Open Access

This journal is an open-access journal, meaning that:

1. Publications are immediately available online without subscription or price barriers;
2. Publications are free to be archived in any personal, institutional, or governmental repositories;
3. Publications are free to be distributed or reused without asking for permission;
4. Publications receive higher visibility by worldwide audience;
5. Publications receive more citations due to higher publicity.

Copyright License

Articles published in OBM Integrative and Complementary Medicine will be under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY 4.0) License, unless otherwise noted. The copyright is retained by the author(s). Under this license, authors agree to make articles, including data, graphics, and supplements, legally available for reuse, without permission or fees, for virtually any purpose. Any individual or institution is free to copy, distribute, reproduce, or reuse these publications, as long as the author and original source are properly cited.

Please note that some articles (especially Reviews) may contain figures, tables or text taken from other publications, for which OBM Integrative and Complementary Medicine does not hold the copyright or the right to re-license the published material. You should inquire with the original copyright holder (usually the original publisher or authors), whether or not this material can be re-used. Quotations of songs or poems will always require permission. Our full policy on Copyright and License provides detailed instructions on the use of materials copyrighted by a Third Party.

All the papers that are published in OBM Integrative and Complementary Medicine contain a note:

© 2023 by the authors. This is an open access article distributed under the conditions of the Creative Commons by Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is correctly cited.

Authorship and Contributorship

A manuscript submitted to the journal in which you are listed as an author means that you fulfill the following four authorship criteria.

1. Made a substantial and significant contribution to the work reported, which may be in the conception, or design of the work, or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data; AND
2. Drafted the article or revised it critically for important intellectual content; AND
3. Reviewed and agreed on all versions of the article from submission to final publication; AND
4. Agree to be accountable for the content of the article and share responsibility for the appropriate resolutions of questions related to the accuracy or completeness of the published work.

At least one author should be designated as corresponding author for each submission. The corresponding author will be responsible for all correspondence about the article, keeping the co-authors informed of the manuscript status and involving them in any revisions and decisions on the article.

The journal adopts CRediT (Contributor Role Taxonomy) to describe each author’s individual contributions to the work, and such statement will be published with the final article. Any individual who does not meet the criteria of authorship but has contributed to the article should be listed in the “Acknowledgments” section of the article, and their contributions should be specified. Authors are also advised to be aware that no other individuals deserving of authorship have been omitted. LIDSEN follows the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) guidelines, which provide detailed instructions on authorship.

Artificial Intelligence (AI) and AI-Assisted Tools for Content Generation

The journal follows the COPE position statement on "Authorship and AI tools" which states that artificial intelligence (AI) tools, such as ChatGPT or others based on Large Language Models (LLMs), cannot be listed as an author of a paper. Authors should be aware that they are fully responsible for the content of their article, even those parts produced by an AI or AI-assisted tool, and must carefully review the result to ensure its accuracy or integrity. The following terms should be adhered to when using AI or AI-assisted tools in:

1. The Writing of an Article

Where authors use AI or AI-assisted tools in the writing process, it is essential to be aware that these tools should only be used to improve the readability and language of the work.

1. The Production of Images

The use of AI or AI-assisted tools to create or alter images in an article, including graphic abstracts, is not permitted. Adjustments to brightness, contrast, or color balance are acceptable provided that such adjustments do not obscure or eliminate any information present in the original.

1. The Collection and Analysis of Data

If the use of AI or AI-assisted tools is part of the research design or research methods, such as in AI-assisted imaging approaches to generate or interpret the underlying research data, the AI tool’s product details, including name, version, and manufacturer, and how it was used must be described in a reproducible manner in the “Methods” section.

Please read the full guidelines on Authorship and Contributorship, including instructions on Corresponding Author, Group Authorship, Deceased Author, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and AI-Assisted Tools for Content Generation, Changes in Authorship, Author Name Changes on Published Articles, Acknowledgments, Author Contributions, and Authorship Disputes.

