Associations between Sarcopenia and trajectories of activities of daily living disability: a nationwide longitudinal study of middle-aged and older adults in China from 2011 to 2018.

Background: Sarcopenia is an age-related clinical syndrome, which is associated with numerous adverse outcomes among older adults. The relationship between sarcopenia and activities of daily living (ADL) disability has been studied in China, but these findings usually focused on a single time point. The patterns of ADL can change over time and vary among individuals.

Morphological diversity and altitudinal differentiation of species.

The morphological characteristics of birds are an important tool for studying their adaptation and evolution. The morphological evolution of a clade is not only constrained by the phylogenetic relationship, but also influenced by ecological factors and interspecific competition. is a group of small nectar-eating birds with obvious sexual dimorphism.

Complete mitochondrial genome of fire-tailed myzornis () and white-browed fulvetta ().

In this study, the complete mitochondrial genomes of and were sequenced and described for the first time. The whole mitochondrial genomes of and are 17,397 bp and 16,961 bp in length, with the G + C percentage 46.34% and 47.

The complete mitochondrial genome and phylogenetic analysis of White-bellied Heron (Pelecaniformes：Ardeidae).

The White-bellied Heron is Critically Endangered wading bird. In this study, we first sequenced and described the complete mitochondrial genome and phylogeny of . The whole genome of was 18,656 bp in length and contained 14 protein-coding genes, 23 transfer RNA genes, two ribosome RNA genes, and two non-coding control regions.

Complete mitochondrial genome of yellow-rumped honeyguide (Piciformes: Indicatoridae).

In this study, we first sequenced and described the complete mitochondrial genome and phylogeny of . The whole genome of was 17,603 bp in length and contained 14 protein-coding genes, 22 transfer RNA genes, two ribosome RNA genes, and two non-coding control regions. The overall base composition of the mitochondrial DNA was 31.

Near-complete phylogeny and taxonomic revision of the world's babblers (Aves: Passeriformes).

The babblers are a diverse group of passerine birds comprising 452 species. The group was long regarded as a "scrap basket" in taxonomic classification schemes. Although several studies have assessed the phylogenetic relationships for subsets of babblers during the past two decades, a comprehensive phylogeny of this group has been lacking.

Evolution of beak morphology in the Ground Tit revealed by comparative transcriptomics.

Background: Beak morphology exhibits considerable adaptive plasticity in birds, which results in highly varied or specialized forms in response to variations in ecology and life history. As the only parid species endemic to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, the Ground Tit () has evolved a distinctly long and curved beak from other parids. An integration of morphometrics, phylogenetics, transcriptomics and embryology allows us to address the evolutionary and developmental mechanisms of the adaptive beak structure observed in the Ground Tit.

Genomic differentiation and patterns of gene flow between two long-tailed tit species (Aegithalos).

Patterns of heterogeneous genomic differentiation have been well documented between closely related species, with some highly differentiated genomic regions ("genomic differentiation islands") spread throughout the genome. Differential levels of gene flow are proposed to account for this pattern, as genomic differentiation islands are suggested to be resistant to gene flow. Recent studies have also suggested that genomic differentiation islands could be explained by linked selection acting on genomic regions with low recombination rates.

Evolution of body morphology and beak shape revealed by a morphometric analysis of 14 Paridae species.

Background: Morphological characters of birds reflect their adaptive evolution and ecological requirements and are also relevant to phylogenetic relationships within a group of related species. The tits (Paridae) are known to be outwardly homogeneous in shape, with one aberrant member, the Ground Tit (Pseudopodoces humilis), which is quite different from its relatives in both body morphology and beak shape. We combined traditional measurements and geometric morphometrics to quantify the variation in body morphology and beak shape of 14 Paridae species distributed in China.