Supported by the Key Scientific and Technological Research Foundation of the National 863 Program, No. 2003AA208106; Medical Outstandard Foundation of Army, No. 04J020

Correspondence to: Dr Yong-Ping Yang, Department of Gastroenterology, 302 Hospital of the Chinese PLA, Beijing 100039, China. yongpingyang@hotmail.com

Telephone: +86-10-66933429     Fax: +86-10-63806508

Received: 2005-07-11                 Accepted: 2005-07-29

2009-03-06

This article has been withdrawn

 On March 4, 2009, we received an email from BMJ Publishing Group Ltd claiming that this article is a duplicate publication. At first, we made a general comparison between these two articles and find that these really exist some similar data and paragraphs. Then, we use the AMLC system (http://check7.cnki.net/) and made a specific comparison. According to the report, there are 42% duplicate words (including references).

There we have withdrawn this article from our journal.

Lian-Sheng Ma, Professor
President and Editor-in-Chief
World Journal of Gastroenterology

The WJG Press ,
Beijing Baishideng BioMed Scientific Co., Ltd.,
Room 903, Building D,
Ocean International Center,
No.62 Dongsihuan Zhonglu, Chaoyang District,
Beijing 100025, China
Telephone: +86-10-5908-0039
Fax: +86-10-8538-1893
E-mail: l.s.ma@wjgnet.com
http: //www.wjgnet.com

The content below is the communication email.

 Additional file 1
Yang Y, Nemoto EM, Harvey SA, Subbotin VM, Gandhi CR. Increased hepatic platelet activating factor (PAF) and PAF receptors in carbon tetrachloride induced liver cirrhosis. Yang Y, Nemoto EM, Harvey SA, Subbotin VM, Gandhi CR. Gut. 2004 Jun;53(6):877-83. PMID: 15138217
http://www.wjgnet.com/1007-9327/news/GUT877.pdf

Additional file 2
Yang YP, Ma XM, Wang CP, Han J, Lu YY, Xiang Y, Su SH, Feng YY. Effect of increased hepatic platelet activating factor and its receptors on portal hypertension in CCl₄-induced liver cirrhosis.  World J Gastroenterol 2006; 12(5): 709-715
http://www.wjgnet.com/1007-9327/news/WJG709.pdf

Additional file 3

"Dear Sir

I  have been contacted by Professor Gandhi drawing my attention to the fact that  the  article  published  in  Gut  entitled Increased hepatic platelet activating  factor  (PAF) and PAF receptors in carbon tetrachloride induced liver  cirrhosis Y Yang, E M Nemoto, S A K Harvey, V M Subbotin, C R Gandhi Gut 2004;53:877-883 has been duplicated in your Journal.

Yang  YP, Ma XM, Wang CP, Han J, Lu YY, Xiang Y, Su SH, Feng YY.  Effect of increased  hepatic  platelet  activating  factor  and  its  receptor portal hypertension  in  CCl4-induced  liver  cirrhosis.  World J Gastroenterology 2006 February;12(5):709-715. All the figures and details appear identical.

I am  sure you will agree that this is unacceptable and cannot be ignored. Since  the  Gut  article  precedes the article in your journal by 2 years  I  believe  that  the  World  Journal  of  Gastroenterology  article should be  withdrawn  and  that  a  statement issued stating that the World Journal of Gastroenterology  does  not  accept duplicate publications.  We should also contact  Dr  Yang’s  institution to ask them to undertake an investigation.

It  might be best if a joint letter from myself and yourself was sent along the following lines.

Dear Sir

We would like  to  draw your attention to the duplicate publication by Dr Yang  from  the Department of Gastroenterology, 302 Hospital of the Chinese PLA,  Beijing.   The first  article  was  published in Gut in 2004 and was submitted  nearly  two years later to The World Journal of Gastroenterology in  2005.   The Editors of all international journals completely reject the habit   of  duplicate  publication  which  is  misleading  to  the world’s readership,  giving  the false impression of replication of results when in fact  they  are  the  same  results.   In Europe and the United States such behaviour  would  lead  to  an  investigation  and dismissal for scientific misconduct.  Obviously  you  will  have  your own procedures which must be fairly  carried  out. We  would  be interested to hear the results of the  investigation.

I  hope  we  can  agree  on  this  course  of  action which is important in maintaining the reputation of all scientific journals including your own.

