Why Deporting Immigrants for “Crimes Involving Moral Turpitude” is Now Unconstitutional

In the best of times, immigrants should only be deported according to the rule of law and not by the whim of executive branch officials. Now, it is imperative. Yet the statute authorizing removal of immigrants for “crimes involving moral turpitude” invites officials to base their prosecutorial choices on political or personal views. As a result, defense attorneys advising their clients on the immigration consequences of pleas have no basis for prediction. Although the Supreme Court long ago rejected the argument that the “moral turpitude” clause was void for vagueness, one of the Court’s most recent decisions now makes that conclusion unsupportable. The notion that due process permits officials to banish legal permanent residents based on “moral turpitude,” which never comported with common sense, is now legally incorrect

Why Deporting Immigrants for “Crimes Involving Moral Turpitude” is Now Unconstitutional

In the best of times, immigrants should only be deported according to the rule of law and not by the whim of executive branch officials. Now, it is imperative. Yet the statute authorizing removal of immigrants for “crimes involving moral turpitude” invites officials to base their prosecutorial choices on political or personal views. As a result, defense attorneys advising their clients on the immigration consequences of pleas have no basis for prediction. Although the Supreme Court long ago rejected the argument that the “moral turpitude” clause was void for vagueness, one of the Court’s most recent decisions now makes that conclusion unsupportable. The notion that due process permits officials to banish legal permanent residents based on “moral turpitude,” which never comported with common sense, is now legally incorrect

Augmented Cocaine Seeking in Response to Stress or CRF Delivered into the Ventral Tegmental Area Following Long-Access Self-Administration Is Mediated by CRF Receptor Type 1 But Not CRF Receptor Type 2

Stressful events are determinants of relapse in recovering cocaine addicts. Excessive cocaine use may increase susceptibility to stressor-induced relapse through alterations in brain corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) regulation of neurocircuitry involved in drug seeking. We previously reported that the reinstatement of cocaine seeking by a stressor (footshock) is CRF dependent and is augmented in rats that self-administered cocaine under long-access (LgA; 6 h daily) conditions for 14 d when compared with rats provided shorter daily cocaine access [short access (ShA) rats; 2 h daily]. Further, we have demonstrated that reinstatement in response to intracerebroventricular CRF administration is heightened in LgA rats. This study examined the role of altered ventral tegmental area (VTA) responsiveness to CRF in intake-dependent increases in CRF- and stress-induced cocaine seeking. Bilateral intra-VTA administration of CRF (250 or 500 ng/side) produced reinstatement in LgA but not ShA rats. In LgA rats, intra-VTA CRF-induced reinstatement was blocked by administration of the CRF-receptor type 1 (CRF-R1) antagonist antalarmin (500 ng/side) or CP-376395 (500 ng/side), but not the CRF-R2 antagonist astressin-2B (500 ng or 1 μg/side) or antisauvagine-30(ASV-30; 500 ng/side) into the VTA. Likewise, intra-VTA antalarmin, but not astressin-2B, blocked footshock-induced reinstatement in LgA rats. By contrast, neither intra-VTA antalarmin nor CP-376395 altered food-reinforced lever pressing. Intra-VTA injection of the CRF-R1-selective agonist cortagine (100 ng/side) but not the CRF-R2-selective agonist rat urocortin II (rUCN II; 250 ng/side) produced reinstatement. These findings reveal that excessive cocaine use increases susceptibility to stressor-induced relapse in part by augmenting CRF-R1-dependent regulation of addiction-related neurocircuitry in the VTA

Tumor necrosis factor-like weak inducer of apoptosis (TWEAK) promotes glioma cell invasion through induction of NF-κB-inducing kinase (NIK) and noncanonical NF-κB signaling

