Isolation and antioxidant activity of peptides from Chinese hairy tofu.

Hairy tofu is a famous Chinese snack that is made from soybeans and rich in various nutrients. In order to further explore the antioxidant peptides of hairy tofu hydrolysates, seven proteases were used to hydrolyze hairy tofu. The results of in vitro radical scavenging activity showed that hairy tofu hydrolysates obtained by pancreatin exhibited the highest antioxidant activity. After Sephadex G-25 gel filtration and reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (RP-HPLC), 97 peptides were identified in the most antioxidant fraction using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry/mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS). Among them, nine peptides were synthesized and their antioxidant activities were assessed using a H2 O2 -induced oxidative 293T cell model. Finally, four peptides (QCESHK, LAWNEGR, NLQGENEWDQK, and FTEMWR) at concentrations of < 50 µg/ml significantly decreased the malondialdehyde content compared with the model group, displaying in vivo antioxidant activity and low cytotoxicity. Overall, this research provided the choice of using hairy tofu peptides as antioxidant products in the pharmaceutical and food industries.

An inducible CRISPRi circuit for tunable dynamic regulation of gene expression in Saccharopolyspora erythraea.

Actinomyces are gram-positive bacteria known for their valuable secondary metabolites. Redirecting metabolic flux towards desired products in actinomycetes requires precise and dynamic regulation of gene expression. In this study, we integrated the CRISPR interference (CRISPRi) system with a cumate-inducible promoter to develop an inducible gene downregulation method in Saccharopolyspora erythraea, a prominent erythromycin-producing actinobacterium. The functionality of the cumate-inducible promoter was validated using the gusA gene as a reporter, and the successful inducible expression of the dCas9 gene was confirmed. The developed inducible CRISPRi strategy was then employed to downregulate the expression of target genes rppA in the wild-type strain NRRL2338 and sucC in the high erythromycin-producing strain E3. Through dynamic control of sucC expression, a significant enhancement in erythromycin production was achieved in strain E3. This study demonstrated the effectiveness of an inducible gene downregulation approach using CRISPRi and a cumate-inducible promoter, providing valuable insights for optimizing natural product production in actinomyces.

Natural Underwater Bioadhesive Offering Cohesion Modulation via Hydrogen Bond Disruptor: A Highly Injectable and in Vivo Stable Remedy for Gastric Ulcer Resolution.

Injectable bioadhesives are attractive for managing gastric ulcers through minimally invasive procedures. However, the formidable challenge is to develop bioadhesives that exhibit high injectability, rapidly adhere to lesion tissues with fast gelation, provide reliable protection in the harsh gastric environment, and simultaneously ensure stringent standards of biocompatibility. Here, a natural bioadhesive with tunable cohesion is developed based on the facile and controllable gelation between silk fibroin and tannic acid. By incorporating a hydrogen bond disruptor (urea or guanidine hydrochloride), the inherent network within the bioadhesive is disturbed, inducing a transition to a fluidic state for smooth injection (injection force <5 N). Upon injection, the fluidic bioadhesive thoroughly wets tissues, while the rapid diffusion of the disruptor triggers instantaneous in situ gelation. This orchestrated process fosters the formed bioadhesive with durable wet tissue affinity and mechanical properties that harmonize with gastric tissues, thereby bestowing long-lasting protection for ulcer healing, as evidenced through in vitro and in vivo verification. Moreover, it can be conveniently stored (≥3 m) postdehydration. This work presents a promising strategy for designing highly injectable bioadhesives utilizing natural feedstocks, avoiding any safety risks associated with synthetic materials or nonphysiological gelation conditions, and offering the potential for minimally invasive application.

A facile strategy to fabricate a skin-like hydrogel with adhesive and highly stretchable attributes through small molecule triggering toward flexible electronics.

