All aboard the transtrain
Rebecca Williams comes in from Austin Journal of Invitro [sic] Fertilization. I may know little about the journal's subject area, but I do know that invitro
is in vitro. You'd think that a senior editor would get this shit right.* (SMH)
But, using my lack of embryo knowledge to comment on the current cultural hot topic of men thinking they're women, I wonder if Austin Publishing Group is ready for a little controversy? (devil)
Date: Sat, 15 Apr 2023 20:38:04 +0000 Subject: *** SPAM *** Slots Available for New Articles Submission: Embryo Development From: Rebecca Williams <rebeccawilliams@austinjrnls.co> Reply-To: Rebecca Williams <rebeccawilliams@austinpublishers.co>
Hello Dr. [NAME], On behalf of the open access journal “Austin Journal of Invitro Fertilization (ISSN: 2471-0628), Impact Factor 1.9, this is a cordial invitation to publish your next manuscript in special Issue “Embryo Development”. This edition covers all areas of “Embryo Development” and authors are free to choose the topic of their interest. We accept latest research articles, reviews, short commentaries, clinical images and poster presentations. All the submissions are assigned to editor and the journal follows double blind review method. Published articles are assigned to DOI for global recognition. Let us know your interest in publishing your work with us. Best Regards, Rebecca Williams, Senior Editor, Editorial Office: Austin Journal of Invitro Fertilization, Austin Publishing Group, 6565 N MacArthur Blvd Ste 225, Irving Tx 75039, USA, Call: +1-201-655-7075.
<img width="1" height="1" src="http://192.236.154.139/index.php/campaigns/rz008aj1l2538/track-opening/[snip]" alt="" />
I removed the *** SPAM *** alert from the subject line of my reply.
Date: Sun, 16 Apr 2023 13:15:04 +0200 Subject: Re: Slots Available for New Articles Submission: Embryo Development To: Rebecca Williams <rebeccawilliams@austinpublishers.co>
Dear Rebecca Williams, Thank you for contacting me with regards to your auspicious journal's special issue on embryonic development. I have a manuscript in preparation entitled “Boyz II Men, Men II Women: Is the Current Vogue for Mental Illness Masquerading as Transgenderism Rooted in Embryonic Maldevelopment?” If you think that this would be a good fit for your journal, please advise on your preferred payment process. Sincerely,
* In her defence, possibly, whoever established the journal knows no better. And the illustrious academics working in the field of in vitro fertilisation who patronise it don't seem to care. (shrug)
The proposed title of my article wasn't parsed through a brayn that recognised the underlying message. This may be because Becky isn't too bright. Or she doesn't care. Or, whatever, money matters more.
But the current fetish for transgenderism and gender [cough] fluidity
is a phenomenon associated with Western whack-jobs on social media. So, I can well imagine that the controversy is unheard of among the harlots of Hyderabad.
That, and, whatever, money matters more.
Date: Mon, 17 Apr 2023 04:31:53 +0000 From: rebeccawilliams@austinpublishers.co Subject: Re: Slots Available for New Articles Submission: Embryo Development
Thank you very much for your interest towards the journal's special issue. Your manuscript entitled “Boyz II Men, Men II Women: Is the Current Vogue for Mental Illness Masquerading as Transgenderism Rooted in Embryonic Maldevelopment?” is very interesting and fits to the scope of the journal. Being an open access journal, we provide free and unlimited access to the readers across the world. To cover the cost of publication, we charge authors. For invited manuscript submissions, we are charging only 920 USD towards the manuscript publication including DOI charges. You have to pay fees after publication of your manuscript. Kindly submit your full-length manuscript as an attachment to this email reply. If the manuscript is under process, let us know the possible date of submission. We look forward to receiving your valuable contribution. Best Regards, Rebecca Williams, Senior Editor, Editorial Office: Austin Journal of Invitro Fertilization, Austin Publishing Group,
Date: Mon, 17 Apr 2023 19:46:39 +0200 Subject: Re: Slots Available for New Articles Submission: Embryo Development To: <rebeccawilliams@austinpublishers.co>
Dear Rebecca Williams, Thank you for your kind and informative reply. It appears that I misunderstood the situation. I was under the impression that Austin Publishing Group would pay me, as an author of the work, for the right to publish it. $920 is a lot of money. Sincerely,
A new offer with a reduced cost is expected…
And, sure enough, it appears that the costs are negotiable
. (wink)
Becky's response was sent early in the working day for Telangana, India (09:30), but outside normal working hours for both Texas, USA (23:00) and Amsterdam (04:00).* Unless she works nights. Actually, I'm pretty damned sure she works nights (nudge nudge), just not spewing out this kinda shit.
I could ask her whether her accounts manager madam is also
based in Irving, TX, or whether we'd get an immediate response in Telangana time. But I'm done here.
