Submissions

Online Submissions

Already have a Username/Password for Journal of Hunan University Natural Sciences?
Go to Login

Need a Username/Password?
Go to Registration

Registration and login are required to submit items online and to check the status of current submissions.

 

Author Guidelines

Manuscript submission

Submission of an article implies that it has not been previously published and is not under consideration for publication elsewhere; and further, that if accepted, it will not be published elsewhere. Manuscripts of all categories are to be submitted online (http://johuns.net/index.php/journal/pages/view/papersubmission) with a letter of transmittal, giving (i) names and complete addresses (including telephone numbers, e-mail id, etc.) of all the authors and (ii) title of the contribution.

You can also submit an article directly to the Editor-in-Chief by e-mail: editorial-office@johuns.net

 

Journal of Hunan University Natural Sciences is an academic multidisciplinary journal and therefore research and review papers of general significance that are written clearly and well organized will be given preference. All papers, solicited and unsolicited, will be first assessed by a Reviewing Editor. Papers found unsuitable in terms of the overall requirements of the journal will be returned to the authors. The others will be sent for detailed review. Authors of these papers will be notified of acceptance, need for revision or rejection of the paper. It may be noted that papers once rejected cannot be resubmitted. Manuscripts are selected for publication according to the editorial assessment of their suitability and evaluation from independent reviewers. Papers are usually sent to two or more reviewers. Editorial staff will edit accepted papers to improve accuracy and clarity and shorten, if necessary.

Illustrations and other materials to be reproduced from other publications must be properly credited; it is the authors’ responsibility to obtain permission for reproduction of figures, tables, etc., from published sources (copies of letters of permission should be sent to the editor).

 

Declarations to be made regarding ethical issues

Manuscripts that deal with clinical findings should be enclosed with a statement on informed consent of the patients under study.

If humans and animals are the subject of a clinical study, it is essential for the study to have been carried out in accordance with the ethical standards of the country/countries where the research described in the article has been conducted. A declaration to that effect must accompany the manuscript.

 

Supplementary material

Detailed tables can be submitted as supplementary material, which will be published online. If tables with huge data are not submitted as supplementary material and are found suitable for online publishing only, the discretion to use these as supplementary materials lies with the journal. The authors will be informed about this during the processing of their manuscripts.

Any details and queries regarding supplementary material should be addressed to the corresponding author of the paper. The published material cannot be reproduced without permission from the author.

Authors’ conflict of interest statement

Authors must acknowledge the organizations that have provided financial support for their work. Any other conflict of interest must be declared while submitting the manuscripts.

 

Categories of Manuscripts

General articles [not exceeding 4000 words, 6 display items (tables and figures)] discuss current trends in research in a field that would be of interest to readers outside the field. These include interdisciplinary topics, science policy and science administration, some aspects of the application of science and technology to human needs or the impact of science and technology on society/ecosystems/life. The articles should include an abstract, introductory paragraph, brief subheads at appropriate places, illustrations that will help a general reader, and references.

Review articles (not exceeding 6000 words, cited references to be limited to about 100 in number) are expected to survey and discuss current developments in a field. They should be well focused and organized, and avoid a general ‘textbook’ style.

Research accounts (not exceeding 6000 words, cited references to be limited to about 60 in number) are articles intended to be personalized reviews of research from the author(s)’ laboratory, based on a body of published work. The articles must provide appropriate background to the area in a concise introduction, which should also serve to place the author(s)’ work in a proper perspective.

Research articles (ranging from 3000 to 5000 words) report research results of major significance. They should include an abstract, an introductory paragraph, and brief subheads.

Research communications (2000 words) contain important new findings that are novel and of fairly broad interest. They should include a brief abstract and an introductory paragraph. Text should NOT be broken up under subheads.

Scientific correspondence items (less than 1500 words and 2 display items) serve to rapidly communicate important new findings. Contributions dealing with technical advances or advances in instrumentation may be published as Technical notes.

News (not exceeding 1000 words) can cover important scientific events or any other news of interest to scientists in general.

Meeting reports (less than 1500 words) deal with highlights/technical contents of a conference/ symposium/discussion-meeting, etc. conveying the significance of important advances to readers. Reports must avoid merely listing brief accounts of topics discussed.

