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: It is still debatable whether anemia predicts stroke outcome.', 'To describe the characteristics of patients with acute ischemic stroke (AIS) and anemia and identify whether hemoglobin status on admission is a prognostic factor of AIS outcome.', 'All 2439 patients of the Acute Stroke Registry and Analysis of Lausanne (ASTRAL) between January 2003 and June 2011 were selected. Demographics, risk factors, prestroke treatment, clinical, radiological and metabolic variables in patients with and without anemia according to the definition of the World Health Organization were compared. Functional disability and mortality were recorded up to 12 months from admission.', 'Anemic patients (17.5%) were older, had lower body mass index, higher rates of coronary artery disease (CAD), atrial fibrillation, diabetes mellitus and peripheral artery disease. Anemia was associated with more severe stroke manifestations, lower systolic and diastolic blood pressure measurements, worse estimated glomerular filtration rate and elevated C-reactive protein concentrations upon admission and with increased modified Rankin scores during the follow-up. Anemic patients had higher 7-day, 3-month and 12-month mortality, which was associated with hemoglobin status and other factors, including age, CAD, stroke severity, and baseline C-reactive levels. Hemoglobin levels were inversely associated with recurrent stroke and mortality throughout the 12-month follow-up.

SOLUTION: 1

PROBLEM: Peritoneal dialysis (PD) is associated with functional and structural alterations of the peritoneal membrane. However, the (ir)reversibility of these pathological changes of the peritoneum is not understood fully.', 'In an experimental PD model, rats (n = 15) received daily 10 ml conventional glucose containing PD fluid, via peritoneal catheters connected to implanted subcutaneous mini vascular access ports. After 5 weeks of treatment, the first group of animals (PDF; n = 10) was sacrificed, while peritoneal catheters of the remaining group of rats (PD-rest; n = 5) were removed 1 week later. The latter group (PD-rest) was sacrificed 12 weeks after removing catheters. At both time points, untreated rats were included as controls. Cellular and morphological parameters were analysed by light and electron microscopy.', "Rats exposed to PD fluid for 5 weeks showed a severe angiogenesis in various peritoneal tissues. Peritoneal rest resulted in a significant reduction in blood vessel density in visceral (mesentery, P<0.05), but not in parietal peritoneum. Five weeks' exposure to PD fluid resulted in a profound fibrosis in the parietal peritoneum, whereas the degree of fibrosis was significantly reduced in the PD-rest group (P<0.02). Daily exposure to PD fluid induced a higher number of mast cells in the omentum compared with untreated rats, whereas peritoneal rest normalized the increased mast cell density completely (P<0.03). Likewise, continued PD fluid instillation evoked a strong omental milky spot response, which was returned to the control level after peritoneal rest (P<0.009). Furthermore, the number of mesothelial cells on the liver was significantly increased in rats treated with PD fluid, whereas animals from the PD-rest group had a lower number of mesothelial cells, although this was not statistically significant (P = 0.08). Finally, as evidenced by electron microscopy, daily exposure to PD fluid resulted in severe damage to the mesothelial cell layer covering the peritoneum, whereas this cell layer was completely recovered after peritoneal rest.

SOLUTION: 0

PROBLEM: The safety and efficacy of prescribing a single maternal course of corticosteroid during pregnancy has been documented in human trials. However, the current trend is to prescribe repeated courses of corticosteroid. We investigated an aspect of the safety of this practice in an animal model.', 'Date-mated ewes received saline, single or four corticosteroid injections between days 104 and 124 of gestation (term = 150). Lambs were delivered on day 125 or 145 by caesarian section after spinal anaesthesia. Eye diameters were measured and semi-thin toluidine-blue-stained transverse sections of retinae were analysed using an Optimus Image Analysis program.', 'At 125 days, retinal measures in the ventral periphery and area centralis were significantly thinner than control (p = 0.0001). At 145 days, total eye size was significantly reduced compared with control (p = 0.03), and retinal measures in the ventral periphery (p = 0.0001), but not the area centralis (p = 0.19), remained significantly different from control.

SOLUTION:
1