Research involving human participants must have been approved by an appropriate institutional review board (IRB) or ethics committee. Manuscripts must include a statement that:
Names the approving ethics committee or IRB
Provides the ethics reference or approval number
Confirms that all participants provided informed consent, or explains why consent was waived
Research conducted in the EU/EEA must also comply with GDPR. Authors must ensure that participant data is anonymised unless consent to publish identifiable data has been obtained in writing.
2. Animal Research
Research involving animals must comply with applicable national and institutional regulations. Manuscripts must include a statement confirming compliance with the ARRIVE 2.0 guidelines and that all procedures were approved by the relevant institutional animal care and use committee (IACUC). The 3Rs (Replacement, Reduction, Refinement) must be addressed.
3. Clinical Trials
Clinical trials must be registered in an approved registry (e.g., ClinicalTrials.gov, WHO ICTRP, ISRCTN) before participant enrolment. The trial registration number must be reported in the manuscript.