A presente dissertação tem como objeto a emenda constitucional 32 de 2001, a qual regulamentou o uso das medidas provisórias, estabelecendo limites materiais para o seu conteúdo e um rito mais rigoroso de tramitação. Entre as principais regras estabelecidas, estavam o fim das reedições e o estabelecimento de um prazo de 45 dias para a apreciação das MPs pelo Congresso, sob pena de trancamento da pauta legislativa. A dissertação analisa, em primeiro lugar, as razões que levaram os parlamentares a aprovarem as novas regras. O argumento defendido é que não se tratou de uma reação do Congresso contra a usurpação da função legislativa pelo Presidente, como fora justificado na época. O avanço da PEC das MPs se deveu sobretudo à divisão interna na coalizão de governo, que abriu espaço para a atuação estratégica da oposição. Além disso, a mudança no posicionamento dos ministros do Supremo Tribunal Federal e a campanha da OAB pela limitação do instrumento aumentaram os custos da protelação na apreciação da proposta. Os jogos que ocorriam em outras arenas alteraram os payoffs dos atores na arena parlamentar, criando incentivos para a cooperação entre governo e oposição. Finalmente, a aproximação das eleições presidenciais e a incerteza sobre os papeis que cada partido desempenharia no próximo governo propiciaram um contexto favorável ao acordo. Em seguida, são investigados os efeitos das novas regras sobre a relação entre Executivo e Legislativo. Ao contrário do esperado, o novo rito de tramitação não foi efetivo na redução das medidas provisórias. O uso do instrumento foi intensificado nos anos seguintes à aprovação da emenda constitucional. A principal razão foi o mecanismo de trancamento de pauta estabelecido pela EC 32, o qual conferiu ao Presidente amplo controle sobre a pauta legislativa. As MPs passaram a ser apreciadas em 120 dias, com alto percentual de aprovação. O efeito inesperado da emenda constitucional é explicado pelos pressupostos equivocados que motivaram a campanha pela limitação das MPs. A usurpação dos poderes legislativos era justificada pela paralisia do Congresso, que não apreciava as medidas provisórias deixando espaço para o Executivo legislar unilateralmente. A intensificação do uso do instrumento no período seguinte à EC 32 confirma que as medidas provisórias não são usadas contra as preferências da maioria. Ao contrário, mesmo com a obrigatoriedade de votação em Plenário e o uso frequente de mecanismos legislativos de negação de quórum pela oposição, o governo sai vitorioso em grande parte das votações. Assim, o controle da agenda é útil para coordenar as preferências da maioria e reforçar o seu poder. / This dissertation focuses on the Constitutional Amendment n.32 of 2001, which regulates the use of provisional measures (the Brazilian president´s executive decrees) and sets material limits on its content and more rigorous proceedings. Among its main rules were the prohibition of decree re-issuances and the establishment of a 45-day period for provisional measures to be appreciated by the Congress, under penalty of limiting the legislative agenda. First, the dissertation examines the reasons that led lawmakers to adopt the new rules. The argument is that such adoption was not the congressmen´s reaction against the president´s usurpation of the legislative function, as had been then justified. The advance in the constitutional amendment of the provisional measures results mainly from an internal division in the government coalition, which paved the way for the strategic behavior of the opposition. Moreover, changes in the opinion of the Justices of Brazilian Supreme Court and the Brazilian Bar Association´s campaign for the limitation of the instrument increased the costs of delaying the assessment of the proposal. Events taking place in other arenas have changed the payoffs of the players in the parliamentary arena, creating incentives for cooperation between government and the opposition. Finally, the upcoming presidential elections and the uncertainty about each party´s roles in the next government provided an environment conducive to agreement. Next, we investigated the effects of the new rules in the relationship between executive and legislative branches. Contrary to expectations, the new proceedings failed to reduce the number of presidential decrees. The use of the instrument increased in the years following the approval of the constitutional amendment. The main reason was the mechanism to limit the agenda under Constitutional Amendment n.32, which secured the president wide control over the legislative agenda. The provisional measures started to be assessed within 120 days, with a high percentage of approval. The unexpected effect of the constitutional amendment is explained through the flawed assumptions that led the campaign for the limitation of provisional measures. The \"usurpation of legislative powers\" was justified by the paralysis of Congressmen, who refrained from voting the provisional measures and left room for the Executive to legislate unilaterally. Broader use of the instrument in the period following the Constitutional Amendment n.32 confirms that the provisional measures are not used against the preferences of the majority. Instead, even with mandatory voting in the floor and the frequent use of legislative quorum denial mechanisms by the opposition, the government emerges victorious in most of the votes. Thus, control of the agenda is useful to coordinate the preferences of the majority and strengthen its power.

