Guide for Authors

Introduction

About the Journal

Genes & Diseases is an international journal for molecular and translational medicine. The journal primarily focuses on publishing investigations on the molecular bases and experimental therapeutics of human diseases. Publication formats include full length research article, review article, rapid communication, correspondence, perspectives, commentary, views on news, research watch, letters, research highlights, and enabling and emerging technologies.

Editorial Process

All manuscripts received are duly acknowledged. Upon submission, the Editorial Office will check the manuscript's conformity to technical quality and author guidelines, typically within one week. Manuscripts with insufficient conformity are returned to authors for revision. Manuscripts with insufficient originality, serious scientific or experimental flaws, or lack of interest to the readership of Genes & Diseases will be rejected by the Editor-in-Chief and/or Deputy Editor-in-Chief without further peer review. Manuscripts deemed suitable for publication are sent to the Executive Associate Editors. The Executive Associate Editors will make initial assessment and will serve as the managing editor, who in turn will appoint 2-3 editorial board members and/or external referees to complete peer reviews within 4 weeks. Based on the recommendations and comments made by peer reviewers, the Executive Associate Editor will make a formal recommendation to the Editor-in-Chief and/or Deputy Editor-in-Chief who will make the final decision within 1 week, in consultation with other editorial board members, if deemed necessary. The comments and recommendations (acceptance/ rejection/ minor revision/ major revision in manuscript) received from reviewers are conveyed to the corresponding author. If necessary, the author is required to provide a point by point response to reviewers' comments and submit a revised manuscript. This process will be repeated till reviewers and editors are satisfied with the revised manuscript.

Manuscripts accepted for publication are copy edited for grammar, punctuation, print style, and format. Page proofs are sent to the corresponding author. The corresponding author is expected to return the corrected proofs within 48 hours. The whole process of submission of the manuscript, final decision, sending and receiving proofs is completed online. To achieve faster and greater dissemination of knowledge and information, the journal publishes articles online as 'Ahead of Print' immediately upon acceptance.

During submission, the contributor is requested to provide names of at least three qualified reviewers who have had experience in the subject of the submitted manuscript. The reviewers should not be affiliated with the same institutes as the contributor/s. However, the selection of these reviewers is at the sole discretion of the editor.

Contact Details for Submission

Papers should be submitted through the Genes & Diseases online submission system, https://www.editorialmanager.com/GENDIS. For questions on the submission and reviewing process, please contact the Editorial Office at: editor@genesndiseases.com; telephone +86-23-6571 4691.

Before you begin

Declaration of interest

All authors must disclose any financial and personal relationships with other people or organizations that could inappropriately influence (bias) their work. Examples of potential competing interests include employment, consultancies, stock ownership, honoraria, paid expert testimony, patent applications/registrations, and grants or other funding. Authors must disclose any interests in two places: 1. A summary declaration of interest statement in the title page file (if double anonymized) or the manuscript file (if single anonymized). If there are no interests to declare then please state this: 'Declarations of interest: none'. 2. Detailed disclosures as part of a separate Declaration of Interest form, which forms part of the journal's official records. It is important for potential interests to be declared in both places and that the information matches. More information.

Submission declaration and verification

Submission of an article implies that the work described has not been published previously (except in the form of an abstract, a published lecture or academic thesis, see 'Multiple, redundant or concurrent publication' for more information), that it is not under consideration for publication elsewhere, that its publication is approved by all authors and tacitly or explicitly by the responsible authorities where the work was carried out, and that, if accepted, it will not be published elsewhere in the same form, in English or in any other language, including electronically without the written consent of the copyright-holder. To verify compliance, your article may be checked by Crossref Similarity Check and other originality or duplicate checking software.

Use of inclusive language

Inclusive language acknowledges diversity, conveys respect to all people, is sensitive to differences, and promotes equal opportunities. Content should make no assumptions about the beliefs or commitments of any reader; contain nothing which might imply that one individual is superior to another on the grounds of age, gender, race, ethnicity, culture, sexual orientation, disability or health condition; and use inclusive language throughout. Authors should ensure that writing is free from bias, stereotypes, slang, reference to dominant culture and/or cultural assumptions. We advise to seek gender neutrality by using plural nouns ("clinicians, patients/clients") as default/wherever possible to avoid using "he, she," or "he/she." We recommend avoiding the use of descriptors that refer to personal attributes such as age, gender, race, ethnicity, culture, sexual orientation, disability or health condition unless they are relevant and valid. When coding terminology is used, we recommend to avoid offensive or exclusionary terms such as "master", "slave", "blacklist" and "whitelist". We suggest using alternatives that are more appropriate and (self-) explanatory such as "primary", "secondary", "blocklist" and "allowlist". These guidelines are meant as a point of reference to help identify appropriate language but are by no means exhaustive or definitive.

