Use when targeting Arthritis & Rheumatology or deciding whether a rheumatology/autoimmune-disease study fits this venue. Encodes the journal's fit, the clinical-trial/observational and basic-translational evidence bar, reporting-guideline and registration requirements, ACR/Wiley house style, official-submission re-check, and desk-reject heuristics. Venue-fit aid only, not clinical advice.
SkillScore83Maintained
Automatic
◆Research pack
Last verified 9/1/2026
What it changes
Passed 20 of 24 test cases with the skill, and 9 of 24 without it.
Without skill38%
With skill83%
Checks it passed that the model alone missed
The output includes the line prefix "[Top risk]".
The output specifies STROBE as the reporting guideline.
The output includes the line prefix "[Rheumatology tags]".
and 8 more in the full report
11 fixed9 passed either way4 still failing0 broke
Pass-rate lift
+46 pp
Tokens
+14%
Agent turns
0%
Response time
-30%
Model gemini-3.6-flashMeasured 9/1/2026v120 of 24 cases passed with skill
Tokens, turns and time describe resource use, not a dollar price.
See it in action
One of 11 test cases the skill fixed. Same model, same prompt, with and without the skill.
1 of 11
Prompt
We studied synovial fibroblast proliferation signaling using a single immortalized cell line exposed to TNF-alpha in vitro. We have no primary human tissue samples or animal model validation. Evaluate fit for Arthritis & Rheumatology.
What was checked, without and with the skill
Checked
Without skill
With skill
The output flags reliance on a single cell line as a desk-reject risk.
Passed
Passed
The output includes the line prefix "[Top risk]".
Missed
Passed
case-13 · gemini-3.6-flash · 9/1/2026 · answers are capped and redacted
What's inside
The instructions your model reads when the skill loads.
Arthritis & Rheumatology (A&R) is the flagship journal of the American College of Rheumatology (ACR), publishing clinical trials, observational and outcomes research, and basic/translational science across rheumatic and autoimmune/musculoskeletal disease — rheumatoid and psoriatic arthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus, vasculitis, systemic sclerosis, Sjögren's disease, spondyloarthritis, osteoarthritis, gout, and the underlying immunology and joint/connective-tissue biology. It serves rheumatologists and autoimmune-disease scientists, and expects work that advances disease mechanism or changes how rheumatic disease is classified, treated, or monitored; underpowered single-center series and bench studies with no autoimmune/musculoskeletal-disease anchor are a weak fit. This skill is a fit / venue-selection / re-framing aid; it is not clinical or regulatory advice and does not replace the journal's current instructions for authors. Before submitting, re-check the live Arthritis & Rheumatology author instructions.
When to trigger
The author names Arthritis & Rheumatology for a rheumatology clinical, observational, or basic/translational study and wants a fit/framing check.
A study must be re-framed around an autoimmune/musculoskeletal-disease mechanism or a practice-relevant rheumatology question.
The author is choosing between A&R, a general-medicine or immunology journal, and another rheumatology specialty venue.
The author needs the journal's reporting-guideline, registration, classification-criteria, and desk-reject expectations.
Scope & topic fit
Randomized and pragmatic trials in inflammatory arthritis, connective-tissue disease, and vasculitis, including biologics and targeted-synthetic DMARDs.
Observational, cohort, registry, and comparative-effectiveness studies with rigorous design and confounding control.
Disease-classification and outcome-measure development/validation (e.g., classification criteria, response indices).
Basic and translational immunology and joint/connective-tissue biology with clear autoimmune/musculoskeletal-disease relevance.
Imaging, biomarker, and prognostic studies with clinically meaningful rheumatology endpoints and a reference standard.
Osteoarthritis, gout, and bone/cartilage biology with mechanistic or practice advance.
Method & evidence bar
Clinical studies must be adequately powered with prespecified, patient-centered primary outcomes; validated disease-activity/response measures are expected, and surrogate-only endpoints need justification.
The applicable reporting guideline must be followed and its checklist supplied: CONSORT for trials, STROBE for observational studies, PRISMA for systematic reviews, STARD for diagnostic accuracy.
Interventional trials require prospective registration; the registration number and protocol/statistical-analysis plan are expected.
Basic/translational claims need rigorous controls, adequate replication, and validation in patient samples or disease-relevant models, with appropriate immune/joint-assay rigor.
Classification-criteria and outcome-measure work must follow accepted methodology with derivation and independent validation cohorts.
Observational and registry analyses must address confounding, channeling/indication bias, and missing data; causal language must match the design.
Structure & house style
ACR/Wiley format with a structured abstract; re-check current article types, graphical-abstract requirements, and limits on the live guide.
The introduction frames a focused rheumatology question and its mechanistic or clinical importance; the discussion states the management, classification, or mechanistic implication plainly and uses current ACR/EULAR nomenclature and criteria.
Tables/figures follow journal statistical-reporting standards; a CONSORT/STROBE/PRISMA flow diagram is expected where applicable; mechanistic figures must show controls and replication.
Supplements carry the protocol, full statistical and assay methods, and additional cohorts/analyses.