Policies

Download here the Italian Version of the Policies.

1. Open Access Policy

Lucina is a fully open access journal, committed to the principles of open science and the widest possible dissemination of scholarly research. All articles are made freely and permanently available online immediately upon publication, without subscription barriers, registration requirements, or embargo periods.

Articles are published under the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY 4.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

2. Copyright and Licensing

Author Declaration and Copyright Agreement

Authors retain copyright of their articles. By submitting a manuscript and agreeing to its publication in Lucina Journal, authors grant the Publisher, a non-exclusive, worldwide, perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free license to:

  • publish, reproduce, distribute, and display the article;
  • identify the article as the Version of Record;
  • archive and make the article available in any format or medium;
  • sublicense third parties to reproduce and distribute the article, provided that attribution is maintained.

Upon acceptance of a manuscript, authors are required to sign an Author Declaration and Copyright Agreement.

Open Access License (CC BY 4.0)

All articles published in this journal are made available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).

Users are permitted to read, download, copy, distribute, print, search, or link to the full texts of the articles, and to use them for any lawful purpose, including commercial use, provided that appropriate credit is given to the original author(s) and the source, a link to the license is provided, and any changes made are clearly indicated.

This license enables maximum dissemination and reuse of the published material, while ensuring that authors receive proper attribution for their work. The full terms of the license are available at: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

Version of Record

The final published version of each article (Version of Record) is the definitive, citable, and permanent version of the scholarly work. Each Version of Record is assigned a unique Digital Object Identifier (DOI), which provides a persistent and reliable link to the article.

Once published, the Version of Record may not be altered. Any corrections or updates will be made through formal notices (e.g., corrigenda or errata) that are clearly linked to the original publication.

The Version of Record remains permanently available online and should be used for citation purposes.

Author Rights

Authors have the right to:

  • Share, copy, and redistribute the published article (Version of Record) in any medium or format;
  • Deposit the article in institutional or subject repositories without restriction;
  • Post the article on personal or institutional websites, and academic or non-commercial platforms;
  • Reuse the content in future works, including books, lectures, and presentations;
  • Allow others to reuse the article in accordance with the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0).

All reuse of the published material must include appropriate credit to the original author(s) and source, a link to the license, and an indication of any changes made. No embargo period applies to the sharing or reuse of the published article.

3. Self-Archiving Policy

Authors are permitted to deposit the Version of Record (i.e., the final published PDF available on the journal website) in institutional repositories and on personal or institutional webpages immediately upon publication and without embargo.

Self-archiving is permitted provided that:

4. Preservation and Archiving

All published content is securely archived through CLOCKSS (Controlled Lots of Copies Keep Stuff Safe), an internationally recognized digital preservation service that guarantees long-term preservation and continued accessibility of scholarly material.

In the event that the journal ceases publication or content becomes otherwise unavailable, CLOCKSS ensures permanent access through its distributed archival system.

5. Peer Review Policy

Lucina operates a double-blind peer review process. Authors and reviewers remain anonymous to each other throughout review. Manuscripts are assessed on scientific merit, methodological rigor, originality, ethical compliance, and relevance to obstetric research and clinical practice.

Initial Editorial Assessment

All submitted manuscripts undergo a preliminary evaluation by the Editor in Chief to determine their suitability for the journal’s scope, standards, and ethical requirements. Submissions that do not meet these criteria may be declined without external review. Manuscripts considered appropriate for further evaluation are typically sent to at least two independent expert reviewers with relevant subject expertise.

Editorial Decision

The Editor in Chief is responsible for the final decision regarding acceptance, revision, or rejection of a manuscript. The Editor in Chief’s decision is final. Editors do not participate in the decision-making process for manuscripts:

  • Authored or co-authored by themselves;
  • Submitted by close collaborators or colleagues;
  • Or related to research areas in which they have a personal or professional interest.