Reporting sex- and gender-based analyses

Reporting guidance

For research involving or pertaining to humans, animals or eukaryotic cells, investigators should integrate sex and gender-based analyses (SGBA) into their research design according to funder/sponsor requirements and best practices within a field. Authors should address the sex and/or gender dimensions of their research in their article. In cases where they cannot, they should discuss this as a limitation to their research's generalizability. Importantly, authors should explicitly state what definitions of sex and/or gender they are applying to enhance the precision, rigor and reproducibility of their research and to avoid ambiguity or conflation of terms and the constructs to which they refer (see Definitions section below). Authors can refer to the Sex and Gender Equity in Research (SAGER) guidelines and the SAGER guidelines checklist. These offer systematic approaches to the use and editorial review of sex and gender information in study design, data analysis, outcome reporting and research interpretation - however, please note there is no single, universally agreed-upon set of guidelines for defining sex and gender.

Definitions

Sex generally refers to a set of biological attributes that are associated with physical and physiological features (e.g., chromosomal genotype, hormonal levels, internal and external anatomy). A binary sex categorization (male/female) is usually designated at birth ("sex assigned at birth"), most often based solely on the visible external anatomy of a newborn. Gender generally refers to socially constructed roles, behaviors, and identities of women, men and gender-diverse people that occur in a historical and cultural context and may vary across societies and over time. Gender influences how people view themselves and each other, how they behave and interact and how power is distributed in society. Sex and gender are often incorrectly portrayed as binary (female/male or woman/man) and unchanging whereas these constructs actually exist along a spectrum and include additional sex categorizations and gender identities such as people who are intersex/have differences of sex development (DSD) or identify as non-binary. Moreover, the terms "sex" and "gender" can be ambiguous--thus it is important for authors to define the manner in which they are used. In addition to this definition guidance and the SAGER guidelines, the resources on this page offer further insight around sex and gender in research studies.

Author contributions

For transparency, we encourage corresponding authors to provide co-author contributions to the manuscript using the relevant CRediT roles. The CRediT taxonomy includes 14 different roles describing each contributor's specific contribution to the scholarly output. The roles are: Conceptualization; Data curation; Formal analysis; Funding acquisition; Investigation; Methodology; Project administration; Resources; Software; Supervision; Validation; Visualization; Roles/Writing - original draft; and Writing - review & editing. Note that not all roles may apply to every manuscript, and authors may have contributed through multiple roles. More details and an example.

Authorship Statement

The corresponding author is responsible for ensuring that all appropriate contributors are listed as authors and that all authors have agreed to the manuscript's content and its submission to Genes & Diseases. In any case where we become aware of an authorship dispute, authorship must be approved in writing by all of the parties. Contributors should provide a description of contributions made by each of them towards the manuscript. Description should be divided in following categories, as applicable: concept and design, literature search, clinical studies, experimental studies, data acquisition, data analysis, statistical analysis, manuscript preparation, manuscript editing and manuscript review.

Ethical Approval

For manuscripts reporting studies involving human subjects, statements identifying the committee approving the studies and confirming that informed consent was obtained from all subjects must appear in the Experimental Procedures section. All experiments on live vertebrates or higher invertebrates must be performed in accordance with relevant institutional and national guidelines and regulations. In the manuscript, a statement identifying the committee approving the experiments and confirming that all experiments conform to the relevant regulatory standards must be included in the Experimental Procedures section. The editors reserve the right to seek comments from reviewers or additional information from authors on any cases in which concerns arise. For more information on ethics in publishing and ethical guidelines for journal publication see https://www.elsevier.com/publishingethics and https://www.elsevier.com/journal-authors/ethics

Report of Clinical Trials

All randomized controlled trials submitted for publication should include a complete Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) flow chart. This Journal has adopted the proposal from the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) that requires, as a condition of consideration for publication of clinical trials, registration in a public trials registry. Purely observational studies (those in which the assignment of the medical intervention is not at the discretion of the investigator) do not require registration. Further information can be found at https://www.icmje.org.

Identification of Patients in Descriptions, Photographs and

A signed statement of informed consent to publish (in print and online) patient descriptions, photographs and pedigrees should be obtained from all subjects (parents or legal guardians for minors) who can be identified (including by the subjects themselves) in such written descriptions, photographs or pedigrees. Such persons should be shown the manuscript before its submission. Omitting data or making data less specific to de-identify patients is acceptable, but altering or falsifying any such data is not acceptable.

