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Author Guidelines

These recommendations are prepared in conformity with the requirements of CSE’s White Paper on Promoting Integrity in Scientific Journal Publications, 2022 Update and ICMJE Recommendations for Conduct, Reporting, Editing and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals, January 2024.

The main purpose of Veterinary Science Today Journal is to bring modern achievements of Russian and global veterinary medicine to the scientific community and a wide range of readers.

The journal publishes original, completed, fundamental and applied scientific works in the field of general and veterinary virology, bacteriology, immunology, mycology, mycotoxicology, epizootology, as well as review articles, peer reviews and informational notices on Russian and international scientific and practical events with the aim of bringing the achievements of veterinary medicine into science and practice that will help to reduce the damage caused by infectious animal diseases.

The journal is intended for scientists engaged in fundamental and applied research in the field of general and veterinary virology, epizootology, immunology, mycology, mycotoxicology, bacteriology, as well as practicing veterinarians and doctors of veterinary laboratories and state veterinary services, university-level teachers for veterinary, biological, medical specializations, graduate and postgraduate students.

1. General requirements

1.1. Editorial criteria

1.1.1. All submissions should be formatted according to the Journal’s requirements.

1.1.2. All manuscripts should report novel findings, which have not been previously published. All submitted manuscripts are checked for inappropriate borrowings using the Antiplagiat system.

1.2. Publication Charges

1.2.1. Publication in the journal is free of charge (see Author fees)

1.2.2. The authors of the published article are not paid royalties. Author’s copies are provided.

1.3. Manuscript Submission

The manuscript and additional files (including accompanying documents) are submitted for review by e-mail to the editor at nikeshina@arriah.ru or through the journal's website in electronic form. The author should register on the website and go to Submit Article).

The manuscript (article type, manuscript body with figures and tables and all metadata, including Acknowledgements, Reference list) in MS Word.

Note! The manuscript shall be carefully edited and proofread.

Please indicate the type of the article (review, original article, brief communication, etc.) before its title and the code of the Higher Attestation Commission scientific specialty nomenclature.

Accompanying documents with original signatures, seals (if necessary) are attached to the letter in PDF format.

Additional files (including accompanying documents) are accepted in Russian and/or English:

1) a cover letter (official referral from the institution where the research was conducted) addressed to the Journal’s editor-in-chief (about 1 printed page). The letter must be signed by all authors listed in the manuscript, and also be certified by the head (or deputy head) of the institution where the work was carried out. (Appendix 1);

2) author consent to personal data processing (Appendix 2);

3) electronic graphic images (graphs, block diagrams, etc.) and tables in editable Power Point or Excel format;

4) photographs, drawings and other images should be submitted in electronic form in JPEG format, with a definition of at least 600 dpi and a size of at least 85x65 mm.

1.4. Anti-plagiarism policy

1.4.1. The Authors should ensure that the data presented in the article are original and that all cited sources are properly acknowledged.

1.4.2. The Editorial Board recommends that the authors evaluate their text prior to submission using https://www.antiplagiat.ru (for texts written in Russian) and http://www.plagiarism.org (for texts written in English).

1.4.3. Borrowed fragments cannot be used without indicating the original source. Plagiarism in all forms is unethical and unacceptable.

1.4.4. The Editorial Board has the right to check submitted manuscripts for plagiarism. Textual similarity of more than 20% is considered unacceptable and is grounds for rejection of the manuscript.

1.4.5. In case of significant and insignificant borrowings the Editorial Board acts in accordance with the recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

2. Requirements for manuscript formatting

2.1. Length of the text

In accordance with the following guidelines the manuscript should not exceed 8 printed pages (10 pages for review), but it should not be less than 5 printed pages (approximately 20 thousand characters, including spaces, most preferable length is 3,000 - 6,000 words, including figures and tables). Use Times New Roman font (Cyrillics script, 12 pt), single-line spacing.

2.2 Text structure of the original paper

The text, as a rule, should include the following components (given in accordance with the sequence):

- Title;

- Author name(s);

- Affiliation of author/authors;

- Abstract;

- Keywords;

- Acknowledgements;

- For citation;

- Conflict of interests;

- For correspondence;

- Introduction;

- Materials and Methods;

- Results and Discussion;

- Conclusion;

- References;

- Information about the authors;

- Contribution.

