1. Ethics Approval Statement

Scilight Press closely follows the guidelines and core practices of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). As a publisher of academic works Scilight Press, our editors and publishing partners subscribe to the principles of academic freedom, editorial independence, and the highest levels of research integrity. By submitting a manuscript to our journal, each author explicitly confirms that the manuscript meets the author's and co-authors' highest ethical standards, including proper statistical investigations and thorough ethical reviews by the data-owning organizations. All submitted manuscripts must conform to the aforementioned Scilight's policies.

The following policies apply to all Scilight Press journals. Please refer to any additional requirements outlined by the journal before your submission.

Our policy at Scilight Press mandates that all published articles adhere to standards of moral acceptability and comply with the World Medical Association's Declaration of Helsinki. To fulfill this requirement, we evaluate the ethical considerations of any submission involving human participants, regardless of the designation given to the work, such as research, audit, or even debate. For studies involving human subjects or animals, as well as manuscripts containing case reports or case series, the following information should be provided:

• Authors are required to provide the name of the ethical approval committee or Institutional Review Board from which they obtained consent, along with the corresponding approval number or ID.
• If a waiver was granted for the study, authors must specifically mention this and provide the reason for the waiver. They should also confirm that the study was conducted following the Helsinki Declaration as revised in 2013.
• Authors must state that written informed consent was obtained from the study participants, and relevant documents must be available upon the journal's request. If only verbal informed consent was obtained, authors must explain why written consent was not secured.

Additionally, we encourage authors to provide detailed explanations of how they have considered and justified their work's ethical and moral basis. If this information does not easily fit into the manuscript, please include it in the cover letter or upload it as a supplemental file when submitting the article. We also welcome copies of the explanatory information provided to participants. Although this detailed information may not be included in the final published version, it may be made available to peer reviewers and editorial committees. Peer reviewers are already instructed to consider and comment on the ethics of the submitted work.

Scilight Press fully adheres to the Core practices and the Guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). The Editors of this journal are obligated to assist the scientific community in all aspects of publishing ethics, including plagiarism. As such, we endeavor to ensure a transparent and quality peer review process. More details, please refer to our Publishing Policy. Authors should conform to the publication ethics.

1.1. Research Involving Human Participants

When reporting on research involving human subjects, human material, human tissues, or human data, authors must declare that the investigations were conducted in accordance with the Declaration of Helsinki of 1975 (revised in 2013). According to point 23 of this declaration, approval from the local Institutional Review Board (IRB) or other appropriate ethics committee must be obtained before undertaking the research to ensure compliance with national and international guidelines. At minimum, a statement including the project identification code, date of approval, and name of the ethics committee or institutional review board must be provided in the article's 'Institutional Review Board Statement' section.

For non-interventional studies like surveys and social media research, participants must be fully informed about anonymity, the research purpose, data usage, and associated risks. Ethical approval from an appropriate committee is mandatory. If not needed, authors must provide an exemption or cite relevant legislation. Exemption details, including the committee's name and reasons, should be stated in the 'Institutional Review Board Statement' section.

Authors must obtain written informed consent for publication from participating patients. Individual participant data should be described thoroughly, but private identifying information need not be included unless relevant to the research (e.g., photographs showing specific symptoms). Patient initials or personal identifiers must not be present in any images. Authors must obtain signed informed consent for publication from patients (or their relatives/guardians) before submitting manuscripts containing case details, personal information, or patient images to a Scilight Journal. Patient details should be anonymized where possible, omitting specific age, ethnicity, or occupation if irrelevant to conclusions. A blank permission form template (without patient names or signatures) must be submitted. Submissions not meeting these requirements may be rejected by editors.

For publishing in Scilight Journals, consent, permission, or release forms should grant unlimited permission for publication in all formats (print, electronic, online), sublicensed versions (including translations and derived works), and other products under open access license. To ensure privacy, refrain from sending signed forms. The journal may request signed forms if needed.

Additional scrutiny may occur for studies involving vulnerable groups. The Editorial Office may request documentary evidence (blank consent forms, ethics board discussion documents). Studies categorizing groups by race, ethnicity, gender, disability, or disease should explain the necessity of such categorization in the article.

1.2. Research Involving Cell Lines

In research reporting on cell lines, the methods section must specify the origin of any cell lines used. For established cell lines, state their provenance and provide references to published papers or commercial sources. If using previously unpublished de novo cell lines, including those obtained from another laboratory, provide details of institutional review board or ethics committee approval. Additionally, confirm written informed consent if the cell line is of human origin.

1.3. Research Involving Animals

For animal research, authors must ensure the welfare of vertebrate and higher invertebrate species used for research, education, and testing. Detailed information on the ethical treatment of animals should be provided, potentially using the ARRIVE checklist for manuscript submission. Authors are encouraged to consult the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) Guidelines for the Euthanasia of Animals (2020) for anesthesia and euthanasia best practices.