Date: Tue, 18 Apr 2023 04:04:59 +0000 From: rebeccawilliams@austinpublishers.co Subject: Re: Slots Available for New Articles Submission: Embryo Development
Being an open access journal, we provide free subscription to the published content. To cover the publication charges and manage the journal expenses, we charge authors. Please let us know your available funds and I shall talk to the accounts manager. Looking forward to your response. Best Regards, Rebecca Williams, Senior Editor, Editorial Office: Austin Journal of Invitro Fertilization, Austin Publishing Group,
* Austin Publishing Group also has an office
—read PO box—in Amsterdam's World Trade Center. The Dutch are conscientious workers, but even they have limits!
Her slip's showing. Although she managed to hide behind a server set to UTC+0000 until now, Becky's come in again and revealed herself to be in the UTC+0530 time zone.
It's a little surprising, to be honest, because this isn't a follow-up to our earlier correspondence. It looks like a new campaign mail, but she's not using the standard routine of a campaign server set to UTC+0000. Regardless, I knew we'd get there eventually.
From: "Austin Journal of Invitro Fertilization" <invitro.fertilization@austinoapublication.org> Subject: New Article Collection: Embryo Implantation Date: Tue, 18 Apr 2023 23:16:26 +0530
Greetings to the day!! We are aware of your reputation for the quality of research and trustworthiness in the field of "Embryo Implantation” and we would like to invite you to contribute a paper for Trending Issue towards our journal “Austin Journal of Invitro Fertilization (ISSN: 2471-0628), Impact Factor 1.9”. Thus, on behalf of our Editorial team, we hereby take the privilege of inviting you to write and submit a clinically related work like Research/Review/Case Reports/Clinical Image/Video Article/ Short Commentaries/Communication/Letter to Editor/ Opinion/ Perspective/ Book Review, etc., for possible publication. We would be grateful, if you consider the proposal and submit your manuscript to the issue and make it successful. We are looking forward to a long and productive relationship with you. I will be waiting for your positive mail. Thank you in advance. With Regards, Rebecca Williams Editorial Office- Austin Journal of Invitro Fertilization Austin Publications LLC 6565 N MacArthur Blvd Ste 225, Irving Tx 75039, USA, Call: +1-201-655-7075. Disclaimer: This is an intended mail to [snip], if you do not want to receive email from us please click >> UNSUBSCRIBE
She's gonna have a long wait.
I visited APG's site earlier today to check their stated office presence. The email addresses of their US and NL offices were shown clearly as clickable links. But when I revisited just now, those links are protected
from malicious bots
—the same bots that harvested my email address for use by the likes of APG—by Javascript. Like GMail, Cloudflare is protecting its spamming clients from spammers. How cute.
But the protection doesn't really work. Or, rather, it works too well. Apparently, You must enable Javascript in your browser in order to decode the e-mail address.
Well, I have JS enabled in my browser, and the links still don't show.
Never mind, our trusty friend, and the BBC's accountability coach, the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine has the goods: info@austinpublishinggroup.us and support@austinpublishinggroup.us. Come, mailbots, feast!
Irrelevant, Your Honour
Incidentally, the home page for Austin Journal of Invitro Fertilization currently hosts an intimate photo
illustrating a highlighted article, entitled Malakoplakia of the Vulva Following Lung Transplantation. I'm not sure what any of that has to do with in vitro fertilisation, and the links resolve to 404. 101
On further investigating the webcomic's published manuscripts
,* it appears that there have been only fifty-one since 2014; including letters and editorials. And I came across two that made no sense within its stated scope. One of which was the featured article mentioned above, dating from 2017 and eighth on the list, reporting vulval papulae in a 67-year-old woman. Presented in a supposed scientific journal
supposedly devoted to in vitro fertilisation.
And then there's this little gem, which came fourth on the list, and not only makes no sense in terms of scope, but also in terms of English:
Abstract Hemorrhoids are one of the most common benign ano-rectal problems worldwide. The prevalence rate of hemorrhoids is 4.4% in 10 million people, more common in 30-65 years of age. Incidence is equal in both the sex; causes may be, in relation to food or faulty life style. In Ayurveda, Hemorrhoids can be equated which is considered as Arsha one of the Ashtamahagada, because of deerghakalanubandhi, dushchikitsya as it is Tridoshaja and is in Marma stana. During the process of pathogenesis vitiated Apanadi doshas gets localized in Mamsa, Meda & Twak of Guda Pradesh resulting in appearance of abnormal fleshy out growth in Guda. Acharya Sushruta has described four principles therapeutic measures in the management of Arshas as Bhesaja chikitsa (medical management), Kshara karma (caustic therapy), Agnikarma (Thermal cautery), and Shastra karma (surgery). Different types of surgical treatments are also being practiced. But results are not very satisfactory and surgical procedures are not free from adverse effects including anal incontinence. Hence there is a need of effective, safe treatment for haemorrhoids. “Shri Bahusala Guda is one of the drug regimen indicated as internal medicine in the management of Arshas by Acharya Govind Das in Bhaishajya Ratnavali. It is clearly mentioned that by taking internal medicine it does Agnideepana & it cures Arshas. Considering these points the present study is planned. Keywords: Arsha; Haemorrhoids; Internal uses of Bahushala guda and Arshakuthara Rasa
Rahul S., Sangamesh H., Savadi B.S. (2019). A Comparative Clinical Study on the Efficacy of Shri Bahushala Guda and Arshakuthara Rasa in the Management of Arsha W.S.R. to 2nd Degree Internal Haemorrhoids, Austin Journal of Invitro Fertilization 5(1):1039
Heavens to Betsy!