Copyright

Upon acceptance of an article, authors will be asked to complete a 'Journal Publishing Agreement'. An e-mail will be sent to the corresponding author confirming receipt of the manuscript together with a 'Journal Publishing Agreement' form or a link to the online version of this agreement.

Author rights

For open access publishing, this journal uses an exclusive licensing agreement. Authors will retain copyright alongside scholarly usage rights, and KeAi Communications Co., Ltd. will be granted exclusive publishing and distribution rights.

Responsible sharing

Find out how you can share your research published in Elsevier journals.

Funding source

You are requested to identify who provided financial support for the conduct of the research and/or preparation of the article and to briefly describe the role of the sponsor(s), if any, in study design; in the collection, analysis and interpretation of data; in the writing of the report; and in the decision to submit the article for publication. If the funding source(s) had no such involvement, it is recommended to state this.

Changes to Authorship

Before the accepted manuscript is published in an online issue: requests to add or remove an author, or to rearrange the author names, must be sent to the Journal Manager from the corresponding author and must include: (a) the reason the name should be added or removed, or the author names rearranged and (b) written confirmation (email, fax, letter) from all authors that they agree with the addition, removal or rearrangement. In the case of addition or removal of authors, this includes confirmation from the author being added or removed. Requests that are not sent by the corresponding author will be forwarded by the Journal Manager to the corresponding author, who must follow the procedure as described above. Note that: (1) Journal Managers will inform the Journal Editors of any such requests and (2) publication of the accepted manuscript in an online issue is suspended until the authorship has been agreed upon. After the accepted manuscript is published in an online issue: any requests to add, delete, or rearrange author names in an article published in an online issue will follow the same policies as noted above and result in a corrigendum.

Language (Usage and Editing Services)

Please write your text in good English (American or British usage is accepted, but not a mixture of these). Authors who feel their English language manuscript may require editing to eliminate possible grammatical or spelling errors and to conform to correct scientific English may wish to use the English Language Editing service available from Elsevier's WebShop (https://webshop.elsevier.com/language-editing/) or visit our customer support site (https://service.elsevier.com) for more information.

Supporting Documents

The following documents may be included:

•Conflict of Interest Statement.

•Copyright Transfer Agreement.

•Authorship Statement - All the authors' signatures must be included.

•External Reviewer Suggestions. You may use the form that follows this guide for authors. AND, where applicable.

•Ethics Statement. Articles covering human or animal experiments must be accompanied by a letter of approval from the relevant review committee or authorities.

•Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) flow chart for randomized controlled trials submitted for publication.

•Articles where human subjects can be identified in descriptions, photographs or pedigrees must be accompanied by a signed statement of informed consent to publish (in print and online) the descriptions, photographs and pedigrees from each subject who can be identified.

•Where material has been reproduced from other copyrighted sources, the letter(s) of permission from the copyright holder(s) to use the copyrighted sources must be supplied.

Open access

Genes & Diseases is a peer reviewed, open access journal. To provide open access, the journal has an open access fee (also known as article publishing charge, APC) paid by the authors or on their behalf (e.g. by their research funders or institution), either in the US dollar (USD $) or the Chinese currency RMB. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for the accepted manuscripts submitted on and after January 1, 2023 is as below, excluding tax.

GfA_Open access_GENDIS.jpg

* Including the "Emerging Technologies and Resources" article.

Elsevier Researcher Academy

Researcher Academy is a free e-learning platform designed to support early and mid-career researchers throughout their research journey. The "Learn" environment at Researcher Academy offers several interactive modules, webinars, downloadable guides and resources to guide you through the process of writing for research and going through peer review. Feel free to use these free resources to improve your submission and navigate the publication process with ease.

Preparation

New submissions

Submission to this journal proceeds totally online and you will be guided stepwise through the creation and uploading of your files. The system automatically converts your files to a single PDF file, which is used in the peer-review process.

As part of the Your Paper Your Way service, you may choose to submit your manuscript as a single file to be used in the refereeing process. This can be a PDF file or a Word document, in any format or lay-out that can be used by referees to evaluate your manuscript. It should contain high enough quality figures for refereeing. If you prefer to do so, you may still provide all or some of the source files at the initial submission. Please note that individual figure files larger than 10 MB must be uploaded separately.

