Article retraction

In accordance with the COPE Retraction Guidelines, which our journal follows, an article may be retracted for the following reasons:

• Unreliable findings resulting from clear evidence of misconduct (e.g., data fabrication or falsification) or from an honest error (e.g., miscalculation or experimental error).

• Redundant publication, such as findings previously published elsewhere without appropriate cross-referencing, permission, or justification.

• Plagiarism or other forms of unethical research or misconduct.

Retraction Procedure

For the retraction process, the journal uses the EASE Retraction Form.

Retraction is carried out after the journal’s editors carefully examine concerns raised by editor(s), author(s), or reader(s) (for details on handling complaints, see the section “Complaints and Appeals”).

If, as a result of such consideration, it is established that:

• the findings are unreliable due to a significant error (e.g., miscalculation or experimental mistake) or as a result of fabrication (e.g., image manipulation);

• the text contains plagiarism;

• the findings were previously published elsewhere without proper referencing, disclosure to the editor, permission for republication, or adequate justification (i.e., duplicate publication);

• the text includes materials or data used without appropriate permission;

• copyright has been infringed or other serious legal violations have occurred (e.g., defamation, breach of confidentiality);

• the research is unethical;

• the publication resulted from a compromised or manipulated peer-review process;

• the author(s) failed to disclose a significant conflict of interest that, in the opinion of the Editor-in-Chief, could have substantially affected the evaluation of the work or the recommendations of editors and reviewers,

the article will be retracted.

The PDF file of the retracted article remains available on the journal’s website but is clearly marked with a watermark stating “Retracted” on each page.