IMPORTANT INFORMATION
• Submission of a paper will be held to imply that the manuscript contains original, unpublished work and is not being submitted for publication elsewhere.
• Manuscripts should present novel findings addressing significant biological questions.
Types of article
In addition to original research articles, the journal publishes reviews, mini-reviews, letters to the editor, short communications, abstracts, case studies, and commentaries, thereby providing a forum for reports and discussions on cutting-edge perspectives in science. Please ensure that you select the appropriate article type from the list of options when making your submission. Authors contributing to special issues should ensure that they select the special issue article type from this list.
Submission Checklist
Ensure that the following items are present:
One author has been designated as the corresponding author with contact details:
• Institutional E-mail address
• Full postal address
Every author offers an institutional E-mail address.
All necessary files have been uploaded:
Manuscript:
• Include keywords
• All figures (include relevant captions)
• All tables (including titles, description, footnotes)
• Ensure all figure and table citations in the text match the files provided
• Indicate clearly if color should be used for any figures in print
Graphical Abstracts / Highlights files (where applicable)
Further considerations
• Manuscript has been 'spell checked' and 'grammar checked.'
• All references mentioned in the Reference List are cited in the text, and vice versa
• Permission has been obtained for the use of copyrighted material from other sources (including the Internet)
• A competing interests statement is provided, even if the authors have no competing interests to declare
• Journal policies detailed in this guide have been reviewed
• Referee suggestions and contact details provided, based on journal requirements.
Submission
Submission to this journal proceeds online, and you will be guided stepwise through the creation and uploading of your files by our online submission system. The system automatically converts your files to a single PDF file used in the peer-review process. Editable files (e.g., Word, LaTeX) are required to typeset your article for final publication. All correspondence, including notification of the Editor's decision and requests for revision, is sent by e-mail. You can use the Submission checklist to carry out a final check of your submission before sending it to the journal for review.
Referees
Authors are asked to provide the names and contact details of 2 possible reviewers. These reviewers must NOT be colleagues with whom you have researched or published papers during the last five years, nor can they work at your institute. The Journal of Advances in Environmental and Life Sciences relies on the honesty of our authors in the nomination of potential reviewers; any violation of the guidelines above could lead to instant rejection of your manuscript. Please note that the journal may not use your suggestions, but your help is appreciated and may speed up the reviewing process.
Formatting requirements
All manuscripts must contain the essential elements needed to convey your manuscript: Cover letter, Highlights, Title, author list, Affiliations, Abstract, Keywords, Introduction, Setting (if applicable), Materials and Methods, Results, Conclusions, Artwork, and Tables with Captions. Submit your manuscript in a 1.5 interline, page numbered and figures and tables at the end of the text, after the references and the legends to figures and tables.
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 typically sent to a minimum of two independent expert reviewers to assess the paper's scientific quality. The Editor is responsible for the final decision regarding the acceptance or rejection of articles. The Editor's decision is final.
Article structure
This section provides information for properly structuring a research manuscript.
Essential title page information Subdivision - numbered sections
Divide your article into clearly defined and numbered sections. Subsections should be numbered 1.1 (then 1.1.1, 1.1.2, ...), 1.2, etc. (the abstract is not included in section numbering). Use this numbering also for internal cross-referencing: do not just refer to 'the text.' Any subsection may be given a brief heading. Each heading should appear on its separate line.
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.
Theory/calculation
A Theory section should extend, not repeat, the background to the article already dealt with in the introduction and lay the foundation for further work. In contrast, a Calculation section represents a practical development from a theoretical basis.
Results
Results should be clear and concise.
Discussion
This should explore the significance of the results of the work, not repeat them. A combined Results and Discussion section is often appropriate. 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.
• Corresponding author. Clearly indicate who will handle correspondence at all stages of refereeing and publication, as well as 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 did the work must be retained as the main affiliation address. Superscript Arabic numerals are used for such footnotes.
Highlights
Highlights are mandatory for this journal as they help increase the discoverability of your article via search engines. They consist of a short collection of bullet points that capture the novel results of your research and new methods used during the study (if any).
Highlights should be submitted in a separate editable file in the online submission system. Please use 'Highlights' in the file name and include 3 to 5 bullet points (maximum 85 characters, including spaces, per bullet point).
Abstract
A concise and factual abstract is required. The abstract should briefly state the purpose of the research, the principal results, and major conclusions. An abstract is often presented separately from the article, so it must be able to stand alone. For this reason, References should be avoided, but if essential, cite the author(s) and year(s). Also, non-standard or uncommon abbreviations should be avoided, but if essential, they must be defined at their first mention in the abstract itself.
