Manuscript Preparation

General Formatting Requirements

Manuscripts must be prepared in Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx). Do not submit in PDF format. Use a standard readable font (Times New Roman or Arial, 12pt), double line spacing, and continuous line numbering throughout. Pages should be numbered. Margins of at least 2.5 cm on all sides are required.

Do not embed figures within the manuscript document. Figures must be submitted as separate image files and referenced by number in the text (e.g., "as shown in Figure 1").

Title Page

The title page must be submitted as the first page of the manuscript and must include the following, in this order:

• Full article title (concise, informative; avoid abbreviations)
• All authors' full names (given name followed by family name)
• Each author's institutional affiliation, department, city, and country
• ORCID iD for each author (strongly recommended)
• Corresponding author's name and email address
• Word count (excluding abstract, references, tables, and figure legends)
• Number of tables and figures
• Conflict of interest statement (brief; full declaration in the Declarations section)

Abstract

Abstracts must not contain references or undefined abbreviations. Define abbreviations at first use within the abstract.

Structured Abstract (Original Research, Systematic Reviews, and similar)

Maximum 300 words, organised under the following headings:

• Background — brief context and rationale for the study
• Methods — study design, setting, participants or materials, intervention or approach, primary outcomes, and analytical method
• Results — principal findings with key supporting data
• Conclusions — main conclusion and its implications; avoid overstating findings

Unstructured Abstract (Reviews, Case Studies)

Maximum 200 words for narrative reviews; 150 words for case studies. A single paragraph summarising background, key findings, and conclusions.

Keywords

Provide 4–8 keywords below the abstract, drawn from a standard subject-indexing vocabulary for your field where one exists (e.g., MeSH for biomedicine). Avoid general terms and those already present in the title.

Text Sections

Introduction

State the scientific background and rationale for the study. Identify the specific gap in knowledge the study addresses. State the primary objective or hypothesis clearly at the end of the introduction. Avoid extensive literature review; cite only directly relevant references.

Methods

Describe the study design, setting, and time period. Provide sufficient methodological detail to permit replication. Identify the study population, dataset, or materials and describe eligibility criteria, selection, and procedures as relevant to your field. Define all primary and secondary outcomes or variables precisely and state when and how they were assessed. Describe the analytical methods in detail, including any software or tools used.

Where applicable to your study design: for randomised trials, report concealment of allocation and blinding; for systematic reviews, report the search strategy and databases searched; for case studies involving identifiable individuals, obtain and document written consent.

Results

Present findings in logical sequence corresponding to the objectives and methods. Use tables and figures to support, not duplicate, text. Report all primary outcomes with effect sizes and 95% confidence intervals. Report exact p-values (e.g., p = 0.04). Do not interpret findings in the Results section.

Discussion

Interpret the findings in the context of existing literature. Discuss mechanisms or explanations for the results. Acknowledge all limitations clearly and assess their impact on interpretation. State the implications for clinical practice, policy, or future research. Avoid repetition of results.

Conclusions

Provide a concise statement of the principal conclusions. Ensure conclusions are supported by the data. Do not generalise beyond the study population or make recommendations unsupported by the findings.

Declarations Section

The following declarations must appear at the end of the manuscript, before the references, under clearly labelled subheadings:

• Ethics approval and consent to participate — for research involving human participants, animals, or sensitive data: state the name of the ethics committee or review body, reference number, and date of approval, and confirm that informed consent was obtained (or explain any waiver). Otherwise state "Not applicable".
• Consent for publication — for case studies and any article containing identifiable individual data, confirm written consent for publication was obtained.
• Availability of data and materials — state whether data are available and on what terms. Provide a repository name and accession number where applicable.
• Competing interests — declare all financial and non-financial interests for each author. Write "The authors declare no competing interests" if none exist.
• Funding — identify all funding sources. State the role (if any) of funders in study design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, or manuscript preparation.
• Authors' contributions — describe each author's contribution using the CRediT taxonomy. All listed authors must meet the journal's authorship criteria (see Publication Ethics).
• Acknowledgements — acknowledge individuals who contributed to the work but do not qualify for authorship. Obtain permission from all named individuals before submission.

References

Use Vancouver style. Number references consecutively in the order they appear in the text. In the text, cite references as superscripted Arabic numerals. At the end of the manuscript, list all references in numerical order.

Journal article (up to six authors — list all; seven or more — list first six followed by "et al."): Smith A, Jones B, Brown C, et al. Title of the article. Abbreviated Journal Name. Year;Volume(Issue):Page–Page. doi:10.xxxxx

Book: Author A. Title of Book. Edition. City: Publisher; Year.

Website: Organisation Name. Title of webpage [Internet]. City: Publisher; Year [cited YYYY Mon DD]. Available from: URL

Tables

Tables should be numbered consecutively (Table 1, Table 2, etc.) in the order they are first cited in the text. Each table must have a brief, descriptive title placed above the table. Any abbreviations used in the table must be defined in a footnote below the table. Tables must be editable text, not images. Submit tables at the end of the manuscript document, after the references.

Figures

Figures should be numbered consecutively (Figure 1, Figure 2, etc.) in the order first cited in the text. Submit figures as separate image files at a resolution sufficient for clear reproduction. Figure legends must be provided in the manuscript document, on a separate page after the tables. All symbols, arrows, and abbreviations used in figures must be explained in the legend.

Figures reproduced or adapted from previously published work require written permission from the copyright holder and must credit the original source in the legend.

Supplementary Material

Supplementary data, extended methods, additional tables, or figures that support the findings but are not essential to the main text may be submitted as supplementary material. Label supplementary files clearly (e.g., Supplementary Table 1, Supplementary Figure 1). Supplementary material is published online alongside the article.

Abbreviations

Define all abbreviations at first use in both the abstract and the main text. Avoid abbreviations in the title. Use standard abbreviations for units of measurement (SI units preferred).