For authors

Manuscript Preparation

Submit a separate title page and blinded manuscript. Do not place author names, affiliations, acknowledgments or identifying file properties in the blinded manuscript.

Title page

• Full title and short running title.
• Article type and journal section.
• Given name, middle name and family name of every author.
• Department, institution, city and country for each affiliation.
• Verified ORCID for every author.
• Corresponding author’s full postal and email details.
• CRediT roles for every author.
• Funding, acknowledgments and conflicts of interest.

Blinded manuscript

• Title, abstract, keywords and main text only.
• No author names, affiliations, acknowledgments, self-identifying statements or document comments.
• Continuous line numbering and page numbering are recommended.
• Use standard editable text, not scanned pages.
• Use SI units and define abbreviations at first use.

Abstract and keywords

Systematic reviews, meta-analyses, scoping reviews, evidence maps, umbrella reviews and rapid reviews should use a structured abstract appropriate to the design. Select 3–8 MeSH-compatible keywords according to the article-type limit.

Declarations

Include separate statements on funding, competing interests, data availability, code availability, ethics, permissions, AI use and acknowledgments. “Not applicable” is acceptable only when accurate.