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.

Hypoxemia is a common complication of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and a major factor in patients' prognosis and quality of life. The response to exercise has been evaluated by various means but no standardization has been accepted.", 'To suggest a simple outpatient technique for evaluating the response of arterial oxygen saturation to exercise for use as a marker of disease severity.', 'Ninety-six patients with various degrees of COPD were divided into three groups: mild (forced expiratory volume in 1 sec > 65%), moderate (FEV1 between 50 and 65%), and severe (FEV1 < 50%). Using continuous oximeter recording we measured oxygen saturation during 15 steps of climbing, and quantified oxygen desaturation by measuring the "desaturation area," defined as the area under the curve of oxygen saturation from the beginning of exercise through the lowest desaturation point and until after recovery to the baseline level of oxygen percent saturation. Desaturation was correlated to spirometry, lung gas volumes, blood gas analysis, and 6 min walking distance.', 'A good correlation was found between severity of COPD and baseline SaO2, lowest SaO2, recovery time, and desaturation area. A negative correlation was found between desaturation area and FEV1 (r = -0.65), FEV1/forced vital capacity (r = -0.58), residual volume to total lung capacity (r = 0.52), and diffusing lung capacity for carbon monoxide (r = -0.52). In stepwise multiple regression analysis only FEV1 correlated significantly to desaturation area. A good correlation was noted between 6 min walking distance and desaturation area with the 15 steps technique (r = 0.56).
Do quantitative 15 steps exercise oximetry as a marker of disease severity in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease?

Various pathways involved in the pathogenesis of sJIA have been identified through gene expression profiling in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC), but not in neutrophils. Since neutrophils are important in tissue damage during inflammation, and are elevated as part of the acute phase response, we hypothesised that neutrophil pathways could also be important in the pathogenesis of sJIA. We therefore studied the gene profile in both PBMC and neutrophils of sJIA patients treated with tocilizumab.', 'We studied the transcriptomes of peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and neutrophils from eight paired samples obtained from 4 sJIA patients taken before and after treatment, selected on the basis that they achieved ACR90 responses within 12 weeks of therapy initiation with tocilizumab. RNA was extracted and gene expression profiling was performed using Affymetrix GeneChip Human Genome U133 Plus 2.0 microarray platform. A longitudinal analysis using paired t-test (p\u2009<\u20090.05 and FC\u2009≥\u20091.5) was applied to identify differentially expressed genes (DEGs) between the two time points followed by ingenuity pathway analysis. Gene Set Enrichment Analysis (GSEA) and quantitative real-time PCR were then performed to verify the microarray results.', 'Gene ontology analysis in neutrophils revealed that response to tocilizumab significantly altered genes regulating mitochondrial dysfunction and oxidative stress (p\u2009=\u20094.6E-05). This was independently verified with GSEA, by identifying a set of oxidative genes whose expression correlated with response to tocilizumab. In PBMC, treatment of sJIA with tocilizumab appeared to affect genes in Oncostatin M signalling and B cell pathways.
Are mitochondrial and oxidative stress genes differentially expressed in neutrophils of sJIA patients treated with tocilizumab : a pilot microarray study?

The underlying genetic factors for the development and progression of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) are largely unknown. TNFalpha is a well characterized inflammatory mediator and is implicated in the development of HCC. We investigated TNFalpha polymorphisms for association with HCC.', 'The study population consisted of 227 HCC patients and 365 age and sex matched Korean controls. TNFalpha polymorphisms (G-238A, C-857T, and C-863A) were genotyped using pyrosequencing analysis. TNFalpha levels in patients with HCC were determined by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Logistic regression analysis was used to determine the association with HCC and haplotype was calculated using EH program.', 'Of three TNFalpha polymorphisms investigated in our study, C-863A did not correlate with HCC. However, both G-238A and C-857T were found to be significantly associated with HCC. TNFalpha -238A allele was more frequent in HCC patients than in control [P=0.012; odds ratio (OR), 1.89; 95% confidence interval (CI), 1.14-3.13]. TNFalpha -857T was significantly associated with HCC patients (P=0.001; OR, 1.63; 95% CI, 1.21-2.19). Haplotype analysis revealed that the GTC haplotype (G-238A, C-857T, C-863A) was a risk marker for HCC (P=0.0021). Serum TNFalpha level was significantly increased in HCC patients with CT+TT genotype for TNFalpha -857 (P=0.018).

Is tNFalpha promoter polymorphism a risk factor for susceptibility in hepatocellular carcinoma in Korean population?