The Korean Journal of Helicobacter and Upper Gastrointestinal Research is an official journal of The Korean College of Helicobacter and Upper Gastrointestinal Research and is published quarterly (on the 10th of March, June, September, and December). The Journal aims to publish scientific articles on epidemiology, pathophysiology, and the diagnosis and treatment of upper gastrointestinal diseases and Helicobacter infection as well as to advance the knowledge and understanding of upper gastrointestinal diseases and Helicobacter infection.

Table of Contents

• ETHICS IN RESEARCH AND PUBLICATION
• SUBMISSION
• PREPARATION OF MANUSCRIPT
• PROCESSING OF THE REVIEW

ETHICS IN RESEARCH AND PUBLICATION

1. Manuscripts that are forged, altered, plagiarized, duplicated, redundant, or dishonest should not be submitted; manuscripts that violate ethics standards will not be published.

• 1) Forgery, alteration, plagiarism
  • ① Forgery: making up research data (fabrication)
  • ② Alteration: manipulation of pre-existing research data, tables or images (falsification)
  • ③ Plagiarism: appropriation or close imitation of another author’s ideas, methods, data, or expressions without proper citation and/or permission
• 2) Duplication
  
  • Duplicate submissions are defined when two or more manuscripts share the same or very similar hypotheses, data, discussion sections or conclusions. Duplicate submissions are not permitted. An article published in this journal is not allowed to be published in another journal without permission from the editorial committee. However, if sufficient reason is given and the editorial committee grants approval, duplicate publication is permitted according to the Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals (Ann Intern Med 1997;126:36-47). Publication of abstracts or posters is not considered duplicate publication. When duplicate submission or publication is identified, the journal editor will administer author sanctions in accordance with journal policies.

2. All manuscripts describing research conducted using human subjects must be in compliance with the Declaration of Helsinki (www.wma.net). Researchers should obtain approval from the Institutional Review Board (IRB) and provide proper information concerning research objectives and methods. Research subjects or their legal guardians should be educated as to the adverse psychological or physical effects that may result from research and informed consent must be obtained. Information which could be used to identify research subjects such as subject name, initials, etc. should be excluded from research materials including figures and clinical photographs. If this is not possible, written agreement should be obtained from subjects and that should be indicated in the manuscript. In animal studies, researchers should describe how animal pain and discomfort was minimized in keeping with The NIH Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals or equivalent institutional guidelines. Manuscripts describing animal experiments must state that the study protocol was approved by the Institutional Animal Ethical Committee (IAEC) in accordance with Article 14 of the Korean Animal Protection Law or an equivalent standard.
Authors should clearly state that all experiments were performed in accordance with Article 13 of the Korean Animal Protection Law, “The Principle of Animal Experiment,” or an equivalent standard. The editor may request proof of informed consent and for certificates of IRB or IAEC approval.

3. Reviewers should not release, copy, or cite manuscript content prior to publication.

4. Processes and sanctions related to ethics violations including forgery, fabrication, falsification, plagiarism, duplication, and research misconduct follow “Good Publication Practice Guidelines for Medical Journals 2nd (https://www.kamje.or.kr/board/view?b_name=bo_publication&bo_id=7)” by The Korean Association of Medical Journal Editors. For the policies on the research and publication ethics not stated in this instructions, International standards for editors and authors (https://publicationethics.org/resources/guidelines) can be applied.

5. Registration of Clinical Trial Research
It is recommended that any research dealing with a clinical trial be registered with a primary national clinical trial registration site such as Clinical Research Information Service (https://cris.nih.go.kr/), or other sites accredited by the World Health Organization ICTRP (http://www.who.int/ictrp/en) and ClinicalTrials.gov (http://clinicaltrials.gov/), a service of the United States National Institutes of Health.

6. Data Sharing Policy
This journal follows the data sharing policy described in “Data Sharing Statements for Clinical Trials: A Requirement of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors”. The ICMJE's policy regarding trial registration is explained at http://www.icmje.org/recommendations/browse/publishing-and-editorial-issues/clinical-trial-registration.html#two. If the data sharing plan changes after registration, this should be reflected in the statement submitted and published with the manuscript, and updated in the registry record.

