An Inferentially Robust Look at Two Competing Explanations for the Surge in Unauthorized Migration From Central America

The last 8 years have seen a dramatic increase in the flow of Central American apprehensions by the U.S. Border Patrol. Explanations for this surge in apprehensions have been split between two leading hypotheses. Most academic scholars, immigrant advocates, progressive media outlets, and human rights organizations identify poverty and violence (the Poverty and Violence Hypothesis) in Central America as the primary triggers responsible. In contrast, while most government officials, conservative think tanks, and the agencies that work in the immigration and border enforcement realm admit poverty and violence may underlie some decisions to migrate, they instead blame lax U.S. immigration policies, incorrect perceptions of U.S. immigration policy, and the exploitation of immigration system loopholes (the Policy and Loophole Hypothesis) as the real cause of the surge. Despite the existence of opposing claims, neither side has provided a clear data-based explanation regarding what has caused the sudden surge of unauthorized immigration from Central America. To address these competing claims, this study explored both hypotheses from a macrolevel using an empirically-driven quantitative research design. The study first identified the universe of data as tracked and gathered by large reputable organizations for the seven relevant countries/regions in the study (El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Latin America, and United States). A total of 195 independent variables were selected with 181 of them being specific to each country/region. This data produced a series of 68 independent stepwise regression models that explored the direct and indirect effects of both competing hypotheses. Ultimately, the study found more overall support for the Policy and Loophole Hypothesis, though it did not produce findings that confidently dismiss the Poverty and Violence Hypothesis. However, findings do suggest the often-cited Poverty and Violence Hypothesis has likely been overstated and exaggerated as a cause of the Central American migration surge. Furthermore, while neither hypothesis had enough inferentially robust support to conclusively back its claims, the findings do provide credence to the argument that the often-dismissed Policy and Loophole Hypothesis must be considered along with the Poverty and Violence Hypothesis in any analysis looking at unauthorized immigration from Central America

Similar Scaling Relations for the Gas Content of Galaxies Across Environments to z ~ 3.5

We study the effects of the local environment on the molecular gas content of a large sample of log(M*/M⊙) ≳ 10 star-forming and starburst galaxies with specific star formation rates (sSFRs) on and above the main sequence (MS) to z ~ 3.5. ALMA observations of the dust continuum in the COSMOS field are used to estimate molecular gas masses at z ≈ 0.5–3.5. We also use a local universe sample from the ALFALFA H I survey after converting it into molecular masses. The molecular mass (M_(ISM)) scaling relation shows a dependence on z, M *, and sSFR relative to the MS, but no dependence on environmental overdensity Δ(M_(ISM) ∝ Δ^(0.03)). Similarly, gas mass fraction (f_(gas)) and depletion timescale (τ) show no environmental dependence to z ~ 3.5. At〈z〉~ 1.8, the average〈M_(ISM) 〉,〈f_(gas) 〉, and〈τ〉in densest regions is (1.6 ± 0.2) × 10^(11) M⊙, 55 ± 2%, and 0.8 ± 0.1 Gyr, respectively, similar to those in the lowest density bin. Independent of the environment, f_(gas) decreases and τincreases with increasing cosmic time. Cosmic molecular mass density (ρ) in the lowest density bins peaks at z ~ 1–2, and this peak happens at z < 1 in densest bins. This differential evolution of ρ across environments is likely due to the growth of the large-scale structure with cosmic time. Our results suggest that the molecular gas content and the subsequent star formation activity of log(M*/M⊙) ≳ 10 star-forming and starburst galaxies is primarily driven by internal processes, and not by their local environment since z ~ 3.5

Comportamento em condições de campo de cafeeiros (Coffea arabica L.) propagados vegetativamente e por semeadura

