Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 212 / Friday, November 3, 2023 / Notices 75641 

information on respondents, including 

through the use of automated collection 

techniques or other forms of information 

technology; and (e) estimates of capital 

or start-up costs and costs of operation, 

maintenance, and purchase of services 

to provide information. 

Approved: October 30, 2023. 

Jon R. Callahan, 

Senior Tax Analyst. 

[FR Doc. 2023–24266 Filed 11–2–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4830–01–P 

UNIFIED CARRIER REGISTRATION 

PLAN 

Sunshine Act Meetings 

TIME AND DATE: November 9, 2023, 12:00 

p.m. to 3:00 p.m., Eastern time.

PLACE: This meeting will be accessible 

via conference call and via Zoom 

Meeting and Screenshare. Any 

interested person may call (i) 1–929– 

205–6099 (US Toll) or 1–669–900–6833 

(US Toll), Meeting ID: 996 3685 6347, to 

listen and participate in this meeting. 

The website to participate via Zoom 

Meeting and Screenshare is https://

kellen.zoom.us/meeting/register/tJ0rdOgqz0pHtM9bvWIOSSxzfFv3NAVMbMt. 

STATUS: This meeting will be open to the 

public. 

MATTERS TO BE CONSIDERED: The Unified 

Carrier Registration Plan Audit 

Subcommittee (the ‘‘Subcommittee’’) 

will continue its work in developing 

and implementing the Unified Carrier 

Registration Plan and Agreement. The 

subject matter of this meeting will 

include: 

Proposed Agenda 

I. Call to Order—UCR Audit Subcommittee

Chair

The UCR Audit Subcommittee Chair will 

welcome attendees, call the meeting to order, 

call roll for the Audit Subcommittee, confirm 

whether a quorum is present, and facilitate 

self-introductions. 

II. Verification of Publication of Meeting

Notice—UCR Executive Director

The UCR Executive Director will verify the 

publication of the meeting notice on the UCR 

website and distribution to the UCR contact 

list via email followed by the subsequent 

publication of the notice in the Federal 

Register. 

III. Review and Approval of Subcommittee

Agenda and Setting of Ground Rules—UCR

Audit Subcommittee Chair

For Discussion and Possible Subcommittee 

Action 

The agenda will be reviewed, and the 

Subcommittee will consider adoption. 

Ground Rules 

Subcommittee action only to be taken in 

designated areas on the agenda. 

IV. Review and Approval of Subcommittee

Minutes From the August 10, 2023 Meeting—

UCR Audit Subcommittee Chair

For Discussion and Possible Subcommittee 

Action 

Draft minutes from the August 10, 2023, 

Subcommittee meeting via teleconference 

will be reviewed. The Subcommittee will 

consider action to approve. 

V. Discuss Options To Replace the Retreat

Audit Program With a Program That Relies

on the NRS Roadside Inspection Data—UCR

Audit Subcommittee Chair, UCR Audit

Subcommittee Vice-Chair, DSL

Transportation Representative, and

Seikosoft Representative

For Discussion and Possible Subcommittee 

Action 

The UCR Audit Subcommittee Chair, UCR 

Audit Subcommittee Vice-Chair, DSL 

Transportation Representative, and Seikosoft 

Representative will lead a discussion on 

options to replace the Retreat Audit Program 

currently utilized by the States with an 

automated roadside inspection data driven 

audit for non-IRP and IRP plated commercial 

motor vehicles (CMVs) and the motor carriers 

operating this type of registered equipment. 

The Subcommittee may take action to 

recommend to the Board a modification to 

the current retreat audit program to one that 

relies on NRS roadside inspection data. 

VI. Announcement of the Vice-Chair Position

for the Audit Subcommittee—UCR Audit

Subcommittee Chair and UCR Audit

Subcommittee Vice-Chair

For Discussion and Possible Subcommittee 

Action 

The UCR Audit Subcommittee Chair and 

UCR Audit Subcommittee Vice-Chair will 

announce the Subcommittee member 

receiving the most votes for the position of 

Vice-Chair of the Audit Subcommittee and 

address questions. The Subcommittee may 

take action to recommend that the UCR 

Board Chair appoint the Subcommittee 

member receiving the most votes to the 

position of Vice-Chair of the Audit 

Subcommittee. 

