| Open Access Policy Kybele Medical Journal is a fully open-access journal, based on the principle that the free circulation of scientific knowledge is essential for the advancement of medical science, the improvement of healthcare services, and the promotion of global knowledge sharing. The journal adopts an open-access policy in accordance with the principles of the Budapest Open Access Initiative (http://www.budapestopenaccessinitiative.org). All articles are made available online in full text immediately upon publication through the official website of Kybele Medical Journal, without any requirement for subscription, registration, or payment. Readers are permitted to read, download, copy, and share published content for non-commercial purposes. This approach facilitates broader dissemination of scientific knowledge and enhances the visibility and impact of published research. Copyright and Licensing All authors retain full ethical responsibility and copyright for their articles. By submitting a manuscript to the journal, the authors agree that, if the article is accepted for publication, it will be licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution–NonCommercial–NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0). Under the terms of this license, the authors grant Kybele Medical Journal the right to copy, distribute, and share the published work for non-commercial purposes, provided that appropriate credit is given to the author(s) and the original source and that the work is not modified, adapted, or used to create derivative works. Any use beyond the scope of this license, including commercial use or the creation of derivative works, requires prior written permission from the author(s) and/or the journal. Following acceptance of the manuscript, the corresponding author is required to sign the Copyright and License Agreement. If previously published materials, including figures, tables, images, or other content, are used in the manuscript, all legal, financial, and ethical responsibilities related to obtaining the necessary permissions rest entirely with the authors. Publication Fee Policy The Kybele Medical Journal does not charge an Article Processing Charge (APC). There are no fees for manuscript submission, peer review, editorial processing, or publication. All articles are published free of charge. Copyright and Publication License Agreement Upon submission of an article to Kybele Medical Journal, the author(s) are required to sign the Copyright and Publication License Agreement requested by the journal. By signing this agreement, the authors confirm that the submitted work is original, has not been previously published, and is not under consideration for publication elsewhere. The authors further declare that all listed authors have approved the final version of the manuscript and that all necessary permissions have been obtained for any materials used in the study. If previously published figures, tables, images, or other content are included in the manuscript, all responsibility for obtaining the required permissions and providing appropriate citations rests entirely with the authors. Archiving and Digital Preservation Policy Kybele Medical Journal is committed to ensuring the permanent accessibility and long-term digital preservation of all published content. To achieve this, the journal stores electronic copies of articles on secure servers, utilizes reliable digital archiving systems for long-term preservation, and ensures that all published articles remain permanently accessible through their Digital Object Identifier (DOI) numbers. These measures safeguard published scientific content against loss over time and ensure the continuity, integrity, and reliability of the academic record. Publication Ethics and Research Integrity Kybele Medical Journal is committed to the principles of publication ethics, research integrity, and transparency throughout all stages of the publication process. The journal follows the guidelines and recommendations of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME), the Council of Science Editors (CSE), the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), the World Medical Association (WMA), the Office of Research Integrity (ORI), the European Association of Science Editors (EASE), and the International Society of Medical Editors (ISMTE). Editors, Reviewers and Authors Editors, reviewers, and authors are required to clearly disclose any potential conflicts of interest, avoid ethical misconduct, and act in accordance with the principles of scientific integrity. In cases of suspected ethical violations—including plagiarism, data fabrication or falsification, duplicate publication, or failure to disclose conflicts of interest—the editors of Kybele Medical Journal act in accordance with relevant international guidelines. The opinions and conclusions expressed in articles published in Kybele Medical Journal are solely those of the authors. The editors, Editorial Board, and Publisher accept no responsibility or liability for any consequences arising from the use of the published content. Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy For Authors: Kybele Medical Journal acknowledges that generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools (e.g., language models, text generation tools, and language correction software) may be used as supportive tools during the manuscript preparation process. However, such use must be transparent, limited in scope, and conducted within an appropriate ethical framework. General Principles Generative artificial intelligence tools cannot be listed as authors and cannot be credited with authorship. Responsibility for the scientific content of the manuscript—including data collection, analysis, interpretation, and conclusions—rests solely with the authors. AI tools must not be used in research design, data generation, data manipulation, interpretation of results, or any form of scientific decision-making. Permitted Uses Authors may use AI tools exclusively for the following purposes: Grammar and spelling checks Stylistic improvements to enhance clarity and readability Language editing and translation support Such use must not affect the originality, integrity, or scientific content of the work. Disclosure Requirement Any use of generative artificial intelligence tools must be clearly and explicitly disclosed in the manuscript, preferably in the Acknowledgments, Methods, or Materials and Methods section. The disclosure must specify the name of the tool used, the purpose of its use, and the extent to which it was employed. The undisclosed use of AI-generated text, the use of AI tools in place of peer review, editorial decision-making, or ethical evaluation, as well as the presentation of AI-generated outputs as scientific data or results, is not permitted by Kybele Medical Journal. In cases where violations of this policy are identified, the journal will treat them as ethical misconduct and take appropriate action in accordance with relevant COPE and ICMJE guidelines. For Editors: Editors must maintain the confidentiality of all submitted manuscripts and related editorial communications. Manuscripts and editorial correspondence must not be uploaded to or processed by artificial intelligence tools. Artificial intelligence is not used to replace editorial evaluation, decision-making, or peer review. All editorial decisions are made independently and are reviewed and finalized by the editor. If an editor suspects