50 years of changing diversity in global food supplies

Newly released infographics show how the so-called “globalized diet” has emerged. It’s the story of massive change over the past 50 years in the foods people eat, of crop winners and losers, and most of all, of increasing similarity in the food supplies of countries worldwide. Here are five graphs that together describe some of the the most important changes in food diversity over the past five decade

The Proterozoic Guanhães banded iron formations, Southeastern border of the São Francisco Craton, Brazil: evidence of detrital contamination

A sequência supracrustal Guanhães, portadora de formações ferríferas bandadas (BIFs), ocorre como fatias tectônicas superpostas ao embasamento de terrenos granito-gnáissicos do tipo TTG de idade Arqueana, desenvolvidas no limite entre o período Proterozoico e o Paleozoico, durante a colagem Brasiliana. A idade máxima de deposição da sucessão é de ~2,18 Ga e foi determinada por datação de zircões detríticos em quartzitos. Além de quartzitos, a sucessão é composta por xistos, BIFs, gnaisses e anfibolitos, todos metamorfisados em condições de fácies anfibolito. A análise dos Elementos Terras Raras + Y (ETR+Y), normalizados ao PASS, para as BIFs de Guanhães, mostra enriquecimento em ETR pesados e anomalia positiva de Eu. Dois tipos de contaminação foram observados nas amostras. O primeiro é uma contaminação detrítica que resultou em baixos valores de Y/Ho (< 30) e Pr/Yb (SN). As evidências de contaminação desse tipo, combinadas à análise do empilhamento estratigráfico do pacote de rochas supracrustais, indicam que as BIFs de Guanhães foram depositadas em ambiente marinho raso. Um evento Cambriano expressivo está presente nos dados relativos à datação de zircões. O segundo tipo de contaminação resultou em maiores valores de anomalia de Eu, anomalia positiva de Ce e maiores concentrações de ETR, possivelmente devido à interação entre fluidos magmáticos posteriores e as BIFs de Guanhães. As amostras sem contaminação mostram distribuição de ETR semelhante a outras BIFs Précambrianas, particularmente às BIFs da Sequência do Morro Escuro e do Grupo Serra da Serpentina, com ausência de anomalia verdadeira de Ce e Y/Ho próximo aos valores da água do mar (45). Os dados geocronológicos e geoquímicos apresentados neste artigo sugerem correlação entre a sucessão supracrustal de Guanhães (GSSu) e os Grupos Serra da Serpentina e Serra de São José.The Guanhães banded iron formation (BIF) bearing succession occurs as tectonic slices, juxtaposed to Archean TTG granite-gneissic basement rock, developed during the Neoproterozoic-Cambrian Brasiliano collage. The succession has a maximum depositional age of ~2.18 Ga, from detrital zircons in quartzite, and consists of quartzites, schists, BIFs, gneiss and amphibolite, all metamorphosed under amphibolite facies conditions. The Guanhães BIF shows HREE enrichment and consistent positive Eu anomaly (PAAS-normalized REE+Y). Two types of contamination were observed in the samples. The first is contamination by an exotic detrital component, which resulted in low Y/Ho (< 30) and Pr/Yb (SN) ratios. Evidence of such contamination, combined with inferred stratigraphic stacking data, indicates that the Guanhães BIFs were deposited on a shallow marine environment. The second type of contamination resulted in higher Eu-anomalies, positive Ce-anomalies, and higher REE+Y concentrations, possibly due to the interaction between later magmatic fluids and the Guanhães BIF. A strong Cambrian event is recorded in zircon age data. The uncontaminated samples display REE+Y distribution similar to other Precambrian BIFs, particularly those from the Morro-Escuro Sequence and the Serra da Serpentina Group, without true Ce-anomalies and Y/Ho close to seawater values (45). Geochronological and geochemical data presented in this paper strongly suggest a correlation between the Guanhães supracrustal succession and the Serra da Serpentina and Serra de São José Groups.

