed March 13, 2023.

Dataset:

Oguro M, Imahiro S, Saito S, Nakashizuka T. Mortality data for Japanese oak wilt disease and surrounding forest compositions [dataset]. Mendeley Data. 2015;v1. https://doi.org/10.1234/abc12nb39r.1

Software:

Coon E, Berndt M, Jan A, Svyatsky D, Atchley A, Kikinzon E, Harp D, Manzini G, Shelef E, Lipnikov K, Garimella R, Xu C, Moulton D, Karra S, Painter S, Jafarov E, Molins S. Advanced Terrestrial Simulator (ATS) v0.88 [software]. Zenodo. Published March 25, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1234/zenodo.3727209

Patent:

Pagedas AC, inventor. Flexible endoscopic grasping and cutting device and positioning tool assembly. United States patent US 20020103498. Ancel Surgical R&D Inc., assignee; 2002.

Properly formatted references improve discoverability, support citation tracking, and ensure compliance with indexing services. If you have questions about formatting or metadata requirements, please contact the editorial office.

Internal Copyediting

Once submissions pass scientific peer review, they move to the third-level of review, Internal Copyediting. This is prior to an External Copyedit Round, and prior to any final acceptance decision.

This is a granular review of composition, science and ethical integrity. It is not guaranteed that any submission will pass successfully through this process to be accepted for publication in the journal.

This review round will involve the Internal Copyeditor providing suggested revisions to the submitted manuscript (following any peer review revisions) to improve grammar and/or flow. The science will also be re-reviewed to ensure there are no outstanding issues that need to be addressed.

The Internal Copyeditor will send return the manuscript with tracked changes. The author(s) will review the suggestions and comments and make necessary modifications.

Once (and if) the concerns of the Internal Copyeditor have been addressed, the submission will be Accepted and moved onto External Copyediting and Production. If there are any issues that are identified that cannot be resolved, the submission may be Declined.

Post-Acceptance

Proof Correction

To ensure a rapid publication process we ask you to provide proof corrections within four days.

Corresponding authors will be sent an email which includes a link to our online proofing system, allowing annotation and correction of proofs online.

You can choose to annotate and upload your edits on the PDF version of your article, if preferred. We will provide you with proofing instructions and available alternative proofing methods in our email.

The purpose of the proof is to check the typesetting, editing, completeness and correctness of your article text, tables and figures. Significant changes to your article at the proofing stage will only be considered with approval of the journal editor.

Post-Acceptance Rejection

Following acceptance of your manuscript JMSACL reserves the right to decline publication of a paper even after it has been accepted if it becomes apparent that there are violations of our publishing policies, or problems with the scientific content or ethical protocols.

Removal of Published Content

In exceptional circumstances, JMSACL reserves the right to remove an article or other content from JMSACL online platforms. Such action may be taken when (i) JMSACL has been advised that content is defamatory, infringes a third party's intellectual property right, right to privacy, or other legal right, or is otherwise unlawful; (ii) a court or government order has been issued, or is likely to be issued, requiring removal of such content; (iii) content, if acted upon, would pose an immediate and serious risk to health. Removal may be temporary or permanent. Bibliographic metadata (e.g., title and authors) will be retained, and will be accompanied by a statement explaining why the content has been removed.

Corrections & Retractions

JMSACL will only make changes to published papers if the publication record is seriously affected by the academic accuracy of the published information. Any correction will have a separately published notice describing the changes to maintain the transparency of the scholarly record. The notice will be published online at the earliest opportunity and will be clearly linked to the Version of Record. A link will also appear on the Version of Record, notifying readers that a post-publication change has been published. As needed, we follow the COPE guidelines on retractions.

Changes that are needed to content published within the last 12 months will be made directly to the original, where possible. Any changes to older content will be explained in the linked notice only, with the exception of author name changes.

The following are categories of corrections and post-publication updates to peer-reviewed original research and review articles and certain kinds of non-peer reviewed article types. Substantial errors to Supplementary Material are corrected in the same manner as amendments to the main article. With the exception of Editorials, all categories below are bi-directionally linked to the original article and indexed.

