Politics and the 1920s Writings of Dashiell Hammett

This essay examines the relationship between politics and the early writings of hard-boiled detective author Dashiell Hammett. Although Hammett in the mid-1930s joined the American Communist Party, most of his writing (published in the 1920s) is not typically left-wing. In fact, as with other modernist writers of the 1920s, there are portions of his writings that lend themselves to distinctly conservative, even reactionary, readings. The essay examines Hammett’s experience as a Pinkerton detective and its influence on his writing; his relationship to modernism; and his later Communism. Although Hammett is not a central figure in American literature in the broad sense, examining his writings in the 1920s allows not only to better understand the political origins of hard-boiled detective writing, but also to understand the greater social changes the U.S. was undergoing at the time

The Communist Party of the United States and the Communist International, 1919-1929.

The American Communist movement, born out of a left-wing split from the American Socialist Party in 1919, was divided into several hostile organisations that understood very little about American politics, culture or society. In its early years, the Communist International (Comintern) repeatedly intervened into the American Party. Far from hindering the Party's understanding and appreciation of American conditions, this intervention helped transform the Party from a marginal sect of isolated immigrants in 1920, to an important part of American politics in the 1930s. This intervention stemmed from the desire of the early Comintern, under the leadership of Lenin and Trotsky, to create an international revolutionary Communist movement. However, in the mid- 1920s, as the leadership and ideology of the Russian Communist party changed. Under the rubric of building 'socialism in one country', the Comintern now intervened more and more to create a stable, Pro-Stalin leadership. The first portion of this thesis, comprising the first four chapters, illustrates how between 1919 and 1923 Comintern intervention was necessary to politically and organisationally construct a Party. The Comintern helped achieve unity amongst the competing groups; forced the Party to take advantage of the opportunities for legal work; compelled the Party to intervene into the labour movement. The next four chapters examine the change in Comintern intervention between 1923 and 1929. During this period, internecine factionalism, increasingly devoid of a political basis,t ore the Party asunder,and sapped its ability to intervene into society. The Comintern continued to intervene, but largely to play one faction off against another. In the aftermath of the 1928 Sixth Congress, the Party leadership purged first its left, Trotskyist wing, led by James P. Cannon, and within the year, the right, Bukharnite, wing, led by Jay Lovestone. The Comintern then installed a pliant leadership that finally ended factionalism and carried the now Stalinised Party into the 1930s.The final chapter analyses the changing Communist perspective on the 'Negro Question', from ignoring black rights to championing the right of Southern blacks to independence. Here, the Comintern, acting on pressure from pioneer black Communists, insisted that the Party address this important issue.At the Sixth Congress, the Comintern adopted the theory that blacks in the American South were a oppressed nationality, and had the right to form a separate state. Whilst this programme was not in accord with reality, it forced the Party to aggressively fight for black rights, so that by the 1930s it was well known for its stand for black liberation

A novel approach to breast cancer prevention: reducing excessive ovarian androgen production in elderly women

Minimizing endogenous estrogen production and activity in women at high risk for breast cancer is a prominent approach to prevention of the disease. A number of clinical trials have shown that the administration of selective-estrogen receptor modulators or aromatase inhibitors significantly reduces the incidence of breast cancer in healthy women. Unfortunately, these drugs often produce adverse effects on the quality of life and are, therefore, poorly accepted by many women, even those who are at high risk for breast cancer. We propose a novel alternative approach to decreasing estrogen production: suppression of ovarian synthesis of the androgen precursors of estrogens by administration of long-acting gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogs to women with ovarian stromal hyperplasia. The specific target population would be elderly postmenopausal women, at increased risk of breast cancer, and with high blood levels of testosterone, marker of ovarian hyperandrogenemia, and recognized factor of risk for breast cancer. Testosterone levels are measured at baseline to identify women at risk and during the follow-up to evaluate the effectiveness of therapy. The postmenopausal ovary is an important source of excessive androgen production which originates from the ovarian interstitial cell hyperplasia frequently present in breast cancer patients. We propose to counter the source of androgen excess in women with ovarian stromal hyperplasia, thus reducing the substrate for estrogen formation without completely inhibiting estrogen synthesis. Available evidence indicates that gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogs can be safely used for breast cancer prevention in postmenopausal women

