Conflict of Interest

1. Definition and Scope

A conflict of interest, also described as a competing interest, arises when financial, personal, professional, institutional, academic, or other relationships may influence, or appear to influence, a person's judgment, actions, or interpretation of research. A conflict does not necessarily imply wrongdoing, but relevant interests must be disclosed and appropriately managed.

Potential competing interests include, but are not limited to:

• Financial interests: research funding, consultancy fees, honoraria, employment, financial holdings, patents, or commercial relationships relevant to the research.
• Personal relationships: family, close personal relationships, or significant personal disputes with individuals involved in the manuscript.
• Professional or institutional relationships: current or recent close collaboration, supervision, institutional affiliation, or other relationships that could affect independent judgment.
• Academic or intellectual interests: direct scholarly competition or strongly held positions that could compromise impartial assessment.
• Other relevant interests: affiliations, commitments, or circumstances that a reasonable reader might consider relevant to the integrity of the work or publication decision.

2. Responsibilities of Authors

All authors must disclose relevant actual, potential, or perceived conflicts of interest when submitting a manuscript and update the declaration if circumstances change during editorial processing. Disclosures should identify the nature of the relationship and explain its relevance to the submitted work.

• The corresponding author must collect and report disclosures from every co-author.
• Authors must identify funding sources and describe any funder's role in study design, data collection, analysis, interpretation, manuscript preparation, or the decision to submit, where applicable.
• The absence of a competing interest must be explicitly declared.
• Disclosure does not automatically disqualify a manuscript; the editorial team assesses whether management measures are necessary.

3. Responsibilities of Peer Reviewers

Reviewers must assess manuscripts independently, objectively, and confidentially. Before accepting a review invitation, they must disclose any relevant relationship or interest that might affect impartiality, including close collaboration, institutional connections, personal relationships, financial interests, or direct academic competition.

When impartial review cannot be assured, the reviewer must decline the invitation or request guidance from the handling editor. If a conflict becomes apparent during review, the reviewer must promptly notify the editor and must not continue without editorial authorization. Reviewers must not use confidential manuscript material for personal or professional advantage.

4. Responsibilities of Editors

Editors must disclose conflicts of interest and recuse themselves from handling manuscripts when their independence could reasonably be questioned. This includes submissions authored by the editor, close collaborators, supervisees, family members, or other persons with whom the editor has a relevant relationship.

Such manuscripts should be assigned to another suitably qualified, independent editor. Editorial decisions must be based on scholarly merit, relevance, methodological quality, and ethical standards. Editorial board membership, institutional affiliation, personal relationships, or financial considerations must not confer preferential treatment.

5. Disclosure and Management Procedure

1. Declaration: Authors disclose relevant interests at submission; editors and reviewers disclose them before participating in the assessment.
2. Assessment: The handling editor evaluates whether a declared or identified interest could compromise independent judgment or the integrity of the publication process.
3. Management: Depending on the circumstances, actions may include clarification, additional independent review, reassignment of editorial responsibility, reviewer replacement, or an appropriate disclosure in the published article.
4. Documentation: Relevant disclosures and editorial actions are recorded confidentially within the journal's editorial workflow.
5. Publication: Author competing-interest statements are included in the published article, subject to appropriate protection of personal information.

6. Conflict of Interest Statements for Authors

When no competing interests exist:

When competing interests exist:

Authors should select and customize the appropriate statement. The examples above must not replace a complete and accurate disclosure.

7. Undisclosed Conflicts and Post-Publication Concerns

Concerns about an undisclosed or inadequately managed conflict of interest may be reported to the editorial team through the journal's official contact channel. The journal will assess the concern fairly, seek clarification where appropriate, and determine proportionate action. Where necessary, the journal may amend a disclosure, publish a correction, reassess an editorial decision, or take further action under its publication ethics and correction and retraction policies. A disclosed conflict is not, by itself, evidence of misconduct.

8. Relationship to Other Journal Policies

This policy complements the journal's guidelines for authors, peer-review procedures, and publication ethics. Potential conflicts of interest should be addressed while preserving reviewer confidentiality and the integrity of the journal's double-blind peer-review process.