Research Involving Human Participants

Studies involving human participants, human tissues, human biological samples, clinical materials, or identifiable personal data must:

• Be approved by an appropriate Institutional Review Board (IRB), Ethics Committee, or equivalent authority before the study begins, where ethical approval is required.
• Be conducted in accordance with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki and applicable national and institutional regulations.
• Include a statement identifying the approving ethics committee, approval/reference number where applicable, and date of approval.
• Confirm that written informed consent was obtained from all participants or their legally authorized representatives when required.
• Protect participant privacy, confidentiality, and anonymity throughout the research and publication process.

If ethical approval was not required under applicable regulations, authors must clearly explain the reason within the manuscript.

Research Involving Animals

Research involving live animals must:

• Be approved by an appropriate Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC) or equivalent ethics committee, where required.
• Comply with applicable institutional, national, and international regulations governing animal welfare and ethical research.
• Be designed to minimize animal suffering and use the minimum number of animals necessary to obtain scientifically valid results.
• Follow the principles of the 3Rs:
  • Replacement – Use non-animal alternatives whenever scientifically appropriate and possible.
  • Reduction – Use the minimum number of animals required to obtain scientifically reliable results.
  • Refinement – Employ procedures that minimize pain, distress, discomfort, and suffering.
• Include an ethics approval statement identifying the relevant committee and approval/protocol number where applicable.

Ethical Statement

Every manuscript involving human participants and/or animals must include an appropriate Ethics Statement within the manuscript. The statement should specify:

• Name of the ethics committee, institutional review board, or animal care and use committee.
• Ethics approval or protocol number, where applicable.
• Confirmation that informed consent was obtained for human participant research, where applicable.
• Compliance with relevant ethical guidelines, institutional requirements, and applicable regulations.

Editorial Assessment

The Editorial Office may request copies of ethics approval documents, informed consent documentation, animal study protocols, or other supporting evidence during editorial assessment or peer review. Failure to provide appropriate ethical documentation or satisfactory clarification may result in rejection of the manuscript.