Hilaris Publisher offers suggestions for improvisations

Would you trust the editing of your paper to an online publisher whose website speaks of an "editorial committee comprising reputed authors and academicians [who] offer their suggestions for improvisations, before getting them published finally"? If so, Hilaris SRL is the place to go. Its webpage banners proclaim that it is "Bringing Forth the Latest Scientific, Engineering and Medical Advancements to Limelight" and "Integrating Creativity and Knowledge for Enlightening Young Aspirants."

It is not surprising, then, that Hilaris made it onto Beall's list of predatory publishers and conference organizers. A search of the Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) whitelist returned only one Hilaris Journal and identified the publisher as based in Bulgaria. Hilaris's Contact Us" webpage has a Brussels "registered address." The domain names hilarispublisher.com, e-hilaris.com, and hilarisconferences.com are registered by a proxy rather than the actual owners.

A 2015 discussion of Hilaris on Research Gate produced the following observations:

• We submitted an article to a journal from the Hilaris group 3 months ago. They did not acknowledge receiving the manuscript and now they accepted it without any peer review and are charging a huge APC. ... --Mukulika Bose,University of North Carolina at Charlotte
• If you Google the journal's name you see OMICS links (if you click on them you are redirected to Hilaris). Looks like an attempt to cover up that OMICS is behind it, a notorious predatory publisher. Contact info is linked to eScience, iMed.Pub both mentioned in the Beall’s list.--Rob Keller, Charlemagne College, Nijmegen, The Netherlands
• We submitted an article in October, last year. After acceptance, we suspect the journal and decide to withdraw the submission, however they charged us almost 1000 euros with such a "withdrawal charge". We blocked them in the email. We also found out that one of the journal's directors has been dead for 2 years, he was a professor at an university in São Paulo state, Brazil.

A search of the ISSN portal for registration information on the The Journal of Forensic Research, ISSN: 2157-7145, confirms the link to the OMICS group (www.omicsonline.org/jfrhome.php; see also https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q27724675), widely known for its deceptive practices. The ISSN record claims the United States as the home of the Bulgarian-Belgian-Indian journal. Indeed, this blog has an entry devoted to this journal, and the Forensic Science, Statistics, and the Law blog notes that OMICS was the publisher when the journal was specifically included in an injunction secured by the FTC to stop its deceptive practices.

The editors-in-chief are supposed to be

• Dr. Jianye Ge, University of North Texas Health Science Center, Institute of Applied Genetics, USA
• Dr. Jian Tie, Assistant Professor, Department of Legal Medicine, Nihon University School of Medicine, Japan
• Dr. Sheila M Willis, Director, Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Forensic Science Laboratory, Ireland.

Actually, the designations for editors are inconsistent. One webpage lists Dr. Willis as an editor-in-chief, but another does not. Both have been said to be fraudulent. \1/ The latter page lists Dr. Ge twice. (That is ironic, since he has told me that he repeatedly sought to have his name removed.) The editorial board is said to include "Peter Gill, Professor of Forensic Genetics, University of Oslo, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Norway."

The lead article in the most recent issue (11:6, 2020) bears the carefully edited title "A Path of Sympathetic to the Forensic Science from the Sight of Forensic Anthropology." Thankfully, the "in Press" list of articles is blank. \2/ 

NOTES

1. On November 23, 2021, an anonymous comment to this posting observed that "Sheila Willis is a friend and colleague of mine. She has been trying to have her name removed from the journal but has been unsuccessful so far. She is not affiliated with this journal in any way. In addition, the photo and bio provided with Sheila's name are not even hers."
2. In the archives, one can find the (well written) work of researchers and administrators from the U.S. Department of Justice and the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Gregory J. Dutton, Gerald M. LaPorte, Iris R. Wagstaff, and H.R. Spivak, Cultivating the Next Generation of Forensic Scientists Through Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), J. Forensic Res. 2017, 8:4.

The Ubiquitous Alireza Heidari at the Fake California South University

Alireza Heidari of California South University is a very busy academic -- so accomplished in such a short time that one might question whether he is a real person. The university website describes "Prof. Dr. Alireza Heidari, Ph.D., D.Sc." as

a Full Distinguished Professor and Academic Tenure of Chemistry at California South University (CSU), Irvine, California, USA. He has got his Ph.D. and D.Sc. degrees from California South University (CSU), Irvine, California, USA.

This biographical note strains credulity (and continues to butcher English), bragging that

Syne, he has been awarded more than one thousand reputed international awards, prizes, scholarships and honors. Heretofore, he has multiple editorial duties in many reputed international and peer–reviewed journals, books and publishers. Hitherward, he is a member of more than four hundreds reputed international academic–scientific–research institutes around the world."

"Reputed peer-reviewed journals" is an apt phrase. This eminent Cal South graduate is on the editorial boards of journals from such flaky, deceptive, or predatory publishers as OMICS (which downgrades him to "a Postdoctoral Research Fellow," albeit with "double postdocs"), Allied Academies, ReDelve, Scitechnol, and Peertechz (where he is an editor-in-chief).

I had never heard of the university before, but it has an amazing website. There, we learn that "[t]he university ranks among the top five universities in the United States and among the top public research universities worldwide." The Reputation page concludes with the forthright admission that "The university has been the subject of several recent scandals. In 2011, the school’s dean of medicine resigned after plagiarizing much of his graduation address. In 2012, the University’s Psychiatry department chair was placed on leave before officially beginning his duties after allegations emerged of an inappropriate sexual relationship with a patient."

Although these unfortunate events might place CSU among the top five universities -- for recent scandals -- the school does not even exist. It is a website that sells diplomas (with higher prices for higher GPAs).

Does Iris Publishers Raid OMICS for Material?

Commenting on the report on Iris Publishers, Sudheer Kaku, the IT technical specialist in Aurora, Colorado, who was identified as the likely owner, wrote "Please let me know if you come across any genuine complain [sic] or an instance where we scammed or didn't deliver on what we promised."

Iris promises that it "only accept[s] original content" and that "[a]ny work that has less than 75% originality will be rejected." It promises authors "rigorous peer reviews and quality check." It claims that it checks for previous publication as a part of the process. It promises editing to improve an author's submissions. How often does it deliver on these promises?

Clearly, it did none of these things in the case of two articles by Mohamed Daris of the "University Rabat Morocco," the "Department of Physics, Morocco," the "Department of Physics, University of Science," or the "Department of Mathematical Physics, University Rabbat Morocco." (These are the affiliations provided on his various papers that appear in flaky journals. I have not seen a university with any of these names listed on the web, but there is a University Mohammed V de Rabat.)

Realization of the Relationship between Quantum Mechanics and Relativity

This paper first appeared in the flaky and oddly named OMICS Journal of Physical Mathematics (Received Date: Aug 24, 2018 / Accepted Date: Sep 12, 2018 / Published Date: Sep 20, 2018 ). It begins as follows:

In this section we will have the design of a central energy model based on the energy of the light E this model has three forms of energy: the energy of the mass Em which is based deep on the mass m in relation with the wave function Ψ and the density density energy Eρ which is based on the density density ρ in relation to the wave function Ψ and the volume energy EV which is based on the volume V in relation with the wave function Ψ. This approximation gives us access to the last very important paragraph in this research is the relationship between quantum mechanics and relativity.

The "density density" article provides nothing less than "an exact correction of the classical light equation E = mc²." It concludes with an equation that "is a proper state of the presence of relativity and quantum mechanics at the same time in any system on the universe or far from the universe." Could one ask for anything more?

Mr. Kaku’s Annals of Biostatistics & Biometric Applications duplicated this gobbledy-gook (which has nothing to do with biostatistics), presenting it as new, quality publication. Mohamed Daris. Realization of the Relationship between Quantum Mechanics and Relativity. AnnalBiostat & Biomed Appli. 2(2): 2019. ABBA.MS.ID.000535. DOI: 10.33552/ABBA.2019.02.000535. (Received Date: April 17, 2019 Published Date: May 08, 2019).

Establishing the Equation of the Wave Function and the System Model (ρ, m, v)

This paper also appeared earlier in the OMICS Journal of Physical Mathematics (“Received Date: Aug 24, 2018 / Accepted Date: Sep 14, 2018 / Published Date: Sep 21, 2018"). The introduction reads as follows:

The main purpose of this topic is to better understand new aspects of matter and energetic systems and to give new theorems and relations based on having an idea about the behaviour of matter either on the mass side of the volume or the volume density this gives us newly exploit relationships but on the basis of the corrective theorem of the equation of light and that will guide us to have an explanatory model of the material and hence the systems outside the vacuum or inside the void.

That is a mouthful. The body of the article consists of a couple of postulated equations (with no indication of why they are meaningful or plausible) and a miscellany of algebraic consequences. It concludes with the apocalyptic remark that:

These last results show that any material with a mass and a volume and a density tends towards a moment TF [“Time of the Universe”]. That is to say that matter when it arrives at the moment TF its basic elements, which constitute them, mean that the volume and density disappear and the matter no longer exists.

