Periódico Tchê Química

ETHICAL GUIDELINES

Document version 1.3. Last review: 27/12/2025.

Introduction

Periódico Tchê Química is committed to maintaining the highest standards of publication ethics and academic integrity in scientific publishing. This comprehensive ethical framework, established in accordance with the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) guidelines, serves as the foundation for all publications within our journal. Our ethical guidelines are designed to ensure transparency, fairness, and scientific rigor throughout the publication process.

These guidelines are based on multiple respected sources in academic publishing, including the Declaration of Helsinki for research involving human participants, the International Council for Laboratory Animal Science (ICLAS), and the recommendations of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). By adhering to these established standards, we aim to protect the rights and welfare of research participants, maintain scientific integrity, and promote ethical research practices.

Our ethical framework encompasses several critical areas: the peer review process, authorship criteria, research ethics involving human and animal participants, prevention of plagiarism, and editorial misconduct. We employ a rigorous double-blind peer review system where both reviewers and authors remain anonymous throughout the evaluation process, ensuring unbiased assessment of scientific merit. Additionally, we maintain strict policies regarding authorship attribution, requiring substantial contributions from all listed authors and appropriate acknowledgment of all research contributors.

The journal places particular emphasis on the protection of human research participants and ensuring the ethical treatment of animals in research. All studies involving human participants must comply with the Declaration of Helsinki and receive appropriate ethics committee approval. Similarly, animal research must adhere to institutional, national, and international guidelines, with proper documentation of ethical approvals and compliance with animal welfare standards.

Through these guidelines, we aim to foster a research environment that promotes scientific excellence while maintaining the highest ethical standards in academic publishing. This document serves as a comprehensive resource for authors, reviewers, and editors, outlining their respective responsibilities and the ethical principles that govern our publication process.

Periódico Tchê Química and Araucária Scientific Association

Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Initiative

Our Mission and Commitment

Periódico Tchê Química shares Araucária Scientific Association's commitment to transformative research and social impact. Our initiative aims to connect researchers addressing the world's most pressing challenges with professionals in policy and business, enabling rapid dissemination of articles that directly contribute to the Sustainable Development Goals.

Goal 4 - Quality Education: Our Top Priority

Among the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, Goal 4 - Quality Education - stands out as the cornerstone of our academic mission. We recognize quality education as a fundamental catalyst for individual empowerment and collective societal progress. Our approach extends beyond academic discourse, actively promoting educational advancement through multiple strategic channels.

Research Opportunities and Collaborative Initiatives

As part of our environmental and scientific commitment, we offer unique research opportunities. Researchers interested in studying the Atlantic Forest biome can request access to forested areas for environmental and hydrological research, creating a bridge between academic investigation and practical conservation efforts. For more information, please contact our office.

Publication Strategy and Visibility

We make our academic publishing activities more visible and accessible through various communication channels. Our goal is to ensure that critical scientific insights reach professionals, policymakers, and businesses who can translate research into tangible improvements for our world.

Invitation to Researchers

We invite researchers, professionals, and innovators to join our mission of creating meaningful scientific knowledge that addresses global challenges. By combining rigorous academic standards with a commitment to social impact, we aim to be a catalyst for positive change.

Through these efforts, we align our academic practices with the broader vision of sustainable development, believing that high-quality, accessible research is a critical pathway to addressing complex global challenges.

Endorsed Guidelines

• Code of Conduct and Best-Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors (Committee on Publication Ethics, 2011)
• Publication Ethics and Publication Malpractice Statement – PsychOpen
• Ethics in Research & Publication (Elsevier)
• Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE)
• Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing (COPE)
• Ethical Guidelines for Journal Publication (Elsevier)
• International Committee of Medical Journal Editors
• Declaration of Helsinki
• International Council for Laboratory Animal Science
• World Association of Medical Editors

Periódico Tchê Química adopts a comprehensive ethical framework by incorporating guidelines from leading international organizations in academic publishing. The Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) provides our foundational framework, which we enhance through complementary guidelines from other respected organizations. Each source contributes unique value: Elsevier's guidelines offer practical insights from publishing experience, PsychOpen addresses specific needs in behavioral and social science research, and the World Association of Medical Editors provides guidance on editorial integrity. For research involving human participants, we follow the standards of the Declaration of Helsinki and the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors, while animal research adheres to the guidelines of the International Council for Laboratory Animal Science. Together, these guidelines create a robust framework that ensures scientific integrity while promoting the advancement of knowledge. Authors, reviewers, and editors must understand and follow these integrated guidelines to maintain our high standards in academic publishing.

