Retraction
The Publisher and Editor regretfully retract this article [1] because the peer-review process was inappropriately influenced and compromised. As a result, the scientific integrity of the article cannot be guaranteed. A systematic and detailed investigation suggests that a third party was involved in supplying fabricated details of potential peer reviewers for a large number of manuscripts submitted to different journals. In accordance with recommendations from COPE we have retracted all affected published articles, including this one. It was not possible to determine beyond doubt that the authors of this particular article were aware of any third party attempts to manipulate peer review of their manuscript.
Update posted (11th April, 2016)
BioMed Central has been informed by the authors’ institution that it has conducted an investigation that found that the authors of this article [1] authorized third-parties to submit the manuscript on their behalf, but did not sufficiently supervise or manage the submission process. The investigation concluded that this behavior constituted academic misconduct.
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