Changes In Population Structure Research Articles

Pan-genome analysis reveals genomic variations during enoki mushroom domestication, with emphasis on genetic signatures of cap color and stipe length

IntroductionThe domestication of edible mushrooms, including Flammulina filiformis, offers valuable insights into the genetic changes driven by artificial selection. Understanding these changes is crucial for uncovering the mechanisms behind genome evolution in domesticated mushrooms. ObjectivesThis study aims to investigate the population structure, genetic diversity, and domestication-related genomic changes in F. filiformis. By comparing the genome sequences of 199 wild and cultivated strains, we aim to elucidate the impact of domestication on F. filiformis. MethodsWe performed de novo genome assembly and gene-based pan-genome analysis on the 199 strains, which included both wild and cultivated strains. We also conducted genome-wide association studies (GWAS) using presence-absence variation (PAV) and SNP data, combined with RNA sequencing, to identify genes associated with domestication traits, such as cap color and stalk length. Gene functional confirmation was achieved through genetic transformation experiments. ResultsOur analysis grouped the strains into four distinct populations, which correlated with varying intensities of artificial selection. The three cultivated populations exhibited smaller genome sizes, fewer genes, lower genetic variation, reduced gene expression diversity, and lower heterozygosity compared to the wild population. The analysis revealed the loss of genes related to the beta-lactam antibiotic catabolic process and specific MAPK pathway genes during domestication, rendering domesticated strains more susceptible to diseases. Four genes closely associated with cap color and stipe length were identified, but genetic transformation experiments confirmed the functional relevance of only two (FfB and FfD) identified through PAV-based GWAS. ConclusionThis study uncovered significant genomic variations between cultivated and wild Flammulina filiformis populations, including the loss of pathogen resistance genes during domestication. We also identified key genes linked to cap color and stipe length, demonstrating for the first time the important role of PAV variation in mushroom domestication. These insights provide a foundation for future mushroom breeding and evolutionary research.

The Impact of Changes in China's Population Structure on Consumption Patterns

Consumer spending is the key engine driving economic growth in China. However, in recent years, the overall consumption pattern in China has been affected by domestic epidemics, leading to an increase in unemployment rates among residents and a decrease in consumer willingness. As a result, the annual changes in final consumption expenditure have tended to stabilize, with almost no upward trend. Consequently, numerous studies have emerged based on the current consumption situation in China, providing recommendations to promote consumption. This paper, using data from the World Bank and China's National Statistical Yearbook, conducts research on the impact of demographic changes on consumption structure and proposes relevant suggestions to boost consumption in China. Researching the development of China's population structure reveals several notable trends. These include a decrease in the working-age population accompanied by a significant aging trend, improvements in population quality due to enhanced human capital, and a noticeable trend towards urbanization and increased population mobility. Therefore, this paper provides a series of recommendations, encourages national policies and corporate innovations that promote consumption, and offers solutions to potential issues arising from changes in population structure.

The Impact of Changes in Population Structure on the Economic Development in China and the US

Abstract: China and the United States are both undergoing notable shifts in their population dynamics, marked by longer life expectancy and fewer births. This shift is resulting in population aging, with a growing proportion of elderly people compared to younger generations. Studying the impact of population changes on economic development offers valuable guidance for policymakers in China and the US. The research will utilize statistical analysis, data collection, literature review, and comparative case studies as its methodologies. And it informs effective policies in healthcare, education, retirement, and workforce planning. Both China and the United States are witnessing demographic changes marked by aging populations, impacting labor force participation, healthcare expenses, and social security outlays. And both nations confront challenges in maintaining skilled workforces and have implemented policies like fertility incentives, immigration reform, and education investments to address these issues. However, the impacts of demographic changes vary significantly between the two countries. This is due to differences in government policies and culture, such as immigration and fertility policies. Therefore, each country needs to address issues based on the actual changes in its population structure. By leveraging mutual learning and implementing tailored policies, both China and the United States can adeptly navigate demographic shifts, fostering sustainable growth and prosperity.