Preprint

This journal accepts manuscripts that have been previously published on preprint platforms such as arXiv, bioRxiv, etc. However, any content submitted in this manner should not have been published in scientific journals, books, or any other officially recognized publications. If the manuscript has been previously published on a preprint platform, authors must inform the Editorial Office at the time of submission, and cite this preprint in the article. After the manuscript is formally published, you are required to update the preprint version and provide a link to the final published article.

Example: This article has been published in [JOURNAL TITLE] on [date of publication], DOI: https://doi.org/[Article DOI].

Misconduct

As a member of COPE (Committee on Publication Ethics), all Lidsen journals adhere to core practices in addressing potential cases of misconduct. When allegations of misconduct are brought to the attention of the Editorial Office, internal editors will conduct an investigation and, if deemed necessary, may reach out to the author's institution or funding agency for further information. If the allegations are substantiated, we will take appropriate actions in accordance with COPE guidelines to safeguard the integrity of academic records.

Multiple Submissions and Publications

We do not permit simultaneous manuscript submissions to multiple journals, and we do not allow the republication of non-original content, such as English translations of papers already published in other languages. In the event of the circumstances described above, we will conduct a comprehensive evaluation and take appropriate actions in alignment with the COPE guidelines.

Plagiarism

All manuscripts undergo a thorough plagiarism screening using the Similarity Check service, provided by Crossref and powered by iThenticate. It is imperative to note that our journal maintains a strict policy against plagiarism within submitted content.

Plagiarism encompasses the act of replicating content, ideas, imagery, or data from any source, including an author's own prior publications, without appropriate acknowledgment of the original source.

In instances where plagiarism is detected during the peer review process, regrettably, the manuscript may be deemed unsuitable for publication. Moreover, should instances of plagiarism come to light after a manuscript's publication, our Editorial Office will meticulously assess the situation, considering either a publication correction or, in more severe cases, paper retraction, as deemed necessary.

Irregular Image Manipulation

OBM Integrative and Complementary Medicine maintains a strict policy against any form of image manipulation or adjustment that could potentially distort the faithful representation of information conveyed by the original images. Irregular image manipulations encompass:

1. The introduction, enhancement, relocation, or removal of elements within the original image.
2. The amalgamation of images that should logically remain separate (e.g., from different sections of the same gel or distinct gels).
3. Modifications to contrast, brightness, or color balance that obscure, eliminate, or accentuate specific details.

In the event of identified and verified irregularities in image processing, the manuscript may encounter rejection during the peer review stage. Additionally, the journal may contemplate publication corrections or, in more severe cases, paper retraction should such issues come to light after publication.

Please read the full guidelines on Scientific Misconduct, including some Examples of Misconduct, and ways to deal with Allegations of Misconduct.

Updating Published Papers

At times, it may be necessary to make changes to articles published in the journal. These actions will be taken by the editors after careful consideration and following the guidelines provided by COPE. Any modifications made will be accompanied by a permanent post-publication statement that is linked to the original article. Such statements may include corrections (correction or erratum), retractions, or, in rare cases, removals. We encourage authors, readers, or organizations to report any errors or ethical concerns they identify in published articles by using the contact information provided on the journal's website. All reports will be carefully reviewed by the editors and addressed in accordance with COPE guidelines for handling publication ethics issues.

Corrections

A Correction notice will be issued when it is necessary to correct an error or omission, where the interpretation of the article may be impacted but the scholarly integrity or original finding remains intact. The statement"Correction" will be used for errors introduced by authors, while "Erratum" will be used for errors introduced by publishers.

Retractions

In cases where there are significant errors that significantly affect the interpretation or conclusions of an article, or instances of improper research or publishing behavior, it may be necessary to retract the published article. If the reasons presented by the author and the institution meet the criteria for retraction, a request to retract the article can be initiated. The decision to retract an article will be based on the COPE guidelines.