Research News articles (not exceeding 2000 words and 3 display items) are intended to inform non-specialists about recently published advances or important findings.

Opinion articles (less than 1200 words) present views on issues related to science and scientific activity.

Commentary (less than 2000 words) articles are expected to be expository essays on issues related to science and scientific activity.

Book reviews (not exceeding 1500 words). Although Book Reviews are generally solicited/commissioned, unsolicited reviews will also be considered. Reviews must not merely ‘list’ brief descriptions of the contents of a book.

Historical commentaries/notes (limited to about 3000 words) inform readers about interesting aspects of personalities or institutions of science or about watershed events in the history/development of science. Illustrations and photographs are welcome. Brief items will also be considered.

Manuscript Preparation

All papers are to be written in English. Articles should be prepared strictly according to the template; please check the link http://johuns.net/docs/template.doc


Each article should have no more than 6 authors.

 

Structure of the Article

Please follow this logic in writing the paper: first, briefly highlight the idea, then describe the methods for achieving the goal and the planned results, and only after that proceed to the detailed presentation. When reviewing the literature, you should not simply list the sources, but analyze them. You should explain with specific examples what has already been done by other scholars, what tasks are ahead, and in which direction you plan to move, that is, you have to introduce the reader to the research background and explain the place of your study in it.

The pages should be numbered consecutively, starting with the title page and through the text, and reference list.

The structure of the manuscript should be organized as follows: title, author(s), affiliation(s) (institutions), city, country, e-mails of authors (preferably institutional), Abstract (in English and Chinese), Keywords (in English and Chinese), Introduction, Research Aim, Literature Review, Research Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusions and Suggestions for Practical Use, Acknowledgements (can be added if necessary), References (in English and Chinese).

 

Title should be brief and informative, specific and amenable to indexing. The title should contain less than 15 words, each starting with a capital letter, and be centered, typeset the title in bold, Times New Roman (TNR) 14pt, single line spacing.

 

Names and affiliations (institutions) of the authors, city, country, E-mail address(es) of the author(s) should be listed. Authors’ names should be centered, typeset in TNR 12pt, and single-spaced. Affiliations, including departments, should be centered, typeset in TNR 11pt, and single-spaced.

 

Abstract should be limited to 1 paragraph (300 words) and convey the main points of the paper, outline the results and conclusions, and explain the significance of the results. Any inessential abbreviations (those personally invented, in particular), any formulas, references to bibliography, figures and/or tables are inadmissible in the abstract. Typeset your Abstract in TNR 11 pt, alignment: justify; line spacing: single.

The abstract should include the following: the problem (or object) of the study; the method used (including technical means such as instrumentation, etc.); the results of the test; the conclusions. Note the difference between Results and Conclusions: Results imply only a concrete result, belonging to a particular instance; and Conclusions describe a general case that needs to be generalized from the particular instance. When writing abstracts, avoid general statements and conclusions that are general and empty. Try to use the most specific language in the article to explain the research methods, processes, results and conclusions, so that the reader has a clear and comprehensive understanding of the author's research work. Do not simply repeat the information already stated in the title; faithfully reflect the research work done and provide as much quantification as possible.

The editors recommend the authors to adhere to the following abstract template:

The article describes a new method/idea (etc.) ..., based on ..., enabling to .... Using (describe the methods), the authors (describe the obtained results)..... As an example, we illustrate the proposed method/technique... Our method/proposal allows to improve (any quantitative indicators by XX, X%)... The new method effectiveness evaluation is confirmed by the calculation .... New research results develop/supplement/improve ... and can be used for….

 

Keywords: Not more than five keywords should be indicated separately; these should be chosen carefully and must not be phrases of several words. Typeset your keywords in TNR 10 pt, alignment: justify; line spacing: single. These keywords will be used for indexing.

The abstract and keywords should be presented in the English and Chinese languages, and their contents in English and Chinese should be consistent.

The main text: Typeset the main text TNR 11 pt in 2 columns with an interval between columns of 1 cm, alignment: justify, indentation: 5 mm, line spacing: single.