2.3 The structure of the review article

Review articles have the same format as the original articles. Structure of Reviews: Abstract, Introduction, Body, Conclusion, References.

It is desirable that reviews are compiled in accordance with international guidelines for systematic literature search methods and standards. Abstracts of review articles should contain information on methods of literature search in Scopus, Web of Science, MedLine, The Cochrane Library, EMBASE, Global Health, CyberLeninka, RSCI and others. Keywords in review articles should include the word “review”.

For detailed information on review reporting, see the PRISMA (Recommended Reporting Elements for Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis) guide, available at http://prisma-statement.org

2.4 The title page

2.4.2. Title of the manuscript should be brief, laconic, but clearly reflecting the contents. The title should be given in lowercase letters, capitalize only proper nouns and abbreviations, etc., bold font (B), 12 pt, left-aligned. The title of the article should not contain abbreviations. The next section should be separated by a blank line.

Submitted both in Russian and English

2.4.3 Author name(s)

Authors are individuals identified by the research group to have made substantial contributions to the reported work and agree to be accountable for these contributions.

The Journal "Veterinary Science Today" adopts the following criteria related to authorship:

– significant contribution to the conception and design of the reported work, or to the data collection, analysis, or interpretation;

– authoring the manuscript or revising it critically to improve its content;

– approval of the final version of the article for publication. 

The list of authors does not include individuals not qualified for authorship. The names of the individuals who have not been qualified for authorship, but who have provided some other support should be given in the Acknowledgments section. 

The surname of authors of an article in Russian should be given after the initials of the first name and patronymic ((И. И. Иванов, П. П. Петров, В. В. Сидоров).

The names of authors of an article in English should be given in the following format: Name, initial of Patronymic, Surname (Ivan I. Ivanov, Petr P. Petrov). The surnames in English should be used as they are given in ORCID ID, ResearcherID, international passport or in previously published articles. If an author has no ORCID ID, ResearcherID, international passport and/or publications its name and given name should be transliterated by the US Department of State BSI standard.

Author’s full name should be given in bold letters, 12 pt, left-aligned.

Submitted both in Russian and English

2.4.4. Affiliation of author/authors 

Affiliation includes the following data: full official name of an organization, full postal address, including ZIP code, city, and country. The authors should give all employments having relation to the conduct of research.

If the article was prepared with the participation of authors from different institutions, the affiliation of each author to a particular institution should be stated with the superscript.

The official name of an institution in English is required for the block of information in English. 

Submitted both in Russian and English

2.4.5. Abstract

The abstract of the article is the main source of information for domestic and foreign journal indexing information systems and databases. It is the abstract that serves as the first impression of your scientific work. Most readers read only the abstract of the published article. Abstracts should allow readers to quickly assess the relevance of the work and decide whether they should spend time reading it further and obtain more detailed information on the subject of interest.

The abstract should be presented for all types of articles in Russian and English. For original articles, the abstract MUST be structured and include sections reflecting the order of research: Introduction, Objective of the Study, Materials and Methods, Results, Conclusion.

For reviews and other types of publications, structuring the abstract is recommended, but not required if the general logic of the content presentation is maintained.

The text of the abstract should avoid introductory phrases, general formulations, it should not contain undeciphered abbreviations, acronyms and symbols, terms introduced for the first time, references to literature sources and graphic images. Various equipment/reagents/software can be mentioned in the abstract but it should be accompanied by details on the manufacturer/developer in PARENTHESES in the following format: “manufacturer”, country (excluded from the total word count in the abstract).

The recommended abstract size is 200-250 words.

The Abstract heading should be left-aligned, given in capital bold letters, 12 pt. The abstract should be separated with a blank line and followed by the Keywords section.

Submitted both in Russian and English

2.4.6. Keywords

The keywords should clearly reflect the specific nature of the manuscript. They should be given in a separate paragraph following the Abstract (up to 5–6 words and phrases), the heading should be left-aligned, unindented, bold (B), 12 pt. The keywords should be listed in a plain font. The sections Keywords and Acknowledgements should be separated with a blank line.