The abstract is an important part of every published article and should be crafted with great care. All abstracts should answer the following four realistic questions to provide a helpful summary to our readers: What is the question addressed in the present manuscript? What are the methods used to answer the question? What is the observation/ data? Finally, what conclusions are drawn from that observation?
Graphical abstract
A graphical abstract is mandatory for this journal. It should summarize the article's contents in a concise, pictorial form designed to capture the attention of a wide readership online. In addition, authors must provide images that represent the work described in the article. Graphical abstracts should be submitted as a separate file in the online submission system.
For all accepted publications, the graphical abstract will be considered as a candidate for the front cover picture of the Journal. Therefore, the graphical abstract provides authors with a great opportunity for promoting their articles and showcasing their research. Once your accepted article has been assigned to an issue, your graphical abstract will be compiled with all other graphical abstract submissions for that issue. The editorial team of the journal will then select the most suitable graphical abstract for the front cover of the issue. If your graphical abstract is selected for the front cover of the journal, the corresponding author of the accepted article will be notified of the cover's image acceptance. For the publication of the front cover image, there are no charges or fees applied to authors.
Keywords
Immediately after the abstract, provide a maximum of 6 keywords, using American spelling and avoiding general and plural terms and multiple concepts (avoid, for example, 'and,' 'of'). Be sparing with abbreviations: only abbreviations firmly established in the field may be eligible. These keywords will be used for indexing purposes.
Abbreviations
Define abbreviations that are not standard in this field in a footnote 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.
Acknowledgments
Collate acknowledgments 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. Instead, list here those individuals who provided help during the research (e.g., providing language help, writing assistance or proofreading the article, etc.).
Formatting of funding sources
List funding sources in this standard way to facilitate compliance to the 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 of the program or type of grants and awards. However, 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, please 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
Nomenclature and units. Follow internationally accepted rules and conventions: use the international system of units (SI). All nomenclature and notation should conform as closely as possible to the rules established by IUPAC and IUPAP, as summarized in the following publications: N. Sheppard, H.A. Willis, and J.C. Rigg, Spectrochim. Acta Part A, 43 (1987) 1; E.R. Cohen and P. Giacomo, Physica, 146A (1987) 1-68; I. Mills et al., Quantities, Units, and Symbols in Physical Chemistry, Blackwell, Oxford (1988). The only exception is min, h, d, and an as units for elapsed time, though never when combined algebraically with other units. If other quantities are mentioned, give their equivalent in SI.
Footnotes
Footnotes should be used sparingly. Number them consecutively throughout the article. Many word processors build footnotes into the text, and this feature may be used. Should this not be the case, indicate the position of footnotes in the text and present the footnotes separately at the end of the article.
Artwork Electronic artwork General points
• Make sure you use uniform lettering and sizing of your original artwork.
• Preferred fonts: Arial (or Helvetica), Times New Roman (or Times), Symbol, Courier.
• Number the illustrations according to their sequence in the text.
• Use a logical naming convention for your artwork files.
• Indicate per figure if it is a single, 1.5, or 2-column fitting image.
• For Word submissions only, you may still provide figures and their captions and tables within a single file at the revision stage.
• Please note that individual figure files larger than 10 MB must be provided in separate source files.
Formats
Regardless of the application used, 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 the font or save the text as 'graphics'.
TIFF (or JPG): Color or grayscale photographs (halftones): always use a minimum of 300 dpi. TIFF (or JPG): Bitmapped line drawings: use a minimum of 1000 dpi.
TIFF (or JPG): Combinations bitmapped line/half-tone (color or grayscale): a minimum of 500 dpi is required.
Please do not:
• Supply files optimized for screen use (e.g., GIF, BMP, PICT, WPG); the resolution is too low.
• 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, at no additional charge, that these figures will appear in color online (e.g., Science Direct and other sites) in addition to color reproduction in print. Further information on the preparation of electronic artwork.
Figure captions
Ensure that each illustration has a caption. 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.
Text graphics
Text graphics may be embedded in the text at the appropriate position. These can be left if you are working with LaTeX and have such features embedded in the text. See further under Electronic artwork.
Tables
Please submit tables as editable text and not as images. Tables can be placed either next to the relevant text in the article or on separate page(s) at the end. Number tables consecutively in accordance with their appearance in the text and place any table notes below the table body. Be sparing in the use of tables and ensure that the data presented do not duplicate results described elsewhere in the article. Please avoid using vertical rules and shading in table cells.
References
Citation in text
Please ensure that every reference cited in the text is also present in the reference list (and vice versa). Any references cited in the abstract must be given in full. Unpublished results and personal communications are not recommended in the reference list but may be mentioned in the text. Suppose these references are included in the reference list. In that case, they should follow the standard reference style of the journal and should include a substitution of the publication date with either 'Unpublished results' or 'Personal communication' Citation of a reference as 'in press' implies that the item has been accepted for publication.
