Carotenoids are lipophilic isoprenoid compounds synthesized by all photosynthetic organisms and some non-photosynthetic prokaryotes and fungi. With some notable exceptions, animals (including humans) ...do not produce carotenoids de novo but take them in their diets. In photosynthetic systems carotenoids are essential for photoprotection against excess light and contribute to light harvesting, but perhaps they are best known for their properties as natural pigments in the yellow to red range. Carotenoids can be associated to fatty acids, sugars, proteins, or other compounds that can change their physical and chemical properties and influence their biological roles. Furthermore, oxidative cleavage of carotenoids produces smaller molecules such as apocarotenoids, some of which are important pigments and volatile (aroma) compounds. Enzymatic breakage of carotenoids can also produce biologically active molecules in both plants (hormones, retrograde signals) and animals (retinoids). Both carotenoids and their enzymatic cleavage products are associated with other processes positively impacting human health. Carotenoids are widely used in the industry as food ingredients, feed additives, and supplements. This review, contributed by scientists of complementary disciplines related to carotenoid research, covers recent advances and provides a perspective on future directions on the subjects of carotenoid metabolism, biotechnology, and nutritional and health benefits.
Carotenoids are terpenoid pigments widespread in nature, produced by bacteria, fungi, algae and plants. They are also found in animals, which usually obtain them through the diet. Carotenoids in ...plants provide striking yellow, orange or red colors to fruits and flowers, and play important metabolic and physiological functions, especially relevant in photosynthesis. Their functions are less clear in non-photosynthetic microorganisms. Different fungi produce diverse carotenoids, but the mutants unable to produce them do not exhibit phenotypic alterations in the laboratory, apart of lack of pigmentation. This review summarizes the current knowledge on the functional basis for carotenoid production in fungi. Different lines of evidence support a protective role of carotenoids against oxidative stress and exposure to visible light or UV irradiation. In addition, the carotenoids are intermediary products in the biosynthesis of physiologically active apocarotenoids or derived compounds. This is the case of retinal, obtained from the symmetrical oxidative cleavage of β-carotene. Retinal is the light-absorbing prosthetic group of the rhodopsins, membrane-bound photoreceptors present also in many fungal species. In Mucorales, β-carotene is an intermediary in the synthesis of trisporoids, apocarotenoid derivatives that include the sexual hormones the trisporic acids, and they are also presumably used in the synthesis of sporopollenin polymers. In conclusion, fungi have adapted their ability to produce carotenoids for different non-essential functions, related with stress tolerance or with the synthesis of physiologically active by-products.
The ARCADE 2 instrument has measured the absolute temperature of the sky at frequencies 3, 8, 10, 30, and 90 GHz, using an open-aperture cryogenic instrument observing at balloon altitudes with no ...emissive windows between the beam-forming optics and the sky. An external blackbody calibrator provides an in situ reference. Systematic errors were greatly reduced by using differential radiometers and cooling all critical components to physical temperatures approximating the cosmic microwave background (CMB) temperature. A linear model is used to compare the output of each radiometer to a set of thermometers on the instrument. Small corrections are made for the residual emission from the flight train, balloon, atmosphere, and foreground Galactic emission. The ARCADE 2 data alone show an excess radio rise of 54 ? 6 mK at 3.3 GHz in addition to a CMB temperature of 2.731 ? 0.004 K. Combining the ARCADE 2 data with data from the literature shows an excess power-law spectrum of T = 24.1 ? 2.1 (K) ( Delta *n/ Delta *n0)--2.599 ? 0.036 from 22 MHz to 10 GHz ( Delta *n0 = 310 MHz) in addition to a CMB temperature of 2.725 ? 0.001 K.
The fungi Fusarium oxysporum and Fusarium fujikuroi produce carotenoids, lipophilic terpenoid pigments of biotechnological interest, with xanthophyll neurosporaxanthin as the main end product. Their ...carotenoid biosynthesis is activated by light and negatively regulated by the RING-finger protein CarS. Global transcriptomic analysis identified in both species a putative 1-kb lncRNA that we call carP, referred to as Fo-carP and Ff-carP in each species, upstream to the gene carS and transcribed from the same DNA strand. Fo-carP and Ff-carP are poorly transcribed, but their RNA levels increase in carS mutants. The deletion of Fo-carP or Ff-carP in the respective species results in albino phenotypes, with strong reductions in mRNA levels of structural genes for carotenoid biosynthesis and higher mRNA content of the carS gene, which could explain the low accumulation of carotenoids. Upon alignment, Fo-carP and Ff-carP show 75-80% identity, with short insertions or deletions resulting in a lack of coincident ORFs. Moreover, none of the ORFs found in their sequences have indications of possible coding functions. We conclude that Fo-carP and Ff-carP are regulatory lncRNAs necessary for the active expression of the carotenoid genes in Fusarium through an unknown molecular mechanism, probably related to the control of carS function or expression.
