Asian Journal of Urology is an international peer-reviewed Open Access journal, and published quarterly in English. It is the official journal of the Chinese Urological Association, and sponsored by Tongji University. The 2020 CiteScore is 4.1 which ranks 27/94 (Medicine: Urology). The journal aims to build a communication platform for international researchers to effectively share scholarly achievements. It focuses on all specialties of urology both scientifically and clinically, with article types widely covering Original article, Review, Surgery alive, Editorial, Letter, Research Highlight, Clinical experience, Clinical images, Case report, etc. 

Fields of particular interest to the journal including, but not limited to: 

● Surgical oncology

● Endourology 

● Calculi 

● Female urology 

● Erectile dysfunction 

● Infertility 

● Pediatric urology 

● Renal transplantation 

● Reconstructive surgery 

● Radiology 

● Pathology 

● Neurourology

Indexed in ESCI, PubMed, Scopus, Embase, DOAJ, Google Scholar, Primo Central Index, TDOne(TDNet), CSCD, etc. 

Manuscript Submission

Manuscripts for Asian Journal of Urology should be submitted via the homepage of the journal at http://www.ajurology.com or via the online manuscript submission and review system at http:// mc03.manuscriptcentral.com/aju. The site contains instructions and advice on how to use the system, guidance on the creation/scanning and saving of electronic art, and supporting documentation. Authors may check the status of articles on the submission Web. If you have any questions for papers’ preparation, please contact Editorial office of Asian Journal of Urology via aju_admin@163.com. 

Language

Manuscripts should be written in English. Authors are free to choose between British English and American English in terms of spelling and grammar as long as the language style is consistent throughout the text. 

Article types

Original Articles 

Original Articles typically include basic research, randomized trials, epidemiologic assessments, intervention studies, cohort studies, case-control studies, other observational studies, surveys with high response rates, cost-effectiveness analyses and decision analyses, and studies of screening and diagnostic tests in the field of urology. For clinical and randomized trials, authors must adhere to the CONSORT guidelines (http://www.consort-statement.org). Manuscripts should be arranged as follows: Cover letter, Title Page, Main Document (including Title, Abstracts, Keywords, Introduction, Materials [or Patients] and methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusion, and References), Author contributions, Conflicts of interest, Acknowledgements and Tables or Figures. Please see article preparation below for further details. Maximum length: 6000 words of text (not including abstract, tables, figures, references, and online-only material), with no more than a total of eight tables and/ or figures and no more than 80 references.

Reviews 

Reviews should include the urological questions or issues which are important for biomedical research, clinical practice, special practice, or public health; description of how the relevant evidence was identified, assessed for quality, and selected for inclusion; synthesis of the available evidence such that the best-quality evidence (e.g., randomized clinical trials, meta-analyses, systematic reviews, and high-quality prospective cohort studies) should receive the greatest emphasis; and discussion of controversial aspects and unresolved issues. Manuscripts reporting a systematic review and meta-analysis should comply with the PRISMA statement. Reviews should be arranged as follows: Cover letter, Title Page, Main Document (including Title, Abstract, Keywords, Introduction, Main body, Conclusion/Summaries/Future perspectives and References), Author contributions, Conflicts of interest, Acknowledgements and Tables or Figures. Please see article preparation below for further details. Maximum length: 8000 words of text (not including abstract, tables, figures, references, and online-only materials), with no more than a total of six tables and/or figures and no more than 120 references.

Surgery Alive  

The Surgery Alive section is the article concisely describing a particular procedure or technique with an accompanying video that includes narration of the surgical procedure. Authors are encouraged to include illustrative images in the manuscripts. Manuscripts should be arranged as follows: Cover letter, Title Page, Main Document (including Title, Abstracts, Keywords, Introduction, Materials [or Patients] and methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusion and References), Author contributions, Conflicts of interest, Acknowledgements and Tables or Figures, and Video. Please see article preparation below for further details. Maximum length: 3000 words of text (not including abstract, tables, figures, references, and online-only material), with no more than a total of six tables and/or figures and no more than 40 references. Authors should provide a high-quality narrated video showing the main procedure or the method clearly, which will be hosted on the journal website. Video can be done in the same way as a figure or table by referring to the video or animation content and noting in the body text where the link of video should be placed. In order to ensure that your video or animation material is directly usable, please provide the file in MP4 formats with a maximum size of 150 MB. Please contact the Editorial office at aju_admin@163.com if you could not upload the video successfully in the manuscript system. 

