Temporal variation in the population characteristics of harvested wolverine (Gulo gulo) in northwestern Canada

2017 ◽  
Vol 44 (7) ◽  
pp. 497 ◽  
Author(s):  
Piia M. Kukka ◽  
Thomas S. Jung ◽  
Jean-François Robitaille ◽  
Fiona K. A. Schmiegelow
Keyword(s):  
Age Structure ◽  
Demographic Data ◽  
Population Data ◽  
Population Characteristics ◽  
Late Winter ◽  
Early Winter ◽  
Gulo Gulo ◽  
Age Cohorts ◽  
Harvest Sustainability ◽  
The Impact

Context Wolverines (Gulo gulo) are harvested for fur in northern Canada; however, the impacts of harvest are poorly known. Additionally, wolverine population data are largely absent for much of their northern range. Demographic data collected from harvested wolverines provide information on the vulnerability and variability of different sex and age cohorts to harvest, which, in turn, may have implications for harvest sustainability. Aims We examined the temporal variability of different sex and age cohorts in wolverine harvest among years, and within the harvest season, in Yukon, Canada. We also examined the pregnancy status of female wolverines in relation to the harvest date, so as to evaluate the impact of the harvest-season length on breeding wolverines. Methods We determined the sex and age composition of harvested wolverines via dissections of 655 carcasses collected from 2005 to 2014. We determined the reproductive status and fetal measurements for female wolverines via dissections of reproductive tracts. Key results The harvest consisted mostly of males, particularly of young individuals. The sex ratio of harvested animals did not fluctuate significantly, but we observed variation in the age structure among years. The age structure varied within the harvest season (November to March), with a greater proportion of adults being harvested in late winter. Active gestation was evident in females harvested after mid-January, and near-term or postpartum females were harvested during late February and March. Conclusions Late winter harvest is likely to have a more significant impact on populations than is early winter harvest, because of increased harvest of adults and breeding females. Wolverine harvest season extends to the onset of the denning season in late February and March, indicating a concern for ethical harvest. Implications Limiting the legal harvest season to early winter may contribute to improved harvest sustainability and protection of breeding wolverines in northern latitudes.

scholarly journals Advances in mapping population and demographic characteristics at small-area levels

2020 ◽  
Vol 49 (Supplement_1) ◽  
pp. i15-i25
Author(s):  
Daniela Fecht ◽  
Samantha Cockings ◽  
Susan Hodgson ◽  
Frédéric B Piel ◽  
David Martin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Big Data ◽  
Small Area ◽  
Census Data ◽  
Economic Status ◽  
Demographic Data ◽  
Population Data ◽  
Demographic Characteristics ◽  
Population Characteristics ◽  
Population Census ◽  
The Us

Abstract Temporally and spatially highly resolved information on population characteristics, including demographic profile (e.g. age and sex), ethnicity and socio-economic status (e.g. income, occupation, education), are essential for observational health studies at the small-area level. Time-relevant population data are critical as denominators for health statistics, analytics and epidemiology, to calculate rates or risks of disease. Demographic and socio-economic characteristics are key determinants of health and important confounders in the relationship between environmental contaminants and health. In many countries, census data have long been the source of small-area population denominators and confounder information. A strength of the traditional census model has been its careful design and high level of population coverage, allowing high-quality detailed data to be released for small areas periodically, e.g. every 10 years. The timeliness of data, however, becomes a challenge when temporally and spatially highly accurate annual (or even more frequent) data at high spatial resolution are needed, for example, for health surveillance and epidemiological studies. Additionally, the approach to collecting demographic population information is changing in the era of open and big data and may eventually evolve to using combinations of administrative and other data, supplemented by surveys. We discuss different approaches to address these challenges including (i) the US American Community Survey, a rolling sample of the US population census, (ii) the use of spatial analysis techniques to compile temporally and spatially high-resolution demographic data and (iii) the use of administrative and big data sources as proxies for demographic characteristics.

scholarly journals Age structure of elephants in Liwonde National Park, Malawi

Koedoe ◽  
1997 ◽  
Vol 40 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Bhima ◽  
J. Du P. Bothma
Keyword(s):  
Age Structure ◽  
National Park ◽  
First Year ◽  
Severe Drought ◽  
Age Cohorts ◽  
Prolonged Drought ◽  
Elephant Population ◽  
Photogrammetric Method ◽  
The Impact ◽  
First Time

The age structure of the elephant population in Liwonde National Park, Malawi was determined for the first time in 1993 and again in 1995 using the photogrammetric method. Sampling was done during a four year-long severe drought from 1991/92 to 1994/95. The drought reached its highest intensity in the first year. Therefore, the study also attempted to assess the impact of the drought on the population. The results show that the population consisted of mostly young animals <5 years old (52.6 and 44.8 in 1993 and 1995, respectively). The other age cohorts were as follows: 6-10 years old - 16.1 and 21.7 ; 11-15 years old - 7.8 and 9.2 ; 16-20 years old - 5.2 and 4.7 ; and >20 years old - 18.3 and 20.5 . The population is young and growing. The prolonged drought did not have any significant impact on the population.

