A manuscript (MS) should be withdrawn only if the authors detect significant errors or flaws. In case of plagiarism and multiple submissions the MS will be withdrawn by the Editorial Office. After the MS acceptation, the withdrawal is not permitted. However, if the review process takes more than six months the authors are allowed to withdraw MS without paying any charges.

It is absolutely against the publishing rules to withdraw submitted manuscripts from one journal if simultaneously accepted by another. The authors should be aware that peer reviewers do this honorary service free of charge and in their free time. Wasting the reviewer's valuable time is an unethical abuse of the entire editorial decision-making process.

As soon as the MS is in an advanced stage, i.e. the peer review process has been completed, reviewers' comments along with requests for revision are sent to the corresponding author, or the MS is in the production stage (Ahead of Print), the following procedure is strictly enforced. The editorial office will provide the corresponding author with the Article Withdrawal Request Form. After that, a signed form with a clear explanation for the withdrawal must be submitted to the editorial office.

Unless there are compelling and unavoidable reasons, any such withdrawal is allowed and completed only after the one-time penalty fee of 130 Euros has been fully paid to the editorial office. This amount compensates the cost of using the Editorial Manager System and the compensation for editorial office staff.

Authors must not assume that their manuscript has been withdrawn until they have received appropriate notification from the editorial office. Confirmation of withdrawal from the journal editor is required for the withdrawal process to be considered complete. Once the withdrawal is confirmed, the journal's electronic submission system will no longer use the manuscript ID.