SHIFAA, published by Peninsula Publishing Press, is dedicated to upholding the highest ethical standards in its publishing practices. It adheres to the principles of the Committee on Publication Ethics and endorses relevant recommendations for the conduct, reporting, editing, and publication of scholarly work. Submitting a manuscript to SHIFAA implies that all authors have reviewed and agreed to its content, and that the manuscript complies with SHIFAA’s established policies and ethical guidelines.

Advertisements

SHIFAA does not publish advertisements from external parties.

Affiliations

All authors must fully disclose their affiliations to properly recognize the institutions or organizations that approved, funded, or conducted the research or academic work.

• For articles that are not research-based, authors should state their current institutional affiliation.
• If an author's institution changed before the article's publication, they should list the affiliation relevant to the research and also indicate their current institution.
• Authors without a current institutional affiliation are required to explicitly state their independent status.

Appeals and complaints

Any complaints, concerns, or appeals regarding authorship disagreements or the peer-review process, including those that emerge after publication, should be directed to the Editors-in-Chief. They will investigate these claims by first gathering information from all involved parties and then proposing an appropriate resolution that aligns with the academic ethical principles outlined by the Committee on Publishing Ethics guidelines. The review or publication of submissions may be paused until these issues are satisfactorily resolved. If the Editors-in-Chief are implicated in the complaint, the Editorial Board members, led by the most senior member, will conduct the investigation and recommend a solution.

Acknowledgment

Individuals who contribute to a manuscript's development but do not meet the criteria for authorship, along with organizations that provide financial or other forms of support, should be appropriately recognized.

Authorship

Authorship is essential for acknowledging significant contributions to a work and for ensuring accountability for its content. To be listed as an author, individuals must meet all of the following requirements:

• Have made a substantial contribution to the reported work, including its conceptualization, study design, execution, data collection, analysis, and interpretation.
• Have participated in drafting, significantly revising, or critically reviewing the article.
• Have given their consent for submission to SHIFAA.
• Have reviewed and approved all versions of the article, including the initial submission, revisions, the final accepted manuscript, and any significant changes made during the proofing stage.
• Agree to be responsible and accountable for the article's content and to address any concerns regarding its accuracy or integrity after publication.

Any changes to the authorship list, whether before or after publication, require the approval of all authors, including those being added or removed. The corresponding author is responsible for obtaining confirmation from all co-authors and providing a clear explanation for the change. If an authorship change is necessary after publication, it will be documented with a post-publication notice. All authorship changes must adhere to the established criteria, and significant modifications to the author list after acceptance may be rejected if sufficient reasons and evidence of author contributions are not provided.

Authorship Criteria

Authorship credit is granted only for substantial involvement in three main areas:

• Conceptualization and Design: This includes the study's original idea and design, data collection, or data analysis and interpretation.
• Manuscript Development: This involves writing the article or critically revising it for important intellectual content.
• Final Approval: Giving final approval to the version prepared for publication.

Merely securing funding or collecting data alone does not qualify for authorship. Similarly, simply overseeing a research team is not enough for authorship. Every contributor must have participated sufficiently to accept public responsibility for their specific parts of the manuscript's content. The order in which contributors are named should reflect their relative contributions to the study and manuscript preparation. Once a manuscript is submitted, this order cannot be changed without the explicit written consent of all contributors. SHIFAA sets a maximum number of authors for manuscripts, which varies depending on the manuscript type, its scope, and the number of participating institutions. Authors must provide a justification if their author count exceeds these limits.

Contribution Details

Authors are required to specify each contributor's role in the manuscript. These contributions should be categorized, where appropriate, into areas such as conceptualization, design, intellectual content definition, literature review, clinical studies, experimental work, data acquisition, data analysis, statistical analysis, manuscript drafting, editing, and review. This detailed breakdown of author contributions will be published alongside the article. Furthermore, one or more authors must take full responsibility for the entire work, from its beginning to its final publication, and will be designated as 'guarantors'.

Citations

Both research and non-research articles must include relevant, timely, and verified literature to support all claims made. Authors should avoid excessive self-citation or agreements to cite each other's work, as this can be considered citation manipulation, a form of misconduct. For more details, refer to the COPE guidance on citation manipulation. If you are writing a non-research article, ensure your references are pertinent and offer a balanced overview of current research or scholarly work on the topic. Your references should not show excessive favoritism towards a specific research group, organization, or SHIFAA. If you are unsure whether to cite a particular source, please contact the SHIFAA editorial office for advice.

Conflicts of Interest/ Competing interests

All authors are required to declare any potential conflicts of interest related to the publication of their manuscript, any mentioned institutions or products, or those critical to the study's outcome. This obligation extends to disclosing conflicts involving products that may compete with those discussed in their submission.

Corrections, Expressions of Concern, and Retractions

Any corrections to a published article must be authorized by SHIFAA's editor, who will determine the extent of necessary alterations. Minor corrections will be applied directly to the original article. However, for significant corrections, the original article will remain unchanged, and a corrected version will be published alongside it. Both versions will be linked, and a statement explaining the rationale for the major change will also be issued. Retractions of articles, when necessary, will be managed according to COPE retraction guidelines.

Consent for Publication

For all manuscripts that include details or images pertaining to an individual, written informed consent for the publication of these specifics must be secured from that person. The consent must explicitly allow for publication under the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0. If the individual is deceased, consent for publication must be obtained from their next of kin. The manuscript must include a statement confirming that written informed consent for publication was acquired.

Confidentiality

Submitted manuscripts are treated as confidential documents. peninsula publishing press restricts access to these manuscripts, sharing them only with individuals essential for their processing and preparation for publication, including editorial staff, corresponding authors, potential and active reviewers, and editors. Nevertheless, if misconduct is suspected, a manuscript may be disclosed to the peninsula publishing press’s ethics committees and other relevant institutions or organizations as needed to resolve the issue. peninsula publishing press will follow pertinent COPE flowcharts in such situations.

Copyright Policy

Philosophy

For additional information, please consult SHIFAA's Aims & Scope page.

Who Can Submit?

Anyone may submit an original manuscript for consideration in SHIFAA, provided they hold the copyright to the submitted work or are authorized by the copyright owner to submit it. Authors are the initial copyright holders of their works prior to publication.

User Rights

SHIFAA, published by peninsula publishing press, operates as an Open Access journal. Authors retain the copyright to their published work. Users are permitted to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of articles under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. This license grants users the right to copy, distribute, transmit, adapt, and use the work for commercial purposes, provided that proper attribution is given to the original author and the source.

Open Access Policy

SHIFAA, published by peninsula publishing press, is an Open Access journal. Users are authorized to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of articles under the following conditions: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This license permits readers to copy, distribute, transmit, modify, transform, or build upon the Contribution, and to utilize the article for commercial purposes, as long as it is attributed back to the author and the source, meaning the original author and source are appropriately credited. Please review the complete license for further details at: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0.

Author Rights

While authors maintain their copyright and rights for scholarly use, the Publisher is granted the authority to publish and distribute the content.

Data falsification/fabrication

Intentional manipulation or fabrication of data is considered severe misconduct, designed to mislead and compromise the integrity of scholarly records, leading to extensive and lasting adverse consequences. Authors are required to confirm the accuracy and truthful representation of all data in their manuscript submissions. To assist SHIFAA's evaluation process, authors must retain all raw data utilized in their manuscripts. Failure to provide original data upon request may result in the rejection or retraction of a manuscript or published paper.