The combination of seven-year data from WMAP and improved astrophysical data rigorously tests the standard cosmological model and places new constraints on its basic parameters and extensions. By ...combining the WMAP data with the latest distance measurements from the baryon acoustic oscillations (BAO) in the distribution of galaxies and the Hubble constant (H 0) measurement, we determine the parameters of the simplest six-parameter Delta *LCDM model. The power-law index of the primordial power spectrum is ns = 0.968 ? 0.012 (68% CL) for this data combination, a measurement that excludes the Harrison-Zel'dovich-Peebles spectrum by 99.5% CL. The other parameters, including those beyond the minimal set, are also consistent with, and improved from, the five-year results. We find no convincing deviations from the minimal model. The seven-year temperature power spectrum gives a better determination of the third acoustic peak, which results in a better determination of the redshift of the matter-radiation equality epoch. Notable examples of improved parameters are the total mass of neutrinos, Delta *Sm Delta *n < 0.58 eV(95%CL), and the effective number of neutrino species, N eff = 4.34+0.86 --0.88 (68% CL), which benefit from better determinations of the third peak and H 0. The limit on a constant dark energy equation of state parameter from WMAP+BAO+H 0, without high-redshift Type Ia supernovae, is w = --1.10 ? 0.14 (68% CL). We detect the effect of primordial helium on the temperature power spectrum and provide a new test of big bang nucleosynthesis by measuring Yp = 0.326 ? 0.075 (68% CL). We detect, and show on the map for the first time, the tangential and radial polarization patterns around hot and cold spots of temperature fluctuations, an important test of physical processes at z = 1090 and the dominance of adiabatic scalar fluctuations. The seven-year polarization data have significantly improved: we now detect the temperature-E-mode polarization cross power spectrum at 21 Delta *s, compared with 13 Delta *s from the five-year data. With the seven-year temperature-B-mode cross power spectrum, the limit on a rotation of the polarization plane due to potential parity-violating effects has improved by 38% to (68% CL). We report significant detections of the Sunyaev-Zel'dovich (SZ) effect at the locations of known clusters of galaxies. The measured SZ signal agrees well with the expected signal from the X-ray data on a cluster-by-cluster basis. However, it is a factor of 0.5-0.7 times the predictions from 'universal profile' of Arnaud et al., analytical models, and hydrodynamical simulations. We find, for the first time in the SZ effect, a significant difference between the cooling-flow and non-cooling-flow clusters (or relaxed and non-relaxed clusters), which can explain some of the discrepancy. This lower amplitude is consistent with the lower-than-theoretically expected SZ power spectrum recently measured by the South Pole Telescope Collaboration.
