290,485 research outputs found
Immune system derived from homeostatic proliferation generates normal CD8 T-cell memory but altered repertoires and diminished heterologous immune responses
No full textThe host responds to lymphopenic environments by acute homeostatic proliferation of T lymphocytes, which acquire phenotypes similar to memory cells. Using T-cell knockout (KO) mice adoptively reconstituted with splenocytes from immunologically naive mice, we examined the immune responses of an immune system derived from homeostatically proliferating (HP) T cells. HP cells mounted relatively normal acute CD8 T-cell responses to lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV), but with altered T-cell receptor (TCR) repertoires, and they became functional memory cells capable of recall responses. Although homeostatic proliferation does not normally fully restore T-cell numbers, the CD8(+) T-cell pool was completely restored in T-cell KO mice after LCMV infection. CD4 T-cell responses were lower and not fully restored but seemed sufficient to allow for complete differentiation of CD8 memory T cells. The LCMV-immune HP mouse had an immune repertoire heavily biased with LCMV epitope-specific T cells with oligoclonal expansions. LCMV-immune HP mice had reduced cross-reactive and non-cross-reactive CD8 T-cell responses when challenged with a T cell-cross-reactive virus. Thus, whereas an HP immune system is capable of mounting relatively normal acute and memory CD8 T-cell responses, the narrowing of the T-cell repertoire may reduce immune responses to subsequently encountered pathogens.Immunology and Virolog
A low-complexity ECG feature extraction algorithm for mobile healthcare applications
Get PDFThis paper introduces a low-complexity algorithm for the extraction of the fiducial points from the Electrocardiogram (ECG). The application area we consider is that of remote cardiovascular monitoring, where continuous sensing and processing takes place in low-power, computationally constrained devices, thus the power consumption and complexity of the processing algorithms should remain at a minimum level. Under this context, we choose to employ the Discrete Wavelet Transform (DWT) with the Haar function being the mother wavelet, as our principal analysis method. From the modulus-maxima analysis on the DWT coefficients, an approximation of the ECG fiducial points is extracted. These initial findings are complimented with a refinement stage, based on the time-domain morphological properties of the ECG, which alleviates the decreased temporal resolution of the DWT. The resulting algorithm is a hybrid scheme of time and frequency domain signal processing. Feature extraction results from 27 ECG signals from QTDB, were tested against manual annotations and used to compare our approach against the state-of-the art ECG delineators. In addition, 450 signals from the 15-lead PTBDB are used to evaluate the obtained performance against the CSE tolerance limits. Our findings indicate that all but one CSE limits are satisfied. This level of performance combined with a complexity analysis, where the upper bound of the proposed algorithm, in terms of arithmetic operations, is calculated as 2:423N + 214 additions and 1:093N + 12 multiplications for N 861 or 2:553N + 102 additions and 1:093N +10 multiplications for N > 861 (N being the number of input samples), reveals that the proposed method achieves an ideal trade-off between computational complexity and performance, a key requirement in remote CVD monitoring systems
A Rosary of Rubies: The Chronicle of the Gur-rigs mDo-chen Tradition from South-Western Tibet
Get PDFThe mDo-chen bKa’-brgyud-pa school represents a little known Buddhist tradition from Mang-yul Gung-thang in south-western Tibet. It goes back to a Buddhist yogin known as Ma-bdun-pa or Ma-bdun ras-chen (12th/13th c.) and was later mainly spread by members of the Gur family. Although belonging to the “Upper ’Brug” (stod ’brug) branch of the ’Brug-pa bKa’-brgyud-pa school, the mDo-chen tradition has always been deeply infused with the “spoken teachings” (bka’ ma) and “treasure teachings” (gter ma) of the rNying-ma-pa school, and the cult of the “Seven Ma-mo Sisters” (ma mo mched bdun) was particularly practised and transmitted by its members. This book presents a critical edition, an annotated translation and a photographic reproduction of a manuscript copy of a rare chronicle of the Gur-rigs mDo-chen tradition written by Brag-dkar rta-so sPrul-sku Chos-kyi dbang-phyug (1775–1837). The text provides us with an overview of the tradition’s development mainly through biographical accounts but also through prophecies, prayers and praises for individual masters. The study concludes with two appendices based on the mDo chen bka’ brgyud gser ’phreng, a lineage history composed in the 15th century, and the “records of teachings received” (thob yig) of three important members of the Gur family, thus allowing us to gain an insight into the transmissions of the mDo-chen bKa’-brgyud-pa school and the interactions of its representatives with other important Buddhist teachers up to the 18th century. The present work is a further outcome of the author’s investigations into the cultural and religious traditions of south-western Tibet and the neighbouring Himalayan valleys