Article Removal

In rare cases where issues in a published article cannot be resolved by corrections or retractions, a notice of article deletion will be issued. For instance, the article contains content that infringes on the privacy rights of research participants, is libelous, or violates other legal rights, the article is subject to a court order, or taking actions may pose serious risks, etc. Bibliographic metadata (such as title and author) of deleted articles will be retained, along with a statement explaining the reasons for their removal.

Please read the full policy on Updating Published Papers, which outlines the conditions and the related processes for issuing a post-publication notice, including Correction, Retraction, Article Removal, Expression of Concern and Comment and Reply.

Competing Interests Policy

The International Committee of Medical Journal Editors, in its Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly work in Medical Journals, gives the following guidance: “The potential for conflict of interest and bias exists when professional judgment concerning a primary interest (such as patients' welfare or the validity of research) may be influenced by a secondary interest (such as financial gain). An author’s complete disclosure demonstrates a commitment to transparency and helps to maintain trust in the scientific process.” Medical-related LIDSEN journals follow the recommendations of the ICMJE. Most of the recommendations are not specific to medical journals and are followed by ALL LIDSEN journals.

Conflicts of interest can also be known as competing interests, which can be financial interests (such as employment, consultancies, stock ownership or options, honoraria, patents, and paid expert testimony) or non-financial interests (such as affiliations, personal or professional relationships, and personal beliefs) in nature.

When submitting a manuscript, authors should declare all competing interests in detail that relate to or which can be perceived to relate to the article. Regarding any patents, patent applications, or products in development or involved in the market, the related information, including patent numbers and titles, should be disclosed. If there are no competing interests to declare, the authors should also include a statement in the article to confirm that there are no relevant financial or non-financial competing interests to report. A statement of conflicts of interest must be included in the manuscript as a separate section, which should be placed before the reference list. Authors may also disclose potential conflicts of interest in a cover letter or via the manuscript submission system during the submission process. Journal editors will take these disclosures fully into account when processing articles. Such disclosures will be published online as part of the article to assist readers in evaluating the article.

Please read the full policy on Potential Competing Interests, which provides examples of financial and non-financial competing interests, as well as guidance on disclosure or avoidance of competing interests for authors, reviewers, and editors.

Human and Animal Rights and Informed Consent

Research involving human subjects, human material, human tissues or human data should comply with the Declaration of Helsinki. Prior to initializing research, an appropriate approval, licensing or registration must be obtained from an institutional review board or equivalent ethics committee(s). The journal requires authors to include a section (Ethics Statement), describing how the ethical principles were considered when the experiment was designed and ensured when conducted.

Identifying information of participants should not be shared or disclosed unless strictly necessary for the submission. Written consent for the use of that information should be obtained from participants in that case. Authors may use this Consent Form template or use an adapted one but should confirm in writing that it adheres to the same terms outlined in the template. This form should be completed in full, hand-signed, and saved securely, and if requested, authors should share this with the journal Editorial Office. After the authors obtain the written Informed Consent, a statement to confirm its receipt must be included within the manuscript.

If there were animals used in an experiment, the authors are required to comply with the internationally-accepted "3Rs" principles and get approval first from the ethics committee in their institutes. As in the case of research involving human subjects, human material, human tissues or human data, an Ethics Statement should be included in the article.

Please read the full policy on Research Ethics Guidelines, which provide ethical instructions on Research Involving Human Subjects, Research Involving Animal Subjects, Research Involving Plant Subjects, Research Involving Cell Lines, and Clinical Trials Registration.

Citation Policies

For scholarly publication, it is essential that appropriate and relevant literature be cited in the article so as to establish the authority and scholarly nature of any claim made in the article.

• Authors should ensure that references cited are relevant;
• Authors should avoid excessive and inappropriate self-citation;
• Authors should not preferentially cite the publications of friends, peers, or institutions;
• References being cited should not be unfairly biased toward a particular research group, organization, or journal;
• Where editors and peer reviewers ask authors to add citations to their papers, a strong scholarly rationale for doing so must be provided.

