Editor In Chief Research Articles

RETRACTION: Analysis of the Association Between Serum Levels of 25(OH)D, Retinol Binding Protein, and Cyclooxygenase-2 and the Disease Severity in Patients with Diabetic Foot Ulcers.

Retraction: X. Chen, Y. Xu, X. Meng, R. Geng, X. Wang, G. Zhang, and L. Bai, "Analysis of the Association Between Serum Levels of 25(OH)D, Retinol Binding Protein, and Cyclooxygenase-2 and the Disease Severity in Patients with Diabetic Foot Ulcers," International Wound Journal 21, no. 3 (2023): e14502, https://doi.org/10.1111/iwj.14502. The above article, published online on 16 November 2023, in Wiley Online Library (http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/), has been retracted by agreement between the journal Editor in Chief, Professor Keith Harding; and John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Following an investigation by the publisher, both parties concluded that the peer review process of this article was manipulated. In addition, the authors reported to the journal that values for statistics were not labelled properly in Figures 1, 2, and 3 and that they had misreported data from a cited article. The retraction has been agreed to because the findings reported in the article are not considered reliable. The authors did not respond to the notice of retraction.

RETRACTION: Nosological approaches in studying the incidence rate among dental healthcare workers

RETRACTION: F. T. Temurov, A. A. Musaeva, S. G. Masadikov, S. A. Allabergenov, and S. A. Abdukadirov, “Nosological Approaches in Studying the Incidence Rate Among Dental Healthcare Workers,” World Medical & Health Policy (Early View): https://doi.org/10.1002/wmh3.610.The above article, published online on 15 April 2024, in Wiley Online Library (http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com), has been retracted by agreement between the journal Editor in Chief, Daniel Skinner, the Policy Studies Organization, and Wiley Periodicals LLC. A third party notified the journal of concerns regarding numerous misreported and irrelevant citations in the above article. In coordination with the editors, the publisher contacted the authors regarding the concerns and the authors provided a response. Further investigation found that several citations were not relevant to the study and that data were often misreported from those cited articles. The authors did not provide a compelling reason for inclusion of a majority of the erroneous citations. The editors have determined that the misreported data fundamentally compromise the conclusions of the article. Therefore, the article must be retracted. The authors disagree with the retraction.

RETRACTION: Effectiveness of anti-CGRP monoclonal antibodies for persistent headaches in patients with idiopathic intracranial hypertension.

Retraction: Frerichs, L., Nandy, K., Friedman, D.I. (2022) P-119. Effectiveness of anti-CGRP monoclonal antibodies for persistent headaches in patients with idiopathic intracranial hypertension [Abstract] Headache, v 62.S1: 106. https://doi.org/10.1111/head.14317. The above abstract from American Headache Society 64th Annual Scientific Meeting June 9-12, 2022 Denver, Colorado, published online on 20 May 2022, in Wiley Online Library (http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/), has been retracted by agreement between the authors, the journal Editor in Chief, Amy A. Gelfand, the American Headache Society, and Wiley Periodicals, LLC. The retraction has been agreed because the authors have reported that, following the presentation and publishing of the abstract, subsequent independent statistical analysis of the data indicated that the results presented were incorrect and contradicted the initial conclusions.

Making a difference: 5 years of Cardiac Surgery Intersociety Alliance (CSIA).

