Aims and Scope

Benha Journal of Applied Sciences, Benha J. App. Sci. (BJAS) is a peer-reviewed, interdisciplinary journal, published by Benha University. The journal has been at the forefront of disseminating high-quality, innovative, and impactful research, reviews, and short communications across diverse disciplines. Inspired by the mission of leading scientific journals, BJAS is devoted to fostering the exchange of ideas, driving innovation, and promoting scientific excellence in the ever-evolving fields of Basic and Applied Sciences.

The journal is committed to rapid and rigorous peer review, ensuring that all submissions are evaluated based on their scientific rigor, originality, and potential contribution to the field. Each manuscript undergoes a double-blind peer review by at least two independent reviewers, reflecting our dedication to upholding ethical publishing standards and maintaining the integrity of scientific research.

 

Authors can expect a swift editorial process, if all processes from complete submission to revision go smoothly, then 6 weeks (median) are required to reach a conclusion (Acceptance/Rejection). An impressive timeline of 21 days from final acceptance to online publication. This efficiency facilitates the rapid dissemination of critical research findings to the global scientific community.

The journal welcomes submissions from researchers, academics, and professionals worldwide. By emphasizing accessibility and the promotion of international collaboration, BJAS aligns with the ethos of fostering knowledge as a public good.

 

 

Mission and Scope:

 

Inspired by the guiding principles of influential journals, BJAS aims to address the most pressing scientific and societal challenges through the lens of applied research. Its scope bridges the gap between fundamental science and its real-world applications, providing a platform where novel ideas meet practical solutions.

 

Subject areas include but are not limited to the following:

 

1. Medical and Health Sciences:

This domain encompasses cutting-edge research in clinical medicine, epidemiology, biomedical sciences, pharmaceutical developments, public health innovations, and healthcare technologies. The journal is particularly interested in studies that translate basic research into clinical applications, as well as investigations addressing global health disparities.

1. Applied and Basic Sciences:

Spanning Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, and interdisciplinary research. It focuses on fundamental discoveries and their applications in solving contemporary challenges. Topics of interest include materials science, nanotechnology, renewable energy, and environmental sustainability.

1. Engineering Sciences:

Covering traditional and emerging disciplines such as Electrical, Mechanical, Civil, Architectural, and Chemical Engineering, this field emphasizes groundbreaking advancements in technology, infrastructure, and sustainable development. Innovations in Green Engineering, Smart Systems, and computational modeling are especially encouraged. Subjects of Engineering, Mathematics and Physics are covered in this section as well.

 

 

1. Computer and Technology Sciences:

Reflecting the rapidly evolving digital age, this area addresses topics such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, big data analytics, cybersecurity, software development, robotics, and the Internet of Things (IoT). Research that bridges computer science with other disciplines is particularly welcome.

1. Applied Agriculture Sciences:

This field highlights research that enhances Food Security, Sustainability, And Agricultural Efficiency. Topics include crop improvement, Agriculture Biotechnology, Soil Health, Water Management, and Climate-Resilient Farming Systems. Studies focusing on integrating modern technologies into traditional agricultural practices are strongly encouraged.

1. Veterinary Medical Sciences

Addressing the health and welfare of animals, this section includes studies in veterinary diagnostics, therapeutics, zoonotic diseases, and the One Health approach, which explores the intersection of human, animal, and environmental health.

 

Future Vision:

 

Building upon its solid foundation, BJAS aspires to serve as a global hub for transformative research and multidisciplinary collaboration. By adhering to the highest standards of scientific integrity and publication ethics, the journal seeks to empower researchers to explore uncharted territories and contribute to the advancement of knowledge for the improvement of society.

 

Publication Ethics and Integrity:

 

Benha Journal of Applied Sciences is dedicated to upholding the highest standards of ethical publication practices, ensuring the dissemination of reliable, valid, and high-quality scientific knowledge. All parties involved in the publication process—editors, reviewers, authors, and the publisher—must strictly adhere to ethical principles as defined by the Committee on Publication Ethics (COPE) (http://publicationethics.org/), the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors (ICMJE), and other global guidelines. By promoting integrity, transparency, and accountability, the journal seeks to prevent unethical practices such as plagiarism, falsification, fabrication of data, duplicate publication, and conflicts of interest, which could undermine the credibility of published research.

