Our journal is committed to upholding the highest ethical standards in publishing, following the guidelines set forth by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). These ethical standards are in place to ensure the quality of scientific publications, maintain public trust in scientific findings, and ensure proper credit is given to authors for their work and ideas.

  • Article Evaluation

All submitted manuscripts undergo a rigorous peer review process to meet academic standards. If a submission passes the initial evaluation by the editor, it will be reviewed by anonymous peer reviewers. The journal may seek guidance from experts and take appropriate actions, including but not limited to selecting reviewers with specific expertise, seeking additional editorial input, or rejecting a submission.

  • Plagiarism

Authors are strictly prohibited from using the words, figures, or ideas of others without proper attribution. All sources must be cited at the point of use, and any verbatim text must be enclosed in quotation marks or indented as a block quote. Manuscripts found to contain plagiarized content from other authors, whether published or unpublished, will be rejected, and the authors may face sanctions. Published articles may also require corrections or retractions.

  • Duplicate Submission and Redundant Publication

We consider only original content, meaning articles that have not been previously published, including in languages other than English. Manuscripts submitted to our journal must not be concurrently under consideration elsewhere and must be withdrawn before submission to another journal. By submitting to our journal, authors affirm that the article has not been previously published in any form and is not being considered for publication elsewhere.

  • Citation Manipulation

Authors who manipulate citations in their submitted manuscripts with the primary purpose of artificially inflating the number of citations to their own work or to articles in a particular journal may face sanctions.

  • Fabrication and Falsification

Authors of submitted manuscripts or published articles found to have fabricated or falsified research results, including image manipulation, may face sanctions, and published articles may be retracted.

  • Authorship and Acknowledgments

All authors listed on a manuscript must have made a significant scientific contribution to the research, endorsed its claims, and agreed to be named as authors. It is crucial to acknowledge everyone who has made a significant scientific contribution. Author contributions may be detailed at the end of the submission. Individuals who contributed to the research or manuscript preparation but do not meet authorship criteria should be acknowledged with their permission. Submissions from individuals who are not among the listed authors will not be considered.

  • Conflicts of Interest

Conflicts of interest arise when external factors could reasonably be perceived to influence the impartiality or objectivity of the work or its evaluation. If conflicts of interest are identified after publication, this can be a source of embarrassment for the authors, the Editor, and the journal. It may necessitate the publication of a corrigendum or a reassessment of the review process.

  • Authors

Authors must declare all potential conflicts of interest in a dedicated 'Conflicts of Interest' section, explaining why the interest could constitute a conflict. If there are no conflicts, authors should state, "The author(s) declare(s) that there are no conflicts of interest regarding the publication of this paper." The submitting author is responsible for ensuring that co-authors declare their interests.

Authors must also disclose any current or recent sources of funding (including article processing charges) and other financial support, goods, or services that might have influenced the work. All sources of funding, whether conflicting or not, must be acknowledged in the 'Funding Statement.'

Involvement of anyone beyond the authors who:

  1. Has a vested interest in the research outcome.
  2. Is affiliated with an organization with such an interest.
  3. Was employed or funded by a sponsor in the commissioning, conception, design, execution, analysis, manuscript preparation, or decision to publish must be disclosed.

The corresponding author should provide the emails of all co-authors in the "Additional Emails" field, separated by commas. It is imperative that all authors are aware of and consent to the submission of the manuscript to our journal.

  • Editors and Reviewers

Editors and reviewers are expected to decline involvement with a submission when they have had recent publications or current submissions with any of the authors, share an affiliation with any author, collaborate or have recently collaborated with any author, or have previously discussed the manuscript with the authors.

  • Experimental Research Involving Human and/or Animal Subjects

Experimental research involving human or animal subjects must have received approval from the author's institutional review board or ethics committee. This information should be included in the manuscript, including the name of the board or committee that granted approval. Research involving human subjects must adhere to the principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki, while research involving animals must adhere to the Interdisciplinary Principles and Guidelines for the Use of Animals in Research, Testing, and Education. If the manuscript contains photographs or parts thereof featuring patients, informed consent must be obtained from each patient, and their identities and privacy must be protected in the manuscript.