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This research paper investigates the intersection of the maker movement and educational innovation, using the China-U.S. Young Maker Competition as a foundational example. It examines how maker education, fueled by hands-on learning and a curiosity-driven approach, can evolve and influence. The study explores the roles and impacts of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI), Design-Driven Innovation (DDI), and Cross-Cultural Perspectives (CCP) within maker education. It highlights HCI's connection of technology with learning, DDI's focus on user-centered solutions, and the significance of CCP in enhancing cultural collaboration, vital for fostering an innovative and creative future. This paper offers a detailed perspective on the current state and future potential of maker education. It proposes a roadmap for the coming decade, emphasizing collaborative learning and creative endeavors, all set within the engaging environment of the competition.

Abstract Background Systemic nutrition and inflammation status is recognized for its influence on cancer survival, yet its role in perioperative outcomes remains poorly defined. This study aimed to refine the assessment of systemic nutrition and inflammation status in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients and to elucidate its impact on perioperative outcomes. Methods All patients underwent video-assisted thoracoscopic lobectomy, with their nutrition and inflammation status assessed based on preoperative blood tests. The development cohort, comprising 1497 NSCLC patients from two centers, evaluated the predictive value of systemic nutrition/inflammation indicators for perioperative endpoints and formulated the systemic nutrition-inflammation index (SNII). The tertiles of SNII were used to classify the nutrition/inflammation risk as high ( 23.1). An external validation cohort of 505 NSCLC patients was utilized to confirm the effectiveness of SNII in guiding perioperative management. Results In the development cohort, the SNII tool, calculated as the product of total cholesterol and total lymphocytes divided by total monocytes, demonstrated a stronger correlation with perioperative outcomes compared to 11 existing nutrition/inflammation indicators. A low SNII score, indicative of high nutrition/inflammation risk, was independently predictive of increased complication incidence and severity, as well as prolonged chest tube duration and hospital stay. These findings were corroborated in the validation cohort. Upon combining the development and validation cohorts, the superiority of the SNII in predicting perioperative outcomes was further confirmed over the existing nutrition/inflammation indicators. Additionally, comprehensive subgroup analyses revealed the moderately variable efficacy of SNII across different patient populations. Conclusions This study developed and validated the SNII as a tool for identifying systemic nutrition and inflammation risk, which can enhance perioperative managements in NSCLC patients. Patients identified with high risk may benefit from prehabilitation and intensive treatments, highlighting the need for further research.

Abstract Sample relatedness is a major confounder in genome-wide association studies (GWAS), potentially leading to inflated type I error rates if not appropriately controlled. A common strategy is to incorporate a random effect related to genetic relatedness matrix (GRM) into regression models. However, this approach is challenging for large-scale GWAS of complex traits, such as longitudinal traits. Here we propose a scalable and accurate analysis framework, SPAGRM, which controls for sample relatedness via a precise approximation of the joint distribution of genotypes. SPAGRM can utilize GRM-free models and thus is applicable to various trait types and statistical methods, including linear mixed models and generalized estimation equations for longitudinal traits. A hybrid strategy incorporating saddlepoint approximation greatly increases the accuracy to analyze low-frequency and rare genetic variants, especially in unbalanced phenotypic distributions. We also introduce SPAGRM(CCT) to aggregate the results following different models via Cauchy combination test. Extensive simulations and real data analyses demonstrated that SPAGRM maintains well-controlled type I error rates and SPAGRM(CCT) can serve as a broadly effective method. Applying SPAGRM to 79 longitudinal traits extracted from UK Biobank primary care data, we identified 7,463 genetic loci, making a pioneering attempt to conduct GWAS for these traits as longitudinal traits.

