The simplest way to comply with our editorial policies and criteria is to download and edit the manuscript template to prepare your submission. Note that the template must be downloaded (it cannot be edited online).

 

STYLE AND FORMAT

File format

Manuscripts shall be submitted in Microsoft Word format (¨*.doc, *.docx).

Font

- Use regular Arial 12 font for the text. Insert symbols with the Insert/Symbol function of Microsoft Word or by pasting the corresponding Unicode character.

- Use bold Arial 12 font for the sections headings (eg. Abstract, Introduction, Materials and methods, Results, etc.).

- Use italic Arial 12 font for the subheadings (eg. Ethical statement, Experiment design, Statistical analysis, etc.)

Page size, layout and line numbering

The whole document, including the title page, shall use "Letter" size pages, with 2.5-cm margins (upper, bottom, left & right).

The text should be double-spaced and use a "Justify" paragraph format. Text formatting in multiple columns is not accepted.

Except for the title page, continuous line numbering shall be used throughout  the document.

While writing, use short paragraphs. Very long paragraphs tend to overwhelm readers with information. Thus, authors are strongly advised to use a minimum of 3-4 paragraphs per page. Indents are used only when more than one paragraph appears on the same page.

Lenght of the manuscripts

There are no restrictions on manuscript lenght, word count, number of tables or figures, or amount of supplementary information. However, the authors shall present and discuss their results concisely.

Abbreviations

Keep abbreviations to a minimum. The excessive use of abbreviations makes the text more difficult to read. Note that all abbreviations must be defined when they are first used. To avoid confusion, please use the same abbreviation for the same term throughout the manuscript.

Equations

Equations must be entered in a dedicated line (not within the running text) using the Insert/Equation function of Microsoft Word.

Do not use the Insert/Equation function to add symbols (e.g., β) within the running text.

Nomenclature

Units of measurement. Manuscripts must use the SI units. 

Species names. Write in full the genus and species using italic font (e.g., Escherichia coli) both in the title and at the first mention of an organism. After the first mention, it is acceptable to write the first letter of the genus name followed by the full species name (e.g., E. coli).

Genes, mutations and proteins. Gene names must follow the eukaryot and prokaryot standard nomenclature rules. Name proteins following the International Protein Nomenclature Guidelines. Mutations should follow the standard mutation nomenclature for molecular diagnostics. 

 

TITLE PAGE

Article title and running title

Article titles must be concise (ideally 20 words or less) and contain no abbreviations. Submissions must also include a short running title with a maximum length of 70 characters (including spaces). 

Author names and affiliations

On the title page, leave a blank line after the running title and enter author names, followed by a superscript number to link that name with its affiliation. Highlight the corresponding author by placing an asterisk after the affiliation superscript. Write the author ORCID on the next line (see the example below). We strongly encourage authors to get an ORCID if they lack it since it helps improving both journal and authors visibility in most indexing platforms.

Carlos Pérez-Pérez^1*

ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-000x-00xx-xxxx

Immediately after the last author, the authors’ affiliations are listed, starting with the corresponding superscript number followed by the Institution, Faculty/Department, City, and Country:

¹Universidad San Sebastián, Facultad de Ciencias de la Naturaleza, Puerto Montt, Chile

Translating the institution names to English is not required. Immediately after the last affiliation, provide the corresponding author's email address as in the following example:

*Corresponding author:

Email address: correspondingauthor@maildomain.com

 

ABSTRACT

Article title

To ensure a double-blind peer review process, the title page is removed before the manuscript enters the review stage. Therefore, the abstract page should start with the article title again (do not repeat the running title here).

Abstract

Use an unstructured abstract (a single paragraph) of 250 words maximum. Exclude citations and keep abbreviations to a minimum. If used, all abbreviations shall be defined. The abstract should describe the objectives of the study, explain how the experiment was conducted without methodological detail, and summarize the most relevant results and their significance or implications.

After the abstract paragraph, leave a blank line and write five keywords separated by semicolons, as in the following example:

Keywords: Hemocytes; Immunostimulants; Lipopolysaccharides; Superoxide dismutase; Yeasts.