VII. General Discussion on a Policy To Close

a Participating and Non-Participating

Focused Anomaly Review (FAR)—UCR

Audit Subcommittee Chair, UCR Audit

Subcommittee Vice-Chair, and DSL

Transportation Representative

For Discussion and Possible Subcommittee 

Action 

The UCR Audit Subcommittee Chair, UCR 

Audit Subcommittee Vice-Chair, and DSL 

Transportation Representative will lead a 

discussion on required steps to close both 

participating and non-participating state 

FARs. The Subcommittee may take action to 

recommend to the Board a required policy for 

the closing of FARs from participating and 

non-participating states. 

VIII. General Discussion of Hot Shot Auto

Transporters and the Negative Impact They

Have on the UCR and Safety—UCR Audit

Subcommittee Chair, UCR Audit

Subcommittee Vice-Chair, and DSL

Transportation Representative

The UCR Audit Subcommittee Chair, UCR 

Audit Subcommittee Vice-Chair, and DSL 

Transportation Representative will lead a 

discussion on options to address the 

potential underpayment of hot shot 

transporters. 

IX. 2021 UCR Financial Audit Update—UCR

Executive Director and Kellen

Representative

The UCR Executive Director and Kellen 

Representative will provide an update on the 

2021 UCR financial audit conducted by 

Warren Averett. 

X. Update on the Quarterly Question and

Answer Session for State Auditors—UCR

Audit Subcommittee Chair, UCR Audit

Subcommittee Vice-Chair, and UCR

Executive Director

The UCR Audit Subcommittee Chair, UCR 

Audit Subcommittee Vice-Chair and UCR 

Executive Director will lead discussion of 

possible future items for discussion for the 

quarterly question and answer session for 

state auditors, and also its overall value and 

continuation. 

XI. Other Business—UCR Audit

Subcommittee Chair

The UCR Audit Subcommittee Chair will 

call for any other items Subcommittee 

members would like to discuss. 

XII. Adjournment—UCR Audit

Subcommittee Chair

The UCR Audit Subcommittee Chair will 

adjourn the meeting. 

The agenda will be available no later 

than 5:00 p.m. Eastern time, November 

1, 2023 at: https://plan.ucr.gov. 

CONTACT PERSON FOR MORE INFORMATION: 

Elizabeth Leaman, Chair, Unified 

Carrier Registration Plan Board of 

Directors, (617) 305–3783, eleaman@

board.ucr.gov. 

Alex B. Leath, 

Chief Legal Officer, Unified Carrier 

Registration Plan. 

[FR Doc. 2023–24454 Filed 11–1–23; 4:15 pm] 

BILLING CODE 4910–YL–P 

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 

AFFAIRS 

Findings of Research Misconduct 

AGENCY: Department of Veterans Affairs. 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: The Department of Veterans 

Affairs (VA) gives notice, pursuant to 

Veterans Health Administration (VHA) 

Handbook 1058.02, Research 

Misconduct, dated February 7, 2014, 


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75642 Federal Register / Vol. 88, No. 212 / Friday, November 3, 2023 / Notices 

paragraph 6.k., that the Department has 

made findings of research misconduct 

against Hee-Jeong Im Sampen, Ph.D., a 

research biologist at the Jesse Brown VA 

Medical Center (VAMC) in Chicago, 

Illinois. The findings were upheld on 

appeal per VHA Handbook 1058.02, 

paragraph 25, which is the version of 

the applicable VHA policy that was in 

effect at the time the research 

misconduct investigation commenced. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Shara Kabak, Research Misconduct 

Officer, Office of Research Oversight 

(10RO), 810 Vermont Avenue NW, 

Washington, DC 20420, 202–632–7620 

(this is not a toll-free number). 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: VA has 

made final findings of research 

misconduct against Hee-Jeong Im 

Sampen, Ph.D. (‘‘Respondent’’), a 

research biologist at the Jesse Brown 

VAMC in Chicago, Illinois. 

