bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
A single-cell map for the transcriptomic signatures of peripheral blood mononuclear cells in end-stage renal disease
Authors: Luo Ting , Zheng Fengping , Wang Kang , Xu Yong , Xu Huixuan , Shen Wenxi , Zhu Chengxin , Zhang Xinzhou , Sui Weiguo , Tang Donge , Yin Lianghong , Dai Yong
Published: November 2019

Background

Immune aberrations in end-stage renal disease (ESRD) are characterized by systemic inflammation and immune deficiency. The mechanistic understanding of this phenomenon remains limited.

Methods

We generated 12 981 and 9578 single-cell transcriptomes of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) that were pooled from 10 healthy volunteers and 10 patients with ESRD by single-cell RNA sequencing. Unsupervised clustering and annotation analyses were performed to cluster and identify cell types. The analysis of hallmark pathway and regulon activity was performed in the main cell types.

Results

We identified 14 leukocytic clusters that corresponded to six known PBMC types. The comparison of cells from ESRD patients and healthy individuals revealed multiple changes in biological processes. We noticed an ESRD-related increase in inflammation response, complement cascade and cellular metabolism, as well as a strong decrease in activity related to cell cycle progression in relevant cell types in ESRD. Furthermore, a list of cell type-specific candidate transcription factors (TFs) driving the ESRD-associated transcriptome changes was identified.

Conclusions

We generated a distinctive, high-resolution map of ESRD-derived PBMCs. These results revealed cell type-specific ESRD-associated pathways and TFs. Notably, the pooled sample analysis limits the generalization of our results. The generation of larger single-cell datasets will complement the current map and drive advances in therapies that manipulate immune cell function in ESRD.
Seizure outcomes and survival in adult low-grade glioma over 11 years: living longer and better
Authors: Solomons Matthew R , Jaunmuktane Zane , Weil Rimona S , El-Hassan Tedani , Brandner Sebastian , Rees Jeremy H
Published: November 2019

Background

There has been a trend toward earlier and more aggressive resection for low-grade gliomas (LGGs). This study set out to compare seizure control and survival of adults with LGG seen in the same neuro-oncology clinic over 11 years and to determine whether a change in surgical philosophy has led to a corresponding improvement in outcomes.

Methods

We conducted a retrospective analysis using case-note review of 153 adults with histologically verified or radiologically suspected LGG, collecting data on patient, tumor, and seizure characteristics between 2006 and 2017.

Results

We studied 79 patients in 2006 and 74 patients in 2017. There was no significant difference between the 2 groups in age at presentation, tumor location, or integrated pathological diagnosis. The numbers of complete or partial resections increased from 21.5% in 2006 to 60.8% in 2017 (P < .05). Five- and 10-year overall survival increased from 81.8% and 51.7% in 2006 to 100% and 95.8% in 2017 (P < .001); similarly, 5- and 10-year progression-free survival increased from 47.0% and 30.7% in 2006 to 93.1% and 68.7% in 2017. The proportion of patients with intractable epilepsy declined from 72.2% in 2006 to 43.2% in 2017 (P < .05). The neurosurgical morbidity rate was identical in both groups (11.8% in 2006 vs 11.1% in 2017).

Conclusion

Management of LGG over the last 11 years has led to substantial improvements in survival and seizure control. This is most likely thanks to a change in surgical philosophy, with early resection now favored over watchful waiting where possible.
International Law, Islamic Law, and Islamic Law States
Authors: Powell Emilia Justyna
Published: November 2019

This chapter explains concepts fundamental to this book: international law, Islamic law, Islamic international law, sharia, and the category of Islamic law states (ILS). The ILS category offers an efficient and clear-cut conceptual vehicle for mapping out the balance between religious law and secular law, and how this balance translates into ILS’ preferences with respect to international conflict management venues. The chapter explains how the ILS category differs from other seemingly parallel concepts or definitions present in the scholarship, such as “Islamic states,” or “Muslim states.” It discusses the characteristics and internal variation within the ILS category across different countries and different schools of Islamic jurisprudence. This chapter also presents an analysis of ILS’ domestic legal systems, elaborating on Islamic constitutionalism, and the relationship between religious norms and secular norms in constitutions and sub-constitutional legal systems. Some features analyzed include holy oath, supremacy clause, and sharia education.
Legal Schools and Regions
Authors: Powell Emilia Justyna
Published: November 2019

This chapter examines whether geographic location and Islamic schools of jurisprudence matter in how the Islamic milieu views international conflict management methods. The scholarly literature has been treading behind in pondering whether the regional particularities of the Middle East, Asia/Oceania, and Africa or the doctrines of specific Islamic schools of jurisprudence contribute to how the Islamic milieu perceives international conflict management. The empirical analyses (1945–2012) demonstrate that while subscribing to a specific school of Islamic jurisprudence has no bearing on ILS’ preferences with respect to international conflict management, regional differences seem to matter considerably in this regard. While the rise of nation-states has substantially weakened the position of Islamic legal schools on the axis of authority, regional customs and long-standing traditions continue to play a key role in these societies. The Middle Eastern states are more likely than other ILS to attempt mediation and conciliation in territorial disputes.
The Eloquent Blood
Authors: Hedenborg White Manon
Published: November 2019

