Does the Youth Corrections System Work? Tracking the Effectiveness of Intervention Efforts With Delinquent Boys in State Custody.

This study adopted a systemic approach to studying intervention efforts with delinquent youth, examining the association between several youth corrections programs and adult criminal outcomes. Two studies were designed to use juvenile and adult court records to evaluate the effectiveness of treatment programs provided to delinquent youth in state custody. The results of Study 1 suggested that court-recorded delinquent charges can be used to estimate delinquency severity. The results of Study 2 presented a discouraging but not entirely unexpected illustration of the effectiveness of intervention efforts among delinquent youth. It was found that time spent in juvenile detention facilities, work programs, and group homes was associated with negative adult criminal outcomes. No links between time spent in youth corrections programs and positive outcomes were identified. Implications for future program evaluation efforts are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Evaluating medication response in ADHD: cognitive, behavioral, and single-subject methodology

We introduce a novel application for linkage analysis: using bone marrow donor-recipient sib pairs to search for genes influential in graft-versus-host disease (GVHD), a major cause of morbidity and mortality following allogeneic bone marrow transplantation. In particular, we show that transplant sib pairs in which the recipient developed severe GVHD can be used to map genes in the same way as traditional discordant (affected/unaffected) sib pairs (DSPs). For a plausible GVHD model, we demonstrate that the transplant/discordant sib pair analog of the "possible triangle test" [Holmans (1993) Am J Hum Genet 52:362-374] has similar power to that of the simpler "restricted test" proposed by Risch [(1990b) Am J Hum Genet 46:229-241; (1992) Am J Hum Genet 51:673-675]. Moreover, we show that the restricted test has superior power in much of the DSP possible triangle and significantly inferior power in only a small region. Thus, we conclude that the restricted test is preferable for localizing genes with transplant/discordant sib pairs. Finally, we examine the effects of heterogeneity on the power to detect GVHD loci and demonstrate the gain in efficiency by dividing the sample into genetically more homogeneous subgroups.     

Further aspects of wax ester biosynthesis byAcinetobacter sp. HO1-n

Earlier reports from our laboratory have shown thatAcinetobacter sp. HO1-N can synthesize wax esters from diverse substrates: individual n-alkanes, acetic acid, propionic acid, ethanol and propanol. The chemical nature of the wax ester mixture obtained is both substrate and temperature dependent. In a continuation of these studies, we have found that the use of n-alkane mixtures, including primary gas oil, yields an even broader range of wax ester mixtures than previously produced from single n-alkane substrates. In addition, two techniques for improving wax ester yields are discussed: the use of mutant strains ofAcinetobacter sp HO1-N, and the presence of an excess of water-immiscible substrate, for example, n-hexadecane. In each case, it is speculated that a reduction of wax ester degradation contributes to the improved yields.     

Bidirectional Reflectance Distribution Function of Rough Silicon Wafers

The trend towards miniaturization of patterning features in integrated circuits (IC) has made traditional batch furnaces inadequate for many processes. Rapid thermal processing (RTP) of silicon wafers has become more popular in recent years for IC manufacturing. Light-pipe radiation thermometry is the method of choice for real-time temperature monitoring in RTP. However, the radiation environment can greatly affect the signal reaching the radiometer. The bidirectional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) of rough silicon wafers is needed for the prediction of the reflected radiation that reaches the radiometer and for reflective RTP furnace design. This paper presents the BRDF measurement results for several processing wafers in the wavelength range from 400 to 1100 nm with the spectral tri-function automated reference reflectometer (STARR) at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). The rms roughness of these samples ranges from 1 nm to 1 m, as measured with an optical interferometric microscope. Correlations between the BRDF and surface parameters are obtained using different models by comparing theoretical predictions with experiments.     

Recombinant tropomyosin from Penaeus aztecus (rPen a 1) for measurement of specific immunoglobulin E antibodies relevant in food allergy to crustaceans and other invertebrates

Immunoglobulin E (IgE)-mediated food allergy to crustaceans and mollusks is relatively common and affected individuals typically react to a range of different species. The only known major allergen of shrimp was first described over 20 years ago and later identified as the muscle protein tropomyosin. This protein may be useful as a defined and relevant diagnostic marker for allergic sensitization to invertebrate foods. In order to generate an assay reagent suitable for this purpose, tropomyosin from the shrimp Penaeus aztecus (Pen a 1) was produced as a recombinant protein in Escherichia coli and characterized with respect to IgE antibody binding properties in comparison to natural shrimp tropomyosin. Hexahistidine-tagged rPen a 1 accumulated as a predominantly soluble protein in the E. coli expression host and a two-step chromatographic procedure provided a high yield of pure and homogeneous protein. rPen a 1 displayed chromatographic and folding characteristics similar to those of purified natural shrimp tropomyosin. Serum preincubation with serial protein dilutions revealed similar capacity of recombinant and natural tropomyosin to compete with immobilized shrimp extract for IgE binding. rPen a 1 was further shown to extensively and specifically compete for IgE binding to extracts of other crustacean species, house dust mite and German cockroach.     

A Monte Carlo model for predicting the effective emissivity of the silicon wafer in rapid thermal processing furnaces

Advances in microelectronics led to the development of rapid thermal processing (RTP). Accurate in situ temperature measurement and control are crucial for RTP furnaces to be largely accepted in the fabrication of semiconductor chips. This paper describes an effective emissivity model based on the Monte Carlo method to facilitate radiometric temperature measurements. The results showed that for non-diffuse wafers the “true” effective emissivity (defined in this paper) should be used, instead of the hemispherical effective emissivity, to correct thermometer readings. The geometric parameters and surface radiative properties can significantly influence the effective emissivity. The numerical aperture of the lightpipe radiation thermometer and the wafer-to-shield distance may be optimized to improve the measurement accuracy.