Status and management of the sea cucumber fishery of La Grande Terre, New Caledonia

From October 2006 to May 2008, The WorldFish Center coordinated a ZoNéCo project to provide support to the Southern and Northern Provinces for decisions about how best to manage the sea cucumber fishery around La Grande Terre. We collected data during underwater population surveys, questionnaire-based interviews with fishers and processors, and landing catch surveys. A core aim was to furnish the Provinces with ‘ballpark’ estimates of the abundance and density of commercially important sea cucumbers on 50 lagoon and barrier reefs. Analysis and synthesis of the ecological and sociological data provide the basis for informed recommendations for fisheries management. Counts of trochus and giant clams on the reefs allow us to also describe the general status of those resources. We propose 13 recommendations for management actions and fishery regulations and advocate an adaptive management approach. This multidisciplinary study should serve as a useful template for assessing other fisheries, and we provide a series of generic ‘lessons learnt’ to aid future programmes. (PDF has 140 pages.

Status and management of the sea cucumber fishery of La Grande Terre, New Caledonia. Programme ZoNΘCo

From October 2006 to May 2008, The WorldFish Center coordinated a ZoNΘCo project to provide support to the Southern and Northern Provinces for decisions about how best to manage the sea cucumber fishery around La Grande Terre. We collected data during underwater population surveys, questionnaire-based interviews with fishers and processors, and landing catch surveys. A core aim was to furnish the Provinces with æballparkÆ estimates of the abundance and density of commercially important sea cucumbers on 50 lagoon and barrier reefs. Analysis and synthesis of the ecological and sociological data provide the basis for informed recommendations for fisheries management. Counts of trochus and giant clams on the reefs allow us to also describe the general status of those resources. We propose 13 recommendations for management actions and fishery regulations and advocate an adaptive management approach. This multidisciplinary study should serve as a useful template for assessing other fisheries, and we provide a series of generic ælessons learntÆ to aid future programmes.Echinoderm fisheries, Surveys, Fishery management, Socioeconomic aspects, Population density, ISEW, Pacific, New Caledonia, Holothurioidea, Tridacna gigas, Ex Trochus

The Early Psychosis Screener for Internet (EPSI)-SR: Predicting 12 month psychotic conversion using machine learning

Introduction: A faster and more accurate self-report screener for early psychosis is needed to promote early identification and intervention. Methods: Self-report Likert-scale survey items were administered to individuals being screened with the Structured Interview for Psychosis-risk Syndromes (SIPS) and followed at eight early psychosis clinics. An a priori analytic plan included Spectral Clustering Analysis to reduce the item pool, followed by development of Support Vector Machine (SVM) classifiers. Results: The cross-validated positive predictive value (PPV) of the EPSI at the default cut-off (76.5%) exceeded that of the clinician-administered SIPS (68.5%) at separating individuals who would not convert to psychosis within 12 months from those who either would convert within 12 months or who had already experienced a first episode psychosis (FEP). When used in tandem with the SIPS on clinical high risk participants, the EPSI increased the combined PPV to 86.6%. The SVM classified as FEP/converters only 1% of individuals in non-clinical and 4% of clinical low risk populations. Sensitivity of the EPSI, however, was 51% at the default cut-off. Discussion: The EPSI identifies, comparably to the SIPS but in less time and with fewer resources, individuals who are either at very high risk to develop a psychotic disorder within 12 months or who are already psychotic. At its default cut-off, EPSI misses 49% of current or future psychotic cases. The cut-off can, however, be adjusted based on purpose. The EPSI is the first validated assessment to predict 12-month psychotic conversion. An online screening system, www.eps.telesage.org, is under development

Risk profiles and one-year outcomes of patients with newly diagnosed atrial fibrillation in India: Insights from the GARFIELD-AF Registry.

BACKGROUND: The Global Anticoagulant Registry in the FIELD-Atrial Fibrillation (GARFIELD-AF) is an ongoing prospective noninterventional registry, which is providing important information on the baseline characteristics, treatment patterns, and 1-year outcomes in patients with newly diagnosed non-valvular atrial fibrillation (NVAF). This report describes data from Indian patients recruited in this registry. METHODS AND RESULTS: A total of 52,014 patients with newly diagnosed AF were enrolled globally; of these, 1388 patients were recruited from 26 sites within India (2012-2016). In India, the mean age was 65.8 years at diagnosis of NVAF. Hypertension was the most prevalent risk factor for AF, present in 68.5% of patients from India and in 76.3% of patients globally (P < 0.001). Diabetes and coronary artery disease (CAD) were prevalent in 36.2% and 28.1% of patients as compared with global prevalence of 22.2% and 21.6%, respectively (P < 0.001 for both). Antiplatelet therapy was the most common antithrombotic treatment in India. With increasing stroke risk, however, patients were more likely to receive oral anticoagulant therapy [mainly vitamin K antagonist (VKA)], but average international normalized ratio (INR) was lower among Indian patients [median INR value 1.6 (interquartile range {IQR}: 1.3-2.3) versus 2.3 (IQR 1.8-2.8) (P < 0.001)]. Compared with other countries, patients from India had markedly higher rates of all-cause mortality [7.68 per 100 person-years (95% confidence interval 6.32-9.35) vs 4.34 (4.16-4.53), P < 0.0001], while rates of stroke/systemic embolism and major bleeding were lower after 1 year of follow-up. CONCLUSION: Compared to previously published registries from India, the GARFIELD-AF registry describes clinical profiles and outcomes in Indian patients with AF of a different etiology. The registry data show that compared to the rest of the world, Indian AF patients are younger in age and have more diabetes and CAD. Patients with a higher stroke risk are more likely to receive anticoagulation therapy with VKA but are underdosed compared with the global average in the GARFIELD-AF. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION-URL: http://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT01090362