Data Sharing Policy

SHIFAA's data sharing policy aims to foster transparency, reproducibility, and the advancement of knowledge within the academic community. We strongly encourage authors to share their research data appropriately and promptly, simplifying our submission processes to facilitate this. Our objective is to standardize author data guidelines to clarify storage and sharing options, thereby maximizing data access and reuse. We advocate for proper data citation to ensure contributors receive due credit for their data sharing efforts. Collaborating closely with the scientific community, we are committed to establishing robust data review practices to validate, document, and enable the reuse of published research data. Furthermore, we support the publication of research data as distinct, peer-reviewed outputs to enhance reusability and provide additional recognition for authors. Data Sharing Expectations: Authors are encouraged to make their data publicly available whenever feasible, unless limitations such as privacy, confidentiality, or legal requirements apply. Data should be shared in a manner that allows for verification of results and facilitates its reuse for future research. Data Availability Statements: Authors must include a Data Availability Statement in their manuscripts, clearly indicating where the data supporting the findings can be accessed, or explaining why it cannot be shared. Examples of acceptable statements include:

• Data Available in a Public Repository: "The datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are available in the repository,."
• Data Available on Request: "The datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request."
• No Data Available: "No datasets were generated or analyzed during the current study."

Desk Rejection Policy

SHIFAA, published by peninsula publishing press, may summarily reject submissions before they enter the formal peer-review process if they meet any of the following criteria:

• Relevance: The research topic or scope does not align with the focus of SHIFAA.
• Ethical Concerns: The manuscript exhibits issues with publication ethics, fails to adhere to international guidelines, or contains plagiarism.
• Impact and Novelty: The study lacks sufficient impact or does not offer a significant novel contribution to the field of SHIFAA.
• Methodological Flaws: The study design contains notable deficiencies or flaws.
• Clarity of Objectives: The research objectives are not clearly articulated.
• Incomplete or Problematic Structure: The manuscript's organization is problematic, or essential components are missing.
• Language and Grammar: The writing quality, grammar, or style is poor.
• Non-compliance with Guidelines: The manuscript does not follow the submission guidelines of SHIFAA.

Duplicate Submission/Publication

Authors submitting to SHIFAA must affirm that their manuscript is not currently under consideration by any other journal. Submitting the same work simultaneously elsewhere is considered a serious breach of publication ethics. This policy also extends to articles previously published in another language. Should authors wish to resubmit a work that has been published elsewhere in an acceptable secondary format, they are required to obtain explicit permission from the original publisher and copyright holder. They must also inform the Editor of SHIFAA about the article's publication history and clearly state that the article is a translated version, providing a citation to the original work, in line with ICMJE guidance.

Funding

SHIFAA requires authors to disclose all sources of funding, including financial support, within their manuscript. Authors should clearly state the role of the funding body, if any, in the study's design, execution, analysis, or the preparation and submission of the manuscript. If the funder had no such involvement, this should also be explicitly mentioned. Authors are responsible for ensuring this information is accurate and adheres to the funder’s specific requirements.

Images and Figures

SHIFAA accepts only images and figures that are directly relevant to the reported research and significantly enhance its understanding. Purely illustrative content that lacks academic value should be omitted. As part of your publishing agreement, you are responsible for securing the necessary written authorization to incorporate any copyrighted material from third parties into your article. This encompasses text, illustrations, tables, data, audio, video, film stills, screenshots, musical notation, and supplementary materials. If photographs, videos, or audio recordings could potentially identify patients or study participants, their use requires explicit "Consent to Publish" from those individuals. Authors must also consider cultural sensitivities or restrictions related to images in their manuscripts. For example, images of human remains or deceased individuals may be restricted in certain cultures, necessitating adherence to appropriate ethical guidelines, including community approval processes. Experimental photographic images, such as those from microscopy, must accurately reflect the original. Any alterations or enhancements must be fully disclosed and explained within the manuscript and its figure legend to avoid misleading readers. Authors should be prepared to provide original, uncropped, unannotated, and unprocessed images to the SHIFAA editorial office upon request. Minor adjustments are permissible only if applied uniformly across the entire image. Authors must detail their image-gathering methods and any modification processes, including the software utilized. Modifications that alter the scientific interpretation of an image are strictly forbidden. If images or figures originate from another published source, authors must obtain the required permission for reuse from the copyright holder. A statement confirming this permission must be included in the figure legend. The original source must always be cited, even if the image is not copyrighted or is available under a license permitting unrestricted reuse.

Misconduct

SHIFAA addresses all forms of misconduct with the utmost seriousness, taking decisive action in line with COPE guidelines to preserve the integrity of the scholarly record. Examples of misconduct include:

• Affiliation Misrepresentation: Providing false institutional or organizational affiliations.
• Breaches in Copyright/Unauthorized Use of Third-Party Material: Utilizing copyrighted material without proper authorization.
• Citation Manipulation: Intentionally adding citations to artificially inflate citation counts for specific authors or journals.
• Duplicate Submission/Publication: Submitting or publishing the same work in multiple venues without appropriate disclosure.
• "Ethics Dumping": Conducting research in a country with less stringent ethical regulations that would be deemed unethical in one's own country.
• Image or Data Manipulation/Fabrication: Deliberately altering or creating false experimental results, including image manipulation.
• Peer Review Manipulation: Attempts to unfairly influence the peer review process.
• Plagiarism: Using others' ideas, words, or work without proper acknowledgment.
• Text-Recycling/Self-Plagiarism: Reusing significant portions of one's own previously published work without proper citation and disclosure.
• Undisclosed Competing Interests: Failing to declare any financial or other interests that could potentially influence the research.
• Unethical Research: Conducting research that does not meet established ethical standards and guidelines.

Specific Forms of Misconduct:

• Duplicate Submission: Manuscripts found to have been published elsewhere or to be under review elsewhere will incur penalties. If authors build upon their own previously published or under-review work, they must cite it and clearly explain the novel contributions of the new manuscript.
• Citation Manipulation: Submissions containing citations primarily intended to artificially boost citation counts for specific authors or journals will incur penalties.
• Data Fabrication and Falsification: Manuscripts found to have fabricated or falsified experimental results, including image manipulation, will incur penalties.
• Improper Author Contribution or Attribution: All listed authors must have made a significant scientific contribution to the research and approved all claims. Everyone who made a significant contribution, including students and technicians, should be listed.
• Redundant Publications: This refers to the inappropriate division of study outcomes into multiple articles.
• Image Manipulation: Deliberate, inappropriate manipulation or fabrication of images is considered severe misconduct, as it aims to mislead and damage the scholarly record. SHIFAA expects all images to be accurate and free from manipulation. Specific features should not be enhanced, obscured, moved, removed, or introduced without full disclosure. Minor adjustments to brightness, contrast, or color balance are acceptable if they do not distort the scientific meaning. Grouping images from different parts of gels, western blots, or microscope images must be explicitly stated. Failure to produce original, unedited images upon request may lead to rejection or retraction. Misconduct also encompasses any violation of SHIFAA's editorial policy, publication ethics, or relevant guidelines/policies specified by COPE, WAME, ICMJE, and STM. Any other activities that threaten or compromise the integrity of the research or publication process are also considered potential misconduct. Suspected cases of misconduct will be investigated according to COPE flowcharts.

Publication Ethics

SHIFAA and its editorial board are dedicated to upholding the highest ethical standards in publishing. We strictly adhere to the policies and principles established by the Committee on Publication Ethics.

Duties of Editors

• Publication Decisions: The SHIFAA editorial board is responsible for deciding which submitted articles will be published. These decisions are made after considering reviewer recommendations and must comply with legal requirements concerning defamation, copyright infringement, and plagiarism. Editorial decisions are made objectively, without bias based on factors such as the manuscript's origin or the authors' nationality, ethnicity, political beliefs, race, or religion.
• Confidentiality, Disclosure, and Conflicts of Interest: Editors must maintain strict confidentiality regarding submitted manuscripts throughout the review process. Information about a submission should only be shared with the corresponding author, reviewers, potential reviewers, and other essential editorial advisors. Editors, reviewers, or any other readers must not use unpublished findings or ideas from a manuscript in their personal research without the author's explicit written consent. Readers will also be informed about research funding sources and any involvement the funders had in the research or its publication.
• Author Relations: SHIFAA editors strive to ensure that the peer review process is fair, impartial, and conducted in a timely manner. SHIFAA has established clear policies for managing submissions from editorial board members to guarantee an unbiased review. Author instructions also provide detailed guidance on the criteria for authorship.
• Reviewer Relations: SHIFAA encourages reviewers to report ethical concerns or potential misconduct related to submissions, and to identify instances of redundant publication or plagiarism. Reviewers' comments will be shared with authors in their entirety, unless they contain offensive or libelous remarks. SHIFAA recognizes the contributions of its reviewers and ceases collaboration with those who consistently provide discourteous, low-quality, or late reviews.
• Quality Assurance: Editors are expected to take all necessary steps to ensure the quality of published material, recognizing that different sections may have varied aims and standards. They should seek confirmation that published research has received approval from an appropriate ethics body, where applicable. Editors must also be vigilant about intellectual property issues and collaborate with Peninsula Publishing Press to address potential breaches of laws and conventions. Any errors, inaccuracies, or misleading statements must be corrected promptly and prominently.

Duties of Reviewers

• Contribution to Editorial Decisions: Reviewers play a crucial role in assisting the editorial board with publication decisions. Reviews should be objective, and observations should be clearly articulated with supporting arguments to help authors improve their papers. Personal criticism of the author is considered inappropriate.
• Qualification of Reviewers: Any selected referee who believes they are not qualified to review a specific manuscript, or who cannot provide a timely review, should immediately inform the editor and withdraw from the review process. Reviewers must not consider manuscripts where they have conflicts of interest arising from competitive, collaborative, or other relationships with the authors, companies, or institutions associated with the research.
• Confidentiality: All manuscripts received for review must be treated as confidential documents. Privileged information or ideas gained through the peer review process must be kept confidential and not used for personal advantage.
• Acknowledgment of Sources: Reviewers should identify any relevant published work that the authors have not cited. References to others' ideas must always be accompanied by appropriate citations. A reviewer should also alert the editor to any significant similarities or overlaps between the manuscript under review and any other published paper of which they have personal knowledge.

Duties of Authors

• Reporting Standards: Authors of original research reports should accurately present the work performed and provide an objective discussion of its significance. The underlying data should be represented accurately. Authors should be prepared to provide public access to raw data related to their paper and retain such data for at least two years after publication. Deliberately fraudulent or inaccurate statements constitute unethical behavior and are unacceptable.
• Originality, Plagiarism, and Concurrent Publication: Authors must ensure their work is entirely original and that any use of others' work, ideas, or words is properly acknowledged. Plagiarism in any form is considered unethical publishing behavior and is unacceptable. Submitting essentially the same manuscript to multiple journals concurrently also constitutes unethical publishing behavior and is unacceptable.
• Disclosure and Conflicts of Interest: All authors are required to disclose any financial or other substantial conflicts of interest in their manuscript that could be perceived as influencing the results or interpretation of their work. All sources of financial support for the project must also be disclosed.
• Authorship of the Paper: The corresponding author is responsible for ensuring that all appropriate co-authors are included in the paper, that no inappropriate co-authors are listed, and that all co-authors have reviewed and approved the final version of the paper and consented to its submission for publication. All individuals who made significant contributions should be listed as co-authors. Others who contributed to certain substantive aspects of the research project should be acknowledged as contributors.
• Fundamental Errors in Published Works: If an author discovers a significant error or inaccuracy in their published work, it is their obligation to promptly inform the SHIFAA editor and collaborate with the editor to retract or correct the paper.

Peer Review Process

All manuscripts submitted to SHIFAA undergo a rigorous peer review process and are expected to meet high standards of academic excellence. Upon initial editorial approval, submissions are forwarded to peer reviewers. SHIFAA operates a double-blind review process, meaning that the identities of both the authors and the reviewers remain anonymous to each other throughout the review process. The ultimate decision regarding the acceptance or rejection of a manuscript rests with the editorial board, guided by the recommendations provided by the reviewers.

Our Research Integrity team may occasionally seek external advice beyond the standard peer review, particularly for submissions with significant ethical, security, biosecurity, or societal implications. In such cases, we may consult experts and the academic editor to determine appropriate actions, which could include engaging reviewers with specific expertise, additional assessment by other editors, or deciding against further consideration of the submission.

Plagiarism

SHIFAA enforces a strict anti-plagiarism policy, which explicitly forbids the unauthorized use of another's intellectual property, including ideas, text, or research, without proper acknowledgment. Submissions found to contain any form of plagiarism—whether partial, complete, duplicate, redundant, or self-plagiarized content—will face rejection. However, content available in Preprint archives is not considered a duplicate publication. The corresponding author bears responsibility for the manuscript throughout its evaluation and publication phases, serving as the authorized representative for all co-authors. To verify originality, all submitted manuscripts undergo screening for plagiarism using advanced software. Manuscripts exhibiting an unacceptable similarity index due to plagiarism will be immediately declined.

Preprints policy

Authors are free to distribute their preprints at any time without restriction. Following acceptance for publication, authors are encouraged to establish a link from their preprint to the final published version using its Digital Object Identifier. Furthermore, authors have the option to update their preprints on platforms like arXiv or RePEc with their accepted manuscript.

Protection of Patients' Rights to Privacy

To safeguard patient privacy, identifiable information such as written descriptions, photographs, sonograms, CT scans, and pedigrees should not be published unless such data is scientifically indispensable and the patient has provided explicit informed consent. Authors are obligated to ensure patient names are removed from figures unless specific informed consent has been obtained. SHIFAA aligns with the ICMJE guidelines, which specify the following:

• Authors, not SHIFAA or Peninsula Publishing Press, are responsible for obtaining and securely archiving patient consent forms before publication. These forms should not be included with the cover letter or sent to editorial or publisher offices via email.
• Should a manuscript contain patient images that reveal identity or descriptions that clearly identify the patient, a statement confirming that informed patient consent was acquired must be included within the manuscript.

Research Ethics and Consent

SHIFAA mandates that all submitted research adheres to the highest ethical standards.

Studies involving Humans, Animals, and Plants

For any original research papers that include human participants, animals, plants, biological material, protected datasets, or non-public collections/sites, authors must incorporate a dedicated "Ethics Approval" section. This section should include:

• The name of the ethics committee or institutional review board that granted approval.
• The specific approval number or ID.
• A clear declaration confirming that human participants provided informed consent prior to their involvement in the research.

Research involving animals must strictly adhere to ethical guidelines concerning animal welfare. All such papers are required to:

• Comply with international, national, and institutional standards for the humane treatment of animals.
• Provide documentation of approval from the relevant institutional ethics review committee, including its name and the approval number in the Ethics Approval section.
• Offer a justification for the use of specific animal species.
• Detail housing, feeding, environmental enrichment, and measures implemented to minimize animal suffering.
• Specify the methods of anesthesia and euthanasia utilized.

Research that fails to meet these requirements for ethical approval and animal welfare will not be considered for publication.

Research involving Human Participants

When conducting studies that include human subjects, researchers must strictly adhere to the ethical principles outlined in The Code of Ethics of the World Medical Association, particularly concerning human experimentation. Additionally, manuscripts should conform to the Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals, striving for diverse and representative human populations as these guidelines suggest. Authors are required to accurately use the terms "sex" and "gender." All research protocols necessitate formal approval from the authors' institutional or another relevant ethics committee, ensuring compliance with both national and international standards. This approval, detailing the institution, review board name, and permit number, must be provided upon submission. Ethical approval is a prerequisite for commencing research; retrospective approval is generally unacceptable and may preclude publication. Authors are also mandated to include a statement in their manuscript confirming that informed consent was obtained from all human subjects, always upholding their privacy rights.

Research involving Animals

All animal experimentation must follow the ARRIVE guidelines and comply with relevant regulations such as the U.K. Animals Act, 1986, EU Directive 2010/63/EU for animal experiments, or the National Research Council's Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals. Authors are required to explicitly state in their manuscript that these guidelines were observed. The sex of animals, and its potential impact on study outcomes, should be noted when appropriate. Experiments involving vertebrates or regulated invertebrates must align with ethical guidelines set by the authors’ institution and adhere to national or international regulations. Where applicable, documentation of ethics permission or animal licenses should be included. In every instance, authors must affirm that comprehensive efforts were made to reduce animal suffering, providing specific details on how this was achieved.

Research involving Plants

Studies involving plants must conform to the guidelines established by the authors’ institution and relevant national or international regulations. If applicable, a statement regarding permissions or licenses granted should be included. Authors are also expected to comply with the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Convention on the Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.

Informed Consent

Patients retain a right to privacy that must not be violated without their informed consent. Identifiable data, including names, initials, hospital numbers, written descriptions, photographs, sonograms, CT scans, and pedigrees, should only be published if scientifically indispensable and if the patient provides explicit written informed consent for publication. This consent mandates that the identifiable patient reviews the manuscript prior to its publication. Authors must inform patients if any potentially identifiable material might become accessible online or in print post-publication. Patient consent should be documented in writing and securely archived, either by SHIFAA, the authors, or both, in accordance with local regulations. Any non-essential identifying details should be omitted. If there is any uncertainty about ensuring anonymity, informed consent is mandatory. For example, merely masking the eye region in photographs is insufficient for anonymity protection. If identifying characteristics are altered to preserve anonymity, authors must confirm, and editors must acknowledge, that such alterations do not compromise scientific meaning. When informed consent has been obtained, this must be explicitly stated within the published article.

Special Issues

Currently, SHIFAA does not curate Special Issues. However, should the Editorial Board decide to launch them in the future, they would be meticulously designed to spotlight emerging research themes within the expansive fields of Clinical Medicine, Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Pharmacology and Therapeutics, Medical Genetics and Genomics, Emergency and Critical Care Medicine, Surgical Advances, and Diagnostic Imaging and Radiology. Calls for papers for these specialized issues would be announced as appropriate, and all submissions, without exception, would be subjected to the same stringent peer review and author guidelines as regular SHIFAA issues. Dedicated guest editors would be appointed to uphold the integrity and academic quality of the content published within each Special Issue.

 

Appointment of Guest Editors

Guest Editors for SHIFAA's Special Issues are selected based on their academic expertise, editorial background, and recognized research standing within pertinent fields. Candidates may be nominated by current Editorial Board members, existing editors, or through self-nomination. All such nominations undergo a thorough review by the Editorial Board and require final endorsement from the Editor-in-Chief. Guest Editors are assigned several critical duties:

• Establishing the precise focus and aims of the Special Issue.
• Developing a comprehensive call for papers and actively disseminating it across relevant academic networks.
• Managing the entire double-blind peer review process to ensure impartiality, objectivity, and scientific rigor.
• Overseeing the revision phase and the ultimate acceptance of manuscripts chosen for the Special Issue.
• Ensuring that all published articles fully conform to SHIFAA’s editorial and ethical benchmarks. Final decisions regarding publication for Special Issue manuscripts are made in close consultation with the Editor-in-Chief.

Setup of Special Issues

To formally propose a Special Issue for SHIFAA, a detailed submission is required directly to the Editor-in-Chief. This proposal must comprehensively outline:

• The central theme and specific objectives of the proposed issue.
• The intended readership for the Special Issue and its anticipated scholarly contribution.
• The names and qualifications of the suggested Guest Editors.
• A thorough timeline detailing crucial dates for submissions, the review process, and final publication. These proposals undergo meticulous review and subsequent approval by both the Editorial Board and the Editor-in-Chief. Once approved, an official call for papers is announced and widely promoted via SHIFAA’s website, targeted email notifications, and relevant academic channels. A clear schedule is then carefully established for manuscript submission deadlines, the peer review process, and final publication, ensuring smooth integration with SHIFAA’s continuous publication model and annual cycle.

Editorial and Review Process

Manuscripts submitted to SHIFAA's Special Issues adhere to the identical double-blind peer review methodology as regular submissions, facilitated by ScholarOne from Clarivate. Each manuscript undergoes:

• An initial screening performed by the Guest Editors to confirm its relevance to the Special Issue’s scope and compliance with fundamental quality criteria.
• A comprehensive double-blind review conducted by at least two highly qualified reviewers, specifically chosen for their expertise in the manuscript's subject matter, guaranteeing anonymity for both authors and reviewers.
• Revisions by authors based on the detailed feedback provided by reviewers, potentially followed by subsequent re-evaluation if deemed necessary by the editorial team.
• A final recommendation from the Guest Editors, succeeded by definitive approval from the Editor-in-Chief. Accepted manuscripts are then professionally copyedited, meticulously formatted, and published in strict accordance with SHIFAA’s editorial standards. The overall performance and feedback relating to Special Issues are rigorously assessed annually to ensure ongoing enhancement and adaptation to evolving academic trends.

Guidelines for Special Issues

All submissions to Special Issues must fully comply with SHIFAA’s standard submission criteria, Author Guidelines, and ethical policies. Authors are encouraged to thoroughly review the journal’s Author Guidelines prior to submission.

Special Issues are administered and published in a manner identical to regular issues, maintaining SHIFAA’s high academic, peer review, and publication standards. Topics for Special Issues are determined through proposals submitted to the Editorial Board, focusing on emerging research areas, global challenges, and evolving disciplinary priorities.

 

Publication Timing and Frequency

SHIFAA follows a continuous publication model, allowing manuscripts to be accepted and published online immediately upon completion of the review and production process.

Special Issues are curated and released as proposals are approved by the Editor-in-Chief, without a fixed schedule. These issues often highlight emerging research themes or commemorate significant academic or scientific milestones within SHIFAA’s domain.

Regardless of timing, all Special Issues adhere to the same rigorous editorial, double-blind peer review, and ethical standards as regular issues, ensuring uniform quality, transparency, and integrity across all SHIFAA publications.

 

Use of Third-Party Material

Authors are responsible for securing all necessary permissions for any third-party materials they wish to include in their SHIFAA submissions. While short textual excerpts and certain other content types may be used for critical analysis or review without formal consent, authors planning to incorporate copyrighted material they do not own, and which falls outside these informal allowances, must obtain written permission from the copyright holder prior to submission. For help with or questions about requesting permission to reproduce copyrighted work, please email: support@peninsula-press.ae.

Use of Generative AI and AI-Assisted Technologies in Writing

SHIFAA acknowledges the utility of AI and AI-assisted tools in academic writing. This policy specifically addresses the application of these technologies in the writing phase of manuscript preparation, rather than their use for data analysis or insight generation during the research itself. Authors who opt to use AI and AI-assisted technologies when preparing their manuscripts for SHIFAA should do so primarily to improve readability and linguistic quality. These tools are meant to support, not replace, core author responsibilities such as developing scientific understanding, formulating research conclusions, or proposing recommendations. Any AI tool employed must always be subject to direct human oversight and control, and authors must thoroughly review and edit all AI-generated or refined content. Authors should be aware that AI-produced content, despite possibly sounding authoritative, may contain inaccuracies, be incomplete, or reflect biases. Ultimately, authors are fully responsible and accountable for the entire content and accuracy of their submissions to SHIFAA. Authors are required to openly disclose the use of AI and AI-assisted technologies within their manuscripts. A clear statement detailing this use will be included in the published work. This transparency is crucial for fostering trust among authors, readers, reviewers, editors, and contributors, and for ensuring compliance with the terms of use of any utilized tools or technologies. It is essential that authors do not attribute authorship to AI or list AI as a co-author. Authorship entails responsibilities and tasks that can only be fulfilled by human individuals. Each author of a SHIFAA submission is accountable for addressing any questions regarding the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work, for approving the manuscript's final version, and for consenting to its submission for publication. Authors also have a fundamental duty to guarantee the work's originality, confirm that all listed authors meet authorship criteria, and ensure the work does not infringe upon third-party rights.

Use of AI in Peer Review

General Policy on Generative AI in Peer Review

To protect authors' rights and maintain research confidentiality, SHIFAA currently prohibits reviewers from using Generative AI or AI-assisted technologies, such as ChatGPT or similar services, during the peer review process. We are actively assessing compliant AI tools and anticipate updating this policy in the future as technology responsibly evolves. For additional guidance on general publishing ethics, external resources like those at https://www.elsevier.com/about/policies-and-standards/publishing-ethics may be consulted.

Guidelines for Generative AI and AI-Assisted Technologies in the Journal Peer Review Process

This policy has been developed in response to the emergence of generative AI and AI-assisted technologies*, aiming to offer clear transparency and guidance to our authors, editors, and especially our reviewers. SHIFAA will closely monitor ongoing developments in this area and will modify or refine this policy as appropriate. The following guidelines are specifically for reviewers participating in our peer review process. When invited to review a manuscript for SHIFAA, researchers must treat the manuscript as a confidential document. Reviewers are strictly advised not to upload any submitted manuscript, or portions thereof, into a generative AI tool. Such an action could violate authors’ confidentiality and proprietary rights, and, if the paper contains personally identifiable information, it could also breach data privacy regulations. This confidentiality requirement also extends to the peer review report itself, which may contain sensitive information about the manuscript and/or its authors. Consequently, reviewers should not upload their peer review report into an AI tool, even if their sole intention is to improve language and readability. Peer review is a foundational element of the scientific ecosystem, and SHIFAA is dedicated to upholding the highest integrity standards throughout this process. Reviewing a scientific manuscript involves responsibilities that require human intellect. Therefore, Generative AI or AI-assisted technologies should not be used by reviewers to aid in the scientific evaluation of a paper. The critical thinking, nuanced comprehension, and original assessment necessary for peer review are beyond the capabilities of such technology, and there is a significant risk that these tools could produce inaccurate, incomplete, or biased conclusions about the manuscript. The human reviewer remains fully responsible and accountable for the entire content and accuracy of their review report. SHIFAA's author policy permits authors to use generative AI and AI-assisted technologies in the writing process before submission, but solely for improving the paper's language and readability, and always with appropriate disclosure as detailed in our author guidelines. Reviewers can find such disclosures at the end of the paper, in a dedicated section preceding the reference list. Please note that SHIFAA may utilize identity-protected AI-assisted technologies that adhere to responsible AI principles. These tools are employed during the initial screening process for tasks such as completeness checks, plagiarism detection, and identifying suitable reviewers. These in-house or licensed technologies respect author confidentiality, are rigorously evaluated for bias, and comply with all data privacy and security requirements. SHIFAA embraces new AI-driven technologies that support reviewers and editors in the editorial process, and we continuously develop and adopt in-house or licensed technologies that respect the confidentiality and data privacy rights of authors, reviewers, and editors. *Generative AI refers to artificial intelligence technology capable of producing various forms of content, including text, imagery, audio, and synthetic data. Examples include ChatGPT, NovelAI, Jasper AI, Rytr AI, DALL-E, etc.

Authors’ Guidelines

About the Journal

SHIFAA, a publication of Peninsula Publishing Press, is an internationally recognized, peer-reviewed, open-access journal dedicated to publishing high-quality, original research. For detailed information regarding its specific focus and peer-review procedures, authors are encouraged to consult SHIFAA directly. As an open-access journal, SHIFAA guarantees that research findings are immediately available online upon publication, enabling free access, download, and sharing of your work, thereby maximizing its reach and scholarly influence. Please note that this journal exclusively accepts manuscripts written in English. SHIFAA considers various article formats, including original papers, short communications, review articles, and mini reviews.

Language

All manuscripts submitted to SHIFAA must be presented in clear and precise English. Authors who are not native English speakers or who lack confidence in their English writing abilities are strongly advised to seek professional assistance with manuscript preparation prior to submission. Reviewers are primarily responsible for evaluating scientific content, not for correcting grammatical errors. Poor language quality can diminish the scientific merit of a paper, potentially leading to delays in the acceptance process or outright rejection.

Article Categories

SHIFAA actively seeks scholarly contributions across four distinct categories:

• Original Articles: These are comprehensive research papers presenting in-depth investigations across diverse scientific fields relevant to SHIFAA.
• Short Communications: These submissions highlight research of significant importance, yet their scope and length do not justify a full-length paper. They must be complete manuscripts, with a maximum of four combined figures and tables, and a total word count not exceeding 3,000 words.
• Review Articles: Typically, these papers should be under 10,000 words, feature an unstructured abstract, and include a current bibliography. SHIFAA also classifies meta-analyses as review articles, with particular emphasis on their educational value.
• Mini Reviews: These are focused and concise reviews addressing important and recent topics within SHIFAA's scope, with a word limit of 5,000 words.

Pre-Submission Requirements

Before submission, authors must ensure their manuscript meets the following criteria:

• The manuscript must be an original work, not previously published or currently under consideration by any other journal or conference.
• All research ethics guidelines must be adhered to. An explicit "Ethics Approval" section is mandatory if the study involves human or animal subjects.
• The English used in the manuscript should meet an acceptable standard, free from grammatical errors and typographical mistakes.
• The manuscript should be formatted in accordance with SHIFAA's specified template.
• Figures must be of high quality and uploaded as separate files.
• References should be correctly formatted and numbered sequentially as they appear in the text, adhering to the indicated specific reference style.
• Only manuscripts demonstrating sufficient quality and aligning with SHIFAA's aims and scope will proceed to review.
• Submissions must comply with SHIFAA's guidelines outlined below. Manuscripts that do not fulfill these requirements will either be rejected or returned to the author before the peer review process commences.

Manuscript Preparation

Authors submitting to SHIFAA should prepare their manuscripts with careful attention to detail to ensure a smooth review and publication process. Manuscripts should be submitted as Microsoft Word files via our online Manuscript Tracking System. For articles containing extensive mathematical content, LaTeX submissions are also accepted. The original manuscript should be formatted with double line spacing, using Times New Roman font, and with text fully justified on both the right and left margins. The body of the text must be presented in a single-column layout. Authors are encouraged to use boldface, italics, subscripts, and superscripts judiciously for clarity and emphasis where appropriate. To minimize errors, authors are strongly advised to utilize the "spell-check" and "grammar-check" functions available in their word processing software. All text throughout the manuscript should have continuous line numbering, and every page must be clearly numbered.

Specific Elements

• Equations: Please use an equation editor, such as MathType, for all mathematical expressions.
• Tables: Tables should be created using the table function within your word processing software.
• Headings: Employ a decimal system for headings, with a maximum of three levels.

Online Submission

Authors wishing to publish with SHIFAA must submit their manuscripts through our online Manuscript Tracking System. Only submissions from one of the listed authors will be accepted, and the submitting author bears full responsibility for the manuscript throughout the submission and peer review process. Our system currently supports Microsoft Word files exclusively, and there are no limitations on page count. Should technical difficulties prevent submission via the MTS, authors are encouraged to contact SHIFAA's support team for assistance at support@peninsulapublishing.press.

Initial Evaluation

Upon submission, all manuscripts undergo a rigorous initial check by SHIFAA's Editorial Office. This process verifies proper preparation and adherence to SHIFAA's ethical policies. Every submitted manuscript is also screened for potential plagiarism using iThenticate software. Manuscripts that fail to meet SHIFAA's ethical standards or overall quality criteria, or those that are incomplete or improperly formatted, will be rejected or returned to the authors before entering the formal peer review stage. After these preliminary checks, the Editorial Office will consult with the Editor-in-Chief to confirm if the manuscript aligns with SHIFAA's scope and possesses sufficient scientific merit. Manuscripts deemed to have insufficient priority for publication or containing significant language quality issues may be promptly rejected, with such decisions verified by the Editor-in-Chief.

Submission Declaration and Verification

By submitting an article to SHIFAA, authors implicitly declare that the work presented is original, has not been previously published, and is not currently under consideration for publication elsewhere. This submission also signifies that all authors have read and approved the manuscript's content, and that its publication has been tacitly or explicitly authorized by the responsible authorities at the institution where the research was conducted. Furthermore, authors agree that, if accepted, the article will not be published elsewhere in its current form, whether in English or any other language, including electronic formats, without the express written consent of the copyright holder. To ensure originality and uphold academic integrity, all manuscripts submitted to SHIFAA are rigorously screened for plagiarized content using Crossref Similarity Check Powered by iThenticate.

Article Structure

The manuscript should be arranged in the following sequence:

• Title page
• Abstract, Keywords
• Introduction
• Material and methods
• Results
• Discussion
• Conclusion
• Acknowledgment
• Conflicts of Interest
• References
• Arabic Abstract
• Tables
• Figures

Article Structure: Detailed Sections

Title Page

The title page must be prepared in English and contain the following elements:

• Title: The title should be brief, precise, and accurately reflect your work. Avoid including literature citations, compound numbers, or non-standard abbreviations within the title. It should be centered, typed in 14-point Times New Roman font, and bold.
• Authors and Affiliations: For complete identification, provide the full given names, middle initials, and family names of all authors. This information should be centered below the title, formatted in 11-point Times New Roman, non-italic, and bold. Use superscript lowercase letters to clearly denote each author's affiliation. Affiliations should be as detailed as possible, including the department, faculty/college, university name, city (with its zip code or P.O. Box), and country. The primary affiliation should correspond to where the majority of the author's work was conducted. If an author has since moved, their current address may be stated in addition to their primary affiliation; however, please note that addresses will not be updated after the article's publication.
• Corresponding Author: The corresponding author must be clearly marked with an asterisk. Their contact information should be placed in a footnote. If available, the corresponding author's 16-digit ORCID should also be provided. A separate page within the same file must also include the Title, Authors, and affiliations translated into Arabic, following the same order and formatting as above. Additionally, a short running title, with a maximum of 80 characters, should be supplied.

Abstract

The abstract should be a self-contained summary, devoid of citations, and must not exceed 300 words. It should concisely outline the study's purpose, describe the methodology employed, highlight the most significant results, and present the main conclusions drawn from those findings. Any nonstandard or uncommon abbreviations used must be defined upon their first mention within the abstract. The abstract should be typed in 9-point Times New Roman, non-italic, and non-boldface.

Keywords

Authors are required to provide relevant keywords, separated by semicolons. These keywords should be typed in 10-point Times New Roman, non-italic, and non-boldface.

Introduction

This section should be succinct and presented without subheadings. Authors should clearly articulate the significance of their work and provide a justification for its publication. Any background discussion should be brief and focused strictly on pertinent material.

Material and Methods

This section must contain sufficient detail to enable others to reproduce all procedures. It can be structured into subsections if multiple methods are described. Authors should strive for conciseness in experimental descriptions. The experimental section must include all information necessary to guarantee reproducibility. Previously published methods should be referenced, with only relevant modifications described in detail. All vendor information should be specified for chemicals, reagents, strains, and similar items. For statistical analysis, please state the appropriate test used, along with a hypothesized p-value or significance level.

Results and Discussion

These two sections should be combined. The presentation of study results should be clear and concise. The use of tables and figures should be limited to depicting data that is essential to the study's message and interpretation. Results should be presented in a logical sequence within the text, tables, and illustrations. The discussion component should explore the significance of the results, rather than merely repeating them. It should include the implications of the findings, their limitations, how the findings relate to other relevant work, and directions for future research.

Conclusion

The main conclusion of the study should be presented in a short statement. This statement should highlight the study's goals and its importance. New hypotheses should be stated where warranted, and recommendations included when appropriate.

Acknowledgment

All acknowledgments should be placed at the very end of the manuscript, preceding the references. This section should recognize individuals who contributed to the research or manuscript development but do not meet the criteria for authorship. Similarly, any organizations providing financial or other forms of support should also be acknowledged here.

Conflicts of Interest

Authors are required to declare all relevant interests that could potentially be perceived as conflicting with the manuscript's publication. Authors should explain why each interest might represent a conflict. If no conflicts exist, authors must explicitly state this. The submitting author is responsible for ensuring that all co-authors declare their interests.

References

Within the text, references should be indicated by Arabic numerals enclosed in square brackets, appearing in consecutive order throughout the text. For example. While authors can be referred to by name, the corresponding reference number must always be provided.

Article Structure: Detailed Sections

Figures

Figures should not be submitted as separate files initially. If your article is accepted for publication, authors will then be requested to provide the source files for each figure. Each figure must be supplied in its own electronic file and cited consecutively within the manuscript text.Figures should be provided in either vector art formats or bitmap formats. Bitmap images are generally required to have a resolution of at least 300 dpi, unless a lower resolution is scientifically justified and explicitly stated. If a bitmap image contains labels, the image itself and the labels should be embedded in separate layers.Figures should be referred to in the text using Arabic numerals. Ensure all tables, figures, and schemes are cited in numerical order. Individual parts of a figure should be denoted by lowercase letters. Figure captions should be placed below the figures, formatted in 9-point Times New Roman, boldface, and non-italic, with only the first word capitalized.

Tables

Tables must be cited consecutively in the manuscript text. Every table is required to have a descriptive title. If numerical measurements are presented, the units of measurement should be clearly included in the column heading. Vertical rules should not be used in table formatting. Table titles should be fully justified right and left, positioned above the table, and formatted in 9-point Times New Roman, boldface, and non-italic, with only the first word capitalized.

Funding Statement

Authors must explicitly state how the research and its subsequent publication were funded. This includes naming the financially supporting body and providing any associated grant numbers in square brackets. If the research did not receive specific external funding but was conducted as part of the authors' employment, the employer must be named. Authors should also declare if the funder played any role in the study's design, execution, analysis, or in the decision to write and publish the manuscript.

Nomenclature and Units

All measurements and data within the manuscript should be presented in SI units whenever possible. If other internationally accepted units are used, their SI equivalents should be provided in parentheses throughout the text. Illustrations and tables should also use conventional units, with any necessary conversion factors explained in legends or footnotes.

Statements & Declarations

The following statements are mandatory and must be included in your submitted manuscript under the heading 'Statements and Declarations', placed immediately after the References section. Submissions that do not include the required statements will be returned as incomplete.

Funding

Authors are required to describe all sources of funding that supported the work, including details of any grants received. If funds were received to cover publication costs, this should also be clearly stated. Please ensure that grant numbers and the standard spelling of funding agency names are used, as errors may affect future funding.Example statements:

• "This research received no external funding."
• "This work was supported by."
• "The APC was funded by."

Competing Interests

Authors must identify and declare any personal circumstances or interests that could be perceived as influencing the representation or interpretation of the reported research results. This includes financial or non-financial interests directly or indirectly related to the work, or those crucial to the study's outcome. Interests within the last three years of beginning the work should be reported, and interests outside this timeframe must be disclosed if they could reasonably be perceived as influencing the submitted work. The role of funding sponsors, if any, in the study's design, execution, analysis, interpretation, manuscript writing, or decision to publish the results must also be declared.Example statements:

• "The authors declare no conflict of interest."
• "Financial interests: Author A and B declare they have no financial interests. Author C has received speaker and consultant honoraria from Company M. Dr. C has received speaker honorarium and research funding from Company M and Company N. Author D has received travel support from Company O. Non-financial interests: Author D has served on advisory boards for Company M and Company N."
• "The sponsors had no role in the design, execution, interpretation, or writing of the study."For more detailed information on completing this section, please refer to SHIFAA's "Conflicts of Interest" policy under Editorial Policies.

Author Contributions

Authors are strongly encouraged to include a statement detailing each individual's contribution to the research and the manuscript's preparation. To qualify as an author, an individual must have significantly contributed to the work's conception or design; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data; or the development of new software; or have drafted or substantively revised the manuscript. Additionally, each author must have approved the submitted version and agreed to be personally accountable for their contributions, ensuring that any questions concerning the accuracy or integrity of the work are properly investigated, resolved, and documented in the literature.

Example statement:

• "All authors contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation, data collection and analysis were performed by and. The first draft of the manuscript was written by and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript."
• For research articles with multiple authors, a more detailed paragraph outlining individual contributions using CRediT terms is recommended. For an explanation of CRediT terms, please refer to the CRediT taxonomy. For more background on CRediT, see here. Additional information can be found in the "Authorship Principles" section of the Editorial Policies.

Data Availability Statement

This journal encourages authors to provide a statement about data availability within their article. This statement should indicate where the data supporting the reported results can be found, including, where relevant, hyperlinks to publicly archived datasets analyzed or generated during the study. Data availability statements may also specify if data are obtainable upon request from the authors or if no data are available.

Example statements:

• "The datasets generated during and/or analyzed during the current study are available in the,."
• "The datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request."
• "No datasets were generated or analyzed during the current study."
  For detailed information on data sharing expectations and guidelines, please refer to SHIFAA's "Research Data Policy and Data Availability" section under Editorial Policies.

Ethics Approval

Authors conducting research involving human or animal subjects must include a statement confirming that the study received approval from the relevant institutional and/or national research ethics committee. For animal research, authors should provide detailed information on the ethical treatment of the animals. If a study was exempt from or did not require ethics approval, this fact must also be explained.

Example statements:

• "The study was conducted according to the guidelines of the Declaration of Helsinki, and approved by the Institutional Review Board of."
• "Ethical review and approval were waived for this study, due to."
• "Not applicable".
  For detailed information on relevant ethical standards and criteria, please refer to the sections on "Research involving human participants, their data or biological material" and "Research involving animals, their data or biological material" under Editorial Policies.

Consent to Participate

For all research involving human subjects, participants must provide freely-given, informed consent to take part in the study, and a statement confirming this should be included in the manuscript.

Example statements:

• "Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study."
• "Written informed consent was obtained from the parents."
  For additional assistance with this information, please refer to the "Informed Consent" section under Editorial Policies.

Consent to Publish

Even if individuals consent to participate in a study, they may object to their data being published. If your manuscript contains any individual person’s data in any form, consent for publication must be obtained from that person, or from their parent or legal guardian in the case of children. This is especially pertinent for case studies. The manuscript should include a statement confirming that consent to publish has been received from all participants.

Example statements:

• "The authors affirm that human research participants provided informed consent for publication of the images in Figure 1a, 1b and 1c."
• "Written informed consent has been obtained from the patient to publish this paper."
  For additional assistance with this information, please refer to the "Informed Consent" section under Editorial Policies.

Author Contributions

Each author is expected to have made significant contributions to the work's conception or design; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data; or the creation of new software utilized in the work; or have drafted or substantially revised the manuscript. Furthermore, every author must have approved the submitted version and agreed to be personally accountable for their own contributions, ensuring that any questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are properly investigated, resolved, and documented in the literature. For research articles with multiple authors, a concise paragraph detailing their individual contributions is required. The following statements should serve as a guide for specifying contributions using the CRediT taxonomy: "Conceptualization, X.X. and Y.Y.; Methodology, X.X.; Software, X.X.; Validation, X.X., Y.Y. and Z.Z.; Formal Analysis, X.X.; Investigation, X.X.; Resources, X.X.; Data Curation, X.X.; Writing – Original Draft Preparation, X.X.; Writing – Review & Editing, X.X.; Visualization, X.X.; Supervision, X.X.; Project Administration, X.X.; Funding Acquisition, Y.Y.” A complete explanation of CRediT terms is available in the CRediT taxonomy, with further background provided here. Authorship must be limited to those who have substantially contributed to the work. Please consult SHIFAA's editorial policies for specific authorship criteria.

Funding

All sources of funding for the study must be disclosed. Clearly state any grants received to support your research and whether funds were provided to cover publication costs. It is important to note that some funders may not reimburse article processing charges if the funder and grant number are not clearly and correctly identified in the paper. Authors can enter funding information separately into the submission system during manuscript submission, which, if available, will be deposited to FundRef upon final publication.

Please include one of the following statements in this section:

• “This research received no external funding.”
• “This research was funded by.”
• “The APC was funded by.”
  Please carefully verify the accuracy of the provided details and use the standard spelling of funding agency names, which can be confirmed at https://search.crossref.org/funding, as errors may impact future funding.

Institutional Review Board Statement

For studies involving human subjects or animals, please include the Institutional Review Board Statement and its approval number in this section. The Editorial Office may request additional information.

Please include one of the following statements:

• “The study was conducted according to the guidelines of the Declaration of Helsinki, and approved by the Institutional Review Board of.”
• “Ethical review and approval were waived for this study, due to.”
• “Not applicable”.
  You may opt to exclude this statement if the study did not involve human or animal subjects.

Informed Consent Statement

Any research article describing a study with human subjects should contain this statement.

Please include one of the following statements regarding participation consent:

• “Informed consent was obtained from all subjects involved in the study.”
• “Patient consent was waived due to.”
• “Not applicable.”.
  Additionally, if the manuscript includes data from identifiable patients, written informed consent for publication must be obtained from those participating patients. If applicable, please state:
• “Written informed consent has been obtained from the patient to publish this paper.”

Data Availability Statement

In this section, please provide details about where the data supporting the reported results can be found, including links to publicly archived datasets analyzed or generated during the study. Please refer to SHIFAA's "Research Data Policies" section for suggested Data Availability Statements. You may choose to omit this statement if the study did not report any data.

Acknowledgments

In this section, you may acknowledge any support received that is not covered by the author contribution or funding sections. This can include administrative and technical assistance, or in-kind donations.

