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: Hypoxia is associated with human non-small cell lung cancers (NSCLC), which are highly resistant to chemotherapy. The hypoxia inducible factor (HIF) as a transcription factor in response to hypoxia indicates that it could be a novel, tumor-specific target for anticancer therapy. We hypothesized that disruption of HIF pathway through lentiviral vector-mediated HIF-1alpha RNA interference (RNAi) could reverse the hypoxia-induced resistance to chemotherapy.', 'We transfected Human NSCLC cell lines, SPCA1 and A549 with HIF-1alpha specific RNAi lentiviral vectors as well as controls. HIF-1alpha silenced cells [SPCA1/HIF-1alpha(-) and A549/HIF-1alpha(-)] were screened by blasticidin. They were incubated in 19 or 0.5% O2 for 16 h followed by the assessment of chemosensitivity to cisplatin and doxorubicin with MTT and clonogenic assays. Quantitative RT-PCR and Western blot analysis were used to detect the expressions of HIF-1alpha mRNA and protein, respectively. Moreover, flow cytometry was used to monitor the expression of P-glycoprotein.', 'Exposure of SPCA1 and A549 cells to 0.5% O2 significantly increased resistance to cisplatin and doxorubicin, in contrast to cells incubated in normoxia. Transduction of SPCA1 with HIF-1alpha RNAi vector resulted in sequence specific silencing with 87.2 and 84.6% decreases of HIF-1alpha mRNA transcription and 97.3 and 94.8% of protein expressions in normoxia and hypoxia, respectively. Correspondingly, they are 89.2, 89.9% and 97.2, 88.4% decreases in A549 cells. Hypoxia-induced resistance to cisplatin and doxorubicin were reversed in SPCA1/HIF-1alpha(-) and A549/HIF-1alpha(-) cells. There was no significant P-glycoprotein increase induced by hypoxia in NSCLC cells.\Question: Is hypoxia-induced resistance to cisplatin and doxorubicin in non-small cell lung cancer inhibited by silencing of HIF-1alpha gene?

SOLUTION: Our studies demonstrated that hypoxia-induced chemoresistance to cisplatin and doxorubicin in NSCLC cells is through the HIF pathway. MDR1 regulation may not be involved in hypoxia-induced chemoresistance. Combining delivery of HIF-1alpha RNAi lentiviral vector with cisplatin-related chemotherapy regimens may enable us to develop more effective strategy for NSCLC therapy.

PROBLEM: Context: Oral tacrolimus, approved for the prophylaxis of organ rejection in liver or kidney transplants, has been reported to be effective in anecdotal cases of refractory inflammatory bowel disease.', 'To evaluate the usefulness of low-dose oral tacrolimus in refractory inflammatory bowel disease.', "Thirty-one adult Caucasian patients with steroid-dependent (n = 15) or steroid-refractory (n = 16) inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn's disease, n = 6; ulcerative colitis, n = 23; pouchitis, n = 2) were enrolled. Tacrolimus (0.1 mg/kg body weight per day) was administered orally in 30 patients and initially intravenously in one patient (0.01 mg/kg body weight per day), aiming for serum trough levels of 4-6 ng/mL. The median treatment duration was 12 months (range, 1-137 months).", "Twenty-eight patients (90.3%) experienced a clinical and laboratory response and 20 (64.5%) went into remission. One ulcerative colitis patient and two Crohn's disease patients did not improve. Three ulcerative colitis patients (9.7%) were colectomized at 1, 12 and 24 months after tacrolimus initiation. In 19 of 23 patients (82.6%) taking steroids, steroids were reduced or discontinued. Side-effects included a temporary rise of creatinine (n = 3, 9.7%), tremor or paraesthesias (n = 3, 9.7%), hyperkalaemia (n = 1, 3.2%), hypertension (n = 1, 3.2%) and an opportunistic infection (n = 1, 3.2%).\Question: Is rescue therapy with tacrolimus effective in patients with severe and refractory inflammatory bowel disease?

SOLUTION: Oral tacrolimus is safe and effective in refractory inflammatory bowel disease.

PROBLEM: Context: Fatty liver is the hepatic manifestation of obesity, but community-based assessment of fatty liver among unselected patients is limited. We sought to determine the feasibility of and optimal protocol for quantifying fat content in the liver in the Framingham Heart Study using multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) scanning.', 'Participants (n = 100, 49% women, mean age 59.4 years, mean body mass index 27.8 kg/m(2)) were drawn from the Framingham Heart Study cohort. Two readers measured the attenuation of the liver, spleen, paraspinal muscles, and an external standard from MDCT scans using multiple slices in chest and abdominal scans.', 'The mean measurement variation was larger within a single axial computed tomography (CT) slice than between multiple axial CT slices for the liver and spleen, whereas it was similar for the paraspinal muscles. Measurement variation in the liver, spleen, and paraspinal muscles was smaller in the abdomen than in the chest. Three versus six measures of attenuation in the liver and two versus three measures in the spleen gave reproducible measurements of tissue attenuation (intraclass correlation coefficient [ICCC] of 1 in the abdomen). Intra reader and interreader reproducibility (ICCC) of the liver-to-spleen ratio was 0.98 and 0.99, the liver-to-phantom ratio was 0.99 and 0.99, and the liver-to-muscle ratio was 0.93 and 0.86, respectively.\Question: Is liver fat reproducibly measured using computed tomography in the Framingham Heart Study?

SOLUTION:
One cross-sectional slice is adequate to capture the majority of variance of fat content in the liver per individual. Abdominal scan measures as compared to chest scan measures of fat content in the liver are more precise. The measurement of fat content in the liver on MDCT scans is feasible and reproducible.