In accordance with the COPE Retraction Guidelines, which the journal follows, an article may be retracted in the following cases:

1. Unreliability of results or conclusions, confirmed by clear evidence of misconduct (including data falsification or fabrication) or resulting from an honest error (for example, a substantial miscalculation or experimental error).

2. Duplicate (redundant) publication, where the material or its key results have already been published previously without proper cross-referencing, appropriate permission, or a justified basis for republication.

3. Plagiarism or other forms of violation of research ethics, including academic misconduct or other improper conduct during the research process or the preparation of the material for publication.

Retraction procedure

For the retraction procedure, we use a Standard Retraction Form.

A decision to retract a publication is made after a comprehensive review of concerns that may be raised by editors, authors, or readers of the journal (the detailed procedure is set out in the section “Complaints and Appeals” of the Editorial Policy).

Following such review, an article is subject to retraction if it is established that:

• the results and conclusions are unreliable, in particular due to significant errors (for example, computational or experimental errors) or as a result of falsification or manipulation (including of images or data);

• the material contains signs of plagiarism;

• the main results were previously published without proper reference, notification of the editorial office, permission, or adequate justification for republication (a case of duplicate publication);

• the article uses materials or data without the appropriate permission;

• copyright infringement or other serious legal violations have been established (including defamation, disclosure of confidential information, and similar matters);

• the research was conducted in breach of ethical standards;

• the publication became possible as a result of a compromised or manipulated peer-review procedure;

• the author(s) failed to disclose a significant conflict of interest which, in the opinion of the Editor-in-Chief, could have influenced the manuscript evaluation process or the recommendations of editors and reviewers.

The PDF version of a retracted article remains available on the journal’s website; however, each page is clearly marked with the watermark “Retracted.”

Expression of concern

The editorial board may publish an Expression of Concern on the journal’s website in cases where there are reasonable grounds to believe that:

• the authors engaged in misconduct during the conduct of the research or the preparation of the publication;

• the reliability of the conclusions is in doubt, but the institution or organization with which the authors are affiliated does not initiate an investigation or lacks an appropriate procedure for doing so;

• the review of a complaint concerning a possible violation of academic integrity is ongoing, but there is a risk of substantial delay in reaching a final decision.