Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
Virilizing oncocytic adrenocortical carcinoma: clinical and immunohistochemical studies

Abstract Context: Oncocytic tumors of the adrenal cortex are rare, mostly nonfunctioning and benign. Setting: Report virilizing oncocytic adrenocortical carcinoma in a 50-year-old woman. Patient: She presented a recent and progressive virilization syndrome, associated with high blood pressure. Hormonal evaluation showed elevated serum testosterone and delta-4-androstenedione levels, normal urinary free cortisol level and incomplete suppression of cortisol at the 1 mg dexamethasone suppression test. CT scan of the abdomen revealed a 35 mm left adrenal mass. Intervention: The patient underwent a left adrenalectomy, and the histological study showed a 3 cm oncocytic adrenocortical carcinoma with signs of malignancy. Results: Immunohistochemical study revealed that tumor cells expressed the steroidogenic enzymes involved into androgen synthesis (3βHSD and P450c17α), P450 aromatase and luteinizing hormone (LH) receptors. Post-operatively, signs of virilization improved rapidly, serum testosterone and delta-4-androstenedione levels returned to normal, as did the dexamethasone suppression test. During follow-up CT-scan and 18-FDG PET/CT showed a right ovary mass, corresponding to a follicular cyst associated with hyperthecosis. The patient is alive with no recurrence 48 months after adrenal surgery. Conclusion: Oncocytic adrenocortical carcinomas, although extremely rare, should be considered in women with a virilization syndrome. In this woman immunohistochimical studies revealed the presence of steroidogenic enzymes involved into androgen synthesis and aromatization, and LH receptors could be implicated in this pathology.
Transgenic Tobacco Plants Overexpressing Chloroplastic Ferredoxin-NADP(H) Reductase Display Normal Rates of Photosynthesis and Increased Tolerance to Oxidative Stress1

Ferredoxin-NADP(H) reductase (FNR) catalyzes the last step of photosynthetic electron transport in chloroplasts, driving electrons from reduced ferredoxin to NADP+. This reaction is rate limiting for photosynthesis under a wide range of illumination conditions, as revealed by analysis of plants transformed with an antisense version of the FNR gene. To investigate whether accumulation of this flavoprotein over wild-type levels could improve photosynthetic efficiency and growth, we generated transgenic tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) plants expressing a pea (Pisum sativum) FNR targeted to chloroplasts. The alien product distributed between the thylakoid membranes and the chloroplast stroma. Transformants grown at 150 or 700 μmol quanta m−2 s−1 displayed wild-type phenotypes regardless of FNR content. Thylakoids isolated from plants with a 5-fold FNR increase over the wild type displayed only moderate stimulation (approximately 20%) in the rates of electron transport from water to NADP+. In contrast, when donors of photosystem I were used to drive NADP+ photoreduction, the activity was 3- to 4-fold higher than the wild-type controls. Plants expressing various levels of FNR (from 1- to 3.6-fold over the wild type) failed to show significant differences in CO2 assimilation rates when assayed over a range of light intensities and CO2 concentrations. Transgenic lines exhibited enhanced tolerance to photooxidative damage and redox-cycling herbicides that propagate reactive oxygen species. The results suggest that photosynthetic electron transport has several rate-limiting steps, with FNR catalyzing just one of them.
2D DIGE analysis of the bursa of Fabricius reveals characteristic proteome profiles for different stages of chicken B‐cell development

