Search

The steppe marmot (baibak) is one of the typical rodents of the Eastern European forest–steppe and steppe. In the mid-twentieth century, European populations of the species were on the verge of extinction, but then, thanks to conservation measures and reintroductions, the population of boibak and range were largely restored. This work collects and presents data on two restored marmot colonies in the forest–steppe of European Russia. The research was carried out in the Central Black Earth Nature Reserve (Streletskaya steppe, two sections) and in the Volga Forest–Steppe Nature Reserve (Ostrovtsovskaya forest–steppe, three sections). The number and age composition of marmots are described. Maps of settlements with burrows and trails of marmots have been compiled; for each burrow the coordinates and type (temporary or permanent) are indicated. The population density and the number of burrows per marmot were calculated. In total, 12 marmots live in the Streletskaya steppe: ten on the "Pasture" site and two on the "Restored Steppe" site. In the first area, seven adult and three young marmots were noted, in the second, two adult marmots. Here, the reintroduction of the boibak was not entirely successful. From 2015 to 2023 the number of marmots decreased sharply, from 38 to 12 individuals, and the area of the inhabited territory fell from 10 to 3.7 hectares. In the Ostrovtsovskaya forest–steppe, 48 marmots (eight families) were recorded, of which 40 were in the first area (six families), two were in the second area (one family), and six were in the third area (one family). Of the 48 individuals, 29 (61%) are underyearlings. The reintroduction of the bobak into the Ostrovtsovskaya forest–steppe was relatively successful: the total number of animals is comparable to the number of marmots initially released (48 and 64). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Political representation of ethnic minorities in a liberal democratic system is a crucial step towards having the interests of ethnic minority groups heard. The under-representation of ethnic minorities in a political institution can exacerbate inequality between majority and minority populations and increase feelings of alienation among minority groups. As a country observing increasing ethnic diversity, Australia saw record-level ethnic minority candidates elected in the 2022 federal election. However, the shares of candidates and elected Members of Parliaments with ethnic minority backgrounds are still much lower than their relative shares in the population. In this regard, Australia has lagged behind other major settler countries. In this paper, we examine the political representation of ethnic minorities in Australia's federal election. Drawing on data from the 2022 federal election and 2021 population census, we find a positive association between ethnic minority concentration and ethnic representation. However, for the two major parties, ethnic minority candidates are less likely to be in safe seats, even when the seat observes high ethnic minority concentration. Findings suggest that ethnic voting is evident but it is perhaps too early to celebrate higher levels of ethnic representation in Australian politics as political parties act as gatekeepers in safe seats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to understand population size composition, age structure and growth characteristics of Corbicula fluminea in Tai Lake, 638 individuals of C. fluminea collected from six sampling sites in Tai Lake were analyzed. The shell length, shell width, shell heigth and wet weight of C. fluminea were measured and the ages of all individuals were determined. Furthermore, the growth equations of shell length and wet weight of C. fluminea were established. The research results are as follows. (1) The shell length, shell width, shell height and wet weight of C. fluminea ranged from 5.45 to 40.34 mm, from 6.68 to 24.89 mm, from 7.15 to 37.41 mm and from 0.15 to 19.27 g, respectively, the corresponding average values were (20.17±0.60) mm, (13.57±0.33) mm, (19.13±0.53) mm and (4.09±0.32) g, respectively. (2) The C. fluminea population consisted of five age groups (0+ - 4+ ), in which the number of individuals aging from 0+ to 2+ yr accounted for 91.85%, and the number of individuals aging from 3+ to 4+ yr accounted for 8.15%. (3) The relationship between shell length and wet weight was expressed as W = 2.0×10–3L2.477 (R² =0.954) which indicated that C. fluminea grew at an allometric rate. (4) The relationships between shell length and age were described by Von Bertalanffy equations: Lt = 41.99×[1–e–0.27(t+1.47)], and the relationships between wet weight and age were described by Von Bertalanffy equations: Wt = 19.28×[1–e–0.27(t+1.47)] 2.477. The growth inflection point of C. fluminea occurred at age 2.22 yr, with the corresponding shell length of 26.48 mm and wet weight of 6.16 g. The present results suggested that small size and low age individuals dominated the C. fluminea population and the intensity of resource utilization was too high. Therefore, it is urgent to take measures to protect the natural resources of C. fluminea in Tai Lake. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Among a wide range of practical applications, the location quotient (LQ) has been used as an area-based measure of residential segregation by race/ethnicity in some studies. However, it does not correspond to any of the five dimensions of residential segregation. Rather, an application of LQ in demographic data analyses brings about an atypical way to quantify the population composition of areal units by race/ethnicity. To clarify misconceptions, the purpose of this study was to demonstrate the relationships between proportions, percentages, and LQs of six racial/ethnic groups in the conterminous United States (US). Since populations change over time, demographic data on race and ethnicity were obtained from the 2000, 2010, and 2020 Census through the US Census Bureau's website. Using census tracts and counties as the units of analysis, a sequence of scatterplots and associated Pearson's correlation coefficients (r) was used to display the analytical results of census-tract- and county-based measures at three different time periods. Despite the different levels of aggregation, the relationships between proportions, percentages, and LQs of six racial/ethnic groups consistently showed perfect positive correlations at three different time periods (r = 1.00). These suggest that census-tract- and county-based measures expressed as the proportion, percentage, and LQ of a racial/ethnic group capture the same distributional pattern, but the units of measurement simply differ from one another. Hence, the study of residential segregation and its societal consequences needs to be specific to the dimension under study and to build upon the conceptual and methodological foundations established by sociologists-demographers and geographers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Simple Summary: Sexual attractants have emerged as a labor-saving and environmentally friendly technology for green pest control. The Oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis, a global agricultural pest, is often managed using sex attractants such as methyl eugenol as part of green control measures. However, the practical efficacy of these attractants in field applications is often challenged due to the high mating frequency exhibited by male B. dorsalis individuals. In this study, we aimed to investigate the reproductive capacity of B. dorsalis under continuous mating conditions and assess the variations in reproductive ability under different mating conditions. The study highlights the importance of continuous pest control measures due to the pests' strong reproductive ability under interval mating conditions. By comprehending these dynamics, researchers can