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The assessment of Newfoundland east and south coast Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus) stock complexes considered data to the spring of 2018. Stock status index updates were provided for the Bonavista Bay-Trinity Bay (BBTB), St. Mary's Bay-Placentia Bay (SMBPB), and Fortune Bay (FB) stock complexes; biological updates were provided for White Bay-Notre Dame Bay (WBNDB) and Conception Bay-Southern Shore (CBSS) stock complexes. All Newfoundland stock complexes are comprised of a mix of spring and fall spawning herring. Spring spawners historically dominated in all areas, but with increased fall spawner recruitment in the late 1990s and through the early 2000s, stock composition in most areas shifted to largely fall spawners by the 2010s. However, a decline in fall spawner recruitment and the presence of several strong spring spawner year classes entering the fishery at the time of this assessment led to an increase in the percentage of spring spawners in recent years relative to the last decade. Stock status is assessed using the spring research gillnet program, which provides the only fishery-independent index of abundance for the BBTB and FB stock areas. Since 2018, a similar program has also been run in Placentia Bay (PB) through DFO's Coastal Environmental Baseline Program, the results of which were used to update stock status for this assessment. The stock status index in BBTB decreased in 2017, largely due to below average catch rates; however, there are indications of positive future prospects with strong recruitment of incoming spring spawner year classes. Given these diverging trends, the stock status evaluation for BBTB is uncertain. In FB, the stock status index declined throughout the 2000s as spring recruitment was poor and fall recruitment did not increase in this stock area as it did in others. The index improved slightly in 2017 due to the strong recruitment of the 2012 year class, however at the time of this assessment there were no indications of subsequent strong recruitment. Based on these indices the stock status of FB is negative. In PB, catch rates from the 2018 gillnet program were above average, but the catch was dominated by a single year class, giving an uncertain stock status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction In 1988, Blair et al. [1] published their results of treating varicose ulcers in outpatients with a four-layer compression bandage. Over 70% of ulcers which had resisted former treatment [...]

Summary: Mucosal‐associated invariant T (MAIT) cells and Vδ2+ γδ T cells are anti‐bacterial innate‐like lymphocytes (ILLs) that are enriched in blood and mucosa. ILLs have been implicated in control of infection. However, the role of ILLs in community‐acquired pneumonia (CAP) is unknown. Using sputum samples from a well‐characterized CAP cohort, MAIT cell and Vδ2+ T cell abundance was determined by quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). Cytokine and chemokine concentrations in sputum were measured. The capacity of bacteria in sputum to produce activating ligands for MAIT cells and Vδ2+ T cells was inferred by 16S rRNA sequencing. MAIT cell abundance in sputum was higher in patients with less severe pneumonia; duration of hospital admission was inversely correlated with both MAIT and Vδ2+ T cell abundance. The abundance of both ILLs was higher in patients with a confirmed bacterial aetiology; however, there was no correlation with total bacterial load or the predicted capacity of bacteria to produce activating ligands. Sputum MAIT cell abundance was associated with interferon (IFN)‐α, IFN‐γ, and sputum neutrophil abundance, while Vδ2+ T cell abundance was associated with CXCL11 and IFN‐γ. Therefore, MAIT and Vδ2+ T cells can be detected in sputum in CAP, where they may contribute to improved clinical outcome. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The effects of edge roughness on vortex nucleation field and its distribution are measured in Permalloy nanostructured arrays. Teardrop-shaped elements, 250 nm wide and 30 nm thick, were fabricated using electron beam lithography and lift-off. Roughness variations were created by varying the electron dose during patterning, and measured by analysis of in-focus transmission electron microscopy (TEM) images. In situ measurements of the vortex nucleation fields and the nucleation field distributions of the dose arrays were performed with Lorentz mode TEM. In combining the measurements of edge roughness with measurements of nucleation field and its distribution, we show that edge roughness increases the probability for vortex nucleation and thus permits vortices to nucleate at larger applied fields, but at the same time, edge roughness broadens the nucleation-field distribution in magnetic nanostructured arrays. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]