Publication ethics

Submission verification and declaration
The submission must be original and unpublished except where otherwise stated in the Instructions, not under consideration for publication in any source in any language and form, and has been approved by all authors. To verify originality, the manuscript may be checked using plagiarism detection services.

Authorship
All authors should have made substantial contributions to the manuscript. The corresponding author submitting the manuscript is required to provide detailed information on the contribution of all authors, and declare the individual contribution to the work – confirming that all authors have materially participated in the research or preparation of the work (detailed description). The corresponding author also confirms that all authors have approved the final version of the paper by signing the Author’s Statement document available for download during the submission process.
Editors trust that all statements given by the corresponding author are true and valid.

Changes to authorship
No changes in authorship can be made after publication of the final version of the article. Authors are requested to carefully check the personal details. Only in exceptional cases will such changes be considered, and only if the corresponding author has provided detailed information for the reason of the change (addition, removal, or rearrangement). Editors will consider such requests only if the author provides: the reason, and written confirmation from all authors including confirmation from the author being added or removed.
Only in exceptional circumstances the Editor will consider the addition, deletion or rearrangement of authors after the manuscript has been accepted. While the Editor considers the request, publication of the manuscript will be suspended or a corrigendum will be published in case of articles already included in an issue.

Ghost and guest authorship
Journal Editors follows International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) guidelines regarding unethical author behavior.
Ghost authors: This phrase is used in two ways. It usually refers to professional writers (often paid by commercial sponsors) whose role is not acknowledged. Although such writers rarely meet ICMJE criteria, since they are not involved in the design of studies or the collection or interpretation of data, it is important to acknowledge their contribution, since their involvement may represent a potential conflict of interest. The term can also be used to describe people who made a significant contribution to a research project (and fulfilled the ICMJE criteria) but are not listed as authors. The ICMJE guidelines clearly condemn this practice and state that ‘All persons designated as authors should qualify for authorship, and all those who qualify should be listed.’ Guest authors make no discernible contributions, but are listed to help increase the chances of publication/ confer extra credibility on the article. A gift author is one who may have a slight relationship with the study or the article, but who would not be considered an author according to the ICMJE guidelines.
Gift authors: People who are listed as authors but who did not make a significant contribution to the research and therefore do not fulfill the ICMJE criteria. These are often senior figures (e.g. heads of department) whose names are added to curry favor (or because it is expected). Another type of gift author is a colleague whose name is added on the understanding that they will do the same for you, regardless of your contribution to his/her research, but simply to swell the publication lists.
All authors are also encouraged to read the COPE report, which describes possible authorship violations https://publicationethics.org/files/2003pdf12_0.pdf.

Declaration of interest
All authors must disclose any financial and personal relationships with other people or organizations that could inappropriately influence (bias) their work. Examples of potential conflicts of interest include employment, consultancies, stock ownership, honoraria, paid expert testimony, patent applications/registrations, and grants or other funding. Authors must disclose any interests as a summary declaration of interest statement in the Author’s Statement document. If there are no interests to declare then please state the following: 'Conflict of interest: none'. This summary statement will be published if the article is accepted. 2. Detailed disclosures are part of a separate Acknowledgement form, which forms part of the journal's official records. It is important for potential interests to be declared in both documents and that the information matches.
The journal follows the COPE guidelines. The journal acts according to the COPE Best Practice Guidelines: https://publicationethics.org/

Funding
The funding information needs to be provided together with the manuscript. The author must identify who provided financial support for conducting the research and/or preparing the article, and to briefly describe the role of the sponsor(s).