develop improved strategies for green pest control, thus reducing the reliance on harmful pesticides and ensuring sustainable agricultural practices. These findings have valuable implications for society by promoting environmentally friendly pest management techniques, ultimately benefiting both crop production and the environment. At present, sexual attractants mainly control insect populations by killing males. However, the effect of sex attractants may be limited by the mating ability of the attracted insects. The Oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel), has a strong reproductive capacity; it brings great losses to agricultural production, which can be controlled by methods using sex attractant methyl eugenol that mainly attracts males. Therefore, we studied the multiple and continuous (as well as consecutive) mating ability of B. dorsalis through behavioral experiments. The results show that male B. dorsalis can mate 11 times on average, with females mating only 1.93 times, and that 10.81% of males mate more than 20 times. The reproductive capacity of male B. dorsalis decreased significantly after four to five instances of continuous mating. In different mating patterns, the reproductive fitness of polyandry is not the highest, rather, interval mating is the best. A limiting factor of the sex attractant effect was revealed in B. dorsalis through behavioral evidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hurricanes have proven to be one of the most deadly and costly natural hazards in the Gulf and Atlantic coast regions of the United States. Looming climate change and increasing population in coastal areas means these hazards could become even more devastating in the future. This paper first develops estimates of areas most impacted by hurricane flooding and wind damage and then assesses the generalised patterns of demographic change in those at‐risk locations, disaggregating by both race and age to account for the complex shifts in demographic composition that have occurred over the past five decades. We find evidence of racial, ethnic, and age disparities in exposure to hurricane flooding and wind impacts. Our results highlight not only the uneven burden of risk placed on those unable or unwilling to move, but also the structural privilege that enables the white population to remain in place, even in the face of increased hurricane damage risk. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lagos, a megacity in Nigeria, harbours mona monkeys (Cercopithecus mona) in its swamp forests. The Near Threatened species is in close proximity to humans due to habitat conversion and fragmentation. The species' population status and extent of habitat changes in mainland Lagos where most forests have disappeared are unknown. The population size and composition of the C. mona in four forest fragments around Mende, Anthony Village, Gbagada, and Agiliti Community in Kosofe Local Government Area (LGA) were determined during the dry and wet seasons in 2021 and 2022, and the LGA's land use changes for 1984, 2002, and 2022 were determined from LANDSAT images. Perceptions of community members about humanmonkey interactions were assessed using questionnaires. Only 90 mona monkeys were estimated to occur in the LGA. The highest and lowest populations were 30 (Agiliti Community) and 15 (Mende) individuals, respectively. There were 44 adults, 33 juveniles, and 13 infants, with no significant difference in the population of monkeys between the seasons (χ² = 1.97, p = 0.58). The C. mona population has declined, as indicated by 63.3% of respondents. There was a significant decline in forest cover (p = 0.001), and a significant increase (p = 0.003) in built-up areas between 1984 and 2022. The declining forest cover and population size of C. mona in Kosofe LGA can be reversed if the swamp forests they inhabit are protected by the Lagos State government. This could avert the extirpation of this important seed disperser, and possibly lead to forest regeneration for carbon sequestration and a cooler urban environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Local population dynamics are driven by local processes such as temporal variation of productivity, survival, emigration and population stage structure, and by processes originating from outside the local population, such as immigration. Populations may operate as sources that contribute more individuals than have died or as sinks that depend on neighbouring populations. Knowing demographic processes driving the dynamics of a local population and the significance of a local population in a system of multiple populations is crucial for understanding population dynamics and requires detailed demographic analyses. We studied demographic drivers in a red kite Milvus milvus population located in Germany that was monitored for 34 years using integrated population modelling. We specified the model in such a way that the numbers of experienced breeders, local recruits, locally born non‐breeders and immigrants are estimated explicitly, applied a retrospective perturbation analysis to identify the demographic drivers and assessed the source‐sink status of the population. The study population increased on average by 1% per year. The number of breeders was about double than the number of locally born non‐breeders, and the number of experienced breeders exceeded the number of local recruits and immigrants by a factor of six to nine. The retrospective analysis identified productivity, i.e. the number of fledglings per breeding pair, as the main demographic driver, followed by adult survival and immigration. As other studies show close links between food supply and productivity, it is likely that food supply plays a critical role in red kite population dynamics. The study population contributed more individuals than it lost through mortality, but due to emigration of locally born individuals it was not self‐sustainable and depended on immigration. This quantifies the population as a dependent source and shows that red kite populations are linked across large spatial scales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Among a wide range of practical applications, the location quotient (LQ) has been used as an area-based measure of residential segregation by race/ethnicity in some studies. However, it does not correspond to any of the five dimensions of residential segregation. Rather, an application of LQ in demographic data analyses brings about an atypical way to quantify the population composition of areal units by race/ethnicity. To clarify misconceptions, the purpose of this study was to demonstrate the relationships between proportions, percentages, and LQs of six racial/ethnic groups in the conterminous United States (US). Since populations change over time, demographic data on race and ethnicity were obtained from the 2000, 2010, and 2020 Census through the US Census Bureau’s website. Using census tracts and counties as the units of analysis, a sequence of scatterplots and associated Pearson’s correlation coefficients (r) was used to display the analytical results of census-tract- and county-based measures at three different time periods. Despite the different levels of aggregation, the relationships between proportions, percentages, and LQs of six racial/ethnic groups consistently showed perfect positive correlations at three different time periods (r = 1.00). These suggest that census-tract- and county-based measures expressed as the proportion, percentage, and LQ of a racial/ethnic group capture the same distributional pattern, but the units of measurement simply differ from one another. Hence, the study of residential segregation and its societal consequences needs to be specific to the dimension under study and to build upon the conceptual and methodological foundations established by sociologists-demographers and geographers.

