Creating a Video Abstract for your Research

Want to create an impactful abstract that persuades the readers to read your article?  Here’s an interesting solution – Video Abstracts

Introduction

What is a video abstract?

A video abstract is an innovative way to explain your work to the public and researchers outside of your field that adds value proposition. This 3-5 minute video lets you conclude all the accomplishments in your research work in a journal article.

Importance of Video Abstract

Video Abstract uses a method to create a video summary by using a series of fixed pictures or moving images that let the readers get a brief idea about the targeted topic within a short period of time rather than scrolling through a theoretical and lengthy abstract.

Techniques for Observation Video Abstraction

  1. Color-based Techniques: It is used because of its indifference and stability against changes in direction and size.

 

  1. Event-Based Video Abstraction: It combines motion analysis with video skimming to create an event-based method that examines the optical flow to find exciting events and compare them to previous data. Events of interest are usually kept in video abstracts.

 

  1. Motion-Based Technique: It addresses pixel-to-pixel frame differences and optical flow.

 

  1. PowerPoint Presentation: This is the most common and popular technique that delivers insightful images and clean slides which is used for video abstract.

 

  1. Animations: With the help of accessible animation software tools, dynamic or stationary picture graphics can be created which is a cost-effective method.

 

  1. Combination types: This technique can create meaningful abstracts by gathering high activity material and being threshold-independent, but it is a domain-specific approach.

 

Video abstraction suggested for observation

  1. Pre-selection
  2. Attribute abstraction
  3. Colour and appearance
  4. Technical Specifications

 

Guidelines for Video Submission

  1. Incorporation of video picture files as supplementary electronic materials should be done by the author.
  2. After the approval of the manuscript, the author is asked to upload the video pictures to MOMO (Make Our Movies Open) (via website).
  3. This is done by an associate editor who is in charge of video submissions and e-mail management.
  4. At this point, the steps to upload the video are provided.
  5. Once the video is published in the Online First Article, no modifications can be henceforth. Therefore, the writers are advised to upload a new file to MOMO and get a different ID code in case they want to opt for any modifications.
  6. In case of query, kindly contact the head editor.

 

Conclusion

A number of video apps count on video abstraction, such as categorization, reading, and recapture. The various techniques used for a better video abstraction is a key point to keep in mind. Also, the technicalities and specifications mentioned must be employed for an innovative and interesting video abstract for a journal article.

Post Acceptance Changes of Manuscripts

Proofs are supplied to the corresponding author once your manuscript has been approved for publication. Once approved by the corresponding author, your paper is assembled into an issue of the journal and published in its final form. After providing your proof revisions, you are not expected to provide additional input as the piece’s author.

There are three stages between submission and publication in a peer-reviewed journal:

  • The time elapsed between submission and the first decision.
  • The amount of time required for the authors to revise
  • The time it takes from acceptance to publishing. 

    Peer review occurs when an article is submitted to a target journal. However, multiple processes are frequently only known to the related author. When you make a manuscript submission to a journal, it travels quite a distance, and the manuscript status is tracked with the help of the manuscript number. If a paper is accepted after peer review, it goes through proof development and a review procedure before being published. This process is a time-consuming process that necessitates a thorough examination of your manuscript’s publication-ready version. If you make a mistake here, it may be tough to fix!

     Changes to Authorship

    Requests for adding an author before publication are less difficult to arrange than requests after publication. Requests to add authors before publication typically comes from inside the existing author team. When requests are made after publication, they rarely come from inside the existing team but rather from a disgruntled team member who believes they deserved authorship but were not properly credited.

     Changes to Manuscript

    Copyediting the manuscript carefully ensures that it is accurate, clear, legible, written in good English, and adheres to the journal’s house style. Typesetting in the journal’s format for print or pdf, with the appropriate fonts and symbols, and with the figures in their final sizes, is what typesetting entails.

    After consulting with co-authors, the corresponding author returns the PDF to Proof checking Services. Authors can assist by asking just necessary modifications (such as typos). Authors may believe their figures are too small and request that they be expanded. After the corresponding author and Proofreading Services have agreed on all revisions, a subeditor rereads the entire proof and cycles with the typesetter until it is finally correct.