that the Artificial Intelligence (AI) policy has been violated, including for personal or professional gain, the editor must report the concern to the Editor-in-Chief or the Publisher. Artificial intelligence tools may be used by the journal only for the following limited purposes, in accordance with confidentiality and data protection requirements: Assisting in plagiarism detection and image integrity screening Performing language and formatting checks during technical review Identifying potentially unethical submissions Transparency in the use of artificial intelligence enhances trust among authors, reviewers, readers, and the wider scientific community. Responsibilities of Editors, Reviewers, and Authors Authors: Authors must meet the authorship criteria recommended by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE). By submitting a manuscript, authors declare that the work is original, has not been previously published, and is not under consideration for publication elsewhere. Authors are required to provide all relevant ethics committee approvals and documentation of informed consent, where applicable. They confirm that all listed authors have made substantial contributions to the conception, design, data collection, analysis, or interpretation of the study and have approved the final version of the manuscript. Any conflicts of interest, sources of financial support, and any use of generative artificial intelligence tools must be clearly and transparently disclosed. Author contribution statements are specified at the time of submission and are considered approved by all authors. Individuals who contributed to the study but do not meet the criteria for authorship should not be listed as authors; their contributions may be acknowledged in the Acknowledgments section. If the editorial board suspects ghost authorship, honorary authorship, or gift authorship, the manuscript may be suspended, and the relevant COPE flowcharts and the COPE Authorship and Contribution Policy will be applied. Any request for changes in authorship, including additions, removals, or reordering of authors, must be submitted to the editorial board in writing with a clear justification. Such requests must be signed by all listed authors, including those whose names are proposed for removal. Authors are required to complete the ICMJE disclosure form to declare any potential conflicts of interest. Kybele Medical Journal is an open-access journal and does not require membership. All published articles are freely accessible and downloadable. Authors must disclose whether they received any financial support during the conduct of the research and preparation of the manuscript at the time of submission. All post-publication correction requests are reviewed by the editorial board. Decisions are based on the nature of the error, its potential impact on the article, and the supporting evidence provided. If a correction is approved, the article is updated in the archive and the corresponding author is notified. Reviewers: Kybele Medical Journal applies a double-blind peer review process. Reviewers are required to evaluate manuscripts objectively, confidentially, and in a timely manner. All information related to the submitted manuscripts must be treated as confidential and must not be used for any purpose other than the peer review process. Before accepting a review assignment, reviewers must disclose any potential conflicts of interest to the editor. If reviewers identify or suspect ethical concerns—such as plagiarism, data fabrication or falsification, absence of required ethics committee approval, or other forms of misconduct—they must report these concerns to the editor through the Confidential Comments section. Reviewers must not use artificial intelligence tools to generate peer review reports. Review comments should be presented in a constructive, clear, and scientifically justified manner, with the aim of improving the quality and integrity of the manuscript. Editors: The Editors are responsible for evaluating all submitted manuscripts in terms of scientific quality, ethical compliance, and suitability for the journal’s scope. Editorial decisions are made independently and are not influenced by the authors’ gender, institutional affiliation, nationality, or financial status. Reviewers are selected based on their expertise and ability to provide an impartial and objective evaluation. In cases of suspected ethical misconduct, the Editors act in accordance with the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), and the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME). The Editors are also responsible for ensuring that the publication process is transparent, fair, and timely, while upholding editorial independence and the principles of scientific integrity. Appeals and Complaints All appeals and complaints submitted to Kybele Medical Journal are handled by the Editorial Board in accordance with the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE). Complaints and appeals are reviewed in a fair, transparent, and timely manner. The Editor-in-Chief holds final authority over decisions related to all appeals and complaints. Preprints Preprints are not considered prior publication by Kybele Medical Journal. Authors are therefore permitted to share, present, and discuss their findings on non-commercial preprint servers prior to submitting their manuscripts to the journal. In accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution–NonCommercial–NoDerivatives 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), users may share, distribute, and reproduce articles published in Kybele Medical Journal for non-commercial purposes, provided that proper attribution is given and that the content is not modified or adapted. Data Sharing A data sharing statement is mandatory for the registration of clinical trials and must be completed and submitted at the time of manuscript submission. In accordance with the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) data sharing policy, the statement should specify whether participant data will be shared in an anonymized form, the type of data to be shared, whether related documents will be made available, the timing and duration of data availability, and the conditions under which the data may be accessed. The statement should also describe who will have access to the data, the purpose of data use, and the procedures for requesting access. Authors are encouraged to consult the ICMJE data sharing examples for guidance. When planning a prospective clinical trial, authors must register the study in a publicly accessible registry. The name and registration number of the registry must be provided on the title page at the time of submission. Authors are required to include a data sharing statement even if they do not intend to share their data. Disclaimer The opinions and assessments expressed in articles published in the journal are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editors, the Editorial Board, or the Publisher. The editors, Editorial Board, and Publisher assume no responsibility for the content of the articles and do not endorse the views expressed therein. Authors are solely responsible for the accuracy, completeness, and integrity of their work. The role of the editors, Editorial Board, and Publisher is limited to facilitating the evaluation and dissemination of scholarly work within the scientific community. |
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