Informed by the almost unimaginable unmet need for cardiac surgery in the developing regions of the world, leading surgeons, cardiologists, editors in chief of the major cardiothoracic journals as well as representatives of medical industry and government convened in December 2017 to address this unacceptable disparity in access to care. The ensuing "Cape Town Declaration" constituted a clarion call to cardiac surgical societies to jointly advocate the strengthening of sustainable, local cardiac surgical capacity in the developing world. The Cardiac Surgery Intersociety Alliance (CSIA) was thus created, comprising The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS), the American Association for Thoracic Surgery (AATS), the Asian Society for Cardiovascular and Thoracic Surgery (ASCVTS), the European Association for Cardio-Thoracic Surgery (EACTS) and the World Heart Federation (WHF). The guiding principle was advocacy for sustainable cardiac surgical capacity in low-income countries. As a first step, a global needs assessment confirmed rheumatic heart disease as the overwhelming pathology requiring cardiac surgery in these regions. Subsequently, CSIA published a request for proposals to support fledgling programmes that could demonstrate the backing by their governments and health care institution. Out of 11 applicants, and following an evaluation of the sites, including site visits to the 3 finalists, Mozambique and Rwanda were selected as the first Pilot Sites. Subsequently, a mentorship and training agreement was completed between Mozambique and the University of Cape Town, a middle-income country with a comparable burden of rheumatic heart disease. The agreement entails regular video calls between the heart teams, targeted training across all aspects of cardiac surgery, as well as on-site presence of mentoring teams for complex cases with the strict observance of 'assisting only'. In Rwanda, Team Heart, a US and Rwanda-based non-governmental organization (NGO) that has been performing cardiac surgery in Rwanda and helping to train the cardiac surgery workforce since 2008, has agreed to continue providing mentorship for the local team and to assist in the establishment of independent cardiac surgery with all that entails. This involves intermittent virtual conferences between Rwandan and US cardiologists for surgical case selection. Five years after CSIA was founded, it's 'Seal of Approval' for the sustainability of endorsed programmes in Mozambique and Rwanda has resulted in higher case numbers, a stronger government commitment, significant upgrades of infrastructure, the nurturing of generous consumable donations by industry and the commencement of negotiations with global donors for major grants. Extending the CSIA Seal to additional deserving programmes could further align the international cardiac surgical community with the principle of local cardiac surgery capacity-building in developing countries.

Kristīne Beķere. Latvijas labā: Politiskā darbība trimdā 20. gadsimta 40.–80. gados. Rīga: LU Akadēmiskais apgāds, 2022

The book Latvijas labā: Politiskā darbība trimdā 20. gadsimta 40.–80. gados (For the Good of Latvia: Political Activities of Latvian Exiles from the 1940s through the 1980s), written by the chief editor of The Journal of the University of Latvia. History (Latvijas Universitātes Žurnāls. Vēsture), historian Kristīne Beķere focuses on the political actions of Latvian exiles in the Western world during the postwar, and especially, Cold War era. The purpose of the study is to provide an overview of the activities of the Latvian exiles related to the protest movement against the occupation and annexation of Latvia by the USSR. The book defines many periods of exiles’ activities. K. Beķere has identified the most important activities for each stage of history and describes them in a chronological order. Thus, for example, the author describes the period of the emergence of exile after the Second World War, the strengthening of exile organisations, and the development of political activities during the escalation period of the Cold War in the 1950s and 1960s, and the period since the 1970s (Cold War relaxation or detente phase), which created new more active forms of exile’s international protest against the occupation of the Baltic. K. Beķere’s book marks the increasing attention in historiography towards the history of the Latvian exiles. In recent years, for example, a voluminous book by the US–Latvian historian Andrejs Plakans has been published. The book For the Good of Latvia is one of the important contributions to systematise both – the information about the political history of the Latvian exile community and its important information work in the world mostly during the Cold War era.

From the Editor in Chief

From the Editor in Chief

RETRACTION: Comparative effectiveness of low-level laser therapy and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation in symptomatic Temporomandibular Disorders: A Randomised Control Trial.

