30 research outputs found
An Analysis of Readmissions to a Mental Health Court
Mental health courts (MHCs) have emerged as one option to address the needs of people with severe mental illness who enter the criminal justice system. Little is known about defendants having multiple referrals to MHCs or the outcomes of subsequent admissions. This study included a sample of 1,084 defendants referred to municipal MHC. During the 13-year study period, 14.3% of defendants had a second admission, with an estimated probability of readmission of 17.4%. Key factors associated with readmission included being eligible to participate in the court but choosing not to do so, being rearrested during court supervision, and having a negative termination from supervision. Defendants who had a second admission during the study period had poorer outcomes than those with one admission. When defendants are referred for readmission to MHCs, careful assessment is required to ensure that these courts are the best alternative for them
Multizone Paper Platform for 3D Cell Cultures
In vitro 3D culture is an important model for tissues in
vivo. Cells in different locations of 3D tissues are
physiologically different, because they are exposed to different concentrations
of oxygen, nutrients, and signaling molecules, and to other environmental
factors (temperature, mechanical stress, etc). The majority of high-throughput
assays based on 3D cultures, however, can only detect the
average behavior of cells in the whole 3D construct.
Isolation of cells from specific regions of 3D cultures is possible, but relies
on low-throughput techniques such as tissue sectioning and micromanipulation.
Based on a procedure reported previously (“cells-in-gels-in-paper”
or CiGiP), this paper describes a simple method for culture of arrays of thin
planar sections of tissues, either alone or stacked to create more complex 3D
tissue structures. This procedure starts with sheets of paper patterned with
hydrophobic regions that form 96 hydrophilic zones. Serial spotting of cells
suspended in extracellular matrix (ECM) gel onto the patterned paper creates an
array of 200 micron-thick slabs of ECM gel (supported mechanically by cellulose
fibers) containing cells. Stacking the sheets with zones aligned on top of one
another assembles 96 3D multilayer constructs. De-stacking the layers of the 3D
culture, by peeling apart the sheets of paper, “sections” all 96
cultures at once. It is, thus, simple to isolate 200-micron-thick
cell-containing slabs from each 3D culture in the 96-zone array. Because the 3D
cultures are assembled from multiple layers, the number of cells plated
initially in each layer determines the spatial distribution of cells in the
stacked 3D cultures. This capability made it possible to compare the growth of
3D tumor models of different spatial composition, and to examine the migration
of cells in these structures
S. SHEETS-PYENSON. Cathedrals of science. The development of colonial natural history museums during the late nineteenth century.
Efficacy and Safety of Tositumomab and Iodine-131 Tositumomab (Bexxar) in B-Cell Lymphoma, Progressive After Rituximab
Pretargeted radioimmunotherapy using genetically engineered antibody-streptavidin fusion proteins for treatment of non-hodgkin lymphoma.
Purpose: Pretargeted radioimmunotherapy (PRIT) using streptavidin (SAv)-biotin technology can deliver higher therapeutic doses of radioactivity to tumors than conventional RIT. However, "endogenous" biotin can interfere with the effectiveness of this approach by blocking binding of radiolabeled biotin to SAv. We engineered a series of SAv FPs that downmodulate the affinity of SAv for biotin, while retaining high avidity for divalent DOTA-bis-biotin to circumvent this problem.Experimental Design: The single-chain variable region gene of the murine 1F5 anti-CD20 antibody was fused to the wild-type (WT) SAv gene and to mutant SAv genes, Y43A-SAv and S45A-SAv. FPs were expressed, purified, and compared in studies using athymic mice bearing Ramos lymphoma xenografts.Results: Biodistribution studies showed delivery of more radioactivity to tumors of mice pretargeted with mutant SAv FPs followed by (111)In-DOTA-bis-biotin [6.2 +/- 1.7% of the injected dose per gram (%ID/gm) of tumor 24 hours after Y43A-SAv FP and 5.6 +/- 2.2%ID/g with S45A-SAv FP] than in mice on normal diets pretargeted with WT-SAv FP (2.5 +/- 1.6%ID/g; P = 0.01). These superior biodistributions translated into superior antitumor efficacy in mice treated with mutant FPs and (90)Y-DOTA-bis-biotin [tumor volumes after 11 days: 237 +/- 66 mm(3) with Y43A-SAv, 543 +/- 320 mm(3) with S45A-SAv, 1129 +/- 322 mm(3) with WT-SAv, and 1435 +/- 212 mm(3) with control FP (P < 0.0001)].Conclusions: Genetically engineered mutant-SAv FPs and bis-biotin reagents provide an attractive alternative to current SAv-biotin PRIT methods in settings where endogenous biotin levels are high. Clin Cancer Res; 17(23); 7373-82. (C)2011 AACR