Submitted both in Russian and English

2.4.7. Acknowledgments

This section should give sources of fundraising for research as well as extend thanks to the individuals who have participated in the preparation of the given article, but who are not warranted authorship. Participation in preparation of the article includes the following: recommendations on research improvement, provision of space for research, departmental control, obtaining financial support, conducting individual tests, provision of reagents/animals/other materials for research.

Acknowledgments should be a separate paragraph after the Keywords, left-aligned, unindented, the heading should be bold (B). The acknowledgment itself should be in normal font. Acknowledgments and For citation should be separated, with a blank line between them.

Submitted both in Russian and English

2.4.8. For citation

For citation should follow the keywords (or Acknowledgments) in a separate paragraph, left-aligned without indentation, the title - bold font (b), then the text in normal font style.
For сitation should be followed by Conflict of interests. The two sections should be separated by a blank line.

Submitted both in Russian and English

2.4.9. Conflict of interests

Conflict of interests can be defined as conditions in which an individual holds conflicting or competing interests that could bias editorial decisions. Conflict of interests may be potential or perceived, or they may be factual. Personal, political, financial, academic, or religious considerations can affect objectivity in numerous ways. 

The author should inform the editor about the factual or potential conflict of interests have included the information about such conflict into the respective section of an article.

If there is no conflict of interests, the author should say so in the form like the following:

“The author declares no conflict of interests”. 

Conflict of interests should follow For citation in a separate paragraph, left-aligned, unindented, bold font (b). The text in this section should be in normal font style.
Conflict of interests should be followed by Introduction. The two sections should be separated by a blank line.

Submitted both in Russian and English

2.4.10. For correspondence

This section should include the full name (last name, first name, patronymic (if any)), academic degree, scientific rank, job position of the author responsible for interaction with the editorial board, work place and address of the organization (street, house, city, postcode, republic, country), e-mail of the responsible author. For Correspondence section should follow Conflict of Interest section in a separate paragraph, left-aligned, unindented, the heading should be in bold font, the text should be in normal font.

Submitted both in Russian and English

3. Manuscript text

Original research papers should be structured in accordance with the IMRAD format (Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results and Discussion, Conclusion).

3.1. Introduction

The volume of this section should not exceed 20% of the volume of the main text. This section formulates the main research questions, stating their relevance in the context of previous research. The research aim should be clearly defined.

All abbreviations should be defined when first used. If the article contains a large number of abbreviations, a list deciphering each of them can be included before the text of the article.

The heading Introduction should be left-aligned, in 12 point bold (b) font, uppercase letters. The heading should be immediately followed by the text.

Introduction should be followed by Materials and Methods. The two sections should be separated by a blank line.

3.2. Materials and Methods

Materials and Methods section should contain a detailed description of the materials used, research objects and test methods. It is necessary to provide details on the source from where all animals, cell cultures, microbial strains, etc. used in the work were received.

The specification and manufacturer of the reagents used, as well as the brand and manufacturer of the devices and equipment involved in the experiments should be indicated. The names of companies should be given in their original spelling.

The description of the test methods should be sufficient for its reproduction.

If the research work conducted by the authors was aimed at animals, then it should be stated in the manuscript that all stages of the study were carried out in accordance with international, national rules and approved by the Ethics Committee (indicating the title, number and date of the document).

The heading Materials and Methods should be left-aligned, in 12 point bold (b) font, uppercase letters. The heading should be immediately followed by the text. Special terms and names used in this section should not be abbreviated.

Materials and Methods should be followed by Results and Discussion. The two sections should be separated by a blank line.

3.3. Results and Discussion

Results and Discussion section should contain a detailed analysis of the results obtained. All figures and tables should be mentioned in the text and placed in the manuscript based on the mention order. Figures should not duplicate the same information found in tables and vice versa.

The presentation of the results should consist of identifying the patterns discovered, and not be a mechanical retelling of the contents of tables and graphs. It is allowed to present the study results and discussion in the form of two separate sections: Research Results and Discussion.

The heading Results and Discussion should be left-aligned, in 12 point bold (b) font, uppercase letters. The heading should be immediately followed by the text in normal font style.