 

Introduction: All papers should have a brief introduction (1.5-2 pages), which should not be numbered. The purpose of the introduction is to explain to readers all details of this research. Its role is to arouse the reader's attention and let the reader have a general understanding of the paper. The text should be intelligible to readers in different disciplines and technical terms should be defined. This is the reader’s first impression of your paper, so it should be clear and concise. Include relevant background information on your topic, using in-text citations as necessary. Report new developments in the field, and state how your study fills gaps in the existing research. Focus on the specific problem you are addressing, along with its possible solutions, and outline the limitations of your study.

The contents to be described in the introduction are roughly as follows: (1) The rationale, purpose and background of the research. Including the question, the research object and its basic characteristics, what work has been done by the predecessors on this issue, what are the deficiencies; what problems are expected to be solved, what is the role and significance of the solution; what is the background of the research work. If you want to answer a lot of questions, you can only take a brief explanation. Usually, you can explain one problem in one or two sentences. (2) Theoretical basis, experimental basis and research methods. If you follow the known theory, principles, and methods, just mention a paragraph, or note the relevant literature. If a new concept or term is to be introduced, it should be defined or clarified. (3) The expected results and their status, role and significance should be written in a natural, general, concise and precise manner. In the introduction, diagrams, tables, and formulas are generally not allowed. You can also include a research question, hypothesis, and/or objectives at the end of this section.

FORMATTING TIPS:

• Organize your information from broad to narrow (general to particular). However, do not start too broad; keep the information relevant.

• You can use in-the-text citations in this section to situate your research within the body of literature. These citations should be numbered sequentially in the order they appear in the text [1], [2], etc., and are organized accordingly in the References section.

 

Methods/Materials: This is the part of your paper that explains how the research was done in no more than 2-3 pages. You should relate your research procedures in a clear, logical order so that other researchers can reproduce your results. Simply refer to the established methods you used, but describe any procedures that are original to your study in more detail.

FORMATTING TIPS:

• Identify the specific instruments you used in your research by including the manufacturer’s name and location in parentheses.

• Stay consistent with the order in which information is presented (e.g., quantity, temperature, stirring speed, refrigeration period).

 

Results: Now that you have explained how you gathered your research, you are to report what you actually found. In this section, taking no more than 6-8 pages, outline the main findings of your research. You need not include too many details, particularly if you are using tables and figures. While writing this section use the smallest number of words necessary to convey your statistics.

FORMATTING TIPS:

• Use appendices or supplementary materials if you have too much data.

• Use headings to help the reader follow along, particularly if your data are repetitive. Headings should be of four-level type. See Template for heading typesetting instructions (http://johuns.net/docs/template.doc).

 

Discussion: In this section, taking no more than 4-6 pages, you should interpret your findings for the reader in relation to previous research and the literature as a whole. Present your general conclusions, including an assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of the research and the implications of your findings. Resolve the hypothesis and/or research question you identified in the introduction.

Remember, you must be prepared to justify your findings and conclusions, and one of the best ways to do this is through factual accuracy and the acknowledgment of opposing interpretations, data, and/or points of view.

FORMATTING TIPS:

• Use in-text citations to support your discussion.

• Do not repeat the information you presented in the results or the introduction unless it is necessary for a discussion of the overall implications of the research.

 

Conclusion: The conclusion is the final, overall summary of the entire paper. The conclusions should generally be listed in the order of 1), 2), 3), ..., or structured as paragraphs. Completely, accurately, and concisely point out the principles and their universality revealed by the results of investigations or experiments on the research subjects; whether there are any exceptions found in the research or problems that are difficult to explain and solve in this paper; The similarities and differences of research work (including others or authors themselves); the theoretical and practical significance and value of this paper; suggestions for further research on this topic.

Explain how your research fits within your field of study, and identify areas for future research. Even though you may not look forward to the process of formatting your research paper, it is important to present your findings clearly, consistently, and professionally. With the right paper format, your chances of publication increase, and your research will be more likely to make an impact in your field. Do not underestimate the details. They are the backbone of scientific writing and research.

FORMATTING TIPS:

• Keep this section short.

 

Acknowledgments: Write this paragraph as brief as possible giving credit to any institution responsible for funding the study (e.g., through a fellowship or grant) and any person (e.g., technical advisors or editors).

