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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
The abstract should be a single paragraph with word limitation and specific structure requirements (for more details please
refer to Types of Manuscripts). It usually describes the main objective(s) of the study, explains how the study was done,
including any model organisms used, without methodological detail, and summarizes the most important results and their
significance. The abstract must be an objective representation of the study: 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 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 that 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.
2.3.3 Back Matter
2.3.3.1 Acknowledgments
Anyone who contributed towards the article but does not meet the criteria for authorship, including those who provided
professional writing services or materials, should be acknowledged. Authors should obtain permission to acknowledge
from all those mentioned in the Acknowledgments section. This section is not added if the author does not have anyone to
acknowledge.