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Measuring handgrip strength is the initial step to diagnose sarcopenia. To investigate whether the serum creatinine (Cr)/cystatin C (CysC) ratio could serve as a case-finding tool for low handgrip strength, we conducted a diagnostic accuracy study. Adults (aged ≥ 40 years) with normal renal function were recruited. Trained nurses collected blood samples and conducted the anthropometric measurements and handgrip strength test. The serum concentrations of Cr, CysC, and other biomarkers were measured. We recruited 1098 men and 1241 women. The Cr/CysC ratio was significantly associated with AWGS-defined low handgrip strength among men and women. The areas under the receiver operating characteristic curves were 0.79 among men and 0.78 among women for using the Cr/CysC ratio to identify AWGS-defined low handgrip strength. We set the Cr/CysC ratio cut-off values at  less then  8.9 among men and  less then  8.0 among women. The corresponding sensitivity values were 64.9% among men and 63.1% among women, while the specificity values were 83.7% among men and 77.5% among women. In conclusion, the Cr/CysC ratio is positively and linearly associated with handgrip strength and may be helpful for screening low handgrip strength in Chinese middle-aged and older adults dwelling in communities.Deep-sea hydrothermal plumes are considered natural laboratories for understanding ecological and biogeochemical interactions. Previous studies focused on interactions between microorganisms and inorganic, reduced hydrothermal inputs including sulfur, hydrogen, iron, and manganese. However, little is known about transformations of organic compounds, especially methylated, sulfur-containing compounds, and petroleum hydrocarbons. Here, we reconstructed nine gammaproteobacterial metagenome-assembled genomes, affiliated with Methylococcales, Methylophaga, and Cycloclasticus, from three hydrothermal ecosystems. We present evidence that these three groups have high transcriptional activities of genes encoding cycling of C1-compounds, petroleum hydrocarbons, and organic sulfur in hydrothermal plumes. This includes oxidation of methanethiol, the simplest thermochemically-derived organic sulfur, for energy metabolism in Methylococcales and Cycloclasticus. Together with active transcription of genes for thiosulfate and methane oxidation in Methylococcales, these results suggest an adaptive strategy of versatile and simultaneous use of multiple available electron donors. Meanwhile, the first near-complete MAG of hydrothermal Methylophaga aminisulfidivorans and its transcriptional profile point to active chemotaxis targeting small organic compounds. Petroleum hydrocarbon-degrading Cycloclasticus are abundant and active in plumes of oil spills as well as deep-sea vents, suggesting that they are indigenous and effectively respond to stimulus of hydrocarbons in the deep sea. These findings suggest that these three groups of Gammaproteobacteria transform organic carbon and sulfur compounds via versatile and opportunistic metabolism and modulate biogeochemistry in plumes of hydrothermal systems as well as oil spills, thus contributing broad ecological impact to the deep ocean globally.Perturbed ecosystems may undergo rapid and non-linear changes, resulting in 'regime shifts' to an entirely different ecological state. The need to understand the extent, nature, magnitude and reversibility of these changes is urgent given the profound effects that humans are having on the natural world. General ecosystem models, which simulate the dynamics of ecosystems based on a mechanistic representation of ecological processes, provide one novel way to project ecosystem changes across all scales and trophic levels, and to forecast impact thresholds beyond which irreversible changes may occur. We model ecosystem changes in four terrestrial biomes subjected to human removal of plant biomass, such as occurs through agricultural land-use change. We find that irreversible, non-linear responses commonly occur where removal of vegetation exceeds 80% (a level that occurs across nearly 10% of the Earth's land surface), especially for organisms at higher trophic levels and in less productive ecosystems. Very large, irreversible changes to ecosystem structure are expected at levels of vegetation removal akin to those in the most intensively used real-world ecosystems. Our results suggest that the projected twenty-first century rapid increases in agricultural land conversion may lead to widespread trophic cascades and in some cases irreversible changes to ecosystem structure.Perturbations in fatty acid (FA) metabolism as well as thinning of the cerebral cortex have been associated with cognitive decline in the elderly. Predominant FAs in the brain are docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and arachidonic acid (ARA). Approximately 2-8% of esterified DHA and 3-5% of esterified ARA in the brain are replaced daily. DHA and ARA are derivatives of 18-carbon essential FAs, α-linolenic acid and linoleic acid, that must be imported into the brain from the circulation. In blood, FAs are primarily transported in triacylglycerols (TAGs) from which they can be released at the blood-brain-barrier and transported inside the brain. We show that circulating levels of TAGs carrying 18-carbon FAs are positively associated with cortical thickness in middle-aged adults. These associations are stronger in cortical regions with higher expression of genes regulating long-chain FA metabolism and cellular membranes, and cortical thickness in the same regions may be related to cognitive performance.Graft failure (GF) is a life-threatening complication after allogeneic stem cell transplantation. Although salvage cord blood transplantation (CBT) is a curative therapy for GF, the optimal immunosuppression after salvage CBT remains unknown. Using nationwide registration data, we compared the transplant outcomes of patients who developed GF and underwent salvage CBT using immunosuppressants, including calcineurin (CNI) alone (n = 177); CNI plus methotrexate (CNI+MTX, n = 150); and CNI plus mycophenolate mofetil (CNI+MMF, n = 161). https://www.selleckchem.com/products/ml-si3.html The CNI+MMF group, in comparison with the CNI+MTX and CNI alone groups, demonstrated better neutrophil recovery at 30 days (62.7 vs. 42.7 vs. 53.1%, P  less then  0.001); better overall survival (OS) at 12 months (48.4 vs. 33.5 vs. 28.3%, P  less then  0.001); and lower non-relapse mortality (NRM) at 12 months (35.2 vs. 53.9 vs. 56.5%, P  less then  0.001). On multivariate analysis, CNI+MMF had the best neutrophil recovery (hazard ratio (HR), 1.71; P  less then  0.001) and OS (HR, 0.