Again, Annals of Biostatistics & Biometric Applications, which has no named editor-in-chief,  republished this ouevre falling well outside of its professed scope as if it were a new (and meaningful) publication. Mohamed Daris. Establishing the Equation of the Wave Function and the System Model (ρ, m, v). AnnalBiostat & Biomed Appli. 2(1): 2019. ABBA.MS.ID.000529. DOI: 10.33552/ABBA.2019.02.000529 (Received Date: April 17,2019 Published Date: April 26, 2019).

Such publications in OMICS and then Iris journals are difficult to reconcile with sincere assertions of "rigorous peer reviews."

OMICS ordered to pay $50 million for deceptive practices

A few days ago, a U.S. District Court held Srinubabu Gedela and his companies, the OMICS Group, iMedPub, and Conference Series, liable for over $50 million. It also issued a permanent injunction against many deceptive practices on the part of this nest of companies and the various other entities through which they operate (such as Allied Academies, Meetings International, and Pulsus). Excerpts from the opinion that describe the deceptive practices are below. 1/

Needless to say, Dr. Gedala, who is something of a celebrity in India, 2/ has tried to discredit the FTC's claims. In an interview with the Indian Express last summer, he crowed that the FTC had "not proved a single thing" and that "[w]e have also filed against them for $3.11 billion." Previously, he threatened Jeffrey Beall, the librarian who placed OMICS on a list of "predatory journals" with a one billion dollar lawsuit but did not pursue it because Beall "is not capable of paying the damages. So, it is useless. But we are fighting the FTC case, which we have taken very seriously."

The district court found against Dr. Gedala and his companies without a trial. It determined that defendants produced no acceptable evidence to contradict the proof submitted by the FTC, entitling the FTC to summary judgment. In the Indian Express interview, Dr. Gedala had this to say about the FTC's allegations: "The FTC don’t know the definition of journal. They don’t know what peer review is. They are illiterates. Scientists are not illiterates." He did not discuss the complaints and the affidavits from scientists that the FTC supplied to the court.

OMICS's plans to appeal the judgment. 3/

Federal Trade Commission v. OMICS Group, Inc.
No. 2:16-cv-02022-GMN-VCF
(D. Nev. Mar. 29, 2019)

---

The FTC brings this action ... alleging that Defendants engaged in unfair and deceptive practices with respect to the publication of online academic journals and organization of scientific conferences. ... Defendants claim to operate hundreds of online academic journals on a wide variety of topics, including medicine, chemistry, nursing, engineering, and genetics. ... In order to persuade consumers to submit articles for publication, the FTC alleges that Defendants make numerous misrepresentations regarding the nature and reputation of their journals. ... The FTC also alleges that Defendants fail to disclose the significant fees associated with their publishing services. ... Finally, the FTC alleges that Defendants make numerous misrepresentations in connection with the marketing of their scientific conferences. ...

Defendants OMICS, iMedPub, and Conference Series are corporate entities registered in the United States with a principle place of business located in Hyderabad, India. ... Each entity shares the same principal address at SEZ Unit, Building No. 20, 9th Floor, APIIC Layout, HITEC City, Hyderabad, AP 500081. ... Furthermore, each entity at various points has utilized common addresses for their United States locations and business registrations. ... In general, these entities operate as a group with comingled assets. ... Gedela is the sole owner and founding director of the three Corporate Defendants. Gedela first began using the fictitious business name “OMICS Publishing Group” for his publishing and conference services in 2009. ... Until at least 2015, Gedela held revenue from the Corporate Defendants in a Citibank account set up in Palo Alto for OMICS Publishing Group. ...

Defendants advertise throughout their websites and email solicitations that they strictly adhere to standard peer-review practices. For example, in 2014, Defendants published web pages stating that OMICS had 25,000 experts serving as editorial board members and reviewers, and that “[a]ll articles submitted for publication are subjected to a blind peer review.” ... Over the years, this number has grown to over 50,000 purported experts serving as board members and reviewers for over 700+ “leading-edge peer reviewed” journals. ... Consistently, Defendants have represented their peer review policies as “highly appreciated, accepted and adaptable” to the criteria set forth by agencies such as PubMed. ...

In contradiction to these assertions, however, the FTC submits evidence indicating that Defendants’ peer review practices are a “sham.” ... For example, in certain instances, consumers who submitted articles were approved for publication within just several days of submission. ... In others, consumers reported receiving no comments or proposed revisions from peer reviewers. ... The consumers who did receive feedback from reviewers have noted that it was not substantive. ...

In 2012, John Bohannon—a scientist and writer for Science magazine—submitted two articles to Defendants’ journals with intentionally “egregious” scientific flaws. ... Defendants’ journals accepted the flawed papers without any substantive comments or review. ... Similarly, in 2016, a journalist for the Ottawa Citizen submitted an “unintelligible” article containing ungrammatical sentences and invented words. ... Defendants’ journal published the article without any edits and without contacting the author prior to publication. ... After reviewing these cases, the FTC’s expert Joyce Backus concluded that the papers were not subjected to peer review “as that term is understood in the academic publishing industry.” ...

In addition to consumer commentary, the FTC also submits statements from multiple of Defendants’ journal editors. ... In these statements, the editors indicate that they never received any manuscripts to review. ... Based on documents received through discovery, the FTC asserts that out of 69,000 published articles, only 49% indicate that some form of review was conducted. ...

Defendants advertise that their publications are reviewed and edited by as many as 50,000 experts. In support of this claim, Defendants’ websites include hundreds of names, pictures, and biographies of scientists and researchers allegedly serving on editorial boards. Upon the FTC contacting several listed editors, however, many indicated that they had never agreed to be affiliated with OMICS. ... Furthermore, in some instances, Defendants continued to use the researchers’ names even after they requested removal. ... More generally, the FTC notes that Defendants have only been able to produce a list of 14,598 unique editors and evidence of an agreement to serve as an editor for only 380 individuals. ...

Defendants advertise throughout their websites and solicitation emails that their publications have high “impact factors.” ... These advertisements include express representations, such as “OMICS International journals are among the top high impact factor academic journals which are publishing scholarly articles constantly.” ... Defendants admit that their journals do not have Thomson Reuters impact factors. ... Rather, Defendants’ impact factors are self-calculated ratios based on the number of citations found through a Google Scholar search. ... Defendants’ websites contain inconsistent descriptions of how their impact factors are calculated. ...

Defendants represent that their publications are indexed in reputable indexing services. ... For example, Defendants repeatedly indicate that their journals are indexed in [the national Library of Medicine’s] Medline and PubMed Central. ... At various points, Defendants have even utilized PubMed and Medline’s logos on their websites. ... Despite these representations, Defendants admit that none of their journals are indexed in PubMed Central or Medline. ... Instead, Defendants claim that more than 900 well-respected scientists have recommended OMICS’ journals to be published in PubMed central. ... Nonetheless, NLM has explicitly refused to index Defendants’ publications due to questionable publishing practices and requested that Defendants cease indicating any affiliation. ... Despite NLM’s requests, Defendants have continued to indicate their journals’ inclusion in Medline and PubMed Central. ...

Defendants frequently send out solicitation emails inviting individuals to submit articles to Defendants’ online publications. ... In numerous instances, these email solicitations contain no mention of any fees associated with Defendants’ publication service. ... Defendants have continued this practice even after the Court’s entry of its preliminary injunction. ... Defendants’ solicitation emails invite consumers to submit articles for publication by responding directly to the email. ... Additionally, Defendants solicit article submissions through their online portals. ... In many instances, Defendants’ article homepages do not contain clear reference to fees associated with submitting articles. ... In other instances, Defendants’ fee disclosures are contained on secondary webpages but lack specificity. ... Notably, consumers going to a journal’s homepage can submit a manuscript without ever seeing any fee disclosures.

Some consumers only learn of Defendants’ fees after Defendants have accepted their articles for publication. ... Furthermore, when consumers contest Defendants’ publication fees and ask their articles to be withdrawn, Defendants have ignored the requests and continued demanding payment. ... In some instances, Defendants only removed the articles after the threat of legal action. ... In addition to economic harm, this conduct prevents authors from submitting their work to other journals. ... The Court notes, however, that at least one consumer has found the publication fees to be clearly disclosed. ...

In addition to online publishing, Defendants also organize conferences on various scientific topics. ... In order to attract consumers, Defendants advertise the attendance and participation of prominent academics and researchers. ... The FTC has provided evidence, however, that Defendants advertise the attendance and participation of these individuals without their permission or actual affiliation. ... In numerous instances, individuals have requested unsuccessfully to have their names removed from Defendants’ conference advertising materials. ... In some instances, Defendants did not remove an individuals’ name until the threat of legal action. ... According to the FTC’s sampling of 100 conferences, approximately 60% advertised organizers or participants who had not agreed to serve in such capacity. ...