Abstract Background We have previously developed and validated a biomarker-based metric of overall health status using Mahalanobis distance (DM) to measure how far from the norm of a reference population (RP) an individual’s biomarker profile is. DM is not particularly sensitive to the choice of biomarkers; however, this makes comparison across studies difficult. Here we aimed to identify and validate a standard, optimized version of DM that would be highly stable across populations, while using fewer and more commonly measured biomarkers. Methods Using three datasets (the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging, Invecchiare in Chianti and the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey), we selected the most stable sets of biomarkers in all three populations, notably when interchanging RPs across populations. We performed regression models, using a fourth dataset (the Women’s Health and Aging Study), to compare the new DM sets to other well-known metrics [allostatic load (AL) and self-assessed health (SAH)] in their association with diverse health outcomes: mortality, frailty, cardiovascular disease (CVD), diabetes, and comorbidity number. Results A nine- (DM9) and a seventeen-biomarker set (DM17) were identified as highly stable regardless of the chosen RP (e.g.: mean correlation among versions generated by interchanging RPs across dataset of r = 0.94 for both DM9 and DM17). In general, DM17 and DM9 were both competitive compared with AL and SAH in predicting aging correlates, with some exceptions for DM9. For example, DM9, DM17, AL, and SAH all predicted mortality to a similar extent (ranges of hazard ratios of 1.15–1.30, 1.21–1.36, 1.17–1.38, and 1.17–1.49, respectively). On the other hand, DM9 predicted CVD less well than DM17 (ranges of odds ratios of 0.97–1.08, 1.07–1.85, respectively). Conclusions The metrics we propose here are easy to measure with data that are already available in a wide array of panel, cohort, and clinical studies. The standardized versions here lose a small amount of predictive power compared to more complete versions, but are nonetheless competitive with existing metrics of overall health. DM17 performs slightly better than DM9 and should be preferred in most cases, but DM9 may still be used when a more limited number of biomarkers is available.

Local population dynamics are driven by local processes such as temporal variation of productivity, survival, emigration and population stage structure, and by processes originating from outside the local population, such as immigration. Populations may operate as sources that contribute more individuals than have died or as sinks that depend on neighbouring populations. Knowing demographic processes driving the dynamics of a local population and the significance of a local population in a system of multiple populations is crucial for understanding population dynamics and requires detailed demographic analyses. We studied demographic drivers in a red kite Milvus milvus population located in Germany that was monitored for 34 years using integrated population modelling. We specified the model in such a way that the numbers of experienced breeders, local recruits, locally born non‐breeders and immigrants are estimated explicitly, applied a retrospective perturbation analysis to identify the demographic drivers and assessed the source‐sink status of the population. The study population increased on average by 1% per year. The number of breeders was about double than the number of locally born non‐breeders, and the number of experienced breeders exceeded the number of local recruits and immigrants by a factor of six to nine. The retrospective analysis identified productivity, i.e. the number of fledglings per breeding pair, as the main demographic driver, followed by adult survival and immigration. As other studies show close links between food supply and productivity, it is likely that food supply plays a critical role in red kite population dynamics. The study population contributed more individuals than it lost through mortality, but due to emigration of locally born individuals it was not self‐sustainable and depended on immigration. This quantifies the population as a dependent source and shows that red kite populations are linked across large spatial scales.

At present, sexual attractants mainly control insect populations by killing males. However, the effect of sex attractants may be limited by the mating ability of the attracted insects. The Oriental fruit fly, Bactrocera dorsalis (Hendel), has a strong reproductive capacity; it brings great losses to agricultural production, which can be controlled by methods using sex attractant methyl eugenol that mainly attracts males. Therefore, we studied the multiple and continuous (as well as consecutive) mating ability of B. dorsalis through behavioral experiments. The results show that male B. dorsalis can mate 11 times on average, with females mating only 1.93 times, and that 10.81% of males mate more than 20 times. The reproductive capacity of male B. dorsalis decreased significantly after four to five instances of continuous mating. In different mating patterns, the reproductive fitness of polyandry is not the highest, rather, interval mating is the best. A limiting factor of the sex attractant effect was revealed in B. dorsalis through behavioral evidence.

