Ohlbe
★★★

France,
2020-09-15 17:09
(1548 d 14:37 ago)

Posting: # 21920
Views: 5,183
 

 Parodic paper in predatory journal [Off Topic]

Dear all,

In case you missed it, and have a few minutes to spare for a good laugh, I recommend the reading of this parodic paper which was published in a predatory journal a few weeks ago by W. Oodendijk (:-D) et al. (the full list of authors includes the dog of the French president and the Latin name of the pangolin), clearly demonstrating a protecting effect of hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin on push-scooter accidents.

Part of the humour of the text will be lost to non-French speakers (just one hint: the French word for push-scooter is trottinette, which you can also find in the list of authors and in a reference to experts funded by Big Trottinette), and to people not aware of all the details of the controversy surrounding the use of HCQ and azithromycine in COVID-19 in France, but the paper remains utterly funny.

The paper was accepted for publication (the reports of the 3 independent reviewers, including one from Lybia who obviously did not read it, are available online on the web site of the journal). It was withdrawn by the journal "after reporting of serious scientific fraud".

Regards
Ohlbe
Dr_Dan
★★  

Germany,
2020-09-16 13:44
(1547 d 18:02 ago)

@ Ohlbe
Posting: # 21921
Views: 4,242
 

 Parodic paper in predatory journal

Dear Ohlbe
Thank you very much for sharing this! Great joke :-D:-D:-D

Kind regards and have a nice day
Dr_Dan
martin
★★  

Austria,
2020-09-18 13:44
(1545 d 18:03 ago)

@ Ohlbe
Posting: # 21925
Views: 4,182
 

 Parodic paper in predatory journal

Dear Ohlbe,

Thank you very much for sharing. I assume that the 2nd author is actually from the unseen university which is known to be in Ankh Morpok but I did not know that Ankh Morpok is actually located in France. This is new to me and explains a lot ;-).

best regards

martin

PS.: Here is some additional review/feedback I recevied on this paper which I would also like to share: There is a concern that their subject allocation method did not use randomization, and introduces the possibility of bias. They said “In a pre-test phase, we asked each participant in the treatment group to roll 500m in a straight line on a push-scooter. Participants who fell or died during the pre-test were reallocated to our control group (two falls, one death).”
Ohlbe
★★★

France,
2020-09-18 15:14
(1545 d 16:32 ago)

@ martin
Posting: # 21926
Views: 4,193
 

 Parodic paper in predatory journal

Dear Martin,

❝ PS.: Here is some additional review/feedback I received on this paper which I would also like to share: There is a concern that their subject allocation method did not use randomization, and introduces the possibility of bias. They said “In a pre-test phase, we asked each participant in the treatment group to roll 500m in a straight line on a push-scooter. Participants who fell or died during the pre-test were reallocated to our control group (two falls, one death).”


This is a very explicit reference to a pre-print of a """study""" on hydroxychloroquine and azithromycin in COVID-19, made available by a French team, and withdrawn after it created an uproar. They had switched 9 patients from the treated group to the control group, because they were treated for less than 48 hours. Translation: they switched to the control group the treated patients who had died or were hospitalised in intensive care.

The first French paper published on this topic did not go that far: they only deleted such patients from the sample, they did not put them in the control group. Their control group was constituted of those patients who did not meet the inclusion criteria. This was the first of a series of papers from the same team, which was highly regarded by Trump and led to the widespread use of HCQ and azithromycin in many countries (and by Trump himself).

PS: some people say that all this HCQ buzz was an attempt by the French secret services to get rid of Trump and Bolsonaro, hoping one of them would develop torsade de pointe. The plot failed.

Regards
Ohlbe
d_labes
★★★

Berlin, Germany,
2020-09-21 20:58
(1542 d 10:48 ago)

@ martin
Posting: # 21929
Views: 4,100
 

 Parodic paper in predatory journal - OT discworld

Dear Martin,

❝ I assume that the 2nd author is actually from the unseen university which is known to be in Ankh Morpok but I did not know that Ankh Morpok is actually located in France. This is new to me and explains a lot ;-).


I'm very amused to recognize that you are familiar with Terry Pratchets Discworld saga.
One prominent section about the Unseen University and the wizzard Rincewind.
Terry is one of my favorite writers of fantasy stories.
And I have nearly every book he has published.

And therefore I can assure you:
Ankh Morpok and therefore the Unseen University is not located in France!
Whatever this may explain for you.
Ankh Morpok is the capital of the Discworld, a world some nerds even today hold for the true shape of our world which usually is more round than flat.
BTW: Those people are sometimes the same which neglect viruses, among them the corona variety.
Crazy I think.

Regards,

Detlew
Ohlbe
★★★

France,
2020-11-28 02:54
(1475 d 03:52 ago)

@ Ohlbe
Posting: # 22090
Views: 3,906
 

 Parodic paper in predatory journal

Dear all,

Another one, somewhat older (March). Apparently you need to be a Pokemon fan (which I'm not) to fully understand it, as it links COVID-19 to a pokemon bat. The reference list almost made me cry from laughter, such as
Wayne B (2016) Phobia of Bats and Its Applications in Criminal Justice. Gotham Forensics Quarterly 26(8): 807-814.

The authors wrote in the body of the text "Epidemiologists believe it highly likely that a journal publishing this paper does not practice peer review and must therefore be predatory". Passed "peer-review" unseen.

The paper is no longer visible from the issue list of contents. Not because the paper was withdrawn by the journal, but just because the authors failed to pay the publication fee. A previous paper from the same authors is still available, including in PDF. Also some nice references, such as
Harrison G, Starr R, McCartney P, Lennon J (1969) Systematic review on the ability of money to buy love. Revolution 9: 9.


Edit: I've just received an email from the editor of that piece of junk. They're one paper short for their next issue and want me to submit an 2-page opinion or mini-review. No kiddin' :angry:

Regards
Ohlbe
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