7. Conflict-of-Interest Statement
The corresponding author of an article is asked to inform the Editor of the authors' potential conflicts of interest possibly influencing their interpretation of data. Examples of potential conflicts of interest include employment, consultancies, stock ownership, honoraria, paid expert testimony, patent applications/registrations, and grants or other funding. A potential conflict of interest should be disclosed in the manuscript even when the authors are confident that their judgments have not been influenced in preparing the manuscript. The disclosure form should be the same as the ICMJE Uniform Disclosure Form for Potential Conflicts of Interest http://www.icmje.org/conflicts-of-interest/.

8. Authorship
Authorship credit should be based on: 1) substantial contributions to conception and design, acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data; 2) drafting the article or revising it critically for important intellectual content; 3) final approval of the version to be published; and 4) agreeing to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that the questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved. Authors should meet these 4 conditions. After the initial submission of a manuscript, any changes whatsoever in authorship (adding author(s), deleting author(s), or re-arranging the order of authors) must be explained by a letter to the editor from the authors concerned. This letter must be signed by all authors of the paper. Copyright assignment must also be completed by every author.

9. Research Ethics Council
For consideration of research ethics and related issues, the Journal operates a Research Ethics Council. The Director of the Publication Committee of the Korean College of Helicobacter and Upper Gastrointestinal Research is the Chair of the Council, and the Council's constitution is decided by the Publication Committee. The Research Ethics Council's roles are 1) reviewing research ethics issues (any forgery, alteration, plagiarism, wrongful research paper author indication, or multiple/duplicate publication allegations) for the publication of the Journal and related papers (review articles, original articles, and others) and 2) reporting the results of the review to the Executive Committee of the Korean College of Helicobacter and Upper Gastrointestinal Research.

10. Corrections of errors
The Korean Journal of Helicobacter and Upper Gastrointestinal Research will publish corrections as soon as possible detailing changes from and citing the original publication when errors are detected. We follow the ICMJE and COPE guidelines where applicable. An erratum refers to a production error, caused by the journal, and a corrigendum refers to an error made by the authors. Authors who notice an error should contact the editorial office of the Journal.

11. Research ethics on clinical validation of artificial intelligence study
The authors should check the following criteria: 1) The data collection process and nature of the data used in learning artificial intelligence algorithms are clearly written. 2) The data collection process and the nature of the data used in the clinical verification of the algorithm are described in detail. 3) Methods used for the data approach and the algorithm are well described. 4) Before starting the study, the research protocol which includes the data collection and analysis methods, had been registered and disclosed. 5) The reporting and methodology guidelines for artificial intelligence study are followed.

12. Research ethics on big data study
The authors should check the following criteria: 1) Before conducting the big data research, written informed consent was obtained from the research subject or the subject’s authorized representative, as there was no subject agreement or law on special permit regulation. 2) Before starting the research, the IRB approved the study and exempted the need for written informed consent from the research subject or the representative. 3) The IRB authorized the disclosure of personal information collected for research purposes to third parties. 4) The authors are aware of the safety measures that have been drafted after evaluating the impact of big data research and the environment on study subjects. 5) The authors know they must maintain records and delete personal information after the storage period. The authors also know their right to apply for an extension of the storage period. 6) The authors are familiar with the responsibilities and transparency of big data research. 7) The authors know about guarantees of the study subject’s right to request an explanation of the study and the right to access it.

SUBMISSIONN

1. Publication types include original articles, case reports, editorial, review articles, brief communication, image of the issue, research update.

2. Authorship credit should be based on ① substantial contribution to research conception and design, data acquisition and analysis, and interpretation of results; ② manuscript drafting or revision; ③ final approval of the version to be published; and ④ agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

3. Manuscripts should be submitted online through the website (https://submit.helicojournal.org/). Only the first author and the corresponding author are permitted to submit a manuscript.

