Conflicts of interest/Competing interests

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Disclosure Requirements

Authors are required to disclose any interests that are directly or indirectly related to the work submitted for publication. Interests within the last three years of beginning the work (conducting the research and preparing the work for submission) should be reported. Interests outside this three-year timeframe must be disclosed if they could reasonably be perceived as influencing the submitted work. Disclosure of interests aims to provide transparency and help readers form their own judgments of potential bias. This disclosure is not meant to imply that financial relationships with an organization that sponsored the research or compensation for consultancy work are inappropriate.

Interests that should be disclosed include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Funding: Research grants from funding agencies (please provide the research funder and the grant number) and/or research support (including salaries, equipment, supplies, reimbursement for attending symposia, and other expenses) by organizations that may gain or lose financially through the publication of this manuscript.
• Employment: Recent (while engaged in the research project), present, or anticipated employment by any organization that may gain or lose financially through the publication of this manuscript. This includes multiple affiliations, if applicable.
• Financial Interests: Stocks or shares in companies (including holdings of spouse and/or children) that may gain or lose financially through publication of this manuscript; consultation fees or other forms of remuneration from organizations that may gain or lose financially; patents or patent applications whose value may be affected by the publication of this manuscript.
• Non-financial Interests: Interests that could impart bias on the work submitted for publication, such as professional interests, personal relationships, or personal beliefs. Examples include positions on editorial boards, advisory boards, or boards of directors; writing and/or consulting for educational purposes; expert witness roles; mentoring relationships; and so forth.

Disclosure Statements

Primary research articles require a disclosure statement. Review articles, given their nature as authoritative syntheses of evidence, also require a disclosure statement. Other article types such as editorials, book reviews, and comments may require a disclosure statement depending on their content. If you are unsure whether your article type requires a disclosure statement, please contact the Editor-in-Chief.

Funding information, a potential conflict of interest, must be disclosed upon manuscript submission in the peer review system. This information should be included in the 'Declarations' section before the reference list. Other declarations include Conflicts of Interest/Competing Interests, Ethics Approval, Consent, Data and/or Code Availability, and Authors’ Contribution Statements.

If the information is already mentioned elsewhere in the manuscript, such as under Methods & Materials, please repeat that information in the Declarations section.

Sample Statements

• Funding:
  • Partial financial support was received from [...]
  • The research leading to these results received funding from […] under Grant Agreement No […].
  • This study was funded by […]
  • This work was supported by […] (Grant numbers […] and […])
• No Funding:
  • The authors did not receive support from any organization for the submitted work.
  • No funding was received to assist with the preparation of this manuscript.
  • No funding was received for conducting this study.
  • No funds, grants, or other support were received.
• Conflicts of Interest/Competing Interests:
  • Financial interests: Author A has received research support from Company A. Author B has received a speaker honorarium from Company W and owns stock in Company X. Author C is a consultant to Company Y.
  • Non-financial interests: C is an unpaid member of Committee Z.
  • Financial interests: The authors declare they have no financial interests.
  • Non-financial interests: Author A is on the board of directors of Y and receives no compensation as a member of the board.
  • Financial interests: Author A received a speaking fee from Y for Z. Author B receives a salary from Association X, where they are the Executive Director.
  • Non-financial interests: none.
  • Financial interests: Author A and B declare they have no financial interests. Author C has received speaker and consultant honoraria from Company M and Company N. Dr. C has received speaker honorarium and research funding from Company M and Company O. Author D has received travel support from Company O.
  • Non-financial interests: Author D has served on advisory boards for Company M, Company N, and Company O.
  • The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose.
  • The authors have no conflicts of interest to declare that are relevant to the content of this article.
  • All authors certify that they have no affiliations with or involvement in any organization or entity with any financial or non-financial interest in the subject matter or materials discussed in this manuscript.
  • The authors have no financial or proprietary interests in any material discussed in this article.

Authors are responsible for the correctness of the statements provided in the manuscript. See also Authorship Principles. The Editor-in-Chief reserves the right to reject submissions that do not meet the guidelines described in this section.

Handling Conflicts of Interest with Editorial Board Members

Submissions from the Editor-in-Chief (EiC) of the Journal:

To ensure fairness and objectivity, submissions from the EiC are handled independently by other journal editors. The EiC will not be involved in any decisions about their submitted paper. Instead, another editor will manage the peer review process and make the final decision. This policy prevents potential conflicts of interest, ensuring fair evaluation.

Submissions from Guest Editors (GEs):

If there is a conflict of interest between GEs and authors of a submission to a Special Issue, another Editor from the Editorial Board will handle the submission. This ensures that submissions are evaluated fairly and objectively, regardless of personal or professional relationships.

Examples of Conflicts of Interest:

• The GE is a co-author of the paper.
• The GE is a close personal friend or family member of one of the authors.
• The GE has a financial or professional relationship with one of the authors.

Submissions from Associate Editors and Editorial Board Members:

To maintain fairness and objectivity, submissions from Associate Editors and Editorial Board members are handled independently by other journal editors. These editors will not be involved in decisions about their submitted paper. Another editor will manage the peer review process and make the final decision. This policy ensures all papers are evaluated objectively, regardless of personal or professional relationships.

If you have any questions about this policy, please contact the Editorial Office.