TASK DEFINITION: Given a passage classify if the passage has a definite objective/aim/goal or not. Output '1' if the passage has a defininte objective/aim/goal and output '0' if the passage does not have a definite objective/aim/goal.
PROBLEM: Vascular pathology is associated with reduced performance on neuropsychological tests, particularly in older adults. A likely explanation involves a disruption in the blood brain barrier (BBB). Work from clinical samples show alterations in BBB function is associated with cognitive dysfunction on testing, though no study has examined this possibility in healthy older adults.', '35 older adults, without significant neurological or psychiatric history, underwent fasting blood draw and neuropsychological testing. Serum levels of S100beta were quantified to provide a measure of BBB function.', 'Partial correlations showed S100beta levels were inversely related to performance in multiple cognitive domains, including memory (r = 0.43, p = 0.02), psychomotor speed and visual attention (r = 0.37, p = 0.05), and working memory (r = -0.48, p = 0.008).

SOLUTION: 1

PROBLEM: We aimed to better discriminate metastasized (lymphogen/occult/both combined) from non-metastasized seminoma based on post-transcriptional changes examined in the peripheral blood.', 'Total RNAs including small RNAs were isolated from the peripheral blood of patients suffering from metastasized testicular tumours (lymphogen, n = 5, clinical stage IIb/c; occult, n = 5, clinical stage I) and non-metastasized patients (n = 5, clinical stage I). Small RNA next generation sequencing (SOLID, Life Technologies) was employed to examine post-transcriptional changes. We searched for small RNAs showing at least 50 reads and a significant\u2009 ≥ 2-fold difference using peripheral blood small RNAs of non-metastasized tumours as the reference group. Candidate small RNAs were examined in univariate logistic regression analysis and combinations of two small RNAs were further examined using support vector machines.', 'On average 1.3 x 10(7), 1.2 x 10(7) and 1.2 x 10(7) small RNA reads were detectable in non-metastasized, lymphogen and occult metastasized seminoma, respectively of which 73-76% remained after trimming. From these between 80-82% represented annotated reads and 7.2-7.8% (1.6-1.7 x 10(4)) were annotated small RNA tags. Of them 137 small RNAs showed > 50 reads and a ≥ two-fold difference to the reference. In univariate analysis we detected 33-35 different small RNAs which significantly discriminated lymphogen/occult/combined metastasized from non-metastasized seminoma and among these different comparisons it were the same small RNAs in 44-79%. Many combinations of two of these small RNAs completely discriminated metastasized from non-metastasized seminoma irrespective of the metastasis subtype.

SOLUTION: 0

PROBLEM: Sinonasal epithelial cells are recognized as drivers of inflammation in chronic sinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) through secretion of T helper 2 (Th2)-promoting cytokines. P-glycoprotein (P-gp) is overexpressed in nasal polyps and modulates epithelial cytokine secretion in healthy mucosa. The objective of this study is to determine whether P-gp overactivity promotes Th2-associated cytokine secretion in CRSwNP.', 'Polyp explants (n = 4) and primary epithelial cell cultures (n = 5) were cultivated from patients with CRSwNP. Explant P-gp activity was determined using a calcein assay. In culture, P-gp was quantified by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and sensitivity to PSC-833 inhibition was determined using a calcein assay. Lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated cytokine secretion of interleukin 6 (IL-6), IL-8, IL-25, and granulocyte macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) were quantified by ELISA and compared to secretion following P-gp inhibition. Differences in P-gp expression and cytokine secretion were compared using a Mann-Whitney U test. Secretion was correlated with P-gp expression using a Pearson correlation coefficient.', 'Calcein retention is increased in P-gp inhibited vs uninhibited polyp explants (mean ± standard deviation [SD]; 5.17 ± 1.76 vs 2.55 ± 0.62; p < 0.05) but not in controls, indicating increased nasal polyp P-gp activity. P-gp is sensitive to dose-dependent P-gp inhibition with PSC-833 in vitro. LPS-stimulated secretion of normalized GM-CSF (45.21 ± 41.39) and IL-6 (63.16 ± 36.37) were significantly reduced following P-gp inhibition (8.47 ± 3.28; p < 0.01, and 39.94 ± 31.07; p < 0.05; respectively) and secretion was highly correlated with P-gp expression(r = 0.824, p < 0.05, and r = 0.833, p < 0.05; respectively).

SOLUTION:
0