"In seiner Blüte bleicht mein Leben" : Magda Spiegel – Schicksal einer jüdischen Künstlerin zwischen Kaiserreich und Nationalsozialismus

Rezension zu: Claudia Becker : Magda Spiegel : Biographie einer Frankfurter Opernsängerin ; 1887 – 1944 ; Studien zur Frankfurter Geschichte, Band 52 (Hrsg. Dieter Rebentisch), Waldemar Kramer-Verlag, Frankfurt 2003, ISBN 3-7829-0547-4, 263 Seiten, 29,80 Euro

Machtpoker am Main: "Der Braune Magistrat" : Studie zur Kommunalpolitik während des Nationalsozialismus

Rezension zu: Bettina Tüffers : Der Braune Magistrat : Personalstruktur und Machtverhältnisse in der Frankfurter Stadtregierung 1933 – 1945. Studien zur Frankfurter Geschichte, Band 54 (Hrsg. Dieter Rebentisch), Waldemar Kramer Verlag 2004, ISBN 3-7829-0558-X, 368 Seiten, 34,80 Eur

"Berlin im Licht?" Frankfurt im Licht! : Spaziergang durch die Vergnügungsstätten der Zwanziger Jahre

Rezension zu: Oliver M. Piecha : Roaring Frankfurt : Mit Siegfried Kracauer ins Schumanntheater. Verlag Edition AV, Frankfurt 2005, ISBN 3-936049-48-3, 189 Seiten, 17 Euro

Transcriptional Regulation of N-Acetylglutamate Synthase and its Clinical Relevance

The urea cycle converts ammonia, the toxic byproduct of protein metabolism, to non-toxic urea utilizing six enzymes in mammalian liver hepatocytes. In the mitochondria, the enzyme N-acetylglutamate synthase (NAGS), produces the essential allosteric activator, N-acetylglutamate (NAG), for the first enzyme of the cycle, carbamylphosphate synthetase 1 (CPS1). Ammonia sequestered by CPS1 is condensed with bicarbonate and phosphate from ATP to produce to carbamylphosphate, which is then condensed with ornithine to produce citrulline by ornithine transcarbamylase (OTC). Citrulline is then transported to the cytoplasm where it is further converted by the distal urea cycle enzymes argininosuccinate synthetase, argininosuccinate lyase, and arginase 1 to the end product, urea. Prior to sequestration of ammonia, signaling pathways sense dietary protein load. Analysis was conducted to determine the effect of protein composition on metabolic signaling and nutrient sensing pathways AMPK, mTOR, and eIF2, promote transcriptional activation of urea cycle genes and translation of urea cycle proteins. Future studies will determine the importance of these pathways on the urea cycle and whether post-translational control mechanisms, such as phosphorylation, also respond to protein in the diet. Since NAGS plays an important role in controlling the rate of urea production by activating the rate limiting CPS1, its regulatory mechanisms control ureagenesis flux. This project elucidated the regulatory domains of NAGS including a promoter which contains multiple tissue- and species- specific transcription initiation sites and binding sites for transcription factors CREB and Sp1. It also found and characterized an enhancer 3kb upstream of the translational start site which confers liver specificity and has binding sites for NF-Y and HNF-1. These transcription factors are regulated by glucocorticoid and glucagon hormone signaling pathways and are also regulated in a tissue selective manner. A deficiency of NAGS in humans and mice leads to high ammonia, low urea, and high glutamine levels in the plasma, and can be overcome by treatment with N-carbamylglutamate (NCG). This project identified a patient with NAGS deficiency and hyperammonemia caused by a deleterious mutation in the HNF-1 binding site within the enhancer of the NAGS gene, which was identified and characterized by this research. This mutation caused decreased transcription of NAGS due to reduced HNF-1 binding. Subsequently, this work found disease-causing mutations in the promoter region of OTC which have been shown to interfere with HNF-4 binding. The knowledge garnered by this project significantly increases our understanding of the regulation of urea cycle RNA and protein expression and their role in disease pathophysiology. Understanding of these mechanisms will lead to improved diagnoses and continued development of effective treatments for people with urea cycle disorders and hyperammonemia

