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.
--------
Question: Several studies have reported that ventriculoperitoneal shunt insertion for treatment of normal-pressure hydrocephalus results in improvement of gait and, less frequently, improvement of cognition. We sought to identify the demographic factors associated with cognitive improvement after shunt insertion to improve assessment of prognosis for cognitive gains with treatment.', 'We report cognitive testing before and after ventriculoperitoneal shunt insertion in 36 patients with normal pressure hydrocephalus, who previously had improvement of any clinical symptom--gait, urinary incontinence, cognition--after a diagnostic trial of continuous cerebrospinal fluid drainage.

Answer: 0


Question: 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.

Answer: 0


Question: Severity of pancreatitis seems to be aggravated by impairment of vascular perfusion of the gland. Early mortality occurs within the first few days from the acute consequences of pancreatic injury with subsequent inflammatory response. Because vasoactive substances, including endothelin, seem to contribute to early mortality in acute pancreatitis, we tested the hypothesis that the inhibition of endothelin action could alter the outcome after severe experimental pancreatitis.', 'In two groups of rats, pancreatitis was induced by intraductal infusion into the pancreatic duct of 1 microL/g body weight (b.w.) of either a 4% or a 5% sodium taurocholate solution. The mixed endothelin A and endothelin B receptor antagonist bosentan (20 mg/kg b.w.) or vehicle was injected intravenously in 12-h intervals for 3 d starting 1 h after induction of bile acid pancreatitis. This dose of bosentan is known to completely inhibit the effect of exogenous endothelin. The survival rate was monitored for 7 d. Thereafter, the surviving rats were sacrificed and the pancreas was prepared for histological and biochemical evaluation.', 'Irrespective of the treatment protocol (bosentan versus saline), survival was not different in animals challenged with either 4% or 5% sodium taurocholate. The corresponding survival rates were 62% with bosentan and 77% without bosentan in the 4% sodium taurocholate group. In the 5% sodium taurocholate group, the survival rates were 20% with and 27% without bosentan. Morphological and biochemical alterations were identical in control as well as in endothelin-antagonist-treated rats.

Answer:
0