    Errors Spotted by Readers

    Aside from what has been said above, inaccuracies in published articles may be discovered by readers other than the author. In such circumstances, the editor must seek clarification from the appropriate author. Furthermore, if necessary, agree on the phrasing of a corrigendum or erratum that meets the author’s and reader’s approval.

    The most serious cases involving requests for revisions to published articles occur when a reader reports that an article is:

    • Replicated or plagiarised
    • Data that has been faked or manipulated
    • There are catastrophic errors that the writers cannot repair or explain in an erratum or corrigendum. 

      Conclusion

      Requests to make changes to manuscripts after approval are quite rare. Editors do not keep a systematic record of such incidents. As a result, it isn’t easy to estimate how frequently this occurs or what the most common causes are.

5 Steps for Publishing in a High-Quality Medical Journal

Scientific writing and publishing is a vital component of medical advancement. Publications are used to transmit new developments in human knowledge to the rest of the world. This knowledge must be accurate, valid, reproducible, and clinically valuable. Many ambitious physicians and scientists aspire to publish their work in high-impact publications.

 What are the Effective Steps for Publishing in a High-Quality Medical Journal?

Choose a Journal and Read the Journal’s Instructions.

It is critical to decide on authorship and the order of authors, including the corresponding author, ahead of time. 6 All authors listed on the final manuscript must have contributed substantially to the work to be held accountable and accept public accountability for the publication’s content. When preparing your paper, carefully observe the author guidelines, including the word limit and the number of tables and figures allowed. Many journals permit the submission of supplemental material as part of your publication, subject to the word count and figures/tables constraints.

Prepare the Manuscript

  • Organize the Manuscript – Begin by outlining the manuscript with this basic structure in mind. The first rough draft would be a list of crucial points to describe beneath each section and subsection.
  • Prepare the Manuscript – Pay attention when drafting the manuscript to avoid plagiarism (including self-plagiarism), fraud, and fabrication.
  • Colleagues should provide feedback and revise the manuscript – After completing the work, share it with co-authors and one or two non-author colleagues for criticism and feedback. Address and correct the English after revising to verify that your idea or ideas have been appropriately and fully communicated.

 

Submit the Manuscript

The majority of scientific journals now demand submissions be made through their websites. Most journals allow authors to propose reviewers who should and should not evaluate an article during the manuscript submission process. Such comments are beneficial to the editorial staff of the journals. Choose your title and keywords carefully so that readers can discover your paper. A brief cover letter that includes a two- to a three-sentence overview of the manuscript’s relevance might provide essential context to the editor.

Receive the Editor’s Communication and Revise the Manuscript

Acceptance of a paper as submitted is extremely rare. Do not be offended if your manuscript is rejected. In reality, only about one in every four articles is approved by a top journal. If adjustments are requested, it is critical to provide a thoughtful and respectful response to maximize the likelihood of later acceptance.

Resubmit the Manuscript

Include a cover letter to the editor with point-by-point responses to the reviewers’ remarks and ideas when submitting a revised manuscript, and address all complaints and suggestions as extensively as possible. It would help to highlight the Changes in the updated text to evaluate thoroughly.

Conclusion

To summarise, the process of publishing a manuscript in a high-impact journal begins with selecting an important question, designing a sound study with statistical power, carrying out the work with impeccable integrity and attention to detail, writing an excellent manuscript, submitting it to the appropriate journal, fully responding to reviewer comments, and completing the standard post-acceptance checks. Nothing beats the satisfaction of seeing your paper published and visible to the rest of the world.

 

Reasons for Facing Desk Rejection

There are numerous causes for rejection; however, desk rejection or rejection without peer review is one of the most annoying emails an author gets. It’s not uncommon to have a paper rejected. To decide how to continue from there, you must first understand why the journal editor did not send it out for peer review.

It’s critical to comprehend the reasons behind a rejection before deciding on a strategy. It’s usually simple to extract the criticism about your work from a peer review report and organize your next steps accordingly. It can be more difficult to comprehend why your work was rejected by the journal editor without having been sent out for review. This blog post summarizes the five most prevalent reasons for rejection without peer review to assist you decides on a resubmission strategy.