The WMAP mission has produced sky maps from seven years of observations at L2. We present the angular power spectra derived from the seven-year maps and discuss the cosmological conclusions that can ...be inferred from WMAP data alone. With the seven-year data, the temperature (TT) spectrum measurement has a signal-to-noise ratio per multipole that exceeds unity for l < 919; and in band powers of width Delta *Dl = 10, the signal-to-noise ratio exceeds unity up to l = 1060. The third acoustic peak in the TT spectrum is now well measured by WMAP. In the context of a flat Delta *LCDM model, this improvement allows us to place tighter constraints on the matter density from WMAP data alone, Delta *W m h 2 = 0.1334+0.0056 --0.0055, and on the epoch of matter-radiation equality, z eq = 3196+134 --133. The temperature-polarization (TE) spectrum is detected in the seven-year data with a significance of 20 Delta *s, compared to 13 Delta *s with the five-year data. We now detect the second dip in the TE spectrum near l ~ 450 with high confidence. The TB and EB spectra remain consistent with zero, thus demonstrating low systematic errors and foreground residuals in the data. The low-l EE spectrum, a measure of the optical depth due to reionization, is detected at 5.5 Delta *s significance when averaged over l = 2-7: l(l + 1)C EE l /(2 Delta *p) = 0.074+0.034 --0.025 Delta *mK2 (68% CL). We now detect the high-l, 24 <= l <= 800, EE spectrum at over 8 Delta *s. The BB spectrum, an important probe of gravitational waves from inflation, remains consistent with zero; when averaged over l = 2-7, l(l + 1)C BB l /(2 Delta *p) < 0.055 Delta *mK2 (95% CL). The upper limit on tensor modes from polarization data alone is a factor of two lower with the seven-year data than it was using the five-year data. The data remain consistent with the simple Delta *LCDM model: the best-fit TT spectrum has an effective Delta *y2 of 1227 for 1170 degrees of freedom, with a probability to exceed of 9.6%. The allowable volume in the six-dimensional space of Delta *LCDM parameters has been reduced by a factor of 1.5 relative to the five-year volume, while the Delta *LCDM model that allows for tensor modes and a running scalar spectral index has a factor of three lower volume when fit to the seven-year data. We test the parameter recovery process for bias and find that the scalar spectral index, ns , is biased high, but only by 0.09 Delta *s, while the remaining parameters are biased by <0.15 Delta *s. The improvement in the third peak measurement leads to tighter lower limits from WMAP on the number of relativistic degrees of freedom (e.g., neutrinos) in the early universe: N eff>2.7(95%CL). Also, using WMAP data alone, the primordial helium mass fraction is found to be Y He = 0.28+0.14 --0.15, and with data from higher-resolution cosmic microwave background experiments included, we now establish the existence of pre-stellar helium at >3 Delta *s. These new WMAP measurements provide important tests of big bang cosmology.
New full-sky temperature and polarization maps based on seven years of data from WMAP are presented. The new results are consistent with previous results, but have improved due to reduced noise from ...the additional integration time, improved knowledge of the instrument performance, and improved data analysis procedures. The improvements are described in detail. The seven-year data set is well fit by a minimal six-parameter flat Delta *LCDM model. The parameters for this model, using the WMAP data in conjunction with baryon acoustic oscillation data from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey and priors on H 0 from Hubble Space Telescope observations, are Delta *W b h 2 = 0.02260 ? 0.00053, Delta *W c h 2 = 0.1123 ? 0.0035, Delta *W Delta *L = 0.728+0.015 --0.016, ns = 0.963 ? 0.012, Delta *t = 0.087 ? 0.014, and Delta *s8 = 0.809 ? 0.024 (68% CL uncertainties). The temperature power spectrum signal-to-noise ratio per multipole is greater that unity for multipoles l 919, allowing a robust measurement of the third acoustic peak. This measurement results in improved constraints on the matter density, Delta *W m h 2 = 0.1334+0.0056 --0.0055, and the epoch of matter-radiation equality, z eq = 3196+134 --133, using WMAP data alone. The new WMAP data, when combined with smaller angular scale microwave background anisotropy data, result in a 3 Delta *s detection of the abundance of primordial helium, Y He = 0.326 ? 0.075. When combined with additional external data sets, the WMAP data also yield better determinations of the total mass of neutrinos, Delta *Sm Delta *n <= 0.58 eV(95%CL), and the effective number of neutrino species, N eff = 4.34+0.86 --0.88. The power-law index of the primordial power spectrum is now determined to be ns = 0.963 ? 0.012, excluding the Harrison-Zel'dovich-Peebles spectrum by >3 Delta *s. These new WMAP measurements provide important tests of big bang cosmology.
We use absolutely calibrated data between 3 and 90 GHz from the 2006 balloon flight of the ARCADE 2 instrument, along with previous measurements at other frequencies, to constrain models of ...extragalactic emission. Such emission is a combination of the cosmic microwave background (CMB) monopole, Galactic foreground emission, the integrated contribution of radio emission from external galaxies, any spectral distortions present in the CMB, and any other extragalactic source. After removal of estimates of foreground emission from our own Galaxy, and an estimated contribution of external galaxies, we present fits to a combination of the flat-spectrum CMB and potential spectral distortions in the CMB. We find 2 Delta *s upper limits to CMB spectral distortions of Delta *m < 6 X 10--4 and |Y ff| < 1 X 10--4. We also find a significant detection of a residual signal beyond that, which can be explained by the CMB plus the integrated radio emission from galaxies estimated from existing surveys. This residual signal may be due to an underestimated galactic foreground contribution, an unaccounted for contribution of a background of radio sources, or some combination of both. The residual signal is consistent with emission in the form of a power law with amplitude 18.4 ? 2.1 K at 0.31 GHz and a spectral index of --2.57 ? 0.05.
