PONE-D-24-04406Study on Temporal-spatial Changes and Tourism Efficiency Coupling in Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay AreaPLOS ONE

Dear Dr. Wu,

Thank you for submitting your manuscript to PLOS ONE. After careful consideration, we feel that it has merit but does not fully meet PLOS ONE’s publication criteria as it currently stands. Therefore, we invite you to submit a revised version of the manuscript that addresses the points raised during the review process.

Please submit your revised manuscript by May 27 2024 11:59PM. If you will need more time than this to complete your revisions, please reply to this message or contact the journal office at plosone@plos.org . When you're ready to submit your revision, log on to https://www.editorialmanager.com/pone/ and select the 'Submissions Needing Revision' folder to locate your manuscript file.

Please include the following items when submitting your revised manuscript:

• A rebuttal letter that responds to each point raised by the academic editor and reviewer(s). You should upload this letter as a separate file labeled 'Response to Reviewers'.
• A marked-up copy of your manuscript that highlights changes made to the original version. You should upload this as a separate file labeled 'Revised Manuscript with Track Changes'.
• An unmarked version of your revised paper without tracked changes. You should upload this as a separate file labeled 'Manuscript'.

If you would like to make changes to your financial disclosure, please include your updated statement in your cover letter. Guidelines for resubmitting your figure files are available below the reviewer comments at the end of this letter.

If applicable, we recommend that you deposit your laboratory protocols in protocols.io to enhance the reproducibility of your results. Protocols.io assigns your protocol its own identifier (DOI) so that it can be cited independently in the future. For instructions see: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/s/submission-guidelines#loc-laboratory-protocols . Additionally, PLOS ONE offers an option for publishing peer-reviewed Lab Protocol articles, which describe protocols hosted on protocols.io. Read more information on sharing protocols at https://plos.org/protocols?utm_medium=editorial-email&utm_source=authorletters&utm_campaign=protocols .

We look forward to receiving your revised manuscript.

Kind regards,

Xufeng Cui, Ph.D

Academic Editor

PLOS ONE

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2. Thank you for stating the following financial disclosure: 

"Guangdong Province Philosophy and Social Science Planning Project，Project number: GD23SQYJ03"

Please state what role the funders took in the study.  If the funders had no role, please state: ""The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript."" 

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Reviewers' comments:

Reviewer's Responses to Questions

Comments to the Author

1. Is the manuscript technically sound, and do the data support the conclusions?

The manuscript must describe a technically sound piece of scientific research with data that supports the conclusions. Experiments must have been conducted rigorously, with appropriate controls, replication, and sample sizes. The conclusions must be drawn appropriately based on the data presented.

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: Yes

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2. Has the statistical analysis been performed appropriately and rigorously?

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: No

**********

3. Have the authors made all data underlying the findings in their manuscript fully available?

The PLOS Data policy requires authors to make all data underlying the findings described in their manuscript fully available without restriction, with rare exception (please refer to the Data Availability Statement in the manuscript PDF file). The data should be provided as part of the manuscript or its supporting information, or deposited to a public repository. For example, in addition to summary statistics, the data points behind means, medians and variance measures should be available. If there are restrictions on publicly sharing data—e.g. participant privacy or use of data from a third party—those must be specified.

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #2: No

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4. Is the manuscript presented in an intelligible fashion and written in standard English?

PLOS ONE does not copyedit accepted manuscripts, so the language in submitted articles must be clear, correct, and unambiguous. Any typographical or grammatical errors should be corrected at revision, so please note any specific errors here.

Reviewer #1: No

Reviewer #2: No

**********

5. Review Comments to the Author

Please use the space provided to explain your answers to the questions above. You may also include additional comments for the author, including concerns about dual publication, research ethics, or publication ethics. (Please upload your review as an attachment if it exceeds 20,000 characters)

Reviewer #1: This study investigates the temporal-spatial changes and the coupling coordination relationship of tourism efficiency and scale in the GBA. It delves into the spatial-temporal disparities in tourism efficiency and scale from economic and geographic perspectives. The manuscript offers a model of coupled and coordinated development, and puts forth corresponding recommendations for regional tourism development in the GBA. The manuscript is well organized. However, some interpretations are missing. Given this, my recommendation is Major Revision. Bellows are my specific comments:

1. In Abstract, ESDA should be given a full name when it first appears.

2. Please check the entire manuscript. For nouns that require abbreviations, use the full name and indicate the abbreviation when the abstract and introduction first appear, and hold the abbreviation status in the following text.