Abundance, social organization, and population trend of the arctic wolf in north and east Greenland during 1978–1998

2009 ◽  
Vol 87 (10) ◽  
pp. 895-901 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ulf Marquard-Petersen
Keyword(s):  
North America ◽  
Social Organization ◽  
Prey Availability ◽  
Population Trend ◽  
Population Characteristics ◽  
The Arctic ◽  
Late Winter ◽  
Early Winter ◽  
North Central ◽  
East Greenland

Abundance, social organization, and population trend of the arctic wolf ( Canis lupus arctos Pocock, 1935) in north and east Greenland, 1978–1998, were determined from 353 sightings of 552 wolves by the Danish military, by expeditions, and from 8 consecutive years (1991–1998) of fieldwork. Available evidence suggested that this wolf population consisted of up to 55 wolves in favorable times. Six core packs were identified. Maximum wolf density was estimated at 1 wolf/3745 km2, which appears to be the lowest wolf density reported, representing 3.5% of maximum late winter wolf density in Denali Park, Alaska, and <1% of that in north-central Minnesota. Social organization was characterized by a preponderance of pairs and lone wolves. Mean early winter pack size was 2.6 wolves/pack; the lowest reported for wolves in North America. Packs >4 wolves were rare, constituting 3.8% of early winter sightings. The population increased, on average, 8% per year during the period 1978–1991 and appeared to reach a peak in 1991–1992. These depressed population characteristics are likely the consequence of the lowest ungulate prey availability in North America, e.g., 2.6% of that of wolves in northeastern Minnesota.

Distinct impacts of ENSO on haze pollution in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region between early and late winters

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-66
Author(s):  
Wei Zhao ◽  
Shangfeng Chen ◽  
Hengde Zhang ◽  
Jikang Wang ◽  
Wen Chen ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Indian Ocean ◽  
Northeast Asia ◽  
Tropical Indian Ocean ◽  
Late Winter ◽  
Early Winter ◽  
Atmospheric Teleconnection ◽  
Atmospheric Heating ◽  
Anticyclonic Anomaly ◽  
Haze Pollution ◽  
The Impact

AbstractThe Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei (BTH) region has encountered increasingly severe and frequent haze pollution during recent decades. This study reveals that the El Niño–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) has distinctive impacts on interannual variations of haze pollution over BTH in early and late winters. The impact of ENSO on the haze pollution over the BTH is strong in early winter, but weak in late winter. In early winter, ENSO-related sea surface temperature anomalies generate double-cell Walker circulation anomalies, with upward motion anomalies over the tropical central-eastern Pacific and tropical Indian Ocean, and downward motion anomalies over tropical western Pacific. The ascending motion and enhanced atmospheric heating anomalies over the tropical Indian Ocean trigger atmospheric teleconnection propagating from North Indian Ocean to East Asia, and result in generation of an anticyclonic anomaly over northeast Asia. The associated southerly anomalies to the west side lead to more serious haze pollution via reducing surface wind speed and increasing low-level humidity and thermal inversion. Strong contribution of the Indian Ocean heating anomalies to the formation of the anticyclonic anomaly over northeast Asia in early winter can be confirmed by atmospheric model numerical experiments. In late winter, vertical motion and precipitation anomalies are weak over tropical Indian Ocean related to ENSO. As such, ENSO cannot induce clear anticyclonic anomaly over northeast Asia via atmospheric teleconnection, and thus has a weak impact on the haze pollution over BTH. Further analysis shows that stronger ENSO-induced atmospheric heating anomalies over tropical Indian Ocean in early winter is partially due to higher mean SST and precipitation there.

scholarly journals Understanding and responding to COVID-19 in Wales: protocol for a privacy-protecting data platform for enhanced epidemiology and evaluation of interventions

BMJ Open ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (10) ◽  
pp. e043010
Author(s):  
Jane Lyons ◽  
Ashley Akbari ◽  
Fatemeh Torabi ◽  
Gareth I Davies ◽  
Laura North ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Policy Development ◽  
Healthcare Utilisation ◽  
Population Data ◽  
Population Level ◽  
Risk Groups ◽  
Service Utilisation ◽  
Natural Experiments ◽  
Spread Of Infection ◽  
The Impact