This study examined the impact of the Recurrence Score (RS) in Spanish breast cancer patients and explored the associations between clinicopathological markers and likelihood of change in treatment ...recommendations.
Enrollment was offered consecutively to eligible women with estrogen receptor-positive; human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative, node-negative breast cancer. Oncologists recorded treatment recommendation and confidence in it before and after knowing the patient’s RS.
Treatment recommendation changed in 32% of 107 patients enrolled: in 21% from chemohormonal (CHT) to hormonal therapy (HT) and in 11% from HT to CHT. RS was associated with the likelihood of change from HT to CHT (P < 0.001) and from CHT to HT (P < 0.001). Confidence of oncologists in treatment recommendations increased for 60% of cases. Higher tumor grade (P = 0.007) and a high proliferative index (Ki-67) (P = 0.023) were significantly associated with a greater chance of changing from HT to CHT, while positive progesterone receptor status (P = 0.002) with a greater probability of changing from CHT to HT.
Results from the first prospective European study are consistent with published experience and use of the RS as proposed in European clinical practice guidelines and provide evidence on how Oncotype DX and clinicopathological factors are complementary and patient selection may be improved.
The Wilkinson Microwave Anisotropy Probe (WMAP) 5-year data provide stringent limits on deviations from the minimal, six-parameter Lambda cold dark matter model. We report these limits and use them ...to constrain the physics of cosmic inflation via Gaussianity, adiabaticity, the power spectrum of primordial fluctuations, gravitational waves, and spatial curvature. We also constrain models of dark energy via its equation of state, parity-violating interaction, and neutrino properties, such as mass and the number of species. We detect no convincing deviations from the minimal model. The six parameters and the corresponding 68% uncertainties, derived from the WMAP data combined with the distance measurements from the Type Ia supernovae (SN) and the Baryon Acoustic Oscillations (BAO) in the distribution of galaxies, are: Omega b h 2 = 0.02267+0.00058 -0.00059, Omega c h 2 = 0.1131 ± 0.0034, Omega Lambda = 0.726 ± 0.015, ns = 0.960 ± 0.013, tau = 0.084 ± 0.016, and at k = 0.002 Mpc-1. From these, we derive sigma 8 = 0.812 ± 0.026, H 0 = 70.5 ± 1.3 km s-1 Mpc-1, Omega b = 0.0456 ± 0.0015, Omega c = 0.228 ± 0.013, Omega m h 2 = 0.1358+0.0037 -0.0036, z reion = 10.9 ± 1.4, and t 0 = 13.72 ± 0.12 Gyr. With the WMAP data combined with BAO and SN, we find the limit on the tensor-to-scalar ratio of r < 0.22(95%CL), and that ns > 1 is disfavored even when gravitational waves are included, which constrains the models of inflation that can produce significant gravitational waves, such as chaotic or power-law inflation models, or a blue spectrum, such as hybrid inflation models. We obtain tight, simultaneous limits on the (constant) equation of state of dark energy and the spatial curvature of the universe: -0.14 < 1 + w < 0.12(95%CL) and -0.0179 < Omega k < 0.0081(95%CL). We provide a set of 'WMAP distance priors,' to test a variety of dark energy models with spatial curvature. We test a time-dependent w with a present value constrained as -0.33 < 1 + w 0 < 0.21 (95% CL). Temperature and dark matter fluctuations are found to obey the adiabatic relation to within 8.9% and 2.1% for the axion-type and curvaton-type dark matter, respectively. The power spectra of TB and EB correlations constrain a parity-violating interaction, which rotates the polarization angle and converts E to B. The polarization angle could not be rotated more than -59 < Delta alpha < 24 (95% CL) between the decoupling and the present epoch. We find the limit on the total mass of massive neutrinos of capital sigma m Delta < 0.67 eV(95%CL), which is free from the uncertainty in the normalization of the large-scale structure data. The number of relativistic degrees of freedom (dof), expressed in units of the effective number of neutrino species, is constrained as N eff = 4.4 ± 1.5 (68%), consistent with the standard value of 3.04. Finally, quantitative limits on physically-motivated primordial non-Gaussianity parameters are -9 < f local NL < 111 (95% CL) and -151 < f equil NL < 253 (95% CL) for the local and equilateral models, respectively.
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