For studies with client-owned animals, authors must obtain informed consent from owners and adhere to high standards of veterinary care.

Authors are recommended to comply with:

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Policy Statement on Research Involving Species at Risk of Extinction and consult the IUCN red list index of threatened species Convention on the Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.

Researchers from countries without legal requirements should refer to the Basel Declaration, The International Council for Laboratory Animal Science (ICLAS), Association for the Study of Animal Behavior, and International Association of Veterinary Editors' Consensus Author Guidelines on Animal Ethics.

If a study was granted exemption or did not require ethics approval, this information should be explicitly stated in the manuscript.

Exemption or lack of ethics approval should be detailed in the manuscript, and authors are responsible for the accuracy of the provided statements. The Editor-in-Chief may reject submissions that do not meet these guidelines.

1.4. Research Involving Plants

Scilight Press emphasizes stewardship, transparency, and adherence to governance in specimen collection, experimentation, and field studies. The journal provides the following guidelines:

• Field studies involving genetically engineered plants must comply with national or local legislation. If applicable, manuscripts should include a statement detailing relevant permissions and/or licenses.
• Authors using genetic plant resources obtained from local suppliers or collectors, such as species from protected areas or medically important endangered species, must conduct experiments in accordance with the Nagoya Protocol (part of the Convention on Biological Diversity).
• Authors investigating quarantine organisms (e.g., harmful or pest organisms, including plant pathogens) should follow national legislation and inform the relevant National Plant Protection Organization of new findings before publication. Additional information is available through the International Plant Protection Convention.

For each submitted manuscript, genetic information and origin must be provided. For research involving rare and non-model plants (excluding typical model plants like Arabidopsis thaliana, Nicotiana benthamiana, or Oryza sativa), voucher specimens should be deposited in an accessible herbarium or museum. Vouchers may be requested for future verification of material identity, especially if taxonomic rearrangements occur. Details such as GPS coordinates, collection date, and parts used should be included. Waivers can be considered for rare, threatened, or endangered species, but authors must explain this in the cover letter.

Editors reserve the right to reject submissions that do not meet these requirements.

1.5. Dual Use Research of Concern

Scilight Press adheres to the practical framework outlined in the Guidance for Editors: Research, Audit, and Service Evaluations provided by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Manuscripts reporting research that could pose significant public health or national security threats must clearly indicate such risks. Potential dual-use research of concern, including areas such as biosecurity, nuclear and chemical threats, or research with military applications, should be explained in the cover letter upon submission. For these manuscripts to undergo peer review, the benefits to the general public or public health must outweigh the associated risks. Authors are responsible for complying with relevant national and international laws.

1.6. Sex and Gender in Research

We encourage authors to adhere to the 'Sex and Gender Equity in Research – SAGER – guidelines' and incorporate sex and gender considerations where relevant. It's essential to accurately differentiate between sex (biological attribute) and gender (shaped by social and cultural factors) to avoid confusion. Article titles and abstracts should indicate which sex(es) the study applies to. In the background section, authors should discuss whether sex and/or gender differences may be expected; describe how they were accounted for in the study design; provide disaggregated data by sex and/or gender when appropriate; and discuss respective results. If a sex and/or gender analysis was not conducted, authors should provide the rationale in the Discussion section. We recommend authors consult the full guidelines before submission.

1.7. Clinical Trials Registration

Registration

Scilight Press adheres to the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) guidelines, requiring and recommending the registration of clinical trials in a public trials registry before the first patient enrollment. This condition applies to all studies involving participant randomization and group classification, not just those involving hospitals or pharmaceuticals. Authors should pre-register clinical trials with an international clinical trials register and cite the registration reference in the Methods section. Suitable databases include clinicaltrials.gov, the EU Clinical Trials Register, and those listed by the World Health Organization International Clinical Trials Registry Platform.

Approval from a local, regional, or national review body does not substitute for prospective clinical trial registration. Scilight Press reserves the right to decline papers lacking trial registration for further peer review. However, if the study protocol has been published before enrollment, registration can be waived with proper citation of the published protocol.

CONSORT Statement

Scilight Press mandates the submission of a completed CONSORT 2010 checklist and flow diagram when reporting the results of a randomized trial. Authors must provide the checklist and flow diagram as a condition of submission. Templates for these can be accessed on the CONSORT website. Additionally, authors should ensure that their article reports the content addressed by each item of the checklist.

1.8. Borders and Territories

Scilight Press recognizes that potential disputes over borders and territories may impact authors when describing their research or providing addresses for author or editor correspondence. It is essential to respect such sensitivities. Editorial decisions regarding content are at the discretion of the editorial team. In cases where disputes or complaints arise, the editorial team will endeavor to find a resolution that satisfies all parties involved.

