Heart attack journal
The medical journal Experimental & Clinical Cardiology used to be a respected journal. It still has an impact factor (1.100). The publication was based in Toronto until it was sold in 2013 to, apparently, some Europeans.
The journal has declined in quality, and I have its publisher, Cardiology Academic Press, on my list, though the press only publishes this one journal. It now claims to be based in Bern, Switzerland.
I’ve learned that the journal accepted a paper with no real peer review. The paper’s author received the following two emails, the first one reporting a positive review from one external reviewer, the second reporting a positive review from two others. No edits to the paper were suggested; the journal accepted the manuscript as submitted.
Dear Prof. [redacted],
We are pleased to inform you that your paper “[redacted]“, which you submitted to the journal “Experimental & Clinical Cardiology” has been approved from one of three reviewers.
In one week we will have final results from the other two independent reviewers.You will be notified about final acceptance or decline of your paper soon.
If you have any questions or concerns we are at your disposal.
Sincerely,
Leonie Stein
Cardiology Academic Press
______________________________
Eigerstrasse 2, 3007 Bern, Switzerland
Website: www.cardiologyacademicpress.com
Email: stein@cardiologyacademicpress.com
The second email:
Dear Prof. [redacted],
Congratulations!
We are pleased to inform you that your paper “[redacted]” was accepted for publication in the Experimental & Clinical Cardiology journal.
Three independent reviewers have approved its content.NEXT STEP: Payment
PAYMENT DEADLINE: [redacted], 2014To proceed with following steps please make sure publication fee is payed, so your paper can be published.
It will be Indexed by Thomson Scientific ISI Web of Knowledge, EMBASE/Excerpta Medica, Scopus and PubMed Central.The invoice for the Article Processing Charge for your paper can be found on your Author Panel page: [redacted]
Please fill in the information required. If necessary, you can also change or update the invoicing data.The payment can be made by wire transfer: [redacted].
All necessary details regarding wire transfer can be found on the invoice.For any assistance you might need, we remain at your disposal.
Sincerely,
Leonie Stein
Cardiology Academic Press
______________________________
Eigerstrasse 2, 3007 Bern, Switzerland
Website: www.cardiologyacademicpress.com
Email: stein@cardiologyacademicpress.com
The journal doesn’t currently even have an editorial board.
Can’t wait.
Now here’s a screenshot from the invoice the author received after his manuscript got accepted:
Your author fee is funneled to an offshore bank!
The author in this case found it strange that the payment ultimately would be directed to a bank in the Turks & Caicos Islands, a known tax haven.
Need to update the address.
The invoice (above) still uses the former publisher’s address in Toronto. This journal reportedly spams physicians, even those not specializing in cardiology. Their spam typically begin with this sentence:
So far Cardiology Academic Press has contacted you twice. Respecting your tight schedule, we would like to remind you of our ongoing yearly call for papers covering the most dynamic subjects in the areas of cardiology.
The journal’s cover states that it is the “journal of the International Association of Cardiovascular Sciences.” However, the “publications” page of this organization’s website makes no mention of this journal. At one time, the journal may have indeed been the group’s official organ, but in 2013 the journal was sold to its current owner, one who seems to be exploiting as fully as possible the fact that the journal has an impact factor.
Summary and Conclusions
A once-respected cardiology journal was sold to persons unknown who are now doing a fake peer review and directing revenue earned from article processing charges to be wired to a bank in the Turks & Caicos Islands, a tax haven. The owners purport to be based in Switzerland but still use the press’s former Toronto address on correspondence. The journal still has a valid impact factor, and the owners use pushy spam to attract articles.
I recommend against submitting papers to this journal.
Hat tip: [Redacted]
