For research studies using human or animal subjects, the trial’s design, conduct and reporting of results must conform to Good Clinical Practice guidelines (such as the Good Clinical Practice in Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-Regulated Clinical Trials (USA) or the Medical Research Council Guidelines for Good Clinical Practice in Clinical Trials (UK)) and/or to the World Medical Association (WMA) Declaration of Helsinki. Generally, we suggest that the national standard of the lead investigator be followed. If authors have any doubt as to whether the research was conducted in accordance with the above standards, the rationale for the chosen experimental approach must be clearly presented, along with a statement and proof of explicit approval given by the appropriate Institutional Review Board (IRB, for human subjects) and/or the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee (IACUC, for animal subjects) for conducting the doubtful aspects of the study.

All research reports that are submitted for consideration of publication in this journal must include statement(s) of proof that the appropriate approvals were obtained from the relevant IRB or research ethics committee. Any manuscript describing a study that used human subjects must include a statement that affirms the experiments were performed with prior informed consent (written or verbal, as appropriate) from each participant. All personal information must be anonymized prior to publication, unless a record of explicit consent from the involved patient(s) has been provided. Any manuscript describing a study that used animal subjects must include a statement in the Materials and Methods section (or text describing the experimental procedures) that affirms all appropriate measures were taken to minimize pain or discomfort, and details of the animals’ care should be provided.