Stock assessment and management recommendations for Pacific sardine (Sardinops sagax) in 1997

The primary goal of sardine management as directed by the California Fish and Game Code is rehabilitation of the resource with an added objective of maximizing sustained harvest. Accordingly, the Code states that the annual sardine quota can be set at an amount greater than 1,000 tons, providing that the level of take allows for continued increase in the spawning population. We estimated the sardine population size to have been 464,000 short tons on July 1, 1997. Our estimate was based on output from a modified version of the integrated stock assessment model called CANSAR (Deriso et al. 1996). CANSAR is a forward-casting, age-structured analysis using fishery-dependent and fishery-independent data to obtain annual estimates of sardine abundance, year-class strength and age-specific fishing mortality for 1983 through the first semester of 1997. Non-linear least-squares criteria are used to find the best fit between model estimates and input data. Questions about stock structure and range extent remain major sources of uncertainty in assessing current sardine population biomass. Recent survey results and anecdotal evidence suggest increased sardine abundance in the Pacific Northwest and areas offshore from central and southern California. It is difficult to determine if those fish were part of the stock available to the California fishery. In an attempt to address this problem, the original CANSAR model was reconfigured into a Two-Area Migration Model (CANSAR-TAM) which accounted for sardine lost to the areas of the fishery and abundance surveys due to population expansion and net emigration. While the model includes guesses and major assumptions about net emigration and recruitment, it provides an estimate which is likely closer to biological reality than past assessments. The original CANSAR model was also used and estimates are provided for comparison. Based on the 1997 estimate of total biomass and the harvest formula used last year, we recommend a 1998 sardine harvest quota of 48,000 tons for the California fishery. The 1998 quota is a decrease of 11% from the final 1997 sardine harvest quota for California of 54,000 tons. (55pp.

Stock assessment of Pacific sardine for 1998 with management recommendations for 1999

The primary goal of sardine management as directed by the California Fish and Game Code is rehabilitation of the resource with an added objective of maximizing sustained harvest. Accordingly, the Code states that the annual sardine quota can be set at an amount greater than 1,000 tons, providing that the level of take allows for continued increase in the spawning population. We estimated the sardine population size within the range of the fishery and survey data (Ensenada, Baja California to San Francisco, California) to have been 1,182,881 short tons on July 1, 1998. Our estimate was based on output from a modified version of the integrated stock assessment model called CANSAR (Deriso et al. 1996). CANSAR is a forward-casting, age-structured analysis using fishery-dependent and fishery-independent data to obtain annual estimates of sardine abundance, year-class strength and age-specific fishing mortality for 1983 through the first semester of 1998. Non-linear least-squares criteria are used to find the best fit between model estimates and input data. Questions about stock structure and range extent remain major sources of uncertainty in assessing current sardine population biomass. Recent survey results and anecdotal evidence suggest increased sardine abundance in the Pacific Northwest and areas offshore from central and southern California. It is difficult to determine if those fish were part of the stock available to the California fishery. Last year, in an attempt to address this problem, the original CANSAR model was reconfigured into a Two-Area Migration Model (CANSAR-TAM; Hill et al. 1998) which accounted for sardine lost to the areas of the fishery and abundance surveys due to population expansion and net emigration. While the model includes guesses and major assumptions about net emigration and recruitment, it provides an estimate which is likely closer to biological reality than original CANSAR assessments. Corroborative results from a new, preliminary sardine stock assessment model, 'SAM', are also presented in this report. Based on the 1998 estimate of age 1+ biomass within the range of the fishery and survey data, and a proposed harvest formula in the draft Coastal Pelagic Species Fishery Management Plan (Amendment 8), we recommend a 1999 sardine harvest quota of 132,800 tons for the California fishery. The 1999 quota is a significant increase from the final 1998 sardine harvest quota for California of 48,000 tons. (93pp.