Polyacrylamide hydrogel is a promising matrix in biomedical applications due to its biocompatibility, transparency and flexibility. However, its implementation in skin-attachable applications is impeded by its inherent deficiency in surface-adaptive adhesion and inadequate mechanical conformity to skin tissues. Herein, tris, a biocompatible small molecule with a triple hydrogen bonding cluster in its molecule structure, is introduced for the first time into a polyacrylamide hydrogel. This incorporation is achieved via a facile one-pot strategy, resulting in a highly stretchable hydrogel with an impressive strain capacity (2574.75 ± 28.19%), a human dermis tissue-compatible Young's modulus (27.89 ± 2.05 kPa) and an intrinsically universal adhesion capacity (16.66 ± 0.32 N). These superior properties are attributed to the elevated hydrogen bonding density and the plasticizing effect induced by tris, without compromising the hydrogel's excellent transparency (>90% transmittance). Moreover, by incorporating calcium ions into the resulting soft adhesive hydrogel, we demonstrate its utility in skin-like sensors, leading to a substantial enhancement in strain sensitivity and electrical conductivity, in conjunction with the plasticizing influence exerted by tris. This work offers a facile and environmentally friendly solution to fabricate ultra-stretchable adhesive polyacrylamide hydrogel matrixes for dynamic surfaces, even under large deformation, which can broaden their potential applications in integrated bioelectronics.

Eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2α kinase 2 in pancreatic cancer: An approach towards managing clinical prognosis and molecular immunological characterization.

Most patients with pancreatic cancer are already in the late stages of the disease when they are diagnosed, and pancreatic cancer is a deadly disease with a poor prognosis. With the advancement of research, immunotherapy has become a new focus in the treatment of tumors. To the best of our knowledge, there is currently no reliable diagnostic or prognostic marker for pancreatic cancer; therefore, the present study investigated the potential of eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2α kinase 2 (EIF2AK2) as a predictive and diagnostic marker for pancreatic cancer. Immunohistochemical staining of clinical samples independently verified that EIF2AK2 expression was significantly higher in clinically operated pancreatic cancer tissues than in adjacent pancreatic tissues., and EIF2AK2 expression and differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were identified using downloadable RNA sequencing data from The Cancer Genome Atlas and Genomic Tumor Expression Atlas. In addition, Gene Ontology/Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes analyses and immune cell infiltration were used for functional enrichment analysis of EIF2AK2-associated DEGs. The clinical importance of EIF2AK2 was also determined using Kaplan-Meier survival, Cox regression and time-dependent survival receiver operating characteristic curve analyses, and a predictive nomogram model was generated. Finally, the functional role of EIF2AK2 was assessed in PANC-1 cells using a short hairpin RNA-EIF2AK2 knockdown approach, including CCK-8, wound healing assay, cell cycle and apoptosis assays. The findings suggested that EIF2AK2 may have potential as a diagnostic and prognostic biomarker for patients with pancreatic cancer. Furthermore, EIF2AK2 may provide a new therapeutic target for patients with pancreatic cancer.

Recent advances in deformation-assisted microfluidic cell sorting technologies.

Cell sorting is an essential prerequisite for cell research and has great value in life science and clinical studies. Among the many microfluidic cell sorting technologies, label-free methods based on the size of different cell types have been widely studied. However, the heterogeneity in size for cells of the same type and the inevitable size overlap between different types of cells would result in performance degradation in size-based sorting. To tackle such challenges, deformation-assisted technologies are receiving more attention recently. Cell deformability is an inherent biophysical marker of cells that reflects the changes in their internal structures and physiological states. It provides additional dimensional information for cell sorting besides size. Therefore, in this review, we summarize the recent advances in deformation-assisted microfluidic cell sorting technologies. According to how the deformability is characterized and the form in which the force acts, the technologies can be divided into two categories: (1) the indirect category including transit-time-based and image-based methods, and (2) the direct category including microstructure-based and hydrodynamics-based methods. Finally, the separation performance and the application scenarios of each method, the existing challenges and future outlook are discussed. Deformation-assisted microfluidic cell sorting technologies are expected to realize greater potential in the label-free analysis of cells.

