The Upper Chamber of a Bicameral National Legislature

2020 ◽  
pp. 57-63
Author(s):  
Steve Bickerstaff
Keyword(s):  
Upper Chamber ◽  
National Legislature

Democratic Federalism

2020 ◽  
pp. 139-175
Author(s):  
Robert P. Inman ◽  
Daniel L. Rubinfeld
Keyword(s):  
Public Policy ◽  
Political Parties ◽  
Economic Efficiency ◽  
National Court ◽  
Democratic Participation ◽  
Minority Representation ◽  
Federal Governance ◽  
Upper Chamber ◽  
National Legislature ◽  
Local Assignment

This chapter addresses the two weaknesses of Democratic Federalism. First, how can we guarantee all minorities are represented in the legislature? Second, how can we control the national legislature's inclination to usurp all important dimensions of public policy? The chapter evaluates the contributions of three new national institutions: first, an upper chamber called the Senate, elected not from local districts but from geographically larger provinces or states; second, a nationally elected president with agenda and veto powers over legislative decisions; and third, an independent national court to interpret the ground rules for federal governance and, in particular, what constitutes meaningful local assignment and full representation of all citizens. In addition to these three constitutionally created institutions, it also considers the ability of national political parties, if they were to arise, to foster minority representation and to control an overreaching national legislature. Each of these four safeguards contributes positively to the performance of Democratic Federalism, but only if a majority of all citizens understands and support the ongoing contribution of these institutions to the goals of economic efficiency, democratic participation, and protection of rights.

The Constitutional Court

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Simon Butt ◽  
Tim Lindsey
Keyword(s):  
Constitutional Court ◽  
Judicial Reform ◽  
Future Viability ◽  
The Government ◽  
National Legislature

Indonesia’s Constitutional Court, established in 2003, is often called a model of judicial reform for other courts in Indonesia and throughout parts of Asia. It reviews statutes against the Constitution, hears disputes about elections and between state organs, and decides presidential impeachment motions brought by the national legislature. This chapter shows that this court started strongly, performing its functions professionally and commanding respect from the government and citizens, despite having no enforcement powers. It even managed to push the formal boundaries of its jurisdiction and, in our view, began to ‘make law’, thereby usurping a legislative function. However, recent corruption scandals and poorly reasoned decisions have undermined its credibility and threaten its future viability.

scholarly journals The effect of ultrafiltration transmembrane permeation on the flow field in a surrogate system of an artificial kidney

2021 ◽  
Vol 2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matilde De Pascale ◽  
Monica Faria ◽  
Cristiana Boi ◽  
Viriato Semiao ◽  
Maria Norberta de Pinho
Keyword(s):  
Pressure Drop ◽  
Artificial Kidney ◽  
Shear Stresses ◽  
Removal Rates ◽  
Permeable Membrane ◽  
Fluid Removal ◽  
Renal Replacement Therapies ◽  
Extracorporeal Blood Circulation ◽  
Conventional Hemodialysis ◽  
Upper Chamber

Abstract Renal Replacement Therapies generally associated to the Artificial Kidney (AK) are membrane-based treatments that assure the separation functions of the failing kidney in extracorporeal blood circulation. Their progress from conventional hemodialysis towards high-flux hemodialysis (HFHD) through the introduction of ultrafiltration membranes characterized by high convective permeation fluxes intensified the need of elucidating the effect of the membrane fluid removal rates on the increase of the potentially blood-traumatizing shear stresses developed adjacently to the membrane. The AK surrogate consisting of two-compartments separated by an ultrafiltration membrane is set to have water circulation in the upper chamber mimicking the blood flow rates and the membrane fluid removal rates typical of HFHD. Pressure drop mirrors the shear stresses quantification and the modification of the velocities profiles. The increase on pressure drop when comparing flows in slits with a permeable membrane and an impermeable wall is ca. 512% and 576% for $ \mathrm{CA}22/5\%{\mathrm{SiO}}_2 $ and $ \mathrm{CA}30/5\%{\mathrm{SiO}}_2 $ membranes, respectively.

Characterization and genesis of horizontal banding in Brazilian agate: an X-ray diffraction, thermogravimetric and electron microprobe study

2013 ◽  
Vol 77 (3) ◽  
pp. 227-248 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Moxon ◽  
C. M. Petrone ◽  
S. J. B. Reed
Keyword(s):  
Amorphous Silica ◽  
Electron Microprobe ◽  
X Ray Diffraction ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Wall Lining ◽  
Defect Site ◽  
Site Water ◽  
Stage Process ◽  
Upper Chamber

AbstractCharacterization of Brazilian agates containing a lower horizontally banded section and an upper chamber with bands parallel to the walls shows that these agates formed much later than the 135 Ma Paraná basalt host rock. Age differentiation between the two types of banding shows that the horizontal bands formed between 43 to 63 Ma ago with a final infill of wall-lining bands between 7 and 27 Ma later. The horizontal bands have a higher Al3+ concentration and a greater crystallite size than the wall-lining layers; they have a lower mogánite content and defect-site water content. The formation of these agates appears to be the result of a three-stage process. After the separate formation of horizontally banded and wall-lining agate, a silica infill seals the gap between the agate and the cavity wall. The detection of cristobalite in some specimens indicates that genesis of both the horizontally banded and wall-lining deposits in the Brazilian samples proceeds along an amorphous silica → opal-CT → opal-C → chalcedony pathway.