Results and Discussion should be followed by Conclusion. The two sections should be separated by a blank line.

3.4. Conclusion

The content of the Conclusion section should correspond to the aim of the study. The wording given in the text of the article should not be repeated verbatim. The conclusion may include:

- the results of the analytical work performed and its theoretical and practical significance;

- practical conclusions of the research presented in the article;

- recommendations on the use of the information provided in the article in practical activities (for example, recommendations on prevention and treatment of specific diseases, on conducting preclinical and clinical tests, etc.);

- unresolved issues and prospects that should be addressed when conducting further research in this area.

The section may be formatted as a numbered list of conclusions. In this case, the heading of the section is replaced with Conclusions.

The heading Conclusion should be left-aligned, in 12 point bold (b) font, uppercase letters.

The heading should be immediately followed by the text in normal font style.

Conclusion should be followed by References. The two sections should be separated by a blank line.

3.5. References 

References are submitted both in Russian and in English in two separate lists headed in Russian and in English (References).

The Journal "Veterinary Science Today" has adopted the Vancouver style of citation assuming the reference to a source within parentheses and further inclusion of the sources into the reference list in an order of their identification in a text. The sources should be given within parentheses as follows: first goes source number, then comma, and a space after the source number [6, 8].

The number of citations in original articles should be about 30, in reviews - not more than 60. It is recommended to use relevant sources published in the last 5-10 years and containing key fundamental works of leading experts in the field under study. It is also desirable to include highly cited publications in the reference list, that is, sources published over the last 10 years and included in the 1% of the most cited for their subject area and their year of publication. If the same material is republished multiple times, then its latest edition should be cited. Earlier editions can be cited only in cases where they contain the necessary material that is not included in the latest editions.

The list of references includes only reviewed sources (articles from scientific journals and monographs) mentioned in the text of an article. It is undesirable to include into the list of references the synopses, dissertations, textbooks, educational aids, GOST, information from sites, statistical reports, articles in public political newspapers and journals, on sites and in blogs. If there is a need to refer to such information put the information about the source in a footnote.

The source DOI should be specified, if available, and a link in the https://doi.org/ format is to be provided.

References to papers accepted but not yet published should be designated as “in press.” The authors should obtain written permission for reference to such documents and confirmation that they have been accepted for print. Information from unpublished sources should be cited in the text as “unpublished data/documents” and the authors should also obtain written confirmation to the use of such materials. 

References to the articles from journals should contain the year of article publication, volume and number of a journal, page numbers. 

Identification of each source should include all authors (if the number of authors is from one to six; and if there are more than six authors, then et al is used after the sixth author).

All references should be double checked, the publisher’s imprint should be checked in the official site of journals and/or publishers. 

After the description of a non-English source, at the end of the link there should be an indication of the language of the work, for example: in Russ.

Names and surnames of authors, names of journals should be transliterated by the BSI standard. 

The full titles of the journals should be given in italics.

Formatting reference links in Reference List and References (Examples)

3.6. Figures 

Figures should be of good quality and printable. 

All figures should have captions. 

The captions should be translated into Russian.

Figures should be numbered sequentially in Arab numerals according to the order in which they have been cited in the text. If there is only one figure in the text, it is not numbered. 

References to figures should be presented as follows: “Figure 3 illustrates that …” or “It is shown that … (Fig. 3).” 

The figure caption should include the consecutive number of the figure and the title itself. The figure caption should be aligned to the left edge of the page: Fig. 1. Composition of the milk microbiota from cows with subclinical mastitis (n = 144) 

There is no dot at the end of figure caption.

The translation of the caption should be placed after the caption in English.

3.7. Tables 

Tables should be of good quality and printable. Tables fit for editing and not scanned or presented as pictures are most preferable.

All table headings should be in Russian and English.

Tables should be numbered sequentially in Arab numerals in Arab figures according to the order in which they have been cited in the text. If there is only one table in the text, it is not numbered. 

References to tables should be presented as follows: “Table 3 illustrates that …” or “It is shown that … (Table 3)”. 

The table heading should include its consecutive number and name. 

The heading should be aligned to the left edge of the page:

Table 2

Description of vital processes. 

