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.

[EX Q]: Stilbenes are plant secondary metabolites that have shown promising and varied biological activities. Stilbenes are presently actively studied for the exploitation of this primary raw material resource, involving the concept of biorefining. Methods for the rapid discovery of new and known stilbene structures from various plant sources are thus keenly sought.', 'To establish a simple and rapid technique of off-line HPLC with a diode-array detector (DAD) and NMR for the unambiguous structural elucidation of stilbene structures in the root bark of Norway spruce [Picea abies (L.) Karst.].', 'The stilbene containing fraction was extracted from the plant bark with an ethanol:water mixture (95:5, v/v) preceded by defatting of hydrophobic compounds with n-hexane using the accelerated solvent extraction technique. A portion of the ethanol-water soluble extract was hydrolysed with β-glucosidase to prepare stilbene aglycones. The extracts were further purified and enriched using a polymeric adsorbent. Stilbene-enriched extracts were directly characterised by off-line HPLC/DAD-NMR in conjunction with HPLC/DAD and HPLC/DAD with electrospray ionisation MS(n).', 'Trans-isorhapontin and trans-astringin were identified as the major, and trans-piceid as a minor, stilbene glucosides of the bark of roots of Picea abies. Not only stilbene glucosides but also the corresponding stilbene aglycones, such as trans-resveratrol, trans-piceatannol and trans-isorhapontigenin, were rapidly identified from the hydrolysed extract. The acquired heteronuclear single-quantum coherence and heteronuclear multiple bond correlation spectra were used to assign the complete carbon NMR chemical shifts of trans-isorhapontin and trans-astringin without the need of acquiring a (13)C-NMR spectrum.
[EX A]: Do rapid chemical characterisation of stilbenes in the root bark of Norway spruce by off-line HPLC/DAD-NMR?

[EX Q]: Better prognosis of cancer including hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) remains unsatisfactory due to recurrence and chemoresistance. In this respect it is important to identify molecular targets specific to the disease in order to design effective therapeutic strategies. In the present study, we investigated the prognostic role of Never-in-mitosis-A-related kinase 2 (NEK2) in HCC.', 'Fifty HCC patients who underwent hepatectomy were enrolled in the study. NEK2 gene and protein expression was examined by quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) and immunohistochemistry, respectively.', 'Higher expression of NEK2 was detected in HCC tumoral compared to adjacent non-tumor tissues (p<0.001), and protein expression was also relatively high in tumor than corresponding non-tumor tissues. Furthermore, high NEK2 expression was positively correlated with hepatic venous invasion (p=0.047), des-gammacarboxy prothrombin (p=0.003), and alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) (p=0.024). Patients with high NEK2 expression had significantly poor recurrence-free survival (p=0.042) and early recurrence.
[EX A]: Does high NEK2 Expression be a Predictor of Tumor Recurrence in Hepatocellular Carcinoma Patients After Hepatectomy?

[EX Q]: Sophorae radix (SR) has been used for various diseases including atherosclerosis and arrhythmias. Atherosclerosis induced by hyperglycemia is an important factor in the promotion of diabetic complications. An early event in atherosclerosis is the adhesion of monocytes to endothelium via adhesion molecules. Among them, vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) expression mediates the binding of monocytes and lymphocytes to vascular endothelial cells.', 'The study was performed on vascular endothelial cells (ECV304 cells) that were pretreated with various concentrations of SR extract for 3 h before exposure with high glucose (55.5 mmol/l) for 48 h. The protein expression of VCAM-1 was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) and its mRNA expression was by reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR).', 'SR extract significantly inhibited high glucose-induced expression of VCAM-1 in a dose-dependent manner and reduced the level of VCAM-1 mRNA through interfering with translocation of nuclear factor-kappaB (NF-kappaB). Decreased VCAM-1 expression by SR extract was associated reduction of adherence between high glucose-stimulated ECV304 cells and human monocyte-like HL-60 cells.
[EX A]:
Does sophorae radix extract inhibit high glucose-induced vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 up-regulation on endothelial cell line?