bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Statins: protection against heart attacks and strokes—hallelujah!
Authors: Cordes Eugene H. 
Published: May 2021

Abstract
The class of drugs known as statins is very effective in lowering plasma cholesterol levels; these drugs have been established to reduce the frequency of heart attacks and strokes in multiple settings. The statins are inhibitors of an enzyme known as HMGR, an enzyme on the metabolic pathway to cholesterol. The first statin, mevastatin, was discovered by Japanese scientists in a fermentation broth from an organism cultured from a soil sample taken near a golf course. Mevastatin established the efficacy of HMGR inhibitors as cholesterol-lowering agents but ultimately failed as a drug candidate. The first marketed statin was lovastatin (Mevacor), isolated at Merck from a fermentation broth. Pravachol followed from Squibb, as did simvastatin (Zocor) from Merck and subsequently several other, notably Lipitor and Crestor. They are among the most widely prescribed drugs in the world.
Fludalanine: nice try but no hallelujah
Authors: Cordes Eugene H. 
Published: May 2021

Abstract
Fludalanine was one of the most promising antibiotics of its generation: a simple inexpensive molecule having a novel mechanism of action highly effective against problem bacteria. It ultimately failed as a consequence of potential toxicity to patients resulting from one of its metabolites. The starting point for fludalanine is the simple molecule D-fluoroalanine, a potent inhibitor of alanine racemase, the enzyme that supplies the amino acid D-alanine for bacterial wall synthesis. D-Alanine has no role in human metabolism. Fludalanine is derived from D-fluoroalanine by an isotopic substitution designed to slow its rate of metabolism. Remarkably, at high concentrations of fludalanine, bacteria actually use the antibiotic for cell wall synthesis. To prevent that, another inhibitor of a distinct enzyme required for bacterial cell wall synthesis, pentizidone, was combined with fludalanine: problem solved. However, long-term safety studies in rodents revealed that fludalanine caused vacuole formation in the brain, called spongy brain. The toxicity was traced back to a metabolite of fludalanine, and the toxicity of that molecule in rodents was established. Unhappily, levels of that metabolite proved too high in patients to ensure their safety. That was the end of a highly promising effort to add an important antibiotic to clinical practice.
Populism and Trade
Authors: Jones Kent 
Published: May 2021

Abstract
Populism and Trade traces the role of populist trade policy in the increase of global protectionism and the erosion of international trade institutions. Populist anti-trade rhetoric played a major part in US President Donald Trump’s 2016 election campaign, in which he portrayed current trade agreements as elitist measures to undermine US manufacturing jobs, economic security, and the interests of the American people. Upon taking office he proceeded to implement trade restrictions that were unprecedented in the era of GATT-WTO rules. His use of national security criteria for unilateral tariffs on steel and aluminum and his trade war with China represented an abandonment of WTO trade rules and practices. In the United Kingdom, the 2016 Brexit referendum resulted in a vote to leave the European Union, thereby ending the UK trade integration arrangement that had begun in 1973. The referendum campaign drew on UK criticism of EU intrusion on UK sovereignty in presenting the issue in populist terms of elitist control from Brussels set against the interests of the victimized British people. The book develops a conceptual framework of protectionism that links behavioral factors with perceived external threats and voting behavior based on emotion. It also offers a review of trade policies of other populist governments and an assessment of their economic and institutional cost. A concluding chapter provides recommendations for addressing the populist challenge, focusing on adjustment policies, reforms of global trade institutions, and the need to protect domestic democratic processes.
Populism, Trade, and Trump’s Path to Victory
Authors: Jones Kent 
Published: May 2021