Cutting is an alternative method for vegetative propagation of Coffea arabica L. hybrids for commercial purpose. However, the use of such method requires the understanding of the plant growth characteristics under filed conditions. Thus, the objective of the present study was to evaluate and compare the vegetative growth and first yield of Coffea arabica cv. Acai&aacute; plants obtained by cuttings and with seed propagated plants. The experiment was installed in the year 2003 and carried out in the Department of Agriculture at Federal University of Lavras-UFLA. For cutting propagation, stems were treated with three concentrations (0, 2000 e 4000 mg.L-1) of Indol butiric acid (AIB), in the presence or absence of supplemental warming. The development and growth of the cuttings were compared to the plantlets obtained by traditional seed propagation. A randomized blocks design, with six plants per plot, considering four useful plants and three replications was used. The vegetative growth, height, and yield of the plants of coffee obtained from cutting and treated with 2000 mg.L-1 AIB, were significantly greater than those not treated. Also, the production of plagiotropic branches by the plants originated from cuttings was greater than those originated from seeds.A propagação vegetativa por meio do enraizamento de estacas é uma alternativa para a propagação de híbridos de Coffea arabica L. em escala comercial. Entretanto, para a utilização da propagação via enraizamento de estacas, é necessário o conhecimento das características de crescimento das plantas no campo. Assim, objetivou-se neste trabalho avaliar o crescimento vegetativo e a primeira produção de plantas de Coffea arabica cv. Acaiá, provenientes de estaquia, bem como compará-las com plantas provenientes de semeadura. O experimento foi instalado em 2003 no Departamento de Agricultura da Universidade Federal de Lavras – UFLA. Foram utilizadas mudas provenientes de estaquia, tratadas na fase de enraizamento com ácido indol–butírico (AIB), nas concentrações de (0, 2000 e 4000 mg.L-1) com e sem aquecimento no leito de enraizamento. Como tratamento adicional, foram utilizadas mudas provenientes de semeadura. O delineamento experimental foi em blocos casualizados, com três repetições e parcelas de seis plantas, sendo quatro plantas úteis. Avaliações do crescimento vegetativo e da produção possibilitaram concluir que plantas provenientes de estaquia, tratadas com AIB, apresentaram maior altura e produção em relação às não-tratadas. Observou-se maior número de pares de ramos plagiotrópicos e produção das plantas provenientes de estaquia em relação às plantas provenientes de semeadura

Health, ethics and environment: A qualitative study of vegetarian motivations

This qualitative study explored the motivations of vegetarians by means of online ethnographic research with participants in an international message board. The researcher participated in discussions on the board, gathered responses to questions from 33 participants, and conducted follow-up e-mail interviews with eighteen of these participants. Respondents were predominantly from the US, Canada and the UK. Seventy per cent were female, and ages ranged from 14 to 53, with a median of 26 years. Data were analysed using a thematic approach. While this research found that health and the ethical treatment of animals were the main motivators for participants’ vegetarianism, participants reported a range of commitments to environmental concerns, although in only one case was environmentalism a primary motivator for becoming a vegetarian. The data indicates that vegetarians may follow a trajectory, in which initial motivations are augmented over time by other reasons for sustaining or further restricting their diet

Identifying the origins of extreme rainfall using storm track classification

Identifying patterns in data relating to extreme rainfall is important for classifying and estimating rainfall and flood frequency distributions routinely used in civil engineering design and flood management. This study demonstrates the novel use of several self-organising map (SOM) models to extract the key moisture pathways for extreme rainfall events applied to example data in northern Spain. These models are trained using various subsets of a backwards trajectory data set generated for extreme rainfall events between 1967 and 2016. The results of our analysis show 69.2% of summer rainfall extremes rely on recirculatory moisture pathways concentrated on the Iberian Peninsula, whereas 57% of winter extremes rely on deep-Atlantic pathways to bring moisture from the ocean. These moisture pathways have also shown differences in rainfall magnitude, such as in the summer where peninsular pathways are 8% more likely to deliver the higher magnitude extremes than their Atlantic counterparts

‘Shall We Send a Panda?’ A Practical Guide to Engaging Schools in Research: Learning from Large-Scale Mental Health Intervention Trials

The substantial time that children and young people spend in schools makes them important sites to trial and embed prevention and early intervention programmes. However, schools are complex settings, and it can be difficult to maintain school engagement in research trials; many projects experience high levels of attrition. This commentary presents learning from two large-scale, mixed-methods mental health intervention trials in English schools. The paper explores the barriers and challenges to engaging schools in promotion or early intervention research and offers detailed recommendations for other researchers