Abstract Esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (ESCC) patients often face a grim prognosis due to lymph node metastasis. However, a comprehensive understanding of the cellular and molecular characteristics of metastatic lymph nodes in ESCC remains elusive. In this study involving 12 metastatic ESCC patients, we employed single-cell sequencing, spatial transcriptomics (ST), and multiplex immunohistochemistry (mIHC) to explore the spatial and molecular attributes of primary tumor samples, adjacent tissues, metastatic and non-metastatic lymph nodes. The analysis of 161,333 cells revealed specific subclusters of epithelial cells that were significantly enriched in metastatic lymph nodes, suggesting pro-metastatic characteristics. Furthermore, stromal cells in the tumor microenvironment, including MMP3+IL24+ fibroblasts, APLN+ endothelial cells, and CXCL12+ pericytes, were implicated in ESCC metastasis through angiogenesis, collagen production, and inflammatory responses. Exhausted CD8+ T cells in a cycling status were notably prevalent in metastatic lymph nodes, indicating their potential role in facilitating metastasis. We identified distinct cell-cell communication networks and specific ligand-receptor pathways. Our findings were validated through a spatial transcriptome map and mIHC. This study enhances our comprehension of the cellular and molecular aspects of metastatic lymph nodes in ESCC patients, offering potential insights into novel therapeutic strategies for these individuals.

Abstract Background Systemic light chain amyloidosis is a rare and debilitating disease, especially for which initially presented with digestive tract involvement. Myocardial amyloidosis is highly aggressive with generally poor prognosis and often resulted in missed diagnosis or misdiagnosis with routine examination tools. Multimodality imaging play an important role in diagnosing the amyloidosis effect on multiple organs. Chemoradiotherapy is the mainstay of treatment. Case presentation This article presents a rare case of systemic light chain amyloidosis, initially with gastrointestinal symptoms, in a 68-year-old male. He was hospitalized with diarrhea for one year and a half, dysphagia for 4 months, but he had no dyspnea. The transthoracic echocardiogram revealed myocardial hypertrophy of the left ventricle, the hypertrophic heart muscle echoed like "ground glass". The left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) detected by Simpson method was 51% and global longitudinal strain (GLS) was -9.00%. But cardiac magnetic resonance showed the patient without gadolinium delayed enhancement. The urinary protein series quantification and the serum free light chain levels were all increased. While the ratio of free κ and free λ was decreased. Hence, the abdominal fat biopsy of the patient was amyloidosis by electronic and immunoelectron microscopy. Organs involved include heart, kidneys, gastrointestinal tract and nervous system, stage III of mayo 2012 model. The patient was treated with Dara-BCD chemotherapy. This case underscores the diagnostic complexity, emphasizing the need for early identification given the grim prognosis associated with systemic AL amyloidosis requiring clinical data, detailed imaging, and histopathological insights. After discharge, the patient became better and followed up in the outpatient. Conclusions Systemic light chain amyloidosis can easily be missed diagnosis or misdiagnosis in its early stages, losing the opportunity for initiating earlier treatments to improve potential patient outcomes. Despite advancements in diagnostic biomarkers, this case highlights the potential for missed diagnosis with standard CMR imaging when gadolinium enhancement is negative. The utility of echocardiographic features such as reduced GLS and abnormal ECG findings emerges as critical in early identification of myocardial amyloidosis. The correct diagnosis of this case relied on the comprehensive utilization of multimodal imaging techniques including biopsy.

Abstract The role of dairy products in cardiovascular disease (CVD) prevention remains controversial. This study investigates the association between dairy consumption and CVD incidence using data from the China Kadoorie Biobank and the UK Biobank, complemented by an updated meta-analysis. Among Chinese participants, regular dairy consumption (primarily whole milk) is associated with a 9% increased risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) and a 6% reduced risk of stroke compared to non-consumers. Among British participants, total dairy consumption is linked to lower risks of CVD, CHD, and ischemic stroke, with cheese and semi-skimmed/skimmed milk contributing to reduced CVD risk. Meta-analysis reveals that total dairy consumption is associated with a 3.7% reduced risk of CVD and a 6% reduced risk of stroke. Notably, inverse associations with CVD incidence are observed for cheese and low-fat dairy products. Current evidence suggests that dairy consumption, particularly cheese, may have protective effects against CVD and stroke.