Author Responsibilities

Authors are responsible for ensuring the integrity, accuracy, and transparency of their work. By submitting a manuscript to the Journal, authors agree to comply with the following responsibilities:

  • Originality and Plagiarism
    Manuscripts must be original and must not have been previously published or be under consideration elsewhere. Authors must ensure that all sources are properly cited and that no form of plagiarism, including self-plagiarism, is present.
  • Authorship
    All listed authors must have made a significant contribution to the work and must approve the final version of the manuscript. Individuals who do not meet authorship criteria should be acknowledged appropriately.
  • Data Accuracy and Integrity
    Authors are responsible for the accuracy of the data presented and must not fabricate, falsify, or manipulate data. Where appropriate, authors should be prepared to provide access to underlying data.
  • Ethical Approval
    Research involving human participants or animals must have received appropriate ethical approval. Authors must provide details of the approving body and confirm that the study was conducted in accordance with relevant ethical standards.
  • Informed Consent
    Authors must confirm that informed consent has been obtained from all participants where required, particularly in studies involving identifiable personal data or case reports.
  • Conflicts of Interest
    Authors must disclose any financial or non-financial conflicts of interest that could influence the interpretation of the results.
  • Funding Disclosure
    All sources of financial support must be clearly acknowledged.
  • Reporting Standards
    Authors must adhere to recognized reporting guidelines appropriate to their study design (e.g., CONSORT, STROBE, PRISMA).
  • Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)
    Authors must disclose the use of AI-assisted technologies in the preparation of the manuscript and are responsible for the accuracy and integrity of all content.
  • Corrections and Retractions
    Authors have a responsibility to promptly notify the Journal if a significant error is identified after publication and to cooperate in issuing corrections, retractions, or updates as necessary.

Failure to comply with these responsibilities may result in rejection of the manuscript or retraction of the published article.

6. Editorial Policies (Handling Conflicts in Editorial Roles)

Submissions by the Editor-in-Chief or Deputy Editor

Editor-in-Chief or Deputy Editor do not handle their own submissions. Such manuscripts are assigned to an independent Handling Editor with no conflicts and are reviewed by at least two independent reviewers. Final decisions are made by an independent Editorial Board member without conflicts.

Submissions by Editorial Board Members

Editorial Board Members may submit manuscripts but receive no preferential treatment. They are excluded from editorial decisions on their papers and may not access review information beyond standard author communications.

Submissions Involving Institutional or Personal Conflicts

If an author is affiliated with the same institution as an Editor, is a close collaborator, a family member, or any relationship may create perceived bias, the manuscript is assigned to a Handling Editor from a different institution with no conflict.

Reviewer Conflicts of Interest

Reviewers must disclose potential conflicts before accepting. If a conflict emerges during review, reviewers must inform the Editorial Office and withdraw if necessary.

7. Authors’ Appeals and Editorial Timelines

Authors’ Appeals

Authors may appeal a rejection if they believe it involved misunderstanding, factual error, or procedural concerns. Appeals must be submitted in writing and include:

  • Point-by-point response to rejection reasons;
  • Justification and any new relevant data/evidence;
  • Confirmation all authors agree with the appeal.

Disagreement with reviewer opinion alone is insufficient. The Editor-in-Chief may uphold the decision or invite a revised resubmission. Appeal decisions are final. Manuscripts rejected for major methodological flaws or ethical concerns are not normally reconsidered.

Editorial Timelines

Review duration varies by reviewer availability, need for additional opinions, and revision extent. Revised manuscripts are typically re-assessed by original reviewers; multiple rounds may be requested. Authors should contact the Editorial Office only for significant delays (more than two months since the last formal communication).

8. Publication Ethics and Malpractice Statement

Lucina is committed to upholding the highest standards of publication ethics and takes all possible measures against publication malpractice. The journal adheres to the principles outlined by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) and follows internationally recognized best practices in scholarly publishing.

Duties of Authors

Authors must ensure that:

  • The manuscript represents original work.
  • Data are accurate and not fabricated, falsified, or inappropriately manipulated.
  • The work has not been published previously and is not under consideration elsewhere.
  • All sources are appropriately cited.
  • Authorship criteria are met in accordance with ICMJE recommendations.
  • Ethical approval and informed consent have been obtained where required.

For further details on author responsibilities, please refer to the “Author Responsibilities” section.

Authorship

Authorship must be based on substantial intellectual contribution to the work. Lucina adheres to the authorship criteria established by the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE).

To qualify as an author, individuals must meet all of the following criteria:

  • Substantial contributions to the conception or design of the work; or the acquisition, analysis, or interpretation of data.
  • Drafting the manuscript or critically revising it for important intellectual content.
  • Final approval of the version to be published.
  • Agreement to be accountable for all aspects of the work.