  1. If the manuscript does not meet the journal’s objectives or scope

It’s doubtful that the paper will be approved if it won’t be of interest or value to the journal’s readers. When deciding which magazine to submit to, always read the Aims and Scope to get a sense of the types of papers the journal is searching for. In other words, does your work, beyond its scientific scope, fit the journal’s unique geographical region? Distinct journals have different scopes, which are usually quite narrow. Make sure your manuscript is appropriate for the journal you want to submit it to.

  1. If the results of your research were not significant or new enough

Journal editors frequently reject papers without submitting them for peer review because they do not believe the manuscript is appropriate for their publication. If you submit your manuscript to a publication with a diverse audience in terms of expertise, the editor may decide that your study isn’t of sufficient interest to a large enough section of the readership.

It’s also possible that the journal editor isn’t sure that your findings are substantial enough to warrant publication. This implies they may not anticipate their having far-reaching repercussions for your field of study. It is usually also necessary for journals with high journal impact factors if the research is original and has not been published before, even if only in part.

  1. If plagiarism is too high

Plagiarism should be avoided at all costs. You could be accused of plagiarism if you intentionally or unintentionally plagiarized the work of other researchers. Manuscripts are run through various plagiarism detection software programmes by publications. If there is more than 20% duplication in a manuscript, it will be returned to the authors for editing. The publishers may report the material as plagiarized if that percentage is significantly greater. If you effectively plagiarize your own work by merely repackaging it, you may be called out.

  1. If your data is inadequately presented, and you applied inappropriate methods

Editors of broad-read journals typically cover a significant percentage of a research field, thus they are unlikely to be specialists in your research topic. As a result, people are likely to skip over your Results section and instead focus on your data when evaluating the quality of your research.

Even if the journal editor is unfamiliar with your research topic, you may expect them to have a strong awareness of what is going on in your field in general. As a result, if they see that you employed an obsolete method or didn’t use a strategy properly, your work will most likely be rejected right away.

  1. If there are issues with language, writing, and spelling

The document’s language, organization, and any tables or figures must all be of sufficient quality to be examined; if this is not possible, the paper will be rejected. Your abstract, cover letter, references, and, if applicable, your discussion and/or conclusions section are usually of particular interest to journal editors (s). It’s usually a good idea to have someone else look through your paper before you submit it; the second set of eyes can help you catch any mistakes you may have overlooked.

There are other causes for submission rejection, but these are only a few of the most typical issues cited by journals. For busy researchers, it may appear to be a lot of work, and this is where we, ManuscriptEdit may help.

How to fix 5 Desk Rejection

Rejection from a journal is no one’s cup of tea but then it’s a reality that a large number of the article gets rejected across different journals.  Also, Journals mention the acceptance rate or the changes of the article getting rejected on their web page.

High impact or top journals routinely reject the majority of the articles. Few changes can improve the chances of successful publication.

  • Non-accordance with the journal’s aim & scope

Very often while selecting a journal we feel that the aim and scope match our field of work; however, it’s not the case.  We need to read the former a couple of times along with the recently published articles to be doubly sure regarding the scope of journals.

  • Lack of proper language and presentation style

Language is an important medium for sharing scientific know-how. Grammatical and scientifically correct language and abiding by the journal formatting guild lines are mandated for avoiding desktop rejection.

  • Plagiarism and simultaneous submission to more than one journal

Copying someone’s work as our own data is a violation of professional ethics. Always give due acknowledgment to someone else’s data while writing. Never submit your work to multiple journals at a time. The author should wait till the editorial process of one journal is over or they have got a clear cut no from the journal.

  • Ambiguity in methodology

The process of the study or the research protocol is mentioned in the methodology. It should be clear and systematic. Any flaw in the methodology section represents non-clarity on how the study was conducted.

  • Abide by journal’s formatting guidelines

Stick to the journal’s requirement for word count, font, line spacing, and margin. Also, be careful with the number of figures and tables allowed and their format for submission. The placement of the figure and table is also crucial that is, whether it should be at the end of the manuscript or within the text itself. Reference formatting both in text and in the list at the end of the manuscript needs lots of precession.