Potentially toxic elements (PTEs) can be absorbed and accumulated in vegetables organ and tissues, and this is an important channel through which PTEs can enter into the food chain. Soil management may interfere in the behavior of PTEs in the system. So, the study of the dynamics of elements in the soil is fundamental to a better understanding of factors that influence soil-plant transfer. In the state of Pernambuco, Brazil, the production of vegetables is mainly concentrated in small or medium organic and conventional farms located in the Agreste and Sao Francisco regions. Our aims in this research were: i) to determine the contents of PTEs in soil and in vegetables produced under conventional and organic systems in garden soils of Pernambuco; ii) to investigate the forms of the PTEs and their uptake by the vegetables based on different soil-plant transfer factors; iii) to use the calculated transfer factors to assess the human risk exposure; iv) to assess the effect of aging and organic matter (OM) on copper (Cu) desorption in garden soils; v) to determine if manure application to soils increases water soluble Cu concentrations; and vi) to verify the efficiency of machine learning techniques in the classification of vegetables produced under organic and conventional systems. Acid and complexing solutions were employed to extract total contents of PTEs in plants and to extract pseudototal, reactive and bioavailable fractions of the PTEs in soils. Soil-plant transfer factors and human risk assessment were calculated based on the determined levels of PTEs. Kinetic assays were developed using rates of organic composts added to Cu-spiked soils to model the Cu desorption. Water extractable Cu and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) were extracted from soils amended with dairy manure, and the Cu-DOC interactions were studied using spectroscopic techniques. Lettuce (Lactuca sativa) leaves had the highest capacity to accumulate PTEs; conventional system promoted higher PTEs values in soils and plants than the organic production; regardless of the scenario, children and adults in contact to vegetables cropped in organic system have a lower health risk than individuals exposed to lettuce leaves conventionally produced. The addition of OM promoted greater Cu desorption, while aging lead to a reduction in the Cu release. The Fouriertransform infrared spectroscopy spectra showed increase in the presence of aliphatic and carboxylic groups in the extracts from the manure-amended soils. Carboxylic acid functional groups on the DOC formed strong bonds with Cu, which can promote Cu transport as dissolved Cu-organic complexes in the soil profile. The Support Vector Machine had an accuracy over 90% to classify the vegetables in the two groups (organic and conventional); and this high assertiveness rate highlights the potential of using elemental quantification and algorithms as support techniques in the process of authenticity and inspection of organic products. / Elementos potencialmente toxicos (EPTs) podem estar biodisponiveis para serem absorvidos e acumulados nos tecidos e orgaos vegetais, sendo esta uma importante rota de entrada de EPTs na cadeia alimentar. O manejo do solo pode interferir no comportamento dos EPTs no sistema. Desta forma, o estudo da dinamica desses elementos no solo e fundamental para melhor entendimento dos fatores que influenciam a transferencia solo-planta. No estado de Pernambuco, a producao de hortalicas se concentra em intensos cultivos organicos e convencionais localizados em pequenas ou medias propriedades, principalmente na regiao Agreste e Sao Francisco. Nossos objetivos neste trabalho foram: i) determinar os teores de EPTs no solo e nas hortalicas produzidas em sistemas convencionais e organicos em hortas de Pernambuco; ii) investigar as formas de EPTs e sua absorcao pelas hortalicas com base em diferentes fatores de transferencia solo-planta; iii) usar os fatores de transferencia calculados para investigar o risco de exposicao aos humanos; iv) estudar o efeito do tempo e da materia organica (MO) na dessorcao de cobre (Cu) em solos de horta; v) determinar se a aplicacao de esterco aumenta a concentracao de Cu soluvel em agua; e vi) verificar a eficiencia de tecnicas machine learning na classificacao de hortalicas produzidas em sistemas organicos e convencionais. Solucoes acidas e complexantes foram utilizadas para extrair os teores totais de EPTs nas plantas e os teores pseudototal, reativo e biodisponivel dos EPTs no solo. Fatores de transferencia solo-planta e avaliacao de risco humano foram calculados com base nos teores de EPTs. Estudos de cinetica foram desenvolvidos apos adicao de composto organico em solos contaminados com Cu para modelar a dessorcao de Cu. Cu soluvel em agua e carbono organico dissolvido (COD) foram extraidos de solos adubados com esterco, a interacao Cu-COD foi estudada usando tecnicas espectroscopicas. Folhas de alface (Lactuca sativa) apresentaram a maior capacidade de acumular EPTS; o sistema convencional promoveu maiores tores de EPTs nos solos e plantas do que o sistema organico; independentemente do cenario, criancas e adultos em contato com vegetais produzidos em sistema organico tem um menor risco do que os individuos que consomem folhas de alface convencionalmente produzidas. A adicao de MO promoveu maior dessorcao de Cu, enquanto o aumento no tempo de contato reduziu a liberacao de Cu. Os graficos da espectroscopia de infravermelho com transformada de Fourier mostraram um aumento na presenca de grupos funcionais alifaticos e carboxilicos nos extratos de solos adubados com esterco. Esses grupos funcionais no COD formam ligacoes fortes com Cu, o que promove o transporte do elemento na forma de complexos organicos dissolvidos no perfil do solo. O modelo Support Vector Machine apresentou acuracia superior a 90% na classificacao das hortalicas em dois grupos (organicas e convencionais); e a alta taxa de assertividade mostra o potencial do uso de quantificacao elementar e algoritmos como tecnicas auxiliares no processo de autenticidade de inspecao de produtos organicos.

