When it comes to U.S. punishment, noncitizens may be the newface of legal inequality

While there has a been a great deal of discussion and commentary on the recent increase in the numbers of undocumented immigrants coming to the U.S., there is little understanding of their experiences in America, especially within the justice system. In new research, Michael T. Light finds that nearly half of those sentenced in a U.S. district court are noncitizens, and that they are given harsher sentences. He writes that noncitizens are far more likely to be imprisoned than U.S. citizens, and that this sentencing gap is larger than the gap between racial/ethnic minorities and whites, between men and women, and between college-educated offenders and high school dropouts. In addition, he finds that on average, noncitizens receive sentences that are 3-4 months longer than citizens, when imprisone

The rise in the incarceration rate may help explain the falling gap in homicide rates between Blacks, Hispanics and Whites.

Blacks, Hispanics and Whites all have differing homicide rates. But how have these rates changed in recent years? In new research which examines 131 metropolitan areas, Michael T. Light takes the first look at trends in racial and ethnic homicide gaps in the US since 1990, finding that these gaps had decreased by between 35 and 50 percent. He writes that these declining trends may be explained by a growing immigrant population, and more importantly, by a rising incarceration rate which has disproportionately affected racial and ethnic minorities

Immigration And Violent Crime: Triangulating Findings Across Diverse Studies

The dramatic increase in both lawful and unauthorized immigration in recent decades produced a groundswell of research on two questions: (1) Does immigration increase violent crime? and (2) What policy responses are most effective at addressing unauthorized immigration (e.g., sanctuary policies, deportations, etc.)? For the most part, these bodies of work have developed independently, and thus we know little as to whether the insights from one inform the other. This Article fills this gap by first reviewing both areas of research and then triangulating shared findings between them. In doing so, we focus on three contemporary immigration policies: (1) increased deportation; (2) “sanctuary” policies, and (3) “amnesty” laws. Our review provides little evidence to suggest that immigration increases the prevalence of violence. For this reason, policies aimed to enhance public safety by reducing immigration are unlikely to deliver on their crime reduction promises

Magnetothermodynamics: Measurements Of The Thermodynamic Properties In A Relaxed Magnetohydrodynamic Plasma

We have explored the thermodynamics of compressed magnetized plasmas in laboratory experiments and we call these studies ‘magnetothermodynamics’. The experiments are carried out in the Swarthmore Spheromak eXperiment device. In this device, a magnetized plasma source is located at one end and at the other end, a closed conducting can is installed. We generate parcels of magnetized plasma and observe their compression against the end wall of the conducting cylinder. The plasma parameters such as plasma density, temperature and magnetic field are measured during compression using HeNe laser interferometry, ion Doppler spectroscopy and a linear dot{B} probe array, respectively. To identify the instances of ion heating during compression, a PV diagram is constructed using measured density, temperature and a proxy for the volume of the magnetized plasma. Different equations of state are analysed to evaluate the adiabatic nature of the compressed plasma. A three-dimensional resistive magnetohydrodynamic code (NIMROD) is employed to simulate the twisted Taylor states and shows stagnation against the end wall of the closed conducting can. The simulation results are consistent to what we observe in our experiments

Laser frequency comb techniques for precise astronomical spectroscopy

Precise astronomical spectroscopic analyses routinely assume that individual pixels in charge-coupled devices (CCDs) have uniform sensitivity to photons. Intra-pixel sensitivity (IPS) variations may already cause small systematic errors in, for example, studies of extra-solar planets via stellar radial velocities and cosmological variability in fundamental constants via quasar spectroscopy, but future experiments requiring velocity precisions approaching ~1 cm/s will be more strongly affected. Laser frequency combs have been shown to provide highly precise wavelength calibration for astronomical spectrographs, but here we show that they can also be used to measure IPS variations in astronomical CCDs in situ. We successfully tested a laser frequency comb system on the Ultra-High Resolution Facility spectrograph at the Anglo-Australian Telescope. By modelling the 2-dimensional comb signal recorded in a single CCD exposure, we find that the average IPS deviates by <8 per cent if it is assumed to vary symmetrically about the pixel centre. We also demonstrate that series of comb exposures with absolutely known offsets between them can yield tighter constraints on symmetric IPS variations from ~100 pixels. We discuss measurement of asymmetric IPS variations and absolute wavelength calibration of astronomical spectrographs and CCDs using frequency combs.Comment: 11 pages, 7 figures. Accepted for publication in MNRA

Wavelength dependent photoextrusion and tandem photo-extrusion reactions of ninhydrin bis-acetals for the synthesis of 8-ring lactones, benzocyclobutenes and orthoanhydrides

Ninhydrin bis-acetals give access to 8-ring lactones, benzocyclobutenes and spirocyclic orthoanhydrides through photoextrusion and tandem photoextrusion reactions. Syntheses of fimbricalyxlactone B, isoshihunine and numerous biologically-relevant heterocycles show the value of the methods, while TA-spectroscopy and TD-DFT studies provide mechanistic insights on their wavelength dependence

Evaluation Research and Institutional Pressures: Challenges in Public-Nonprofit Contracting

This article examines the connection between program evaluation research and decision-making by public managers. Drawing on neo-institutional theory, a framework is presented for diagnosing the pressures and conditions that lead alternatively toward or away the rational use of evaluation research. Three cases of public-nonprofit contracting for the delivery of major programs are presented to clarify the way coercive, mimetic, and normative pressures interfere with a sound connection being made between research and implementation. The article concludes by considering how public managers can respond to the isomorphic pressures in their environment that make it hard to act on data relating to program performance.This publication is Hauser Center Working Paper No. 23. The Hauser Center Working Paper Series was launched during the summer of 2000. The Series enables the Hauser Center to share with a broad audience important works-in-progress written by Hauser Center scholars and researchers

The Mych Gene Is Required for Neural Crest Survival during Zebrafish Development

Background: Amomg Myc family genes, c-Myc is known to have a role in neural crest specification in Xenopus and in craniofacial development in the mouse. There is no information on the function of other Myc genes in neural crest development, or about any developmental role: of zebrafish Myc genes. Principal Findings: We isolated the zebrafish mych (myc homologue) gene. Knockdown of mych leads to sever defects in craniofacial development and in certain other tissues including the eye. These phenotypes appear to be caused by cell death in the neural crest and in the eye field in the anterior brain. Significance: Mych is a novel factor required for neural crest cell survival in zebrafish

Neuronal circuitry for pain processing in the dorsal horn

Neurons in the spinal dorsal horn process sensory information, which is then transmitted to several brain regions, including those responsible for pain perception. The dorsal horn provides numerous potential targets for the development of novel analgesics and is thought to undergo changes that contribute to the exaggerated pain felt after nerve injury and inflammation. Despite its obvious importance, we still know little about the neuronal circuits that process sensory information, mainly because of the heterogeneity of the various neuronal components that make up these circuits. Recent studies have begun to shed light on the neuronal organization and circuitry of this complex region