3. In introduction, while the role and importance of the bay area economy and tourism in the global context are well-articulated. However, when describing the tourism resources and development level of the GBA, please provide specific examples or data.

4. The scientific literature can be enriched, particularly for socioeconomical development of the GBA. The following publication can be considered.

- He, Y., Wu, L., Liang, Y., Zheng, Y., Zhang, L. (2024). Spatial suitability between water supply pressure and waterworks water supply capacity in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macau Greater Bay Area: Spatial-temporal evolution pattern, driving mechanism and Implications. Journal of Cleaner Production, 434, 140317.

5. Please supplement the background information and tools of ESDA while describing in detail why these methods and results are selected.

6. In literature review, please add a brief summary of the content, methodology, and results of the individual studies in the literature, and provide your opinion on the similarities, differences, and strengths of this study in relation to your research.

7. Formulas and their numbers need to be unified alignment standards, such as formula center and number right alignment.

8. Figure 1 is odd, please consider restructure it.

9. Please check the expression of the proper noun in the text and write it uniform. e.g. “Lisa cluster diagram” or “LISA cluster map”?

10. Figure 2 is odd, please consider restructure it. You can put two small maps in a row for better visualization, add place names and compasses to the maps.

11. When describing the research methodology and tools, can you give more details on the design rationale and application methods?

12. In Figure 9, add labels and compasses to the maps.

13. Please provide brief background information and definitions of terms used in the paper the first time they appear. e.g. "Coupling Coordination Degree", "Comprehensive Efficiency", etc.

14. In conclusion and discussion, please engage in a more profound analysis of the results and compare them with existing literature.

15. Please thoroughly check and revise the expression and grammar of the entire manuscript. Your manuscript needs to be carefully edited by a professional English editor, paying special attention to English grammar, spelling and sentence structure.

Reviewer #2: The paper provides valuable insights into the temporal-spatial changes and tourism efficiency coupling in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area. It addresses an important topic and offers a comprehensive analysis of tourism efficiency using the DEA-BCC model and the total factor productivity index model. The study's focus on collaborative development and marketing strategies for enhancing travel services quality is commendable. However, there are concerns regarding the lack of detailed methodology descriptions, limited evaluation studies, and the need for more comparisons with existing frameworks in the field. Addressing these points would further strengthen the paper's impact and credibility.

1. Can you provide more details on the specific data sources used for analyzing tourism efficiency and scale in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area? How were these data collected and processed to ensure accuracy and reliability in the analysis?

2. Could you elaborate on the methodology employed to measure tourism efficiency using the DEA-BCC model and the total factor productivity index model? How were these models applied in the context of regional tourism development, and what were the key considerations in their implementation?

3. In the exploration of temporal and spatial differentiation of tourism efficiency and scale, what were the main findings regarding the evolution of these factors over the study period from 2001 to 2019? How did the coupling analysis reveal insights into the relationship between tourism efficiency and scale in the region?

4. Can you discuss the implications of the study's results on the collaborative development and marketing strategies for enhancing the quality of travel services in the Greater Bay Area? How do the findings contribute to the understanding of regional tourism economies and their impact on overall economic development?

5. Have you considered conducting sensitivity analyses or robustness checks to validate the stability and reliability of the results obtained from the DEA-BCC model and the total factor productivity index model? How do you address potential uncertainties or variations in the data that may affect the conclusions drawn from the study?

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6. PLOS authors have the option to publish the peer review history of their article (what does this mean? ). If published, this will include your full peer review and any attached files.

If you choose “no”, your identity will remain anonymous but your review may still be made public.

Do you want your identity to be public for this peer review? For information about this choice, including consent withdrawal, please see our Privacy Policy .

Reviewer #1: No

Reviewer #2: No

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Attachments

Attachment

Submitted filename: comment on PONE review.docx

PONE-D-24-04406R1Study on Temporal-spatial Changes and Tourism Efficiency Coupling in Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay AreaPLOS ONE

Dear Dr. Wu,

Thank you for submitting your manuscript to PLOS ONE. After careful consideration, we feel that it has merit but does not fully meet PLOS ONE’s publication criteria as it currently stands. Therefore, we invite you to submit a revised version of the manuscript that addresses the points raised during the review process.