Ammonium sulfate supplementation enhances erythromycin biosynthesis by augmenting intracellular metabolism and precursor supply in Saccharopolyspora erythraea.

In this study, the cellular metabolic mechanisms regarding ammonium sulfate supplementation on erythromycin production were investigated by employing targeted metabolomics and metabolic flux analysis. The results suggested that the addition of ammonium sulfate stimulates erythromycin biosynthesis. Targeted metabolomics analysis uncovered that the addition of ammonium sulfate during the late stage of fermentation resulted in an augmented intracellular amino acid metabolism pool, guaranteeing an ample supply of precursors for organic acids and coenzyme A-related compounds. Therefore, adequate precursors facilitated cellular maintenance and erythromycin biosynthesis. Subsequently, an optimal supplementation rate of 0.02 g/L/h was determined. The results exhibited that erythromycin titer (1311.1 µg/mL) and specific production rate (0.008 mmol/gDCW/h) were 101.3% and 41.0% higher than those of the process without ammonium sulfate supplementation, respectively. Moreover, the erythromycin A component proportion increased from 83.2% to 99.5%. Metabolic flux analysis revealed increased metabolic fluxes with the supplementation of three ammonium sulfate rates.

Core-Shell Spheroid Structure TiO2/CdS Composites with Enhanced Photocathodic Protection Performance.

In order to improve the conversion and transmission efficiency of the photoelectron, core-shell spheroid structure titanium dioxide/cadmium sulfide (TiO2/CdS) composites were synthesized as epoxy-based coating fillers using a simple hydrothermal method. The electrochemical performance of photocathodic protection for the epoxy-based composite coating was analyzed by coating it on the Q235 carbon steel surface. The results show that the epoxy-based composite coating possesses a significant photoelectrochemical property with a photocurrent density of 0.0421 A/cm2 and corrosion potential of -0.724 V. Importantly, the modified composite coating can extend absorption in the visible region and effectively separate photoelectron hole pairs to improve the photoelectrochemical performance synergistically, because CdS can be regarded as a sensitizer to be introduced into TiO2 to form a heterojunction system. The mechanism of photocathodic protection is attributed to the potential energy difference between Fermi energy and excitation level, which leads to the system obtaining higher electric field strength at the heterostructure interface, thus driving electrons directly into the surface of Q235 carbon steel (Q235 CS). Moreover, the photocathodic protection mechanism of the epoxy-based composite coating for Q235 CS is investigated in this paper.

Responses of nitrogen and phosphorus resorption of understory plants to microscale soil nutrient hetero-geneity in Chinese fir plantation.

We compared the interspecific differences in leaf nutrient resorption of two dominant understory species (Lophatherum gracile and Oplimenus unulatifolius), and analyzed the correlations between the intraspecific efficiency of leaf nutrient resorption and nutrient properties of soil and leaves in Chinese fir plantation. The results showed high soil nutrient heterogeneity in Chinese fir plantation. Soil inorganic nitrogen content and available phosphorus content varied from 8.58 to 65.29 mg·kg-1 and from 2.43 to 15.20 mg·kg-1 in the Chinese fir plantation, respectively. The soil inorganic nitrogen content in O. undulatifolius community was 1.4 times higher than that in L. gra-cile community, but there was no significant difference in soil available phosphorus content between the two communities. Both leaf nitrogen and phosphorus resorption efficiency of O. unulatifolius was significantly lower than that of L. gracile under the three measurement bases of leaf dry weight, leaf area, and lignin content. Resorption efficiency in L. gracile community expressed on leaf dry weight was lower than that expressed on leaf area and lignin content, while resorption efficiency expressed on leaf area was the lowest in O. unulatifolius community. The intraspecific resorption efficiency was significantly correlated with leaf nutrient contents, but was less correlated with soil nutrient content, and only the nitrogen resorption efficiency of L. gracile had significant positive correlation with soil inorganic nitrogen content. The results indicated that there was significant difference in the leaf nutrient resorption efficiency between the two understory species. Soil nutrient heterogeneity exerted a weak effect on the intraspecific nutrient resorption, which might be attributed to high soil nutrient availability and potential disturbance from canopy litter in Chinese fir plantation.