 

STUDY CONTRIBUTION

In this section, authors must explain the contribution of the study to the field of knowledge (maximum 150 words). Provide nontechnical explanations that capture the importance of the study. Do not repeat the objectives, results, or conclusions here. Avoid using abbreviations or citations. Use the examples provided in the manuscript template to complete this section.

 

INTRODUCTION

The introduction should provide sufficient background information to establish the rationale for the study. This section should identify the problem being addressed and provide the hypothesis or objective of the research. While reviewing the literature, authors should focus on the most relevant publications instead of conducting a thorough literature review.

 

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Ethical statement

Research involving animal subjects must be reviewed and approved by the authors’ institutional animal care and use committee (or equivalent). Hence, the methods section must start with an ethical statement that specifies the following:

- The name of the institutional animal care review board (or equivalent committee) that approved the research, and the corresponding permit number. Note that a copy of this permit must be uploaded to the system (as a separate file) along with the manuscript.

- In principle, all research involving animals must comply with this requirement. Failure to do so will result in rejection of the manuscript. Hence, if the authors did not seek approval for this purpose, they must explain in sufficient detail why they did not need to.

- This section should also cite the guidelines and/or regulations that were followed to perform the experiment. We strongly encourage authors to comply with the ARRIVE (Animal Research: Reporting In Vivo Experiments) guidelines.

 

Description of the methods

After the ethical statement, include as many subheadings as necessary to provide an organized description of the experiment design, methods of analysis/research and statistical analysis, etc. The methods section should provide sufficient technical details for replication of the experiments. Manuscripts that do not describe the experimental design, statistical analysis, or other methods will be rejected.

To enhance the reproducibility of the results, authors should make their protocols publicly available. There are several ways to achieve this goal. For example, you may include your protocols as supporting information. For laboratory protocols, authors may use public repositories, such as protocols.io, and include the DOI link to the protocol in the methods section.

If you used the same methodology as in a previously published paper, please cite the source. If methods from previous studies have been modified, describe the modifications made in your study.

 

RESULTS

This section may be subdivided in subsections. Use as many subheadings as necessary to present results following the flow of the methods section.

Present the results without interpretation (unless the section is combined with discussion). Use past tense to refer to your own results and avoid repetitiveness (i. e. presenting the same results in the text, tables or graphs).

Veterinaria México OA does not limit the number of tables and figures. However, the results must be presented concisely. Every table and figure must be cited in the text and included in the main document immediately after the paragraph where it was first cited.

Tables and figures

Make sure tables and figures include a concise and descriptive title, sample size, variables and units of expression, measures of central tendency and dispersion, and the actual probability values of your statistical analyses, up to four decimals (i. e. P = 0.0013). If the P-value is less than 0.0001, then it is reported as P < 0.0001.

Tables and figures must present results in a stand-alone fashion (i. e. readers should be able to understand them without the need of consulting the text). Hence, all abbreviations shall be defined either in the table heading or figure caption, regardless of their previous definition in the text. Variables must be expressed in the international system of units (SI). Within figures and tables, place the units between parenthesis, next to the name of each variable.

Specific requirements for figures

Figures must be included within the manuscript, next to the paragraph in which they were first cited. The original figures should also be uploaded as separate files during submission, unless they were created in Microsoft Word. The use of non-editable images is not accepted.

If using compound figures (with multiple panes, sections, headings or added text), ensure that the native figure is provided as a separate file (with no headings or text added).  We will use the figure contained in the manuscript as a reference for generating the final version.

If the authors did not upload figures of acceptable quality (as separate files) during the initial submission, they will be asked to provide them once the submission reaches the production stage. These are the acceptable-quality criteria for figures:

File-types	Photographs: TIFF (with LZW compression) Graphics: PNG, EPS.
Maximum File Size	10 MB
Minimum Resolution (TIFFs)	Photos: 300 dpi Line-art: 1200 dpi Combination: 600 dpi
Color Format	RGB, Grayscale
Font	Arial, Symbol
Font Size	12 pt

 

DISCUSSION

Authors are encouraged to present the discussion as a standalone section with no subheadings or structure. The discussion should interpret and analyze the significance of the study results but should not repeat them.

