Article structure

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 own 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 detail to allow the work to be reproduced. Methods already published should be
indicated by a reference: only relevant modifications should 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.

Where the family name may be ambiguous (e.g., a double name), please indicate this clearly. 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, also post-
publication. Ensure that telephone and fax numbers (with country and area code) are provided in
addition to the e-mail address and the complete postal address. Contact details must be 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

A concise and factual abstract is required. The abstract should state briefly 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, then 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.

Keywords

Authors are invited to submit keywords associated with their paper.

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.).

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

Present simple formulae in the line of 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, using
superscript Arabic numbers. Many wordprocessors 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 themselves separately at the end of the article. Do not include footnotes in the Reference
list.

Table footnotes

Indicate each footnote in a table with a superscript lowercase letter.

Artwork

Electronic artwork

General points

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

Save text in illustrations as "graphics" or enclose the font.

Only use the following fonts in your illustrations: Arial, Courier, Times, Symbol.

Number the illustrations according to their sequence in the text.

Provide captions to illustrations separately.

Produce images near to the desired size of the printed version.

Submit each figure as a separate file.

A detailed guide on electronic artwork is available on our website:

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

Formats

Regardless of the application used, when your electronic artwork is finalised, 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: Vector drawings. Embed the font or save the text as "graphics".

TIFF: color or grayscale photographs (halftones): always use a minimum of 300 dpi.

TIFF: Bitmapped line drawings: use a minimum of 1000 dpi.

TIFF: Combinations bitmapped line/half-tone (color or grayscale): a minimum of 500 dpi is required.

If your electronic artwork is created in a Microsoft Office application (Word, PowerPoint, Excel) then
please supply "as is".

Please do not:

Supply files that are optimised for screen use (like 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, EPS 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 on the Web (e.g.,
ScienceDirect and other sites) regardless of whether or not these illustrations are reproduced in
color in the printed version.

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.
Tables

Number tables consecutively in accordance with their appearance in the text. Place footnotes to
tables below the table body and indicate them with superscript lowercase letters. Avoid vertical
rules. Be sparing in the use of tables and ensure that the data presented in tables do not duplicate
results described elsewhere in the article.

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. If
these references are included in the reference list 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.

Web references

As a minimum, the full URL should be given and the date when the reference was last accessed. Any
further information, if known (DOI, author names, dates, reference to a source publication, etc.),
should also be given. Web references can be listed separately (e.g., after the reference list) under a
different heading if desired, or can be included in the reference list.

References in a special issue

Please ensure that the words 'this issue' are added to any references in the list (and any citations in
the text) to other articles in the same Special Issue.

Reference style

Text: All citations in the text should refer to:

1. Single author: the author's name (without initials, unless there is ambiguity) and the year of
publication;

2. Two authors: both authors' names and the year of publication;

3. Three or more authors: first author's name followed by "et al." and the year of publication.

Citations may be made directly (or parenthetically). Groups of references should be listed first
alphabetically, then chronologically.

Examples: "as demonstrated (Allan, 1996a, 1996b, 1999; Allan and Jones, 1995). Kramer et al. (2000)
have recently shown ...."
List: References should be arranged first alphabetically and then further sorted chronologically if
necessary. More than one reference from the same author(s) in the same year must be identified by
the letters "a", "b", "c", etc., placed after the year of publication.

Examples:

Reference to a journal publication:

Van der Geer, J., Hanraads, J.A.J., Lupton, R.A., 2000. The art of writing a scientific article. J. Sci.
Commun. 163, 51-59.

Reference to a book:

Strunk Jr., W., White, E.B., 1979. The Elements of Style, third ed. Macmillan, New York.

Reference to a chapter in an edited book:

Mettam, G.R., Adams, L.B., 1999. How to prepare an electronic version of your article, in: Jones, B.S.,
Smith , R.Z. (Eds.), Introduction to the Electronic Age. E-Publishing Inc., New York, pp. 281-304.