Journal profile
The Nucleus
ISSN 0029-5698 · eISSN 2306-6539 · Pakistan Institute of Nuclear Science and Technology (PINSTECH) · Pakistan
The Nucleus: fully open access; no APC; review about 11 weeks (community reports); 20 articles in 2025.
Scope
Aims, scope and focus
The Nucleus is published by Pakistan Institute of Nuclear Science and Technology (PINSTECH). By OpenAlex counts of its recent articles, its largest topics are Radioactivity and Radon Measurements, Heavy metals in environment and Nuclear and radioactivity studies, together about 19% of its articles. (generated from OpenAlex topic counts and CAS ranking data)
The Nucleus is a well-established, open-access, peer-reviewed multidisciplinary scientific journal that has been in publication since 1964. The journal offers free access to all its content, both electronically and in print, ensuring that research is widely available to the public without any cost barriers. It is accredited as Y-category journal by the Higher Education Commission (HEC), and published biannually. The Nucleus invites research scholars, faculty members, and academicians from various disciplines, particularly in the natural and applied sciences, to submit their original research manuscripts. The journal is committed to promoting flawless and unbiased research, adhering to international publishing standards. The publisher also actively promotes published articles worldwide through various media channels, in line with open access regulations, ensuring that the research reaches a broad audience. The motto of The Nucleus reflects its dedication to transparency, integrity, and the promotion of high-quality research.
From the journal's Aims & Scope
Editor-in-chief Maaz KhanPublisher website
Editorial board by country: 2 in mainland China (about 8%); most named Pakistan 17, Mainland China 2, United States 2, Canada 1, Indonesia 1 (24 members with a country) Editorial board ↗Publisher website ·
Main research topics OpenAlex counts of recent articles; shares are approximate
- Radioactivity and Radon MeasurementsHealth Professions6.8%
- Heavy metals in environmentEnvironmental Science6.4%
- Nuclear and radioactivity studiesEngineering5.8%
- Hydrocarbon exploration and reservoir analysisEngineering5.5%
- Climate variability and modelsEnvironmental Science4.9%
- Radioactive contamination and transferEnvironmental Science4.9%
- Insect-Plant Interactions and ControlAgricultural and Biological Sciences4.6%
- Water Quality and Pollution AssessmentEnvironmental Science4.6%
Rankings & indexing
CAS ranking and database indexing
CAS Journal Ranking
CAS Journal Ranking, upgraded edition (March 2025)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
CAS Xinrui Journal Ranking (March 2026)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
CAS Journal Ranking, previous upgraded edition (December 2023)Not covered
Not covered by this edition.
Database indexing
Indexed in: no record yet.
International journal early-warning lists: not listed in any editionLetPub
Indexing the journal's website claims
International Scientific Indexing (IS), IP Indexing, Directory of Research Journals Indexing, ROAD, the Directory of Open Access Scholarly Resources, Google Scholar, Researchgate, ADVANCED SCIENCES INDEXPublisher website
As the journal's website lists them, not checked against each database; for Web of Science editions the records above apply.
Editions, and major and minor categories, are shown separately and never merged into one zone; check which edition your institution uses before you submit or report.
Metrics
Impact metrics and publication volume
Impact
- h-index
- 15OpenAlex ·
- i10-index
- 24OpenAlex ·
- 2-year mean citedness
- 0.56OpenAlex ·
- Share of gold OA articles
- 0%LetPub ·
Articles by year OpenAlex count · 643 in total · the current year is incomplete
| Year | Articles | Open access | Citations |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 6 | 6 | 83 |
| 2025 | 20 | 20 | 139 |
| 2024 | 10 | 10 | 100 |
| 2023 | 29 | 29 | 111 |
| 2022 | 17 | 17 | 93 |
| 2021 | 11 | 11 | 113 |
Sources count differently and were observed at different times, so each source's own value is kept; "publisher" marks figures from the journal's website.
Review & acceptance
Review time and acceptance
- Average review time (community reports)
- about 11 weeksLetPub ·
- Peer review
- Anonymous peer reviewLetPub
Community reports come from authors' own submissions (confidence 0.5) and are not a promise from the journal; for publisher figures, the journal's own definitions apply.
Fees & open access
APC and open-access policy
Fully open accessOpenAlex
Every article is open access; authors usually pay an article processing charge (APC).
| Source | APC | Fee waiver | License | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| LetPub | No APC | No | — | |
| Publisher website | No APC | — | — |
Other charges and waivers (author guidelines)
- Other fees
- No other fees
- Page charges
- No page charges
- Submission fee
- No submission fee
The journal's website is authoritative for fees; sources were observed at different times and each keeps its own value, without averaging.
Submission
Article types and submission policies (journal website)
What to prepare2 items from the author guidelines
- Reference style
- IEEE
- First submission
- Free format: the journal's layout is not required
Policy excerpts from the journal's websiteAI use, Plagiarism
- AI use Use of AI (LLMs and ChatGPT) software
AI use permitted with disclosure; AI tools cannot be authors; AI-generated images prohibited unless subject of research. Model summary
The Nucleus permits the use of AI, including Large Language Models (LLMs) and ChatGPT, in manuscript preparation (drafting or editing) under the following terms.
Source ↗Publisher website ·- Plagiarism
Plagiarism must be under 20%. Model summary
I affirm that plagiarism of this manuscript is under twenty percent and it adheres to the recommended format outlined in the Author Guidelines.
Source ↗Publisher website ·
Excerpts are quoted from the journal's website; "model summary" lines are written by Workers AI and checked against the text. The journal's website is authoritative.
Profile
Publication details and official links
- Publisher
- Pakistan Institute of Nuclear Science and Technology (PINSTECH)
- Country or region
- Pakistan
- Language
- English
- ISSN
- 0029-5698
- Electronic ISSN
- 2306-6539
- Latest issue on the website
- Volume 63, Issue 2 (2026)
- Official links
- Journal homepage ↗OpenAlex
- Author guidelines ↗LetPub
- Aims & Scope ↗LetPub
- Peer review process ↗LetPub
- Editorial board ↗LetPub
FAQ
Frequently asked questions about The Nucleus
How long does peer review take at The Nucleus?
Authors report an average review time of about 11 weeks. Article statistics cover accepted papers only, publisher figures follow the journal's own definitions, and community reports come from authors' own submissions; none is a promise from the journal.
What are the manuscript requirements of The Nucleus?
According to the journal's author guidelines: Reference style: IEEE; First submission: Free format: the journal's layout is not required. A model extracted these from the author guidelines and each was checked against the text; check the latest version on the journal's website before submitting.
Where are the editorial board members of The Nucleus based?
Of the 24 board members whose country the journal's board page names, 2 (about 8%) are in mainland China; the countries named most often are Pakistan (17), Mainland China (2) and United States (2). Counted from the institutions listed on the board page; for reference only.
Is The Nucleus open access, and what is the APC?
The Nucleus is a fully open-access journal. It charges no article processing charge.
Sources and updates
The facts on this page come from LetPub, OpenAlex, Publisher website; every figure is tagged with its source and the date it was observed, and conflicting values are kept per source. LetPub source page: view ↗ (archived 2026-08-26). Last updated: .