Antibody producing B‐cells are an essential component of the immune system. In contrast to human and mice where B‐cells develop in the bone marrow, chicken B‐cells develop in defined stages in the bursa of Fabricius, a gut associated lymphoid tissue. In order to gain a better understanding of critical biological processes like immigration of B‐cell precursors into the bursa anlage, their differentiation and final emigration from the bursa we analyzed the proteome dynamics of this organ during embryonic and posthatch development. Samples were taken from four representative developmental stages (embryonic day (ED) 10, ED18, day 2, and day 28) and compared in an extensive 2D DIGE approach comprising six biological replicates per time point. Cluster analysis and PCA demonstrated high reliability and reproducibility of the obtained data set and revealed distinctive proteome profiles for the selected time points, which precisely reflect the differentiation processes. One hundred fifty three protein spots with significantly different intensities were identified by MS. We detected alterations in the abundance of several proteins assigned to retinoic acid metabolism (e.g. retinal‐binding protein 5) and the actin‐cytoskeleton (e.g. vinculin and gelsolin). By immunohistochemistry, desmin was identified as stromal cell protein associated with the maturation of B‐cell follicles. Strongest protein expression difference (10.8‐fold) was observed for chloride intracellular channel 2. This protein was thus far not associated with B‐cell biology but our data suggest an important function in bursa B‐cell development.
Israeli Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder Are not Macrocephalic

The prevalence of macrocephaly in autism spectrum disorder is reported to be much higher than in the general population, 12% to 37%. Progressive macrocephaly is even considered a warning sign for the development of autism. We evaluated the prevalence of an abnormal head circumference in children with autism in Israel and compared it with the head circumferences of children with developmental language disorder and children with normal development. We did not find a higher prevalence of macrocephaly among Israeli children with autism spectrum disorder (4.4%). Although children with autism spectrum disorder had a significantly higher rate of a head circumference above the 75th percentile compared with children with developmental language disorder, it was not significantly different compared with normal controls. We conclude that there is no increased prevalence of macrocephaly in Israeli children with autism; this can be attributed to a different genetic background.
Interpretation of electrodiagnostic findings in sporadic progressive muscular atrophy

There is accumulating evidence that sporadic progressive muscular atrophy (PMA) belongs to the spectrum of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) [7, 21, 23, 28, 35, 40]. First, a proportion of patients with sporadic PMA develops signs of upper motor neuron (UMN) degeneration in due course, either detected clinically or found on autopsy studies [7, 21, 23, 35]. Second, when prospectively studied, most sporadic PMA patients have an “ALS–like” disease course with relentless disease progression and early death [40]. Third, some patients with a pure lower motor neuron syndrome were found to have a Cu/Zn superoxide dismutase-1 (SOD1) mutation, as is also the case in 25 % of familial ALS patients [28]. Received: 15 April 2007 Received in revised form: 18 October 2007 Accepted: 9 November 2007 Published online: 19 May 2008
Expatriates of Host‐Country Origin in South Eastern Europe: Management Rationales in the Finance Sector

Multinational companies coming to grips with the major challenges of international staffing have developed a new practice. In recent years management scholars observed the assignment of so&#8208;called &#8216;expatriates of host&#8208;country origin&#8217; (EHCOs), that is, employees of migrant backgrounds in the companies&#8217; parent country sent to work in their country of origin. This paper explores management rationales behind this practice focusing on the posting of employees to transition economies in south eastern Europe. Data from Austrian banks and insurance firms operating in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in Croatia provide the empirical basis. The analysis reveals that headquarters&#8217; management believe that due to their specific competencies EHCOs facilitate the relationship between the headquarters and the subsidiary, enhance resource accrual and offer competitive advantage. As institutional complexity in the host country and the cultural distance between parent and host countries increase, so do the relative advantages of EHCOs for management.
Running head : VALIDATING OLDER ADULTS ’ MIND-WANDERING 1 IN PRESS : PSYCHOLOGY & AGING Validating older adults ’ reports of less mind-wandering : An examination of eye-movements and dispositional ifluences