Please submit your revised manuscript by Aug 21 2024 11:59PM. If you will need more time than this to complete your revisions, please reply to this message or contact the journal office at plosone@plos.org . When you're ready to submit your revision, log on to https://www.editorialmanager.com/pone/ and select the 'Submissions Needing Revision' folder to locate your manuscript file.

Please include the following items when submitting your revised manuscript:

• A rebuttal letter that responds to each point raised by the academic editor and reviewer(s). You should upload this letter as a separate file labeled 'Response to Reviewers'.
• A marked-up copy of your manuscript that highlights changes made to the original version. You should upload this as a separate file labeled 'Revised Manuscript with Track Changes'.
• An unmarked version of your revised paper without tracked changes. You should upload this as a separate file labeled 'Manuscript'.

If you would like to make changes to your financial disclosure, please include your updated statement in your cover letter. Guidelines for resubmitting your figure files are available below the reviewer comments at the end of this letter.

If applicable, we recommend that you deposit your laboratory protocols in protocols.io to enhance the reproducibility of your results. Protocols.io assigns your protocol its own identifier (DOI) so that it can be cited independently in the future. For instructions see: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/s/submission-guidelines#loc-laboratory-protocols . Additionally, PLOS ONE offers an option for publishing peer-reviewed Lab Protocol articles, which describe protocols hosted on protocols.io. Read more information on sharing protocols at https://plos.org/protocols?utm_medium=editorial-email&utm_source=authorletters&utm_campaign=protocols .

We look forward to receiving your revised manuscript.

Kind regards,

Xufeng Cui, Ph.D

Academic Editor

PLOS ONE

[Note: HTML markup is below. Please do not edit.]

Reviewers' comments:

Reviewer's Responses to Questions

Comments to the Author

1. If the authors have adequately addressed your comments raised in a previous round of review and you feel that this manuscript is now acceptable for publication, you may indicate that here to bypass the “Comments to the Author” section, enter your conflict of interest statement in the “Confidential to Editor” section, and submit your "Accept" recommendation.

Reviewer #1: (No Response)

Reviewer #3: (No Response)

**********

2. Is the manuscript technically sound, and do the data support the conclusions?

The manuscript must describe a technically sound piece of scientific research with data that supports the conclusions. Experiments must have been conducted rigorously, with appropriate controls, replication, and sample sizes. The conclusions must be drawn appropriately based on the data presented.

Reviewer #1: Partly

Reviewer #3: Yes

**********

3. Has the statistical analysis been performed appropriately and rigorously?

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #3: Yes

**********

4. Have the authors made all data underlying the findings in their manuscript fully available?

The PLOS Data policy requires authors to make all data underlying the findings described in their manuscript fully available without restriction, with rare exception (please refer to the Data Availability Statement in the manuscript PDF file). The data should be provided as part of the manuscript or its supporting information, or deposited to a public repository. For example, in addition to summary statistics, the data points behind means, medians and variance measures should be available. If there are restrictions on publicly sharing data—e.g. participant privacy or use of data from a third party—those must be specified.

Reviewer #1: No

Reviewer #3: Yes

**********

5. Is the manuscript presented in an intelligible fashion and written in standard English?

PLOS ONE does not copyedit accepted manuscripts, so the language in submitted articles must be clear, correct, and unambiguous. Any typographical or grammatical errors should be corrected at revision, so please note any specific errors here.

Reviewer #1: No

Reviewer #3: Yes

**********

6. Review Comments to the Author

Please use the space provided to explain your answers to the questions above. You may also include additional comments for the author, including concerns about dual publication, research ethics, or publication ethics. (Please upload your review as an attachment if it exceeds 20,000 characters)

Reviewer #1: The authors made some improvements, however, references of the revised version should be appropriately checked and improved.

Reviewer #3: This paper has certain theoretical and practical significance, and its structure is relatively complete, but there are still some problems that need to be improved:

1. Some of the words used are inconsistent, such as the introduction part “the coupled and coordinated development model” is inconsistent with similar expressions in the abstract.