NOTE

1.  The FTC complaint, motion for summary judgment, and the court's orders are available from the FTC's website.
2. See, e.g., Hyderabad Scientist Receives ‘Champions of Change’ Award, The Times of India, Dec 31, 2018.
3. Jeffrey Brainard, U.S. Judge Rules Deceptive Publisher Should Pay $50 Million in Damages, Science, Apr. 3, 2019.

OMICS' Domains

In addition to the obvious three -- omicsgroup.org, omicsonline.com, and omicsonline.org -- as of January 2018, the following domains are associated with OMICS

⊗ alliedacademies.org ⊗ biomedconferences.org (as of 2/18/19) ⊗ conferenceseries.com ⊗ conferenceseries.net ⊗ euroscicon.com, euroscicononline.org ⊗ global-summit.com ⊗ imedpub.com ⊗ lifescienceevents.com

⊗ openaccessjournals.com ⊗ pulsus.com ⊗ pharmaceuticalconferences.com ⊗ rroij.com ⊗ scholarsresearchlibrary.com ⊗ scitechnol.com ⊗ tsijournals.com

OMICS also is using the following domains to send emails (8/2/18):

⊙ annualconferences.org ⊙ conferenceeurope.com ⊙ conferenceint.com

⊙ conferencesglobal.org ⊙ lupinepublishers.org (as of 2/18/19) ⊙ meettheglobalexpert.com

Finally, the following domains are registered (3/22/18) to OMICS' founder, Srinubabu Gedela or OMICS:

⊗ biotechnologycongress.com ⊗ conferencesamerica.org ⊗ metabolomicsconference.com ⊗ meetingsint.com ⊗ nutritionalconference.com

⊗ oceanographyconference.com ⊗ omicsgroupconferences.com ⊗ scientificmeet.com ⊗ srinubabu.com

The last site states (3/22/18) that "Dr Gedela is a serial entrepreneur and a scientist [with a] Post Doctorate from Stanford University." It explains further that

As part of expansion Omics International Pvt Ltd acquired several small and medium size companies in publishing and events sector. These companies are majorly from Europe, Canada and United States and ru. Today, Omics International Pvt Ltd is an ever expanding publishing group ....

There's no disputing that. At least, not majorly.

For other reports of Omics brand names, see the comments to this posting and Graham Readfearn, All those OMICS linked companies in one place, Jan. 12, 2018.

OMICS Journal of Forensic Psychology: "It is merely an extrasensory perception"

OMICS has long been criticized for aggressively and deceptively promoting conferences and journals of dubious quality. In 2012, the Chronicle of Higher Education reported that although OMICS began publishing in 2008, "only about 60 percent of [its 200] journals have actually published anything."  In that year, NIH informed OMICS that PubMed Central would not accept any OMICS Publishing Group journals because the "[National Library of Medicine's] selection group has raised serious concerns about the publishing practices of your organization." A letter demanded "that you cease and desist from employing our name or the name of any of our agencies institutes or employees on your website for other than true factual statements."

The Journal of Forensic Psychology (visited 10/23/17) "publishes a wide range of article in this discipline covering all modern trends in ... Legal Psychology, Organizational Psychology, ... Paranormal activity, ... and creates a platform for the authors to contribute towards the journal. ... The editorial office promises to peer review the submitted manuscripts and ensures quality." Such quality comes from review that takes no more than two weeks and publication days later. Ironically (considering the diction in the email), the journal's email touts "language correction services for authors from non-English speaking regions."

The website's page on paranormal activity is definitely beyond the normal. It explains that

The paranormal Activity refers to as the beyond the range of normal experience of or pertaining to the events or perceptions occurring without any scientific explanation. It is merely an extrasensory perception. It is used to describe a variety of activity and phenomenon. It is also referred to as the phenomenon that in one or more prospects exceeds the limit of what is physically impossible according to scientific assumptions.

The page lists "Expert PPTs" and "Speaker PPTs" on topics ranging from "Development of a new predisposition SNP-panel focused on customized diet and physical activity setting" to "Emotional reactivity."

The journal has no editor-in-chief -- at least, the link to that position leads to a blank page. The US members of the editorial board are said to be

⊗ Scott A. Johnson, American College of Forensic Examiners International
⊗ Jonathan K. Appel, Professor, Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences, Tiffin University
Gordon Arthur Crews, Tiffin University
⊗ Sheila Jane Foley, Assistant Professor, Bay Path University Longmeadow
⊗ Bryanna Hahn Fox, Assistant Professor, Department of Criminology, University of South Florida
⊗ Christophe Le Dantec, Assistant Professor in Psychology and Neuroscience, Department of Psychology , La Sierra University
⊗ Robert A. Leark, Professor, Alliant International University
⊗ Gordon E. Taub, Licensed Psychologist, Licensed School Psychologist, University of Central Florida

Clicking on the word "biography next to the names pops open a bubble that says "biography."And the email even has a "disclaimer" cautioning against relying on its content.

The emails do not make the fact the fact that the journal is part of Omics very clear. The registrant contact information for the domain "neurologyinsights.org" used in the journal's email is "Whois Agent, Domain Protection Services, Inc., PO Box 1769, Denver, CO 80201." However, the name servers are in India, and "omicsonline.org" is part of another email address that is included.

E-mail

• From: Journal of Forensic Psychology
  Sent: October 23, 2017, 5:44 AM
  Subject: Forensic Psychology Research Submission
  Dear Dr David H. Kaye,
  Greetings! “Journal of Forensic Psychology” (ISSN: 2475-319X) aims to provide an Open Access platform for the researchers to share their expert knowledge in basic, clinical and applied studies related to Forensic Psychology. We have chosen selective scientists who have contributed excellent work in related field, your contribution help us release best quality articles.
  As we celebrate Open access week from October 23-29. Considerable Discount will be given on the publication fee for articles submitted in between this stipulated period (October). ... Article submitted on or before 31 October, 2017 will be highly appreciated. Submit your manuscript by e-mail at editor.jfps@omicsonline.org Or forensicpsy@neurologyinsights.org ... If it is not feasible for you to submit paper in this month, then kindly let us know your feasible time for contribution for further issue submissions. ... Hope to receive a positive reply and submission.
  With kind regards, Ahamed Bilal M, Journal Editor and Coordinator, Journal of Forensic Psychology, Kemp House, 152 City Road, London EC1V 2NX, Fax: +1-650-618-1414, Phone: +44-2035-1423-46/ +1-650-268-9744,Phone: +1-702-714-7001(ext: 9040)
  Disclaimer: This message is confidential. It may also be privileged or otherwise protected by work product immunity or other legal rules. This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to which they are addressed. If you have received it by mistake, please let us know by e-mail reply and delete it from your system; you may not copy this message or disclose its contents to anyone. The views, opinions, conclusions and other information’s expressed in this electronic mail are not given or endorsed by the company unless otherwise indicated by an authorized representative independent of this message.
• From: Journal of Forensic Psychology (forensicpsy@neurologyinsights.org)
  Sent: Fri 1/12/2018 5:04 AM
  Subject: Experts in Forensic Psychology
  Hearty Wishes and Greetings from Journal of Forensic Psychology (ISSN: 2475-319X)
  We have chosen selective scientists who have contributed excellent work, to help us release best quality articles. Your published papers has appended value to the existing literature, thus I kindly request you to contribute any kind of article (Research, Review, Short Commentaries, Case reports, Mini Review, etc.)
  If possible we would appreciate receiving by on or before 28th January 2018.
  If it is not feasible for you to submit paper in this month, then kindly let us know your feasible time for contribution for further issue submissions.
  You may submit your manuscript by e-mail at forensicpsy@neurologyinsights.org or editor.jfps@omicsonline.org or submit the manuscript to the journal online at: Sexual Offenders [http://www.editorialmanager.com/medicalsciences/default.aspx]
  Publication Benefits:
  • 14 days rapid review process.
  • Publication within 7 days of acceptance.
  • Fast, fair and constructive peer-review.
  • Language-correction services for authors from non-English speaking regions.
  To visit our Current issue page
  Hope to receive a positive reply and submission.
  With kind regards, Ahamed Bilal M, Journal Coordinator, Journal of Forensic Psychology
  Kemp House, 152 City Road, London EC1V 2NX, Phone: +44-2035-1423-46/+1-650-268-9744
  [Same inane disclaimer]
  Please ignore if you have received this mail previously.

Are Drug Companies Supporting Predatory Journals and Conferences?

An article in Bloomberg Businessweek,,August 29, 2017, and reprinted in the September 4, 2017, issue of Bloomberg BNA’s Expert Evidence Report (a resource for lawyers) includes a detailed exposé of the pharmaceutical industry’s participation in flaky medical journals and conferences. It focuses on OMICS International, which threatened a librarian who called it “predatory,” with a billion dollar lawsuit. (An example of the articles OMICS publishes is here.) Excerpts from the BNA report follow, but the article is worth reading in full.