Redshift-independent Distances in the NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database: Methodology, Content, and Use of NED-D

Estimates of galaxy distances based on indicators that are independent of cosmological redshift are fundamental to astrophysics. Researchers use them to establish the extragalactic distance scale, to underpin estimates of the Hubble constant, and to study peculiar velocities induced by gravitational attractions that perturb the motions of galaxies with respect to the "Hubble flow" of universal expansion. In 2006 the NASA/IPAC Extragalactic Database (NED) began making available a comprehensive compilation of redshift-independent extragalactic distance estimates. A decade later, this compendium of distances (NED-D) now contains more than 100,000 individual estimates based on primary and secondary indicators, available for more than 28,000 galaxies, and compiled from over 2000 references in the refereed astronomical literature. This paper describes the methodology, content, and use of NED-D, and addresses challenges to be overcome in compiling such distances. Currently, 75 different distance indicators are in use. We include a figure that facilitates comparison of the indicators with significant numbers of estimates in terms of the minimum, 25th percentile, median, 75th percentile, and maximum distances spanned. Brief descriptions of the indicators, including examples of their use in the database, are given in an appendix

A First Search for coincident Gravitational Waves and High Energy Neutrinos using LIGO, Virgo and ANTARES data from 2007

We present the results of the first search for gravitational wave bursts associated with high energy neutrinos. Together, these messengers could reveal new, hidden sources that are not observed by conventional photon astronomy, particularly at high energy. Our search uses neutrinos detected by the underwater neutrino telescope ANTARES in its 5 line configuration during the period January - September 2007, which coincided with the fifth and first science runs of LIGO and Virgo, respectively. The LIGO-Virgo data were analysed for candidate gravitational-wave signals coincident in time and direction with the neutrino events. No significant coincident events were observed. We place limits on the density of joint high energy neutrino - gravitational wave emission events in the local universe, and compare them with densities of merger and core-collapse events.Comment: 19 pages, 8 figures, science summary page at http://www.ligo.org/science/Publication-S5LV_ANTARES/index.php. Public access area to figures, tables at https://dcc.ligo.org/cgi-bin/DocDB/ShowDocument?docid=p120000

Predictors of NOAC versus VKA use for stroke prevention in patients with newly diagnosed atrial fibrillation: Results from GARFIELD-AF.

INTRODUCTION: A principal aim of the Global Anticoagulant Registry in the FIELD-Atrial Fibrillation (GARFIELD-AF) was to document changes in treatment practice for patients with newly diagnosed atrial fibrillation during an era when non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants (NOACs) were becoming more widely adopted. In these analyses, the key factors which determined the choice between NOACs and vitamin K antagonists (VKAs) are explored. METHODS: Logistic least absolute shrinkage and selection operator regression determined predictors of NOAC and VKA use. Data were collected from 24,137 patients who were initiated on AC ± antiplatelet (AP) therapy (NOAC [51.4%] or VKA [48.6%]) between April 2013 and August 2016. RESULTS: The most significant predictors of AC therapy were country, enrolment year, care setting at diagnosis, AF type, concomitant AP, and kidney disease. Patients enrolled in emergency care or in the outpatient setting were more likely to receive a NOAC than those enrolled in hospital (OR 1.16 [95% CI: 1.04-1.30], OR: 1.15 [95% CI: 1.05-1.25], respectively). NOAC prescribing seemed to be favored in lower-risk groups, namely, patients with paroxysmal AF, normotensive patients, and those with moderate alcohol consumption, but also the elderly and patients with acute coronary syndrome. By contrast, VKAs were preferentially used in patients with permanent AF, moderate to severe kidney disease, heart failure, vascular disease, and diabetes and with concomitant AP. CONCLUSION: GARFIELD-AF data highlight marked heterogeneity in stroke prevention strategies globally. Physicians are adopting an individualized approach to stroke prevention where NOACs are favored in patients with a lower stroke risk but also in the elderly and patients with acute coronary syndrome

Quantification of subcellular RNA localization through direct detection of RNA oxidation.

