ETHICS -The journal's editorial and publication processes are shaped in accordance with the guidelines of the International Council of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), the World Association of Medical Editors (WAME), the Council of Science Editors (CSE), the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE), the European Association of Science Editors (EASE), and the National Information Standards Organization (NISO). -The journal adheres to the Principles of Transparency and Best Practice in Scholarly Publishing (doaj.org/bestpractice). -For studies conducted on humans or animals, or studies using their samples, approval from the relevant ethics committee and, if necessary, permission from the Ministry of Health must be obtained. Authors may be requested to provide ethics committee reports, approval documents, or equivalent official documentation. The manuscript must include the protocol number of the ethics committee approval and the name of the institution from which the ethics committee approval was obtained. -If a study has been granted an exemption from ethical approval, this must also be stated in detail in the manuscript, including the name of the ethics committee that granted the exemption and the reason for the exemption. Further information and documentation should be submitted to the Editor to support this. Manuscripts may be rejected if the Editor believes the research was not conducted within an appropriate ethical framework. In rare cases, the Editor may contact the ethics committee for further information. -If ethical approval was not obtained before the commencement of a study, retrospective ethical approval generally cannot be acquired, and the manuscript may not be eligible for peer review. -Authors reporting the use of a new technique, new procedure, or a new tool/instrument/device must clearly explain within the article the rationale for why the new procedure or tool/instrument/device is considered more appropriate than existing conventional practices. Authors are required to have obtained ethics committee approval and informed patient consent for the experimental use of the new procedure or tool on human or animal subjects.
For human-related research: -For manuscripts that include experimental research on human subjects or using human samples, a statement confirming that written, informed consent was obtained from patients and volunteers must be included. -For all research involving human participants, informed consent for participation in the study must be obtained from the participants , from their parents or legal guardians in the case of children under 16 years of age or vulnerable groups where there's a potential for coercion (e.g., unconscious patients) and a statement to this effect must be included in the manuscript.Consent must be obtained for all types of personally identifiable data, including biomedical, clinical, and biometric data. If necessary, informed consent documents obtained from patients and volunteers may be requested. -The statement regarding patient consent, the name of the ethics committee, the date of ethics committee approval, and the approval number must be specified in the Materials and Methods section of the manuscript. -It is the authors' responsibility to protect patients' personal rights and consent documents.For photographs that could reveal patients' identities, signed permissions from the patient or their legal representative must be included. -In articles describing transplantation studies, authors must include a statement declaring that organs/tissues were not obtained from prisoners and must also specify the institution(s)/clinic(s)/department(s) from which the organs/tissues were obtained. Documentary evidence of consent should be provided if requested. -Manuscripts that include stem cells derived from various human tissues (excluding embryonic stem cells), their related biological products (e.g., exosomes), and all experimental and clinical applications involving them will be considered for evaluation. However, authors must confirm that the studies were conducted in accordance with relevant guidelines and regulations, and provide documentation if requested. -Manuscripts must include an ethics statement that identifies the institutional and/or national research ethics committee (including the committee's name) that approved the experiments, and explains all relevant details. When necessary, authors must confirm that informed consent has been obtained from the recipients and/or donors from whom cells or tissues were acquired. Consent documents may be requested by the editor. -Authors are required to follow the principles outlined in the 2016 International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) Guidelines for Stem Cell Research and Clinical Translation. The decision on whether to publish reviews concerning human germline modifications will be made by the editor, taking into account safety considerations and applicable regulations.
For animal-related research: -For studies conducted on animals, the measures taken to prevent pain and suffering of the animals must be clearly stated. A statement regarding local ethics committee approval for animal studies, along with the name of the ethics committee, the approval date, and the protocol number, must be included in the Materials and Methods section of the manuscript. -For experimental studies involving client-owned animals, authors must also document informed consent from the client or owner and adherence to a high standard of veterinary care. -Field studies and other non-experimental research conducted on animals must comply with institutional, national, or international guidelines and be approved by an appropriate ethics committee or ministry/authorized body. -A statement detailing compliance with the relevant guidelines and/or appropriate permits or licenses must be included in the manuscript. Authors are required to comply with the IUCN Policy Statement on Research Involving Species at Risk of Extinction and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
-Manuscripts must include a statement specifying that appropriate permits and/or licenses were obtained for the collection of plant or seed specimens. -Authors must comply with the IUCN Policy Statement on Research Involving Species at Risk of Extinction and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). For Plant Research: -Manuscripts must include a statement specifying that appropriate permits and/or licenses were obtained for the collection of plant or seed specimens. -Authors must comply with the IUCN Policy Statement on Research Involving Species at Risk of Extinction and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). -To support reproducibility, voucher specimens/labels for all wild plants described in the manuscript must be preserved. Information regarding the voucher specimen's label and by whom it was identified should be included in the manuscript. -Experimental research and field studies on plants (cultivated or wild), including their collection, must comply with relevant institutional, national, and international guidelines and regulations.