M-Theory Moduli Space and Cosmology

We conduct a systematic search for a viable string/M-theory cosmology, focusing on cosmologies that include an era of slow-roll inflation, after which the moduli are stabilized and the Universe is in a state with an acceptably small cosmological constant. We observe that the duality relations between different cosmological backgrounds of string/M-theory moduli space are greatly simplified, and that this simplification leads to a truncated moduli space within which possible cosmological solutions lie. We review some known challenges to four dimensional models in the "outer", perturbative, region of moduli space, and use duality relations to extend them to models of all of the (compactified) perturbative string theories and 11D supergravity, including brane world models. We conclude that cosmologies restricted to the outer region are not viable, and that the most likely region of moduli space in which to find realistic cosmology is the "central", non-perturbative region, with coupling and compact volume both of order unity, in string units.Comment: 42 pages, 3 figure

In vitro Evaluation of the Antimicrobial Effect of N-acetylcysteine and Photodynamic Therapy on Root Canals Infected with Enterococcus faecalis

Introduction: This study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of N-acetylcysteine (NAC), photodynamic therapy (PDT) and NAC with supplemental PDT in optimizing the removal of bacteria from infected dentinal tubules of root canals infected with Enterococcus (E.) faecalis biofilm. Methods and Materials: Eighty human teeth were randomly divided into 5 groups (n=16) according to the intracanal medication used: saline solution (control); calcium hydroxide (CH); NAC; PDT; NAC+PDT. Ten samples from each group were prepared for microbiological culture analysis (CFU/mL) and were inoculated with E. faecalis suspension for 21 days for biofilm development; the other six samples from each group were prepared for scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM) and submitted to a 5-days contamination protocol including eight centrifugation cycles on every other day for dentinal tubules infection. For antimicrobial activity analysis by microbiological culture, the root canals were contaminated with E. faecalis biofilm, instrumented and then medicated according to the experimental groups. Three samples were collected from the root canals: after 21-days of contamination, immediately after the instrumentation and 14-days after the medication according to the experimental groups. The morphology of E. faecalis biofilm on the root canal walls and bacterial cells viability were assessed by means of SEM and CLSM, respectively. One-way ANOVA and Repeated Measures ANOVA tests were used to analyze the obtained data statistically. Results: CFU/mL analysis showed that CH, NAC and NAC+PDT promoted greater antibacterial activity with statistically significant difference compared to saline solution and PDT (P<0.0001). However, saline solution and PDT were statistically similar. Illustrative images by SEM confirmed partially the CFU/mL results. CLSM showed that all groups were effective eliminating E. faecalis except for the saline solution group. Conclusions: Based on this in vitro study NAC was bactericidal against E. faecalis biofilms regardless PDT stimulation, presenting similar antimicrobial activity to CH

Curvatons in Supersymmetric Models

We study the curvaton scenario in supersymmetric framework paying particular attention to the fact that scalar fields are inevitably complex in supersymmetric theories. If there are more than one scalar fields associated with the curvaton mechanism, isocurvature (entropy) fluctuations between those fields in general arise, which may significantly affect the properties of the cosmic density fluctuations. We examine several candidates for the curvaton in the supersymmetric framework, such as moduli fields, Affleck-Dine field, $F$- and $D$-flat directions, and right-handed sneutrino. We estimate how the isocurvature fluctuations generated in each case affect the cosmic microwave background angular power spectrum. With the use of the recent observational result of the WMAP, stringent constraints on the models are derived and, in particular, it is seen that large fraction of the parameter space is excluded if the Affleck-Dine field plays the role of the curvaton field. Natural and well-motivated candidates of the curvaton are also listed.Comment: 34 pages, 5 figure

