Conflicts of Interest

Authors, editors, reviewers, and other contributors must disclose relationships or interests that could reasonably be perceived as influencing scholarly judgment. Such interests may be financial or nonfinancial and do not automatically disqualify a submission, but they must be managed transparently.

Authors

Authors must include a Conflict of Interest declaration identifying relevant funding-linked interests, employment, consultancy, patents, equity, personal or professional relationships, and other competing interests. If none exist, authors should state: “The authors declare no conflicts of interest related to this research.” Funding sources and the role of funders should be described separately.

Editors

An editor must not handle a manuscript where they have a significant professional, financial, personal, institutional, or recent collaborative relationship with an author or sponsor that could undermine impartiality. The manuscript should be assigned to an independent editor. This rule also applies to manuscripts authored by editors or editorial board members.

Reviewers

Reviewers must declare potential conflicts before accepting an invitation. When impartiality is in doubt, the reviewer must decline or request editorial guidance. Reviewer recommendations must not be affected by competition, personal animosity, financial interests, or citation-related incentives.

Editorial Independence

The publisher, advertisers, collaborators, donors, and fee-paying authors may not control peer-review outcomes or the journal's editorial decisions. Disclosures should be corrected if significant competing interests become known after publication.