By hosting a college students' laboratory skills contest, we provide an interesting activity for students to cultivate good laboratory practices and thereby improve their laboratory skills. The substance of this contest is the detection of the hardness of water, which involves numerous laboratory skills such as solution preparation, weight by difference mass measurements, glassware calibration, pipetting, quantitative transfer, titration, data processing, and cleaning up the laboratory. Initially, due to limited class time, students are unable to master and practice effectively the skills taught in class. Many students wanted to practice these skills at a time after class, and these skills were subsequently redesigned and organized as an extracurricular activity to involve more students. Skills are assigned to students depending on their year: freshmen act as lab assistants to prepare solutions, such as EDTA-2Na, hydrochloric acid, ammonia, and indicators. This is a simple skill that aims to build confidence in mastering chemical experiments, as such experiments are rarely conducted in high school. Sophomores conducted experiments as contestants. Through the contest, students' laboratory skills are improved and evaluated. The task for senior students is to provide guidance to freshmen and sophomores, identify their mistakes, and demonstrate the correct operations. All of the students collaborated to complete this activity.

Abstract Background As a typical medicinal food homology species, Chinese herbal medicine Astragali radix (AR) has been widely used to regulate the human immune system worldwide. However, the human immunomodulation of AR and its corresponding mechanisms remain unclear. Methods First, following a fortnight successive AR administration, the changes in immune cytokines and immune cells from 20 healthy human subjects were used as immune indicators to characterize the immunomodulatory effects of AR. Subsequently, ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole-time-of-flight mass spectrometry (UHPLC-Q-TOF/MS) based lipidomics and metabolomics analysis was performed on human serum, urine, and feces samples to investigate the changes in metabolic profiles. Then, 16S rRNA gene sequencing of feces samples was adopted for the changes of human gut microbiota. Finally, correlation analysis was conducted on the gut microbiome, metabolome/lipidome data, and immune indicators. Results AR displayed good safety in clinical use and posed a minor impact on gut microbiota major genera, global metabolic profiles, and immune cells. Meanwhile, AR could significantly up-regulate anti-inflammatory cytokines, down-regulate serum creatinine and pro-inflammatory cytokines, promote the anabolism of arginine, glycerolipid, sphingolipid, and purine, and the catabolism of phenylalanine and glycerophospholipid. Moreover, these AR-induced changes were closely correlated with significantly decreased Granulicatella, slightly higher Bifidobacterium, Ruminococcus, and Subdoligranulum, and slightly lower Blautia. Conclusion The study clearly demonstrated that AR could modulate the human immune, by modifying the metabolism of amino acids, lipids, and purines in a microbiota-related way. Trial registration ChiCTR, ChiCTR2100054765. Registered 26 December 2021-Prospectively registered, https://www.chictr.org.cn/historyversionpub.html?regno=ChiCTR2100054765

Abstract A novel broadband dual‐polarised transmitarray antenna (TA) utilising tightly coupled cross dipole cells is proposed in this work. The transmitarray cell using the tightly coupling wideband principle comprises two radiation patches designed as two orthogonal planar dipoles with four interdigital capacitors, two meandered parallel plate transmission lines, and a ground. Each cell has a square shape and a dimension of approximately 0.28 λc where λc is the wavelength at central frequency 5.5 GHz. The transmitarray cell can achieve 475° phase shift at central frequency and transmission magnitude better than −2.5 dB within the working band. To verify the feasibility of this design, a tightly coupled dual‐polarised transmitarray antenna (TCDPTA) is modelled and manufactured. The transmitarray aperture size is approximately 4.1 λc × 4.1 λc. The simulation and measurement illustrate that the TCDPTA has stable and distortion‐free main beams whose side lobe levels are generally below −10 dB in the band of 3.0–8.0 GHz. The measured gain at central frequency is 16.2 dBi and peak gain is 19 dBi at 7.5 GHz. The working bandwidth is 90.9% and 3 dB gain bandwidth is 66.7%. The measured cross‐polarisation levels are below −15 dB at axial direction. This TA has potential applications for high‐date‐rate communication and high‐revolution radar imaging systems at C‐band.

