B.E. Wright

Individuals with X-linked hyper-IgM syndrome fail to express functional CD40 ligand (CD40L) and, as a consequence, are incapable of mounting protective antibody responses to opportunistic bacterial infections. To address the role of CD40L in humoral immunity, we created, through homologous recombination, mice deficient in CD40L expression. These mice exhibited no gross developmental deficiencies or health abnormalities and contained normal percentages of B and T cell subpopulations. CD40L-deficient mice did display selective deficiencies in humoral immunity; basal serum isotype levels were significantly lower than observed in normal mice, and IgE was undetectable. Furthermore, the CD40L-deficient mice failed to mount secondary antigen-specific responses to immunization with a thymus-dependent antigen, trinitrophenol-conjugated keyhole limpet hemocyanin (TNP-KLH). By contrast, the CD40L-deficient mice produced antigen-specific antibody of all isotypes except IgE in response to the thymus-independent antigen, DNP-Ficoll. These results underscore the requirement of CD40L for T cell-dependent antibody responses. Moreover, Ig class switching to isotypes other than IgE can occur in vivo in the absence of CD40L, supporting the notion that alternative B cell signaling pathways regulate responses to thymus-independent antigens.

This article reviews the literature on work motivation in the public sector, with careful attention to the underlying theoretical assumptions of this body of work and the empirical evidence it has generated. The topic of work motivation has received relatively little attention in the public sector; the research that does exist has been largely data driven, guided at best by theories that have not incorporated more contemporary research. In this article I will draw on current psychological research on work motivation, as well as the theory and empirical evidence regarding the unique characteristics of public organizations and employees, and develop a revised public-sector model of work motivation that emphasizes variables such as procedural constraints, goal content, and goal commitment.

The present study represents a test of a conceptual model predicting how the organization's work context might influence work motivation. Using the framework provided by goal and social cognitive theories, this model of work motivation assesses whether aspects of the organizational work context, such as greater goal conflict, procedural constraints, and goal ambiguity, may have a detrimental effect on work motivation through their influence on three important antecedents of work motivation: job goal specificity, job difficulty, and self-efficacy. Although the findings of a covariance (LISREL) analysis of state government employee survey data suggested a few minor modifications to this model, the results indicated that the theoretical framework can identify specific leverage points that can increase work motivation and, therefore, productivity in the public sector.

Much of the appeal of performance measurement is explained by its image as a simple and value-neutral way to monitor and improve government. But contemporary governance is characterized by complexity. Few public officials have the luxury of directly providing relatively simple services, the context in which performance regimes work best. Instead, they must work in the context of a disarticulated state, with policy problems that cross national boundaries and demand a multi-actor response. At the same time, traditional democratic values must be honored. This article examines the tensions between performance regimes and the complexity of modern governance, identifying implications and questions for research and practice.

A single antibody-forming cell clone has been selected from primed mice by sequential transfer of limited numbers of spleen cells into irradiated syngeneic mice. The original spleen cell donors had been immunized with dinitrophenylated bovine gamma globulin. Specific antibody molecules in sera of recipient mice were separated by isoelectric focusing on polyacrylamide gels and visualized by (131)I-hapten binding and autoradiography. This method provided a marker for antibody-forming cells derived from a single cell clone. This report describes the history of one clone of cells (E9) producing IgG antibody to dinitrophenyl. Clone E9 is long-lived and has been maintained for five transplant generations (over 6 months) by serial transfer of spleen cells into irradiated syngeneic mice. Clone E9 has the following properties: (1) Antibody production strictly depends on antigen, presented either in vivo or in vitro; (2) Induction of E9 anti-dinitrophenyl shows specificity for the carrier protein; (3) Antibody is produced in amounts (2-3 mg/ml serum) comparable with myeloma-protein production by murine plasmacytomas; (4) In the absence of antigen, memory cells have a lifetime exceeding 28 days.