IntroductionThe emergence of the novel respiratory SARS-CoV-2 and subsequent COVID-19 pandemic have required rapid assimilation of population-level data to understand and control the spread of infection in the general and vulnerable populations. Rapid analyses are needed to inform policy development and target interventions to at-risk groups to prevent serious health outcomes. We aim to provide an accessible research platform to determine demographic, socioeconomic and clinical risk factors for infection, morbidity and mortality of COVID-19, to measure the impact of COVID-19 on healthcare utilisation and long-term health, and to enable the evaluation of natural experiments of policy interventions.Methods and analysisTwo privacy-protecting population-level cohorts have been created and derived from multisourced demographic and healthcare data. The C20 cohort consists of 3.2 million people in Wales on the 1 January 2020 with follow-up until 31 May 2020. The complete cohort dataset will be updated monthly with some individual datasets available daily. The C16 cohort consists of 3 million people in Wales on the 1 January 2016 with follow-up to 31 December 2019. C16 is designed as a counterfactual cohort to provide contextual comparative population data on disease, health service utilisation and mortality. Study outcomes will: (a) characterise the epidemiology of COVID-19, (b) assess socioeconomic and demographic influences on infection and outcomes, (c) measure the impact of COVID-19 on short -term and longer-term population outcomes and (d) undertake studies on the transmission and spatial spread of infection.Ethics and disseminationThe Secure Anonymised Information Linkage-independent Information Governance Review Panel has approved this study. The study findings will be presented to policy groups, public meetings, national and international conferences, and published in peer-reviewed journals.

scholarly journals Detection of diarrhoea associated rotavirus and co-infection with diarrhoeagenic pathogens in the Littoral region of Cameroon using ELISA, RT-PCR and Luminex xTAG GPP assays

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rahinatou N. Ghapoutsa ◽  
Maurice Boda ◽  
Rashi Gautam ◽  
Valantine Ngum Ndze ◽  
Akongnwi E. Mugyia ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Demographic Data ◽  
Laboratory Diagnosis ◽  
Epidemiological Studies ◽  
Sub Saharan Africa ◽  
Rt Pcr ◽  
Mortality And Morbidity ◽  
Vaccine Introduction ◽  
Littoral Region ◽  
Rotavirus Vaccines ◽  
The Impact

Abstract Background Despite the global roll-out of rotavirus vaccines (RotaTeq/Rotarix / ROTAVAC/Rotasiil), mortality and morbidity due to group A rotavirus (RVA) remains high in sub-Saharan Africa, causing 104,000 deaths and 600,000 hospitalizations yearly. In Cameroon, Rotarix™ was introduced in March 2014, but, routine laboratory diagnosis of rotavirus infection is not yet a common practice, and vaccine effectiveness studies to determine the impact of vaccine introduction have not been done. Thus, studies examining RVA prevalence post vaccine introduction are needed. The study aim was to determine RVA prevalence in severe diarrhoea cases in Littoral region, Cameroon and investigate the role of other diarrheagenic pathogens in RVA-positive cases. Methods We carried out a study among hospitalized children < 5 years of age, presenting with acute gastroenteritis in selected hospitals of the Littoral region of Cameroon, from May 2015 to April 2016. Diarrheic stool samples and socio-demographic data including immunization and breastfeeding status were collected from these participating children. Samples were screened by ELISA (ProSpecT™ Rotavirus) for detection of RVA antigen and by gel-based RT-PCR for detection of the VP6 gene. Co-infection was assessed by multiplexed molecular detection of diarrheal pathogens using the Luminex xTAG GPP assay. Results The ELISA assay detected RVA antigen in 54.6% (71/130) of specimens, with 45, positive by VP6 RT-PCR and 54, positive using Luminex xTAG GPP. Luminex GPP was able to detect all 45 VP6 RT-PCR positive samples. Co-infections were found in 63.0% (34/54) of Luminex positive RVA infections, with Shigella (35.3%; 12/34) and ETEC (29.4%; 10/34) detected frequently. Of the 71 ELISA positive RVA cases, 57.8% (41/71) were fully vaccinated, receiving two doses of Rotarix. Conclusion This study provides insight on RVA prevalence in Cameroon, which could be useful for post-vaccine epidemiological studies, highlights higher than expected RVA prevalence in vaccinated children hospitalized for diarrhoea and provides the trend of RVA co-infection with other enteric pathogens. RVA genotyping is needed to determine circulating rotavirus genotypes in Cameroon, including those causing disease in vaccinated children.

