Fresh water paper proves recycled, gets retracted

rsercover313A Saudi engineer has lost his 2012 paper in Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews for plagiarizing from two previously published articles, including one in the same journal.

The article, titled “Fresh water production from/by atmospheric air for arid regions, using solar energy: Review,” was written by A.M.K. El-Ghonemy, of Al-Jouf University.

According to the retraction notice:

Continue reading Fresh water paper proves recycled, gets retracted

Bowel cell paper falls to culture confusion

ijms-logoA group of nutrition researchers at the University of California, Davis has retracted their paper in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences for what they describe as a botched experiment involving mixed-up cultures.

The article, titled “Dextran Sulfate Sodium Inhibits Alanine Synthesis in Caco-2 Cells,” appeared in 2011 and was retracted in February 2012, although it just came to our attention.

According to the abstract:

Continue reading Bowel cell paper falls to culture confusion

After three retractions, five expressions of concern, cardiologist Matsubara resigns post

matsubaraHiroaki Matsubara, a leading Japanese cardiology researcher who has had three papers retracted and another five subject to expressions of concern, has resigned from Kyoto Prefectural University, according to local media.

Mainichi Shimbun reports — according to our roughest of (Google) translations — that Kyoto Prefectural University accepted Matsubara’s resignation following an investigation. That investigation — which the university had told us about last year — revealed serious problems with 27 studies.

As we noted last March: Continue reading After three retractions, five expressions of concern, cardiologist Matsubara resigns post

Another correction for Rui Curi, whose legal threats helped force shutdown of Science Fraud site

joeThe Journal of Endocrinology has run a correction for a paper by Rui Curi, the Brazilian scientist whose lawyers threatened Science-Fraud.org after the site ran a number of posts critical of Curi’s work.

Here’s the notice for “Non-esterified fatty acids and human lymphocyte death: a mechanism that involves calcium release and oxidative stress”: Continue reading Another correction for Rui Curi, whose legal threats helped force shutdown of Science Fraud site

“Highly unethical practices” force four retractions for nanotech researcher

acta biomaterialiaSanjeeb K. Sahoo, of the Institute of Life Sciences in Bhubaneswar, India, has had four papers retracted from Acta Biomaterialia for what the journal is calling “highly unethical practices.”

All four notices say the same thing: Continue reading “Highly unethical practices” force four retractions for nanotech researcher

Paper by fake cardiologist retracted

j patient safetyRetraction Watch readers may recall the case of William Hamman, the United Airlines pilot who claimed to be a cardiologist until the Associated Press uncovered him in late 2010. Hamman had published at least six papers, and since the revelations has had one retraction and one erratum, by our count.

Now comes another retraction, in the Journal of Patient Safety. Here’s the (paywalled) notice, signed by journal editor Charles Denham: Continue reading Paper by fake cardiologist retracted

Author whose lawyers threatened Science Fraud corrects another paper

curi
Rui Curi

Rui Curi, the Brazilian scientist whose lawyers’ threats helped force the shutdown of Science-Fraud.org, has corrected another paper criticized by the site.

Here’s the correction for “Effects of moderate electrical stimulation on reactive species production by primary rat skeletal muscle cells: Cross-talk between superoxide and nitric oxide production,” in the Journal of Cellular Physiology: Continue reading Author whose lawyers threatened Science Fraud corrects another paper

Is an “article in press” “published?” A word about Elsevier’s withdrawal policy

elsevierEarlier today, we reported on the withdrawal of a paper from Research Policy, an Elsevier journal. The notice didn’t give a reason, just that the “article has been withdrawn at the request of the authors and editor.”

We’ve seen a number of such opaque withdrawals from Elsevier journals, and thought it was worth some exploration. While Elsevier’s policy here on such withdrawals is clear, as it is in other matters, we take some issue with it: Continue reading Is an “article in press” “published?” A word about Elsevier’s withdrawal policy

Lichtenthaler co-author Ernst retracts paper that didn’t include Lichtenthaler

research policy 1A frequent co-author of Ulrich Lichtenthaler — the management professor who has retracted at least eight papers — has now withdrawn one of his own from Research Policy.

The original paper, “How to create commercial value from patents: The role of patent management,” by Holger Ernst and colleagues, went online on May 21, 2012. Here’s the notice: Continue reading Lichtenthaler co-author Ernst retracts paper that didn’t include Lichtenthaler

Musical figures: PNAS paper corrected with version of “intentionally contrived and falsified” Nature figure

pnasOne of the two corrections recommended by a McGill committee for work by Maya Saleh and colleagues has appeared, in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

As we reported last month, the committee found that

two figures in [a] Nature paper had been “intentionally contrived and falsified.” One of those figures was duplicated in a PNAS paper, which also contained an image that  had incorrectly labeled some proteins.

The committee recommended that both of the papers be corrected, and the PNAS correction  for “Confinement of caspase-12 proteolytic activity to autoprocessing” reads as follows: Continue reading Musical figures: PNAS paper corrected with version of “intentionally contrived and falsified” Nature figure