It is recommended to read COPE's discussion document on "Citation Manipulation", which discusses the key issues and existing solutions around unethical citation practices. Authors should also read the Instructions for Authors on the Journal page for information on how to cite references in the main text and compose the reference list.

Reporting Guidelines

To maximize transparency and reproducibility, authors are encouraged to follow the consensus-based discipline’s guidelines to report their studies. Different study designs have developed different reporting guidelines, examples include:

1. CONSORT for randomized trials
2. STROBE for observational studies
3. STREGA for genetic association studies
4. PRISMA for systematic reviews and meta-analyses
5. STARD for studies of diagnostic accuracy
6. CARE for case reports
7. SRQR for qualitative studies
8. ARRIVE for animal studies
9. SAGER for reporting sex and gender information

Further guidelines and standards for medicine and health research are promoted on the EQUATOR network, and for bioscience research are promoted on the Minimum Information Guidelines from Diverse Bioscience Communities (MIBBI).

Designations of Territories

The journal stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations and will respect the authors’ decisions regarding the designations of territories in its published material.

Data Sharing and Citation Policy

To enhance reproducibility and facilitate data reuse, we encourage authors to share the research data supporting the results reported in their articles published in the journal. Authors should provide at least the minimum data required to reproduce the results presented in the article. Examples include (but are not limited to): software, code, algorithms, protocols, methods, materials, photographs, videos, gene sequences, interview transcripts, etc.

Authors should add a Data Availability Statement before the reference list of their article to confirm whether the data underlying the paper exists. If it exists, this statement will describe where the data is available and how it can be accessed, including hyperlinks and persistent identifiers (e.g. DOI or accession number) for the data (if applicable). If the study did not report any data, we encourage you to state this as well.

All data that are publicly available and used in the writing of an article should be cited at the relevant place in the manuscript text and in addition include a citation in the reference list. We recommend following the format proposed by the Joint Declaration of Data Citation Principles for citing the data:

Authors; Year; Dataset title; Data repository or archive; Version (if any); Persistent identifier (e.g. DOI)

Our Data Sharing and Citation Policy provides additional details regarding the step-by-step guide to data sharing and examples of Data Availability Statement and citation of data.

Editorial Independence

The journal endorses the definition of editorial independence given by the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME), which states that "Editors-in-Chief should have full authority over the editorial content of the journal". The journal will not interfere with the review and selection of articles, nor will it influence the editor's decision to accept an article for publication. Editorial decisions will be based mainly on the validity of the work and its importance to readers independently of commercial considerations.

Confidentiality

The journal editors agree to defend the confidentiality of authors and peer-reviewers following ICMJE policy

• Editors must not share information about manuscripts, including whether they have been received and are under review, their content and status in the review process, criticism by reviewers, and their ultimate fate, to anyone other than the authors and reviewers.
• The journal is single-blind peer-reviewed, meaning the identity of reviewers is not disclosed to authors or any other person without the reviewer's permission. Similarly, reviewers should be careful to keep their identities confidential. Reviewers are expected to maintain strict confidentiality of manuscripts, related materials and the information they contain. If reviewers wish to involve anyone outside the review process, they must inform the Editorial Office first.
• Editors must not publish or publicize peer reviewers’ comments without permission of the reviewer and author.
• Reviewers and editors must not publicly discuss the authors’ work before acceptance and publication. The unpublished information described in the manuscript cannot be used for the editors' and reviewers' own interests.

All material will be handled in confidence unless confidentiality has to be breached due to allegations of misconduct. In such cases, authors and reviewers will be notified first.

Ethical Guidelines for Authors, Reviewers and Editors

For Authors

• Research should be designed and conducted in an ethical and responsible manner obeying relevant national legislation and internationally-accepted principles;
• Research methods should be described clearly, so that the conclusions can be confirmed by reviewers and the audience, and experiments can be repeated by others;
• Research results should be presented honestly and faithfully; fabrication, falsification or inappropriate manipulation are unacceptable;
• All authors should significantly contributed to the study and manuscript preparation;
• individual contribution should be specified accurately and appropriately;
• All sources of research funding and relevant conflicts of interest should be declared;
• Papers should be checked by authors carefully at all stages to ensure the contents of each publication are reported accurately.