... Omics [claims] 1,000 open-access journal titles that post 50,000 articles annually in fields including medicine, technology, and engineering. It has also built a robust conference division that will hold about 3,000 events worldwide this year. ... Professors and researchers have identified [its CEO and founder, Srinubabu] Gedela as the progenitor of a fraudulent empire that's eroding public trust in scientific inquiry. He denies it all, continuing to extend his global reach from Hyderabad. And he has received help from an unexpected source: the pharmaceutical industry, which regularly publishes in the company's journals and attends its conferences, bringing Omics both credibility and the funds to grow.

... The National Institutes of Health ... banned Omic's journals from indexing in PubMed Central, one of the world's primary databases for medical research, given “serious concerns” about its practices. In 2013, HHS accused Omics of trademark infringement and using the names of employees at the NIH and PubMed Central “in an erroneous and/or misleading manner.” ...
According to financial documents filed with the Indian government, Omics's fiscal 2016 revenue was $11.6 million and profit about $1.2 million. ...

The online journals featured on the Omics home page are rife with grammar glitches and low-resolution headshots. Despite such obvious red flags, Bloomberg Businessweek found that researchers at major pharmaceutical companies, including AstraZeneca, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Gilead Sciences, and Merck, submit to Omics journals and participate in their conferences. Pfizer, the biggest U.S. drugmaker, has published at least 23 articles since 2011, including two since the FTC's lawsuit [accusing OMICS of fraud].

Pfizer wouldn't respond to study-specific questions and declined interview requests. “Our priority is to publish Pfizer-sponsored clinical research in a transparent, accurate, and fair manner,” spokesman Steven Danehy wrote in an email. “We are concerned by the allegations brought forward by the FTC and await the outcome of the investigation.”

AstraZeneca Plc, the second-biggest drugmaker in the U.S., has published at least five articles in Omics journals since 2011 ... When contacted by Bloomberg Businessweek, spokeswoman Abigail Bozarth said AstraZeneca has asked staff to no longer publish in “identified predatory journals,” yet declined to say when that policy change was made. ...

Drugmakers have fueled Omics's rise by also sponsoring and attending conferences, which Gedela says generate 60 percent of Omics's revenue. In a meeting room at the company, photographs taken at conferences, beginning in 2010, show the names of Novartis, Axis Clinicals, and Agilent Technologies as sponsors on screens behind speakers. Drugmaker employees often lead workshops at the events ... Agilent, Axis, and Merck didn't respond to requests for comment. Eli Lilly declined to discuss its involvement with the conferences. Novartis spokesman Eric Althoff declined to comment specifically on Omics, saying his company reviews quality of agenda and “legitimacy of the organization” when conferences seek its sponsorship. GlaxoSmithKline spokeswoman Mary Anne Rhyne says the company allows authors to pick their own journals, though in-house experts suggest reputable publications when asked. Omics conferences “were not on our radar as problematic,” she says, adding: “It's not always easy to spot questionable outlets. Staff training in this area is ongoing.”

Any claim that it is not easy to spot OMICS conferences as “problematic” is preposterous. Five minutes of Googling would do it. Any suggestion that these companies need to await the outcome of an FTC complaint to determine that OMICS (or other publications) are not appropriate venues for publishing their research is silly. The websites of (and the spam from) many of these journals give lip service to peer review and quality editing, but they are filled with obvious warning signs that belie these protestations.

Of course, big pharma is hardly the only source of revenue for OMICS, BIT Group Global, and the flotilla of other flaky publishers and conference organizers. Universities need policies that discourage their faculty from padding CVs with membership on the editorial boards of certain journals; from resorting to publishing in these journals; and from dallying in Dalian.

The Pulsus Group Is an OMICS Company

The Pulsus Group of journals were sold to OMICS in 2016. The domain cmesocietyconferences.com, which Pulsus used in the email to me is registered to Srinubabu Gedela, CEO and founder of the OMICS Group. Incredibly, the email denies that it is a promotional message and refers to my "eminence in the field" of osteoporosis.The the email promises to publish all abstracts from a conference on osteoporosis in a journal.on trauma surgery.

Email

From: Osteoporosis Congress 2017 (osteoporosis@cmesocietymeeting.org)
Sent: Tuesday, August 29, 2017 1:49 AM
Re: Gentle Reminder: Abstract submission | Osteoporosis Congress
Dear Colleague, We take the pleasure of inviting you to attend and present at the Eleventh International Conference on Osteoporosis, Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Disorders which is slated to hold from December 4-5, 2017 in Madrid, Spain. The purpose of this 2-day conference is to bring together physicians and researchers from around the world who are interested in exploring the link between Osteoporosis, Arthritis and Musculoskeletal Disorders with a broad theme Osteoporosis and Musculoskeletal Disorders as the primary health concern. The conference will focus on topics such as Juvenile Arthritis, Rheumatoid Arthritis, Orthopedic Surgeries, Musculoskeletal Regenerative Medicine, Orthopedic Nursing and many other important topics. The conference is hosted by Pulsus Group which is an ardent supporter of international medical research, and publishes 50+ journals in association with 20+ International medical and scientific societies. All the accepted abstracts will be published in the conference proceedings and in the special edition of JOURNAL OF ORTHOPAEDICS TRAUMA SURGERY AND RELATED RESEARCH with ISSN: 1897-2276 and e-ISSN: 2449-9145. ...
We believe this congress will be a highly rewarding educational and networking experience for all. To know more about the congress and like to submit your abstract or registrations please visit our Osteoporosis Conferences Website ... Thank you for reading, and we very much look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely Yours,
Dwane Harrison | Program Director, Osteoporosis Congress 2017, PULSUS Medical Meetings, 40 Bloomsbury Way, Lower Ground Floor, London United Kingdom WC1A 2SE Ph.: +44-203-769-1765, Customer Service: 0-800 014 8923 (Toll-free)
Disclaimer: This is not a promotional message, and has been sent to you because of your eminence in the field. If, however, you do not want to receive any email in future from Osteoporosis 2017 then reply us with the subject “remove /unsubscribe”. We concern for your privacy.

OMICS Journal of Forensic Medicine

OMICS has long been criticized for aggressively and deceptively promoting conferences and journals of dubious quality. In 2012, the Chronicle of Higher Education reported that although OMICS began publishing in 2008, "only about 60 percent of [its 200] journals have actually published anything."  As of 2012, NIH informed OMICS that PubMed Central would not accept any OMICS Publishing Group journals because the "[National Library of Medicine's] selection group has raised serious concerns about the publishing practices of your organization." A letter demanded "that you cease and desist from employing our name or the name of any of our agencies institutes or employees on your website for other than true factual statements."

The website of its Journal of Forensic Medicine includes such morsels as "Forensic Medicine is a multidisciplinary subject ... used to for the scientific assessment of DNA, blood samples, and so on. Forensic plays an important role in criminal investigations and it is equally used in archeology, Anthropology, Astronomy, Biology, Geology and Victimology." All OMICS journals advertise a "21 day rapid review process."

Who edits the journal and what researchers will pay $519 to avail themselves of this "platform to the authors to publish their research outcome"? No editor-in-chief is listed. The US members of the editorial board are said to be

▸ Bruce A. Jackson, Professor and Chair, Biotechnology Department, MassBay Community College, 50 Oakland Street, Wellesley Hills
▸ John Zheng Wang, Professor of Forensic Science, School of Criminal Justice, Criminology and Emergency Management, California State University-Long Beach (a crime scene technician who later became an instructor at China Criminal Police University according to the pop-up biography; also a featured speaker at OMICS conferences)
▸ Ronn Johnson, Associate Professor, University of San Diego (in the School of Leadership and Educational Sciences according to the pop-up biography)
▸ Jon P Ver Halen, Division of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery, Department of Surgery, Texas A&M School of Medicine
▸ Alireza Heidari, Faculty of Chemistry, California South University (CSU), Irvine, California (a postdoc according to the pop-up biography)

