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 relevant expertise and no recent collaboration, personal relationship, supervisory relationship, or other conflict of interest with the authors. Suggestions are advisory; the editors retain full responsibility for reviewer selection.
• Language: manuscripts must be written in clear academic English.

2. 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.
• Replace self-identifying wording with neutral phrasing during review where necessary.
• Place all author details and identity-revealing declarations in the separate Author Information Form.
• Figures, photographs, maps, institutional logos, project codes, and acknowledgments must also be anonymized where they could reveal identity.

3. 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, including grant numbers where applicable.
• Competing-interest declaration.
• Acknowledgments for contributors who do not meet authorship criteria.

4. Manuscript Structure

Title

The title should be concise, informative, specific to the study, and free of unnecessary abbreviations.

Abstract

Provide an abstract of 200 to 250 words. It should state the purpose, essential methods, principal findings, and main conclusion. Do not include citations, undefined abbreviations, tables, figures, or unsupported claims.

Keywords

Provide four to six specific keywords. Write terms in full, avoid unnecessary abbreviations, and do not merely repeat every word in the title.

Main text

Organize the manuscript in a form appropriate to the article type. Original research articles will normally include:

1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods or Methodology
3. Results
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions

Combined Results and Discussion sections may be used when this improves clarity. Methods must contain enough information to permit evaluation and, where reasonably possible, reproduction of the work. Clearly identify materials, specimens, datasets, boundary conditions, numerical assumptions, software and version numbers, statistical methods, and relevant standards.

5. 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 symbols. Present compound units and superscripts correctly, for example: kg/m³, MPa, °C, and kΩ·cm.
• Use a decimal point, not a decimal comma, in English manuscripts.
• Define each abbreviation at first use and avoid abbreviations in the title unless essential.
• Use the multiplication sign (×) rather than the letter "x" for dimensions and multiplication.

Equations

• Create equations as editable equation objects using Microsoft Word's equation editor or a compatible editable tool. Do not submit equations as images.
• Number displayed equations consecutively with Arabic numerals in parentheses.
• Refer to one equation as Eq. (1), multiple specified equations as Eqs. (2) and (3), and a range as Eqs. (2)-(5).
• Define all symbols immediately before or after their first use.

6. 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. Define all symbols, abbreviations, and panels needed to understand it.
• 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.
• Graphs, diagrams, and schematics must remain legible when reduced. Use readable lettering, distinguishable line types, and meaningful axis labels with units.
• Do not include author names, institutional logos, or other identifying information in review figures.

Tables

• Create tables as editable text, not as images.
• Number tables consecutively in the order cited in the text.
• Refer to tables as Table 1, Tables 1 and 2, or Tables 1-3.
• Place a concise and self-explanatory title above each table.
• Define abbreviations, symbols, and statistical indicators in notes below the table, even if already defined in the text.
• Do not duplicate the same dataset in the text, a table, and a figure.

7. Conclusions and Required Declarations

Conclusions

The Conclusions section should present the principal findings and their implications without repeating the abstract or introducing unsupported new material. State important limitations and practical or scientific significance where relevant.

End-matter statements

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

• Acknowledgments
• Author contributions
• Funding
• Competing interests
• Data availability
• Use of artificial intelligence, where applicable

Authors must also comply with the Journal's Editorial Policies and the Publisher's Publication Ethics and Research Integrity Policy.

8. Citations in the Text

The Journal uses an author-year citation system. Every source cited in the text must appear in the reference list, and every item in the reference list must be cited in the text.

• Single author: (Brown 2008) or Brown (2008).
• Two authors: (Kanakubo and Shindo 1997).
• Three or more authors: (Elfgren et al. 1974).
• Several works by the same author(s): (Strunk and White 1979, 1981).
• Works by different authors: (Strunk and White 1979; Brown 2008).
• Same author(s) and year: (Hotta and Tsunoda 2004a, 2004b).

Do not place a comma between the author name and year. Separate different sources with semicolons. Write "and", not "&". Write et al. with a period after "al."

References cited in tables or figure legends must follow the same author-year citation style used in the main text and must be included in the reference list. Authors may cite sources narratively, for example, “Elfgren et al. (1974) reported...”, or parenthetically, for example, (Elfgren et al. 1974).

9. Reference List

Arrange references alphabetically by the surname of the first author and then chronologically. For multiple works by the same author(s) in the same year, add lower-case letters to the year in both the text and reference list. Write author names as surname followed by initials, without punctuation or spaces between initials; separate authors with commas and do not use “&” before the final author. Include a DOI as a complete HTTPS link whenever available. For online sources without a DOI, provide the URL and access date in the form [accessed DD-MM-YYYY].

Use sentence case for article, chapter, thesis, report, dataset, software, webpage, patent, and preprint titles. Preserve the official capitalization of journal titles, book titles, standards, organization names, acronyms, and proper nouns.

Journal article – page range

Journal article – article number / e-locator

Journal article – accepted / in press

Conference paper – published in proceedings

Conference presentation / abstract – not published in proceedings

Book

Book chapter

Thesis / dissertation

Standard / code / technical specification

Technical / institutional report

Dataset

Software

Online document / webpage – dated

Online document / webpage – no date

Patent

Preprint

10. 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 title, 200-to-250-word abstract, keywords, figures, tables, equations, units, and references follow these guidelines.
• Every citation has a matching reference and every reference is cited.
• 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.