The study analyzes constructions of femininity and feminine sexuality in interpretations of the goddess Babalon, a central deity in the British occultist Aleister Crowley’s (1875–1947) religion Thelema. Babalon is based on Crowley’s positive reinterpretation of the biblical Whore of Babylon and symbolizes liberated female sexuality and the spiritual modality of passionate union with existence. Analyzing historical and contemporary written sources, qualitative interviews, and ethnographic fieldwork in the Anglo-American esoteric milieu, the study traces interpretations of Babalon from the works of Crowley and some of his key disciples—including the rocket scientist John Whiteside “Jack” Parsons and the enigmatic British occultist Kenneth Grant—from the fin-de-siècle to the present. From the 1990s onward, female and LGBTQ esotericists have challenged historical interpretations of Babalon, drawing on feminist and queer thought and conceptualizing femininity in new ways. Femininity has held a problematic position in feminist theory, often being associated with lack, artifice, and restriction. However, the present study—which assumes that femininities are neither exclusively heterosexual nor limited to women—indicates how interpretations of Babalon have both built on and challenged dominant gender logics. As the first academic monograph to analyze Crowley’s and his followers’ ideas from the perspective of gender, this book contributes to the underexplored study of gender in Western esotericism. By analyzing the development of a misogynistic biblical symbol into an image of feminine sexual freedom, the study also sheds light on interactions between Western esotericism and broader cultural and sociopolitical trends.
Kundalini, Kalas, and Qadeshim
Authors: Hedenborg White Manon
Published: November 2019

This chapter analyzes how Babalon was articulated in the writings of the British occultist Kenneth Grant, who was briefly Crowley’s secretary. Influenced by Indian Tantra and Advaita Vedanta, Grant challenged Crowley’s understanding of sexual magic, and emphasized the magical primacy of the female sexual secretions (or kalas). Grant uses the terms “Babalon” and “Scarlet Woman” synonymously to denote the trained sexual priestess who exudes the kalas and transmits the tremendous power of the divine feminine. Grant’s interpretation of Babalon is, in some sense, biologistic, with female embodiment and genital morphology being central to his conceptualization of femininity in magic. However, Grant also presents one of the earliest critiques of androcentrism in Crowley’s magical system. His articulation of Babalon—and femininity—can be interpreted as an attempt to conceptualize femininity as something in itself, rather than being defined in relation to masculinity.
“It All Goes in the Cup”
Authors: Hedenborg White Manon
Published: November 2019

This chapter analyzes a central theme—the idea of Babalon, and femininity, as magically receptive (sometimes in relation to notions of active masculinity)—as found in my contemporary source material, including present-day texts, ethnographic fieldwork, and interviews in the Thelemic and esoteric milieus. In the contemporary Babalon discourse, this notion occupies a position of tension, with several practitioners questioning notions of feminine receptivity. I show that the increasing influence of feminist and queer critiques of gender “essentialism” in esotericism has prompted attempts to renegotiate historical concepts of gender polarity in magic. Thus, some contemporary practitioners renegotiate the idea of feminine receptivity, discard it completely, or deemphasize its connection to biological womanhood. I also argue that the emphasis on receptivity in the Babalon discourse, while building on hegemonic notions of femininity as permeable and vulnerable, indicates forms of agency that transcend binaries of activity and passivity.
Inhabiting the Uninhibited
Authors: Hedenborg White Manon
Published: November 2019

This chapter analyzes how feminine sexuality is articulated in the contemporary Babalon discourse. The idea that female sexuality has been repressed, and that women are in need of sexual liberation, is a recurring trope in the source material. Babalon is frequently conceptualized as a sexually liberated woman. She is also associated with sexual modalities outside of the sexual norm (e.g., sex work, BDSM, and nonmonogamy). My interviewees critique expectations of female sexual availability resulting from notions of Babalon as a “sex goddess,” and they emphasize the right to decline unwanted sexual advances. I argue that understandings of feminine sexuality in the contemporary Babalon discourse show influence from (sex positive) feminism and broader discourses on sacred sexuality, with concepts of “sacred whoredom” recurring. I also contend that notions of universally repressed female sexuality, prevalent in the Babalon discourse, obscure racialized and classed inequalities between groups of women and femininities.
The Regensburg Article 5 on Justification
Authors: Lane Anthony N. S.
Published: November 2019

