Stage 1: Initial quality check

提交稿件后，编辑部将检查稿件是否符合编辑和出版政策。这一阶段包括检查作者身份、竞争利益、伦理批准和剽窃行为。我们对这一过程进行监督，以确保您的稿件包含我们的编辑和同行评审人员对您的工作进行公平、全面评估所需的一切内容。

Stage 2: Editorial Board Member evaluation

一旦稿件通过了初步质量检查，编辑就会将稿件分配给编辑部的一位成员，他是您所在领域的活跃研究人员。

如果编委会成员认为您的稿件适合进行同行评审，他们将根据专业知识、经验和明显的利益冲突等因素，选择两到三名合适的同行评审员对您的稿件进行评审。您可以推荐潜在的审稿人，但请记住，我们没有义务采纳这些建议。您也可以指定一定数量的科学家不对您的论文进行评审（最多不超过 3 名指定的个人或实验室）；我们将尊重这些排除。帮助我们寻找合适的审稿人，以免延误向您发回审稿人报告。根据政策，除非审稿人提出要求，否则我们不会向作者透露审稿人的身份。

Stage 3: Peer review

审稿人将对您的方法、分析和解释的技术合理性和科学有效性进行评估，所有这些都必须是适当的、正确的、符合道德规范的，并得到数据的充分支持。然后，同行评审员提交书面报告，并将报告交给编辑委员会成员。

Stage 4: Decision

然后，编辑委员会成员将决定是否按原样接受您的作品、要求进行小修或大修，或者因无法解决的问题而拒绝该论文。我们的目标是在投稿后 45 天内对您的稿件做出初步决定。

If we request revisions

If you are invited to prepare a revision, we will specify the deadline and provide a revision link for submitting your revised manuscript, which should be accompanied by a point-by-point response explaining how you have responded to the issues raised in review, and the resulting changes to your manuscript. Once resubmitted, the manuscript may then be sent back to the original referees or to new referees, at the Editorial Board Member’s discretion. We aim for accepted manuscripts to undergo one round of revision before being accepted for publication, so please ensure that all issues raised have been addressed in the first round of revision. Our editorial support team is on hand to assist you throughout the review process.

When your manuscript is ready for publication

Once all editorial issues have been resolved, your paper will be formally accepted and prepared for online publication. Prior to online publication, you will receive a proof of your article, which you should check carefully to ensure that scientific accuracy has been maintained during the formatting process. At this stage, only subsequent changes to the title, author list or scientific errors will be permitted, and all corrections must be approved by the publishing team.

If we reject your manuscript

A decision to reject a manuscript would occur if the Editorial Board Member feels your work would not be suitable for publication even after revision.

If you have strong evidence that the decision on your paper was influenced by scientific misunderstanding or reviewer bias, you may request that the Editorial Board reconsiders the rejection decision. As we receive a high volume of submissions and focus on ensuring quality service for all authors, appeals of rejected manuscripts must take second place to the normal workload, which means that decisions on appeals often take several weeks. Only one appeal is permitted for each manuscript, and appeals can only take place after peer review. Final decisions on appeals are made by the Editorial Board Member handling the paper. Decisions are reversed on appeal only if the Editorial Board Member is convinced that the original decision was a serious mistake, such as a referee making substantial errors of fact or showing evidence of bias — and only when the reversal of that referee’s opinion would have changed the original decision. If an appeal merits further consideration, the Editorial Board Member may send the authors’ response and the revised paper out for further peer review.