1. Purpose

This policy aims to preserve the integrity of the academic record and ensure transparency in the event that a published article must be withdrawn, retracted, removed, or replaced due to ethical, scientific, or legal concerns.

2. Definitions and Actions

2.1. Withdrawal (Before Publication)
Applies to manuscripts accepted for publication but not yet formally published online. Authors may request withdrawal for valid reasons. The Editorial Board also reserves the right to withdraw a manuscript if critical issues are discovered during final checks.

2.2. Retraction (After Publication)
Applicable when a published article must be retracted due to serious violations, including but not limited to:

• Research misconduct (e.g., plagiarism, data fabrication, falsification, ghost authorship, duplicate submission/publication);

• Use of AI tools to generate academic content (results, discussion, conclusions) without disclosure;

• Major scientific errors invalidating conclusions;

• Authorship or copyright disputes.

A formal retraction notice will be issued and linked to the original article to ensure transparency.

2.3. Removal
Reserved for exceptional cases such as:

• Legal risks, court orders, or defamatory content;

• Content posing a public health risk or violating patient confidentiality without consent.

In such cases, the article will be completely removed and replaced by a note indicating the reason for removal.

2.4. Replacement
Applies when an article requires significant technical corrections but no ethical misconduct is involved. A corrected version may be published with a clear explanation and linkage to the original.

3. Procedure

• The decision to retract, remove, or replace a paper will be made by the Editorial Board in consultation with the Ethics Committee.

• If misconduct involving undisclosed AI-generated content is confirmed, the notice may state:
  “Retraction due to the use of generative AI tools for academic content creation without disclosure, violating the Journal’s publication ethics policy.”

4. Consequences for Authors

• Authors with retracted papers due to ethical violations may be subject to a temporary or permanent ban from submitting to the Journal (typically 6–24 months).

• Repeat offenses may lead to a lifetime ban from future submissions.