As global efforts to address COVID-19 become more urgent, the public discourse on attitudes towards immigrants has also become more polarized. In such a heightened social and political context, we study the impact of intergroup contact in political jurisdictions with different shares of minority populations. Drawing on data from the Australian Election Study and the Census, we find that less intergroup contact with neighbours from minority birthplace, language and citizenship backgrounds is correlated with higher anti-immigrant sentiments. These results have significant implications for immigrant-receiving countries with existing legislation and policies that direct immigrants to move to areas of lower population density, lower presence of immigrants, and less previous exposure to international migration. The evidence presented in this study suggests that without sufficient political and policy sensitization to the issues for immigrants living in these areas, there could be detrimental social and political impacts to both immigrants and society more generally. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Demographic and socioeconomic composition changes in neighbourhoods are often the result of local factors (e.g., gentrification or disinvestment) that promote population growth of certain ethnoracial and socioeconomic groups over others, and regional demographic and economic trends that affect metropolitan areas as a whole. This exploratory analysis isolates the portion of poverty and ethnoracial composition change in suburbs that is attributable to regional trends from local factors. The analysis is conducted for the Chicago–Joliet–Naperville metropolitan area during the 2000s. The results show that processes such as suburban poverty and growing minority populations are to a large extent attributable to the shrinking nonpoor White population. This change in the number of nonpoor Whites in suburbs seems to be related to regional population trends, whereas much of the population change of nonpoor and poor minorities is linked to local neighbourhood conditions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The combined effects of declining fertility and increased longevity have accelerated population aging in different parts of the world. Unlike other countries, Puerto Rico is also experiencing unprecedented levels of working-age out-migration. The full impact of high out-migration on Puerto Rican demography is not fully understood. Placing Puerto Rico's aging process in an international context is useful in identifying the role out-migration is having on the accelerated aging of the Puerto Rican society. Using the World Population Prospects 2019 estimates, we compared the pattern of rapid aging found for Puerto Rico with the trajectories of six other countries with the highest population of 65+ in the World, Europe, and the Caribbean from 1960 to 2020. Prior to 2010, the aging process in Puerto Rico was comparable to the other countries. After 2010, the percent of the population over 65 years in Puerto Rico nearly doubled from 13.1% to 21%. The nearly doubling of the percent of older adults is not observed in any of the comparison countries. We find that the rapid aging of Puerto Rico, changing from a linear trend to an exponential one, is a result of accelerating levels of out-migration, which is concentrated in the working-age population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The traditional view is that the Arctic polar night is a quiescent period for marine life, but recent reports of high levels of feeding and reproduction in both pelagic and benthic taxa have challenged this. We examined the zooplankton community present in Svalbard fjords, coastal waters, and the shelf break north of Svalbard, during the polar night. We focused on the population structure of abundant copepods (Calanus finmarchicus, Calanus glacialis, Metridia longa, Oithona similis, Pseudocalanus spp., Microcalanus spp., and Microsetella norvegica) sampled using 64-µm mesh nets. Numerically, copepod nauplii (≥ 50%) and the young developmental stages of small copepods (< 2 mm prosome length as adult) dominated the samples. Three main patterns were identified: (1) large Calanus spp. were predominantly older copepodids CIV–CV, while (2) the small harpacticoid M. norvegica were adults. (3) For other species, all copepodid stages were present. Older copepodids and adults dominated populations of O. similis, Pseudocalanus spp. and M. longa. In Microcalanus spp., high proportion of young copepodids CI–CIII indicated active winter recruitment. We discuss the notion of winter as a developing and reproductive period for small copepods in light of observed age structures, presence of nauplii, and previous knowledge about the species. Lower predation risks during winter may, in part, explain why this season could be beneficial as a period for development. Winter may be a key season for development of small, omnivorous copepods in the Arctic, whereas large copepods such as Calanus spp. seems to be reliant on spring and summer for reproduction and development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Green sturgeon (Acipenser medirostris) is a highly migratory, marine oriented species that congregates in non-natal estuaries during summer and early fall. Individuals from the threatened Southern Distinct Population Segment (SDPS) and non-listed Northern Distinct Population Segment (NDPS) regularly co-occur in non-natal estuaries including the Columbia River estuary, Willapa Bay, and Grays Harbor in relative proportions not explained by abundance or distance from natal river. We used genetic markers to assign green sturgeon sampled in these estuaries from 2010 to 2012 to distinct population segments (DPS). We then examined interannual differences in DPS composition among estuaries. Fork length distributions were compared between SDPS and NDPS green sturgeon to determine whether size varied within and among DPSs and estuaries. The majority of green sturgeon sampled in the Columbia River estuary and Willapa Bay were assigned to the SDPS, while we assigned nearly even DPS proportions to our Grays Harbor samples. NDPS green sturgeon were significantly smaller than those originating from the SDPS within and among estuaries. We used these findings to develop several hypotheses about the mechanisms that may lead to specific patterns of non-natal estuary use. Genetic markers also assigned a single age-0 green sturgeon sampled in the Columbia River to the NDPS, although our analyses suggest that this individual’s parents may not have originated from known NDPS spawning populations. Because the Columbia River may serve as alternative spawning habitat for green sturgeon as climate change occurs, we recommend monitoring the Columbia River more closely for further evidence of green sturgeon spawning.