* The published manuscripts list seems to be in reverse-chronological order. There is no more comprehensive archive by year/volume, as I would expect from an active and reputable journal. I have to assume, therefore, that the fifty-one is it. That also means this webcomic has published thirteen articles since 2017, and five since 2019; including two that were irrelevant to its scope. Given its 141-strong editorial board, who I assume are leading lights in the field, this is not an outlet that's generating a lot of excitement amongst its target demography.
$920 seems even more ludicrous under the circumstances.
Becky's reminder gives me an opportunity to question the veracity of her webcomic's publishing record.
Date: Tue, 25 Apr 2023 05:12:56 +0000 From: rebeccawilliams@austinpublishers.co Subject: Reminder Mail: Slots Available for New Articles Submission: Embryo Development
Greetings for the day This is a reminder regarding your submission. We understand your busy schedule & would like to contact you again. Please submit your manuscript as an attachment to this email. If the manuscript is under process, let us know the possible date of submission. Kindly acknowledge this email within 24 hours. Best regards, Rebecca Williams Austin Publications LLC
Date: Tue, 25 Apr 2023 10:08:18 +0100 Subject: Re: Reminder Mail: Slots Available for New Articles Submission: Embryo Development To: <rebeccawilliams@austinpublishers.co>
Dear Rebecca Williams, Thank you for your reminder. On reviewing the past articles published by Journal of Invitro Fertilization, I found one report of vulvar nodules in a 67-year-old woman and one on the treatment of haemorrhoids. These have nothing to do with the scope of the journal, either in vitro (not invitro) or fertilization. [thanks for merkanisingfertilisationfor me, autofuckup] I therefore conclude that the journal is neither focused in its scope nor a serious academic endeavor. My work, “Boyz II Men, Men II Women: Is the Current Vogue for Mental Illness Masquerading as Transgenderism Rooted in Embryonic Maldevelopment?”, is a serious enquiry into the theme and deserves a serious platform from which to be expounded. Please accept this as acknowledgement within 24 hours. Sincerely,
Well, that seems to have put the wind up her! (LOL)
Date: Tue, 25 Apr 2023 11:20:59 +0000 From: rebeccawilliams@austinpublishers.co Subject: Re: Reminder Mail: Slots Available for New Articles Submission: Embryo Development
I sincere apologize on behalf of the journal. Your query has been forwarded to the QC team. The published article will be moved to another journal in a couple of days. Austin Publishing Group always strive to serve the scientific community in all possible ways by providing the latest scientific information without subscription. We consider the journal aims and scope and follow the international standards for every article. Hope we get an opportunity to publish your work. Regards, Rebecca Williams
Both of those articles irrelevant to the individual fields of in vitro and fertlisation, let alone the combination of the two, are still present on the webcomic's list of published manuscripts, despite her assurance that it (singular) would be moved within a couple of days. I can only assume that APG's QC team
is as deadbeat as its editorial staff. To be honest, I'd expect nothing else.
I don't understand her desperation though. They've published three articles so far this year already. That's a magnificent threefold improvement on the last three years alone. (LOL)
Date: Thu, 27 Apr 2023 07:27:45 +0000 From: rebeccawilliams@austinpublishers.co Subject: Gentle Reminder Mail: Slots Available for New Articles Submission: Embryo Development
Greetings for the day This is a reminder regarding your submission. We understand your busy schedule & would like to contact you again. Please submit your manuscript as an attachment to this email. If the manuscript is under process, let us know the possible date of submission. Kindly acknowledge this email within 24 hours. Best regards, Rebecca Williams Austin Publications LLC
Becky's reminder gives me the opportunity to expose APG's lack of QC, or clue. Smack-down!
Date: Tue, 09 May 2023 04:01:56 +0000 From: rebeccawilliams@austinpublishers.co Subject: Reminder Mail: Slots Available for New Articles Submission: Embryo Development
As per your previous conversation, we are sending you this mail as a reminder note. Please let me know the possible date for submission of your manuscript. If your manuscript is ready for submission send it as an email attachment to this mail. Feel free to contact us for further information. Best regards, Rebecca Williams Austin Publications LLC
Date: Tue, 09 May 2023 07:16:05 +0200 Subject: Re: Reminder Mail: Slots Available for New Articles Submission: Embryo Development To: <rebeccawilliams@austinpublishers.co>
Dear Rebecca Williams, Two weeks’ ago, I informed you that there were two articles unrelated to the journal’s scope listed as past publications: one on vulvar papillae in a postmenopausal woman, and another on the treatment of haemorrhoids. While the first has been removed from the listing, the second remains, as does the picture on the journal’s home page relating to the first one (attached screenshot). I really should not have to do the work of APG’s so-called QC team. This seems to me like a most unprofessional undertaking, and I will not submit my ground-breaking work to it. Nor will I enter into any further correspondence. Sincerely
I'm not attaching the screenshot here, it's not nice. (ewww)