Email

•  From: Editor-Journal of Forensic Medicine <forensic@clinicalmedicaljournals.com>
  Sent: Friday, April 14, 2017 4:22 AM [duplicating an email of 4/12/17]
  Subject: Forensic Research Publication
  Dear Dr. David H Kaye,
  Greetings from “Journal Of Forensic Medicine”! We appreciate your contribution in the similar research field as “The good, the bad, the ugly: the NAS report on strengthening forensic science in America.”. We would like to take this opportunity to invite you to contribute paper in our journal. We believe that our journal will soon be getting a very good reputation in scientific community with your valuable submission. We are assuring 14 days rapid review process. Journal of Forensic Medicine ISSN: 2472-1026. If your next article is ready kindly forward it as an attachment directly to this mail or online at www.editorialmanager.com/medicalsciences/ on or before 19th April 2017. If submission is not possible in the given timeline, kindly let us know about your feasible time regarding submission. Please feel free to ask for any further queries if any. Looking forward for your kind response. Thanks and regards,
  Parrish MP, Journal Coordinator | Journal of Forensic Medicine, Office: +1-650-618-9889
  Disclaimer: This message is confidential. It may also be privileged or otherwise protected by work product immunity or other legal rules. This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. If you have received it by mistake, please let us know by e-mail reply and delete it from your system; you may not copy this message or disclose its contents to anyone. The views, opinions, conclusions and other information’s expressed in this electronic mail are not given or endorsed by the company unless otherwise indicated by an authorized representative independent of this message.
• From: Editor-Journal of Forensic Medicine [mailto:forensic@clinicalmedicaljournals.com]
  Sent: Monday, April 17, 2017 11:39 AM
  Subject: Forensic Research Updates
  Dear David H   Kaye, Greetings from Journal Of Forensic Medicine! Explore the journal for interesting articles that covers all departments of Forensic. Articles that have great impact on Forensic research are available in our volume sector. We are greatly impressed with your research interests and previous work. If you would like to be a part of our journal, kindly forward your next article (if it is ready) for possible publication in our journal or you may also review article based on your previous article. Journal of Forensic Medicine ISSN: 2472-1026.If your next article is ready kindly forward it as an attachment directly at forensic@clinicalmedicaljournals.com or via Online tracking system on or before 25th April 2017.Please feel free to ask for any further queries if any. Thanks and regards, Parrish MP, Journal Coordinator | Journal of Forensic Medicine, Office: +1-650-618-9889,
  Disclaimer: This message is confidential. It may also be privileged or otherwise protected by work product immunity or other legal rules. This email and any files transmitted with it are confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual or entity to whom they are addressed. If you have received it by mistake, please let us know by e-mail reply and delete it from your system; you may not copy this message or disclose its contents to anyone. The views, opinions, conclusions and other information’s expressed in this electronic mail are not given or endorsed by the company unless otherwise indicated by an authorized representative independent of this message.

OMICS Journal of Forensic Research

OMICS has long been criticized for aggressively and deceptively promoting conferences and journals of dubious quality. In 2012, the Chronicle of Higher Education reported that although OMICS began publishing in 2008, "only about 60 percent of [its 200] journals have actually published anything." As of 2012, NIH informed OMICS that PubMed Central would not accept any OMICS Publishing Group journals because the "[National Library of Medicine's] selection group has raised serious concerns about the publishing practices of your organization." A letter demanded "that you cease and desist from employing our name or the name of any of our agencies institutes or employees on your website for other than true factual statements."

The website of its Journal of Forensic Medicine includes such morsels as "Forensic Medicine is a multidisciplinary subject ... used to for the scientific assessment of DNA, blood samples, and so on. Forensic plays an important role in criminal investigations and it is equally used in archeology, Anthropology, Astronomy, Biology, Geology and Victimology." Lo and behold, the description of the Journal of Forensic Research is generated from the same mold:  "Forensic science is a multidisciplinary subject ... used to for the scientific assessment of DNA, blood samples, bones and so on. Forensic plays an important role in criminal investigations and it is equally used in archeology, Anthropology, Astronomy, Biology, Geology and Victimology." All OMICS journals advertise a "21 day rapid review process."

Who edits such journals, and what researchers will fork over $3,019 (or $1,719 as of 4/30/17) to avail themselves of its "platform for the authors to make their contribution towards the journal and the editorial office promises a peer review process for the submitted manuscripts for the quality of scholarly publishing"? The three editors-in-chief of the Journal of Forensic Research are said to be

▸ Jian Tie, Nihon University School of Medicine, Oyaguchi, Japan
▸ Jianye Ge, Institute of Applied Genetics, University of North Texas Health Science Center, and
▸ Sheila M Willis, Director, Forensic Science Laboratory, Ireland

The names given for editors include

▸ Rick Wyant, CRT Less Lethal Inc, and
▸ Peter Gill, Professor of Forensic Genetics, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, University of Oslo.

A "special issue" on "Criminology Forensic," edited by Thomas Holt and Jianye Ge, consisted of a grand total of four articles such as Modern Trend of Country Made /Improvised Pistols Used in the Capital of India. Other letters or articles in various issues are

▸ The Usage of Polygraph Method in Bulgaria, by Todor Todorov (noting that "Participating in a 10 week course with APA standards in Sofia is a lot cheaper and easier than to apply for a USA visa, paying expenses for accommodation and travel costs");
▸ Reality Bites Demystifying Crime, by Gurveen Gill (noting that "Some scientist recommends that thorough analysis of the size, position and other features of bite marks be completed before any comparison with a suspect’s dentition is made."); and
▸ When Good DNA Goes Bad, by Mark Perlin (maintaining that "TrueAllele computer mixture interpretation is thorough, objective, sensitive, specific, and reproducible; human review methods are not.").

UPDATE (26 Sept 2018)

The Journal of Forensic Research has a fourth editor-in-chief listed -- "Dr. Mohammed Nasimul Islam, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Malaysia." But the list cannot be trusted. Jianye Ge told me that he never authorized the use of his name and that repeated demands for its removal have been ignored.

UPDATE (26 Jan 2021)

Another online publisher and conference organizer -- Hilaris SRL -- is now identified as the publisher of this journal. Jianye Ge's name remains as an editor-in-chief. Sheila Willis has been promoted to editor-in-chief, and Dr. Islam no longer holds this title.

Scientists and administrators from the U.S. Department of Justice have found the Journal of Forensic Research a convenient outlet for their work. See Gregory J. Dutton, Gerald M. LaPorte, Iris R. Wagstaff, and H.R. Spivak, Cultivating the Next Generation of Forensic Scientists Through Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM), J. Forensic Res. 2017, 8:4. Whether the publication fee was paid with taxpayer dollars I cannot say.

Peertechz Journals

Peertechz's "vision is ... to promote qualitative research publications for Science ... with an un-restricted access." The "about us" page explains that "We operate from Hyderabad, India. Over the years, Peertechz has evolved into one of forerunner in the publishing industry around the world." As the name would suggest, Peertechz is serious about peer review:

[W]e have more than 100 scholarly journals with broaden scope to publish high-quality original research papers, case reports and other manuscripts. We promote scientific research with the help of stringent Peer-Review process. We are empowered by eminent group of editors and reviewers. The Editorial Board oversee the stringent multi-level Peer-Review process including evaluating submissions, selecting reviewers and assessing their comments and making editorial decisions.

The stringent process resulted in a five-year-old dog on an editorial board.

UPDATE: Scientific Spam reported (2/7/19) that Peertechz has been using "IP ranges to send their mail that had already been listed on our list as belonging exclusively to OMICS."

Email

• 9/23/16: Dear Dr. David H Kaye, We pray for your prosperity. ... Forensic Science and Technology journal credits all the authors for their dedication and commitment they have rendered ... . [W]e have decided to offer substantial waive off on the publication fees for the journal. You are requested to pay processing fee of just $159 (One Hundred and Fifty-Nine Dollars). The authors are suggested to take advantage of this offer and publish their articles in subsidized rates. [T]he offer is valid only on the articles submitted in Peer- Review Week (15th September -23rd September). Submit your valuable works immediately and avail the huge discount offer. Please revert for any further query. Best regards, Hitesh P, Journal Managing Editor, Editorial Office, Tel: +91 40 23833479, Email #202, NVS Central, Hi-tech City, R.R District, Hyderabad-500018, TS, India
• 3/1/16: Special Greetings! We are pleased to announce a regular issue entitled "Sports Medicine and Physiotherapy" and we would like to invite you to submit a manuscript to the regular issue for possible publication in the Archives of Sports Medicine and Physiotherapy. The idea is to present originally contributed research, review, case reports papers, mini review, short communication or any perspective from leading researchers in the field of Archives of Sports Medicine and Physiotherapy Focus. ... aims to publish high quality basic and clinical research in all the disciplines related.

OMICS International

Horror stories abound. See Wikipedia | Australian Broadcasting Corp. | Beall ( 1 | 2) | Individuals: ( 1 | 2 ). In August 2016, the FTC charged the OMICS Group, its tentacles (iMedPub LLC and Conference Series LLC), and Managing Director and CEO Srinubabu Gedela, with multiple deceptive acts or practices. See also Kevin Carey, Fake Academe, Looking Much Like the Real Thing, N.Y. Times, Dec. 30, 2016. [UPDATE: A federal court issued a $50 million fine and a permanent injunction.]

The website boasts "700+ leading-edge peer reviewed, Open Access Journals that operates with the help of 50,000+ Editorial Board Members and esteemed reviewers and 1000+ Scientific associations." If that is not enough, would you believe "more than 15 million readers" study these journals? It might take that many to decipher some of the articles. For example, the webpage of the Journal of Scientific and Industrial Metrology includes the "relevant topic" of electricity and magnetism, which is defined -- mind-numbingly -- as follows:

This article presents key ideas of power and attraction important to anaesthesia. Straightforward analogies are utilized to clarify current power and the activity of electronic parts in like manner utilization. The idea of electric and attractive fields is presented with samples of their handy application.