Batra, S. Srivastava, A., Shivakumar, G. C., Marrapodi, M. M., Herford, A. S., Cicciù, M., Minervini, G. (2023) Comparative effectiveness of low-level laser therapy and transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation in symptomatic Temporomandibular Disorders: A Randomised Control Trial. Journal of Oral Rehabilitation, 50: 1185-1193. https://doi.org/10.1111/joor.13555 The above article, published online on 05 July 2023 in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com), has been retracted by agreement between the journal Editor in Chief, Peter Svensson, and John Wiley and Sons Ltd. The retraction has been agreed following concerns raised by a third party about the ethical approval for the study described. The publisher contacted the authors, who provided a letter of ethical approval from People's College of Dental Sciences & Research Center, People's University, which did not match the ethical approval reported in the article. The authors reported that the study was initiated at Banaras Hindu University, but were not able to provide evidence of ethical approval from this institution. In addition, the authors did not provide an explanation for why the clinical trial was registered with Clinical Trial Registry-India retrospectively, which violates the journal's author guidelines that require authors to provide an explanation for retrospective registration of clinical trials. Following the investigation by the publisher, the journal has concluded this article did not follow the journal's requirements regarding ethical approval of clinical trials and registration of clinical trials, and so the journal must issue a retraction. Shivakumar, G. C. has stated that Marrapodi, M. M., Herford, A. S., Cicciù, M., and Minervini, G. were not involved in the investigation, data curation, conceptualization, methodology, or formal analysis of the clinical study. The authors disagree with this retraction.

Is retrograde menstruation a universal, recurrent, physiological phenomenon? A systematic review of the evidence in humans and non-human primates.

What are the quantitative, qualitative, and temporal patterns of retrograde mentruation? The extreme quantitative and qualitative heterogeneity of the available studies prevents the definitive conclusion that retrograde menstruation is a universal and consistent phenomenon during the reproductive period. Retrograde menstruation has been defined as a universal, physiological phenomenon that occurs similarly in about 90% of menstruators during the reproductive period. However, uncertainties still exist in terms of the event frequency, total amount, and cellular composition of retrograde menstruation and the differences between individuals with versus those without endometriosis. Two systematic reviews were performed, one for human studies, and one for non-human primate studies. We retrieved studies from the PubMed and Embase databases published between 1 January 1980 and 1 November 2023. Studies published in the English language were included and identified using a combination of MeSH terms. References from relevant publications were systematically screened and further articles were identified using PubMed's 'similar articles' and 'cited by' functions. Results were reported in accordance with the PRISMA guidelines. Studies that did not report original data or provided a review of the field were excluded. Bias analysis was completed for each included human study by using the Newcastle-Ottawa scoring system. Fifteen studies were finally included in the human systematic review, mostly with limited sample sizes. The macroscopic visualization of blood in PF during menses was reported with a frequency ranging from 9% to 100%. A prevalence of endometrial cells detected in peritoneal fluid ranging from 8% to 75% was reported in the various studies. Controversial findings were reported in relation to patients with endometriosis. Retrograde menstruation has been evaluated cross-sectionally on single occasions, and no information is available on the course of the phenomenon within an entire cycle and between subsequent cycles. Two studies were included in the non-human primate systematic review; one of them showed that retrograde menstruation was observed more frequently in baboons with naturally occurring endometriosis (83%) than in those with a normal pelvis (51%). In humans, peritoneal fluid has often been collected at different cycle phases and not systematically during menstruation. The indication for laparoscopy was not always clear for all participants. A wide variety of methods were used to detect endometrial cells, including cytological staining, cell block analysis, immunocytochemistry, and various methods of cell culture. The idea that almost all women experience retrograde menstruation regularly and similarly during their reproductive life is currently unsubstantiated. It is an academic notion accepted uncritically. Development of endometriosis may derive from differences in the frequency or severity of the event. The review was partially funded by Italian Ministry of Health-Current Research IRCCS. P.Vi. serves as co-editor in Chief of Journal of Endometriosis and Uterine Disorders. E.S. serves as Editor in Chief of Human Reproduction Open and discloses research grants from Ferring, Ibsa, Gedeon Richter, and Theramex, and honoraria from Ibsa and Gedeon Richter. P.Ve. serves as Associate Editor for Human Reproduction Open; is a member of the Editorial Board of the Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology Canada, of the Italian Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, and of the International Editorial Board of Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica; has received royalties from Wolters Kluwer for chapters on endometriosis management in the clinical decision support resource UpToDate; and maintains both a public and private gynecological practice. All other authors declare they have no conflict of interest. N/A.

