Dropped "from the clouds": Cincinnati and manumission among the fancy and newly freed, 1831-1901

This dissertation argues that numerous ex-slave mistresses and the children they produced with white men thoughtfully rebuilt their lives as newly freed people by capitalizing on earlier, sometimes ongoing, ties to white men, but also by relying on themselves and others sharing their circumstances. Some such women appear to have been “fancy girls,” the brand name for enslaved women and girls sold for use as prostitutes and concubines during the slavery era of United States history. Relying greatly on letters from ex-slaves and an ex-slave narrative, this study pays close attention to the ways in which some such women were highly valued in the slave market because of their fair complexion, but shifts attention to their experiences outside the market, specifically to their lives as “favored” ex-slaves. It does so by focusing on the migration of such ex-slaves from the Deep South to Cincinnati, a city that had the highest population of mulattoes outside the South before the Civil War. This migration occurred during the rising surveillance of people of African descent in the South during the 1830s and the concurrent rise of cotton as a premier crop, two factors that figured greatly into elite white men’s unwillingness to have their relations with women of African descent scrutinized at the community level. Ultimately, this dissertation seeks to shed light on black-white intimacies and the ways in which Southern white men were hidden actors in antebellum black urban histories. It also hopes to reveal the degree to which focusing on a select slave expands our understanding of how oppressed bodies fit into both political and social histories because of their ability to draw upon the social capital that accrued from their connections to whites in authoritative positions.Ope

Panel. History, Fiction, and Interracial Intimacies in Faulkner

Account Ability: Race, History, and the White Southern Literary Imagination / Lael GoldConcerning their approaches to black history and the history of black-white relations, illuminating comparisons and contrasts can be drawn between Faulkner and Margaret Wrinkle. Both white, Southern authors share a legacy of ancestral complicity in slavery and the poignancy of childhood nurture and attachment across racial lines. Like Go Down, Moses, Wrinkle’s novel Wash depicts frustrated white encounters with recondite, vaguely threatening African sacred ritual and also oblivious white characters’ ineffectual attempts at intimacy with African Americans in their midst. Like Faulkner, Wrinkle bears witness across the remains of the same barriers that divide her white and black characters. Both also link their writing with historical scholarship by representing the sort of documents used as primary sources. Although one usually looks to the field of accounting for the most dispassionate recording of facts, the slave ledgers foregrounded by Faulkner and Wrinkle profoundly unsettle their characters in ways that speak volumes.Seeing Across the Divide: Recreating a Suppressed History / Margaret WrinkleWash was inspired by a rumor that a slaveholding ancestor of mine may have been involved in the breeding of enslaved people. At the heart of this story lies a secret ledger containing the details of this hidden practice. Such a ledger would provide the proof that historians need, just like Ike McCaslin’s ledger allowed him to piece together a related horrific truth in “The Bear.” But complex forces have endangered both the creation and survival of any written historical document containing the whole truth of slavery. Given these dynamics, how do we see across the divides of time, race, gender and power? Paradoxically, when writing about a region where the interpretation of reality has been so contested, fiction may form the strongest bridge. I will discuss my journey from history into fiction and read a few key scenes from the novel about the secret life of this lost ledger.Stranger Than Fiction: Faulkner, Wrinkle, Slavery, and History / Calvin Schermerhorn, Arizona State UniversityThis paper details historical records of sexual violence in nineteenth-century United States slavery, juxtaposing them with William Faulkner’s and Margaret Wrinkle’s representations of sexuality and intimacy across divides of race and slavery in the American South. In “The Bear” (1942), Faulkner textures accounts of sexual abuse and the personal violence of a slaveholder’s domination with humor and absurdity, layering them in time. In Wrinkle’s Wash (2013), Wash and his lover Pallas are exposed to cross-currents of owner-manipulated sexual aggression, Pallas when hired out to serve the violent fantasies of white slaveholders, and Wash when employed as the progenitor of enslaved offspring. Historical records of the United States domestic slave trade reveal counterpoints, including sexual violence and predation. Yet historical subjects seem to have evaded the moral accounting that holds together novelistic treatments of the Slave South.Some Sort of Love? Black-White Intimacies in Antebellum America / Sharony Green But there must have been love he thought. Some sort of love. Even what he would have called love: not just an afternoon\u27s or a night\u27s spittoon. Ike McCaslin, “The Bear” Some have argued that to be enslaved was to be forced into a legal arrangement that excluded the possibility for expressive moments. This discussion offers an opportunity to rethink such logic and suggest an answer to McCaslin’s poignant thought. Before the Civil War, many southern white men did something that went little discussed: free his enslaved women and the children she produced with him. Many ended up in Ohio, a place easily accessible by river. Using letters, some from freed people, this paper cautiously draws attention to the ways in which white men made a different kind of investment in human capital, an emotional one. Though oppression was ever-present, sometimes emotional exchanges went both ways

