Capitalizing Mail-Order Brides: American Hegemony and a Return to Pre-Feminism

Contrary to popular belief, mail-order marriage is not left behind in history. With technological advancement, globalism, and capitalism, mail-order relationships in the modern world have become a capitalist venture through the form of a global marriage market with Internet websites (Starr & Adams, 2016, pp. 968-969). Currently, the common practice operates internationally in between different nations and ethnicities (Merriman, 2012, p. 87). However, the mail-order bride market is distinct from the regular intercultural dating business: a clear power structure exists between the grooms (capitalist along with mail-order marriage companies) and the brides (commodities). This paper examines how this dating market serves Western men (I will be using this term interchangeably with American men) to reinforce traditional Western masculine hegemony and ethnic dominance in a global setting (Starr & Adams, 2016, p. 972).

Diagnosis of Taenia solium infections based on “mail order” RNA-sequencing of single tapeworm egg isolates from stool samples

Combined community health programs aiming at health education, preventive anti-parasitic chemotherapy, and vaccination of pigs have proven their potential to regionally reduce and even eliminate Taenia solium infections that are associated with a high risk of neurological disease through ingestion of T. solium eggs. Yet it remains challenging to target T. solium endemic regions precisely or to make exact diagnoses in individual patients. One major reason is that the widely available stool microscopy may identify Taenia ssp. eggs in stool samples as such, but fails to distinguish between invasive (T. solium) and less invasive Taenia (T. saginata, T. asiatica, and T. hydatigena) species. The identification of Taenia ssp. eggs in routine stool samples often prompts a time-consuming and frequently unsuccessful epidemiologic workup in remote villages far away from a diagnostic laboratory. Here we present “mail order” single egg RNA-sequencing, a new method allowing the identification of the exact Taenia ssp. based on a few eggs found in routine diagnostic stool samples. We provide first T. solium transcriptome data, which show extremely high mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) transcript counts that can be used for subspecies classification. “Mail order” RNA-sequencing can be administered by health personnel equipped with basic laboratory tools such as a microscope, a Bunsen burner, and access to an international post office for shipment of samples to a next generation sequencing facility. Our suggested workflow combines traditional stool microscopy, RNA-extraction from single Taenia eggs with mitochondrial RNA-sequencing, followed by bioinformatic processing with a basic laptop computer. The workflow could help to better target preventive healthcare measures and improve diagnostic specificity in individual patients based on incidental findings of Taenia ssp. eggs in diagnostic laboratories with limited resources.

Diagnosis of Taenia solium infections based on “mail order” RNA-sequencing of single tapeworm egg isolates from stool samples v1

Here we present a detailed protocol for the identification of Taenia solium based on the few Taenia spp. eggs found in diagnostic stool samples. Our approach is based on "mail order" RNA sequencing of single eggs and can be performed in laboratories equipped with basic tools such as a microscope, a Bunsen burner, and access to an international post office for shipping samples to a next-generation sequencing facility. This protocol describes sample collection and transport, isolation of individual Taenia spp. eggs, reliable disruption of individual Taenia eggs, and important considerations for shipping samples to a next-generation sequencing facility. We provide images and videos to help prepare the tools needed for the protocol. Additional information on our rationale for designing the critical steps can help implement the protocol in new environments.

E-Pharma System

The primary goal of this program's development is to deliver all medical-related solutions in a single web application. E-Pharma is a platform that allows patients and doctors to communicate directly with one another. Direct doctor-patient relationships, consumer familiarity with online purchases, the simplicity of mail-order trading, and distance marketing can all help patients self-diagnose. The patient can speak with the doctor and ask questions.

Availability and Promotion of Cannabidiol (CBD) Products in Online Vape Shops

Vaping products containing cannabidiol (CBD), a cannabis-derived compound used in wellness products and available in all 50 US states, were recently implicated in outbreaks of poisonings. Little is known about the commercial availability of CBD products in vape shops (i.e., stores that sell e-cigarettes). To document the availability and marketing of CBD products in online vape shops, in June 2020, we used the Google Chrome browser without cached data to collect the first two pages of search results generated by five Google queries (n = 100 search results) indicative of shopping for vaping products (e.g., “order vapes”). We then determined whether and what type of CBD products could be mail-ordered from the returned websites, and whether any explicit health claims were made about CBD. Over a third of the search results (n = 37; 37.0%) directed to vape shops that allowed visitors to also mail-order CBD. These shops sold 12 distinct categories of CBD products–some with direct analogs of tobacco or cannabis products including CBD cigarettes, edibles, flowers, pre-rolled joints, and vapes. Two vape shops made explicit health claims of the therapeutic benefits of CBD use, including in the treatment of anxiety, inflammation, pain, and stress. The abundance and placement of CBD in online vape shops suggests a growing demand and appeal for CBD products among e-cigarette users. Additional surveillance on the epidemiology of CBD use and its co-use with tobacco is warranted.

Reportage 4.0

The article illuminates Heike Geißler’s book Saisonarbeit’s relation to the tradition of the reportage genre since the 19th century, and shows why this genre is of current relevance, especially in view of the latest restructuring of work. Although talk of the widespread digitalization of labor implies a fundamental transformation of its conditions, the mail-order business represented in Saisonarbeit tends to evoke reminiscences of past phases of capitalist production. It is precisely here that the reportage has a special function as a report of vivid experiences.

'I do' belong to you : debating the vulnerability of Filipino mail-order brides in Canada

This qualitative essay examines to what extent mail-order brides are a vulnerable population, concentrating on Filipino mail-order brides in Canada. The literature on mail-order brides has generally been polarized between two positions, one that tries to victimize all mail-order brides and one that tries to presume that all mail-order brides are in control of their own destinies. This paper aims to asses these polarized positions on the basis of empirical information proided in the literature and two interviews done with representatives from organizations that work with the Filipino community in Canada.

'I do' belong to you : debating the vulnerability of Filipino mail-order brides in Canada

This qualitative essay examines to what extent mail-order brides are a vulnerable population, concentrating on Filipino mail-order brides in Canada. The literature on mail-order brides has generally been polarized between two positions, one that tries to victimize all mail-order brides and one that tries to presume that all mail-order brides are in control of their own destinies. This paper aims to asses these polarized positions on the basis of empirical information proided in the literature and two interviews done with representatives from organizations that work with the Filipino community in Canada.