Editorial Policies

General Policy

 Authors
 To ensure accurate attribution of academic contributions, this journal establishes the following criteria for author identification. Authors must meet the following conditions:

 · Make a substantial contribution to the conceptualization or design of the research work;

 · Be responsible for data acquisition, analysis, and interpretation;

 · Developed key new software tools for the research;

 · Participated in drafting the manuscript or completing major revisions;

 · Have reviewed and approved the submitted version (and any subsequent versions involving substantive modifications to research contributions);

 · Agrees to be accountable for their individual contributions and commits to verifying, addressing, and documenting the accuracy and completeness of all parts of the paper, including those not directly authored by them.

 This journal does not accept the following practices: excluding eligible contributors, designating "guest authors" or "honorary authors." Artificial intelligence tools shall not be listed as authors. Individuals who participated in the research but did not meet author criteria should be acknowledged in the "Acknowledgments" section with a brief description of their contributions. If a manuscript has undergone professional editing services, this must also be stated in the acknowledgments.

 Responsibilities of the Corresponding Author
 The corresponding author is responsible for:

 · Ensuring all named authors have read and approved the manuscript prior to submission;

 · Serving as the primary recipient for all substantive communications and review comments from the editorial office;

 · Verifying that all data, materials (including reagents), and code in the paper (even if provided by other authors) meet the transparency and reproducibility standards of the field and this journal;

 · Ensuring that the original data, materials, and code supporting the research conclusions are properly preserved and can be provided upon request for replication;

 · Confirm that data, materials, and code presented in the paper accurately reflect their original sources;

 · Actively promote and minimize barriers to accessing data, materials, and code;

 · Ensure all authors fully understand and adhere to relevant academic norms.

 Author Change Policy
 Any addition, removal, or reordering of authors must obtain written consent from all original authors. Once a manuscript is accepted, no further changes to author information (including changes to the corresponding author or author order) will be accepted.

 Requirements After Manuscript Acceptance
 All authors of accepted manuscripts must:
 · Describe their specific individual contributions;
 · Agree to the publication terms, including statements regarding the accessibility of data, code, and materials;
 · Disclose any conflicts of interest.
 The project leader or principal investigator must verify the original data generated by their team. The journal encourages all authors to briefly describe their contributions to the research in the "Acknowledgments" section, which will be published alongside the paper.

 ORCID Identifiers
 This journal supports the use of ORCID iDs as persistent digital identifiers for authors. Authors are encouraged to provide their ORCID iD upon submission. This identifier may be included in article metadata and displayed on the article webpage to enhance author recognition, attribution accuracy, and scholarly visibility. Authors may register for free on the ORCID website.

 Conflict of Interest Disclosure Policy
 Author Disclosure Requirements
 All submitting authors must disclose affiliations, funding sources, and potential competing interests that could be perceived as affecting the objectivity of the research report and related content. Specific requirements are as follows:

 Institutional Affiliation: All authors' affiliations must be listed on the manuscript title page, including academic, corporate, governmental, industry, and other relevant institutions. If an author's affiliation has changed, the current affiliation may be noted in a footnote. If the corresponding author changes affiliation after the research is completed, a "current address" footnote must be provided.

 Funding and Contributions: Authors must fully and accurately disclose all financial support related to the research. This information should be listed in the "Funding" section at the end of the manuscript to ensure transparency during the review process and will be published in the final article. Non-monetary contributions (e.g., in-kind support, services) may be acknowledged in the "Acknowledgments" section.

 Conflict of Interest Statement: Authors must fully disclose all competing interests related to the research within the five years preceding submission. Interests beyond five years that may still be considered competitive must also be declared. When in doubt, disclosure is recommended. This statement will be summarized in the "Competing Interests" section of the final published manuscript. In addition to the statement, authors may provide a link to a detailed list of competing interests.

 A conflict of interest refers to any secondary interest that may influence (or be reasonably perceived to influence) professional judgment. Disclosure may reference the following examples (subject to the five-year timeframe):

 Financial competing interests: Including but not limited to:
 · Patents granted, pending, or planned (held by the individual or their institution where the author may benefit);

 · Ownership of stocks, equity, or options (including non-publicly traded securities);

 · Paid employment or consulting relationships;

 · Paid advisory board or board of directors positions with entities related to the research topic.

 Non-Financial Competitive Interests: Including but not limited to:

 · Serving as an expert witness;

 · Membership on government or other advisory committees;

 · Relationships with relevant organizations and funding agencies (whether compensated or not);

 · Membership in lobbying or advocacy organizations;

 · Writing materials or providing consulting services for companies whose activities may impact the objectivity of this paper;

 · Personal relationships that may compromise objectivity (e.g., relatives, mentors, competitors);

 ·Personal beliefs (political, religious, ideological, etc.) that may interfere with the impartial publication process.

