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In this work we presented development results for monocrystalline silicon macrosamples with porous silicon area. The area ensures mechanical impact stability. It is identified that there is the crack resistance increase of porous silicon in comparison with monocrystalline silicon during indentation. Porous structure parameters are defined as well. The macrosamples were used as carriers of anticancer drugs. The developed macrosamples' design was used as an anticancer drug carrier during the development of method for in vitro effectiveness assessment of drug behavior. The example of Doxorubicin usage shows that designed carriers ensure prolonged dosed influence of drugs on cancer cells. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This presentation investigates behaviors that may be associated with HIV infection among women who use and/or sell crack, powder cocaine and heroin in Central Harlem. Chain referral sampling and other strategies were combined to interview 281 female drug users (N=248) and sellers (N=33) who were tested for HIV infection. Chi-square analysis was used to identify factors associated with HIV infection, and logistic regression analysis was used to ascertain the relative importance of these factors. More than a fourth (28.5 percent) of all respondents were HIV positive. Thirteen factors were significantly associated with HIV infection in chi-square analyses. In logistic regression analyses, injection drug users were three times more likely to be HIV positive than other women (OR=3.29; 95 percent CI: 1.63?6.66). Latinas (OR=2.84; 95 percent CI: 1.12?7.16), women involved in illegal activities (OR=2.82; 95 percent CI: 1.55?5.14) or women who were separated, divorced or widowed (OR=2.13, 95 percent CI: 1.16?3.90) were more than twice as likely to have HIV. This study adds to previous research that drug injection was the most statistically significant factor associated with HIV infection. However, Latina ethnicity and lifestyle factors that involve income from illegal activities and relationship status were independently associated with HIV infection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many scholars have highlighted the race and class bias embedded in media presentations of pregnant drug users and academics have begun to theorize possible reasons for this bias. However, most of this research has focused on only one substance thereby limiting the scope of the findings -- and most of the research has not been empirically driven. I build on this work by exploring The New York Times? presentations of three drugs (crack cocaine, alcohol and tobacco) used during pregnancy, all with medically proven deleterious effects on fetal development and infant health but with dramatically different rates of use by poor and minority women. Through this analysis I am able to show that discourse and images of pregnant drug-using women have little to do with drugs at all, but rather are an effective way to cast poor and minority woman as bad mothers and blame them for the ?crisis of the perfect family? that ensues when so many children are removed from these ?undeserving? mothers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article describes a quantitative method applied to the Raman spectra of cocaine for analyzing the purity and the possible contaminants of the drug. The method is based on the scores and vectors Principal Components Analysis (PCA) and the cocaine sample is diluted in binary mixtures of selected contaminants. It has been shown that by calculating the score of each cocaine sample, the amount of cocaine in samples mixed with contaminants could be calculated with low prediction error.

Since the mid 1980s, crack cocaine and methamphetamine have been two drugs of serious concern in American society. This paper examines the ways in which these drugs have been portrayed by two major American newsmagazines, Time and Newsweek. Utilizing a social constructionist and moral panic framework, I examine the problem of drug use from the standpoints of a variety of claims-makers and interest groups. Specifically, I content analyze "who says what" regarding the scope of the crack and methamphetamine problems, as well as purported causes, effects, and solutions to the use of these drugs. Several similarities in media coverage of crack cocaine and methamphetamine are noted. More interestingly, differences in media discourse regarding the causes and solutions to both drug problems are documented. Results indicate that drug treatment is proposed more often as a solution to methamphetamine than crack cocaine abuse. Implications are discussed. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In 2007 the United States Sentencing Commission amended the United States Sentencing Guidelines to decrease the base offense level assigned to threshold quantities of crack cocaine by two levels. The Commission subsequently determined that the amendment should be applied retroactively, but it delayed the effective date until March 2008 to give the district courts adequate time to prepare for retroactivity and to process affected cases. Because district court responses may affect defendants' rights, this research investigates these responses and their determinants. Results from a survey of representatives from the ninety-four federal judicial districts, individuals charged with the administration of crack retroactivity, show that responses vary by district. Although some districts have been proactive, making adjustments to sentences on their own initiative, other districts have chosen to take no action except upon a defendant's motion. Some districts have applied the reduction automatically, whereas others have first afforded the defendants a hearing. All responses are described and appraised, district courts are compared, and theoretical implications are discussed. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research examined the relationship between methamphetamine use, crack use, and violent offending. There have been several studies that examined the relationship between methamphetamine use and crack use independently with violent offending; however, there is little research on the effect of dual-substance use of methamphetamine and crack and the relationship with violent offending. This research examined the relationship of each independent variable (methamphetamine and crack) individually and in combination. Findings support previous research on methamphetamine and violent offending, crack and violent offending, and dual-substance use of methamphetamine and crack and violent offending. The population is comprised of three rural eastern Arkansas counties. Respondent-driven sampling was used to collect the hidden population for this study. Drug histories were gathered from the respondents during an interviewing process and violent criminal histories were gathered on each respondent through the Arkansas Crime Information Center (ACIC). Finally, a logistic regression statistical analysis was conducted controlling for age, race/ethnicity, and sex. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bad men, desperadoes and outlaws have populated American musical forms since the founding of the country. Many of these men and women committed brutal acts of violence, often with little remorse and engaged in activities most listeners would never even contemplate. Although this music seems to celebrate extreme forms of deviant behavior, music about bad men and women remains extremely popular today.Moreover, this particular genre has pushed the boundaries of acceptable and normative behavior and has even expanded to describe the exploits of criminals in great detail. A sub-genre of Hip Hop music, Gangsta Rap, has fueled this tremendous growth in outlaw music and chronicles the daily activities of gang members, armed robbers, and drug dealers, particularly those that sell crack cocaine. Music about drugs, such as cocaine, follows a long tradition in the United States from early American folk and blues to rap music today. Today's "crack music" is substantially different. These song lyrics capture the minutiae of the drug dealing "grind" from the seller's perspective, from packaging and hawking drugs to steering clear of rivals and avoiding the police. Duncan (1996) hypothesized why people admire folk tales and films about criminals and developed three typologies: "reluctant admiration," "rationalized admiration," and "repressed admiration." Duncan applied these typologies to literature and film but not music. This paper distinguishes "crack music" today from its historical antecedents and applies Duncan's typologies in an attempt to understand its popularity. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since crack cocaine appeared on the streets of the United States in the early 1980's, the criminal justice system has been overwhelmed with minority drug offenders. Prior research has shown that while most people who use crack cocaine are White, the majority of offenders in the criminal justice system are Black or Hispanic. Moreover it has been shown that minorities are treated more harshly than their White counterparts, often receiving harsher sentences and higher bails as well as being less likely to be released on their own recognizance. Using arrest data from New York City with a matched sample of crack and powder cocaine offenders, this study applies Donald Black's theory of law to crack and cocaine sentencing to help us better understand why sentencing discrepancies exist. Results show mixed support for Black's propositions, as have many empirical tests of the theory in the past. Implications of the study and directions for future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]