Editorials

Editorials provide opinions on controversial issues in urology. Authors should concisely present the current issue and then address the problem or express their opinions to find a potential solution. This type of Editorial may be submitted or commissioned by the Editor. 

Another type of Editorial provides comments regarding an article in the issue. They are nearly always solicited, although unsolicited editorials may occasionally be considered.

Editorials may include two figure or table. They are limited to 2500 words (excluding references and legends), with up to 25 references. Editorials do not contain an abstract and keywords.

Letters 

Letters to the Editor provide commentary and analysis concerning articles published in the journal within a year. The journal may invite a reply from original authors if the letter is chosen for acceptance. 

Another different type of Letters is also welcome, which provide rapid and concise report of a novel and interesting finding that may lead to substantial research. These article types typically contain original data and are of general interest to the field but may not meet all the requirements needed for publication as a full-length manuscript. 

There should be no more than 1000 words (not including references), 10 references, one figure or table. Letters to the Editor do not contain an abstract and keywords. 

Research Highlights

Research Highlights are by invitation only and present short updates on new progress in the field of Urology and comment on articles published in other top journals. There should contain no more than 1000 words of text, 1 display item (figure or table) and a maximum of 10 references. Research Highlights do not contain an abstract. 

Clinical experiences 

Clinical experiences report the experience for diagnosis, treatment or prevention of urological diseases. Maximum length: 1500 words of text (not including abstract, tables, figures, references, and online-only material) with no more than a total of two tables and/or figures and four reference. Clinical experiences do not contain an abstract.

Clinical images 

Clinical images are intended to provide a visual image of an interesting and unique urological observation. A 500-word description (not including the figures, tables, legends, or references) of the clinical issue, the patient’s urological findings, and the image should be included. There should be no more than two images and four references. Clinical images do not contain an abstract. 

Case reports

Case reports include short reports or original studies or evaluations or unique, first-time reports or clinical cases (individual or a series). Maximum length: 1000-2000 words (including acknowledgment, abstract, all text, tables, figure legends, and references), with no more than 15 references and four tables and/or figures. 

Special feature

Urological data include 1) the number, distribution and features of urological institutes, equipments, and researching faculty in various countries in the world; 2) the data analysis of international cuttingedge researches on urology, such as new theories, techniques, projects, clinical trials, awards, patents, and outcomes transforming; 3) quantitative analysis on urological literatures to provide references for future researches. Submissions could be research article, review, and letter.

Asian focus welcomes researches with typical Asian features, including those on epidemical, genetical, regional areas, and occupational, frequently occurring diseases, as well as disease spectrum and other representing the current situations in Asia (Asian countries’ names are preferred appearing in the title). It also includes policy and guide interpretation in Asian countries and regions. Submissions could be research article, review, and letter.

Manuscript preparation

● Cover letter 

● Title page 

● Abstract 

● Keywords 

● Introduction

● Materials (Patients) and methods 

● Results 

● Discussion 

● Conclusion 

● Acknowledgements 

● Author contributions 

● Conflicts of interest 

● References 

● Figure legends 

● Tables 

● Figures 

● Cover letter

Submitted manuscripts should be accompanied by a covering letter giving details of: 1) A statement that the manuscript has not been published in part or whole (except in the form of abstract) or is not under consideration for publication elsewhere in any language; 2) A statement that all authors have agreed to be so listed and have seen and approved the manuscript, its consent and its submission to Asian Journal of Urology; 3) A brief introduction to the novel findings of this work.

● Title page 

Title (concise and descriptive; avoid abbreviations and formula) 

Running Head (brief descriptive, be as brief as possible; not to exceed 60 characters; convey the essential message of the paper and not contain any abbreviations) 

Authors (first name and initials followed by surname, e.g. John R. Smith [“John” is the given name; “Smith” is the surname])

Affiliations (indicate all affiliations with a lowercase superscript letter if multiple affiliations are listed, and then add the lowercase superscript following respective name) 

Corresponding Author (name, e-mail address, full mailing address, phone number; please make sure the information is kept up to date) 

Please note if authors regard it as essential to indicate that two or more co-authors are equal in status, they may be identified by an asterisk symbol with the caption “These two authors contributed equally to this work” immediately under the Affiliation List. 