Standing Rock, the Sioux Treaties, and the Limits of the Supremacy Clause

The controversy surrounding the Dakota Access Pipeline (“DAPL”) has put the peaceful plains of North Dakota in the national and international spotlight, drawing thousands of people to the confluence of the Missouri and Cannonball Rivers outside of Standing Rock Sioux Reservation for prayer and peaceful protest in defense of the Sioux Tribes’ treaties, lands, cultural property, and waters. Spanning over 7 months, including the harsh North Dakota winter, the gathering was visited by indigenous leaders and communities from around the world and represents arguably the largest gathering of indigenous peoples in the United States in more than 100 years. At the center of the fight are the 1851 and 1868 Treaties entered into by the United States and the Great Sioux Nation. The pipeline route, which was chosen without input from the Tribes, runs directly through the heart of treaty lands secured to the Great Sioux Nation in the 1851 Treaty of Fort Laramie, lands to which the Sioux Tribes continue to have strong cultural, spiritual, and historical ties. Furthermore, the construction and operation of an oil pipeline directly upstream from their current reservations undoubtedly threatens the Tribes’ hunting and fishing rights expressly reserved in the 1868 Treaty and affirmed in numerous subsequent Acts of Congress, as well as their reserved water rights pursuant to the Winters Doctrine. But as the Tribe and their attorneys battled for injunctive relief in federal court, the Treaties were largely absent in the pleadings and court opinions. However, with the District Court’s ruling on June 14, 2017, it appears the Treaties now present the crux of the surviving argument, presenting problems for the Court in terms of both their applicability in the face of Congress’ plenary power over Indian tribes and diminished Trust responsibility as well as the appropriate remedy for the Tribes when and if these Treaty rights are violated. As such, the case provides an opportunity to analyze the truth and lies surrounding the Constitutional place of Indian Treaties in federal courts. Article VI, Clause 2 of the Constitution states “all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any state to the Contrary notwithstanding.” Known as the “Supremacy Clause,” this constitutional provision has serious implications in federal Indian law. Of particular importance is whether treaties made with Indian tribes can be considered the “Supreme Law of the Land”. The current litigation and historic indigenous uprising against the Dakota Access Pipeline, the route of which lies within recognized tribal treaty boundaries, provides a contemporary example of the limitations of Supremacy Clause. This article attempts to place the Standing Rock and other Sioux Tribes’ legal battle against the Dakota Access pipeline against the history of Indian treaties and treaty rights for a contemporary examination of federal courts application of Indian treaty rights and the limits of the Supremacy Clause to ensure Indian treaties and treaty rights be respected as the “Supreme Law of the Land

Standing Rock, the Sioux Treaties, and the Limits of the Supremacy Clause

The controversy surrounding the Dakota Access Pipeline (“DAPL”) has put the peaceful plains of North Dakota in the national and international spotlight, drawing thousands of people to the confluence of the Missouri and Cannonball Rivers outside of Standing Rock Sioux Reservation for prayer and peaceful protest in defense of the Sioux Tribes’ treaties, lands, cultural property, and waters. Spanning over 7 months, including the harsh North Dakota winter, the gathering was visited by indigenous leaders and communities from around the world and represents arguably the largest gathering of indigenous peoples in the United States in more than 100 years. At the center of the fight are the 1851 and 1868 Treaties entered into by the United States and the Great Sioux Nation. The pipeline route, which was chosen without input from the Tribes, runs directly through the heart of treaty lands secured to the Great Sioux Nation in the 1851 Treaty of Fort Laramie, lands to which the Sioux Tribes continue to have strong cultural, spiritual, and historical ties. Furthermore, the construction and operation of an oil pipeline directly upstream from their current reservations undoubtedly threatens the Tribes’ hunting and fishing rights expressly reserved in the 1868 Treaty and affirmed in numerous subsequent Acts of Congress, as well as their reserved water rights pursuant to the Winters Doctrine. But as the Tribe and their attorneys battled for injunctive relief in federal court, the Treaties were largely absent in the pleadings and court opinions. However, with the District Court’s ruling on June 14, 2017, it appears the Treaties now present the crux of the surviving argument, presenting problems for the Court in terms of both their applicability in the face of Congress’ plenary power over Indian tribes and diminished Trust responsibility as well as the appropriate remedy for the Tribes when and if these Treaty rights are violated. As such, the case provides an opportunity to analyze the truth and lies surrounding the Constitutional place of Indian Treaties in federal courts. Article VI, Clause 2 of the Constitution states “all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any state to the Contrary notwithstanding.” Known as the “Supremacy Clause,” this constitutional provision has serious implications in federal Indian law. Of particular importance is whether treaties made with Indian tribes can be considered the “Supreme Law of the Land”. The current litigation and historic indigenous uprising against the Dakota Access Pipeline, the route of which lies within recognized tribal treaty boundaries, provides a contemporary example of the limitations of Supremacy Clause. This article attempts to place the Standing Rock and other Sioux Tribes’ legal battle against the Dakota Access pipeline against the history of Indian treaties and treaty rights for a contemporary examination of federal courts application of Indian treaty rights and the limits of the Supremacy Clause to ensure Indian treaties and treaty rights be respected as the “Supreme Law of the Land