The “cognitive failures × current concerns” perspec tive proposes that mind-wandering occurs, in part, because of failures to inhibit dis racting thoughts from entering consciousness (Kane & McVay, 2012). Despite older adults (OAs) ex hibiting poorer inhibition, they report less mind-wandering than do young adults (YAs). Proposed explanations include (1) that OAs’ thought reports are less valid, due to an unawarene ss of, or reluctance to report, task-unrelated thoughts (TUTs), and (2) that dispositional factors protect OAs from mind-wandering. The primary goal of the current study was to test the v alidity of thought reports via eye-tracking. A secondary goal was to examine whether OAs’ greater mindfulness (Splevins, Smith, & Spinson, 2009) or more positive mood (Carstensen, Isaacowitz , & Charles, 1999) protect them from TUTs. We found that eye-movement patterns predicted OAs’ TUT reports and YAs’ task-related interference (TRI; or thoughts about one’s performa nce) reports. Additionally, poor comprehension was associated with more TUTs in both age groups, and more TRI in young. These results support the validity of OAs’ thought reports. Concerning the second aim of the study, OA’s greater tendency to observe their surro undings (a facet of mindfulness) was related to increased TRI, and OAs’ more positive mood and g reater motivation partially mediated age differences in TUTs. OAs’ reduced TUT reports appea r to be genuine and potentially related to dispositional factors.
Too Busy or Well-Connected? Evidence from a Shock to Multiple Directorships

Prior literature documents that multiple directorships are negatively associated with operating performance due to overly busy directors; however, multiple directorships may also increase firm value because directors gain access to valuable connections, resources, and information through their multiple appointments. This paper examines M&A that terminate target firms' entire boards as a negative shock to both board busyness and connections at other firms, as a complement to Hauser (2018). We document that firms experiencing a decrease in multiple directorships due to M&A exhibit improved operating performance, monitoring, and strategic advising, on average. Firms with the smallest decrease in board connections experience the greatest improvement in operating performance and advising, while firms with the greatest decrease in board connections experience null or negative effects on operating performance and advising. Our findings provide new evidence of the costs and benefits of multiple directorships based on board busyness and connections.
A bone biopsy procedure for neonatal pigs

Neonatal pigs were used to develop a surgical biopsy procedure to remove bone tissue from the ilium of small animals, with potential application for infants and small children. While the neonatal pig was under general anaesthesia, a scalpel was used to make a punch incision down to the ilium. Then a Craig Biopsy Trephine was used to remove a core sample of the bone. The samples ranged from 5 to 15 mm in length and 2 to 3 mm in diameter, with an average dry weight of 34·4 mg. The samples were adequate for mineral (calcium and zinc) analysis in our laboratory and may be equally suitable for histological or biochemical analyses. Surgical trauma was minimal, which permitted each pig to be biopsied every 7 days for 5 weeks without adverse consequences.
Delay discounting behavior and white matter microstructure abnormalities in youth with a family history of alcoholism.

BACKGROUND Youth with family history of alcohol abuse have a greater risk of developing an alcohol use disorder (AUD). Brain and behavior differences may underlie this increased vulnerability. The current study examined delay discounting behavior and white matter microstructure in youth at high risk for alcohol abuse, as determined by a family history of alcoholism (FH+), and youth without such family history (FH-). METHODS Thirty-three healthy youth (FH+ = 15, FH- = 18), ages 11 to 15 years, completed a delay discounting task and underwent diffusion tensor imaging. Tract-based spatial statistics (Smith et al., 2006), as well as follow-up region-of-interest analyses, were performed to compare fractional anisotropy (FA) between FH+ and FH- youth. RESULTS FH+ youth showed a trend toward increased discounting behavior and had significantly slower reaction times (RTs) on the delay discounting paradigm compared to FH- youth. Group differences in FA were seen in several white matter tracts. Furthermore, lower FA in the left inferior longitudinal fasciculus and the right optic radiation statistically mediated the relationship between FH status and slower RTs on the delay discounting task. CONCLUSIONS Youth with a family history of substance abuse have disrupted white matter microstructure, which likely contributes to less efficient cortical processing and may act as an intrinsic risk factor contributing to an increased susceptibility of developing AUD. In addition, FHP youth showed a trend toward greater impulsive decision making, possibly representing an inherent personal characteristic that may facilitate substance use onset and abuse in high-risk youth.
Functional responsibilities of municipal government: Metropolitan disparities and instruments of intergovernmental management