 

References: Here you list citation information for each source you used. The list of references should be arranged in the order in which the sources are presented in the paper (numbered citations). References should be taken over the past five years. The recommended minimum number of references should not be less than eight, and documents that are not officially published cannot be included. Before submitting the manuscript, please check each citation in the text against the References and vice-versa to ensure that they match exactly. It is important to format the references properly because all references will be linked electronically as completely as possible to the papers cited.

References should be formatted as follows:

All author names are written in the order of the first name and the last name. Chinese names cannot be abbreviated, Western names can be abbreviated, and abbreviations are omitted. Many authors only list the top three, followed by "et al." Where appropriate, it is recommended to give priority to the relevant papers in this journal as a reference. For references other than English, such as Chinese, German, Japanese, Russian, etc., please provide the corresponding English translation.

The format of the recording is as follows:

[1] Author. Title [J]. Title, publication year, volume number (period number): starting page number. [Journal]

Example: [1] LIU Hong-bo, XU Zhong-yu, ZHANG Hong-bo, et al. The action promoting graphitization for boron during the high temperature heat treatment of PAN-based carbon fiber[J]. Journal of Hunan University: Natural Sciences, 1999,26(6):33-42.(In Chinese).

[2] Author. Title [M]. Edition (not written in the first edition). Place of Publication: Publisher, Year of publication: starting page number. [Books]

Example: [2] SHEN Pu-sheng. Design and construction of high-rise buildings with outriggers and staggered floors [M]. Beijing: China Machine Press, 2009:105-108

[3] Author. Title [C]//editor. Proceedings name. Place of publication: Publisher, publication year: start and end page number. [Conference proceedings (thesis collection, paper compilation, etc.))]

Example: [3] SINANOGLU O, ORAILOGLU A. Scan power minimization through stimulus and response transformations [C]// Proceedings of the Conference on Design, Automation and Test in Europe. Washington D C: IEEE Computer Society, 2004:404-409.

[4] Author. Thesis title [D]. Degree-granting unit, year: starting and ending page number.[Thesis]

Example: [4] XIAO Bao-yi. Study on aerodynamic noise of road vehicle with high speed [D] .Changsha: College of Mechanical and Vehicle Engineering, Hunan University, 2007:10-16. (In Chinese)

[5] Author. Title [R]. Location of the unit: unit, publication year: start and end page number. [Technical Report]

Example: [5] ANDESSON A C. Verification of calculation methods for moisture transport in porous building materials [R]. Stockholm: Swedish Council for Building Research, 1985.

[6] Standard number, standard name [S]. Place of publication: publisher, publication year: start and end page number.

Example: [6] GB/T 50081—2002 Standard Test Method for Mechanical Properties of Ordinary Concrete [S]. Beijing: China Building Industry Press,2003:12-14.

GB/T 50081—2002 Standard test method for plain concrete mechanical properties[S]. Beijing: China Architecture & Building Press, 2003:12-14. (In Chinese)

[7] Patent owner. Patent title [P]. Patent country: patent number, publication date.

Example: [6] JIANG Xizhou. Preparation of a warm external application drug [P]. China Electric Patent: 881056073,1989-07-26.

[8] Author. Title [electronic literature / carrier type identification]. Source or available address of electronic literature, published or updated date / reference date.

Example: [8] WANG Mingliang. Progress on the Standardization Database System Engineering of Chinese Academic Journals[EB/OL].http://www.eajcd.edu.cn/pub/wml.txt/980810-2.html, 1998-08-16/1998-10-04.

FORMATTING TIPS:

• While doing your final proofread, ensure that the reference list entries are consistent with the in-text citations (i.e., no missing or conflicting information).

• At least 70% of sources in References should contain DOI indices. If a DOI is lacking, it is recommended to add a link to any online source of an article. All links have to be active.

• Be sure to verify the correctness of the names of authors, pages and titles of journals in the paper lists at http://www.crossref.org/ (there is a search engine box in the center on the page – copy the source title into it and verify the correctness of the References).

• The list of references should be given in English and Chinese.

 

Tables and figures should be black and white. They should be referred to in numerical order. Number the tables sequentially, according to their appearance in the text. Place them after a paragraph referring to the corresponding figure or table, not inserted in the paragraph. Figures should be followed by a short description in the main text.