Publishing your article after Acceptance

What is an Accepted Manuscript?

The version of the manuscript that has been peer-reviewed is the accepted version. The simplest permitted versions are files that are effectively just plain text with no layout characteristic. This is how the vast majority of accepted papers appear. The Accepted Manuscript should be identical to the final published edition, but there should be no logo, citation details, copyediting, formatting, or copyright marking from the publisher. The document might be in PDF or Word format. Keep a copy of your Accepted Manuscript for any future postings after you receive the acceptance email from the Editorial Office.

What documents do you receive after acceptance?

When your paper is accepted for publication, the proofs are sent to the corresponding author. A paper is subedited (copyedited) after it is accepted to achieve optimum clarity and reach. Ensuring the accuracy of references is vital as published papers should not contain errors. Your paper is combined into an issue of the journal and published in its final form once the associated author approves them.

  • An acceptance letter from your journal’s editorial system.
  • When the object is passed to production, the Production Tracking System (PTS) sends an acknowledgment letter with the following information:
  • The reference code for the utility to track your accepted article.
  • Offprint Order form link to order Proofs and reprint of your article.
  • Copyright, sponsorship and funding, and open access are all covered in the Rights and Access form.
  • A link to a colour figure reproduction form, if applicable.

What to do after Research Paper acceptance?

There are still things that you must-do if you truly want to benefit from your publication.

  • Get an ORCID (Open Researcher and Contributor ID) as it assigns a unique identification to each research output, ensuring that your work is not mistaken with that of others.
  • Making the accepted work online provides some advantages, including:
  • Earlier access to research that can be read and cited
  • Authors can promote their work as soon as it is acknowledged by their peers, keeping the publication process moving forward.
  • Share it with people as possible to recognize and respond to your work. Breaking down technical and language barriers is another powerful and effective strategy to increase public interest in your work. The way different publishers and periodicals address the problem of sharing differs.
  • Researchers will have more prospects for grant acceptance because they would be able to list their work early.
  • After all of your time and work has gone into publishing and promoting your paper, it only makes sense to keep an eye on it and assess the feedback.

Conclusion

The length of time it takes to prove an article varies by journal. Most journals will send you proofs within two weeks of receiving your acknowledgment letter. Many papers are published online one week before they are printed, and the corresponding authors of these papers will be notified via e-mail when the online publishing date is confirmed. It takes roughly 4-6 weeks for an article to be published after it has been accepted. After that, you can unwind, relax, and reward yourself for your work until the next piece.

Plagiarism in Academic writing: How to Identify and Avoid It

Plagiarism is well-known as a breach of publishing ethics which is despised in the academic circle. However, while in some cases the authors engage in deliberate plagiarism, more often than not authors end up being guilty of plagiarism unknowingly. This is because plagiarism, although a very commonly used term, is a vaguely defined concept.

Plagiarism technically means using someone else’s ideas/ intellectual property as one’s own without giving proper credit to the original creator. While the first part (as one’s own) is well understood as improper appropriation, it is often the second part (giving proper credit) where author’s unintentionally falter. 

Some of the most common forms of plagiarism are:

Patchwork: patchwork refers to direct lifting or verbatim representation of another’s work without using quotations or referencing. This is the most blatant form of plagiarism.

Plagiarised ideas: This is when you pass-off someone else’s ideas as your own, even if in your own words or articulation.

Loose paraphrasing: This is the most common form of unintentional plagiarism. Authors, while discussing literature reviews, often write the content of other authors without proper attribution, which technically makes it plagiarism.

Self-plagiarism: This is the most difficult to understand the form of plagiarism. This refers to recycling of one’s own work in multiple publications. While it is difficult to comprehend how one can ‘steal’ from oneself, reproduction of the same work in multiple journal publications or presenting the same content multiple times to bolster the number of one’s publications is a problem in academics that has led to this publishing ethics.

