Authorship
In accordance with the guidelines of the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), authorship should be limited to individuals who meet all four of the following criteria:
- Substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data for the work;
- Drafting the work or revising it critically for important intellectual content;
- Final approval of the version to be published;
- Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work in ensuring that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved.
Individuals who do not meet the above four criteria should not be listed as authors but should be acknowledged. Authors should disclose whether and how artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted technologies were used in the manuscript preparation process. The use of AI-assisted writing should also be stated in the Acknowledgments section. AI tools should not be used in sections relying on human intellectual analysis, such as data interpretation and conclusion summarization.
Changes to Authorship
Changes to author names (including additions, deletions, or rearrangements) must be completed before the manuscript is accepted. All authors (including existing authors and those to be added or removed) shall provide a confirmation letter to the journal editorial office explaining the reason for the change. Changes may be made after journal approval.
