Originality and Plagiarism

• All submissions must be original and not under consideration for publication or previously published elsewhere.
• Authors are responsible for obtaining copyright permission for any third-party material included in the manuscript.

Ethical Conduct

• Authors should divulge conflicts of interest. 
• Allegations of misconduct, including plagiarism or data fabrication, will be investigated and addressed according to standard academic procedures, which could result in retraction of the article.

Use of Generative AI

• We consider large language models (LLMs) or generative AI (artificial intelligence) to be useful tools but advise authors to be cautious and follow best practices.
• For instance, AI cannot be listed as authors.
• Using AI to edit or polish writing has become relatively common practice and does not need to be reported.
• However, use of AI in manuscript development or analyses should be noted (and the specific AI cited) either in the Methods section or an Acknowledgement.
• Authors should closely review and take responsibility for all AI generated or edited materials.
• In particular, we recommend caution for any AI generated references as they sometimes are fabricated or include combined sources.

Copyright

• Authors retain copyright of their work under the Creative Commons Attribution License (4.0) but license the journal to publish, distribute, and archive the article.
• Authors are encouraged to post their work in repositories or other websites with acknowledgement of its publication in this journal.

Editorial Independence

• The journal maintains an open editorial policy. Publication does not constitute endorsement of any views or conclusions expressed by authors.
• Neither the journal nor its editors, staff, reviewers, or publisher assume responsibility for offensive, defamatory, or incorrect content.

By submitting a manuscript or using our website, you agree to the journal’s full policies. Please review our Policies and Disclaimers page for complete information.

The journal’s Publication Process page provides a clear, step-by-step outline of manuscript handling, from submission through final publication, reflecting our commitment to transparency and timely dissemination.