How to avoid unintentional plagiarism:

Proper referencing: while doing your background research, keep meticulous notes of which ideas/sections are from which article. While writing, maintain side notes for proper referencing later while finalizing the article.

Quotes and paraphrasing: authors often tangle themselves up in this issue! For citing what some other author has said, it is advisable to use quotations to drive home a critical or technical detail. While discussing a concept and how others have addressed it, it is better to paraphrase it in one’s own words.

While paraphrasing, one must be careful not to reproduce the same content by just replacing certain words here and there. A proper paraphrasing would be a complete re-articulation of the source material. Proper paraphrasing is rewriting other’s content from one’s own perspective.

In both cases, proper citation or reference is mandatory.

Follow citation rules: every journal has well-defined citation and referencing norms and one must follow them judiciously. Journals nowadays prefer in-text referencing, especially for paraphrasing and quotations and it is a good habit to develop one’s writing style with in-text referencing.

Rewrite your own words: while referring to your own previous works, we often tend to copy-paste paragraphs as one likes one’s own articulation best. However, in order to avoid self-plagiarism, rewrite the content every time for a new article in the context of the new article, and you will see your language will change.

How to write a Literature Review article for a Journal

 Literature review articles are a critical form of publication. While all research articles require a literature review section, some articles are purely dedicated stand-alone literature reviews only, published as review articles or survey articles by journals. There exists a certain journal dedicated to such articles.

Review articles are extremely popular with professionals, young students, and novice researchers benefiting immensely from such evaluations of the existing literature in their fields of expertise. Review articles also tend to be highly cited, making them appealing for both journals and authors.

Here are some key tips on how to write a good literature review article for journal publication.

Depth of knowledge: depth and breadth of knowledge is necessary to produce a truly insightful and useful literature review for publication in a journal. A review article is not just about reporting recent literature on the subject that you have come across, but really about giving a unique perspective that threads all these together. One has to read the articles, grasp their essence, and then write about it with authority and interpretive wisdom which is intellectually challenging. While most journals prefer to invite experienced experts to write literature reviews, some do accept unsolicited author submitted manuscripts for publication provided they are of high caliber.

Choice of topic: The topic must not too broad and not too narrow and choose one correctly for the type of review you would like to write. Pick a narrow topic if you intend to write a short crisp review, either about a certain procedure/methodology being explored in your field or certain types of experiments being conducted. For a wider and theoretical exploration of new ideas or burning issues in your field, choose a topic that is wide enough so that you will be able to find enough articles to discuss.

Define the scope of the article: It is very important to limit the scope of the article in order to ensure that you do not lose focus. The point of a good literature review is sharing your perspective while amalgamating various perspectives or viewpoints. It is critical not to be deviate in your discussion by shifting focus to what the others were trying to say. Remember, people will read your article for what you want to say.

Thorough background research: a literature review requires thorough background research. You have to extensively read on the subject, even if you are not covering or referencing every article that you read. While the seminal works deserve a focus, remember there are many others who might have contributed to the field as well. It is critical to develop a wider perspective and then focus and cite some key articles only in your manuscript.

Constructive criticism: A review, while being critical, should not be about nitpicking. You may differ with some authors, or highlight some lacuna that needs to be explored in the field. However, your manuscript must reflect areas of development and encouragement for your readers, and offer new grounds for academic activism on the topic. Only then will a journal consider it for publication.

How to Overcome Difficulties in Academic Writing

Academic writing is a skill essential for anyone looking to pursue higher academics. Academic writing is a specific type of writing that involves a lot of reading or material collection, doing in-depth research and critical analysis of scholarly literature, planning of the entire presentation, revising contents and structure, etc. Invariably it ends up involving rewriting, editing, proofreading, and formatting to make it more professional and efficient.

Academic writings can be in the form of essays, term paper, thesis, dissertation, research reports, etc. depending on the core academic activity on which the final manuscript is to be based. While each of these forms has its own peculiarities and specific requirements, there are certain commonalities that every budding academician needs to keep in mind. Making essays with seotoolscentre sentence rewriter can be way easier and faster.

