An Examination of the Interactions of Race and Gender on Sentencing Decisions Using a Trichotomous Dependent Variable

This study examined how race, gender, and age interact to affect defendants’ sentences using a trichotomized dependent variable. The findings indicate that the racial and gender disparity found in sentencing decisions was largely due to Black men’s increased likelihood of receiving jail as opposed to probation. The results also show that being young resulted in increased odds of receiving probation over jail for White men and for women but resulted in decreased odds for Black men. Separate analysis of incarceration terms to jail and prison further reveal that legal factors had a greater impact on prison than on jail sentence length. Overall, the results strongly support the argument that sentencing research needs to consider sentences to jail and prison separately

Effect of Calcium Channel Antagonists and Other Agents on Olfactory Reception

The role of Ca++ in olfactory responses was investigated with inorganic and organic calcium channel antagonists. Electrophysiological responses to odorants were recorded from frog olfactory mucosa before and after aerosol application of different agents. Electroolfactogram responses were blocked by certain inorganic ions with the order of effectiveness Zn++ >Ln+++>Cd++>Ca++>Co++>Sr++>Mg++. Ba++ potentiated olfactory responses, and is known to potentiate calcium channel-mediated responses in other tissues. Certain local anesthetics which are thought to act through calcium channel blockade were inhibitory to olfactory responses, with the order of effectiveness being dibucaine>tetracaine>procaine. These data support the idea that Ca++ is involved in olfaction, perhaps acting as a current carrier and/or a second messenger. Preliminary experiments on channel localization were performed using a silicon-labeled amine. Attempts to localize the silicon label were inconclusive, although silicon was detected in the olfactory tissue