Etude du Pañcakrama: introduction et traduction annotée = Etude du Pancakrama: introduction et traduction annotée

RÉSUMÉ Traditionnellement attribué à Nāgārjuna, le Pañcakrama («Procédé de la méditation en cinq étapes») est l'un des ouvrages les plus influents du bouddhisme tantrique indo-tibétain. Bien que ce texte ait été accessible au monde indianiste européen dès le milieu du XIXe siècle, seules quelques portions en ont été traduites à ce jour dans une langue occidentale. La présente thèse a pour but premier d'offrir une traduction française annotée du Pañcakrama dans son intégralité. Elle comporte deux parties principales : 1) l'introduction au texte et 2) la traduction annotée. Une édition critique de la version tibétaine du Caryāmelāpakapradïpa est incluse à titre d'annexe (3). (1) L'introduction comporte trois chapitres. Le chapitre 1, intitulé «Le corpus textuel de l'École Ārya», présente d'abord un aperçu des ouvrages de l'école exégétique (appelée l'«École Ārya» < tib. ̒phags lugs) du Guhyasamājatantra à laquelle appartient le Pañcakrama. Cet aperçu est suivi d'une présentation détaillée des informations bibliographiques et philologiques relatives au Pañcakrama et à ses commentaires indiens. Sont également décrits deux autres textes d'une importance particulière pour la compréhension du Pañcakrama, à savoir le Caryāmelāpakapradïpa et le Pradïpoddyotana. Deux textes mineurs apparentés au Pañcakrama, le Karmāntavibhāga et le Svādhisthānaprabheda, sont aussi présentés brièvement. Le chapitre 2 de l'introduction, « La formation textuelle du Pañcakrama», discute quelques problèmes relatifs à la structure textuelle du Pañcakrama et à sa position historique au sein du corpus de l'École Ārya. Nous y examinons d'abord différentes positions à l'égard des cinq (pañca) unités textuelles qui constituent l'ensemble appelé «Pañcakrama». La chronologie relative traditionnellement acceptée pour les trois textes principaux de l'École Ārya, le Pañcakrama, le Caryāmelāpakapradïpa et le Pradïpoddyotana, est ensuite réexaminée. Nous proposons, en conclusion de ce chapitre, la première moitié du IXe siècle comme date de composition du Pañcakrama. Le chapitre 3, «Une analyse synoptique du Pañcakrama», est une présentation du système yogique que décrivent le Pañcakrama et les ouvrages apparentés. Nous y organisons les sujets en cinq groupes : i) les trois discernements (viveka); ii) la théorie des prakrti et āloka; iii) les deux verités; iv) la notion du yuganaddha; v) les trois sortes de caryā. Cette analyse thématique du contenu du Pañcakrama se propose non seulement de présenter le système yogique de l'École Ārya, mais aussi d'éclaircir l'arrière-plan historique de la formation de cette école exégétique. (2) Notre traduction française du Pañcakrama est basée sur le texte sanscrit que nous avons édité en 1994 en collaboration avec le professeur K. Mimaki (Université de Kyoto). En interprétant le texte, nous avons essayé de distinguer deux sortes de données philologiques supplémentaires, à savoir, d'une part, les données tirée des sources qui précèdent chronologiquement le Pañcakrama et, d'autre part, celles offertes par des ouvrages tardifs tels que les commentaires. Une telle distinction est importante du point de vue méthodologique : afin de mieux comprendre le texte dans le contexte historique de sa composition, nous devons nous garder d'adopter sans discrimination les interprétations des commentateurs qui, éloignés dans le temps, sont parfois influencés par des développements tardifs et par des systèmes philosophico-religieux étrangers au texte de base. (3) Dans l'appendice, nous présentons une édition critique du texte tibétain du Caryāmelāpakapradïpa. Cette édition est basée sur quatre éditions xylographiques (Cone, Derge, Narthang et Pékin) ainsi qu'un manuscrit paracanonique qui transmet une version révisée par 'Gos Khug pa 1Has btsas (première moitié du XIe siècle).

