Handling Allegations of Misconduct

Credible allegations of plagiarism, data fabrication, falsification, authorship misconduct, undisclosed conflicts of interest, or other ethical violations will be assessed by the Editorial Office.

The process may include preliminary evaluation, requesting explanations from the relevant parties, reviewing available evidence, consulting the Guest Editor or subject experts, and contacting relevant institutions where justified.

Possible actions include requesting corrections, rejecting a submission, suspending publication, issuing a post-publication notice, retracting an abstract, or referring the matter to the relevant institution. All parties will be treated fairly, and confidentiality will be maintained to the extent reasonably possible.