In 1541 at the Regensburg Colloquy, three leading Protestant theologians (Melanchthon, Bucer, and Pistorius) and three leading Catholic theologians (Eck, Gropper, and Pflug) debated with the aim of producing a commonly agreed statement of belief. The colloquy eventually failed, but it had begun with a statement on justification by faith agreed by all the parties, “Article 5,” leading to an initial burst of optimism. But from the beginning, there were two contrasting reactions to Article 5. Some, like Calvin, maintained that it contained the substance of true doctrine; others, like Luther, called it an inconsistent patchwork. Both rival assessments have continued over the centuries. The aim of this book is to decide between them. It does so primarily by viewing the article in the light of the publications of the colloquy’s key participants and observers, and by comparing it with the Tridentine Decree on Justification. It also views it in the light of the four known earlier drafts of the article, all of which are included in an Appendix, together with translations of three of them. The book concludes that Article 5 is indeed consistent with a Protestant understanding of justification, though it does not always follow Protestant terminology. Agreement was possible because Gropper and Pflug, together with Cardinal Contarini, the papal legate, largely accepted the Protestant account of justification.
Reactions to Article 5
Authors: Lane Anthony N. S.
Published: November 2019

This chapter sets out the reactions to Article 5. It starts with contemporary Protestant reactions, focusing especially on Luther, Calvin, and Melanchthon. This section includes an account of all the Protestant objections, which are considered in the remainder of the book. Catholic reactions include Contarini, Eck, Gropper, Pflug, and Pighius, as well as reactions from Rome. The views of Sadolet and (especially) Pole are also considered. The chapter concludes with an account of modern assessments of the article, especially by Protestants. There is a stark contrast between the more positive assessment of Peter Matheson, for example, and the very negative approach of much German scholarship, as with Athena Lexutt.
After Regensburg
Authors: Lane Anthony N. S.
Published: November 2019

This chapter sets out the ongoing debates over justification in the aftermath of Article 5. From 1541 to 1543 Bucer engaged in a literary controversy over the article with Eck and Pighius. There followed the controversy surrounding the attempted Cologne Reformation, in which Bucer (and to a lesser extent Melanchthon) engaged in a literary exchange with Gropper especially. This involved disputes about the events surrounding Article 5, as well as the theological issues arising from it, such as twofold righteousness and imputed righteousness. Gropper also had to respond to criticisms from the Leuven theology faculty. Gropper continued to hold the ideas he had embraced at Regensburg in the final months of his life. There was a second colloquy of Regensburg, in 1546, also involving Bucer, which involved discussion of Article 5. Finally, the Tridentine Decree on Justification rejected the ideas of twofold righteousness and imputed righteousness.
Double Righteousness and Double Justification
Authors: Lane Anthony N. S.
Published: November 2019

This chapter sets out to trace the origin of the idea of double righteousness (duplex iustitia) that underlies Article 5. It examines various versions of duplex iustitia teaching prior to the Regensburg Colloquy, especially that of Luther, Pighius, Gropper, and Bucer. It then traces the approach to the idea after the colloquy, looking especially at Contarini, Gropper, Luther, Bucer, Calvin, and the Tridentine Decree on Justification. It then contrasts double righteousness with double justification. The latter has three distinct meanings. There is the Catholic contrast between the initial justification of the ungodly and the subsequent justification of the godly; there is the idea of the justification of works as well as persons, held by both Protestants and Catholics; there is the idea of the double formal cause of justification, held by Contarini and Gropper. None of these is found in Article 5.
Text and Commentary
Authors: Lane Anthony N. S.
Published: November 2019

This chapter contains the Latin text of Article 5, together with a sentence by sentence commentary. This commentary draws upon the six debaters (Bucer, Melanchthon, Pistorius, Gropper, Eck, Pflug), together with Contarini, Calvin, Luther and Pighius. The chapter also compares Article 5 with the Tridentine Decree on Justification. The conclusion asks to what extent Article 5 can be said to retain “the substance of the true doctrine,” from the perspective of either the Protestant or the Catholic party. This flags a number of issues which need to be resolved in the concluding chapter.
Inconsistent Patchwork or Substance of True Doctrine?
Authors: Lane Anthony N. S.
Published: November 2019

This chapter aims to resolve the question posed in the title: is Article 5 an inconsistent patchwork or does it retain the substance of true doctrine? A number of issues are considered: doctrines that have not been covered, ambiguities, duplex iustitia, reliance upon the testimony of works, the nature of justifying faith, and the role of fiducia. Then the initial question is asked in turn of Melanchthon, Bucer, Calvin, Contarini, Gropper, and Pflug. The conclusion is that the article does retain the substance of true [Protestant] doctrine. Then it was asked why many Protestants did not recognise this. The article is also assessed from the perspective of the differing concerns underlying Protestant and Catholic doctrines of justification. Article 5 was not a merely political manoeuvre, but represented a genuine meeting of minds between Bucer, Melanchthon, and Pistorius, on the one side, and Contarini, Gropper, and Pflug on the other.
Listening to Narratives of Security and Insecurity
Authors: Harel-Shalev Ayelet , Daphna-Tekoah Shir
Published: November 2019