There is no dot at the end of the table heading.

The translation of the table heading should be placed after the table heading in English.

3.8. Screenshots and pictures 

Pictures, screenshots and other not drawn illustrations should be loaded separately into a special section of a form for article submission in the file format *.jpeg, *.bmp, *.gif (*.doc and *.docx – if some additional marks are made on the image). The image resolution should be > 300 dpi. Files with images should be given a caption both in Russian and in English corresponding to the picture number in a text. The file description should give separately the caption, which should correspond to the picture name in the text. Caption in English should be placed below the caption in Russian.

3.9. Footnotes 

Footnotes are numbered using Arabic figures and placed on pages in which they are referred to. Footnotes may include references to anonymous sources in the Internet, references to textbooks, educational aids, GOST, statistical reports, articles in public political newspapers and journals, synopses, dissertations (at impossibility to cite articles published by the results of dissertation research), author's comments.

3.10. Information about the authors

Additional information on each author of the article should be provided after the References in Russian and English:

– in Russian: full name, academic degree, academic title, position, place of work, name of organization, city, republic, country, author profile on the orcid.org portal in the format https://orcid.org/хххх-хххх-хххх-хххх, e-mail;

– in English: full name in the format Ivan I. Ivanov, academic degree, academic title, position, place of work, name of organization, city, republic, country, author profile on the orcid.org portal in the format https://orcid.org/хххх-хххх-хххх-хххх, e-mail.

Author’s full name should be given in bold letters, 12 pt, left-aligned.

3.11. Contributions

The author contributions to the article should be indicated in accordance with the criteria for authorship as defined by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE).

Description of Author Contributions

* Provisions required to be included in the Author Contributions section

4. Journal and Author Communication

4.1. Corresponding author

Corresponding author is a person responsible for communication with the journal during the manuscript submission, peer review, and publication processes. The corresponding author ensures that all technical requirements of the journal are met, such as providing detailed information about authors, documentation of approval from the ethics committee, and documentation of conflicts of interest. The corresponding author is responsible for coordinating with the writing team all changes made to the text of the manuscript as a result of peer review and editing. The corresponding author should be available throughout the submission and review process to respond to editorial inquiries in a timely manner. The corresponding author should also be available after publication to respond to critical comments and requests from the journal’s editorial board to provide additional data or other information in case questions on the article arise after its publication.

Note! The co-author who uploads a manuscript via online system is automatically considered as the corresponding author.

4.2. When an article is submitted to the Veterinary Science Today editorial board, the editor-in-chief conducts a preliminary check of the original author's article for compliance with the formal requirements: compliance with the subject matter of the journal, the journal's requirements for article design (title page, completeness and correctness of data, quality of graphic images, bibliographic format in the literature list/references), the presence of non-original text, unauthorised borrowings, as well as the presence of accompanying documents.

At this stage, if discrepancies are detected, the article can be returned to the author (-s) for revision with a request to correct errors or add missing data.

Also at this stage, the article can be rejected due to its non-compliance with the requirements of the ethics of scientific publications.

After a decision has been made on the proper design of the manuscript and compliance with the profile of the journal, the manuscripts are sent according to the profile of the article (material) for review to experts who are recognized specialists in the subject of the publication.

 4.3. Each manuscript is forwarded to at least two reviewers. A third reviewer may be involved in case of differing opinions.

4.4. Following the peer-review procedure, the Editorial Board makes the final decision on the publication of the manuscript.

4.5. The Editors have the right to carry out proofreading of the article. All co-authors should agree with the final version of the manuscript prior to its publication.

4.6. When a decision is made on the article revision, the reviewer's comments and remarks are forwarded to the author. The Veterinary Science Today editorial board provides for three rounds of reviewing. This means that after the first decision on the article revision, the author has two attempts to make changes based on the reviewer's recommendation or to submit a reasoned refusal to do so. (For more information, please refer to Reviewing section)

4.7. When a decision is made on rejecting publication of the manuscript, the corresponding editorial decision is sent to the author.

The average number of rejected manuscripts in the Journal is 24%.

