A paper arguing that HIV does not cause AIDS has been retracted a few weeks after Jeffrey Beall, who tracks predatory publishers, called attention to it on his blog.
Here’s what Beall wrote about the paper on December 16:
The article is entitled “Basic Principles Underlying Human Physiology” [1], and you don’t have to be a scientist to know that it’s junk, for it is a manifestation of AIDS denialism. The conclusion’s first paragraph says,
HIV is not etiologically involved in AIDS. It is just a common retrovirus found in AIDS conjuncturally. There is only AIDS that may not be strictly associated neither to a primary immune deficiency nor to an acquired immune deficiency. Actually, heart failure represents the causal factor of AIDS and many other “primary” immune deficiencies (p. 1821).
Now, in that article’s place, this retraction, dated December 19, appears:
This is to declare that the article entitled “Basic Principles Underlying Human Physiology” [Health 6 (2014) 1816-1821] published in Health has been withdrawn due to the fact that the contents of this paper need further research and study. The article content (HTML and PDF) is removed and replaced with this announcement. The approval has been obtained from the author of this paper regarding the withdrawal of the article. In making this decision, the editorial office of Health is guided by the policies of the journal’s editorial board and constrained by such legal requirements regarding libel, copyright infringement and plagiarism. In this context, Health strives to promote the circulation of scientific research, offering an ideal research publication platform to the world with specific regard to the ethical, moral and legal concerns involved. We would like to extend our sincere apologies for any inconvenience it may cause.
The paper was written by Dumitru Pavel, of Bucharest Medical University in Romania.
Beall, who has prompted at least one other retraction, provides some context on SCIRP:
China-based Scientific Research Publishing is a growing empire with four publishing imprints (brands) that I know of, plus one mega-journal that emulates PLOS ONE, publishing in both English and Chinese and with claimed offices in the United States, Canada, and China. The imprints include:
Scientific Research Publishing
Hans Publishers, Inc. (HansPub, 汉斯)
The mega-journal is OA Lib (Open Access Library).
There is also a possible connection between SCIRP and Sophia Publishing Group, based in British Columbia, but this connection is unclear:
Sophia Publishing Group (This is a meta-publisher, or platform, with the following two journal imprints):
I realize there may be some strong and honest articles published in SCIRP journals. However, these articles are devalued and stigmatized by association with all the junk science that SCIRP publishes. The authors of the good articles are being victimized by the publisher’s policy of publishing pseudoscientific articles like “Basic Principles Underlying Human Physiology.”
This is the second AIDS denialism paper we’ve covered recently.
Nothing bothers me quite as much as HIV denialism. (Except for creationism.)
Thanks, Jeffrey!
The paper was written by Dumitru Pavel, of Bucharest Medical University in Romania.
That’s the affiliation Pavel uses, but there is no Bucharest Medical University. There is a Carol Davila University of Medicine and Pharmacy, but I couldn’t find Pavel on the staff list.
Pavel uses a Yahoo e-address and elsewhere describes himself as “a Romanian researcher … residing in Romania”. He claimed no academic affiliation in his 2007 paper.
In case anyone would like to view this in all its glory, the G—le cache has an HTML version.
A spot check suggests that the (completely irrelevant) main body of the text is free from plagiarism, though.
The Gazoogle cached version has expired now, but someone seems to have retained a copy:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/czuq4yblfkke9vy/pavel.htm?dl=0
Taking a train to work from NYC newest Chinatown one can spot some of the best knock-offs and most hilarious original entries. You’d have to look closely to find out that the North Face jacket in front of you is actually made by North Faith. Here is your American Journal of Analytical Chemistry. Or you can be nearly blinded by the blinged-out T-shirt from the Princess University (a total opposite to John Belushi’s somber COLLEGE T-shirt). That is your Advances in Internet of Things. And yes, I second the opinion of the honorable herr doktor bimler – there should have been a journal called Advances in Internet of Cats. After all, as Rathergood discovered years ago, The Internet Is Made of Cats…
Better Cats than Tubes…
“Some people think that internet is a series of tubes…”
Yes indeed, Rathergood. Go there for the Viking Kittens, stay for the beer songs.