Competing Interests

Conflicts of interest  are factors that negatively affect objectivity, or may be perceived as interfering with the review process, editorial decision-making, publication, and presentation of a manuscript.

Conflicts of interest may arise in relation to individuals or organizations, and are divided into the following categories (but are not limited to):

Personal :

  • Personal relationships (e.g., friends, family members, current or previous supervisors, opponents) with individuals involved in submitting and reviewing manuscripts (authors, reviewers, editors, or editorial board members);
  • Personal beliefs (political, religious, ideological or other) related to the topic of the manuscript that may interfere with the objective publication process (at the stage of submission, review, editorial decision-making or publication).

Professional :

  • Colleagues who participated in or observed the conduct of this study.
  • Membership in organizations that lobby the author's interests.
  • Relationships (paid or unpaid) with organizations and funding bodies, including non-governmental organizations, research or charitable institutions.

Financial :

  • Research grants (from any sponsoring source, restricted or unrestricted).
  • Patent applications (current or pending), including applications from institutions to which the author is affiliated and from which he may profit.
  • Fees, gifts and rewards of any kind.

PROCEDURE:

  1. All persons involved in the manuscript, commenting on or evaluating the material (authors, editors, reviewers and readers) must declare any conflict of interest.
  2. Authors must indicate whether they are members of the editorial board of the journal to which they are submitting the material.
  3. Reviewers should indicate whether they have any animosity with the authors of the manuscripts submitted for review. If, due to personal relationships with the author, the reviewer cannot objectively evaluate the manuscript, he should refuse to perform the task.
  4. If, in the opinion of the editors, there are circumstances that may affect an unbiased review, the editorial board does not engage such a reviewer.
  5. The editorial board reserves the right not to publish a manuscript if a declared conflict of interest jeopardizes the objectivity and reliability of the research evaluation.
  6. If the editorial board discovers a conflict of interest that was not declared at the time of submission, the manuscript may be rejected.
  7. If an undeclared conflict of interest is discovered after publication, the article may be corrected or deleted, if necessary.