Journal of Exercise & Organ Cross Talk

Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement

Ethical Framework and General Principles

The Journal of Exercise & Organ Cross Talk (JEOCT) is dedicated to advancing reliable, transparent, and ethically sound scientific knowledge at the intersection of exercise science, physiology, and inter-organ communication. All editorial and publishing activities of the journal are conducted within a framework of integrity, fairness, and accountability.

JEOCT recognizes the collaborative nature of scholarly publishing, involving authors, reviewers, editors, and the publisher. All participants are expected to comply with the journal’s ethical policies, which are informed by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) Core Practices and international standards for responsible research and publication.

Publisher Responsibilities

• Ensure full editorial independence and prevent commercial or financial interests from influencing editorial decisions.
• Support the implementation and monitoring of ethical standards across all stages of publication.
• Facilitate the publication of corrections, expressions of concern, and retractions when required.
• Preserve the integrity and long-term accessibility of the scholarly record.

Editorial Responsibilities

• Make final decisions on manuscript acceptance or rejection based solely on scientific merit and peer-review outcomes.
• Maintain strict confidentiality of submitted manuscripts throughout the review and publication process.
• Protect the anonymity of reviewers within the double-blind peer-review system.
• Identify, disclose, and manage any actual or potential conflicts of interest.
• Investigate suspected ethical misconduct, including plagiarism, data manipulation, and redundant publication.
• Take appropriate corrective actions, including issuing corrections or retractions when necessary.
• Ensure that manuscript-related information is disclosed only to authors, reviewers, and authorized editorial staff.

Reviewers’ Responsibilities

JEOCT applies a rigorous double-blind peer-review process to ensure objective, unbiased, and fair evaluation of all submissions.

• Treat all manuscripts as confidential documents and do not disclose their content to third parties.
• Provide objective, constructive, and timely evaluations based on scientific quality and relevance.
• Declare any conflicts of interest and decline review assignments when impartiality cannot be ensured.
• Base recommendations on scholarly judgment rather than personal, institutional, or ideological considerations.
• Refrain from using generative AI tools for manuscript evaluation or summarization.

Authors’ Responsibilities and Authorship Criteria

• Submit original work that has not been published or submitted elsewhere.
• Ensure that all listed authors have made substantial contributions to the research and manuscript preparation.
• Accurately cite all sources and acknowledge relevant contributions and funding.
• Disclose any financial, institutional, or personal conflicts of interest.
• Obtain and report ethical approvals and informed consent where applicable.
• Promptly notify the editorial office of any errors discovered after publication.
• Cooperate fully with the peer-review and editorial processes.

Authorship Criteria

Authorship in the Journal of Exercise & Organ Cross Talk (JEOCT) is reserved for individuals who have made meaningful and direct scholarly contributions to the work. Being listed as an author implies responsibility for the scientific integrity, accuracy, and ethical conduct of the study.

To qualify for authorship, each listed author must meet all of the following criteria:

• Make substantial contributions to the conception or design of the study, or to the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data.
• Participate actively in drafting the manuscript or revising it critically for important intellectual content.
• Review and approve the final version of the manuscript before submission and publication.
• Agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work, ensuring that any questions related to accuracy or integrity are appropriately investigated and resolved.

All authors must confirm their consent to the submission and agree on the order of authorship before the manuscript is submitted. Any financial support, institutional affiliation, or potential conflict of interest must be transparently disclosed at the time of submission.

Changes to authorship after manuscript acceptance—including the addition, removal, or reordering of authors—are permitted only under exceptional circumstances and require a written statement of consent signed by all authors.

Research Integrity and Transparency

Study Design and Ethical Approval

Research must be appropriately designed, methodologically justified, and conducted in compliance with recognized ethical standards. Authors bear full responsibility for the accuracy and integrity of their data and references.

Data Integrity and Availability

Fabrication or falsification of data constitutes serious misconduct. Authors are encouraged to provide clear Data Availability Statements and to make supporting data accessible upon reasonable request unless legal or ethical restrictions apply.

Human and Animal Research

Manuscripts reporting studies involving human participants or animals must include explicit statements confirming approval by appropriate ethics committees and compliance with relevant guidelines. Informed consent is mandatory for research involving human subjects.

Conflicts of Interest

All participants in the publication process—authors, reviewers, and editors—must disclose any relationships or interests that could influence their judgment. These may include financial, institutional, personal, or academic affiliations. Transparency in disclosure is essential to maintaining trust in the publication process.

Archiving and Open Access Policy

JEOCT is an open-access journal. All articles are published under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license, permitting unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction with proper attribution.

Authors are encouraged to share the Version of Record immediately upon publication. Self-archiving of accepted manuscripts in personal or institutional repositories is permitted without embargo. The journal is formally archived at the National Library and Archives of Iran (NLAI) to ensure long-term digital preservation.

