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.

Prevention of intraabdominal abscess formation constitutes an important goal in treatment of secondary peritonitis. Fibrinolytic therapy may be effective in this respect. The efficacy of recombinant tissue plasminogen activator (rtPA) and urokinase is compared in a preclinical model for surgical treatment of peritonitis.', 'Peritonitis was induced by intraperitoneal bacterial challenge in male Wistar rats. After 1 hour, surgery was performed. Four groups (n = 20) were treated with one of the following: rtPA, urokinase, streptokinase (a negative protein control), or saline. Blood cultures were taken at 6 and 24 hours; cell counts and cytokine measurements were performed in peritoneal fluid at 1, 3 and 5 days. After 5 days, animals were killed and intraperitoneal abscess formation was analyzed.', 'Both rtPA and urokinase strongly (> 75%) and significantly (P < .05) reduced abscess formation without negative side effects. No bleeding complications were observed. Fibrinolytic therapy altered the intraperitoneal cellular distribution (less neutrophils and more macrophages) but did not essentially alter the courses of interleukin-6 and interleukin-10 (decreasing in time) or tumor necrosis factor-* (increasing in time) levels.
Do both tissue-type plasminogen activator and urokinase prevent intraabdominal abscess formation after surgical treatment of peritonitis in the rat?

The HOX genes are a family of homeodomain-containing transcription factors that determine cellular identity during development and which are dys-regulated in some cancers. In this study we examined the expression and oncogenic function of HOX genes in mesothelioma, a cancer arising from the pleura or peritoneum which is associated with exposure to asbestos.', 'We tested the sensitivity of the mesothelioma-derived lines MSTO-211H, NCI-H28, NCI-H2052, and NCI-H226 to HXR9, a peptide antagonist of HOX protein binding to its PBX co-factor. Apoptosis was measured using a FACS-based assay with Annexin, and HOX gene expression profiles were established using RT-QPCR on RNA extracted from cell lines and primary mesotheliomas. The in vivo efficacy of HXR9 was tested in a mouse MSTO-211H flank tumor xenograft model.', 'We show that HOX genes are significantly dysregulated in malignant mesothelioma. Targeting HOX genes with HXR9 caused apoptotic cell death in all of the mesothelioma-derived cell lines, and prevented the growth of mesothelioma tumors in a mouse xenograft model. Furthermore, the sensitivity of these lines to HXR9 correlated with the relative expression of HOX genes that have either an oncogenic or tumor suppressive function in cancer. The analysis of HOX expression in primary mesothelioma tumors indicated that these cells could also be sensitive to the disruption of HOX activity by HXR9, and that the expression of HOXB4 is strongly associated with overall survival.
Are hOX transcription factors potential targets and markers in malignant mesothelioma?

Sphingolipids constitute bioactive molecules with functional implications in homeostasis and pathogenesis of various diseases. However, the role of sphingolipids as possible disease biomarkers in chronic liver disease remains largely unexplored. In the present study we used mass spectrometry and spectrofluorometry methods in order to quantify various sphingolipid metabolites and also assess the activity of an important corresponding regulating enzyme in the serum of 72 healthy volunteers as compared to 69 patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and 69 patients with chronic hepatitis C virus infection. Our results reveal a significant upregulation of acid sphingomyelinase in the serum of patients with chronic liver disease as compared to healthy individuals (p<0.001). Especially in chronic hepatitis C infection acid sphingomyelinase activity correlated significantly with markers of hepatic injury (r=0.312, p=0.009) and showed a high discriminative power. Accumulation of various (dihydro-) ceramide species was identified in the serum of patients with non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (p<0.001) and correlated significantly to cholesterol (r=0.448, p<0.001) but showed a significant accumulation in patients with normal cholesterol values as well (p<0.001). Sphingosine, a further bioactive metabolite, was also upregulated in chronic liver disease (p<0.001). However, no significant correlation to markers of hepatic injury was identified.

Is serum acid sphingomyelinase upregulated in chronic hepatitis C infection and non alcoholic fatty liver disease?