Development of a lithium secondary battery separator

A nonporous membrane based on the polymerization of 2,3-dihydrofuran followed by crosslinking in situ was prepared. The material is compatible with rechargeable Li battery components and, when swollen with an appropriate solvent such as tetrahydrofuran, exhibits separator resistance and Li transport equivalent to Celgard

Dynamical Equations from a First-Order Perturbative Superspace Formulation of 10D N=1 String-Corrected Supergravity (I)

Utilizing a first-order perturbative superspace approach, we derive the bosonic equations of motion for the 10D, N = 1 supergravity fields. We give the Lagrangian corresponding to these equations derived from superspace geometry. Moreover, the equivalence of this Lagrangian to the first-order perturbative component level Lagrangian of anomaly-free supergravity is proven. Our treatment covers both the two-form and six-form formulations.Comment: 20 pages, no figures, references and note in proof adde

Polar Bear Population Forecasts: A Public-Policy Forecasting Audit

The extinction of polar bears by the end of the 21st century has been predicted and calls have been made to list them as a threatened species under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. The decision on whether or not to list rests upon forecasts of what will happen to the bears over the 21st Century. Scientific research on forecasting, conducted since the 1930s, has led to an extensive set of principles—evidence-based procedures—that describe which methods are appropriate under given conditions. The principles of forecasting have been published and are easily available. We assessed polar bear population forecasts in light of these scientific principles. Much research has been published on forecasting polar bear populations. Using an Internet search, we located roughly 1,000 such papers. None of them made reference to the scientific literature on forecasting. We examined references in the nine unpublished government reports that were prepared “…to Support U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Polar Bear Listing Decision.” The papers did not include references to works on scientific forecasting methodology. Of the nine papers written to support the listing, we judged two to be the most relevant to the decision: Amstrup, Marcot and Douglas et al. (2007), which we refer to as AMD, and Hunter et al. (2007), which we refer to as H6 to represent the six authors. AMD’s forecasts were the product of a complex causal chain. For the first link in the chain, AMD assumed that General Circulation Models (GCMs) are valid. However, the GCM models are not valid as a forecasting method and are not reliable for forecasting at a regional level as being considered by AMD and H6, thus breaking the chain. Nevertheless, we audited their conditional forecasts of what would happen to the polar bear population assuming that the extent of summer sea ice will decrease substantially in the coming decades. AMD could not be rated against 26 relevant principles because the paper did not contain enough information. In all, AMD violated 73 of the 90 forecasting principles we were able to rate. They used two un-validated methods and relied on only one polar bear expert to specify variables, relationships, and inputs into their models. The expert then adjusted the models until the outputs conformed to his expectations. In effect, the forecasts were the opinions of a single expert unaided by forecasting principles. Based on research to date, approaches based on unaided expert opinion are inappropriate to forecasting in situations with high complexity and much uncertainty. Our audit of the second most relevant paper, H6, found that it was also based on faulty forecasting methodology. For example, it extrapolated nearly 100 years into the future on the basis of only five years of data – and data for these years were of doubtful validity. In summary, experts’ predictions, unaided by evidence-based forecasting procedures, should play no role in this decision. Without scientific forecasts of a substantial decline of the polar bear population and of net benefits from feasible policies arising from listing polar bears, a decision to list polar bears as threatened or endangered would be irresponsible.adaptation, bias, climate change, decision making, endangered species, expert opinion, evaluation, evidence-based principles, expert judgment, extinction, forecasting methods, global warming, habitat loss, mathematical models, scientific method, sea ice

Constructing and Testinga Multiple-Theory (Integrated) Model of Juvenile Delinquency

The present study posuions constructs of five popular criminological/sociological theories into an integrated or multiple theory model to investigate the causation of delinquency. The model was testedon a sample(N=532) of males and females who were being detained in a county juvenile facility. The theories of differential association and anomie contributed the most to the model while social control and self-esteem theories contributed the least, leaving the labeling theory to contribute a moderate portion to the explanation of delinquency. The model indicated that the more anomie youths and those experiencing less social control were more likely to associate I with delinquent peers resulting in higher labeling and lower self-esteem. A comprehensive model of delinquency is better structured to depict the sequential and progressive attraction toward delinquent involvement than single theory models

A Call to Political and Social Activism: The Jeremiadic Discourse of Maria Miller Stewart, 1831-1833

This essay identifies the rhetorical strategies of Maria Miller Stewart’s Boston anti-slavery discourse as jeremiads that connected her religious, moral, political and social lamentations of the American democratic system and called her audiences to aid in the desensitizing of slavery and America prejudice. When she attempted to establish a common ground, the aim of Stewart’s jeremiads was to make her audiences conscious of the numerous social and political grievances within the African-American community. Stewart’s jeremiadic discourse called for the deterioration of American racism and sexism and provided an agency that constituted a form of resistance

Oorlewing van die skerpioen <i>Opistophthalmus pugnax</i> (Scorpionidae) ná blootstelling aan ’n letale dosis SO₂-gas

<span>Skerpioene is bekend vir hul aanpasbaarheid by toestande in ’n droë habitat, min voedsel en radioaktiewe bestraling. Niks is bekend oor hul aanpasbaarheid by skadelike gasse nie. Resultate van hierdie eksperiment by </span><em>Opistophthalmus pugnax </em><span>bewys dat hulle ’n hoë dosis van 1000 dele per miljoen SO</span>₂<span> kan oorleef wat nie die geval is by die mens nie. Byvoorbeeld, die suurstofverbruikskoers neem eerder toe van 4.16 µmol/g</span>^-1<span>uur</span>^-1<span>na 7.69 µmol/g</span>^-1<span>uur</span>^-1<span>, een uur ná blootstelling aan SO</span>₂<span>. Veertig minute na blootstelling was die ṀO</span>₂<span> steeds bykans twee keer hoër in vergelyking met die ṀO</span>₂<span> aan die begin. Hierdie bevinding moet deur verdere eksperimente nagevors word, veral wat die rol van spirakulumsluiting speel by blootstelling aan SO</span>₂<span>.</span

“I am an Anarchist”: The Social Anarchism of Lucy E. Parsons

A determined advocate of socialism anarchism, Lucy E. Parsons believed that inequities in society stemmed from unequal power relations between government and the people. Parsons delivered powerful orations and had an enormous influence in world history in general and US labor history in particular. This essay raises two issues: Parsons’ view of human nature and the degree to which her ideas were rooted in a theory of historical progress. She maintained a staunch commitment to establishing and maintaining collective freedom and her allegiance was demonstrated by her perpetual critiques of any form of domination or subordination of the working class perpetrated by government

Black Lawyers of Missouri: 150 Years of Progress and Promise

In this Article, Judge Epps amasses and orchestrates an unprecedented amount of information about Missouri’s Black lawyers from 1871 to 2021. As Missouri marks its bicentennial, and the sesquicentennial of the first Black lawyer admitted to practice here, this Article offers analysis and insights about the most well-known Black lawyers, including new details on many previously unknown Black lawyers. According to Judge Epps, the earliest of these legal pioneers courageously practiced law when Blacks had few or no rights under the Supreme Court’s interpretation of the Constitution, and de jure and de facto discrimination reigned in Missouri. His research shows how Black attorneys fought prejudice within the profession even as they represented Black clients before a sometimes hostile judiciary. Judge Epps’s scholarship also spotlights a generation of Missouri Black lawyers who shattered ceilings, sparking progress within the profession. This Article is the essential resource to understand the stony road Blacks have trod, the transformation of civil rights law, and the challenges ahead