Duties of Reviewers

Reviewers must:

  • Treat manuscripts as confidential documents.
  • Provide objective, constructive, and timely evaluations.
  • Declare any conflicts of interest.
  • Identify relevant published work not cited by the authors.
  • Refrain from using unpublished material for personal advantage.

Duties of Editors

Editors are responsible for:

  • Making fair and unbiased decisions based solely on academic merit.
  • Ensuring confidentiality throughout the review process.
  • Avoiding conflicts of interest.
  • Taking appropriate action in cases of suspected misconduct.

9. Plagiarism and Unethical Publication Practices

Lucina has zero tolerance for plagiarism, falsification, manipulation, undisclosed conflicts, redundant publication, and citation manipulation. Allegations are investigated under COPE procedures.

Plagiarism Screening

All submissions may be screened with plagiarism detection software. Plagiarism includes copied text without citation, inadequate paraphrasing, self-plagiarism, and “salami slicing.” Cases are assessed individually; confirmed misconduct may lead to rejection, retraction, and/or institutional notification.

Image Integrity

Images must reflect original data. Minimal whole-image adjustments may be acceptable; selective alteration, undisclosed splicing, and misleading enhancement are prohibited. Authors must retain original data and provide it upon request.

Citation Manipulation

Citations must be scholarly justified. Citation manipulation is unethical. Self-citations should generally not exceed ~15% of references, though evaluated case by case.

10. Ethics and Regulatory Compliance

Lucina requires compliance with Declaration of Helsinki (2013 revision), ICMJE recommendations, ARRIVE guidelines, and relevant regulations.

Human Subjects

All human research requires IRB/Ethics Committee approval (or formal exemption). Manuscripts must state approving body, approval number (if applicable), and date. Age and sex/gender must be reported.

Informed Consent

Written informed consent is required unless a justified exemption applies. Survey/questionnaire studies require ethics approval/exemption; participants must be informed about purpose, voluntariness, confidentiality, and data use.

Privacy and Identifiable Information

Identifiable information must not be published unless scientifically essential and written consent for publication is obtained. Anonymization must not distort meaning; eye-bars/blurring alone are insufficient without consent. GDPR compliance is required.

Animal Studies

Animal research must follow regulations and ARRIVE. Report species/strain, sex, age, weight, source/vendor, and approval details. Single-sex use requires justification.

Clinical Trials

Clinical trials must be prospectively registered in a WHO ICTRP-compliant registry. Registration number and registry name must appear in the Abstract and Cover Letter. Secondary analyses must reference the primary registration.

11. Data Availability and Transparency Policy

Lucina supports transparency and reproducibility in research.

Authors are encouraged to make the data underlying their findings available whenever ethically and legally possible. A Data Availability Statement must be included in all research articles and should specify:

  • Whether data are publicly available and where they can be accessed.
  • Any restrictions on data sharing (e.g., ethical, legal, privacy-related).
  • Conditions under which data may be accessed.

Examples:

  • “The datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are available in [repository name], [persistent link/DOI].”
  • “The datasets are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.”
  • “Data are not publicly available due to ethical restrictions concerning participant confidentiality.”

12. Conflicts of Interest (COI) Policy

Lucina is committed to ensuring transparency and integrity in scholarly publishing. A conflict of interest (COI) exists when financial, professional, institutional, or personal relationships could influence — or be perceived to influence — the objectivity, integrity, or interpretation of research, peer review, or editorial decisions.

Authors

At the time of submission, all authors must disclose any actual or potential conflicts of interest that could be considered relevant to the submitted work. Disclosures must include:

  • All sources of funding related to the research;
  • Financial relationships (e.g., employment, consultancies, honoraria, stock ownership, patents, grants);
  • Non-financial interests (e.g., professional affiliations, advisory roles, advocacy positions);
  • The role of sponsors in study design, data collection, data analysis, interpretation of results, or manuscript preparation.

If no conflicts exist, authors must explicitly state: “The authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.”

Reviewers

Reviewers must disclose any potential conflicts of interest prior to accepting an invitation to review a manuscript. Reviewers who believe their objectivity may be compromised must decline the review.

Editors and Editorial Office

Editors and members of the Editorial Office must recuse themselves from handling or making decisions on manuscripts in which they have a conflict of interest. Lucina maintains strict editorial independence.

