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The performance of an intermediate-scale modular, permeable, floating breakwater comprised of an array of vertical screens is optimized and tested. A distinctive attribute of this breakwater design is its adaptive capacity to fluctuating water levels owing to its floating configuration, thereby preserving its efficacy during high tide and storm tide scenarios—an advancement over conventional bottom-mounted structures. The initial validation of the concept was tested in a laboratory wave basin in regular waves, which demonstrated promising results for three porous panels. Next, the breakwater's design parameters were optimized using a finite difference computational fluid dynamics software, (FLOW-3D version 2023R2), considering porosity, spacing, and panel count. A scaled prototype, representative of a 1:2 ratio was then deployed during the summer of 2022 along the coast of Castine, ME, within a mesotidal, semi-sheltered system characterized by tidal currents and waves. Notably, the breakwater succeeded in attenuating half of the wave energy for periods shorter than 4 s, evidenced by transmission coefficients below 0.5, making this technology suitable for locally generated waves with shorter periods. During storm events, instantaneous transmission coefficients decreased to as low as 0.25, coinciding with significant wave heights exceeding 0.8 m. Additionally, the efficacy of wave attenuation improved slightly over time as biofoulants adhered to the structure, thereby enhancing drag and mass. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Metabolic dysfunction Associated Steatotic Liver Disease (MASLD) outcomes such as MASH (metabolic dysfunction associated steatohepatitis), fibrosis and cirrhosis are ordinarily determined by resource-intensive and invasive biopsies. We aim to show that routine clinical tests offer sufficient information to predict these endpoints. Methods: Using the LITMUS Metacohort derived from the European NAFLD Registry, the largest MASLD dataset in Europe, we create three combinations of features which vary in degree of procurement including a 19-variable feature set that are attained through a routine clinical appointment or blood test. This data was used to train predictive models using supervised machine learning (ML) algorithm XGBoost, alongside missing imputation technique MICE and class balancing algorithm SMOTE. Shapley Additive exPlanations (SHAP) were added to determine relative importance for each clinical variable. Results: Analysing nine biopsy-derived MASLD outcomes of cohort size ranging between 5385 and 6673 subjects, we were able to predict individuals at training set AUCs ranging from 0.719-0.994, including classifying individuals who are At-Risk MASH at an AUC = 0.899. Using two further feature combinations of 26-variables and 35-variables, which included composite scores known to be good indicators for MASLD endpoints and advanced specialist tests, we found predictive performance did not sufficiently improve. We are also able to present local and global explanations for each ML model, offering clinicians interpretability without the expense of worsening predictive performance. Conclusions: This study developed a series of ML models of accuracy ranging from 71.9—99.4% using only easily extractable and readily available information in predicting MASLD outcomes which are usually determined through highly invasive means. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This document provides a variety of articles on different topics. It begins by discussing Busch Vacuum Solutions, a family-owned company that has been a leader in the vacuum packaging market for 60 years. The article also mentions Schmalz, a vacuum expert that has opened a new production facility in China, and GSI, a research center that pioneered carbon ion therapy for cancer treatment. Another article focuses on the "MultiQomm" project, which is developing a detector chip for industrial applications. The document also highlights the "Industrielle Gemeinschaftsforschung" (IGF) program, which promotes collaboration between corporations, family businesses, the middle class, and research institutions. Lastly, it discusses the TUM Hyperloop project, which aims to transport capsules in near-vacuum tubes at high speeds. [Extracted from the article]

In the context of the "transnational turn" in Australian literary studies, I consider the dynamics of writing and reading by and around Aboriginal literature. Positioning of authors, books and readings across, through and beyond nation spaces has particular challenges for Indigenous writers who locate identity on "country", with reception determined largely by a national framing. Informed by work from Lynda Ng, Chadwick Allen and others, the article examines the transnational movements of and around the fiction of Tara June Winch. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Lynch syndrome (LS) is the most common hereditary colorectal cancer (CRC) syndrome. This study assesses trends in diagnosis of LS and adherence to recommended LS-related care in a large integrated healthcare organization (~ 575,000 members). Methods: Electronic medical record (EMR) data (1999–2015) were examined to identify patients with a diagnosis of LS. We examined their LS-associated care recommendations and adherence to these recommendations. Qualitative patient and provider interviews were conducted with the aim of identifying opportunities for improved care delivery. Results: We identified 74 patients with a diagnosis of LS; 64% were diagnosed with a LS-related malignancy prior to their diagnosis of LS. The time to LS diagnosis following development of a LS-related cancer decreased over time: before 2009 11% of individuals received a diagnosis of LS within 1 year of developing a LS-related cancer compared to 83% after 2009 (p < 0.0001). Colonoscopy recommendations were documented in the EMR for almost all patients with LS (96%). Documentation of other recommendations for cancer surveillance was less commonly