This article aims to present four case studies of the different responses to governmental measures to fight the COVID-19 pandemic by supreme and constitutional courts, especially in cases of jurisdictions that have been facing democratic erosion. The spread of the COVID-19 pandemic demanded immediate public policies and other political decisions from the branches of government. Executive authorities were the main actors in effecting constitutional public health norms. The expectation was that they will abide by the rule of law in fulfilling (...) their duties; that has not been the case under governments that promoted democratic erosion. The different contexts of the threats posed to the constitutional democracies led populist and illiberal leaders to opportunistically either try to—and then be contained by courts—or effectively consolidate the expansion of powers under the conditions of the pandemic. Concentrating on four jurisdictions (the USA, Hungary, El Salvador, and Brazil), the article demonstrates that courts can effectively work as bulwarks against waves of democratic erosion, especially in situations of stress, as it was the case in the global COVID-19 pandemic. This hypothesis is also proven by episodes in which courts did not sufficiently operate to curb illiberalism because they were already captured. The analyses enable classifying the court’s responses to the COVID-19 executive measures in a threefold pattern: deferential, restrictive, and of forced capitulation. (shrink)

“Exercise starts and ends in the brain”: this was the title of a review article authored by Dr. Bengt Kayser back in 2003. In this piece of work, the author highlights that pioneer studies have primarily focused on the cardiorespiratory-muscle axis to set the human limits to whole-body exercise tolerance. In some circumstances, however, exercise cessation may not be solely attributable to these players: the central nervous system is thought to hold a relevant role as the ultimate site of exercise (...) termination. In fact, there has been a growing interest relative to the “brain” response to exercise in chronic cardiorespiratory diseases, and its potential implication in limiting the tolerance to physical exertion in patients. To reach these overarching goals, non-invasive techniques, such as near-infrared spectroscopy and transcranial magnetic stimulation, have been successfully applied to get insights into the underlying mechanisms of exercise limitation in clinical populations. This review provides an up-to-date outline of the rationale for the “brain” as the organ limiting the tolerance to physical exertion in patients with cardiorespiratory diseases. We first outline some key methodological aspects of neuromuscular function and cerebral hemodynamics assessment in response to different exercise paradigms. We then review the most prominent studies, which explored the influence of major cardiorespiratory diseases on these outcomes. After a balanced summary of existing evidence, we finalize by detailing the rationale for investigating the “brain” contribution to exercise limitation in hitherto unexplored cardiorespiratory diseases, an endeavor that might lead to innovative lines of applied physiological research. (shrink)

L’article trace quelques évolutions de l’institution du « vœu » (neder) dans la littérature biblique et rabbinique (période de l’antiquité et l’antiquité tardive). Du point de vue du système politique patriarcal imaginé par les auteurs bibliques et rabbinique, cette institution est risquée : elle permet aussi à la femme de transformer sa parole en une loi, et mettre ainsi en question la domination masculine. Ce n’est donc pas un hasard si la plus grande partie et du discours biblique et (...) rabbinique sur le neder est consacrée aux femmes et à la question de savoir comment on peut maîtriser et manipuler leurs vœux. (shrink)

L’article trace quelques évolutions de l’institution du « vœu » (neder) dans la littérature biblique et rabbinique (période de l’antiquité et l’antiquité tardive). Du point de vue du système politique patriarcal imaginé par les auteurs bibliques et rabbinique, cette institution est risquée : elle permet aussi à la femme de transformer sa parole en une loi, et mettre ainsi en question la domination masculine. Ce n’est donc pas un hasard si la plus grande partie et du discours biblique et (...) rabbinique sur le neder est consacrée aux femmes et à la question de savoir comment on peut maîtriser et manipuler leurs vœux. (shrink)

O presente artigo trata sobre experiências leitoras motivadas por canções, memórias autobiográficas e comentários publicados em plataformas digitais. Partindo-se do princípio de que a leitura é mais que uma simples atividade de decodificação, defende-se que ao deixar-se ler pelas canções e pela arte o sujeito, involuntariamente, arma-se para produzir sentidos às marcas inscritas e re-inscritas na sua própria história, reinventando-se e gerando novos processos de subjetivação. Os objetivos deste trabalho são: 1. Construir uma compreensão sobre o lugar da canção no (...) cenário artístico brasileiro, bem como sobre a sua capacidade de produzir efeitos nos sujeitos leitores, amparando-se em algumas produções intelectuais reconhecidas no meio acadêmico. 2. Narrar uma experiência de leitura, em que a canção atua como desveladora de demandas afetivas pessoais, geradora de um produto artístico: a série de vídeo Histórias de Maria. 3. Identificar e analisar possíveis leituras sobre as Histórias de Maria, imersas em comentários sobre a respectiva série, publicados nas plataformas digitais. Para efeito didático e metodológico, organiza-se este artigo em três itens: 1) O lugar da canção como suporte de leitura. 2. Experiência subjetiva: leituras de marcas inscritas e reinscritas pela canção. 3. Histórias de Maria: leituras e leitores. Autores como Wisnik, Rossi e Neder Lima, Agamben, Martins e Jouve contribuem para a compreensão do lugar da canção no cenário artístico brasileiro, sua qualidade de objeto biográfico e dispositivo, bem como sua potência em levar o corpo a produzir sentidos para marcas inscritas e reinscritas, através de diversos níveis de leitura. Contribuem, também, para a análise das possíveis leituras imersas nos comentários recolhidos para este trabalho. Por fim, nas considerações finais, conclui-se que toda forma de ler vale a pena. (shrink)