One More Hole in the Wall: The Lunafil Strikers in Guatemala

[Excerpt] The Coke workers\u27 victory was all the more remarkable given the killings that had decimated the Guatemalan labor movement. Between 1978 and 1984, tens of thousands of Guatemalan civilians were murdered by the Army and its death squads, including hundreds of trade unionists. The Coca-Cola workers\u27 bold action helped break through the curtain of fear left by the massacres, and helped inspire a cautious renewal of union activity. Now the Lunafil workers were following the example of the Coke workers, and no one was quite sure what would happen. Only five unionists had been murdered since the Army allowed a civilian to take office as President in 1986. But the Army was still the real power in the country, and the danger to trade unionists was still very real. A sit-in strike was pushing the boundaries of what would be allowed. So like the Coca-Cola workers, the union at Lunafil was appealing for international support. The events that followed illustrate how crucial support actions by U.S. unionists can be for the heroic struggles of Third World workers. That phone call from Guatemala to New York City ended up helping keep open a hole in the wall that Lunafil\u27s owners built to isolate the strikers. And the Lunafil workers\u27 fight shows the importance of penetrating the walls of distance, language and culture that separate workers and unionists around the world

Products and Processes of Ionization in Methyl Chloride as Determined by a Mass Spectrometer

The following ions were found to be produced in methyl chloride as primary products: CH3Cl+, CH3+, CCl+, CH2+, Cl+, HCl+, CH+ and C+ —- listed in order of decreasing intensity. Small concentrations of the H+ ion were also detected. This latter peak was not investigated completely. The appearance potentials for the CH3Cl+, CH3+ and Cl+ ions are 11.0, 14.7 and 26 volts, respectively

The Prevalence of L. monocytogenes in Cull Sows

The goal of this study was to determine the distribution of Listeria monocytogenes in cull sows and their pork. Two trials were conducted at a single packing plant in 2001 (n=179 cull sows) and in 2002 (n= 160 cull sows). Fecal samples collected antemortem (trial 1) as well as animal tissues, carcass, and environmental swabs, and meat block samples collected at the abattoir (trials 1 and 2) were analyzed. When results from both trials were combined, overall L. monocytogenes was detected in five or 0.17% of the total samples (n=2,858). Specifically, L. monocytogenes was confirmed in a tonsil sample (0.55% of tonsils positive) and in a carcass swab sample (0.56% of carcasses) before the organic acid rinse. L. monocytogenes was recovered in three (1.21%) meat block samples (n=213). These data indicate that L. monocytogenes is present in the cull sow and their pork

Centerscope

Centerscope, formerly Scope, was published by the Boston University Medical Center "to communicate the concern of the Medical Center for the development and maintenance of improved health care in contemporary society.

Electrically Addressable Hybrid Architectures of Zinc Oxide Nanowires Grown on Aligned Carbon Nanotubes

The fabrication and characterization of hybrid architectures of ZnO nanowires (ZNWs) grown on organized carbon nanotubes (CNTs), by a two-step chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process involving CNT growth from a hydrocarbon source followed by ZNW growth using a Zn metal source, is reported. The ZNWs grow uniformly and radially from individual CNTs and CNT bundles, and the aligned morphology of the CNTs is not disturbed by the ZNW growth process. The nucleation and growth of ZnO crystals on CNTs are analyzed in relation to the classical vapor–solid mechanism. Importantly, the CNTs make uniform and distributed electrical contact to the ZNWs, with up to a 1000-fold yield advantage over conventional ZNW growth on a flat substrate. Hybrid ZNW/CNT sheets are fabricated by scalable CVD, rolling, and printing methods; and their electrical properties, which are governed by transport through the anisotropic CNT network, are characterized. Functional interaction between the ZNWs and CNTs is demonstrated by photoconductive behavior and photocurrent generation of the hybrid material under UV illumination. There is significant future opportunity to extend these processing methods to fabricate other functional oxides on CNTs, and to build devices that harness the attractive properties of ZNWs and CNTs with high volumetric efficiency over large areas.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/77980/1/2470_ftp.pd

Predictors of Breast and Cervical Cancer Screening among Chamorro Women in Southern California

This study examined the role of sociodemographic characteristics, health insurance, cancer knowledge, perceived health risk, and having a recent physicians’ visit on breast and cervical cancer screening utilization among a randomly selected group of Chamorro women (n = 250) residing in San Diego, California. Data were collected by a telephone survey and analyzed using multiple logistic regression models. After adjusting for covariates, having a recent full exam was the strongest predictor of having had a Pap exam in the past 2 years for women 21 years and older and a clinical breast exam in the past 2 years for women 40 years and over