Abstract Chronic ischemia in moyamoya disease (MMD) impaired white matter microstructure and neural functional network. However, the coupling between cerebral blood flow (CBF) and functional connectivity and the association between structural and functional network are largely unknown. 38 MMD patients and 20 sex/age-matched healthy controls (HC) were included for T1-weighted imaging, arterial spin labeling imaging, resting-state functional MRI and diffusion tensor imaging. All patients had preoperative and postoperative digital subtraction angiography. Upon constructing the structural connectivity (SC) and functional connectivity (FC) networks, the SC-FC coupling was calculated. After obtaining the graph theoretical parameters, neurovascular coupling represented the spatial correlation between node degree centrality (DC) of functional networks and CBF. The CBF-DC coupling and SC-FC coupling were compared between MMD and HC groups. We further analyzed the correlation between coupling indexes and cognitive scores, as well as postoperative collateral formation. Compared with HC, CBF-DC coupling was decreased in MMD (p = 0.021), especially in the parietal lobe (p = 0.047). SC-FC coupling in MMD decreased in frontal, occipital, and subcortical regions. Cognitive scores were correlated with the CBF-DC coupling in frontal lobes (r = 0.394, p = 0.029) and SC-FC coupling (r = 0.397, p = 0.027). The CBF-DC coupling of patients with good postoperative collateral formation was higher (p = 0.041). Overall, neurovascular decoupling and structure-functional decoupling at the cortical level may be the underlying neuropathological mechanisms of MMD.

Abstract Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been widely used in the treatment of various inflammatory diseases. The inadequate understanding of MSCs and their heterogeneity can impact the immune environment, which may be the cause of the good outcomes of MSCs-based therapy that cannot always be achieved. Recently, stem cells from human exfoliated deciduous teeth (SHED) showed great potential in inflammatory and autoimmune diseases due to their immature properties compared with MSCs. In our study, single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) revealed that SHED in a low differentiation state (S7) exhibited the powerful ability to recruit multiple immune cells. In contrast, SHED in a relatively high differentiation state (S1) may hold a solid ability to secret many factors with paracrine signaling capacity. The analysis result shows that SHED has more robust immunomodulatory properties than human bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hBMSCs) or human umbilical cord-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hUCMSCs). When co-cultured with PBMCs, SHED can enhance the proliferation of Treg and down-regulate TNF-α in vitro. SHED may have some advantages in the treatment of inflammatory and autoimmune diseases.

