Research Involving Human Participants

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

• Be approved by an appropriate Institutional Review Board (IRB), Ethics Committee, or equivalent authority before the study begins.
• Be conducted in accordance with the principles of the Declaration of Helsinki and applicable national 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 legal guardians when required.
• Protect participant privacy, confidentiality, and anonymity throughout the research and publication process.

If ethical approval was not required under local 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.
• Comply with institutional, national, and international regulations governing animal welfare.
• Be designed to minimize animal suffering and use the minimum number of animals necessary to achieve scientifically valid results.
• Follow the principles of the 3Rs:
  • Replacement – Use non-animal alternatives whenever possible.
  • Reduction – Use the minimum number of animals required.
  • Refinement – Employ procedures that minimize pain, distress, and suffering.
• Include an ethics approval statement with the committee name and approval number where applicable.

Ethical Statement

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

• Name of the ethics committee or review board.
• Ethics approval or protocol number (if applicable).
• Confirmation that informed consent was obtained (for human studies).
• Compliance with relevant ethical guidelines and regulations.

Editorial Assessment

The editorial office may request copies of ethics approval documents or supporting evidence during peer review. Failure to provide appropriate ethical documentation may result in rejection of the manuscript.