2. The research methodology is relatively common, so it is not necessary to introduce it at length.

3. The results of the empirical analyses lack a brief analysis of the causes.

4. The authors should double-check the coupling formula.

5. On what basis is the grading of coupling coordination degree classified? Please give the basis.

6. The images layout must be further adjusted, for example, the size and position of Fig. 9(b) fails to be consistent with several other figures, please make reasonable adjustments.

7. Indicators are cited with reasons, but the reference articles are not clearly indicated.

8. The expression of the conclusion is not concise enough, and some of the contents of the conclusion can be incorporated into the discussion.

9. “Theoretical impact” in the discussion is to express the similarities and differences between this article and related studies?

10. The innovative points or marginal contributions of the article need to be more clearly reflected.

**********

7. PLOS authors have the option to publish the peer review history of their article (what does this mean? ). If published, this will include your full peer review and any attached files.

If you choose “no”, your identity will remain anonymous but your review may still be made public.

Do you want your identity to be public for this peer review? For information about this choice, including consent withdrawal, please see our Privacy Policy .

Reviewer #1: No

Reviewer #3: No

**********

[NOTE: If reviewer comments were submitted as an attachment file, they will be attached to this email and accessible via the submission site. Please log into your account, locate the manuscript record, and check for the action link "View Attachments". If this link does not appear, there are no attachment files.]

While revising your submission, please upload your figure files to the Preflight Analysis and Conversion Engine (PACE) digital diagnostic tool, https://pacev2.apexcovantage.com/ . PACE helps ensure that figures meet PLOS requirements. To use PACE, you must first register as a user. Registration is free. Then, login and navigate to the UPLOAD tab, where you will find detailed instructions on how to use the tool. If you encounter any issues or have any questions when using PACE, please email PLOS at figures@plos.org . Please note that Supporting Information files do not need this step.

PONE-D-24-04406R2Study on Temporal-spatial Changes and Tourism Efficiency Coupling in Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay AreaPLOS ONE

Dear Dr. Wu,

Thank you for submitting your manuscript to PLOS ONE. After careful consideration, we feel that it has merit but does not fully meet PLOS ONE’s publication criteria as it currently stands. Therefore, we invite you to submit a revised version of the manuscript that addresses the points raised during the review process. Drop "study on" from the title.

==============================

ACADEMIC EDITOR: The author excessively self-cites, and irrelevant self-citations need to be removed. A thorough revision is required; otherwise, the paper cannot be accepted. The map creation in the paper is not up to standard; it is recommended that the author seek review from a scholar with a background in cartography.The academic rigor of the paper needs to be improved.

==============================

Please submit your revised manuscript by Sep 30 2024 11:59PM. If you will need more time than this to complete your revisions, please reply to this message or contact the journal office at plosone@plos.org . When you're ready to submit your revision, log on to https://www.editorialmanager.com/pone/ and select the 'Submissions Needing Revision' folder to locate your manuscript file.

Please include the following items when submitting your revised manuscript:

• A rebuttal letter that responds to each point raised by the academic editor and reviewer(s). You should upload this letter as a separate file labeled 'Response to Reviewers'.
• A marked-up copy of your manuscript that highlights changes made to the original version. You should upload this as a separate file labeled 'Revised Manuscript with Track Changes'.
• An unmarked version of your revised paper without tracked changes. You should upload this as a separate file labeled 'Manuscript'.

If you would like to make changes to your financial disclosure, please include your updated statement in your cover letter. Guidelines for resubmitting your figure files are available below the reviewer comments at the end of this letter.

If applicable, we recommend that you deposit your laboratory protocols in protocols.io to enhance the reproducibility of your results. Protocols.io assigns your protocol its own identifier (DOI) so that it can be cited independently in the future. For instructions see: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/s/submission-guidelines#loc-laboratory-protocols . Additionally, PLOS ONE offers an option for publishing peer-reviewed Lab Protocol articles, which describe protocols hosted on protocols.io. Read more information on sharing protocols at https://plos.org/protocols?utm_medium=editorial-email&utm_source=authorletters&utm_campaign=protocols .

We look forward to receiving your revised manuscript.

