On the same day, the team of Kwok-Yung Yuen, an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering, an academician of the American Academy of Microbiology, and a professor of the Department of Microbiology of the University of Hong Kong, voluntarily retracted 5 research papers, mainly because the pictures in the papers were found to be suspected of repeated use; but the papers have been published For 8-18 years, "surveys with raw data are no longer possible".

On October 31, 2022, the international academic journal "Journal of Virology" retracted its three papers, and the international academic journal "Journal of Clinical Microbiology" retracted its two papers.

The paper published online by Yuan Guoyong's team on August 11, 2010 was voluntarily withdrawn on October 31, 2022.

The Journal of Virology's retraction note for the paper "Coexistence of different genotypes in the same bat and serological characterization of Rousettus bat coronavirus HKU9 belonging to a novel Betacoronavirus subgroup" stated, "We are reminded that when we perform a retrospective review after zooming in, It was found that some of the western blot strips in Figure 3A were more similar than expected, and we immediately notified the journal. As the paper was 12 years old, investigation with the original research material was unlikely. Therefore, we are now retracting this paper ."

Yuan Guoyong is the corresponding author of the above paper.

The Journal of Clinical Microbiology's retraction note for the paper, "Association of Presence of Aspergillus Antibodies with Hemoptysis in Patients with Old Tuberculosis or Bronchiectasis but No Radiologically Visible Mycetoma," states, "We are reminded that on a retrospective review after zooming in, we found that , some negative western blot bands look similar. Lane 10 in Figure 1A may be duplicated on lanes 1, 4, and 8 in Figure 1B. Lanes 6, 7, and 9 in Figure 1B may be duplicates The paper has been published for 18 years, so it was not possible to investigate using the original research material. Therefore, we proactively contacted the journal in the first place and voluntarily retracted the paper for correction."

Yuan Guoyong is the corresponding author of the above paper.

However, some industry experts told The Paper (www.thepaper.cn) on November 2 that the misuse of pictures in the paper is actually quite common, and it should be corrected in time after discovery. However, there was no machine inspection system in the past, only relying on visual inspection, many misuses, but divided into intentional misuse and unintentional misuse.

According to public information, Yuan Guoyong is an expert in medical microbiology, mainly engaged in medical microbiology research. Born in Hong Kong in December 1956, he graduated from the University of Hong Kong with a Ph.D. degree in 1998; was elected as an academician of the Chinese Academy of Engineering in 2007; was elected as a founding academician of the Hong Kong Academy of Sciences in 2015; and was elected as an academician of the American Academy of Microbiology in 2019.

In 1997, when the H5N1 avian influenza virus broke out in Hong Kong, Yuan Guoyong took the lead in publishing a report in the medical journal "The Needle", pointing out that the infected patients had abnormally severe clinical symptoms and a high mortality rate. identified by molecular detection methods.

During the outbreak of SARS in 2003, Yuan Guoyong's leadership team successfully traced the pathogenic coronavirus of SARS, and was hailed as an Asian hero by Asia Times Weekly. He has made outstanding achievements in the discovery of new microorganisms, with more than 60 new viruses, 10 bacteria, four fungi and two protozoa in humans and animals. He has published 940 academic papers with more than 38,000 citations, mainly on research on novel microorganisms or emerging infectious disease pathogens. In 2019, Yuan Guoyong was appointed as a member of the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences.

The Academician Hall of the Chinese Academy of Engineering quoted relevant comments from the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region Government as saying that Professor Yuan Guoyong is a world-renowned microbiologist and expert in internal medicine and surgery, who has made great contributions to the research and prevention and control of newly discovered infectious diseases. Professor Yuen has made great contributions to promoting the development of public health protection and medicine in Hong Kong for many years.

The paper published online by Yuan Guoyong's team on February 1, 2004 was voluntarily withdrawn on October 31, 2022.