Publication Ethics

General Ethics Information

Compliance with publication ethics ensures the integrity of scientific publishing and trust in published articles. Therefore, Periódico Tchê Química expects all authors to meet ethical requirements when preparing their manuscripts.

Authors should observe high standards concerning publication ethics as set out by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Falsification or fabrication of data, plagiarism, duplicate publication of the authors' work without proper citation, and misappropriation of work are unacceptable practices. Any cases of ethical misconduct are treated very seriously and will be resolved following COPE guidelines.

Periódico Tchê Química employs a fully double-blind peer review process, where both reviewers and authors remain anonymous throughout the review process. All articles submitted for publication undergo initial editorial screening. When a submission is deemed appropriate, it is sent to two reviewers under editorial policies and with a minimum quality level. Reviewers will not know the identity of the authors, as any identifying information will be removed from the document before review.

Once authors submit an article, the manuscript undergoes a comprehensive initial screening process before entering the formal review phase. The first steps involve automated analyses through specialized software tools to detect potential plagiarism, identify undisclosed AI-generated content that may be unethical or dishonest, and assess grammatical and linguistic quality to ensure compliance with academic writing standards. Following these automated checks, Editors evaluate the article's composition and organization according to the Journal's submission guidelines, which includes reviewing required sections and styling, verifying alignment with the Journal's scope, and confirming thematic originality and relevance. When manuscripts pass these initial screenings, they are forwarded to a designated Editor-in-Chief, who manages the subsequent review process by appointing at least two reviewers with expertise in the relevant field. These specialized reviewers, selected to avoid any institutional or personal connections with the authors, conduct thorough evaluations of the manuscript and provide constructive, anonymized feedback to help authors improve their work.

Human Research Ethics Committee Approval

Research involving human participants, human material, or human data must have been conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki and must have been approved by an appropriate ethics committee. A statement detailing this, including the name of the ethics committee and the reference number where appropriate, must appear in all manuscripts reporting such research. Should a study have received an exemption from the ethics approval requirement, this should also be detailed in the manuscript (including the name of the ethics committee that granted the exemption). Additional information and documentation to support this should be made available to the Editor upon request. Manuscripts may be rejected if the Editor considers that the research was not conducted within an appropriate ethical framework. In rare cases, the Editor may contact the ethics committee for further information.

Research with human participants, which includes identifiable human material or identifiable data, requires ethical protection. According to the Declaration of Helsinki issued by the World Medical Association, research with human participants should be formulated in experimental protocols. These should be submitted to independent ethics review committees (ethics committees and institutional review boards) for approval. Furthermore, each potential participant should be informed about the "aims, methods, sources of funding, any possible conflicts of interest, institutional affiliations of the researcher, the anticipated benefits and potential risks of the study and the discomfort it may entail" and must give consent to participate.

Consent to Participate

Protection of the patient's right to privacy is essential, and ethical approval should be obtained for research involving human participants. Authors are required to describe in their manuscripts ethics committee approval and participant consent according to the study design when the research involves human participants. Please collect and keep copies of patient consent forms in which patients or other participants in your experiments clearly grant permission for the publication of photographs or other material that might identify them. If the consent form for your research did not specifically include this, please obtain it or remove the identifying material. A statement that such consent was obtained should be included in the 'Methods' section of your article. If required, the Editor(s) of the journal may request a copy of any consent forms.

For all research involving human participants that includes details, images, videos, biomedical, clinical, and biometric data relating to an individual person, written informed consent for the publication of these details must be obtained from that person (or their parent or legal guardian in the case of children under 18 years of age), and a statement to this effect must appear in the manuscript. The manuscript must include a statement that written informed consent for publication was obtained. Authors may use the consent form to obtain consent for publication, or a consent form from their own institution or region if appropriate. The consent form should state that the details/images/videos will be freely available on the internet and may be seen by the general public. The consent form should be made available to the Editor upon request and will be treated confidentially.

