The History of the Common Bean

The History of the Common Bean The domestication history of the common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is vital to understanding the origins of farming.  Beans are one of the three sisters of traditional agricultural cropping methods reported by European colonists in North America: Native Americans wisely intercropped maize, squash, and beans, providing a healthful and environmentally sound way of capitalizing on their various characteristics.   Beans are one of the most important domestic legumes in the world, because of their high concentrations of protein, fiber, and complex carbohydrates. P. vulgaris is by far the most economically important domesticated species of the genus Phaseolus. Domesticate Properties P. vulgaris beans come in an enormous variety of shapes, sizes, and colors, from pinto to pink to black to white. Despite this diversity, wild and domestic beans belong to the same species, as do all of the colorful varieties (landraces) of beans, which are believed to be the result of a mixture of population bottlenecks and purposeful selection. The main difference between wild and cultivated beans is, well, domestic beans are less exciting. There is a significant increase in seed weight, and the seed pods are less likely to shatter than wild forms: but the primary change is a decrease in the  variability of grain size, seed coat thickness and water intake during cooking. Domestic plants are also annuals rather than perennials, a selected trait for reliability. Despite their colorful variety, the domestic bean is much more predictable. Centers Of Domestication Scholarly research indicates that beans were domesticated in two places: the Andes mountains of Peru, and the Lerma-Santiago basin of Mexico. The wild common bean grows today in the Andes and Guatemala: two separate large gene pools of the wild types have been identified, based on the variation in the type of phaseolin (seed protein) in the seed, DNA marker diversity, mitochondrial DNA variation and amplified fragment length polymorphism, and short sequence repeats marker data. The Middle American gene pool extends from Mexico through Central America and into Venezuela; the Andean gene pool is found from southern Peru to northwestern Argentina. The two gene pools diverged some 11,000 years ago. In general, Mesoamerican seeds are small (under 25 grams per 100 seeds) or medium (25-40 gm/100 seeds), with one type of phaseolin, the major seed storage protein of the common bean. The Andean form has much larger seeds (greater than 40 gm/100 seed weight), with a different type phaseolin. Recognized landraces in Mesoamerica include Jalisco in coastal Mexico near Jalisco state; Durango in the central Mexican highlands, which includes pinto, great northern, small red and pink beans; and Mesoamerican, in lowland tropical Central American, which includes black, navy and small white. Andean cultivars include Peruvian, in the Andean highlands of Peru; Chilean in northern Chile and Argentina; and Nueva Granada in Colombia. Andean beans include the commercial forms of dark and light red kidney, white kidney, and cranberry beans. Origins in Mesoamerica In 2012, work by a group of geneticists led by Roberto Papa was published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (Bitocchi et al. 2012), making an argument for a Mesoamerican origin of all beans. Papa and colleagues examined the nucleotide diversity for five different genes found in all forms- wild and domesticated, and including examples from the Andes, Mesoamerica and an intermediary location between Peru and Ecuador- and looked at the geographic distribution of the genes. This study suggests that the wild form spread from Mesoamerica, into Ecuador and Columbia and then into the Andes, where a severe bottleneck reduced the gene diversity, at some time before domestication. Domestication later took place in the Andes and in Mesoamerica, independently. The importance of the original location of beans is due to the wild adaptability of the original plant, which allowed it to move into a wide variety of climatic regimes, from the lowland tropics of Mesoamerica into the Andean highlands. Dating the Domestication While the exact date of domestication for beans has not yet been determined, wild landraces have been discovered in archaeological sites dated to 10,000 years ago in Argentina and 7,000 years ago in Mexico. In Mesoamerica, the earliest cultivation of domestic common beans occurred before ~2500 in the Tehuacan valley (at Coxcatlan), 1300 BP in Tamaulipas (at (Romeros and Valenzuelas Caves near Ocampo), 2100 BP in the Oaxaca valley (at Guila Naquitz). Starch grains from Phaseolus were recovered from human teeth from Las Pircas phase sites in Andean Peru dated between ~6970-8210 RCYBP (about 7800-9600 calendar years before the present). Sources Angioi, SA. Beans in Europe: origin and structure of the European landraces of Phaseolus vulgaris L. Rau D, Attene G, et al., National Center for Biotechnology Information, U.S. National Library of Medicine, September 2010. Bitocchi E, Nanni L, Bellucci E, Rossi M, Giardini A, Spagnoletti Zeuli P, Logozzo G, Stougaard J, McClean P, Attene G et al. 2012. Mesoamerican origin of the common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) is revealed by sequence data. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Early Edition. Brown CH, Clement CR, Epps P, Luedeling E, and Wichmann S. 2014. The Paleobiolinguistics of the Common Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.). Ethnobiology Letters 5(12):104-115. Kwak, M. Structure of genetic diversity in the two major gene pools of common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L., Fabaceae). Gepts P, National Center for Biotechnology Information, U.S. National Library of Medicine, March 2009. Kwak M, Kami JA, and Gepts P. 2009. The Putative Mesoamerican Domestication Center is Located in the Lerma-Santiago Basin of Mexico. Crop Science 49(2):554-563. Mamidi S, Rossi M, Annam D, Moghaddam S, Lee R, Papa R, and McClean P. 2011. Investigation of the domestication of common bean ( Functional Plant Biology 38(12):953-967.Phaseolus vulgaris) using multilocus sequence data. Mensack M, Fitzgerald V, Ryan E, Lewis M, Thompson H, and Brick M. 2010. Evaluation of diversity among common beans (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) from two centers of domestication using omics technologies. BMC Genomics 11(1):686. Nanni, L. Nucleotide diversity of a genomic sequence similar to SHATTERPROOF (PvSHP1) in domesticated and wild common bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.). Bitocchi E, Bellucci E, et al., National Center for Biotechnology Information, U.S. National Library of Medicine, December 2011, Bethesda, MD. Peà ±a-Valdivia CB, Garcà ­a-Nava JR, Aguirre R JR, Ybarra-Moncada MC, and Là ³pez H M. 2011. Variation in Physical and Chemical Characteristics of Common Bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) Grain along a Domestication Gradient. Chemistry Biodiversity 8(12):2211-2225. Piperno DR, and Dillehay TD. 2008. Starch grains on human teeth reveal early broad crop diet in northern Peru. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 105(50):19622-19627. Scarry, C. Margaret. Crop Husbandry Practices in North America’s Eastern Woodlands. Case Studies in Environmental Archaeology, SpringerLink, 2008. J, Schmutz. A reference genome for common bean and genome-wide analysis of dual domestications. McClean PE2, Mamidi S, National Center for Biotechnology Information, U.S. National Library of Medicine, July 2014, Bethesda, MD. Tuberosa (Editor). Genomics of Plant Genetic Resources. Roberto, Graner, et al., Volume 1, SpringerLink, 2014.

