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 Input:
The aim of the study was to determine whether medial meniscal substitution with a polyurethane scaffold (Actifit(®)) improves the outcome of medial meniscal-deficient varus knees undergoing open-wedge high tibial osteotomy.', 'Sixty patients with symptomatic varus knees those who underwent open-wedge high tibial osteotomies were prospectively studied. In 30 patients, the medial meniscus was left with a defect larger than 25 mm (Group M). An Actifit(®) device was implanted (Group A) in the remaining 30 patients. Patients were functionally evaluated with WOMET, IKDC and VAS. Patient satisfaction was graded from 0 (not satisfied) to 4 (very satisfied).', 'Both groups were comparable preoperatively. They had similar follow-up periods (31.2 months; range 24-47.5; n.s.). WOMET improved a mean of 53.4 ± 8.4 and 42.4 ± 17.2 points in Groups M and A, respectively (p = 0.002). IKDC improved a mean of 56.7 ± 12 and 50.3 ± 15.6 points in Groups M and A, respectively (n.s.). VAS dropped 5.9 ± 2.1 and 4.7 ± 2.8 points in Groups M and A, respectively (p = 0.006). Patient satisfaction averaged 3.3 ± 0.8 and 3.3 ± 1 in Groups M and A, respectively (n.s.).

Ex Output:
Does partial meniscus substitution with a polyurethane scaffold improve outcome after an open-wedge high tibial osteotomy?


Ex Input:
The aim of this study was to review the impact of salvage external beam radiotherapy (EBRT) of postprostatectomy patients with long-term follow-up on biochemical-free recurrence (BFR) and metastatic-free survival, and to describe pathological and clinical predictors of outcome.', 'In the period 1987-2010, 76 postprostatectomy patients with biochemical and clinical recurrence received salvage EBRT. Patients were treated with conformal EBRT and 68 (90%) received a dose of 70 Gy; eight patients (10%) received a dose of 60-64 Gy. No patients received adjuvant or neoadjuvant androgen deprivation therapy in conjunction with salvage EBRT.', 'The median follow-up time after salvage EBRT was 82 months (range 5-192 months). Seventeen patients (22%) developed biochemical recurrence subsequent to postprostatectomy salvage EBRT during the observation time, and the overall 50 and 75 month actuarial BFR rates after salvage EBRT were 84% and 79%, respectively. Seven patients (9%) developed metastatic disease and two patients died of prostate cancer. Independent predictors of biochemical recurrence were seminal vesicle invasion (SVI) in the prostatectomy specimen (p < 0.05) and prostate-specific antigen doubling time (PSADT) of 6 months or less (p = 0.041) before salvage EBRT.

Ex Output:
Is prostate-specific antigen doubling time subsequent to radical prostatectomy a predictor of outcome following salvage external beam radiation therapy : a single-centre experience?


Ex Input:
The antidiabetic properties of metformin are mediated through its ability to activate the AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK). Activation of AMPK can suppress tumor formation and inhibit cell growth in addition to lowering blood glucose levels. We tested the hypothesis that metformin reduces the risk of cancer in people with type 2 diabetes.', 'In an observational cohort study using record-linkage databases and based in Tayside, Scotland, U.K., we identified people with type 2 diabetes who were new users of metformin in 1994-2003. We also identified a set of diabetic comparators, individually matched to the metformin users by year of diabetes diagnosis, who had never used metformin. In a survival analysis we calculated hazard ratios for diagnosis of cancer, adjusted for baseline characteristics of the two groups using Cox regression.', 'Cancer was diagnosed among 7.3% of 4,085 metformin users compared with 11.6% of 4,085 comparators, with median times to cancer of 3.5 and 2.6 years, respectively (P < 0.001). The unadjusted hazard ratio (95% CI) for cancer was 0.46 (0.40-0.53). After adjusting for sex, age, BMI, A1C, deprivation, smoking, and other drug use, there was still a significantly reduced risk of cancer associated with metformin: 0.63 (0.53-0.75).

Ex Output:

Are new users of metformin at low risk of incident cancer : a cohort study among people with type 2 diabetes?