An Analysis of the Impact of Population Ageing on Inflation in China

Abstract: The relationship between demographic change and economic development is one of the most recent and important research topics. Researchers have found that aging will have a certain impact on inflation, but there is still a research gap and controversy on China's inflation problem. Therefore, this paper collects data on the aging process of China's population and inflation rate between 2004 and 2023 and applies graphical analysis and literature analysis to study the data to try to find a cleaner relationship. Through the research, it can be concluded that China's changing population structure has a relatively inhibitory effect on inflation and a negative effect on economic development. The reason may be that the decline in the labor force caused by population aging has a greater impact on aggregate demand than on aggregate supply. Overall, to reduce the impact of the deepening process of population aging, postponing the retirement age and developing the elderly care industry can be an effective way to boost aggregate supply growth to control the increased inflation rate.

Population and transmission dynamics model to determine WHO targets for eliminating Hepatitis C virus in Thailand.

Hepatitis C Virus is endemic to many areas of Thailand, whose population structure is tending towards older age groups as birth rate and mortality decrease. With around 790,000 cases in 2019, prevalence is still relatively high, but the World Health Organisation has called for elimination of HCV by 2030. An age structured compartmental transmission model was used to explore the effectiveness of screening strategies with respect to WHO elimination goals, as well as the effect of changing population structure on the success or failure of such strategies. Population structure did not appear to affect the timeline of elimination targets and screening individuals over the age of 30 at a high (50% per year) coverage could bring forward achievement of the incidence elimination target by four years compared to baseline (approximately 6% per year). Achievement of mortality elimination targets was not reached until after the end of the simulation (2040), and intensive screening strategies did not appear to lead to incidence elimination by 2030. The model suggested that with age-targeted screening programmes incidence elimination could be brought forward by several years. However, WHO elimination goals may not be met by 2030.

Analysis Of the Impact of China's Population Age Structure on Residential Commercial Housing Prices

With the intensification of global aging, the impact of changes in population age structure on the real estate market is becoming increasingly significant. This article aims to explore the impact of changes in China's population age structure on the prices of residential commercial housing, to provide a scientific basis for regulating the real estate market. By analyzing data from 30 provinces and cities in China from 2013 to 2022, this article finds that as aging population intensifies and the number of children decreases, both the old-age dependency ratio and the child-age dependency ratio have a negative impact on housing prices. This means that the aging society and the economic pressure of childcare may weaken the demand for home purchases. Household Saving Rate and increase in total population positively drive house prices, while the relationship between per capita income and house prices is not significant. From a regional perspective, the aging population in the eastern region has a significant effect on suppressing housing prices, while the impact is gradually evident in the central region. The western region has a smaller impact and population growth suppresses housing price increases. The study emphasizes the impact of changes in the age structure of the Chinese population on the prices of residential properties and proposes policy recommendations such as improving old-age security and optimizing the housing supply structure to promote the steady development of the real estate market.

Analyses of whole-genome sequences from 185 North American Thoroughbred horses, spanning 5 generations

Whole genome sequences (WGS) of 185 North American Thoroughbred horses were compared to quantify the number and frequency of variants, diversity of mitotypes, and autosomal runs of homozygosity (ROH). Of the samples, 82 horses were born between 1965 and 1986 (Group 1); the remaining 103, selected to maximize pedigree diversity, were born between 2000 and 2020 (Group 2). Over 14.3 million autosomal variants were identified with 4.5–5.0 million found per horse. Mitochondrial sequences associated the North American Thoroughbreds with 9 of 17 clades previously identified among diverse breeds. Individual coefficients of inbreeding, estimated from ROH, averaged 0.266 (Group 1) and 0.283 (Group 2). When SNP arrays were simulated using subsets of WGS markers, the arrays over-estimated lengths of ROH. WGS-based estimates of inbreeding were highly correlated (r > 0.98) with SNP array-based estimates, but only moderately correlated (r = 0.40) with inbreeding based on 5-generation pedigrees. On average, Group 1 horses had more heterozygous variants (P < 0.001), more total variants (P < 0.001), and lower individual inbreeding (FROH; P < 0.001) than horses in Group 2. However, the distribution of numbers of variants, allele frequency, and extent of ROH overlapped among all horses such that it was not possible to identify the group of origin of any single horse using these measures. Consequently, the Thoroughbred population would be better monitored by investigating changes in specific variants, rather than relying on broad measures of diversity. The WGS for these 185 horses is publicly available for comparison to other populations and as a foundation for modeling changes in population structure, breeding practices, or the appearance of deleterious variants.