Search for the Zγ decay mode of new high-mass resonances in pp collisions at √s = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

This letter presents a search for narrow, high-mass resonances in the Zγ final state with the Z boson decaying into a pair of electrons or muons. The √s = 13 TeV pp collision data were recorded by the ATLAS detector at the CERN Large Hadron Collider and have an integrated luminosity of 140 fb−1. The data are found to be in agreement with the Standard Model background expectation. Upper limits are set on the resonance production cross section times the decay branching ratio into Zγ. For spin-0 resonances produced via gluon–gluon fusion, the observed limits at 95% confidence level vary between 65.5 fb and 0.6 fb, while for spin-2 resonances produced via gluon–gluon fusion (or quark–antiquark initial states) limits vary between 77.4 (76.1) fb and 0.6 (0.5) fb, for the mass range from 220 GeV to 3400 GeV

Search for heavy resonances decaying into a Z or W boson and a Higgs boson in final states with leptons and b-jets in 139 fb−1 of pp collisions at s√ = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

This article presents a search for new resonances decaying into a Z or W boson and a 125 GeV Higgs boson h, and it targets the νν¯¯¯bb¯¯, ℓ+ℓ−bb¯¯, or ℓ±νbb¯¯ final states, where ℓ = e or μ, in proton-proton collisions at s√ = 13 TeV. The data used correspond to a total integrated luminosity of 139 fb−1 collected by the ATLAS detector during Run 2 of the LHC at CERN. The search is conducted by examining the reconstructed invariant or transverse mass distributions of Zh or Wh candidates for evidence of a localised excess in the mass range from 220 GeV to 5 TeV. No significant excess is observed and 95% confidence-level upper limits between 1.3 pb and 0.3 fb are placed on the production cross section times branching fraction of neutral and charged spin-1 resonances and CP-odd scalar bosons. These limits are converted into constraints on the parameter space of the Heavy Vector Triplet model and the two-Higgs-doublet model

The ATLAS trigger system for LHC Run 3 and trigger performance in 2022

The ATLAS trigger system is a crucial component of the ATLAS experiment at the LHC. It is responsible for selecting events in line with the ATLAS physics programme. This paper presents an overview of the changes to the trigger and data acquisition system during the second long shutdown of the LHC, and shows the performance of the trigger system and its components in the proton-proton collisions during the 2022 commissioning period as well as its expected performance in proton-proton and heavy-ion collisions for the remainder of the third LHC data-taking period (2022–2025)

Search for third-generation vector-like leptons in pp collisions at s√ = 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

A search for vector-like leptons in multilepton (two, three, or four-or-more electrons plus muons) final states with zero or more hadronic τ-lepton decays is presented. The search is performed using a dataset corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb−1 of proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV recorded by the ATLAS detector at the LHC. To maximize the separation of signal and background, a machine-learning classifier is used. No excess of events is observed beyond the Standard Model expectation. Using a doublet vector-like lepton model, vector-like leptons coupling to third-generation Standard Model leptons are excluded in the mass range from 130 GeV to 900 GeV at the 95% confidence level, while the highest excluded mass is expected to be 970 GeV

Search for heavy Higgs bosons with flavour-violating couplings in multi-lepton plus b-jets final states in pp collisions at 13 TeV with the ATLAS detector

A search for new heavy scalars with flavour-violating decays in final states with multiple leptons and b-tagged jets is presented. The results are interpreted in terms of a general two-Higgs-doublet model involving an additional scalar with couplings to the top-quark and the three up-type quarks (ρtt, ρtc, and ρtu). The targeted signals lead to final states with either a same-sign top-quark pair, three top-quarks, or four top-quarks. The search is based on a data sample of proton-proton collisions at √s = 13 TeV recorded with the ATLAS detector during Run 2 of the Large Hadron Collider, corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 139 fb−1. Events are categorised depending on the multiplicity of light charged leptons (electrons or muons), total lepton charge, and a deep-neural-network output to enhance the purity of each of the signals. Masses of an additional scalar boson mH between 200 − 630 GeV with couplings ρtt = 0.4, ρtc = 0.2, and ρtu = 0.2 are excluded at 95% confidence level. Additional interpretations are provided in models of R-parity violating supersymmetry, motivated by the recent flavour and (g − 2)μ anomalies