RETRACTION: "RFC2, a direct target of miR-744, modulates the cell cycle and promotes the proliferation of CRC cells".

T. Hu, H. Shen, J. Li, P. Yang, Q. Gu, Z. Fu, "RFC2, a direct target of miR-744, modulates the cell cycle and promotes the proliferation of CRC cells," Journal of Cellular Physiology 235, no. 11 (2020): 8319-8333, https://doi.org/10.1002/jcp.29676. The above article, published online on 2 April 2020 in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com), has been retracted by agreement between the journal's Editor in Chief, Alexander Hutchison; and Wiley Periodicals LLC. The retraction has been agreed following an investigation upon the authors' request to correct the article. The authors had identified duplications within Figure 5e and 6c post publication. During the journal's investigation, additional inconsistencies were found. The authors were not able to provide comprehensive experimental data upon request. Thus, the editors consider the conclusions of this article to be invalid. The authors were not available for a final confirmation of the retraction.

RETRACTION: "Okadaic acid promotes epithelial-mesenchymal transition of hepatocellular carcinoma cells by inhibiting protein phosphatase 2A".

J. Kong, D. Li, S. Zhang, H. Zhang, Y. Fu, B. Qian, C. Bei, S. Tan, X. Zhu, "Okadaic acid promotes epithelial-mesenchymal transition of hepatocellular carcinoma cells by inhibiting protein phosphatase 2A," Journal of Cellular Biochemistry 122, no. 9 (2021): 993-1002, https://doi.org/10.1002/jcb.29629 The above article, published online on 6 January 2020 in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com) has been retracted by agreement between the authors; the journal's Editor in Chief, Christian Behl; and Wiley Periodicals LLC. The retraction has been agreed following an investigation based on allegations raised by third parties. During the investigation, several flaws and inconsistencies were found within the provided data. The authors admitted substantial mistakes during figure compilation for this manuscript. Thus, the conclusions of this article are considered invalid by the editors.

RETRACTION: Crestal bone loss evaluation in osseotite expanded platform implants: a 5-year study.

J. L. Calvo-Guirado, G. Gómez-Moreno, L. López-Marí, J. Guardia, B. Negri, J. M. Martínez-González, "Crestal bone loss evaluation in osseotite expanded platform implants: a 5-year study", Clinical Oral Implants Research 22, no. 22 (2011): 1409-1414, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0501.2010.02130.x The above article, published online on 21 March 2011 in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com), has been retracted by agreement between the journal's Editor in Chief, Lisa J. A. Heitz-Mayfield; and John Wiley & Sons Ltd. The retraction has been agreed due to concerns raised by third parties on the data presented in the article. Several flaws and inconsistencies between results presented and experimental methods described were found. Specifically, there are instances of overlapping data within the article and with another publication authored by the same group. Accordingly, the editors consider the findings of this article unreliable and the conclusions to be invalid. The authors have been informed of the decision to retract the article. The corresponding author J. L. Calvo-Guirado disagrees with the decision of retraction. The remaining co-authors were not available for a final confirmation of the retraction.

RETRACTION: Biphasic β-TCP mixed with silicon increases bone formation in critical site defects in rabbit calvaria.

J. L. Calvo-Guirado, M. Garces, R. A. Delgado-Ruiz, M. P. Ramirez Fernandez, E. Ferres-Amat, G. E. Romanos, "Biphasic β-TCP mixed with silicon increases bone formation in critical site defects in rabbit calvaria", Clinical Oral Implants Research 26, no. 8 (2015): 891-897, https://doi.org/10.1111/clr.12413 The above article, published online on 26 May 2014 in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com), has been retracted by agreement between the journal's Editor in Chief, Lisa J. A. Heitz-Mayfield; and John Wiley & Sons Ltd. The retraction has been agreed due to concerns raised by third parties on the data presented in the article. Several flaws and inconsistencies between results presented and experimental methods described were found. Specifically, Figure2b has been used in a different context in another publication authored by the same group. Additionally, Figure3 and Figure5e appear to derive from the same histological sections depicted in another publication authored by the same group where it is used in a different context. Accordingly, the editors consider the findings of this article unreliable and the conclusions to be invalid. The authors have been informed of the decision to retract the article. The corresponding author J. L. Calvo-Guirado and co-authors M. Garces and R. A. Delgado-Ruiz disagree with the decision of retraction. The remaining co-authors were not available for a final confirmation of the retraction.