The description of the journal Lovotics is a tour de force of verbiage:

Lovotics is an open access,peer reviewed which publishes original research papers on new ideas and concepts, new discoveries and improvements, as well as novel and innovative applications. It aims to cover a broad spectrum of topics related to the latest technologies. It should be considered as multidisciplinary research field which utilizing the essential concepts from social and computer science, artificial intelligence and engineering, robotics, philosophy etc. It defines the research of relationship between human and robot and this relationship offer new possibilities for exploring the bidirectional human to robot love.

Email

Journal of Forensic Research

• Discussed in another posting

Journal of Civil and Legal Sciences

The editorial board includes (according to the website):
▸Amit K.Chhabra, Professor, New York Law School (5/29/16)
▸Antonio Gidi, Professor, University of Tennessee College of Law (5/29/16)
▸Christina Mancini, Assistant Professor, Virginia Commonwealth University (5/29/16)
▸Elizabeth Nowicki, Associate Professor, Tulane Law School (5/29/16)
▸Daniel R. Ortiz, Distinguished Professor, University of Virginia School of Law (5/29/16)
▸David T. Ritchie, Professor of Law & Philosophy, Walter F. George School of Law (5/29/16)
▸Paul Rose, Associate Professor, Department of Law, Ohio State University (5/28/15)
▸Seval Yildirim, Associate Professor, Whittier Law School (5/28/16)
▸Tung Yin, Professor, Lewis & Clark Law School (5/29/16)

Authors include (according to the journal) Jessica Gabel Cino, Georgia State Law School (doi:10.4172/2169-0170.1000183 -- four days from acceptance to publication)

• Date: 2/2/16, 3/7/16, 6/21/16, 6/23/16, 10/5/16
  Hope you are doing great!!
  I would like to invite you to submit a paper for Journal of Civil and Legal Sciences ... an Open Access & peer-reviewed journal which strives to release issues bi-monthly and is adamant to publish manuscripts relating to the field of Civil & Legal Sciences. I would be glad to have a contribution from your side to this journal. ... Kindly provide your valuable manuscript on before February 15th, 2016 or let me know your possibility regarding submission date. If your Manuscript is ready you can submit it as soon as possible. You may submit your paper online ... or you can simply send as an attachment to editor.jcls@omicsonline.org. Kindly revert back for further queries. Looking forward to hear from you soon.
  Warm Regards,
  Sonia mattews
  Editorial Assistant, Journal of Civil & Legal Sciences [Sender name = Arabian Journal of Business and Marketing]
• Date: 3/21/17
  Hope you are doing great.
  It’s a great pleasure to invite you to submit a paper for the upcoming issue (volume 6 issue 2) in our journal. Journal of Civil and Legal Sciences ... is adamant to publish manuscripts relating to the field of Civil & Legal Sciences.I would be glad to have a contribution from your side to this journal. ... Kindly revert for further queries, Warm Regards, Sonia Matthews, Editorial Assistant, Journal of Civil and Legal Sciences
• From: Journal of Civil and Legal Sciences
  Date: Sat 3/24/2018 1:22 AM
  Subject: Law and Enforcement
  Dear Dr. David H Kaye,
  Greetings for the day
  It is a pleasure to invite you to contribute your manuscript ... to Journal of Civil and Legal Sciences.
  Journal of Civil and Legal Sciences is an International Open Access Journal publishing high quality peer-reviewed articles in the field of Civil and Legal Rights. The submitted papers undergo a rigorous peer-review to maintain the International publication standards.
  Suggested content areas include but are not limited to in the field of Civil and Legal Sciences or based on the topics which relate this journal.
  If possible, we would appreciate your submission on or before 10th April, 2018. Let us know your feasible time for submission. ... Deadline for submission: 10th April, 2018. Deadline for publication: 1 week after the acceptance. To submit your manuscript through online or send us the attachment at civillegal@scholarlyjournals.org. For all general enquiries, please contact: editor.jcls@omicsonline.org
  We look forward to get your quick and positive response.
  Regards,
  Sonia Matthews,
  Editorial Manager, Journal of Civil and Legal Sciences, Tel: +1-650-618-9889, Fax: +1-650-618-1414.
• From: Journal of Civil and Legal Sciences [operations@omicsonline.net]
  Date: Mon 7/23/2018 7:36 AM
  Subject: Civil and Legal Sciences
  Dear Researcher,
  Greetings from Journal of Civil and Legal Sciences!! Hope you are doing great!
  Journal of Civil and Legal Sciences is an Open Access and peer-reviewed journal which strives to publish manuscripts relating to the field of civil and legal sciences, civil and criminal law, conflict of laws, public affairs, banking and finance law, Human Rights law etc.
  It’s a great pleasure for us to invite you to submit a paper for the upcoming issue (volume 7 issue 2) in our journal. We would be glad to have a contribution from your side to this journal. You can contribute manuscripts like Reviews/ Research/ Commentaries/ Case Reports/ Short Communication/ Book reviews etc. If possible, we appreciate receiving your submission by 10 August 2018 or else you can suggest the date of submission as per your convenience. Please submit your article online ... or mail us. If you have any queries or suggestions please do let me know, it would be our pleasure to assist you. We look forward to your quick response.
  Regards,
  Sonia Matthews
  Managing Editor, Journal of Civil and Legal Sciences, Tel: +1-650-618-9889 Fax: +1-650-618-1414 Email: civillegal@scholarlyjournals.org

Global Journal of Nursing and Forensic Studies

• Date: 4/27/16
  Dear Dr. David H. Kaye,
  Hope you are doing well!
  Looking at your previous contribution towards the scientific community, we are very impressed with your great research work and we are glad to inform you that Global Journal of Nursing & Forensic Studies is under process of accepting new articles from an eminent person like you. It will be a great pleasure if you could submit your research work like review article, short commentaries, image articles towards our journal. ... The last date of submission is May 15th 2016. Awaiting to hear a positive response from you soon. Have a great day ahead!
  With regards,
  Princy D, Editorial Assistant
• Date: 5/5/16
  Dear Dr. David H. Kaye,
  Greetings!! It's your eminence and reputation in the quality of research field for which you have been invited and requested to submit a manuscript for Global Journal of Nursing & Forensic Studies! It will be a great honor for us if you accept our invitation and submit your manuscript. ... We strongly believe that your contribution to this issue will bring some momentum to solicit the articles in 2016. We look forward for a long lasting scientific relationship. With best regards, Princy D, Editorial Assistant

Intellectual Property Rights: Open Access (IPR)

This journal's website maintains that "Intellectual Property Rights is a controversial term ... . The journal includes a wide range of fields in its discipline to create a platform for the authors to make their contribution towards the journal and the editorial office promises a peer review process for the submitted manuscripts for the quality of publishing." A "related journal," it seems, is Intellectual and developmental disabilities.

• Date: 9/2/16, 9/15/16
  It gives us immense pleasure to share this moment of happiness that Intellectual Property Rights: Open Access (IPR) is planning to release articles for upcoming issue. We cordially invite you to submit a paper for Intellectual Property Rights: Open Access. Your contribution will help IPR establish its high standard and facilitate the journal to be indexed soon.

SciTechnol (OMICS in disguise)

In May 2012, Beall reported that OMICS created this name for 53 instant journals and was "spamming tens of thousands of academics, hoping to recruit some of them for the new journals’ editorial boards." The domain scitechnol.com is registered to Srinu Babu G, OMICS International, 5716 Corsa Ave, Suite 110 Westlake, Los Angeles CA 91362-7354, +16.506189889, email@omicsgroup.net. You can obtain the same geographic address from InCorp Services, Inc., for $99 a year (if you pay for multiple years)..

The About Us webpage (11/27/17) advertises "global presence ... to take the high quality research work close to a wide range of ... communities." Too close for comfort perhaps. SciTechnol claims to have "104 Hybrid Access online Journals, ... 1500 Editorial team, 2 Million readers, ... More than 50,000 Facebook Likes."

Journal of Forensic Toxicology and Pharmacology (JFTP)

The first Scitechnol journal that spammed me (on 12/20, 21, 22, 26/16) was the Journal of Forensic Toxicology and Pharmacology (JFTP). It manages to combine "all areas related to Forensic Toxicology, Digital Forensics, Forensic Chemistry, Pharmacokinetics and Pharmacology on quarterly basis. ... Papers will be published approximately 15 days after acceptance." Apparently, "papers" covers a lot. "SciTechnol accepts various formats of literary works such as ... abstracts, addendums, announcements, ... annual meeting abstracts, conference proceedings, calendars, ... corrections, discussions, meeting-reports, news, obituaries, orations, product reviews, hypotheses and analyses."