 I  would  also  want to inform the National Library of Science, PubMed and ISI  who  all  have  important  interests  in  the  integrity of scientific publications.

Best wishes

Professor Robin Spiller
Editor of Gut"

 Additional file 4

Sent: Friday, March 06, 2009 8:06 PM
Dear Professor Ma:
How you doing! I am so hapyy to receive your letter. At first I apology for you and your WJG. But I did not duplicate publications. The all of date in the article published in WJG entitled Effect of increased hepatic platelet activating factorand its receptors on portal hypertension in CCl4-induced liver cirrhosis. World J Gastroenterol 2006; 12(5): 709-715 have been finished by me. Just I did not submitted for Gut entitled Increased hepatic platelet activating factor (PAF) and PAF receptors in carbon tetrachloride induced liver cirrhosis. I did not know that Professor Gandhi published in Gut entitled Increased hepatic platelet activating factor (PAF) and PAF receptors in carbon tetrachloride induced liver cirrhosis Y Yang, E M Nemoto, S A K Harvey, V M Subbotin, C R Gandhi Gut 2004;53:877-883 before I submitted my article in WJG entitled Effect of increased hepatic platelet activating factorand its receptors on portal hypertension in CCl4-induced liver cirrhosis. Professor Gandhi did not tell me that he published entitled Increased hepatic platelet activating factor (PAF) and PAF receptors in carbon tetrachloride induced liver cirrhosis in Gut. Another one, By Gut Copyright Transfer, I did not recive it. There was not my Signature in Gut Copyright Transfer about entitled Increased hepatic platelet activating factor (PAF) and PAF receptors in carbon tetrachloride induced liver cirrhosis. So I can not agree that I am duplicate publication. I would like to accept your investigation. Thanks a lots.

Best wishes

Yongping Yang

Additional file 5
From: "Robin Spiller" <Robin.Spiller@nottingham.ac.uk>
To: "wjg" <wjg@wjgnet.com>; "Peter Ashman" <PAshman@bmjgroup.com>
Cc: <guteditorial@bmjgroup.com>; <robin.spiller@nottingham.ac.uk>
Sent: Saturday, March 07, 2009 2:41 AM

Subject: RE: BMJ Publishing Group Ltd

Dear Professor Lian-Sheng
Many thanks for your prompt action on this matter which is important to send a clear message to your authors that duplicate publication and fraudulent representation of funding source and authorship is not to be tolerated.
 

Best wishes
 

Robin
 

Professor Robin Spiller
Nottingham Digestive Diseases Centre Biomedical Research Unit
University Hospital
C Floor South Block
Nottingham
NG7 2UH
United Kingdom
Tel+44 115 8231032 (direct line)
Fax 44 115 9422232
University Secretary – Emma Bradley – Tel + 44 (0)115 8231090 – emma.bradley@nottingham.ac.uk
NHS Secretary - NHS Secretary Julie Dobromylskyj +44 115 9249924 ext 64548 julie.dobromylskyj@nuh.nhs.uk
Mobile 07824328319

Additional file 6

From: "Gandhi, C" <gandhics@upmc.edu>
To: "l.s.ma" <l.s.ma@wjgnet.com>
Sent: Sunday, March 08, 2009 12:29 AM
Subject: RE: World J Gastroenterol 2006; 12(5): 709-715

 Dear Professor Ma:

Please be aware and you may inform Dr. Yang that he and his associates quote both the papers published in J Hepatology ( J Hepatol 2003; 39: 200-207 ) and Gut (Gut 2004; 53: 877-883)  as references 10 and 11 respectively in the WJG paper published in 2006 (volume 12:709-715). Similarly he quotes the Journal of Hepatology paper ( J Hepatol 2003; 39: 200-207) which he duplicated in WJG 2008 (Volume 14: 764-770) as reference 15. I am surprised that he claims that he "did not know that these papers were published" with him as first author.

Sincerely,

C. R. Gandhi

Additional file 7
Lu YY, Wang CP, Zhou L, Chen Y, Su SH, Feng YY, Yang YP. Synthesis of platelet-activating factor and its receptor expression in Kupffer cells in rat carbon tetrachloride-induced cirrhosis. World J Gastroenterol 2008; 14(5): 764-770 
http://www.wjgnet.com/1007-9327/14/764.pdf