BACKGROUND: High-grade gliomas are one of the most invasive and therapy-resistant cancers. We have recently shown that noncanonical NF-κB/RelB signaling is a potent driver of tumorigenesis and invasion in the aggressive, mesenchymal subtype of glioma. However, the relevant signals that induce activation of noncanonical NF-κB signaling in glioma and its function relative to the canonical NF-κB pathway remain elusive. METHODS: The ability of tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-like weak inducer of apoptosis (TWEAK) to regulate NF-κB signaling and promote tumor progression was investigated in both established and primary high-grade glioma tumor lines using a three-dimensional (3-D) collagen invasion assay. The roles of specific NF-κB proteins in regulating glioma cell invasion and expression of Matrix Metalloproteinase 9 (MMP9) in response to TWEAK were evaluated using shRNA-mediated loss-of-function studies. The ability of NF-κB-inducing kinase (NIK) to promote glioma growth in vivo was investigated using an orthotopic xenograft mouse model. RESULTS: In glioma cells that display elevated noncanonical NF-κB signaling, loss of RelB attenuates invasion without affecting RelA expression or phosphorylation and RelB is sufficient to promote invasion in the absence of RelA. The cytokine TWEAK preferentially activates the noncanonical NF-κB pathway through induction of p100 processing to p52 and nuclear accumulation of both RelB and p52 without activating the canonical NF-κB pathway. Moreover, TWEAK, but not TNFα, significantly increases NIK mRNA levels. TWEAK also promotes noncanonical NFκB-dependent MMP9 expression and glioma cell invasion. Finally, expression of NIK is sufficient to increase gliomagenesis in vivo. CONCLUSIONS: Our data establish a key role for NIK and noncanonical NF-κB in mediating TWEAK-induced, MMP-dependent glioma cell invasion. The findings also demonstrate that TWEAK induces noncanonical NF-κB signaling and signal-specific regulation of NIK mRNA expression. Together, these studies reveal the important role of noncanonical NF-κB signaling in regulating glioma invasiveness and highlight the therapeutic potential of targeting activation of NIK in this deadly disease. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12943-014-0273-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

Rosetta Brains: A Strategy for Molecularly-Annotated Connectomics

We propose a neural connectomics strategy called Fluorescent In-Situ Sequencing of Barcoded Individual Neuronal Connections (FISSEQ-BOINC), leveraging fluorescent in situ nucleic acid sequencing in fixed tissue (FISSEQ). FISSEQ-BOINC exhibits different properties from BOINC, which relies on bulk nucleic acid sequencing. FISSEQ-BOINC could become a scalable approach for mapping whole-mammalian-brain connectomes with rich molecular annotations

Incidences of School-based Anti-gay and Gender-related Bullying: Differences across Levels of Education

Anti-gay and gender-related bullying and harassment are pervasive public health problems found in schools and are correlated with negative mental health and educational outcomes for students. This study examines the differences in the forms and prevalence of anti-gay and gender-related bullying with students from middle school, secondary, and post-secondary institutions. This information can assist researchers and practitioners in better understanding the prevalence of anti-gay verbal versus physical harassment at particular education levels. The sample comprised 7,007 participants. Multivariate analysis of variance was used to examine differences across levels of education, race/ethnicity, and gender on the 9-item Gender and Orientation Attitudes Scale. We found that middle school students were least comfortable with others perceived as gay or transgender and least likely to speak up against anti-gay bullying. Both middle school and high school students were most likely to use anti-gay and gender-related verbal slurs. Middle school students reported the greatest prevalence of physical harassment towards peers based on perceived gender and orientation. Implications of these results for public health are discussed

Management data series

Report on Survey of Shore-Based Bay-Pass and Gulf of Mexico Anglers in Texas.(May 2013-May 2014

Spatially Resolved PAH Emission Features in Nearby, Low Metallicity, Star-Forming Galaxies

Low-resolution, mid-infrared Spitzer/IRS spectral maps are presented for three nearby, low-metallicity dwarf galaxies (NGC 55, NGC 3109 and IC 5152) for the purpose of examining the spatial distribution and variation of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) emission. The sample straddles a metallicity of 12+log(O/H)~8.0, a transition point below which PAH intensity empirically drops and the character of the interstellar medium changes. We derive quantitative radiances of PAH features and atomic lines on both global and spatially-resolved scales. The Spitzer spectra, combined with extensive ancillary data from the UV through the mid-infrared, allow us to examine changes in the physical environments and in PAH feature radiances down to a physical scale of 50 pc. We discuss correlations between various PAH emission feature and atomic line radiances. The (6.2 micron)/(11.3 micron), (7.7 micron)/(11.3 micron), (8.6 micron)/(11.3 micron), (7.7 micron)/(6.2 micron), and (8.6 micron)/(6.2 micron) PAH radiance ratios are found to be independent of position across all three galaxies, although the ratios do vary from galaxy to galaxy. As seen in other galaxies, we find no variation in the grain size distribution as a function of local radiation field strength. Absolute PAH feature intensities as measured by a ratio of PAH/(24 micron) radiances are seen to vary both positionally within a given galaxy, and from one galaxy to another when integrated over the full observed extent of each system. We examine direct comparisons of CC mode PAH ratios (7.7 micron)/(6.2 micron) and (8.6 micron)/(6.2 micron) to the mixed (CC/CH) mode PAH ratio (7.7 micron)/(11.3 micron). We find little variation in either mode, and no difference in trends between modes. While the local conditions change markedly over the observed regions of these galaxies, the properties of PAH emission show a remarkable degree of uniformity.Comment: Astrophysical Journal, in pres