Publication Ethics

This journal is committed to upholding the highest standards of publication ethics and takes all possible measures against publication malpractice. The following statements describe the ethical behavior of all parties involved in the act of publishing in this journal, including the editor, reviewers, and authors.

Duties of Editors

Publication Decisions

The editor is responsible for deciding which of the articles submitted to the journal should be published. The editor may be guided by the journal’s editorial board policies and constrained by legal requirements regarding libel, copyright infringement, and plagiarism. The editor may consult with other editors or reviewers in making this decision.

Fair Play

Editors evaluate manuscripts solely on the basis of their intellectual content without regard to race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political philosophy of the authors.

Confidentiality

The editor and any editorial staff must not disclose any information about a submitted manuscript to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, potential reviewers, other editorial advisers, and the publisher, as appropriate.

Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest

Unpublished materials disclosed in a submitted manuscript must not be used in an editor’s own research without the express written consent of the author.

Duties of Reviewers

Contribution to Editorial Decisions

Peer review assists the editor in making editorial decisions and, through editorial communications with the author, may also assist the author in improving the manuscript.

Promptness

Any selected reviewer who feels unqualified to review the research reported in a manuscript or knows that a timely review will be impossible should notify the editor and withdraw from the review process.

Confidentiality

Any manuscript received for review must be treated as a confidential document. It must not be shown to or discussed with others except as authorized by the editor.

Standards of Objectivity

Reviews should be conducted objectively. Personal criticism of the author is inappropriate. Reviewers should express their views clearly with supporting arguments.

Acknowledgement of Sources

Reviewers should identify relevant published work that has not been cited by the authors. Any statement that observations, derivations, or arguments have been previously reported should be accompanied by the relevant citation. Reviewers should also notify the editor of any substantial similarity or overlap between the manuscript under consideration and any other published work of which they have personal knowledge.

Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest

Privileged information or ideas obtained through peer review must be kept confidential and not used for personal advantage. Reviewers should not consider manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships with any of the authors, companies, or institutions connected to the paper.

Duties of Authors

Reporting Standards

Authors of original research reports should present an accurate account of the work performed and an objective discussion of its significance. Underlying data should be represented accurately in the manuscript. A paper should contain sufficient detail and references to permit others to replicate the work. Fraudulent or knowingly inaccurate statements constitute unethical behavior and are unacceptable.

Originality and Plagiarism

Authors must ensure that they have written entirely original works, and if the authors have used the work and/or words of others, this must be appropriately cited or quoted.

Multiple, Redundant, or Concurrent Publication

An author should not generally publish manuscripts describing essentially the same research in more than one journal or primary publication. Submitting the same manuscript to more than one journal concurrently constitutes unethical publishing behavior and is unacceptable.

Acknowledgement of Sources

Proper acknowledgment of the work of others must always be given. Authors should cite publications that have been influential in determining the nature of the reported work.

Authorship of the Paper

Authorship should be limited to those who have made significant contributions to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the reported study. All those who have made significant contributions should be listed as co-authors. Others who have participated in certain substantive aspects of the research project should be acknowledged or listed as contributors.

The corresponding author should ensure that all appropriate co-authors are included and that no inappropriate co-authors are listed, and that all co-authors have seen and approved the final version of the manuscript and agreed to its submission for publication.

Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest

All authors should disclose in their manuscript any financial or other substantive conflict of interest that might be construed to influence the results or interpretation of their manuscript. All sources of financial support for the project should be disclosed.

Fundamental Errors in Published Works

When an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in their own published work, it is the author’s obligation to promptly notify the journal editor or publisher and cooperate with the editor to retract or