NVR Firm Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

NVR Firm Analysis - Essay Example Its scope of activities though is wide ranging. It not only deals with home construction and marketing of homes, but also other related things such as financing programs, settlement, and title services care of its NVR Mortgage Finance subsidiary. It therefore seeks to cater to every need of the homebuyer. The types of homes NVR builds include single-family detached homes, town homes and condominium buildings. It offers a variety of home designs. It sells about 15,000 homes annually. The sizes of the homes range from 900 sq. ft. to 7,300 sq. ft. The prices range from $60,000 to $2.5 million with an average of $373,000. NVR went through a difficult period in the 1990s when it had to file for bankruptcy. But since then the company has restructured itself and in the 2000s is once again a leading company. In 2004 the company reported solid gains including revenues of $4.3 billion, which was a 17% increase over the previous year. Its big competitive advantage is its branching out into providing financial services because this has really helped the company increase its revenues. In 2005 it was the 10th largest homebuilder firm in the United States. (builderonline.com) NVR now has a 1.32% share of the market compared to Pulte Homes’s 3.61%. (builderonline.com) â€Å"We believe that we operate our business with a conservative operating strategy. We do not engage in land development and primarily construct homes on a pre-sold basis. This strategy allows us to maximize inventory turnover, which we believe enables us to minimize market risk and to operate with less capital, thereby enhancing rates of return on equity and total capital. In addition, we focus on obtaining and maintaining a leading market position in each market we serve. This strategy allows us to gain valuable efficiencies and competitive advantages in our markets which management believes contributes to minimizing the adverse effects of regional economic cycles and provides growth opportunities within

