Instructions for Authors

2. Build the Manuscript File

The limits below apply to every submission. They are the publisher's author requirements and are checked at screening.

Front Matter

• A title page carrying the full name, address, telephone, email, discipline and affiliations of every author, with the corresponding author identified and the first author listed first
• For double-blind review, remove author names, affiliations, acknowledgments, funding details, institution names, and other identifying information from the reviewer manuscript. Provide identifying information separately in the title-page file or submission form.
• A cover letter. Disclose in it any previously published abstract from the same project, any other manuscript arising from it, and any association representing a potential competing interest

Body

Empirical work is normally structured as introduction, methods, results, discussion and conclusion. Methods should carry enough detail for a qualified reader to repeat the work, citing previously published procedures by reference and naming the suppliers of materials. Where a study design does not fit that structure — a qualitative study, a measurement paper, an evidence synthesis, a conceptual article or a single case — use the structure that is standard for that design and say so in the cover letter.

• Define every abbreviation and every clinical scale at first use
• Give units for all outcomes and assessments
• Report results essential to the study, analyzed with appropriate statistical tests
• Close with a precise summary of the principal findings

Tables, Figures and Supplementary Files

• Place tables and figures at the end of the manuscript, each on its own page, each with a title and a legend
• Submit tables in an editable format, not as images
• Figures must be high resolution and correctly sized; numbers, letters and symbols must be no smaller than 2 mm after reduction
• Figure legends should state sample sizes and the method used
• The manuscript must stand alone. Supplementary data are reviewed alongside it and must contribute substantially; material submitted after acceptance is not published
• Written permission is required for any third-party material reproduced in the manuscript

References

• Cite by number, not by author and date, numbered consecutively in order of appearance
• List the first 3 authors, then et al. for additional authors
• Include a DOI wherever one exists
• Every in-text citation must have a matching entry in the reference list, and the accuracy of every reference is the authors' responsibility

4. Write the Declarations

These statements are part of the manuscript, not an administrative afterthought, and a submission is incomplete without the ones that apply to it.

Ethics Approval

Name the research ethics committee or institutional review board that approved the study and give the approval reference. Research with human participants requires informed consent after full disclosure of potential outcomes, with privacy and confidentiality maintained and no undue inducement. Laboratory animals must be treated in accordance with applicable regulations, and precautionary measures documented.

Consent to Publish

Identifiable patient information, including images and case details, requires written consent to publish. This applies to every case report and to any figure from which an individual could be recognized.

Data Availability

Every empirical research manuscript must include a data-availability statement. Give a repository link where the data are deposited. Where participant confidentiality prevents open deposit, say so and describe the conditions under which the data can be obtained.

Competing Interests

Disclose financial and non-financial competing interests for every author, including consultancy, financial interests and intellectual property considerations.

Funding

Identify all funding sources and state the role of the funder in the study.

Acknowledgments

Note intellectual or technical assistance that does not warrant authorship. Tell those named before publication. Promotional statements are not permitted.

Authorship

Every listed author must have contributed substantively and must approve the submitted version. Changes to the author list after submission require the written agreement of all authors.

Use of AI Tools

Disclose any use of generative AI tools in preparing the manuscript, naming the tool and what it was used for. AI tools cannot be authors, and the authors remain responsible for the accuracy and integrity of the work.

Originality

The work must be original and not published elsewhere or under consideration elsewhere. Manuscripts are screened with Crossref Similarity Check, powered by iThenticate; a report is read by an editor in context rather than applied as an automatic threshold.