TASK DEFINITION: Given a passage with a context and an answer, 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.
PROBLEM: Context: Absenteeism from outpatient appointments is common. Telephone appointment-reminder calls reduce outpatient-appointment absenteeism in many clinic settings.', 'To determine if telephone appointment-reminder calls reduce outpatient absenteeism at a hospital-based pulmonary function laboratory.', 'We conducted a retrospective review of our pulmonary function laboratory\'s outpatient appointment records from April to November 2004. Data were collected from consecutive outpatient appointments, including patient age, sex, whether a telephone appointment-reminder call was successfully made, and whether the patient showed up for the scheduled test. We performed 3 analyses. Differences in absenteeism between the groups was the primary outcome measure. First, appointments were separated into 2 groups: (1) appointments for which a reminder call was attempted ("called" group) and (2) appointments for which a reminder call was not attempted ("not-called" group). The appointments were then separated into 2 further groups: (1) the reminder call was successfully achieved ("contacted" group) and (2) the patient either was not called or was called but could not be reached ("not-contacted" group). Finally, the contacted group was separated into 2 further groups: (1) reminder calls that resulted in direct conversation with an appropriate person at the patient\'s listed telephone number, and (2) reminder message left on an answering machine.', 'Data were collected from 515 consecutive outpatient appointments; 45 (8.7%) of these patients did not show up for testing. The absentee rate was 4.7% (n = 10) in the called group and 11.6% (n = 35) in the not-called group (p = 0.0066). In the called group, 6.5% (n = 14) could not be reached. The absentee rate was 4% (n = 8) in the contacted group and 11.7% (n = 37) in the not-contacted group (p = 0.0021). We found no difference in absenteeism between patients who received reminders via direct conversation (4.2%) and those who had a reminder message left on an answering machine (3.7%) (p > 0.05).
Answer: A policy of reminding outpatients of their appointments via telephone reduces absenteeism at a hospital-based pulmonary function laboratory. We found no difference in absenteeism between communicating the reminder via direct conversation versus via leaving a message on an answering machine.

SOLUTION: Does the effect of telephone appointment-reminder call on outpatient absenteeism in a pulmonary function laboratory?

PROBLEM: Context: Frontotemporal dementia is a neurodegenerative disease affecting mostly the frontal and/or temporal lobes, with neuronal loss and intraneuronal and/or intraglial inclusions composed of hyperphosphorylated microtubule-associated protein tau and ubiquitin. Missense and splice site mutations in the TAU gene have been identified in approximately 15% of all frontotemporal dementia cases. In this study, we evaluated the involvement of mutations in the TAU gene in development of frontotemporal dementia phenotype in patients of French or English Canadian origins.', 'Fourteen patients with frontotemporal dementia phenotype and 98 normal controls were recruited for the study. The TAU gene was screened by sequencing and denaturing high performance liquid chromatography.', 'No mutations, except some new polymorphisms, were detected in the TAU gene of these patients. One polymorphism, however, may play a role in pathogenesis.
Answer: Our results agree with previous work suggesting that mutations in this gene are not a frequent cause of the frontotemporal dementia phenotype in Canadian patients.

SOLUTION: Are tAU mutations a predominant cause of frontotemporal dementia in Canadian patients?

PROBLEM: Context: Although neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) for locally advanced breast cancer can improve operability and local disease control, there is a lack of reliable biomarkers that predict response to chemotherapy or long-term survival. Since expression of aldehyde dehydrogenase-1 (ALDH1) is associated with the stem-like properties of self-renewal and innate chemoresistance in breast cancer, we asked whether expression in serial tumor samples treated with NAC could identify women more likely to benefit from this therapy.', "Women with locally advanced breast cancer were randomly assigned to receive four cycles of anthracycline-based chemotherapy, followed by four cycles of taxane therapy (Arm A), or the same regimen in reverse order (Arm B). Tumor specimens were collected at baseline, after four cycles, and then at surgical resection. ALDH1 expression was determined by immunohistochemistry and correlated with tumor response using Fisher's exact test while Kaplan-Meier method was used to calculate survival.", 'A hundred and nineteen women were enrolled into the study. Fifty seven (48%) were randomized to Arm A and 62 (52%) to Arm B. Most of the women (90%) had ductal carcinoma and 10% had lobular carcinoma. Of these, 26 (22%) achieved a pathological complete response (pCR) after NAC. There was no correlation between baseline ALDH1 expression and tumor grade, stage, hormone receptor, human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2) status and Ki67 index. ALDH1 negativity at baseline was significantly associated with pCR (P\u2009=\u20090.004). The presence of ALDH1(+) cells in the residual tumor cells in non-responding women was strongly predictive of worse overall survival (P\u2009=\u20090.024). Moreover, serial analysis of specimens from non-responders showed a marked increase in tumor-specific ALDH1 expression (P\u2009=\u20090.028). Overall, there was no survival difference according to the chemotherapy sequence. However, poorly responding tumours from women receiving docetaxel chemotherapy showed an unexpected significant increase in ALDH1 expression.
Answer: ALDH1 expression is a useful predictor of chemoresistance. The up-regulation of ALDH1 after NAC predicts poor survival in locally advanced breast cancer. Although the chemotherapy sequence had no effect on overall prognosis, our results suggest that anthracycline-based chemotherapy may be more effective at targeting ALDH1(+) breast cancer cells.

SOLUTION:
Do changes in aldehyde dehydrogenase-1 expression during neoadjuvant chemotherapy predict outcome in locally advanced breast cancer?