1. Authorship and Contributorship

Authorship is based on the ICMJE criteria, requiring:

• • Substantial contributions to the conception, design, data acquisition, analysis, or interpretation.
• • Drafting or critically revising the manuscript for important intellectual content.
• • Final approval of the version to be published.
• • Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work.

Gift, guest, or ghost authorship is strictly prohibited.  Changes to authorship post-submission (e.g., addition or removal of authors) require written justification and consent from all co-authors, submitted to the Editorial Office at [email protected]. Disputes over authorship will be resolved transparently, following COPE guidelines.

2. Complaints and Appeals

JER maintains a transparent and fair process for addressing complaints and appeals, ensuring accountability and adherence to COPE guidelines:

• • Complaints: Concerns regarding editorial processes, publication ethics, or journal operations should be submitted in writing to [email protected]. The Editorial Board will investigate promptly, typically within 30 days, ensuring confidentiality and fairness. Complainants will receive updates on the investigation’s progress and a final resolution report.
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• • Appeals: Authors may appeal editorial decisions (e.g., manuscript rejections) by submitting a detailed rationale to the Editor-in-Chief within 30 days of the decision. Appeals are reviewed by an independent editorial panel, and outcomes are communicated promptly, typically within 14 days.

All complaints and appeals are handled confidentially, with records maintained for transparency and future reference.

3. Conflicts of Interest

All individuals involved in the publication process—authors, editors, and reviewers—must disclose any financial, personal, or professional relationships that could influence the research, its evaluation, or publication. Authors must include a conflict of interest statement in their manuscript, even if no conflicts exist (e.g., “The authors declare no conflicts of interest”). Editors and reviewers with conflicts must recuse themselves from handling the manuscript. Non-disclosure of conflicts may lead to rejection, retraction, or sanctions, per COPE guidelines.

4. Data Sharing and Reproducibility

JER promotes transparency and reproducibility through adherence to the FAIR principles (Findable, Accessible, Interoperable, Reusable):

• • Manuscripts must describe methods and data in sufficient detail to enable replication by other researchers.
• • Authors are encouraged to deposit raw data in public repositories (e.g., Dryad, Zenodo) prior to submission, unless restricted by ethical or legal considerations. A Data Availability Statement must be included in the manuscript, specifying how and where data can be accessed.
• • If public sharing is not feasible, data must be available to editors and reviewers upon request during peer review.
• • Authors must retain raw data and associated metadata for at least five years post-publication and provide access upon reasonable request.

Fabrication, falsification, or manipulation of data (e.g., image alteration) is strictly prohibited and will result in rejection, retraction, or sanctions.

5. Ethical Oversight

Human Research

Research involving human participants, identifiable data, primary cells, or tissue must comply with the Declaration of Helsinki. Manuscripts must include:

• • The name, approval number, and date of the institutional or national ethics committee granting approval.
• • A statement confirming written informed consent from all participants or their legal guardians.
• • Details of any exemption from ethics approval, including the granting committee’s name and rationale.

JER prioritizes patient privacy. Editors may request additional documentation (e.g., signed consent forms) for manuscripts involving identifiable participants, even if consent was previously obtained. For clinical trials, the trial registration number and date must be included as the last line of the abstract, per ICMJE and WHO guidelines. Non-compliance may result in rejection or suspension of peer review.

Animal Research

Studies involving animals must adhere to international, national, and institutional guidelines, such as the U.K. Animals Act 1986 and associated guidelines. Manuscripts must include:

• • The name, approval number, and date of the ethics committee approving the study.
• • A detailed description of measures to minimize animal suffering, consistent with the ARRIVE guidelines.
• • Details of any exemption from ethics approval, including the granting committee’s rationale.

Editors may reject manuscripts if concerns arise regarding animal welfare or compliance with ethical standards.