Abstract
This chapter traces US populism back to President Andrew Jackson (1828–1836), providing early characteristics of a US populist leader. Major US populist issues have included immigration, the banking sector, and more recently, foreign trade. While Franklin D. Roosevelt’s populist-inspired New Deal reforms included trade liberalizing measures, postwar populists linked advancing globalization in the late twentieth century to elitist trade policy, inspiring new populist movements. Anti-trade populists were unsuccessful third-party presidential candidates until Donald Trump exploited this issue, capturing the Republican Party nomination and developing particularly provocative anti-trade rhetoric. He successfully integrated an anti-trade platform with a host of other populist issues, and vowed to alter US trade policy to “make America great again.”
Brexit and the Crisis of European Integration
Authors: Jones Kent 
Published: May 2021

Abstract
This chapter discusses the role Europe’s long history of conflict over geography, religion, and national identity, as well as its aristocratic traditions, on modern European populism. The Brexit referendum gave direct electoral voice to the accumulated resentments of populist forces in the United Kingdom against EU rules administered by what its supporters regarded as an elite bureaucracy in Brussels. Their concerns, mainly over budgetary and regulatory issues, overrode the prospect of losing trade benefits from the EU single market. Elsewhere in the European Union populist parties continue to be active, and many of them are Euroskeptic, based largely on immigration and monetary issues. Many right-wing and left-wing populist parties in particular tend to favor protectionism, but will not be in a position to challenge centralized EU trade policy until they gain power in large EU countries. The UK exit from the European Union will weaken a prominent pro-trade voice in the EU Council of Ministers.
Introduction
Authors: Ball Blake Scott 
Published: May 2021

Abstract
Many critics have assumed that Peanuts was popular in Cold War America because it was apolitical and inoffensive, yet the opposite is actually true. This introduction reviews how Charles Schulz’s comic strip regularly engaged in political and social commentary. Even more, thousands of fans wrote regular letters to discuss, critique, and debate the messages they read in Peanuts each day. For nearly fifty years, Peanuts was an important part of popular discourse around political and social events. Schulz’s unique wishy-washy style allowed fans from across the American political spectrum to see their values, concerns, and hopes reflected in this enduring comic strip.
Epilogue
Authors: Ball Blake Scott 
Published: May 2021

Abstract
Peanuts persists to this day as an important shorthand in political and social commentary. The legacy Schulz established in his comic strip has been caught and carried on by his fans. Despite his passing in 2000, Peanuts is one of the highest grossing cartoon properties in the world. As Peanuts’ relationship with insurer MetLife demonstrates, however, the twenty-first century has presented new challenges to the continued relevance of Peanuts in American pop culture. While some were unsure that the characters could survive without Schulz, Peanuts has been remarkably resilient and enjoyed a resurgence in film, television, and publication in recent years.
Philosophy and Community in Seneca's Prose
Authors: Seal Carey 
Published: May 2021

Abstract
This book shows how Seneca’s prose works offer both an illustration of and an invitation to philosophy as a way of life. In Seneca’s hands, the specificity of the philosopher’s social and historical location becomes generative of that way of life rather than an obstacle to be transcended. The social character of Senecan philosophical practice is brought to light through detailed examination of the ideas of solitude and independence in Seneca’s writing. Later chapters explore the relationship in Seneca’s works between the Socratic ideal of the examined life, on the one hand, and, on the other, some characteristically Roman social and political institutions: slavery, the philosophical school, and the commonwealth. Seneca emerges as a keen observer of philosophy’s social entanglements.
Conservation
Authors: Perrings Charles , Kinzig Ann 
Published: May 2021

