Abstract
Authorship
The Journal of Histochemistry and Cytochemistry (JHC) expects that all of the authors listed on a manuscript have contributed substantially to the submitted article. By submission of the manuscript, cover letter, and Assignment of Copyright Agreement, the corresponding author affirms that all named authors have agreed to be listed as authors of the article. Furthermore, by their signatures on the Assignment of Copyright Agreement, all authors affirm that they have both read and approved the manuscript and that they take responsibility for the content of the article.
Conflict of Interest
The JHC requires that all authors of a submitted manuscript disclose to the JHC Editorial Office any potential conflicts of interest they may have in relation to the content of the manuscript, including (but not limited to) employment by the sponsoring agency, consultancies, stock ownership, equity interests, or patent-licensing arrangements. The corresponding author is responsible for guaranteeing that all authors understand and are in compliance with the JHC's conflict of interest policy. Disclosure of an actual or potential conflict of interest will not necessarily disqualify work for publication, but it is necessary for critical evaluation of the work by editors and readers. Additionally, authors must take full responsibility for correctly acknowledging all funding sources supporting the work reported in their papers. The JHC does not publish retractions or errata to correct errors in reporting acknowledgments.
Expectations of Editors and Reviewers
The JHC's conflict of interest policy for authors extends to reviewers and editors. The journal expects that reviewers and editors will disqualify themselves from participating in the peer review of a manuscript when they have a close personal or professional relationship with any of the authors or when a negative judgment of the contents of a submitted article would enhance or benefit their own research program and reputation. The JHC also expects that editors and reviewers will not delay the review of a submitted manuscript to their own benefit.
Review Process
The JHC bears responsibility for ensuring that submitted manuscripts receive expert and unbiased reviews. The JHC strives to complete the peer review of all submitted articles and the publication of accepted manuscripts in a timely manner and to keep the authors informed of any problems with their manuscript. All submitted manuscripts are initially evaluated by the Editor-in-Chief, in consultation with members of the Editorial Board. The JHC is under no obligation to submit every manuscript to formal peer review. Articles that are judged by the editors to be of low priority or inappropriate for publication in the JHC may, at the discretion of the Editor-in-Chief, be rejected without formal written reviews by referees. The JHC attempts to obtain at least two written reviews for each manuscript entered into the peer review process, although the Editor-in-Chief has the discretion to make final decisions about the disposition of an article with fewer than two reviews. All reviewers serve anonymously and their identities are protected by the confidentiality policy of the JHC.
Confidentiality
As is customary for the peer review process, the JHC holds the identity of authors and the contents of all submitted manuscripts in confidence until such time as the articles are published. This confidentiality extends to the comments of editors and reviewers that have evaluated the article; these comments and reviews are released only to the corresponding author. Coauthors may have access to these documents, either by obtaining them directly from the corresponding author or by submitting to the JHC a letter of request that has been signed by the corresponding author. Similarly, the JHC expects that editors and reviewers will maintain strict confidentiality of the authors' identities and the contents of manuscripts that they examine during the review process, and, furthermore, will never disclose the contents (either orally or in writing) of documents related to the peer review of a manuscript. A violation of this policy is considered a serious breach of trust.
Prior Publication
The JHC accepts manuscripts that have not been published previously or have not been concurrently submitted to another journal. The JHC only accepts manuscripts that are the original work of the authors. No portion of a submitted manuscript may have been published previously unless the duplicated material is specifically and clearly acknowledged with appropriate citations. Figures and tables that have been previously published must be accompanied by permission letters from the copyright holders at the time the article is submitted. The JHC will not publish figures or tables that have been previously published without printed consent from the copyright holder.
Scientific Misconduct
Submission of data, figures, or writing of others in a manuscript under the submitting authors' names and without specific acknowledgment and, where appropriate, permission, is plagiarism. Falsification of data, suppression of relevant data, and fabrication of data are considered fraud. Plagiarism and fraud are widely understood to constitute scientific misconduct. The JHC will take appropriate action in cases in which scientific misconduct has been reported in connection with a submitted manuscript. The JHC adheres to the definitions of scientific misconduct and to procedures for handling reports of scientific misconduct, as described by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office of Research Integrity (http://ori.dhhs.gov).
Editors, reviewers, and readers of the JHC should report any suspected duplicated publication, plagiarism, falsification, or concern regarding human and animal experimentation to the Editor-in-Chief. This includes reporting on the publication of similar or duplicate articles by the same author and of text or figures that appear to have been lifted verbatim or reproduced from the publication of other authors. After reviewing such a report, the Editor-in-Chief shall conduct an official inquiry in a prompt, considerate, and confidential manner. The inquiry will thoroughly examine the validity of the charges, and the author will be notified in writing of any and all accusations and be provided with all relevant documents. The author will be given the opportunity to respond to accusations, and the JHC will conduct all inquiries in complete confidence. Every consideration will be given to protecting the rights and reputation of all concerned.
In the case of clear evidence of fraud, plagiarism, or falsification of data, the authors' institution will be notified and the authors may be prohibited from future publication in the JHC. If it is determined that fraud has occurred, any published article will be subject to retraction in print and online.
Research Involving Animals or Humans
Authors must state in the manuscript that the work was approved by their institutional review board for any research involving human and animal subjects. Guidance for approval for research on animal subjects may be found through the Institute for Laboratory Animal Research in their Guide for Care and Use of Laboratory Animals (National Research Council 1996). These approvals are required for publication in JHC. For those investigators who do not have formal institutional ethics review committees on human subjects, the principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki (http://www.wma.net/e/policy/b3.htm) should be followed.
Full Disclosure of Materials and Methods
Authors are required to identify all materials and methods that were used in the study and described in the article. Authors should comply with reasonable requests for materials, methods, or data necessary to verify the conclusions of the experiments. All noncommercial reagents used in the study should be available to other investigators who may wish to reproduce the findings.