 

Editorial Responsibilities

 

The editors and editorial board of the journal are entrusted with safeguarding the integrity of the peer-review and publication process. Their responsibilities include:

1. Fairness and Impartiality

• The editorial decisions are based solely on the manuscript's academic and scientific merit, originality, relevance to the journal’s scope, and methodological rigor.
• Authors are treated with equality and fairness, irrespective of their race, gender, ethnicity, religion, political affiliation, or geographic location.

2. Independence from External Pressures

• Editorial decisions are made independently, without undue influence from governments, institutions, or commercial entities.
• The editor-in-chief is responsibile for the journal's editorial content and ensures that the peer-review process remains impartial and unbiased.

 

 

 

3. Confidentiality

• Editors and editorial staff must protect the confidentiality of all submissions and not disclose any details about a manuscript to anyone other than the corresponding author, assigned reviewers, and the publisher.
• Unpublished information or data from manuscripts may not be used by editors or staff for personal research or benefit.

4. Addressing Ethical Concerns and Misconduct

• The editorial board is committed to investigating all allegations of misconduct, including data fabrication, plagiarism, duplicate publication, and ethical violations involving research subjects.
• Allegations will be handled transparently, following COPE guidelines, and may involve contacting authors’ institutions or retracting the manuscript if necessary.

5. Oversight of Peer Review

• The journal operates a double-blind peer-review process, ensuring that authors' and reviewers' identities remain anonymous to prevent bias.
• Reviewers are selected based on expertise, and their evaluations must be constructive, objective, and respectful.

 

6. Ethical Oversight of Sensitive Research

• Articles involving sensitive topics, such as clinical trials, genetic research, or dual-use technologies, are subject to heightened scrutiny.
• For clinical trials, authors must provide trial registration numbers and adhere to guidelines such as CONSORT (Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials).

 

Authors’ Responsibilities:

Authors submitting work to BJAS are expected to uphold the integrity of their research and comply with ethical standards throughout the research and publication process.

1. Originality and Avoidance of Redundancy

• Authors must ensure that their submission is entirely original and has not been published elsewhere or simultaneously submitted to another journal.
• If the manuscript builds upon previously published work, the new contribution must be clearly articulated, and the prior work must be appropriately cited.

2. Transparent Reporting of Data and Methods

• Research findings must be reported accurately and transparently, with sufficient detail to allow replication by other researchers.
• Authors must make their raw data, methodologies, and algorithms available, either in supplementary materials or public repositories, such as Zenodo, Figshare, or Dryad.

3. Ethical Use of Human and Animal Subjects

• Research involving human participants must adhere to the principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki and demonstrate institutional ethics committee approval. Informed consent must be documented.
• Animal studies must follow ARRIVE guidelines and strive to minimize harm, suffering, and the number of animals used.

4. Authorship Criteria and Accountability

• Authorship must be limited to individuals who have made substantial contributions to the research, including study design, data collection and analysis, or manuscript drafting and revision.
• Changes to the authorship after submission (e.g., additions, deletions, or reordering) require written consent from all authors and justification provided to the editor.

5. Declaration of Conflicts of Interest

• Authors must disclose all potential conflicts of interest, whether financial, professional, or personal, that could influence the interpretation of their findings.
• Funding sources, affiliations, and any involvement of third parties in the study design, data analysis, or manuscript preparation must be transparently disclosed.

6. Prevention of Plagiarism and Misconduct

• Plagiarism, including self-plagiarism, is strictly prohibited. The journal uses advanced plagiarism detection tools (e.g., iThenticate) to screen all submissions.
• Fabrication, falsification of data, or misrepresentation of findings will lead to immediate rejection and reporting to the author's institution or funding body.