4. A submission checklist is available on the journal’s homepage.

5. Authors of accepted manuscripts must complete the copyright transfer agreement form. Addition or deletion of authors is not allowed after submission.

6. The copyright transfer agreement should be submitted with the manuscript as an attachment file after scanning.

PREPARATION OF MANUSCRIPT

1. General principle of manuscript preparation

• 1) All manuscripts must be written in Microsoft Word in 10-point font with double-line spacing in A4 page size format. Please include line numbers in your Microsoft Word manuscript to help reviewers refer to specific lines of the paper when they make their comments. The principal languages of the journal are Korean and English, but Chinese characters may also be used if necessary.
• 2) Korean terminology should follow the most recent edition of Korean Medical Terminology by the Korean Medical Association.
• 3) Abbreviations should be in accordance with the journal’s list of official abbreviations. Other abbreviations not found on the list and occurring more than third must be defined in parentheses at first use.
• 4) Arabic numerals and metric units should be used.
• 5) General rules not mentioned above follow the “Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals”.

2. Types of Manuscripts and Sections in the order

• 1) Original Articles
  • ① Title page
    - The title page should contain, in the following order, the title, full names of all authors, ORCID (without academic degrees), institutional affiliations, a running title (if applicable; see below), and correspondence details (name, complete address, e-mail address, telephone number, fax number). Author names should be separated by commas.
    - If the title exceeds 12 English words in length, a running title should be included. For an English title, the first letter of nouns and adjectives should be capitalized. Page numbers begin with the abstract and should be centered at the bottom of each page.
    - Authors from different institutional affiliations should be listed in the order of research contributions made by the institutions. Author affiliations are designated with superscripted Arabic numerals.
    - Research assistance including grant support and funding should be disclosed.
    - Conference presentations may be included.
    - Conflict of Interest: Authors must disclose potential conflicts of interest.
  • ② Abstract and key words (five or fewer English words)
    - Abstracts and key words should be written in English.
    - The Abstract should begin with the title, written in English, and should not contain author names and affiliations.
    - Paragraphs under the subheadings Background/Aims, Materials and Methods, Results, and Conclusions should each begin on a new line. Abstracts are limited to 250 words.
    - Abbreviations must be defined at least once. The abstract should not contain references.
    - Five or fewer key words associated with the manuscript and separated by semicolons follow the abstract. Key words should be selected in accordance with MeSH.
  • ③ Introduction
    - Study rationale and relevant background information should be described clearly and concisely.
    - Study hypotheses should be described systematically.
    - The Introduction section should not contain the results or discussions.
    
  • ④ Materials and Methods
    - Study materials and methods should be described in the following order: general approach, materials (subjects), and methods. Each subsection should be labeled with a subheading.
    - The processes by which diagnoses were confirmed and subjects were observed should be described in detail.
    - Experiments should be described in sufficient detail to enable another investigator to reproduce the experiments.
    - Manuscripts should include a statement indicating that approval for human research was obtained from the IRB or for animal research from the IAEC, if applicable.
    - The source of reagents or machines should be expressed as “(company name, city, state, country)”.
    - The use of international standard units (SI units) is recommended. The “P” in P value, which represents probability, should be capitalized italic style.
    - Ensure correct use of the terms sex (when reporting biological factors) and gender (identity, psychosocial or cultural factors), and, unless inappropriate, report the sex and/or gender of study participants, the sex of animals or cells, and describe the methods used to determine sex and gender. If the subjects of research comprise organisms capable of differentiation by sex and/or gender, the research should be designed and conducted in a way that can reveal sex and/or gender-related differences in the results. If the study was done involving an exclusive population, for example in only one sex and/or gender, authors should justify why, except in obvious cases (e.g., prostate cancer). Authors should define how they determined race or ethnicity and justify their relevance. Even if there are no differences by sex/gender or race/ethnicity, it should be noted that there are no sex and/or gender, or race/ethnicity differences.
  • ⑤ Results
    - Results should be presented in logical and sequential order. Statistical analyses should be employed for biological values that measure differently. Subheadings may be used.
    - If tables are used, table contents may be interpreted in the main text but should not be repeated.
    