Scilight Press maintains neutrality regarding jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

1.9. Citations

Scilight Press maintains strict guidelines on citation practices to ensure integrity and avoid manipulation. Research and non-research articles must cite relevant literature to support claims made. Excessive self-citation, coordinated self-citation efforts, or gratuitous citation of articles from the submitting journal are inappropriate and may lead to rejection of the article and possible reporting to authors' institutions.

Authors should follow these guidelines:

• Statements relying on external sources should be cited.
• Original works should be cited instead of derivations.
• Citations must accurately support statements in the manuscript.
• Authors should only cite sources they have read.
• Preference should not be given to self-citation or citations from friends, peers, or institutions.
• Avoid citing solely from one country or using an excessive number of citations for one point.
• Peer-reviewed sources should be preferred.
• Advertisements or advertorial material should not be cited.

Authors are encouraged to adhere to these guidelines to ensure fair and ethical citation practices.

2. Types of Research Misconduct

Where concerns about academic misconduct or potential errors in our published content are raised, our actions are guided by the COPE recommendations. Concerns raised anonymously or by whistleblowers are treated with the same degree of rigor and thoroughness.

2.1. Plagiarism

In addition to the direct copying of text, with or without paraphrasing, from a single source without proper acknowledgement, the common types of plagiarism are: Mosaic plagiarism (patchwork plagiarism) and Self-plagiarism/text-recycling.

• Mosaic plagiarism (patchwork plagiarism)
  This is when text is lifted from a few different sources (which may include your own previous work) and put into your manuscript to create the impression of new text.

• Self-plagiarism/text-recycling
  This is the redundant reuse of your own work (e.g., text, data, and images), including text translated from another language, usually without proper citation. It creates repetition in the academic literature and can skew meta-analyses if you publish the same sets of data multiple times as "new" data.

Of course, other types of plagiarism also exist. What they all have in common is a lack of transparency to the original source of the material used in the manuscript.

2.2. Duplicate Publishing

Duplicate publication is the publication of a paper that overlaps substantially with one already published without clear, visible reference to the previous publication. Prior publication may include the release of information in the public domain.

2.3. Falsification or Fabrication of Data

Data fabrication is the intentional misinterpretation of research results, reporting experiments that were never conducted, or the manipulation of accurate data to suit a desired outcome.

Image manipulation is a specific type of data manipulation and relates to e.g., duplication of parts within an image, or use of identical images to show different things.

Scilight Press takes issues of copyright infringement, plagiarism or other breaches of best practice Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing very seriously. We seek to protect our authors' rights and always investigate claims of plagiarism or misuse of published articles. Equally, we seek to protect the reputation of the journal against malpractice.

Once the manuscript is found to have committed publication misconduct, we will immediately impose the above-mentioned penalties.

We reserve the right to take action including, but not limited to: publishing an erratum or corrigendum (correction); rejecting the manuscript or withdrawing the published paper (Guidelines for retraction of articles-COPE Retraction guidelines); taking up the matter with the head of the department or dean of the author's institution and/or relevant academic bodies or societies; releasing all penalty documents in Scilight website.

It is important to be reminded that Research Misconduct is purposeful misconduct and as such does not include honest error or differences of opinion which may occur at time to time in research and which can generally be corrected or outlined at the time of publication.

3. Authorship

Everyone listed as an author should meet our criteria for authorship. Everyone who meets our criteria for authorship must be listed as an author, and the contributions of all authors must be reported. All authors are expected to have made substantial contributions to the submitted work and be accountable for the work before and after publication. According to the ICMJE guidelines, to qualify as an author one should have (i) made substantial contributions to conception and design, or acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data; and (ii) been involved in drafting the manuscript or reviewing it critically for important intellectual content; and (iii) given final approval of the version to be published. Each author should have participated sufficiently in the work to take public responsibility for appropriate portions of the content; and (iv) agreed to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved. Acquisition of funding, data collection, or general supervision of the research group alone; does not usually justify authorship.

We expect that all authors will take public responsibility for the content of the manuscript submitted to Scilight Press. All manuscripts must be submitted by an author and may not be submitted by a third party.

The corresponding author takes primary responsibility for communication with the journal and Editorial Office during the submission process, throughout peer review, and during publication. The corresponding author is also responsible for ensuring that the submission adheres to all journal requirements including, but not exclusive to, details of authorship, study ethics and ethics approval, clinical trial registration documents, and conflict of interest declaration. The corresponding author should also be available post-publication to respond to any queries or critiques. Although the corresponding author has primary responsibility for correspondence with the journal, all authors will be contacted by email to ensure that they are aware of and approve the submission of the manuscript, its content, and its authorship.