 

Reviewers’ Responsibilities:

 

Reviewers play a vital role in ensuring the scientific integrity and quality of the journal’s publications. Their responsibilities include:

1. Objectivity and Constructive Feedback

• Reviews must be objective, based on scientific evidence, and free from personal bias.
• Feedback should be constructive and aimed at improving the manuscript while maintaining respect for the authors.

2. Confidentiality and Ethical Conduct

• Manuscripts under review are confidential documents and must not be shared or discussed with others without prior permission from the editor.
• Reviewers must not use any unpublished information from manuscripts for personal advantage.

3. Disclosure of Conflicts of Interest

• Reviewers must disclose any conflicts of interest, such as collaborations with the authors or competing research, and recuse themselves if they cannot provide an unbiased review.

Publisher’s Responsibilities:

The publisher, in collaboration with the editorial board, ensures that the journal operates according to ethical standards:

• Implements robust policies for addressing allegations of misconduct, including retractions and corrections.
• Provides digital archiving to preserve the integrity of the journal’s content through services like CrossRef, CLOCKSS, and Portico.
• Supports open access to published research while ensuring authors’ copyright is protected.

 

 

Misconduct and Corrections:

 

The journal has a zero-tolerance policy for ethical violations. Allegations of misconduct, whether during the review process or post-publication, will be thoroughly investigated. Possible actions include:

• Corrections: Minor errors that do not affect the findings will be corrected.
• Retractions: Articles found to involve serious ethical breaches, such as data fabrication, will be retracted. A retraction notice explaining the reasons will be published.

The journal encourages authors, reviewers, and readers to report ethical concerns via the journal’s dedicated ethics helpline or email.

 

 

 

 

Commitment to Ethical Publication Standards:

 

Benha Journal of Applied Science actively promotes integrity, transparency, and accountability, fostering trust in the scientific community. By adhering to internationally recognized ethical standards, the journal ensures that all published research contributes meaningfully to the advancement of science and society.

 

Peer Review Process:

 

The Benha Journal of Applied Science follows a rigorous and transparent peer-review process to ensure the integrity, quality, and relevance of the manuscripts it publishes. The review process adheres to the principles of fairness, objectivity, and confidentiality to uphold the highest standards of academic publishing.

1. Submission and Initial Screening

Manuscripts submitted through the journal's official website are first received and screened by the Editor-in-Chief. At this stage, the manuscript undergoes a preliminary evaluation to ensure it meets the following criteria:

• Relevance to the scope of the journal.
• Originality and scientific merit of the content.
• Adherence to journal formatting and submission guidelines.
• Clarity of language and writing style.
• Plagiarism is verified through advanced plagiarism detection tools (e.g., iThenticate).

Manuscripts failing to meet these criteria may be returned to the authors for revision or rejected outright.

2. Assignment to Reviewers

Manuscripts that pass the initial screening are forwarded to two expert reviewers for evaluation. The review process adheres to the double-blind peer-review system, where:

• The identities of both authors and reviewers remain anonymous to each other, ensuring impartiality and objectivity.
• Reviewers are carefully selected based on their expertise and familiarity with the subject area of the manuscript.

The journal strives for a global perspective in its peer review process by assigning one reviewer from Egypt and another from a foreign country, thereby ensuring diverse insights and adherence to international academic standards.

3. Criteria for Reviewer Evaluation

Reviewers evaluate the manuscript based on the following key aspects:

• Scientific merit: Originality, validity, and significance of the research question or hypothesis.
• Methodological rigor: Appropriateness of study design, methodology, and statistical analyses.
• Data integrity: Accuracy, transparency, and reproducibility of results.
• Clarity and coherence: Quality of writing, logical flow, and clarity in presenting findings.
• Ethical considerations: Compliance with ethical standards, especially when involving human participants, animals, or sensitive data.