  • ⑥ Discussion
    - The Discussion section should interpret and explain the results of the study in the context of the hypotheses outlined in the introduction. Authors should avoid repeating data provided in the results section.
    - This section emphasizes new observations and makes conclusions that are supported by the results and that relate directly to study objectives.
    - It states study limitations.
  • ⑦ Acknowledgements
    - Authors may briefly acknowledge individuals and organizations that provided limited contributions.
    
  • ⑧ References
    - References are numbered sequentially, with superscripted numbers, in the order in which they are cited in the text. This section should follow the main text.
    - All references should be written in English.
    - When content taken from internet web pages is cited, internet addresses should be referenced instead of journal titles.
    - List all authors if there are six or fewer; if there are seven or more authors, list the first three authors followed by “et al”.
    - Journal titles are abbreviated in accordance with the style of Index Medicus (MEDLINE).
    - Authors names are printed as last name followed by first name initials.
      Ex. Kim HY, Hunt RH, Tytgat GN
    - Authors are responsible for verifying references.
    - Articles within journal supplements and those from unpublished and online journals are cited in accordance with the format of PubMed.
    - References should be formatted as follows:
    

    Journal articles
    1. Kim JH, Kim HY, Kim NY, et al. Seroepidemiological study of Helicobacter pylori infection in asymptomatic people in South Korea. J Gastroenterol Hepatol 2001;16:969-975.
    

    Entire books
    2. Fleming SL. Helicobacter pylori. 2nd ed. New York: Chelsea House, 2007.
    

    Parts of a book
    3. Malaty HM. Epidemiology of Helicobacter pylori Infection. In: Sutton P, Mitchell HM, eds. Helicobacter pylori in the 21st century. 1st ed. Oxfordshire: CAB International, 2010:1-12.
    

    Websites
    4. National Cancer Information Center. Annual report of cancer statics in Korea in 2013 [Internet]. Korea Central Cancer Registry Cancer Registration & Statistics Branch, Division of Cancer Registration & Surveillance, National Cancer Center, Korea, 2015 [cited 2015 Dec 10]. Available from: https://www.cancer.go.kr/lay1/bbs/S1T674C680/B/26/view.do?article_seq=19493&capge=5&rows=12&condition=&keyword=&rn=56

  • ⑨ Figures
    - Figures must be numbered consecutively according to the order of citation using Arabic numerals.
    - A subheading and a summary should accompany each figure. Summaries must be in sentence form.
    - For figures that include images with microscopic subjects, summaries should include the name of the staining material used and the level of magnification.
  • ⑩ Tables
    - Tables should include only Arabic numerals and English words, and table contents should not be repeated in the text.
    - Table titles should be in the form of clear and simple phrases. The first letter of all nouns and adjectives must be capitalized; no period following the title is needed.
    - Tables must be numbered consecutively in the order of citation using Arabic numerals.
    - All abbreviations are defined in the summary provided beneath each table.
    - To highlight contents to be discussed in the table summary, superscripted labels in the format “a, b, c, d” may be used.
    
  • ⑪ Photographs
    - All photographs should be submitted as individual files with individual numbers. File names should correspond with the photograph number; file names should not include author names.
    - Photographs should be submitted in jpg, jpeg, gif or ppt format. Tiff format may be used for high quality images. Color image printing shall be borne by the authors.
    - Only high resolution image files of at least 300 dpi for color images and 600 dpi for gray scale images should be submitted.
    - To reproduce a previously published image, authors must obtain written consent. Permission should be indicated in the figure legend.
    
• 2) Case report
  • ① Title page
    - Formatting follows that of the original article.
  • ② Abstract and key words (five or fewer)
    - The abstract and key words should be written in English.
    - The abstract of the case report should be described in a continuous format without subheadings within 200 words.
  • ③ Introduction
    - The purpose of the case report and related background should be described briefly.
    
