Journal of Biogeneric Science and Research "welcomes prominent personalities"

The Open Access Journal of Biogeneric Science and Research spammed me as a "Respected Doctor," which I am not, on the subject of "Replace this Subject with your own! :) :) :) :)." It appears that Biogeneric Publishers publishes no other journals, but one may be more than enough to cover any subject. The most recent issue includes a "Mini Review" entitled "The Slideshow as a 'Rusty Movie' - A Unique Mass Media." The journal is not indexed in MEDLINE or PubMed.

The first issue (or rather the articles designated as comprising the first issue) are dated April 2020. In the five months since then, there have been 18 more "issues" comprising 4 "volumes." To maintain this frenetic pace,

We always rely on the support from the members of our team that is relevantly our Authors, Editorial Committee members, advisory board, Reviewers Board and all the technical support teams all over the globe. We accept all the submissions of significant articles like Research, reviews, Case Studies, Short Communications, Mini reviews, Short Communications, Conceptual Papers, Editorials, Perspectives etc. which covers advanced research output aiding in forwarding the Science are utmost welcome.

That's a mouthful.

Where does all this activity take place? The domain name biogenericpublishers.com was registered with most information "redacted for privacy." The address on ICANN Lookup is limited to "Andhra Pradesh, India." The putative address on the publisher's website and email is "2010 El Camino Real, #2039, Santa Clara, California-95050, USA." That is also the address of Postal Annex, which offers "mailbox rental in Santa Clara" under the slogan "Your Home Office." A call to the telephone number (408-899-5232) produced a busy signal on the first try and later a message in a language that I do not speak followed by an accented notice that the person I called was speaking to someone else.

There are two editorial board members from the United States. A Dr. James Stoxen of "Team Doctors Chicago" (his specialty is sports medicine) writes on Facebook that his involvement is "A new career achievement!" He is "proud to add the prestigious Open Access Journal of Bioeneric [sic] Science and Research as the 20th medical journal editorial board appointment." The other "Honorable Editor" from the US is "Christopher R Bryant Department of Geography University of Maine." The university's staff and faculty directory has no such name in it, but a Christopher Robin Bryant is a retired geography professor (now an adjunct professor) from the Université de Montréal. A Google search links him to organizations such as Omics, Allied Academies, Lupine Publishers, and Medcrave that also grace the pages of this blog.

Email

• From: Joe Sara [joesara@biogenericscires.info]
  Sent: Friday, September 25, 2020 3:38 AM
  Subject: Replace this Subject with your own! :) :) :) :)
  Respected Doctor,
  Greetings!
  Open Access Journal of Biogeneric Science and Research (ISSN 2692-1081) is an international peer reviewed open access Journal covering all the areas of Clinical and Medical Sciences.
  We are inviting world class Scientists, Researchers, Academicians and Doctors to participate by contributing their unpublished work. Journal accepts Case Reports, Reviews/Mini Reviews, Short Commentaries, Editorials, Perspectives etc.,
  All the submissions are assigned to the editor and undergo double blind review method and provided DOI number to attain Global Recognition.
  Publication charges will be waived off, if you submit your Manuscript on or before October 10, 2020. (DOI Processing charges are applicable)
  Kindly submit your manuscript to this mail and support us.
  Regards
  Joe Sara
  Editorial Manager
  Biogeneric Science and Research LLC,
  2010 El Camino Real, #2039 Santa Clara California-95050, USA
• From: Joe Sara [joesara@biogenericscires.info]
  Sent: Monday, November 16, 2020 9:34 AM
  Subject: Complete Waiver on Publication Charges (ISSN: 2692-1081)
  Dear Doctor,
  Greetings! I found your profile had a dynamic potential which fascinates me to email you.
  We are in shortfall of a single article for the successful release of Volume 5, Issue 5. Is it possible for you to support us with your Opinion or Mini Review or any article for this issue of October?
  Publication charges will be waived off, if you submit your Manuscript on or before November 30th, 2020. (DOI Processing charges are applicable). Visit at ... .
  We really desire to receive your research work towards the publication, and I think it will be a best fit for both of us to achieve great results. If you have any queries, please email us.
  Await your swift submission.
  Regards
  Joe Sara
  Mail merge inside Gmail