Ethics Committee Approval

All articles dealing with original data from humans or animals must include a statement about ethical approval in the Materials and Methods section, reporting ethics committee approval and patient consent according to the study design. This paragraph should contain the name and address of the responsible ethics committee; the name of the protocol and approving committee number that was assigned by this ethics committee; the name of the Chair of the ethics committee (or the person who approved the protocol), the date of approval by the ethics committee, type of consent, data source, and whether the study used data collected as part of a study reported elsewhere were recorded.

Definition of Research Participant

A 'participant' is someone who actively provides research data. For example: Completes questionnaires; Participates in interviews, discussions, or observations; Undergoes psychological, physiological, or medical treatment or testing; Tests software; Grants access to personal collections of records, photographs; Is the person from whom tissue was collected (including blood, urine, saliva, hair); Is identified in a record, e.g., employment record, medical record, educational record, membership list, electoral roll; Is identified or de-identified in databases or unpublished human research data, e.g., analysis of existing unpublished data collected by another researcher or collected for a different research project.

Research Involving Animals

Authors should describe in their manuscripts the Animal Ethics Committee approval when the study is conducted using animals. Experimental research on vertebrates or any regulated invertebrates must comply with institutional, national, or international guidelines, and where available, should have been approved by an appropriate ethics committee. Field studies and other non-experimental research on animals must comply with institutional, national, or international guidelines, and where available, an appropriate ethics committee should have approved. A statement detailing compliance with relevant guidelines and/or appropriate permissions or licenses must be included in the manuscript.

The Basel Declaration outlines fundamental principles to be followed when conducting animal research following the ethical guidelines of the International Council for Laboratory Animal Science (ICLAS) and Brazil's National Council for the Control of Animal Experimentation (CONCEA).

A statement detailing compliance with relevant guidelines and/or ethical approval (including the name of the ethics committee and the reference number where appropriate) must be included in the manuscript. Should a study have received an exemption from the ethics approval requirement, this should also be detailed in the manuscript (including the name of the ethics committee that granted the exemption and the reasons for the exemption). The Editor will consider animal welfare issues and reserves the right to reject a manuscript, especially if the research involves protocols inconsistent with commonly accepted norms of animal research. In rare cases, the Editor may contact the ethics committee for further information. For experimental studies involving client-owned animals, authors must also document informed client or owner consent and adherence to a high standard (best practice) of veterinary care.

Animal Ethics Committees (AECs)

Animal Ethics Committees (AECs) provide means for public participation in the regulation of animal research. AECs are responsible for approving and monitoring research within Accredited Animal Research Establishments, including conducting inspections of animals and facilities.

No animal research may be conducted without AEC approval. AECs must consider and evaluate requests to conduct research based on researchers' responses to a comprehensive set of questions, including their justification for the research, its likely impact on animals, and procedures to prevent or alleviate pain and distress.

On behalf of the establishment, AECs can halt inappropriate research and discipline researchers by withdrawing their research approvals. They can require that appropriate care, including emergency care, be provided to animals. They also provide guidance and support to researchers on matters relevant to animal welfare through the preparation of guidelines and dissemination of relevant scientific literature. AECs are responsible for advising establishments on changes to physical facilities that should be made to meet the needs of animals used.

Peer Review Process

All submissions to Periódico Tchê Química are evaluated by an Editor, who will decide whether they are suitable for peer review. All research articles undergo rigorous double-blind peer review. This typically involves review by two independent reviewers. The practice of peer review aims to ensure that only good science is published. It is an objective process at the heart of good scholarly publishing and is carried out by all reputable scientific journals.

Initial Manuscript Assessment

The Editor first assesses all manuscripts to check their suitability for the Journal's AIM and SCOPE, as well as critical issues such as Plagiarism and Citation manipulation. It is rare, but an exceptional manuscript may be accepted at this stage. Manuscripts rejected at this stage are insufficiently original, have serious scientific flaws, poor grammar or English, or are outside the aims and scope of the journal. Those that meet minimum criteria are normally forwarded to at least 2 experts for review.

Type of Peer Review

Periódico Tchê Química employs double-blind peer review, where both the reviewer and the author remain anonymous throughout the process.

Reviewer Report Form

Reviewers are asked to evaluate whether the manuscript is original; methodologically sound; follows appropriate ethical guidelines; has clearly presented results that support the conclusions; and correctly references relevant previous work. Linguistic correctness is not part of the peer review process, but reviewers may, if they wish, suggest modifications to the manuscript.