Background: We have previously developed and validated a biomarker-based metric of overall health status using Mahalanobis distance (DM) to measure how far from the norm of a reference population (RP) an individual's biomarker profile is. DM is not particularly sensitive to the choice of biomarkers; however, this makes comparison across studies difficult. Here we aimed to identify and validate a standard, optimized version of DM that would be highly stable across populations, while using fewer and more commonly measured biomarkers. Methods: Using three datasets (the Baltimore Longitudinal Study of Aging, Invecchiare in Chianti and the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey), we selected the most stable sets of biomarkers in all three populations, notably when interchanging RPs across populations. We performed regression models, using a fourth dataset (the Women's Health and Aging Study), to compare the new DM sets to other well-known metrics [allostatic load (AL) and self-assessed health (SAH)] in their association with diverse health outcomes: mortality, frailty, cardiovascular disease (CVD), diabetes, and comorbidity number. Results: A nine- (DM9) and a seventeen-biomarker set (DM17) were identified as highly stable regardless of the chosen RP (e.g.: mean correlation among versions generated by interchanging RPs across dataset of r = 0.94 for both DM9 and DM17). In general, DM17 and DM9 were both competitive compared with AL and SAH in predicting aging correlates, with some exceptions for DM9. For example, DM9, DM17, AL, and SAH all predicted mortality to a similar extent (ranges of hazard ratios of 1.15–1.30, 1.21–1.36, 1.17–1.38, and 1.17–1.49, respectively). On the other hand, DM9 predicted CVD less well than DM17 (ranges of odds ratios of 0.97–1.08, 1.07–1.85, respectively). Conclusions: The metrics we propose here are easy to measure with data that are already available in a wide array of panel, cohort, and clinical studies. The standardized versions here lose a small amount of predictive power compared to more complete versions, but are nonetheless competitive with existing metrics of overall health. DM17 performs slightly better than DM9 and should be preferred in most cases, but DM9 may still be used when a more limited number of biomarkers is available. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The human population is at the centre of research on global environmental change. On the one hand, population dynamics influence the environment and the global climate system through consumption-based carbon emissions. On the other hand, the health and well-being of the population are already being affected by climate change. A knowledge of population dynamics and population heterogeneity is thus fundamental to improving our understanding of how population size, composition, and distribution influence global environmental change and how these changes affect population subgroups differentially by demographic characteristics and spatial distribution. The increasing relevance of demographic research on the topic, coupled with availability of theoretical concepts and advancement in data and computing facilities, has contributed to growing engagement of demographers in this field. In the past 25 years, demographic research has enriched climate change research—with the key contribution being in moving beyond the narrow view that population matters only in terms of population size—by putting a greater emphasis on population composition and distribution, through presenting both empirical evidence and advanced population forecasting to account for demographic and spatial heterogeneity. What remains missing in the literature is research that investigates how global environmental change affects current and future demographic processes and, consequently, population trends. If global environmental change does influence fertility, mortality, and migration, then population estimates and forecasts need to adjust for climate feedback in population projections. Indisputably, this is the area of new research that directly requires expertise in population science and contribution from demographers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Journal of College of Education / Wasit is the property of Republic of Iraq Ministry of Higher Education & Scientific Research (MOHESR) and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

This article describes the conditions of the source of running water around the Thimphu Valley, where recent urbanization has resulted in a significant degradation of the natural environment. The population of Thimphu City, the capital, increased by approximately 40% from 2005 to 2017 owing to rural-urban migration mainly consisting of the younger generation looking for jobs. According to an analysis of the Population and Housing Census, the present population growth rate in Thimphu is moderate compared to other urban towns and its primacy is not significant in terms of national rank-size distribution. However, the capital retains a higher concentration of the workforce especially in the economic sectors of finance, public administration, health service and accommodation/food service because it is home to financial institutions, government offices including medical facilities, international organizations, and business establishments. Population growth is mainly observed in those aged in their 20s and early 30s who migrate from rural areas to work as civil servants and employees of business establishments such as retail shops, hotels, and restaurants (especially female workers) as well as domestic and foreign day laborers in the construction sector. The rapid urbanization began around 2005 following the completion of the Babesa-Thimphu Expressway from the southern entrance of the city. Urbanization was observed mostly in Lungtengphu Local Area Plan (LAP) before 2010 and gradually shifted to Simtokha and Babesa LAPs during the mid-2010s. The water sources for the capital Thimphu, including the main Thimphu river and springs, were identified and subjected to a water quality analysis. The results of the analysis are summarized as follows, including the water quality characteristics and its formation factors. 1) In terms of quality, the river and spring waters in the Thimphu Valley can be classified into two types; the Ca–HCO3 type, which contains more dissolved elements, and the (Na+Ca)–HCO3 type, which contains less dissolved elements. 2) The Ca–HCO3 type with more dissolved elements represents the waters of the main stream of the Thimphu River, where carbonate rocks are found in the watershed, and spring #14. The water of spring #3 has a high concentration of SiO2, suggesting that this groundwater is originated in Higher Himalayan Metamorphic Rocks after a long residence time. 3) The (Na+Ca)–HCO3 type with less dissolved elements represents the waters of small tributaries in the valley of Thimphu, where Higher Himalayan Metamorphic Rocks are widely found. The running water for Thimphu City shares the same characteristics with these river waters because they are its main source. 4) The correlation (R=0.826) between the concentrations of Cl− and NO3−, both of which are derived from human activities, implies that household wastewater is one of the main contributing factors affecting stream water quality when the upper part of water source runs through a built-up area and human settlement. 5) The spring water which is believed holy owing to its beneficial effects on gastrointestinal disease clearly has different qualitative characteristics from the river water utilized as running water in the city. The holy spring water may have some beneficial effects on human physical function owing to its distinct characteristics that differ from normal drinking water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In recent years, a range of novel smartphone-derived data streams about human mobility have become available on a near-real-time basis. These data have been used, for example, to perform traffic forecasting and epidemic modeling. During the COVID-19 pandemic in particular, human travel behavior has been considered a key component of epidemiological modeling to provide more reliable estimates about the volumes of the pandemic's importation and transmission routes, or to identify hot spots. However, nearly universally in the literature, the representativeness of these data, how they relate to the underlying real-world human mobility, has been overlooked. This disconnect between data and reality is especially relevant in the case of socially disadvantaged minorities., Objective: The objective of this study is to illustrate the nonrepresentativeness of data on human mobility and the impact of this nonrepresentativeness on modeling dynamics of the epidemic. This study systematically evaluates how real-world travel flows differ from census-based estimations, especially in the case of socially disadvantaged minorities, such as older adults and women, and further measures biases introduced by this difference in epidemiological studies., Methods: To understand the demographic composition of population movements, a nationwide mobility data set from 318 million mobile phone users in China from January 1 to February 29, 2020, was curated. Specifically, we quantified the disparity in the population composition between actual migrations and resident composition according to census data, and shows how this nonrepresentativeness impacts epidemiological modeling by constructing an age-structured SEIR (Susceptible-Exposed-Infected- Recovered) model of COVID-19 transmission., Results: We found a significant difference in the demographic composition between those who travel and the overall population. In the population flows, 59% (n=20,067,526) of travelers are young and 36% (n=12,210,565) of them are middle-aged (P<.001), which is completely different from the overall adult population composition of China (where 36% of individuals are young and 40% of them are middle-aged). This difference would introduce a striking bias in epidemiological studies: the estimation of maximum daily infections differs nearly 3 times, and the peak time has a large gap of 46 days., Conclusions: The difference between actual migrations and resident composition strongly impacts outcomes of epidemiological forecasts, which typically assume that flows represent underlying demographics. Our findings imply that it is necessary to measure and quantify the inherent biases related to nonrepresentativeness for accurate epidemiological surveillance and forecasting., (©Chuchu Liu, Petter Holme, Sune Lehmann, Wenchuan Yang, Xin Lu. Originally published in JMIR Formative Research (https://formative.jmir.org), 28.06.2024.)