Amynthas pomosus Chen 1946
No full textAmynthas pomosus (Chen, 1946) Pheretima pomosa Chen, 1946: 139, Pl. IV, Fig. D. Pheretima domosa Chen, 1946: 102; Do 1994: 71; Nakamura 1999: 46; Huynh & Nguyen 2004a: 115; Blakemore 2007a: 30, " nomen nudum ". Amynthas domosus— Sims & Easton 1972: 234. Amynthas pomosus— Blakemore 2007a: 82, "emend". Type locality. China (Szechuan). Type material. Unknown. Records from Vietnam. Lao Cai (Sa Pa), Hanoi (Ba Vi NP) (Do 1994; Huynh & Nguyen 2004a). Distribution. China (Chen 1946). Remarks. Blakemore (2007a) restored name under ICZN (1999: Art. 32.5) from incorrect original spelling of the name as " domosa " by Chen (1946: 102) for " pomosa " as cited by Chen (1946: 139 and Plate IV D). Sims & Easton (1972: 234) and Reynolds & Cook (1976: 95) have erroneously retained the name " domosus ".Published as part of Nguyen, Tung T., Nguyen, Anh D., Tran, Binh T. T. & Blakemore, Robert J., 2016, A comprehensive checklist of earthworm species and subspecies from Vietnam (Annelida: Clitellata: Oligochaeta: Almidae, Eudrilidae, Glossoscolecidae, Lumbricidae, Megascolecidae, Moniligastridae, Ocnerodrilidae, Octochaetidae), pp. 1-92 in Zootaxa 4140 (1) on page 44, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4140.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/25650
Amynthas zoysiae Chen 1933
No full textAmynthas zoysiae (Chen, 1933) Pheretima zoysiae Chen, 1933: 288; Le 1995a: 46; Nakamura 1999: 22; Thai 2000a: 310; Huynh et al. 2005: 180. Type locality. China (Chekiang: Lin-hai). Type material. ZMNU (No. 570). Records from Vietnam. Bac Giang (Luc Ngan); Phu Tho (Doan Hung; Xuan Son NP) (Le 1995a; Huynh et al. 2005). Distribution. China (Chen 1933). Remarks. The species was synonymized with Amynthas minimus (Horst, 1893) (Easton 1981; Blakemore 2002), but Shen and Yeo (2005) re-validated this species. A. zoysiae differs from A. minimus in lower setal number and larger prostate glands (Shen & Yeo 2005: 22).Published as part of Nguyen, Tung T., Nguyen, Anh D., Tran, Binh T. T. & Blakemore, Robert J., 2016, A comprehensive checklist of earthworm species and subspecies from Vietnam (Annelida: Clitellata: Oligochaeta: Almidae, Eudrilidae, Glossoscolecidae, Lumbricidae, Megascolecidae, Moniligastridae, Ocnerodrilidae, Octochaetidae), pp. 1-92 in Zootaxa 4140 (1) on page 49, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4140.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/25650
Amynthas mamillaris Chen 1938
No full textAmynthas mamillaris (Chen, 1938) Pheretima mamillaris Chen, 1938: 413, Fig. 15; Le 1995a: 33; Nakamura 1999: 35. Amynthas mamillaris— Sims & Easton 1972: 236, 244; Blakemore 2007a: 62. Type locality. China (Hainan Isl.). Type material. Unknown. Examined material. 8 C (SORC-V.149.01) near stream, Viet Lam, Vi Xuyen, Ha Giang, 5/12/1993, coll. Le Van Trien. Records from Vietnam. Ha Giang (Vi Xuyen) (Le 1995a). Distribution. China (Chen 1938). Vietnamese name. Giun núm vú.Published as part of Nguyen, Tung T., Nguyen, Anh D., Tran, Binh T. T. & Blakemore, Robert J., 2016, A comprehensive checklist of earthworm species and subspecies from Vietnam (Annelida: Clitellata: Oligochaeta: Almidae, Eudrilidae, Glossoscolecidae, Lumbricidae, Megascolecidae, Moniligastridae, Ocnerodrilidae, Octochaetidae), pp. 1-92 in Zootaxa 4140 (1) on page 38, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4140.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/25650
Malabaria levis Chen 1938
No full textMalabaria levis (Chen, 1938) Filodrilus levis Chen, 1938: 422, Fig. 19. Malabaria levis— Gates 1942: 92; Gates 1972: 265; Thai 1983: 121; Thai 2000a: 311; Thai 2000b: 1; Blakemore 2008. Type locality. China (Hainan Isl.). Type material. Unknown. Records from Vietnam. Hanoi (Tu Liem) (Thai 2000b). Distribution. Myanmar, China (Chen 1938; Gates 1972). Vietnamese name. Giun malabaria nhỏ.Published as part of Nguyen, Tung T., Nguyen, Anh D., Tran, Binh T. T. & Blakemore, Robert J., 2016, A comprehensive checklist of earthworm species and subspecies from Vietnam (Annelida: Clitellata: Oligochaeta: Almidae, Eudrilidae, Glossoscolecidae, Lumbricidae, Megascolecidae, Moniligastridae, Ocnerodrilidae, Octochaetidae), pp. 1-92 in Zootaxa 4140 (1) on page 80, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4140.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/25650