A cyclic brush zwitterionic polymer based pH-responsive nanocarrier-mediated dual drug delivery system with lubrication maintenance for osteoarthritis treatment.

Enhanced joint synergistic lubrication combined with anti-inflammatory therapy is an effective strategy to delay the progression of early osteoarthritis (OA) but has been rarely reported. The hydration lubrication of zwitterions and inherent super-lubrication properties of the cyclic brush, as well as the enhancement of the steric stability of the cyclic topology, can effectively improve the drug loading and utilization; herein we report a pH-responsive cyclic brush zwitterionic polymer (CB) with SBMA and DMAEMA as brushes and a cyclic polymer (c-P(HEMA)) as the core template, possessing a low coefficient of friction (0.017). After loading with hydrophobic curcumin and hydrophilic loxoprofen sodium it demonstrates high drug-loading efficiency. In vitro and in vivo experiments confirmed the triple function of the CB on superlubrication, sequence controlled release and anti-inflammatory effects demonstrated by Micro CT, histological analysis and qRT-PCR. Overall, the CB is a promising long-acting lubricating therapeutic agent, with potential for OA treatment or other diseases.

Electrochemical hydrogen evolution on Pt-based catalysts from a theoretical perspective.

Hydrogen evolution reaction (HER) by splitting water is a key technology toward a clean energy society, where Pt-based catalysts were long known to have the highest activity under acidic electrochemical conditions but suffer from high cost and poor stability. Here, we overview the current status of Pt-catalyzed HER from a theoretical perspective, focusing on the methodology development of electrochemistry simulation, catalytic mechanism, and catalyst stability. Recent developments in theoretical methods for studying electrochemistry are introduced, elaborating on how they describe solid-liquid interface reactions under electrochemical potentials. The HER mechanism, the reaction kinetics, and the reaction sites on Pt are then summarized, which provides an atomic-level picture of Pt catalyst surface dynamics under reaction conditions. Finally, state-of-the-art experimental solutions to improve catalyst stability are also introduced, which illustrates the significance of fundamental understandings in the new catalyst design.

Circ_0022920 Maintains the Contractile Phenotype of Human Aortic Vascular Smooth Muscle Cells Via Sponging microRNA-650 and Promoting Transforming Growth Factor Beta Receptor 1 Expression in Angiotensin II-Induced Models for Aortic Dissection.

Background Abnormal regulation of vascular smooth muscle cells is regarded as the iconic pathological change of aortic dissection (AD). Herein, we aim to identify circ_0022920 as a crucial regulator in AD. Methods and Results Microarray analysis of circular RNAs, messenger RNAs, and micro RNAs in patients with AD was performed, and we identified that circ_0022920 was significantly downregulated in these patients. The Pearson correlation analysis uncovered the negative correlation between miR-650 and circ_0022920 or TGFßR1 (transforming growth factor beta receptor 1). Angiotensin II was used to treat human aortic vascular smooth muscle cells (HASMCs) and mice as models for AD. Hematoxylin and eosin and Masson's trichrome staining were used to analyze AD histopathology. Cell proliferation was analyzed with Cell Counting Kit-8 assay and EdU incorporation. Cell migration was assessed with transwell and wound healing assays. Enhanced circ_0022920 expression dramatically inhibited HASMC proliferation and migration and maintained contractile marker expression induced by angiotensin II, whereas miR-650 exerted opposite effects. MiR-650 was a target of circ_0022920. MiR-650 targeted IRF1 (interferon regulatory factor 1) and thus negatively regulated TGFßR1 expression to promote HASMC proliferation and migration and inhibit contractile marker expression. Circ_0022920 suppressed the progression of AD in vivo. Conclusions Circ_0022920 modulates the contractile phenotype of HASMCs via regulating the miR-650-IRF1-TGFßR1 axis in angiotensin II-induced models for AD, which provides potential therapeutic targets for AD.

