A Bloodless Victory: The Battle of New Orleans in History and Memory

A Bloodless Victory explains how the memory of Andrew Jackson’s 8 January 1815 victory at Chalmette became more useful to Americans in the following centuries than the battle itself (p. 113). Pliable and adaptable, the memory evolved to meet the needs of varied groups; its cultural worth fluctuating. From Stoltz’s analysis, it seems that the one consistency in America’s memory of the battle is its detachment from historic accuracy. His work successfully shows the political, diplomatic, and social utility of military memory in U.S. culture from the very early days of the republic

Remains in Peace: American Military Remains and Memory Diplomacy in France, 1918-1972

Although often not viewed as such, a nation\u27s collective memory has use in international relations. The United States left some one-hundred thousand military remains interred in European soil following World War I and World War II, the majority of these in France. Instead of resting in a symbolic void, the memory of American military dead abroad became a means for the living to articulate contemporary foreign policy goals. Elements of the American war memory abroad remained consistent through the twentieth century: sacrifice for a free Europe, fear of radicalized revolutions, and Franco-American friendship. Yet, beneath the formulaic memory lingered evolving motives for remembering. The memory also reflected both American and French domestic politics. Memories of military remains became safe ground for Americans and French to engage with each other in times of peace and conflict. Thus, analysis of the evolving memory assigned to American military bodies abroad helps inform broader diplomatic strategies. In the absence of U.S. military abroad following WWI, the United States strategically chose locations to leave a military presence abroad through war remains. The bodies signified a commitment to Western Europe and the similar ideals of the American and French Revolutions. Following WWII, the memory of aspiring power was replaced by a memory of real power. Through the Cold War, the tone of America\u27s war memories in France changed as French perceptions of U.S. power altered

Ezra Ayers Carman: The Gatekeeper of Memory at Antietam National Battlefield

Ezra Ayers Carman was a veteran of Antietam who was employed by the War Department in the last decade of the nineteenth century to write the official history of that battle. As an historian, Carman acted as a gatekeeper of the official memory at Antietam. He created scaffolding in which veterans could remember tactical/military aspects of their participation in the battle of Antietam. Once his framework for memory was set, Carman opened up extensive correspondence with veterans. He then had the responsibility of sifting through the incoming memories and choosing those he would use to create his official history. The historical process that Carman used demonstrates that historical memory often takes place at the most basic levels of society and then works its way up. Essentially, Carman initiated private conversations and took those memories to make a national interpretation. The product of Carman\u27s work reveals that core ideas of Americanism are found through remembrance of inflated heroism in warfare. Dissenting memories that came to Carman often focused on the realistic and horrific aspects of war, these memories were silenced and left out of the official history. The Federal government adopted methods similar to those Carman used as subsequent U.S. wars were commemorated nationally

Illinois State of Homelessness 2022

An estimated 65,611 people were experiencing homelessness in Chicago in 2020. This in-depth analysis includes sheltered, unsheltered, and people temporarily staying with others, and it is a 7,338-person increase (+12.6%) from 2019, immediately prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Fewer Chicagoans experienced sheltered and unsheltered homelessness, but Chicago saw a large spike (+20%) in people temporarily staying with others (or "doubling up").

Unsupervised clustering of gene expression data points at hypoxia as possible trigger for metabolic syndrome

BACKGROUND: Classification of large volumes of data produced in a microarray experiment allows for the extraction of important clues as to the nature of a disease. RESULTS: Using multi-dimensional unsupervised FOREL (FORmal ELement) algorithm we have re-analyzed three public datasets of skeletal muscle gene expression in connection with insulin resistance and type 2 diabetes (DM2). Our analysis revealed the major line of variation between expression profiles of normal, insulin resistant, and diabetic skeletal muscle. A cluster of most "metabolically sound" samples occupied one end of this line. The distance along this line coincided with the classic markers of diabetes risk, namely obesity and insulin resistance, but did not follow the accepted clinical diagnosis of DM2 as defined by the presence or absence of hyperglycemia. Genes implicated in this expression pattern are those controlling skeletal muscle fiber type and glycolytic metabolism. Additionally myoglobin and hemoglobin were upregulated and ribosomal genes deregulated in insulin resistant patients. CONCLUSION: Our findings are concordant with the changes seen in skeletal muscle with altitude hypoxia. This suggests that hypoxia and shift to glycolytic metabolism may also drive insulin resistance

