Procedural failures during the expedited removal process

This thesis contributes to our understanding of the impediments to protection faced by asylum seekers subject to the “expedited removal,” or summary deportation, provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act. By studying various texts, from the statute itself, to agency policy memoranda, to human rights reports, I compare the law of expedited removal as it is written and interpreted by the government, to the law as it is actually applied. I then argue that asylum seekers caught up in the expedited removal process are not being given the procedural protections that they deserve. This topic is of particular interest in light of recent immigration enforcement policy changes ordered by the Trump administration. Specifically, President Trump has extended expedited removal to cover noncitizens with substantial ties to the United States. While many academics have studied immigration enforcement, I hope to add to the conversation by looking deeply at the texts that make up the law of expedited removal, and contrasting the procedures outlined in these texts with de facto procedures in the field. As a future immigration lawyer, I believe that it is important to add to lay understanding of the law of expedited removal, and the impediments to protection that asylum seekers face when they are placed in expedited removal proceedings.Latin American StudiesLa

Velocity-resolved observations of water in Comet Halley

High resolution (lambda/delta lambda approx. = 3 x 10 to the 5th power) near-infrared observations of H2O emission from Comet Halley were acquired at the time of maximum post-perihelion geocentric Doppler shift. The observed widths and absolute positions of the H2O line profiles reveal characteristics of the molecular velocity field in the coma. These results support H2O outflow from a Sun-lit hemisphere or the entire nucleus, but not from a single, narrow jet emanating from the nucleus. The measured pre- and post-perihelion outflow velocities were 0.9 + or - 0.2 and 1.4 + or - 0.2 km/s, respectively. Temporal variations in the kinematic properties of the outflow were inferred from changes in the spectral line shapes. These results are consistent with the release of H2O into the coma from multiple jets

Groupthink and the Classroom: Changing Familiar Patterns to Encourage Critical Thought

Groupthink is an unhealthy decision-making pattern characterized by a high degree of cohesiveness and a striving for consensus among the members of a decision-making group. This article considers the classroom as a potential contributor to the groupthink phenomenon, comparing the antecedent conditions for group think with typical classroom conditions and expectations. With a plausible, though unproven, link between the classroom and group think decision making, four suggestions are offered teachers for encouraging independent thought and action in students. The four suggestions include adding critical-thinking skills, decision-making skills, small group communication skills, and conflict management skills to the curriculum. These additions are possible and valuable at every educational level

Genetic Conservation of Highlands J Viruses

AbstractWe studied molecular evolution of the mosquito-borne alphavirus Highlands J (HJ) virus by sequencing PCR products generated from 19 strains isolated between 1952 and 1994. Sequences of 1200 nucleotides including portions of the E1 gene and the 3′ untranslated region revealed a relatively slow evolutionary rate estimated at 0.9–1.6 × 10−4substitutions per nucleotide per year. Phylogenetic trees indicated that all HJ viruses descended from a common ancestor and suggested the presence of one dominant lineage in North America. However, two or more minor lineages probably circulated simultaneously for periods of years to a few decades. Strains isolated from a horse suffering encephalitis, and implicated in a recent turkey outbreak, were not phylogenetically distinct from strains isolated in other locations during the same time periods. Our findings are remarkably similar to those we obtained previously for another North American alphavirus, eastern equine encephalomyelitis virus, with which Highlands J shares primary mosquito and avian hosts, geographical distribution, and ecology. These results support the hypotheses that the duration of the transmission season affects arboviral evolutionary rates and vertebrate host mobility influences genetic diversity

The Urban Health Index: A Handbook for its Calculation and Use

The Urban Health Index (UHI) is a single metric that can be used to measure and map the disparities in health determinants and outcomes in urban areas. This Handbook is primarily intended for those who want to calculate the UHI for a particular geographic area of interest

Does Workplace Social Capital Associate with Hazardous Drinking Among Chinese Rural-Urban Migrant Workers?

Background: The present study sought to investigate the associations between workplace social capital and hazardous drinking (HD) among Chinese rural-urban migrant workers (RUMW). Methods: A cross sectional study with a multi-stage stratified sampling procedure was conducted in Shanghai during July 2012 to January 2013. In total, 5,318 RUMWs from 77 workplaces were involved. Work-place social capital was assessed using a validated and psychometrically tested eight-item measure. The Chinese version of Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) was used to assess hazardous drinking. Control variables included gender, age, marital status, education level, salary, and current smoking. Multilevel logistic regression analysis was conducted to test whether individual- and workplace-level social capital was associated with hazardous drinking. Results: Overall, the prevalence of HD was 10.6%. After controlling for individuallevel socio-demographic and lifestyle variables, compared to workers in the highest quartile of individual-level social capital, the odds of HD for workers in the three bottom quartiles were 1.13(95%CI: 1.04–1.23), 1.17(95%CI: 1.05–1.56) and 1.26(95%CI: 1.13–1.72), respectively. However, contrary to hypothesis, there was no relationship between workplace-level social capital and hazardous drinking. Conclusions: Higher individual-level social capital may protect against HD among Chinese RUMWs. Interventions to build individual social capital among RUMWs in China may help reduce HD among this population

