Evolution of Siderian juvenile crust to Rhyacian high Ba-Sr magmatism in the Mineiro Belt, southern S?o Francisco Craton.

Plutonic rocks from the Mineiro Belt, Brazil record a delayed onset of the transition from TTG to sanukitoid-type magmatism (high Ba-Sr), starting during the Siderian magmatic lull when little juvenile magma was added to the continental crust. Rocks mostly belong to the calc-alkaline series, meta- to peraluminous and originally ?I-type?, meaning that oxidized magmas were formed by partial melting of subducted material. The temporal distribution and apparent secular changes of the magmas are consistent with the onset of subduction-driven plate tectonics due to an increase of the subduction angle and opening of the mantle wedge. New isotopic analyses (Sm-Nd whole rock and Lu-Hf in zircon) corroborate the restricted juvenile nature of the Mineiro Belt and confirm the genetic link between the Lagoa Dourada Suite, a rare ca. 2350 Ma high-Al tonalite-trondhjemite magmatic event, and the sanukitoid-type ca. 2130 Ma Alto Maranh?o Suite. U-Pb dating of zircon and titanite constrain the crystallisation history of plutonic bodies; coupled with major and trace element analyses of the host rocks, they distinguish evolutionary trends in the Mineiro Belt. Several plutons in the region have ages close to 2130 Ma but are distinguished by the lower concentration of compatible elements in the juvenile high Ba-Sr suite

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Two billion years of evolution enclosed in hydrothermal rutile : recycling of the S?o Francisco Craton Crust and constraints on gold remobilisation processes.

The Quadril?tero Ferr?fero in the S?o Francisco Craton, Brazil is known for itsworld-class gold deposits hosted by the Rio das Velhas greenstone belt (RdV). As in other greenstone belts, gold is also concentrated in late Archean/ early Paleoproterozoic supracrustal units; in this casewithin the Moeda Formation. This unit has been compared to theWitwatersrand basinwhere there has been a long-termdebate over the nature of the gold andwhether it is detrital (placer), hydrothermal or hybrid (modified placer). Presently, links between gold in the Moeda Formation and RdV are tenuous. To enlighten this area of ambiguity, a new approach using chemical, isotopic andmineral inclusion data from detrital rutile found in the gold-bearing horizons of the Moeda Formation is presented. Grain textures and mineral inclusions have contributed to establishing a primary hydrothermal origin for the rutile, related to As-Fe-Cu-Sb-Pb-Wrich mineralising fluids. Fe, Nb and V indicate that the likely source of the goldrelated rutiles is the Archean banded iron formations within the RdV, where most of the lode-gold occurs. Average Nb/Ta values of these rutiles are lower than average continental crust ratios which suggests fractionation driven by fluid precipitation and/or competing mineral phases. U-Pb data yield primary crystallization ages older than deposition ages (N2.58 Ga), supporting the detrital nature of these rutiles. Rutiles record either resetting or new growth at 2.1 Ga and at ca. 500 Ma, duringwhich goldwas remobilised. Hence, this study supports a modified placer model for the gold-bearing horizons of the Moeda Formation. These fluid-assisted gold remobilisation events can be found in other correlated Paleoproterozoic gold-bearing horizon units that represent intracratonic basins related to the rifting of the Kenorland Supercontinent. This study reinforces the suitability of rutile and mineral inclusions as a powerful tool to elucidate processes and provenance

Polymorphisms in the transcription factor NRF2 and forearm vasodilator responses in humans

OBJECTIVE: Oxidative stress is integral to the development of endothelial dysfunction and cardiovascular disease. As NRF2 is a key transcription factor in antioxidant defense, we aimed to determine whether polymorphisms within the promoter region of the gene encoding NRF2 (NFE2L2) would significantly modify vasodilator responses in humans. METHODS: Associations between the – 653A/G (rs35652124), – 651G/A (rs6706649), and – 617C/A (rs6721961) polymorphisms within the NFE2L2 promoter and vascular function were evaluated in healthy African-American (n= 64) and white (n= 184) individuals. Forearm blood flow (FBF) was measured by strain-gauge venous occlusion plethysmography at baseline and in response to incremental doses of bradykinin or sodium nitroprusside. Forearm vascular resistance (FVR) was calculated as the mean arterial pressure/FBF. RESULTS: In African Americans, – 653G variant allele carriers had significantly lower FBF and higher FVR under basal conditions as well as in response to bradykinin or sodium nitroprusside compared with wild-type individuals (P< 0.05 for each comparison). In whites, although no significant associations were observed with the – 653A/G genotype, – 617A variant allele carriers had significantly higher FVR at baseline and in response to bradykinin or sodium nitroprusside compared with wild-type individuals (P < 0.05 for each comparison). The – 651G/A polymorphism was not associated with vasodilator responses in either racial group. CONCLUSION: Polymorphisms within the NFE2L2 promoter were associated with impaired forearm vasodilator responses in an endothelial-independent manner, suggesting an important role of NRF2 in the regulation of vascular function in humans

A new appraisal of sri lankan bb zircon as a reference material for LA-ICP-MS U-Pb geochronology and Lu-Hf isotope tracing.

A potential zircon reference material (BB zircon) for laser abla tion-in ductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-M S)U-Pb geochronology and Hf isotope geochemistry is described. A batch of twenty zircon megacrysts (0.5?1.5 cm3) from SriLanka was studied. Within-grain rare earth element (REE) compositions are largely homogeneous, albeit with somevariation seen between fractured and homogeneous domains. Excluding fractured cathodoluminescence bright domains,the variation in U content for all analysed crystals ranged from 227 to 368 lgg-1and the average Th/U ratios werebetween 0.20 and 0.47. The Hf isotope composition (0.56?0.84 g/100 g Hf) is homogeneous within and between thegrains ? mean176Hf/177Hf of 0.281674 ? 0.000018 (2s). The calculated alpha dose of 0.59 3 1018g-1for a numberof BB grains falls within the trend of previously studied, untreated zircon samples from Sri Lanka. Aliquots of the samecrystal (analysed by ID-TIMS in four different laboratories) gave consistent U-Pb ages with excellent measurementreproducibility (0.1?0.4% RSD). Interlaboratory assessment (by LA-ICP-MS) from individual crystals returned results that arewithin uncertainty equivalent to the TIMS ages. Finally, we report on within- and between-grain homogeneity of theoxygen isotope systematic of four BB crystals (13.16? VSMOW)