Across cell types and organisms, thousands of RNAs display asymmetric subcellular distributions. Studying this process requires quantifying abundances of specific RNAs at precise subcellular locations. To analyze subcellular transcriptomes, multiple proximity-based techniques have been developed in which RNAs near a localized bait protein are specifically labeled, facilitating their biotinylation and purification. However, these complex methods are often laborious and require expensive enrichment reagents. To streamline the analysis of localized RNA populations, we developed Oxidation-Induced Nucleotide Conversion sequencing (OINC-seq). In OINC-seq, RNAs near a genetically encoded, localized bait protein are specifically oxidized in a photo-controllable manner. These oxidation events are then directly detected and quantified using high-throughput sequencing and our software package, PIGPEN, without the need for biotin-mediated enrichment. We demonstrate that OINC-seq can induce and quantify RNA oxidation with high specificity in a dose- and light-dependent manner. We further show the spatial specificity of OINC-seq by using it to quantify subcellular transcriptomes associated with the cytoplasm, ER, nucleus, and the inner and outer membranes of mitochondria. Finally, using transgenic zebrafish, we demonstrate that OINC-seq allows proximity-mediated RNA labeling in live animals. In sum, OINC-seq together with PIGPEN provide an accessible workflow for analyzing localized RNAs across different biological systems

Why Are Outcomes Different for Registry Patients Enrolled Prospectively and Retrospectively? Insights from the Global Anticoagulant Registry in the FIELD-Atrial Fibrillation (GARFIELD-AF).

Background: Retrospective and prospective observational studies are designed to reflect real-world evidence on clinical practice, but can yield conflicting results. The GARFIELD-AF Registry includes both methods of enrolment and allows analysis of differences in patient characteristics and outcomes that may result. Methods and Results: Patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) and ≥1 risk factor for stroke at diagnosis of AF were recruited either retrospectively (n = 5069) or prospectively (n = 5501) from 19 countries and then followed prospectively. The retrospectively enrolled cohort comprised patients with established AF (for a least 6, and up to 24 months before enrolment), who were identified retrospectively (and baseline and partial follow-up data were collected from the emedical records) and then followed prospectively between 0-18 months (such that the total time of follow-up was 24 months; data collection Dec-2009 and Oct-2010). In the prospectively enrolled cohort, patients with newly diagnosed AF (≤6 weeks after diagnosis) were recruited between Mar-2010 and Oct-2011 and were followed for 24 months after enrolment. Differences between the cohorts were observed in clinical characteristics, including type of AF, stroke prevention strategies, and event rates. More patients in the retrospectively identified cohort received vitamin K antagonists (62.1% vs. 53.2%) and fewer received non-vitamin K oral anticoagulants (1.8% vs . 4.2%). All-cause mortality rates per 100 person-years during the prospective follow-up (starting the first study visit up to 1 year) were significantly lower in the retrospective than prospectively identified cohort (3.04 [95% CI 2.51 to 3.67] vs . 4.05 [95% CI 3.53 to 4.63]; p = 0.016). Conclusions: Interpretations of data from registries that aim to evaluate the characteristics and outcomes of patients with AF must take account of differences in registry design and the impact of recall bias and survivorship bias that is incurred with retrospective enrolment. Clinical Trial Registration: - URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov . Unique identifier for GARFIELD-AF (NCT01090362)

A New Portfolio Formation Approach to Mispricing of Marketing Performance Indicators: an Application to Customer Satisfaction

There has been a recent debate in the marketing literature concerning the possible mispricing of customer satisfaction. While earlier studies claim that portfolios with attractive out-of-sample properties can be formed by loading on stocks whose firms enjoy high customer satisfaction, later studies challenge this finding. A large part of the disagreement stems from the difficulty of how to actually evaluate mispricing based on the observed portfolio returns. In particular, any portfolio formation method that requires the use of a risk model is open to the criticism of time-varying risk factor loadings due to the changing composition of the portfolio over time. As an alternative, we construct portfolios that are neutral with respect to the desired risk factors a priori. Consequently, no risk model is needed when analyzing the observed returns of our portfolios. Using various ways of measuring customer satisfaction, we do not find any convincing evidence that portfolios that load on high customer satisfaction lead to abnormal returns

Robotics Technology in Mental Health Care

This chapter discusses the existing and future use of robotics and intelligent sensing technology in mental health care. While the use of this technology is nascent in mental health care, it represents a potentially useful tool in the practitioner's toolbox. The goal of this chapter is to provide a brief overview of the field, discuss the recent use of robotics technology in mental health care practice, explore some of the design issues and ethical issues of using robots in this space, and finally to explore the potential of emerging technology