Review Timeline

Review processing time may take up to 150 days from the date of article receipt. Should reviewer opinions contradict each other or a review suffer unnecessary delay, an additional expert opinion will be sought. The Editor's decision will be sent to the author along with recommendations made by the reviewers, which usually include literal comments from the reviewers. Revised manuscripts may be returned to the initial reviewers, who may then request another revision of a manuscript.

Final Decision

A final decision to accept or reject the manuscript will be sent to the author, along with any recommendations made by the reviewers, which may include literal comments from the reviewers.

Editor's Decision

Reviewers advise the editor, who is responsible for the final decision to accept or reject the article. The Editor's decision is final.

Responsibilities

Editors' Responsibilities

Publication decisions: The editor is responsible for deciding which of the articles submitted to the journal will be published. The editor will evaluate manuscripts without regard to the authors' race, gender, sexual orientation, religious belief, ethnic origin, citizenship, or political philosophy. The decision will be based on the article's importance, originality and clarity, the study's validity, and its relevance to the journal's scope. Current legal requirements regarding libel, copyright infringement, and plagiarism should also be considered.

Confidentiality: The editor and any editorial staff must not disclose any information about a submitted manuscript to anyone other than the corresponding author, reviewers, potential reviewers, other editorial advisers, and the editor, as appropriate.

Disclosure and conflicts of interest: Unpublished materials disclosed in a submitted article will not be used by the editor or by editorial board members for their own research purposes without the author's explicit written consent.

Acknowledgement of sources: Editors should use appropriate software to identify instances where relevant published work referred to in the article has not been cited in the reference section. Software analysis results should indicate whether observations or arguments derived from other publications are accompanied by the respective source. Editors will notify the author of any substantial similarity or overlap between the manuscript under consideration and any other published article of which they are aware.

Reviewers' Responsibilities

Contribution to editorial decisions: The peer review process assists the editor and the editorial board in making editorial decisions and may also serve the author in improving the article.

Promptness: Any selected referee who feels unqualified to review the research reported in a manuscript or knows that its prompt review will be impossible should notify the editor and withdraw from the review process.

Confidentiality: Any manuscripts received for review must be treated as confidential documents. They must not be disclosed to or discussed with others, except as authorized by the editor.

Standards of objectivity: Reviews should be conducted objectively. Personal criticism of the author is inappropriate. Referees should express their views clearly with supporting arguments.

Acknowledgement of sources: Reviewers should identify instances where relevant published work referred to in the article has not been cited in the reference section. They should indicate whether observations or arguments derived from other publications are accompanied by the respective source. Reviewers will notify the editor of any substantial similarity or overlap between the manuscript under consideration and any other published article of which they have personal knowledge.

Disclosure and conflict of interest: Privileged information or ideas obtained through peer review must be kept confidential and not used for personal advantage. Reviewers should not consider manuscripts in which they have conflicts of interest resulting from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships or connections with any of the authors, companies, or institutions connected to the papers.

Authors' Responsibilities

Reporting standards: Authors of original research reports should present an accurate account of the work performed as well as an objective discussion of its significance. Underlying data should be accurately represented in the article. An article should contain sufficient detail and references to permit others to replicate the work. Fraudulent or knowingly inaccurate statements constitute unethical behavior and are unacceptable.

Data access and retention: Authors may be asked to provide the raw data of their study along with the article for editorial review and should be prepared to make the data publicly available if practicable. In any event, authors should ensure accessibility of such data to other competent professionals for at least ten years after publication (preferably through an institutional or subject-based data repository or other data center), provided that the confidentiality of participants can be protected and legal rights concerning proprietary data do not preclude their release.

Originality, plagiarism, and acknowledgment of sources: Authors will submit only entirely original works and will cite or quote the work and/or words of others appropriately. Publications that have been influential in determining the nature of the work reported should also be cited.

Multiple, redundant, or concurrent publication: In general, articles describing essentially the same research should not be published in more than one journal. Submitting the same article to more than one journal constitutes unethical publishing behavior and is unacceptable. Manuscripts that have been published as copyrighted material elsewhere cannot be submitted. Additionally, manuscripts under review by the journal should not be resubmitted to copyrighted publications. However, when submitting a manuscript, the author(s) retain the rights to the published material. In case of publication, they permit the use of their work under a CC-BY license [http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/], which allows others to copy, distribute and transmit the work as well as adapt the work and make commercial use of it.