Chapter 3 contributes to the analysis of women’s security and insecurity by paying attention to the multiple voices of the combat veteran. Carol Gilligan’s “Listening Guide” is applied as a platform for evaluating the experiences of women soldiers. The chapter thus presents another deconstruction of binary perceptions in research epistemology through disaggregating the voices and silences of women combat veterans. The combatants’ narratives bring to light their gendered and political reflections about their military service and the political and armed conflict that surrounds them. By tuning in and listening to distinct aspects of their narratives regarding their experiences, the analysis shows that most of the ex-combatants indicated that their service had been an important milestone that changed their lives for the better and made them more mature and confident. While some of them were critical of the political leadership, most chose to discuss only personal, gendered, and social experiences.
Introduction
Authors: Chiovenda Andrea
Published: November 2019

The chapter lays the theoretical and epistemological foundations on which the ethnographic analysis contained in the subsequent chapters is based. It explores how a particular kind of psychoanalytic approach and practice (intersubjective and relational) can be successfully utilized in ethnographic research to investigate the subjectivity of the ethnographer’s informants. It delves into the perspective from which masculinity is looked at in the book—that is, as a “cultural turf” onto which broader, personal psychological dynamics are played out. It then describes the methodology with which the research was carried out, which amounts to a “clinical ethnography,” characterized by long-term interview sessions with a select group of informants. Finally, it provides a rationale for the choice of such a methodological approach, by highlighting the intimate contiguity between the analyst’s and the ethnographer’s work in the field.
Historical and Ethnographic Background
Authors: Chiovenda Andrea
Published: November 2019

This chapter sets the historical and ethnographic stage for a better comprehension of the subsequent chapters. It includes an overview of the recent history of Afghanistan and the run-up to the 2001 occupation of the country by Western coalition troops, as well as an introduction to the fieldsite in southeast Afghanistan, and to the ethnic group—the Pashtuns—that the protagonists in the book belong to. The chapter also presents an elaboration on the theme of culturalism, the misleading explanatory template that takes “culture” as the major (and often only) criterion to explain sociopolitical dynamics and personal behavior.
Baryalay
Authors: Chiovenda Andrea
Published: November 2019

This chapter follows Baryalay, a college-educated man in his early thirties who hails from, and still lives in, a volatile rural village in Nangarhar province, marred by the conflict between the insurgent Taliban, the Islamic State, and the Afghan government. The chapter introduces the concept of self-representation, as the locus where different, even conflicting, self-images and subjective states find coherence and eventually lead to the “illusion” of the unity of the self. Baryalay in fact has to struggle between his concurrent identifications as a pacha (a descendant of the Prophet Muhammad), and as a Pashtun, which hold at times contrasting social requirements in terms of appropriate masculinity. Additionally, via the analysis of the personal experiences that Baryalay had in a geographical area of intense violent conflict and intimate danger, the chapter also elaborates on the way in which forty years of continuous war have considerably changed the understanding and performance of masculinity among Pashtun men.
Affordances
Authors: Kozak Mariusz
Published: November 2019

This chapter elaborates on the idea that significance is manifested in music’s affordances relative to listeners’ bodily capabilities. The author argues that music is a significant phenomenon because it furnishes listeners with two kinds of affordances: “social affordances,” and “temporal affordances.” These latter affordances specify when an action can be performed, and thus differ from their spatial counterparts, which specify the kinds of actions one can perform. Social and temporal affordances can interact, but current theories of musical affordances are incomplete insofar as they treat music as an environmental sound while deferring its aesthetic value to “higher” cognitive processes. In contrast to these theories, the author argues that the process of aestheticization begins precisely when music temporalizes the world for its listeners—that is, when time becomes a point of concern. This claim is illustrated with a situation semantics model of affordances, and an analysis of breath in Anna Clyne’s Roulette (2007).
Affectivity
Authors: Kozak Mariusz
Published: November 2019

This chapter demonstrates the analytic capacity of the enactive approach developed throughout the book. The author draws once again on Merleau-Ponty, as well as recent additions to his work by the neuroscientist Francisco Varela and the cultural theorist Mark Hansen, in order to explore how listeners’ fundamental capacity to both affect and be affected by musical sounds in essence generates lived musical time. The chapter explores the consequences of this process with an analysis of time and eternity in Louis Andriessen’s monumental work De Tijd (1979–81). The author illustrates how Andriessen creates the conditions of opportunity for the enactment of multiple temporalities, leading to the possibility of experiencing “chronal anxiety.”
Getting By
Authors: Hershkoff Helen , Loffredo Stephen
Published: November 2019