Comparison of organ doses and image quality between CT and flat panel XperCT scans in wrist and inner ear examinations.

The aim of this study was to evaluate and compare organ doses delivered to patients in wrist and petrous bone examinations using a multislice spiral computed tomography (CT) and a C-arm cone-beam CT equipped with a flat-panel detector (XperCT). For this purpose, doses to the target organ, i.e. wrist or petrous bone, together with those to the most radiosensitive nearby organs, i.e. thyroid and eye lens, were measured and compared. Furthermore, image quality was compared for both imaging systems and different acquisition modes using a Catphan phantom. Results show that both systems guarantee adequate accuracy for diagnostic purposes for wrist and petrous bone examinations. Compared with the CT scanner, the XperCT system slightly reduces the dose to target organs and shortens the overall duration of the wrist examination. In addition, using the XperCT enables a reduction of the dose to the eye lens during head scans (skull base and ear examinations).

Fracture de la paroi mediale de l'orbite. A propos de 4 observations. [Fracture of the medial wall of the orbit. Apropos of 4 cases]

Fractures or the medial wall of the orbit are uncommon and clinical signs are often discreet. This report was focused on isolated fractures of the medial wall of the orbit. Blow-out trauma is usually the cause. In these cases the clinical signs ranged from simple ecchymosis to blindness by haematoma of the orbital cone. Computed tomography is a major tool for diagnosis and making therapeutic indications for these fractures. Treatment depends on the oculomotor involvements as measured by forced duction tests.

Correlação linear e espacial entre o rendimento de grãos do feijoeiro e a resistência mecânica à penetração em um Latossolo Vermelho distrófico

A resistência mecânica à penetração apresentada pelo solo exerce grande influência sobre o desenvolvimento vegetal, uma vez que o crescimento das raízes, assim como o rendimento das culturas, varia de forma inversamente proporcional ao seu valor. No ano agrícola de 2001/2002, na Fazenda Experimental de Ensino e Pesquisa da Faculdade de Engenharia/UNESP - Campus de Ilha Solteira, foram analisados o rendimento de grãos do feijoeiro (PG) e a resistência mecânica à penetração (R), de um Latossolo Vermelho distrófico. O objetivo foi apurar diretrizes relacionadas com o aumento da produtividade agrícola em questão, estudando a correlação linear e a espacial entre a PG e a R. Foi instalada uma rede geoestatística para a coleta dos dados do solo e da planta, estabelecida com espaçamentos de 5 x 5 m e 2,5 x 2,5 m, que continham 120 pontos amostrais distribuídos numa área de 1.875 m². A correlação linear entre a PG e a R foi praticamente nula, uma vez que, dependendo das profundidades estudadas do solo, apresentou coeficientes de correlação (r) menores do que 0,20. A análise geoestatística apresentou boa estrutura de dependência espacial, tanto para a PG quanto para a R, quando analisadas isoladamente. Entretanto, a análise espacial conjunta de tais atributos apresentou-se inconsistente. Assim, com o aumento da resistência mecânica à penetração, em determinada região do solo ocorreu ora aumento, ora diminuição do rendimento de grãos do feijoeiro.

Root abundance of maize in conventionally-tilled and zero-tilled soils of Argentina