Are the British and Canadian Political Systems Similar Why or Why Not Essay

Are the British and Canadian Political Systems Similar Why or Why Not - Essay Example The international and domestic environment shaped by a country’s political systems has significant influences on the status of the citizens. Political systems helps the government to establish key public institutions and systems like health and education and are responsible for maintaining public order and citizen safety. This is through various agencies that are responsible for formulating, implementing, and enforcing government policies with an aim of achieving specific goals. Britain has a parliamentarian system of government where majoritarian and populism are the widely accepted political philosophy to meet the requirements of the people. History has heavily shaped Britain’s and Canada’s political systems. The political system in Britain and Canada advocate for the formation of governments by political parties that have majority control over the legislative assembly (Montpetit & Foucault, 2010). The constitution of these two countries stipulates that members of parliament should be elected through single -member plurality systems; where the elected individuals represent their constituents in parliament. These individuals must obtain the largest number of votes during elections. The party that garners the largest number of seat in parliament forms the government; with their elected members expected to support the government’s agendas and bills introduced in parliaments. These majority governments are powerful and easily pass their own policy issues irrespective of opposition by political parties outside the ruling party (Klingermann, Hofferbert & Budge, 1994). Argument This paper will argue that Britain and Canada political systems are not similar because of differences in policy making, governance, elections political structure, and parliamentary proceedings influenced by a combination of temporal, cultural, and political factors distinct and different in each country. Britain has a longer political history that has been shaped by struggles between the crown and parliament over personal prerogatives, which defines the current British constitution and executive power set up. The existing democratic leadership has been heavily influenced by civil wars, revolutions, and establishment of a superior parliament over the crown. In the Britain unitary governments, all political power is held by a single national government (Tannahill & Bedichek, 1991). This political system was unsuitable to the local situation in Canada, and they designed a federation where the constitution gave the people the right to have local control over their government (Montpetit & Foucault, 2010). The Canadian federation developed a system where the national government did not have absolute control but allowed for a constitution that would govern the people with their own set of laws. Canada has a much shorter history with the democratic leadership been shaped by continuous struggles between the prime minister and the governor general. Th e democratic rule in Britain is primarily about political representation that wields executive powers, but the Canadian democratic rule primarily focuses on governance. The Canadian political system was developed according to Westminster parliamentary institutions in the 19th century, and these institutions were retained after independence in 1867 (Hazell et al., 2009). Evidence The United Kingdom constitution has been shaped over a long time, and it consists of written

The rewards of living a solitary life by May sarton Research Paper

The rewards of living a solitary life by May sarton - Research Paper Example She notes that the man shockingly discovered that he could enjoy himself alone just as much as he would have been in the company of people (Pike and Acosta). In retrospect, Sarton wonders what the man had been afraid of all along. Nevertheless, having found himself alone, Sarton observes that the man is on the brink of adventure to explore himself and to launch himself into his own inner space. She likens the experience to that of an astronaut in outer space. She posits that the new experience will bring to him freshness that would seem original in the beginning. Moreover, she interjects that anyone able to see for himself using his naked eye becomes a genius for a moment or two. On the other hand, when our perception is influenced by other people’s ideas, the original impact becomes diffused or gets lost (Pike and Acosta). One may ask, are we alone or do we exist as a single cell in a population of a billion other cells in the universe? We may argue that it all depends on what life one chooses to live and what benefits one the most. May Sarton opines that solitude is the salt that flavors personhood. Arguably, solitude helps one discover himself or herself away from the interferences accrued from interacting with other people. She retorts that being alone does not necessarily mean that one is lonely. Furthermore, people do feel lonely even in the company of others. She observes that people feel lonely in the company of their lovers and others because people suffer from their differences in taste , mood and temperament. Human interaction demands that people soften their perception and withdraw at the fear of hurt. However, being alone enables one to explore oneself wholly at whatever place, whichever time (Pike and Acosta). Quite a fascinating luxury, if I may add! May Sarton provides a description of her life and apparently her schedule throughout the day. It