● Abstract 

Includes a structured abstract of no more than 300 words for original articles, review articles, case report, and surgery alive. For the review article focusing on basic research in urology, unstructured abstract is also acceptable. Abstracts are not required for editorials, letters, research highlights, clinical images, clinical experiences. The structured abstract should include the following part: Objective, Methods, Results, Conclusion. 

● Keywords 

Please indicate four to eight descriptive keywords that capture the main topics of the article. 

● Headings and subheadings Headings and subheadings are required for article with abstract. In the Original Article and Surgery Alive, the headings and sub-headings should be numbered consecutively start with “1. Introduction (then 1.1, 1.2, etc); 2. Materials (Patients) and methods (then 2.1 [then 2.1.1, 2.1.2, etc], 2.2 [then 2.2.1, 2.2.2, etc])”; in the review and case report, the headings and sub-headings should be numbered consecutively start with “1. Introduction (then 1.1, 1.2, etc); 2. heading of the main body (then 2.1 [then 2.1.1, 2.1.2, etc], 2.2 [then 2.2.1, 2.2.2, etc])”

● Introduction 

Provide the background knowledge related to the research and should be as concise as possible, avoiding a detailed literature survey or a summary of the results.

● Materials (Patients) and methods 

Provide clear and sufficient details to allow the work to be reproduced by an independent researcher. Authors should provide the name of the manufacturer and their location (City and Country) for any specifically named medical equipment and instruments. Methods that are already published should be summarized, and indicated by a reference. If quoting directly from a previously published method, use quotation marks and also cite the source. Any modifications to existing methods should also be described.

● Results 

Results should be clear and concise.

● Discussion 

This should explore the significance of the results of the work, and not repeat them. Avoid extensive citations and discussion of published literature. 

● Conclusion 

The main conclusions of the study may be presented in a short Conclusion section. 

● Acknowledgments 

This should include any personal thanks as well as listing the source of research funds (grant numbers). If no funding has been provided for the research or no personal thanks, this section can be ignored. 

● Author contributions 

This should include the aspects below, but not limited to, 

Study concept and design: Author names (use the full name) 

Data acquisition: Author names (use the full name) 

Data analysis: Author names (use the full name) 

Drafting of manuscript: Author names (use the full name) 

Critical revision of the manuscript: Author names (use the full name)

● Conflicts of Interest 

In the interests of transparency and to help readers to form their own judgements of potential bias, Asian Journal of Urology requires authors to declare to the editors any conflicts of interests in relation to the work described. 

● References 

Authors are responsible for the accuracy of the references. All authors should be quoted for papers with up to six authors; for papers with six or more authors, the first six authors only should be quoted, followed by et al. 

An EndNote style for Asian Journal of Urology format is available. 

Example: 

Journal article up to six authors (list all authors): 

Alenezi H, Denstedt JD. Flexible ureteroscopy: Technological advancements, current indications and outcomes in the treatment of urolithiasis. Asian J Urol 2015; 3: 133-41. 

Journal article more than six authors (list first six and add et al.): 

Chen R, Xie L, Cai X, Huang Y, Zhou L, Ma L, et al. Percent free prostate-specific antigen for prostate cancer diagnosis in Chinese men with a PSA of 4.0-10.0 ng/mL: Results from the Chinese Prostate Cancer Consortium. Asian J Urol 2015; 2: 107-13. 

Book: 

Armitage P. Statistical Methods in Medical Research. Oxford: Blackwell Scientific Publishers; 1971. p239. 

Chapter in a book: 

Morley JE, Kaiser FE, Jonson LE. Male sexual function. In: Cassel CK, Riesenberg DE, Sorensen LB, Walsh JR, editors. Geriatric Medicine. New York: Springer-Verlag; 1990. p256-70. 

Guidelines 

Tekgul S, Dogan HS, Kocvara R, Nijman JM, Radmayr C, Stein R, et al. EAU Pediatric Urology Guidelines [accessed 02 December 2017]. https://uroweb.org/guideline/paediatric-urology/. 

● Figure legends 

These should be brief, comprehensive and appear on a separate manuscript page after the References section. All abbreviations involved should be listed one by one in the footnote. 

● Tables 

Tables should only be used to present essential data; they should not duplicate what is written in the text. It is imperative that any tables used are editable. Each can be uploaded as a separate file or after the Figure legends. Please make sure each table is cited within the text and in the correct order. Please write the full names of all the abbreviations (used in the table) as footnote below the table; avoid using vertical rules and shading in table cells.

