The Untouchable Executive Authority: Trump and The Section 232 Tariffs on Steel and Aluminum

In 2018, President Trump championed his way through the imposition of the Section 232 Tariffs—a heavy tax on various imports, including steel and aluminum—by broadcasting a supposedly-imminent threat to the U.S. national security. This plea, however, has been criticized as a veil for President Trump’s economic protectionism policy. Meanwhile, others have questioned the constitutionality of the statute creating the President’s authority to impose these tariffs in the first place. This Comment explores the issues arising from President Trump’s Section 232 Tariffs on steel and aluminum: (1) the validity and justiciability of President Trump’s actions under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, and (2) the constitutionality of Section 23

Cross Metathesis Assisted Solid-Phase Synthesis of Glycopeptoids

A solid-phase synthesis of glycopeptoids was explored through olefin cross metathesis (CM). Peptoids and sugar derivatives with appropriate olefin moieties were coupled in the presence of an olefin metathesis catalyst to afford glycopeptoids in good yields. This systematic solid-phase CM study can provide facile access to the molecular sources of glycopeptidomimetics and postchemical modifications on various molecular scaffolds

Cross-taxon congruence and environmental conditions

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Diversity patterns of different taxa typically covary in space, a phenomenon called cross-taxon congruence. This pattern has been explained by the effect of one taxon diversity on taxon diversity, shared biogeographic histories of different taxa, and/or common responses to environmental conditions. A meta-analysis of the association between environment and diversity patterns found that in 83 out of 85 studies, more than 60% of the spatial variability in species richness was related to variables representing energy, water or their interaction. The role of the environment determining taxa diversity patterns leads us to hypothesize that this would explain the observed cross-taxon congruence. However, recent analyses reported the persistence of cross-taxon congruence when environmental effect was statistically removed. Here we evaluate this hypothesis, analyzing the cross-taxon congruence between birds and mammals in the Brazilian Cerrado, and assess the environmental role on the spatial covariation in diversity patterns.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We found a positive association between avian and mammal richness and a positive latitudinal trend for both groups in the Brazilian Cerrado. Regression analyses indicated an effect of latitude, PET, and mean temperature over both biological groups. In addition, we show that NDVI was only associated with avian diversity; while the annual relative humidity, was only correlated with mammal diversity. We determined the environmental effects on diversity in a path analysis that accounted for 73% and 76% of the spatial variation in avian and mammal richness. However, an association between avian and mammal diversity remains significant. Indeed, the importance of this link between bird and mammal diversity was also supported by a significant association between birds and mammal spatial autoregressive model residuals.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Our study corroborates the main role of environmental conditions on diversity patterns, but suggests that other important mechanisms, which have not been properly evaluated, are involved in the observed cross-taxon congruence. The approaches introduced here indicate that the prevalence of a significant association among taxa, after considering the environmental determinant, could indicate both the need to incorporate additional processes (e.g. biogeographic and evolutionary history or trophic interactions) and/or the existence of a shared trend in detection biases among taxa and regions.</p

Manajemen Pembelajaran Ekstra Kurikuler Pendidikan Agama Islam di Mts Negeri 1 Semarang

