Visual Culture Analysis of The Last Ditch of the Chivalry, or a President in Petticoats

This lithograph is a Northern depiction of the capture of former Confederate President Jefferson Davis. Titled The Last Ditch of the Chivalry, or a President in Petticoats , and picturing Davis in a woman’s dress and bonnet, the Northern press painted Davis as a coward. Rather than being a man and standing up to the Union troops, Davis disguised himself as a woman and attempted to cowardly escape. Although in actuality Davis was wearing a rain jacket and shawl rather than a full dress and bonnet, the Northern press mocked him. This piece demonstrates the prominence of male Southern honor, and how the ideals of being a man contradicted with the expectations for women. Davis’ flee also symbolizes the fall of the Confederacy

Layton, Thomas N.

University of California, Davis, B.A. 1965 University of California, Davis, M.A. 1966 Harvard University, Anthropology, Ph.D. 1971https://scholarworks.sjsu.edu/erfa_bios/1276/thumbnail.jp

Mutations of the BRAF gene in human cancer

Cancers arise owing to the accumulation of mutations in critical genes that alter normal programmes of cell proliferation, differentiation and death. As the first stage of a systematic genome-wide screen for these genes, we have prioritized for analysis signalling pathways in which at least one gene is mutated in human cancer. The RAS RAF MEK ERK MAP kinase pathway mediates cellular responses to growth signals. RAS is mutated to an oncogenic form in about 15% of human cancer. The three RAF genes code for cytoplasmic serine/threonine kinases that are regulated by binding RAS. Here we report BRAF somatic missense mutations in 66% of malignant melanomas and at lower frequency in a wide range of human cancers. All mutations are within the kinase domain, with a single substitution (V599E) accounting for 80%. Mutated BRAF proteins have elevated kinase activity and are transforming in NIH3T3 cells. Furthermore, RAS function is not required for the growth of cancer cell lines with the V599E mutation. As BRAF is a serine/threonine kinase that is commonly activated by somatic point mutation in human cancer, it may provide new therapeutic opportunities in malignant melanoma

Left Behind: How the Absence of a Federal Vacatur Law Disadvantages Survivors of Human Trafficking

After a hamstring injury in October of 2004 forced her to surrender her athletic scholarship at St. John\u27s University, Shamere McKenzie chose to spend her winter break working in order to save the money she needed to pay the remainder of her tuition. In January of 2005, Shamere met a man named Corey Davis, who expressed an interest in dating her. After getting to know him for several weeks, she eventually shared with him the challenges she was having earning the money she needed to continue her enrollment in college. Davis encouraged her to consider exotic dancing as a way to earn quick money, and told her he would act as her protection from the men in theclubs. Desperate to return to school and put at ease by Davis\u27s charming and intelligent demeanor, Shamere accepted his offer.Shamere became even more convinced of the sincerity of Davis\u27s promises after making $300 in less than two hours on her first night in a New Jersey strip club. Energized by the prospect of making the money she needed far more quickly than she had anticipated, Shamere accepted Davis\u27s offer to travel from the club to a house party in Brooklyn where she could earn additional income by dancing for the men in attendance. When one of the men at the house requested a sex act from her, Shamere spoke harshly to him, which Davis overheard. Instead of protecting her as she expected he would, Davis pulled Shamere to the side and demanded she do as the man requested. When she protested, Davis told her that if she tried to leave, he\u27d make sure she never made it out alive. Later that night, he threatened to kill Shamere\u27s family if she disobeyed him again, then choked her to the point of unconsciousness

\u3cem\u3eUnited States v. The William\u3c/em\u3e and The Phenomena of Jury Nullification in Early 19th Century America

In September 1808, Judge John Davis upheld the constitutionality of the Embargo Act of 1807 under the Constitution’s Article I, Section 8, Clause 3 Interstate Commerce power. Judge Davis’s original opinion curiously lacks any reference to Marbury v. Madison. Judge Davis defends judicial review and rejects the notion of jury nullification. While Judge Davis upheld the embargo’s constitutionality, a subsequent jury trial on the facts resulted in the return of The William to its rightful owners. This case reflects the attempts by early American judges to carve out the power of judicial review and maintain the appearance of an impartial judiciary

Ashley Luskey, Assistant Director of the Civil War Institute

In this first Next Page column of the new academic year, Ashley Luskey, Assistant Director of the Civil War Institute, shares which weathered volume she reads each October, her favorite book from her 9th grade English class, and explains her long-time fascination with Varina Davis, wife of Confederate president Jefferson Davis