Corrections, Retractions, and Expressions of Concern

To maintain the accuracy and reliability of the scholarly record, JEOCT publishes corrections or errata for minor errors that do not invalidate the work. Articles containing substantially flawed or unreliable findings may be retracted in accordance with COPE guidelines. Retraction notices are permanently linked to the original articles, which remain accessible but clearly marked as retracted.

Handling Allegations of Research Misconduct

Allegations of misconduct—including plagiarism, duplicate publication, data manipulation, citation manipulation, or unethical research practices—are investigated following COPE flowcharts and best practices. Investigations are conducted fairly and confidentially. Sanctions may include rejection, retraction, notification of affiliated institutions, or restrictions on future submissions.

Complaints and Appeals

JEOCT provides a transparent mechanism for handling complaints and appeals. Submissions must be supported by clear evidence or justification. Editorial decisions are impartial and final, although one appeal per manuscript may be considered in accordance with the journal’s procedures.

Generative Artificial Intelligence (AI) Policy

The Journal of Exercise & Organ Cross Talk (JEOCT) is committed to preserving scientific originality, research transparency, and human accountability in scholarly publishing. Accordingly, the journal permits the use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) technologies only within clearly defined and controlled boundaries. This policy is developed in line with the recommendations of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and international best practices.

• Authors may use generative AI tools solely for language editing, stylistic refinement, or improving clarity and readability of the manuscript. The use of AI for generating scientific content, designing research, analyzing or interpreting data, drawing conclusions, or creating references is strictly prohibited. Authors remain fully responsible for the accuracy, originality, and integrity of all submitted content.
• Any use of AI tools during manuscript preparation must be fully and transparently disclosed, including the name of the tool and the specific purpose for which it is used. Such disclosure should be included in the Acknowledgments section of the manuscript.
• The creation or manipulation of images, figures, charts, or graphical materials using AI tools is not permitted unless the use of AI constitutes an explicit and integral part of the research methodology and is thoroughly described in the Methods section. Minor image adjustments (e.g., brightness or contrast) are acceptable only when they do not alter or misrepresent the original data.
• Reviewers and editors must not upload manuscripts or any confidential content to AI systems, nor may they use AI tools for manuscript evaluation, peer review, summarization, or editorial decision-making. All editorial and review processes must rely on independent human judgment.
• Failure to comply with this policy may result in manuscript rejection, retraction of published articles, restrictions on future submissions, or notification of relevant institutions, as deemed appropriate.

Advertising, Revenue, Ownership, and Management

The journal does not accept advertising. JEOCT is published and financially supported by its designated publisher, with full transparency regarding ownership and management.

Direct Marketing and Communication Practices

The Journal of Exercise & Organ Cross Talk (JEOCT) adheres to transparent, responsible, and non-intrusive communication practices in all direct marketing and outreach activities.

The journal does not engage in unsolicited, aggressive, or misleading email campaigns to solicit manuscript submissions.

All communications with authors, reviewers, and readers are conducted solely for legitimate academic purposes and in accordance with the journal’s editorial scope and ethical standards.

Investigating and Handling Research Misconduct

The Journal of Exercise & Organ Cross Talk (JEOCT) is committed to maintaining the integrity of the scholarly record and takes all allegations of research misconduct seriously. All submissions are assessed in accordance with ethical publishing standards and relevant COPE guidelines.

Research misconduct includes, but is not limited to:

• Plagiarism: The unauthorized use of another person’s ideas, text, or previously published material (including self-plagiarism) without proper citation. All manuscripts are screened using similarity-detection software prior to or during peer review.
• Data fabrication and falsification: Making up data or results, or manipulating, omitting, or altering research data in a way that misrepresents the findings.
• Duplicate and redundant publication: Submitting or publishing substantially similar content across multiple outlets without appropriate disclosure or justification.
• Simultaneous submission: Submitting a manuscript to more than one journal at the same time.
• Citation manipulation: Including excessive or inappropriate citations that do not contribute to the scholarly content of the manuscript.
• Improper authorship practices: Misrepresentation of author contributions, including the inclusion or exclusion of individuals who did not make a substantial scholarly contribution.

When misconduct is suspected or confirmed, the editorial team will thoroughly investigate the matter fairly and confidentially. Depending on the severity of the case, actions may include manuscript rejection, publication of a correction, retraction of the article, notification of relevant institutions, or restrictions on future submissions.

Commitment to COPE

The Journal of Exercise & Organ Cross Talk formally adheres to COPE’s Codes of Conduct, Best Practices, and Flowcharts. The Editor-in-Chief bears ultimate responsibility for all published content and is committed to maintaining editorial independence, academic integrity, and ethical rigor.

https://publicationethics.org/membership/code-of-conduct