Kind regards,

Xufeng Cui, Ph.D

Academic Editor

PLOS ONE

Additional Editor Comments:

The author excessively self-cites, and irrelevant self-citations need to be removed. A thorough revision is required; otherwise, the paper cannot be accepted. The map creation in the paper is not up to standard; it is recommended that the author seek review from a scholar with a background in cartography.The academic rigor of the paper needs to be improved.

[Note: HTML markup is below. Please do not edit.]

Reviewers' comments:

Reviewer's Responses to Questions

Comments to the Author

1. If the authors have adequately addressed your comments raised in a previous round of review and you feel that this manuscript is now acceptable for publication, you may indicate that here to bypass the “Comments to the Author” section, enter your conflict of interest statement in the “Confidential to Editor” section, and submit your "Accept" recommendation.

Reviewer #1: (No Response)

Reviewer #3: All comments have been addressed

**********

2. Is the manuscript technically sound, and do the data support the conclusions?

The manuscript must describe a technically sound piece of scientific research with data that supports the conclusions. Experiments must have been conducted rigorously, with appropriate controls, replication, and sample sizes. The conclusions must be drawn appropriately based on the data presented.

Reviewer #1: Partly

Reviewer #3: Yes

**********

3. Has the statistical analysis been performed appropriately and rigorously?

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #3: Yes

**********

4. Have the authors made all data underlying the findings in their manuscript fully available?

The PLOS Data policy requires authors to make all data underlying the findings described in their manuscript fully available without restriction, with rare exception (please refer to the Data Availability Statement in the manuscript PDF file). The data should be provided as part of the manuscript or its supporting information, or deposited to a public repository. For example, in addition to summary statistics, the data points behind means, medians and variance measures should be available. If there are restrictions on publicly sharing data—e.g. participant privacy or use of data from a third party—those must be specified.

Reviewer #1: Yes

Reviewer #3: Yes

**********

5. Is the manuscript presented in an intelligible fashion and written in standard English?

PLOS ONE does not copyedit accepted manuscripts, so the language in submitted articles must be clear, correct, and unambiguous. Any typographical or grammatical errors should be corrected at revision, so please note any specific errors here.

Reviewer #1: No

Reviewer #3: Yes

**********

6. Review Comments to the Author

Please use the space provided to explain your answers to the questions above. You may also include additional comments for the author, including concerns about dual publication, research ethics, or publication ethics. (Please upload your review as an attachment if it exceeds 20,000 characters)

Reviewer #1: (No Response)

Reviewer #3: The authors have substantially revised and optimized this manuscript to meet the requirements for publication in this journal.

**********

7. PLOS authors have the option to publish the peer review history of their article (what does this mean? ). If published, this will include your full peer review and any attached files.

If you choose “no”, your identity will remain anonymous but your review may still be made public.

Do you want your identity to be public for this peer review? For information about this choice, including consent withdrawal, please see our Privacy Policy .

Reviewer #1: No

Reviewer #3: No

**********

[NOTE: If reviewer comments were submitted as an attachment file, they will be attached to this email and accessible via the submission site. Please log into your account, locate the manuscript record, and check for the action link "View Attachments". If this link does not appear, there are no attachment files.]

While revising your submission, please upload your figure files to the Preflight Analysis and Conversion Engine (PACE) digital diagnostic tool, https://pacev2.apexcovantage.com/ . PACE helps ensure that figures meet PLOS requirements. To use PACE, you must first register as a user. Registration is free. Then, login and navigate to the UPLOAD tab, where you will find detailed instructions on how to use the tool. If you encounter any issues or have any questions when using PACE, please email PLOS at figures@plos.org . Please note that Supporting Information files do not need this step.

PONE-D-24-04406R3Temporal-spatial Changes and Tourism Efficiency Coupling in Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay AreaPLOS ONE

Dear Dr. Wu,

Thank you for submitting your manuscript to PLOS ONE. After careful consideration, we feel that it has merit but does not fully meet PLOS ONE’s publication criteria as it currently stands. Therefore, we invite you to submit a revised version of the manuscript that addresses the points raised during the review process.

==============================

The editorial team has noticed that one author has been removed and two new authors have been added to the revised manuscript.In accordance with the journal's academic standards, we require a detailed account of the contributions made by this new author to the manuscript.

Please provide a thorough explanation of their specific contributions to the manuscript revision, along with any supporting documentation or evidence that demonstrates their involvement in the research and writing process. It is important to ensure that all contributors' roles are clearly articulated and documented.

