TASK DEFINITION: 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.
PROBLEM: It is known that enhancement of sympathetic nerve activity based on a decrease in parasympathetic nerve activity is associated with fatigue induced by mental tasks lasting more than 30 min. However, to measure autonomic nerve function and assess fatigue levels in both clinical and industrial settings, shorter experimental durations and more sensitive measurement methods are needed. The aim of the present study was to establish an improved method for inducing fatigue and evaluating the association between it and autonomic nerve activity.', 'Twenty-eight healthy female college students participated in the study. We used a kana pick-out test (KPT) as a brief verbal cognitive task and recorded electrocardiography (ECG) to measure autonomic nerve activity. The experimental design consisted of a 16-min period of ECG: A pre-task resting state with eyes open for 3 min and eyes closed for 3 min, the 4-min KPT, and a post-task resting state with eyes open for 3 min and eyes closed for 3 min.', 'Baseline fatigue sensation, measured by a visual analogue scale before the experiment, was associated with the decrease in parasympathetic sinus modulation, as indicated the by ratio of low-frequency component power (LF) to high-frequency component power (HF), during the KPT. The LF/HF ratio during the post-KPT rest with eyes open tended to be greater than the ratio during the KPT and correlated with fatigue sensation. Fatigue sensation was correlated negatively with log-transformed HF, which is an index of parasympathetic sinus modulation, during the post-KPT rest with eyes open.

SOLUTION: Does fatigue correlate with the decrease in parasympathetic sinus modulation induced by a cognitive challenge?

PROBLEM: Prostasomes are small (40-500 nm), granule-like bodies, found in normal epithelial cells of the prostate and secreted into the prostate duct system. Also poorly differentiated prostate cancer cells are producing prostasomes, since we could isolate and purify prostasomes from vertebral metastases with biochemical methods. To find out whether these prostasomes are secreted into extracellular sites of the metastases, we used electron microscopy.', 'Small biopsies from vertebral metastases of prostate cancer, taken directly from the operating field at surgery, were immediately fixated, embedded in plastic and processed for electron microscopy.', 'We found that prostasomes could be identified extracellularly in the interstitial tissues as well as in the cytoplasm of the metastatic cells.

SOLUTION: Are prostasomes secreted from poorly differentiated cells of prostate cancer metastases?

PROBLEM: To investigate the eff ect of intestinal trefoil factor (ITF) on the transcriptional activity of ITF promoter and to explore the regulatory mechanism of Janus kinase/signal transducers and activators of transcription (JAK/STAT) on ITF promoter.', "The 5' flanking sequence of the ITF gene was cloned from human whole blood genomic DNA by PCR. ITF promoter fragment was cloned and inserted into the pGL3-Basic vector to construct recombinant vector. ITF promoter vector was stimulated with ITF at various concentrations and the luciferase activity was measured. The JAK-STAT3 signal transduction pathway was then blocked by a specific inhibitor AG490 to determine the signal pathway involved in ITF promoter activity.", 'Restriction endonuclease analysis and DNA sequencing confirmed that the recombinant plasmid, containing ITF promoter, was constructed successfully. After transient transfection, the activity of ITF promoter was increased significantly in the presence of ITF (P<0.05). Blockage of the JAK-STAT3 signal transduction pathway with AG490 significantly reduced the ITF promoter activity (P<0.05).

SOLUTION:
Does [ ITF increase the transcriptional activity of ITF promoter via the JAK-STAT3 signal transduction pathway ]?