Deportation Based on Criminality Before Entry

There are two principal statutory grounds for deportation of aliens based on criminality. First is the restriction against those who committed crimes before coming to these shores. Second is the ground which provides for the expulsion of the undesirable who was welcome when he first applied for admission to the United States but has subsequently committed proscribed acts. The purpose of this article is to examine the first class named above, and to consider proposed legislation on the subject now before the Congress

Deportation Based on Criminality Before Entry

There are two principal statutory grounds for deportation of aliens based on criminality. First is the restriction against those who committed crimes before coming to these shores. Second is the ground which provides for the expulsion of the undesirable who was welcome when he first applied for admission to the United States but has subsequently committed proscribed acts. The purpose of this article is to examine the first class named above, and to consider proposed legislation on the subject now before the Congress

Entropy and Thermodynamic Temperature in Nonequilibrium Classical Thermodynamics as Immediate Consequences of the Hahn-Banach Theorem: II. Properties

In a companion article it was shown in a certain precise sense that, for any thermodynamical theory that respects the Kelvin-Planck Second Law, the Hahn-Banach Theorem immediately ensures the existence of a pair of continuous functions of the local material state -- a specific entropy (entropy per mass) and a thermodynamic temperature -- that together satisfy the Clausius-Duhem inequality for every process. There was no requirement that the local states considered be states of equilibrium. This article addresses questions about properties of the entropy and thermodynamic temperature functions so obtained: To what extent do such temperature functions provide a faithful reflection of ``hotness"? In precisely which Kelvin-Planck theories is such a temperature function essentially unique, and, among those theories, for which is the entropy function also essentially unique? What is a thermometer for a Kelvin-Planck theory, and, for the theory, what properties does the existence of a thermometer confer? In all of these questions, the Hahn-Banach Theorem again plays a crucial role

Entropy and Thermodynamic Temperature in Nonequilibrium Classical Thermodynamics as Immediate Consequences of the Hahn-Banach Theorem: I. Existence

The Kelvin-Planck statement of the Second Law of Thermodynamics is a stricture on the nature of heat receipt by any body suffering a cyclic process. It makes no mention of temperature or of entropy. Beginning with a Kelvin-Planck statement of the Second Law, we show that entropy and temperature -- in particular, existence of functions that relate the local specific entropy and thermodynamic temperature to the local state in a material body -- emerge immediately and simultaneously as consequences of the Hahn-Banach Theorem. Existence of such functions of state requires no stipulation that their domains be restricted to equilibrium states. Further properties, including uniqueness, are addressed in a companion paper

Independent components in spectroscopic analysis of complex mixtures

We applied two methods of "blind" spectral decomposition (MILCA and SNICA) to quantitative and qualitative analysis of UV absorption spectra of several non-trivial mixture types. Both methods use the concept of statistical independence and aim at the reconstruction of minimally dependent components from a linear mixture. We examined mixtures of major ecotoxicants (aromatic and polyaromatic hydrocarbons), amino acids and complex mixtures of vitamins in a veterinary drug. Both MICLA and SNICA were able to recover concentrations and individual spectra with minimal errors comparable with instrumental noise. In most cases their performance was similar to or better than that of other chemometric methods such as MCR-ALS, SIMPLISMA, RADICAL, JADE and FastICA. These results suggest that the ICA methods used in this study are suitable for real life applications. Data used in this paper along with simple matlab codes to reproduce paper figures can be found at http://www.klab.caltech.edu/~kraskov/MILCA/spectraComment: 22 pages, 4 tables, 6 figure

Kernel Intensity Estimation of 2-Dimensional Spatial Poisson Point Processes From k-Tree Sampling