Reference links
Increased discoverability of research and high-quality peer review are ensured by online links to the sources cited. In order to allow us to create links to abstracting and indexing services, such as Scopus, CrossRef, and PubMed, please ensure that the data provided in the references are correct. Please note that incorrect surnames, journal/book titles, publication year, and pagination may prevent link creation. When copying references, please be careful as they may already contain errors. Use of the DOI is highly encouraged.
A DOI is guaranteed never to change so that you can use it as a permanent link to any electronic article. An example of a citation using DOI for an article not yet in an issue is VanDecar J.C., Russo R.M., James D.E., Ambeh W.B., Franke M. (2003). Aseismic continuation of the Lesser Antilles slab beneath northeastern Venezuela. Journal of Geophysical Research, https://doi.org/10.1029/2001JB000884. Please note the format of such citations should be in the same style as all other references in the paper.
Data references
This journal encourages you to cite underlying or relevant datasets in your manuscript by citing them in your text and including a data reference in your Reference List. Data references should include the following elements: author name(s), dataset title, data repository, version (where available), year, and persistent global identifier. Add [dataset] immediately before the reference so we can properly identify it as a data reference. The [dataset] identifier will not appear in your published article.
Reference style
Text: Indicate references by number(s) in square brackets in line with the text. The actual authors can be referred to, but the reference number(s) must always be given.
Example: '..... as demonstrated [3,6]. Barnaby and Jones [8] obtained a different result List: Number the references (numbers in square brackets) in the list to appear in the text.
Examples:
Reference to a journal publication:
[1] J. van der Geer, J.A.J. Hanraads, R.A. Lupton, The art of writing a scientific article, J. Sci. Commun. 163 (2010) 51–59. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.Sc.2010.00372.
Reference to a journal publication with an article number:
[2] J. van der Geer, J.A.J. Hanraads, R.A. Lupton, 2018. The art of writing a scientific article. Heliyon. 19, e00205. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.heliyon.2018.e00205.
Reference to a book:
[3] W. Strunk Jr., E.B. White, The Elements of Style, fourth ed., Longman, New York, 2000. Reference to a chapter in an edited book:
[4] G.R. Mettam, L.B. Adams, How to prepare an electronic version of your article, in: B.S. Jones, R.Z. Smith (Eds.), Introduction to the Electronic Age, E-Publishing Inc., New York, 2009, pp. 281–304. Reference to a website:
[5] Cancer Research UK, Cancer statistics reports for the UK. http://www.cancerresearchuk.org/ about cancer/statistics/cancer stats report/, 2003 (accessed 13 March 2003).
Reference to a dataset:
[dataset] [6] M. Oguro, S. Imahiro, S. Saito, T. Nakashizuka, Mortality data for Japanese oak wilt disease and surrounding forest compositions, Mendeley Data, v1, 2015. https://doi.org/10.17632/ xwj98nb39r.1.
Reference to software:
[7] E. Coon, M. Berndt, A. Jan, D. Svyatsky, A. Atchley, E. Kikinzon, D. Harp, G. Manzini, E. Shelef,
K. Lipnikov, R. Garimella, C. Xu, D. Moulton, S. Karra, S. Painter, E. Jafarov, S. Molins, Advanced Terrestrial Simulator (ATS) v0.88 (Version 0.88), Zenodo, March 25, 2020. https://doi.org/10.5281/ zenodo.3727209.
Journal abbreviations source
Journal names should be abbreviated according to the List of Title Word Abbreviations.
Data visualization
Include interactive data visualizations in your publication and let your readers interact and engage more closely with your research. Follow the instructions here to find out about available data visualization options and include them with your article.
Supplementary material
Supplementary material such as applications, images, and sound clips, can be published with your article to enhance it. Submitted supplementary items are published exactly as received (Excel or PowerPoint files will appear as such online). Please submit your material with the article and supply a concise, descriptive caption for each supplementary file. If you wish to make changes to supplementary material during any stage of the process, please make sure to provide an updated file. Do not annotate any corrections on a previous version. Please switch off the 'Track Changes' option in Microsoft Office files as these will appear in the published version.
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. 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 to associate data with your article or make a statement about the availability of your data when submitting your manuscript. If you share 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. In addition, visit the research data page for more information on depositing, sharing, and using research data and other relevant research materials.
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. However, 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 proof instructions 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 the inclusion of any subsequent corrections cannot be guaranteed. Proofreading is solely your responsibility.
APCs: