For Authors

  1. Manuscript Submission Overview
  2. Manuscript Preparation
  3. Research and Publication Ethics
  4. Editorial Process and Peer-Review
  5. Conflicts of Interest
  6. Funded by National Institute of Health (NIH)
  7. Promoting Equity, Diversity and Inclusiveness within EXPLOVER

1. Manuscript Submission Overview

1.1. Article types

The submitted manuscripts to Exploration and Verfication Publishing (abbreviated as EXPLOVER) should be original manuscripts not being published elsewhere in the same form or currently considered by other journals.

Contributions falling into the following categories will be considered for publication: Original Research, Review, Systematic Review, Editorial, Opinion, and Case Report.

⋄ Original Research should provide new insights into the field based on well-conducted research through performing proper scientific experiments with supporting data presented. 

Any original works are encouraged, which should be organized in the following order: Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion, Conclusion. The article provides complete research results in which the objectives/hypotheses have been fully addressed. Authors should not divide work into several related papers, although Short Communication with preliminary but important results will be considered. A thorough evaluation on the quality and impact of the research will be made during the peer review.

Articles should comply with but not be limited to the guidelines below:
Randomised trials: CONSORT
Observational studies: STROBE
Qualitative research: SRQR
Diagnostic/prognostic studies: STARD
Animal pre-clinical studies: ARRIVE
Study protocols: SPIRIT
Clinical practice guidelines: AGREE

⋄ Review offer a comprehensive analysis of the existing literature within a field of study, identifying current gaps or problems. It is primarily addressed to the experts in a specific hot topic, conveying main perspectives through comparing and analyzing massive literature written by renowned specialists. It should be critical and constructive and provide recommendations for future research. No new, unpublished data should be presented. 

Reviews own a wider scope of readers and are highly cited, for instance, it may be referred to when the researchers look for a complete introduction to a field. The structure can include Introduction, Relevant Sections, Discussion, Conclusions, and Future Directions.

⋄ Systematic Review presents synthesis of previous researches, and uses systematic methods to identify, categorize, appraise and report aggregated evidence on a specific topic. PRISMA is the basis for systematic reviews of RCTs; MOOSE is recommended for systematic reviews of observational studies. Authors are advised to complete the flow diagram and supplement the file at the time of submission.

⋄ Editorial is an article with views, opinions, introductions, standpoints, etc., written by editors or invited authors, which may cover the topic of concern in a special issue or thematic section. It may also comment on one or more articles in the same issue of EXPLOVER or on an area of current interest in Bioscience. Articles should be concise and to the point, with no more than 3 authors and a maximum length of 1000 words, 15 references, 1 table or figure. A continuous text or integration of subsections is accepted as the composition of the Editorial, while abstract is not included.

⋄ Opinion piece is an article that mainly reflects the author's opinion about a subject, often including personal thoughts, beliefs, or feelings or a judgement or conclusion based on facts. The goal may be to persuade or influence the reader that their position on this topic is the best.

⋄ Case Report is a research design where an unexpected or novel occurrence is described in a detailed report of findings, clinical course, and prognosis of an individual patient, which might be, but not mandatory, accompanied by a review of the literature of other reported cases.

1.2. Accepted file formats

Manuscript should be prepared and submitted in .docx using Microsoft Word. The accepted formats include:

⋄ Text content: Manuscripts must be submitted as a single file of Microsoft Word.

⋄ Figures: Images in .jpg, .png, or .tif are acceptable.

⋄ Supplementary Materials: Additional data and files (such as images and sound clips) can be uploaded as "Supplementary Files" during the manuscript submission process. The supplementary files will also be available to the referees as part of the peer review process. Formats are unrestricted, but EXPLOVER recommends common, generic, non-proprietary formats.

1.3. Submission process

⋄ Manuscripts are required to meet international English language standards and are scientifically sound to be considered for publication.

⋄ Click "Make a Submission" button on the right side of journals' pages and login to complete submission.

⋄ Manuscript should be correctly formatted. Subsections should be numbered as 1.1, 1.2, etc. Figures and tables should be numbered and cited in the text in sequence, inserted into places closely following where they were first cited/mentioned.

⋄ The submitting author and corresponding author (generally the same person) are responsible for submitting manuscripts and communicating with editors of EXPLOVER editorial office during peer-review, revision process. All eligible co-authors should be included in the author list and approve the final version of the manuscript.

⋄ EXPLOVER recommends authors to use ORCID (optional), which is an unique identifier that authors or reviewers can use to ensure their work is linked. By using ORCID, EXPLOVER enables a continuously updated publication data of authors or reviewers to be presented.

⋄ Initial evaluation results regarding the suitability of the submission will be informed to the submitting author and corresponding author through e-mail within a few days. The manuscript will undergo peer review when passing such evaluation. Usually, the Editor-in-Chief will make final decision on the manuscript based on reviewers' and academic editors’ comments.

2. Manuscript Preparation

2.1. General formatting guideline

⋄ Manuscripts should be formatted, revised and corrected, and saved as .docx document. Manuscripts should be written in clear, concise English with no grammatical, spelling or scientific errors. After submitting the manuscript, please do not send the same document in any other form of modification. Such files will not be used.

⋄ Permission from the copyright holder should be obtained before using any previously published text, tables or graphics.

⋄ If referencing previously published text, figure or table, specific illustrations with references (e.g., reproduced with permission from [author], [book/journal title], [reference citation number]; published by [publisher], [year], [reference citation number]) are required to be noted to the text, figure or table legend.

⋄ Supplementary materials should be submitted as separated files. All supplementary figures and tables should be cited in the text using consecutive numbers.

⋄ References should be numbered consecutively in the order in which they are first mentioned in the text using Arabic numerals. Footnotes to the text are not allowed. Related references should be incorporated and cited in the sentence with numbers in square brackets.

⋄ All files must be scanned for viruses prior to submission.

2.2. Title page

The title page should include article title, full names and institutions of authors, information and email of the corresponding author, abstract and keywords.

⋄ Article title should be concise and informative, at the same time contain precise central theme or main idea of the paper. Sometimes, whether the study reports trial data (human or animal), or systematic review, or meta-analysis, or replication study, should be reflected. Content words should be capitalized, Latin names should be italic, and gene or protein names should be abbreviated.

⋄ Author information should be provided, which includes the full names and institutions of all authors. Corresponding author(s) (at least one) should also provide valid email. The affiliations should be formatted according to the PubMed/MEDLINE standard format as: Department, Institution, zip/post code City, State/Province, Country. Affiliations of the authors are indicated by superscript numbers, with corresponding author by asterisk and equal contribution by hashtag. EXPLOVER also encourages authors to provide Open Researcher and Contributor Identification (ORCID). (Contributions from individuals who do not meet the criteria for authorship should be listed with permission from the contributor, in the Acknowledgments section. )

⋄ Abstract should be concise and factual which is preferred to be 200-300 words. All abbreviations should be defined when first mentioned (except gene names). References, figures or tables, website, equations or other graphical elements should be avoided in abstract. Abstract of Original Research papers generally consist of four parts: Background/Objective, Methods, Results and Conclusion. If applicable, Clinical Trial Registration may be included. This involves a unique identifier and the URL of the publicly accessible website to register the trial. For data stored in a public repository and/or used in secondary analyses, the unique, persistent data set identifier, repository name and number should be stated at the end of the abstract. The other types of manuscript abstracts are unstructured. 

⋄ Keywords associated with the paper must be provided with the amount of 3 to 8. The keywords are reasonably common within the subject discipline, accurately corresponding to the content of the article, avoiding general or plural terms as well as multiple parallel concepts.

2.3. Main text

⋄ Headings should be used to divide the sections of manuscripts. General headings and sub-headings should be bold with the first letter in upper case. Subsections should be numbered as 1.1, 1.2, 1.2.1, 1.2.2, etc. This number is also used for internal cross-referencing: do not just refer to ‘the text’. A brief heading may be needed for any subsection.

⋄ Introduction section should describe the nature of the problem under investigation and its background. In the context of previous research by citing relevant references, the significance of the study and the hypotheses could be better discussed and expounded. Please note not to review the subject extensively.

⋄ Methods and Materials section should provide details of implemented methodology, along with information on any previous efforts, to make the study more transparent and reproducible. Used techniques, well-established or elaborated methods should be described briefly with appropriate references. While new methods and protocols should be described specifically. International System of Units are used throughout the text. Informed consent regarding reports involving human subjects should be obtained prior to the study, and the confidentiality should be maintained accordingly. Experiments involving animals must comply with the accepted ethical standards. Evidence for approval by a local ethics committee must be supplied by the author.

Statistical analysis includes the name of the statistical methods, the number of each analysis, the comparison of interest, the alpha level, and the actual p-value for each test. Statistical tests for each p-value should be clearly generated. The error bars on the graph should be clearly labeled, and whether the number following the ± sign is the standard deviation or the standard error should be indicated. The word ‘significance’ should only be used to refer to statistically significant results, and should be accompanied by an associated p-value. Significance indicators should be applied to graphs and tables, and should be described to clearly show which groups are being compared. Any statistical software used to perform the analysis should be specified, including the name, version, and supplier (name, city, country).

⋄ Results section should be properly detailed and paired well with figures and tables. Appropriate statistical tests described in Experimental Design and Statistical Analysis section should be applied for analyzing numerical data. Details should be provided for each statistical test applied. The results should be presented objectively and not overly interpreted (interpretation as well as supporting references should be made in the Discussion section).

The author should be confident in the reproducibility of the data, statistical analysis, and results, when submitting them for publication. The significance of the findings should be determined adopting appropriate statistical analysis, with the word ‘significant’ for description. Probability of significance should be stated. For new assays, the following data should be included:

Within-assay variability
Between-assay variability
Slope of the dose-response curve
Mid-range of assay
Least detectable concentration
Specificity
Parallelism of the standard and the unknown on recovery
Comparison with another method for the detection of the compound

⋄ Discussion section should discuss the implications of the findings in the context of existing research as well the limitations in the study. Please avoid extensive citations and discussion of published literature.

⋄ Conclusion section makes concise summary of the contents of the article, usually in one paragraph. If applicable, it mainly presents the final outcome of the research or propose further study on the subject.

⋄ Other points of page layout: Either British English or American English spelling can be used throughout manuscripts, but not both. The font family of words in EXPLOVER published articles is Meiryo, and double columns are applied for the main text. Please place a hard return after each paragraph, with setting being 0.5 lines after each paragraph.

2.4. Back matter

⋄ Acknowledgments: All listed contributors in this section should make significant scientific contributions to the research during the preparation of the manuscript, including but not limited to providing general support (e.g., department chair), purely technical help (e.g., technicians), or writing assistance. In light of European Medical Writers Association (EMWA) guidelines, in addition to their funding sources, the medical writers with great contributions to the drafting of manuscripts should be acknowledged. The specific tasks that the medical writers undertake need to be stated in this section as much detailed and explicit as possible.

⋄ Conflicts of Interest: Authors must state all possible conflict of interest in this section, including financial, consultant, institutional and other relationships that might lead to bias or a competing interest. If there is no conflicts of interest, this should also be explicitly stated as “The author(s) declare(s) no conflicts of interest". 

⋄ Author Contributions: This section lists each author’s specific contributions to the work. Any change in authorship after submission should be approved in writing by all authors. All authors should have made substantial intellectual contributions to published research. Authorship credit should be given in accordance with the standard proposed by ICMJE (Internatianal Committee of Medical Journal Editors). Contributions from individuals who do not meet the criteria for authorship should be listed with permission from the contributor, in the Acknowledgments section.

⋄ Ethics Approval and Consent to Participate: For manuscripts involving human or animal subjects, a statement identifying the ethics committee that approved the study and approval number are required. For example: All experimental procedures were approved by the Ethical Committee of XXX (the permission number: aaaa-bb). Informed consent regarding reports involving human subjects should be obtained prior to the study, and the confidentiality should be maintained accordingly. Experiments involving animals must comply with the accepted ethical standards. All materials must adhere to high ethical and animal welfare standards and with the Helsinki Declaration. Any use of animals must be based on ethological knowledge and respect of species-specific requirements for health and well-being. 

⋄ Funding: This section discloses the funding received for the study. Authors should list all funding sources and guarantee the accuracy of their grant numbers and funding agency names. If there is no funding, this should also be explicitly stated as “This research received no external funding”.

⋄ Availability of Data and Materials: This section describes where the data associated with the paper is available, and under what conditions the data can be accessed. The examples of the statement are like: "Data supporting this study are included within the article and/or supporting materials", "The data presented in this study are available on request from the corresponding author", "Data supporting this study are openly available from xxx repository", "Data supporting this study are not publicly available due to xxx", etc.

⋄ Supplementary Materials: This section states all supplementary materials generated in the masnucripts, which should be cited in the main text as "Supplementary Figure S1", "Supplementary Table S1", and so on. All supplementaries' titles should be listed in this section, as follows: Table S1 (title). Figure S1 (title).

2.5. References

References should be numbered consecutively in order of appearance where they are first mentioned in the text using Arabic numerals, including table captions and figure legends, and listed individually at the end of the manuscript. Citations and References in Supplementary files are also permitted provided that they also appear in the main text and in the reference list. The references should be relevant to the study and refer to the original research sources. All references must be complete and accurate.

In the text, reference numbers should be placed in square brackets [], and placed before the punctuation with no space, for example [1], [1–3] or [1,3]. There should be one space between square brackets and words. The reference list should include the full title, as recommended by the ACS style guide.

The formats of different types of work are described as follows:

⋄ The names for example, Marcello Iriti and Jianli Gao, should be cited as Iriti M, Gao J.

⋄ Journal articles with less than/equal to three authors:
Author 1, Author 2. Article title. Journal title Year; Volume(Issue): Page range.

⋄ Journal articles with more than three authors:
Author 1, Author 2, Author 3, et al. Article title. Journal title Year; Volume(Issue): Page range.

⋄ Journal articles with non-English language:
Author 1, Author 2. Article title. Journal title Year; Volume(Issue): Page range (In Chinese).

⋄ Books (whole version):
Author 1, Author 2. Book Title; Publisher: Publisher Location, Country, Year; pp. aa–bb (optional).

⋄ Books (one chapter):
Author 1, Author 2. Title of the chapter. In Book Title; Publisher: Publisher Location, Country, Year; pp. aa–bb.

⋄ Conferences without published materials:
Author 1, Author 2. Title of Presentation. Proceedings of the Name of the Conference: Location of Conference, Country, Date of Conference.

⋄ Conferences proceedings with published materials:
Author 1, Author 2. Title of Presentation. Proceedings of the Name of the Conference, Location of Conference, Country, Date of Conference. In Title of the Collected Work; Publisher: City, Country, Year; pp. aa–bb.

⋄ Thesis: 
Author. Title of Thesis. Level of Thesis, Degree-Granting University: Location of University, Country, Date of Completion.

⋄ Website: 
Title of Site. Available at: URL (accessed on Day Month Year).

⋄ Patent:
Author, inventor; Institue, assignee. Title. Country: patent number; Date.

※ References can be prepared with a bibliography software package such as EndNote, if a manuscript is prepared in MS Word. Endnote users can download the Endnote Output Style (EXPLOVER.ens) here, import this references style file in EndNote, and then select this style when citing references in article.

2.6. Tables

⋄ Tables should be numbered and cited in the text in sequence using Arabic numbers, and inserted into the text following the paragraph where they are first mentioned.

⋄ Do not submit tables in any other format such as images, photographs, Excel file, PDF file, etc.

⋄ It would be better to keep one table on the same page without breaking off.

⋄ Each piece of information should reside in its own cell.

⋄ The header row is bold with only the first letter capitalized.

⋄ There are no vertical lines in tables, only horizontal lines. One horizontal line should be under the header row. The line weight of the top and bottom is 1 pound, others are 0.5 pounds.

⋄ The citation should be represented using full words such as Table 1, Tables 2,3, Tables 4-6.

⋄ The title of tables should be included above the table, and the legends of tables should be included underneath the table.

⋄ All abbreviations must be defined in footnotes.

2.7. Figures

⋄ Figures should be numbered and cited in the text in sequence using Arabic numbers, and inserted into the text following the paragraph where they are first mentioned.

⋄ The citation should be represented using full words such as Figure 1, Figures 2,3, Figures 4-6.

⋄ The file type of figures should be images in .jpg, .png, or .tif.

⋄ Figures must be clear. The goal to obtain the available highest quality images should be emphasized: 1200 dpi for Line Art, 600 dpi for Combo (Line Art + Halftone) and 300 dpi for Halftone, at the correct size. 72 dpi web-quality graphics will not be accepted because of unreal colors, illegible text, or pixelated images. 

⋄ Letters, numbers and symbols on figure pictures should ensure readability with clear, consistent and enough large presentation. 

⋄ Unit labels should be consistent with text and legend, and unit abbreviations should follow AMA style.

⋄ Solid lines should not be broken up. Any lines in the graphic should be no smaller than 2 points wide.

⋄ Do not include trial logos in figures.

⋄ The layout of the PDF should be considered when submitting figures of manuscripts. Each figure should not be too wide to exceed 180 mm in PDF width.

⋄ File for figures can be submitted as separate files.

⋄ Figure Label & Panel Label: The format of panel label is (A), (B–D), (a), (a,b), etc. Figure parts should be clearly labeled. The size and style of the letters and labels must be uniform within each figure and, if possible, between figures. The white space between figure panels and within each panel should be limited.

⋄ The captions of figures should be placed underneath the figures, and the legends should follow the captions.

⋄ All abbreviations must be defined in footnotes.

⋄ As for the statistical testing methods adopted in each legend, a concise description should be given.

⋄ Special signs, such as arrows, circles, etc., must be stated.

⋄ At the end of each legend, each abbreviation and acronym should be written out in full at first mention.

⋄ Please note that it is the responsibility of the authors to obtain permission to reproduce copyrighted material (figures that have been published before) from the original authors and publishers. The original source of figures that have appeared in a copyright form elsewhere must be specified in the figure legend.

⋄ If there are one or more figures/tables in the supplementary materials, they should be consecutively numbered and quoted in the form of “Figure S1, Figure S2, etc.” in correct order.

⋄ Photomicrographs and clinical and diagnostic images requirements: Photomicrographs should be marked with internal scales. Symbols, arrows, or letters used in photomicrographs should contrast with the background. Interpret the internal scale of the photomicrograph and identify staining methods. For radiological and other clinical and diagnostic images, as well as pictures of pathological specimens or photomicrographs, high-resolution photographic image files should be submitted. Ensure the before-and-after images are taken with the same light intensity, direction, and color.

2.8. Original images for blots and gels requirements

The authors should provide the original images without cropping, adjusting, or any other processing, and upload them in supporting information files at the time of initial submission. This is to further improve the reporting transparency, integrity and scientific validity of blotting techniques (including, but not limited to, Western blots) and gel data.

All raw images, including those in the text and in the supplemental materials, are recommended to be included in a PDF file or zip folder. Concise annotation of each raw image, along with explicit labeling of each lane or loading order, should be provided and matched to the relevant figures in the text or supplementary materials. 

All labeling and annotations should not obscure any data or background bands. All experimental samples and controls for a single comparative analysis should be performed on the same blot/gel image. Different images should not be spliced together to illustrate the results.

3. Research and Publication Ethics

3.1. Research ethics

For manuscripts involving human or animal subjects, a statement identifying the ethics committee that approved the study and approval number are required. This should also be mentioned in Methods and Material section in main text and Ethics Approval and Consent to Participate section in back matter. For example: All experimental procedures were approved by the Ethical Committee of XXX (the permission number: aaaa-bb). Informed consent regarding reports involving human subjects should be obtained prior to the study, and the confidentiality should be maintained accordingly. Recommendation for Conduct of Clinical Research should be adhered to. Experiments involving animals must comply with the accepted ethical standards. All materials must adhere to high ethical and animal welfare standards and with the Helsinki Declaration. Any use of animals must be based on ethological knowledge and respect of species-specific requirements for health and well-being.

3.2. Publication ethics statement

EXPLOVER adhere to the publication ethics requirements from Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals.

EXPLOVER provide a reliable platform for scientific articles to be known, disseminated and evaluated by the public. Prior to submission, authors have the obligations to ensure the accuracy of the content, originality of their work, and readability of language, and clarity of logical structure. In the process of peer review, it is not likely to identity the erroneous nature of a single dataset. To this end, authors must repeatedly examine their raw data in manuscripts to avoid unnecessary mistakes.

Authors should bear the following responsibilities:

⋄ Any act of plagiarism (partial or complete extract of the content in published articles by someone else without any citation sources) is strictly forbidden.

⋄ Data fabrication is not allowed.

⋄ Any fraud (altering or suppressing information ) is prohibited.

⋄ The article either published or to be published in other journals is not allowed to be submitted to EXPLOVER.

⋄ The work should be described accurately.

⋄ All necessary information should be specified so that other researchers of interest can replicate and validate the experiments.

⋄ The data involved in the study, no matter whether it can verify the proposed conjecture or not, should be provided.

⋄ When applicable, all the relevant contribution of other investigations and references should be cited to support the explanation of the results.

⋄ Sources of all experimental materials utilized in the research should be specified.

⋄ Experimental samples or products (e.g., protein, DNA, clone, cell or other types of material) should be provided as much detail as possible to improve the replicability and testability of experimental data or ideas.

⋄ The care and use of laboratory animals should comply with the requirement of NIH (National Institute of Health) and the institution. The utilization of a recombinant DNA should comply with the requirement of NIH and the institution.

⋄ In case of any error or inaccuracy in the article, authors should report it to the journal editors for a timely correction.

3.3. Borders and territories

Potential controversial issues involving borders and territories are relevant for authors in describing their research or correspondence address, which should be respected. The editorial team will attempt to find a resolution for dispute or complaint if any, that will strive to reach a solution that is agreed upon by all parties as far as possible. Upon the settlement of such controversial issue or complaint, the editors in EXPLOVER retain the right of final decisions

EXPLOVER maintains neutrality on the jurisdiction of public maps and institutional relationships.

3.4. Citation

Relevant literature must be properly quoted to provide adequate evidence for the claims made in articles such as opinions, comments, and commentaries based on the following instructions:

⋄ A citation should be made when the author’s viewpoints or conclusions arise from external sources of information.

⋄ The accuracy of quotations must be ensured in the manuscript, where the statements made must be highly relevant to the quotations and sufficient to support the relevant viewpoint or conclusion.

⋄ References from other publications with no relevance should not be quoted in authors’ articles. Sources that authors haven't read should not be cited.

⋄ Any act of inappropriate quotations is not encouraged, e.g., self-citation, which means intentionally citing numerous articles published by themselves.

⋄ Peer-reviewed sources are recommended to cite in authors’ articles.

⋄ Advertisements or advertorial content is not allowed to be quoted.

3.5. Authorship

All authors should have made substantial intellectual contributions to published research. Authorship credit should be given in accordance with the standard proposed by the ICMJE guidelines. Specifically, authorship is merited by: 

⋄ substantial contributions to conception and design of the study, acquisition of data, or analysis and interpretation of data; 

⋄ drafting the article or making critical revisions related to important intellectual content of the manuscript;

⋄ final approval of the version of the article to be published; 

⋄ agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work and to ensure that questions related to the accuracy or integrity of any part of the work are appropriately investigated and resolved. 

Each author should be fully involved in the work and take public responsibility for the content of the appropriate parts. Acquisition of funding, collection of data, or general supervision of the research group alone does not constitute authorship.

In the Author Contributions section, the authors' individual contributions to the manuscript should be identified, and state "All authors read and approved the final manuscript" at the end. 

During initial submission, corresponding author has an obligation to guarantee the accuracy of authorship as much as possible. Changes in authorship are only allowed before publication. In such cases, the corresponding author is responsible for contacting the journal staff and clearly stating the reasons. All authors, including those to be added or removed, must agree to any proposed change.

In case that changes to authorship are approved and also adhered to the above-mentioned guidelines, the corresponding author should provide written confirmation from all authors to clarify their consent. Authorship changes (e.g., adding or removing authors, re-arranging orders, modifying names or contributions, etc.) will not be considered in the absence of a fully completed Author Change Form with all authorss' signatures. EXPLOVER will notify all involved authors about the Authorship Changes.

4. Editorial Process and Peer-Review

Throughout the peer-review and editorial process, EXPLOVER will adhere to the principle of rigorousness and transparency, to maintain high quality of publications. 

4.1. Editorial process

Authors will get an initial feedback within one week after their submission about whether the manuscript could be sent for peer-review. Authors may receive requests of providing more detailed materials, such as high-resolution original images, ethical approval, etc.

At least two qualified reviewing reports should be collected (or at least three with inconsistent opinions). Then authors will receive a decision about whether the manuscript is rejected, or could be accepted/reconsidered after revision. Authors should provide point-to-point responses to the reviewing reports. A second round of review may or may not proceed on the basis of the content of the reports. 

After all concerned issues are addressed, the manuscript can be accepted for publication (under the decision of Editor-in-Chief). Before being finally published on the website, authors should answer all questions raised during the proofreading phase as detailed, complete, and as quickly as possible. 

In terms of the editorial independence, final decisions upon the rejection or acceptance of manuscripts in EXPLOVER are at the discretion of the journal editors, regardless of any external pressure from influential groups or organizations. The editorial policy on editorial independence in EXPLOVER is analogous to that proposed by World Association of Medical Editors (WAME).

4.2. Reviewing process

Reviewers will be selected complying with strict standards, made up of well-known experts in their specific areas.

Authors can suggest experts in specific areas to participate in reviewing process of their articles, who are mainly responsible for assessing the manuscripts objectively, and proposing unbiased scientific comments. The premise is that the recommended reviewers have no potential conflicts of interest concerning the submitted work. The recommendation will not be considered if the reviewers shared an affiliation or collaborated with any author of the submitted work within two years. Likewise, authors can also state opposed reviewers. 

Authors' recommendations will be considered at the maximum extent, providing that the objectivity and integrity of assessment will not be significantly affected by the decision. The editors in EXPLOVER reserve the right to invite or not invite the suggested or opposed reviewers for the assessment of their submissions.

External reviewers must decline to review a submission when they have any potential interest that may affect the objectivity. Any competing interests of reviewers should be declared, which will be considered by the editors of EXPLOVER. Rejecting or accepting manuscript are at the discretion of journal editors, who will take (but not absolutely rely on) peer-reviewed comments into consideration.

5. Conflicts of Interest

Any potential competing interest of the authors, reviewers and editors that might appear to affect their ability to present or review work objectively, must be disclosed. These might include relevant financial, personal, political, or religious, or academic interests (e.g., reimbursement for salaries, equipment, supplies, competing patents, grants, funding, employment or a strong personal/ethical belief). If professional judgment concerning a primary interest (such as patients’ welfare or the integrity/validity of research) is likely to be affected by a secondary interest (such as financial gain), the competing interest is deemed to exist and should be explicitly stated. Public funding sources also should be included in the statement of competing interests.

Cover letter and manuscript should include the content of competing interests. If there is no conflicts of interest, this should also be explicitly stated as “The author(s) declare(s) no conflicts of interest". 

External reviewers must decline to review a submission when they have any potential interest that may affect the objectivity. Any competing interests of reviewers should be declared, which will be considered by the editors of EXPLOVER.

Upon acceptance of the manuscript, the editors in EXPLOVER will communicate with the authors for further confirmation or update of the disclosed statements. Details on conflict of interest statements are available at ICMJE.

Editorial board members in EXPLOVER can submit their own research work, but are not allowed to participate in its assessment process. Under such circumstance, alternative members in Editorial Board will take in charge of the article evaluation. Likewise, the manuscripts are independently reviewed by a minimum of two external reviewers. Final decisions to accept or reject the manuscript are not made by submitting editors, but other editorial board members who have no potential conflicts of interest regarding the authors or their submitted work.

Similarly, editors in EXPLOVER cannot be involved in the assessment of submitted manuscripts when they have potential conflicts of interest with authors. Under such circumstance, the rights for the final decision regarding acceptance or rejection are owned by the Editor-in-Chief or another suitable editorial board member. Here is a statement of such cases: “Considering his/her role as an Guest Editor/Editorial Board Member/Editor-in-Chief, XX (name of the editor) will not participate in the peer-review of this article any longer, and has no access to any information about its peer review or decision. YY (name of commissioned editor) is commissioned to take full charge of the editorial process for this article".

6. Funded by National Institute of Health (NIH)

In accordance with the requirement of National Institute of Health (NIH), all accepted manuscripts with portion or all of fund from NIH should be included in PubMed Central (PMC). EXPLOVER is pleased to provide services for authors to deposit their NIH-funded manuscripts into PMC upon publication.

7. Promoting Equity, Diversity and Inclusiveness within EXPLOVER

To maintain the diversity of expert team in Editorial Board, Editors-in-Chief and Associate Editors in EXPLOVER are encouraged to recruit assorted experts in specific areas. With regard to the recruitment of experts, there is no specific restriction on the gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, religion, or socio-economic status. Everyone is equal in the workplace of EXPLOVER, which is deemed as the first principle of editorial work.