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Author Instructions
2.3 Manuscript Structure
2.3.1 Front Matter
2.3.1.1 Title
The title of the manuscript should be concise, specific and relevant, with no more than 16 words if possible. When gene or
protein names are included, the abbreviated name rather than full name should be used.
2.3.1.2 Authors and Affiliations
Authors’ full names should be listed. The initials of middle names can be provided. Institutional addresses and email
addresses for all authors should be listed. At least one author should be designated as corresponding author. In addition,
corresponding authors are suggested to provide their Open Researcher and Contributor ID upon submission. Please note
that any change to authorship is not allowed after manuscript acceptance.
2.3.1.3 Abstract
Original research, systematic reviews, and meta-analyses require structured abstracts. The abstract should provide the
context or background for the study and should state the study’s purpose, basic procedures (selection of study participants,
settings, measurements, analytical methods), main findings (giving specific effect sizes and their statistical and clinical
significance, if possible), and principal conclusions. It should emphasize new and important aspects of the study or
observations, note important limitations, and not overinterpret findings. Clinical trial abstracts should include items that the
CONSORT group has identified as essential. It is not allowed to contain results which are not presented and substantiated in
the manuscript, or exaggerate the main conclusions. Citations should not be included in the abstract.
2.3.1.4 Graphical Abstract
The graphical abstract is essential as this can catch first view of your publication by readers. We request the authors submit
an eye-catching figure during the revision stage. It should summarize the content of the article in a concise graphical
form. It is recommended to use it because this can make online articles get more attention. The graphic abstract should be
submitted as a separate document in the online submission system along with the revised version. Please provide an image
with a minimum of 730 × 1,228 pixels (h × w) or proportionally more. The image should be readable at a size of 7 × 12 cm
using a regular screen resolution of 96 dpi. Preferred file types: TIFF, PSD, AI, JPG, JPEG, EPS, PNG, ZIP and PDF files.
2.3.1.5 Keywords
Three to eight keywords should be provided, which are specific to the article, yet reasonably common within the subject
discipline.
2.3.2 Main Text
Manuscripts of different types are structured with different sections of content. Please refer to Types of Manuscripts to
make sure which sections should be included in the manuscripts.
2.3.2.1 Introduction
The introduction should contain background that puts the manuscript into context, allow readers to understand why the
study is important, include a brief review of key literature, and conclude with a brief statement of the overall aim of the
work and a comment about whether the aim was achieved. Relevant controversies or disagreements in the field should be
introduced as well.
2.3.2.2 Methods
Methods should contain sufficient details to allow others to fully replicate the study. New methods and protocols should be
described in detail while well-established methods can be briefly described or appropriately cited. Experimental participants
selected, the drugs and chemicals used, the statistical methods taken, and the computer software used should be identified
precisely. Statistical terms, abbreviations, and all symbols used should be defined clearly. Protocol documents for clinical
trials, observational studies, and other non-laboratory investigations may be uploaded as supplementary materials.
2.3.2.3 Results
This section contains the findings of the study. Results of statistical analysis should also be included either as text or as
tables or figures if appropriate. Authors should emphasize and summarize only the most important observations. Data on
all primary and secondary outcomes identified in the section Methods should also be provided. Extra or supplementary
materials and technical details can be placed in supplementary documents.
2.3.2.4 Discussion
This section should discuss the implications of the findings in context of existing research and highlight limitations of the
study. Future research directions may also be mentioned.
2.3.2.5 Conclusion
It should state clearly the main conclusions and include the explanation of their relevance or importance to the field.