Aim. This study was designed for the determination of the priority directions of the reduction of the population mortality of the Yamalo-Nenets autonomous district and the estimation of the place of death from certain major groups of death causes in total mortality in the Yamal-Nenets autonomous district for the period of 1993−2016.Materials and methods. There was performed the analysis of the dynamics of death rates and the number of deaths depending on the sex, age group, locality and causes of death.Results. The change in the sex and age structure of the population due to the natural aging and migration movements (the decrease in the proportion of the population younger than 20 years by 8.38% and the increase of the proportion of the population older than 60 years by 4.62% of the total population) had a major influence on the dynamics of the change in death rates of the population. The most significant causes of death in 2016 were: in men − cardiovascular diseases, external causes of death, neoplasms; in women − cardiovascular diseases, neoplasms, external causes of death. The primary directions of reducing the mortality of the population of the YNAO can be determined by the most significant groups of causes of death: cardiovascular diseases of the population; diseases of the digestive system; neoplasms of the digestive, respiratory and genital organs; infant mortality due to infections (with the exception of respiratory infections) and circulatory problems; deaths due to alcohol-related causes.Conclusion. The obtained results can form the basis for management measures to reduce mortality in the Yamalo-Nenets Autonomous District.

The aim of the study was to investigate the regulatory effect of monocytes and their subpopulations on the population composition of granulocyte leukocytes and the state of their respiratory burst in widespread purulent peritonitis (WPP). The study involved 24 patients aged 30-65 with acute surgical diseases and injuries of abdominal organs complicated by WPP. As a control 25 relatively healthy people of the same age range were examined. A study of the population composition of monocytes and granulocyte leukocytes in blood was performed using a two-platform technology on the hematological analyzer Sysmex XE-5000 (Sysmex Inc., USA) and FC-500 flow cytometer (Beckman Coulter, USA) using the Cytodiff antibody kit (Beckman Coulter, USA). A study of the monocytes number expressing HLA-DR- and CD64-receptor was performed by flow cytometry using direct immunofluorescence of whole peripheral blood. The respiratory burst state of neutrophilic granulocytes was studied by chemiluminescence analysis on a 36-channel chemiluminescence analyzer BLM-3607 (MedBioTech, Russia). As indicators of chemiluminescence were used luminol and lucigenin. The enhancement of chemiluminescence induced by zymosan was evaluated by the ratio of the area of the induced chemiluminescence to the spontaneous area and was defined as the activation index. It has been established that the immune-inflammatory process in WPP is characterized by a decrease in the number of classical monocytes in the peripheral blood and an increase in the content of non-classical monocytes. In WPP in peripheral blood the level of monocytes expressing HLA-DR receptors decreases. The change in the ratio of monocytes subpopulations characterizes the increase in the role of the proinflammatory fraction in the WPP pathogenesis. Changes in the population composition of granulocytes in the blood in patients with WPP also characterize the development of an acute inflammatory process. In this case, there is a decrease in the number of basophils in the peripheral blood, which, apparently, is determined by the presence of an allergic component in WPP and, accordingly, their migration to the inflammation area. In patients with WPP activation of a respiratory burst of granulocytes of blood was detected, the intensity of which is determined by the synthesis of primary and secondary active oxygen species. The results of the correlation analysis made it possible to establish that in WPP the regulatory role of non-classical monocytes increases aimed at stimulating the inflammatory processes (an increase in the number of mature and immature forms of neutrophils and stimulation of the activity of a respiratory explosion of granulocytes). The revealed features of the regulatory effect of monocytes on the population composition and the intensity of the respiratory burst of granulocytes can be used in the development of immunotherapeutic methods aimed at reducing the activity of the inflammatory process in WPP.

