TASK DEFINITION: In this task, you are given a passage which has a question and the context. You have to generate an answer to the question based on the information present in the context.
PROBLEM: Context: This study investigated whether a 7-week yoga intervention could improve physical function, perceived stress, and mental/emotional wellness in elderly participants.', '8 participants (66.5\xa0±\xa00.3 years) attended 2 60-min Hatha yoga sessions/week for 7 weeks, and performed pre- and post-intervention assessments. Balance was assessed using a 5-test battery. Flexibility was measured by sit-and-reach and shoulder flexibility tests. Functional mobility tests included 8-ft up-and-go, 5 chair stands, and 4-m walk. Participants completed SF-12, exhaustion level, and Perceived Stress Scale (PSS) questionnaires.', 'SF-12 Mental Component Summary scores, exhaustion levels, and PSS scores improved post-intervention. No differences were found for physical function measures.\Question: Does yoga reduce perceived stress and exhaustion levels in healthy elderly individuals?

SOLUTION: Yoga participation can improve mental/emotional wellness, exhaustion levels, and stress levels in elderly individuals, even without measurable improvements in physical function. Clinicians and health practitioners who work with the elderly should consider yoga as a potential therapeutic modality for improving important aspects of quality of life in this population.

PROBLEM: Context: Pandemic strains of HIV-1 (group M) encode a total of nine structural (gag, pol, env), regulatory (rev, tat) and accessory (vif, vpr, vpu, nef) genes. However, some subtype A and C viruses exhibit an unusual gene arrangement in which the first exon of rev (rev1) and the vpu gene are placed in the same open reading frame. Although this rev1-vpu gene fusion is present in a considerable fraction of HIV-1 strains, its functional significance is unknown.', 'Examining infectious molecular clones (IMCs) of HIV-1 that encode the rev1-vpu polymorphism, we show that a fusion protein is expressed in infected cells. Due to the splicing pattern of viral mRNA, however, these same IMCs also express a regular Vpu protein, which is produced at much higher levels. To investigate the function of the fusion gene, we characterized isogenic IMC pairs differing only in their ability to express a Rev1-Vpu protein. Analysis in transfected HEK293T and infected CD4+ T cells showed that all of these viruses were equally active in known Vpu functions, such as down-modulation of CD4 or counteraction of tetherin. Furthermore, the polymorphism did not affect Vpu-mediated inhibition of NF-кB activation or Rev-dependent nuclear export of incompletely spliced viral mRNAs. There was also no evidence for enhanced replication of Rev1-Vpu expressing viruses in primary PBMCs or ex vivo infected human lymphoid tissues. Finally, the frequency of HIV-1 quasispecies members that encoded a rev1-vpu fusion gene did not change in HIV-1 infected individuals over time.\Question: Does a Naturally Occurring rev1-vpu Fusion Gene Confer a Fitness Advantage to HIV-1?

SOLUTION: Expression of a rev1-vpu fusion gene does not affect regular Rev and Vpu functions or alter HIV-1 replication in primary target cells. Since there is no evidence for increased replication fitness of rev1-vpu encoding viruses, this polymorphism likely emerged in the context of other mutations within and/or outside the rev1-vpu intergenic region, and may have a neutral phenotype.

PROBLEM: Context: One third of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) affects elderly patients in a locally advanced (LA) stage. Induction therapy followed by a curative approach is becoming the standard-of-care for LA-NSCLC.', 'We compared the efficacy and tolerance to induction chemotherapy or chemo-radiation followed by surgery or definitive radiotherapy in patients younger (N=64) and older (N=44) than 70 years with LA-NSCLC.', 'Elderly patients trended towards having a worse baseline performance status, and presented a higher percentage of IIIB, and squamous tumors. Nevertheless, no significant differences in response rate, operability, or disease-free and overall survival were found between age groups in the whole series, nor in the sub-group of resected patients. Grade 3-4 toxicity tended to be lower in elderly patients.\Question: Does age worsen the efficacy nor tolerance to combined induction therapies in locally advanced non-small cell lung cancer?

SOLUTION:
Age by itself did not significantly worsen either the efficacy or tolerance to combined induction and definitive treatment in patients with LA-NSCLC and Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status 0-2.