Maize root growth is negatively affected by compacted layers in the surface (e.g. agricultural traffic) and subsoil layers (e.g. claypans). Both kinds of soil mechanical impedances often coexist in maize fields, but the combined effects on root growth have seldom been studied. Soil physical properties and maize root abundance were determined in three different soils of the Rolling Pampa of Argentina, in conventionally-tilled (CT) and zero-tilled (ZT) fields cultivated with maize. In the soil with a light Bt horizon (loamy Typic Argiudoll, Chivilcoy site), induced plough pans were detected in CT plots at a depth of 0-0.12 m through significant increases in bulk density (1.15 to 1.27 Mg m-3) and cone (tip angle of 60 º) penetrometer resistance (7.18 to 9.37 MPa in summer from ZT to CT, respectively). This caused a reduction in maize root abundance of 40-80 % in CT compared to ZT plots below the induced pans. Two of the studied soils had hard-structured Bt horizons (clay pans), but in only one of them (silty clay loam Abruptic Argiudoll, Villa Lía site) the expected penetrometer resistance increases (up to 9 MPa) were observed with depth. In the other clay pan soil (silty clay loam Vertic Argiudoll, Pérez Millán site), penetrometer resistance did not increase with depth but reached 14.5 MPa at 0.075 and 0.2 m depth in CT and ZT plots, respectively. However, maize root abundance was stratified in the first 0.2 m at the Villa Lía and Pérez Millán sites. There, the hard Bt horizons did not represent an absolute but a relative mechanical impedance to maize roots, by the observed root clumping through desiccation cracks.

Genetic differentiation for size at first reproduction through male versus female functions in the widespread Mediterranean tree Pinus pinaster.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: The study of local adaptation in plant reproductive traits has received substantial attention in short-lived species, but studies conducted on forest trees are scarce. This lack of research on long-lived species represents an important gap in our knowledge, because inferences about selection on the reproduction and life history of short-lived species cannot necessarily be extrapolated to trees. This study considers whether the size for first reproduction is locally adapted across a broad geographical range of the Mediterranean conifer species Pinus pinaster. In particular, the study investigates whether this monoecious species varies genetically among populations in terms of whether individuals start to reproduce through their male function, their female function or both sexual functions simultaneously. Whether differences among populations could be attributed to local adaptation across a climatic gradient is then considered. METHODS: Male and female reproduction and growth were measured during early stages of sexual maturity of a P. pinaster common garden comprising 23 populations sampled across the species range. Generalized linear mixed models were used to assess genetic variability of early reproductive life-history traits. Environmental correlations with reproductive life-history traits were tested after controlling for neutral genetic structure provided by 12 nuclear simple sequence repeat markers. KEY RESULTS: Trees tended to reproduce first through their male function, at a size (height) that varied little among source populations. The transition to female reproduction was slower, showed higher levels of variability and was negatively correlated with vegetative growth traits. Several female reproductive traits were correlated with a gradient of growth conditions, even after accounting for neutral genetic structure, with populations from more unfavourable sites tending to commence female reproduction at a lower individual size. CONCLUSIONS: The study represents the first report of genetic variability among populations for differences in the threshold size for first reproduction between male and female sexual functions in a tree species. The relatively uniform size at which individuals begin reproducing through their male function probably represents the fact that pollen dispersal is also relatively invariant among sites. However, the genetic variability in the timing of female reproduction probably reflects environment-dependent costs of cone production. The results also suggest that early sex allocation in this species might evolve under constraints that do not apply to other conifers.

Microtubule-associated protein 1B, a growth-associated and phosphorylated scaffold protein.

Microtubule-associated protein 1B, MAP1B, is one of the major growth associated and cytoskeletal proteins in neuronal and glial cells. It is present as a full length protein or may be fragmented into a heavy chain and a light chain. It is essential to stabilize microtubules during the elongation of dendrites and neurites and is involved in the dynamics of morphological structures such as microtubules, microfilaments and growth cones. MAP1B function is modulated by phosphorylation and influences microtubule stability, microfilaments and growth cone motility. Considering its large size, several interactions with a variety of other proteins have been reported and there is increasing evidence that MAP1B plays a crucial role in the stability of the cytoskeleton and may have other cellular functions. Here we review molecular and functional aspects of this protein, evoke its role as a scaffold protein and have a look at several pathologies where the protein may be involved.

Analysis of micro- and nano-structures of the corneal surface of Drosophila and its mutants by atomic force microscopy and optical diffraction.

