Publication Ethics Policy

The journal's editorial policy in the field of publication ethics is based on Elsevier's recommendations, the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) principles for editors of scientific journals, and the Academy Publisher standards.

Authors of original scientific articles submit for publication only the results of their own research. Submission and dissemination of knowingly inaccurate or falsified data is unacceptable. All borrowings from other sources are formalized in accordance with established requirements with the obligatory indication of the author and the original source. Any manifestations of plagiarism, in particular unformalized citations or appropriation of the results of other people's research, are strictly prohibited.

Authors of review and problem articles properly refer to the original sources and adhere to the rules of scientific citation.

The article must indicate the contribution of each co-author to the research performed. Persons who did not actually participate in the research are not included in the list of co-authors.

Materials that have already been published previously, as well as those submitted simultaneously to other journals or publishing houses, are not accepted for consideration.

Authors provide complete and accurate personal data: place of work, address of the institution, position, e-mail, necessary for official correspondence with the editorial board.

Authors are informed that their materials are undergoing a review procedure (according to the principle of confidentiality of the reviewer's identity). They are obliged to cooperate with scientific, literary and technical editors in order to finalize the article in accordance with the comments and recommendations of the reviewers and the editorial board, as well as to eliminate any inaccuracies or errors.

If the authors discover errors or inaccuracies after submitting the article to the editorial board (at the review stage or after publication), they are obliged to immediately notify the editorial board.

The author confirms his/her exclusive authorship of the submitted material and is responsible for possible infringement of third party copyrights.

In case of establishment of facts of plagiarism, the responsibility lies entirely with the authors of the submitted materials.

Hazards and research involving living objects

If the research is related to the use of chemicals, biological agents, physical factors, procedures or equipment that may pose atypical or increased risks to researchers, participants or the environment, the author is obliged to clearly describe potential hazards and safety measures in the text of the manuscript.

If the manuscript contains the results of experiments on animals, the source of the animals (breeder) and a reference to compliance with bioethics standards must be indicated.

If the work involves humans or animals as research subjects, the author must confirm that all procedures were carried out in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution of Ukraine (in particular Articles 28, 49, 52), the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UN, 1948), the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms (Council of Europe, 1950), the Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine (1997) and the relevant Additional Protocol on Biomedical Research, as well as the Universal Declaration on Bioethics and Human Rights (UNESCO, 2005).

Medical research must comply with the ethical standards of the Declaration of Helsinki (DHL, current version), the provisions of the International Code of Medical Ethics, as well as the principles of ICH GCP (Good Clinical Practice).

In the case of research involving humans, a statement on obtaining voluntary informed consent from participants must be included in the manuscript. At the same time, the individual's right to privacy, dignity and confidentiality of personal data shall be unconditionally respected.

Research using animals must be carried out in accordance with the requirements of the European Convention for the Protection of Vertebrate Animals used for Experimental and other Scientific Purposes, Directive 2010/63/EU, the recommendations of the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals, as well as the national legislation of Ukraine, in particular the Law of Ukraine "On the Protection of Animals from Cruelty", Order of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine dated 01.03.2012 No. 249, Order of the Ministry of Economic Development, Trade and Agriculture of Ukraine dated 08.02.2021 No. 224 and Order of the Ministry of Agrarian Policy and Food of Ukraine No. 3933, registered with the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine on 08.11.2024 under No. 1682/43027.

The manuscript must include information about the preliminary approval of the study by the competent ethical (institutional) committee, indicating the protocol number and date of the decision.

Ethical principles of interaction between the author and the editorial board

The editorial board of the journal is guided in its activities by the provisions of Book 4 “Intellectual Property Law” of the Civil Code of Ukraine and other regulatory legal acts regulating copyright.

All manuscripts received for review are considered confidential documents. They are not transferred to third parties and are not discussed with them without the permission of the editor-in-chief.

The reviewer is obliged to pay attention to relevant published works that were not indicated by the authors. All statements that certain observations, conclusions or arguments have already been published earlier must be accompanied by appropriate references. The reviewer also informs the editorial office about significant similarities or possible coincidence between the submitted manuscript and any other published work known to him.

Authors of original research submit an accurate and reliable description of the work performed and an objective discussion of its scientific significance. The main results must be clearly presented in the text. The article should contain sufficient methodological details and bibliographic references to allow other researchers to reproduce the research. Falsification, fabrication of data, or deliberately inaccurate statements are a violation of the principles of scientific ethics and are unacceptable.

Review articles should also be accurate, objective, and based on reliable sources. Authors guarantee the originality of the submitted text. In the case of using results, ideas, or text fragments of other authors, the relevant borrowings must be properly cited with a mandatory reference to the original source.

The author does not submit manuscripts that essentially describe the same research to more than one journal for publication. Simultaneous submission of the same manuscript to several publications is a violation of publication ethics.

The author does not submit previously published works to another journal for consideration. In some cases, secondary publication (for example, translation of the article) is allowed provided that the established requirements are met. Authors and editors of both publications must agree to the secondary publication, which must reproduce the same data and interpretations as the original article. The secondary publication must include a reference to the original source.

The Editorial Board is obliged to:

Ensure that publications comply with academic standards, adhere to the principles of independence of editorial decisions, and prevent conflicts of interest, including between commercial/business requirements and scientific criteria.

If necessary, make corrections, publish refutations, and apologies in accordance with international ethical requirements for scientific publications and the requirements of legislation in the field of intellectual property rights protection.

The journal acts as an international platform for scientific discussions and publications, as well as an opportunity for young researchers to publish the results of their own scientific research and familiarize themselves with the works of colleagues.

Do not accept for publication materials of a political nature, as well as articles containing biased, incorrect, or discriminatory assessments of other scientific works or the activities of scientists.

Make editorial decisions based on the reliability of the submitted data, scientific significance, and scientific novelty of the presented work.

In case of detection of plagiarism, other forms of dishonest borrowing or facts of duplicate publication (publication of the same material in different journals), take measures to clarify the circumstances of the violation of publication ethics, notify the authors, reserve the right to reject or withdraw the article from publication and in the future not accept for consideration the materials of the authors who committed the violation.

Observe confidentiality regarding the content of manuscripts received for publication: do not transfer materials to third parties and do not use them for personal purposes without the written consent of the authors.

Ethical principles of reviewer work

All manuscripts submitted to the editorial office are reviewed by at least one reviewer from among authoritative specialists in the relevant scientific field.

The reviewer provides an objective, unbiased and reasoned assessment of the research results in accordance with the review structure approved by the editorial board. Personal comments or criticism of the author are unacceptable. The editorial board ensures blind review.

Unpublished data obtained from manuscripts submitted for review are not used by the reviewer for their own scientific, professional or other purposes.

A reviewer who believes that he does not have sufficient competence to evaluate the submitted material, or is in a state of conflict of interest that may affect the objectivity of the conclusions, is obliged to immediately notify the editorial board and refuse to participate in reviewing the relevant manuscript.

The review analyzes the compliance of the article with the thematic profile of the journal and the established requirements for volume, assesses scientific novelty, correctness of methodology, logicality and clarity of presentation of the material, persuasiveness of experimental data, quality of illustrative material, as well as the correctness of the bibliographic list.

Based on the results of the review, the reviewer formulates a conclusion on the possibility of publication of the article.

The final decision on publication is made by the editorial board, taking into account the conclusions of the reviewer.

If necessary, based on the results of external and internal (editorial) review, the author is sent a motivated response with a list of necessary revisions and an indication of the deadlines for their implementation. Personal data of the reviewer and scientific editor remain confidential.