Over the last generation, inequality has risen, wages have fallen, and confidence that children will have a better future is at an all-time low. To be sure, a new generation is speaking up in support of universal health care, better public schools, affordable housing, and livable wages. But until the United States adopts and adheres to policies that ensure dignity and decency for all, people need to get by. This book addresses that imperative. Getting By offers an integrated, critical account of the programs, rights, and legal protections that most directly affect poor and low-income people in the United States, whether they are unemployed, underemployed, or employed, and whether they work within the home or outside the home. Although frayed and incomplete, the American safety net nevertheless is critical to those who can access and obtain its benefits—indeed, in some cases, those benefits can make the difference between life and death. The book covers cash assistance programs, employment and labor rights, food assistance, health care, housing programs, education, consumer and banking laws, rights in public spaces, judicial access, and the right to vote. The book primarily focuses on federal laws and programs, but in some contexts invites attention to state laws and programs. The rules and requirements are complicated, often unnecessarily so, and popular know-how is essential to prevent a widening gap between rights that exist on paper and their enforcement on the ground. The central goal of this volume is to provide a resource to individuals, groups, and communities that wish to claim existing rights and mobilize for progressive change.
Cash Assistance
Authors: Hershkoff Helen , Loffredo Stephen
Published: November 2019

This chapter discusses the public provision of cash assistance to needy families and individuals in the United States. The chapter briefly surveys the constitutional and international law status of a right to subsistence, then focuses on the three main cash relief programs in the United States: the state-federal co-operative Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program (TANF), which generally serves very low-income families with minor children; the federal Supplemental Security Income (SSI) program, which serves low-income elderly, blind, or disabled people; and residual, “general assistance” programs, operated by some states to provide small cash grants to destitute families and individuals that do not qualify for other income support. The chapter provides a detailed account of the financial, categorical, and immigration-related eligibility requirements for these programs, the conditions attached to receipt of assistance (such as work requirements), and the processes for application and appeal of agency decisions. The chapter also examines the history, evolution, and social impacts of welfare programs for families in the United States and offers some critical perspectives on relief policies.
Food Assistance
Authors: Hershkoff Helen , Loffredo Stephen
Published: November 2019

This chapter focuses on food assistance as a specific type of noncash benefit for poor and low-income persons. In 2006, the United States substituted the term “food insecurity” for hunger, but by any measure the United States has too many people—even those working full-time—without enough money to purchase groceries. The chapter describes the major federal programs that provide food assistance, including the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, known as food stamps); the WIC program, for pregnant women, new mothers, and infant children; the School Lunch and School Breakfast programs; and senior nutrition programs. These programs use different models to provide assistance: SNAP is designed to increase the purchasing power of a poor or low-income recipients; WIC targets a discrete group with special nutritional needs, and combines food support with health and nutritional counseling; School Lunch and Congregate Meals provide meals in group settings to students and to seniors, combining food with social activity. The emphasis throughout is on eligibility, benefits, and the relation of food assistance to other cash-assistance programs and to wage labor. The food-assistance programs discussed in the chapter are vital to health and development, and also boost local economies and support the agricultural sector. But they do not go far enough in reducing hunger, and they arbitrarily restrict benefits to some of the poorest people in the country.
Three Views of “Human Error”
Authors: Wears Robert L. , Sutcliffe Kathleen M.
Published: November 2019

The concept of human “error” was central to patient safety’s rise to prominence. Unfortunately healthcare developed a rather limited understanding of “error” from a complex body of work that had been evolving from different disciplines, such as psychology, sociology, and organization science. A focus on “human error” and this deficit thinking proved useful to healthcare as it was undergoing a managerial turn. The so-called “Clambake Conferences” exemplified a broad range of evolving thought about accidents and error, and the utility of the very concept of “error” became challenged.
Institutionalization
Authors: Wears Robert L. , Sutcliffe Kathleen M.
Published: November 2019

Unbridled optimism and a flurry of organizational activity followed the publication of To Err is Human. As patient safety became corporatized into new institutions and programs; it became mainstreamed and adopted by organized healthcare. Patient safety became dominated by a measure and manage approach. US hospitals added patient safety to existing quality, risk management and regulatory compliance bureaucracy. This internalization and incorporation led to a closing off of patient safety from influences outside of healthcare. Infection control and health information technology began to dominate safety efforts. Safety culture became a popular topic but in a narrow and instrumental way.
Consolidation and Stagnation
Authors: Wears Robert L. , Sutcliffe Kathleen M.
Published: November 2019

Safety activity is prevalent, but little of value is produced. Several scandals tainted the patient safety movement. Diagnostic “error” became popular but in a highly medicalized way vulnerable to hindsight bias. Safety science moved on from linear, complicated models to emergent, interactive models based on complexity. In 2015, 15 years after the IOM report, four separate reports on the state of patient safety concluded that it had accomplished little and that the approach to safety must be changed dramatically. But the change they recommended was no different from that recommended in the Institute of Medicine report 15 years earlier.
First Movement
Authors: Stoll Knecht Anna
Published: November 2019