Abstract 340: Recombinant Soluble Apyrase Inhibits Vascular Smooth Muscle Cell Migration

2016 ◽  
Vol 36 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Oluwaseun Adeola ◽  
Yan Ji ◽  
Phillip Fish ◽  
Tammy Strawn ◽  
Gary A Weisman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Smooth Muscle ◽  
Cell Migration ◽  
Endothelial Cell ◽  
Purinergic Receptor ◽  
Neointimal Hyperplasia ◽  
Receptor Activation ◽  
Vehicle Control ◽  
Extracellular Nucleotides ◽  
Lower Chamber ◽  
Upper Chamber

Background: Purinergic receptor activation by extracellular nucleotides is involved in thrombosis and neointimal hyperplasia that accompany atherosclerosis and postangioplasty restenosis. Human apyrases [ecto-nucleoside triphosphate diphosphohydrolase (E-NTPDases)] are membrane bound enzymes that hydrolyze extracellular nucleotides, thereby inhibiting purinergic receptor activation. CD39, the first identified human apyrase, is constitutively expressed on endothelial cell (EC) and vascular smooth muscle cell (VSMC) surfaces. APT102, a recombinant soluble form of CD39L3, has been shown to reduce platelet activation through its ADPase activity, but its effects on VSMC and EC function are yet to be established. We tested the hypothesis that APT102 will inhibit migration of VSMCs and ECs. Methods: We studied cell migration using a modified Boyden chamber assay in which 5x10 4 cells suspended in 0.2% FBS/DMEMF12 were added to the upper chamber of transwells separated from the lower chamber medium by a microporous membrane through which VSMCs and ECs can migrate. APT102 (100 nM) or vehicle control was added to the upper chamber; lower chamber contained 2.5% FBS/DMEMF12 and either ATP (10 μM) or vehicle control. Transwells were incubated at 37 0 C for 6 h, after which cells that migrated through pores and adhered to the lower chamber side of the membrane were fixed, stained and counted. Results: ATP (10μM) significantly enhanced migration of both VSMCs and ECs. APT102 significantly inhibited VSMC migration and completely abrogated the pro-migratory effect of ATP. In contrast, APT102 had no inhibitory effect on EC migration, either spontaneous or ATP-enhanced. Conclusion: APT102 inhibits VSMC but not EC migration. These results suggest that pharmacological targeting of extracellular nucleotides may provide a safe and effective therapeutic strategy to inhibit neointimal hyperplasia and restenosis after angioplasty, without delaying endothelial cell recovery, which is a significant limitation of drug-eluting stents. Further studies are needed to clarify the mechanism(s) underlying the differential effect of extracellular nucleotide degradation by APT102 on VSMC and EC migration.

Sejm Rzeczypospolitej Obojga Narodów 1572–1668

2021 ◽  
Vol 6(167) ◽  
pp. 85-114
Author(s):  
Edward Opaliński
Keyword(s):  
Degradation Process ◽  
Lower Chamber ◽  
First Time ◽  
Upper Chamber ◽  
State Territory ◽  
Chamber Of Deputies

In 1572–1668 the Sejm of the Commonwealth of Two Nations underwent constant evolution. The greatest changes occurred at the time of the first interregnum (1572–74) after the death of the last Jagiellonian monarch – Zygmunt Augustus (1572). This was the time of the emergence of two types of new Sejms (convocation and election ones), functioning exclusively during the interregnum. The Henrician Articles (1574) resolved that the Sejm was to debate only for six weeks, and that the monarch was compelled to convoke it at least once every two years. The extraordinary Sejm was established in 1613 – it could be convened in cases of urgent needs and it sat for two or three weeks. The Parliament was composed of three estates: the king, the Senate, and the deputies as well as two chambers. The upper chamber (Senate) consisted of senators nominated by the monarch on a lifelong basis, and the lower chamber (Chamber of Deputies) – of deputies of the noble estate elected at pre-Sejm sejmiks (Polish: sejmiki). An integral part of the Parliament was composed of the Sejm court, both appellant and trying gravest crimes. The Crown and Lithuanian Tribunal, established in 1578–81, assumed appellation competences from the Sejm court. Tribunal judges were elected every year for a year-long term of office at special sejmiks known as deputational or deputy (judicial), which constituted a forum; here deputies presented to the voters accounts of their parliamentary activity. At the turn of 1591, post-Sejm or relational (debriefing) sejmiks were convened after the closure of the Sejm debates; here deputies presented reports concerning their parliamentary activities. The growing composition of the Parliament was associated with an expansion of state territory as a result of victorious wars waged against Muscovy. New bishoprics, voivodeships, and sejmiki were established. There were 140 senators in 1572, and 150 during the 1630s. Analogously, the number of deputies grew from 166 to 180. The Sejm acted upon the basis of a consensus, and thus was obligated to take into account the stand of the minorities. In 1652, the protest of a single deputy for the first time rendered further Sejm debates impossible. From then on, the Polish-Lithuanian Parliament constantly succumbed to a degradation process.

“A Free-Range Chicken that Can Run Wherever the Majority Wants It To”: Budget Reconciliation and the Contemporary U.S. Senate

The Forum ◽  
2022 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Molly E. Reynolds
Keyword(s):  
Policy Design ◽  
Free Range ◽  
Procedural Change ◽  
Relationship Of ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Upper Chamber ◽  
Reconciliation Process ◽  
The U.S

Abstract Since its early uses in the early 1980s, the budget reconciliation process has played an important role in how the U.S. Congress legislates. Because the procedures protect certain legislation from a filibuster in the Senate, the reconciliation rules both shape, and are shaped by, the upper chamber in significant ways. After providing a brief overview of the process, I discuss first how partisanship in the Senate has affected the use of the reconciliation procedures. Next, I describe two sets of consequences of the contemporary reconciliation process, on negotiation and on policy design. I conclude with some observations about the relationship of reconciliation to the prospects for broader procedural change in the Senate.

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