Abstract
This book explores the process by which people decide to conserve or convert natural resources. Building on a seminal study by Harold Hotelling that connects conservation to expected changes in the value of resources, the authors develop the general principles involved in conservation science. The focus of the book is the resources of the natural environment. This includes both directly exploited resources such as agricultural soils, minerals, forests, and fish stocks, and biodiversity—the wild species and natural ecosystems put at risk when people choose to convert natural habitat, or to discharge waste products to water, land, or air. The theory of conservation shows how much or how little to extract from the environment, and how much to leave intact. It also shows how conservation decisions are influenced by the existence of market failures—the external impacts of market decisions on ecosystems, and the public good nature of many ecosystem services. It shows how conservation connects to expected changes in the relative importance or value of natural resources, and what is needed to uncover that value. It shows how context matters. Decisions about the conservation of natural resources are influenced by property rights—whether land is private property or in the public domain; by environmental policies, laws, and regulations within countries; and by environmental agreements between countries. Finally, this book shows how conservation differs within and beyond protected areas, how it connects to the system of environmental governance, and how governance structures have evolved over time.
Sosipatra as a Teacher
Authors: Marx Heidi 
Published: May 2021

Abstract
Upon losing her husband, Sosipatra moved to Pergamum and opened her own philosophy school. This chapter explores what her school might have been like from its structure, student body, and curriculum. For a late ancient philosophy school in the Platonist tradition, students lived near or with their teacher, following prescribed study of Aristotle and Plato, and discussing these works. Their main goal was to live with and learn from one teacher. Such teachers were often considered holy as well as gifted teachers who inspired devotion as much as desire for intellectual stimulation in their followers. Sosipatra certainly fits this description as her educational pedigree and virtuosity signal some sort of divine inspiration as the source of her knowledge and wisdom. Eunapius’s estimation of Sosipatra’s superiority as a teacher indicates that he wished his readers to think of her as a leading light in the Iamblichean lineage when it came to teaching on standard Platonic topics.
Most Americans Will Experience Poverty
Authors: Rank Mark Robert , Eppard Lawrence M. , Bullock Heather E. 
Published: May 2021

Abstract
Chapter 2 reviews the life course research on the risk of experiencing poverty. Using data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (PSID), the majority of Americans will at some time during their adulthood experience a spell of poverty. Furthermore, 10 percent of children spend at least half of their childhood living in poverty. Many Americans will also turn to a social safety net program for economic assistance. The implications of this research are discussed, which include understanding poverty as a structural rather than an individual failure. Shoring up safety net programs and investing in poor children and families can be a long-term financially sound strategy for the United States.
Hard Work Is Insufficient
Authors: Rank Mark Robert , Eppard Lawrence M. , Bullock Heather E. 
Published: May 2021

Abstract
Chapter 6 explores the role of hard work in avoiding poverty. It is often assumed that anyone can get ahead and avoid poverty by working hard. This chapter argues that hard work is a necessary but not a sufficient condition for getting ahead in life. Consequently, although it is difficult to imagine individuals doing well in life without a decent amount of effort and work, working hard and being motivated by no means guarantee success. Several examples are given of individuals working hard but finding it difficult to escape poverty. The number and nature of low-wage work are also discussed.
Raising Education and Skill Levels Will Not Solve Poverty Alone
Authors: Rank Mark Robert , Eppard Lawrence M. , Bullock Heather E. 
Published: May 2021

Abstract
A widely held belief is that poverty can be eliminated by providing individuals with enough education and skills. Chapter 7 discusses the flaw in this belief. While such a strategy works well for any one individual, as an overall macroeconomic strategy it is problematic. The reason is that without increasing the number of opportunities in society, raising education and skill levels of individuals is a zero-sum game in which some individuals are more competitive at the expense of others. The analogy of musical chairs is used to illustrate this process. When poverty rates do go up or down, they do so as a result of increasing or decreasing opportunities at a macro level.
Poverty Is Preventable
Authors: Rank Mark Robert , Eppard Lawrence M. , Bullock Heather E. 
Published: May 2021