The authors should explain how the results relate to the hypothesis of the study and provide a concise explanation of the implications of the findings in a broader context. Moreover, the authors are expected to recognize the limitations of the study (if any) and potential directions for future research.

Avoid exhaustive citations of published literature. The statements/claims made in the discussion must be supported by the results. Moreover, ensure each page contains at least 3 - 4 paragraphs, to make the manuscript easier to read.

Keeping results and discussion in separate sections allows for holistic discussion of results. However, in some cases, combining the results and discussion in one section improves the consistency of the manuscript. If authors decide to use a combined results and discussion section, it can be structured following the flow of the methods section and using as many subheadings as necessary. The combined section must present both the experimental results and their interpretations and implications.

The editorial decisions for Veterinaria México OA do not rely on the perceived importance or impact of the study. Therefore, authors should avoid claims, statements, or conclusions that are not supported by the study results.

 

CONCLUSIONS

This is optional. A concluding paragraph at the end of the discussion is sufficient in many studies. However, it may be included if the authors wish to highlight the major implications of the study. Some redundancy may occur; however, the authors should avoid repeating the statements made in the previous sections.

 

DATA AVAILABILITY

The authors are required to make all experimental data fully available to the reader. To comply with this policy, authors are required to upload the original datasets of the research to our journal repository in SciELO Dataverse (https://data.scielo.org/dataverse/mxvetmexoa).

The datasets will also be subjected to peer review and will be kept as drafts (unpublished) until submission is accepted for publication. Upon acceptance of a submission, the datasets will be published (with a DOI assigned). If the submission is rejected, the datasets will be permanently deleted.

All submissions must include the following statement: "The original datasets used in this research and, if applicable, supporting information files are available for download in the SciELO Dataverse repository (doi:_____)”. The DOIs of the datasets are assigned within Dataverse.

Authors shall follow SciELO's guidelines for research data deposit:

English version: https://wp.scielo.org/wp-content/uploads/Guia_deposito_en.pdf

Spanish version: https://wp.scielo.org/wp-content/uploads/Guia_preparacao_es.pdf

Note that the datasets shall be uploaded to Dataverse before the manuscript enters the peer review stage. Failure to comply with this policy will delay the editorial process of your submission.

Dataverse require authors to submit their datasets in *.csv format (Excel files are also acceptable). An example of a data set in *.csv format is available for download here.

Authors must also generate, within Dataverse, a Readme file containing the metadata that users should know to reproduce the analysis of the datasets. Contact our editorial office if you require technical assistance to work in Dataverse.

For research articles using information that is already available in public repositories, such as DNA or protein sequences, authors must include a dataset with the corresponding accession numbers.

 

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This is optional. List here the individuals who provided help during the research but did not meet authorship criteria (we follow the authorship criteria of The International Committee of Medical Journal Editors). Do not acknowledge the funding body here to avoid duplicating the funding statement information.

 

FUNDING STATEMENT

The authors must provide the name and URL of all the funding agencies and grant numbers that supported the research, as well as the initials and last names of the authors who received the grant. This section must also state whether the funding organization had or not a role in the research. If a funding body had a role in the research, the authors must describe it in this section. Example of how to write this section correctly:

This research was supported by the Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (www.unam.mx), grant number PAPIIT IN212817, and was awarded to AA Lastname and BB Lastname. The funder played no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or manuscript preparation.

 

CONFLICTS OF INTEREST

All authors must disclose any financial and/or personal relationships with other people or organizations that could inappropriately bias the research. For instance, authors must disclose their employment, consultancies, stock ownership, patent applications, and registrations, among other relationships.

If the submission is related to a patent or patent application, the patent number and title must be disclosed in full. Likewise, if it is related to products being developed for the market, the details must also be fully described. If there are no interests to declare, include the following statement in this section: “The authors have no conflict of interest to declare concerning this publication”.

