Protection of Research Participants

Approval of Ethical Committee/ Use of humans and animals/ Helsinki Declaration

1. We presume that the authors believe in the culture of responsible research.

2. We promote research integrity and adherence to the core values of research, like objectivity, honesty, openness, fairness, accountability, and stewardship.

3. We endorse the core practices of COPE guidelines and deal with any suspected misconduct as per COPE guidelines.

4. We are also following the policies of WAME regarding research ethics and professionalism and the Council of Science Editors.

5. Ethical approval certificate for the work done on humans or animals has to be submitted at the time of submission of the article.

6. When reporting experiments on human subjects, the latest version of the Helsinki Declaration has to be followed and noted.

7. We follow ICMJE Recommendations on the Protection of Research Participants, and the World Medical Association (WMA) Declaration of Helsinki-ethical principles for medical research involving human subjects.

8. If doubt exists whether the research was conducted in accordance with the Helsinki Declaration, the authors must explain the rationale for their approach and demonstrate that the institutional review body explicitly approved the doubtful aspects of the study.

9. When experiments are involving animals, the authors have to certify that the relevant institutional/ national laws and guidelines are followed.

10. Authors should follow the guidelines on animal research ethics from the WMA statement on animal use in biomedical research, the International Association of Veterinary Editors’ Consensus Author Guidelines on Animal Ethics and Welfare, and the Guide for the care and use of laboratory animals.

11. Authors have to sign a letter certifying that legal and ethical requirements have been met with regard to the humane treatment of animals described in the study.

12. Indicate in the Methods (experimental procedures) section that appropriate measures were taken to minimize pain or discomfort, and details of animal care should be provided.

13. This journal recommends the use of the 3Rs principle for humans and animals use in research as below.

Replacement: approaches, which avoid or replace the use of animals.

Reduction: approaches, which minimize the number of animals used per experiment.

Refinement: approaches that minimize animal suffering and improve welfare.