5. Revision of Editor/Reviewer Decisions

If the author disagrees with the reviewer and/or editor's conclusion or individual comments, he/she may challenge the decision. To do this, the author must:

– correct the manuscript in accordance with the reasoned comments of the reviewers and editors;

– clearly state his/her position on the issue under consideration.

Editors facilitate the re-submission of manuscripts that could potentially be accepted, but were rejected due to the need to make significant changes or collect additional data, and are prepared to explain in detail what needs to be corrected in the manuscript in order for it to be accepted for publication.

6. Editorial board actions in case of plagiarism, fabrication or falsification of data

In case of inappropriate behaviour on the part of the author (-s), detection of plagiarism, fabrication or falsification of data, the editorial board is guided by the COPE rules.

The Veterinary Science Today journal defines “inappropriate behavior” as any actions of a scientist, including improper handling of research objects or intentional manipulation of scientific information, when it ceases to reflect the observed studies, as well as the behavior of a scientist that does not meet accepted ethical and scientific standards.

The Veterinary Science Today journal does not consider the following as inappropriate behavior: honest errors or honest discrepancies in the design, conduct, interpretation or evaluation of research methods or results, or inappropriate behavior not associated with the research process.

7. Error correction and retraction of the published article

Insignificant errors that do not distort the research results can be corrected by replacing the pdf-file of the article with the revised file and publishing a correction notice on the Journal’s website.

The significant errors, research misconduct and plagiarism identified after the publication of an article lead to its retraction (withdrawal from press).

Retraction may be initiated by the Editorial Board, Author(s), their organization or individuals involved.

The publication that has undergone retraction remains on the Journal's website as part of the PDF version of the corresponding Journal issue. A note “RETRACTED” is inserted in the article metadata. An identical mark is placed in the table of contents of the corresponding Journal issue, as well as in the databases in which the Journal is indexed.

Current policy version approved in March 2025

Copyright Notice

Authors who publish with Veterinary Science Today journal agree to the following terms:

1. Authors retain copyright on the paper and grant to Veterinary Science Today journal the right for paper layout and design, first publication under the Creative Commons Attribution Licensethat allows others to share the paper with the mandatory reference to the paper’s authors and initial publication in Veterinary Science Today
2. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the paper (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in Veterinary Science Today
3. Authors are entitled to post their paper online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process in Veterinary Science Today journal, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).

By submitting the article and accompanying files (Cover letter, Consent to personal data processing) (hereinafter – the Work) to Veterinary Science Today journal editorial office the author (all the authors of the Work, if it is created in co-authorship) agrees that he/she provides to the journal founder (FGBI “Federal Centre for Animal Health”) a non-exclusive, perpetual and royalty-free license on the territory of Russia and other countries (License Agreement) in the following ranges and volume:

• publication of the Work on paper and/or in electronic format, producing reprints of the Work, placing it on the Internet, both in the open and paid access, sending Work’s metadata or full text to various indexing databases and repositories;
• reproduction of the Work, i.e. the production of one or more copies of the Work or part thereof in any material form, including in the form of audio or video recording. Recording on electronic media, including recording in computer memory, is also considered as reproduction;
• distribution of the Work through sale or other alienation of its original or copies;
• public display of the Work, that is, any demonstration of the original or copy of the Work, either directly or on the screen using film, slide, television pictures or other technical means, as well as demonstration of individual frames of an audiovisual work without concern for their order, either directly or with the help of technical means in a place open for free visits, or in a place where a significant number of individuals do not belong to the normal family, irrespective of whether the work is perceived in the place of its display or elsewhere at the same time with the Work demonstration;
• import-export of the Work or its parts for any lawful purpose (paid and gratis) in the original or copies for the purpose of the distribution of the Work;
• translation or other processing of the Work;
• bringing the Work to the public so that anyone can access the Work from any place and at any time of their choice (making available to the public);
• accommodation of the Work or parts thereof in a variety of collections of similar Works;
• granting of rights prescribed in the License Agreement in full or in part to third (physical and legal) parties at both the paid and free of charge.

Author copies of Veterinary Science Today journal are provided.

Privacy Statement

Specified when registering the names and addresses will be used solely for technical purposes of a contact with the Author or reviewers (editors) when preparing the article for publication. Private data will not be shared with other individuals and organizations.