13. Use of Artificial Intelligence and Generative Tools Policy

The use of artificial intelligence (AI) tools and generative technologies in manuscript preparation must be transparent and responsible.

AI tools:

  • May be used for language editing, grammar improvement, or formatting.
  • Must not be listed as authors.
  • Cannot take responsibility for the integrity or originality of the work.

Authors are fully responsible for:

  • The accuracy, validity, and originality of the content.
  • Ensuring that AI-generated text does not introduce plagiarism or fabricated data.
  • Verifying all references, analyses, and interpretations.

If AI tools have been used in manuscript preparation, authors must disclose this in a statement at the end of the manuscript (e.g., “The authors used [tool name] for language editing. All content was reviewed and verified by the authors.”).

The use of AI for data fabrication, image manipulation, or generation of fraudulent results constitutes serious misconduct.

14. Preprint Policy

Lucina does not accept manuscripts that have been previously posted on preprint servers or publicly disseminated in preprint form. For the purposes of this policy, a preprint is defined as a complete scientific manuscript that has been made publicly available on a non-peer-reviewed platform prior to submission to the journal.

Manuscripts submitted to Lucina must:

  • Not have been previously published in whole or in part.
  • Not be under consideration for publication elsewhere.
  • Not have been deposited on any preprint server or public repository.

This policy reflects the journal’s commitment to ensuring originality, maintaining the integrity of the peer review process, and safeguarding the novelty of published research.

15. Special Issues Policy

Lucina may publish Special Issues dedicated to specific themes of scientific relevance within the journal’s scope.

Proposal and Approval

Special Issues may be proposed by members of the Editorial Board or external scholars with recognized expertise in the relevant field. All proposals are evaluated by the Editor-in-Chief and must include a clear description of the theme and rationale, proposed Guest Editor(s), a list of potential contributors, and a proposed timeline.

Role of Guest Editors

Guest Editors are responsible for promoting the Special Issue, recommending suitable reviewers, and providing editorial input on submitted manuscripts. However, Guest Editors do not have final decision-making authority. The Editor-in-Chief retains full responsibility for editorial decisions.

Peer Review Process

All manuscripts submitted to a Special Issue undergo the same double-blind peer review process as regular submissions. There is no preferential or expedited review process for Special Issue articles.

16. Advertising Policy

Advertising Policy

Lucina and its Publisher maintain a strict separation between editorial content and commercial activity in order to safeguard scientific integrity and editorial independence.

All advertising, sponsorship, or promotional material is subject to prior review and formal approval by the Publisher. Advertising content:

  • Is clearly distinguishable from editorial material;
  • Is displayed in a manner that does not interfere with the scientific content of the journal;
  • Does not influence editorial decisions, peer review outcomes, or manuscript evaluation processes.

Lucina accepts only advertising that is institutional, educational, or professionally relevant to the journal’s scope. Direct product-specific promotion, commercial product endorsements, or promotional advertising linked to individual clinical products are not accepted.

17. Post-Publication Policy

The Journal is committed to maintaining the integrity and accuracy of the scholarly record. Post-publication updates may be issued when necessary to correct or clarify the published content.

All post-publication changes are made transparently and are clearly linked to the original article.

Corrections (Erratum and Corrigendum)
Minor errors that do not affect the scientific integrity, validity, or conclusions of the article will be corrected through a formal notice.

  • An Erratum is issued to correct errors introduced by the Publisher.
  • A Corrigendum is issued to correct errors made by the authors.

Correction notices are published promptly and are linked to the original article. The original Version of Record remains unchanged, except where necessary to ensure clarity and accuracy.

Retractions
Articles may be retracted in cases of major errors or ethical breaches that invalidate the findings or conclusions. Reasons for retraction may include, but are not limited to:

  • Data fabrication or falsification
  • Plagiarism
  • Unethical research practices
  • Duplicate publication
  • Major errors that compromise the validity of the work

Retraction notices are clearly identified, linked to the original article, and state the reasons for retraction. The original article will remain accessible but will be clearly marked as retracted.

Expressions of Concern
An Expression of Concern may be issued when serious concerns have been raised about a publication but conclusive evidence is not yet available. This notice will remain in place until an investigation is completed.

Addenda
Addenda may be published to provide additional information or clarification that enhances the original article but does not alter its conclusions.

All post-publication notices are freely accessible and are permanently linked to the original article.