Peer Review

This journal operates a single blind review process. All contributions will be initially assessed by the editor for suitability for the journal. Papers deemed suitable are then sent to a minimum of two independent expert reviewers to assess the scientific quality of the paper. The Editor is responsible for the final decision regarding acceptance or rejection of articles. The Editor's decision is final. For more information on the types of peer review, please visit: https://www.elsevier.com/reviewers/peer-review.

Use of word processing software

It is important that the file be saved in the native format of the word processor used. The text should be in single-column format. Keep the layout of the text as simple as possible. Most formatting codes will be removed and replaced on processing the article. In particular, do not use the word processor's options to justify text or to hyphenate words. However, do use bold face, italics, subscripts, superscripts etc. When preparing tables, if you are using a table grid, use only one grid for each individual table and not a grid for each row. If no grid is used, use tabs, not spaces, to align columns. The electronic text should be prepared in a way very similar to that of conventional manuscripts (see also the Guide to Publishing with Elsevier. Note that source files of figures, tables and text graphics will be required whether or not you embed your figures in the text. See also the section on Electronic artwork.

To avoid unnecessary errors you are strongly advised to use the 'spell-check' and 'grammar-check' functions of your word processor.

LaTeX

You are recommended to use the Elsevier article class elsarticle.cls to prepare your manuscript and BibTeX to generate your bibliography.

Our LaTeX site has detailed submission instructions, templates and other information.

Cover Letter

Submissions should be accompanied by a one-page cover letter from the corresponding author including full postal address, telephone number, and e-mail address. This letter should contain a brief explanation of the conceptual advance provided by the findings and the significance of the findings to a broad readership.

The cover letter should state clearly that 1) the reported work, in whole or in part, has not been under consideration for publication by any other primary scientific journals; and 2) all authors have read and concurred with the content of the manuscript.

Types of Articles

Article types include:

Full Length Article

Abstract: Unstructured, max of 250 words

Word Limit: max of 6,000 words excluding abstract, references, figures and tables.

Structure of text: Abstract, Introduction, Material and Methods, Results, Discussion, Author contributions, Conflict of Interests, Funding, Acknowledgements, Appendix (if applicable) and References.

Tables/Figures: Max of 8

References Guideline: Max of 80

Supplementary files: Allowed

Review Article

Reviews provide an insightful overview of the recent advances in a particular field or area in experimental and translational medical research interesting to the specialist readership.

Abstract: Unstructured, max of 250 words

Word Limit: max of 6,000 words excluding abstract, references, figures and tables.

Structure of text: Abstract, Introduction, subheadings of points should be provided in main text, conclusions, Author contributions, Conflict of Interests, Funding, Acknowledgements, Appendix (if applicable) and References.

Tables/Figures: Max of 6

References Guideline: Max of 200

Supplementary files: Allowed

Enabling and emerging technologies

Enabling and emerging technologies includes original studies describing newly emerging technologies, novel experimental approaches/methods, innovative applications of existing experimental techniques, or enabling technologies, which can be applied to drive radical changes in basic and translational medical research.

Abstract: Unstructured, max of 250 words

Word Limit: max of 6,000 words excluding abstract, references, figures and tables.

Structure of text: Abstract, Introduction, Material and Methods, Results, Discussion, Author contributions, Conflict of Interests, Funding, Acknowledgements, Appendix (if applicable) and References.

Tables/Figures: Max of 8

References Guideline: Max of 80

Supplementary files: Allowed

Perspectives

Perspectives are short, commissioned scholarly reviews and discussions of the primary research article(s). They offer a point of view on a topic of current interest to our readership.

Abstract: None

Word Limit: 1,500 words max excluding references, figures and tables.

Tables/Figures: Max of 3

References Guideline: Max of 50

Supplementary files: None

Rapid communication

Rapid communication documents high impact early findings that are brief in nature and with an urgent dissemination need for the scientific community. There should be no more than 10 authors.

Abstract: None / It's optional to stat the manuscript text with the salutation "To the Editor---".

Word Limit: 1,200 words max excluding references, figures and tables.

Tables/Figures: Max of 1

References Guideline: Max of 5

Supplementary files: Allowed

Letters

Letters provide rapid and concise report of a novel finding that is brief in nature but is of general interest to the field. There should be no more than 10 authors.

Abstract: None / Start with a salutation "Dear Editor: ".

Word Limit: 1,200 words max excluding references, figure/table.

Tables/Figures: Max of 1

References Guideline: Max of 5

Supplementary files: Allowed

Research Highlight

Research Highlights discuss the main advances made by the paper as well as putting the finds of the study into the proper context of the field.