Prospective association between physical activity and mortality in patients with chronic kidney disease / 中华流行病学杂志

Objective: To investigate the prospective association of physical activity with all-cause, cardiovascular disease (CVD), and chronic kidney disease (CKD) mortality in CKD patients in China. Methods: Cox proportional hazard models were used to evaluate the association of total, domain-specific, and intensity-specific physical activity with the risk of all-cause, CVD, and CKD mortality based on data from the baseline survey of China Kadoorie Biobank. Results: During a median follow-up of 11.99 (11.13, 13.03) years, there were 698 deaths in 6 676 CKD patients. Compared with the bottom tertile of total physical activity, participants in the top tertile had a lower risk of all-cause, CVD, and CKD mortality, with hazard ratios (HRs) (95%CIs) of 0.61 (0.47-0.80), 0.40 (0.25-0.65), and 0.25 (0.07-0.85), respectively. Occupational, commuting, and household physical activity were negatively associated with the risk of all-cause and CVD mortality to varying degrees. Participants in the top tertile of occupational physical activity had a lower risk of all-cause (HR=0.56, 95%CI: 0.38-0.82) and CVD (HR=0.39, 95%CI: 0.20-0.74) mortality, those in the top tertile of commuting physical activity had a lower risk of CVD mortality (HR=0.43, 95%CI: 0.22-0.84), and those in the top tertile of household physical activity had a lower risk of all-cause (HR=0.61, 95%CI: 0.45-0.82), CVD (HR=0.44, 95%CI: 0.26-0.76) and CKD (HR=0.03, 95%CI: 0.01-0.17) mortality, compared with the bottom tertile of corresponding physical activity. No association of leisure-time physical activity with mortality was observed. Both low and moderate-vigorous intensity physical activity were negatively associated with the risk of all-cause, CVD and CKD mortality. The corresponding HRs (95%CIs) were 0.64 (0.50-0.82), 0.42 (0.26-0.66) and 0.29 (0.10-0.83) in the top tertile of low intensity physical activity, and the corresponding HRs (95%CIs) were 0.63 (0.48-0.82), 0.39 (0.24-0.64) and 0.23 (0.07-0.73) in the top tertile of moderate-vigorous intensity physical activity. Conclusion: Physical activity can reduce the risk of all-cause, CVD, and CKD mortality in CKD patients.

Prevalence of chronic kidney disease and its association with lifestyle factors in adults from 10 regions of China / 中华流行病学杂志

Objective: To investigate the distribution of chronic kidney disease (CKD) in participants from the China Kadoorie Biobank (CKB) study and evaluate the association between lifestyle risk factors and CKD. Methods: Based on the baseline survey data and follow-up data (as of December 31, 2018) of the CKB study, the differences in CKD cases' area and population distributions were described. Cox proportional hazards regression model was used to estimate the association between lifestyle risk factors and the risk of CKD. Results: A total of 505 147 participants, 4 920 cases of CKD were recorded in 11.26 year follow up with a incidence rate of 83.43/100 000 person-years. Glomerulonephropathy was the most common type. The incidence of CKD was higher in the urban area, men, and the elderly aged 60 years and above (87.83/100 000 person-years, 86.37/100 000 person-years, and 132.06/100 000 person-years). Current male smokers had an increased risk for CKD compared with non-smokers or occasional smokers (HR=1.18, 95%CI: 1.05-1.31). The non-obese population was used as a control group, both general obesity determined by BMI (HR=1.19, 95%CI: 1.10-1.29) and central obesity determined by waist circumference (HR=1.27, 95%CI: 1.19-1.35) were associated with higher risk for CKD. Conclusion: The risks for CKD varied with area and population in the CKB cohort study, and the risk was influenced by multiple lifestyle factors.

