These guidelines are to ensure that special issues will complement the scope of the journal and uphold the AIMS mission to contribute to the advancement of mathematical and applied sciences worldwide. They also serve to create a smooth and timely publication process for our authors and editors. Please send your proposal to Dr. Cheng Bi, Managing Editor (Special Issues) [cheng.bi@aimspress.org] or STEME Office [steme@aimspress.org]. 

1) Scope: No conference proceedings. The scope of each special issue is proposed by guest editors and approved by the editorial office. Guest editors should, in consultation with leading experts, choose trending topics viable and beneficial to a large readership.

2) Contribution: All articles are by invitation only. Contributors should be chosen selectively to ensure high quality manuscripts. Topics of contributions should be aligned with the scopes of the corresponding special issues

3) Quantity: Each issue should consist of at least 12 manuscripts and at most 20 manuscripts. Special permission from the chief editor is required if the number of submissions is less than 12 or exceeds 20.

4) Content: No summary article is accepted. No short note (less than 15 pages, single spaced) is accepted unless its significance is sufficiently justified by the guest editors. Well-written expository articles can be considered provided they are contributed by leading experts of the field on trendy topics.

5) Submission: The submission window is 5 months. All contributions must be submitted through a unique online invitation link created by EditFlow and sent out by guest editors.

6) Review process: All submissions will undergo a rigorous review process. Each article requires two detailed and conclusive reports for possible acceptance, while a rejection takes just one negative report or no report. The reviewing time should be limited to 4 months for each submission. Referees with conflicts of interest should be avoided. The Editorial Board reserves the right to handle the review of any submission and override recommendations by guest editors. Referees should be specifically asked to comment on whether (a): Results are new and nontrivial; (b): New ideas/techniques are introduced; (c): Results and proofs are accurate; (d): Paper is of interest to an appreciable number of readers; (e): Presentation is good and concise; and (f): All references are relevant to the manuscript in an essential way. Guest editors' recommendations should be based on referees' specific answers to these six questions.

7) Restrictions: Each author cannot have more than 2 articles within one special issue. Manuscripts submitted by guest editors will be handled by the editorial office.

8) Acceptance: Recommendations of acceptance or rejection will be made by guest editors and the final decisions will be made by the editorial board. The Editorial Board reserves the right to reject any unqualified submission.

9) References: References are meant to give proper credits to cited papers that have essential relevance to the manuscript and its presentation. Providing random and excessive references in a paper often reflects a lack of seriousness and professionalism.

10) Production: The guest editors are responsible for collecting all necessary files in the correct format required for publication.