The names and photos listed for JFTP editors from the US are James T Pokines, PhD, Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Boston University (who is "the Forensic Anthropologist for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, Office of the Chief Medical Examiner, Boston"); Karl A Larsen, PhD, University of Illinois at Chicago; John Zheng Wang, PhD, California State University-Long Beach (a featured speaker in BIT Global's flaky conferences); Donald Siwek, PhD, Department of Anatomy and Neurobiology, Boston University; Fred Smith, PhD, Department of Forensic Science, University of New haven [sic]; Harvey J.M. Hou, Ph.D, Alabama State University; Lisa Reidy, PhD, Division of Clinical Pathology, University of Miami; Thomas A. Brettell, PhD, Cedar Crest College, USA; Elizabeth Laposata, Boston University; Marilyn T. Miller, Department of Forensic Science, Virginia Commonwealth University; George Thomas, Department of criminal justice & Forensic sciences, Albany state university; Jeff Hackett, United Chemical Technologies, USA ("Research interest: toxicologist").

If this journal has an editor-in-chief, it has not chosen to reveal his or her identity on the website.

Email

Journal of Clinical Images and Case Reports

• From: Journal of Clinical Images & Case Reports
  Sent: Wed 3/7/2018 5:23 AM
  Subject: Appreciation for Your Effective work || Case Reports || Clinical Images
  Dear Dr. David Kaye,
  Greetings!
  It is our pleasure to announce that Journal of Clinical Images and Case Reports has successfully entered its 2nd year of its publication journey and we are aiming to index it in SCIE by publishing peer reviewed, quality articles. We wish to continue to publish high quality articles and need your contribution in the form of Research articles/Case reports/Clinical Images/ Short Communications/ Letter to Editor/ Commentary relevant to, but not limited to clinical and medicinal field.
  I appreciate your submission to Case Reports on or before 28 March 2018. However, we may extend the time limit if you intimate us regarding the submission. ...
  Best wishes for your continuing research. Hope for a long lasting scientific relationship with you.
  Best regards,
  Journal Coordinator
  Clinical Images and Case Reports, 5716 Corsa Ave, Suite 110, Westlake, Los Angeles
  CA 91362-7354, USA, Tel: +1-650-618-1414, E-mail: Clinicalimages@scitechnol.com

Journal of Forensic Toxicology and Pharmacology

• 12/20/16: Greetings from Journal of Forensic Toxicology and Pharmacology. We have gone through your publication entitled “The design of “the first experimental study exploring DNA interpretation”” and are very impressed by it. We would like to know your availability of submitting such other interesting articles to our journal’s upcoming issue. ... It would be great if you submit your manuscript on or before January 15th, 2017 ... . Please revert back for any other queries. Regards, Maddula K, Journal Coordinator
  Journal of Forensic Toxicology and Pharmacology, SciTechnol, 5716 Corsa Ave, Suite 110, Westlake,Los Angeles, CA 91362-7354, USA, Tel: +1 702-714-7001 (9039) extn
• 12/21/16, 12/22/16: Dear David H. Kaye, Greetings from Journal of Forensic Toxicology and Pharmacology. We have gone through your publication entitled “The good, the bad, the ugly: The NAS report on strengthening forensic science in America” and are very impressed by it. ... Please revert back for any other queries. [Identical text] Regards, Maddula K ...
• 12/26/16: Dear David H. Kaye, Greetings from Journal of Forensic Toxicology and Pharmacology. We have contacted you earlier through email and since we did not have the pleasure of your ensuing correspondence; we are taking the liberty of resending the mail. We are aware that you may be engaged in other activities or our message may not have successfully reached you. We would be pleased if you can spare us some time and revert back at the earliest. We have gone through your publication entitled “The good, the bad, the ugly: The NAS report on strengthening forensic science in America” and are very impressed by it. ... Please revert back for any other queries. Regards, Maddula K ...
• From: editor.jftp@scitechnol.org
  Date: 2/28/19 2:13 AM
  Subject: Journal of Forensic Toxicology and Pharmacology accepting article for publication
  Dear Dr David Kaye
  Greetings from Journal of Forensic Toxicology and Pharmacology ,
  Joyous to introduce you Journal of Forensic Toxicology and Pharmacology a peer reviewed hybrid open access journal presently running Edition 2019, Volume 7.
  The journal provides an opportunity to scientist, researcher and professor covering the entire globe to represent their work on a single platform. Thus, we would be glad if you could acknowledge us your research in form of a research, review, short communication, case reports, mini reviews, research images, etc. from all disciplines which have relevance to practice and policy in forensic science,toxicology and pharmaceutical development.
  Topic of interest (but not limited to): press release relevant to forensic science (anatomy, language arts, chemistry, criminal mind, fingerprints and investigation), forensic neuropsychology, clinical chemistry and pharmacology, drug abuse and chemistry, and medical toxicology.
  Submission details: Manuscripts should be submitted through the online portal Drug Chemistry or the author is requested to mail the document at our e-mail address.
  Grateful, if you could submit in volume 7 on or before 15th March 2019
  Kindly acknowledge the receipt of the mail, we are awaiting for your words.
  Kind Regards,
  Journal Coordinator | Forensic Toxicology and Pharmacology
  Email: forensics@escitechnol.com 40 Bloomsbury Way | Lower Ground Floor | London | United Kingdom Tel: +44-203-769-1765 | Fax: +44-203-004-1157

Journal of Veterinary Science and Medical Diagnosis

• From: Journal of Veterinary Science and Medical Diagnosis [editor.jvsmd@scitechnol.com]
  Sent: Monday, November 27, 2017 2:06 AM
  Subject: Recent Updates in Veterinary
  Dear Researcher,
  Greeting from Veterinary Science and Medical Diagnosis!! Journal of Veterinary Science and Medical Diagnosis is a hybrid journal ... Based on research interest which is within the scope of our journal, we have chosen some experts to encourage the current research and make it available to students, researchers, scientists worldwide. In this moment we found your profile with good in the current research era and gone through your recent publications which are novel. We appreciate you for your work in the current emerging trend. We are pleased to invite you to write an article or short review based on your expertise for publication in the forthcoming issue. ... Submission Last date: December 15, 2017. We hope your research work will trend to new innovation and success.
  Thanks and best regards,
  Journal Coordinator
  E-mail: editor.jvsmd@scitechnol.com | editor.jvsmd@scitechnol.org SciTechnol Tel: +1 702 714 7001 extn: 9039/9043l

Remedy Publications

Remedy Publications describes itself (12/22/16) as a "mega journal." Its journals bear names like "American Journal ___," "World Journal ___," "Global Journal ___," and "Clinics In ___." Harvard Medical School professor Shuji Ogina tweeted (3/11/16) "Remedy Publications LLC is a horrible publisher that keeps sending me countless spam emails. Please do not support this company." Beall writes that "Remedy Publications claims it’s based in California, but I think it is probably a new brand from the Hyderabad, India-based publisher OMICS International. They botched their California address on their website ... . ... Once again, UTSA’s George Perry is listed as one of the editors. He serves on more predatory editorial boards than anyone."

Clinics in Oncology

Not many bona fide medical journals call themselves "mega journals," but the website (7/2/16) reports: "Clinics in Oncology Journal is a peer reviewed open access mega journal aims to publish basic, translational and clinical original research articles from all areas of oncology, surgery, clinical oncology, surgical oncology, radiation oncology, medical oncology, oncology case reports and images." It promises "rigorous peer-review"--wait for it--"within 2–3 weeks of submission. The interval between acceptance and publication online is 8 days ... on a continuous publication model." The editor-in-chief is "Min Rex Cheung, MD, PhD," who "is a board certified radiation oncologist specializing in the treatment of a variety of adult cancers with radiation therapy. He obtained his M.D. and Ph.D. from Columbia University School of Medicine in New York City."

Email

• 3/11/2016: Dear Dr. David H Kaye, Greetings for the day, Clinics in Oncology would like to take this opportunity to invite you to join our Sarcoma Editorial Board with the aim to serve the fast growing research community to disseminate best clinical practice. Clinics in Oncology is looking for prominent physicians ... to convey finest clinical resource and increase scope for best clinical understanding. [Evidently this spammer is looking in the wrong place -- I am neither a physician nor prominent.] The journal is looking forward to peers with top academic aptitude whose judgment is highly regarded within the journals main discipline. To confirm your willingness to be a part the Editorial Board for the Clinics in Oncology, kindly send: · A scanned copy of your CV · A scanned copy of your photograph. We would be glad to have you as a part of our editorial board and looking forward to hearing from you soon. Best Regards, Blossom R. Damania, Remedy Publications LLC, 820 EL Camino Real, Belmont, CA 94002, USA

Allied Academies' Journal of Forensic Genetics and Medicine

It appears that this North Carolina publisher is allied with the more notorious OMICS group. For example, its Journal of Forensic Genetics and Medicine uses the Los Angeles street address that is in OMICS' contact information; Beall's page has more on this association. (Update 11/1/17: Allied Academies' website now has an address of "40 Bloomsbury Way, Lower Ground Floor" in London. This address also is used by Pulsus -- an OMICS company.) It spams for conference speakers with absolutely no qualifications (such as the one sent to me, a lawyer, "because of your eminence in the diabetes").