Our full policy on author guidelines details the author's ethical code and the editorial process for new submissions. Authors should also refer to the submission instructions of the target journal when preparing the manuscript.

For Reviewers

Timeliness of Response

Prompt communication between the journal and reviewers is critical to facilitate consistent, fair, and timely review of manuscripts. We would expect reviewer candidates to:

• Accept or Decline an invitation to peer review based on the title and abstract in a timely manner.
• Return a review within the proposed time frame. If your circumstances change and you cannot fulfill your original agreement or if you require an extension to submit a review, please notify the journal promptly.
• If you cannot review, suggest some relevant alternative reviewers if possible.

Potential Competing Interests

It is critical that reviewers provide unbiased review comments. Prior to reviewing, reviewers should declare all competing interests related to the manuscript. Competing interests may be personal, economic, intellectual, professional, political, or religious in nature. If you are unsure of a competing interest that may prevent you from conducting the review, please notify the journal and seek advice.

Confidentiality

Respect the confidentiality of the peer review process and information from the article should not be used or distributed in part or in whole until the article is published. Reviewers should also be careful not to reveal their identity to authors.

Reviewers are required to prepare their own reports, and they are not allowed to impersonate others during the review process. If you want to invite others to participate in the peer review process, you must seek permission in advance from the journal Editorial Office. The name of any individuals who have contributed to the review should be included in the signature of the review report.

Suspected Ethics Violations

Reviewers should report any suspected misconduct to the Editorial Office for further investigation. For example, you may notice a large number of similarities between the manuscript you are reviewing and a manuscript submitted to another journal at the same time or a published manuscript. For any ethical concerns, please contact the Editorial Office directly by email.

Our full policy on reviewer guidelines details the selection criteria and responsibilities of reviewers, the peer review process, evaluation guidelines, and recognition of review work.

For Editors

• Be accountable and responsible for the content they publish;
• Protect the confidentiality of authors’ material and remind reviewers to do so as well;
• Ensure the selected reviewers are appropriate for the submissions;
• Protect reviewers’ identities unless they wish to disclose their names;
• Organize a fair peer review and make unbiased decisions independently;
• Adopt reasonable editorial policies that encourage maximum transparency and complete, honest reporting;
• Pursue potential authors’ research and publication misconduct as well as reviewers’ and editorial misconduct; take appropriate measures once misconduct is suspected or proved;
• Avoid potential conflicts of interest;
• Maintain clear communication with authors and reviewers, and keep them informed of the status of each submission in a timely, honest and unambiguous manner.

Our full policy on editor guidelines details the structure of LIDSEN editor positions, the responsibilities of Academic Editors, Managing Editors, Assistant Editors and Production Editors, and the ethical guidelines for editors.

Appeals and Complaints

The journal follows the guidelines of the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) in handling cases of appeals and complaints. If an author wishes to appeal a decision made by the journal's editors, please send a letter of appeal to the Editorial Office, in which the author will need to: (1) provide a detailed explanation of why you disagree with the decision; (2) provide strong evidence and, if necessary, provide new data/information in response to editors' and reviewers' comments. If you wish to submit a complaint on aspects of the journal's editorial management or publication ethic, please contact the Editorial Office or publisher at info@lidsen.com. Please read our full policy on Appeals and Complaints.

Special Issue Guidelines

The journal regularly recruits Guest Editors to edit special issues, aiming to attract high-quality articles in areas of current interest, emerging areas, or more in-depth research in the existing areas. As a Guest Editor, you will curate Special Issues around a specific topic, working at the cutting edge of your field. This guide outlines the roles and responsibilities of guest editors and the support that the journal offers. If you are interested in editing a special issue, please submit a special issue proposal directly to the Editorial Office.