Abstract: None

Word Limit: 1,000 words max excluding, references, figures and tables.

Tables/Figures: Max of 1

References Guideline: Max of 5

Commentary

Commentary is a commissioned analysis of recently published paper of immediate interest.

Abstract: None

Word Limit: 1,000 words max excluding references, figures and tables.

Tables/Figures: Max of 1

References Guideline: Max of 5

Supplementary files: None

Correspondence

Correspondence may be accepted for publication after a fast-track editorial review. It would be comments or criticisms relevant to a paper published in Genes &Diseases. It may be published together with the response from the authors of the original paper(s) under discussion.

Abstract: None

Word Limit: 1,000 words max excluding references.

Tables/Figures: Max of 1

References Guideline: Max of 5

Supplementary files: Allowed

Views on news

Views on news may be focused on recently published article(s) of particular interest.

Abstract: None

Word Limit: 800 words max excluding references.

Tables/Figures: None

References Guideline: Max of 5

Supplementary files: None

Research Watch

Research watch is a format for short commissioned summaries of recent publications of exceptional and broad significance in major life science and biomedical journals.

Abstract: None

Word Limit:500 words max excluding references.

Tables/Figures:Max of 1

References Guideline: Max of 5

Supplementary files: None

Article structure

This section describes the article structure for this journal.

Introduction

State the objectives of the work and provide an adequate background, avoiding a detailed literature survey or a summary of the results.

Material and methods

Provide sufficient details to allow the work to be reproduced by an independent researcher. Methods that are already published should be summarized, and indicated by a reference. If quoting directly from a previously published method, use quotation marks and also cite the source. Any modifications to existing methods should also be described.

Results

Results should be clear and concise.

Discussion

This should explore the significance of the results of the work, not repeat them. Avoid extensive citations and discussion of published literature.

Conclusions

The main conclusions of the study may be presented in a short Conclusions section, which may stand alone or form a subsection of a Discussion or Results and Discussion section.

Appendices

If there is more than one appendix, they should be identified as A, B, etc. Formulae and equations in appendices should be given separate numbering: Eq. (A.1), Eq. (A.2), etc.; in a subsequent appendix, Eq. (B.1) and so on. Similarly for tables and figures: Table A.1; Fig. A.1, etc.

Essential title page information

Title. Concise and informative. Titles are often used in information-retrieval systems. Avoid abbreviations and formulae where possible.

Author names and affiliations. Please clearly indicate the given name(s) and family name(s) of each author and check that all names are accurately spelled. You can add your name between parentheses in your own script behind the English transliteration. Present the authors' affiliation addresses (where the actual work was done) below the names. Indicate all affiliations with a lower-case superscript letter immediately after the author's name and in front of the appropriate address. Provide the full postal address of each affiliation, including the country name and, if available, the e-mail address of each author.

Examples:

a Molecular Oncology Laboratory, Department of Orthopaedic Surgery and Rehabilitation Medicine, The University of Chicago Medical Center, Chicago, IL 60637, USA.

b Department of Burn and Plastic Surgery, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, 610041, PR China.

Corresponding author. Clearly indicate who will handle correspondence at all stages of refereeing and publication, also post-publication. This responsibility includes answering any future queries about Methodology and Materials. Ensure that the e-mail address is given and that contact details are kept up to date by the corresponding author.

Present/permanent address. If an author has moved since the work described in the article was done, or was visiting at the time, a 'Present address' (or 'Permanent address') may be indicated as a footnote to that author's name. The address at which the author actually did the work must be retained as the main, affiliation address. Superscript Arabic numerals are used for such footnotes.

Abstract and Keywords

Abstracts should be less than 250 words in length. It should be unstructed. Abbreviations and reference citations should be avoided. Below an abstract, 5 relevant keywords would be provided in alphabetical order.

Statistical Requirements

Statistical analysis is essential for all research papers except case reports. Use correct nomenclature of statistical methods (e.g., two sample t test, not unpaired t test). Descriptive statistics should follow the scales used in data description. Inferential statistics are important for interpreting results and should be described in detail. All p values should be expressed to 2 digits to the right of the decimal point, unless P < 0.01, in which case the p value should be expressed to 3 digits to the right of the decimal point. The smallest p value that should be expressed is P < 0.001, since additional zeros do not convey useful information; the largest p value that should be expressed is P > 0.99.

Abbreviations

Define abbreviations that are not standard in this field in a footnote to be placed on the first page of the article. Such abbreviations that are unavoidable in the abstract must be defined at their first mention there, as well as in the footnote. Ensure consistency of abbreviations throughout the article.