found. Overall, patient adherence to colonoscopy was high (M = 81.5%; SD = 32.7%), and adherence to other recommendations varied. To improve care coordination, patients and providers suggested providing automated reminder prompts for LS-related surveillance, adding a LS-specific diagnosis code, and providing guidelines for LS-related surveillance in the EMR. Conclusions: We identified fewer than expected patients with LS in our large care system, indicating that there is still a diagnostic care gap. However, patients with LS were likely to receive and follow CRC surveillance recommendations. Recommendations for and adherence to extracolonic surveillance were variable. Improved care coordination and clearer documentation of the LS diagnosis is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Why do some states terminate their sponsorship of rebel movements while others are persistent in their provision of support? In the past, most research on external support to insurgents has focused on why states choose to sponsor rebel groups and particularly how this affects conflict duration. However, we know little about the termination of such support. This is surprising given that support has been shown to make armed conflicts more intractable and tremendous efforts are made in condemning and sanctioning such behavior. This study constitutes the first large-N analysis of support termination, employing survival analysis on global data of state support to rebel movements between 1975–2009. Surprisingly, the findings indicate that only some of the factors that explain support provision can offer insights into its termination. In particular, support is more likely to be terminated when no ethnic kinship bonds exist between the rebel movement and the government of the supporting state. Many decisions to withdraw support also seem to coincide with the transition from the Cold War. Threats and sanctions from other states appear largely ineffective. The study contributes to our understanding of the international dimensions of civil war and the role and motives of third parties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the current American political climate, immigration is a highly contentious issue. As immigration from Central America's Northern Triangle (El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras) increases, the Trump Administration has enacted harsher immigration laws and revamped border security in an attempt to discourage migrants from journeying to the U.S. Historically, U.S. military and economic interventions helped create environments in the region that foster violence and encourage migration. Moreover, the policies adopted by the U.S. following its involvement in Central America have done little to decrease the number of immigrants arriving at the border. Based on historical precedent, increased border security and harsher immigration policies will not successfully decrease the number of immigrants attempting to cross into the U.S. today. Utilizing various case studies concerning U.S.-Latin American relations, this analysis will illustrate the influence that the U.S. had in creating unstable environments in Central America, as well as highlight how socio-economic factors play a much larger role in influencing one's decision to migrate rather than the threat of apprehension at the border. The U.S., therefore, must invest in sustainable development programs that expand human capital if it hopes to reduce the number of immigrants arriving at the southern border. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

High-status members are incentivized to contribute to a group’s collective endeavors by the deference and influence they receive. But what incentives do groups offer low-status members for their continued participation and deference to high-status others? We develop and test a theoretical account of how the implicit cultural rules for status hierarchies create a modest incentive system for deference to those deemed more valuable to the collective effort. Such deference endorses the group’s shared expectations for what is perceived to be validly better. The group responds by granting the deferrer a modicum of respect: the dignity of being seen as reasonable. This respect reaction acts as an incentive system that tempts the low-status person to stay involved in the group’s endeavor despite being less valued. Three experiments confirm that low-status members anticipate receiving and higher-status members offer such reactions of respect and reasonableness for low-status deference, and these reactions increase low-status members’ commitment to the group. A fourth study with a nationally representative sample supports the robustness of these findings. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Peru is facing a crisis of citizen insecurity that stems in part from the rule of law deficits connected to judicial problems and corruption that transitional justice mechanisms sought to remedy but failed to accomplish. This insecurity has fuelled the appeal of Keiko Fujimori, daughter and political heir of the authoritarian regime that ruled Peru in the 1990s, who offers iron-fist policies to defeat crime. To understand how unresolved human security concerns – such as citizen security – are potentially threatening to the consolidation of transitional justice policies, transitional justice needs to be conceptualised as encompassing two related but distinct transitions. While the first phase addresses the injustices from the immediate aftermath of a conflict or fall of an authoritarian regime, the second transition must address the insecurities that can potentially threaten any progress the state and society have made towards establishing democracy and rule of law. It is argued here that the failure to address these insecurities risks the successful completion of the second transition in Peru, and can potentially cause authoritarian reversals by enhancing the appeal of politicians that peddle law-and-order policies to address them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]