Cell Lines

Research involving cell lines must specify their origin and authentication status (e.g., STR profiling for human cell lines) in the Methods section. For established cell lines, provide references to published papers or commercial sources. For novel or human-derived cell lines, include:

• • Ethics approval from an institutional review board or ethics committee.
• • Confirmation of written informed consent for human-derived cell lines.

Editorial checks during peer review ensure compliance with ethical standards for cell line research.

6. Intellectual Property

JER publishes articles under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC-BY) license, unless otherwise specified. Authors are responsible for:

• • Ensuring the originality of their work and properly citing all sources.
• • Obtaining permissions for reusing third-party material (e.g., figures, tables, text) under the CC-BY license, with clear attribution in the manuscript.
• • Citing and clearly distinguishing their own previously published work, securing copyright permissions if significant reuse is involved.
• • Avoiding submission of manuscripts that are under consideration elsewhere or have been published in any form, including translations or unextended conference papers.

Violations of intellectual property rights will result in rejection or retraction. Authors should consult the journal’s Rights and Permissions page (to be linked) for further guidance.

7. Plagiarism and Redundant Publication

Plagiarism, including text recycling, image duplication, or unattributed use of others’ ideas, is strictly prohibited. All submissions are screened using Crossref Similarity Check (iThenticate). Detected plagiarism will result in immediate rejection (if unpublished) or retraction (if published), with notification to the authors’ institutions if warranted.

Redundant or duplicate publications are not accepted. Authors must:

• • Submit original, unpublished manuscripts not under consideration elsewhere.
• • Clearly cite and differentiate any reused content from their own prior work, ensuring it adds significant new value.
• • Obtain copyright permissions for significant reuse of their own or others’ material.
• • Avoid “salami-slicing” (splitting a single study into multiple submissions to different journals or over time).

Extensions of conference papers are acceptable only if they include substantial new contributions and are properly cited.

8. Post-Publication Discussions and Corrections

JER encourages responsible post-publication engagement to foster scientific discourse and maintain publication integrity:

• • Corrections: Authors must promptly notify [email protected] of errors or inaccuracies in published articles. Minor errors will be addressed via errata, linked to the original article, while significant errors may warrant a corrigendum.
• • Retractions: Articles may be retracted due to major errors, ethical breaches, or misconduct, following COPE guidelines. Retraction notices will be published and linked to the original article.
• • Discussions: Readers may submit letters to the editor or comments via the journal’s online platform for scholarly debate and will be reviewed for relevance, accuracy, and appropriateness before publication.
• • Removal of Published Content: A paper will only be completely removed from ICCK’s website and relevant indexing databases in very exceptional circumstances, such as: (1) The removal has been requested by an order from a court or government authority; (2) The content poses a threat to personal privacy or the legal rights of other parties, which cannot be adequately addressed through editorial notices or updates; (3) The research was conducted or published unlawfully, and its ongoing presence may lead to potential legal issues or privacy concerns; (4) Although marked as retracted, the content poses risks to the general public.

Post-publication updates are archived and clearly linked to the original article to ensure transparency.

9. Misconduct and Investigations

JER strictly prohibits research and publication misconduct, including:

• • Data fabrication or falsification, including image manipulation.
• • Plagiarism or improper authorship practices (e.g., ghost, guest, or gift authorship).
• • Ethical violations in human or animal research.
• • Duplicate, redundant, or simultaneous submissions to multiple journals.

Suspected misconduct triggers a thorough investigation following COPE guidelines. Authors may be requested to provide raw data, source files, or clarifications. Investigations may involve consultation with the authors’ institutions or other relevant bodies. Outcomes may include:

• • Rejection of manuscripts under consideration.
• • Retraction of published articles, with a published retraction notice.
• • Temporary submission bans (1–3 years) for offending authors.
• • Prohibition from serving as an editor or reviewer for JER.

Authors will be notified of the investigation process and outcomes to ensure fairness and transparency.

