Sentence:  Dr. Wilson C. Grant , of the Veterans ' Administration Hospital , Coral Gables , Florida , and the University of Miami School of Medicine , <WSD>set</WSD> out to discover if avocados , because of their high content of unsaturated fatty acids , would reduce the cholesterol of the blood in selected patients . 
Meaning of the word marked with <WSD> tags:  take the first step or steps in carrying out an action