Authors

Authors

Interested in submitting to this journal? We recommend that you review the About the Journal page for the journal's section policies, as well as the Author Guidelines. Authors need to register with the journal prior to submitting or, if already registered, can simply log in and begin the five-step process.

File format

We ask you to provide editable source files for your entire submission (including figures, tables and text graphics). Some guidelines:

• Save files in an editable format, using the extension .doc/.docx for Word files. A PDF is not an acceptable source file.
• Lay out text in a single-column format Using the provided Template.
• Use spell-check and grammar-check functions to avoid errors.

Title page

You are required to include the following details in the title page information:

• Article title. Article titles should be concise and informative. Please avoid abbreviations and formulae, where possible, unless they are established and widely understood, e.g., DNA).
• Author names. Provide the given name(s) and family name(s) of each author. The order of authors should match the order in the submission system. Carefully check that all names are accurately spelled. If needed, you can add your name between parentheses in your own script after the English transliteration.
• Affiliations. Add affiliation addresses, referring to where the work was carried out, below the author names. Indicate affiliations using a lower-case superscript letter immediately after the author's name and in front of the corresponding address. Ensure that you provide the full postal address of each affiliation, including the country name and, if available, the email address of each author.
• Corresponding author. Clearly indicate who will handle correspondence for your article at all stages of the refereeing and publication process and also post-publication. This responsibility includes answering any future queries about your results, data, methodology and materials. It is important that the email address and contact details of your corresponding author are kept up to date during the submission and publication process.

Abstract

You are required to provide a concise and factual abstract which does not exceed 250 words. The abstract should briefly state the purpose of your research, principal results and major conclusions. Some guidelines:

• Abstracts must be able to stand alone as abstracts are often presented separately from the article.
• Avoid references. If any are essential to include, ensure that you cite the author(s) and year(s).
• Avoid non-standard or uncommon abbreviations. If any are essential to include, ensure they are defined within your abstract at first mention.

Keywords

You are required to provide 1 to 7 keywords for indexing purposes. Keywords should be written in English. Please try to avoid keywords consisting of multiple words (using "and" or "of").

We recommend that you only use abbreviations in keywords if they are firmly established in the field.

Math formulae

• Submit math equations as editable text, not as images.
• Present simple formulae in line with normal text, where possible.
• Use the solidus (/) instead of a horizontal line for small fractional terms such as X/Y.
• Present variables in italics.
• Denote powers of e by exp.
• Display equations separately from your text, numbering them consecutively in the order they are referred to within your text.

Tables

Tables must be submitted as editable text, not as images. Some guidelines:

• Place tables next to the relevant text or on a separate page(s) at the end of your article.
• Cite all tables in the manuscript text.
• Number tables consecutively according to their appearance in the text.
• Please provide captions along with the tables.
• Place any table notes below the table body.
• Avoid vertical rules and shading within table cells.

We recommend that you use tables sparingly, ensuring that any data presented in tables is not duplicating results described elsewhere in the article.

Figures, images and artwork

Figures, images, artwork, diagrams and other graphical media must be supplied as separate files along with the manuscript. Some excerpts:

When submitting artwork:

• Cite all images in the manuscript text.
• Number images according to the sequence they appear within your article.
• Submit each image as a separate file using a logical naming convention for your files (for example, Figure. 1, Figure. 2 etc).
• Please provide captions along with the artwork.
• Text graphics may be embedded in the text at the appropriate position.

Artwork formats

When your artwork is finalized, "save as" or convert your electronic artwork to the formats listed below taking into account the given resolution requirements for line drawings, halftones, and line/halftone combinations:

• Vector drawings: Save as EPS or PDF files embedding the font or saving the text as "graphics."
• Color or grayscale photographs (halftones): Save as TIFF, JPG or PNG files using a minimum of 300 dpi (for single column: min. 1063 pixels, full page width: 2244 pixels).
• Bitmapped line drawings: Save as TIFF, JPG or PNG files using a minimum of 1000 dpi (for single column: min. 3543 pixels, full page width: 7480 pixels).
• Combinations bitmapped line/halftones (color or grayscale): Save as TIFF, JPG or PNG files using a minimum of 500 dpi (for single column: min. 1772 pixels, full page width: 3740 pixels).

Please do not submit:

• files that are too low in resolution (for example, files optimized for screen use such as GIF, BMP, PICT or WPG files).
• disproportionally large images compared to font size, as text may become unreadable.

Figure captions

All images must have a caption. A caption should consist of a brief title (not displayed on the figure itself) and a description of the image. We advise you to keep the amount of text in any image to a minimum, though any symbols and abbreviations used should be explained.

Provide captions in a separate file.

Supplementary material

We encourage the use of supplementary materials such as applications, images and sound clips to enhance research. Some guidelines:

• Cite all supplementary files in the manuscript text.
• Submit supplementary materials at the same time as your article. Be aware that all supplementary materials provided will appear online in the exact same file type as received. These files will not be formatted or typeset by the production team.
• Include a concise, descriptive caption for each supplementary file describing its content.
• Provide updated files if at any stage of the publication process you wish to make changes to submitted supplementary materials.
• Do not make annotations or corrections to a previous version of a supplementary file.
• Switch off the option to track changes in Microsoft Office files. If tracked changes are left on, they will appear in your published version.

Data statement

To foster transparency, you are required to state the availability of any data at submission.

Ensuring data is available may be a requirement of your funding body or institution. If your data is unavailable to access or unsuitable to post, you can state the reason why (e.g., your research data includes sensitive or confidential information such as patient data) during the submission process.