The Dynamics Model of Cross-Regional to Enhance Economic Growth: New Empirical Evidence from Indonesia

Abstract Economic growth growth is crucial to improve community welfare in the long term. Although Indonesia’s economic growth is on an upward trend, Indonesia must remain vigilant in its relationship with the global world due to the rapidly changing and highly uncertain dynamics. Indonesia’s economic growth is also inseparable from the influence of various provinces’ economic growth, which varies due to the economic dynamics between regions. These dynamics can influence the region’s contribution to national economic growth. Therefore, identifying the important role of the determining factors of economic growth and appropriate policies in dealing with economic dynamics between regions is crucial because sustainable economic growth is also essential for improving community welfare. This study examines the determinants of Indonesia’s economic growth from a regional economic perspective, using a Dynamic Panel Data analysis model with three estimation models. The first model focuses on the primary variables of technological progress, population, and investment. The second model adds the human capital variable, while the third model further incorporates the variables of open economy, economic structure changes, and income inequality. The study utilizes data from the Indonesian Central Statistics Agency, covering 27 provinces from 2015 to 2022. The results indicate that increased technological progress, population, investment, human resources, economic openness, and economic structure changes can increase economic growth, while inequality of income harms economic growth. This research has implications that in creating determinant conditions for conducive economic growth, it needs to be carried out evenly in all provinces in Indonesia.

How Socially Sustainable Is the Institutional Care Environment in China: A Content Analysis of Media Reporting

The multiple changes in population, economy, and social structure have significantly impacted China’s traditional home-based elderly care and social welfare. The importance of institutional care is becoming increasingly prominent. One of the critical considerations for the development of institutional care is its social sustainability, which pursues the realization of human well-being and aims to bring about good quality of life. However, this issue has not received due attention. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the social sustainability of the institutional care environment. Based on stakeholder theory and content analysis, this research identified and discussed the problems of the institutional care environment mentioned in the news coverage on eight major Chinese portal websites. The results indicate that seven of the eight problems that employees, the elderly, and their relatives encounter in providing and receiving elderly care services in the institutional environment are related to social sustainability. Employees’ health and safety is a concern; they lack education and training opportunities and have been unequally treated in the employment process. The elderly’s psychological, physical, and safety needs should also be further satisfied. Unequal access to institutional care and the inaccessibility of elderly care institutions is another problem that needs to be solved urgently. These findings will help government departments and investors become aware of the issues and implement countermeasures to create a successful, socially sustainable institutional care environment. They can also provide valuable insights for the elderly and their relatives in choosing appropriate elderly care institutions.

Cancer Care in Resource-Limited Countries: Jordan as an Example.

Jordan, a lower- to middle-income country, is relatively small, but with rapidly growing population and a challenged economy. Cancer is a growing health care problem and currently ranked second, after cardiovascular diseases, as a cause of death. Jordan's national cancer registry continues to suffer from problems mostly related to long lag time in reporting, absence of outcome data, and accurate staging. The number of new patients with cancer diagnosed in Jordan is increasing at an expected, none disturbing rate, fueled by population growth, improving life expectancy, changing population structure that hosts more older population, high rate of obesity, smoking, and lack of adequate exercise. However, age-standardized rate for cancer incidence is significantly lower than Western societies, yet, mortality rate is higher. Despite efforts, cancer is still diagnosed at more advanced stages and at younger age. The Jordan breast cancer program represents a great example of opportunistic screening that led to significant downstaging of breast cancer. Efforts to evaluate the feasibility of screening programs for colorectal and lung cancers are underway. Tremendous efforts resulted in the execution of the largest clinical cancer genetics program in the region that helps identify patients and at-risk relatives for hereditary cancers. Low-resourced countries, including Jordan, will not be able to keep up with the rapidly increasing cost of cancer care. A better access to clinical trials and moving cancer care to ambulatory settings should offset some of this cost. A cancer control program that addresses all issues of cancer care from screening and early detection, through active cost-effective treatment that assures wider access to palliative care, hospice, and survivorship programs under an expanded universal health coverage, is an urgent national health priority.