As the emails of 11/23/16 and 6/13/17 show, Allied cannot even keep the names of its journals straight. It thinks its "confidential" advertising has "work product immunity," and it denies that its emailed promises and claims are "given or endorsed by the company."

After about a year of spamming for articles, the journal has an issue -- consisting of a single article that has nothing to do with forensic genetics and medicine. (It concludes that "For T2DM patients, clinicians has to recommend for testing hsCRP at regular intervals as a preventive measures to reduce morbidity and mortality due to complications like CVD and Stroke.")

The editorial board, if the website is to be believed, consisted of the following individuals as of 11/23/16:

⊗ J. Thomas McClintock, Department of Biology and Chemistry, Forensic Science Program, Liberty University, Lynchburg, Virginia, USA
⊗ James P Landers, Commonwealth Chaired Professor Dept. of Chemistry, Mechanical Engineering and Pathology Jefferson Scholar Faculty Fellow Co-Director of the Center for Nano-BioSystem Integration University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, United States
⊗ Robert W. Allen, Professor of Forensic Science and Chairman, School of Forensic Sciences, Center for Health Sciences, Oklahoma State University,1111 West 17th St.Tulsa, OK 74107, USA
⊗ Susan A. Greenspoon, Forensic Molecular Biologist, Virginia Department of Forensic Science, 700 North Fifth Street Richmond, VA 23219, USA
⊗ James Jabbour, Program Director, Assistant Professor, Applied Forensic Science,School of Applied Sciences, Forensic Sciences at Mount Ida College,777 Dedham Street, Newton, MA 02459, USA

As of 3/16/17, the editorial board was down to four names: McClintock, Allen, Jabbour, and "Francesco Massoni, Forensic Pathology (cardiology, pneumology, neurology),Legal Medicine and Public Health, Risk Management. PhD in Public health sciences University Sapienza of Rome." Dr. Massoni's name also appears on the editorial boards (3/16/17) of

⊖ NESSA Journal of Forensic Sciences & Crime (NJFSC), "an idle platform for your research thoughts."
⊖ International Archives of Integrated Medicine (IAIM), an Indian journal that publishes in the fields of "Herbal medicine, Homeopathy, and Allied Sciences."
⊖ EC Orthopaedics, an "Internationally profound journal" published by "The society of E-Chronicon ... dedicated towards ... research that reduces the frontier to assess the dossier needed."

On 9/2/17, the board still had no editor-in-chief but was back to full strength with these names:

⊗ Severino Rey, President and CEO of Foundation for sciences and research (FORESC), Florida, USA.
⊗ J. Thomas McClintock, Department of Biology and Chemistry, Forensic Science Program, Liberty University, Lynchburg, Virginia, USA.
⊗ Robert W. Allen, Professor of Forensic Science and Chairman, School of Forensic Sciences, Center for Health Sciences, Oklahoma State University,1111 West 17th St.Tulsa, OK 74107, USA.
⊗ James Jabbour, Program Director, Assistant Professor, Applied Forensic Science,School of Applied Sciences, Forensic Sciences at Mount Ida College,777 Dedham Street, Newton, MA 02459, USA.
⊗ Francesco Massoni, Forensic Pathology (Cardiology, Pneumology, Neurology), Legal Medicine and Public Health, Risk Management. PhD in Public health sciences - Sapienza University of Rome, Italy
⊗ Takaki Ishikawa, Chief Professor, Department of Legal Medicine, Osaka City University Medical School, Osaka-shi, Japan
⊗ Jian Zhao, Secretary of Key Laboratory of Forensic Pathology, Ministry of Public Security, Guangzhou Forensic Science Institute, P.R. China

Dr. Allen also is listed as editor-in-chief of the Avens Journal of Forensic Investigation.

Email

Invitations to my "research allies" for the inaugural issue

• 10/24/16: It gives us great pleasure to invite you and your research allies to submit a manuscript for the Journal of Forensic Genetics and Medicine. We are delighted to announce that we are planning to release Inaugural Issue for our newly launched Journal. Your contribution adds more value to our inaugural issue. ... Moreover, we are pleased to inform you that COMPLETE WAIVER will be provided on the articles submitted on or before October 30th, 2016 for the inaugural issue. ... We Look forward for our long lasting scientific relationship. With Regards, Solomon Ebe, Editorial Assistant, Journal of Forensic Genetics and Medicine, Allied Academies, P.O.Box670, Candler, NC28715, USA, Call: (828) 214-3944
• 11/23/16: Greetings from Journal of Forensic Genetics and Medicine. It gives us great pleasure to invite you and your research allies to submit a manuscript for the Journal of Forensic Genetics and Medicine. We are delighted to announce that we are planning to release Inaugural Issue for our newly launched Journal. Your contribution adds more value to our inaugural issue. ... Your contribution will help Journal of Sinusitis and Migraine establish its high standard and facilitate the journal to be indexed by prestigious ISI soon. ... We Look forward for our long lasting scientific relationship. With Regards, Solomon Ebe, Editrial Assistant, Journal of Forensic Genetics and Medicine, Allied Academies, P.O.Box670, Candler, NC28715, USA
  This message is confidential. It may also be privileged or otherwise protected by work product immunity or other legal rules. ... [Y]ou may not copy this message or disclose its contents to anyone. The views, opinions, conclusions and other information’s expressed in this electronic mail are not given or endorsed by the company unless otherwise indicated by an authorized representative independent of this message.

Another solicitation for "our inaugural issue" of Journal of Forensic Genetics and Medicine "by January 30, 2017"

• 1/11/17: "Papers may be submitted from any discipline related to ... Forensic applications, Legal Issues, ... and suggested content areas which include but are not limited. There is no restriction for the length of the paper. Kindly send us your manuscript ... by January 30th, 2017. If it is not feasible for you in January, please let us know your possible date to contribute. ... Do not hesitate to contact for further queries. Please provide me your acceptance for the same! With Regards, Solomon Ebe, Editorial Assistant, Journal of Forensic Genetics and Medicine, Allied Academies, P.O.Box670, Candler, NC28715, USA, Call: (828) 214-3944. This message is confidential. ...

OK, maybe January 30 was not critical. February 20 will do.

• 1/31/17: Dear Dr. David H. Kaye, Greetings from the Journal of Forensic Genetics and Medicine. It gives us great pleasure to invite you and your research allies to submit a manuscript ... . We are delighted to announce that we are planning to release Inaugural Issue for our newly launched Journal. Your contribution adds more value to our inaugural issue. Papers may be submitted from any discipline related to Forensic Genetics, Forensic Medicine, Forensic Autopsy, Forensic toxicology, DNA analysis, DNA fingerprinting, Gene Cloning, Crime Scene investigation, DNA polymorphisms, Forensic applications, Legal Issues, DNA structure, Genome and suggested content areas which include but are not limited. ... Kindly send us your manuscript ... by February 20th, 2017. If it is not feasible for you in January, please let us know your possible date to contribute. ... Please provide me your acceptance for the same! With Regards, Solomon Ebe, Editorial Assistant, Journal of Forensic Genetics and Medicine, Allied Academies, P.O.Box670 Candler, NC28715, USA, Call: (828) 214-3944.
  This message is confidential. It may also be privileged or otherwise protected by work product immunity or other legal rules. ... The views, opinions, conclusions and other information’s expressed in this electronic mail are not given or endorsed by the company unless otherwise indicated by an authorized representative independent of this message.

Does the editor even know which journal she is editing?

• From: Journal of Forensic Genetics and Medicine (forensicgenetics@alliedacademies.org)
  Sent: Tuesday, June 13, 2017 8:07 AM
  Subject: Forensic Genetics and Medicine
  Greetings from Journal of Forensic Genetics and Medicine. We are pleased to inform you that Journal of Theoretical and Computational Science is under the process of accepting articles from the experts like you for Upcoming Issue. We will be grateful if you submit a paper for the upcoming issue, the submission due date for the article is 28th June 2017. We request you to let us know your possibility of submitting an article. Regards, Catherine Darley, Journal Manager, Journal of Forensic Genetics and Medicine, 5716 Corsa Ave, Suite 110, Westlake, Los Angeles, CA 91362-7354, USA

Perhaps not. The journal launched with an "issue" consisting of a single article on a topic in clinical medicine. That has not stopped the spam, though.

• From: Journal of Forensic Genetics and Medicine (forensicgenetics@alliedacademies.org)
  Sent: Thursday, July 6, 2017 6:55 AM
  Subject: Forensic Genetics and Medicine
  Greetings from Journal of Forensic Genetics and Medicine. We are pleased to inform you that Journal of Forensic Genetics and Medicine is under the process of accepting articles from the experts like you for Upcoming Issue. We will be grateful if you submit a paper for the upcoming issue, the submission due date for the article is 28th July 2017. ... We request you to let us know your possibility of submitting an article.
  Regards, Catherine Darley, Journal Manager, Journal of Forensic Genetics and Medicine, 5716 Corsa Ave, Suite 110, Westlake, Los Angeles, CA 91362-7354, USA