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.

Immune monitoring (IM) has not been shown to be associated with cardiac allograft vasculopathy (CAV).', 'Maximal intimal area, average percent stenosis, plaque volume, and maximal intimal thickness (MIT) were measured for matched baseline and one-yr IVUS segments in a blinded fashion. Patients were divided into quartiles by IM scores and outcomes compared. Optimal IM cutoff was determined.', 'IM assays were measured at 63.7 ± 16.4 d after transplantation in fifty patients. Progression of maximal intimal area (p = 0.005), average percent stenosis (p < 0.001), plaque volume (p = 0.005), and MIT (p = 0.001) were increased across the quartiles. An optimal IM assay cutoff of 406.0 ng ATP/mL demonstrated a sensitivity of 66.7% and specificity of 94.3% for predicting rapid progression of MIT ≥ 0.5 mm. Mean IM scores for Group 1 vs. Group 2 were 176.4 ± 102.2 and 616.3 ± 239.5 ngATP/mL, respectively. Rapid progression of MIT ≥ 0.5 mm occurred in 5/38 patients (13.2%) in Group 1 vs. 10/12 patients (83.3%) in Group 2 (p < 0.001). The risk ratio for rapid progression with elevated IM was 11.7 (p < 0.001).
Is elevated immune monitoring early after cardiac transplantation associated with increased plaque progression by intravascular ultrasound?

We developed a lactoferrin conjugate by modifying bovine lactoferrin (bLF) with a 40-kDa branched poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) molecule (designated 40 k-PEG-bLf), and we evaluated its in vitro activities and pharmacokinetic properties.', 'We prepared 40k-PEG-bLf by amino conjugation with N-hydroxysuccinimide-activated PEG. This conjugate was purified by cation exchange chromatography and its in vitro biological activities, such as iron binding, anti-inflammatory effects, and resistance to proteolytic enzymes were investigated. In vivo pharmacokinetics analyses, were also performed to examine the rate of clearance from the plasma in rats.', 'The 40k-PEG-bLf conjugate was fully active in iron binding and exhibited 97.1 +/- 5.5% (mean +/- S.E., n = 6) of the original anti-inflammatory activity. The in vitro peptic susceptibility of 40 k-PEG-bLf revealed that the proteolytic half-life increased at least 6-fold that of unmodified LF. This PEGylated conjugate demonstrated a plasma half-life that was 8.7-fold longer than that of the unmodified bLF in rats.
Does lactoferrin conjugated with 40-kDa branched poly ( ethylene glycol ) have an improved circulating half-life?

Peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR)-β/δ is a transcription factor that belongs to the nuclear hormone receptor family. There is little information about the effects of the immediate administration of specific ligands of PPAR-β/δ (GW0742) in animal models of acute ischemic stroke. Using a rat model of middle cerebral ischemia occlusion (MCAO) in\xa0vivo, we have investigated the effect of pretreatment with GW0742 before MCAO.', 'The neuroprotective effect of GW0742 against acute ischemic stroke was evaluated by the neurologic deficit score (NDS), dry-wet weight, and 2,3,5-triphenyltetrazolium chloride staining. The levels of interleukin (IL)-1β, nuclear factor (NF)-κB, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-α were detected by an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The expressions of inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS), Bax, and Bcl-2 were detected by Western blot. The apoptotic cells were counted by in situ terminal deoxyribonucleotidyl transferase-mediated deoxyuridine triphosphate-biotin nick end labeling assay.', 'The pretreatment with GW0742 significantly increased the expression of Bcl-2, and significantly decreased in the volume of infarction, NDS, edema, expressions of IL-1β, NF-κB, TNFα, and Bax, contents of iNOS and the apoptotic cells in infarct cerebral hemisphere compared with rats in the vehicle group at 24\xa0hours after MCAO.

Does activation of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor β/δ attenuate acute ischemic stroke on middle cerebral ischemia occlusion in rats?