The Impact of Population Shrinkage on Economic Resilience in Mountain Cities: A Case Study of Guizhou Province, China

With the recent changes in population structure and continuous urbanization, the degree of population shrinkage in mountain cities has increased, especially under the impact of the COVID-19 epidemic, and the economic development of such mountain cities has become a prominent issue. The epidemic has not only exposed the vulnerability of these cities to economic development but also aggravated the negative impact of population contraction, bringing about new challenges and pressures related to regional population development and economic resilience. This change has become an important topic in the study of mountain cities. Therefore, taking Guizhou Province as a case study, this work applies the population change rate, the entropy method, and a mediation effect model to study the spatiotemporal evolution of population shrinkage and economic resilience, and it explores how population shrinkage influences economic resilience. The results reveal the following: (1) Few counties experienced population shrinkage in Guizhou Province from 2013 to 2017, indicating a sporadic distribution pattern, whereas the degree of population shrinkage increased rapidly from 2018 to 2022, revealing an east–west symmetrical distribution pattern, with Guiyang city located on the central axis. (2) There are significant regional differences in the spatial distribution of the level of economic resilience between the two periods. Under the impact of COVID-19, from 2019 to 2022, although the overall level of economic resilience increased, the level of resilience in most counties tended to decrease. (3) Regarding the mediating effect, population shrinkage affected the level of economic resilience through general public budget expenditure, foreign trade investment, new urban employment, and GDP. The abovementioned findings are helpful for providing theoretical support and empirical guidance for the sustainable development of mountain cities in the face of population contraction, economic challenges, and promoting regional coordination.

Impact of population aging and declining birth rates on household consumption structure: Evidence from China

The age structure of a population is a crucial indicator of a country's economic development. This study analyzes the impact of population aging and declining birth rates on the household consumption structure in urban and rural China. China, the largest country by population, is selected owing to its significance in population studies. Using a fixed effects model, our findings reveal that in China, a higher proportion of youth in the population positively affects residents’ spending on survival consumption while negatively affecting developmental consumption. Conversely, a higher proportion of older adults in the population negatively affects survival consumption while positively influencing developmental consumption.Through the research in this article, it is hoped that the results can provide some reference significance for the changes in population age structure and the development of resident consumption.

Historical museum samples reveal signals of selection and drift in response to changing insecticide use in an agricultural pest moth.

In response to environmental and human-imposed selective pressures, agroecosystem pests frequently undergo rapid evolution, with some species having a remarkable capacity to rapidly develop pesticide resistance. Temporal sampling of genomic data can comprehensively capture such adaptive changes over time, for example, by elucidating allele frequency shifts in pesticide resistance loci in response to different pesticides. Here, we leveraged museum specimens spanning over a century of collections to generate temporal contrasts between pre- and post-insecticide populations of an agricultural pest moth, Helicoverpa armigera. We used targeted exon sequencing of 254 samples collected across Australia from the pre-1950s (prior to insecticide introduction) to the 1990s, encompassing decades of changing insecticide use. Our sequencing approach focused on genes that are known to be involved in insecticide resistance, environmental sensation, and stress tolerance. We found an overall lack of spatial and temporal population structure change across Australia. In some decades (e.g., 1960s and 1970s), we found a moderate reduction of genetic diversity, implying stochasticity in evolutionary trajectories due to genetic drift. Temporal genome scans showed extensive evidence of selection following insecticide use, although the majority of selected variants were low impact. Finally, alternating trajectories of allele frequency change were suggestive of potential antagonistic pleiotropy. Our results provide new insights into recent evolutionary responses in an agricultural pest and show how temporal contrasts using museum specimens can improve mechanistic understanding of rapid evolution.

Measuring changes in Plasmodium falciparum census population size in response to sequential malaria control interventions.

