Statement of Human and Animal Rights

Biotechnologia Acta focuses on the rules recommended by the European Convention for the Protection of Vertebrate Animals used for Experimental and Other Scientific Purposes (Strasbourg, 1986) https://rm.coe.int/168007a67b and International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE) https://www.icmje.org/ (Uniform Requirements for Manuscripts Submitted to Biomedical Journals) https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3142758/.

All procedures describing experiments involving laboratory animals and any biomaterials of human origin, including donors and/or patients, should be carried out guided by the bioethics norms.

When reporting research involving human data, authors should indicate whether the procedures followed have been assessed by the responsible review committee (institutional and national), or if no formal ethics committee is available, were in accordance with the Helsinki Declaration as revised in 2013 (www.wma.net/en/30publications/10policies/b3/index.html). Suppose doubt exists whether the research was conducted in accordance with the Helsinki Declaration. In that case, the authors must explain the rationale for their approach and demonstrate that the institutional review body explicitly approved the doubtful aspects of the study. Approval by a responsible review committee does not preclude editors from forming their own judgment as to whether the conduct of the research was appropriate.

When reporting experiments on animals, authors should indicate whether institutional and national standards for the care and use of laboratory animals were followed.
- International Committee of Medical Journal Editors ("Recommendations for the Conduct, Reporting, Editing, and Publication of Scholarly Work in Medical Journals") - December 2014.

All research reports that are submitted for consideration of publication in Biotechnologia Acta must include a statement(s) of proof that the appropriate approvals were obtained from the relevant authority 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. Details of the animals’ care should be provided.

Experimental research on vertebrates or any regulated invertebrates must comply with institutional, national, or international guidelines and, where available, should have been approved by an appropriate ethics committee. A statement detailing compliance with guidelines and/or ethical approval must be included in the manuscript. For studies involving client-owned animals, authors must document informed client consent and adherence to a high standard (best practice) of veterinary care. Authors are encouraged to conform to the Animal Research: Reporting In Vivo Experiments (ARRIVE) guidelines for reporting animal studies.

Field studies should be conducted in accordance with local legislation, and the manuscript should include a statement specifying the appropriate permissions and/or licenses. We recommend that authors comply with the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Convention on the Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.

If the work involves chemicals, procedures, or equipment that have any unusual hazards inherent in their use, the author must clearly identify these in the manuscript. Suppose the work involves the use of animal or human subjects, the author should ensure that the manuscript contains a statement that all procedures were performed in compliance with relevant laws and institutional guidelines and that the appropriate institutional committee(s) has approved them. The authors should include a statement in the manuscript that informed consent was obtained for experimentation with human subjects. The privacy rights of human subjects must always be observed.