Starting from Mahler’s compositional narrative on the Seventh (“boat letter”), according to which the introduction to the first movement triggered his creative process and allowed him to complete the work in a few weeks, this chapter examines the constitutive elements of this beginning and their contradictory interpretations. In terms of formal structure, the analysis concentrates on the emotional center of the movement, the Durchbruch (breakthrough). If this moment appears to be structurally fundamental in the final version, sketches reveal that the movement was far from being built around it, since it was inserted at a rather late stage of the compositional process. The relationship between genesis and interpretation is further explored at the end of this chapter, which discusses the impact of Mahler’s boat story on our understanding of the work and the striking common features between several compositional narratives.
Conclusion
Authors: Stoll Knecht Anna
Published: November 2019

The conclusion returns to the question of the relationship between genesis and interpretation raised in Chapter 2. Besides informing the chronology of the compositional process, the sketches enlighten the perception of the two “problematic” issues at stake in the reception of the Seventh: its relationship to the Sixth Symphony and to Wagner’s Meistersinger. These connections emerge with greater clarity in the “discarded” material, thus encouraging us to consider it as an integral part of the compositional history of a work and as part of its identity. Genetic and analytical perspectives should be treated separately, but then examined in dialogue with each other, to offer a more complex picture of the work. If tragedy wins in the Sixth Symphony, the Seventh shows that the collapsing pattern does not always end with destruction. Death may laugh at us, but we can laugh back, louder, and just keep dancing.
Measuring Social Welfare
Authors: Adler Matthew D.
Published: November 2019

The social welfare function (SWF) framework is a powerful tool for evaluating governmental policies in light of human well-being. The framework originates in theoretical welfare economics and is widely used in contemporary economic scholarship, although not (yet) in governmental practice. This book is intended to provide an accessible, yet reasonably rigorous overview of the SWF approach. The framework has three components: an interpersonally comparable measure of well-being, which functions to translate outcomes into lists (“vectors”) of well-being numbers, one for each person in the population; a rule (the SWF) for ranking well-being vectors, such as the utilitarian SWF (which simply adds up well-being numbers), a continuous-prioritarian SWF (which gives greater weight to the worse off), or some other; and a procedure for ranking policies, understood as probability distributions across outcomes. Each component of the SWF framework is reviewed in detail; in doing so, the book engages both the economic literature on SWFs and philosophical scholarship regarding individual well-being, ethics, and distributive justice. The book also clarifies the difference between the SWF approach and cost-benefit analysis (CBA), which uses money rather than an interpersonally well-being measure as the scale for quantifying policy impacts. The book includes a detailed case study of risk regulation—illustrating how the SWF framework can be used in practice and how it contrasts with CBA. The book is written to be accessible to readers without much mathematical training, but is backed up by an extensive mathematical appendix.
Which SWF Should We Choose?
Authors: Adler Matthew D.
Published: November 2019

The choice of social welfare function (SWF) is an ethical matter. This chapter considers the ethical arguments for and against specific SWFs. It builds upon chapter 3, which presented the leading SWFs and divided the landscape of SWFs into various regions (depending upon their axiomatic properties). First, the chapter discusses the ethical pros and cons of the utilitarian SWF, as compared to continuous-prioritarian SWFs. Next, it engages the ethical debate between continuous-prioritarian SWFs and other non-utilitarian SWFs. The utilitarian SWF has a key advantage under uncertainty, as compared to continuous-prioritarian SWFs: it has an uncertainty procedure that respects both the ex ante Pareto principles and a very plausible axiom of Dominance. Conversely, the utilitarian SWF is insensitive to the distribution of well-being (it violates Pigou-Dalton). Non-utilitarian SWFs do not perform better under uncertainty, as compared to continuous-prioritarian SWFs; but there may be other ethical grounds for preferring these.
The Institutional Role of the SWF Framework
Authors: Adler Matthew D.
Published: November 2019

This chapter discusses the appropriate role of the SWF framework within governmental institutions. The topic is divided into three parts. First, under what conditions is it legally permissible for governmental officials to employ the framework as a policy-evaluation methodology? The framework provides ethical guidance; what is the legal role of such guidance? Second, to the extent the SWF methodology is used within government, what weight should officials accord to citizen ethical views in specifying the methodology (in choosing a well-being measure, rule for ranking well-being vectors, and uncertainty procedure)? This part of the chapter discusses “empirical social choice.” Third, is it advisable for the framework to be implemented across the full range of governmental programs, or only more narrowly—with respect to tax-and-transfer policy? Some economists argue for the latter position—contending that CBA should be the preferred assessment procedure for non–tax-and-transfer policies.
Introduction
Authors: Watson Lori , Flanigan Jessica
Published: November 2019

Watson and Flanigan provide an overview of the structure of the book, highlighting some of the important points of agreement and disagreement contained in their respective contributions. Both Watson and Flanigan reject criminalization, the dominant approach to prostitution. Both agree that criminalizing prostitution serves to further harms and exacerbate the inequality that persons in prostitution experience. Additionally, Watson and Flanigan both reject paternalistic justifications for restricting prostitution and each are committed to principles of equality. However, they differ over how to conceptualize and define equality, and, importantly, over which approach to prostitution best embodies principles of equality.
Prostitution and Sex Equality
Authors: Watson Lori
Published: November 2019