4. Authorship Changes

Scilight Press journals follow the COPE guidelines for changes in authorship.

Changing the author list after submission requires agreement from all authors. This includes additions, deletions, and changes in ordering. Requests must come from the corresponding author, along with an explanation of how any added authors contributed to the work and why author(s) are being added/removed after the initial submission. The corresponding author must also provide to Scilight Press documentation verifying that all authors, including any being added, deleted, or reordered, have given written consent to the change(s). Authorship change requests are subject to Scilight Press' approval; we may require validation of authorship contributions from an institutional official.

Scilight Press does not generally consider requests to add or remove authors between acceptance and publication of the article. If there are special circumstances that apply to your article such that a post-accept authorship change is needed, please contact the journal office. These requests require approval by the journal's editorial team.

In the case of an authorship dispute, the journal will not arbitrate. If the authors are unable to resolve the dispute themselves, we will defer the issue to the authors' institution(s) in accordance with COPE guidelines. The journal will abide by institutional recommendations following authorship investigations, with rare exception.

Authorship changes after publication are addressed via Corrections, except in rare circumstances.

5. Acknowledgment

All contributors who do not meet the criteria for authorship should be listed in the 'Acknowledgment' section. Authors have a responsibility to get approval from persons named in the acknowledgment section.

6. Conflicts of interest

Authors must declare all relevant financial or non-financial, professional, or personal competing interests that could be perceived as conflicting during manuscript submission. If no conflicts exist, the authors should state that there is no conflict of interest to declare.

7. Ethical Guidelines for Journal Editors

We ask all journal editors to make every reasonable effort to adhere to the following ethical guidelines for articles submitted for peer review in Scilight journals:

• Journal editors should give unbiased consideration to each manuscript submitted for publication. They should judge each on its merits, without regard to race, religion, nationality, sex, seniority, or institutional affiliation of the author(s).
• Journal editors must keep the peer-review process confidential. They must not share information about a manuscript with anyone outside of the peer-review process.
• If a journal editor receives a credible allegation ofmisconduct by an author, reviewer, or journal editor, then they have a duty to investigate the matter with Scilight.
• Journal editors may reject a submitted manuscript without formal peer review if they consider it inappropriate for the journal and outside its scope.
• Journal editors should make all reasonable efforts to process submissions on time.
• Journal editors should delegate the peer review of any original self-authored research article to a member of the editorial or advisory board as appropriate.
• If a journal editor receives convincing evidence that the main substance or conclusions of an article published in the journal are incorrect, then, in consultation with the publisher, the journal editor should ensure the publication of an appropriate notice of correction.
• Any data or analysis presented in a submitted manuscript should not be used in a journal editor's own research without the consent of the author.
• Keep submission and peer review details confidential, as required. Do not upload files, images or information from unpublished manuscripts into databases or tools that do not guarantee confidentiality, are accessible by the public and/or may store or use this information for their own purposes (for example, generative AI tools like ChatGPT).

8. Post-Publication

The correspondence provides access to the post-publication conversation. If readers have concerns about any of the stories published, they can write a letter to the editor. Erratum, correction, and retraction can be used to remedy any errors or faults detected in the article. For significant concerns that potentially impact the reliability of the research, the editor will initiate an investigation to determine how the concern will be addressed. Original authors and reviewers will be included in the investigation as needed. The editor will strive to complete investigations within 60 days of reporting. Outcomes of the investigation may include:

• No Change
• Correction:
• 1) Article is updated, including publication metadata
• 2) Correction notice is issued in the next issue of the journal
• Retraction:
• 1) Article page is updated with retraction notice and reason for retraction
• 2) A retraction notice is issued in the next issue of the journal

In the case of a correction or erratum, the peer-reviewed and revised document will be amended and re-published on our website, along with the posting of a Correction, after the update request has been accepted. Meanwhile, a link will be created between the correction/erratum article and the original article to make readers and other users/systems aware of the correction. The Retraction decisions are based on COPE Retraction Guidelines.

More key points are being processed following the guidance of COPE-Handling of post-publication critiques.

9. Appeals and Complaints

The procedure covers appeals concerning editorial decisions, complaints about procedural matters like significant delays in paper handling, and concerns related to publication ethics. Authors who disagree with an editorial decision can submit a formal appeal to the Editorial Office, providing their reasons. The matter will be addressed promptly in accordance with COPE Guidelines. Initially, the issue should be reviewed by the Editor-in-Chief(s) responsible for the journal or the Editor who handled the paper. If the complaint involves these individuals, contact the journal editor directly. (Refer to the contacts page on the journal's homepage for details. If no publishing contact is listed, send your query to info@sciltp.com.)

 

Update in August 2024