Acknowledgements

Collate acknowledgements in a separate section at the end of the article before the references and do not, therefore, include them on the title page, as a footnote to the title or otherwise. List here those individuals who provided help during the research (e.g., providing language help, writing assistance or proof reading the article, etc.).

Formatting of funding sources

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 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.

Nomenclature and Units

Follow internationally accepted rules and conventions: use the international system of units (SI) . If other quantities are mentioned, give their equivalent in SI. Authors wishing to present a table of nomenclature should do so on the second page of their manuscript.

Math formulae

Please submit math equations as editable text and not as images. Present simple formulae in line with normal text where possible and use the solidus (/) instead of a horizontal line for small fractional terms, e.g., X/Y. In principle, variables are to be presented in italics. Powers of e are often more conveniently denoted by exp. Number consecutively any equations that have to be displayed separately from the text (if referred to explicitly in the text).

Footnotes

Footnotes should be used sparingly. Number them consecutively throughout the article. Many word processors can build footnotes into the text, and this feature may be used. Otherwise, please indicate the position of footnotes in the text and list the footnotes themselves separately at the end of the article. Do not include footnotes in the Reference list.

Tables

Tables should supplement, not duplicate, the text. They should have a concise table heading, be self-explanatory, and numbered consecutively in the order of their citation in the text. Information requiring explanatory footnotes should be denoted using superscripted lowercase letters in alphabetical order (a, b, c, etc.). Asterisks (*, **) are used only to indicate the probability level of tests of significance. Abbreviations used in the table must be defined and placed after the footnotes. If you include a block of data or table from another source, whether published or unpublished, you must acknowledge the original source.

Artwork and Media instructions

Submitting your illustrations, figures and other artwork (such as multimedia and supplementary files) in an electronic format helps us produce your work to the best possible standards, ensuring accuracy, clarity and a high level of detail.

A detailed guide on electronic artwork is available on our website: https://www.elsevier.com/author-schemas/artwork-and-media-instructions. You are urged to visit this site; some excerpts from the detailed information are given here.

Supplementary data

This journal requires and enables you to share data that supports your research publication where appropriate, and enables you to interlink the data with your published articles. Research data refers to the results of observations or experimentation that validate research findings. To facilitate reproducibility and data reuse, this journal also encourages you to share your software, code, models, algorithms, protocols, methods and other useful materials related to the project.

Below are a number of ways in which you can associate data with your article or make a statement about the availability of your data when submitting your manuscript. All data associated with the submission will be peer reviewed. When sharing data in one of these ways, you are expected to cite the data in your manuscript and reference list. Please refer to the "References" section for more information about data citation. For more information on depositing, sharing and using research data and other relevant research materials, visit the research data page.

Image manipulation

Whilst it is accepted that authors sometimes need to manipulate images for clarity, manipulation for purposes of deception or fraud will be seen as scientific ethical abuse and will be dealt with accordingly. For graphical images, this journal is applying the following policy: no specific feature within an image may be enhanced, obscured, moved, removed, or introduced. Adjustments of brightness, contrast, or color balance are acceptable if and as long as they do not obscure or eliminate any information present in the original. Nonlinear adjustments (e.g. changes to gamma settings) must be disclosed in the figure legend.

Electronic artwork

General points

• Make sure you use uniform lettering and sizing of your original artwork.

• Embed the used fonts if the application provides that option.

• Aim to use the following fonts in your illustrations: Arial, Courier, Times New Roman, Symbol, or use fonts that look similar.

• Number the illustrations according to their sequence in the text.

• Use a logical naming convention for your artwork files.

• Provide captions to illustrations separately.

• Size the illustrations close to the desired dimensions of the published version.

• Submit each illustration as a separate file.

• Ensure that color images are accessible to all, including those with impaired color vision.

A detailed guide on electronic artwork is available.

You are urged to visit this site; some excerpts from the detailed information are given here.

Formats

If your electronic artwork is created in a Microsoft Office application (Word, PowerPoint, Excel) then please supply 'as is' in the native document format.

Regardless of the application used other than Microsoft Office, when your electronic artwork is finalized, please 'Save as' or convert the images to one of the following formats (note the resolution requirements for line drawings, halftones, and line/halftone combinations given below):

EPS (or PDF): Vector drawings, embed all used fonts.

TIFF (or JPEG): Color or grayscale photographs (halftones), keep to a minimum of 300 dpi.

TIFF (or JPEG): Bitmapped (pure black &amp; white pixels) line drawings, keep to a minimum of 1000 dpi.

