Conflict of Interest

Complete objectivity and transparency are essential throughout the publication process. A conflict of interest occurs when an individual's personal, financial, academic, or professional relationships could be perceived as improperly influencing their responsibilities in the research or publication process.

• Authors: All submitting authors must include a mandatory "Declaration of Competing Interest" section in their manuscript. Authors must disclose any funding sources, financial benefits, or personal affiliations that could influence the interpretation of their research. If no conflict exists, authors must explicitly state: "The authors declare no conflict of interest."

• Reviewers: Invited peer reviewers are required to decline the review invitation if they share a recent institutional affiliation with the authors, have collaborated with them recently, or have any financial or personal biases related to the manuscript.

• Editors: Editorial board members must recuse themselves from handling or making decisions on manuscripts submitted by their close colleagues, recent collaborators, or students. In such cases, the manuscript will be reassigned to an independent editor.