Manajemen pembelajaran ekstra kurikuler pendidikan agama Islam merupakan hal yang sangat penting dalam sebuah lembaga pendidikan, khususnya pendidikan lembaga formal, hal ini dilatar belakangi oleh kurang seimbangnya jam pelajaran pendidikan agama islam disekolah formal. Sekolah formal pada umumnya hanya mengajarkan teori-teori tentang ilmu pendidikan islam saja. Hal ini berbeda dengan M.Ts N 1 Semarang yang dimana para peserta didik dapat menyalurkan bakat dan dapat memperdalam pengetahuan agama khususnya secara praktik dalam kegiatan yang dihimpun dalam wadah kegiatan ekstra kurikuler pendidikan agama Islam. Studi ini dimaksudkan untuk menjawab permasalahan: (1) bagaimana perencanaan pembelajaran ekstra kurikuler pendidikan agama Islam yang meliputi tiga kegiatan, yaitu ekstra kurikuler BTQ, Tilawah wa tahsin Al Qur’an, dan Kaligrafi. (2) bagaimana pelaksanaan pembelajaran ekstra kurikuler pendidikan agama Islam yang meliputi tiga kegiatan, yaitu ekstra kurikuler BTQ, Tilawah wa tahsin Al Qur’an, dan kaligrafi. (3) bagaimana evaluasi pembelajaran ekstra kurikuler pendidikan agama Islam yang meliputi tiga kegiatan, yaitu ekstra kurikuler BTQ, Tilawah wa tahsin Al Qur’an, dan kaligrafi. Penelitian ini merupakan bagian dari jenis penelitian yang mengguanakan pendekatan kualitatif. Data yang dibutuhkan dalam penelitia ini diperoleh melalui metode wawancara, dokumentasi, dan observasi. Sedangkan analisis data yang digunakan adalah analisis deskriptif kualitatif. Hasil penelitian ini menunjukkan bahwa Pertama, perencanaan pembelajaran ekstra kurikuler pendidikan agama Islam yang meliputi tiga kegiatan, yaitu ekstra kurikuler BTQ, Tilawah dan tahsin Al Qur’an, Kaligrafi cukup baik namun masih tersusun sederhana belum sistematis. Hal ini dapat dilihat dengan adanya upaya untuk mewujudkan tujuan pembelajaran ekstra kurikuler pendidikan agam Islam yang mencakup pengembangan SDM, Pembina, dan kualitas peserta didik. Kedua, pelaksanaan pembelajaran ekstra kurikuler pendidikan agama Islam yang meliputi tiga kegiatan, yaitu ekstra kurikuler BTQ, tilawah dan tahsin Al Qur’an, kaligrafi cukup baik dan berjalan sesuai yang direncanakan. Ketiga, evaluasi yang dilaksanakan oleh kegiatan pembelajaran ekstra kurikuler sebagai upaya untuk meningkatkan kualitas internal sekolah (terkait dengan kualitas Pembina dan pesrta didik). Berdasarkan pada hasil di atas, maka hasil penelitian manajemen pembelajaran ekstra kurikuler pendidikan agama islam yang diterapkan oleh M.Ts. N. 1 Semarang perlu adanya penataan kembali agar kegiatan ekstra kurikuler PAI dapat berjalan lebih baik dan tersusun secara sistematis dan terdokumentasi sesuai dengan kaidah ilmu manajemen, karena manajemen pembelajaran yang sistematis tidak hanya berlaku diproses pembelajaran kurikulum tetapi juga di pembelajaran kurikule

Evaluación de la vulnerabilidad ecológica de los gasterópodos bentónicos marinos del Atlántico Occidental