Article structure

Article sections

• Divide your article into clearly defined and numbered sections. Number subsections 1.1 (then 1.1.1, 1.1.2, ...), then 1.2, etc.
• Use the numbering format when cross-referencing within your article. Do not just refer to "the text."
• You may give subsections a brief heading. Headings should appear on a separate line.
• Do not include the article abstract within section numbering.

Theory and calculation

The theory section should lay the foundation for further work by extending the background you provided in the introduction to your article. The calculation section should represent a practical development from a theoretical basis.

Glossary

Please provide definitions of field-specific terms used in your article, in a separate list.

Acknowledgements

Include any individuals who provided you with help during your research, such as help with language, writing or proof reading, in the acknowledgements section. Acknowledgements should be placed in a separate section which appears directly before the reference list. Do not include acknowledgements on your title page, as a footnote to your title, or anywhere else in your article other than in the separate acknowledgements section.

Funding sources

Authors must disclose any funding sources who provided financial support for the conduct of the research and/or preparation of the article. The role of sponsors, if any, should be declared in relation to the study design, collection, analysis and interpretation of data, writing of the report and decision to submit the article for publication. If funding sources had no such involvement this should be stated in your submission.

List funding sources in this standard way to facilitate compliance to funder's requirements:

Funding: This work was supported by the National Institutes of Health [grant numbers xxxx, yyyy]; the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Seattle, WA [grant number zzzz]; and the United States Institutes of Peace [grant number aaaa].

It is not necessary to include detailed descriptions on the program or type of grants, scholarships and awards. When funding is from a block grant or other resources available to a university, college, or other research institution, submit the name of the institute or organization that provided the funding.

If no funding has been provided for the research, it is recommended to include the following sentence:

This research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

References

References within text

Any references cited within your article should also be present in your reference list and vice versa. Some guidelines:

• References cited in your abstract must be given in full.
• We recommend that you do not include unpublished results and personal communications in your reference list, though you may mention them in the text of your article.
• Any unpublished results and personal communications included in your reference list must follow the standard reference style of the journal. In substitution of the publication date add "unpublished results" or "personal communication."
• References cited as "in press" imply that the item has been accepted for publication.

We encourage the use of Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) as reference links as they provide a permanent link to the electronic article referenced. See the example below, though be aware that the format of such citations should be adapted to follow the style of other references in your paper.

DOI link example (for an article not yet in an issue): VanDecar J.C., Russo R.M., James D.E., Ambeh W.B., Franke M. (2003). Aseismic continuation of the Lesser Antilles slab beneath northeastern Venezuela. Journal of Geophysical Research, https://doi.org/10.1029/2001JB000884.

Reference format

This journal does not set strict requirements on reference formatting at submission. Some guidelines:

• Author names, journal or book titles, chapter or article titles, year of publication, volume numbers, article numbers or pagination must be included, where applicable.
• Use of DOIs is recommended.

Reference style

Indicate references by adding a number within square brackets in the text. You can refer to author names within your text, but you must always give the reference number, e.g., "as demonstrated [3,6]. Barnaby and Jones [8] obtained a different result ....".

Number references in the order they appear in your article.

Abbreviate journal names according to the List of Title Word Abbreviations (LTWA).

Examples:

Reference to a journal publication:

[1] J. van der Geer, T. Handgraaf, R.A. Lupton, The art of writing a scientific article, J. Sci. Commun. 163 (2020) 51 – 59. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sc.2020.00372.

Reference to a journal publication with an article number:

[2] J. van der Geer, T. Handgraaf, R.A. Lupton, 2022. The art of writing a scientific article. Heliyon. 19, e00205. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2022.e00205.

Reference to a book:

[3] W. Strunk Jr., E.B. White, The Elements of Style, fourth ed., Longman, New York, 2000.

Reference to a chapter in a book:

[4] G.R. Mettam, L.B. Adams, How to prepare an electronic version of your article, in: B.S. Jones, R.Z. Smith (Eds.), Introduction to the Electronic Age, E-Publishing Inc., New York, 2020, pp. 281 - 304.

Reference to a website:

[5] Cancer Research UK, Cancer statistics reports for the UK. http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/aboutcancer/statistics/cancerstatsreport/, 2023 (accessed 13 March 2023).

Reference to a dataset:

[6] M. Oguro, S. Imahiro, S. Saito, T. Nakashizuka, Mortality data for Japanese oak wilt disease and surrounding forest compositions [dataset], Mendeley Data, v1, 2015. https://doi.org/10.1234/abc12nb39r.1.

Reference to software:

[7] E. Coon, M. Berndt, A. Jan, D. Svyatsky, A. Atchley, E. Kikinzon, D. Harp, G. Manzini, E. Shelef, K. Lipnikov, R. Garimella, C. Xu, D. Moulton, S. Karra, S. Painter, E. Jafarov, S. Molins, Advanced Terrestrial Simulator (ATS) v0.88 [software], Zenodo, March 25, 2020. https://doi.org/10.1234/zenodo.3727209.

Web references

When listing web references, as a minimum you should provide the full URL and the date when the reference was last accessed. Additional information (e.g. DOI, author names, dates or reference to a source publication) should also be provided, if known.

You can list web references separately under a new heading directly after your reference list or include them in your reference list.

Data references

We encourage you to cite underlying or relevant datasets within article text and to list data references in the reference list.

When citing data references, you should include:

• author name(s)
• dataset title
• data repository
• version (where available)
• year
• global persistent identifier

Add [dataset] immediately before your reference. This will help us to properly identify the dataset. The [dataset] identifier will not appear in your published article.