Here we introduce a new endpoint ″census population size″ to evaluate the epidemiology and control of Plasmodium falciparum infections, where the parasite, rather than the infected human host, is the unit of measurement. To calculate census population size, we rely on a definition of parasite variation known as multiplicity of infection (MOI var ), based on the hyper-diversity of the var multigene family. We present a Bayesian approach to estimate MOI var from sequencing and counting the number of unique DBLα tags (or DBLα types) of var genes, and derive from it census population size by summation of MOI var in the human population. We track changes in this parasite population size and structure through sequential malaria interventions by indoor residual spraying (IRS) and seasonal malaria chemoprevention (SMC) from 2012 to 2017 in an area of high-seasonal malaria transmission in northern Ghana. Following IRS, which reduced transmission intensity by > 90% and decreased parasite prevalence by ~40-50%, significant reductions in var diversity, MOI var , and population size were observed in ~2,000 humans across all ages. These changes, consistent with the loss of diverse parasite genomes, were short lived and 32-months after IRS was discontinued and SMC was introduced, var diversity and population size rebounded in all age groups except for the younger children (1-5 years) targeted by SMC. Despite major perturbations from IRS and SMC interventions, the parasite population remained very large and retained the var population genetic characteristics of a high-transmission system (high var diversity; low var repertoire similarity) demonstrating the resilience of P. falciparum to short-term interventions in high-burden countries of sub-Saharan Africa.

Aging, low fertility and household debt risk

Population aging is a typical feature of the change of population age structure in many developed countries at present, and the resulting family economic burden is an important factor causing debt risk. This paper uses the sample data of 33 economies of the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) from 1992 to 2021 to study the impact of population age structure on household debt risk and its mechanism. The study found that: First, The rising proportion of the elderly population and the elderly dependency ratio have significantly increased the household debt levels, Population aging can increase the risk of household debt by affecting the pension level, total factor productivity and worker share; second, After the economy has suffered from economic fluctuations, The impact of population aging on household debt risk has changed from nonsignificant to positively significant, Show that the economic crisis has reduced household income levels, It weakens the family's solvency; third, With the relatively sound social security system in developed economies, Higher levels of national income, As a result, the aging population has a weak effect on household debt risk. Fourth, human capital investment can alleviate the negative impact of population aging to a certain extent. The reason is that the improvement of education level will improve the living conditions of families and enhance residents' awareness of independent old-age security. The conclusions of this paper have important policy implications for deeply exploring the social consequences of aging economy and reasonably YESling the spillover of household debt risk.

Correlations among genetic, epigenetic, and phenotypic variation of Phragmites australis along latitudes

AbstractAimEstuarine vegetation routinely experiences natural tidal fluctuations and is highly vulnerable to extreme events such as heavy rainfall, leading to changes in plant population structure and adaptability. Genetic and epigenetic modifications are widely considered to be mechanisms of phenotypic variation, triggered in plants responding to extreme changing environments. However, understanding on correlations among genetic, epigenetic, and phenotypic variation of wild plant populations is still limited.LocationChina.MethodsIn this study, populations of the typical wetland clonal species Phragmites australis were selected from four estuaries along various latitudes in China. Genetic and epigenetic diversity and phenotypic variation of these populations were analysed.ResultsPhenotypic variation of P. australis populations was the highest at Yellow River Estuary and the lowest at Min River Estuary. Across all estuaries, Genetic and epigenetic diversity was strongly linear‐correlated. Genetic diversity had significant correlations with variation in reproductive traits, whereas epigenetic diversity had significant correlations with variation in growth traits. Climatic factors of mean annual temperature and precipitation, as well as soil nitrogen and phosphorus, were negatively correlated with variation in genetic diversity, epigenetic diversity, and variation in reproductive traits of P. australis populations along latitudes. Variation in growth traits was negatively correlated with soil salinity, reflecting the limiting effect of salinity on plant growth.Main ConclusionOur findings found that genetic and epigenetic variations may play different roles in phenotypic variation of P. australis populations along latitudes, the variation becomes greater when the climatic and edaphic conditions deteriorate. The findings shed new light on the adaptation and evolution of wetland plant populations along a large latitudinal scale, and may contribute to the revegetation of estuary wetlands.

Cumulative excess deaths in New Zealand in the COVID-19 era: biases from ignoring changes in population growth rates: comment

For measuring mortality and excess deaths, age standardised mortality has been an industry standard for centuries. Methods that acknowledge changes in population age structure should be used when assessing mortality.