RETRACTION: Histological and histomorphometric evaluation of immediate implant placement on a dog model with a new implant surface treatment.

J. L. Calvo-Guirado, A. J. Ortiz-Ruiz, B. Negri, L. López-Marí, C. Rodriguez-Barba, F. Schlottig, "Histological and histomorphometric evaluation of immediate implant placement on a dog model with a new implant surface treatment", Clinical Oral Implants Research 21, no. 3 (2010): 308-315, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1600-0501.2009.01841.x The above article, published online on 9 February 2010 in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com), has been retracted by agreement between the journal's Editor in Chief, Lisa J. A. Heitz-Mayfield; and John Wiley & Sons Ltd. The retraction has been agreed due to concerns raised by third parties on the data presented in the article. Several flaws and inconsistencies between results presented and experimental methods described were found. Specifically, Figure5b is described as control group, but it used in Figure6b to represent the test group. Figure7c is described as control group, but it used in Figure8a to represent the test group. Accordingly, the editors consider the findings of this article unreliable and the conclusions to be invalid. The authors have been informed of the decision to retract the article. The corresponding author J. L. Calvo-Guirado disagrees with the decision of retraction. Co-authors A. J. Ortiz-Ruiz and F. Schlottig state that they were unaware of these issues and concur with the decision for retraction based on the presented findings. The remaining co-authors were not available for a final confirmation of the retraction.

RETRACTION: Marginal bone loss evaluation around immediate non-occlusal microthreaded implants placed in fresh extraction sockets in the maxilla: a 3-year study.

J. L. Calvo-Guirado, G. Gómez-Moreno, A. Aguilar-Salvatierra, J. Guardia, R. A. Delgado-Ruiz, G. E. Romanos, "Marginal bone loss evaluation around immediate non-occlusal microthreaded implants placed in fresh extraction sockets in the maxilla: a 3-year study", Clinical Oral Implants Research 26, no. 7 (2015): 761-767, https://doi.org/10.1111/clr.12336 The above article, published online on 15 January 2014 in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com), has been retracted by agreement between the journal's Editor in Chief, Lisa J. A. Heitz-Mayfield; and John Wiley & Sons Ltd. The retraction has been agreed due to concerns raised by third parties on the data presented in the article. Several flaws and inconsistencies between results presented and experimental methods described were found. Specifically, instances of overlapping data within the article and with another publication authored by the same group have been found. Accordingly, the editors consider the findings of this article unreliable and the conclusions to be invalid. The authors have been informed of the decision to retract the article. The corresponding author J. L. Calvo-Guirado and co-author R. A. Delgado-Ruiz disagree with the decision of retraction. The remaining co-authors were not available for a final confirmation of the retraction.

‘Twas Ever Thus

Abstract ITNOW's Editor In Chief, Brian Runciman MBCS, looks through the annals of history and reflects on how even in computing, the more things change the more they stay the same.

Retraction: Suicidal thoughts and behaviors among gender and sexual minorities: Adults ages 25-44 show highest rates of past month suicidal thoughts. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior.

Manges, M. E., Bryan, C. J., Bryan, AB. O., Bauder, C. R., Wastler, H. M. (2023). Suicidal thoughts and behaviors among gender and sexual minorities: Adults ages 25-44 show highest rates of past month suicidal thoughts. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior. https://doi.org/10.1111/sltb.13029. The above article, published online on 15 December 2023 in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com), has been retracted by agreement between the authors, the journal Editor in Chief, Thomas Joiner, PhD, and Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of the American Association of Suicidology. The retraction has been agreed due to errors in the interpretation of the chi-square analysis comparing sexual and gender minorities. Following discovery of the error in interpretation, the authors informed the editorial office and have revised the article with the intent of sharing the corrected results. The correction needed to amend the version of record requires significant alterations to the published article, which requires the journal to issue a retraction. An updated version of this article has been submitted for peer review at Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior."