La résistance aux antibiotiques représente un problème de santé publique majeur. La pression de sélection liée à la surutilisation des antibiotiques en médecines humaine et vétérinaire est responsable de cette augmentation, mais l’environnement joue également son rôle dans la diffusion de ces résistances.En Guadeloupe, très peu d’études ont été réalisées sur l’état de la résistance aux antibiotiques, mais l’utilisation vétérinaire et humaine des antibiotiques est intensive. Les amendements issus de déchets humains et animaux sont également largement utilisés en production végétale.Cependant, les analyses moléculaires ont pu mettre évidence la persistance des gènes de résistance aux antibiotiques et des gènes de mobilité dans les composts et les sols amendés. L’abondance et la persistance des gènes de résistance de mobilité aux antibiotiques dans les cultures maraichères (concombres et patates douces) sont liées à leur concentration dans les amendements. Un épandage réalisé jusqu’à trois fois consécutivement ne modifie pas la structure génétique des communautés bactériennes dans les sols quel que soit l’amendement utilisé. Les phylums bactériens majoritairement retrouvés dans les composts et les sols sont les Proteobacteria, les Firmicutes et les Bacteroidetes qui sont susceptibles de porter les gènes de résistance aux antibiotiques. L’apport d’amendements organiques dans les sols ne semble pas constituer un risque majeur d’acquisition de résistances par l’homme via les légumes consommés. En revanche, dans les élevages de grande taille où les animaux confinés sont pourvoyeurs de BRAs et de GRAs, les éleveurs pourraient être exposés via les aérosols en cas d’exposition prolongée. En Guadeloupe, la valorisation des déchets organiques, quelle que soit leur origine, pour leur utilisation en production végétale ne semble pas favoriser la diffusion d’E. coli résistants de l’environnement à l’homme. Cependant, la qualité du compostage, les caractéristiques physico-chimiques des sols et les conditions climatiques sont à prendre en compte pour la planification des apports d’amendements afin de réduire le risque d’exposition, de diffusion et de persistance de isolats d’E. coli résistants.Quinze souches d’E. coli productrices de Bêtalactamase à spectre étendu (BLSE) ont été isolées des fèces des chevaux durant leur traitement antibiotique, trois pour le premier cheval et 12 pour le second. Les profils de résistance aux antibiotiques étaient congruents avec l'analyse des plasmides, les gènes de résistance détectés au moyen de WGS, et avec l'analyse phylogénétique basée sur le génome du noyau. On peut distinguer trois clones et quatre singletons indiquant qu'une grande diversité génétique existe parmi les souches d’E. coli producteurs de BLSE.Cette étude a permis de mettre en évidence la persistance des E. coli productrices de BLSE (E. coli BLSE) dans le microbiote des chevaux traités par des antibiotiques. Cette étude a pu démontrer qu’il y a résurgence d’E. coli BLSE dès les premiers jours de traitement avec une persistance de ces souches plus d’un mois après le traitement. En effet, deux mois après la fin du traitement, les E. coli BLSE n’étaient plus détectables. Cette surprenante diversité clonales et l’apparition d’E. coli BLSE avant tout traitement antibiotique laisse supposer que le portage d’E. coli BLSE est fréquent chez les chevaux de cet élevage et probablement à plus grande échelle. / The pressure of selection related to the overuse of antibiotics in human and veterinary medicines is responsible for this increase, but the environment also plays a role in the diffusion of these resistances.In Guadeloupe, very few things are known on the state of resistance to antibiotics, but both veterinary and human uses are intense and amendments resulting from human and animal wastes are widely used.In Guadeloupe, the use of waste from animal, plant and human activities in crop production does not appear to favor E. coli resistant strains spreading from the environment to humans. However, composting quality, soil physicochemical characteristics and climatic conditions should be taken into account when planning amendments to reduce the exposure risk, spread and persistence of E. coli resistant strains.Fifteen strains of E. coli were isolated from horses feces were isolated during their antibiotic treatment, three in the first horse and 12 in the second. Profiles of antibiotic resistance were congruent with the plasmid analysis, genotypes for resistance genes detected using WGS, and with the phylogenetic analysis based on the core genome. Three clones and four singletons could be distinguished indicating that a high genetic diversity exists among E. coli producing ESBL. This study evidenced the persistence of E. coli producing ESBL in the microbiota of horses treated with antibiotics. This study was able to demonstrate the resurgence of resistant phenotypes even before the first day of treatment with persistence of these strains more than one month after treatment. The absence of detection of E. coli producing ESBL was evedenced a few months after treatment. Thus, the diversity of antibiotic-resistant pathogenic microorganisms has probably higher than that described in previous studies.

