Cases of ethical violation in research publications: through editorial decision making process

Purpose – To improve and strengthen existing publication and research ethics, KODISA has identified and presented various cases which have violated publication and research ethics and principles in recent years. The editorial office of KODISA has been providing and continues to provide advice and feedback on publication ethics to researchers during peer review and editorial decision making process. Providing advice and feedback on publication ethics will ensure researchers to have an opportunity to correct their mistakes or make appropriate decisions and avoid any violations in research ethics. The purpose of this paper is to identify different cases of ethical violation in research and inform and educate researchers to avoid any violations in publication and research ethics. Furthermore, this article will demonstrate how KODISA journals identify and penalize ethical violations and strengthens its publication ethics and practices. Research design, data and methodology – This paper examines different types of ethical violation in publication and research ethics. The paper identifies and analyzes all ethical violations in research and combines them into five general categories. Those five general types of ethical violations are thoroughly examined and discussed. Results – Ethical violations of research occur in various forms at regular intervals; in other words, unethical researchers tend to commit different types of ethical violations repeatedly at same time. The five categories of ethical violation in research are as follows: (1) Arbitrary changes or additions in author(s) happen frequently in thesis/dissertation related publications. (2) Self plagiarism, submitting same work or mixture of previous works with or without using proper citations, also occurs frequently, but the most common type of plagiarism is changing the statistical results and using them to present as the results of the empirical analysis; (3) Translation plagiarism, another ethical violation in publication, is difficult to detect but occurs frequently; (4) Fabrication of data or statistical analysis also occurs frequently. KODISA requires authors to submit the results of the empirical analysis of the paper (the output of the statistical program) to prevent this type of ethical violation; (5) Mashup or aggregator plagiarism, submitting a mix of several different works with or without proper citations without alterations, is very difficult to detect, and KODISA journals consider this type of plagiarism as the worst ethical violation. Conclusions – There are some individual cases of ethical violation in research and publication that could not be included in the five categories presented throughout the paper. KODISA and its editorial office should continue to develop, revise, and strengthen their publication ethics, to learn and share different ways to detect any ethical violations in research and publication, to train and educate its editorial members and researchers, and to analyze and share different cases of ethical violations with the scholarly community

A New Record of Cymatium encausticum (Ranellidae: Tonnoidea: Gastropoda) from Korea

The Cymatium Roding, 1798 is a small- to large-sized marine gastropod genus. Three species has been reported thus far for Cymatium in the Korean waters. In general, Cymatium encausticum (Reeve, 1844) is known to occur in tropical seawaters including the Philippine Islands along with its congeners C. gutturnium, C. springsteeni, and C. exile. A single individual of the species was collected from Jejudo Island by SCUBA diving and morphological features were observed using a stereomicroscope. This is the first study to report the occurrence of Cymatium encausticum (Reeve, 1844) from the Korean waters, providing a detailed description of the species with the illustration for the shell morphology

AN ANALYSIS OF 500 M INLINE SKATE STARTING MOTIONS

The purpose of this study was to examine if there are kinematical variables differences between national representative players (NRP) and non national representative players (NNRP) during 500 m inline skate starting motion. Four NRP and six NNRP were recruited for the study. Each subject executed starting motion five times on a 2x12 m start way in a gymnasium. Kinematical variables were analyzed by the three-dimensional motion analysis system (60Hz). It was hypothesized that there are time and center of mass acceleration differences in starting phase between groups since starting phase has been considered important in sprinting. The results showed that the NRP had significantly shorter starting phase time than that of NNRP

Korean Society of Nephrology hemodialysis unit accreditation report (2016–2020) and future directions

Background Patients receiving hemodialysis have various complications with a high mortality rate and require specialized treatment at an institution equipped with an appropriate workforce, equipment, and facilities. The Korean Society of Nephrology (KSN) is conducting hemodialysis unit accreditation to manage the quality of hemodialysis institutions, present standard treatment guidelines, and establish a network between regional medical institutions for the safe treatment of hemodialysis patients. This study aimed to summarize the previous accreditation results and discuss future directions. Methods After the proposal of hemodialysis unit accreditation in 2009, pilot projects were undertaken for hemodialysis units and dialysis subspecialist training hospitals in the metropolitan area for 5 years. Since 2016, five hemodialysis unit accreditation projects have been conducted. Results The cumulative number of participating units was 599, and the number of accredited units was 473 (average accreditation rate, 79.0%). The participating units consisted of clinics (58.6%), non-university hospitals (28.2%), and university hospitals (13.2%). Overall, 92.4% of university hospitals, 81.2% of clinics, and 68.0% of non-university hospitals were accredited. Over 5 years, new units were added annually to apply for accreditation, and the rate of previous participants applying for reaccreditation was high (77.7%). However, considering that the total number of member institutions of the KSN is 637, the number of units with valid accreditation as of 2020 was low (267 [41.9%]). Conclusion The efforts of the KSN and its members, as well as institutional support from the government, are required for quality management of hemodialysis units through hemodialysis unit accreditation