Drosophila melanogaster is a model organism instrumental for numerous biological studies. The compound eye of this insect consists of some eight hundred individual ommatidia or facets, ca. 15 µm in cross-section. Each ommatidium contains eighteen cells including four cone cells secreting the lens material (cornea). High-resolution imaging of the cornea of different insects has demonstrated that each lens is covered by the nipple arrays--small outgrowths of ca. 200 nm in diameter. Here we for the first time utilize atomic force microscopy (AFM) to investigate nipple arrays of the Drosophila lens, achieving an unprecedented visualization of the architecture of these nanostructures. We find by Fourier analysis that the nipple arrays of Drosophila are disordered, and that the seemingly ordered appearance is a consequence of dense packing of the nipples. In contrast, Fourier analysis confirms the visibly ordered nature of the eye microstructures--the individual lenses. This is different in the frizzled mutants of Drosophila, where both Fourier analysis and optical imaging detect disorder in lens packing. AFM reveals intercalations of the lens material between individual lenses in frizzled mutants, providing explanation for this disorder. In contrast, nanostructures of the mutant lens show the same organization as in wild-type flies. Thus, frizzled mutants display abnormal organization of the corneal micro-, but not nano-structures. At the same time, nipples of the mutant flies are shorter than those of the wild-type. We also analyze corneal surface of glossy-appearing eyes overexpressing Wingless--the lipoprotein ligand of Frizzled receptors, and find the catastrophic aberration in nipple arrays, providing experimental evidence in favor of the major anti-reflective function of these insect eye nanostructures. The combination of the easily tractable genetic model organism and robust AFM analysis represents a novel methodology to analyze development and architecture of these surface formations.

Molecular Genetics of FAM161A in North American Patients with Early-Onset Retinitis Pigmentosa.

Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is a hereditary disease that leads to the progressive degeneration of retinal photoreceptor cells and to blindness. It is caused by mutations in several distinct genes, including the ciliary gene FAM161A, which is associated with a recessive form of this disorder. Recent investigations have revealed that defects in FAM161A represent a rather prevalent cause of hereditary blindness in Israel and the Palestinian territories, whereas they seem to be rarely present within patients from Germany. Genetic or clinical data are currently not available for other countries. In this work, we screened a cohort of patients with recessive RP from North America to determine the frequency of FAM161A mutations in this ethnically-mixed population and to assess the phenotype of positive cases. Out of 273 unrelated patients, only 3 subjects had defects in FAM161A. A fourth positive patient, the sister of one of these index cases, was also identified following pedigree analysis. They were all homozygous for the p.T452Sfx3 mutation, which was previously reported as a founder DNA variant in the Israeli and Palestinian populations. Analysis of cultured lymphoblasts from patients revealed that mutant FAM161A transcripts were actively degraded by nonsense-mediated mRNA decay. Electroretinographic testing showed 30 Hz cone flicker responses in the range of 0.10 to 0.60 microvolts in all cases at their first visit (age 12 to 23) (lower norm  =  50 μV) and of 0.06 to 0.32 microvolts at their most recent examination (age 27 to 43), revealing an early-onset of this progressive disease. Our data indicate that mutations in FAM161A are responsible for 1% of recessive RP cases in North America, similar to the prevalence detected in Germany and unlike the data from Israel and the Palestinian territories. We also show that, at the molecular level, the disease is likely caused by FAM161A protein deficiency.

Melhoria da estrutura de um latossolo por sistemas de culturas em plantio direto nos Campos Gerais do Paraná