Natural Small Biological Molecule Based Supramolecular Bioadhesives with Innate Photothermal Antibacterial Capability for Nonpressing Hemostasis and Effective Wound Healing.

Bioadhesives with immediate wound closure, efficient hemostasis, and antibacterial properties that can well integrate with tissue are urgently needed in wound management. Natural small biological molecule based bioadhesives hold great promise for manipulating wound healing by taking advantage of integrated functionalities, synthetic simplification, and accuracy, cost efficiency and biosafety. Herein, a natural small biological molecule based bioadhesive, composed of natural small biological molecules (α-lipoic acid and tannic acid) and a small amount of ferric chloride, was prepared via an extremely simple and green route for wound management. In this system, covalent and noncovalent interactions between each component resulted in the self-healing supramolecular bioadhesive. It possessed appropriate wet-tissue adhesion, efficient nonpressing hemostasis and free radical scavenging abilities. More importantly, the interaction between tannic acid and Fe3+ endowed the bioadhesive with innate and steady photothermal activity, which showed excellent photothermal bactericidal activity to both E. coli and S. aureus. The bioadhesive promoted wound healing for linear and circular wounds in vivo, especially for infectious wounds under near-infrared (NIR) irradiation. This bioadhesive will have promising value as a safe and effective antimicrobial adhesive for infectious wound management.

MicroRNA-582-5p targeting Creb1 modulates apoptosis in cardiomyocytes hypoxia/reperfusion-induced injury.

BACKGROUND: Myocardial ischemia-reperfusion injury (MIRI) caused by the reperfusion therapy of myocardial ischemic diseases is a kind of major disease that threatens human health and lives severely. There are lacking of effective therapeutic measures for MIRI. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are abundant in mammalian species and play a critical role in the initiation, promotion, and progression of MIRI. However, the biological role and molecular mechanism of miRNAs in MIRI are not entirely clear. METHODS: We used bioinformatics analysis to uncover the significantly different miRNA by analyzing transcriptome sequencing data from myocardial tissue in the mouse MIRI model. Multiple miRNA-related databases, including miRdb, PicTar, and TargetScan were used to forecast the downstream target genes of the differentially expressed miRNA. Then, the experimental models, including male C57BL/6J mice and HL-1 cell line, were used for subsequent experiments including quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction analysis, western blot analysis, hematoxylin and eosin staining, flow cytometry, luciferase assay, gene interference, and overexpression. RESULTS: MiR-582-5p was found to be differentially upregulated from the transcriptome sequencing data. The elevated levels of miR-582-5p were verified in MIRI mice and hypoxia/reperfusion (H/R)-induced HL-1 cells. Functional experiments revealed that miR-582-5p promoted apoptosis of H/R-induced HL-1 cells via downregulating cAMP-response element-binding protein 1 (Creb1). The inhibiting action of miR-582-5p inhibitor on H/R-induced apoptosis was partially reversed after Creb1 interference. CONCLUSIONS: Collectively, the research findings reported that upregulation of miR-582-5p promoted H/R-induced cardiomyocyte apoptosis by inhibiting Creb1. The potential diagnostic and therapeutic strategies targeting miR-582-5p and Creb1 could be beneficial for the MIRI treatment.

Biomineralization-Inspired Intermediate Precursor for the Controllable Gelation of Polyphenol-Macromolecule Hydrogels.

Hydrogels composed of polyphenols and various macromolecules have been widely reported to have the advantage of facile preparation, mainly through the formation of hydrogen bonds. However, the traditional preparation method involves the direct mixing of polyphenols and macromolecules, which generally occurs too quickly and uncontrollably, and results in poor homogeneity, injectability, and shape designability. Here, inspired by the intermediate precursor during biomineralization, to facilitate transformation in a controllable way, we propose a novel and universal internal gelation method that creates an intermediate precursor by controlling the pH value to manipulate the elimination and generation of hydrogen bonds between a polyphenol and macromolecules. The precursor strategy greatly improves the homogeneity, injectability, and shape designability of the hydrogel while also achieving a controllable gelation process, and the gelation time can be accurately adjusted. The hydrogels prepared with this method exhibited superior capability to seal leaks, provided complete wound coverage, and showed the potential to be a shape-designable wearable strain sensor. Our study opens up a new way to construct and apply polyphenol-macromolecule hydrogels in a more controllable manner.

