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.
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Question: The biliary cast syndrome (BCS) is a frequent problem following liver transplantation. The pathogenesis of this complication is not well understood. Previous research has demonstrated that the soluble form of MICA (sMICA) is significantly higher in patients with chronic liver disease and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) than in healthy volunteers. The aim of this study is to investigate the possible involvement of sMICA in the formation of BCS after liver transplantation.', 'Serum soluble MICA was retrospectively evaluated in pre- and post-transplant sera from 133 consecutive primary liver transplant patients and in sera from 88 healthy volunteers using sandwich ELISA. Normal distribution of serum sMICA was described by the data obtained from healthy population and sMICA concentration that was greater than the upper bound 95% normal range was considered as high levels of sMICA. Patient records were reviewed to identify patients who developed BCS.', 'The results demonstrated that 37.6% of patients with end-stage liver diseases had significantly higher pre-transplant serum sMICA than in healthy population. 34.4% of recipients with post-transplant high levels of sMICA developed BCS. In contrast, 17.3% of patients with post-transplant normal levels of sMICA developed BCS. The risk of BCS development is significantly associated with the presence of post-transplant high levels of sMICA (P=0.0365). Further analysis disclosed that patients with decreased post-transplant sMICA following liver transplantation had a lower incidence rate of BCS than those with remained high levels of sMICA after transplantation (10.5% vs. 38.7%, P=0.0302). Furthermore, log-rank test showed that BCS occurrence was significantly associated with dynamic changes of sMICA among different groups (P=0.0188).

Answer: Are high levels of soluble Major Histocompatibility Complex class I related chain A ( MICA ) associated with biliary cast syndrome after liver transplantation?


Question: Pirfenidone (5 methyl-1-phenyl-2(1H)-pyridone) is a novel anti-fibrotic agent, which has been shown to decrease collagen deposition in a variety of animal models in vivo, and recently in hepatic fibrosis also. At cellular level, we have recently demonstrated that pirfenidone is able to inhibit proliferation of hepatic stellate cells induced by platelet-derived growth factor, as well as collagen type I accumulation and alpha1(I) procollagen mRNA expression.', 'To evaluate if pirfenidone maintains its anti-fibrotic properties also when administered after the induction of hepatic damage and to further investigate the molecular mechanisms leading to the anti-fibrotic effect of pirfenidone.', 'Rats treated with dimethylnitrosamine (10 mg/kg) for 5 weeks received a liquid diet containing 0.5% pirfenidone starting from the third week. Pirfenidone treatment reduced the degree of liver injury, as determined by alanine aminotransferase values and necro-inflammatory score, which was associated with reduced hepatic stellate cells proliferation and collagen deposition. Treatment with dimethylnitrosamine increased transcripts levels for transforming growth factorbeta1, procollagen alpha1(I), tissue inhibitors of metalloproteinase-1 and matrix metalloproteinase-2 by 7-, 7-, 4- and 15-fold, respectively. Pirfenidone administration downregulated elevated levels of those transcripts by 50-60%, and this was associated with a 70% reduction in collagen deposition.

Answer: Is the anti-fibrotic effect of pirfenidone in rat liver fibrosis mediated by downregulation of procollagen alpha1 ( I ) , TIMP-1 and MMP-2?


Question: Three-year colonoscopic surveillance after initial polypectomy may not be required for all patients. Those with multiple baseline polyps and large adenomas, implicated as predictors of colon cancer, merit close observation. Conversely, patients with single small adenomas may be subjected to early endoscopic surveillance unnecessarily.', 'From our Adenoma Registry we evaluated patient and adenoma characteristics in 697 patients. All had an adenoma recurrence within 3 years of a positive baseline colonoscopy. Potential risk factors studied were age, gender, number of adenomas, size of largest adenoma and histology. We defined a significant outcome as size of 1 cm or greater, tubulovillous or villous histology, high-grade dysplasia, carcinoma in situ, invasive cancer, or 4 or more adenomas.', 'Having 3 or more adenomas on initial colonoscopy with at least 1 measuring 1 cm or larger greatly increased the chance of a significant finding on the first surveillance colonoscopy. Conversely, patients with 1 or 2 adenomas all measuring less than 1 cm were at extremely low risk of an important outcome within 3 years.

Answer:
Are adenoma size and number predictive of adenoma recurrence : implications for surveillance colonoscopy?