● Figures 

Please provide high-quality digital artwork files. Figures (photographs, drawings, diagrams and charts)should be clear, easily legible and cited consecutively using Arabic numerals in the text (Figure 1,Figure 2, etc.). Figures should not be embedded within the text but rather uploaded as separate files. Figures submitted in inappropriate formats will cause delays in processing your manuscript for publication. 

If a figure comprises more than one glossy photograph, these should be marked A, B, C, etc. Use Arial font in your illustrations. Size the illustrations close to the desired dimensions of the published version. Submit each illustration as a separate file. A digital artwork guideline is avaialble.

● Supplementary information 

Supplementary information is peer-reviewed material directly relevant to the conclusion of an article that cannot be included in the printed version owing to space or format constraints. It is posted on the journal's website and linked to the article when the article is published online and supplementary information may consist of data files, graphics, videos or extensive tables.

Ethical Standards and Policies

Asian Journal of Urology considers publication misconduct to be a serious breach of ethics. Misconduct can include failure to disclose a significant conflict of interest, plagiarism, duplicate submission, data falsification, and inappropriate image manipulation.

Asian Journal of Urology follows the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals (http://www.icmje.org/recommendations/) and we also follow the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines. All the contributions being considered for publication in Asian Journal of Urology should meet the criteria in the ICMJE Recommendations. Especially the manuscripts reporting studies involving human subjects, statements identifying the appropriate institutional review board approving the studies and confirming that informed consents were obtained from all subjects must appear in the method section. We also suggest that researchers carrying out experiments with animals refer to the ARRIVE guidelines.

Use of inclusive language

Inclusive language acknowledges diversity, conveys respect to all people, is sensitive to differences, and promotes equal opportunities. Content should make no assumptions about the beliefs or commitments of any reader; contain nothing which might imply that one individual is superior to another on the grounds of age, gender, race, ethnicity, culture, sexual orientation, disability or health condition; and use inclusive language throughout. Authors should ensure that writing is free from bias, stereotypes, slang, reference to dominant culture and/or cultural assumptions. We advise to seek gender neutrality by using plural nouns (“clinicians, patients/clients”) as default/wherever possible to avoid using “he, she”, or “he/she”. We recommend avoiding the use of descriptors that refer to personal attributes such as age, gender, race, ethnicity, culture, sexual orientation, disability or health condition unless they are relevant and valid. When coding terminology is used, we recommend to avoid offensive or exclusionary terms such as “master”, “slave”, “blacklist” and “whitelist”. We suggest using alternatives that are more appropriate and (self-) explanatory such as “primary”, “secondary”, “blocklist” and “allowlist”. These guidelines are meant as a point of reference to help identify appropriate language but are by no means exhaustive or definitive. 

Open access 

Potential Conflicts of Interest

You need to pay attention to some Potential Conflicts of Interest:

a. Editors: Editors who make final decisions about manuscripts must have no personal, professional, or financial involvement in any of the issues they might judge.

b. Authors: Conflicts of Interest for an author may arise if there exists a financial arrangement (e.g., employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants/patents received, and royalties) with a company whose product figures prominently in the submitted manuscript or with a company that makes a competing product.

c. Reviewers: Conflicts of Interest for reviewers exist when they have had an ongoing collaboration, original publications, or grants with the authors within the previous two years, except when part of a multicenter group from a different site; are from the same institution as the authors; or have any financial arrangements (e.g., employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership or options, expert testimony, grants/patents received, and royalties) with a company whose product figures prominently in the submitted manuscript or with a company that makes a competing product.

Potential Conflicts of Interest are to be disclosed at the beginning of the peer-review process.

Data Visualization

Include interactive data visualizations in your publication and let your readers interact and engage more closely with your research. Follow the instructions here to find out about available data visualization options and how to include them with your article.

Copyright

Upon acceptance of an article, authors will be asked to complete a “License to Publish”. Acceptance of the license will ensure the widest possible dissemination of information. An email will be sent to the corresponding author confirming receipt of the manuscript together with a 'License to Publish' form or a link to the online version of this license. Permission of the journal is required for resale or distribution outside the institution and for all other derivative works, including compilations and translations (please consult Asian Journal of Urology aju_admin@163.com). If excerpts from other copyrighted works are included, the author(s) must obtain written permission from the copyright owners and credit the source(s) in the article.

Page Charge and Color Charge

Asian Journal of Urology is free of charge for authors, including page charge, cost for color photos and cover images now.