Code of Ethics

The ethical policy of this journal is based on the European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity. It is also governed by the basic practices and policies described by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

Authors must be honest in presenting their research findings and conclusions. Misconduct in research is detrimental to knowledge. It may mislead other researchers.

Research Results

Fabrication, falsification, or selective presentation of data with the intent to mislead or deceive is unethical, as is the theft of data or research results from others. Research results should be recorded and retained to permit analysis and review. After publication, the data should be retained for a reasonable period and made available upon request. Exceptions may be appropriate in certain circumstances to preserve privacy, ensure patent protection or for similar reasons.

Authorship

All those who have made a significant contribution should be given the opportunity to be cited as authors. Others who have contributed to the work should also be mentioned. Articles should include a complete list of the current institutional affiliations of all authors, both academic and corporate. See authorship policy.

Conflict of interest

All individuals participating in the journal must declare any conflict of interest or competing interests related to a given article. Competing interests, through their potential influence on behavior, content, or perception, may undermine the objectivity, integrity, or perceived value of the publication.

Peer Review

To maintain a high quality publication, all submissions undergo a rigorous review process. The characteristics of the peer review process are specified in the journal's Peer Review Policy.

Recommended citations during the editorial process

During the peer review process, or when authors have their work provisionally accepted for publication, they may encounter instances where Responsible Editors or peer reviewers ask them to consider citing additional sources to ensure a fuller discussion. These references may include articles published in the same journal. This journal strongly opposes the practice of requiring authors to include references solely to increase the number of citations without any scientific justification, commonly referred to as “coercive citation.” However, we recognize that there are situations in which suggesting the inclusion of recent articles is valid, especially when they direct readers to relevant discussions related to previous issues of the journal. The decision to incorporate such references rests solely with the authors and should not be a prerequisite for acceptance of the manuscript. Authors who feel that they are under undue pressure to include such references are encouraged to contact the editorial team.

Plagiarism

It is not acceptable to reproduce texts from other papers without properly citing the source (plagiarism) or to produce many papers with almost the same content by the same authors (self-plagiarism). It is unethical to submit the same results simultaneously to more than one journal. Exceptions are review articles. Authors may not present results obtained by others as if they were their own. Authors should acknowledge the work of others used in their research and cite publications that have influenced the direction and course of their study.

All submitted manuscripts will be checked for plagiarism (copying text or results from other sources) and self-plagiarism (duplication of substantial parts of the authors' own published work without giving appropriate references). If plagiarism is discovered after publication, we will follow the guidelines described in the Corrections and Retractions section. See plagiarism detection policy.

Duplicate Submission

Simultaneous submission of the same manuscript to different journals will not be tolerated. The submitted article will be eliminated without consideration.

Corrections and retractions

All authors are obliged to inform and cooperate with the journal editors to provide prompt retractions or correction of errors in published papers.

The journal will issue retractions if

- There is clear evidence that the findings are unreliable, either as a result of misconduct (e.g., data fabrication) or honest error (e.g., computational or experimental error);

- The results have been previously published elsewhere without proper cross-referencing, permission, or justification (i.e., cases of redundant publication);

- Constitutes plagiarism;

- Reports unethical research.

The journal will publish errata if

- A small part of an otherwise reliable publication turns out to be misleading (especially due to an honest mistake);

- The author list is incorrect (i.e., a deserving author has been omitted or someone who does not meet the authorship criteria has been included).

Other forms of misconduct include failure to comply with clear ethical and legal requirements, such as misrepresentation of interests, breach of confidentiality, lack of informed consent, and abuse of research subjects or materials. Misconduct also includes inappropriate handling of wrongdoing, such as attempts to cover up misconduct and retaliation against whistleblowers.

The primary responsibility for managing research misconduct lies with those who employ researchers. If possible misconduct is brought to our attention, we will seek advice from referees and the Editorial Board. If there is evidence, we will resolve the matter by making appropriate corrections to the journal; refusing to consider future work by an author for a specified period; and contacting the authors concerned and the editors of other journals.

Data sharing

We encourage authors to share their research data as long as the data sharing conforms to the relevant privacy rules imposed by the studies. Authors are also encouraged to cite the data and provide a data availability statement to confirm the presence or absence of shared data.

Human and animal rights

If the work involves the use of human subjects, the author should ensure that the work described has been conducted in accordance with The World Medical Association Code of Ethics (Declaration of Helsinki)for Experiments Involving Human Subjects; Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals. Authors should include in the manuscript a statement that informed consent for human experimentation has been obtained. The privacy rights of human subjects must always be respected.

All animal experiments must comply with ARRIVE guidelines and must be conducted in accordance with the UK Animals (Scientific Procedures) Act 1986 and associated guidelines, the EU Directive 2010/63/EU for animal experiments, or the National Institutes of Health Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (NIH Publications No. 8023, revised 1978) and authors should clearly indicate in the manuscript that these guidelines have been followed.

Review Board Approval (for human and animal studies)

All authors should seek approval from a local, regional, or national independent review body (e.g., an ethics committee or institutional review board) to conduct research. Approval by a responsible review body does not preclude editors from forming their own judgment as to whether the conduct of the research was appropriate.

Declaration of ethical approval of the study

The authors must declare the ethical approval obtained to carry out this study. This statement should include the name of the approving body (Institutional Review Board/Ethics Committee, etc.), the approval number, and the date of approval. If the institution does not require ethics approval for reporting individual cases, case series, etc., or if there is an exemption from ethics approval (e.g., basic science studies with cadaver specimens, etc.), indicate this. 

Informed consent statement

Authors should declare that there is no information (names, initials, hospital identification numbers, or photographs) in the submitted manuscript that can be used to identify patients. If there is identifiable information and this information is essential for scientific reasons, written informed consent must be obtained from the patient (parent or guardian) and submitted with the manuscript.

How to make a complaint

We try to adhere to the fundamental practices and policies outlined by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

Anyone who believes that research published in this journal has not been conducted in accordance with these principles should raise concerns with the appropriate editor or send an e-mail to the main contact.

As far as possible, concerns will be addressed following the COPE guidelines.