Abstract
Chapter 9 addresses the myth that poverty is inevitable. This idea goes back to Biblical times and is often expressed by conservatives. In contrast, this chapter argues that poverty is preventable. Three examples are given in which poverty has been substantially reduced: (1) the War on Poverty during the 1960s and early 1970s; (2) the elderly poverty rate from 1959 to 2019; and (3) single-parent families in Denmark. In each case, poverty has been reduced through social policies. The chapter concludes that the problem is not a lack of solutions. There is considerable evidence demonstrating what strategies are effective in reducing poverty. The problem lies in a lack of political will to implement these strategies. Politicians have used the myth of poverty’s inevitability to reinforce their agenda of a smaller federal government footprint.
America’s Poor Are Worse Off Than Elsewhere
Authors: Rank Mark Robert , Eppard Lawrence M. , Bullock Heather E. 
Published: May 2021

Abstract
Chapter 10 examines the difficulty of living in poverty in the United States. Using the MIT living wage calculator, families in poverty are unable to meet monthly expenses. Furthermore, the distance between the poverty line and median income in the United States has been growing for the past 50 years. When compared with other OECD countries, the United States has higher rates of poverty and more severe levels of poverty. A major reason for this is the relatively weak social safety net found in the United States. In addition, the extent of social exclusion and deprivation is likely higher in the United States as a result of the considerable stigma attached to poverty.
The U.S. Welfare State Is Minimal
Authors: Rank Mark Robert , Eppard Lawrence M. , Bullock Heather E. 
Published: May 2021

Abstract
Chapter 13 examines the size of the social safety net in the United States. Compared with European and other OECD countries, the United States has a fairly small safety net. The amount spent is approximately 2 percent of our GDP. In particular, programs aimed at protecting children from poverty are minimal. These programs have also been reduced over time, especially since the 1996 welfare reform changes. Challenging the myth of the bloated welfare state requires tackling multiple intersecting misperceptions, including erroneous portrayals of U.S. welfare expenditures as exorbitant and low-income programs as driving up the national debt. It will also require shattering myths that legitimize keeping welfare benefits low.
Welfare Fraud Is Scarce
Authors: Rank Mark Robert , Eppard Lawrence M. , Bullock Heather E. 
Published: May 2021

Abstract
Chapter 14 debunks the myth that welfare fraud is rampant. Although this myth is routinely perpetrated by political actors, the reality is that fraud is quite uncommon. Error rates are examined for the SNAP program, showing overall low incidence. There are currently multiple initiatives underway to curb SNAP enrollment that appear to be fueled by unfounded concerns about fraud, abuse, and waste. In addition, the trend toward criminalization of welfare use is discussed. This includes finger-imaging welfare recipients along with drug testing. Finally, research has demonstrated that a number of poverty-stricken individuals and families who would be eligible for various safety net programs choose not to apply in order to avoid the humiliation, frustration, and stigma associated with welfare.
Government Programs Can Reduce Poverty
Authors: Rank Mark Robert , Eppard Lawrence M. , Bullock Heather E. 
Published: May 2021

Abstract
Chapter 15 provides an analysis of the effectiveness of social welfare programs in reducing poverty. Comparing pretransfer with post-transfer rates of poverty across a range of OECD countries demonstrates that poverty can be substantially reduced. The myth that government programs do not work in addressing poverty is simply incorrect. A number of European countries are able to cut their rates of poverty by up to 80 percent as a result of robust social policies aimed at reducing poverty and inequality. In the United States, the Social Security and Medicare programs have been particularly effective in reducing the poverty rate among the elderly population.
Creating the Change
Authors: Rank Mark Robert , Eppard Lawrence M. , Bullock Heather E. 
Published: May 2021

Abstract
Chapter 21 draws a conclusion to the book by discussing the ways in which groups and individuals can create positive change toward alleviating poverty. The creation of the website, “Confronting Poverty: Tools for Understanding Economic Hardship and Risk,” is discussed, along with the poverty risk calculator. The role of social media is also discussed as a vehicle for raising awareness around the issues of poverty and inequality. The authors put forward that diagnosing the scope and cause of a problem is a first step toward creating change. A second step is using that diagnosis to shift the prevailing status quo mentality to one of social action. A third step is building the momentum to leverage a change in how the problem is addressed. The chapter offers several examples of how social and policy change have occurred over relatively short periods of time.
Shattered American Idealism
Authors: McBride Spencer W. 
Published: May 2021