"Vanishing" Open Access Journals

A news headline in Science reports that "Dozens of Scientific Journals Have Vanished from the Internet, and No One Preserved Them" (doi:10.1126/science.abe6998). If the reporter is talking about many of the journals described on this blog, a first thought is "Good riddance!".

But from the description of the unpublished study reported on, it impossible to know how many of the evaporating journals contained anything of importance. The undifferentiated finding is that 84 "online-only, open-access (OA) journals in the sciences, and nearly 100 more in the social sciences and humanities, have disappeared from the internet over the past 2 decades as publishers stopped maintaining them." But "[a]bout half of the journals were published by research institutions or scholarly societies," which distinguishes them from the dubious journals discussed here. None of the "vanished" journals were from commercial publishers.

"The authors—Laakso, Lisa Matthias of the Free University of Berlin, and Najko Jahn of the University of Göttingen—defined a vanished journal as one that published at least one complete volume as immediate OA, and less than 50% of its content is now available for free online." As such, the 200 or so journals have not all simply disappeared, and "[s]ome of the content may be accessible as printed copies or in paywalled commercial services."

How significant is it that "[t]he journals had been based in 50 different countries, most of them high-income ones" and that "[m]ost of the lost journals published articles only in English"? If being "based" in a high-income country means advertising an office in the US, Canada, or Europe, well, using a fake address and publishing only in English seems to occur with some frequency.

What's Canadian About the Canadian Journal of Biomedical Research and Technology?

The Canadian Journal of Biomedical Research and Technology (CJBRT) has many danger signs. To begin with, what does Canada have to do with it? The ISSN number comes from the ISSN National Centre for India. The registration there is from "Ramya M" of Hyderabad.

Second, the Toronto address is that of a "17-storey apartment building."

Third, the website is full of errors such as

⊘ Random capitals, as in "a common platform for both the Medical and technical Researchers. We publish Quality articles"
⊘ Run-on sentences that are too long to justify copying here
⊘ Miscellaneous insights such as "The main aim ... is spread the knowledge" and "The Editorial board individuals ... are in charge of distributing quality original manuscripts got from creators on concerned subjects."

Fourth, the catch-all subject list for this biomedical journal includes all of general science, mathematics, medicine, computer science, ecology, geology and earth science, hydrology, and meteorology. But, don't worry, this eclectic journal also drills down into "Religious Healing," "Korean Medicine" (but not Chinese medicine), and just plain "Respiratory."

Fifth, the spam is addressed to "Dr. essor"and "Dr. Professor."

Finally, the journal is not listed in Medline, Pubmed, Scopus, or Clarivate Analytics.

Email

• From: Canadian Journal [jessicaserlly@biomedress.com]
  Sent: Tuesday, August 18, 2020 1:26 PM
  Subject: New Issue Release: cjbrt
  Dear Dr. essor
  Hope this email finds you in good spirits!
  We are most delighted to inform you that our journal has successfully completed Volume 2 of “Canadian Journal of Biomedical Research & Technology (CJBRT)” [ISSN: 2582-3663].
  With the same spirit we are planning to enter into Volume 3 Issue 4.
  For this, I wish to have your active participation by submitting any of your unpublished materials (Research articles/Review Articles/Case reports/Mini review, etc.,) on or before 28th August.
  We do hope you will be able to respond positively to this invitation, can we??
  Look forward to a successful working relationship.
  Sincerely,
  Jessica Serlly |Managing Editor (CJBRT)
  *Note: All medical sciences, engineering and technology topics come under the scope of our journal.
  Copyright © 2020 Canadian Journal of Biomedical Research & Technology, All rights reserved.
  Canadian Journal of Biomedical Research & Technology
  25 St Dennis Drive North York, Toronto ON M3C1E6, Canada
• From: Canadian Journal[jessicaserlly@biomedress.com]
  Sent: Tuesday, November 3, 2020 1:26 PM
  Subject: New Issue Release: cjbrt
  Dear Dr. Professor
  [Same words except for "we are planning to enter into Volume 3 Issue 5" and "on or before 27th November."]