This paper examines the functional responsibilities of municipal government, in the context of intergovernmental interactions in metropolitan areas of the USA. It presents an operationalisation of the functional responsibilities of municipal government: measures of size and breadth of those responsibilities assess the reliability of the findings across those related measurements. Alternative explanations are tested for differences in the functional responsibilities of municipal government in metropolitan (metro) areas. The central finding is that the functional responsibilities of municipal government vary widely; additional findings are that regional and intergovernmental contexts shape those responsibilities, based on a pooled time-series analysis of municipal governments. The paper reports census-normalised data that can be utilised for research extensions. Although its primary contribution is to research on functional responsibilities of municipal government, the paper also proposes a local public economies approach to identify factors influencing the breadth of those responsibilities in metropolitan areas.
220GHz fT and 400GHz fmax in 40-nm GaN DH-HEMTs with re-grown ohmic

We report record RF performance in 40nm-gate GaN-HEMT technology. Through vertical scaling in an AlN/GaN/AlGaN double heterojunction (DH) HEMT structure and reduction of access resistance using MBE re-growth of n<sup>+</sup>-GaN ohmic contacts, fully-passivated 40-nm devices exhibited excellent DC characteristics, such as an R<inf>on</inf> of 0. 81Ω·mm, an I<inf>dmax</inf> of 1.61A/mm, a BV<inf>off</inf> of 42V, and a peak extrinsic g<inf>m</inf> of 723mS/mm, resulting in a peak f<inf>T</inf> of 220GHz and a peak f<inf>max</inf> of 400GHz. The measured f<inf>T</inf> and f<inf>max</inf> are the highest ever reported in a GaN-HEMT technology. Small signal model and delay time analysis showed that the parasitic charging time was only 10% of total delay time and the gate transit time scaled with the gate length (L<inf>g</inf>) down to 40nm, demonstrating high scalability of the new technology.
SuperStar: a knowledge-based approach for identifying interaction sites in proteins.

An empirical method for identifying interaction sites in proteins is described and validated. The method is based entirely on experimental information about non-bonded interactions occurring in small-molecule crystal structures. These data are used in the form of scatterplots that show the experimentally observed distribution of one functional group (the "contact group" or "probe") around another. A template molecule (e.g. a protein binding site) is broken down into structure fragments and the scatterplots, showing the distribution of a chosen probe around these structure fragments, are superimposed on the corresponding parts of the template. The scatterplots are then translated into a three-dimensional map that shows the propensity of the probe at different positions around the template molecule. The method is illustrated for l -arabinose-binding protein, complexed with l -arabinose and with d -fucose, and for dihydrofolate reductase complexed with methotrexate. The method is validated on 122 X-ray structures of protein-ligand complexes. For all the binding sites of these proteins, propensity maps are generated for four different probes: a charged NH+3nitrogen, a carbonyl oxygen, a hydroxyl oxygen and a methyl carbon atom. Next, the maps are compared with the experimentally observed positions of ligand atoms of these types. For 74% of these ligand atoms (84% of the solvent-inaccessible ones) the calculated propensity of the matching probe at the experimental positions is higher than expected by chance. For 68% of the atoms (82% of the solvent-inaccessible ones) the propensity of the matching probe is higher than that of the other three probes. These results indicate that the approach generally gives good predictions for protein-ligand interactions. The potential applications of the propensity maps range from an aid in manual docking and structure-based drug design to their use in pharmacophore development.
A Review on the Development Strategies of Agro-industrial Institutions in Indonesia