 Reviewer Disclosure
 Reviewers play a critical role in ensuring the quality of published research. Editors will select reviewers who have no conflicts of interest with the authors or the research work. Reviewers must also proactively disclose any conflicts of interest relevant to the manuscript evaluation for the editor's consideration.

 Editor Disclosure
 Editors with competing interests in a manuscript must declare this during the pre-review stage and may not participate in the manuscript's processing. Full-time editors of this journal may not hold financial or managerial interests in commercial entities directly related to the journal's scope that could compromise editorial independence.

 Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Statement
 This journal welcomes authors to include dedicated sections under the "Acknowledgments" heading for statements related to diversity, equity, ethics, and inclusion. Such statements may address author perspectives, explanations for the inclusion of underrepresented groups, or discussions of diversity considerations in research design, participation processes, community benefit sharing, and the involvement of local researchers and communities.Statements should be concise; if exceeding 200 words and primarily addressing research design details, they should be submitted as supplementary materials. Such statements are non-mandatory and will not be considered in the manuscript acceptance evaluation.

 Academic Integrity Guidelines
 Plagiarism and Textual Redundancy
 Plagiarism includes the theft or improper use of another's intellectual property, as well as the substantial reproduction of another's work without proper citation. The reuse of an author's own previously published text or figures without proper citation constitutes self-plagiarism. This journal employs a plagiarism detection system to assess manuscript originality and follows COPE guidelines for handling suspected cases. Authors are encouraged to conduct their own originality checks prior to submission.

 Image Processing Standards
 Images in research papers must accurately reflect original data. Selective alteration or modification of images is prohibited. If an illustration is composed of multiple images or non-contiguous sections of the same image, boundaries between sections must be clearly marked with lines or blank spaces.

 Artificial Intelligence Usage Guidelines
 AI-assisted technologies (including large language models, chatbots, and image generation tools) do not meet author criteria and shall not be listed as authors or co-authors, nor shall they be cited as references. Authors using AI tools in research processes, manuscript writing, or presentation must disclose this in the cover letter and within the methodology or acknowledgments section.Authors bear full responsibility for the accuracy, originality, and integrity of their work, including proper citation of sources and avoidance of biases potentially introduced by AI tools. Improper use of AI may result in manuscript rejection.

 Reviewers must not upload manuscript content to AI tools to prevent disclosure of confidential information. Reviewers may use AI tools to enhance their review texts, provided they ensure the system does not retain or utilize input content for model training and transparently disclose such usage. Reviewers bear full responsibility for AI-generated content.AI-generated images or multimedia content must not be used without explicit editorial permission. Exceptions may be considered for manuscripts specifically addressing AI or machine learning research, provided full disclosure is made at submission. This journal will adjust its policies governing AI-generated content as relevant laws, regulations, and industry ethical standards evolve.

 Previously Published and Conference Papers
 This journal does not consider original research papers or their components that have been published elsewhere or are under consideration for publication. Theses are not considered prior publication, but peer-reviewed and citable conference proceedings are considered published. This journal supports the posting of research papers on preprint servers such as arXiv and bioRxiv. Other forms of online publication may be considered prior publication, potentially affecting the determination of a manuscript's originality.During the submission process, revised versions should not be uploaded to preprint servers. The journal encourages the presentation of preliminary findings at academic conferences but advises authors to avoid seeking public media coverage until peer review is complete and the manuscript is ready for final publication.

Unpublished data and personal communications
 Unpublished data and personal communications shall not serve as primary evidence for the core claims of a paper. Should key citations remain unpublished or incompletely released in preprints, the publication date of the paper may be adjusted accordingly.

 Research Standards and Transparency Policy
 Transparency and Openness Promotion (TOP) Guidelines
 This journal adheres to the TOP guidelines to enhance research quality and evidence transparency.

 Citation Standards: All data, code, and methods must be properly cited using DOIs, journal citations, or other persistent identifiers. Exceptions involving proprietary or confidential information must be discussed with the editor prior to the revision stage and explicitly stated in the acknowledgments.

 Data Transparency: Data used for analysis should be accessible to support replication or extension of the research. Data should be stored in domain-specific or general repositories, or provided within the manuscript. Special circumstances (e.g., privacy concerns or third-party data restrictions) require early communication with the editor and acknowledgment in the manuscript.

 Transparency of Analytical Methods (Code): Code supporting core findings should be publicly available in principle. Commercial software or publicly available code must be appropriately cited (including version numbers). Author-developed code should be archived in public repositories. In exceptional circumstances (e.g., security, legal, or hardware constraints), alternative arrangements (such as providing detailed pseudocode) must be discussed with the editor. Relevant restrictions should be stated in the acknowledgments.

 Material Transparency: The Materials and Methods section should provide sufficient detail to support replication. Research designs must be described in detail, and material descriptions should facilitate reuse and verification. Materials, data, or prototypes used in analysis should be made available to other researchers whenever possible. Any access restrictions and Material Transfer Agreements (MTAs) must be disclosed to the editor prior to the revision stage and explained in the acknowledgments.