Abstract Background Oocyte maturation defect (OMD) and early embryonic arrest result in female infertility. Previous studies have linked biallelic mutations in the PATL2 gene to OMD, yet the underlying mechanism remains largely unknown. Results This study uncovers three novel mutations (c.1201G > T, c.1284delA and c.1613 + 2_1613 + 3insGT) and three reported mutations (c.1204 C > T, c.1271T > C, c.223 − 14_223-2delCCCTCCTGTTCCA) in the PATL2 gene across five unrelated individuals exhibiting OMD, oocyte death, and early embryonic arrest. RNA sequencing revealed that PATL2 mutations decreased mRNA storage in human germinal vesicle (GV) oocytes and impeded mRNA decay during maturation and in early embryos. We demonstrate that PATL2 interacts with CPEB1 and TUT7 in human oocytes to maintain mRNA homeostasis. Additionally, we observed a reduction in CCNB1 and CCNE1 mRNA levels in PATL2-mutant GV oocytes, which may be linked to GV arrest. Employing both wild-type and mutated PATL2V401F/R402W variants, we characterized the protein interactome of PATL2, identifying disruptions of PATL2V401F/R402W variants predominantly affecting cell cycle-related proteins, including CDC23, APC1 and MAD2L1. PATL2’s interaction with and stabilization of CDC23 in oocytes may elucidate the mechanisms behind the mutation-induced MI arrest. PALT2 is required for the efficient mRNA translation and it maintains the protein level of CDC23, APC1 and MAD2L1 in mouse GV oocyte. Conclusion PATL2 plays a critical role in regulating mRNA accumulation and decay in human oocytes, potentially through interactions with CPEB1 and TUT7, respectively. Mutations in PATL2 lead to oocyte meiosis defects by affecting the mRNA accumulation, mRNA translation, and direct binding to and stabilizing proteins related to cell cycle regulation, such as CCNB1 and CDC23. This study expands the mutational spectrum of PATL2 and provides new insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying PATL2 mutation-associated oocyte maturation disorders.

Abstract Immune checkpoint blockade (ICB) therapy, while promising for cancer treatment, faces challenges like unexpected side effects and limited objective responses. Here, we develop an in vivo gene-editing strategy for improving ICB cancer therapy in a lastingly effective manner. The approach uses a conductive hydrogel-based electroporation system to enable nucleofection of programmed cell death protein 1 (PD1) targeted CRISPR-Cas9 DNAs into T-cells directly within the lymph nodes, and subsequently produces PD1-deficient T-cells to combat tumor growth, metastasis and recurrence in different melanoma models in mice. Following in vivo gene editing, animals show enhanced cellular and humoral immune responses along with multi-fold increases of effector T-cells infiltration to the solid tumors, preventing tumor recurrence and prolonging their survival. These findings provide a proof-of-concept for direct in vivo T-cell engineering via localized gene-editing for enhanced cancer immunotherapy, and also unlock the possibilities of using this method to treat more complex human diseases.

Urban, agricultural, and ecological spaces, collectively referred to as the "three types of space," are central elements in China's Territorial and Spatial Planning reforms. These spaces are crucial in bridging the National Main Functional Area Planning and regional coordinated development strategies at a higher level and in guiding land-use control at a lower level. The Pearl River Basin is one of China's most important economic development regions. This basin serves as a crucial region for the case study of evolution of the "three types of space." Understanding this evolution is critical for aligning regional land use with national strategic objectives and optimizing the coordinated development of these spatial elements. Using the National Main Functional Area Planning strategy as a starting point, this study applied a cross-conversion matrix and a multiscale geographically weighted regression model to analyze the evolution characteristics and driving mechanisms of the "three types of spaces" in the Pearl River Basin from 1990 to 2020. Three main results were obtained. First, over the past 30 years, urban space in the Pearl River Basin has expanded considerably, ecological space has slightly increased, but agricultural space has significantly decreased, with marked spatial differences in the evolution of the "three types of spaces" across the upper, middle, and lower reaches of the basin. Agricultural space has fully decreased across all reaches, converting to urban space in the lower reaches and reverting to ecological space in the upper and middle reaches. Second, within different national functional zones, urban space growth is most pronounced in urbanized areas, ecological space recovery is significant in ecological functional zones, and agricultural space has remarkably decreased in major agricultural production areas. Third, the driving factors for the different evolution directions of the "three types of spaces" in the Pearl River Basin vary. Industrial development has significantly driven the expansion of urban spaces, whereas ecological protection policies have effectively promoted the restoration of ecological spaces in key ecological areas. These findings effectively reveal the land-use evolution process in China's socioeconomic development regions over the past 40 years, highlight the risks and influencing factors of rapid urban space development and ecological space threats, and provide an important reference for optimizing land-use patterns in similar key regions of China.