The objectives of this study were to select morphological keys for the identification of individual endangered long-tailed gorals through analysis of photographic data and to use these morphological keys to determine the number and population composition of gorals living in the Osaek Region of Seoraksan National Park. Amongst 8149 photos taken using 73 cameras in the Osaek Region, 2057 photos of faces and horns were analysed. The presence and absence of horns, shape of the horns, proportion of the ring to the length of the horn and facial colour pattern were selected as morphological keys to identify individual gorals. To verify the accuracy of the morphological keys for identifying gorals, a blind test was performed on gorals residing in the sanctuary of the Yanggu Goral Restoration Center. The test revealed that the population and age of gorals were discerned correctly by the morphological keys, but there was a 12.5% error in discriminating between sexes in gorals aged over 10 years. Fifty-six gorals were identified from 2057 pictures, based on the morphological keys and methods developed in this study. The population of 56 individuals consisted of 43 individuals aged over 2 years (subadult or adult) and 13 offspring aged less than 2 years, with a ratio of 3.3:1. Of the total 56 individuals, 45% were adults aged 10 years or older, 18% were adults aged 3-10 years, 7% were subadults aged 2-3 years, 23% were offspring aged less than 2 years and 7% were individuals aged 2 years or older, whose age and sex could not be confirmed. The sex ratio of males to females was 1.17:1, with a corrected sex ratio of 1:1 considering the 12.5% error rate for gorals aged over 10 years, amongst the 39 gorals aged over 2 years. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study has been focused on the population composition dynamics and trophic relationships of Simocephalus vetulus (O.F. Müller, 1776) in the absence of the food stress of ichthyofauna in flow-through ecosystems in Patriarshie Prudy pond. The role of S. vetulus species in the plant-eating zooplankton, the suppression of blooming, and the preservation of high water transparency have been assessed. The largest daily consumption of edible phytoplankton biomass by zooplankton under flowage has been shown to be 102.96 mg/L in late August at maximal biomass and dominating S. vetulus (up to 99.8% of the biomass of plant-eating zooplankton). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copepods are one of the most abundant and diverse live food sources for mesopelagic and bathypelagic fishes and crustaceans. They could contribute to the overlap of the transition period from live feed to an artificial weaning diet in marine larvae production. However, the culture conditions still need optimization to provide sufficient production to cover the increasing demand for marine hatcheries. Therefore, the present study investigated the effects of different salinity levels (5, 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30 ppt) on the population growth, growth rate, and population composition (males, females, copepodite, and nauplii ratio) of the marine copepod, Oithona nana. The experiment continued for 15 days, under laboratory-controlled conditions of temperature (27 ± 1 °C), pH (7.7 ± 0.15), and continuous gentle aeration in 30 L glass aquaria. The copepod culture aquaria were supplemented with a mixture of soybean and yeast (0.5 g 10−6 individual−1 24-h−1) as a feed source. The highest significant population growth and population growth rate of O. nana were achieved with a salinity level of 20 ppt. Regarding population composition, O. nana cultured at the salinity level of 20 ppt recorded the highest significant percentages of copepodite and nauplii. The results concluded that copepod, O. nana, is capable of withstanding abrupt changes in the salinity, but there are limits to their tolerance, with an optimal salinity level of 20 ppt. This salinity level achieved the highest population growth and the highest percentages of copepodite and nauplii of marine Copepoda, O. nana.

An ischnoceran louse, Companulotes bidentatus compar infesting blue rock pigeon was encountered on 48.6% pigeons of Meerut region during the year 2017. The population levels of C. bidentatus compar were noted (prevalence - 48.6%; mean intensity of infestation - 10.3/pigeon; sample mean abundance - 16.1/pigeon; and range of infestation - 1-19). The pattern of frequency distribution was skewed/clumped and failed to conform to the frequencies expected by the negative binomial model. An analysis of the data of louse load of C. bidentatus compar indicated sex ratio skewed in favor of female 1:1.6. The adult, nymph ratio remained 1:1.7 and ratio of the first, second, and third instar nymph was 1:1.2:1.4. The mean monthly prevalence of C. bidentatus compar shows significant correlation with mean monthly temperature and mean monthly photoperiod. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent studies have shown contradictory associations between calcium levels and health outcomes. We suspected these conflicting results were the consequence of more general issues with how biomarkers are analyzed in epidemiological studies, particularly in the context of aging. To demonstrate the risks of typical analyses, we used three longitudinal aging cohort studies and their demographic subsets to analyze how calcium levels change with age and predict risk of mortality and frailty. We show that calcium levels either increase or decrease with age depending on the population, and positively or negatively predict frailty depending on the population and analysis; both age and frailty results showed substantial heterogeneity. Mortality analyses revealed few significant associations but were likely underpowered. Variation in population composition (demographics, diseases, diet, etc.) leads to contradictory findings in the literature for calcium and likely for other biomarkers. Epidemiological studies of biomarkers are particularly sensitive to population composition both because biomarkers generally have non-linear and often non-monotonic relationships with other key variables, notably age and health outcomes, and because there is strong interdependence among biomarkers, which are integrated into complex regulatory networks. Consequently, most biomarkers have multiple physiological roles and are implicated in multiple pathologies. We argue that epidemiological studies of aging using biomarkers must account for these factors, and suggest methods to do this. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Pelophylax esculentus is a vertebrate animal with hemiclonal heredity, attracting the interest of many reproductive and evolutionary biologists. It is a hybrid between P. ridibundus and P. lessonae. These three taxa form the so-called Pelophylax esculentus complex with a population structure usually comprising a hybrid taxa and one parental species. Data on population types at the southernmost distribution area of their sympatry are rare. Here we sampled five sites in inland Croatia in order to analyse the population structure, sex ratio and age structure. The individual genotypes of 93 randomly collected water frogs were verified with allozyme markers for three species-specific polymorphic loci. In order to estimate population age structure, the annual growth rate (skeletochronology) and growth index profiles were also investigated. The growth index profiles were analysed by an estimation of number of lines of arrested growth visible in the cross-section of femur bones. Our results revealed the presence of the R-E-L population with a dominance of P. esculentus. Pelophylax ridibundus was the least abundant taxon but with a relatively high age estimate of eight years on average. Its annual growth rate did not differ from the remaining two species. Gene introgression of mostly ridibundus alleles was also observed in hybrids. Most profiles of gonads in hybrids showed presence of both parental genomes with dominance of ridibundus alleles. The study area represents one of the southernmost distributions of the hybrid taxon in Europe, making it attractive to study gene flow and impact of P. esculentus on P. ridibundus, a typical water frog representative of the Balkan Peninsula. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To assess the incidence of early blight/brown spot (EB/BS) in Flanders (Belgium), potato fields in 22 locations were monitored and scored over the duration of the growing seasons 2014 and 2015. The average disease incidence was shown to be higher in 2014 than in 2015. Soil type, rainfall and temperature were also analysed in relation to disease incidence. In 2014, potato plants grown in sandy soils had more EB/BS disease than those grown in clay or loamy soils. However, the low disease incidence in 2015 meant that differences in disease levels between soil types could not be discerned for that growing season. A windowpane analysis demonstrated that rainfall and humidity accounted for the differences in disease incidence between the two growing seasons. During the course of the survey, the species composition in leaves with symptoms was assessed using real‐time PCR. Remarkably, small‐spored Alternaria species, such as A. alternata and A. arborescens, rather than the more virulent A. solani were the predominant species on potato leaves throughout the growing season. As the disease progressed, the proportion of A. solani increased. In view of these results, the virulence of a collected set of Alternaria isolates was assessed by an in vitro assay. Despite A. solani being more virulent than A. alternata or A. arborescens, the most abundant species isolated from potato leaves with symptoms was A. arborescens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Icelandic Society / Íslenska þjóðfélagið is the property of Icelandic Sociological Association and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

The advent of massive parallel sequencing technologies has opened up possibilities for the study of the bacterial diversity of ecosystems without the need for enrichment or single strain isolation. By exploiting 78 genome data-sets from Lactobacillus helveticus strains, we found that the slpH locus that encodes a putative surface layer protein displays sufficient genetic heterogeneity to be a suitable target for strain typing. Based on high-throughput slpH gene sequencing and the detection of single-base DNA sequence variations, we established a culture-independent method to assess the biodiversity of the L. helveticus strains present in fermented dairy food. When we applied the method to study the L. helveticus strain composition in 15 natural whey cultures (NWCs) that were collected at different Gruyère, a protected designation of origin (PDO) production facilities, we detected a total of 10 sequence types (STs). In addition, we monitored the development of a three-strain mix in raclette cheese for 17 weeks.

Abstract Females from polymorphic species could theoretically benefit by adjusting offspring morph composition, since morphs often differ in ecological and behavioral traits, and may be differentially susceptible to environmental conditions. Although offspring sex ratio adjustments have been increasingly supported, whether, and in which contexts, genetically determined morph ratios are adjusted has not been established. We used a long‐term dataset to examine whether broad‐scale climatic patterns characterized by teleconnection indices, population composition, and other environmental factors affect offspring sex‐morph ratios in the white‐throated sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis), a species with chromosomal morph determination. We predicted that females might overproduce the underrepresented sex or morph, since pairing is disassortative by morph, and might also produce more white morph male offspring given favorable climatic conditions, because white males (WMs) are large, promiscuous, and expensive to produce. The proportion of WM‐by‐tan female breeding pairs and recruitment of WMs declined following winters with high Pacific North American teleconnection indices, and females of both morphs produced more WM offspring after these relatively cold winters. These winters and the following springs were also associated with low Southern Oscillation indices, indicating El Niño. Females of both morphs also produced fewer males late in asynchronously hatching broods. Adjustment of brood composition in response to climatically mediated changes in population composition could stabilize the white‐throated sparrow's disassortative breeding system and genetic polymorphism.

The advent of massive parallel sequencing technologies has opened up possibilities for the study of the bacterial diversity of ecosystems without the need for enrichment or single strain isolation. By exploiting 78 genome data-sets from Lactobacillus helveticus strains, we found that the slpH locus that encodes a putative surface layer protein displays sufficient genetic heterogeneity to be a suitable target for strain typing. Based on high-throughput slpH gene sequencing and the detection of single-base DNA sequence variations, we established a culture-independent method to assess the biodiversity of the L. helveticus strains present in fermented dairy food. When we applied the method to study the L. helveticus strain composition in 15 natural whey cultures (NWCs) that were collected at different Gruyère, a protected designation of origin (PDO) production facilities, we detected a total of 10 sequence types (STs). In addition, we monitored the development of a three-strain mix in raclette cheese for 17 weeks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Females from polymorphic species could theoretically benefit by adjusting offspring morph composition, since morphs often differ in ecological and behavioral traits, and may be differentially susceptible to environmental conditions. Although offspring sex ratio adjustments have been increasingly supported, whether, and in which contexts, genetically determined morph ratios are adjusted has not been established. We used a long-term dataset to examine whether broad-scale climatic patterns characterized by teleconnection indices, population composition, and other environmental factors affect offspring sexmorph ratios in the white-throated sparrow (Zonotrichia albicollis), a species with chromosomal morph determination. We predicted that females might overproduce the underrepresented sex or morph, since pairing is disassortative by morph, and might also produce more white morph male offspring given favorable climatic conditions, because white males (WMs) are large, promiscuous, and expensive to produce. The proportion of WM-by-tan female breeding pairs and recruitment of WMs declined following winters with high Pacific North American teleconnection indices, and females of both morphs produced more WM offspring after these relatively cold winters. These winters and the following springs were also associated with low Southern Oscillation indices, indicating El Ni~no. Females of both morphs also produced fewer males late in asynchronously hatching broods. Adjustment of brood composition in response to climatically mediated changes in population composition could stabilize the white-throated sparrow's disassortative breeding system and genetic polymorphism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of IUG Journal of Humanitarian Research is the property of Islamic University of Gaza and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)