Protein targets of inflammatory serine proteases and cardiovascular disease

Serine proteases are a key component of the inflammatory response as they are discharged from activated leukocytes and mast cells or generated through the coagulation cascade. Their enzymatic activity plays a major role in the body's defense mechanisms but it has also an impact on vascular homeostasis and tissue remodeling. Here we focus on the biological role of serine proteases in the context of cardiovascular disease and their mechanism(s) of action in determining specific vascular and tissue phenotypes. Protease-activated receptors (PARs) mediate serine protease effects; however, these proteases also exert a number of biological activities independent of PARs as they target specific protein substrates implicated in vascular remodeling and the development of cardiovascular disease thus controlling their activities. In this review both PAR-dependent and -independent mechanisms of action of serine proteases are discussed for their relevance to vascular homeostasis and structural/functional alterations of the cardiovascular system. The elucidation of these mechanisms will lead to a better understanding of the molecular forces that control vascular and tissue homeostasis and to effective preventative and therapeutic approaches

The economic value of rapid deployment aortic valve replacement via full sternotomy

Aim: To compare the economic value of EDWARDS INTUITY EliteTM (EIE) valve system for rapid-deployment aortic valve replacement (RDAVR) in a full sternotomy (FS) approach (EIE-FS-RDAVR) versus FS-AVR using conventional stented bioprosthesis. Data & methods: A simulation model to compare each treatment’s 30-day inpatient utilization and complication rates utilized: clinical end points obtained from the TRANSFORM trial patient subset (EIE-FS-RDAVR) and a best evidence review of the published literature (FS-AVR); and costs from the Premier database and published literature. Results: EIE-FS-RDAVR costs $800 less than FS-AVR per surgery episode attributable to lowered complication rates and utilization. Combined with the lower mortality, EIE-FS-RDAVR was a superior (dominant) technology versus FS-AVR. Conclusion: This preliminary investigation of EIE-FS-RDAVR versus conventional FS- AVR found the EIE valve offered superior economic value over a 30-day period. Real- world analyses with additional long-term follow-up are needed to evaluate if this result can be replicated over a longer timeframe

Surgical Outcomes and Post-Operative Changes in Patients with Significant Aortic Stenosis and Severe Left Ventricle Dysfunction

Little is known regarding long-term survival and changes in systolic function following surgery after the occurrence of a severe left ventricular (LV) dysfunction in patients with severe aortic stenosis. Inclusion criteria were an aortic valve area less than 1 cm2 and an LV ejection fraction (EF) less than 35%. Between January 1990 and July 2007, 41 (male: 30) patients were identified. The pre-operative mean EF and mean aortic valve area were 26.7±6.1% and 0.54±0.2 cm2, respectively. Concomitant coronary artery bypass surgery was performed in 8 patients (19.6%). Immediate post-operative echocardiogram showed to be much improved in LV EF (27.2±5.5 vs. 37.4±11.3, P<0.001), LV mass index (244.2±75.3 vs. 217.5±71.6, P=0.006), and diastolic LV internal diameter (62.5±9.3 vs. 55.8±9.6, P<0.001). Post-operative LV changes were mostly complete by 6 months, and were maintained thereafter. There was one in-hospital mortality (2.4%) and 12 late deaths including one patient diagnosed with malignancy in whom LV function was normal. Multivariate analysis showed pre-operative atrial fibrillation and NYHA FC IV to be significant risk factors for cardiac-related death. Aortic valve replacement in patients with significant aortic stenosis and severe LV dysfunction showed acceptable surgical outcomes. Moreover, LV function improved significantly in many patients

Case Report Maternal Perception of Decreased Fetal Movement in One Twin: A Clue Leading to the Early Detection of Absent Variability due to Acute Twin-to-Twin Transfusion Syndrome

Decreased fetal movement (DFM) perceived by pregnant women sometimes indicates imminent fetal jeopardy. It is unknown whether this also holds true for twin pregnancy. A 27-year-old primiparous woman with monochorionic diamniotic (MD) pregnancy had a slight difference of amniotic fluid volume at 31 2/7 weeks of gestation. DFM only in one twin at 31 4/7 weeks of gestation prompted her to receive urgent consultation. Since cardiotocogram indicated absent variability of one twin, we performed Cesarean section. Male infants weighing 2060 g and 1578 g were delivered; hemoglobin was 20.7 versus 10.8 g/dL, respectively; cardiothoracic ratio was 70% versus 44%, respectively, indicating acute twin-to-twin transfusion syndrome (TTTS). The recipient infant had heart failure, which was still observed at 1 month postpartum. In conclusion, maternal perception of DFM indicated imminent fetal death or jeopardy caused by acute TTTS, suggesting that education regarding DFM for women with twin pregnancy may be clinically important