Purpose: This study aimed to investigate the relationship between magnetic resonance image (MRI) features and the immunohistochemical subtypes of pituitary microadenomas (PMAs) characterized by location and growth pattern. Materials and methods: A double-center, retrospective review of MRI characteristics was conducted in 57 PMA cases recorded from February 2014 to September 2023, identified based on the 2017 World Health Organization classification of pituitary gland tumors. The geometric center of the tumor was defined, and the possibility of PMA vertical or lateral growth patterns was evaluated according to the ratio of maximum diameter between the X and Y axes. Results: Among the PMAs, somatotroph adenomas (STAs) significantly frequented the lateral-anteroinferior portion of the pituitary gland (P = 0.036). Lactotroph adenomas (LTAs) showed a significant locational preference for the lateral-posteroinferior portion (P = 0.037), and gonadotroph adenomas (GTAs) were predominantly located in the central-anteroinferior portion (P = 0.022). Furthermore, PMAs in the suprasellar portion exhibited vertical extension with statistical significance (P = 0.0). Conclusion: In our cohort, micro-STAs were predominantly located in the lateral-anteroinferior portion of the pituitary gland, micro-LTAs in the lateral-posteroinferior portion, and micro-GTAs in the central-anteroinferior portion. The growth pattern of PMAs was highly correlated with their vertical position instead of their immunohistochemical subtypes. Therefore, MRI shows potential in differentiating partial PMA subgroups, especially cases within the silent groups.

AIM: To investigate the molecular mechanisms underlying the influence of hypoxia and alpha-ketoglutaric acid (α-KG) on scleral collagen expression. METHODS: Meta-analysis and clinical statistics were used to prove the changes in choroidal thickness (ChT) during myopia. The establishment of a hypoxic myopia model (HYP) for rabbit scleral fibroblasts through hypoxic culture and the effects of hypoxia and α-KG on collagen expression were demonstrated by Sirius red staining. Transcriptome analysis was used to verify the genes and pathways that hypoxia and α-KG affect collagen expression. Finally, real-time quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-qPCR) was used for reverse verification. RESULTS: Meta-analysis results aligned with clinical statistics, revealing a thinning of ChT, leading to scleral hypoxia. Sirius red staining indicated lower collagen expression in the HYP group and higher collagen expression in the HYP+α-KG group, showed that hypoxia reduced collagen expression in scleral fibroblasts, while α-KG can elevated collagen expression under HYP conditions. Transcriptome analysis unveiled the related genes and signaling pathways of hypoxia and α-KG affect scleral collagen expression and the results were verified by RT-qPCR. CONCLUSION: The potential molecular mechanisms through which hypoxia and α-KG influencing myopia is unraveled and three novel genes TLCD4, TBC1D4, and EPHX3 are identified. These findings provide a new perspective on the prevention and treatment of myopia via regulating collagen expression.

Abstract Background The role of plant-based dietary patterns in preventing cardiovascular disease (CVD) among individuals with prediabetes and diabetes remains unclear. We aimed to evaluate the associations of plant-based diet index (PDI), healthful PDI (hPDI), and unhealthful PDI (uPDI) with cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk and explore potential contributing factors among people with prediabetes and diabetes. Methods A total of 17,926 participants with prediabetes and 7798 with diabetes were enrolled from the UK Biobank between 2006 and 2010 and followed until the end of 2020. We calculated the PDI, hPDI, and uPDI based on 18 major food groups including plant-based foods and animal-based foods and applied Cox proportional hazard models to calculate hazard ratios (HRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for CVD risk related to PDI, hPDI, and uPDI. Decomposition analysis was performed to assess the role of dietary components, and mediation analysis was performed to assess the potential mediating role of serum biomarkers underlying these associations. Results A total of 2324 CVD events were documented among individuals with prediabetes, while 1461 events occurred among patients with diabetes. An inverse association was found between hPDI and CVD risk among individuals with prediabetes (HR T3 vs. T1 = 0.88, 95% CI = 0.79–0.98, P trend = 0.025) but not those with diabetes. A positive association was found between uPDI and CVD risk among individuals with prediabetes (HR T3 vs. T1 = 1.17, 95% CI = 1.05–1.30, P trend = 0.005) and those with diabetes (HR T3 vs. T1 = 1.14, 95% CI = 1.00–1.29, P trend = 0.043). High-sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) intake accounted for 35% of the hPDI-CVD association and 15% of the uPDI-CVD association among individuals with prediabetes, whereas low intake of whole grain accounted for 36% of the association among patients with diabetes. Elevated cystatin C levels explained the largest proportion of the association between uPDI and CVD risk among individuals with prediabetes (15%, 95% CI = 7–30%) and diabetes (44%, 95% CI = 9–86%). Conclusions Adherence to an unhealthy plant-based diet is associated with a higher CVD risk in people with prediabetes or diabetes, which may be partially attributed to low consumption of whole grains, high intake of SSB, and high blood cystatin C levels.