The first key element for academic writing is self-organization. Academic writing is different from other forms of writing as it requires strict discipline not only in preparation for the content but also in how the content is presented. Any academic manuscript needs to be organized in a standard format: an introduction that includes the hypothesis or the premise which is essentially what the entire manuscript tries to address; the body of the content, which should include separate paragraphs discussing evidence that supports or negates the hypothesis; and a conclusion that ties everything together and conclusively connects it to the hypothesis. Self-organization starts with narrowing down the planned manuscript to chalk-out a basic outline even before the first words are drafted.

Research of secondary literature or ‘literature review’ is an essential part of any academic writing. Before one delves into one’s own hypothesis and arguments in favor or in opposition to it, it is customary to first review and present the viewpoints/evidence already presented by all others/peers in this field. Any such research needs to be reported with proper citation and accreditation as deemed fit. Plagiarism is a major problem in the field of academic writing and special care needs to be taken to ensure (a) no referencing is missed out for any secondary source of material and (b) the language of presentation is an authors’ own and not just a plain copy-paste of the original manuscript. One can always quote others but that needs to be done in a limited capacity and in proper formatting and protocols for quoting and citations.

Editing of the manuscript is an absolute must for any academic writing. Grammar, style, and punctuation are incredibly important if the article is to be understood and taken seriously. Language and vocabulary are important, and using jargon just to sound smart often results in the opposite effect if used inappropriately as it exposes overcompensating in their writing. Each body paragraph must start with a topic sentence that presents the main idea of the paragraph and express your point of view, and each paragraph much end with its own mini-conclusion of the discussions covered that logically leads to the next paragraph.

Academic writing is a habit developed by practice and is an integral part of the entire academic exercise.

Molecular memory in plants

Plants utilize a set of precise sensory systems to screen the significant factors, for improving the growth, improvement, metabolism, morphogenesis, and behavior in their environment. Plants acquire remarkable capabilities to utilize chemical occurrences to defend themselves against predators and notify the neighboring plants of the danger.

Do plants have a memory?

Plants do not have a brain or nervous system as humans do but acquire a “molecular” memory. Molecular memory is the elaborate mechanisms enabling plants to respond to environmental changes. The responses of the plant are regulated at a molecular level by alternations in gene expression. All memory functions have a molecular basis, like in signal reception and transduction, and in the storage of information.

In what way, the memory works?

Experiences on certain environmental events can be stored in the form of chemical molecules. The transformation in the chemical nature of a cell includes the change in protein content, the supplementation of the primary as well as secondary metabolic products, or the medication of enzyme activity in the plant cell. The plant immune memory shapes immunological memory similar to competent immunity as in mammals. All of these processes can be used to store experiences in organisms without a nervous system.

Role of epigenetic mechanism

Plants are unable to move freely, so try to get control of environmental stresses by timing their physiological processes. For this reason, epigenetics comes to play. The role of epigenetic regulation responses to environmental stimuli, particularly in response to stresses. Hence, plants have advanced epigenetic machinery that controls their flowering scheduling.

Vernalization

Vernalizationassistancesthe plants regulate the correct time to bloom flowers. Researchers have established that some plants can recall the experiences they had of drought and dehydration, cold and heat, excess light, acidic soil, exposure to short-wave radiation, and simulation of insects eating their leaves. If they face with similar situations again, the plants adapt themselves accordingly. They may keep extra water, become more sensitive to light, or develop their acceptance to salt or cold. Sometimes, these memories are even handed over to the next generation by spreading information in form of chemicals or electric charges through the air or from their roots.

“Root-brain” hypothesis

The knowledge that plants display intricate and flexible behavior that involves intellectual procedures is not firsthand. Actually, scientist Charles Darwin had recognized the intellectual sensitivity of plants when he suggested the “root-brain” hypothesis that the tip of plant roots acts like the brain of some. The recent studies verify the earlier Darwinian insights and demonstrate that most of the behavior of plants are adaptive, thus confirming their existence.

Evidently, plants do not have a nervous system like animals; therefore, the ways of response to all the environmental changes are unlike from other animals. However, plants are confronted with similar types of tasks as per animals and have progressed methods to understand the situation in order to resolve it.