The importance of agro-industrial development is deeply associated to necessity for development of agriculture-based economic activities. An alternative model and an institutional model selected should consider the innovation taken, feasibility, the lowest cost, the lowest possible consequences or risks. This article was aimed to describe strategies for development of agro-industrial institutions and some other opportunities for novelty as a research contribution. Results of the analysis discovered some research opportunities that become challenges for researchers, in particular in the context of wide open agro-industries. They include ones related to the historical analysis, the comparative analysis and the functional analysis, the assessment of institutional positions, the structurization of institutional systems, future prospects, the assessment of potential innovations and the institutional performance measurement. In-depth review of one component or in depth-study of a combination of components is continuously required. Therefore, characteristics of each agricultural commodity, social dynamics, current development and technological advances, policy changes and global challenges become challenges crucial for development of agro-industrial institutions in the future.
Transcriptional Activators of Helper T Cell Fate Are Required for Establishment but Not Maintenance of Signature Cytokine Expression1

The stability of helper T cell fates is not well understood. Using conditional introduction of dominant-negative factors, we now show that T-bet and GATA-3 are far more critical in establishment than maintenance of IFN-γ and IL-4 activity during Th1 and Th2 maturation, respectively. We also show that a genetic interaction between T-bet and its target Hlx seems to be required for Th1 maturation, but that Hlx may also be dispensable for maintenance of a transcriptionally permissive ifng gene. In parallel to progressive activator independence in the permissive lineage, the ifng gene becomes more recalcitrant to switching as the forbidden lineage matures. T-bet plus Hlx can disrupt ifng silencing when introduced into developing Th2 cells, but they fail to perturb ifng silencing in mature Th2 cells. In contrast, a hypermorphic allele of T-bet can reverse silencing of the ifng gene in mature Th2 cells. These results suggest that signature gene activity of helper T cells is initially plastic but later becomes epigenetically fixed and offer an initial strategy for inducing mature cells to switch their fate.
A Clinical Model to Estimate Recurrence Risk in Resected Stage I Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer

Objective:There are no reliable markers to predict recurrence in resected Stage I non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). A validated clinical model to estimate the risk of recurrence would help select patients for adjuvant therapy. Methods:We reviewed the medical records of 715 patients who had a potentially curative resection for Stage I NSCLC at our institution from 1990 to 2000. Recurrence rates were estimated by the Kaplan-Meier method. A model to estimate risk of recurrence was developed by combining independent risk factors. Results:With a median follow-up of 4.7 years, the 5-year survival rates for Stages IA and IB were 66% and 55% respectively, and 5-year recurrence rates were 19% and 30%, respectively. Four factors were independently associated with tumor recurrence: tumor size >3 cm (hazard ratio [HR] = 2.4), surgery other than lobectomy (HR = 2.0), nonsquamous histology (HR = 1.4), and high-grade cellular differentiation (HR = 1.4). A scoring system for recurrence was developed by assigning 2 points for each major risk factor (tumor size and surgery) and 1 point for each minor risk factor (histologic subtype and cellular grade). Scores were grouped as low (0–1), intermediate (2–3), and high (>3), yielding 5-year estimates of risk of recurrence of 14%, 27%, and 43%, respectively. Conclusion:This model, based upon readily available clinicopathologic characteristics, can estimate the risk of recurrence in Stage I NSCLC, independent of T classification. This model could be used to select patients for adjuvant therapy if validated in independent data sets.
PolInSAR for Forest Biomass Retrieval: PALSAR Observations and Model Analysis

This paper presents a new approach to the exploitation of polarimetric and interferometric (POLINSAR) data for the quantitative estimation of the forest height and, in general, of forest parameters. Our procedure aims to match simulations from the coherent scattering model PolSARProSim and real measurables. First, a parametric model analysis is used to study the dependence of the interferometric coherence versus forest height, canopy density and terrain slope. Secondly, we show the separation of scattering phase centers on PALSAR data acquired over the Amazon forest. Finally, we perform a preliminary forest height inversion based on the sensitivity of coherence versus forest height. The same procedure can be applied to a compact polarimetric (CP) data-set. In this case, we introduce a full POLINSAR (FP) reconstruction algorithm based on symmetry properties of geophysical media.