Based on the recommended findings 

of a joint investigation conducted by 

Rush University and Jesse Brown 

VAMC, the Department found that the 

Respondent engaged in research 

misconduct by intentionally, knowingly 

and/or recklessly falsifying/fabricating 

data included in the following three 

published papers, unpublished 

manuscript, poster presentation and 

grant application: 

• PKCd Null Mutations in a Mouse 

Model of Osteoarthritis Alter 

Osteoarthritic Pain Independently of 

Joint Pathology by Augmenting NGF/ 

TrkA-Induced Axonal Outgrowth. 

Annals of the Rheumatic Diseases. 2016 

Dec;75(12):2133–2141. doi: 10.1136/ 

annrheumdis-2015–208444 (hereafter 

‘‘Ann Rheum Dis. 2016’’); 

• Environmental Disruption of 

Circadian Rhythm Predisposes Mice to 

Osteoarthritis-Like Changes in Knee 

Joint. Journal of Cellular Physiology. 

2015 Sep;230(9):2174–2183. doi: 

10.1002/jcp.24946 (hereafter ‘‘J Cell 

Physiol. 2015a’’); 

• Development of an Experimental 

Animal Model for Lower Back Pain by 

Percutaneous Injury-Induced Lumbar 

Facet Joint Osteoarthritis. Journal of 

Cellular Physiology. 2015 

Nov;230(11):2837–2847. doi: 10.1002/ 

jcp.25015 (hereafter ‘‘J Cell Physiol. 

2015b’’); 

• ‘‘NGF Selective Inhibition Therapy 

on Facet Joint Pain’’—DRAFT 

manuscript for Arthritis and 

Rheumatism (hereafter ‘‘Arthritis 

Rheum manuscript’’); 

• ‘‘Inhibition of Glial NFkB 

Abolished Pain in a Knee Osteoarthritis 

Model’’—2016 poster for the 

Osteoarthritis Research Society 

International (hereafter ‘‘OARSI 

presentation 2016’’); and 

• VA Biomedical Laboratory Research 

and Development (BLR&D) Merit Award 

proposal, I01 BX002647–01, 

‘‘Osteoarthritis and Knee Joint Pain,’’ 

submitted on September 18, 2013 

(hereafter ‘‘VA Merit Award proposal’’). 

Specifically, the Department found 

that the Respondent intentionally, 

knowingly and/or recklessly committed 

research misconduct by: 

• Fabricating/falsifying images in 

Figures 1A and 1C, and inflating the ‘‘n’’ 

(sample size) values in Figures 1B and 

1E, of Ann Rheum Dis. 2016; 

• Fabricating/falsifying images in 

Figure 4A of J Cell Physiol. 2015a; 

• Fabricating/falsifying images in 

Figures 7A and 7B, and inflating the ‘‘n’’ 

values in Figure 4A, of J Cell Physiol. 

2015b; 

• Fabricating/falsifying an image and 

inflating the ‘‘n’’ values in Figure 1A of 

the Arthritis Rheum manuscript; 

• Fabricating/falsifying data and 

inflating ‘‘n’’ values in Figures in the 

OARSI presentation 2016; and 

• Fabricating/falsifying images in 

Figures 1A, 4A, 6, 9, 12, and 17B of the 

VA Merit Award proposal. 

Based on these findings of research 

misconduct, upheld by the Under 

Secretary for Health on appeal in a 

decision dated April 24, 2023, the 

Department has imposed the following 

corrective actions: 

(1) Permanent prohibition from 

conducting VA research; 

(2) Publication of VA’s findings of 

research misconduct; 

(3) Notification to the relevant Federal 

funding agencies of the findings; 

(4) Requesting retraction of the 

affected publications; 

(5) Prohibition from publishing the 

Arthritis Rheum manuscript; and 

(6) Prohibition from re-presenting the 

content of the OARSI presentation 2016. 

Signing Authority 

Denis McDonough, Secretary of 

Veterans Affairs, approved and signed 

this document on October 26, 2023, and 

authorized the undersigned to sign and 

submit the document to the Office of the 

Federal Register for publication 

electronically as an official document of 

the Department of Veterans Affairs. 

Luvenia Potts, 

Regulation Development Coordinator, Office 

of Regulation Policy & Management, Office 

of General Counsel, Department of Veterans 

Affairs. 

[FR Doc. 2023–24342 Filed 11–2–23; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 8320–01–P 


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