In Whose Hands: The Pregnancy Test in American Life

Forty years ago, when an American woman wanted to know if she was pregnant, she made an appointment with a medical professional who would conduct a pregnancy test and tell her the result. Propelled by the medical establishment’s control, surveillance, and neglect of women’s health, the women’s health movement of the 1970s sought to put women’s health “into their own hands.” Encouraged in part by the rhetoric of the women’s health movement, pregnancy tests became available for purchase over-the-counter, without a prescription, and outside of the control of the medical establishment. This dissertation examines this passage of the pregnancy test from the hands of medical professionals to the hands of lay people and asks, has the pregnancy test really delivered on its promise to give women information, choice, and control? We think of women’s reproductive health tools in the hands of doctors as oppressive and in the hands of women as liberating; the central argument of this dissertation is that this view is naïve. Putting the informational power about women’s bodies into a mobile diagnostic technology did not change the nature of the beast. Through this examination of the pregnancy test in American life, we can trace the flow of reproductive power through various people, places, and things to better understand the character of women’s subordination

Food habits of the Longnose Skate, Raja rhina (Jordan and Gilbert, 1880), in central California waters

Feeding studies can provide researchers with important insights for understanding potential fishery impacts on marine systems. Knowing what a species eats can provide information about possible distribution and its position in food webs. Raja rhina is one of the most common elasmobranch species landed in central and northern California demersal fisheries, yet life history information is extremely limited for this species and aspects of its diet are unknown. Specimens of R. rhina were collected between September 2002 and August 2003 from fishery-independent trawl surveys. Values of Percent Index of Relative Importance (IRI) indicated that the most important prey items in 618 stomachs of R. rhina were unidentified teleosts (31.6% IRI), unidentified shrimps (19.6%IRI), unidentified euphausiids (10.9% IRI), Crangonidae (7.4% IRI), and Neocrangon resima (6.0% IRI). Smaller skates generally ate crustaceans and larger skates ate fishes and cephalopods. With increasing depths, diet included deeper-living fish species and more cephalopods and euphausiids. The findings of this study were consistent with previous researchers that reported similar diet shifts in skate species with size and depth

Nutritional problems and information needs of patients receiving chemotherapy and radiation therapy

Nutritional status is a major factor in determining the successful outcome of treatment for cancer. The combined effect of cancer, and the treatment for cancer, has the potential to severely impair nutritional status. The purpose of this study was to investigate the incidence and severity of treatment-related side-effects which affect nutritional status in cancer patients and to determine the sources and helpfulness of information about nutrition which had been utilised by patients. A descriptive study was used to investigate two groups of patients, one group who was receiving chemotherapy, and the other, radiation therapy. A questionnaire developed by the researcher sought information about the occurrence and severity of problems, as rated by patients\u27 self-reports. This study was structured on the theoretical basis of Lazarus and Folkman\u27s theory of stress, appraisal and coping (1984). The diagnosis and treatment for cancer is usually regarded as a stressful event, and this theory posits that patients may use either problem focussed or emotion-focussed coping styles to cope with the situation. The results of this study indicate that nutritional depletion is a serious problem for this group of patients. Weight loss, which is the principal marker of nutritional status, was experienced by more than 85% of the patients. Patients showed evidence of using emotion focussed coping styles, where they often did not seek information about nutrition, and considered they had “no real problems” Information from this study may assist healthcare teams who care for patients who are receiving treatment for cancer to focus more on nutrition, and develop educational programmes which meet the needs of these patients more effectively. This information, including patients1 self reports and recommendations, may also assist the Cancer Foundation of Western Australia to develop a booklet which is specifically designed for cancer patients who are receiving treatment and who experience nutritional problems

Food Preservation: Using a Boiling Water Bath Canner

Growth of the bacterium Clostridium botulinum in canned food may cause botulism—a deadly form of food poisoning. These bacteria exist either as spores or as vegetative cells. The spores, which are comparable to plant seeds, can survive harmlessly in soil and water for many years

La segunda crisis de la teoría económica

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