Is the Journal Indexed in MEDLINE or PubMed?

The Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center library's blog has a helpful guide to figuring out the status of journals within the National Center for Biotechnology Information's confusing system of databases and the interface to it (PubMed). Here are some key points:

• Ideally, a journal will be indexed in MEDLINE. According to the MSK library, "[i]n order to be included in Medline, a journal has to undergo a rather rigorous and selective review process." That's the theory, anyway.
• "All journals that are included in their entirety in PubMed Central (PMC), for example PLoS, are automatically indexed in PubMed (but not necessarily in Medline, so visibility is OK but could be better)."
• A journal can deposit articles in PubMed Central (PMC), and the article will be indexed in PubMed, but "[t]he journal is otherwise not officially indexed in Medline nor PubMed. This implies the least potential for visibility ... ."

To see whether a journal is indexed in MEDLINE or PubMed, one can search the National Library of Medicine's catalog of Journals in NCBI Databases. For example, a search for the Pemanente Journal returned the reassuring information

In: MEDLINE: v16n1, Winter 2012-
PubMed: v9n1, Winter 2005-
PMC

Institute of Mathematics and Management Is Staunch in Its Niche in the Blue Ocean

"With over 07 years of excellence in the educational and research spheres, the Institute of Mathematics and Management (IMM) is staunch in its niche of being the quality education, research, and analytical support service provider." Its "Vision" is "To be the best education and research provider in the world within the Blue Ocean Strategy." The "Staff" webpage lists two names: Managing Director Major K. M. Udaya Banda Konarasinghe (Retired), and Academic Director Dr (Mrs.) W. G. Samanthi Konarasinghe.

IMM purports to publish four journals. I cannot find any content for them. The Publications page also lists two books -- Circular Model and Sama Circular Model. These "books" are three- and four-page Word documents. Perhaps they are summaries of books available elsewhere? The first book explains that "The Circular Model was introduced in year 2016. It was a part of the Doctor of Philosophy (PhD in Statistics) thesis of [IMM's Academic Director], University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka." The second book begins, "The Sama Circular Model was introduced in year 2018. It was the improved version of [her] Circular Model." Both books assert that in the model, Fourier "Series, sin(kωt) and cos(kωt) are independent."

The Staff webpage of IMM includes a message from the Managing Director that notes

Initiative to the IMM was not taken to turn the market Red. We sail in the spacious “Blue Ocean” by creating new knowledge for the world. The motto, "Determined, Dedicated and Done" is the lighthouse of the IMM.

The Academic Director reports that "[s]cientific knowledge is highly valued as it allows us to develop new technologies, solve practical problems, and make informed decisions." That's good to know. "It is believed that scientific knowledge makes the world a better place for living." Even so, she adds that

I have my doubts about whether sciences are being used for making a better world or the other way round! Mathematics is considered as the mother of all sciences because they are all born of it. The mother's love for children is unbounded. Her capability in Management is not comparable. Her language is universal. We, the Institute of Mathematics and Management determined to use the universal language “Mathematics” for making a better world with love and compassion.

IMM's logo, shown above, "is based on 'Set Theory'" and "describes the objectives, goals, and business strategy of IMM."

