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: The relative effects of obesity compared to alcohol on liver injury are uncertain. We examined their effects on alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and gamma glutamyltransferase (GGT) levels in a population-based cohort.', 'Adult residents (2610: 1326 males, 1284 females) from Busselton, Australia, participated in a cross-sectional survey determining alcohol intake as determined by a validated questionnaire, anthropometric measurements and serum analysis. Alcohol consumption was classified as never, light (<140 g/week), moderate (140-420 g/week) or heavy (>420 g/week).', 'The majority of subjects were either overweight (41%) or obese (17%). A minority of subjects were moderate (25%) or heavy drinkers (4%). Body mass index (BMI) and waist circumference were strongly associated with ALT and GGT (P < 0.0001 for all tests). Alcohol consumption was modestly associated with ALT in females (P = 0.01) but not in males (P = 0.9). In contrast, GGT was significantly associated with alcohol in both genders (P < 0.0005). The risk of an elevated ALT was seven-fold higher with obesity but only two-fold higher with moderate or heavy alcohol use. Obesity accounted for half of all elevated ALT levels in the cohort, whereas alcohol excess was responsible for less than 10%. No synergistic effect was observed between BMI or waist circumference and alcohol on ALT or GGT (P > 0.2 for all tests).

SOLUTION: 1

PROBLEM: The aim of the present study was to determine the potential therapeutic value of the lazaroid U-83836E on blood brain barrier (BBB) breakdown and edema with respect to the changes in the synaptosomal Na+/K+ and Mg(2+)/Ca(2+)-adenosinetriphosphatase (ATPase) activities, tissue malondialdehyde levels and the neuronal viability in the rat brain subjected to cerebral trauma.', 'Traumatic brain injury (TBI) was introduced by applying a 75 gm. cm force to the right parietal cortex using the weight-drop method. The first set of animals was used for determining time course changes of the synaptosomal Na+/K+ and Mg(2+)/Ca(2+)-ATPase and the malondialdehyde levels and were sacrificed 2, 6 and 24h after lesion production. A group of the animals was treated with U-83836E proir to TBI and sacrificed 24h after cerebral injury. A second set of animals was used for evaluating the alterations in BBB disruption and tissue water content and were sacrificed 2, 6 and 24h after lesion production. Two groups of animals were treated with U-83836E and sacrificed after 2 and 24h following TBI. U-83836E was given intraperitoneally thirty minutes before trauma at a dose of 10 mg/kg. Neuronal necrosis was also evaluated in the groups of U-83836E and physiological saline-treated animals.', 'Extravasation of Evans blue into the traumatized hemisphere was maximum at 2h (p<0.001) and returned close to the control levels at 24h after TBI (p>0.05). Edema had developed progressively over time and reached the maximum degree of 2.1% (p<0.001) at 24h. U-83836E showed no effect on the BBB breakdown and the tissue water content at 2h and still had no effect on the BBB breakdown after 24h following the trauma (p>0.05), although it reduced edema after 24h (p<0.01). The losses of Na+/K+ and Mg(2+)/Ca(2+)-ATPase activities were found as 39.5% (p<0.001) and 29.4% (p<0.01) of the control value, respectively, and remained at the decreased levels throughout the experiment. Malondialdehyde level continued to increase over time reaching up to 209% (p<0.001) of the control value 24h after TBI. Both ATPase activities were improved to near control values (p>.05) by the effect of U-83836E. U-83836E inhibited the increase of lipid peroxidation (p<0.001) and also salvaged neuronal necrosis (p<0.05).

SOLUTION: 1

PROBLEM: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is associated with increased cardiovascular events. The relationships between the markers of inflammation and endothelial dysfunction were investigated both before and after living donor kidney transplantation.', 'Twenty-seven renal transplant patients were studied. Eleven patients (six male, five female) were on cyclosporine A, whereas 16 patients (nine male, seven female) were treated with tacrolimus based regimes. Twenty-seven subjects (12 males, 15 females) were studied as controls. Plasma adiponectin, high sensitive C reactive protein (hsCRP), Asymetric dimethyl arginine (ADMA) levels were studied before transplantation and on days 1, 3, 7, 14, and 28. The brachial artery flow mediated dilatation (FMD) was studied before transplantation and on the 28th day.', 'Serum hsCRP and ADMA levels decreased significantly from the first posttransplantation day on each measurement (P<0.001 for all) while the decrement of plasma adiponectin started in the third day (P<0.001 for all). The FMD was lower in the patients than the control group (P<0.001) and improved significantly in the 28th day of transplantation (P<0.001).

SOLUTION:
0