TIFF (or JPEG): Combinations bitmapped line/half-tone (color or grayscale), keep to a minimum of 500 dpi.

Please do not:

• Supply files that are optimized for screen use (e.g., GIF, BMP, PICT, WPG); these typically have a low number of pixels and limited set of colors;

• Supply files that are too low in resolution;

• Submit graphics that are disproportionately large for the content.

Color artwork

Please make sure that artwork files are in an acceptable format (TIFF (or JPEG), EPS (or PDF) or MS Office files) and with the correct resolution. If, together with your accepted article, you submit usable color figures then Elsevier will ensure, at no additional charge, that these figures will appear in color online (e.g., ScienceDirect and other sites) in addition to color reproduction in print. Further information on the preparation of electronic artwork.

Examples of Figures and Tables citation are as follows:

1. "Figure/Table X" should be in bold format in caption, and the caption should be in regular format.

2. "(A), (B)..." should be in bold format in the illustrations.

3. "A, B..." in figures should be in capital and bold format, and in up left.

4. Figures and tables are cited in the text as "Fig. X", "Table X", "Fig. XA and B", or "Fig. XC-E".

Figure captions

Ensure that each illustration has a caption. Supply captions separately, not attached to the figure. A caption should comprise a brief title (not on the figure itself) and a description of the illustration. Keep text in the illustrations themselves to a minimum but explain all symbols and abbreviations used.

Further considerations

Manuscript has been "spell-checked" and "grammar-checked"

•Color figures are clearly marked as being intended for color reproduction on the Web (free of charge) and in print or to be reproduced in color on the Web (free of charge) and in black-and white in print

•If only color on the Web is required, black and white versions of the figures are also supplied for printing purposes

For any further information please visit our customer support site at https://service.elsevier.com .

References

Indicate references by (consecutive) superscript arabic numerals in the order in which they appear in the text. The numerals are to be used outside periods and commas, inside colons and semicolons. For further detail and examples you are referred to the AMA Manual of Style, A Guide for Authors and Editors, 11th Edition, (Print ISBN-13: 9780190246556), copies of which may be ordered from Oxford University Press (https://global.oup.com/academic/product/ama-manual-of-style-9780190246556?cc=nl). In addition, The Digital Object Identifier (DOI) needs to be added in the references (if supplied).

List: Number the references in the list in the order in which they appear in the text.

Examples:

Reference to a journal publication:

1. Hamman RF, Wing RR, Edelstein SL, et al. Effect of weight loss with lifestyle intervention on risk of diabetes. Diabetes Care. 2006;29(9):2102-2107. doi.org/10.2337/dc06-0560.

Reference to an entire book/ebook:

2. Patterson JW. Weedon's Skin Pathology. 4th ed. Churchill Livingstone; 2016.

3. Guyatt G, Rennie D, Meade MO, Cook DJ. Users' Guides to the Medical Literature: A Manual for Evidence- Based Clinical Practice. 3rd ed. McGraw- Hill Education; 2015. Accessed August 15, 2016. https://jamaevidence.mhmedical.com/book.aspx?bookID=847

Reference to a chapter in a book:

4. Boushey CJ. Application of research paradigms to nutrition practice. In: Coulston AM, Boushey CJ, Ferruzzi MG, eds. Nutrition in the Prevention and Treatment of Disease. 3rd ed. Academic Press; 2013:99-105.

References management software

Most Elsevier journals have their reference template available in many of the most popular reference management software products. These include all products that support Citation Style Language styles, such as Mendeley. Using citation plug-ins from these products, authors only need to select the appropriate journal template when preparing their article, after which citations and bibliographies will be automatically formatted in the journal's style. If no template is yet available for this journal, please follow the format of the sample references and citations as shown in this Guide. If you use reference management software, please ensure that you remove all field codes before submitting the electronic manuscript. More information on how to remove field codes from different reference management software.

Submission Checklist

Only complete manuscript submissions will be considered for publication.

Complete submission must include:

•Cover Letter for manuscript submission

•Authorship Statement signed by all authors

•Signed Conflict of Interest disclosure statement

•Signed Copyright Transfer Agreement

•External Reviewer Suggestions.

AND, where applicable

•Letter of approval from review committee for use of human samples in research and human experiments

•Letter of approval from relevant authority for use of animals in experiments

•CONSORT flow chart for randomized controlled trial

•Signed consent to publish ( online) from human subjects who can be identified in your manuscript

•Letter(s) of permission from copyright holder(s) to use copyrighted sources in your Manuscript

In the actual article, ensure that the following information is provided:

•Title page

•Article title

•Name(s) and affiliation(s) of author(s)

•Corresponding author details (name, e-mail address, full postal address, telephone and fax numbers)

•Abstract: unstructured abstract for Full Length Article and Review Article within 300 words.