Watson aims to present the initial positive case for the Nordic model as a sex equality approach to prostitution. It is argued that social conditions of inequality (based on sex, age, class, race) structure the conditions of entry into prostitution and structure it internally. Watson addresses a series of objections to arguments in favor of restricting markets in sex. Those objections include that any position aiming to curtail prostitution must rest on some form of unjustifiable moralism or paternalism;, that prostitution should be understood as a fully voluntary choice and protected as such; that even if prostitution is exploitative, allowing such exploitation makes persons in prostitution better off than they would be otherwise; and, finally, that persons have rights to markets in sex such that any prohibitive policies violate rights.
In Defense of the Nordic Model
Authors: Jessica Flanigan
Published: November 2019

Chapter 3 of Watson’s contribution returns to provide the full defense of the Nordic Model. Evidence is presented that policies of toleration (whether decriminalization or legalization) are proven to increase the trafficking of persons for sexual exploitation. Additional evidence that demand reduction is the most effective legal approach to prostitution is given. Further, recent research on the behaviors and attitudes of buyers is presented to further make the case that targeting demand is central to eliminating the harms of prostitution. Finally, a series of objections to the Nordic Model are considered and replies given.
The Politics of the Pill
Authors: VanSickle-Ward Rachel , Wallsten Kevin
Published: November 2019

This book assesses the impact of gender in shaping debates over birth control in the United States. While situating itself in the appropriate historical context, this book’s primary focus is on the controversies surrounding insurance coverage of contraception between Congress’s 2009 deliberations over the Affordable Care Act and the Supreme Court’s 2016 ruling in Zubik v. Burwell. Specifically, the book addresses three interrelated questions about the politics of the pill during this often contentious seven-year period: Who spoke? What did they say? Did it matter? In answering these questions, the book casts a wide net, examining legislative floor debates, committee hearings, statutory wording, amicus briefs, media coverage, Supreme Court rulings, and public opinion polls. Throughout this examination, the book emphasizes the ways in which contraception fit into broader conversations about morality, women’s agency, and reproductive health, and it considers how gender intersected with other identities (e.g., religion and partisanship), in driving media frames, policy narratives, and political attitudes. The book’s central argument is that who has a voice significantly impacts policy deliberation and outcomes. While women’s participation in contraception debates was limited by a lack of gender parity in the media, the legislatures, and the courts, women nevertheless shaped policy making on birth control in myriad and interconnected ways. Put simply, the inclusion and exclusion of women is essential to understanding the tenor, quantity, and quality of contraception debates across time, place, and venue.
Introduction: Where Are the Women?
Authors: VanSickle-Ward Rachel , Wallsten Kevin
Published: November 2019

Chapter 1 argues for the necessity of an in-depth analysis of contemporary birth control politics in the United States. First, this chapter details the ways in which contraception issues are uniquely significant for the quality of women’s lives. Among many other things, expanding access to and insurance coverage of contraception is linked to women’s economic prosperity, political empowerment, and personal well-being. Second, this chapter situates the project in existing literature on gender, framing, representation, policymaking, and political communication. Specifically, in arguing for a link between descriptive representation and policy framing, it makes the case that birth control provides a high-leverage litmus test for evaluating women’s influence in the political process. Finally, the chapter describes the contours of the book, summarizes its methodological approach, and explains why a cross-venue, over-time assessment of framing choices is the most fruitful approach for identifying gender’s role in controversies over contraception.
Contraception Coverage in the Courts
Authors: VanSickle-Ward Rachel , Wallsten Kevin
Published: November 2019

Chapter 5 examines how the issue of contraceptive coverage under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was debated in the Supreme Court. Relying on a detailed content analysis of the amici curiae briefs, oral arguments, decisions and dissents presented during Burwell v. Hobby Lobby, Inc. and Zubik v. Burwell, this chapter shows that while “religious freedom” frames were almost entirely absent in the initial debates over the ACA, they became the dominant approach to understanding the contraception issue during litigation. Moreover, the evidence presented here demonstrates that the gender of the participants in these cases shaped their framing choices in ways that transcended their support or opposition for the ACA’s contraceptive mandate. In other words, the dominant frame of the debate over contraception coverage evolved considerably over time, and gender considerations were paramount in dictating how different actors chose to frame their discussions of the birth control mandate.
Public Opinion
Authors: VanSickle-Ward Rachel , Wallsten Kevin
Published: November 2019

Chapter 8 describes the contours of public support for access to birth control over the last 60 years and for the contraceptive mandate of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) between 2011 and 2014. Drawing on data from numerous polling organizations, this chapter shows that majorities of both political parties, both genders, and all races and religious affiliations have had stable and supportive opinions on whether women should have access to birth control and whether contraceptives are morally acceptable since at least the 1950s. Our analysis also reveals, however, that large partisan, gender, and “God-based” gaps in public support for requiring health insurance coverage of contraceptives developed as a result of the 2012 debate over the ACA’s birth control mandate. The divisions in public opinion driven by the competing accusations of a “war on women” and a “war on religion” persist today.
Experiment
Authors: VanSickle-Ward Rachel , Wallsten Kevin
Published: November 2019