Five papers retracted by Yuan Guoyong's team on October 31, 2022:

1. On October 31, 2022, Yuan Guoyong's team withdrew the paper entitled "Association of Presence of Aspergillus Antibodies with Hemoptysis in Patients with Old Tuberculosis or Bronchiectasis but No Radiologically Visible Mycetoma" research paper. The corresponding author of the paper is Yuan Guoyong.

The retraction note states: "We are reminded that some negative Western blot bands looked similar on retrospective review after magnification. Lane 10 in Figure 1A may be duplicated on lanes 1, 4, and 8 in Figure 1B. Lanes 6, 7, and 9 in Figure IB may be duplicates. The paper has been published for 18 years, so it was not possible to investigate using the original research material. Therefore, we contacted the journal at the first time and voluntarily retracted the paper for correction.

Withdrawal notes: https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/jcm.01428-22

2. On October 31, 2022, Yuan Guoyong's team withdrew the paper entitled "False-Positive Results in a Recombinant Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome-Associated Coronavirus (SARS-CoV) published in the Journal of Clinical Microbiology on December 1, 2004. Nucleocapsid Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay Due to HCoV-OC43 and HCoV-229E Rectified by Western Blotting with Recombinant SARS-CoV Spike Polypeptide” research paper. The corresponding author of the paper is Yuan Guoyong.

The retraction note states: We are reminded that upon retrospective inspection after zooming in, the Western blot bands in Figure 2A were more similar than expected in lanes 2 and 6. The paper has been published for 18 years and it was impossible to investigate using the original research material. Therefore, we voluntarily retract this paper for correction.

Withdrawal notes: https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/jcm.01444-22

3. On October 31, 2022, Yuan Guoyong’s team withdrew the article entitled “Coexistence of different genotypes in the same bat and serological characterization of Rousettus bat coronavirus HKU9 belonging to the Journal of Virology” published online on August 11, 2010. a novel Betacoronavirus subgroup" research paper. Yuan Guoyong is one of the two corresponding authors of the paper.

The retraction note states: "We were reminded that, upon retrospective inspection after zooming in, some of the western blot strips in Figure 3A were more similar than expected, and we immediately notified the journal. Because the paper has been published for 12 years, an investigation with original research material is unlikely. Therefore, we now retract this paper.

Retraction Notes: https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/jvi.01485-22

4. On October 31, 2022, Yuan Guoyong’s team withdrew the article entitled “Discovery of a Novel Bottlenose Dolphin Coronavirus Reveals a Distinct Species of Marine Mammal Coronavirus in Gammacoronavirus” published online in the Journal of Virology on November 13, 2013 research paper. The corresponding author of the paper is Yuan Guoyong.

The retraction note states: We were reminded that, upon retrospective inspection after zooming in, lanes 7, 12, 8, and 11 of Figure 4 were more similar than expected, and we immediately notified the journal. The papers in question have been published for 8 years, and it is unlikely that an investigation with the original research material will be possible. Therefore, we now retract this paper.

Withdrawal notes: https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/jvi.01503-22

5. On October 31, 2022, "Journal of Virology" published a retraction statement online, withdrawing the online publication on February 12, 2014 entitled "Middle East Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 4a Protein Is a Double-Stranded RNA-Binding Protein That Suppresses PACT-Induced Activation of RIG-I and MDA5 in the Innate Antiviral Response" research paper.

The corresponding author of the paper is Jin Dongyan, a professor at the School of Biomedical Sciences, University of Hong Kong, a virus expert and associate dean of the Graduate School. Yuan Guoyong is one of the signed authors of the paper.

The retraction note states: "We are reminded that in Figure 1B the lysed groups of positive and negative controls PACT and dsm are more similar than expected. However, the paper was 8 years old and could not be investigated with the original research material. Therefore, we now retract this paper for correction.

Withdrawal notes: https://journals.asm.org/doi/10.1128/jvi.01504-22