  • ④ Case report
    - The case report should be provided in a continuous format without subheadings and should include patient information, chief complaints, present illnesses, etc.
  • ⑤ Discussion
    - The Discussion should briefly describe new observations or author opinions related to the case.
  • ⑥ References
    - Reference formatting follows that of the original article. The number of references is limited to 20.
  • ⑦ Figure and photograph legends
    - In accordance with that of the original article
  • ⑧ Figures and photographs
    - In accordance with that of the original article
• 3) Review articles
  - Substantive reviews focusing on specific topics should be prepared in the following order: ① title page, ② abstract and key words, ③ introduction, ④ main body, ⑤ conclusion, ⑥ references, ⑦ figure legends, and ⑧ tables, figures, and photographs. Formatting details except abstract are in accordance with those of the original article. The content of the review article may be described freely.
  - The abstract of the review article should be described in a continuous format without subheadings within 250 words.
• 4) Editorials
  Editorials are invited by the editor and should be commentaries on articles published recently in the Journal. Tables and/or figures may be included. Editorials should not exceed 2,000 words, excluding references, tables, and figures. No subdivisions (such as an Introduction, Materials and Methods, Results, or Discussion) are required. A maximum of of 20 references may be included.
• 5) Brief reports
  - Brief reports should not exceed 5,000 words and should include no more than five figures or tables. The main body follows a continuous format in which the main sections are not separated by headings. The number of references is limited to 20. Other details follow that of the case report. Authors should include ‘brief report’ at the top of the title page.
• 6) Image of the issue
  - Image of the Issue is to introduce typical images that assist in the diagnosis of rare cases or unusual presentation of common conditions. The manuscript for Image of the Issue should be composed of “Question“ part that presents a summary of cardinal features with key images and “Answer“ part that presents the diagnosis and brief discussion of the disease. Image of the issue should not exceed 1,000 words, and there should be no more than five figures. A maximum of 20 references may be included.
• 7) Research update
  - Research updates should be summaries on articles published recently in the other journals. Tables and/or figures may be included. Research updates should not exceed 2,000 words, excluding references, tables, and figures. A maximum of 20 references may be included.

PROCESSING OF THE REVIEW

• 1. All manuscripts submitted are evaluated by the Editor-in-Chief.
• 2. Appropriate manuscripts are peer-reviewed blindly by at least two reviewers who have relevant subject area expertise. The editorial board determines whether to publish a manuscript on the basis of the peer review. The board may also request manuscript revisions.
• 3. The editor’s decision on whether to accept, reject or request revisions will be communicated to the corresponding author. Following revisions, manuscripts will be reviewed to ensure that the journal’s instructions were followed, a determination regarding acceptance will be made, and an anticipated date for publication will be arranged. Manuscripts that are rejected will not be re-reviewed.
• 4. Manuscript checklists should be filled completely and frankly. If the checklist is incomplete or inaccurate, the manuscript will be returned to authors without review. Authors may resubmit after proper correction.
• 5. The entire publication and review process is conducted through the online management system. When requested, authors should make manuscript revisions based on reviewer comments. Authors should upload a revised manuscript within 8 weeks for an original article and within 4 weeks for a case report. Otherwise, the manuscript is considered to be withdrawn and the review process is terminated.
• 6. Editors may change the wording or formatting of the manuscript as long as the original meaning is not altered. Following editor revisions, manuscript proofs will be sent to authors for approval and should be returned immediately to the publisher. Publication occurs after final author confirmation of changes.
• 7. Authors of original articles and case studies do not need to pay publication fees basically. However, the cost of the design, reprinting, or color images might be requested to the authors if needed.
• 8. The copyrights for articles published in this journal belong to The Korean College of Helicobacter and Upper Gastrointestinal Research, but legal responsibilities are retained by the authors. Public announcement of article content prior to publication is not permitted except when essential in a public health emergency. In this situation, the editorial board may agree to lift the restriction. Publication for commercial purposes is not allowed.