[T]he Blue Circle is the Universal set and the Black Circle is a subset of it. The Black Circle represents mathematical-statistical tools. The Integral sign and the function notation inside the black circle say, irrespective of the field, all the management problems are converted into mathematical language and solve them by using mathematical techniques. The outer blue circle represents the "Blue Ocean Strategy", which is the business strategy of IMM. Taking a Blue Ocean approach means our goal is not to outperform the competition. Instead, we aim to redraw industry boundaries by innovation and operate within that new space, making the competition immaterial. In short, IMM adopts Blue Ocean Strategy in business; converts real-world problems into Mathematical Language, to achieve sustainability in Management

If predatory publishers organizers are ones that sell journal space without meaningful editorial screening and services, IMM is not a predatory publisher. Its website states that "Our priority is to publish Noble researches without any financial, technical, and legal barriers to the author." Presumably, its revenues come a "Diploma Course in Applied Statistics & Research Methodology" and "The IMM Research consultancy ... for academicians, researchers, and postgraduate research students." It also supplies "business analytical services" and "scientific guidance for portfolio selection and investment decisions."

Email

• From: W. G. Konarasinghe
  Posted to an American Statistical Association discussion list
  Date: May 1, 2020 3:58 AM
  Dear Friends,
  Wishing you a good day!
  I am happy to inform you that We, Institute of Mathematics and Management is ready to publish journals and to conduct international conferences.
  Please find the details on our website: ...
  Our journals are free of charge for publication
  I invite you to join our team of editorial members and reviewers.
  Research papers from you, your colleagues and students are warmly welcome for journals and upcoming conferences.
  RGDS
  ------------------------------
  W.G. Samanthi Konarasinghe( PhD)
  Academic Director / Statistical Consultant
  Institute of Mathematics & Management,
  Sri Lanka
  ------------------------------

Flaky Journal Prices

Some flaky journals are so anxious for content that they will lower their advertised fees or publish for free. That is what some authors of spoofs have discovered after submitting absurd papers.

"Neuroskeptic" at Discover Magazine prepared a "spoof manuscript about 'midi-chlorians' – the fictional entities which live inside cells and give Jedi their powers in Star Wars." It was filled with "references to the galaxy far, far away, and submitted ... to nine journals under the names of Dr Lucas McGeorge and Dr Annette Kin." The author found that

The American Journal of Medical and Biological Research (SciEP) accepted the paper, but asked for a $360 fee, which I didn’t pay. Amazingly, three other journals not only accepted but actually published the spoof. [T]he International Journal of Molecular Biology: Open Access (MedCrave), Austin Journal of Pharmacology and Therapeutics (Austin) and American Research Journal of Biosciences (ARJ). I hadn’t expected this, as all those journals charge publication fees, but I never paid them a penny. \1/

A biologist, threatening to withdraw a paper on "What Up with Birds?" and send it to Nature, negotiated a $1,600 charge down to $1,027, to $99, and then, pleading "financial crisis," to $0. The journal manager reported that he had "done session with our Higher Authorities" to obtain this one-time waiver. \2/ The abstract of the article, which appeared this month, reads as follows:

Many people wonder: what’s the deal with birds? This is a common query. Birds are pretty weird. I mean, they have feathers. WTF? Most other animals don’t have feathers. To investigate this issue, I looked at some birds. I looked at a woodpecker, a parrot, and a penguin. They were all pretty weird! In conclusion, we may never know the deal with birds, but further study is warranted.

The paper and Iris's alleged peer review are discussed in other blog postings. \3/

UPDATE 5/9/20: On ResearchGate today, Malek Alghdeir commented that "I was invited to publish a chapter in a book by IntechOpen. Then asked me to pay 1400 £! firstly, the editor of my chapter suggests a great discount, but after that, they accepted to publish my chapter free."