Clonal expansion of Tn1546-like transposon-carrying vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium, a nationwide study in Taiwan, 2004-2018

ObjectivesThe prevalence of vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus faecium (VREfm) has increased significantly in Taiwan. We investigated the molecular epidemiology of clinical VREfm isolates to increase our understanding on their spread and changes in population structure over a 14-year span. MethodsA total of 1113 E. faecium isolates were collected biennially from 2004 to 2018 in Taiwan. MICs were determined by broth microdilution. Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) was performed on 229 VREfm isolates to characterize their genetic environment of vancomycin resistance and wgMLST was used to investigate their clonal relationship. ResultsAmong the 229 isolates, ST17 and ST78 predominated, especially during the later years, and their prevalences increased from 14.6% (7/48) and 25.0% (12/48) in 2004–2010 to 47.5% (87/181) and 29.8% (54/181) in 2012–2018, respectively. Four types of vanA-carrying Tn1546 variants were detected, with type 1 and type 2 predominated. Type 1 Tn1546 contained an addition of IS1251, while type 2 resembled type 1 but had an addition of IS1678. wgMLST revealed several distinct clusters of ST17 and ST78 isolates, with type 1 Tn1546-harbouring ST17-Cluster 16 being the largest and most widespread clones throughout the study years. Type 2 Tn1546-carrying ST78 became a predominant clone (Cluster 21) after 2012. Isolates within these clusters are highly similar despite being from different hospitals, regions, and study year. ConclusionThe increase of VREfm in Taiwan was attributed to horizontal transfer of vanA-carrying Tn1546 variants between different STs and spread of persistent clones. This study highlights the importance of integrating WGS into surveillance to combat antimicrobial resistance.

지역 문예회관 활성화에 미치는 영향요인 분석: 지역 특성 요인의 유의성 검증

This study aims to analyze the factors that influence the revitalization of local cultural and arts centers, which have been established to foster regional cultural development and enhance the cultural lives of local residents, within the context of past decentralization efforts and recent emphasis on balanced regional development. Specifically, the study examines the significance of various social and economic conditions affecting local area, such as population decline, regional extinction, aging populations, youth outmigration, and economic slowdown, on the revitalization of local cultural and arts centers. By investigating the causal relationship between the current limitations of local areas and the activation of local cultural and arts centers, the study seeks to propose future strategic directions for regional cultural policies to enhance the vitality of these centers. The research employs a panel regression analysis on data from 53 local cultural and arts centers in small and medium-sized cities, using performance-related data from 2016 to 2020, as detailed in the Board of Audit and Inspection's report on the Status of Population Structure Change III(Local Administration). The analysis reveals that higher operational expertise, achieved through the residency of professional performance groups and the employment of specialized personnel for performance planning and related projects, as well as higher operational capacity for hosting and planning both fine and popular art performances, positively impact the revitalization of local cultural and arts centers. However, regional characteristics were found to have no significant causal relationship with the activation of local cultural and arts centers. Consequently, to enhance the activation of cultural and arts facilities, including local cultural and arts centers, local areas should not remain constrained by their current physical limitations or social and economic issues. Instead, efforts should focus on developing regional culture through the branding of cultural and arts facilities, facilitated by necessary changes in systems and policies that allow for the continuous infusion of professional personnel and high-quality art programs into local cultural and arts centers.

The Impact of Low Fertility Rate on Education in China and Its Countermeasures

The change of China's population structure is bound to have a great impact on China's education field. This change has put forward higher requirements for the country's economic and social development. Research on the impact of China's low fertility rate on education and corresponding measures can provide a scientific and powerful basis for government decision-making. This research aims at discussing the influence of low birth rate on Chinese educational development. By analyzing the available documents and positive studies, many factors influence educational development, such as reducing the number of students enrolled, the stress of teachers' job, the unequal allocation of educational resources and the deterioration of educational quality. To address the education challenges of a low birth rate, the following measures are proposed: increase investment in basic education, rationally allocate educational resources, encourage the development of high-quality educational institutions, innovate the education system, and increase support for the education industry. Through these measures, China can provide a better educational environment for the next generation, cultivate outstanding talents, and promote equitable education development. China can overcome the educational challenges brought about by low fertility rates and promote the development of education.