TASK DEFINITION: Given a passage, construct a question on the basis of the information present in the passage. Construct the question in such a way that (i) it is unambiguous, (ii) it is answerable from the passage, (iii) its answer is unique (iv) it answer uses text phrases from the passage. Avoid creating questions that (i) can't be answered correctly without actually understanding the passage and (ii) uses the same words or phrases given in the passage.
PROBLEM: The antibacterial activity of antimicrobial peptides is influenced by various factors such as salt content, pH and the presence of proteins. In this study, we explored the antibacterial action of the human cathelicidin LL-37 in physiologically relevant conditions, i.e. various human wound fluids, human plasma fractions and serum.', 'Radial diffusion assays using Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli were employed for the study of antibacterial effects of LL-37 in the presence of 12 different wound fluids, citrate-, heparin- or EDTA-plasma, or human serum. Glycosaminoglycan content of wound fluids was determined by an Alcian Blue-binding assay. Protein content of wound fluids was measured by the Bradford method. A slot-binding assay was used to study the effects of inhibitors on the interaction between LL-37 and glycosaminoglycans.', 'Five of twelve wound fluids derived from acute wounds showed marked inhibitory effects on the antibacterial action of LL-37. The inhibition was significantly correlated with high glycosaminoglycan content in wound fluid. Analogous to these findings, heparin-plasma strongly inhibited the antibacterial effect of LL-37. The interaction between LL-37 and glycosaminoglycans was abrogated by the cationic polymers DEAE-dextran and chitosan, yielding increased activity of LL-37.

SOLUTION: Do glycosaminoglycans inhibit the antibacterial activity of LL-37 in biological fluids?

PROBLEM: One variant of multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 (MEN1) is defined by sporadic tumors of both the parathyroids and pituitary. The prevalence of identified MEN1 mutations in this variant is lower than in familial MEN1 (7% vs. 90%), suggesting different causes. Recently, one case of this variant had a germline mutation of p27(Kip1)/CDKN1B.', 'The objective was to test p27 in germline DNA from cases with tumors of both the parathyroids and pituitary.', 'Medical record review and sequence analysis in DNA were performed.', 'This study involved an inpatient and outpatient referral program for cases of endocrine tumors.', 'Sixteen index cases had sporadic tumors of two organs, both the parathyroids and the pituitary. There were 18 additional index cases with related features of familial tumors. Five subjects were normal controls. No case had an identified MEN1 mutation.', 'Clinical status of endocrine tumors was tabulated. Sequencing of germline DNA from index cases and control cases for the p27 gene was performed by PCR.', 'Endocrine tumor types and their expressions were measured, as were sequence changes in the p27 gene.', 'Tumor features were documented in index cases and families. One p27 germline single nucleotide change was identified. This predicted a silent substitution of Thr142Thr. Furthermore, there was a normal prevalence of heterozygosity for a common p27 polymorphism, making a large p27 deletion unlikely in all or most of these cases.

SOLUTION: Does the parathyroid/pituitary variant of multiple endocrine neoplasia type 1 usually have causes other than p27Kip1 mutations?

PROBLEM: Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is a common inflammatory disease of the upper airways that is often categorized into subtypes including "with" and "without" nasal polyps. However, the influence of multiple important epidemiologic factors, including race, on CRS has not been investigated.', 'The present study assessed various phenotypic characteristics of CRS in patients, living in the United States, with different racial backgrounds.', 'We performed a large retrospective cohort study of patients with CRS treated at a large urban tertiary care referral center in Chicago.', 'African American (AA) patients with CRS living in Chicago were more likely to report hyposmia as a symptom of CRS. Furthermore, AA patients with CRS who failed medical therapy and required surgical intervention had a significantly higher frequency of nasal polyposis and aspirin-exacerbated respiratory disease, and a higher disease severity index on computed tomography imaging than did white patients with CRS. The increased polyposis in AAs was associated with increased hospitalization for asthma. There were no differences in the prevalence of atopy, asthma, atopic dermatitis, food allergy, duration of disease, or number of surgeries between different races.

SOLUTION:
Do african American Patients with Chronic Rhinosinusitis Have a Distinct Phenotype of Polyposis Associated with Increased Asthma Hospitalization?