Please be aware that academic misconduct, including the improper addition of authors, may result in the manuscript being rejected. We urge you to review the journal's guidelines on authorship and academic integrity to ensure compliance.

==============================

Please submit your revised manuscript by Oct 24 2024 11:59PM. If you will need more time than this to complete your revisions, please reply to this message or contact the journal office at plosone@plos.org . When you're ready to submit your revision, log on to https://www.editorialmanager.com/pone/ and select the 'Submissions Needing Revision' folder to locate your manuscript file.

Please include the following items when submitting your revised manuscript:

• A rebuttal letter that responds to each point raised by the academic editor and reviewer(s). You should upload this letter as a separate file labeled 'Response to Reviewers'.
• A marked-up copy of your manuscript that highlights changes made to the original version. You should upload this as a separate file labeled 'Revised Manuscript with Track Changes'.
• An unmarked version of your revised paper without tracked changes. You should upload this as a separate file labeled 'Manuscript'.

If you would like to make changes to your financial disclosure, please include your updated statement in your cover letter. Guidelines for resubmitting your figure files are available below the reviewer comments at the end of this letter.

If applicable, we recommend that you deposit your laboratory protocols in protocols.io to enhance the reproducibility of your results. Protocols.io assigns your protocol its own identifier (DOI) so that it can be cited independently in the future. For instructions see: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/s/submission-guidelines#loc-laboratory-protocols . Additionally, PLOS ONE offers an option for publishing peer-reviewed Lab Protocol articles, which describe protocols hosted on protocols.io. Read more information on sharing protocols at https://plos.org/protocols?utm_medium=editorial-email&utm_source=authorletters&utm_campaign=protocols .

We look forward to receiving your revised manuscript.

Kind regards,

Xufeng Cui, Ph.D

Academic Editor

PLOS ONE

Additional Editor Comments:

The editorial team has noticed that one author has been removed and two new authors have been added to the revised manuscript.In accordance with the journal's academic standards, we require a detailed account of the contributions made by this new author to the manuscript.

Please provide a thorough explanation of their specific contributions to the manuscript revision, along with any supporting documentation or evidence that demonstrates their involvement in the research and writing process. It is important to ensure that all contributors' roles are clearly articulated and documented.

Please be aware that academic misconduct, including the improper addition of authors, may result in the manuscript being rejected. We urge you to review the journal's guidelines on authorship and academic integrity to ensure compliance.

[Note: HTML markup is below. Please do not edit.]

[NOTE: If reviewer comments were submitted as an attachment file, they will be attached to this email and accessible via the submission site. Please log into your account, locate the manuscript record, and check for the action link "View Attachments". If this link does not appear, there are no attachment files.]

While revising your submission, please upload your figure files to the Preflight Analysis and Conversion Engine (PACE) digital diagnostic tool, https://pacev2.apexcovantage.com/ . PACE helps ensure that figures meet PLOS requirements. To use PACE, you must first register as a user. Registration is free. Then, login and navigate to the UPLOAD tab, where you will find detailed instructions on how to use the tool. If you encounter any issues or have any questions when using PACE, please email PLOS at figures@plos.org . Please note that Supporting Information files do not need this step.

Temporal-spatial Changes and Tourism Efficiency Coupling in Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area

PONE-D-24-04406R4

Dear Dr. Wu,

We’re pleased to inform you that your manuscript has been judged scientifically suitable for publication and will be formally accepted for publication once it meets all outstanding technical requirements.

Within one week, you’ll receive an e-mail detailing the required amendments. When these have been addressed, you’ll receive a formal acceptance letter and your manuscript will be scheduled for publication.

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If your institution or institutions have a press office, please notify them about your upcoming paper to help maximize its impact. If they’ll be preparing press materials, please inform our press team as soon as possible -- no later than 48 hours after receiving the formal acceptance. Your manuscript will remain under strict press embargo until 2 pm Eastern Time on the date of publication. For more information, please contact onepress@plos.org.

Kind regards,

Xufeng Cui, Ph.D

Academic Editor

PLOS ONE

Additional Editor Comments (optional):

It is recommended for acceptance. 

It is recommended to improve the paper's formatting in accordance with the journal's formatting requirements.

Reviewers' comments: