Authors' Ethics

• Ensure that submitted manuscripts are original, free of plagiarism, and have not been previously published.
• Properly and honestly cite all sources and references.
• Do not submit the same manuscript to more than one journal at the same time.
• Clearly state the contribution of each author, and ensure all listed authors have made a substantial contribution to the work.
• Disclose any potential conflicts of interest and all sources of funding.
• Promptly notify the editor if a significant error is identified in a published or under-review manuscript.

Editors' Ethics

• Take full responsibility for the final decision regarding submitted manuscripts.
• Evaluate manuscripts based on their scientific and scholarly merit, without regard to the authors' race, gender, religion, nationality, institutional affiliation, or political views.
• Maintain the confidentiality of submitted manuscripts and avoid using their content for personal gain.
• Ensure the peer review process is fair, timely, and unbiased.
• Act on allegations of misconduct — including plagiarism, data fabrication, and duplicate submission — following established editorial procedures.

Reviewers' Ethics

• Provide objective, constructive, and timely reviews.
• Maintain the confidentiality of the manuscript under review, both during and after the review process.
• Avoid using information obtained during review for personal advantage.
• Inform the editor if unqualified to review a manuscript, or if a conflict of interest exists, so an alternative reviewer can be assigned.
• Alert the editor to any substantial similarity between the manuscript under review and other published or submitted work.

Publisher's Ethics

• Support and protect the editorial independence of the journal's editors.
• Ensure that editorial decisions are made solely by the editorial team, free from commercial or other undue influence.
• Provide the infrastructure necessary for a fair, documented peer review process and long-term digital archiving of published content.
• Support the timely publication of corrections, clarifications, and — where warranted — retractions.
• Assist editors in responding to allegations of ethical misconduct, including cooperating with relevant institutions when necessary.

Plagiarism and Similarity Screening

All submitted manuscripts are screened using similarity-detection software as part of the initial editorial screening. The similarity score is treated as one indicator among several rather than an automatic pass/fail threshold — the editorial team evaluates each flagged case substantively, distinguishing properly cited material and common technical phrasing from genuine textual overlap.

Handling Allegations of Misconduct

Suspected cases of research or publication misconduct — including plagiarism, data fabrication or falsification, undisclosed conflicts of interest, or authorship disputes — are investigated by the editorial team in reference to established publication-ethics guidance (such as COPE's flowcharts), ensuring a fair process for all parties involved. Depending on the outcome, this may result in requested clarification, correction, formal retraction, or other appropriate editorial action.