All symbols and abbreviations must be defined, and used only when necessary. Superscripts, subscripts and ambiguous characters should be clearly indicated. Units of measure should be metric or, preferably, SI.

Figures: Line drawings should be roughly twice the final printed size. Photomicrographs and other photographs that require it must have a scale bar, which should be defined clearly in the legend. Primary data should be submitted as far as possible (e.g. actual photographs of electrophoretic gels rather than idealized diagrams). The map of China, if forming a part of the article, must conform to official maps released by the Survey of China, giving reference to the source map. Lettering should be sufficiently large to be clear after reduction to print size.

General dimensions of the figure:

Half page format: no more than 77mm wide

Full page format: no more than 160mm wide

Letters in the figure should be well readable and proportionally commensurable, and in the final, printed size, the font should be 7pt for normal text and not less than 6 pt for captions and symbols in the captions. Figures should follow their short description in the main text.

Tables: Number the tables sequentially, according to their appearance in the text. Place footnotes to the tables below the body of the tables and make the captions to them in superior small letters. Avoid using vertical rulers. Be careful when using the tables and once again make sure that the data given in the table do not duplicate the results described somewhere in the article.

FORMATTING TIPS:

• Captions should be numbered, typeset in TNR 9, line spacing: single.

• Capitalize the titles of specific tables and figures when you refer to them in the text (e.g., "see Table 3"; "in Figure 4").

 

Mathematical material: The text should make clear distinctions between physical variables, mathematical symbols, units of measurement, abbreviations, chemical formulas, etc. Authors should use italic and boldface to identify physical or mathematical variables. Variables are to be set in normal italic, and vectors, tensors, and matrixes in boldface.

Mathematical equations should be written clearly and accompanied by the necessary information. They should also be separated from the main text.

Theorems should be described as follows:

Theorem 1. The content of the theorem ["Definition" and other layout formats are the same, and the full text is uniformly numbered sequentially.]

Proof: * Proofing process described.*

QED (quod erat demonstrandum) Latin for "which was to be proved"

FORMATTING TIPS:

• Number each equation you present in the text, inserting the number in parentheses.

• Try using MathType or Equation Editor in Microsoft Word to type your equations, but use Unicode characters when typing single variables or mathematical operators (e.g., x, ≥, or ±) in running text. This makes it easier to edit your text and format your equations before publication.

• Remember to save your math equations as editable text and not as images in case changes need to be made before publication.

 

Terminology: Stay consistent with the terms you use. Generally, short forms can be used once the full term has been introduced:

• Full terms versus acronyms (e.g., deoxyribonucleic acid versus DNA);

• English names versus Greek letters (e.g., alpha versus α); and

• Species names versus short forms (e.g., Staphylococcus aureus versus S. aureus).

• One way to ensure consistency is to use standard scientific terminology. You can refer to the following resources, but if you are not sure which guidelines are preferred, check with your target journal.

• For gene classification, use GeneCards, The Mouse Genome Informatics Database, and/or genenames.org.

• For chemical nomenclature, refer to the International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry (IUPAC) Compendium of Chemical Terminology (the Gold Book) and the IUPAC–IUB Combined Commission on Biochemical Nomenclature.

• For marine species names, use the World Register of Marine Species (WoRMS) or the European Register of Marine Species (ERMS).

• Italics must be used correctly for scientific terminology.

• Species names, which are usually in Greek or Latin, are italicized (e.g., Staphylococcus aureus).

• Genes are italicized, but proteins are not.

 

Jurisdiction: The jurisdiction for all disputes concerning submitted articles, published material, advertisement, subscription and sale will be at courts/tribunals situated in China only.

The authors are asked to provide the raw data in connection with a paper for editorial review.

The authors should ensure they have written entirely original works, and if they have used the work and/or words of others that this has been appropriately cited or quoted. Authors should not publish manuscripts describing essentially the same research in more than one journal or primary publication. Submitting the same manuscript to more than one journal concurrently constitutes unethical publishing behavior and is unacceptable. Proper acknowledgement of the work of others must always be given. Authors should cite publications that have been influential in determining the nature of the reported work. A paper should contain sufficient detail and references to permit others to replicate the work. Fraudulent or knowingly inaccurate statements constitute unethical behavior and are unacceptable.

