def general_settings():
    """general settings
    """
    import matplotlib as mpl
    import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
    mpl.rcParams['font.size'] = 7.0
    mpl.rcParams['axes.labelsize'] = 7.0
    mpl.rcParams['xtick.labelsize'] = 7.0
    mpl.rcParams['ytick.labelsize'] = 7.0
    mpl.rcParams['lines.linewidth'] = 1.5
    mpl.rcParams['lines.markeredgewidth'] = 3.0
    mpl.rcParams['lines.markersize'] = 3.0
    mpl.rcParams['mathtext.default'] = 'regular'
    mpl.rcParams['text.usetex'] = False
    mpl.rc('text.latex', preamble=''.join((
        '\\usepackage{sfmath} \\renewcommand{\\rmfamily}{\\sffamily}',
        '\\renewcommand\\familydefault{\\sfdefault} ')))