Cortisol metabolism in cirrhosis

Abstract. The production and peripheral metabolism of cortisol have been studied in 10 cirrhotics and 11 controls after i.v. tracers of cortisol-'4C. The findings were as follows: (a) Total urinary excretion of radioactivity was normal (81% of the dose) but a decreased fraction was present as glucosiduronates: 18-47% of the dose (average 34%) compared to a normal average of 54%. (b) There was a distinctively abnormal pattern of cortisol metabolites, not previously observed in other illnesses: tetrahydrocortisone was decreased to 14% of the enzyme hydrolysate (normal 26%); cortolones were increased to 34% (normal 19%), owing entirely to an increase in cortolone (20a) formation, since fl-cortolone (20,8) was not significantly increased; Reichstein's substances U and epi-U were increased, averaging 2.6% for the former and 4.7% for the latter; tetrahydrocortisol, allotetrahydrocortisol and cortols were normal. This pattern was independent of the degree of decreased glucosiduronate formation and also independent of the presence or absence of a portacaval shunt. (c) Cortisol production, determined by isotope dilution, was normal in each of six cirrhotic patients. From these data, taken in conjunction with our previously reported findings concerning the influence of norethandrolone on cortisol metabolism, the following conclusions were drawn: (a) Cirrhotic patients have decreased A-ring reduction of cortisone to tetrahydrocortisone and correspondingly increased 20-ketone reduction of cortisone to Reichstein's substances U and epi-U and then to the cortolones. (b) Intrahepatic cholestasis, a regular pathophysiological feature of cirrhosis, may be responsible for the observed abnormal cortisol metabolite pattern in this disease. (c) The slowed metabolic turnover rate of cortisol in cirrhosis may be due to decreased tranpsort and/or binding of cortisol to its intracellular metabolic sites rather than to abnormalities of any specific metabolizing enzymes. Introduction Disturbances of cortisol metabolism in liver disease have been described by many investigators

The effect of diazoxide, potassium chloride, and ammonium chloride on serum and urinary uric acid

No Abstract.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/37700/1/1780080446_ftp.pd

Prevalence of hypogonadism in males aged at least 45 years: the HIM study

The Hypogonadism in Males study estimated the prevalence of hypogonadism [total testosterone (TT) <300 ng/dl] in men aged ≥45 years visiting primary care practices in the United States. A blood sample was obtained between 8 am and noon and assayed for TT, free testosterone (FT) and bioavailable testosterone (BAT). Common symptoms of hypogonadism, comorbid conditions, demographics and reason for visit were recorded. Of 2162 patients, 836 were hypogonadal, with 80 receiving testosterone. Crude prevalence rate of hypogonadism was 38.7%. Similar trends were observed for FT and BAT. Among men not receiving testosterone, 756 (36.3%) were hypogonadal; odds ratios for having hypogonadism were significantly higher in men with hypertension (1.84), hyperlipidaemia (1.47), diabetes (2.09), obesity (2.38), prostate disease (1.29) and asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (1.40) than in men without these conditions. The prevalence of hypogonadism was 38.7% in men aged ≥45 years presenting to primary care offices

Correction of thiazide hyperuricemia by potassium chloride and ammonium chloride

Large doses of KCl lowered serum uric acid while producing mild, apparently unrelated, uricosuria in four chlorothiazide-treated subjects. In two control subjects KCl also caused mild uricosuria, but had a negligible effect on serum uric acid concentration. Ammonium chloride decreased serum urate in all six subjects, while urinary uric acid excretion remained essentially unchanged. It is suggested that these changes in serum uric acid are secondary to redistribution of urate among body compartments.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/37703/1/1780080612_ftp.pd