Editorial Policy

1. Editorial Commitments and Principles of Transparency

The Editors-in-Chief of the AJO subscribe to the following principles, inspired by international recommendations regarding the responsible evaluation of research:

1. Do not use the Impact Factor as the sole evaluation criterion or for scientific promotion; rather, encourage critical reading of content and the actual contributions of the work.
2. Promote article-level metrics, allowing for the appreciation of the scientific value of a work independent of the journal's perceived prestige.
3. Encourage responsible authorship practices, including transparency regarding the effective contributions of each co-author.
4. Guarantee the free reuse of reference lists, in accordance with the Creative Commons license adopted by the AJO.
5. Do not impose artificial limits on the number of references; encourage citing primary literature to fully recognize original works.

2. Author Responsibilities and Manuscript Originality

1. The AJO only examines original manuscripts that have never been published before and are not submitted simultaneously to another journal.
2. Authors must have contributed substantially to:
   • the conception,
   • data collection,
   • analysis,
   • writing or intellectual revision of the manuscript.
3. In the event of a dispute regarding authorship, the editorial committee will contact the concerned parties to clarify the situation. If necessary, access to the article may be suspended pending the internal investigation.

3. Copyright and Intellectual Property

1. Authors retain full copyright.
2. Content published by the AJO is done so under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0), allowing the reuse of material with appropriate citation.
3. Editors-in-Chief, guest editors, and reviewers commit to respecting the confidentiality of manuscripts and not using their content prior to publication, unless with explicit authorization from the authors.

4. Participant Rights and Research Ethics

1. The editorial committee may request proof that works involving human subjects have received approval from:
   • an institutional ethics committee, or
   • the competent authority, according to applicable legislation.
2. When personal data, images, or radiographs of patients are used, written informed consent must be provided.
3. In case of doubt regarding compliance with ethical requirements, the journal may refuse publication.

5. Conflicts of Interest

1. Authors, editors, and reviewers must declare any situation that could influence their impartiality:
   • financial relationships,
   • prior collaborations,
   • academic links,
   • personal interests.
2. Reviewers must confirm the absence of conflicts of interest before accepting a review.

6. Scientific Integrity Control

1. Authors guarantee that their work is original, free of plagiarism, duplication, image manipulation, or data falsification.
2. All manuscripts undergo a similarity check (anti-plagiarism software).
3. In case of serious suspicion of scientific misconduct, the editorial committee will:
   • contact the corresponding author,
   • open an internal investigation,
   • may suspend evaluation or publication.
4. If evidence of fraud is confirmed (plagiarism, data fabrication, image manipulation, etc.), the article is rejected, and the concerned institutions may be notified.
5. Authors retain the right of reply and may provide clarifications or corrections.