Aging, Resistance Training, and Diabetes Prevention

With the aging of the baby-boom generation and increases in life expectancy, the American population is growing older. Aging is associated with adverse changes in glucose tolerance and increased risk of diabetes; the increasing prevalence of diabetes among older adults suggests a clear need for effective diabetes prevention approaches for this population. The purpose of paper is to review what is known about changes in glucose tolerance with advancing age and the potential utility of resistance training (RT) as an intervention to prevent diabetes among middle-aged and older adults. Age-related factors contributing to glucose intolerance, which may be improved with RT, include improvements in insulin signaling defects, reductions in tumor necrosis factor-α, increases in adiponectin and insulin-like growth factor-1 concentrations, and reductions in total and abdominal visceral fat. Current RT recommendations and future areas for investigation are presented

Insulin Resistance in the Offspring of Parents with Type 2 Diabetes

Wagenmakers discusses the paper by Petersen and colleagues on insulin resistance in young lean individuals and its association with reduced phosphate transport into muscle cells and impaired mitochondrial energy generation in muscle

Peroxisomal gene and protein expression increase in response to a high-lipid challenge in human skeletal muscle

Peroxisomes are essential for lipid metabolism and disruption of liver peroxisomal function results in neonatal death. Little is known about how peroxisomal content and activity respond to changes in the lipid environment in human skeletal muscle (HSkM). Aims: We hypothesized and tested that increased peroxisomal gene/protein expression and functionality occur in HSkM as an adaptive response to lipid oversupply. Materials and methods: HSkM biopsies, derived from a total of sixty-two subjects, were collected for 1) examining correlations between peroxisomal proteins and intramyocellular lipid content (IMLC) as well as between peroxisomal functionality and IMLC, 2) assessing peroxisomal gene expression in response to acute- or 7-day high fat meal (HFM), and in human tissue derived primary myotubes for 3) treating with high fatty acids to induce peroxisomal adaptions. IMLC were measured by both biochemical analyses and fluorescent staining. Peroxisomal membrane protein PMP70 and biogenesis gene ( PEX ) expression were assessed using western blotting and realtime qRT-PCR respectively. 1- 14 C radiolabeled lignocerate and palmitate oxidation assays were performed for peroxisomal and mitochondrial functionality respectively. Results: 1) Under fasting conditions, HSkM tissue demonstrated a significant correlation ( P ≪ 0.05) between IMCL and the peroxisomal biogenesis factor 19 (PEX19) protein as well as between lipid content and palmitate and lignocerate complete oxidation. 2) Similarly, post-HFM, additional PEX genes ( Pex19 , PEX11A , and PEX5 ) were significantly ( P ≪ 0.05) upregulated. 3) Increments in PMP70 , carnitine octanoyl transferase (CrOT), PGC-1α , and ERRα mRNA were observed post-fatty acid incubation in HSkM cells. PMP70 protein was significantly ( P ≪ 0.05) elevated 48-h post lipid treatment. Conclusions: These results are the first to associate IMLC with peroxisomal gene/protein expression and function in HSkM suggesting an adaptive role for peroxisomes in lipid metabolism in this tissue

Differential effects of saturated versus unsaturated dietary fatty acids on weight gain and myocellular lipid profiles in mice

OBJECTIVE: In conditions of continuous high-fat (HF) intake, the degree of saturation of the fatty acids (FAs) in the diet might have a crucial role in the onset of obesity and its metabolic complications. In particular, the FA composition of the diet might influence the storage form of lipids inside skeletal muscle. The aim of the present study was to examine whether the FA composition of HF diets differentially affects weight gain and accumulation of myocellular triacylglycerol (TAG) and diacylglycerol (DAG). Furthermore, we examined whether the FA composition of the diet was reflected in the composition of the myocellular lipid intermediates.DESIGN: C57Bl6 mice were fed HF diets (45% energy) mainly containing palm oil (PO), cocoa butter (CB), olive oil (OO) or safflower oil (SO; n=6 per group) for 8 weeks. A low-fat diet (10% energy, PO) was used as control. Body weight was monitored weekly. At the end of the dietary intervention, myocellular TAG and DAG content and profiles were measured.RESULTS: We here show that HF_CB prevented weight gain after 8 weeks of HF feeding. Furthermore, the HF diet rich in SO prevented the accumulation of both myocellular TAG and DAG. Interestingly, the FA composition of DAG and TAG in skeletal muscle was a reflection of the dietary FA composition.CONCLUSION: Already after a relatively short period, the dietary FA intake relates to the FA composition of the lipid metabolites in the muscle. A diet rich in polyunsaturated FAs seems to prevent myocellular lipid accumulation.<br/