Authorship of the article: Authorship should be limited to those who have made a significant contribution to the conception, design, execution, or interpretation of the reported study. All those who made significant contributions should be listed as co-authors. The corresponding author ensures that all contributing co-authors and no uninvolved persons are included in the author list. The corresponding author will also verify that all co-authors have approved the final version of the article and have agreed to its submission for publication.

Disclosure and conflicts of interest: All authors must include a statement disclosing any financial or other substantive conflicts of interest that may be construed as influencing the results or interpretation of their manuscript. All sources of financial support for the project should be disclosed.

Fundamental errors in published works: When an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in his/her own published work, it is the author's obligation to promptly notify the journal editor or publisher and cooperate with the editor to retract or correct the article in the form of an erratum.

Publication Malpractice Statement

Periódico Tchê Química is committed to maintaining the highest standards of publication ethics. We do not tolerate plagiarism, fabrication, or falsification of data. Authors, reviewers, and editors must adhere to ethical guidelines to ensure the integrity of the publication process. Any suspected violations, including duplicate submissions or conflicts of interest, will be investigated, and appropriate actions will be taken, including retraction of articles or notification to relevant institutions.

Plagiarism

Periódico Tchê Química considers plagiarism a serious offense. Articles are checked for plagiarism before, during, and after publication, and if found, will be rejected at any stage of processing. The journal employs appropriate software to identify instances where published work has not been properly cited or where content has been inappropriately duplicated.

Citation Manipulation

Periódico Tchê Química has a strict policy regarding citation integrity:

• Periódico Tchê Química has a strict policy for false references. All references will be checked before, during, and after publication.
• References must be appropriate, reasonably recent, and from reliable sources.
• Excessive self-citation and citation manipulation are inappropriate behaviors.

Duplicate Submissions

Periódico Tchê Química does not accept duplicate submissions. This includes submissions of manuscripts derived from the same data and submission of the same manuscript in different languages. Additionally, manuscripts that have been published as copyrighted material elsewhere cannot be submitted, and manuscripts under review by the journal should not be resubmitted to copyrighted publications.

Research Misconduct

Research misconduct includes fabrication, manipulation, or falsification of data. All research involving humans (including human data and human material) and animals should have been carried out within an appropriate ethical framework. If there is suspicion that research has not been conducted within an appropriate ethical framework, the Editor may reject a manuscript and may inform third parties, for example, the author(s)' institution(s) and ethics committee(s). In cases of proven research misconduct involving published articles, or where the scientific integrity of the article is significantly undermined, articles may be retracted. The journal will follow COPE guidelines in handling such cases.

Corrections, Retractions, and Removals

Periódico Tchê Química strictly follows the integrity guidelines of COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics). Changes to published articles are processed to ensure maximum transparency of the scientific record:

1. Corrections (Errata or Corrigenda): Used for errors that do not compromise data integrity or conclusions (e.g., typos, omission of acknowledgments, or adjustments to author names). The original article remains available and is linked to a correction notice.

2. Expressions of Concern: Published by editors when there are well-founded suspicions of misconduct or serious errors, but the investigation is still ongoing or the evidence is inconclusive. It serves as a preventive alert to the academic community.

3. Retractions: Applied when findings are invalidated by honest error or misconduct (plagiarism, fabricated data, etc.). Following international standards, the original article is not removed; it remains available for consultation but is permanently marked with a "RETRACTED" watermark and accompanied by a detailed note explaining the reasons for the retraction.

4. Article Removals: Definitive removal from the archive is an exceptional last-resort measure. It occurs only if the content is proven to be defamatory, infringes legal rights, is subject to a court order, or poses a serious risk to public health. In these cases, metadata is maintained, but the text is replaced with a notice about removal for legal reasons.

Use of Artificial Intelligence in Scientific Production

Periódico Tchê Química recognizes that Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools, including Large Language Models (LLMs) such as ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini, and similar, are becoming increasingly present in the academic environment. This section establishes clear guidelines for the ethical and transparent use of these technologies in preparing manuscripts submitted to our journal.

The advancement of generative AI tools represents both opportunities and challenges for scientific integrity. While these tools can legitimately assist in various aspects of academic production, their inappropriate use can compromise the originality, authenticity, and reliability of scientific research. Therefore, we have established specific policies that distinguish acceptable uses from unethical practices.