To estimate the spatial intensity (density) of plants and animals, ecologists often sample populations by prespecifing a spatial array of points, then measuring the distance from each point to the k nearest organisms, a so-called k-tree sampling method. A variety of ad hoc methods are available for estimating intensity from k-tree sampling data, but they assume that two distinct points of the array do not share nearest neighbors. However, nearest neighbors are likely to be shared when the population intensity is low, as it is in our application. The purpose of this paper is twofold: (a) to derive and use for estimation the likelihood function for a k-tree sample under an inhomogeneous Poisson point-process model and (b) to estimate spatial intensity when nearest neighbors are shared. We derive the likelihood function for an inhomogeneous Poisson point-process with intensity λ(x,y) and propose a likelihood-based, kernel-smoothed estimator $\hat{\lambda}(x,y)$. Performance of the method for k=1 is tested on four types of simulated populations: two homogeneous populations with low and high intensity, a population simulated from a bivariate normal distribution of intensity, and a “cliff” population in which the region is divided into high- and low-intensity subregions. The method correctly detected spatial variation in intensity across different subregions of the simulated populations. Application to 1-tree samples of carnivorous pitcher plants populations in four New England peat bogs suggests that the method adequately captures empirical patterns of spatial intensity. However, our method suffers from two evident sources of bias. First, like other kernel smoothers, it underestimates peaks and overestimates valleys. Second, it has positive bias analogous to that of the MLE for the rate parameter of exponential random variables.Organismic and Evolutionary Biolog

Association Between Cytokines and Liver Histology in Children with Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease.

BackgroundReliable non-invasive markers to characterize inflammation, hepatocellular ballooning, and fibrosis in nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) are lacking. We investigated the relationship between plasma cytokine levels and features of NAFLD histology to gain insight into cellular pathways driving NASH and to identify potential non-invasive discriminators of NAFLD severity and pattern.MethodsCytokines were measured from plasma obtained at enrollment in pediatric participants in NASH Clinical Research Network studies with liver biopsy-proven NAFLD. Cytokines were chosen a priori as possible discriminators of NASH and its components. Minimization of Akaike Information Criterion (AIC) was used to determine cytokines retained in multivariable models.ResultsOf 235 subjects, 31% had "Definite NASH" on liver histology, 43% had "Borderline NASH", and 25% had NAFLD but not NASH. Total plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 (PAI1) and activated PAI1 levels were higher in pediatric participants with Definite NASH and with lobular inflammation. Interleukin-8 (IL-8) was higher in those with stage 3-4 fibrosis and lobular inflammation. sIL-2rα was higher in children with stage 3-4 fibrosis and portal inflammation. In multivariable analysis, PAI1 variables were discriminators of Borderline/Definite NASH, definite NASH, lobular inflammation and ballooning. IL-8 increased with steatosis and fibrosis severity; sIL-2rα increased with fibrosis severity and portal inflammation. IL-7 decreased with portal inflammation and fibrosis severity.ConclusionsPlasma cytokines associated with histology varied considerably among NASH features, suggesting promising avenues for investigation. Future, more targeted analysis is needed to identify the role of these markers in NAFLD and to evaluate their potential as non-invasive discriminators of disease severity

Clinically Actionable Hypercholesterolemia and Hypertriglyceridemia in Children with Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

OBJECTIVE: To determine the percentage of children with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) in whom intervention for low-density lipoprotein cholesterol or triglycerides was indicated based on National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute guidelines. STUDY DESIGN: This multicenter, longitudinal cohort study included children with NAFLD enrolled in the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases Nonalcoholic Steatohepatitis Clinical Research Network. Fasting lipid profiles were obtained at diagnosis. Standardized dietary recommendations were provided. After 1 year, lipid profiles were repeated and interpreted according to National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Expert Panel on Integrated Guidelines for Cardiovascular Health and Risk Reduction. Main outcomes were meeting criteria for clinically actionable dyslipidemia at baseline, and either achieving lipid goal at follow-up or meeting criteria for ongoing intervention. RESULTS: There were 585 participants, with a mean age of 12.8 years. The prevalence of children warranting intervention for low-density lipoprotein cholesterol at baseline was 14%. After 1 year of recommended dietary changes, 51% achieved goal low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, 27% qualified for enhanced dietary and lifestyle modifications, and 22% met criteria for pharmacologic intervention. Elevated triglycerides were more prevalent, with 51% meeting criteria for intervention. At 1 year, 25% achieved goal triglycerides with diet and lifestyle changes, 38% met criteria for advanced dietary modifications, and 37% qualified for antihyperlipidemic medications. CONCLUSIONS: More than one-half of children with NAFLD met intervention thresholds for dyslipidemia. Based on the burden of clinically relevant dyslipidemia, lipid screening in children with NAFLD is warranted. Clinicians caring for children with NAFLD should be familiar with lipid management