Category: freely available

Pfizer database errors cause two voluminous retractions for JACC statin-biomarker papers

Jacc1212coverCoding errors in a database maintained by Pfizer have led authors to retract two heart biomarker papers in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

The two notices, for “Prediction of cardiovascular events in statin-treated patients by lipid and non-lipid biomarkers” and “Plasma PCSK9 levels and clinical outcomes in the TNT (Treating to New Targets) Trial,” are highly detailed and say the same thing: Continue reading Pfizer database errors cause two voluminous retractions for JACC statin-biomarker papers

Two more Eric Smart retractions appear

Eric J. Smart, via U Kentucky
Eric J. Smart, via U Kentucky

Eric Smart, the former University of Kentucky researcher found by the Office of Research Integrity to have faked images in ten papers, has two more retractions, both in the American Journal of Physiology — Cell Physiology.

Here’s one, for a paper cited four times, according to Thomson Scientific’s Web of Knowledge: Continue reading Two more Eric Smart retractions appear

Mislabeled chemical bottle leads to retraction of liver protection paper

molecules-logoA labeled chemical bottle may contain a genie and not the expected reagent, according to a cautionary retraction that could be a warning for all bench researchers.

Sreenivasan Sasidharan, a researcher at the Institute for Research in Molecular Medicine (INFORMM), part of the Universiti Sains Malaysia, used a bottle labeled lantadene A, a liver-destroying chemical from the leaves of the Lantana camara plant that some livestock eat.

Sasidharan found that contrary to expectations, “lantadene A” protected livers against damage from acetaminophen — aka Tylenol.

But Manu Sharma, assistant pharmacy professor at Jaypee University of Information Technology in India, suspected something was technically amiss: Continue reading Mislabeled chemical bottle leads to retraction of liver protection paper

Without “confidence in the conclusions,” group retracts prostate cancer paper

redjournalBack in January, we wrote about the retraction of a paper in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology *Biology* Physics, the first from that journal in its 38-year history.

At the time, the journal’s new editor, Anthony Zietman, of Mass General, told us that he was working on a second retraction. That one has arrived.

The paper, “High-Dose Conformal Radiotherapy Reduces Prostate Cancer–Specific Mortality: Results of a Meta-analysis,” came from a team of radiation oncologists in Brazil, and was published last August.

According to the retraction notice:

Continue reading Without “confidence in the conclusions,” group retracts prostate cancer paper

Retraction 12 appears for Alirio Melendez, this one for plagiarism

alirio_melendezThe twelfth of Alirio Melendez’s 20-something retractions has appeared, in Clinical and Experimental Pharmacology and Physiology.

Along with the retraction notice, the journal runs letters from the paper’s two co-authors. Melendez writes: Continue reading Retraction 12 appears for Alirio Melendez, this one for plagiarism

ORI, OHRP find “some human subject issues” in Henschke lung cancer studies, but no evidence of misconduct

cancerWe have an update on two papers about lung cancer screening by Claudia Henschke and colleagues that were subject to an Expression of Concern early last year.

The original Expression of Concern in Cancer read, in part: Continue reading ORI, OHRP find “some human subject issues” in Henschke lung cancer studies, but no evidence of misconduct

University of Nebraska clears HIV researchers of misconduct

ajrccmLast August, we reported on an Expression of Concern in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine for a paper on HIV and lung injury. The notice said that the University of Nebraska, home to several of the paper’s authors, had begun an inquiry.

Today, the university issued a statement on the case, clearing the researchers of misconduct: Continue reading University of Nebraska clears HIV researchers of misconduct

Spud dud, as agricultural industry potato paper gets pulled a decade after publication

plantphyscoverPlant Physiology, the official journal of the American Society of Plant Biologists, has retracted a 2004 article by a team of ag industry researchers, including a former husband-wife duo, for what could be misconduct by the husband.

The retraction notice is vague enough, however, that we’re not entirely sure what went wrong, and no one wants to help us confirm — or even attempt to disprove — our inferences. Continue reading Spud dud, as agricultural industry potato paper gets pulled a decade after publication

Markets crash, and so does a paper explaining why

j financial marketsMarkets undergo flash crashes — when stocks or bonds rapidly nosedive in value and then just as rapidly recover — every day. On May 6, 2010, for example, the entire equity market flamed out and then nearly recovered its value all in the matter of hours.

Economic papers can do the same, apparently. Take the recent withdrawal of an paper from the Journal of Financial Markets: Continue reading Markets crash, and so does a paper explaining why

Misuse of data forces retraction of paper on sow’s milk

jchrombA group of veterinary researchers from Taiwan has lost their 2012 paper in the Journal of Chromatography B for misuse of propriety material.

What that means we’re not quite sure, but we have a guess.

The article, “Pilot production of recombinant human clotting factor IX from transgenic sow milk,” was published last July by four scientists at the Animal Technology Institute of Taiwan.

But, as the retraction notice explains, the paper didn’t stick:

Continue reading Misuse of data forces retraction of paper on sow’s milk