CONFLICT OF INTEREST POLICY
Authors must include a clear 'Conflict of Interest' statement in their submitted manuscript. This statement must detail any funding sources, institutional affiliations, or personal relationships that could be construed as a competing interest related to the research findings. If a potential competing interest is identified during the review process or after publication, the editorial board will utilize the established COPE workflow to systematically handle competing interests that might interfere with the objective presentation of the research.
Reviewers are required to evaluate manuscripts objectively and must decline any invitation to review a paper if they have a conflict of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships with any of the authors or associated institutions. If an undisclosed conflict of interest involving a reviewer is discovered during the review process, the journal will immediately follow the COPE protocol to effectively handle an undisclosed conflict of interest in a submitted manuscript.
Editors and editorial board members are strictly prohibited from utilizing unpublished information disclosed in a submitted manuscript for their own research purposes without the authors' explicit written consent. Editors must recuse themselves from considering manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest. In cases where an undisclosed conflict of interest is revealed after an article has been published, the journal is committed to initiating a formal investigation to address the undisclosed conflict of interest in a published article, which may result in the publication of an erratum or expression of concern.