本研究之目的乃在探索同意權制度之意義、起源、性質與功能等及其在我 國憲政史中之流衍變遷，以至國民大會同意權制度法制架構、行使程序的 全般建立，其制度類型與性質及行使經驗等諸多問題。本文之研究結果： 一、任命同意權係源於分權理論，為貫徹「政府的統治權力，必須基於人 民的同意」此一民主主義基本精神所為之制度設計；實踐上衍生兩類任命 同意權，一為議會政府制之同意與信任制度，功能在達成政治責任之連鎖 ；一為美國參院制同意權其功能則在於防止不當之任命與維護被同意任命 者之獨立行使職權。二、我國自清季立憲運動起，即偶有任官同意權制度 ，其類型游移於議會政府制與美國參院制之間或兼及兩者，蓋源於中央政 制類型之差異。至民國三十六年間折衷妥協所公布施行之中華民國憲法仍 持續此一特色。三、經過各類同意權之說明，可知國民大會同意權之性質 乃近於美國參院對大法官或獨立委員會之同意權，，而非如內閣制國家之 國會行使閣揆同意權帶有政治性。而美國參院行使同意權，祇為限制太不 妥當的人，並不為黨派關係或個人的好惡，限制總統的用人權。從而對其 人選之審查係採法律之實質審查，以確保其適任該被任命之職務。本文之 研究建議有：一、制度方面──行使同意權之適當與否當隨進一步確立我 國中央政制類型而得到解答；同時也將確立司法、考試兩院院長、副院長 是否為總統僚屬，抑應超出黨派、獨立行使職權？皆應在法制上加以確立 。二、審查程序方面──宜建立適當之審查性聽證制度，以精密化審查程 序；並改進審查報告之撰擬，確實反映各種審查標準與意見。

This work is intended to evaluate President Obama’s gun control policies by determining whether stricter federal gun control laws should apply within theUnited States. This paper examines whether setting legal standards at a national level would effectively reduce gun related violence and mass shootings on a local and state level. These include events such as Sandy Hook Elementary inNewton,Connecticut, the Virginia Polytechnic school shootings, and theAuroraTheatershooting inDenver,Colorado. Specifically, could executive orders proposed by the president, such as assault weapon bans, rigorous background checks on gun sales, submission of mental health records to the FBI Databases, and increased aid between states and mental health care institutions effectively reduce horrific incidences of gun related violence. Using gun control data from past and present as our research, we will determine whether stricter gun control policies have deterred violent crimes, murder rates, suicides and mass shootings. Since our research focuses on policy solutions as an alternative to reduce mass shootings, not the psychological make ups and environmental factors of mass shooters, we will omit America’s gun culture as a variable within our study: such as the effects violent video games and movies could have on the psyche of troubled individuals. After carefully analyzing gun date related to gun violence and crime, this work will attempt to suggest whether or not President Obama’s gun control policies will pass in Congress and which legislation will be the most effective in limiting gun violence and mass shootings.

This paper examines the causes of the rise in vacancies on the federal courts in recent decades. Under President Barack Obama, the number of vacancies on the federal courts has sharply jumped. This is due to firm opposition by Senate Republicans, who have used the various procedural tools of that body to make it difficult for nominees to get confirmation. This antagonism is the result of a shift in how the parties view the courts and their role in the American political process. The Warren Court's expansion of substantive due process rights increased the Court's powers to the chagrin of conservatives. Republicans responded by blocking the nomination of Abe Fortas for Chief Justice; Democrats retaliated by defeating several of Richard Nixon's nominees to replace Fortas. These battles, and the prominence of legal issues such as abortion, would culminate in the vicious fight over Ronald Reagan's nomination of Robert Bork to the Court, which influenced increasingly bitter fights in recent decades. I also propose a possible solution to the obstruction problem, inspired by procedures used in jury selection.

