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All parties involved in academic journal publishing (authors, journal editors, editorial board members, reviewers, and publishers) must adhere to recognized ethical and behavioral guidelines. The statement on academic ethics of the ACTA MEDICINAE SINICA is based on the Code of Conduct and Best Practice Guidelines for Journal Editors published by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE).

1. Responsibilities of Reviewers and Editors

The parties responsible for reviewing and editing include: Journal editors, associate editors, editors-in-chief, editorial staff involved in manuscript processing, and peer review experts responsible for peer review.

In the decision-making process regarding manuscript acceptance, these parties should follow the policies set by the journal's editorial board, adhere to legal requirements regarding defamation, copyright infringement, and plagiarism, and maintain academic integrity. They should not be influenced by commercial interests that compromise academic or ethical standards. When necessary, they should publish corrections, clarifications, retractions, or apologies.

Peer review should assist the chief editor and associate editors in making decisions regarding manuscripts,should help improve the quality of the manuscripts and notify the editorial office promptly if they are unable to review or do so in a timely manner.

Reviewers should ensure that the authors have cited relevant published research and that any previously published experimental data, processes, or reasoning used in the manuscript are properly referenced. If any issues such as errors in opinion, factual errors, significant duplication, or suspected data fabrication are found, reviewers should report them to the editorial office.

1.1 Fairness

The evaluation of a manuscript¡¯s academic content should not be influenced by the authors¡¯ race, gender, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, nationality, or political views.

Reviewers should provide feedback and suggestions on the article¡¯s content, without targeting the authors personally. Review comments should be clear, reasonable, and supported by evidence.

Fairness in the peer review process should be ensured. Reviewers with competitive, cooperative, or other conflicting interests with the manuscript authors, companies, or institutions should recuse themselves from reviewing.

Decisions regarding manuscripts should not be influenced by advertisements, reprints, or other commercial interests.

1.2 Confidentiality

All parties involved in the review process must keep the contents of the reviewed manuscript confidential. Manuscript information should not be disclosed to third parties without the author's written permission, and unpublished results should not be used in their own research. In certain special cases, with the editor-in-chief¡¯s authorization, the editorial office may disclose the manuscript to corresponding authors, reviewers, reviewers to be invited, editorial board members, and publishers.

1.3 Disclosure of Information and Conflicts of Interest

The editorial office should maintain academic integrity, investigate allegations of academic misconduct, and take appropriate measures to address complaints about manuscripts. If conflicts of interest arise after an article is published, the editorial office may require all authors to disclose their interests and publish a correction or retraction as needed. When issuing corrections or expressing concerns about published articles, the editorial office should follow COPE guidelines.

2. Responsibilities of Authors

2.1 Plagiarism Prevention

Authors should ensure the authenticity of their research and full participation in the research process. Any use of previously published work or text should be appropriately cited.

2.2 Prevention of Duplicate Submission or Redundant Publication

Authors should not submit the same research to different journals or republish articles that have already been published.

2.3 Authorship

Authorship is limited to individuals who made significant contributions to the research question, study design, or analysis and interpretation of the work. All individuals who made significant contributions should be listed as authors. Others who participated in the research should be acknowledged. The corresponding author should ensure that the authorship is properly assigned and that all listed authors have read and agreed to the final version of the manuscript.

2.4 Acknowledgment Policy

Authors should list individuals who contributed to the research in the acknowledgments and reference works that had a significant impact on the study.

2.5 Involvement of Hazardous Materials, Humans, or Animals

Authors should clearly indicate in their manuscripts any hazardous chemicals, equipment, or procedures used in their research that may pose risks.

2.6 Disclosure of Information and Conflicts of Interest

All authors should disclose any financial or other conflicts of interest that may affect the interpretation of their research results, and disclose all funding sources.

2.7 Handling Errors in Published Articles

If significant errors or inaccuracies are discovered in a published article, authors are obligated to promptly inform the editorial office or publisher and cooperate in retracting the manuscript or publishing a correction.

3. Responsibilities of the Publisher

If a manuscript is suspected of or found to be involved in academic misconduct, fraudulent publication, or plagiarism, the publisher should work closely with the editorial office to take all appropriate measures, including issuing a correction, and, in severe cases, retracting the published article.