A new skew-elliptical distribution and its properties

This article generalizes a multivariate skew-elliptical distribution and describes its many interesting properties. The univariate version of the new distribution is compared with two other currently used distributions. The use of the new distribution is illustrated with a real data example suitable for regression modelling. The new model provides a better model fit than its two rivals as evaluated by some suitable Bayesian model selection criteria

Local agency, adaptation and the shadow system: The institutional architecture of social learning in rural areas of the UK and India

Rural communities across the world face at times a range of environmental, social and economic pressures that threaten their viability in their current form. The ability of local actors to exercise agency in response to potential and emerging threats is of key interest in understanding their capacity to adapt. This paper argues that top-down narratives which focus on canonical organisations and formal institutions are at best a partial account of rural adaptation. More attention needs to be paid to the shadow system, the web of informal and often hidden relationships that permeate public and private life. In the organisational and institutional literature, shadow systems have been discounted as either too complex to be tractable or an inevitable source of corruption and nepotism. Two case studies are presented to establish that neither claim is inexorably true: (i) the adaptation of dairy farmers to market and climate change in Carmarthenshire, South Wales and (ii) NGO mediation of community/state interaction in Tamilnadu, South India. In conclusion, some theoretical and methodological themes are highlighted for further research. These hold the potential to enable a better understanding of the shadow system, and its potential and pitfalls as a site of local agency in rural adaptation. Acnowledgements: This paper draws on learning from two research projects: (i) 'Rapid climate change in the UK: towards an institutional theory of adaptation', funded by the UK Economic and Social Science Research Council's Environment and Human Behaviour Programme, and (ii) 'Thaan Vuzha Nilam Tharisu: The land without a farmer becomes barren', carried out by SPEECH, a Tamil NGO, as part of a larger International Institute for Environment and Development research programme – 'Policies that Work for Sustainable Agriculture and Regenerating Rural Economies.� The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial and institutional assistance that made this research possible

Gene-encoded surface antigens of Legionella pneumophila and their role in pathogenicity

The pneumonial agent, Legionella pneumophila, is the predominant bacterium responsible for Legionnaires\u27 disease. Experimentally, these organisms have demonstrated the ability to adhere to host cells without the presence of a mucopolysaccharide layer. A recombinant plasmid, pLP 116, resulting from the ligation of a Hae III digest from the L. pneumophila, Nottingham N\sb7 genome and Sma I-digested pUC 19 vector was shown to encode for a 25 kilodalton (kDa) major outer membrane protein (MOMP) of L. pneumophila by sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS). This protein was detected on the surface of an E. coli clone (LP 116) by immunoassays. Virulence testing using the fertile chicken egg lethality assay determined that the clone experienced increased virulence over that of the parent strain. The E. coli parent strain was found to be non-adherent to U937 cells in culture while the clone LP 116 experienced a 40-55% increase in adherence. The L. pneumophila N\sb7 strain demonstrated 100% binding; however, L. pneumophila and clone LP 116 incubated with MOMP-specific monoclonal antibody experienced a complete loss of adherence to U937 cells. Organisms coated with the monoclonal antibody did not infect fertile chicken eggs at any dilution. The outer membrane protein (OMP) profiles of the attenuated derivative of the L. pneumophila isolate used in this study showed a decrease in the 25 kDa protein and the presence of a 31 kDa protein not found in the OMP profile of the virulent strain. This laboratory strain experienced an increase in lethal dose (LD\sb{50}) values in the chicken embryonated egg lethality assay. When the recombinant plasmid pLP 116 was electroporated (electrically transformed) into the attenuated L. pneumophila derivative the 25 kDa protein was produced in greater amounts and the 31 kDa band was no longer present. The LD\sb{50} values of the transformed attenuated L. pneumophila N\sb7 strain decreased to that of the original isolate. This study has shown the first reported difference between what appears to be genotypically and phenotypically similar organisms. It also has demonstrated that the 25 kDa MOMP of L. pneumophila plays an important role in adherence of the organism and that the 25 kDa MOMP can be recognized as a virulence factor related to the ability of the organism to cause infection

Thaan Vuzha Nilam Tharisu: the land without a farmer becomes barren

This report forms a part of the international research project on policy and sustainable agriculture, Policies that Work for Sustainable Agriculture and Regenerated Rural Economies. The report details the findings of one of the constituent studies, undertaken by an Indian NGO, the Society for People's Education and Economic Change (SPEECH). The Importance of this project is that it concentrated on rainfed rather than irrigated agriculture - i.e. the sharp end of rural development in India, and that the focus was very much on the micro-level, looking at policy as seen from the ground. One of the recurring themes throughout the research was the importance of appreciating people as individuals, and in this spirit some of the personal qualities of the research team are shared. The research covers events in sites in the Virudhunagar district of Tamilnadu: Tiruchuli Panchayat Union and the Villur chain of tanks. This is an essentially rural area, where the need for sustainable forms of agriculture and rural livelihoods is clear. The political landscape is fractured and complex (§2.3), and the officials with the responsibility of implementing policy face significant obstacles and disincentives in doing so in response to the needs of local communities

Mechanistic insights into the inhibition of Sec61-dependent co- and post-translational translocation by mycolactone.

The virulence factor mycolactone is responsible for the immunosuppression and tissue necrosis that characterise Buruli ulcer, a disease caused by infection with Mycobacterium ulcerans. In this study, we confirm that Sec61, the protein-conducting channel that coordinates entry of secretory proteins into the endoplasmic reticulum, is a primary target of mycolactone, and characterise the nature of its inhibitory effect. We conclude that mycolactone constrains the ribosome-nascent chain-Sec61 complex, consistent with its broad-ranging perturbation of the co-translational translocation of classical secretory proteins. In contrast, the effect of mycolactone on the post-translational, ribosome-independent translocation of short secretory proteins through the Sec61 complex is dependent on both signal sequence hydrophobicity and the translocation competence of the mature domain. Changes to protease sensitivity strongly suggest that mycolactone acts by inducing a conformational change in the pore-forming Sec61α subunit. These findings establish that mycolactone inhibits Sec61-mediated protein translocation and highlight differences between the co- and post-translational routes that the Sec61 complex mediates. We propose that mycolactone also provides a useful tool for further delineating the molecular mechanisms of Sec61-dependent protein translocation

Tele-operated high speed anthropomorphic dextrous hands with object shape and texture identification

This paper reports on the development of two number of robotic hands have been developed which focus on tele-operated high speed anthropomorphic dextrous robotic hands. The aim of developing these hands was to achieve a system that seamlessly interfaced between humans and robots. To provide sensory feedback, to a remote operator tactile sensors were developed to be mounted on the robotic hands. Two systems were developed, the first, being a skin sensor capable of shape reconstruction placed on the palm of the hand to feed back the shape of objects grasped and the second is a highly sensitive tactile array for surface texture identification