Fabrication Investigation Report: Effects of Boschniakia rossica Extract on Bodybuilding Training

Academic fraud report · Geng Detector

Summary

Verdict: Confirmed data fabrication (实锤). This investigation of Jiang Li (Yantai University) in Journal of Huaqiao University (Natural Science), DOI 10.11830/ISSN.1000-5013.201604016, identifies multiple severe data integrity failures. Findings include (1) implausible anthropometric values, with male hip circumference reported at approximately 28-29 cm, well outside any plausible anatomical range; (2) physiologically lethal blood urea nitrogen (BUN) concentrations of 137-151 mmol/L, compared with the normal adult reference range of 2.9-7.5 mmol/L, indicating either a unit/coding error or invented data; (3) statistically abnormal standard deviations, with SD values clustered narrowly between 1.1 and 1.8 across heterogeneous measurements (height, neck, shoulder, skinfold), and an SD nearly equal to the mean for muscle development scores (1.322±1.130), which is mathematically inconsistent with bounded morphological indices. The discussion text is also highly templated, applying identical phrasing across body composition, skinfold, and physiological outcomes. Confidence in fabrication is high, though some anomalies may originate from misplaced decimal points or unit errors rather than intentional invention; this does not change the conclusion that the dataset is invalid. The paper should be formally investigated and retracted.

Verdict

Confirmed data fabrication / severely invalid dataset (实锤). The reported values are incompatible with human physiology and basic statistical reasoning. While some anomalies may stem from misplaced decimals or unit errors, the cumulative evidence indicates the data cannot be trusted and the paper warrants retraction and institutional investigation.

Key findings

Implausible hip circumference: Male hip circumference of approximately 28-29 cm violates anatomical plausibility, regardless of whether the originally suspected value (98.32 cm) or the corrected value (28.32 cm) is used.
Lethal BUN concentrations: Reported BUN of 137-151 mmol/L is roughly 20× the upper limit of the normal adult reference range (2.9-7.5 mmol/L), inconsistent with survival and indicating a unit error or fabricated data.
Abnormal standard deviations: Across Tables 1, 2, and 4, SDs cluster narrowly between approximately 1.1 and 1.8 for heterogeneous variables (height, neck, shoulder, skinfold), which is statistically implausible.
SD equal to mean on bounded index: Table 4 reports muscle development of 1.322±1.130, implying a substantial proportion of subjects would have negative values on a morphological index, violating the index's mathematical definition.
Templated statistical narrative: Sections 2.1-2.4 use nearly identical phrasing ("P<0.01", "P<0.05") without variable-specific interpretation, suggesting copy-paste generation rather than genuine analysis.

Evidence highlights

Table 1, hip circumference (post-correction): 28.32±1.21 cm (pre) → 29.74±1.13 cm (post). Outside any plausible adult male range.
Table 5, BUN (c/mmol·L⁻¹): 138.00±11.32 (observation, pre); 151.00±14.54 (observation, post); 137.00 and 148.00 for controls. Normal reference: 2.9-7.5 mmol/L.
Table 4, muscle development: 1.322±1.130 with n≈20; SD ≈ 85% of mean.
Tables 1, 2, 4: SD values restricted to a narrow 1.1x-1.8x band across variables with very different biological variances.
DOI: 10.11830/ISSN.1000-5013.201604016; submitted 2016-05-01, published July 2016.

Notes

Some numeric anomalies (e.g., the BUN magnitude and the original Table 1 hip value) are consistent with decimal-point or unit-conversion errors; however, even under the most charitable interpretation, the dataset remains biologically and statistically invalid.
Authors should be asked to provide raw data and ethics-committee approval records; if unavailable, the journal should proceed toward retraction.
This report is AI-assisted and intended for academic-integrity discussion only; final determination rests with the editorial board and the author's institution.