NOTES

1. Neuroskeptic, Predatory Journals Hit By 'Star Wars' Sting, Discover, July 22, 2017 5:57 AM, https://www.discovermagazine.com/mind/predatory-journals-hit-by-star-wars-sting
2. https://twitter.com/evornithology/status/1224775369783435264?s=20 (hilarious Twitter thread)
3. Iris Publishers Releases the World's First Quantification of the Deal with Birds, Flaky Academic Journals, Apr. 26, 2020; Ryan F. Mandelbaum, Sketchy Science Journal Publishes Article Titled 'What's the Deal With Birds?', Gizmodo, Apr. 17, 2020 4:40PM, https://gizmodo.com/sketchy-science-journal-publishes-article-titled-whats-1842924936/amp

Iris Publishers Releases the World's First Quantification of the Deal with Birds

"Our curated content is original and rigorously peer-reviewed, so be assured of the premium quality information, checked and approved by highly acclaimed academic editors and subject matter experts." -- Iris Publishers, About Us

the Scientific Journal of Research and Reviews (SJRR) is part of Iris's "great podium." The lead research article in the April 2020 issue is Daniel Baldassarre's "What the Deal with Birds?" The abstract is refreshingly colloquial:

Abstract
Many people wonder: what’s the deal with birds? This is a common query. Birds are pretty weird. I mean, they have feathers. WTF? Most other animals don’t have feathers. To investigate this issue, I looked at some birds. I looked at a woodpecker, a parrot, and a penguin. They were all pretty weird! In conclusion, we may never know the deal with birds, but further study is warranted.

This tantalizing description hardly does justice to the heavily referenced work of scholarship that follows. Here is a sampling:

Introduction
Birds are very strange. Some people are like “whoa they’re flying around and stuff, what’s the deal with that?” This sentiment is shared by people across socioeconomic backgrounds. Figuring out what the deal is with birds is of the utmost scientific importance. It is now widely appreciated that the majority of socially monogamous passerine species are weird [1]. In species with moderately high extra-pair mating and paternal care, we need to understand what is going on with them [2]. In territorial species, what are they even doing [3] and they do all sorts of weird stuff [4] (but see [5]). ...
Material and Methods
Study species and general field methods
I looked at three different birds: a woodpecker, a parrot, and a penguin. I looked really close at them, squinting and everything, to try and figure out what was up with them. ... Detailed population monitoring and paternity assignment methods are described elsewhere [10]. Briefly, I watched them really close for quite a while [13-15]. To eliminate potential confounds, I thus conducted my experiments only on animals that I knew for sure were birds, and no other things like bugs and bats. ...
Discussion
This is the first study I am aware of to attempt to quantify the deal with birds. Unfortunately, the results were ambiguous, although Bayesian approaches may prove useful in the future. This study has implications for climate change research. When presented with weird behavior, birds exhibited a multimodal response including physical aggression and duetting, both of which were repeatable across highly variable contexts. ...

I do not know whether the "highly qualified and expert Editorial committee ... indulged in scrutinizing articles with stringent peer review process" were impressed with the acknowledgments at the end of the article:

We thank Big Bird from Sesame Street for comments on the manuscript. Several trained monkeys transcribed videos.

The author asked the editor "if they were a predatory journal and he assured [him] they weren’t. He said [the] paper was reviewed by three experts" and supplied an "Article Review Form" with the following "Specific Review Comments and Suggestions: THE MATERIAL PRESENTED IS VERY INTERESTING, THE ARTICLE ACCEPTED FOR PUBLICATION."

SOURCES

• Ryan F. Mandelbaum, Sketchy Science Journal Publishes Article Titled 'What's the Deal With Birds?', Apr. 17, 2020 4:40PM, https://gizmodo.com/sketchy-science-journal-publishes-article-titled-whats-1842924936/amp
• https://twitter.com/evornithology/status/1224775369783435264?s=20 (Twitter thread sent to me by Dr. Baldassarre)

FURTHER READING

• Iris Publishers, "your one-stop-place for latest scientific!", Flaky Academic Journals, July 12, 2018 (the first of several postings on Iris Publishers)