JOINTS accepts several types of articles as follows:

• Brief Commentary

Brief Communications are short manuscripts that have important and generally preliminary data on a specific issue.

• Case Reports (only with accompanying Literature Review)

Case Reports will be considered for publication only if of particular interest and if they are accompanied by a Review of the literature on the specific topic covered in the manuscript. In particular, we consider for publication Case Reports reporting unusual clinical conditions, unreported diseases, rare side effects of therapy, and so on. The abstract should be no longer than 300 words and should highlight all your key points concisely. It should be structured as follows: INTRODUCTION or BACKGROUND; CASE REPORT or CASE PRESENTATION; CONCLUSIONS. Case Reports have to include a final section for informed consent. Permission or written consent should be obtained to draft the manuscript. The consent form can be obtained from the patient or parents if the patient is a minor.

• Literature Reviews

A literature review is an examination of academic sources that offers a summary of a specific subject. It encompasses the most relevant and influential research related to the subject and aims to present an exhaustive overview of the existing literature and its contributors. JOINTS considers literature reviews for publication when they specifically align with the journal’s aims and scope. The key elements of a literature review include the following points:

-Define and clearly state the scope and purpose of your review: clearly identify the topic and the research question you aim to address.

-Search for relevant literature and document your strategy research: use academic databases and journals to find sources suitable for your topic. Review a number of texts that specifically address your topic and critically assess the quality and relevance of the sources.

-Organize the literature and structure your review: provide an Abstract* and draft the main text for presenting your research as follows: INTRODUCTION, MAIN TEXT with subheadings, and CONCLUSIONS. *Abstracts should not be structured for literature reviews.

-Summarize the main findings and write conclusions: discuss the significance of the findings and, eventually, the strengths and limitations of your review.

• Clinical Protocols

Clinical Protocols describe protocols referring to proposed or ongoing trials that have not completed participant recruitment at the time of submission.

• Clinical Trials

Clinical Trials are articles related to phase 2/3 trials that have completed participant recruitment and data analysis at the time of submission. All clinical trials submitted to JOINTS must be registered in accordance with the ICMJE recommendation. In such articles, authors must indicate the specific number or code referring to trial registration (e.g., ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier) and approval by the local Ethics Committees.

To align with ICMJE policy, investigators registering device trials on ClinicalTrials.gov must select the option of public posting, thus opting out of the “lock box”. Approval to conduct a study by an independent local, regional, or national review body (e.g., ethics committee, institutional review board) does not fulfill the ICMJE requirement for prospective clinical trial registration. Retrospective registration at the time of manuscript submission fails to fulfill ICMJE requirements.

Secondary analyses of primary clinical trials should be referenced by the trial registration number of the primary trial rather than being registered as distinct clinical trials. Additionally, acknowledgment of the authors of the previous trials should be included.

• Conference Proceedings

Conference proceedings consist of a collection of abstracts and/or posters that were presented at an association’s conference. These articles provide opportunities for researchers to present their research and gain insights from other researchers and colleagues in their field.

• Editorials

Editorials are short articles that provide insight into issues of topical importance to the journal’s target audience or researchers. The articles should provide an expert perspective on a topic of recent interest. This contribution is usually solicited by the Editors. If unsolicited, the authors are advised to contact the Editor-in-Chief (submission.joints@verduci.it) with an outline of the proposed review and CV of the authors.

• Letters to the Editor

Letters to the Editor consist of comments on an article published in JOINTS. The inclusion of Letters to the Editor in the journal is at the discretion of the Editor-in-Chief, and they may undergo external peer review. All Letters to the Editor will be subsequently sent to the author of the original article, who will have 60 days to provide a Reply to be published alongside the Letter.

• Meta-Analyses and Systematic Reviews

Meta-analyses use statistical methods to combine data from multiple and systematically selected studies. These manuscripts should be based on a rigorous methodological and statistical approach described in detail in the methods section applied to a relevant basic or clinical issue. This contribution may also undergo statistical revision. According to the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), to conduct a systematic review or meta-analysis, the Authors have to follow the guidelines of the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA: http://www.prisma-statement.org/).

To perform a high-quality analysis, the Authors are requested to follow some specific guidelines:

– Authors have to clearly state objectives and pre-defined eligibility criteria for studies (e.g., inclusion and exclusion criteria, etc.);

– Authors have to clearly describe the methods used for locating, selecting, extracting, and synthesizing data;

– The methodology should be accurate and reproducible;

– Authors have to conduct a systematic search that aims at identifying all relevant studies on the topic analyzed;

– Authors have to assess the validity of the findings of the included studies (e.g., risk of bias);

– Authors have to present a systematic analysis with detailed characteristics and findings of the included studies.

Authors are strongly encouraged to prospectively register the systematic reviews in PROSPERO or INPLASY to reduce bias in the conduct of research and to increase transparency. The registration number must be inserted in the text when submitting the manuscript.

• Meeting Reports

Meeting Reports are synopses of meetings and symposia, usually shorter than six journal pages (22000 characters including spaces). Reports must be submitted within three weeks of the end of the meeting. Authors should contact the Editor-in-Chief (submission.joints@verduci.it) prior to submitting Meeting Reports.

• Opinion Papers

Opinion Papers should be solicited by the Editor-in-Chief and deal with a controversial topic in either basic or clinical topics on which the author, a recognized expert in the field, is invited to express his/her personal views and interpretation.

• Original Articles

Original Articles should present novel work that makes a significant impact within the aims and scope of the journal and which provides an important advancement in the reader’s knowledge or understanding. Supporting data or additional experimental details can be submitted as Supplementary Information. Original Articles may be recommended to be resubmitted as Short Communications at the discretion of the Editors.

• Standard Methods and Operating Procedures

Standard Methods and Operating Procedures articles provide an overview of a novel method, test or Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) related to the field of regenerative medicine. The method described may be either novel or could provide a demonstrable improvement of a pre-existing method.

• Other studies

Other guidelines have been developed and should be followed for different study designs:

– CONSORT for randomized trials;
– STROBE for observational studies;
– STARD for studies of diagnostic accuracy;
– STROBE-MR for Mendelian randomization (MR) studies.

In particular, good sources for reporting guidelines are the EQUATOR Network and the NLM’s Research Reporting Guidelines and Initiatives.