 

Authorship should be limited to those who have made a significant contribution to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the reported study. All those who have made significant contributions should be listed as co-authors (maximum 6 authors). Where there are others who have participated in certain substantive aspects of the research project, they should be acknowledged or listed as contributors or you can cite them, cite their work. The corresponding author should ensure that all appropriate co-authors and no inappropriate co-authors are included on the paper, and that all co-authors have seen and approved the final version of the paper and have agreed to its submission for publication. All authors should disclose in their manuscript any financial or other substantive conflict of interest that might be construed to influence the results or interpretation of their manuscript. All sources of financial support for the project should be disclosed. When an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in his/her own published work, it is the author´s obligation to promptly notify the journal editor or publisher and cooperate with the editor to retract or correct the paper.

The scientific impact of the papers SNIP in Journal of Hunan University (Natural Sciences)is assured by the established connections with the well-known indexing database ELSEVIER Products – SCOPUS (since 1992). When sending a scientific paper, authors should note that we are obliged to review a number of papers and these are considered and judged in hierarchy.

 

The English language of the paper needs academic editing and proofreading.

We recommend that the authors use the academic text editing service for the scientific articles, but not just proofreading. Please use the American English option.

We recommend the use of large, trusted companies with editors having a Ph.D. degree.

You should also attach an editing certificate or use the editorial office services.

Articles that are not edited by native English speakers are not allowed for publication. The editorial team provides academic proofreading services for the authors at additional cost.

 

Manuscripts which do not reflect the journal scope will be excluded.

The review output will be one of the following decisions:

A) Accept;

B) Accept with minor changes (several points regarding bibliographic references or other formal mistakes or lapsus linguae in the text);

C) Reject (the paper does not correspond to the scope of our journal, author’s malpractice, an incorrect methodology procedure, not an original study, not an innovative study, no research done, a study with no relevant citation, a study with an insufficient language terminology and a poor level, a study considered by reviewers as not a scientific one but a popular one, a study with nearly no scientific impact in the research field).

 

If required, the authors need to revise the paper according to the reviewer’s comments. After publishing, the authors may download the paper from the journal website.

 

Submission Preparation Checklist

As part of the submission process, authors are required to check off their submission compliance with all of the following items, and submissions may be returned to the authors that do not adhere to these guidelines.

  1. The submission has neither been previously published, nor it was submitted previously to another journal for consideration (otherwise an explanation should be provided to the Editor in Comments).
  2. The submission file is in OpenOffice, Microsoft Word, RTF, or WordPerfect document file format.
  3. Where available, URLs for the references have been provided.
  4. The text is single-spaced; uses a 12-point font; employs italics, rather than underlining (except with URL addresses); and all illustrations, figures, and tables are placed within the text at the appropriate places, rather than at the end.
  5. The text adheres to the stylistic and bibliographic requirements outlined in the Author Guidelines, which is found in About the Journal section.

Privacy Statement

The names and email addresses entered in this journal site will be used exclusively for the stated purposes of this journal and will not be made available for any other purpose or to any other party.

 

Submission Preparation Checklist

As part of the submission process, authors are required to check off their submission's compliance with all of the following items, and submissions may be returned to authors that do not adhere to these guidelines.

  1. The submission has not been previously published, nor is it before another journal for consideration (or an explanation has been provided in Comments to the Editor).
  2. The submission file is in OpenOffice, Microsoft Word, RTF, or WordPerfect document file format.
  3. Where available, URLs for the references have been provided.
  4. The text is single-spaced; uses a 12-point font; employs italics, rather than underlining (except with URL addresses); and all illustrations, figures, and tables are placed within the text at the appropriate points, rather than at the end.
  5. The text adheres to the stylistic and bibliographic requirements outlined in the Author Guidelines, which is found in About the Journal.
  6. If submitting to a peer-reviewed section of the journal, the instructions in Ensuring a Blind Review have been followed.
 

Privacy Statement

The names and email addresses entered in this journal site will be used exclusively for the stated purposes of this journal and will not be made available for any other purpose or to any other party.

 
Journal of Hunan University Natural Sciences
Copyright 2012-2021
(e-ISSN: 1674-2974 )