1. Submission Files

Submit the following files at initial submission:

• Main manuscript: an editable Microsoft Word file (.doc or .docx) containing no author-identifying information.
• Reviewer suggestions: suggest at least three qualified reviewers from institutions different from every author affiliation. Suggested reviewers must have appropriate expertise and no recent collaboration, personal relationship, supervisory relationship, or other conflict of interest with the authors. Suggestions are advisory.
• Language: manuscripts must be written in clear academic English.

2. Medical Reporting Standards

Manuscripts should follow the current ICMJE Recommendations and the reporting guideline appropriate to the study design. Authors can identify the relevant guideline through the EQUATOR Network.

• Randomized trials: CONSORT and, for protocols, SPIRIT.
• Observational studies: STROBE.
• Diagnostic accuracy studies: STARD.
• Systematic reviews and meta-analyses: PRISMA.
• Case reports: CARE.
• Animal studies: ARRIVE.
• Nonrandomized evaluations of behavioral and public-health interventions: TREND, where applicable.

Relevant reporting checklists and flow diagrams should be available and may be requested during editorial assessment or peer review.

3. Research Ethics and Clinical Registration

• Research involving humans must state the name of the approving ethics committee or institutional review board, approval number where available, and the method of obtaining informed consent or the reason for waiver.
• Case reports and identifiable clinical images require appropriate patient consent for publication. Identifying details must be removed unless scientifically essential and specifically consented to.
• Animal research must state the approving authority and comply with applicable institutional and national requirements.
• Prospective registration of clinical trials in a publicly accessible registry is strongly encouraged. State the registry name and registration number. Where prospective registration was not completed, disclose and explain this clearly.

For full requirements, consult the Journal's Editorial Policies and the Publisher's Publication Ethics and Research Integrity Policy.

4. Double-Blind Review and Anonymization

The main manuscript file must not contain author names, affiliations, e-mail addresses, ORCID identifiers, acknowledgments, identity-revealing funding information, or other details that disclose the authors' identity.

• Remove author names and affiliations from headers, footers, figure labels, file names, tracked changes, comments, and document properties.
• Anonymize institutional names and approval details in the review manuscript only where disclosure would directly reveal author identity; provide the complete information in the Author Information Form. Restore full details after acceptance.
• Patient images and clinical materials must be anonymized independently of the double-blind review requirement.

5. Author Information and Title Page

The separate Author Information Form/title page should include:

• Full manuscript title and article type.
• Full name of each author in the intended publication order.
• Department, institution, city, and country for each affiliation.
• E-mail address and ORCID iD for every author.
• Name, institutional postal address, and e-mail address of the corresponding author.
• Author contribution statement.
• Funding information and grant numbers.
• Competing-interest declaration.
• Acknowledgments.
• Ethics approval, consent, and trial-registration details where applicable.

A separate signed authorship or competing-interest form is not routinely required at initial submission. Authors must complete all declarations requested in the submission system and manuscript; supporting documentation may be requested when necessary.

6. Manuscript Structure

Title

The title should be concise, specific, and informative. Identify the study design when this improves transparency, especially for randomized trials, systematic reviews, diagnostic studies, and case reports.

Abstract

Provide an abstract of 200 to 250 words. Do not include citations, undefined abbreviations, tables, or figures.

• Original research: use the headings Objective, Methods, Results, and Conclusion.
• Systematic reviews and meta-analyses: use a structured abstract appropriate to PRISMA.
• Case reports and other article types: use the structure appropriate to the article type and relevant reporting guideline.

Keywords

Provide four to six keywords selected, where possible, from the National Library of Medicine's MeSH Browser. Write terms in full and avoid unnecessary abbreviations.

Main text

Original research articles will normally include Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, and Conclusions. The Methods section should clearly describe:

• Study design, setting, dates, eligibility criteria, recruitment, and participant flow.
• Interventions, exposures, comparators, outcomes, measurement methods, and follow-up.
• Primary and secondary outcomes.
• Sample-size determination and statistical analysis.
• Ethics approval, informed consent, and trial registration where applicable.