•At least 5 relevant keywords in alphabetical order

•Main text

•References in the correct format, cited in numerical order, and all references in the List are cited in the Text/Tables/Figures, and vice versa

AND, where applicable

•Acknowledgments

•All tables (including title, description, footnotes).

•All figure captions

•Electronic picture files of all figures

Preprint references

Where a preprint has subsequently become available as a peer-reviewed publication, the formal publication should be used as the reference. If there are preprints that are central to your work or that cover crucial developments in the topic, but are not yet formally published, these may be referenced. Preprints should be clearly marked as such, for example by including the word preprint, or the name of the preprint server, as part of the reference. The preprint DOI should also be provided.

Reference management software

Most Elsevier journals have their reference template available in many of the most popular reference management software products. These include all products that support Citation Style Language styles, such as Mendeley. Using citation plug-ins from these products, authors only need to select the appropriate journal template when preparing their article, after which citations and bibliographies will be automatically formatted in the journal's style. If no template is yet available for this journal, please follow the format of the sample references and citations as shown in this Guide. If you use reference management software, please ensure that you remove all field codes before submitting the electronic manuscript. More information on how to remove field codes from different reference management software.

Research data

This journal encourages and enables you to share data that supports your research publication where appropriate, and enables you to interlink the data with your published articles. Research data refers to the results of observations or experimentation that validate research findings, which may also include software, code, models, algorithms, protocols, methods and other useful materials related to the project.

Below are a number of ways in which you can associate data with your article or make a statement about the availability of your data when submitting your manuscript. If you are sharing data in one of these ways, you are encouraged to cite the data in your manuscript and reference list. Please refer to the "References" section for more information about data citation. For more information on depositing, sharing and using research data and other relevant research materials, visit the research data page.

Data linking

If you have made your research data available in a data repository, you can link your article directly to the dataset. Elsevier collaborates with a number of repositories to link articles on ScienceDirect with relevant repositories, giving readers access to underlying data that gives them a better understanding of the research described.

There are different ways to link your datasets to your article. When available, you can directly link your dataset to your article by providing the relevant information in the submission system. For more information, visit the database linking page.

For supported data repositories a repository banner will automatically appear next to your published article on ScienceDirect.

In addition, you can link to relevant data or entities through identifiers within the text of your manuscript, using the following format: Database: xxxx (e.g., TAIR: AT1G01020; CCDC: 734053; PDB: 1XFN).

Data statement

To foster transparency, we encourage you to state the availability of your data in your submission. This may be a requirement of your funding body or institution. If your data is unavailable to access or unsuitable to post, you will have the opportunity to indicate why during the submission process, for example by stating that the research data is confidential. The statement will appear with your published article on ScienceDirect. For more information, visit the Data Statement page.

After acceptance

Online proof correction

To ensure a fast publication process of the article, we kindly ask authors to provide us with their proof corrections within two days. Corresponding authors will receive an e-mail with a link to our online proofing system, allowing annotation and correction of proofs online. The environment is similar to MS Word: in addition to editing text, you can also comment on figures/tables and answer questions from the Copy Editor. Web-based proofing provides a faster and less error-prone process by allowing you to directly type your corrections, eliminating the potential introduction of errors.

If preferred, you can still choose to annotate and upload your edits on the PDF version. All instructions for proofing will be given in the e-mail we send to authors, including alternative methods to the online version and PDF.

We will do everything possible to get your article published quickly and accurately. Please use this proof only for checking the typesetting, editing, completeness and correctness of the text, tables and figures. Significant changes to the article as accepted for publication will only be considered at this stage with permission from the Editor. It is important to ensure that all corrections are sent back to us in one communication. Please check carefully before replying, as inclusion of any subsequent corrections cannot be guaranteed. Proofreading is solely your responsibility.

Offprints

The corresponding author will be notified and receive a link to the published version of the open access article on ScienceDirect. This link is in the form of an article DOI link which can be shared via email and social networks. For an extra charge, paper offprints can be ordered via the offprint order form which is sent once the article is accepted for publication.

Author inquiries

Author Inquiries

Visit the Elsevier Support Center to find the answers you need.  Here you will find everything from Frequently Asked Questions to ways to get in touch.

You can also check the status of your submitted article or find out when your accepted article will be published.