Variability of the Great Plains Low-Level Jet: Large Scale Circulation Context and Hydroclimate Impacts

Variability of the Great Plains Low-Level Jet (GPLLJ) is analyzed from the perspective of larger-scale, lower-frequency influences and regional hydroclimate impacts; as opposed to the usual analysis of its frequency, diurnal variability and mesoscale structure. The circulation-centric core analysis is conducted with monthly and pentad data from the high spatio-temporal resolution, precipitation-assimilating North American Regional Reanalysis, and ERA-40 global reanalysis (as necessary) to identify the recurrent patterns of GPLLJ variability and their large-scale circulation and regional hydroclimate links. The analysis reveals that GPLLJ variability is, indeed, linked to coherent, large-scale, upper-level height patterns over the Pacific, and NAO variability in the Atlantic. A Rossby Wave Source analysis shows the Pacific height pattern to be potentially linked to tropical diabatic heating anomalies in the west-central basin and in the eastern Pacific sector. EOF analysis of GPLLJ variability shows it to be comprised of three modes that exert profound influence on Great Plains precipitation variability, and together, account for ~75% of the variance. Ocean basin centered EOF analysis on summertime SLP anomalies shows similar GPLLJ and precipitation impacts as those found in the Great Plains centric perspective, supporting the claim for remotely generated influences on Great Plains low-level jet and hydroclimate variability. Pentad analysis of the atmospheric and terrestrial water balances during the 1988 drought and 1993 flood show that, jet variability, while influential over many of the subseasonal anomalous precipitation episodes was not a necessary condition for precipitation anomalies. Great Plains evaporation exhibited a 2-week delay with respect to precipitation suggesting a minor role for precipitation recycling during these events. ENSO and NAO variability are shown to contribute significantly to the large midsummer positive precipitation anomalies during 1993. EEOF analysis of pentad 900 hPa meridional winds during MJJ show three temporally stable modes of variability, each exhibiting similar spatial characteristics to the monthly EOF spatial patterns. Lead/lag regressions show a one pentad delay in moisture flux convergence generated precipitation anomalies, perhaps, suggesting the importance of moisture transports in generating Great Plains precipitation anomalies. Climate models are shown to be challenged in depicting the jet and precipitation variability over the Great Plains

Real-Time Classification of Road Conditions

Common navigation algorithms like A* or D* Lite rely on costs to determine an optimal path. Costs may incorporate distance, time, or energy consumption; however, they can include anything that affects travel along a path. Much research is done to improve planning algorithms based on a given cost, often without stating how to acquire that cost. Therefore, the focus of this research involves determining a method of accurately obtaining that cost in real-time by classifying environmental conditions. Specifically, this research employs K-Nearest Neighbor and Principal Component Analysis techniques to classify road conditions in order to determine the most informative parameters when measuring the cost of driving on those roads. This sensor-based classification approach may not only allow for improved automatic traction handling and path navigation, but also may be applied to any robotic system requiring real-time knowledge of environmental conditions

Enhancement of Chaperone-Mediated Protein Folding Through Substrate Protein Interactions with the Groel C-Termini

Many essential proteins require the assistance of molecular chaperones to achieve and maintain their native, folded conformations. The E. coli GroEL-ES chaperonin system is capable of aiding the folding of the cellular proteome through several distinct mechanisms, including the blocking of intermolecular aggregation, the confinement of substrate proteins inside the GroEL-ES cavity, and the forced unfolding of substrate proteins to reinitiate the folding process. This study describes the role of the C-terminal residues of the GroEL protein enhancing of the folding of substrate proteins. The 23 C-terminal residues of the GroEL monomer partially consist of four tandem repeats of a Gly-Gly-Met motif, leading to an intrinsically disordered conformation. Visualized using cryo-electron microscopy, these residues extend from the bottom of a GroEL cavity and interact with substrate proteins both before and during the folding process; removal of these residues leads to deficiencies in substrate protein encapsulation and folding. Interactions between the C-terminal tails of GroEL and the substrate protein lead to changes in both the conformation of the substrate protein and the binding position on the GroEL cavity surface before folding begins. These changes result in the substrate protein adopting a more unfolded state and migrating deeper into the cavity. These effects were observed with two distinct substrate proteins, the carbonfixing enzyme RuBisCO and the metalloprotease PepQ, which have unrelated, dissimilar structural folds. Changes in the subsequent intra-cavity folding relative to folding in the absence of the GroEL C-termini were also observed for both proteins, indicating altered utilization of folding pathways or intermediates. Significantly, these alterations of substrate protein conformation and folding, which lead to the enhancement of folding rate, are independent of any passive mechanism of preventing aggregation, as PepQ has no propensity for aggregation under the employed conditions. The results of this study show that GroEL can actively enhance the folding of proteins by altering the conformation of the substrate protein, thus changing the folding pathway and directing it towards the native-state