On Empire\u27s Shore: Free and Unfree Workers in Galveston, Texas, 1840-1860

In Galveston, Texas-the small but thriving seaport that served as the state\u27s commercial emporium-poor whites and enslaved African-Americans often interacted in ways uncommon in southern slave society and unsettling to the slaveholders whose economic, social, and political dominance required a unified white commitment to black inferiority. Social interaction among enslaved black and common white people, who shared few of the material advantages of white supremacy, represented a dangerous blurring of established racial lines and posed a potential threat to the social control of slaveholders and to the rigid hierarchy of southern slave society. Such relations developed as African-American bondspeople and white casual laborers spent much of their time together working at menial and arduous tasks; living side-by-side in impoverished neighborhoods; and socializing in homes, liquor stores, brothels, and saloons. As in other antebellum port cities, the degree of interracial socialization in Galveston worried the slaveholding elite to such an extent that the city repeatedly passed laws carrying increasingly harsh penalties designed to draw more clearly the color line between black and white workers. In examining such interaction, this article challenges the whiteness interpretation of antebellum labor history, which argues that white workers became virulently racist in order to distance themselves from black people

On Empire\u27s Shore: Free and Unfree Workers in Galveston, Texas, 1840-1860

In Galveston, Texas-the small but thriving seaport that served as the state\u27s commercial emporium-poor whites and enslaved African-Americans often interacted in ways uncommon in southern slave society and unsettling to the slaveholders whose economic, social, and political dominance required a unified white commitment to black inferiority. Social interaction among enslaved black and common white people, who shared few of the material advantages of white supremacy, represented a dangerous blurring of established racial lines and posed a potential threat to the social control of slaveholders and to the rigid hierarchy of southern slave society. Such relations developed as African-American bondspeople and white casual laborers spent much of their time together working at menial and arduous tasks; living side-by-side in impoverished neighborhoods; and socializing in homes, liquor stores, brothels, and saloons. As in other antebellum port cities, the degree of interracial socialization in Galveston worried the slaveholding elite to such an extent that the city repeatedly passed laws carrying increasingly harsh penalties designed to draw more clearly the color line between black and white workers. In examining such interaction, this article challenges the whiteness interpretation of antebellum labor history, which argues that white workers became virulently racist in order to distance themselves from black people

Slavery, Resistance, Freedom

Understanding Slavery When in the 1950s mainstream historians rediscovered slavery as the prime cause of the American Civil War, African Americans nevertheless often remained absent in accounts of the war and its causes. Slavery might have been central to the conflict but only insofar as t...

The hepatitis C virus 3′-untranslated region or a poly(A) tract promote efficient translation subsequent to the initiation phase

Enhancement of eukaryotic messenger RNA (mRNA) translation initiation by the 3′ poly(A) tail is mediated through interaction of poly(A)-binding protein with eukaryotic initiation factor (eIF) 4G, bridging the 5′ terminal cap structure. In contrast to cellular mRNA, translation of the uncapped, non-polyadenylated hepatitis C virus (HCV) genome occurs independently of eIF4G and a role for 3′-untranslated sequences in modifying HCV gene expression is controversial. Utilizing cell-based and in vitro translation assays, we show that the HCV 3′-untranslated region (UTR) or a 3′ poly(A) tract of sufficient length interchangeably stimulate translation dependent upon the HCV internal ribosomal entry site (IRES). However, in contrast to cap-dependent translation, the rate of initiation at the HCV IRES was unaffected by 3′-untranslated sequences. Analysis of post-initiation events revealed that the 3′ poly(A) tract and HCV 3′-UTR improve translation efficiency by enabling termination and possibly ribosome recycling for successive rounds of translation

