Policies

1. Authorship Policy
Authorship follows ICMJE and COPE standards. To qualify, an author must:

Contribute substantially to study design, data collection, analysis, or interpretation.
Draft or critically revise the manuscript.
Approve the final version for publication.
Take accountability for all aspects of the work.

Changes in Authorship: No additions or removals allowed after initial submission.
Contribution Statement: Required at submission, outlining each author’s role.
Corresponding Author: Handles all communication during and after review.
Affiliations: Current addresses and affiliations must be provided.
Deceased Authors: Indicated with † and a note of death.

2. Policy on Use of Artificial Intelligence by Authors

Authors must disclose any use of AI tools (e.g., ChatGPT, LLMs, image generators) in both cover letter and manuscript.
AI cannot be listed as an author. Responsibility for originality, accuracy, and integrity lies with human authors.
AI-generated text or images must be reviewed, edited, and cited properly to avoid errors, bias, or plagiarism.
Use of AI in peer review is not permitted without prior permission.

3. Privacy Policy Statement

Personal data of authors and reviewers is collected only for editorial and publication purposes.
Information (name, email, affiliation, contact details) is securely stored, encrypted, or locked, and retained for up to five years.
Sharing is limited to publishing partners or service providers, with prior consent.
Individuals retain ownership of their data under privacy and intellectual property laws.

4. Acknowledgement Criteria
Contributors who do not meet authorship criteria may be acknowledged, including:

All acknowledgements require prior consent, and financial/organizational support must be disclosed.

5. Conflict of Interest

Authors must declare all financial, professional, or personal relationships that may influence the work.
Disclosures include funding, honoraria, affiliations, memberships, or data ownership.
Statements must be included in the submission form and before references.
If no conflict exists, state: “None to declare.”

6. Responses to Published Work

Comments on published articles are reviewed by the Editor-in-Chief.
Original authors are invited to respond; both comment and reply are published together.
If no reply is received, the comment may be published alone.
Only appropriate comments are considered.

7. Rejected Articles & Appeals

Authors may appeal a rejection with a written explanation; the decision after review is final.
Revised versions of rejected manuscripts will not be reconsidered.
Duplicate or previously published material is not accepted.
Authors must secure permissions for any reproduced material before submission.

8. Peer Review

All submissions undergo initial editorial review. Unsuitable manuscripts may be rejected early.
Eligible manuscripts proceed to double-blind external peer review; at least two reviewers for research articles.
Editorial board articles are also reviewed externally; editorials/obituaries by the Editor-in-Chief are exempt.
Reviewers must keep manuscripts confidential, not share them, and destroy after review.
Reviews are due within three weeks.
AI use in peer review requires prior permission.

9. Funding Disclosure

All financial support, including grants, must be disclosed in the submission form and in the manuscript before references.
If no funding was received, state: “None to declare.”

10. Copyright Notice
By submitting, authors confirm:

The work is original, unpublished, and not under review elsewhere (except theses/dissertations).
Proper references and permissions have been obtained for reused material.
The work complies with ethical and legal standards.
All authors approve the submission and meet authorship criteria.
Patient/participant consent is secured where required.

Authors retain rights under the CC BY 4.0 license.

11. Open Access

12. Plagiarism Policy

All manuscripts undergo similarity checks (e.g., Turnitin).
Submissions with ≥20% similarity are returned for clarification, revision, or rejection.
Authors are responsible for ensuring originality and proper citation.

13. Submission to Publication Timeline
The process from submission to publication takes approximately 7–9 months:

14. Animal-Based Studies
Research involving animals is not accepted for processing or publication.

15. Expression of Concern
Following COPE guidelines, an Expression of Concern may be issued for:

No time limit applies to issuing retractions or concerns.

16. License to Publish

Articles are published under CC BY 4.0.
Authors retain copyright and usage rights.
The journal is granted a non-exclusive license to publish and distribute the work.

17. Retraction of Published Articles
Retractions follow COPE guidelines and may occur due to:

No time limit applies to retraction.

18. Withdrawal Policy

Copyright transfers to the journal upon submission; simultaneous submission elsewhere is unethical.
To withdraw, authors must request by email. A withdrawal form must be signed by all authors (no electronic signatures).
Manuscripts are only considered withdrawn after formal confirmation from the editorial office.
Using a manuscript elsewhere without formal withdrawal is misconduct.

19. Scientific Misconduct
Misconduct includes:

Response: Allegations are investigated promptly, manuscript processing is halted, and action is taken per COPE/WAME/ICMJE/HEC guidelines.

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