Q: Does the editorial office have any specific formatting requirement for figures and equations?

A: New submissions should adopt clear figures with easily discernible content. Color figures are strongly discouraged (as the journal is printed in black and white, making color distinctions unidentifiable). If you must use them, please use high-contrast colors.

For accepted manuscripts, all texts in the figures must be editable, so diagrams such as flowcharts must be created using VISIO. For simulation screenshots, copy the image into VISIO 2003 and overlay all texts (including numerical values beside axes and annotations near the curves) using text boxes. The detailed procedure is as follows:

Set the image layout to "Square" (or "Tight") and paste it into VISIO. Create an individual text box (using the "A" tool) with a white background and input the corresponding text. Ensure each piece of text is placed in a separate text box—do not group multiple entries in a single box. Position the text boxes precisely over the original content in the image. Select all elements, copy them, and paste them back into the original place in the manuscript. Ensure the figure remains double-clickable for further modifications in VISIO. Axis labels must include variable names and units (if no units apply, state this in the figure caption). Variables should preferably be expressed in Chinese, and their inclusion is mandatory to reveal the meaning of numerical values on the axes.

For further guidance on figure modifications, please refer to the attached document.

Ensure proper formatting of superscripts and subscripts. Use the dedicated superscript/subscript functions and enter content accordingly. Do not alter the default size or style of equations or variables. However, variables representing vectors or matrices must be in bold italics (if vector notation, e.g., an arrow, was used, remove the symbol and apply bold italics instead). Elements within matrices, subscripts/superscripts of matrices/vectors, sets, and ordinary variables should remain in italics. Numbers and punctuation must always be in upright (roman) font.