Development and Validation of the Delinquency Reduction Outcome Profile (DROP) in a Sample of Incarcerated Juveniles: A Multiconstruct/Multisituational Scoring Approach

The Delinquency Reduction Outcome Profile (DROP) is a novel situational-judgment test (SJT) designed to measure social decision making in delinquent youth. The DROP includes both a typical SJT scoring method, which captures the deviation of an individual response from an "ideal" expert-based response pattern, as well as a novel "Multiconstruct-Multisituational" (MCMS) factor-scoring method, enabling the assessment "in context" of latent dimensions reflecting stable decision-making tendencies. The authors present the development and validation of the DROP across 2 studies establishing its reliability and internal and concurrent validity using a sample of 1,922 young detainees and a sample of juveniles from the community. The authors also discuss the potential usefulness of the DROP as a prognostic tool to predict recidivism for delinquent youth and to monitor changes in intervention programs designed to improve social decision-making skills. Benefits of the MCMS scoring approach for SJT literature and psychological measurement are also discussed

REGISTRATION OF LIDAR POINT CLOUDS USING IMAGE FEATURES

ABSTRACT An optimal linear translation and attitude estimation (OLTAE) algorithm is proposed to register 3dimensional point clouds based on the image features associated with the individual data sets. In LIDAR applications, such images are created by projecting the point cloud data on to an image plane. Physically, this image is the return light intensity observed by the LIDAR imager that is usually available to the analyst for post processing. Associated image features are extracted from the corresponding images by utilizing the recent advances in computational vision and image processing. Features thus obtained have unique descriptors that automate the matching process and ease the solution of the so-called correspondence problem. Corresponding matched features from the images are then used as vector measurements for the 3 dimensional point cloud registration algorithm. As a byproduct the algorithm is shown to provide the uncertainties associated with the translation vector and the pose orientation estimate. The methods developed in the paper are subsequently applied to measurement sets obtained from a Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) system for spacecraft proximity operation emulation applications

High Affinity Humanized Antibodies without Making Hybridomas; Immunization Paired with Mammalian Cell Display and <em>In Vitro</em> Somatic Hypermutation

<div><p>A method has been developed for the rapid generation of high-affinity humanized antibodies from immunized animals without the need to make conventional hybridomas. Rearranged IgH D(J) regions were amplified from the spleen and lymph tissue of mice immunized with the human complement protein C5, fused with a limited repertoire of human germline heavy chain V-genes to form intact humanized heavy chains, and paired with a human light chain library. Completed heavy and light chains were assembled for mammalian cell surface display and transfected into HEK 293 cells co-expressing activation-induced cytidine deaminase (AID). Numerous clones were isolated by fluorescence-activated cell sorting, and affinity maturation, initiated by AID, resulted in the rapid evolution of high affinity, functional antibodies. This approach enables the efficient sampling of an immune repertoire and the direct selection and maturation of high-affinity, humanized IgGs.</p> </div

Discovery and affinity maturation of C5-C345C-specific antibodies.

<p>(<i>A</i>) FACS scattergrams depicting isolation of a C5-C345C-specific population from the sub-library pool containing IGHV3-30-3 and IGHV4-34 (panels I–III), and subsequent affinity maturation of APE777 in strategy B (panels IV–VI). Approximately 5×10⁷ cells were sorted per round. IgG expression is shown on the y-axis and C5-C345C binding on the x-axis. (I) The first sort round (5 µM C5-C345C-Myc) showed little detectable binding; (II) round 4 (100 nM C5-C345C-Myc); and (III) round 9 (3 nM C5-C345C-Myc) which included a room-temperature incubation to increase stringency. Affinity maturation FACS scattergrams of isolated C5-C345C-specific antibody, APE777, are shown for strategy B starting with (IV) round 1 (20 nM C5-C345C-Myc), (V) round 5 (1.5 nM C5-C345C-Dyl-650), and (VI) round 8 (100 pM C5-C345C-Dyl-650). Each sort round consisted of AID-induced SHM and selection of highest antigen binding and antibody expressing cells by FACS. Note emergence of new cell populations that exhibited increased antigen binding relative to the original population over time, and which were able to recognize sequentially decreasing antigen concentrations. (<i>B</i>) Plot comparing stability late (value corresponds to amount of antibody-bound antigen) versus binding late (value corresponds to off-rate, k_d) capture-adjusted report points for Biacore 4000 screen of single cell clone supernatants. Higher values correspond to more antigen bound per unit antibody (binding late) and slower off-rates (stability late). Highlighted points indicate highest affinity C5-C345C binding clones further characterized by Biacore T200 and sequencing. (<i>C</i>) Full kinetic analysis of APE777 binding to C5-C345C (first panel) with a K_D of 200 nM (k_a = 1.4×10⁵ M⁻¹ s⁻¹, k_d = 2.4×10⁻² s⁻¹). Binding to C5 and C5b6 complement proteins was detectible (second and third panels), while APE777 shows no significant binding to the C7 negative control.</p

Summary of observed enriching mutations.

<p>Table of HC and LC point mutation, insertion, and deletion events observed during affinity maturation of APE777. The first column indicates the amino acid mutation, listed with Kabat numbering. The second column indicates whether the mutation is in the HC or LC. Columns three and four show the starting and ending nucleotide sequence surrounding the site of mutation, with the mutated nucleotides underlined. Columns five and six indicate the starting and ending nucleotide for point mutations. The last two columns indicate which strategy the mutation was observed in, and at which round it was enriched. Ten of the 11 point mutations were initiated at G or C nucleotides; one of the 11 was initiated at a T. Seven of the point mutations, the deletion, and one of the insertions occurred at known AID hotspots (WRCH, highlighted in <b>bold</b>) located within CDRs 1, 2, or 3. Seven of the 11 point mutations were nucleotide transitions, and four were nucleotide transversions.</p>1<p>Enrichment observed by Sanger sequencing of 40 HC and LC variable regions post-sort round.</p