Extended definition of risk management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Extended definition of risk management - Essay Example For instance, engineers can also benefit from risk management in minimizing costs, medical practitioners can be prepared in combating anticipated epidemics and agriculturist can remedy impending food deficiency through risk management. This wide essentiality of risk management brings interest of knowing about it not only to the business world but to almost every individual. According to Michel Ravassard, risk management â€Å"is a systematic approach to managing risks throughout the whole organization by identifying, assessing, understanding, acting on and communicating risk issues† (2010). By saying it is a systematic approach; the author suggests that the process has a set of procedures which needs to be observed. Moreover, it is scientifically founded on research and intense study of the procedures, making the process more reliable in terms of accuracy. Therefore, risk management is not just based on a theory nor is it an instantaneous changing of the mind of the manager but it is a well-established principle that has been tested and tried for years in several organizations. Another aspect of risk management that needs to be defined in order for someone to understand further its meaning is risk. The aforementioned author says that risk is â€Å"the expression and the likelihood and impact of an uncertain, sudden and extreme event that, if it occurs, has many impact positively (opportunity) or negatively (threat) on the achievement of a project or programme objective†. ... For instance, when a company decides to use the internet to expand on its business; there might be problems on delivery, payment, demand, availability of products or materials that would occur. Therefore, these important issues should be determined so that the businessman will be able to prepare solutions to anticipated problems in order for the dilemma to be minimized if not avoided. The act of trying to minimize or avoid problems is actually what is called risk management. The first step in the process is for a manager to identify the risks of a certain project so that appropriate solutions will be later prepared. Once the risk is known, they have to be evaluated, considering all the angles of the issue that they may bring about that will affect the project’s objectives. Consequences may be multi-faceted so that managers should not concentrate only in the obvious or visible effects of the risks but should look deeper into what other results there may be. in doing so, one exh ibits a clear understanding of the project and thereby knows what to expect. Furthermore, risk management serves as a motivation to act on a project optimistically because of being assured that there would be minimal mistakes that will take place. Another important measure in risk management is communicating the likelihood of sudden impact to the people involved in order for them to be able to understand the process. This will greatly affect the project because it determines how people should deal with the expected problems or project and how it will be maintained. In the definition of risk, it should be noted that it does not only consider the negative impact but it also mentions the positive effects. This is so because even

Enron Corporation Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Enron Corporation - Movie Review Example Enron had implemented fraud transactions and accounting deceit. It had filed in erroneous details and accounting figures, keeping the whole world in the dark. Financial corruption has been personified by Enron, which had finally filed for bankruptcy. As shown in the movie, the traders of Enron manipulated the whole setup of transactions. This they did, by reducing power supply and by effecting and increment in the prices for power. They targeted poorer consumers and indulged in such activities, at their expense. The need to beget more money, the greed to possess was the recognized motive behind such activity of the traders. Enron Corporation had employed the 'mark-to-market' type of accounting procedure, wherein they had reported the entire financial year's estimated value, as the profit rather than making periodical assessments of the profit margin, as cash came in. Therefore, the high level of profits reported were untrue and misleading, which can be considered frauds. 4.

The impact of EU membership on Finland Research Paper

The impact of EU membership on Finland - Research Paper Example In the table above, it is clear that the main Exports as per the latest statistics in 2011 coming from Finland include; Mineral fuels, lubricants and related materials (75.53 %), animal and vegetable oils, waxes and fats (77.21% ) and manufactured goods classified by their materials used to make them (65.13 %). As it is stated, this trend follows the government’s initiatives to set aside more money and resources in the above sectors in general. Considering the case of vegetable and animal oils, fats and waxes, the increased exports can also be attributed to the effort by the farmers to employ modern practices when it comes to products such as agricultural machinery, modern inputs, improved seed and animal variety, and the use of chemical insecticides and fertilizers. The Chemical industry in Finland which has emerged as its largest industry sector has facilitated the large exports witnessed in lubricants, mineral fuels and manufactured goods as the industry produces a wide ran ge of products that are used by another industrial sector such as agriculture, oil products, paints, petrochemicals, plastics and environmental products. Finland’s manufacturing industry has been remarkable in the recent producing some of the best products in the market hence the large exports witnessed in the manufactured goods. Some of the notable manufactured goods include mobile phones by Nokia, paper products by Stora Enso, oil products by Neste Oil and cruise ships by Aker Finnnyards. Its exports have also been facilitated by its sophisticated financial