10. Use of Generative AI

JER recognizes the growing use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and AI-assisted technologies in research and publication processes. To ensure transparency, integrity, and accountability, the following policies apply to authors:

Scientific Writing

Generative AI and AI-assisted technologies may be used to enhance the clarity, readability, and language quality of manuscripts, but only under strict human oversight. Authors must:

• • Critically review and edit AI-generated content to ensure accuracy, completeness, and impartiality, as such content may be incorrect, incomplete, or biased.
• • Disclose the use of AI tools in the manuscript’s Acknowledgements section or a dedicated AI Use Statement, specifying the tool (e.g., ChatGPT, version 4.0), its role (e.g., language polishing), and ensuring compliance with the tool’s terms of use.
• • Remain fully responsible and accountable for the content, originality, and integrity of the manuscript.

Generative AI tools cannot be listed as authors or co-authors, as they do not meet ICMJE authorship criteria. Human authors must approve the final manuscript, agree to its submission, and address any questions regarding its accuracy or integrity.

Figures, Images, and Artwork

The use of generative AI or AI-assisted tools to create, modify, or manipulate figures, images, or artwork in submitted manuscripts is prohibited, except in specific cases. Prohibited actions include enhancing, obscuring, moving, removing, or adding elements within an image or figure. Standard adjustments (e.g., brightness, contrast, color balance) are permitted, provided they do not alter the original information. Manuscripts may be screened using image forensics tools to detect irregularities.

Exceptions are allowed when AI use is integral to the research design or methods (e.g., AI-assisted imaging in biomedical research). In such cases, authors must:

• • Provide a detailed, reproducible description in the Methods section, including the AI tool’s name, version, manufacturer, and application details.
• • Comply with the tool’s usage policies and ensure proper attribution of AI-generated content.
• • Submit pre-AI-adjusted images or composite raw images for editorial review, if requested.

The use of AI to produce artwork, such as graphical abstracts, is not permitted. For cover art, AI use may be allowed in exceptional cases with prior approval from the journal editor and publisher, provided authors secure all necessary rights and ensure proper attribution.

Editorial Oversight

Editors and reviewers may request documentation of AI tool usage (e.g., output logs) during peer review to verify compliance. Undisclosed or inappropriate AI use (e.g., generating fabricated data, unattributed text, or manipulated images) is considered misconduct and may lead to rejection, retraction, or sanctions, per COPE guidelines.

11. Peer Review Ethics

JER employs a rigorous, fair, and confidential peer review process to ensure the quality and integrity of published research. Reviewers must:

• • Provide objective, constructive, and timely feedback without personal bias.
• • Maintain confidentiality of the manuscript and its content, sharing it only with authorized editorial staff.
• • Declare any conflicts of interest and recuse themselves if necessary.
• • Alert the Editorial Office to potential ethical issues, such as plagiarism, data concerns, or undisclosed AI use.
• • Use of Generative AI: Disclose any use of generative AI tools (e.g., for drafting review comments) to the Editorial Office at [email protected]. Reviewers must not rely on AI to generate substantive review content, as reviews must reflect their own expertise and critical judgment. Undisclosed or inappropriate AI use may result in exclusion from future reviews.

Editors oversee the peer review process, ensuring impartiality and compliance with ethical standards. Suspected ethical violations, including misuse of AI, identified during peer review will be investigated promptly.

12. Editorial Independence

JER upholds editorial independence, ensuring that editorial decisions are based solely on the quality, originality, and scientific merit of the manuscript, free from commercial, political, or external influences. If generative AI tools are used in editorial processes (e.g., for initial manuscript screening or language checks), their use must be transparent, documented, and subordinate to human editorial judgment. Editors remain fully accountable for all decisions, and AI tools must not influence outcomes in a manner that compromises impartiality. The Editorial Board operates with integrity, guided by COPE’s principles of editorial independence.

Contact

For questions, concerns, or reports regarding publication ethics, please contact the Editorial Office at [email protected].