Statistical reporting

• Describe statistical methods with enough detail to permit evaluation and replication.
• Report the number of observations analyzed and explain missing data and exclusions.
• Report effect estimates with appropriate measures of uncertainty, such as 95% confidence intervals, when relevant.
• Give exact p values unless they are smaller than the reporting threshold.
• Distinguish prespecified analyses from exploratory or post hoc analyses.

7. Text and Technical Formatting

• Use the Journal template whenever possible.
• Use Cambria: 16 pt for the manuscript title, 10 pt bold for section headings, and 10 pt for the main text unless the template specifies otherwise.
• Apply automatic page numbering and continuous line numbering.
• Use SI units and internationally accepted clinical notation.
• Use generic drug names. State proprietary names only when scientifically necessary, followed by manufacturer and location where relevant.
• Use a decimal point, not a decimal comma, in English manuscripts.
• Define each abbreviation at first use and avoid abbreviations in the title and abstract unless essential.

Equations

• Create equations as editable objects, not images.
• Refer to equations as Eq. (1), Eqs. (2) and (3), or Eqs. (2)-(5).

8. Figures and Tables

Figures

• Number figures consecutively in the order cited in the text.
• Refer to figures as Fig. 1, Figs. 1 and 2, or Figs. 1-3. Refer to panels as Fig. 1(a) and Figs. 1(b) and 1(c).
• Provide a concise caption below each figure and define all symbols and abbreviations.
• Photographs and continuous-tone images should normally be at least 300 dpi at final publication size; line art should normally be at least 600 dpi.
• Clinical photographs, imaging studies, and screenshots must be anonymized. Written consent for publication is required when a patient could reasonably be identified.
• Do not include author names, institutional logos, or other author-identifying information in review figures.

Tables

• Create tables as editable text, not as images.
• Number tables consecutively in the order cited in the text.
• Place a concise title above each table.
• Define abbreviations, symbols, statistical tests, and significance indicators in notes below the table.
• Do not duplicate the same data in the text, tables, and figures.

9. Conclusions and Required Declarations

The Conclusions section should state the principal findings and their clinical or scientific implications without overstating causality or generalizability. Important limitations should be acknowledged.

Include the following statements before the reference list, using "Not applicable" where appropriate:

• Ethics approval
• Consent to participate
• Consent for publication
• Trial registration
• Acknowledgments
• Author contributions
• Funding
• Competing interests
• Data availability
• Use of artificial intelligence, where applicable

10. Vancouver Citations in the Text

Number references consecutively in the order in which they are first cited. Reuse the same number whenever the source is cited again. Reference numbers should appear in square brackets before punctuation.

References first cited in tables or figure legends must follow the numbering sequence established by their first mention in the main text. Authors may mention names narratively, for example, "Ahiskalioglu et al. [2] reported...", but the numbered citation remains mandatory.

11. Vancouver Reference List

Use the Vancouver system based on the National Library of Medicine's Citing Medicine. Journal titles must use the official NLM abbreviation where available.

• List references in citation order, not alphabetically.
• List the first six authors; when there are more than six, add et al. after the sixth author.
• Use sentence case for article and chapter titles.
• Give full inclusive page ranges.
• Add the DOI when available.
• Do not insert spaces after the semicolon between year and volume or after the colon between volume and pages.

Journal article

Book

Book chapter

Conference paper

Thesis or dissertation

Guideline, standard, or report

Web page or online document

Whenever possible, cite the original full report rather than an abstract. Preprints may be cited when relevant but must be identified clearly as preprints.

12. Final Technical Check

• The main manuscript is anonymized and contains no identifying metadata.
• The Author Information Form and Reviewer Suggestion Form are uploaded separately.
• The relevant reporting guideline has been followed and the checklist/flow diagram is available.
• Ethics, consent, registration, funding, conflicts, data availability, and AI-use statements are complete where applicable.
• The abstract contains 200 to 250 words and its structure is appropriate to the article type.
• MeSH keywords are appropriate.
• Every citation has a matching reference and every reference is cited.
• Vancouver punctuation and spacing follow Year;volume(issue):pages.
• Figure and table numbering is consecutive and all items are cited in the text.
• The manuscript has been checked for language, grammar, internal consistency, numerical accuracy, and duplicated content.
• All authors have approved the submitted version.