Originality
Submissions must identify reused material, related manuscripts, prior dissemination, and preprints. Obtain permission for third-party material where required. Simultaneous submission to another journal is not permitted.
Assessment
Editors assess text overlap in context rather than applying a similarity score as an automatic decision. Risk-based checks examine image manipulation, data inconsistencies, and reporting anomalies. Authors may be asked for original images, protocols, or underlying data.
Tools
Editorial checks support, rather than replace, assessment of the manuscript and its original sources. Substantial concerns follow the publication ethics procedure.