TASK DEFINITION: In this task, you are given a passage which has a question and the context. You have to generate an answer to the question based on the information present in the context.
PROBLEM: Context: Intracellular pathogens have developed elaborate strategies for silent infection of preferred host cells. Chlamydia pneumoniae is a common pathogen in acute infections of the respiratory tract (e.g. pneumonia) and associated with chronic lung sequelae in adults and children. Within the lung, alveolar macrophages and polymorph nuclear neutrophils (PMN) are the first line of defense against bacteria, but also preferred host phagocytes of chlamydiae.', 'We could show that C. pneumoniae easily infect and hide inside neutrophil granulocytes until these cells become apoptotic and are subsequently taken up by macrophages. C. pneumoniae infection of macrophages via apoptotic PMN results in enhanced replicative activity of chlamydiae when compared to direct infection of macrophages, which results in persistence of the pathogen. Inhibition of the apoptotic recognition of C. pneumoniae infected PMN using PS- masking Annexin A5 significantly lowered the transmission of chlamydial infection to macrophages. Transfer of apoptotic C. pneumoniae infected PMN to macrophages resulted in an increased TGF-ss production, whereas direct infection of macrophages with chlamydiae was characterized by an enhanced TNF-alpha response.\Question: Does chlamydia pneumoniae hide inside apoptotic neutrophils to silently infect and propagate in macrophages?

SOLUTION: Taken together, our data suggest that C. pneumoniae uses neutrophil granulocytes to be silently taken up by long-lived macrophages, which allows for efficient propagation and immune protection within the human host.

PROBLEM: Context: BDNF blood levels are reduced in MDD. They can be increased with pharmacologic treatment and ECT, but it is not clear whether the combination of treatments promotes an additional increase. The present study aims to evaluate whether combined treatment promotes an increase in BDNF, restoring the level to that of non-depressed controls.', 'Ninety-nine adult inpatients were invited to participate in this naturalistic prospective cohort study between May 2011 and April 2013. Diagnosis was made by MINI, and the symptoms were evaluated at admission and at discharge by HDRS-17. Those inpatients with a diagnosis of depression were included and divided into two groups: those who underwent combined ECT and medication (31 subjects) and those who used only pharmacotherapy (68 subjects). Serum BDNF was measured in blood samples collected at admission and discharge. One hundred healthy blood donors without any psychiatric diagnosis were included as a control group.', 'There were no significant differences in serum BDNF levels between the combined and pharmacological groups at admission and at discharge, and no significant variation in BDNF occurred in any group during the treatment. There were no interactions between time and treatment groups nor significant time effects or treatment group effects for BDNF in the Generalized Estimating Equation Model (GEE). The control group had significantly higher serum BDNF levels in comparison with each of the treatment groups at admission and discharge (p = 0.00).\Question: Is combining ECT with pharmacological treatment of depressed inpatients in a naturalistic study associated with serum BDNF level increase?

SOLUTION: Combination of ECT with pharmacological treatment did not result in increased serum BDNF levels and did not restore levels to that of controls.

PROBLEM: Context: Behavioral studies of spatial navigation in aging indicate that orientation using an allocentric reference frame (object-centered orientation) is impaired, whereas orientation using egocentric processes (self-centered orientation) is not. It has been proposed that navigational deficits may result from more general alterations of perception and attention or executive functions. The purpose of this study is to assess allocentric and egocentric representation in elderly individuals, and to determine if age-related deficits in spatial navigation are related to an attentional decline.', 'We assessed encoding of the position of geometrical shapes, depending specifically on an allocentric or egocentric reference frame, during ERP recording in young and old subjects.', 'Aging was associated with a performance decline in allocentric, but not egocentric, encoding. Both allocentric and egocentric conditions elicited parietal early components P1 and N1, reflecting top-down modulation, and components P2 and N2, reflecting selective attention and stimulus categorization. We observed age-associated effects on N1 and N2 amplitudes and on N2 latency in both spatial conditions. Moreover, impaired allocentric performance in older subjects was associated with a greater P2 amplitude and delayed P2 latency compared with younger subjects.\Question: Is allocentric but not egocentric orientation impaired during normal aging : an ERP study?

SOLUTION:
These results suggest that elderly individuals present with deficits when spatial orientation relies on allocentric representation, and are associated with age-related deficits in spatial attention.