4. Decision Process

After receiving the reviewers’ reports, the Editor-in-Chief carefully evaluates the recommendations and makes a final decision. The possible outcomes include:

• Acceptance: If the manuscript meets all academic and ethical standards and requires no or minor revisions.
• Minor Revisions: When minor improvements are needed to enhance clarity or presentation.
• Major Revisions: If substantial issues need to be addressed, such as methodological flaws or missing critical information.
• Rejection: If the manuscript does not meet the journal’s criteria for quality, originality, or relevance.

In cases where the two reviewers’ recommendations differ significantly (e.g., one recommends acceptance while the other recommends rejection), the manuscript is sent to a third reviewer for an additional evaluation. The decision is then made based on the third reviewer’s report and the Editor-in-Chief’s discretion.

5. Communication with Authors

Authors are promptly notified of the decision, accompanied by constructive feedback from reviewers. The journal encourages authors to address the reviewers’ comments thoroughly and resubmit revised manuscripts within the specified timeframe for reconsideration.

6. Final Decision and Publication

The Editor-in-Chief makes the final decision on the acceptance or rejection of the manuscript. Accepted manuscripts are subjected to the following:

• Final proofreading and formatting to align with the journal’s style.
• Copyediting for grammatical and typographical accuracy.
• Assignment to the appropriate issue for publication.

7. Confidentiality and Transparency

The Journal ensures that all aspects of the peer review process remain confidential. Reviewers are required to the following:

• Treat all manuscripts as privileged information.
• Refrain from sharing or discussing the content with anyone outside the review process.
• Provide unbiased and constructive feedback without personal or professional bias.

The journal also follows COPE guidelines for managing conflicts of interest, ethical concerns, and reviewer misconduct.

 

Commitment to High-Quality Peer Review:

 

The journal is committed to the following:

• Maintaining a rigorous, unbiased, and transparent review process.
• Providing timely feedback to authors while ensuring thorough evaluation.
• Promoting the publication of high-quality, impactful, and ethically sound research.

The journal acknowledges the critical role of reviewers in the publication process and values their expertise and contributions, which are fundamental to maintaining its scientific integrity

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1. Acknowledgments and Permissions

• Include acknowledgments for contributors and funding agencies.
• Provide written permission for any reused material.

Revised manuscripts

The revised manuscripts should have textual content in a single file, prepared using Microsoft Word. We do not accept PDF files for the revised manuscripts.

• Format the manuscript file without justification.
• Number the pages via an Arabic numeral in the footer of each page.
• Use the 'symbols' font for any Greek characters.
• Supply any figures as individual files.
• Supply any Supplementary Information as a separate file, preferably in PDF format, and include the title of the manuscript and author list on the first page of the Supplementary Information file.

 

6. Peer Review Process

BJAS follows a double-blind peer-review process to ensure unbiased evaluation:

1. Manuscripts are first screened by the Editor-in-Chief for scope, originality, and quality.
2. Accepted manuscripts are sent to at least two independent (an Egyptian and an international) reviewers.
3. If reviewers’ opinions diverge, the manuscript will be sent to a third reviewer.
4. The Editor-in-Chief  and Managing editor makes the final decision based on reviewers’ feedback.

7. Post-Acceptance Process

1. Proofreading: Authors will receive galley proof for review and approval.
2. Publication Timeline: Articles are published online within 21 days of acceptance.
3. Open Access: BJAS articles are freely accessible online, ensuring maximum visibility.

8. Article Processing Charges (APC)

BJAS operates under an open-access model. Authors may be required to pay an APC to cover reviewing, editorial, and production costs.

 

Egyptian Authors with an accepted manuscript should pay manuscript handling/processing charges (a sum of 2500 EGP), whereas foreign authors have to pay US$200. Details of the APC are available on the journal website (Author Guidelines).

 

 

9. Contact Information

For questions or support, please contact:

·         Email: hanem.salemfvtm.bu.edu.eg ·          Phone: [+20122773266 & +20100728777] ·         Website: https://bjas.journals.ekb.eg/

·         Email: Dr.prof2011@gmail.com ·          Phone: [+201008439038] ·         Website: https://bjas.journals.ekb.eg/