Metaphire leonoris Chen 1946
No full textMetaphire leonoris (Chen, 1946) Pheretima leonoris Chen, 1946: 114, Plate VII, Fig. A; Do 1994: 89; Nakamura 1999: 31; Thai 2000a: 309; Huynh & Nguyen 2004a: 115. Metaphire leonoris— Sims & Easton 1972: 238; Blakemore 2007a: 58. Type locality. Szechuan (China). Type material. Unknown. Records from Vietnam. Lao Cai (Sa Pa); Hanoi (Ba Vi NP) (Do 1994; Huynh & Nguyen 2004a). Distribution. China (Szechuan) (Chen 1946). Remarks. Chen (1946) recorded two coloration types of the species: white specimens living in the yellow clays and dark specimens living in humus soils. The species was only known from highly mountainous areas (1,800m a.s.l. in Szechuan and 2,000m a.s.l. in Sa Pa). Do (1994) assumed that it could be an endemic species for mountainous areas in Indochina and Southern China. No material was examined because of lack of available specimens.Published as part of Nguyen, Tung T., Nguyen, Anh D., Tran, Binh T. T. & Blakemore, Robert J., 2016, A comprehensive checklist of earthworm species and subspecies from Vietnam (Annelida: Clitellata: Oligochaeta: Almidae, Eudrilidae, Glossoscolecidae, Lumbricidae, Megascolecidae, Moniligastridae, Ocnerodrilidae, Octochaetidae), pp. 1-92 in Zootaxa 4140 (1) on page 61, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4140.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/25650
Amynthas asacceus Chen 1938
No full textAmynthas asacceus (Chen, 1938) Pheretima assaccea Chen, 1938: 382; Do 1994: 59; Le 1995a: 47; Thai 2000a: 308. Amynthas assacceus— Sims & Easton 1972: 236. Amynthas asacceus— Tsai et al. 2001: 284; Blakemore 2007a: 9; Blakemore 2008b. Pheretima pusilla Ohfuchi, 1956: 138 (non Ude, 1893 = A. minimus), synonymized by Tsai et al. (2000, 2001). Pheretima medipusilla Nakamura, 1999: 2, nom. nov., pro Pheretima pusilla Ohfuchi, 1956. Type locality. China (Hainan). Type material. Unknown. Records from Vietnam. Yen Bai (Luc Yen; Bao Ha); Ninh Binh (Cuc Phuong NP) (Do 1994; Le 1995a; Thai 1982). Distribution. China, Japan (Chen 1938; Nakamura 1999). Remarks. An "incorrect original spelling" (under ICZN, 1999: Art. 32.5.1.1) as Pheretima assaccea was subsequently corrected by Chen in an ERRATA sheet to asaccea (Tsai et al. 2001). Thus, it is often misspelt as " Amynthas assacceus ". No re-examination was made because of lack of available specimens. Do (1994) stated that the population found in northwestern Vietnam has additional genital markings on spermathecal region.Published as part of Nguyen, Tung T., Nguyen, Anh D., Tran, Binh T. T. & Blakemore, Robert J., 2016, A comprehensive checklist of earthworm species and subspecies from Vietnam (Annelida: Clitellata: Oligochaeta: Almidae, Eudrilidae, Glossoscolecidae, Lumbricidae, Megascolecidae, Moniligastridae, Ocnerodrilidae, Octochaetidae), pp. 1-92 in Zootaxa 4140 (1) on page 15, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4140.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/25650
Amynthas acidophilus Chen 1946
No full textAmynthas acidophilus (Chen, 1946) Pheretima acidophila Chen, 1946: 111, Plate VI, Fig. B; Do 1994: 54; Nakamura 1999: 27; Thai 2000a: 307; Huynh & Nguyen 2004b: 70. Amynthas acidophilus— Sims & Easton 1972: 237. Amynthas? acidophilus— Blakemore 2007a: 3; Blakemore 2008b. Type locality. China (Szechuan). Type material. Unknown. Records from Vietnam. Lao Cai (Sa Pa); Ninh Binh (Cuc Phuong NP); Bac Giang (Hiep Hoa) (Do 1994; Huynh & Nguyen 2004b). Distribution. Vietnam (Do 1994), China (Chen 1946). Vietnamese name. Giun ưa chua. Remarks. Chen (1946) noted that the species was usually found under mosses on trees, occasionally on dead trees, but never on the ground. To the contrary, it was collected on the ground in Vietnam (Huynh & Nguyen 2004b).Published as part of Nguyen, Tung T., Nguyen, Anh D., Tran, Binh T. T. & Blakemore, Robert J., 2016, A comprehensive checklist of earthworm species and subspecies from Vietnam (Annelida: Clitellata: Oligochaeta: Almidae, Eudrilidae, Glossoscolecidae, Lumbricidae, Megascolecidae, Moniligastridae, Ocnerodrilidae, Octochaetidae), pp. 1-92 in Zootaxa 4140 (1) on pages 12-13, DOI: 10.11646/zootaxa.4140.1.1, http://zenodo.org/record/25650
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