 

AUTHOR CONTRIBUTIONS

This section is required to ensure compliance with the author’s qualification criteria and transparency. Please describe the role of each author using the Contributor Roles Taxonomy (CRediT taxonomy). We expect that all authors have reviewed, discussed, and agreed to their individual contributions stated in this section. Note that not all contributor roles may apply. Hence, only those applicable to your research are declared. Use the example provided in the manuscript template as a reference when writing this section.

 

REFERENCES

VMOA reference style is based on Vancouver, with slight modifications. The style is available for download from the journal web page as an EndNote style (VMOA.ens).

If using other reference manager programs, you can edit Vancouver reference style according to the templates and examples provided here.

Citations shall be indicated with superscripts within brackets, numbered in the order that they appear and placed immediately after (leave no space) punctuation signs: eg. lorem ipsum,⁽¹⁾ lorem ipsum:^(2-4) lorem ipsum.^{(3, 6)}

For journal articles, use full journal names and page ranges (i. e. “Journal of Animal Science. 2016;161-169”, instead of “J Anim Sci. 2016;161-69”.

Include the DOI or PMCID of the cited papers. For articles lacking DOI or PMCID, leave these fields in blank.

In titles, use sentence case (eg. “This is an example of a title in the reference list”, instead of “This is an Example of a Title in the Reference List”). Notice that proper nouns (name of a person, place, company, etc.) are always capitalized, no matter where they fall in the title. Moreover, taxonomic names shall be italicized (eg. “Seroprevalence of Bartonella henselae in domestic cats in Japan”). The reference list shall conform to the style used in the examples shown below.

Examples of research articles:

1. Albuja C, Ortiz O, López C, Hernández-Cerón J. Economic impact of pregnancy loss in an intensive dairy farming system. Veterinaria México. 2019;6(1):1-8. doi: 10.22201/fmvz.24486760e.2019.1.572.

2. Acierno MJ, Brown S, Coleman AE, Jepson RE, Papich M, Stepien RL, et al. ACVIM consensus statement: Guidelines for the identification, evaluation, and management of systemic hypertension in dogs and cats. Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine. 2018;32(6):1803-1822. doi: 10.1111/jvim.15331.

Examples of books and book chapters:

3. Maclachlan NJ, Dubovi EJ. Fenner's veterinary virology. 5th. ed. London, U.K.: Academic Press; 2017. 567 p.

4. Hartmann K, Levy JK. Feline leukemia virus infection. In: Ettinger SJ, Feldman EC, Coté E, editors. Textbook of Veterinary Internal Medicine 8th Edition. St. Louis, Missouri: Elsevier; 2017. p. 2442-2455.

Example of thesis dissertations:

5. Maldonado Flores JC. Evaluación de concentrados proteicos vegetales en la nutrición de L. vannamei: aspectos de digestibilidad, fisiológicos, bioquímicos y calidad [Doctoral thesis dissertation]. Mérida, Yucatán: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México; 2011.

Examples of electronic articles and web pages:

6. Miles RD, Chapman FA. The benefits of fish meal in aquaculture diets. Florida Cooperative Extension Service, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL. 2010. 82-104. https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu

7. Organización de las Naciones Unidas para la Alimentación y la Agricultura. Inocuidad y calidad de los alimentos. 2020. https://www.fao.org/food-safety/background/es/

Example of regulations:

8. Secretaría de Agricultura, Ganadería, Desarrollo Rural, Pesca y Alimentación. Norma Oficial mexicana. NOM-EM-015-ZOO-2002. Especificaciones técnicas para el control del uso de beta-agonistas en los animales. México: Diario Oficial de la Federación; 2002 Marzo 1. https://www.dof.gob.mx/nota_detalle.php?codigo=734908&fecha=01/03/2002#gsc.tab=0

Example of national or international official data sources:

9. Secretaría de Salud. Anuarios de morbilidad (PDF). 2021. https://epidemiologia.salud.gob.mx/anuario/2021/morbilidad/nacional/distribucion_casos_nuevos_enfermedad_fuente_notificacion.pdf

10. World Health Organization. WHO estimates of the global burden of food-borne diseases. Foodborne disease burden epidemiology reference group 2007-2015 (PDF). 2015. https://apps.who.int/iris/bitstream/han-dle/10665/199350/9789241565165_eng.pdf