Abstract
In this chapter Joseph Smith returns to Nauvoo, Illinois, disappointed with his meeting with President Van Buren but hopeful that Elias Higbee can successfully get congressional support for their memorial for redress and reparations. Higbee updates Smith on a three-day hearing of the Mormons’ case before the Senate Judiciary Committee. However, that committee ultimately rules that the federal government has no jurisdiction in the matter and that the Mormons must seek redress from Missouri, the very state that ordered their extermination in 1838. This decision frustrates Smith. With his sense of American idealism shattered, he determines to pursue protection for his people through other legal and political channels.
A City-State on a Hill
Authors: McBride Spencer W. 
Published: May 2021

Abstract
This chapter examines the founding and the incorporation of the city of Nauvoo, Illinois. Joseph Smith works with new church member John C. Bennett to draft a charter that grants Nauvoo an unprecedented combination of powers. Smith and Bennett argue that such powers are necessary to protect the Latter-day Saints from a repeat of the persecutions they experienced in Missouri and that the federal government’s refusal to protect religious minorities made such protections even more important at the local level. Illinois is divided between the Whigs and the Democrats at this time, and both parties are courting the support of the Mormons. As a result, the charter is approved overwhelmingly by the Illinois state legislature.
The Specter of Missouri
Authors: McBride Spencer W. 
Published: May 2021

Abstract
This chapter examines two of the three attempts of government officials in Missouri and Illinois to extradite Joseph Smith to Missouri. In the first, Smith was freed from extradition by order of judge Stephen A. Douglas. The second attempt came in the wake of an attempted assassination of former Missouri governor Lilburn W. Boggs, the man who had ordered the expulsion of the Mormons from the state under threat of extermination. John C. Bennett, who had been excommunicated from the church and left Nauvoo in disgrace, was on an anti-Mormon lecture tour at the time and accused Smith of conspiring to have Boggs killed. Knowing that returning to Missouri would mean certain death, Smith evaded arrest for much of 1842. Then, in January 1843, Smith had a hearing in Springfield, Illinois, in which the court declared that Missouri had no claim on him.
More Conventions
Authors: McBride Spencer W. 
Published: May 2021

Abstract
This chapter follows the events of the contested Democratic nominating convention of 1844 in Baltimore, Maryland. Martin Van Buren entered the convention as the favorite but faced stiff competition from Lewis Cass. After several ballots, a third candidate rose above Van Buren and Cass: James K. Polk. Polk was eventually nominated to run on the Democratic ticket against the Whig candidate, Henry Clay. This chapter also considers the small convention held by supporters of President John Tyler, who had been expelled from the Whig Party two years earlier. Meanwhile, in Nauvoo, the Mormons had a nominating convention of their own and formally nominated Joseph Smith and Sidney Rigdon to be an independent ticket for the presidency.
On the Road
Authors: Cassibry Kimberly 
Published: May 2021

Abstract
Otherwise known as the Vicarello Cups, these four vessels have been studied for their engraved itineraries, rather than for their materiality and design. At a time when pictorial maps existed but were rarely used for travel, such itineraries instrumentalized mobility through formulaic lists of destinations and distances. The place names evoke the journey’s multilingual soundscape, while also offering a framework for comparing sites connected by the Roman road system and its milestones (which the cups resemble). The Vicarello itineraries begin in Gades (Cádiz, Spain) and end in Rome, after passing through such famous sites as Tarragona, Nîmes, Arles, and Rimini. The chapter argues that the sumptuous silver cups, rather than being travel tools themselves, commemorate aspirational mobility. The cups’ owners are unknown, but the trajectories of the texts can be connected to a long history of provincial influence on Rome.