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Small pelagics, or forage fish, link lower and higher trophic levels in marine food webs. Recently, attention has been given to the management of forage fish, including anadromous river herring (Alewife Alosa pseudoharengus, blueback herring A. aestivalis) and American shad (A. sapidissima) due to their current depleted status and historically important ecological and economic roles. Little is known about the impact of changes in their biomass on marine food webs and what management practices will promote their recovery. Estimated historical riverine productivity was utilized to evaluate potential ecosystem impacts of the increasing river to ocean connectivity to resemble 19th‐century conditions. The Ecopath with Ecosim modeling framework was used to simulate management strategies, focused on anadromous forage fish, by creating scenarios of fisheries reduction (mixed fishery effort reduction) and river to ocean habitat connectivity (75% of historical connectivity achieved). Sixty‐year simulations covered the entire time series including a 36‐year forecast period to evaluate the ecosystem impacts of management strategies. Results suggest nonlinear relationships and large changes in biomass flows from forage fish to upper trophic levels in the Gulf of Maine ecosystem. Increases in biomass were observed for pelagic sharks, demersal piscivores, and species of conservation concern such as pinnipeds and seabirds, although overall results were strongly influenced by indirect trophic effects. Promoting anadromous forage fish recovery through increased connectivity resulted in the redundancy of marine ecosystem niches that would increase resilience to climate, fisheries, and other perturbations. This study highlights the value of employing ecosystem models for testing management scenarios to contrast different approaches to recover anadromous forage fish towards its former ecological prominence.

ABSTRACTMycobacterium tuberculosis(Mtb) is the causative agent of tuberculosis, an infectious disease with one of the highest morbidity and mortality rates worldwide. Leveraging its highly evolved repertoire of non-protein and protein virulence factors, Mtb invades through the airway, subverts host immunity, establishes its survival niche, and ultimately escapes in the setting of active disease to initiate another round of infection in a naive host. In this review, we will provide a concise synopsis of the infectious life cycle of Mtb and its clinical and epidemiologic significance. We will also take stock of its virulence factors and pathogenic mechanisms that modulate host immunity and facilitate its spread. Developing a greater understanding of the interface between Mtb virulence factors and host defences will enable progress toward improved vaccines and therapeutics to prevent and treat tuberculosis.

In this work, the engineering performance of an innovative furnace concept developed for continuous drying and curing of paint-coated metal sheets (coil coating process) is investigated through advanced modeling and numerical simulation techniques. Unlike the traditional and wide-spread coil coating furnaces – which operate according to the so-called convective air-drying technology –, the present furnace concept relies on infrared radiative heating to drive solvent evaporation and curing reactions. Radiative heat is provided by the operation of radiant porous burners which are fed with evaporated solvents. The current furnace concept consists of two main chambers (the radiant burner section and the curing oven section) with different gas compositions (atmospheres) that are separated by a semi-transparent window. The window allows energy transfer and prevents gas mixing between the two sections. To utilize the solvent-loaded atmosphere available in the curing oven section as fuel – and to prevent the development of explosive conditions therein –, a novel inertization concept shielding the curing oven section from the external environment is considered. The current furnace concept aims at improving process intensification and promoting energy efficiency. For the current furnace concept, numerical simulation results support a suitable and competitive performance for drying the applied coatings in comparison with the traditional approach. Simultaneously, a safe operation is predicted, without (i) solvent leakage from the furnace and (ii) oxygen entrainment from the surrounding ambient into the furnace. These conditions are satisfied demonstrating a safe operation and a complete evaporation of solvents from applied liquid film coatings.