The Impact of An Online Learning Credit Recovery Program on the Graduation Rate of Students Receiving Free and Reduced Meals

Low-income students are five times more likely to drop out of high school than their high-income peers (Chapman, Laird, Ifill, & KewalRamani, 2011). While race, geography, economic conditions, access to high quality teachers, gender, and age are measures often used to determine if a student is likely to drop out of school, economic conditions are the single variable that most closely predicts dropout potential (Mid-Atlantic State Department of Education). As an intervention tool, “online coursework may lead to increased self-efficacy in at-risk students if adequate supports are in place to help them to succeed” (Lewis, Whiteside, and Dikkers, 2014). According to Lips (2010), “Online learning could address many discrepancies in American education in terms of the disparate access to high-quality teachers and instruction caused by socioeconomic and geographic differences” (p. 4). Describing the impact of online learning on at risk students, Archambault et al. (2010) said, “Virtual school programs find that taking advantages of the technology, various curriculum programs and being able to individualize instruction are effective strategies for meeting the needs of at-risk students” (p. 7). The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of an online learning credit recovery program on the graduation rates of students receiving free and reduced meal benefits at a high school in the Great Lakes Public Schools (a pseudonym) located in Mid-Atlantic State. The study compared the graduation rates of FARMS students who participated in the APEX online learning program against FARMS students who did not participate in the program. The results failed to reject the null hypothesis indicating that there was no statistical difference between the two groups. This study may be useful as the district seeks to evaluate the effectiveness of its intervention programs for struggling students

Differential effects of stress on a murie model of multiple sclerosis.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a demyelinating autoimmune disease that affects the central nervous system (CNS) in humans. Several studies have shown a strong correlation between stressful events and the onset and exacerbation of MS in patients. Based on this information, similar studies have been undertaken in mice. CNS demyelination is induced in mice by infecting them with Theiler’s murine encephalomyelitis virus (TMEV). After the initial encephalitis phase, the virus persists in susceptible mice strains and demyelination of the CNS occurs, creating a useful model of MS. Using this model, several types of stress – social, restraint, and handling – have been utilized, either prior to infection or concurrently, to study the effects in virus-induced demyelination in mice. However, these studies have primarily focused on the effects of chronic stress, while the effects of acute stress on a MS model have, for the most part, been ignored. The objectives of this experiment are to examine the differences in immune response between chronically and acutely stressed mice. Mice in the acute stress group are hypothesized to experience an enhanced immune response, which should lead to: better viral clearance, smaller and fewer lesions in the CNS, and better physical coordination than the chronic stress group. Mice will be separated into three groups. One group will undergo chronic stress, another will undergo acute stress, and the last group will serve as the control. Mice will be infected with TMEV and monitored for effects. Weight measurements and behavioral scoring will be utilized as a way of monitoring disease progression in live mice. Continual monitoring will continue as TMEV is allowed to persist into the chronic, demyelinating phase. The mice will be terminated to collect tissue and serum samples during this phase. Since studies comparing immunological effects of acute versus chronic stress have consistently shown that immunosuppression is associated with chronic stress, while immunoenhancement is associated with acute stress, polar results are also expected in this experiment. Following TMEV infection and subsequent CNS demyelination, different results between the chronically and acutely stressed mice seem likely