Cephalosporin C biosynthesis and fermentation in Acremonium chrysogenum.

Cephalosporins are currently the most widely used antibiotics in clinical practice. The main strain used for the industrial production cephalosporin C (CPC) is Acremonium chrysogenum. CPC has the advantages of possessing a broad antibacterial spectrum and strong antibacterial activity. However, the yield and titer of cephalosporins obtained from A. chrysogenum are much lower than penicillin, which is also a ß-lactam antibiotic produced by Penicillium chrysogenum. Molecular biology research into A. chrysogenum has focused on gene editing technologies, multi-omics research which has provided information on the differences between high- and low-yield strains, and metabolic engineering involving different functional genetic modifications and hierarchical network regulation to understand strain characteristics. Furthermore, optimization of the fermentation process is also reviewed as it provides the optimal environment to realize the full potential of strains. Combining rational design to control the metabolic network, high-throughput screening to improve the efficiency of obtaining high-performance strains, and real-time detection and controlling in the fermentation process will become the focus of future research in A. chrysogenum. This minireview provides a holistic and in-depth analysis of high-yield mechanisms and improves our understanding of the industrial value of A. chrysogenum. KEY POINTS: • Review of the advances in A. chrysogenum characteristics improvement and process optimization • Elucidate the molecular bases of the mechanisms that control cephalosporin C biosynthesis and gene expression in A. chrysogenum • The future development trend of A. chrysogenum to meet industrial needs.

Correction: Dual crosslinking hydrogels with tunable injectability and stability for bone repair.

Correction for 'Dual crosslinking hydrogels with tunable injectability and stability for bone repair' by Wenlin Chu et al., J. Mater. Chem. B, 2022, 10, 4386-4394, https://doi.org/10.1039/D2TB00545J.

Human bocavirus 1 is a genuine pathogen for acute respiratory tract infection in pediatric patients determined by nucleic acid, antigen, and serology tests.

Background: Human bocavirus 1 (HBoV1), first discovered in 2005, was positive in symptomatic and healthy children and co-detected with other respiratory viruses. It is a long journey to decisively demonstrate the unique viral pathogenic function of acute respiratory tract infection (ARTI) in pediatric patients. Methods: Respiratory specimens collected from pediatric patients with ARTI from January 2017 to December 2021 were screened by a capillary electrophoresis-based multiplex PCR (CEMP) assay, then genotyped by PCR and sequencing for HBoV1. For the antigen test, a part of HBoV1 DNA positive nasopharyngeal aspirates (NPAs) was used as an antigen, while a rabbit anti-HBoV1 DR2 specific to HBoV1 was used as an antibody in the indirect-immunofluorescence assay (IFA). Finally, the levels of IgG specific to HBoV1 in acute and convalescent sera selected retrospectively from only HBoV1 DNA-positive patients were evaluated by IFA. Results: Among 9,899 specimens, 681 were positive for HBoV1 DNA (6.88%, 681/9899), which included 336 positives only for HBoV1 (49.34%, 336/681) and 345 (50.66%, 345/681) positives also for other pathogens. In the antigen test, there were 37 among 47 NPAs determined as HBoV1 antigen-positive (78.72%, 37/47), including 18 (48.65%, 18/37) positives solely for HBoV1 DNA. Among 4 pediatric patients with both acute and convalescent sera, there was one positive for HBoV1 antigen (D8873) and 2 lack the antigen results (D1474 and D10792), which showed seroconversion with a ≥ 4-fold increase in IgG levels. Conclusions: The combination results of nucleic acid, antigen, and serology tests answered that HBoV1 is a genuine pathogen for ARTI in pediatric patients.