TASK DEFINITION: Given a passage classify if the passage has a definite objective/aim/goal or not. Output '1' if the passage has a defininte objective/aim/goal and output '0' if the passage does not have a definite objective/aim/goal.
PROBLEM: There have seen several studies evaluating the efficacy of anti-tumor necrosis factor α (anti-TNFα) compared with conventional therapy (i.e. immunomodulators, mesalamine, or placebo) at preventing postoperative Crohn's disease (CD) recurrence. The results of these studies have been variable and the magnitude by which anti-TNFα therapy alters the natural history of CD in the postoperative setting has not yet been fully defined.", 'A comprehensive search of PubMed/MEDLINE, Scopus, CINAHL, and Cochrane databases was performed (May 2014). All studies on adult patients with CD that compared anti-TNFα therapy versus conventional therapy or placebo to prevent CD recurrence were included. Meta-analysis was performed using the Mantel-Haenszel (fixed effects) model with odds ratio (OR) to assess for clinical remission.', 'In the pooled analysis, there was a higher frequency of achieving clinical remission beyond 1 year from time of surgery among patients receiving anti-TNFα therapy compared with conventional therapy [OR 6.41; 95% confidence interval (CI) 2.88-14.27]. There was also a significantly higher rate of achieving both endoscopic (OR 26.44; 95% CI 10.48-66.68) and histologic remission (OR 9.80; 95% CI 2.54-37.81) in the anti-TNFα therapy group compared with the conventional therapy group.

SOLUTION: 0

PROBLEM: Biliary tract carcinoma is a deadly disease, accounting for nearly 4500 malignancy-related deaths each year in the United States. Early detection has the potential to improve survival for patients with biliary tract malignancies, enabling curative surgical resection. Early detection approaches would benefit from an accurate, minimally invasive diagnostic test. To identify novel diagnostic markers, the authors recently completed a comprehensive proteomic study of bile samples from patients with biliary carcinoma. One of the proteins identified by tandem mass spectrometry was Mac-2-binding protein (Mac-2BP). The authors evaluated the performance of Mac-2BP and its ligand, galectin-3, as diagnostic markers for patients with biliary carcinoma.', 'Levels of Mac-2BP, galectin-3, and CA19-9 were measured using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) in bile samples from patients with biliary tract carcinoma (n = 26), benign biliary conditions (n = 32), and primary sclerosing cholangitis (n = 20). Serum levels of Mac-2BP and galectin-3 also were determined using ELISA. Mac-2BP tissue expression was investigated by immunohistochemical methods using a biliary carcinoma tissue microarray.', 'Biliary Mac-2BP levels were elevated by a factor of approximately 3 in the biliary carcinoma group compared with the group of patients who had PSC or another type of nonneoplastic biliary disease. In contrast, Mac-2BP levels were not elevated in serum samples from patients with biliary carcinoma. According to the immunohistochemical analysis, Mac-2BP was expressed in 34 of 36 patients (94.4%) with biliary tract carcinoma. As a diagnostic marker for biliary carcinoma, Mac-2BP levels were as accurate as biliary CA19-9 levels, with an area under the curve (AUC) of 0.70 on receiver operator characteristic analysis. The use of both of these bile markers in combination, however, led to significantly better diagnostic accuracy compared with the accuracy achieved using CA19-9 alone (AUC, 0.75; P < 0.001). Serum and biliary galectin-3 levels did not differ in the biliary carcinoma group relative to the control groups.

SOLUTION: 0

PROBLEM: Hepatic osteodystrophy has been reported in patients with various chronic liver diseases, including liver cirrhosis. However, it has not been well investigated in patients with hepatitis B virus infection. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) seropositivity and bone mineral density (BMD) in a population representative of normal Koreans.', 'Subjects with both HBsAg and BMD levels examined during the 2008-2010 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys were included. HBsAg-seropositive (+) subjects were compared with those who were HBsAg-seronegative (-). BMD was measured at the lumbar spine and femur by dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Multivariable logistic regression was performed for BMD .', 'In total, 11,306 participants were included in this study, among which 423 (3.7\xa0%) were HBsAg(+): 153 premenopausal female (3.4\xa0%), 83 postmenopausal female (3.5\xa0%), and 187 male (4.2\xa0%). Multivariable logistic regression analysis adjusted for age and body mass index showed that HBsAg(+) male had significantly lower BMD of the femoral neck than HBsAg(-) male (0.810\xa0±\xa00.009 vs. 0.827\xa0±\xa00.002\xa0g/cm(2), p\xa0=\xa00.035). Further adjustment for waist circumference, smoking, drinking, exercise, income, occupation, and vitamin D levels showed that HBsAg(+) male had significantly lower BMD of the femur neck (0.810\xa0±\xa00.010 vs. 0.831\xa0±\xa00.002\xa0g/cm(2), p\xa0=\xa00.032) and lumbar spine (0.953\xa0±\xa00.011 vs. 0.974\xa0±\xa00.003\xa0g/cm(2), p\xa0=\xa00.049) than HBsAg(-) male.

SOLUTION:
0