Direct democracy and constitutional change: institutional learning from state laboratories in the USA

Although the federal constitutional amendment procedure in Article V of the U.S. Constitution has not been altered since its adoption 226 years ago, constitutional tradition in the 50 states has substantially evolved. For instance, popular referenda were unknown in 1787, but are now ubiquitous in state constitutionalism. Over time, a strong tradition of direct democracy and majoritarian voting rules has emerged in almost all states. Nevertheless, scholars have often neglected the rich source of state experiments with amendment procedures in the U.S. and usually only refer to Switzerland as the prime example of direct democracy and (constitutional) referenda

SELEX: Recent Progress in the Analysis of Charm-Strange and Double-Charm Baryons

We present recent progress in the analysis of the Omega_c^0, the Xi_cc^+ and the Xi_cc^++.Comment: Contribution to the proceedings of HQL06, Munich, October 16th-20th 200

Gastrointestinal cancer screening and surveillance programmes : a worldwide perspective : part 1

Part 2 of this article can be found through this link: https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar//handle/123456789/13101Cancer is a leading cause of death worldwide and such deaths are projected to continue to rise, creating significant morbidity and mortality. Devising programmes to detect early cancer, aiming to achieve complete cure, has been high on the agenda of various professional bodies. This paper focuses on the various screening and surveillance programmes around the world, aiming at detecting early gastrointestinal malignancies. Starting with Barretts’ oesophagus, we shall see the different surveillance programmes across countries to detect premalignant stages of oesophageal cancer, while at the same time reviewing the only country in the world, China, which has an oesophageal cancer mass screening programme. Moving to gastric cancer, we shall review Japan’s screening programme, followed by other countries’ measures in surveilling premalignant gastric conditions. Colorectal cancer is the only gastrointestinal cancer where mass screening has been employed in various countries. This will be discussed in detail, with particular emphasis on the British and American systems. We shall also be discussing the surveillance programmes for moderate and high risk patients of colorectal cancer. Finally, we shall also review the different recommendations with regards to screening for hepatocellular carcinoma.peer-reviewe

Constraints on stellar yields and SNe from gamma-ray line observations

Gamma-ray line observations provide a versatile tool for studies of nucleosynthesis processes and supernova physics. In particular, the observation of radioactive species in the interstellar medium probes recent nucleosynthesis activity on various time-scales for different kinds of sources. Considerable progress in gamma-ray instrumentation during the last decades has led to the discovery of several cosmic gamma-ray lines. In this review, recent observational results are presented and their astrophysical implications are discussed. Prospects of gamma-ray line astronomy will be explored in view of the future INTEGRAL mission.Comment: 9 pages, 1 figure, The Interplay Between Massive Stars and the ISM, Parallel Session I of JENAM99, 7-11 Sept. 1999, Toulouse, France, eds. Daniel Schaerer and Rosa Gonzalez Delgad

Judicial Review of European Administrative Procedure

Schwarze examines the requirements set down in the case law of the Court of Justice and the Court of First Instance that serve to guarantee a fair and impartial administrative process. He also considers whether improvements should be made to the design of the administrative process and, if so, what kind