It is the obligation of the authors, when submitting the article, to indicate any conflict of interest or financial interest that could interfere with the results or interpretations of the research in the “Comments to the editor” section.

Reviewers must be free of any potential conflict of interest related to the article, financial source, institutions, collaborations, or other relationship between the evaluator and the author. They should alert the editor of the same, withdrawing their services for the manuscript in question if necessary.

Editors must be free of any conflict of interest related to the authors, the submitted work, funders, or any situation that could incline their decision towards the acceptance or rejection of a particular manuscript. If they have an insurmountable obstacle, they must express it in a timely manner and withdraw from the evaluation of that specifical article.