JMSACL includes the CrossMark button on the HTML and online PDFs of all articles. CrossMark is an industry standard mechanism that allows readers to quickly check that the version of the article they are reading is up-to-date. By clicking the CrossMark button readers can view the CrossMark record for that article, with details of all formal amendments and corrections.

Author Correction: An Author Correction may be published to correct an important error(s) made by the author(s) that affects the scientific integrity of the published article, the publication record, or the reputation of the authors or the journal.

Author Name Change: For authors who’ve changed their name and wish to correct it on their published works. JMSACL has a privacy-focused policy that ensures name changes are made without issuing a formal correction notice. We will not publish a correction notice to the updated paper when there is a name change, and we will not notify co-authors of their colleague’s name change. We will update and republish the paper, and redeliver the updated metadata to indexing services. We also will not require that authors provide proof or documentation of their name change. Why anonymity matters.

Publisher Correction: A Publisher Correction may be published to correct an important error(s) made by the journal that affects the scientific integrity of the published article, the publication record, or the reputation of the authors or of the journal.

Addendum: An addendum is generally published when significant additional information crucial to the reader’s understanding of the article has come to light following publication of the article.

Editor's Note: An Editor's Note is a notification alerting readers if the journal has initiated an inquiry in response to concerns raised about a published article. It is an online-only update, made only to the HTML version of record of the published article. It is not indexed.

Editorial Expression of Concern: An Editorial Expression of Concern (EEoC) is a statement from the editors alerting readers to serious concerns affecting the integrity of the published paper. EEoCs are published online and are bidirectionally linked to the published paper. They receive a DOI and are indexed in major scholarly databases such as PubMed, Web of Science and Scopus. EEoCs may be an interim measure or may be final.

Publishing an Editor’s Note or EEoC is recommended by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) as a means of keeping readers updated while a potentially lengthy research integrity investigation is underway. Editor’s Notes and EEoCs are typically superseded by publishing another amendment-such as a correction or retraction-once the investigation is complete.

Retraction: An article may be retracted when the integrity of the published work is substantially undermined owing to errors in the conduct, analysis and/or reporting of the study. Violation of publication or research ethics may also result in a study’s retraction. The original article is marked as retracted but a PDF version remains available to readers, and the retraction statement is bi-directionally linked to the original published paper. Retraction statements will typically include a statement of assent or dissent from the authors.

When making corrections to articles, in the majority of cases the original article (PDF and HTML) is corrected and is bi-directionally linked to and from the published amendment notice, which details the original error. For the sake of transparency, when changes made to the original article affect data in figures, tables or text (for example, when data points/error bars change or curves require redrawing) the amendment notice will reproduce the original data. When it is not possible to correct the original article in both HTML and PDF versions (for example, articles published many years before the error is raised) the article will remain unchanged but will contain bi-directional links to and from the published amendment notice.

Style and Grammatical Guidance

Numbers

Use words for numbers less than 10 (nine samples), except for units of time or measure (9 min).

Use numerals for:

units of time or measure (6 min, 5 g, 273 K).
sample identifiers (S1–S5, QC1–QC3, Day 0).
statistical values, ranges, and exact data (893.51 µg/L).
for numbers greater than nine (10 samples).

Units of Measure

Measure is a general term that implies units of:

volume (mL, cm3)

width or length (m,cm)

mass (g, mg)

temperature (°C, K)

concentration (g/mL, M)

Some exceptions:

Use all numerals in a series or range of values containing the number 10 or greater (e.g., 5, 8, and 12 samples).
Use words for numbers that start with a sentence, unless that number is part of chemical name (e.g., "Nineteen samples were analyzed." "2-Butene was added.").