Conflicts of Interest

Authors must identify and declare any personal circumstances or interests that could be perceived as influencing the representation or interpretation of the reported research results. If there is no conflict of interest, please state:

• "The authors declare no conflict of interest."
  Any role played by the funding sponsors in the selection of the research project; the study's design; the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data; the writing of the manuscript; or the decision to publish the results must be declared in this section. If the sponsors had no such role, please state:
• “The sponsors had no role in the design, execution, interpretation, or writing of the study.”
  For more details, please see SHIFAA's "Conflict of Interest" policy.

Data Availability

Authors are encouraged to include a statement about data availability in their articles, although it is optional. This statement should specify where the data supporting the reported findings can be found, ideally including hyperlinks to publicly archived datasets used or generated during the study. It can also indicate if data are available upon request from the authors or if no data were generated. For detailed guidance on formulating these statements, authors should consult SHIFAA’s “Research Data Policy and Data Availability” section within the editorial policies.

Research Data Policy and Data Availability Guidelines for Authors

SHIFAA advocates for the sharing of research data to enhance transparency, reproducibility, and the advancement of knowledge within the academic community. We recognize the importance of making data accessible to other researchers while adhering to ethical and legal boundaries. To this end, we have established the following guidelines for data availability statements in submitted manuscripts:

Data Sharing Expectations: Authors are advised to make their data publicly accessible whenever possible, provided there are no restrictions related to privacy, confidentiality, or legal obligations. Data should be shared in a format that allows for verification of results and facilitates reuse by other researchers.

Data Availability Statements: Manuscripts must include a Data Availability Statement. This statement should clearly indicate how the data supporting the study's findings can be accessed, or provide a justification for why the data cannot be shared. Below are illustrative examples of acceptable Data Availability Statements:

• Data in a Public Repository: "The datasets generated and/or analyzed during this study are available in [repository name], at [URL]."
• Data on Request: "The datasets generated and/or analyzed during this study can be obtained from the corresponding author upon a reasonable request."
• No Data Available: "No datasets were generated or analyzed for this study."

Proofs

The corresponding author will receive one set of page proofs via email. These proofs are intended solely for verifying the typesetting, editing, completeness, and accuracy of the text, tables, and figures. To ensure prompt and accurate publication, all corrections must be submitted in a single communication within 48 hours. Authors are solely responsible for proofreading. Please be aware that peninsula publishing press may proceed with publication if no response is received within the specified timeframe.

Revised Manuscripts

Authors must submit their revised manuscripts within one month of receiving the editorial decision. It is important to note that revision does not guarantee acceptance for publication, as amended submissions may undergo further reevaluation.

When responding to reviewers' comments, authors are required to address each comment individually, providing their revision and/or response. If an author disagrees with a comment or suggestion, a clear justification for their position must be provided. Any changes made in the manuscript should be highlighted to assist the re-evaluation process.

Authors should upload the following files with their revised submissions:

• Revised manuscript with changes highlighted: A version that clearly indicates all changes made since the original submission, preferably using the "Track Changes" feature in Microsoft Word. This file should be uploaded as "Revised Article with Changes Highlighted."
• Response to reviewers: A document detailing each reviewer's specific comments, along with the authors' responses to all comments from reviewers and editors, and a list of modifications made to the manuscript. This should be uploaded as "Response to reviewers."
• Clean revised manuscript: A final, clean copy of the revised manuscript, including author names, without any track changes or highlights. This should be uploaded as the "Manuscript" file.

After Acceptance

Once an article is accepted, it will be sent to production for typesetting. Following the completion of the typesetting process, authors will receive page proofs for review, as described in the "Proofs" section above.

Peer Review

All manuscripts submitted to SHIFAA undergo a thorough peer review process and are expected to meet high academic standards. Submissions that are initially deemed suitable by the editor are then forwarded to peer reviewers. SHIFAA employs a double-blind review system, which means that the identities of both authors and reviewers are kept anonymous throughout the review process. The ultimate decision regarding a manuscript's acceptance or rejection rests with the editorial board, guided by the reviewers' recommendations.

Occasionally, our Research Integrity team may seek external advice beyond the standard peer review, especially for submissions that have significant ethical, security, biosecurity, or societal implications. In such cases, experts and the academic editor may be consulted to determine appropriate actions, which could include engaging reviewers with specific expertise, additional assessment by other editors, or deciding against further consideration of the submission.

Ethical Guidelines

SHIFAA mandates that all submitted research adheres to the highest ethical standards. We are committed to upholding ethical principles in all aspects of publishing, particularly concerning research involving human and animal subjects.

Complying with Ethics of Experimentation

It is imperative that all research presented in submitted papers has been conducted ethically and responsibly, fully complying with all relevant codes of experimentation and legislation. All original research papers involving humans, animals, plants, biological material, protected or non-public datasets, collections, or sites must include a written statement under an 'Ethics Approval' section. This section should provide:

• The name of the ethics committee or institutional review board involved.
• The ethics approval number or ID.
• A statement confirming that human participants provided informed consent before participating in the research.

Studies involving Humans

If a study involves human subjects, it must be conducted in strict accordance with The Code of Ethics of the World Medical Association. Manuscripts should also align with the Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals and aim for the inclusion of representative human populations as outlined in those recommendations. The terms 'sex' and 'gender' should be used accurately.

Formal approval for all research protocols must be obtained from the authors' institutional or other relevant ethics committee, ensuring compliance with national and international guidelines. This approval, including the institution, review board name, and permit number, must be provided upon submission. Ethics approval is mandatory before the research begins; retrospective approval is generally not accepted and may prevent publication.

Authors are required to include a statement in their manuscript confirming that informed consent was obtained from human subjects. The privacy rights of human subjects must always be respected. Manuscripts describing experimental work that poses a risk of harm to human subjects must include a statement that the experiment was conducted with the human subjects’ understanding and consent, as well as a statement that the responsible Ethical Committee has approved the experiments.

Studies involving Animals

All animal experiments must comply with the ARRIVE guidelines and be carried out in accordance with the U.K. Animals Act, 1986 and associated guidelines, EU Directive 2010/63/EU for animal experiments, or the National Research Council's Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals. Authors should clearly state in the manuscript that these guidelines have been followed. The sex of animals must be indicated, and, where appropriate, the influence of sex on the study results.

Research involving animals must adhere to ethical standards regarding animal welfare. All original research papers involving animals must:

• Follow international, national, and institutional guidelines for the humane treatment of animals.
• Receive approval from the ethics review committee at the institution or practice where the research was conducted, and provide details on the approval process, including the names of the ethics committee or institutional review board, and the ethics approval number or ID, in the 'Ethics Approval' section.
• Provide justification for the use of animals and the specific species chosen.
• Include information about housing, feeding, environmental enrichment, and steps taken to minimize suffering.
• Specify the method of anesthesia and euthanasia.
• Authors must provide a comprehensive description of any anesthetic or surgical procedure used, along with evidence that all possible measures were taken to prevent animal suffering at each stage of the experiment.

Research that fails to meet these ethical approval and animal welfare requirements will not be considered for publication.

Studies involving Plants

Studies involving plants must comply with guidelines from the authors’ institution and national or international regulations. Where applicable, a statement of permissions or licenses granted should be included. Authors should also adhere to the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Convention on the Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.

Supplementary Materials

Authors have the option to include additional digital files with their articles or book chapters for online publication. Each of these supplemental materials must contain the article's title, the journal's name, the authors' names, their affiliations, and the corresponding author's email address. It is important to note that these files will be published precisely as submitted by the authors, without any alterations, edits, or reformatting.

Article Publishing Charge

SHIFAA offers free article publication, and no submission fees are required.