Assessing the extinction risk in marine invertebrates poses serious challenges to conservation biology, due to the magnitude of marine biodiversity, the inaccessibility of most of the marine realm, and the lack of appropriate data on population dynamics and ecology for most species. However, simple life history traits have a huge potential for preliminary screening criteria for assessing large numbers of species whose status is harsh or impossible to evaluate. Body size and trophic position could be strong predictors of extinction risk providing a general framework for the assessment of species vulnerability. We analyzed the Body Size-Trophic Position (BS-TP) relationship along 1,067 genera representing 4,256 nominal species of western Atlantic benthic gastropods. We found that a carnivore diet characterizes 67% of the genera and that, supporting theoretical predictions, the probability of being carnivores as a function of size showed a unimodal trend. For species with adult body sizes larger than 5 cm, a negative association between trophic position and body size was detected. This result points to an energetic restriction for the viability of large species, implying that organisms placed near the BS-TP boundary are extremely vulnerable to environmental changes. With this result, 109 genera from 42 families of carnivore gastropods and 33 genera from 19 families of herbivore gastropods that may be more vulnerable from the analyzed perspective were identified and ranked. Supporting these results, while the most vulnerable genera are not represented in global IUCN assessments, all our ‘top 10’ vulnerable families are being considered in National or Regional Red Lists. Prior to conducting regional or global conservation assessments for invertebrate taxa, screening methods should be strongly considered.Evaluar el riesgo de extinción de los invertebrados marinos plantea serios desafíos para la biología de la conservación, debido a la magnitud de la biodiversidad marina, la inaccesibilidad de la mayor parte del ámbito marino y la falta de datos apropiados sobre la dinámica de población y la ecología de la mayoría de las especies. Sin embargo, los rasgos simples de la historia de vida tienen un gran potencial como criterios preliminares de selección para evaluar un gran número de especies cuyo estado es difícil o imposible de evaluar. El tamaño del cuerpo y la posición trófica podrían ser fuertes predictores del riesgo de extinción proporcionando un marco general para la evaluación de la vulnerabilidad de las especies. Analizamos la relación Tamaño Corporal-Posición Trófica (BS-TP) a lo largo de 1.067 géneros que representan 4.256 especies nominales de gasterópodos bentónicos del Atlántico Occidental. Encontramos que una dieta carnívora caracteriza al 67% de los géneros y que, apoyando las predicciones teóricas, la probabilidad de ser carnívoros en función del tamaño mostró una tendencia unimodal. Para especies con tamaños corporales adultos mayores de 5 cm, se detectó una asociación negativa entre la posición trófica y el tamaño corporal. Este resultado apunta a una restricción energética para la viabilidad de las especies grandes, lo que implica que los organismos ubicados cerca del límite BS-TP son extremadamente vulnerables a los cambios ambientales. Con este resultado, se identificaron y clasificaron 109 géneros de 42 familias de gasterópodos carnívoros y 33 géneros de 19 familias de gasterópodos herbívoros que pueden ser más vulnerables desde la perspectiva analizada. Respaldando estos resultados, mientras que los géneros más vulnerables no están representados en las evaluaciones globales de la UICN, todas nuestras “10 principales” familias vulnerables están siendo consideradas en las Listas Rojas Nacionales o Regionales. Antes de realizar evaluaciones de conservación regionales o globales para taxones de invertebrados, se deben considerar seriamente los métodos de detección

Designing Efficient and Equitable Freight Services Markets for Sustainable Economic Performance

Despite the indispensability of freight trucking services and truckers’ role as critical stakeholders in supply chains, relatively little attention has been paid to analyzing small independent truckers’ roles. Shippers often prefer working with larger trucking companies to the detriment of smaller independent truckers, who must grapple with an inherently disadvantageous job market. Furthermore, in the presence of uncertainty or peak demand periods, trucker shortages can pose significant economic challenges for shippers and downstream customers. In this paper, we propose an analytical framework to address these challenges in efforts to enhance the sustainability of the freight service industry. We formulate and solve a weighted bi-objective optimization model that simultaneously maximizes the total profits of both shippers and truckers to design a sustainable freight services market. Further, we leverage Monte Carlo simulation trials to examine how all players in this market can achieve a better solution under uncertainty. Ultimately, after evaluating multiple scenarios, we find that shippers and truckers yield the highest economic benefits under a balanced design that leverages principles of supply chain coordination, while satisfying all demand from shippers. This framework can serve as a decision support tool for policymakers who aim to ensure all stakeholders in the market can become and remain profitable. Based on our findings, this study suggests practical implications on how to consider humanitarian policies aimed at promoting equity for truckers and ensuring the timely shipment of essential products for both shippers and truckers

Decomposing inequality changes in Uruguay: the role of formalization in the labor market

During the first decade of the twentieth century, the Uruguayan labor market showed a significant decline in wage inequality and in the incidence of labor informality, while similar changes also took place in other Latin American countries. These trends were observed in a period of strong economic dynamism. Most extended explanations for this declining inequality in the region have been centered on falling returns to education. The main goal of this paper is to present new evidence on the relation between informality and wage inequality through a RIF-based regression decomposition analysis which, besides confirming the relevant role of education, shows that the process of labor market formalization also played a significant role in the reduction of inequality in Uruguay, mainly through a price effect