Spacing

There is always a space between the number and the unit.
- 2 mL, 0.6 cm, 3.2 ft, 0.015 mg, 8 K, 180 °C

Exceptions
- there is no space between the number and the percent-sign (%)
  - 85%
- when using >, < and ±, include spaces between the numbers and symbols if there are numbers on both sides of the symbol. Also include spaces if the symbol falls in between a variable and a number:
  - <25mL (no space)
  - 80 ± 9% (spaces)
  - p < 0.05 (spaces)

Style Checklist for Numbers, Units, Identifiers, and Ranges

Numbers in Narrative Text

Spell out numbers below 10 (e.g., five aliquots, seven days).

Use numerals for 10 and above (e.g., 13 samples, 65 tubes).

Always use numerals for exact data values (e.g., 893.51 µg/L).

Units of Measure

Always use numerals + unit abbreviation (e.g., 5 mL, 7 µg/L).

No space between number and percent sign (5%).

SI units preferred; spell out only if uncommon.

Identifiers (Labels, Sample Codes, Days)

Do not spell out identifiers — they are treated as codes, not prose.

e.g., Day 1, QC1–QC3, S1–S5

Ranges

Use en dash (–) without spaces (e.g., 893.51–4845.69 µg/L).

Repeat units only once at the end of the range.

For days or identifiers: Day 1–7, QC1–QC3.

Decimals and Precision

Always use numerals with decimals for measured values.

Avoid trailing zeros unless required for precision (e.g., 1.0 mL if exact).

Special Cases

Aliquots, repetitions, counts in prose → spell out if <10 (five aliquots, seven repetitions).

Experimental conditions → numerals + unit (1% nitric acid, 2 mL aliquots).

Time points → identifiers numerals (Day 0, Day 7).

Use of "i.e." versus "e.g."

The difference between "i.e." and "e.g." is that "i.e." means "that is (in explanation)" and "e.g." means "for example":

"i.e." is used to clarify or rephrase a statement to make it more precise or specific.

Example : The fruit eaten by Eve (i.e., an apple) was not as ripe as she had hoped.

"e.g." is used to provide specific examples that fall under a more general category.

Example: The banquet table was over-flowing with various fruits (e.g., apples, bananas, etc.) for the guests.

"i.e." and "e.g." are both Latin abbreviations, with "i.e." standing for id est and "e.g." standing for exempli gratia. They are not interchangeable and should be used correctly to ensure the meaning of a sentence is retained.

Use as (e.g., ...) and (i.e., ...).

Use of "respectively"

"Respectively" is used to map one serial list to another in the order specified.

The speeds of the car, motorcycle and bicycle were 62, 78 and 15 mph, respectively.

This means that the speed of the car was 62 mph, the motorcycle was 78 mph and the bicycle was 15 mph.

Standard Abbreviations

The following abbreviations are considered by JMSACL to be STANDARD within the clinical mass spectrometry community, and do NOT need to be described or expanded in the Title or Abstract.

They MUST, however, be defined in the body of the manuscript and in the Abbreviations section.

Biological

DNA - deoxyribonucleic acid
RNA - ribonucleic acid
mRNA - messenger RNA

Technical

CID - Collision-Induced Dissociation
DART - Direct Analysis in Real Time
ESI - Electrospray Ionization
FT-ICR - Fourier Transform Ion Cyclotron Resonance
GC-MS - Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry
GC-MS/MS - Gas Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry
HRMS - High Resolution Mass Spectrometry
LC-MS - Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry
LC-MS/MS - Liquid Chromatography-Tandem Mass Spectrometry
MALDI - Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption Ionization
MALDI-TOF - Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization - Time-of-Flight Mass Spectrometer
NMR - Nuclear Magnetic Resonance
qPCR - Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction
QTOF - Quadrupole Time-of-Flight
REIMS - Rapid Evaporative Ionization Mass Spectrometry
SRM - Selected Reaction Monitoring
MRM - Multiple Reaction Monitoring
SIM - Selected Ion Monitoring
TIC - Total Ion Chromatogram

Guide for Authors

Numbers in Narrative Text

Units of Measure

Identifiers (Labels, Sample Codes, Days)

Ranges

Decimals and Precision

Special Cases

Make a Submission

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