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: We designed an assessment and education program which was delivered to patients prior to first outpatient appointment for bariatric surgery. We hypothesised that this program would streamline care and would lead to improved weight loss following bariatric surgery.', 'The program incorporates a structured general practitioners (GP) review, a patient information evening and an on-line learning package. It was introduced in September 2012. Patient flow through the program was recorded. Outcomes of the new program were compared with contemporaneously treated patients who did not undertake the pre-hospital program.', 'All 636 patients on the waiting list for first appointment at the Alfred Health bariatric surgery clinic were invited to participate. There were 400 patients ultimately removed from the waiting list for first appointment. Of the remaining 236 patients, 229 consented to participate in the new program. The mean BMI was 47.8\u2009±\u20099.2. The fail to attend first appointment rate dropped from 12 to 2.1\xa0%. At 12\xa0months post-bariatric surgery, patients who undertook the new program (n\u2009=\u200982) had a mean excess weight loss (EWL) of 41.1\u2009±\u200920.3\xa0% where as those treated on the standard pathway (n\u2009=\u200961) had a mean EWL 32\u2009±\u200918.0\xa0% (p\u2009=\u20090.012).

SOLUTION: Does a Pre-Hospital Patient Education Program improve Outcomes of Bariatric Surgery?

PROBLEM: In Australia, adult immunisation coverage is primarily monitored via periodic telephone surveys that rely on self-reported immunisation status. All Australian residents are eligible for Medicare, so we examined the feasibility of using immunisation-specific Medicare Benefits Schedule (MBS) item numbers to monitor and estimate adult influenza immunisation coverage.', 'Baseline questionnaire data from 267 129 participants from the 45 and Up Study, a prospective cohort study, were linked to data containing information on individual MBS immunisation-specific items from 2006 to 2011. Temporal trends in recording of these items were examined. Self-reported influenza immunisation status obtained from a follow-up questionnaire from 27 036 participants was then compared with the MBS immunisation records.', 'From 2006 to 2011, the pattern of MBS immunisation claims was consistent with self-reported influenza immunisation trends, with annual peaks occurring from March to May. There was fair agreement between MBS immunisation records and self-reported influenza immunisation: 48.8% (95% CI 47.1, 50.4) of participants who self-reported influenza immunisation had a matching MBS record, and 79.6% (95% CI 78.8, 80.4) who reported never having influenza immunisation had no matching MBS record. However, compared with self-reported influenza vaccination for people aged ≥65 years from the 2009 Adult Immunisation Telephone Survey (74.6%), the proportion of participants aged >65 years with an MBS immunisation record was low, with an annual median of 39.3% (range 28.3%-62.1%).

SOLUTION: Do medicare Benefits Schedule data to monitor influenza immunisation in Australian adults?

PROBLEM: CD100, also known as Sema4D, is a member of the semaphorin family and has important regulatory functions that promote immune cell activation and responses. The role of CD100 expression on B cells in immune regulation during chronic hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection remains unclear.', 'We longitudinally investigated the altered expression of CD100, its receptor CD72, and other activation markers CD69 and CD86 on B cells in 20 chronic HCV-infected patients before and after treatment with pegylated interferon-alpha (Peg-IFN-α) and ribavirin (RBV) by flow cytometry.', 'The frequency of CD5+ B cells as well as the expression levels of CD100, CD69 and CD86 was significantly increased in chronic HCV patients and returned to normal in patients with sustained virological response after discontinuation of IFN-α/RBV therapy. Upon IFN-α treatment, CD100 expression on B cells and the two subsets was further up-regulated in patients who achieved early virological response, and this was confirmed by in vitro experiments. Moreover, the increased CD100 expression via IFN-α was inversely correlated with the decline of the HCV-RNA titer during early-phase treatment.

SOLUTION:
Is cD100 up-regulation induced by interferon-α on B cells related to hepatitis C virus infection?