Freedom of speech is a right guaranteed by the US, the EU, and China; however, just because a right is guaranteed does not mean the government cannot manipulate the right to achieve its ends. Freedom of speech is commonly associated with the power of language; citizens speak in order to take control of those governing them, in order to assert their desires. In reality, freedom of speech is far more beneficial for governments, who can use this dissent to better control a population. In order to control the population, though, the governments must first control the dissenting speech, the discourse, surrounding an issue. In the case studies that follow, these three governments with very different regimes will manipulate discourses elicited in the name of free speech in order to advance the governments’ plans, even when these plans went against the stated public interest and ignored the dissenting citizens. This thesis, in essence, examines how freedom of speech can become a tool of power for regimes.

Once a fundamental aspect of American life, by 1920 the 18th Amendment to the constitution prohibited consumption of alcoholic beverages. Prohibition challenged traditional dogmas and called into question what constituted social progress. Throughout much of the debate over ratification of the 18th Amendment, themes of patriotism, progress, science and personal liberties were invoked by both those in favor of prohibition (Drys) and those opposed to the amendment (Wets). This paper will attempt to explain how dry forces crafted a successful wartime political campaign which ultimately led to the ratification of the 18th Amendment.

This study examined how Fox News, CNN, MSNBC, ABC, NBC, and CBS portrayed the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision from the time of the decision, January 21, 2010 until the mid-term elections November 2, 2010. The broadcast transcripts were read for emergent frames to see how the stations framed coverage. The cable channels had the most coverage. MSNBC, ABC, NBC, and CBS framed the decision negatively, Fox News portrayed it positively, and CNN was neutral to negative in coverage.

The chemical and physical processes controlling contaminant fate and transport in the vadose zone limit the options for application of many remedial technologies. Foam delivery technology (FDT) has been developed as a potential solution to overcome these limitations for remediating subsurface and deep vadose zone environments using reactive amendments. Although there are many advantages to utilizing FDT for treatment in the deep vadose zone, little information is available on how the addition of these surfactants and remedial amendments affect the indigenous microbial communities in the deep vadose zone as well as the impact of biological transformations of surfactant-based foams on remediation efforts. The purpose of this study was to develop a rapid method for assessment of microbial communities in contaminated subsurface environments. This research was divided into two phases: (1) assess the toxicity of proposed FDT components on a single bacterial species, Shewanella oneidensis MR-1; and (2) determine the effects of these components on a microbial community from the vadose zone. In Phase I, S. oneidensis MR-1 was exposed to proposed FDT components to assess potential growth inhibition or stimulation caused by these chemicals. S. oneidensis MR-1 cultures were exposed to the surfactants sodium laureth sulfate (SLES), sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), cocamidopropyl betaine (CAPB), and NINOL 40-CO, and the remedial amendment, calcium polysulfide (CPS). Results from this phase revealed that the relative acute toxicity order for these compounds was SDS>>CPS>>NINOL40-CO>SLES≥CAPB. High concentrations of SDS were toxic to the growth of S. oneidensis MR-1 but low concentrations were stimulatory. This benchtop system provided a capability to assess adverse microbial-remediation responses and contributed to the development of in situ remedial chemistries before they are deployed in the field. For Phase II, sediments from the BC Cribs and Trenches (BCCT) area of the Hanford Site, WA, were characterized before and after exposure to potential FDT components. First, the phylogenetic and metabolic diversity of sediment from the BCCT was assessed by sequencing the microbial community and measuring the metabolic activity. The sediment was also incubated with various concentrations of SDS, CAPB, and CPS. Phylogenetic analysis detected phylotypes from the Alpha-, Beta-, Delta-, and Gammaproteobacteria, and Actinobacteria. Unlike the S. oneidensis MR-1 studies conducted in Phase I, the surfactants and CPS stimulated the metabolic activity of the native microbial communities. The observed stimulation could be caused by sorption of the chemicals to the sediment particles, or utilization of the surfactants by the microbial communities. These findings emphasize the importance of monitoring microbial activity at remediation sites in order to determine short and long term efficacy of the treatment, compliance with regulatory mandates, and act as an early warning indicator of unintended changes to the subsurface.