Submissions

Author Guidelines

SUBMISSION PREPARATION

As part of the submission process, authors are required to check all the following items, as submissions may be returned to authors that do not adhere to these guidelines.

Please read the Author Guidelines before you submit a manuscript.

• The submission has not been previously published, nor is it before another journal for consideration (or an explanation has been provided in Comments to the Editor).

• The submission file is in Microsoft Word, RTF, or Open Office file format. 
• The text adheres to the stylistic and bibliographic requirements outlined in the Author Guide. 

• Add DOIs and persistent links to those references that have DOIs. 
• If the paper is accepted for publication, you will be asked to pay an Article Processing Charge: GBP 2000. 

• Copyrights for articles published in this journal are retained by the authors, with first publication rights granted to the journal.

• The journal/publisher is not responsible for subsequent uses of the work. It is the author's responsibility to bring an infringement action if so desired by the author.

• We do not provide authors printed copy of the published issue. However, we may serve the assistance to deliver printed issue only upon request and agreement of the author.

REVIEW PROCESS

Prior to review by the board of editor, each paper is screened by the Member of the Editorial Board to check its suitability for favour of publication. If it can be considered for publication than the Corresponding Author will receive a notification of peer-review process.

All manuscripts are reviewed by an editor and members of the Editorial Board or qualified outside reviewers. This is done within the shortest given time. The journal strives to return reviewers’ comments to authors within 4 weeks. The editorial board re-review manuscripts that are accepted until they are revised. Papers will be published one to two months after acceptance.

Upon the completion of the review process, an article will receive an evaluation result as follows:

• Accepted 
• Accepted with minor revision 
• Accepted with major revision 
• Rejected or decline

The publication will not be entered in for final publication until all fees have been settled.

AI and authorship

Authors. Large language models and other AI tools cannot be listed as authors. They cannot take responsibility for a work, assert conflicts of interest, or hold copyright, and accountability is a condition of authorship.

Authors who used AI tools in preparing a manuscript must disclose that use at submission, and must describe how the tools were used in both the cover letter and the appropriate section of the submitted work, naming the tool and its version. Where AI was used to generate new text or to produce analytical results, authors must also state the specific prompt used and the date of the query.

Authors are fully responsible for the content of their manuscript, including any part produced with AI assistance, and for the accuracy of every reference. Every citation must be verified against the original source. Referencing AI-generated material as a primary source is not acceptable. Fabricated or inaccurate references are grounds for rejection. Nondisclosure of AI use may require corrective action and may be construed as misconduct.

Reviewers. Reviewers must adhere to this policy, or request the journal's permission before using any AI tool to assist their review.

Reviewers must not upload a submitted manuscript, in whole or in part, to any AI tool where confidentiality cannot be assured. Manuscripts are confidential and privileged communications, and this journal does not permit their upload to AI tools. Reviewers who use AI in any other way must disclose that use to the journal, and remain responsible for the content and validity of their report.

The journal. Editors will ask authors about AI use and will not upload manuscripts to AI systems where confidentiality cannot be assured. The journal does not currently use AI for copy-editing or other production purposes. Where that changes, it will be disclosed here.

Where the journal uses AI in preparing ancillary content published under its name, including podcast episodes, educational questions, and patient summaries, the editors remain responsible for the accuracy and validity of that content, and that content is subject to the same substantive editorial review as primary content.

Output from AI-detection tools is not treated as determinative evidence of misconduct.

This policy is issued to all editors, reviewers, and authors. It is published on the journal's submission and author instruction pages and is drawn to the attention of reviewers in every review invitation.