Editor’s Comment

This is the third and my farewell editorial as editor-in-chief (EiC) of the AJIS. Three plus years, 40 months have passed since I took over the EiC role after an appointment by the AAIS search panel.

Retraction.

Retraction: "(2R,3R)Dihydromyricetin inhibits osteoclastogenesis and bone loss through scavenging LPS-induced oxidative stress and NF-κB and MAPKs pathways activating," by Xuejun Zhang, Xin Li, Jianguo Fang, Xiaolong Hou, Huang Fang, Fengjing Guo, Feng Li, Anmin Chen, Shilong Huang, J Cell Biochem 2018, 119: 8981-8995. The above article, published online on 4 August 2018 in Wiley Online Library (https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/jcb.27154) has been retracted by agreement between the journal's Editor in Chief, Christian Behl, and Wiley Periodicals LLC. The retraction has been agreed following an investigation based on allegations raised by third parties. During the investigation, several flaws and inconsistencies were found within the data presented. Thus, the editors consider the conclusions of this article to be invalid. The authors have been informed of the retraction but were not available for a final confirmation.

Perspective on the Journal of Physician Assistant Education : From Association Newsletter to Academic Peer-Reviewed Journal Celebrating 25 Years.

For 25 years, the Journal of PA Education (JPAE) and its predecessor publications have been the pre-eminent venues for disseminating and promulgating information and research on the physician assistant (PA) profession. In this article, former and current editors in chief have compiled a detailed history of the journal, its development, and its trajectory into the future, outlining the journey taken by Association of PA Programs/PA Education Association to catalog faculty scholarship through a peer-reviewed journal. Allowing for the referencing of articles and thus adding to the body of knowledge on PAs and PA education, JPAE has not only endured but thrived. This article speaks to the collective effort and excellence of staff, and the many volunteer reviewers, feature editors, and editorial board members who have nurtured JPAE along the way through numerous changes, challenges, and triumphs.

Gender equity in The Journal of the American Dental Association: A review of the past 2 plus decades

BackgroundConsidering evidence of closing the gender gap in dental scholarship, this study assessed women’s participation as authors, reviewers, and members of the editorial board for The Journal of the American Dental Association (JADA) from 2000 through 2022. MethodsThe study authors downloaded author names from PubMed and retrieved names of reviewers and editorial board members from JADA's pages. The authors used Gender-API software to determine gender on the basis of first names. They used logistic regression to test for trends. ResultsFrom January 2000 through December 2022, there were 2,935 full-length articles, 2,775 reviewers, 4 editors in chief, and 85 editorial board members. The percentage of women authors increased by 1.2% annually (95% CI, 1.03% to 1.33%), reaching 47% in 2022. First authorship increased by 2.1% annually (95% CI, 1.84% to 2.39%) and has been at more than 50% since 2016. In articles with multiple authors, there was a modest increase; second authorship increased 0.7% annually (95% CI, 0.36% to 1.09%) and last authorship by 0.7% (95% CI, 0.03% to 1.00%). Women reviewers increased 0.8% annually (95% CI, 0.68% to 0.97%), but the percentage of women on the editorial board did not increase significantly and was 41% in 2022. ConclusionsIt was anticipated that 50% of JADA authors would be women by 2024. However, women are still underrepresented on the editorial board. A comprehensive effort is needed to foster role models, provide mentorship opportunities for women, and support women’s professional advancement in dental research and publications. Practical ImplicationsGender-based disparities affect women in dental education and clinical practice. Serving as an editorial board member, reviewer, or author can affect academic promotion and the type of scientific investigation being conducted and indirectly affects women’s health outcomes.