Systematic benchmark of ancient DNA read mapping

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adrien Oliva ◽  
Raymond Tobler ◽  
Alan Cooper ◽  
Bastien Llamas ◽  
Yassine Souilmi
Keyword(s):  
Ancient Dna ◽  
Dna Sequences ◽  
Population Genetic ◽  
Reference Genome ◽  
Population Data ◽  
Human Populations ◽  
Current Standard ◽  
Read Mapping ◽  
Reference Bias ◽  
The Impact

Abstract The current standard practice for assembling individual genomes involves mapping millions of short DNA sequences (also known as DNA ‘reads’) against a pre-constructed reference genome. Mapping vast amounts of short reads in a timely manner is a computationally challenging task that inevitably produces artefacts, including biases against alleles not found in the reference genome. This reference bias and other mapping artefacts are expected to be exacerbated in ancient DNA (aDNA) studies, which rely on the analysis of low quantities of damaged and very short DNA fragments (~30–80 bp). Nevertheless, the current gold-standard mapping strategies for aDNA studies have effectively remained unchanged for nearly a decade, during which time new software has emerged. In this study, we used simulated aDNA reads from three different human populations to benchmark the performance of 30 distinct mapping strategies implemented across four different read mapping software—BWA-aln, BWA-mem, NovoAlign and Bowtie2—and quantified the impact of reference bias in downstream population genetic analyses. We show that specific NovoAlign, BWA-aln and BWA-mem parameterizations achieve high mapping precision with low levels of reference bias, particularly after filtering out reads with low mapping qualities. However, unbiased NovoAlign results required the use of an IUPAC reference genome. While relevant only to aDNA projects where reference population data are available, the benefit of using an IUPAC reference demonstrates the value of incorporating population genetic information into the aDNA mapping process, echoing recent results based on graph genome representations.

The cost-effectiveness of one-time opportunistic screening for atrial fibrillation in different age cohorts of inhabitants in Denmark aged 65 years and above: a Markov modelled analysis

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lucca Katrine Sciera ◽  
Lars Frost ◽  
Lars Dybro ◽  
Peter Bo Poulsen
Keyword(s):  
Atrial Fibrillation ◽  
General Practice ◽  
Cost Effectiveness ◽  
Incremental Cost ◽  
Population Data ◽  
National Registry ◽  
Opportunistic Screening ◽  
Age Cohorts ◽  
Life Years ◽  
The Cost

Abstract Aims The objective was to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of one-time opportunistic screening for atrial fibrillation (AF) in general practice in citizens aged ≥65 years in Denmark compared to a no-screening alternative following current Danish practice. Methods and results A decision tree and a Markov model were designed to simulate costs and quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) in a hypothetical cohort of citizens aged ≥65 years equivalent to the Danish population (1 M citizens) over the course of 19 years, using a healthcare and societal perspective. Share of detected AF patients following opportunistic screening was retrieved from a recent Danish screening study, whereas the risk stroke and bleedings in AF patients were based on population data from national registries and their associated costs was obtained from published national registry studies. The present study showed that one-time opportunistic screening for AF was more costly, but also more effective compared to a no-screening alternative. The analysis predicts that one-time opportunistic screening of all Danes aged ≥65 years potentially can identify an additional 10 300 AF patients and prevent 856 strokes in the period considered. The incremental cost of such a screening programme is €56.4 M, with a total gain of 6000 QALYs, resulting in an incremental cost-effectiveness ratio of €9400 per QALY gained. Conclusion Opportunistic screening in general practice in citizens aged ≥65 years in Denmark is cost-effective compared to a willingness-to-pay threshold of €22 000. The study and its findings support a potential implementation of opportunistic screening for AF at the general practitioner level in Denmark.

scholarly journals A Retrospective Experience of Helicobacter pylori Histology in a Large Sample of Subjects in Northern Italy

Life ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 650
Author(s):  
Davide Giuseppe Ribaldone ◽  
Carlo Zurlo ◽  
Sharmila Fagoonee ◽  
Chiara Rosso ◽  
Angelo Armandi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Helicobacter Pylori ◽  
Large Population ◽  
Population Data ◽  
Signet Ring Cell ◽  
Current Data ◽  
Low Grade ◽  
Gastric Cardia Adenocarcinoma ◽  
Significant Difference ◽  
H Pylori ◽  
The Impact

Updated data about the prevalence of Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) and its correlation with histological results are scarce. The aim of our study was to provide current data on the impact of H. pylori in a third-level endoscopy service. We performed a large, retrospective study analyzing the results of all histological samples of gastroscopy from the year 2019. In total, 1512 subjects were included. The prevalence of H. pylori was 16.8%. A significant difference between the prevalence in subjects born in Italy and those from eastern Europe, south America, or Africa was found (p < 0.0001, p = 0.006, and p = 0.0006, respectively). An association was found between H. pylori and active superficial gastritis (p < 0.0001). Current H. pylori and/or a previous finding of H. pylori was related to antral atrophy (p < 0.0001). Fifteen patients had low-grade dysplasia. There were no statistically significant associations with current or past H. pylori infection. One patient presented gastric cardia adenocarcinoma with regular gastric mucosa. One patient, H. pylori positive, was diagnosed with gastric signet ring cell adenocarcinoma in a setting of diffuse atrophy, without metaplasia.. Our study provides updated, solid (biopsy diagnosis and large population) data on the prevalence of H. pylori infection in a representative region of southern Europe.

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