The genus Calyptothecium, currently comprising ca. 30 species worldwide, is the largest genus within the family Pterobryaceae. However, a comprehensive taxonomic revision of this genus is lacking. Calyptothecium philippinense Broth. 1899, a moss species widely found in the tropical regions of Asia, is characterized by the unique rugose leaves and large auriculate leaf bases. In this study, we sequenced the complete chloroplast genome (CPG) of C. philippinense using the Illumina NovaSeq 6000 platform. The length of the CPG of C. philippinense was determined to be 124,513 bp, with an AT content of 74%. The CPG of C. philippinense exhibited a standard quadripartite structure, consisting of one small single-copy (SSC) region (18,541 bp), one large single-copy region (LSC) (87,222 bp), and two inverted repeat (IR) regions (9375 bp each). A total of 126 genes from the CPG of C. philippinense were annotated, including 82 protein-coding genes, eight ribosomal RNA genes, and 36 transfer RNA genes. Phylogenetic analysis based on the CPGs of 25 bryophyte taxa revealed that the three Pterobryaceae species C. philippinense, Calyptothecium hookeri (Mitt.) Broth. and Pterobryopsis orientalis (Müll. Hal.) M. Fleisch. formed a robust clade. The findings could facilitate more accurate classification and help elucidate evolutionary relationships within Calyptothecium.

Abstract Purpose Colorectal cancer (CRC) surgery in elderly patients with hypertension poses challenges due to potential complications and prolonged recovery. This study aimed to assess the impact of multimodal opioid-sparing anesthesia on intestinal function and prognosis of elderly hypertension patients undergoing CRC surgery. Methods A total of 80 elderly hypertension patients who underwent open surgery for CRC in the People’s Hospital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region from October 2020 to October 2022 were selected and randomly divided into two group (A and B, n = 40) through the random number table method. Group A received multimodal opioid-sparing anesthesia, defined as low-dose opioid general anesthesia combined with a transversus abdominis plane block, incision infiltration with local anesthetics, and postoperative analgesia via a patient-controlled analgesia (PCA) pump, with the remifentanil dose set at one-third (± 10%) of the conventional group’s dose. Group B received conventional opioid anesthesia, involving standard general anesthesia maintained with remifentanil at 0.4–0.5 µg/(kg·min), incision infiltration with local anesthetics, and postoperative PCA. Primary outcomes included mean arterial pressure (MAP) and heart rate (HR), changes in albumin, C-reactive protein (CRP) and white blood cell (WBC), indicators of intestinal function recovery (the recovery time of bowel sounds, the first exhaust time, the first defecation time and the feeding recovery time), and visual analogue scale (VAS) pain scores. Second outcomes included postoperative complications and total hospital stays. Results After excluding 8 patients, 72 were included in the final analysis. Compared with patients in the B group, patients in the A group exhibited shorter recovery time of bowel sounds, first exhaust time and feeding recovery time (P