TASK DEFINITION: In this task, you are given a passage which has a question and the context. You have to generate an answer to the question based on the information present in the context.
PROBLEM: Context: In adults with growth hormone (GH) deficiency (GHD), GH treatment restores impaired endothelial function, a precursor of cardiovascular disease. Its effect in children with GHD is unknown.', 'Three months of GH (0.3 mg/kg/wk) were given to nine children with GHD. Endothelial function was measured via reactive hyperemic response. Forearm blood flow (FBF, strain gauge plethysmography) was measured before and after 5 min of upper arm arterial occlusion. Blood pressure and lipid, insulin and glucose levels were measured. Pretreatment endothelial function was compared to 18 previously studied control children.', 'Percent fall in forearm vascular resistance was greater in controls (81.2 +/- 1.9%) than in children with GHD (69.6 +/- 5.3%, p = 0.021) but was not affected by GH (60.6 +/- 7.5%). GH markedly increased HOMAIR (21 +/- 7 versus 43 +/- 8, p = 0.004). Plasma lipid levels did not significantly differ.\Question: Does growth hormone ( GH ) treatment restore endothelial function in children with GH deficiency?

SOLUTION: These results indicate that endothelial function is impaired in children with GHD. GH therapy does not restore the impairment.

PROBLEM: Context: The characteristic ease of use, rapid time to result, and low cost of malaria rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) promote their widespread use at the point-of-care for malaria detection and surveillance. However, in many settings, the success of malaria elimination campaigns depends on point-of-care diagnostics with greater sensitivity than currently available RDTs. To address this need, a sample preparation method was developed to deliver more biomarkers onto a malaria RDT by concentrating the biomarker from blood sample volumes that are too large to be directly applied to a lateral flow strip.', 'In this design, Ni-NTA-functionalized magnetic beads captured the Plasmodium falciparum biomarker HRPII from a P. falciparum D6 culture spiked blood sample. This transfer of magnetic beads to the RDT was facilitated by an inexpensive 3D-printed apparatus that aligned the sample tube with the sample deposition pad and a magnet beneath the RDT. Biomarkers were released from the bead surface onto the lateral flow strip using imidazole-spiked running buffer. Kinetics of HRPII binding to the Ni-NTA beads as a function of blood sample volume were explored prior to determining the effect of the proposed method on the limit of detection of Paracheck RDTs.', 'More than 80\xa0% of HRPII biomarkers were extracted from blood sample volumes ranging from 25 to 250\xa0µL. The time required to reach 80\xa0% binding ranged from 5 to 60\xa0min, depending on sample volume. Using 250\xa0μL of blood and a 30-min biomarker binding time, the limit of detection of the Paracheck Pf RDT brand was improved by 21-fold, resulting in a limit of detection below 1 parasite/μL.\Question: Does direct transfer of HRPII-magnetic bead complexes to malaria rapid diagnostic tests significantly improve test sensitivity?

SOLUTION: This approach has the sensitivity and simplicity required to assist in malaria elimination campaigns in settings with limited access to clinical and laboratory resources.

PROBLEM: Context: Substaging of T1 bladder tumors into T1a and T1b based on invasion of the tumor superficial to and beyond the muscularis mucosa has been assigned prognostic significance. We determined whether outcomes after intravesical bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) differ between stage T1a and T1b subcategories.', 'Retrospective pathological evaluation of the initial transurethral resection specimens of stage T1 bladder tumors was performed by 2 pathologists. Grade 1, 2 or 3 and stage T1a or T1b were assigned to each case. Followup was from the date of transurethral resection to date of death or the last visit. Kaplan-Meier probability and log rank test were used to evaluate recurrence and progression.', 'Substaging was performed in 49 of the 55 patients (89%) with stage T1 disease. Disease was stage T1a in 32 (65%), stage T1b in 17 (35%), grade 3 in 45 (92%) and grade 2 in 4 (8%) cases. Maximum followup was 147 months (median 71) and 28 cases had a minimum of 5 years of followup. Recurrence was noted in 33 cases (67.3%), including 22 stage T1a (69%) and 11 stage T1b (65%), at a median followup of 11.3 and 8.6 months, respectively. Progression to a higher stage of disease was recorded in 12 cases (24.4%), including 7 (22%) stage T1a and 5 (29%) stage T1b, at a median followup of 108 and 120 months, respectively. The difference between T1a and T1b subcategories was not statistically significant in regard to recurrence-free (p = 0.7203) and progression-free (p = 0.574) outcomes.\Question: Are outcomes after intravesical bacillus Calmette-Guerin affected by substaging of high grade T1 transitional cell carcinoma?

SOLUTION:
Substaging of T1 tumors did not affect response to BCG in regard to recurrence or progression. Therefore, intravesical BCG is effective for stages T1a and T1b disease.