O plantio direto de qualidade depende de um manejo adequado do solo que promova melhorias em sua estrutura. Isso está associado ao sistema de culturas adotado. O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar a contribuição de sistemas de culturas de longo prazo (18 anos) na qualidade estrutural de um Latossolo Vermelho mesoférrico argiloso sob plantio direto nos Campos Gerais do Paraná. Foram avaliados cinco sistemas de culturas: trigo-soja [Tr-So]; aveia-milho-trigo-soja [Av-Mi-Tr-So]; ervilhaca-milho-trigo-soja [Er-Mi-Tr-So]; azevém-milho-azevém-soja [Az-Mi-Az-So]; e alfafa-milho [Alf-Mi]. Amostras de solo foram coletadas nas camadas de 0-5, 5-10 e 10-20 cm, em anéis volumétricos e em blocos com estrutura preservada. Na camada de 0-5 cm, as menores densidades de solo tenderam a ocorrer nos sistemas Av-Mi-Tr-So (0,96 Mg m-3) e Er-Mi-Tr-So (0,93 Mg m-3). Nas camadas de 5-10 e 10-20 cm, as menores densidades de solo ocorreram no sistema Alf-Mi (1,14 e 1,17 Mg m-3, respectivamente). Tendência coerente foi observada para a macroporosidade, que na camada superficial foi maior nos sistemas Av-Mi-Tr-So (0,29 m³ m-3) e Er-Mi-Tr-So (0,30 m³ m-3) e, nas camadas de 5-10 e 10-20 cm, tendeu a ser maior no sistema Alf-Mi (0,19 m³ m-3). A microporosidade não apresentou tendência clara entre os sistemas. A condutividade hidráulica saturada teve relação direta com a macroporosidade, com Er-Mi-Tr-So apresentando o maior valor na camada de 0-5 cm (224 mm h-1) e Alf-Mi nas camadas de 5-10 (170 mm h-1) e 10-20 cm (147 mm h-1). O sistema Er-Mi-Tr-So apresentou o menor diâmetro médio ponderado úmido de agregados na camada de 0-5 cm (2,39 mm), e o Tr-So, o maior (3,04 mm). Os maiores valores de resistência mecânica do solo à penetração foram observados no sistema Tr-So, superando 1,5 MPa na camada de 7,5 a 22,5 cm de profundidade. O sistema Alf-Mi apresentou o menor grau de compactação (0,2 MPa cm). Os resultados são atribuídos, principalmente, à ação das raízes das espécies que constituem os sistemas de culturas e à intensidade de tráfego de máquinas em cada sistema. Considerando a camada de 0-20 cm como um todo, o sistema semiperene Alf-Mi possui maior capacidade de promover melhorias na qualidade estrutural do solo, em comparação aos sistemas baseados em cultivos de espécies anuais. Sistemas bianuais de rotação, baseados em plantas de cobertura como aveia-preta ou ervilhaca, promovem melhorias na qualidade estrutural do solo em relação à sucessão trigo-soja.

Early apoptosis of rod photoreceptors in Rpe65(-/-) mice is associated with the upregulated expression of lysosomal-mediated autophagic genes.

RPE65-related Leber's congenital amaurosis (LCA) is a rod-cone dystrophy whose clinical outcome is mainly attributed to the loss of rod photoreceptors followed by cone degeneration. Pathogenesis in Rpe65(-/-) mice is characterized by a slow and progressive degeneration of rods dependent on the constitutive activation of unliganded opsin. We previously reported that this opsin-mediated apoptosis of rods was dependent on Bcl-2-apoptotic pathway and Bax-induced pro-death activity. In this study, we report early initial apoptosis in the newly differentiated retina of Rpe65(-/-) mice. Apoptotic photoreceptors were identified as rods and resulted from pathological phototransduction signaling. This wave of early apoptosis triggered Bcl-2-related pathway and Bax apoptotic activity, while activation of the caspases was not induced. Following cellular stress, multiple signaling pathways are initiated which either commit cells to death or trigger pro-survival responses including autophagy. We report that Bcl-2-related early rod apoptosis was associated with the upregulation of autophagy markers including chaperone-mediated autophagy (CMA) substrate receptor LAMP-2 and lysosomal hydrolases Cathepsin S and Lysozyme. This suggests that lysosomal-mediated autophagy may be triggered in response to early rod apoptosis in Rpe65-LCA disease. These results highlight that Rpe65-related primary stress induces early signaling events, which trigger Bax-induced-apoptotic pathway and autophagy-mediated cellular response. These events may determine retinal cell fate, progression and severity of the disease.