Wild Beans (Phaseolus L.) of North America

The wild relatives of the five domesticated species of bean (Phaseolus L.) are widely distributed across the tropics and subtropics of the New World, with taxa extending from the Canadian border to Argentina, and on the Caribbean Islands, Bermuda, and the Galapagos Islands. Mesoamerica holds the largest concentration of species, particularly in the highlands of central Mexico, northward along the Sierra Madre Occidental, and south to Chiapas. The progenitors and close relatives of all five domesticates are also concentrated in this region. Plant breeding involving the use of wild relatives has almost entirely been directed toward the improvement of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.), the most widely cultivated species, and successful contributions have mostly come from its progenitor (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) and a few other taxa. Wild relatives are considered to possess novel useful genetic variation that has not yet been fully explored. A number of wild Phaseolus are rare endemics that are threatened in their natural habitats and are insufficiently protected in situ. Significant ex situ collections of wild Phaseolus are maintained at the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), the USDA-ARS National Plant Germplasm System, within the Sistema Nacional de Recursos Fitogenéticos para la Alimentación y la Agricultura (SINAREFI) Conservation Centers Network in Mexico, and at the Botanic Garden Meise, Belgium. Unfortunately, over 26% of Phaseolus taxa are not represented at all in these ex situ conservation facilities, and another 29% are represented by less than ten accessions, making over half of the species highly underrepresented in genebanks. Further efforts to enhance the protection of vulnerable species in their natural habitats, and further collecting to fill critical gaps in germplasm collections, are warranted

NOVOS DADOS GEOCRONOLÓGICOS U-Pb DE ZIRCÕES DETRÍTICOS NA SERRA DO ESPINHAÇO MERIDIONAL, REGIÕES DE ALTAMIRA E IPOEMA

A Serra do Espinhaço Meridional é representada principalmente pelas unidades do Supergrupo Espinhaço formado por um espesso pacote de quartzitos, filitos e metaconglomerados, com metavulcânicas, formações ferríferas bandadas e carbonatos subordinados. As rochas metassedimentares da região de Altamira e Ipoema foram divididas em três unidades litoestratigráficas: a Unidade Basal constituída por metaconglomerado e quartzito, a Unidade Intermediária constituída por quartzito com metaconglomerados e filitos associados e a Unidade Superior constituída por quartzitos com estratificação cruzada de grande porte. A área estudada foi dividida em dois domínios estruturais: Oeste, onde as rochas estão dobradas formando sinclinais e anticlinais em escala macroscópica e Leste, onde prevalece uma tectônica de cavalgamentos frontais formando cavalos tectônicos de direção aproximada N-S vergentes para oeste. A deposição sedimentar nesta região iniciou ao final do Paleoproterozoico no período Estateriano, com idade máxima de deposição dos sedimentos em 1.751 ± 19 Ma. A distribuição das idades indica um preenchimento da bacia nesta região por aporte de fontes mais antigas predominantemente autóctones localizadas a norte e oeste da bacia, sendo a maioria relacionada a terrenos de idade riaciana/orosiriana, seguido pelos mesoarqueanos/neoarqueanos e estaterianos, com pequena contribuição alóctone relacionada a terrenos de idade sideriana e paleoarqueana

Clinical features of De Novo acute myeloid leukemia with concurrent DNMT3A, FLT3 and NPM1 mutations

BACKGROUND: De novo acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with concurrent DNMT3A, FLT3 and NPM1 mutations (AML(DNMT3A/FLT3/NPM1)) has been suggested to represent a unique AML subset on the basis of integrative genomic analysis, but the clinical features of such patients have not been characterized systematically. METHODS: We assessed the features of patients (n = 178) harboring mutations in DNMT3A, FLT3 and/or NPM1, including an index group of AML(DNMT3A/FLT3/NPM1) patients. RESULTS: Patients with AML(DNMT3A/FLT3/NPM1) (n = 35) were significantly younger (median, 56.0 vs. 62.0 years; p = 0.025), mostly women (65.7% vs. 46.9%; p = 0.045), and presented with a higher percentage of bone marrow blasts (p < 0.001) and normal cytogenetics (p = 0.024) in comparison to patients within other mutation groups in this study. Among patients <60 years old, those with AML(DNMT3A/FLT3/NPM1) had a shorter event-free survival (EFS) (p = 0.047). DNMT3A mutations and not FLT3 or NPM1 mutations were independently associated with overall survival (OS) (p = 0.026). Within mutation subgroups, patients with AML(DNMT3A/NPM1) had a significantly shorter OS compared to those with AML(FLT3-ITD/NPM1) (p = 0.047) suggesting that the adverse impact of DNMT3A mutations is more pronounced than that of FLT3-ITD among patients with NPM1 mutation. CONCLUSIONS: DNMT3A has a significant dominant effect on the clinical features and outcomes of de novo AML patients with concurrent DNMT3A, FLT3 and NPM1 mutations. ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13045-014-0074-4) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users