Production of Radiation-Induced Compounds in Irradiated Raw and Cooked Meats

The objective of this study was to determine the best irradiation markers in irradiated meat. Raw and cooked beef loins, pork loins and chicken thighs were irradiated at 0 or 5 kGy. The amounts of hydrocarbons, 2-alkylcyclobutanones, and sulfur volatiles were determined after 0 and 6 months of frozen storage. Two hydrocarbons (8-heptadecene (C17:1) and 6,9-heptadecadiene (C17:2)) and two 2- alkylcyclobutanones (2-dodecylcyclobutanone (DCB) and 2-tetradecylcyclobutanone (TCB)) were detected only in irradiated raw and cooked meats. Although pre-cooked irradiated meats produced more hydrocarbons and 2- alkylcyclobutanones than the irradiated cooked ones, the amounts of individual hydrocarbons and 2- alkylcyclobutanones, such as 8-heptadecene, 6,9- heptadecadiene, DCB, and TCB, were sufficient enough to identify whether the meat was irradiated or not. Dimethyl disulfide and dimethyl trisulfide were detected only in irradiated meats, but dimethyl trisulfide disappeared after 6 months of frozen storage under oxygen permeable packaging conditions. This indicated that only dimethyl disulfide could be used as an irradiation marker for the meat stored in frozen conditions for a long time

Glutaric Aciduria Type 1 in Korea: Report of Two Novel Mutations

Glutaric aciduria type I (GA I) is an autosomal recessive disorder caused by a deficiency of glutaryl-CoA dehydrogenase. Although over 400 patients confirmed as GA I have been reported, reports from the Asian population had contributed to the minor proportion. We recently diagnosed two cases of GA I confirmed with mutational analysis. Here, we present their rather atypical clinical presentations with genetic characteristics for the first time in Korea. Profound developmental delay from birth, association of hearing loss, and neurological improvement after surgical intervention, were considered to be different clinical features from most reported cases. One patient was a compound heterozygote for p.Ser139Leu and p.Asp220Tyr, and the other for p.Ser139Leu and Glu160X. The mutations of the two alleles (p.Asp220Tyr and p.Glu160X) were novel and reports of p.Ser139Leu were rare both in Western and other Asian populations. These might suggest different genetic spectrum of Korean GA I patients

Beneficial Effect of Efonidipine, an L- and T-Type Dual Calcium Channel Blocker, on Heart Rate and Blood Pressure in Patients With Mild-to-Moderate Essential Hypertension

Background and Objectives: Efonidipine hydrochloride, an L- and T-type dual calcium channel blocker, is suggested to have a heart rate (HR)-slowing action in addition to a blood pressure (BP)-lowering effect. The aim of this study was to determine the effect of efonidipine on HR and BP in patients with mild-to-moderate hypertension. Subjects and Methods: In a multi-center, prospective, open-labeled, single-armed study, we enrolled 53 patients who had mild-to-moderate hypertension {sitting diastolic BP (SiDBP) 90-110 mmHg}. After a 2-week washout, eligible patients were treated with efonidipine (40 mg once daily for 12 weeks). The primary end point was the change in HR from baseline to week 12. The secondary end-point included the change in trough sitting BP and 24-hour mean BP between baseline and week 12. Laboratory and clinical adverse events were monitored at each study visit (4, 8, and 12 weeks). Results: Fifty-two patients were included in the intention-to-treat analysis. After 12 weeks of treatment with efonidipine, the resting HR decreased significantly from baseline to week 12 (from 81.5??5.3 to 71.8??9.9 beats/minute (difference, -9.9??9.0 beats/minute), p<0.0001}. The trough BP {sitting systolic blood pressure (SiSBP) and SiDBP} and 24-hour mean BP also decreased significantly (SiSBP: from 144.6??8.2 to 132.9??13.5 mmHg, p<0.0001; SiDBP: from 96.9??5.4 to 88.3??8.6 mmHg, p<0.0001, 24-hour mean systolic BP: from 140.4??13.5 to 133.8??11.6 mmHg, p<0.0001; 24-hour mean diastolic BP: from 91.7??8.7 to 87.5??9.5 mmHg, p<0.0001). Conclusion: Efonidipine was effective in controlling both HR and BP in patients with mild-to-moderate hypertension. Copyright ?? 2010 The Korean Society of Cardiology