Chapter 9 assesses the effects of exposure to different author bylines and frames in news coverage of birth control policy. Using a series of survey experiments, this chapter identifies how exposure to the kinds of articles typically produced by male and female reporters influences media trust, political cynicism, and opinions about contraception. The results show that women asked to read articles on the contraceptive mandate written by other women viewed the media as more credible than women asked to read articles written by men. In addition, the results demonstrate that exposure to strategic game coverage significantly decreased perceptions of media credibility, enhanced feelings of political cynicism, reduced issue-specific information retention, and encouraged more frequent expressions of negativity among experimental participants. In line with previous research, the experimental results also show that support for the contraceptive mandate increased after reading an article framed around women’s health, reproductive rights, and sexual morality.
On Immunity
Authors: Gilsdorf Janet R.
Published: November 2019

During the late 1800s and early 1900s, a war of words raged among physicians and scientists regarding the nature of immunity: Some supported the so-called cellular theory and others the serum, or humoral, theory. Considerable laboratory research was mounted by scientists on each side to refute the findings of those on the other. The two camps on immunity, the cell theory people and the serum (or humoral) theory people, passionately clung to their respective beliefs and sometimes lobbed disrespectful comments, or downright insults, very publicly at each other. Ultimately, both theories, the killing power of serum and the phagocytic activity of the leukocytes, were recognized to be operative in immunity because they work together to facilitate a rich, complete, albeit complex, immune response.
Finding the Capsule
Authors: Gilsdorf Janet R.
Published: November 2019

Pfeiffer’s bacilli had baffled scientists since Richard Pfeiffer first discovered them. Their morphologic characteristics kept changing. When viewed under the microscope, the bacteria from culture plates sometimes appeared as cocci (tiny berries) and sometimes as bacilli (tiny ovals); the oval shapes varied in their thickness so that they sometimes were fat like tiny chicken’s eggs, other times skinny like grains of rice. Further, the bacteria in spinal fluid specimens were often elongated into threads. Sometimes the thread-like forms absorbed Gram stain most intensely on their ends, sometimes not. Thus, unlike other bacteria, they were not uniform in appearance, which made their identification from clinical specimens difficult and interfered with understanding their nature and clinical implications. All strains, however, either from the meninges or from the respiratory tracts of patients with meningitis, caused infection when injected into guinea pigs and mice, while only strains from the meninges were pathogenic in monkeys and rabbits. The only consistent feature of the bacteria was their requirement for blood—horse, pigeon, human, or rabbit, but not sheep, blood—to grow. Someone needed to sort out all that confusion.
Early Treatment—Immune Serum from a Horse
Authors: Gilsdorf Janet R.
Published: November 2019

Hope that patients with influenzal meningitis would benefit from treatment with influenzal immune serum, even serum specific to type b, was cruelly dashed. While immune serum had dramatically improved the outcome of patients with epidemic meningitis caused by meningococci, it just did not work against Haemophilus influenzae infection. Dorothy Wilkes-Weiss and Robert Huntington finally rang the death knell to the idea. They concluded that the results of serum treatment of influenzal meningitis were discouraging, with little optimism regarding the possibilities of future work. The use of such serum was experimental, without justification for commercial exploitation.
Microbes and Genetics
Authors: Gilsdorf Janet R.
Published: November 2019

This chapter addresses that, in short, the three kinds of bacteria that caused most of the cases of meningitis in children, Haemophilus influenzae, pneumococci, and meningococci, could be made to acquire new characteristics, such as capsule type, by exposing them to DNA, or transforming principle, from a strain with the desired characteristic, such as a specific capsule. Dr. Margaret Pittman first identified a major factor that makes strains different from one other—their bacterial capsules, those polysaccharide overcoats that are woven from complex sugars and surround each bacterial cell. In exploration of this and further advancements, a new day in bacteriology, one in which the bacteria’s genetic workings could be explored, had dawned.
Epilogue
Authors: Gilsdorf Janet R.
Published: November 2019

The spring day we began our search for Richard Pfeiffer in Lądek Zdrój, Poland, was warm and sunny, Several windows of the house were open; their dainty lace curtains fluttered like dove wings in the breeze. In the days when Pfeiffer lived there, we would have heard his piano music—likely he would have played Chopin—wafting from behind those curtains. There, on the other side of the second floor windows, was where Pfeiffer was forced to live when the Polish troops occupied his home. His days at Heimatsonne had been a peaceful ending to Richard Pfeiffer’s productive life, a chance for him to reflect on his important additions to the understanding of microbes, on the miracle of living things, on the beauty of scientific inquiry. He, as much as anyone, had known the rewards of discovery.