Ethical and Acceptable Uses of AI

Periódico Tchê Química considers the following uses of AI tools as ethical and acceptable, provided they are properly disclosed:

For all acceptable uses listed above, authors must ensure that the final content reflects their own ideas, analyses, and conclusions. AI use should be an auxiliary tool, not a substitute for the genuine intellectual work of researchers.

Unethical and Prohibited Uses of AI

Periódico Tchê Química considers the following uses of AI tools as unethical and unacceptable:

AI Use Disclosure Requirements

All authors who use AI tools in preparing their manuscripts must include a specific statement at the time of submission and in the manuscript itself. This statement should be inserted in the "Declarations" or "Acknowledgments" section of the article.

The statement must include:

1. Tool identification: Name and version of the AI tool(s) used (e.g., "ChatGPT-4", "Claude 3", "Gemini Pro", "Grammarly").
2. Purpose of use: Clear description of how the tool was used (e.g., "for grammatical review", "for assistance in translation from Portuguese to English").
3. Scope of use: Indication of which sections or aspects of the manuscript were affected by the tool's use.
4. Human oversight: Confirmation that all content generated or modified by AI was reviewed, verified, and approved by the authors.

Absence of AI Use

Authors who did not use AI tools in preparing the manuscript may include a statement affirming: "The authors declare that they did not use Artificial Intelligence tools in preparing this manuscript."

Verification and Monitoring

Periódico Tchê Química employs AI-generated content detection tools as part of the initial manuscript screening process. Discrepancies between authors' statements and the results of these analyses may result in additional investigation and requests for clarification from the authors.

Conflict of Interest Policy

Periódico Tchê Química is committed to ensuring the integrity and objectivity of the research publication process. This policy outlines how we identify, disclose, and manage conflicts of interest for all parties involved in the publication process.

Definitions

A conflict of interest arises when personal, financial, commercial, or other interests may influence or appear to influence professional judgment. In academic publishing, this may affect authors, reviewers, or editors. Conflicts of interest may be:

Financial Conflicts:

• Research funding and other financial support
• Employment, consultancies, or stock ownership
• Patent applications (pending or effective)
• Paid expert testimony
• Travel grants and other reimbursements

Non-Financial Conflicts:

• Professional rivalries or competitions
• Personal relationships
• Academic competition
• Intellectual beliefs
• Political or religious beliefs related to the research

Disclosure Requirements

For Authors:

• Must disclose all potential conflicts during manuscript submission
• Must disclose conflicts in a separate section of the manuscript
• Must update disclosures if circumstances change during the publication process
• Must include relevant funding information and the role of funders

For Reviewers:

• Must disclose conflicts before accepting review assignments
• Must decline if significant conflicts exist
• Must maintain confidentiality of manuscript information
• Must disclose if they have previously reviewed the manuscript for another journal

For Editors:

• Must disclose conflicts related to submitted manuscripts
• Must recuse themselves from decisions when conflicts exist
• Must delegate editorial decisions when they have conflicts
• Must disclose relevant institutional affiliations

Management Procedures

When conflicts of interest are identified, the journal follows these procedures:

1. All disclosed conflicts are reviewed by the editorial team
2. Editors with conflicts are excluded from manuscript handling
3. Alternative reviewers are sought if conflicts are disclosed
4. Disclosed conflicts are published with the article
5. Undisclosed conflicts identified after publication are investigated

Documentation

The journal maintains the following documentation:

• Authors' conflict of interest statements submitted in section "5.4. Competing Interests" of the template and author guidelines for manuscript submission. This standardized section ensures consistent and complete disclosure of all potential conflicts
• Records of editorial decisions related to conflicts
• Conflict statements published with articles
• Documentation of conflict investigations
• Records of actions taken to manage conflicts

Consequences of Non-Compliance

Non-compliance with this conflict of interest policy may result in:

• Manuscript rejection
• Retraction of published articles
• Publication of correction statements
• Notification to authors' institutions
• Temporary or permanent ban from journal roles

For serious cases involving deliberate concealment of conflicts:

• Public notice of violation
• Communication to relevant academic institutions
• Communication to funding bodies
• Ban on future submissions

The journal reserves the right to take appropriate action when conflicts of interest are discovered at any stage of the publication process or after publication. We encourage open dialogue about potential conflicts and will work with all parties to ensure transparent and ethical publishing practices.