ABSTRACT
Objective: To analyze the characteristics of scientific papers in the field of global liver diseases published by Chinese scholars that were retracted for diverse reasons from the Retraction Watch database, so as to provide a reference to publishing-related papers. Methods: The Retraction Watch database was retrieved for retracted papers in the field of global liver disease published by Chinese scholars from March 1, 2008 to January 28, 2021. The regional distribution, source journals, reasons for retraction, publication and retraction times, and others were analyzed. Results: A total of 101 retracted papers that were distributed across 21 provinces/cities were retrieved. Zhejiang area (n = 17) had the most retracted papers, followed by Shanghai (n = 14), and Beijing (n = 11). The vast majority were research papers (n = 95). The journal PLoS One had the highest number of retracted papers. In terms of time distribution, 2019 (n = 36) had the most retracted papers. 23 papers, accounting for 8.3% of all retractions, were retracted owing to journal or publisher concerns. Liver cancer (34%), liver transplantation (16%), hepatitis (14%), and others were the main areas of retracted papers. Conclusion: Chinese scholars have a large number of retracted articles in the field of global liver diseases. A journal or publisher chooses to retract a manuscript after investigating and discovering more flawed problems, which, however, require further support, revision, and supervision from the editorial and academic circles.
Subject(s)
Humans , Biomedical Research , China , Liver Diseases , Scientific MisconductABSTRACT
Objective: Ganoderma sinense is one of the most famous medicinal fungi in China. Because it is a model medicinal fungus of basidiomycete,the functional identification of its sesquiterpene synthase is of great significance for the biosynthesis and regulation studies of fungal sesquiterpene. Method: A sesquiterpene synthase gene was discovered by mining the genome data of G. sinense. The sesquiterpene's conservative motifs was analyzed through multiple sequence alignment with two identified sesquiterpene synthases of G. sinense and three terpenoid synthases in the Nr database,which have the highest similarity to it. Subsequently,heterologous expression was observed in Escherichia coli,and protein expression was detected by SDS-PAGE. Volatile compounds were collected by solid phage microextraction (SPME) and detected by GC-MS. Result: The enzyme containing sesquiterpene conserved motifs DDXXDE and NSE/DTE were efficiently expressed in E. coli,and 11 sesquiterpenes were synthesized with endogenous FPP as the substrate. The product α-cadinol at 18.6 min was considered to be the main product,and previous studies showed a significant anticancer activity. According to the comparison with chemical standards,three products were identified as γ-muurlene,α-muurolene and δ-cadinene,respectively. Conclusion: The functional identification of multi-product sesquiterpene synthase from G. sinense can promote the study on the mechanism underlying its product diversity,and lay a foundation for the production of rare or novel sesquiterpenes by improving the catalytic activity of enzymes with enzyme engineering technology.