Category: clinical study retractions

Expression of Concern reveals journal editors bending over backward to give authors benefit of the doubt

ceiSometimes, an Expression of Concern says a heck of a lot without — as befits the genre — coming to a particular conclusion. Take this (paywalled)* example describing a paper from a group at Huazhong Science and Technology University, Wuhan, China: Continue reading Expression of Concern reveals journal editors bending over backward to give authors benefit of the doubt

Journal and authors apologize “unreservedly” for distress caused to deceased child’s family by case report

aaicNeuroskeptic featured an interesting situation over the weekend, involving a case report published in an anesthesiology journal.

The case report in Anaesthesia and Intensive Care — about a six-year-old boy with a rare neurological condition who died following administration of anesthesia — caused the boy’s parents great distress when it appeared in November.

Misconduct at Oxford prompts retraction of insulin paper

cellmetabcoverCell Metabolism has retracted a 2006 article by a group of researchers at Oxford in England after an investigation concluded that the first author had committed misconduct.

The paper, “Nicotinamide nucleotide transhydrogenase: A key role in insulin secretion,” came from the lab of Frances Ashcroft, a world-renowned expert on ion channels. (We’ve written about Ashcroft’s lab before.)

According to the abstract: Continue reading Misconduct at Oxford prompts retraction of insulin paper

Former Hopkins and Pitt cancer researcher notches sixth retraction

GetzenbergRobert Getzenberg, a former researcher at Hopkins and Pitt, has retracted a sixth paper, this one in Cancer Research.

Here’s the notice for “Mechanistic Analysis of the Role of BLCA-4 in Bladder Cancer Pathobiology:” Continue reading Former Hopkins and Pitt cancer researcher notches sixth retraction

Bone-headed move? Authors of cancer-skeleton paper copy from paper in same journal

ImageClimacteric is retracting a 2013 article by a group of researchers in Seoul who used data from a paper by another duo of Korean scientists also published in, you guessed it, Climacteric.

The paper, “Different bone mineral density in cervical and endometrial cancer,” came from a group of  Soonchunhyang University and was published online late last year. It purported to look at the association between gynecologic cancers and bone mineral density:  Continue reading Bone-headed move? Authors of cancer-skeleton paper copy from paper in same journal

Dental journal pulls article for “sufficient evidence” of plagiarism

ImageA group of dental researchers from India has lost their 2008 paper on the salubrious effects of coconut water on periodontal health.

The article, “Comparison of coconut water, propolis, HBSS, and milk on PDL cell survival,” appeared in the Journal of Endodontics, an Elsevier title. It has been cited 24 times, according to Thomson Scientific’s Web of Knowledge.

Here’s the abstract: Continue reading Dental journal pulls article for “sufficient evidence” of plagiarism

Spreadsheet error forces loss of Appetite paper on obesity and parenting styles

appetiteThe journal Appetite has retracted a recent paper that purported to show that children whose parents kept a tight fist on the grub were less likely to become obese than those whose parents were more laissez-faire with the feed bag.

The article, “Relation of parenting styles, feeding styles and feeding practices to child overweight and obesity. Direct and moderated effects,” appeared last year. The senior author was Laura Hubbs-Tait, of Oklahoma State University.  Continue reading Spreadsheet error forces loss of Appetite paper on obesity and parenting styles

Shigeaki Kato notches retractions 16 and 17, in PNAS

katoShigeaki Kato has two more retractions, both in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

Here’s one of the notices: Continue reading Shigeaki Kato notches retractions 16 and 17, in PNAS

Data manipulation knocks bird virus paper off perch

journalvirolThe Journal of Virology has retracted a 2010 article on avian viruses marred by signs of bogus data.

The paper, “Avian Reovirus Nonstructural Protein p17-Induced G2/M Cell Cycle Arrest and Host Cellular Protein Translation Shutoff Involve Activation of p53-Dependent Pathways,” came from a group at National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, in Pingtung, China. It purported to find that: Continue reading Data manipulation knocks bird virus paper off perch

Jeffrey Beall scores a retraction

jaimJeffrey Beall, a scholarly librarian perhaps known best for his list of possible predatory journals, has convinced one of those journals to retract a paper for plagiarism.

Here’s the notice: from the Journal of Advances in Internal Medicine, the official journal of the Society of Internal Medicine of Nepal. Continue reading Jeffrey Beall scores a retraction