 Research Design and Analysis Transparency: Authors must report key elements of research design and analysis according to field standards and disclose any biases.

 Pre-registration: If the study was pre-registered or the analysis plan was registered on an independent platform, authors should provide the registration link upon submission.

 Replication Studies: This journal welcomes replication studies that provide new insights into existing research; they will be reviewed according to the same standards as other submissions.

 Research Data Policy
 This journal is committed to advancing open science and encourages authors to share research data supporting key findings. The data sharing policy covers the minimum dataset supporting the core conclusions of published research. Data may be withheld due to ethical, legal, or privacy constraints, but this must be explicitly stated in the data availability statement. Authors must ensure shared data complies with participant consent agreements and data protection requirements. The data availability statement should provide details of data supporting the paper's results, including links to public datasets.

 Acknowledgments Guidelines
 All contributors who do not meet author criteria should be listed in the Acknowledgments section, such as those providing technical assistance, editorial support, or general assistance.

 Third-Party Submissions
 All manuscripts must be submitted by the authors themselves; third-party submissions are not accepted.

 References
 Both research and non-research articles must cite appropriate and relevant literature to support the work described.

 Guidelines for Specific Types of Research
 Research Involving Human Participants
 Such research must comply with the Declaration of Helsinki and relevant national or institutional ethical guidelines. Authors must state that the research protocol has been approved by an ethics committee or institutional review board (IRB), providing the name of the approving body and approval number (if applicable).

 All participants must sign informed consent forms prior to participation. The methodology section of the manuscript should specify the form of consent (written/electronic/oral) and opt-out mechanisms. Research should avoid unnecessary risks; where necessary, risk disclosure and compensation measures must be stated.

 Studies involving minors or other vulnerable populations must describe how guardian consent and participant consent were obtained, and implement additional privacy and safety protections. Authors must clearly state data processing methods and accessibility restrictions (e.g., data de-identification, aggregated release, controlled access) to ensure compliance with privacy and data security requirements.

 Participant Anonymity and Privacy Protection
 Identifiable personal information (e.g., names, contact details, precise locations, facial features, voiceprints, account numbers) must not be disclosed in manuscripts unless critical to research conclusions and accompanied by written authorization. Use of identifiable materials (photos, videos, recordings, interview transcripts) requires explicit publication permission statements.

 If information leakage cannot be entirely avoided, authors must thoroughly anonymize or encode materials prior to submission and describe the principles and scope of processing in the methodology or acknowledgments section. The editorial office will screen for potentially identifiable information during technical pre-review and publication. Insufficient authorization or incomplete anonymization may result in requested revisions or rejection.

 Research Involving Animals
 Studies using regulated animals (all live vertebrates and higher invertebrates) must specify the approval committee or institution name and approval number in the Materials and Methods section. For studies using non-regulated animals, justify why ethical approval is unnecessary. Submit ethical approval certificates or statements with the manuscript. If approval numbers are unavailable, submit approval documents as confidential supplementary materials.

 Authors are encouraged to follow the ARRIVE guidelines for reporting animal studies. Manuscripts should detail animal information (species, sex, age, weight), housing conditions, and measures to minimize animal distress. Experiments involving non-human primates must comply with the Weatherall Report guidelines.

 Research Involving Plants
 Experiments involving plants (cultivated or wild) and field studies (including sample collection) must comply with relevant institutional, national, and international guidelines and regulations. Manuscripts must state that appropriate permits for plant or seed sample collection have been obtained. Authors are advised to follow the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).

 Each submission must provide supporting documentation for genetic information and its sources. For studies involving rare or non-model plants, voucher specimens must be deposited in publicly accessible herbaria or museums. Voucher information should include collection location (GPS coordinates), date, and documentation of the plant parts used in the study. Exemptions may be granted for rare, threatened, or endangered species, but authors must provide specific justification in the cover letter.

 Dual-Use Research of Concern
 Certain research may contain information that could be directly misused to pose significant threats to public health, safety, crops, animals, or the environment. Publication of such information must ensure its benefits to the scientific community and society outweigh potential risks. The journal reserves the right to seek expert consultation and require dual-use risk assessment reviews. Manuscripts will be rejected if misuse risks outweigh benefits; published content may be corrected, retracted, or removed.

 Researchers must comply with institutional, funding agency, and national regulations, recognize the dual-use potential of their work, and implement measures to mitigate misuse. For studies involving biosecurity, nuclear threats, chemical threats, etc., authors should disclose whether the research constitutes a dual-use concern; if so, provide approval agency and regulatory approval number. Studies involving potentially hazardous materials outside the laboratory must describe appropriate containment measures.

 This journal recognizes that open science contributes to societal awareness and mitigation of potential threats, while acknowledging that in rare instances, publication risks may outweigh benefits.