Authorship and Contributorship (ICMJE Criteria)

Authorship is determined strictly according to the four ICMJE criteria (updated January 2026). Every individual listed as an author must meet all of the following:

1. Substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work; AND
2. Drafting the work or reviewing it critically for important intellectual content; AND
3. Final approval of the version to be published; AND
4. Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.

Management of Authorship

• Responsibility: The corresponding author must ensure all co-authors meet criteria, manage journal communication, obtain final approval for all versions, and handle any post-submission authorship changes.
• Non-Author Contributors: Individuals who do not meet all four criteria (e.g., funding acquisition, general supervision, or technical help) should be acknowledged in the Acknowledgements section with their specific roles described.
• Changes: Any rearrangement of names after submission requires detailed justification and written consent from all authors.
• Group Authorship: For large consortia, the group name may be listed as an author, with individual qualifying members identified in the Acknowledgements or appendix.

Peer Review Processes

All submissions (excluding editorials or invited pieces) undergo double-blind peer review by at least two independent experts. We are committed to a process where:

• Editorial decisions are based solely on academic merit, relevance, and ethical compliance.
• Reviewers must declare all conflicts of interest and maintain strict confidentiality.
• The journal may screen for AI-generated reviews to ensure human expert oversight.
• Commercial or other influences are strictly separated from editorial processes.

Originality, Plagiarism, and Redundant Publication

Manuscripts must be original and not under consideration elsewhere. We utilize plagiarism detection software to screen all submissions.

• Plagiarism: Any form of plagiarism, self-plagiarism, or text recycling will result in immediate rejection or post-publication retraction.
• Redundant Publication: Duplicate submissions or dividing one study into multiple smaller papers (“salami slicing”) are not permitted. Authors must disclose any related or prior manuscripts.

Conflicts of Interest / Competing Interests

All authors, reviewers, and editors must disclose any financial, personal, institutional, or other relationships that could be perceived to influence the research. A clear statement will be published with each article. Undeclared conflicts may lead to rejection or retraction.

Research Ethics and Informed Consent

Research involving human participants, animals, or sensitive data must comply with the Declaration of Helsinki and have prior approval from an appropriate Institutional Ethics Committee (IEC) or IRB. Documentation of informed consent (or a justified waiver) and ethical approval details must be included in the Methods section.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

In accordance with COPE’s position on AI tools:

• AI tools (LLMs, image generators) cannot be listed as authors as they cannot take responsibility for the work or manage conflicts.
• Authors are fully responsible for the accuracy and ethical compliance of AI-assisted content (e.g., language editing, data analysis).
• Substantial AI use must be transparently declared in the Methods or Acknowledgements, specifying the tool and its role.
• Undisclosed use of AI affecting scientific content may be treated as research misconduct.

Data Availability and Reproducibility

To promote transparency, authors are strongly encouraged to include a Data Availability Statement and deposit supporting data, code, and materials in trusted public repositories (with a DOI). This allows for the verification and reproducibility of results.

Complaints, Appeals, and Misconduct

• Allegations: We take all allegations of misconduct (fabrication, falsification, or plagiarism) seriously. Suspected cases are investigated following COPE flowcharts and may involve notification of the author's institution.
• Appeals: Formal appeals regarding editorial decisions must include a detailed scientific justification and are handled transparently per COPE guidance.

Post-Publication Discussions and Corrections

The scholarly record is permanent but correctable. We follow COPE’s updated guidelines (including 2025 updates) for:

• Corrections: Issued for minor errors that do not invalidate findings.
• Expressions of Concern: Published when there are serious concerns about integrity but an investigation is ongoing.
• Retractions: Issed for major errors, unreliable data, unethical research, image manipulation, or systematic manipulation (e.g., paper mills). Retraction notices are clearly linked, freely accessible, and state the reason without ambiguity.

Readers are encouraged to engage through letters to the editor or post-publication commentary.

COPE Core Practices Summary

The journals fully align with COPE’s framework, including: Allegations of misconduct, Authorship/Contributorship, Complaints and appeals, Conflicts of interest, Data/Reproducibility, Ethical oversight, Intellectual property, Journal management, Peer review processes, and Post-publication discussions.