Ethical Principles and Publication Policy

Authors must make a declaration in their article concerning conflicts of interest and, when applicable, informed consent.

Authors must disclose any competing interests, situations or connections (direct or indirect) that might have influenced the research reported in the article. Conflicts of interest can include personal relationships (i.e. friend, spouse, family member, current or previous mentor, adversary) with individuals involved in the submission or evaluation of a paper, such as authors, reviewers, editors or members of the editorial board; holding any kind of position on relevant boards; employment relationships; privileged access to data; collaborations with individuals or organisations related to the content of the article; grants received (from any source, restricted or unrestricted) by the authors from bodies with an interest in the study; relationships (paid or unpaid) with organisations and funding bodies including non-governmental organisations, research institutions or charities; any type of sponsorship, gifts, benefits, fees, stakes or royalties shared or received from individuals or organisations related to the content of the article; membership of lobbying or advocacy organisations; business, personal, legal, political, ideological, religious or academic interests or beliefs related to the paper's topic that may interfere with an unbiased publication process; etc.