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.

Q: Our objective was to study the direct effects of meconium on isolated umbilical artery and vein in vitro.', "Intact umbilical artery and vein rings were suspended in 5 ml organ baths containing kreb's solution (pH 7.2, 37 degrees C; bubbled with 2.5% oxygen and 8.07% carbon dioxide, balance nitrogen) for isometric tension recording. Meconium alone (final bath concentration 1%), centrifuged and filtered meconium, and meconium with the lipid fraction removed (separated into < 30,000 kd and > 30,000 kd) were added to the baths. Some vessels were also incubated in 1% meconium for 30 minutes, after which the meconium was washed out. Concentration-response curves to U46619 were obtained. The negative log of the concentration that evokes 50% of the maximal contraction was determined.", 'Umbilical artery and vein had no sustained response to meconium. Tension that developed by rings exposed to meconium was significantly less than control at all concentrations of U46619. There was some loss of the efficacy of meconium after centrifugation-filtration and washing out. Meconium without the lipid fraction had less inhibitory effect than did native meconium.

A: Does meconium inhibit the contraction of umbilical vessels induced by the thromboxane A2 analog U46619?
****
Q: To conduct clinical and genetic studies in a European family with autosomal dominant Stargardt-like macular dystrophy (adSTGD-like MD) and to investigate the functional consequences of a novel ELOVL4 mutation.', 'Ophthalmic examination and mutation screening by direct sequencing of the ELOVL4 gene was performed in two affected individuals. Wild-type and mutant ELOVL4 genes were expressed as enhanced green fluorescent protein (EGFP) fusion proteins in transient transfection in NIH-3T3 and HEK293 cells. To determine the subcellular localization of ELOVL4, an endoplasmic-reticulum (ER)-specific marker for pDsRed2-ER was cotransfected with ELOVL4 constructs. Transfected cells were viewed by confocal microscopy. Western blot analysis was performed to assess protein expression using an anti-GFP antibody.', 'Affected patients exhibited macular atrophy with surrounding flecks characteristic of adSTGD-like MD. A novel ELOVL4 p.Tyr270X mutation was detected in affected individuals. In cell-transfection studies, wild-type ELOVL4 localized preferentially to the ER. In contrast, the mutant protein appeared to be mislocalized within transfected cells.

A: Does a novel mutation in the ELOVL4 gene cause autosomal dominant Stargardt-like macular dystrophy?
****
Q: Lipoprotein lipase (LPL) plays an important role in plasma lipoprotein metabolism and its polymorphisms are possibly implicated in the etiology of ischemic cerebrovascular disease (CVD). The aim of this work was to determine the association of the of D9N, N291S, and T495G polymorphisms of the LPL gene as a risk factor for the development of CVD.', 'A case-control study was conducted that included 100 patients with CVD and 120 healthy controls. All the subjects were genotyped for the D9N, N291S, and T495G polymorphisms of the LPL gene through polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism, and the results were analyzed for their association with CVD.', 'The D9N genotype was not significantly correlated with CVD; the odds ratio (OR) between the control subjects and CVD patients was .29 (95% confidence interval [CI], .03-2.66; P\u2009=\u2009.27). The N291S polymorphism was not significantly correlated with CVD either; the OR between the control subjects and CVD patients was 1.2 (95% CI, .07-19.46; P\u2009=\u2009.89). And the T495G mutation was not significantly correlated with CVD; the OR between the control subjects and the CVD patients was 1.21 (95% CI, .7-2.08; P\u2009=\u2009.48).

A:
Are the D9N , N291S , and T495G Polymorphisms of the Lipoprotein Lipase Gene Associated with Cerebral Infarction?
****