Peer Review Policies :

1- The Editor-in-Chief completes a preliminary evaluation of each manuscript to assure that if is appropriate for the Journal. If a manuscript is deemed to be inappropriate, it is sent to at least two other editors for verification. Less than 10% of manuscripts are returned to authors without peer review through this triage process.

2- Authors may request that a particular editor handle their manuscript; this request is honored unless a conflict of interest is present, or the requested editor is unavailable.

3- Authors may exclude an editor; such requests are always honored.

4- The Editor-in-Chief personally handles some article types, including Rapid Reports, Letters to the Editor and Reviews. The Editor-in-Chief can be designated by an author to handle their manuscript. The Editor-in-Chief also handles a fraction of manuscripts if the other editors are overloaded.

5- The assigned editor solicits peer reviewers for the assigned manuscript.

6- We intend to complete reviewer assignments within 1 month of receiving a manuscript.

7- Typically, reviewers are invited in groups of 8 or more, as the majority of invitees typically decline to review a paper. Sending multiple invitations simultaneously is required to facilitate rapid peer review.

8- Authors can suggest potential reviewers, and these requests are usually honored unless a conflict of interest is perceived.

9- Authors can exclude particular reviewers; these requests are honored.

10- Invited reviewers are instructed to recuse themselves if they cannot complete their review in