Covalent attachment of activated products of the third component of complement to antigen enhances its immunogenicity, but the mechanism is not clear. This effect is mediated by specific receptors, mCR1 (CD35) and mCR2 (CD21), expressed primarily on B cells and follicular dendritic cells in mice. To dissect the role of mCR1 and mCR2 in the humoral response, we have disrupted the Cr2 locus to generate mice deficient in both receptors. The deficient mice (Cr2-/-) were found to have a reduction in the CD5+ population of peritoneal B-1 cells, although their serum IgM levels were within the range of normal mice. Moreover, Cr2-/- mice had a severe defect in their humoral response to T-dependent antigens that was characterized by a reduction in serum antibody titers and in the number and size of germinal centers within splenic follicles. Reconstitution of the deficient mice with bone marrow from MHC-matched Cr2+/+ donors corrected the defect, demonstrating that the defect was due to B cells themselves. These results indicate an obligatory role of B cell complement receptors in responses of the B cells to protein antigens.

Building Information Modelling (BIM) is a technology with the potential to transform the construction industry, yet its proliferation remains stagnant. Existing research on BIM diffusion focuses on the industry, company, and project levels while disregarding the impact of perceptions at the individual level. This research aims to extend the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use Technology (UTAUT) model to understand the perceptions that individuals have towards working with BIM. A survey was completed by 84 industry stakeholders and the results analysed against a modified UTAUT model that adds the variable of Attitude and employs moderators of Experience and Voluntariness. The results reveal that Performance Expectancy does not directly affect Behavioural Intention, signifying that BIM is perceived as an unrewarded addition to existing work processes. These findings evince the need to redefine strategies, policies, and incentive schemes in order to advance the acceptance of BIM in the U.K. and worldwide.

This paper describes ongoing research investigating student approaches to quantitative and qualitative problem solving in physics. This empirical study was conducted using a phenomenographic approach to analyze data from individual semistructured problem solving interviews with 22 introductory college physics students. The main result of the study is a hierarchical set of categories that describe the students' problem solving approaches in the context of introductory physics.

Cytokine and growth factor receptor engagement leads to the rapid phosphorylation and activation of latent, cytosolic signal transducers and activators of transcription (STAT) proteins, which then translocate to the nucleus where they regulate transcriptional events from specific promoter sequences. STAT3 expression in particular has been associated with Abl, Src, and HTLV-1 transformation of normal cells. B-1 lymphocytes are self-renewing, CD5+ B cells that display a propensity for malignant transformation and are the normal counterpart to human chronic lymphocytic leukemias. Further, B-1 cells are characterized by aberrant intracellular signaling, including hyperresponsiveness to phorbol ester PKC agonists. Here we demonstrate that B-1 lymphocytes constitutively express nuclear activated STAT3, which is not expressed by unmanipulated conventional (B-2) lymphocytes. In contrast, STAT3 activation is induced in B-2 cells after antigen receptor engagement in a delayed fashion (after 3 h). Induction of STAT3 is inhibited by both the serine/threonine protein kinase inhibitor H-7 and the immunosuppressive drug rapamycin and requires de novo protein synthesis, demonstrating novel coupling between sIg and STAT proteins that differs from the classical paradigm for STAT induction by cytokine receptors. The inability of prolonged stimulation of conventional B-2 cells with anti-Ig, a treatment sufficient to induce CD5 expression, to result in sustained STAT3 activation suggests that STAT3 is a specific nuclear marker for B-1 cells. Thus, STAT3 may play a role in B cell antigen-specific signaling responses, and its constitutive activation is associated with a normal cell population exhibiting intrinsic proliferative behavior.

Results from the investigation of the diffusion processes in a dry acrylamide-based photopolymer system are presented. The investigation is carried out in the context of experimental work on optimization of the high spatial frequency response of the photopolymer. Tracing the transmission holographic grating dynamics at short times of exposure is utilized to measure diffusion coefficients. The results reveal that two different diffusion processes contribute with opposite sign to the refractive index modulation responsible for the diffraction grating build up.Monomer diffusion from dark to bright fringe areas increases the refractive index modulation. It is characterized with diffusion constant D 0 =1.6.10 -7 cm 2 /s. A second diffusion process takes place during the recording. It decreases the refractive index modulation and we ascribe it to diffusion of short chain polymer molecules and/or radicals from bright to dark fringe areas. The estimated diffusion coefficient for this process is D 0 = 6.35.10 -10 cm 2 /s. The presence of the second process could be responsible for poor high spatial frequency response of the investigated photopolymer 2 system. Comparison with the diffusion in photopolymer systems known for their good response at high spatial frequencies shows that both investigated diffusion processes measured here occur in a much faster time scale.