Soybean root growth and crop yield in reponse to liming at the beginning of a no-tillage system

Analyzing the soil near crop roots may reveal limitations to growth and yield even in a no-tillage system. The purpose of the present study was to relate the chemical and physical properties of soil under a no-tillage system to soybean root growth and plant yield after five years of use of different types of limestone and forms of application. A clayey Oxisol received application of dolomitic and calcitic limestones and their 1:1 combination in two forms: surface application, maintained on the soil surface; and incorporated, applied on the surface and incorporated mechanically. Soil physical properties (resistance to mechanical penetration, soil bulk density and soil aggregation), soil chemical properties (pH, exchangeable cations, H+Al, and cation exchange capacity) and plant parameters (root growth system, soybean grain yield, and oat dry matter production) were evaluated five years after setting up the experiment. Incorporation of lime neutralized exchangeable Al up to a depth of 20 cm without affecting the soil physical properties. The soybean root system reached depths of 40 cm or more with incorporated limestone, increasing grain yield an average of 31 % in relation to surface application, which limited the effect of lime up to a depth of 5 cm and root growth up to 20 cm. It was concluded that incorporation of limestone at the beginning of a no-tillage system ensures a favorable environment for root growth and soybean yield, while this intervention does not show long-term effects on soil physical properties under no-tillage. This suggests that there is resilience in the physical properties evaluated.

Pigs Transgenic For Human Dominant Mutations Of The GUCY2D Gene

Purpose: Studies on large animal models are an important step to test new therapeutical strategies before human application. Considering the importance of cone function for human vision and the paucity of large animal models for cone dystrophies having an enriched cone region, we propose to develop a pig model for cone degeneration. With a lentiviral-directed transgenesis, we obtained pigs transgenic for a cone-dominant mutant gene described in a human cone dystrophy.Methods: Lentiviral vectors encoding the human double mutant GUCY2DE837D/R838S cDNA under the control of a region of the pig arrestin-3 promoter (Arr3) was produced and used for lentiviral-derived transgenesis in pigs. PCR-genotyping and southern blotting determined the genotype of pigs born after injection of the vector at the zygote stage. Retina function analysis was performed by ERG and behavioral tests at 11, 24 and 54 weeks of age. OCT and histological analyses were performed to describe the retina morphology.Results: The ratio of transgenic pigs born after lentiviral-directed transgenesis was close to 50%. Transgenic pigs with 3 to 5 transgene copies per cell clearly present a reduced photopic response from 3 months of age on. Except for one pig, which has 6 integrated transgene copies, no dramatic decrease in general mobility was observed even at 6 months of age. OCT examinations reveal no major changes in the ONL structure of the 6-months old pigs. The retina morphology was well conserved in the 2 pigs sacrificed (3 and 6 months old) except a noticeable displacement of some cone nuclei in the outer segment layer.Conclusions: Lentiviral-directed transgenesis is a rapid and straightforward method to engineer transgenic pigs. Some Arr3-GUCY2DE837D/R838S pigs show signs of retinal dysfunction but further work is needed to describe the progression of the disease in this model.

Animal Toxins: How is Complexity Represented in Databases?

Peptide toxins synthesized by venomous animals have been extensively studied in the last decades. To be useful to the scientific community, this knowledge has been stored, annotated and made easy to retrieve by several databases. The aim of this article is to present what type of information users can access from each database. ArachnoServer and ConoServer focus on spider toxins and cone snail toxins, respectively. UniProtKB, a generalist protein knowledgebase, has an animal toxin-dedicated annotation program that includes toxins from all venomous animals. Finally, the ATDB metadatabase compiles data and annotations from other databases and provides toxin ontology.

Heat kernels and thermodynamics in Rindler space

We point out that using the heat kernel on a cone to compute the first quantum correction to the entropy of Rindler space does not yield the correct temperature dependence. In order to obtain the physics at arbitrary temperature one must compute the heat kernel in a geometry with different topology (without a conical singularity). This is done in two ways, which are shown to agree with computations performed by other methods. Also, we discuss the ambiguities in the regularization procedure and their physical consequences.