Effects of experimental design and its role in interpretation of results

A total of 256 weanling pigs (PIC TR4 × 1050, initially 13.8 lb and 21 d of age) were used in a 28-d growth trial to compare allotment methods of a completely randomized design (CRD) and a randomized complete block design (RCBD). Two treatments were used to compare these designs: a negative control with no antibiotic or growth promoter and a positive control with 35 g/ton of Denagard (Novartis Animal Health), 400 g/ton of chlortetracycline, and zinc from zinc oxide at 3,000 and 2,000 ppm in Phases 1 and 2, respectively. Experimental diets were fed in 2 phases: Phase 1 from d 0 to 14 and Phase 2 from d 14 to 28. Eight replications of each dietary treatment were used for each experimental design. The first statistical model examined dietary treatment, experimental design, and the design × dietary treatment as fixed factors. With the exception of pens in the CRD having a trend for improved (P 0.11) for any responses variables, indicating that treatment means reacted similarly in each of the experimental designs. In both the CRD and the RCBD, pig weights were increased (P < 0.003) with supplementation of growth promoters on d 14 and 28. Variation of weight within pen remained the same in the CRD from d 0 to 28 at approximately 20% but increased from 3% on d 0 to 10% on d 28 for the RCBD. Dietary addition of growth promoters increased (P < 0.003) ADG and ADFI and improved F/G (P < 0.04) in both the CRD and RCBD from d 0 to 14, with lower P-values for the CRD than the RCBD. From d 14 to 28, the CRD detected an increase (P < 0.001) in ADG and ADFI with dietary addition of growth promoters, and the RCBD detected an increase (P < 0.001) only in ADFI. Over the entire 28-d trial, growth promoters increased (P < 0.001) ADG and ADFI and improved (P < 0.03) F/G in the CRD and increased (P < 0.02) ADG and ADFI in the RCBD. Lower standard errors for the difference were also estimated for ADG and F/G in the CRD than in the RCBD from d 0 to 28. The average corrected relative efficiency for each of the three periods was 2.08 for ADG, 5.05 for ADFI, and 0.80 for F/G. The gain and intake values suggest that the added variation explained by blocks in the RCBD was beneficial for achieving a more reduced estimate of σ2error compared with analyzing that particular data set as a CRD. The variance ratios of the CRD to RCBD from d 0 to 28 depict the different responses well with ADG at 0.67, ADFI at 1.70, and F/G at 0.22. When these ratios were compared with an F-test, they were well below the upper critical limit of 4.60, suggesting that the CRD offered estimates for σ2error similar to those of the RCBD. With the same estimate for σ2error, the non-centrality parameter for each design would be similar, and therefore, the increase in degrees of freedom (DF) for the error term would lead to greater power to detect differences in the CRD. Additional studies are needed to verify these results and determine whether blocking is an efficient use of error DF

Effects of copper sulfate and zinc oxide on weanling pig growth and plasma mineral levels

A total of 216 weanling pigs (PIC TR4 × 1050, initially 13.6 lb and 21 d of age) were used in a 42-d growth trial to compare the effects of supplemental zinc and copper and changing mineral regimens on growth performance and plasma mineral levels. The 6 dietary treatments included a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement with main effects of added copper from copper sulfate (0 or 125 ppm) and added zinc from zinc oxide (0 or 3,000 ppm from d 0 to 14 and 0 or 2,000 ppm from d 14 to 42). For the final 2 treatments, either zinc oxide alone or the combinations of zinc and copper were fed from d 0 to 14, with copper sulfate fed from d 14 to 42. There were 6 pens per treatment with 6 pigs per pen. All diets were supplemented with an additional 165 ppm zinc and 16.5 ppm copper from the trace mineral premix. Plasma was collected from 2 pigs per pen on d 14 and 42. From d 0 to 14, ADG, ADFI, and F/G were improved (P < 0.04) with the addition of dietary zinc. Copper supplementation also tended to increase (P < 0.07) ADFI from d 0 to 14. From d 14 to 42, added copper increased (P < 0.003) ADG and ADFI. Over the entire trial, continuous supplemental zinc increased (P < 0.03) ADG and tended to increase (P < 0.09) ADFI. Dietary copper also increased (P < 0.004) ADG and ADFI when fed from d 0 to 42. The most advantageous values for ADG and ADFI were seen in the treatment containing high levels of zinc from d 0 to 14 and high copper levels from d 14 to 42. The addition of either zinc or copper increased (P < 0.02) feed cost per pound of gain. However, income over feed cost was improved (P < 0.006) with the addition of copper, with the greatest value obtained when high zinc was fed from d 0 to 14 and high copper was fed from d 14 to 42. Plasma zinc levels were increased (P < 0.001) with zinc supplementation on d 14. These results indicate the optimal mineral regimen was supplementing zinc oxide from d 0 to 14 and copper sulfate from d 14 to 42

A Call to Action: A Blueprint for Academic Health Sciences in the Era of Mass Incarceration

Over 100 million Americans have criminal records, and the U.S. incarcerates seven times more citizens than most developed countries. The burden of incarceration disproportionately affects people of color and ethnic minorities, and those living in poverty. While 95% of incarcerated people return to society, recidivism rates are high with nearly 75% arrested again within five years of release. Criminal records impede access to employment and other social services such as shelter and health care. Justice-involved people have higher rates of substance, mental health, and some chronic medical disorders than the general population; furthermore, the incarcerated population is rapidly aging. Only a minority of academic health science centers are engaged in health services research, workforce training, or correctional health care. This commentary provides rationale and a blueprint for engagement of academic health science institutions to harness their capabilities to tackle one of the country\u27s most vexing public health crises